EP.102 Lord of All Creation
"You are... a far more benevolent person than I thought."
Lieutenant General Ebon's words came out of nowhere. The intent behind his words was ambiguous, and since Ebon was not even a woman, let alone a beauty, the Immortal paid him no mind at all.
"Keep it to yourself. Being praised by a man doesn't really resonate with me."
"Right. Exactly. Yes."
Lieutenant General Ebon muttered to himself and nodded. As the man continued to spout incomprehensible words, the Immortal also lost interest in the general.
"I will be on my way to stop the fight now..."
"Ah. That won't do, no."
It was that very moment. Without any warning, Lieutenant General Ebon roughly thrust his hands forward. Claws that had sprouted from nowhere on both his hands gleamed with a cold light, aiming for the Immortal's back.
Just as the claws, like a beast's maw, threatened to tear into the Immortal's body—
"Ha! Not a chance!"
Sensing the killing intent, the Immortal immediately twisted his body and raised his prized right arm to block Lieutenant General Ebon's attack....
...forgetting that his right hand was still detached.
"Oops! My right hand!"
The claws pierced through the Immortal's body without any hindrance. Blades modeled after talons ruthlessly ravaged his innards and pushed deep.
Pierced by six blades due to a momentary lapse in judgment, the Immortal cried out in agony.
"Keuk! A blunder! I got too used to not having my right arm!"
"This alone is a fatal wound. However, the opponent is of the Immortal Clan. He won't die anyway..."
Lieutenant General Ebon muttered coldly.
"I'll just make sure you can't interfere, my benevolent friend."
Saying so, Lieutenant General Ebon drew up the energy within his body.
The magical power wrung from his body glowed blue. Dozens of slashes overlaying the energy strikes diced the Immortal's body. Shoulder, thigh, chest, side. Dozens of bloodlines were drawn in succession across his massive frame.
For a very brief moment, the Immortal's body hung suspended in midair. The Immortal's mouth opened and closed as if trying to say something, but it never formed words.
Immediately after, his body exploded, bursting in all directions. A storm of flesh filled the corridor.
It was a ruthless yet efficient attack. If his entire body was torn apart like this, even an Immortal would take half a day to regenerate.
"Ah, aaaaaah! Rash!"
Watching the Immortal explode right before her eyes was too cruel a sight for Callis. Momentarily thrown into a panic, Callis screamed.
Lieutenant General Ebon spoke firmly to her.
"Have you grown attached? Worry not, Major. He is an Immortal, is he not? He will resurrect anyway."
"B...but... this. He was an ally."
Lieutenant General Ebon didn't even listen to the rest of Callis's words. Instead, he folded his fingers one by one, recounting to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.
"Good. The hindrance was erased by the King of Cats, and the Immortal has just been cleared away. The Progenitor seems uninterested in us as expected. Now, the only thing left is..."
Trailing off, the general's gaze slowly turned toward me. His eyes met mine awkwardly.
The general said.
"By the way, do you get told you have a weak presence a lot? Or were you using stealth arts? I almost missed you entirely."
Ah, crap.
Ah, oof. I was hiding my body in a blind spot of perception, trying to stay as unnoticeable as possible while reading everyone's thoughts here. Perhaps because he's from a secret organization, the general was more meticulous than expected.
Folding fingers is foul play. I'm saying you should compete fairly with just your memory!
I'm totally caught like this. What should I do? Can I just slip by?
"Necessity is the mother of discovery. That you didn't notice my presence means there's no need to notice it, right? I'm just an ordinary conscripted laborer. If you just let me go, it'll be a happy ending for everyone..."
"I'm sorry, but that won't do."
'A laborer... just a lucky ordinary person who merely survived. Unless the Major were dead, there's no need for a guide now. There's no need to leave a witness.'
Killing intent swells. It is the firm killing intent directed at me by the general, the strongest military force of the Military Nation.
Just as one cannot block starlight, I too lack the ability to block his attack. It might be different if it were Cheon-aeng, but this attack is clearly a claw with physical weight. Even if I try to block it with my strength, I'll be pierced right through.
If it were me when I first fell into the Bottomless Pit, I would have died helplessly.
"Blame your misfortune."
However, I have a solid backer. A backer greater than any average nation—no, one that is a nation itself.
Just before I called Tyr, Callis shouted first.
"You must not attack him. Lieutenant General Ebon!"
Lieutenant General Ebon spoke without even thinking of withdrawing his claws.
"Major, I've told you time and again, put away your sentimentality. For the great cause..."
"No. That's not it. He is under the Progenitor's protection."
"The Progenitor?"
[That is correct.]
Immediately after, the shadows cast by the light all generated voices at once. A thin, high voice flowed from the long, stretched shadows, and a dull, heavy voice echoed from the broad, thick shadows.
The chorus of darkness shook the entire space before gradually converging into a single voice.
[He is under my protection, and his heart is my heart.]
