Solo Swordmaster

#1020. Someday,

I will see that scene again.

The Guardian thought.

It’s like a predatory Imoogi.

Just like a snake swallows a bird’s egg found in its nest whole without breaking it.

And the results would not be much different.

Even if the storm of flower petals fluttering across the Earth is strong enough to prevent any disaster.

Just as an egg swallowed by a snake will eventually be digested.

Since they were swallowed whole by the vortex of starlight, it was only a matter of time before their world collapsed and humanity was destroyed.

[I didn’t want it to end like this… I’m sorry.]

That’s why.

The reason why the merciful Guardian of Resurrection opened his mouth with a heavy tone.

It was not just because he was saddened by the fact that the human race he had spread across the Earth with his own hands was ultimately destroyed without being able to save it.

It was bittersweet to see the enormous sacrifices made in this case and the inability to undo the damage.

“It’s a pity…”

However, unexpectedly, Limon did not show any signs of agitation even after seeing the Earth bathed in starlight.

After just calmly looking at the guardian.

I just chuckled.

“You are still so arrogant.”

[….]

“Did you think you could trample on humanity to this extent?”

It seems absurd.

Or as if it were foolish.

With a cold sneer.

He looked at the guardian with even colder eyes and spoke softly.

“Don’t underestimate the power of humanity.”

* * *

Gates of Valhalla.

The magic that connects this world and the afterlife.

The power created by combining the three great magics of the Silver Age was a miracle that surpassed even the miracles of God.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the reason humanity was still able to endure even as the Nine Worlds collapsed was thanks to the countless heroic spirits summoned by the Great Miracle Magic.

But we must not forget.

Even though magic is close to omnipotence, it is a power that always requires a price.

And as great as its effectiveness was, the Gate of Valhalla required a huge price to operate and maintain.

The source of that price is Tartarus.

When the war between gods and dragons broke out.

It was a pseudo-hell where the gods, who feared the potential of the seven dragons who grew stronger as they ate them, made it so that even dead gods were swallowed up.

After the war, Tartarus, the last stronghold of the gods, was abandoned and blockaded.

However, the corpses and souls of many gods who were sacrificed at the time were still trapped at the bottom.

And at this moment.

The countless remnants of the gods were disintegrated by powerful magic and were supporting the gates of Valhalla.

Like a power plant that runs by burning coal and oil.

Or like a company that mines and operates treasures from ruins.

The magic completed by the Sorcerer Queen, who was considered a legend even in the Silver Age, by borrowing the power of other great witches, gods, and even black wizards, made it possible.

There is one problem.

Just like every mine has a bottom.

The spirit and body of the god imprisoned in Tartarus was not infinite.

No matter how much you amplify it with the Demon God’s magic, summoning all the heroic spirits in human history consumes a huge amount of power.

Especially since every time the sword masters showed up and unleashed their sword skills, the price was lost in droves.

Even the spiritual body of God, aged by curses and resentment for over a thousand years, was at its lowest point.

Especially after a vortex of starlight appeared and a storm of flower petals covered the whole world, everything was lost.

And any magic.

If there is no reward, it ends.

Originally, the gates of Valhalla would have closed long ago, the storm of heroes and flowers would have disappeared, and the world should have been swallowed up in a vortex of light.

Nonetheless, this moment.

The light of dawn and the storm of petals were still maintained, blocking the swirl of starlight.

It’s truly a miracle. It was a feat of God that could not be surpassed even if imitated by any magic.

But at this moment.

The place where the miracle happens.

The royal palace of the White Dragon clan towers over Jerusalem.

There, there was no admiration or emotion on the faces of the saints and priests who should have been most amazed at the miracle.

“Oh my God….”

Shocked.

despair.

heartbreak.

Frustration.

Even if it’s literally the end of the world.

No, it was as if he had witnessed something even more terrible than that.

Some are wailing, some are immersed in grief, and some are crying and screaming.

When saints and priests were sobbing like that.

Palak.

Quietly.

One whiteness came down.

I fold my tattered wings and slowly walk towards my blood-covered body.

The pure white girl approached the magic circle drawn in the middle of the palace and looked with an expressionless face at the pillar of light that seemed to pierce the sky.

“It was somehow strange.”

I had a premonition.

Until now, I couldn’t confirm it because I was busy just blocking monsters with the heroic spirits.

However, the monsters are melting into a vortex of light, and a storm of flower petals is blocking the vortex instead.

The girl who flew here, albeit belatedly, muttered bluntly.

“No matter how deep Tartarus is, there is a bottom. There is no way this kind of magic can be maintained like this.”

“Priest.”

“So, I was curious about how they maintained their magic…” Although

she was neither a witch nor a priest, the girl was able to sense the strangeness of the situation because she knew magic well.

Before she was the princess of the Seven Dragons.

The priest of the Holy Alliance.

I blurted out my words.

And, as always, with an expressionless face that could not hide his agitation, he spoke softly.

