Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 710: Rite of Arms [3]

He had lost count of how long he had lived.

Thousands of years? Tens of thousands...?

At some point, it all just turned into a number. Meaningless. He stopped caring long ago, because not a single day had passed in those years when he hadn’t wanted to die. From being tortured just so they could harvest his blood, to the cruel irony of being unable to die through it all.

It was in such years that Noel forgot what it meant to be human.

...It was in such years that he became what he was today.

Although he hid it well from his brother, his true nature had changed. He felt nothing. No emotion, no attachment. As if the world around him had lost all meaning.

He was just...

There.

"....."

Standing in silence, Noel turned his attention towards Toren’s puppet.

He had forgotten what this guy’s real name was.

He stood opposite him, his gold hair swaying slightly as his golden pupils shone brightly within the room.

It was as if he were the sun itself.

’Ah, now I remember...’

It was his presence that reminded him.

Dawn...

’That’s what his title is.’

"You are aware that with your current strength, it is impossible for you to beat me, correct?"

Dawn’s voice quietly echoed throughout the room. It was calm and collected, as though everything was within its control.

"I’ve sealed off the entire space. No matter what you attempt, escape is impossible. Every step you took was foreseen by His Honour. He anticipated your plan long before you acted, and ordered me to lay the groundwork. All of this was designed to drag you back into the Mirror Dimension... and return you to your heart."

Noel just remained standing while Dawn spoke.

He stood in silence. No movement, no nothing.

He was just... standing.

"Every second that you spend outside of the Mirror Dimension should be agonizing for you. This world... It rejects existences like us. The true humans of this earth. For you to remain standing, it is mainly because of your abilities. But even then, those abilities cannot hide pain."

The Mirror Dimension was a prison.

It was meant to keep everyone within the Dimension from leaving.

However, it wasn’t impossible for them to leave. However, the moment they did, their entire bodies would start to burn, regardless of how strong they became. In fact, the sense of rejection only heightens with strength.

It was for this reason that most opted for clones in order to leave.

But even then...

Clones were just clones. They weren’t real.

It wasn’t the same as truly leaving the Mirror Dimension with their real bodies.

This was why some were desperate to leave.

But in Noel’s case...

He could leave.

He was the only god that was capable of leaving the Mirror Dimension. Not because of his strength, but simply because of his immortality.

Burn as he might, he could just heal.

This was what made him stand out from the rest.

But even his abilities had limits...

The pain. The anguish. The suffering that he had to endure just to be present in this world. It was probably far worse than anything he had ever experienced before.

"The fact that you’re still here, and capable of moving, is commendable. Many in your position would’ve already lost their minds from the pain."

Dawn silently muttered while scanning his surroundings. He wasn’t just talking for the sake of talking. He was waiting for everything to set up before taking action. He had to make sure that everything was perfect before capturing him.

Only then would Sithrus be satisfied.

Fortunately, Dawn didn’t have to wait long. Mere seconds after the words left his mouth, the air around him shifted, and through the office window, a massive dome materialized, enclosing the landscape outside.

His lips pulled into a gentle smile.

’It’s done.’

He focused his attention back on Noel.

But the moment he did, the smile wiped off his face as Noel took a step forward.

Frowning, Dawn snapped his finger and Noel stopped moving.

Noel wasn’t very strong. It was easy for Dawn to stop him with a mere snap of his finger, but...

Would things truly be that easy?

With a gaze that could only be called detached, Noel slowly turned his head toward Dawn. Though his body was completely bound and immobilized, there wasn’t the slightest trace of fear or struggle in his expression.

Only a calm, unnerving indifference, as if none of it truly concerned him.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

He heard the sudden beat of a heart in his head.

This was the beat of his very own heart.

Despite it being so far away, he could still hear it in his mind.

Slowly, his eyes closed, and—

Ba Thump! Ba— Thump!

His heartbeat grew faster. It drummed loudly in his mind. So loudly that all noise around him seemed to fade, and by the time he opened his eyes again, the faces of every individual present in the room besides Dawn had turned pale.

Ba Thump! Ba— Thump! Ba—— Thump!

Their blood stirred, and their mana started to fluctuate uncontrollably.

"W-what’s going on...?"

"What the... hell is this?"

Staring at the sight, Dawn’s usually calm expression showed signs of change.

However, Noel didn’t care.

As he heard the beat loud in his mind, he also felt power start to course through his body. A lot of his strength came directly from his heart.

The moment he lost his heart, he lost most of his powers.

But Noel wasn’t just anyone.

He was someone who was revered as a ’god’.

...He was someone who had tapped into the Source.

