Chapter 377: Regret and Longing (2)

[Kiooooooh!!!]

A storm, erupting from the monstrous bird’s feathers, sliced directly through the center of the giant bridge.

CRACK!!

The bridge’s collapse was unbelievably futile, as if its previous resilience against countless impacts was a lie.

As the severed bridge tilted downwards, dozens of superhumans who had been clinging to it began to plummet simultaneously.

“Aaaaargh!!”

“I’m— I’m gonna…!!”

“Huh? Huh? The ground…!!”

The superhumans’ eyes widened as they realized that the ground, which had been invisible below the bridge just moments ago, was now beginning to appear.

Above the bridge, now instantly cleared of competitors, the violet waves and the monstrous bird clashed.

“How dare a mere summoner…!!”

Ballak O’Edon’s roar echoed thunderously through the storm.

In response, the elongated, warped gravity field gripped the monstrous bird’s neck, twisting it until its breath was cut off.

But as if waiting for that very moment, a colossal centipede, rising from beneath the bridge where Ballak stood, bent its dozens of legs, aiming for the superhuman’s back.

The centipede’s legs, coated in sharp venom, were not aimed at Ballak’s true body, but at the two corpses hanging on his back.

Rip!

As Ballak’s stored corpses were instantly torn to shreds, the gravitational waves erupting from his body began to intensify.

Only then did Ballak grimace, realizing his opponent’s true aim, but it was already too late.

“As you get older, you realize that being a step behind isn’t always a bad thing.”

A kindly-faced old woman with a stooped back.

Her appearance was common enough to be seen anywhere, but it was a different story if she stood perfectly steady atop the head of a giant, swaying centipede.

Ballak frowned deeply as he sensed the scorching magic emanating from the old woman, who stood leaning on a staff atop the centipede’s head.

A summoner. And one who had already transcended Hierarchy, an Archmage of Level 8.

Powerful practitioners, who had been lurking, waiting for Jindun’s death, were now appearing one by one.

“Less is more than excess. Slow is better than hasty. It’s the same saying everywhere.”

The old woman lightly tapped her staff and smiled.

“You are violating both. You already have too much, and yet you are hasty. How long do you think you can endure?”

A sharp, direct remark that seemed to pierce Ballak’s very essence.

But instead of responding, Ballak twisted the corner of his mouth into a grim expression.

“…Old hag, don’t be so greedy. Let’s not ask for too much from each other.”

Ballak himself knew better than anyone that even with such immense power, he was still precariously balanced.

The sorrow of a superhuman. What awaited at the end of the path leading to self-destruction.

He had no intention of engaging in philosophical debate here. Ballak was not young enough to react to the old woman’s rhetoric.

Though she spoke as if she knew everything, his opponent’s objective was clear.

“It’s not a pleasant sight to see the Grand Matron of Enolas Magic Tower coveting a senior’s legacy.”

“It seems you don’t realize whose position it is to be given consideration right now.”

The Grand Matron replied leisurely to his taunt.

“What do you mean?”

“You forcibly bent your homicidal urges to control your power. Without those corpses you carried around like trophies, wouldn’t you self-destruct before even fighting me?”

“…”

Instead of answering the Grand Matron’s words, Ballak gazed down at his left hand.

The constantly rotating gravity field seemed perfect at a glance, but three of his left fingernails were already flipped back, bleeding profusely.

As he lost control over the intensity of his superhuman abilities, there was no way to prevent the damage to Ballak’s own body.

If he were to engage in a full-scale battle with the Grand Matron over this labyrinth’s artifact and made even a slight mistake, it wouldn’t be surprising if he self-destructed.

The Grand Matron knew this perfectly well, which was why she deliberately revealed herself to provoke Ballak.

“If Jindun is dead, it means someone who entered through the gate concluded the final conversation with him. Maiya might return here before long.”