“…I didn’t expect human sacrifice.”

Human sacrifice.

Sacrifice a human being.

The act of becoming a master of magic.

In essence, the more mysterious and rare a magic master is, the better.

In that respect, humans were actually the most efficient fetish in the world.

Even if he sacrificed any human being, he would exert as much power as expensive gold and silver treasures or treasures that have been mysterious for hundreds of years.

Therefore, it was the warlock who most actively used that method.

Because it is a frighteningly efficient means.

Therefore, it is easy to be mistaken.

Human sacrifice is black magic.

But that is a misunderstanding.

Because human sacrifice is not black magic.

Rather, it is the most orthodox form of magic permitted by God, among all magic.

This is because human sacrifice was originally a ritual created to offer sacrifices to gods.

Because humans were much more precious than lambs or cows and were the best sacrifice that could satisfy the gods.

From that perspective.

Human sacrifice is the best option.

It was the best way to protect humanity.

No matter how many humans are sacrificed, it is better than the entire human race being destroyed.

Sacrifice one person to save a thousand, ten thousand, or millions.

Being able to save lives for a little while longer was a reason that everyone sympathized with and could understand, even if they did not accept the sacrifice.

Nevertheless, at this moment.

She had to harden.

There is one reason why priests wail.

The scene was now unfolding before their eyes.

Sigh!

The light falls.

The light melts.

The light disappears.

No matter how bright the light is.

No matter how old the light is.

No matter how divine the light.

There was no such thing as discrimination.

The light that melted into that pillar instantly melted and became part of the pillar without any discrimination.

If at this moment.

If human sacrifice was taking place.

What if Jerusalem was simply overflowing with rotting refugees being offered as sacrifices?

As always, she would have confirmed it with an expressionless face and brushed it off with a dry voice.

Nevertheless, the reason Ainsha had no choice but to remain silent was because what was happening here was not human sacrifice.

Human sacrifice?

It was an absurd statement.

If offering a human being as a sacrifice is called human sacrifice, then this could never be called human sacrifice.

If I had to give it a name.

There is only one answer.

God sacrifice.

Yes.

Right now at this moment.

The thing melting into the pillar of light was not a human being.

…It was God.

God of alcohol.

God of hunting.

God of laziness.

God of thunder, etc.

Although he has lost his incarnation and his prestige on earth has fallen, he is an immortal who has existed for a long time and will exist for a long time to come.

The gods of heaven were jumping into pillars of light themselves and melting away in Tarotaros.

Just like the poor who jumped into the furnace and became a species.

Or, it’s like the result of going to any lengths to create a bomb with absolute power, even if it means starving the entire population to death.

Laughing and wailing.

Every minute, every second.

jumped into the whirlpool.

Watching the sight of tens of thousands of gods throwing themselves into the furnace of divinity to replenish and maintain the mastery of magic by burning themselves.

the girl asked.

“I want to know why you are doing this.”

[The reason is simple.]

And to that question.

The gods of the pantheon responded.

[Because we are gods.]

God.

The universal answer.

Conclusion of all doubts.

As a being who must answer any question and inform the result of every suspicion.

The gods spoke together.

[We are not the creators or creators of mankind.]

“….”

[We are just beings born from their earnest wishes.]

What is God?

If we trace the question back, what we ultimately arrive at is the Creator of this world and the Creator of mankind.

But what a pity.

They are the creators of all things.

It wasn’t even the Creator.

[The meaning of our existence is to protect and save you.]

No.

no.

Certainly, among the gods, there were gods who would do whatever it took to promote their own faith and divinity rather than protect humanity.

In fact, there may have been more such gods.

The problem is that such evil spirits have already disappeared a long time ago.

Or get eaten by a dragon.

Cut down by the defenders of humanity.

The surviving remnants are the current pantheon.

Although he did not commit any obvious evil deeds, he was a refugee who spent his days helplessly without being able to clearly prove his divinity.

From the end of the Silver Age until now, they have simply existed helplessly.

Like a retiree who has been fired from his job and only lives off of his pension.

[So everyone, don’t be sad.]

That’s why keep smiling.

The gods spoke together.

Without any lies or pretense.

[As long as you believe in us, we will reappear someday.]

As long as humanity remains.

And as long as they wish for themselves.

They will appear again even after hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of years have passed, so don’t be too sad.

The countless gods who jumped into the pillar of light without any hesitation as soon as it was their turn, leaving behind only a faint smile.

And at the end of burning those gods and looking at the fluttering flower petals with an expressionless face.

Palak.

Slowly.

With the hem of his white clothes fluttering.

She started dancing.

It is not to replace the missing casting.

She is not even the princess of the White Dragon Clan.

Before he was also a priest of the Holy Alliance.

Just as a girl.

Just purely.

This is how the princess who inherited the world’s noblest blood and the most beautiful voice in the world began dancing and singing.

…He burned himself to protect humanity and became immortal for the gods.