Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 780: The last angle [3]

I remembered this scene. In fact, I had almost memorized it in my mind. How could I forget this scene?

This scene…

It was one that I had seen back during the Summit.

Back then, I had been extremely confused, surprised, and even lost. I didn’t understand anything at all, and I just felt so helpless.

But now…?

‘I see. It all makes sense.’

I stared at the little girl, or more precisely, Sithrus, and the younger version of me that stood beside her. He looked at me in shock, his mouth opening wide.

Was this how I looked back then?

I looked stupid.

The thought almost made me chuckle.

But that wasn’t important as I turned my attention towards Sithrus as he stared at me in amusement.

He smiled, alternating her gaze between the two of us.

“Hehehe.”

His eyes seemed filled with delight.

“….You really do have a hand in everything, Oracleus.”

I focused my entire gaze on him, his form looking like that of Theresa. It was odd to see him this way, but if there was one thing that I could see, it was that the Sithrus before me was no threat.

‘It looks like he can’t use his powers in the vision.’

This made sense as my lips parted,

“You’ve overstayed your stay. It’s time you leave.”

“You think…?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t allow him to watch this scene any further. This wasn’t something he was supposed to see.

“That sucks, but I guess that’s fine. I’ve seen and learned enough. Whatever you’re trying to meddle with, it’s not going to stop me. You’ve grown weaker, and I—”

With a wave of my hand, the little girl froze.

Clenching my fist, her form dissolved into the air, vanishing without a trace. She hadn’t even had the chance to fight back. I didn’t give him that option.

The surroundings fell silent for a brief moment.

But soon, I turned my attention towards my past self.

“…..”

My eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

‘He’s weak.’

This was around the time of the Summit. I could more or less recall my general strength back then.

‘…I guess he’s around the fourth tier, working to reach the fifth.’

I was still not strong.

However, the gap between the me of back then and the current me was wide.

It made me realize just how far I had gone.

“I…”

A certain voice broke me out of my thoughts as I looked at the younger version of myself. I could see the confusion in his gaze as he looked at me, and as I thought back to the memories of back then, I opened my mouth.

“I am indeed you.”

This much I could say.

“This is indeed the future.”

One that I had just come to myself.

“…And what you’re feeling is real.”

I blinked my eyes slowly, focusing my entire gaze on the younger version of me. It was important that he took note of everything.

“Don’t take your eyes away from me. It’ll be your turn soon enough.”

“Uh?”

His confusion only grew, but I left things there. This was all I remembered saying, and I also knew that I didn’t have the time to speak any longer. There were things that I needed to do.

“Wait…!”

A voice called out, but I didn’t reply.

Instead, I fixed my attention on another figure, a frail-looking one as I appeared before them.

“I can’t… do it. I can’t…”

Leon’s soft cries echoed quietly within the surroundings.

He sat on his knees, staring at his trembling hands with a pale face. He looked to be in a sorry state, unable to go through with his actions. Two swords sat next to him, and my gaze fixed on a particular one as I picked it up.

‘This should be the one that I gave to him before I left.’

I could still recall that moment.

With this sword in hand, it meant that I technically had two of the same sword with me. However, unlike the one that I currently had, this one wasn’t meant for me to keep.

Still, I put it away for the moment.

‘What is he so hesitant about?’

I couldn’t really understand why Leon was acting the way that he was.

He looked extremely fragile. His hair was a disheveled mess, and his face was extremely pale. Just what had happened in the time that I had been gone? …And how long had I been gone for?

Looking around, in particular the dark dome where I could feel the presence of the girls, alongside the real Julien, I fixed my gaze back towards Leon.

Something stirred within me as I spoke.

“Raise your head.”

My voice came out colder than I intended.

The moment I did, Leon’s entire body froze as he slowly lifted his head to look at me. In that moment, the world grew silent as the two of us stared at each other.

“Y-you…”

Leon’s eyes shook.

At a glance, I could tell that he knew that I was coming. However, something about him was wrong.

‘Snap out of it.’

I moved forward and grabbed his face with both hands, startling him.

“What are you doing?!”

I ignored his cries and spoke.

“….Don’t forget your mission.”

Injecting Emotive Magic into my voice, my voice layered.

I had no choice but to do this.

Leon was in no state to act.

I clenched my teeth as I spat out the next words.

“Everything that you’ve worked so hard for… Don’t let it come to waste with this one moment. We’ve already talked about this. You have to do this.”

“Наа.. Наа…”

Leon’s breathing started to grow heavier.

“B-But…”

“You worked hard for this.”

I cut Leon off before he had the chance to speak, my voice layering further.

We had already talked about this.

This was the only way for me to come back. Why was he hesitating so much? Was it because he was scared that by killing ‘Julien’, I wouldn’t come back?

Nonsense!

I had all of this planned out.

He… just had to listen.