The monstrous bird, whose neck had been twisted and killed, now stood up perfectly fine and glared at Ballak, and a writhing mass of scales on the giant centipede’s head began to emit green mist.

Amidst this, the Grand Matron gave Ballak a benevolent smile.

“Can you guarantee that pitiful enforcer won’t kill you?”

The Grand Matron seemed perfectly fine even after successively summoning three giant summoned beasts, enough to fill and consume this entire space.

The talent of the Grand Matron, who was treated as an elder at the pinnacle of Enolas Magic Tower, which specialized in summoning spells, needed no lengthy explanation.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!

Three summoned beasts surrounded the vast gravity field. Ballak surveyed his surroundings with an expressionless face from the center of the collapsed bridge, then let out a deep sigh.

“Hmph… Enough with the useless threats. It’s too early for us to fight each other.”

“…”

Surprisingly, the Grand Matron did not refute his words.

Ballak chuckled, as if he understood her intentions perfectly.

“There’s one more down there, isn’t there? It seems a proper conversation will only be possible after that friend reveals himself.”

Silence. But Ballak continued to speak, unconcerned.

“If you think we’ll self-destruct fighting each other, then hide until this labyrinth completely collapses. But if you want to secure a proper advantage before that, it would be better to show yourself.”

[…Good.]

At that moment, someone appeared right next to Ballak with a sound as if space itself was being washed away.

A bizarre figure, wrapped head to toe in bandages. Black mist continuously streamed from around his sunken eyes.

The magic emanating from his body was the embodiment of cold, gloomy, negative emotions.

Only then did Ballak faintly frown, recognizing his opponent’s identity.

“Such power despite not having transcended Hierarchy… I fully expected him to be another extreme ability user.”

[There’s no order to how things go. And a higher realm doesn’t mean you can’t be killed.]

The bandaged man replied in a voice that seemed about to fade at any moment.

[Even the Ascendants, who seemed eternal, met their end. Why would you be any different?]

“…”

An extremely arrogant assertion for a Level 7 Archmage-level ability user to make. But the man’s unique power was so anomalous that he had the right to utter such words.

Even Ballak and the Grand Matron, who had transcended Hierarchy, had perceived the man’s presence but hadn’t pinpointed his exact location, had they?

“Well, fine… Young friend, you too, stop hiding and come out. This isn’t the time to be waiting for an opportunity alone.”

“…”

Ballak frowned and spoke towards the area behind the bridge, where corpses were strewn about.

The corpses stirred, and a blood-soaked knight rose to his feet.

The silver-haired young man, whose face was even more gaunt, was Dein of the Kavahim Knights, who had also reached the end of this labyrinth and was waiting for his moment.

The two who had reached the late Level 7, and the two who had already reached Level 8, silently began to glare at each other.

As the four monsters, who neither belonged together nor had any reason to gather, came together, Ballak crossed his arms and nodded.

“There still seem to be some rats eavesdropping, but this is enough. I won’t speak at length.”

WHOOSH!!

He spoke each word carefully, trying to control the gravity field swirling nearby.

Ballak said, “Jindun’s death has been confirmed. The collapse of the Hanghasa Labyrinth is inevitable. Before that, we search The Cradle to recover Jindun’s assets. Understand?”

[Four equal shares.]

The bandaged man said.

[If equal shares aren’t guaranteed, I won’t participate.]

“…We can discuss that later. The important thing is that if we want to enter the gate and somehow retrieve what’s left, we must deal with that archer.”

Ballak said, looking at Evelyn, who was still clinging and looking down at them from the other side.

The Grand Matron scoffed at Ballak’s words.

“I know well the renown of Divine Bow Evelyn Marcia. But you’re quick to admit that you’ve been struggling to deal with just one woman until now.”

“…”

“Isn’t it virtually an admission that you’re struggling to break through her and thus asking for cooperation?”

Ballak retorted, not to be outdone.

“In such complex terrain, that archery is not a skill to be underestimated. You must know that Divine Bow may have also reached a stage where Hierarchy is meaningless.”

