Book 2: Chapter 269 𝑓𝘳ℯ𝒆w𝘦𝘣𝙣𝘰ѵ𝘦𝚕.c𝗼𝓶

Translator: Seven

Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko

—Nodiesop.

Up until now, most of the powers he used were like magic or were similar to magic. This, combined with his slender physique gave Leo hope that he might be weak in face to face or hand to hand combat.

But that wasn’t the case at all.

Sedi’s kick and Leo’s fist were blocked at the same time. Their subsequent attacks also didn’t have any effect. It was as if Nodiesop’s palms were covered with a layer of oil. Surprisingly, this man stood there and dealt with their attacks while using nothing but his palms.

His occasional attacks were also so sharp that they gave him chills down his spine.

In terms of ratio, for every ten or so attacks that they launched, Nodiesop only counterattacked once. Therefore, at first glance, it would seem that Leo and Sedi were launching a fierce offensive. But the reality was completely different from how it appeared.

Cold sweat covered Leo’s entire body.

There was a saying that said ‘attack is the best defense’. This was similar to his current situation. If he stopped moving for even a moment, he would die. As for breaking away from his opponent and making space, he couldn’t.

Because of that, he had no choice but to attack with all his might.

Nevertheless, there were no results.

It was like punching ‘water’.

‘Don’t think about it.’

Leo tried his best to get rid of his thoughts that were gradually becoming bleak. It was like Sedi told him. All he had to do was focus on surviving somehow.

But unlike Leo, Sedi’s thoughts at that moment were completely different.

‘…is this fight really worth it?’

In all honesty, she never expected such a fight. She never thought that she would have the time to think of such useless things.

‘This bastard… is still conserving his strength.’

Why?

The biggest threats to him were Lukas and the Priestess.

The Priestess was unable to fight, and he should have realised by now that Lukas would not join this fight.

Nevertheless, he was still conserving his strength.

What kind of situation was he preparing for exactly?

Taht!

With a burst of force, Nodiesop interrupted Sedi and Leo’s momentum at the same time. In an instant, dozens of openings appeared on their bodies.

“…”

If he had used his external force at that moment, he could have taken their lives as easy as cutting the stem of a flower.

But he didn’t.

Did he not have enough external force? No, he had barely used any external force to break the barrier around the island. In the first place, if he had added external force to the tsunami before, it would never have been frozen by the Priestess.

‘…Kasajin.’

It was strange.

She could vaguely sense the presence of that man somewhere in the Heavenly Realm.

It was so faint that it would be easily ignored if one didn’t pay attention to it. But it was because it was faint that she noticed it even more.

‘Is he watching from a safe place and waiting to take advantage of the situation?’

From the moment they entered the field, all of the Absolutes became hostile towards each other. The former alliances that they had made had become meaningless.

From the start, the concept of the qualifiers was a four way battle.

‘If he uses his external force wantonly now, he might get picked off by Kasajin.’

It was possible that he’d used more external force than she thought.

Of course, at this point, Kasajin’s power was very limited, but the same was true for Nodiesop. Now that most of his power had been restricted by the Priestess and the Sorcerers on Dragon God Island, even a weakened Kasajin posed a sufficient threat.

This was probably the judgement Nodiesop had made and the reason for him saving his external force.

However, all of that was a grand illusion that Nodiesop had created on his own.

Kasajin was not in the Heavenly Realm at that moment.

Nevertheless, his presence could still be felt due to the existence of Kran. That was why it was ‘faint’.

As a result, Sedi and Leo’s lives were prolonged by this illusion, and they were forced into this protracted fight.

“…”

She grit her teeth helplessly.

Although Sedi and Leo were fighting well, it seemed that they already thought they had lost. In other words, they were slowly losing the will to continue. At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before they died.

Arid looked around.

Dragon God Island had become a frozen wasteland. This place was his second home. There was no part of it that he hadn’t seen, and who knew everyone who lived in each area. And yet, even the island’s original shape could no longer be seen.

Then he turned to look at Min Ha-rin, who had already fallen unconscious, and the Priestess, who was completely drained.

And then he looked within.

…Could he say that he fought? 𝑓𝐫𝑒e𝒘𝚎𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝐞𝑙.co𝑚

Could he say that he risked his life?