Although it came at a heavy price, Noel could tap into the power his heart held, regardless of where it was.

Instantly, his mana surged, and faint cracking sounds reverberated throughout.

The shackles that tied him down to the spot shattered, and Dawn’s expression turned extremely serious as he swiped his hand horizontally, severing Noel’s body in half.

Thud!

But it was useless.

Even with his body severed, Noel’s legs kept moving forward, tendrils shooting up to create the form of a new body.

Dawn’s expression darkened. He pressed his hands together, forcing Noel’s body to collapse inward, crumbling from the edges like dry ash. But it was useless. Noel kept regenerating. No matter what Dawn hurled at him, he’d continue to regenerate and walk forward.

Even when he tried to lock him in place, Dawn realized that he could no longer do it.

It wasn’t long before Noel had moved several steps, and Dawn closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

In truth, he had been holding back a little.

If he were to release the full extent of his abilities, he’d destroy the entire palace. That would lead to quite a problematic situation, but it seemed like the situation had escalated to the point where he had no choice but to attack with everything he had.

The surroundings stirred in that moment.

His golden hair swayed gently in the air as his pupils shone even more brightly.

A terrifying pressure erupted from his form, unlike anything that had come before. It surged outward, wrapping itself around the space, pressing down on everything with suffocating force.

Most of all, it crashed into Noel, who finally came to a halt, his body frozen under the sheer weight of it.

This time...

He couldn’t free himself from it.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The palace shook, and cracks started to form all around the place.

One glance was all it took to see it.

The palace was straining, its walls groaning under the immense pressure radiating from Dawn.

It was clear: the structure wouldn’t last much longer.

And yet...

Despite the sudden change in the situation, Noel didn’t look particularly bothered.

In that moment, raising his head up and fixing his gaze on Dawn, he opened his mouth.

"Do it."

Huh?

Dawn paused, his mind unable to understand Noel’s words.

But then—

Spurt!

A fountain of blood suddenly sprayed across the surroundings, a head rolling on the floor in the process as Dawn stood frozen, unable to comprehend the situation.

Slowly... his head turned back, and that’s when he saw it.

".....!"

A sickly figure standing behind the Emperor’s corpse, sword poised exactly where the Emperor’s head had once been.

His hand and eyes shook as he stared at the sword in his hand.

However, soon his head turned.

They fixated on Noel.

"I... did it."

His voice was hoarse, almost trembling.

Everyone could clearly see the desperation in his face as he stared at Noel.

"The... the thing you promised. The t-hing you gave me. You will... do it, right? You will... fix me, right? I..."

Gael dropped the sword in his hand, taking several steps back as the sword clanked against the ground and he stared at his trembling hands.

"I... can’t live like this anymore. I-it hurts... too much. I-I need you to fix me. I waited... until this day like you asked me to, so..."

Weakly looking at Noel, Gael asked,

"Fix me. F-ix me, please."

It was in that very moment that Noel’s indifferent face finally showed changes.

A smile blossomed on his lips as his dead eyes fixed on Gael.

"But of course."

Snap!

He snapped his fingers, and Gael’s face froze mid-expression, eyes widening in shock just as jagged red spikes burst through his body from within, piercing out in every direction.

Thump—!

His body fell on the floor shortly after that, twitching as he fell to the floor.

And just like that, he died.

Noel felt no emotion while staring at the corpse before him. He had long lost the ability to feel empathy for anyone who wasn’t his brother.

This had all been something he had planned for a very long time.

All it took was just a little bit of his blood to get him hooked.

To... get him addicted to the feeling of not suffering constant pain due to the decision his father had made.

’It’s funny what some people would do in order to stop suffering.’

Noel was all too familiar with the sense of desperation that came with mindless pain.

...And he took perfect advantage of that.

Like some sort of drug addict, he became hooked on his blood. To the point where he couldn’t live without it.

The blood... was the only source that would stop his constant pains. The constant torment of his punishment.

And this...

This was the end result.

"....."

Slowly, Noel turned his attention towards the stunned Dawn.

The smile never left Noel’s face as the surroundings turned deafly quiet.

"Toren may be able to foresee my steps. That... I can understand. He’s always been smart, but..."

Noel slowly shook his head.

"No matter how hard they try, a human can’t outsee a Seer."

A quiet laugh slipped from his lips.

"...And as it turns out, I have a brother who just so happens to be one."

The smile soon faded from Noel’s lips as his hollow gaze focused on Dawn.

"My brother didn’t turn mad because of his lust for power. My brother turned mad because of what he saw."

Noel paused, his finger slowly pressing against his temple.

"...Everything."