Book 2 Chapter 621
[Strang■ nois■ makin■.]
The moment Destruction responded with a voice laced with static, Residue felt a sharp headache.
Since only his consciousness remained here, the pain in his skull was merely an illusion. In other words, a phantom pain, never a good sign.
It was a kind of warning. His subconscious was quietly telling him that he couldn’t stay here long, and he shouldn't try to.
What would happen if he ignored it?
Would his mind collapse, or would his madness worsen until he went completely insane?
He felt capable of withstanding either outcome, but he didn’t have the luxury to recklessly test himself. Silencing the absurd urge to challenge the unknown, Residue decided to wrap up the conversation as quickly as possible.
"What's so strange? Is it strange that I, your enemy, am giving you advice? Or do you think I came here to deceive you?"
[…….]
Hmm. So this kind of conversation won’t even draw a reaction?
It seemed he’d learned another thing about Destruction. In some ways, it resembled a machine made only of logic and calculation.
Of course, Residue had no intention of deeply trusting this information. That was because he didn’t interpret the opponent as something that existed within the bounds of understanding.
“I’ve come to know a little about you.”
He felt it wasn’t yet time to use the word “understanding”. Maybe that day would come, maybe not.
“I am the owner of this body, and I came into contact with Frey Blake’s consciousness, and because I got to know Luca, or maybe because I made it all the way to this gateway of Destruction... Well, there are many reasons I could offer, but none of them are the point.”
[…….]
“This body has a goal. And for that reason, I’ve decided I want to bring forward your emergence a bit.”
[Wha■ do ■ mean.]
“You still don’t understand? I want to find a point of compromise with you. After that, I want to negotiate.”
[You keep saying stran■ things. There ca■ be no compro■ between you and u■.]
It was becoming increasingly difficult to understand the words. Residue had to vaguely guess at the missing parts.
Roughly, was it saying there’s nothing more to say between them?
“This being from the ‘Inside’ has come all the way here with the help of many coincidences and those beneath. It was no easy journey. At the very least, hearing me out should be fine as a gesture of respect, don’t you think?” ȓἈɵ𐌱ΕṤ
[I won’■ listen. Are yo■ trying to so■ discord? It’■ impossible. I’■ no■ shaken. Yo■ stil■ kno■ nothin■ about us.]
"That view isn't wrong, but if so, wouldn't it be fine to listen to what I have to say? If your thoughts are correct, then no matter how I try to persuade you here, you won't be shaken."
[Forced ■─.]
Before Destruction could finish, Residue quickly opened his mouth.
“The first wave of Destruction was effective. In other words, our world is currently on the brink of collapse. Just imagining four more disasters like that makes even this body shudder.”
[…….]
"Perhaps you weren't aware of the situation? Were you waiting at the entrance because you couldn't see outside? You might have learned impatience in that process."
Kekekeke... Laughter crept into Residue’s voice.
After a brief silence, Destruction spoke again.
[If i■ was close to success, the■ the ‘second wave of Destru■’ cannot inter■.]
“Ah. Right. But I doubt you’d be pleased with the method that ended the first Destruction.”
[Wha■ do yo■ mean?]
Is it showing curiosity for the first time?
Residue smiled slyly.
Originally, these things were never meant to have curiosity or questions. The very act of showing interest meant change had occurred, and change signified they had become something understandable.
Understanding as another, as an object, or even just contemplation, without those, no being can experience change.
Residue slowly felt his fear of Destruction fading.
“The first Destruction is currently cornered. Its inherent power should’ve been more than enough to utterly annihilate the combined world, but the outcome changed because of a certain pioneer who accidentally discovered your existence.”
[…….]
“You probably know it too. That grotesque fellow is the only one who has returned from the ‘Outside’.”
Exile of the Twelve Void Lords.
The owner of the Occultic Hand, and the being who played the most crucial role in the creation of the Half King.