“…”

It wasn’t that the others didn’t want to enter the gate; it was because they had been wary of Evelyn until now.

Her skill in gracefully deflecting all attacks pouring down from the bridge while easily shooting down everyone who approached.

It was because of the possibility that she might have already reached Level 8 that Ballak himself had not dared to act rashly.

Her ability to freely move between the ceiling and pillars while sniping everyone rushing towards the gate was truly worthy of being called a Divine Archer.

Until now, Ballak had restrained himself, fearing that using his power rashly might backfire, but now that Jindun had died, he could no longer postpone the matter.

Instead, he had decided to gather all the unstable elements nearby in one place and break through head-on.

“Dividing the area and intercepting Divine Bow to take her down is enough. What happens after entering The Cradle will be up to each of us. Do you agree?”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

SWISH!!

Dein, drawing his sword from his waist, said with a haggard expression.

There were no other knights remaining by his side.

“Jawoon Audis. If you let me pursue him, I will cooperate in anything.”

“…Good. Then, let’s go beat up that impertinent junior here and now.”

Ballak’s gravity field, with intense killing intent blazing in his eyes, distorted greatly, then surged uniformly towards the gate.

Boom boom boom!!!

The three summoned beasts called forth by the Grand Matron dashed relentlessly beneath the bridge, and Dein leapt fearlessly towards Evelyn, treading on the shattered remnants of the Evil God Statue.

The bandaged man vanished silently, then drew a long scythe from behind Evelyn.

Ballak, having gathered all his violet superhuman power, let out a roar.

“Evelyn Marcia! Collapse with the Hanghasa Labyrinth!!”

Kaaagagagak!!

Evelyn fought desperately to buy Lennok more time, but she couldn’t escape for long against four monsters comparable to her.

“Haaah…!!”

Far from defending the gate, Evelyn, instantly surrounded by the four superhumans, looked up at the immense superposition of forces pouring down on her.

Potent venom dripped from between the centipede’s legs, and bandages unwound at her feet, coiling around her legs, vibrating as if to cast a curse.

Sharp sword-light slashed and darted from all directions. And from the distant sky, the form of a colossal gravity cannon, gathering and pressing down.

“…”

There was no escape route. Realizing she could no longer avoid it, Evelyn lowered her head.

A drop of blood trickled down her temple and fell to the ground below her feet.

No matter how excellent Evelyn’s archery and skill, and how long she had stalled, it would be a lie to say she hadn’t poured desperate will into every moment.

With every shot, she had concentrated all her mind, scraping the last of her remaining magic, and her mind and body were long since exhausted, hinting at their end.

Not much time remained. She knew Lennok might not reappear here, but she had no regrets.

However, if there was one last thing she desired, it was…

‘Van…!’

The wave of magic light poured down. As Evelyn tightly closed her eyes, accepting the full brunt of the assault.

Something descended like lightning, roughly seizing her shoulder.

KWAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Immediately after, a wave of mixed, diverse magic and the charge of summoned beasts swept through the vicinity, crashing directly into the gate.

The pure white gate, connecting the common sky and earth, shattered and collapsed, fully revealing the landscape beyond.

Everyone faltered at the sight of the empty void, completely devoid of any trace of The Cradle.

“Wait, no way… already?”

Less than five minutes had passed since Jindun’s death was confirmed. The communication and decisions among the high-level superhumans had been that swift, and the death sentence pronounced on Evelyn was certain.

Yet, what did it mean that The Cradle had already mostly collapsed, and nothing existed within it?

Didn’t it mean that the three intruders who entered through that gate had already finished everything and escaped outside?

Feeling an ominous premonition, the others uniformly turned their heads towards where Evelyn had been.

Even for a nimble and agile archer, it was a deadly offensive, fired without any room for escape.

Upon the remnants of the melted Evil God Statue, where the aftermath still lingered.

A man stood with his back turned.