Chapter 496: Between Immortality and Mortality (4)

Using the Ouroboros magic system to completely dismantle and analyze Amrita’s Domain.

Simultaneously, adding the interpreted Mind Imprint to the kaleidoscope’s bifurcation point, creating an entirely new realm.

Another miracle, forcibly resonating the powers of two abilities that freely traverse the seven Hierarchies of self-alteration.

It doesn’t just stop at choosing the untrodden path.

One step further than that. Drawing a future beyond what was permitted at Lennok’s bifurcation point, right here.

Kiiiiing…!!!

Golden radiance stretched long and spun in the air, just before the head caught the tail, completing itself as a magic system.

[…No.]

Only one revelation flashed wildly in Amrita’s mind.

She’s going to die.

A premonition forcibly amplified, beyond her own control. An overwhelming vision of death filled her mind.

It was different from the kaleidoscope behind him, whose very essence couldn’t be guessed.

That double-helix serpent emerging from the wizard’s fingertips was a power that should not exist.

A principle of forcibly dismantling all inherent essences, understanding them, acquiring them, and converting them into one’s own.

The ability itself that forcibly stripped and took away everything about Amrita’s own existence.

The power to dismantle essence.

[No, no, no!!!!!]

At the chilling vision that filled her mind to bursting, Amrita muttered as if possessed and retracted both hands she had stretched out towards Lennok.

Immediately after, all the power of the Domain gathered at her fingertips plunged not into Lennok, but into Amrita’s own chest.

Crunch!!!

Stripping Domain: Sea-Bottom Eroding Moon. As space peeled away, the remaining void power pierced the rabbit giant’s heart and devoured it whole.

A bizarre act of pouring an unknown technique, which had just been aimed at Lennok, onto herself instead.

However, this caused Amrita’s body to take a major hit, and simultaneously, a part of the spacetime of the Domain she had constructed collapsed.

Woong…!!!

The double helix of gold and blood, rotating in Lennok’s grasp, stopped functioning.

“……”

[Cough, hack…!!!]

Amrita, who had pierced her own heart as if committing suicide, bled and floated through the void.

Lennok stared blankly at the sight, then clenched his hand, making the Ouroboros helix vanish.

“…I see.”

Amrita, though she didn’t understand Ouroboros, instinctively knew it was something that could inflict a fatal blow.

That’s why, to avoid Ouroboros’s power attempting to analyze the entire Domain, she had instead damaged a part of the Domain to prevent the analysis.

Normally, such interference wouldn’t stop the spell. Lennok hadn’t designed this magic system so crudely.

Yet, instead of ignoring Amrita’s self-harm, Lennok had directly canceled Ouroboros for a fundamental reason.

“Were you watching?”

It was because he instinctively knew that someone else had intervened in an action Amrita would never have taken just moments before.

Something transcendent, not currently within the floating Domain where the two stood, but existing beyond the Power of Revelation.

That entity, observing the situation, had commanded Amrita to take an action akin to a suggestion, and she had chosen the only path that offered a chance of survival.

[Cough, gack…!! But, this stopped it…!!]

The rabbit giant pulled out the hand that had pierced her chest, her hands trembling.

Her pure white fur was now covered in dark red blood, transforming her into a desperate sight, and a gaping hole was blasted open in the very center of her chest.

But even after simultaneously destroying her heart and Mind Imprint, Amrita was still alive.

Constantly spraying and bursting blood, Amrita glared at Lennok with burning eyes.

[With this, we’re back to square one…!!]

“……”

[New Ascension… unique immortality… With Him, I…!!!]

Simultaneously with Amrita’s determined declaration, the Domain rapidly contracted.

All directions of that contraction began to converge on Lennok, a single being.

[Grand Awe: Condensing Formula]

[Judgment Declaration: Completed Trouble]

Crunch crunch crunch!!!!

The void landscape seen in all directions folded in like paper, and a bizarre sensation of body and senses being compressed and folded within it.

Something completely different from the power of the Stripping Domain: Sea-Bottom Eroding Moon, which Amrita herself had been manipulating moments before.

It was a high-intensity output, as if manipulating the very concept of a Domain to stamp a miniature world entirely upon Lennok.

Amrita’s attack, whose method seemed to have entirely changed immediately after her own heart was crushed and pierced.

“……”

But Lennok, even as he understood it, simply watched the folding and diminishing Domain.

This was the privilege granted only to high-ranking Apostles of the cult, Domain Declaration.

