Chapter 67
KWA-GWA-GWANG-!
Water is the source of life. Yet merciless violence masquerading as vitality lays the earth to waste.
No sooner had one spell ended than Vice Dean Jin Chronicle descended to the ground and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
A ringing clash echoed as the sword and mace, both wrapped in water-source mana, collided.
Clad from head to toe in iron chains, NoName nimbly deflected Jin’s sword and immediately exploited the opening.
“NoName, what can I do to help...!”
CLANG-
Yet Jin was no man without recourse. His killing blow was repeatedly blocked by the steel pocket watch, but he continued into his next attack.
A blue sword aura coated Chronicle’s blade. The blue mana became a ferocious hound, eager to sink its teeth into NoName’s waist.
NoName swiftly rolled forward. At the same time, she pulled back the mace head, and the chain trailing behind wrapped around the sword and sealed Jin’s weapon.
“Watch out for the beam above—!”
Before they knew it, the pocket watch had reached the top of NoName’s head.
The second hand’s incessant ticking grated on her ears.
The watch’s charging sound was a prelude to a slash that would steal the life from everything in a straight line.
When NoName charged at Chronicle again, he likewise raised his sword diagonally and retreated.
The countermeasure Chronicle had devised against the Forest Keeper’s beam left NoName defenseless.
He intended to kill her the moment she was caught in a clear either-or choice.
WHIRR-
As expected, NoName stopped and activated a magic circle to destroy the pocket watch harassing her from behind.
Her abdomen was clearly exposed.
Chronicle charged at NoName once more in great strides.
“Look behind you! Behind you!”
Adella’s desperate scream rang out.
NoName belatedly swung her mace, but it was clearly too late to respond. It had been impossible for her to react in time.
KWA-GWANG-!
Yet before Adella could even warn her, NoName’s mace struck Jin squarely in the head.
Her attempt to destroy the pocket watch had been a feint.
Instead, using a prediction bordering on foresight that Chronicle would come for her, she cast an optical magic circle to disrupt the mace’s trajectory.
“Guh...!”
His remaining health was completely depleted, and it seemed to signal the end of the boss fight.
-Completely fucking useless, seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-That damn Adella made her take hits for attacks she could’ve avoided, like, multiple times
-If she’s only going to get in the way, why is she even there?
-This streamer is suspiciously good at magic
-Is she really a professor? I’m seriously starting to suspect something here
-Her pure physical skills are insane too, though?
-ㄴThe way she somersaulted sideways and even landed while dodging the beam—holy shit, I thought I was watching a parkour movieㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-ㄴSomething’s... something’s off...
-Stop using basic attacks and use your skills! Your skills!!!
-Fact) Priests can’t learn a single attack skill until the end of Part 1
-Then why the hell play such a garbage class?
-On Normal difficulty, you can just heal from the back while your companions do everything, making the boss fight a total free win
-ㄴThat’s why I always recommend healers to anyone who wants to clear the game for the first time
WHOOSH-
The mace head spun round and round.
Though he had been struck squarely in the head, Professor Jin Chronicle was still conscious.
“In all my years... to be defeated by such young greenhorns...”
With both arms, one leg, and his skull mangled, the professor let out a crazed chuckle.
“Hhk, heh. If only I had the laurel.”
He looked so defenseless that he seemed unable even to muster the strength to pick up the monocle lying on the ground.
If she meant to end his life, now was her chance.
“Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel.”
NoName released the chain and sent the ritual implement flying, striking him in the lower back from a distance.
CRUNCH- The unpleasant sound of a spine breaking reverberated through the air.
“Laurel. Yggdrasil? Yes, wretched woman. I shall inscribe the sign of the apocalypse yesterday. A day’s revelry is the annihilation of six seasons.”
His mouth never stopped moving, while fragmentary words scattered into the wind and vanished.
Then his body rose stiffly, like a wooden puppet.
“Adella.”
He softly called his daughter’s name.
“My beloved Adella.”
“Wh—what is it?! All of a sudden!”
The fragment of the laurel that had bound itself to him floated up again.
Hundreds of fireflies embroidered the night sky.
“...!”
The fireflies slowly surrounded Adella.
She reached out her hand, but sadly, she couldn’t catch them.
“Adella, run! Now!”
“What?!”
“You’re too late, descendant of Yggdrasil.”
