Immortal Paladin-Chapter 134 – Something called Life [30]

(POV – Victor Hale)

Victor stood frozen, watching the scene unfold before his eyes, unsure how to respond. Or rather—he was responding, just not on purpose. His face twitched with unnatural spasms, overtaken by a mixture of shock and confusion as he stared at each monstrous anomaly in front of him.

One by one, their grotesque forms began to shift, condensing into something denser, more refined... evolving into superior versions of themselves. But then, in a nearly silent instant, they all disintegrated into dust, as if time had finally caught up with them—and taken them away.

“What the hell is going on?” Victor murmured, his voice heavy with doubt, more to himself than to anyone else.

Of course, Victor had some idea of what was happening—only a complete idiot wouldn't, especially seeing it with their own eyes. Still, the whole situation was so absurd that he just couldn’t bring himself to believe his own thoughts.

He stood there, paralyzed, staring ahead, unable to act. That’s when something landed gently beside him. The soft sound and slight rush of air made him blink, snapping him out of his trance.

When he turned his head, he came face to face with the [Angel of Death] — imposing and silent, carrying another anomaly clutched in her arms. Victor scowled at her, eyes narrowed, jaw tight, as if trying to read answers in her enigmatic expression.

The [Angel of Death] looked back at Victor. Her golden eyes, glowing softly, held a mesmerizing coldness as they stared at him with indifference. For a few long seconds, they both remained still, locked in a strange and almost surreal silence—like time had slowed around them.

It was a bizarre sight: this ethereal, mysterious figure staring at him emotionlessly, and Victor, unsettled as he was, refusing to look away. Then, abruptly and with a hint of disdain, the [Angel of Death] turned her gaze elsewhere, seemingly losing interest.

(As always, I have no idea what she's thinking...) Victor thought, letting out a faint sigh as he reached back and rubbed his neck, a reflexive gesture of bottled-up frustration.

Lost in thought, Victor was pulled back to reality by Arthur’s voice beside him, exclaiming with admiration: “Truly fascinating! To release so much power with nothing but a look... Just as I suspected, [life] really is something extraordinary”

Victor blinked, confused for a moment by Arthur’s words. For a second, he forgot that Arthur, at that moment, was probably the person who knew the most about the [Conceptual Virtues].

“You know exactly what’s happening right now, don’t you?” Victor asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow and fixing his gaze on Arthur.

Hearing the question, Arthur took on a thoughtful expression. He placed a hand under his chin, gently stroking it, his eyes drifting as if searching for the right words.

After a few seconds of contemplative silence, he finally spoke. “Althea... Well, the name I gave her was something else. But since she revealed her real name, I see no reason to use the nickname anymore. In any case, if my research is correct—and after everything we’ve seen, I’m quite certain it is—she’s likely the [Conceptual Virtue] that embodies the concept of life”

Victor raised an eyebrow—not because the explanation was confusing, but because he couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea of something like life itself taking physical form—if you could even call it that.

To him, this whole business of anomalous beings personifying abstract virtues sounded overwhelmingly complicated. It was the kind of thing that, in his practical, grounded mind, seemed more like a philosophical fever dream than reality.

“You... wanna know something? Honestly, I don’t really care. My contract didn’t say anything about figuring out creatures like that. Seriously, whatever” Victor said with a shrug, just deciding to go with it.

Arthur chuckled quietly at Victor’s bewildered expression. He could easily read the storm of thoughts swirling in his friend’s head—and it amused him. His eyes, ever observant, drifted toward the [Angel of Death], whose presence radiated a somber calm, before settling on Althea—the [Conceptual Virtue] of life.

She radiated a vibrant, welcoming energy, in stark contrast to the figure of Death. With a sly smile, Arthur broke the silence: “Well, if it helps, you can just think of Althea as the mother of every living organism—including us” His voice was light, yet carried weight—like he was sharing a profound truth about the cycle of existence.

In the end, the whole scene felt almost surreal: Victor stared at Arthur as if he were completely insane, while Arthur, unbothered, laughed softly. For him, the whole thing was almost funny. Victor, exasperated, sighed and decided to let the subject drop.

His gaze drifted away from Arthur and toward the city’s horizon. No matter where he looked, the view was the same: like a storm of debris had rained down on the buildings, leaving a trail of destruction behind. The city looked more chaotic than ever.

“This is probably gonna be a huge pain to clean up... I really don’t get paid enough for this” Victor muttered, exhaling heavily as he rubbed his face, visibly exhausted.

***

(POV – The Protagonist)

In the end, the incident involving Althea was quietly covered up—except for the deaths caused by the unfortunate coincidence of a few people being in the wrong place at the wrong time when Althea began absorbing “life” from her surroundings.

While some lives were lost, the number of casualties was relatively low compared to other anomalous events—mainly because the monstrous creatures that usually accompany these incidents didn’t attack the humans nearby.

At first, I was curious about why the monstrous anomalies just ignored the people—but eventually, I let it go. To be honest, the reason was simple: I didn’t care. As I’ve mentioned before, my values have gotten a bit... distorted.

Of course, I wouldn’t walk away from a person dying right in front of me—but at the same time, I don’t feel deep sorrow for those who are already gone. Not enough to let it eat away at me or make me feel truly guilty. It’s a thin line that I try to understand—but never can.

