NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 152
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The wizards of the Purple Square, either unhelpful or unwilling, securely locked the door with countless excuses and justifications.
Home. But there’s no way it could serve as a home. To them, these scraps of wood and stone are no different from pieces of paper.
I could only stand frozen, watching the countless butterflies and the Black Marang fight.
Those of higher status or who were well-informed had vaguely heard rumors from the faraway land of Korea. That a Marang had killed Agail Morest, the exiled heir.
They talked about a Skull Wolf, but that’s absurd. There’s no way the greatest heir in the Square’s history would be taken down by something like a Skull Wolf.
But what if it’s that Marang? If the Marang killed Agail, then surely it makes sense that the Butterfly of Covenant would be fighting the Marang.
No, that doesn’t matter. What truly matters is the sanctuary of the wizards. The fact that a monster has invaded the Square, humanity’s last bastion.
Yet, nobody dared to step forward. No, they couldn’t.
Who on earth could jump into that fight?
Yeah. Locking the door was the only resistance they could muster.
***
The wolf and the butterfly, observing one another, began their serious battle. As the skirmish came to an end, it was the wolf, brimming with confidence, that made the first move. The spikes whipped like a whip and struck the butterfly.
In that moment, under the will of the Butterfly of Covenant, the butterflies created various illusions in place.
Exploding, vanishing, blurring sight, showcasing illusions that one could normally imagine, and sometimes turning into monsters that even the wolf had never seen before to confuse it.
In that endless illusion, the wolf simply kept running. The Butterfly of Covenant frowned.
It had definitely spoken to it. That meant it had intelligence. Even beasts living by instinct fear the unknown. Let alone if it has intelligence. The same would apply to the Marang. Yet, what to make of the wolf that did not stop?
Did it have no fear, or was it suppressing its fear and running? The Butterfly of Covenant waved its arms, and the violet waves followed its elegant movements. Essentially, all the violet magic that dyed this city belonged to her. In the Purple Square, nothing was impossible for her.
This time, it surely couldn’t escape from the illusions. The waves would swallow the Marang, making it easy to kill the wolf.
Before long, the violet waves swept over, and the Butterfly of Covenant tried to catch the sight of the wolf drowning in the falsehood, but contrary to her expectations, the wolf was running.
“……?!”
Was it seeing an illusion right now? No, no. The image reflected in its red eyes was its own. What the wolf was seeing wasn’t an illusion but reality…!
***
As expected.
Certainty transformed into reality and showed its results.
‘Illusions are merely the phantasms that the weak perceive.’
That phrase I once heard echoed within me. The lost souls. The thoughts of a fallen world. The wolf that had overcome itself, cloaked in karma, could not be touched by falsehood.
As it raced through the violet city, it released black mist that enveloped itself. Surrounded by the ominous mist, no illusion, or any magic would be sufficient to blind the wolf’s eyes.
Illusions are merely non-existent phantasms. The wolf believed so. But if mere belief were enough to escape from the master of illusions…
If it were simply a matter of mindset, she wouldn’t have come to hold the position of Square Master.
Yeah. Except for the wolf that has overcome itself countless times.
This proves the path he has walked.
The master of illusions lacked nothing, but the compatibility with the wolf was exceedingly horrific.
Though there’s a difference between the leader of a faction and its heir, the wolf has experienced the illusionary world of falsehood.
The wolf, freed from Agail’s Great Magic, wouldn’t fall for illusions again. Unless she herself were to use Great Magic.
With certainty, the wolf extended its shadow towards the butterfly. Even if it couldn’t utilize the Void itself, applying the effect of incorporeality from the Void was still possible.
Therefore, even without the Void, the result wouldn’t change.
Non-existent phantasms would be ripped apart by its shadow and devoured.
In an instant, the wolf reached the butterfly, only to quickly turn away upon gazing into the butterfly’s wide-open eyes.
―An instinct that had stepped one step further into super-sensitivity.
Right now, the wolf was seeing a clear future. Initially, its instincts could only show a ‘future the wolf had anticipated’, but now they whispered of ‘unanticipated’ futures as well.
The wolf’s awareness had become almost akin to foreseeing the future alongside the predictions gained through its training. Additionally, the insight. The wolf’s skills had sharpened that foresight even further. While still lacking in some aspects, it was sufficient for now.
And in that moment, it naturally deduced what it was lacking.
That not only intuition and insight but also the observational power that had transformed into insight were originally one.
If the insight were to step forward and reach an equal standing with super-sensitivity and insight, then surely…
Right before the turning wolf, the Butterfly of Covenant’s eyes widened. It resisted with all its might, but if the distance between them wasn’t there, the wizard’s resistance wouldn’t hold.
It bit its arm, and the shadow penetrated its heart and lungs. Countless violet butterflies chased after the wolf, but they lost their way in the black mist and never appeared again.
The hardened tentacles pierced through Amelia’s waist. The sharp spikes dug in, causing blood to pour out. Amelia held onto the wolf’s tentacle and endured, but her hands were cut by its blade-like transformation.
Her face twisted in pain. The wolf didn’t hesitate. No matter the reason, it showed no mercy to those who allied with traitors and deviants.
―Just as it had always been.
That didn’t apply only to the Butterfly of Covenant. The wizard living at the highest point of the plaza. Even if it was unreasonable now, one day the wolf would reveal its fangs to her as well.
Thus, the tentacle utterly severed the waist of the Butterfly of Covenant, splitting its upper body and lower body apart.
“―――?!”