He hadn’t done anything.

He was a bystander, a sightseer.

‘I hate it.’

He hated this feeling. He wanted to fight too.

Of course, he knew that supporting the others from the rear was an important role.

However, this was a matter of mindset.

Everyone was injured or on the verge of death.

But among them, only Arid hadn’t suffered a single scratch.

Could he really accept this situation?

Could he feel proud of himself?

[Have you killed anyone since entering this world?]

Lukas’ words suddenly resounded in his mind once again.

It was only at that moment that Arid understood Lukas’ intention when he’d asked this question.

If you didn’t fight, you’d lose everything. There were times when killing your opponent was the only answer. That was the ‘inevitable fight’ that Lukas was talking about.

And in an inevitable fight, an unavoidable fight, weakness became a sin.

This wasn’t necessarily talking about power. It was also talking about one’s innate nature. In the end, there was only a paper thin difference between the words ‘kind’ and ‘weak’.

In general, hurting and killing others was an unforgivable and immoral act.

But if millions were to die because they couldn’t stop Nodiesop at that moment, could not killing him really be called the right thing to do? Could they be praised for not giving in to the desires of their flesh?

‘…’

No.

By any means possible.

They had to kill him.

They had to ensure that Nodiesop died here.

For the first time in his life, killing intent arose in Arid’s heart. It resonated with his unique power and caused a tremendous change to occur in an instant.

…Falling.

His body and mind seemed to gradually sink into darkness.

‘I might never be able to go back to the way I was.’

It was sad, but at the same time, it couldn’t be helped.

Arid had made up his mind.

Tuk-

But at that moment, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

* * *

Leo was the first to break the balance. His body had long surpassed the limits. He tried to leap forward, but at that moment, he found that he could put no strength in his knees. Losing his balance, Leo fell onto his face on the ice.

It was 2 on 1, so they were managing to hold out somehow. But after one collapsed, naturally, the other would soon follow.

Paak!

Sedi was overpowered in an instant. Nodiesop’s fingers pierced deeply into her stomach. It felt like her intestines had been torn apart.

She doubled over Nodiesop’s hand as all the air in her lungs escaped. For a moment, she was frozen in that position as if her entire body had been paralysed.

Thud.

Nodiesop pulled his hand back, causing her to fall to the ground. Sedi tried to get up immediately, but he stepped on her face, preventing her from doing so. (Note: He really likes to step on her head…)

“Did you think you’d grown stronger?”

As his cold voice sounded, the force of his trampling began to increase.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that you were wrong. However, is it possible for cotton wool to become a blade? No matter how hard they train, an insect will always be an insect. That is a natural limitation.”

The pressure continued to increase.

Her skull began to creak. The pain was terrible, as if someone was driving a nail into her head, but Sedi only groaned slightly.

If this continued, her head would probably explode and she would die. What an ugly death.

“You talk too much. Kill me.”

“…as you wish.”

Just as Nodiesop was about to crush Sedi’s head.

Paht!

At that moment, a dark red light shot towards him.

He was too slow to react. No, that wasn’t it. Instead, this red light was faster and stronger than the previous one.

Paak!

The red beam of light pierced Nodiesop’s throat.

“Kuk!”

Nodiesop stumbled backwards with a soft groan.

After she was released from the pressure, Sedi immediately jumped up, grabbed Leo, who had collapsed, and quickly widened the distance between them. Then, while panting, she turned to look at the Priestess.

“What was that? If you could have used more of those, you should’ve done it sooner. What’s the point of waiting till we’re all down?”

But the Priestess’ attitude was strange. Her expression was also stained with disbelief.

“…I didn’t do that.”

“What?”

Sedi turned to look at Nodiesop once again.

He was no longer looking at them. Instead, he was looking in another direction with wide eyes while covering the gaping hole in his neck.

He was no longer paying any attention to them. As if they weren’t worth it.

She followed his gaze.

On the frozen surface of the water was a man that shouldn’t have been standing there.

“Nodiesop, I will warn you with the utmost certainty.”

Lukas Trowman, whose complexion was unusually pale at that moment, continued.

“Get out of the Heavenly Realm right now. Then, I’ll spare your life.”