“You’ve reached this point. Don’t let everything go due to some sentiment of yours. He’s nothing!”

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

“Finish what you started.”

I leaned my head to get a better look at Leon, whose breathing was growing more and more frantic.

I pressed my hand onto his shoulder, squeezing as my voice layered further.

“Don’t let a meaningless death stand in our way.”

“Наа… Наа… Наа… Нааа…”

Clank!

I looked around and kicked the useless sword on the ground, taking out the sword he had disposed of just moments prior, and handing it back to him.

“Go.”

I layered my voice once more.

“Finish it.”

“Наа… Наа… Наа… Нааа… Hаа…!”

Leon’s eyes turned bloodshot.

But that was still not enough.

Not enough to make him fully commit.

“Do it…”

I mumbled once more, nudging my head in the direction of the dome. Right where Julien appeared.

“….Kill me,” I mumbled once more, tuning my emotive magic to the max.

“Наа… Наа… Наа…!”

That was all it took for Leon to snap, his hands desperately reaching out for the sword and grabbing it as his eyes grew frantic, adrenaline seemingly coursing through his body.

He jumped forward and entered the dark dome where his figure disappeared.

“….”

It suddenly grew quiet.

Despite this, I could see everything that was happening within the dome. Everything played out as I remembered.

And soon—

Cra Crack!

A subtle cracking sound reverberated through the air.

Lifting my head, I saw light begin to spill from the black dome, faint at first, then seeping through the widening gaps as it showed signs of shattering. More cracks spread across its surface, weaving like intricate webs that crawled along the curve of the dome, and I watched in silence until—

Crash!

Everything shattered, revealing the shadows of five figures.

Thump!

Kiera, Evelyn, and Aoife all stood in the air while Leon stood behind Julien, who knelt on the ground, a sword stabbing his back.

The girls were silent.

Leon was silent.

I was silent.

The world was silent.

All eyes were focused on Leon, who stood before Julien, whose back was turned towards me.

The chalice was scattered across the ground, spilling the contents within.

Leon’s expression was different from before, calmer now, colder. It seemed the attack was all it took for him to finally snap out of his fear.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to make it quick.”

His voice gently echoed throughout, almost reassuringly, as the world came to a stop.

Aoife, Kiera, and Evelyn… They all seemed oblivious to my presence as they stood completely still, their expressions and bodies frozen in time as they all stared at Leon.

“This is the last step, right? …The last step before my hell is finally over?”

Leon mumbled the same lines I had heard over and over again.

So much so that I had grown to memorize them as I nodded slowly.

“It is.”

But this wasn’t just his hell.

It was mine too.

“What are you waiting for? You’ve already completed the hardest part.”

Leon clutched his shirt, slowly wrinkling it as his face trembled.

“…Hah.”

A hazy smile appeared on his face.

“I’ll do it.”

He lowered his head to look at Julien.

A change stirred the moment he spoke. Julien, still kneeling on the ground, suddenly lifted his head, his eyes locking onto Leon’s, and Leon’s face trembled.

A flicker of hesitation appeared in his gaze.

I frowned at the sight, cutting through his hesitation.

“Stop dragging this out.”

The words were enough to make him snap out of it.

“Ah, yes… I shouldn’t drag this out.”

Leon lifted his hand, unveiling the cold gleam of the sword. His lackluster gray eyes quivered ever so slightly as the blade descended in one fluid motion.

SHILING-!

“I’ve waited far too long for this.”

A head rolled shortly after, stopping beneath my feet as I picked it up. Blood dripped down from the head’s severed neck, but as I stared at it, I didn’t feel anything. I felt completely numb to it as I turned my attention towards the distance.

Towards a peeking figure.

His body froze as I turned my attention back towards the head.

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

Things weren’t over yet.

There was still one more thing that I needed to do.

I cast my gaze on the third leaf while speaking.

“….All you have to do is remember.”

My finger pressed down on it.

“Remember everything that happened.”

The world before me changed.

I appeared before a certain room where a large desk stood, dominating the space with its gleaming, well-polished wooden surface. Upon it rested a vintage night lamp, its soft glow casting a subdued, eerie light across the room.

This room…

I was quite familiar with it.

This was the first memory that I had from the time that I appeared in this ‘world’. It was where everything started, and as I stared at the figure that was sitting before the desk, completely oblivious to my appearance, I extended my hand to retrieve a certain sword.

This was the sword that was meant to be in my possession and the one that I had to use.

Within this sword, a certain soul existed.

One that I had extracted not long ago.

I took a deep breath, staring at the figure that had yet to notice me before stabbing the sword forward. Towards Julien’s exposed back.

Spurt—!

That was also the moment I transferred my old soul into the body.

This was also the moment that marked the start.

The start of my transmigration.

***

For those confused :

The reference chapters are :

– Chapter 2 (the first vision)

– Chapters 355-356 (A different angle)