The Butterfly of Covenant let out a horrific scream and fell into a state where it could no longer think. Unsurprisingly, spell chanting was interrupted, and she soon faced her death just like that.
The wolf’s eyes gazing at the cold body of Amelia Morest showed no signs of wavering.
Clearly, this sensation is not an illusion. From the beginning, the wolf possessed fortitude; illusions could not invade it. Thus, this was undeniably reality.
The illusionary butterfly, Amelia Morest, was undoubtedly dead.
“―――.”
Nonetheless, as the words of spell chanting resounded, the wolf ruthlessly crushed the seemingly dead butterfly.
Its senses continued to assert that it was not mistaken. Its five senses hadn’t been deceived.
The wolf was not confused. It was aware that this was an illusion she had actualized as reality.
The Butterfly of Covenant, Amelia Morest’s skill. The power to project falsehoods into reality, equating to the embodiment possessed by the wolf and the Volcano Ceratops. That was the essence of actualization.
In other words, her illusions would not end as mere phantasms.
Her illusions could certainly be actualized in reality.
Even if the illusion itself did not work, what was actualized became real. Even if they possessed fortitude, distinguishing the two would be impossible.
The now-dead Butterfly of Covenant was certainly genuine.
The wolf extended its detection and realized that countless butterflies were chanting spells.
Yeah. If the actualized illusion is real, then the magic of the realization is also real. Countless spells from the Square Master would soon flood the wolf.
In that, the wolf read the source of magical power. No matter how much it was actualized, those things couldn’t have magical power.
Had that been the case, there would have been no one to stop her in the parallel world. Who could stand against the infinitely existing Square Master?
Thus, the source sending magic power to the actualized entities is the genuine Butterfly of Covenant.
The violet magic permeating throughout the city had disturbed the wolf, but finding the real source wasn’t that difficult. The wolf then kicked off the ground and drew itself closer with its extended tentacle. Adding elasticity, as it was shot like a slingshot, the wolf’s speed transcended the speed of sound.
A deafening roar and shockwave—the Butterfly of Covenant realized as soon as it crossed dimensions, it manifested the violet magic itself to create a massive wall, and the wolf knew just how to dodge.
When the Butterfly of Covenant waved its hand, the wall chased to block the path, but the wolf would not back down.
Not backing down, it opened its mouth wide and devoured the wall of magic. Countless illusions threw themselves, manifesting numerous blades and monsters, but such things were no obstacle for the wolf.
“―――.”
The finished magic was consumed by the storming Black Magic.
From the ill fate with Hong Yu-ri, through the struggles with Agail and the Silent Mouth. The wolf had always been the nemesis of wizards.
The Butterfly of Covenant, with a distorted face, slammed her hands to the ground and, in an instant, rose up as a small floating island.
If fighting on the ground is disadvantageous, then keeping distance in the air will be sufficient. However, that became her downfall.
Common sense of wizards. No hunter or monster enjoys fighting an opponent in the skies. But for a Marang, who does not conform to common sense, aerial combat is more than familiar.
Having not been able to become a dragon, even the turned dragon-like tower couldn’t match the Marang; a mere butterfly could not escape from the Marang.
“……?!”
The Butterfly of Covenant was genuinely astonished. The wolf’s movements were rather lively. It was now in a realm that could be referred to as mobility.
Thinking it could dodge the chains emitted by the actualized platform, it flipped its body upside down in mid-air and dived.
The Butterfly of Covenant believed she had found an opportunity with her magic. Yet, it would never hit.
Pulling on the platform with its extended tentacle, it boasted elasticity and evaded. In the meantime, the tentacles and the shadows relentlessly tore apart both the butterfly and the actualized entities.
The astounding thing was that even in doing so, it was targeting only the vital spots.
To the source of wisdom, the pinnacle of wizardry, the Butterfly of Covenant, the wolf was an inscrutable entity.
This won’t do. This can’t be happening.
What reason have I been struggling for all this time…!
For decades, I have fought to escape her grasp…!
I finally found a way to suppress her. For the Butterfly of Covenant, this also required resolve.
To sink the Square, the summoning circle calling forth a plague.
If this floating island, which was her hope, could sink, then there would be no further shadow of her hand.
It was a mad idea, but it was the only way. Without such a method, there would be no escaping from her.
Yeah. That was a long hellish time.
It had to endure. Had to give up everything. Even when her husband Edgar died.
During that time, the human named Amelia Morest became worn and tattered, a complete wreck.
For the sake of something she truly wished to protect, she had to hold on. She couldn’t show any emotion.
If she held something dear, she would grasp it tightly and incite herself.
Thus, Amelia had to be thoroughly a Butterfly of Covenant.
She had to live as a wizard, not as a person.
As she did so, she continued to wear down.
Ironically, while honing herself as a wizard, she became completely worn out as a person.
Now, those things wouldn’t even mean anything anymore…
…But that doesn’t matter. The tattered Butterfly of Covenant would blindly follow the will of the Amelia that had not been worn away.
So that one day, even if she isn’t herself, she could eventually break free from her, she pushed Agail.
Agail could perhaps one day surpass her; that was the absurd fantasy. But, regardless, she had no choice but to cling to it. For now, that was all that remained for the Butterfly of Covenant.
…But she ruined everything.
The wolf before her had recklessly torn everything apart and made a mess.
That emptiness soared high, simmering into rage and transforming into hatred.
Ironically, emotions long worn out and lost now came rushing back to engulf her.
With that emotion, Amelia spat out the words of the spell.
Five-verse chant of the Great Magic she had prepared to kill him. The pinnacle of her illusions.
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