Something entirely different from a Domain that projects one’s own Mind Imprint, a Miniature Universe, or a territory that embodies the ideal of a spell.

Within the miracle of forcibly manifesting the dream of the Outer Sea’s demise into the world, Amrita had gained an immortality akin to a law.

A realm where she could still live, move, and manipulate the Domain even after her heart had been completely pierced and vanished.

She had already stepped one foot out of the concept of death, entering a stage of endless dreaming.

Everyone is dreaming.

From the crawling creatures beneath the earth to the demise floating in the Outer Sea, all dream of what is not and yearn for what cannot be grasped.

At the end of the conclusion that has come to the third world, do even monsters, incomprehensible to human reason, struggle to fulfill their desires?

“…How trivial.”

Lennok’s eyes, which had been gazing at his fingertips somewhat blurred, slowly regained focus.

The end Lennok envisioned was not merely this.

He didn’t wish to entrust his own conclusion to someone else’s dream.

No matter how much he saw or heard, no matter how powerful the opponent he faced, or how undeniable the pain he stood before, he wouldn’t change.

Ultimately, in the end, if it wasn’t the answer Lennok himself put forward.

Creak, creak, creak…!!

The kaleidoscope that had appeared behind Lennok twisted violently.

An activation so agile it made all previous hesitation seem meaningless.

Domain Deployment

Imaginary Hierarchy Mind Imprint Manifestation

[False Daystar [허위계명성(虛僞啓明星)]]

Kiiiiing!!!

At that moment, the ceaselessly contracting space of the Domain halted entirely.

A void Domain where all surrounding movement ceased as if time itself had stopped.

Immediately after, as if that fleeting void were a lie, the world began to move again.

In a direction completely opposite to all the contraction that had been folding in towards Lennok.

Shwa-rarararak!!!

[W-what is this…!!]

At the sudden movement of the imaginary dimension, which began to unfold beyond her control, Amrita hurriedly raised her hand.

She tried to compress the Domain again, but the Domain did not obey her will, as if her previous control had been an illusion.

[The Domain, His revelation, isn’t moving!! How in the world…!!]

The void spacetime, after folding in, unfolded in reverse, creating an entirely different spacetime.

In the form of a massive path connecting directly from Lennok himself to Amrita.

Along with the sensation of their feet touching solid ground, a faint gravity could also be felt.

It was as if it was transforming into an appropriate form for Amrita and Lennok to confront each other.

[Heretic!!!]

Only then did Amrita, realizing that this Domain was moving according to Lennok’s will, burst into an explosive roar.

[You, what have you done…!!]

“Preparation.”

Saying so, Lennok began to walk towards Amrita on the created path.

False Daystar is not a complete Domain that projects Lennok’s bifurcation point.

It’s an anomalous Domain created to forcibly dismantle an already deployed Domain or barrier from the other side of imaginary space.

What would happen if such a False Daystar Domain were deployed in the very heart of a Domain defined as imaginary space?

There wasn’t just one way to seize control of the Domain, even without using Ouroboros, from the beginning.

Even if it was a space akin to a dream-spacetime created by the grace of an outer god.

[Evan…!!]

“How much preparation would it take to stand at the same height as the gods of that sea?”

Lennok said calmly.

“But in the end, if two entities of similar standing clash over a single concept, the one who understands it more deeply will remain.”

Simultaneously, a second kaleidoscope appeared behind Lennok.

Ouroboros had been stopped by Amrita’s near-suicidal gamble, but the kaleidoscope’s bifurcation point was entirely his.

Granted only to Lennok, the sole individual, whose essence could not be understood even by Amrita’s revelations and spirituality.

The ability of choice.

Paaaat!!!

The insanely intense golden light erupting from behind him felt like it would blind his eyes.

The moment Amrita herself flinched, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the light, Lennok muttered.

“I am fighting to be that final one.”

Dual Domain Deployment

Usurping Hierarchy Mind Imprint Manifestation

[Mad, Sea-less Palace [광라무해궁(狂裸無海宮)]]

The second Domain deployment.

But its purpose was different from the first False Daystar.

If the False Daystar Domain was a preliminary step to twist the Domain’s space and set the stage.

This second Domain was the new Outer Sea spirituality prepared specifically for Amrita.

One of the new possibilities he had gained by meeting the outer gods, encountering the landscapes of the Outer Sea, and breaking through the Outer Sea’s bifurcation point that had remained a void.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!

On both sides of the massive path adjusted by False Daystar, dozens of black pillars were driven down.