The murkiness cleared from Professor Chronicle’s eyes, and vitality returned to them.
“Huh... huh? Why is my body doing this?”
Adella staggered and dropped to the ground, her legs having given out beneath her.
“The Laurel of Life. It truly is an absurdly powerful object.”
-??????????
-Phase 2?
-What are you talking about? The pattern just now was Phase 3
-Her health was definitely at 0. How is this happening now?
A phase mechanic designed to blindside players doesn’t appear only after the battle has completely ended.
The accepted rule is that phases occur at set branching points, when one-third or half of the boss’s health has been depleted.
That was why Professor Chronicle’s actions were so puzzling.
[Ice Prison]
One hundred and eight pillars of ice rose in concentric circles around NoName.
“You aren’t Jin Chronicle, are you?”
“Was my performance too clumsy? Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
NoName was trapped inside the ice wall, but the man paid her no attention and kindly offered his hand to Adella, who had fallen on her backside.
“I’m sorry I startled you. But it couldn’t be helped if I was to awaken.”
“Who... who are you?”
“I am nothing now. So I’m afraid I cannot answer your question.”
He was kind. That was precisely what made him feel even more alien.
“I know you, Adella. I hold your talent in high regard.”
Adella gripped the dagger hidden against her chest.
Yet the man left no opening. Her instincts warned her that no matter where she swung, he would block it with ease.
Nevertheless, Adella denied her instincts.
She launched a swift strike at the man’s carotid artery.
TING-
Not even a scratch appeared on the man’s neck. That was why he hadn’t even bothered to block.
The difference in their strength was clear.
“Your effort, your courage, your will, your patience, your perseverance, and even your very existence. But because of the curse laid upon your flesh, you will never manage to make your bud bloom.”
“Wh... what are you talking about...?”
“Your father foolishly placed a curse upon you, so that you could bid farewell to the world in the year your nineteenth birthday arrived. Look here. Isn’t the mark of the curse stamped upon your heart?”
Adella glanced down at her chest.
A blue pattern that had not been there before had appeared.
“What’s wrong with it?!”
“See? Doesn’t it hurt even now when I do this?”
Black energy rippled in the man’s hand.
The mark engraved on her chest resonated in response and began to shine.
“Hhng...!”
“You are an existence brighter than anyone else, Adella. Yet because of a foolish little creature, you spend your nights on a cold stone floor and chew down hard bread after moistening it with saliva. Blame your father. You have every right to.”
“It hurts...”
“But Jin Chronicle is already dead. Are you feeling empty because you couldn’t kill him with your own hands? No, revenge is inherently hollow and futile. Now that everything is over, do you truly have no regrets about your life? No, you are an inherently greedy woman.”
“So what am I supposed to do... So wha—!”
“Don’t you covet that child’s talent?”
The man pointed at NoName as he asked.
“I shall give you a new life. Take the Forest Keeper’s body.”
The devil whispered its temptation.
The pillars imprisoning NoName bent like snakes.
Four pillars opened their mouths wide and bit down on her limbs.
No matter how desperately NoName struggled, the hard, frozen ice refused to release her.
If she acted now, she could take complete possession of the Forest Keeper’s body.
“The warm food you want, a warm home, and academy life, too. You can start everything over from the beginning.”
From the very beginning, you will become the Forest Keeper who came to Arseria to enroll in the academy.
You can possess a heavenly body chosen by a god instead of a filthy body stained with grime and sweat.
“The body bestowed by Yggdrasil is itself a blessing.”
When the man withdrew his power, the aching pain in her chest disappeared.
“What do I have to do...? What are you telling me to do...?”
“There is only one thing we want. It will not be a bad proposal for you, either.”
The fireflies gathered around Adella’s head.
They formed the shape of a glittering laurel crown.
“Become our new god.”
“A god...?”
“Yes. Yggdrasil is a false god. We need a new god.”
“I... I don’t know anything about that.”
“No. It is easier than stealing from a noble’s sleeve. Go and stab the Forest Keeper in the heart with your dagger. You are not killing her, so you needn’t feel guilty. You are merely borrowing her body.”
“I... I... haa... hhk!”
The fireflies shone once more.
Adella clutched her head and collapsed in agony.
She realized the truth about the laurel, Yggdrasil, and the identity of the fireflies.