“The fear he felt the moment he encountered you drove him insane. You could never understand it, but madness enables actions that are impossible with a sound mind. For example, trying to pile up hair to reach the clouds... hmm.”
Residue shook his head, thinking that was too human a metaphor.
“…Madness is one of the top three strongest driving forces known to this body.”
For reference, the other two were rage and a sense of responsibility.
“Exile went mad long ago, but there was a cold edge to his madness. After forming a deranged plan, he carried it out calmly, without making even the slightest mistake. Give up? He likely never considered it, or overcame the thought immediately. That’s how fear taken to the extreme tends to work. As a result, it turned out to be far from a good outcome from your perspective.”
Residue still didn’t like Exile, but he couldn’t deny the outcome that came from the man’s obsession and effort.
“───And thus, the being known as the Half King was born and blocked more than half of the first wave of Destruction.”
Some claimed that the Half King had stopped over 99 percent of the Destruction’s force, but Residue had a slightly different view.
‘End Destruction’ was still intact, and many Hides remained in hiding. Some of them, he’d heard, had even taken the Twelve Void Lords as hosts.
Therefore, it was more reasonable to assume that the Destruction the Half King eliminated were those wandering near the fissure.
[So.]
Once again, a blunt voice was heard.
Residue realized the static in its voice was gradually disappearing. While it made the conversation easier, it also meant the time limit was nearly up.
“You’re too slow.”
So Residue got to the point.
[Too slow?]
“Destruction will proceed very slowly, at a crawling pace. From now on, the ‘End Destruction’ will greatly expand its territory. Just as someone once predicted, it won’t stop until it devours an area the size of a planet. In other words, from that point on, its movement will drastically slow down.”
[…….]
“After that, everything will proceed at a ridiculously slow pace. You could call it a semi-truce. Of course, fighting will continue all across the world. The remaining Hides will run rampant, and the End Destruction will nibble away at territory whenever a gap appears. And humanity will fight Destruction for a very long time……”
Residue began to describe a scene he had witnessed countless times.
“At some point, they will adapt.”
Destruction remained silent.
“They’ll grow used to a sky where day never comes, and areas swallowed by the ‘End Destruction’ will be marked as danger zones. The unprepared will never go near them. They’ll constantly consider the fact that anyone around them could turn into a Hide, and once they unite, they’ll begin exchanging information in real time.”
[Yet you still think destru■ will ultimately wi■.]
“In the end, once it turns into a war of attrition, our side is guaranteed to lose.”
Unless a miracle occurs. Residue swallowed the rest of that sentence.
“But the ending won’t be the conclusion you wish for.”
[The endi■ we wish for?]
“I can see the final scene of this world. Not a single cluster of stars left in the sky, the ground shattered to the point there’s nowhere left to stand. And it will be so pitch-black that no one can see any of it with the naked eye. There, the last remaining being, the one who survived until the very end, will close their eyes with a smile.”
[Why.]
“Because they were satisfied.”
[…….]
“They struggled as much as they could, so by that point, they’ll feel it was enough. A clean death like natural causes, was that the ending you beings of Destruction wished for?”
Residue’s laughter deepened.
"Could you accept it? The one who went out boasting as the vanguard, the first destruction, couldn’t even finish the job properly, dragged things out endlessly, and in the end, gifted humanity a peaceful passing.”
[…….]
Destruction,
fell silent.
And this time, the silence was very long.
Even so, Residue waited.
Because he had done everything he could.
All Residue had done was the equivalent of tossing a pebble into the vast ocean, causing the faintest ripple. But there was a clear difference between doing something and doing nothing at all.
This much was enough.
The bare minimum amount of power needed to spark a miracle had already been applied.
[You don’t know.]
Eventually, Destruction spoke.
[You know nothing about us.]
“That may be true.”
[But… ‘I’ don’t know either. What we truly are.]
That was an intriguing statement.
Residue wanted to ask more about that, but a low voice came immediately after.