Three Black Knights rose from within my shadow and stood blocking my path. Three swords forged from darkness stood sharply at the ready.
[I declare this. I shall exact a blood debt from anyone who harms him.]
It was an aura so immense it gave me goosebumps all over. Just as no one competes against an impending natural disaster, an ordinary person would have bowed down without even daring to think of opposing it.
However... even that primordial darkness was insufficient to make the general falter.
Lieutenant General Ebon spoke, full of surprise.
"Laborer, it seems you didn't just survive. Did you seduce the Progenitor?"
"Haha. Let's call it a desperate struggle to survive."
"For a desperate struggle, the scale is quite large. If so, naturally, I must provide treatment worthy of that achievement!"
Saying that, Lieutenant General Ebon swiftly swung his claws. The beastly, violent talons cleaved through the darkness.
The Black Knights only lasted two exchanges. The weapons gathered from darkness shattered upon touching the blue murderous intent in one exchange, and the second claw that followed in a very short interval collapsed the Black Knight.
The other two Black Knights attacked, aiming for Lieutenant General Ebon. However, a Colonel who had approached at some point blocked one of them.
"How dare you target the Lieutenant General!"
Boom, the Colonel took a strong step forward with both legs and struck the Black Knight consecutively with both fists. Under the hail of punches, the Black Knight's entire body repeatedly scattered and reformed.
A straight punch containing blue energy hit the Black Knight's face directly. The Black Knight staggered before soon turning into smoke and vanishing.
In the meantime, Lieutenant General Ebon, who had dismembered the remaining one, now faced me without any obstacles.
...Thinking about it now, aren't these Black Knights seriously too weak? When I fought Tyr, this insignificance was welcoming, but now it's completely unreliable.
The general smiled a benevolent smile at me.
"But, we need a hostage, don't we? Please cooperate."
A benevolent yet coldly calculated smile, similar to when he looked at the living Callis.
I get it now. That smile is the one that appears when he sees someone useful to him. It was a smile that only a merchant, rejoicing in an unexpected windfall while coldly calculating profit and loss, could make.
It means I've become a useful existence to him, but I wasn't very happy about it.
"Rest assured, Progenitor. For our well-being, I promise his safety. He will not be harmed even a hair's breadth... provided you do not interfere with us, Progenitor."
[You scoundrels... You must keep that promise.]
The shadow seethed as if issuing a warning. Lieutenant General Ebon bowed toward the direction the voice came from, then snapped his fingers at the Colonel waiting behind him.
"Colonel. Bring the rope. We need to tie him up."
"Yes, sir!"
The bear-like Colonel pulled a rope out of his leather bag. It was a Military Nation special rope that neither burned in fire nor cut easily by blades. The Colonel, who checked its strength by pulling it with both hands, nodded and approached me.
The Colonel smiled coldly. I welcomed the Colonel and quickly brought both arms together so he could tie me up easily.
"Come on! Tie me up quickly!"
"...What are you doing?"
"It's active cooperation with the Military Nation! You were going to tie me up like this anyway! Let's finish it quickly and wrap it up! To reclaim the peaceful Tantalus of the past!"
The Colonel wore a somewhat suspicious expression, but it didn't change what he had to do. Scrutinizing me with doubtful eyes, he tied my wrists tightly, and not satisfied with just that, pulled tight with bear-like strength. He tied it so damn hard that even my fingers hurt.
It was such a perfect binding that the phrase 'As expected of the Military Nation' escaped my mouth naturally. Lieutenant General Ebon said.
"You're cheerful even in this situation, laborer."
"Because it's this kind of situation, I have to be cheerful. Furrowing your brows and acting important in the Bottomless Pit only adds another layer of gloom."
"Did you act like this when you seduced the Progenitor too?"
"I'd like to say that's a trade secret... but honestly, I'm not sure either. Maybe because he's a lonely old man who has lived alone for 1,200 years, but I stayed by his side and chattered so he wouldn't feel lonely, and he opened his heart completely, adopting an attitude of giving up his liver and gallbladder... Ouch!"
The shadow over there threw a tin can at me. Hit on the head out of nowhere, I tried to rub the back of my stinging head, but then remembered my arms were tied and only let out a groan.
Lieutenant General Ebon observed me and the shadow with interest.
'I should remember this. It might come in handy later.'
Taking his eyes off me, the general spoke to Callis.
"Now, Major. Guide us to the King of Dogs. Preparations must be finished within 30 minutes when the 'Path' opens."
"Yes, sir. Follow me."
Callis took the lead and guided the way. Lieutenant General Ebon was about to leisurely follow behind her.
Suddenly, a small blade fragment on the floor caught his eye. Lieutenant General Ebon narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the blood-stained blade fragment.
The suicide packet from the Escape from the Living World kit, and the thin, sharp blade it had created.
After staring at it for a very brief moment, Lieutenant General Ebon glanced sideways to check the wound on Callis's right hand, then let out a small snort and stepped outside.