Read Novel Full Chapter 510: Abyssal Reckoning? [5]
Chapter 510: Abyssal Reckoning? [5]
[12h: 41m: 20s]
Swoop.
BOOM!
Once the pillar of black water fell, the Drowned King stood alone as he watched his water harpoon crumble and fall apart. He gazed down at the spiritual flames that made up his body and found them to be unravelled even further.
That attack had taken a lot out of his mana reserves... He probably had at most 5 minutes left before he perished.
Besides the fact that he was slowly dying, something was off... Why did it feel as though he had eradicated his target properly?
Looking down at the massive 20 metre deep crater that was formed, he looked towards the centre. But found... nothing but crushed coral at the bottom.
Did he really reduce the woman to nothingness with his attack?
...
No, that couldn’t be... No, more specifically, there should at least be a blood stain created from her eradicated body at the bottom of the crater.
With his deduction, the Drowned King’s eyes flashed frustratedly as he came to one single conclusion.
The only way that the woman would’ve been able to avoid being crushed completely would be because—
"FARLAND!"
—Of Nearlo.
Turning around, the Drowned King roared towards Nearlo in a frustrated and angered manner. But the pirate didn’t care for what the Sea King was feeling.
Instead, he was looking at the girl beside him, who was currently on death’s door.
With a football-sized hole through her gut, it was truly a miracle that Lillian was still alive, albeit barely—the vitality of a Tier 2 Mage.
Having managed to swap her for a piece of broken coral, Nearlo was able to save her in time. But he didn’t know how long she had left...
"As yar captain... I order yar not to die..." Nearlo muttered, clearly out of breath as he raised his now-fixed arm towards Lillian in hopes of being able to save her.
But of course, such an action wasn’t going unnoticed by a certain Sea King, who had already dashed over and—
BAM!
—Kicked him away.
Nearlo was knocked far away from Lillian, rolling as he clutched the side of his ribs, which began to bruise badly from the kick.
"P-Puaghk..." Nearlo vomited out blood, the taste of iron staining his mouth and teeth as the smell of it wafted into his nostrils.
Slowly getting up, he murmured:
"I can’t die now... I can’t..."
Raising his eyes again, he found the Drowned King standing in front of him—ready to inflict the finishing blow.
And while this was happening... Lillian still continued to remain at death’s door.
But.
{The Shard [Regular’s Last Grasp] had awoken... It will now begin a temporary takeover.}
{The Enchantment [Clutch Instinct] had been Activated}
***
"... Where... Am I?"
Standing in a void of pure white, Lillian looked around with a raised eyebrow, confused and puzzled.
Where was she? And what was she doing here?
Figuring that she was able to stand on something, she identified that this place had a ground. But that...
Still didn’t explain much, though...
She continued to look around, trying to find anything that would give her a hint of where she was, but...
There really was just only white here, not to a blinding or confusing degree, but enough to make you wonder...
She stood in place, deep in thought, still wondering.
However, that was only until...
"Howdy, partner."
... She heard an extremely familiar voice call out to her from behind.
Looking back, Lillian settled her gaze on a woman who was slightly taller than her.
The woman had long brunette hair, bright green eyes, and a freckled face. She was an attractive young lady, but that wasn’t what got Lillian’s attention.
Staring intensely, Lillian’s gaze settled on a particular brown leather hat on top of their head...
She was wearing a cowboy hat.
It was Viesta.
"V-... Viesta...?" Lillian fully turned herself around, facing the slightly taller woman with a look of disbelief in her eyes.
Viesta smiled slightly and raised her hand, giving a small wave as she walked over to the white-haired girl.
"Hey ya, Lillian. Ya here too, huh?"
"Here...?" Lillian repeated in confusion before briefly remembering what happened to her.
Unconsciously holding a hand over her lower abdomen, Lillian’s eyes shone slightly as a sad smile appeared on her face, "Ah... This is where the dead come through... Isn’t it?"
Listening to what Lillian said, Viesta gave a wry smile as she stood before the girl.
She nodded.
"Yep... This is where the dead go through, while they wait for the mana within their corpse to dissipate into the atmosphere—Purgatory."
Viesta then rubbed the back of her head, chuckling, "I guess this is how you’re going to find out about me, huh...?"
Lillian, listening to the woman chuckle, smiled wryly with a complex look in her eyes, fists clenching to the point you could see her knuckles go white.
"Yeah..."
Holding her hand out, Lillian stared down at her palm. She could still feel the warmth of her blood pumping through her hand...
’This place really is magical...’ She tilted her head up to the sky with a look of amazement and a sad look, ’I guess a place that’s made for the dead should be that magical...’
"So... I guess, I’m dead, huh?" Lillian asked the Cowgirl, already knowing the answer to that. With her wound and that last attack from the Drowned King, she definitely died...
"Let’s put a pin on that."
"Huh?"
Watching as a smiling Viesta flashed a finger gun at her, Lillian tilted her head, but was then asked:
"Lets go on a walk, Lillian."
Viesta gently grabbed onto Lillian’s wrist and began to slowly pull her along, wandering deeper into the white void, much to Lillian’s confusion.
"But why? There’s nothing here to see—"
"That plan of yours, Lillian..." Viesta interrupted without looking back, "Did you plan for this to happen?"
Lillian, briefly widening her eyes at the question, scratched the side of her cheek with a wry and self-mocking smile.
"Do you mean me dying? Haha... I don’t think any sane person would plan for their own death in a situation like this..."
"Okay. Well, how about the part of your plan that involved me and the others, then? Did you really plan that we would be able to win against the Drowned King?"
Surprised again by the question, Lillian wasted no time and answered without a hint of hesitation, "Yeah. There was no doubt in my mind that you would be able to do it."
"R-really? That guy was incredibly strong!" Viesta looked back with a large and incredulous grin, "And what? I remember him saying that he was only at 30% of his strength! Quite the trust you had in us, huh?"
Lillian tilted her head with a small smile. She also had a look in her eyes that made it seem that Viesta had said something weird.
"You said I should trust in others, didn’t you? And I was right to, considering you were what managed to give me and Nearlo a fighting chance."
"Yeah... Although, we did lose our lives in the process..." Viesta chuckled, albeit in a sad manner.
"I figured... Where are the others, anyway?"
"Oh! They’re currently away right now."
"... I see..."
Remembering the sadness in Viesta’s chuckle, Lillian’s lips wobbled before stiffening.
She then asked:
"Do you... Hate me? Viesta? Don’t you hate me? Because of me... All of us would have lost our lives for nothing..."
"Hate?" Viesta repeated quietly while holding her chin, "I guess... I should, right? Because of you, I won’t be able to go back home and meet everyone I love, right? You also broke our promise of getting us all out alive, didn’t you?"
"... Yeah..."
Remembering the promise that she made, Lillian grabbed the side of her face with her free hand as she faced down. Guilt, regret, sadness, and... Disappointment in herself spread throughout her body.
Without knowing, she murmured a thought out loud:
"Ah... I broke another promise again..."
Viesta, hearing her sigh, laughed heartily:
"I don’t hate you, Lillian. Even after we both died and you broke your promise."
"But why... Don’t you want to punch me? Hit me? Scream at me? Because of me, you—"
"I’ve already accepted that I would die at some point in my life..." Viesta smiled, filled with self-acceptance of her current situation.
"When I entered my first trial, I just knew one day I would lose my life... It’s just... Part of the life as a mage, you know?" Viesta giggled, pinching the rim of her hat, as she looked towards the white sky.
"We mages fight monsters, save people, get stronger, and fight even more monsters to save even more people... That’s what being a mage is like. I you ask for my opinion, I feel like that’s quite the worthwhile purpose..."
Looking back at Lillian, she commented:
"On the contrary, Lillian... I admire you. I admire your ambition to grow stronger. I admire how brave you are to take on monsters that are many times stronger than you. And... I admire how much of a hard worker you are, Lillian..."
She then paused for a second before adding...