[There is one thing I do know.]
“What is it?”
[The possibility you mentioned… is somewhat unpleasant.]
Right after, he felt as if the presence filling the space was smiling in a blindingly white light.
Residue felt a chill run down his spine, though he couldn’t tell if it was from a sense of fulfillment or sheer terror.
There was no time to think deeply.
With a flashing shock, Residue’s consciousness was flung away.
*
Thud!
“……”
Residue’s eyes snapped open from a pain in his back that felt like it had split in two. He nearly let out a ugly scream.
His vision didn’t settle easily. As if bruised, everything blurred and wobbled dangerously before slowly returning to its original shape.
What first entered the eyes of Residue, who was sprawled on the ground, was of course the sky.
“Are you alright?”
…No, it was a face full of bushy beard.
Residue responded with a less-than-pleased look.
“…I think this is the first time in millions of years I’ve realized how uncomfortable your human face is.”
“Shall I change it for you? Something like a peerless pretty boy?”
“How about a peerless beauty?”
“That’s possible too.”
"...Never mind. I'm not feeling well."
By then, Residue managed to gather his senses a bit. As he tapped at one of his ears, warm blood trickled out from the other.
His gaze naturally turned to the sky.
“How long has it been since I ascended?”
“About three minutes. Symetra fell down a minute before you.”
“How’s Symetra?”
“She’s unconscious. I wouldn’t say she’s in good condition. Her transcendental body took a severe blow. It seems she used powers beyond the permitted output. What exactly happened up there in the sky?”
“Hmm……”
Residue trailed off, then forcefully changed the subject.
“Anyway, it means not much time has passed.”
“Did the conversation go well?”
“I think it wasn’t bad, but I’ll have to watch how things progress to know for sure…”
Residue stopped mid-sentence.
“Seems like my gamble paid off.”
“Huh?”
Retip’s face, full of confusion, soon changed as well.
Wuuuuu-
The mournful wail of the tentacle tree, like a dirge, abruptly stopped.
Not just that. All the disasters occurring around them came to a complete halt. That meant the tentacle tree, namely, the ‘End Destruction’, had temporarily ceased its destructive activity.
Shhhhh-
And the black clouds in the sky cleared in an instant.
Residue noticed the torrential downpour had suddenly stopped, yet he felt no emotional reaction.
Perhaps one of the few beings on the surface could not tear their eyes away from that sight.
That was because,
It was smiling.
It had no eyes, its nose was crushed, and where ears should have been were discolored and shriveled holes, like burn wounds left untreated for years. It had no arms. No, on second glance, it did. The confusion came from the straitjacket-like outfit tightly binding its entire body.
It was a being far larger than it appeared, but more than feeling “big”, it felt overwhelmingly “elongated”.
Despite its grotesque appearance, one thing was clear, it was smiling. The corners of its mouth stretched wide, revealing gums in a grotesquely bright grin.
“…What is that?”
Retip's voice was trembling violently. Fear was painted on his face seen from the corner of the eye.
Of course, it wasn’t the appearance that overwhelmed him. Retip was a man who could yawn in front of creatures far more horrific, bizarre, and cursed than this.
It was the atmosphere.
That thing exuded a presence Retip had never experienced in his entire life.
“…Probably.”
As Residue looked back at the sky, he was forced to revise the thoughts he had when he first encountered Destruction. That his fear of Destruction had gradually faded? Ha.
He recalled something Lukas had once said.
A crying infant.
A smiling youth.
An expressionless middle-aged man.
Without realizing it, he clutched the mask of the old man he held at his chest and said,
“The Second Destruction.”
Crunch- a sound like something being crushed was heard.
Tcheok-.
And then, as if a giant axe had split a log of wood,
The tentacle tree, the First Destruction, which had grown tall enough to touch the sky,
Was split in half.
*****
For more chapters visit - https://www.patreon.com/tgmalpha
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter