Chapter 40. Ouroboros's Inverse Scale (1)

*Rumble—!!*

The bisected monstrosity crumbled to the ground.

It was a rather pathetic end for a fragment of an Outer God.

‘Holy shit… I almost died.’

My entire body was overcome with exhaustion, so I stood still for a moment, catching my breath.

The immense Mind’s Eye that had dwelled within my body had vanished as if evaporating all at once.

It was because, in the process of annihilating the Ouroboros fragment, I had momentarily manifested my own Territory, a power that could be called an otherworldly Authority.

‘Of all places, to encounter an Outer God here…’

The nature of the beings collectively referred to as "Outer Gods" varied greatly.

Called Outer Gods, beings from beyond, or sources of chaos, they were broadly divided into two categories: primordial beings that existed outside the world from the beginning, and acquired beings created by the rules of a specific Territory.

What I encountered belonged to the latter.

A fragment of Ouroboros, conceived in the deepest layer of the world, beneath the abyss of chaos.

It was one of the final bosses, symbolizing infinite circulation and self-consumption.

Its greatest characteristic was infinite multiplication.

Dividing and multiplying endlessly by consuming itself… it was practically a cheat ability.

Regarding the compatibility between Ouroboros and me, no matter what anyone said, I was at a disadvantage.

Ouroboros’s division was a phenomenon beyond the fundamental rules of the world, so once self-consumption began, it was safe to assume that the cycle couldn’t be stopped.

Immune to all damage.

Probability-based instant death that annihilated existence itself.

Infinite multiplication and spatial erosion.

It was equipped with all sorts of cheat patterns, and the only reason this absurd situation was possible was because that thing was a fragment of chaos born in the Bottomless Pit.

It was an unreasonably unfair being, but the rules of the Bottomless Pit Territory guaranteed it.

Therefore, it was impossible to deal with it through ordinary means.

Although it was merely a fragment and not the actual Ouroboros, it was still far beyond my capabilities, having only just awakened the Five Stars of the Rune.

However, I couldn’t give up like this. If I gave up here, the only option left was to die together, and I had absolutely no intention of dying.

Above all, it wasn’t entirely hopeless.

Even if the Rune of Time alone wasn’t enough, the ancient book on that altar was the Rune of Space.

So I pondered. I needed a price to obtain the Rune.

The greater the value of the offering, the more powerful the gained power.

The greater the risk, but there was no helping it.

That was the fate of one burdened by Karma.

Of course, the standard approach was to choose a safe option and make a reasonable offering for an appropriate reward.

The transaction of Runes strictly followed the principle of equivalent exchange, so I couldn’t gain more than what I offered.

However, the calculation method was unique.

The future potential of the offering, how intertwined it was with the fate of the one making the offering… complex factors were intertwined to determine the final value.

But the situation was different now.

To deal with the Outer God fragment before my eyes, an ordinary price wasn’t enough.

I needed a more powerful force.

‘I had no choice.’

The highest-grade offering I could make right now was the Ring of Yphrasia.

A primordial precious artifact, one of only five on the continent, that absorbed Rudine’s Heavenly Star of Slaughter and converted it into Mind’s Eye.

A relic that would be the core of my ability usage in the future, its potential value immeasurable.

The Authority I demanded in exchange was the Authority of the Territory.

I had the prerequisites, the Rune of Time and the Rune of Space, and although it was just the beginning, I had also awakened the Five Stars.

Of course, there was the flaw that I, the Rune user, was human, but thankfully, the quality of my soul itself was from another world, so there was no problem with the conditions.

I digress, but anyway. I finished my thoughts and walked towards Ouroboros's corpse.

‘It has to be somewhere…’

With heavy steps, I approached and carefully searched around the corpse.

Now that I had lost the Ring of Yphrasia, I desperately needed a new medium to recharge my Mind’s Eye.

And there was a perfect replacement: the most crucial scale among Ouroboros’s scales.

‘Ouroboros’s Inverse Scale.’

Self-consumption and infinite circulation—that was the symbol of Ouroboros.

Therefore, Ouroboros's Inverse Scale had the same essential properties as the Ring of Yphrasia created by the High Elves, but its quality was even higher.

That was the reason I offered the ring without hesitation.

Although it was my only option, I judged that there was a chance of success since my opponent was Ouroboros.