Pillars of overwhelming scale, easily exceeding tens of meters in diameter, capable of making humans seem like mere dust, lined up on both sides, emanating light.

Piiing…!!

Black starlight fell from the dark Domain sky, tracing a massive dark trajectory.

By the power of the Domain that cast darkness upon the created ground and sky, the entire area became stained black and warped.

Accepting the ritual of revelation, accepting Border’s proposal and joining the cult.

But without serving any god, without following any will of the Outer Sea, a bifurcation point for a madman wandering the holy war as an Apostle of the godless sea (無海).

The temple of a madman, completely insane, craving immortality without a god to follow.

[Are you directly manipulating the concept of a Domain?!!!]

Amrita too, realizing what Lennok had done to make them face each other in this space, let out a cry of shock.

[This isn’t even heresy…!!! For a mere human to dream of the landscape of a godless sea, how dare you!!!!]

Stripping Domain: Sea-Bottom Eroding Moon. It wasn’t over with just seizing control of the Domain.

“I often wonder what it takes to kill what cannot be killed.”

A high-ranking Apostle. An incarnation and a monster supporting the will of the apocalypse. Never perishes within a Domain fragmented from a dream.

Knowing this, instead of dismantling Amrita’s Domain and returning to reality, Lennok was attempting to kill Amrita’s immortality.

“Doing my best is always insufficient. Even running with all my might, I’m always too late.”

The illogical idea of directly crushing an Apostle within this strange Domain, where the will of the apocalypse was most distinctly infused.

“That’s why trial and error is necessary.”

A Domain created to forcibly impose the laws of reality upon a space or concept where death originally did not exist.

Within the Mad, Sea-less Palace Domain, all forms of immortality and invincibility are rejected, instead being consumed and digested.

A mortal world newly built upon an immortal Domain.

The execution ground for a mad Apostle who desires a godless world.

Crackling…!!!

As Lennok raised his right arm and roughly shook it once, an enormous amount of current burst forth from around his forearm.

Lightning magic he had never once used under the name and identity of Evan.

Among the countless fruits Lennok had cultivated with his wizarding talent, a spell of the highest and most magnificent Hierarchy erupted without reserve.

[You’re trying to kill an Apostle in a Domain and defy the will of a god…!!!]

Only then did the rabbit giant’s face twist like a demon, understanding why Lennok had done such a thing instead of dismantling the Domain.

Resentment towards an opponent who played with the Domain she had created with desperate will as if it were a toy.

Hatred for a wizard who considered this entire moment merely a part of trial and error.

The humiliation that he didn’t even intend to properly confront her, who wielded both the High Priestess’s revelation and an Apostle’s ability simultaneously.

All those negative emotions transformed into a massive will, clearly discernible even on the path where the two stood.

[It is truly deplorable. Do you truly believe that such rebellion will be permitted by the will and power of a mere human…!!!!]

Although Lennok’s Domain had been superimposed within Amrita’s Domain, Amrita’s own power hadn’t disappeared.

The Apostle’s spell, which manipulates space itself using humans as sacrifices, operated at full power, twisting the Domain’s space into a massive spear.

Kkiri-ririk…!!

Apostle Spell: Amrita’s Scale

1000-man triggered forbidden armament

[Binding Demon Void-Shattering Path [결마공쇄로(結魔空碎路)]]

Amrita poured all the power of the offerings she had steadily consumed and made her own up until this moment.

The completed spear of spatial peeling pierced the rabbit giant’s back, then her chest, and aimed for the wizard beyond.

Eugh-jijijijik!!!

Even at the sound of tearing flesh as her already pierced chest was crushed, Amrita burst into insane laughter.

A forbidden spell unleashed by using not only the remaining power from human sacrifices within Amrita’s inner self, but even her own existence as part of the offering.

A supreme technique that sharply honed the Domain’s space itself into a single spear.

The epitome of bombardment, never permitted even to Peak of Extremes-level sorcerers, forcibly twisting and bending the Mind Imprint itself to unleash power beyond what is allowed.

A miracle possible because the very existence of this Imaginary Domain: Empty Thunder Smile, is a borrowed dream projection, not Amrita herself.

But because she embraced such contradictions within herself, the spearhead of the Domain, which consumed even Amrita herself and surged forth, was sharper and more powerful than anything.

[Fall, mortal. Fall to your death beneath the sea…!!!!]

The entire sky of the Domain rotated in a spiral and plunged down towards Lennok.

An endless sense of despair, having to confront the vast void as an enemy.