Anyway, it was widely reported that the destruction had been caused by a small asteroid that crashed near the city. At first, it didn’t seem like the impact was strong enough to level everything, but the shockwave caused widespread devastation, wiping out most of the area.

Honestly, at first, I thought the story was full of holes and inconsistencies—but when the site was investigated, reports confirmed that a crater had indeed been left by the asteroid. And frankly, don’t ask me anything else about it—because in the end, I’m just as lost as the victims of that incident.

Honestly, I really wondered what they'd say, considering everyone in the city pretty much passed out at the same time — and only came to hours later, just to find the whole place completely wrecked. The weirdest part is that no one can remember what happened. It’s like some kind of anomaly wiped everyone’s memory, but honestly, I have no idea how it all went down.

In the aftermath, while the city slowly began its reconstruction, I returned to the base with Althea—my newest sister. I felt a bit of relief seeing both Emily and Laura were okay, even if they looked absolutely exhausted.

They were practically in sync, going on about how badly they needed a vacation or something. I mean, I can only imagine how exhausting—and downright stressful—that job must be.

Just as I was getting lost in my thoughts, a distant sound, steadily growing louder, snapped me back to reality. A firm and unmistakable voice cut through the silence: “Zentharys, are you listening to me?”

Hearing those strangely close yet far-off words, I blinked slowly, trying to focus. Althea was hugging me so tightly it felt like my body might split in two. Her physical strength was incredible—way beyond anything anyone could expect.

(What happened?) I asked, confused, tilting my head slightly, trying to figure it out. Truth is, I hadn’t caught a single word of what she’d said—my mind had just gone completely blank.

Seeing my blank response, Althea puffed out her cheeks and gave me a mildly annoyed look. Honestly, if you asked me whether this was the same playful Althea we first met, I’d probably say someone swapped her out at some point.

This new Althea is way clingier—always asking for affection at the slightest opportunity. It’s... weird. I’m still not used to it. This affectionate side of her really caught me off guard.

“Come on, sis, pay attention when I’m talking to you. This is super important—like, life-or-death level!” Althea said, her serious tone betraying the urgency of the moment.

I blinked in surprise, caught off guard by how serious she suddenly was. I had no clue what she was about to say, but something about her demeanor told me I should probably listen.

I wasn’t entirely sure what was coming, but really—what did I have to lose by hearing her out? With that in mind, I nodded slightly, keeping my usual indifferent expression, as if nothing could shake me.

“As I was saying, humans have a unique way of creating life. While I lived among them, I got to understand the process—at least to some extent. My parents never told me anything about it, but I looked it up online. So, I can confidently say I know a fair bit about it” Althea said, her voice filled with quiet pride, like she was proud of herself—even if she didn’t fully know why.

I raised an eyebrow, not sure where she was going with all this. In the end, I just nodded again, as if to say I was following so far. Althea picked up on that and continued, carefully watching my reaction.

“With all that in mind, I think I can tweak a few things with my powers—just enough for us to make a child together!” she said, eyes shining with contagious excitement, a wide smile spreading across her face.

For a moment, my brain just stopped. Not because I didn’t understand what she said—but because I did. I was going over her words, again and again, trying to make sure I got the meaning right.

But no matter how many times I replayed it in my head, the result didn’t change. And as that realization sank in, one thought echoed through me like an undeniable truth.

(Yeah... that kid’s doomed.) I sighed, looking at Althea with a mixture of pity and disbelief. She seemed completely caught up in her own little world, unaware of the chaos she was stirring—and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for not stopping it.

In the end, I looked at her again. Her eyes sparkled with that almost tangible excitement, locked on mine like she was waiting for an answer. That gleam in her gaze reflected the weight of the moment. I took a deep breath before responding: (Althea...)

“Yes! My dear sister!” Althea replied instantly, leaning in with a mischievous grin. Her eyes were full of anticipation, and I could feel her breath lightly brushing my skin as she inched even closer.

(There are a lot of things I could say in response to that, but the main reason I have to turn you down is this... Even though these bodies weirdly resemble human girls... You do realize that, technically, we don’t have genders—let alone reproductive organs—right?) I asked, giving her a look filled with pity and a hint of sadness, trying to make her understand how hard it was to explain this.

But to my surprise, Althea just smiled—like she already knew what I was going to say. Her eyes gleamed with unwavering confidence, and in a tone that was almost playful, she said: “Of course I know that, dear sister. But for me, getting around that is easy. Have you forgotten who I am?”

And hearing those words from Althea, I realized this really wouldn’t be an obstacle for her. After all, Althea was literally the original creator of all life. For someone like her, things like "no gender" were trivial—almost meaningless in the grand scheme of her existence. Even so, this was the moment I needed to bring up the second and far more important issue in this completely absurd conversation.

(Even if you’re right... we’re still sisters. I could never let you bear my child. That would just be... way too weird)

Hearing my words, Althea tilted her head slightly, wearing a mildly confused expression—clearly not understanding what I meant.

Meanwhile, Nekra, who had been silently observing the whole time with her arms crossed and a calm look on her face, finally broke the silence with a single word—dripping with judgment and sarcasm: “Pervert”

Well... she wasn’t entirely wrong. But still—those words were aimed at Althea, right?.