And now.

‘…Found it.’

Something subtly shining caught my eye.

A golden shimmer among the debris, a scale emitting a unique radiance among the corpse’s other scales.

I reached out and carefully picked up the scale, feeling its heavy weight.

Unlike the other scales, it pulsated faintly as if it were alive. I quickly pocketed the Inverse Scale and turned around.

*Rumble—!!!*

The thick fog cleared, and I saw figures standing in the corner of the completely devastated Territory.

Arkan, Adina, and Rudine.

They were staring at me as if I were some kind of monster.

“…”

I walked towards Arkan, who was staring at me with a dumbfounded expression, her mouth opening and closing.

A translucent membrane surrounding them shimmered faintly.

It was probably a protective barrier Arkan had cast to protect Adina and Rudine from the aftermath.

“…Did you really kill it?”

Arkan’s gaze followed mine.

To the lifeless body of Ouroboros lying cold on the ground.

She must have known about the beings from outside the world.

So she must have sensed the aura of the Outer Sea the moment she first encountered Ouroboros.

But she probably hadn’t imagined that I would actually kill it.

The astonishment that flickered across her face clearly revealed that.

‘…This is going to be even more troublesome now.’

Even though I knew she would be completely mistaken, I couldn’t help it.

Kill or be killed—that was the only choice I had, and I merely made the most rational decision.

I spoke to her in a slightly subdued voice,

“Great Lord.”

“…Yes?”

“Let’s go back.”

“Uh, uh… yes… we should… go back.”

****

We retraced our steps, exited the Bottomless Pit, and immediately left Kalmash for Headquarters.

Leaving Kalmash was surprisingly smooth.

With Adina’s Spirit Eye, there was no worry of getting lost in the maze-like Kalmash.

The occasional monstrous beasts were nothing more than insignificant obstacles with Arkan by our side.

However, one thing was bothersome: Arkan’s gaze towards me was changing from simple curiosity to awe.

It wasn’t just Arkan. Adina and Rudine were also looking at me as if I were some kind of monster.

As we crossed the boundary of Kalmash, we saw the griffon waiting for us at the Passage.

We rode the griffon, soaring through the sky towards Headquarters.

After arriving safely at Headquarters without any problems, Rudine and Adina went to their respective rooms to rest and recover from the journey.

I also wanted to rest properly for a few days, being human and all, but…

“…What’s the matter?”

I was immediately summoned to the conference room by the Great Lord’s sudden call.

“6th Lord, be honest with me.”

“About what?”

“That thing you encountered in the Bottomless Pit, it was from outside the world, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes. More accurately, a fragment of it.”

“I thought so.”

Arkan smiled brightly, stood up, and walked towards me with quick steps.

“I’ve been thinking about it the whole time we were coming back.”

“…?”

“The essence of your soul is definitely human. But you’re far too extraordinary for a human, in many ways. Your knowledge, your strength…”

“…What’s your point?”

She smirked and said,

“It’s suspicious. You’re essentially human, but you know far too much for a human. Your ability looks like Linguistic Magic at first glance, but Linguistic Magic distorts causality itself, so it’s not an ability meant for humans.”

“…”

“So I did some digging. I heard that as soon as you arrived in the Magical Boundary, you killed a True Ancestor and left for Westmarch?”

Arkan’s gaze shifted to my right hand.

“A giant tree imbued with primordial Mana, a corrupted World Tree that craves blood and madness.”

“…”

“Yggdrasil. I heard you even obtained some kind of ring from the sacred tree of the now-extinct elves?”

“That was just an ordinary ritual…”

“No, that’s impossible.”

Arkan stared at me, her face flushed with excitement.

“When I asked you about the forgotten era before, you answered like this, didn’t you? That you saw it with your own eyes.”

Did I?

I think I did.

“The essence of your soul is human, but your face is ridiculously handsome for a human, you wield Linguistic Magic, you absorbed Divinity from the Sacred Text, and you even created a Territory within the Bottomless Pit?”

Sparks flew between our gazes.

Arkan continued in a voice that sounded like she was about to burst with amusement,

“6th Lord.”

“…”

“You’re an elf, aren’t you? A High Elf.”

Damn it.

A Dragonkin, Cavilla, and now an elf?