At the same time, Jin Chronicle’s body rolled limply across the ground.
Taking advantage of her weakened body and mind, she had already been absorbed as part of ‘Existence.’
“You... you’re demons.”
Adella shed tears.
Her loathsome hand refused to let go of the dagger. Was this her true desire?
Her heartbeat quickened. Strength returned to her legs.
[You are an existence worthy of blessing.]
Adella slowly approached NoName, one step at a time.
The weapon in her hand seemed especially unfamiliar today.
Had it always been this sharp? Fear welled up inside her.
“I’m sorry, Forest Keeper.”
One step, then another.
“I’m really pathetic, aren’t I?”
NoName’s face was plainly bewildered.
“I just... hhk... I just wanted my father to acknowledge me. I don’t know why everything went so wrong.”
I want to prove my existence. I want to become a cog the world needs.
She was terrified that if she died like this, no one would remember her, and so she wanted recognition from anyone at all.
“Did you hear me? I’m going to die anyway... in less than a year... If that’s the case, why did Father keep me alive? He should’ve just killed me at birth...!”
She had spent her life constantly craving attention and affection.
To that end, she interrupted Alpherion with trivial conversations whenever he was busy, and even once stole and wore the outfit Cisciela treasured most.
“I know. Even if I live like this, the world won’t pity me. I’m useless. I’m Adella, the one everyone hates.”
That was why she envied NoName, the Forest Keeper, even more.
The sociability to strike up conversations with strangers at once, a beautiful body as though sculpted by a god, inexhaustible mana, and endless knowledge.
By comparison, the only thing Adella had left was the perseverance to reluctantly continue living.
“I’m sorry... So why did you try so hard to be kind to someone like me? You didn’t trust me much either... Hhk... sob...”
Tears obscured her vision. Adella’s tear ducts were a broken faucet.
Even while Adella was going through all this, the Forest Keeper didn’t say a word.
What on earth had made her so cold and composed?
Adella had no way of knowing.
Her hand trembled even more violently than when she had committed her first murder. She didn’t even possess the basics of swordsmanship.
“I didn’t want to be born this weak. I wanted everyone to look up to me. No, I don’t need any of that. Then what was it I wanted...?”
The dagger had been half-destroyed by their numerous battles, but even its jagged edge was enough to sever a fragile lifeline.
Her sobbing subsided.
It meant she had finished making her decision deep within her heart.
“Yeah... I think I understand a little. I needed a friend.”
Had her goal in enrolling in the academy truly been solely to earn her father’s recognition?
After only one meeting, Adella realized that Jin Chronicle could never become that kind of person.
She had secretly envied them.
When she was draped in robes and stealing in back alleys, she had envied the academy students who punished the thugs harassing merchants and the academy students who rescued children nearly hit by carriages and received praise for it so very much...
She wanted to belong to that group. She wanted to be praised. She wanted to fit in with them.
She wanted to feel the warmth of another person, something she had never received in her life.
She told the Forest Keeper trapped within the ice wall about the days she had lived.
“I suppose I wanted to live like them, too.”
She raised the dagger toward the sky.
“Thank you for everything... This really is the only way. I’m sorry, it’s all my fault... Would you grant me one last request?”
All the fireflies’ energy gathered into the dagger.
The demon had finished preparing to plunder NoName’s body.
“Please never forget me... Ever... Being forgotten is so scary... Keep thinking of me, remember me, and live with it in your heart that a wonderful person named Adella was here... Oh, and give my regards to Mr. Gestalt, too. Hehe... That makes two requests...”
Adella gave an oddly innocent grin and gripped the blade in a reverse grip.
“You’ll do it anyway, right?”
The blade’s path toward NoName suddenly veered aside.
The tip of the blade that would pierce the Forest Keeper’s heart instead turned toward Adella’s own heart.
Before the fireflies could sense the danger and escape from the blade, Adella’s arm moved faster.
Soon, dark red blood splashed across NoName’s face, and Adella coughed up a gush of blood.
The ice melted.
NoName belatedly rushed over and caught Adella’s collapsing body.
The thousands of fireflies that had lost their host rose into the sky and disappeared.
The red dawn shone across the earth, breathing vitality into the frozen ground.
Yet the girl’s body, having burned through her pitiful remaining years to choose the most noble death, was cold and utterly still.