But the branches of lightning bursting forth from behind Lennok seemed to imbue the scene with even more color, as if such a sight held no meaning.

Buzzizzizzzzzt!!!

The bright blue lightning flowing down his forearm not only stained the Domain’s void but also scattered, overflowing.

The brilliant blue lightning radiance intensified to the point of painting everything white, even overpainting and erasing Lennok himself within that color.

Kwah-aaaaaaah!!!!

Reconstructing everything—senses, Mind Imprint, mind, intellect, vessel, and inner self—into something akin to a lightning strike.

A Mind Imprint technique where even the sorcerer casting the magic entrusts everything to the overwhelming, overflowing Mind Imprint, as if being buried by it.

Lightning-type unique magic

Single-chant Mind Imprint ultimate technique

[Thunderous Overflow [뇌람(雷濫)]]

Kwa-hwa-aaaaaak!!!

Property Transformation of mana using repulsion, resonance, and overload.

Multi-chanting combining various magic within a system.

Alchemical application increasing power by unifying two or more attributes.

Each of these is an extremely effective method for increasing the power and versatility of magic.

Yet, drawing out the ultimate extent of a single Mind Imprint and system is by no means inferior.

One of the ultimate secrets of unique magic, which Lennok had grasped by abandoning all other skills he had acquired, pouring all his will and remaining power into the lightning-type Mind Imprint.

Overflowing.

The bursting lightning, rather than manifesting in a clear form, backflowed and scattered like an endless sea, completely engulfing the Domain’s space itself.

It mercilessly devoured the center of the mortal world’s great path, and its light mercilessly struck Amrita’s mind.

[Ah, aahhhh…!!!]

She felt it.

That person she had always so anxiously awaited was looking down upon this place.

In this very space, where she must not disappoint above all else, where she must never lose her strength and will.

Amrita’s entire body was being burned away, to the point where even her will and mind were incinerated.

The spear tip of the forbidden armament, created by bending the entire space, vanished, and beyond it, the Apostle’s bleeding spiritual and physical body was completely swept away and disappeared by the lightning’s Mind Imprint.

The Thunderous Overflow sky, painting everything bright blue.

As if momentarily misled by that overwhelming Mind Imprint, she mumbled, staring blankly at the scene of lightning that was annihilating her.

[I’m sorry, I couldn’t reach…]

As if even daring to call out was too careful, Amrita’s form vanished entirely after that faint monologue.

The mortal world Lennok created could not withstand the power and shattered.

Simultaneously, the power of the outermost Domain that had been constructed dissipated, and the two Domains enveloping them both vanished.

Immediately after, the remaining Thunderous Overflow storm swept across the empty outskirts of the island.

Crackling!!

Striking both the ground and the sea surface simultaneously, erasing everything it touched.

A roaring sound erupted, as if space itself was twisting and turning into ashes with an unknown destructive power.

Unable to contain its remaining power, it surged skyward, drawing a massive pillar of light.

Kwah-aaaaaaah!!!

The magnificent power of Thunderous Overflow, observable not only from the Far Eastern Branch island but throughout the entire Sea of Understanding.

Another battle ended, and Lennok had not yet disappeared.

He could still do it several more times.

But before confirming and reflecting on that, there was still work to be done.

Amrita’s spirituality, shattering and scattering at the end of the destructive ultimate technique’s aftermath.

Lennok used the remaining power of the Mad, Sea-less Palace to grasp the memories contained within the fragments of spirituality.

Crash!!!

The reason he had gone to the trouble of directly crushing Amrita’s immortality, even canceling Ouroboros, was not for any other purpose.

The moment Lennok realized someone was observing this moment, he had forcibly deployed a dual Domain to confront that hazy memory and vision again.

Crack!

From the birth of Amrita Fravel, her joining the cult, living as a Bishop, and becoming an Apostle integrated into a part of the Outer Sea.

Within the fragments of that grand memory, in a single branch, he desperately searched for the grand Pantheon landscape.

In the fragmented visions of memory, like fleeting shards, he spun his consciousness wildly to find someone’s form, and finally.

“I only intended to observe, but this is troublesome…”

A face seemingly devoid of color. A pure white palace robe without a single stain.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he turned his gaze from the far reaches of the towering Pantheon’s spacetime.

“Such an encounter was originally not in the plan.”

“…You’re wrong.”

Even without clearly seeing his face, Lennok felt him smiling with a troubled expression.

“It’s precisely because it’s a moment like this that we had to meet.”

Lennok, looking up at him as he collapsed weakly, smiled.

“Pontiff.”