Chapter 341

‘Without ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍the Magic Tower…….’

She ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍had accepted the memories of the Beginning without synchronizing with the Magic Tower.

The ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Seed embedded in her forehead was hot enough for her to feel the heat radiating from it.

‘I ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍can barely endure it.’

Charles ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍forced her wavering consciousness to steady itself.

Even ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍as the memories of a transcendent being bore down on her, she did not give up on synchronizing with the Violet Magic Tower.

‘Violet.’

Through the Seed, she called to the Magic Tower again and again.

The Violet Magic Tower, which valued the Seed above all else, did not answer her call.

‘…….’

She tried to occupy her mind with something else, if only to keep from being crushed beneath those memories.

She recalled her first meeting with Violet.

[Charles Cornelia.]

A Magic Tower was created by weaving countless formulas throughout a physical structure.

Merely synchronizing with one granted a mage an inexhaustible supply of mana.

They could conduct research many times more efficiently, and that process inevitably led to the birth and growth of arcane magic.

[There is no need to resist.]

Her command over the mana in a given area was extraordinary, but its range was not limitless.

Yet several exceptional people of the modern age had overcome that weakness in their own ways.

For instance, Killian Eurasia, once an incomplete knight, had used Carpe Illusion to create a duplicate indistinguishable from the real thing.

[Killian Eurasia is a false existence.]

It was an imitation that even replicated the Violet Magic Tower’s system, and the true Magic Tower in the western frontier had responded.

Across space and distance, it had permitted Killian to synchronize with it at any time.

[A being that has lived for thousands of years has put on a human shell.]

Charles and the Mixed-Color Duke had chosen to become parts of their Magic Towers themselves.

That allowed them, as the Towers’ owners, to draw out every scrap of their performance and freed them from the restrictions of time and space.

The drawback was that any shock to a Magic Tower would also shock their minds.

But for mages of their caliber, it was hardly a meaningful weakness.

There was no reason to leave a being capable of striking a Magic Tower alone, nor could they imagine living without the Tower that had become part of their minds.

[Killian Eurasia—Adamas—is no longer human.]

Charles’s synchronization had extended to Lan de Styx and Asirian de Silvana, becoming the bulwark that allowed the Kingdom Alliance to preserve its strength even after the Wave.

Had she known that Lord waited within the Monster Lord’s mountain range, and that he possessed a means to forcibly undo their synchronization—

‘I would not have entered so readily.’

Thinking that, Charles resisted Lord’s voice as it circled through her mind.

Even when she tried to turn her attention to other memories, his voice continued to burrow into her.

She realized that a part of him had taken root in her consciousness.

[You will become my key.]

It was like brainwashing.

A being like Lord could produce effects akin to an Authority simply by speaking the words aloud.

‘I am powerless.’

She had driven back the incursion of the Monster Lord fused with the Dragon Lord and the Mixed-Color Duke.

With the proper support, she had been confident she could destroy the Monster Lord’s core.

‘I was not careless.’

She had reinforced the links between the towers with dozens of spells and sacred formulas.

Even if she had been given more time, there could have been no surer method.

[It was the best you could do.]

Lord’s voice passed over her body.

It was a sweet whisper, so sweet that the thought of resisting did not even arise.

[It was your fate to end up like this from the beginning.]

The one who, weary of solitude, had split himself apart and created the gods.

The very being who had brought an unknown life-form into the world—one that even stole the Authority of the Highest-ranking God.

[I will make you a god.]

Cornelia de Lord.

[I will grant Cornelia an eternal blessing.]

The fragments Lord had created would gather in one place for her sake.

Having each reached transcendence by their own means, they would become beings capable of shaking the laws of the world.

[And among them, you will play the central role.]

A god who governs humanity.

[You will be revered as a Human God and called the Human Lord as well.]

The Violet Magic Tower would become a temple for her.

She could live forever and conduct as much research as she desired.

If she wished, she could personally ignite the world’s conflicts—or extinguish them.

[Not even the laws of the world will be able to stand in your way.]

She was the being chosen to become the world’s Highest-ranking God in place of Lord, who had gone beyond.

Even the laws of the world would be unable to evade her magic.

[Would that not be a truly beautiful world?]

It was sweet.

She could not deny that failing to synchronize with the Magic Tower had left her vulnerable to mental attacks.

Even taking all that into account—

‘I cannot deny it.’

From a broad perspective, Lord was not wrong.

In a world watched over by a single benevolent being, wars would surely never occur.

If that role were given to her, she was confident she could perform it better than anyone.

She would have to spend thousands of years alone—perhaps tens of thousands, perhaps close to hundreds of thousands.

Still, she was willing to bear that weight.

If sacrificing herself alone could stabilize the world.

Adamas, too.

Edan Eurasia, too.

Had they not all sacrificed themselves to save humanity?

‘There is no reason I should not do the same…….’

[An oath will be enough.]

Her body had already been subdued.

[Accept me as your master. Those few words are all it will take.]

After that, everything would proceed on its own.

As the owner of the Magic Tower, she would attain transcendence and become a god.

She would become Lord’s key, a sentinel guarding the world.

“I…….”

As if enchanted, Charles opened her mouth.

“You…….”

Swoooosh—

A wind blew.

The wind restored the sensations that had gone dull.

The mist veiling her sight cleared.

What she had thought was wind was mana.

‘Violet……?’

No, this was neither the Violet Magic Tower nor pure mana.

It was ‘something’ fused with mana.

That something was blue.

Within that blueness, the outline of someone familiar took shape.

The vague image of someone she had forgotten surfaced in her mind.

“Killian…….”

[…….]

“……Eurasia.”

[…….]

“Killian…… Eurasia.”

Lord fell silent at the words Charles spoke aloud.

After a moment, an unwelcome voice rang out.

[It seems I underestimated the new power he acquired.]

Until a moment ago, Charles Cornelia had been unable to properly recognize Killian Eurasia and Adamas.

She had perceived them only as objects no more significant than stones beneath her feet.

He had made her that way.

‘He must not be forgotten.’

She had been able to remember the existence called Lord because of the influence of her contact with him.

Because he had allowed it.

Killian Eurasia was different.

That man could not enter this place.

This was the end of the world and the passage leading beyond it; no being Lord had not permitted could set foot here.

Fwoooosh—fwoooosh—

Orbs of radiance circled Charles.

The mana approaching her was cut off.

With that, everything that had been encroaching upon Charles’s mind vanished completely.

“You were…… encroaching on me…….”

[Encroachment. The Authority Neptune possessed.]

Lord’s once-sweet voice now sounded like a demon’s whisper.

She realized that Lord’s Authority had been working on her without her awareness.

If not for the power imbued with mana a moment ago, she would have become Lord’s servant.

‘Killian, you saved me again.’

If it could reach her while her synchronization with the Magic Tower had been severed, then he was likely close by.

In other words, if only she could escape this place—

‘I can face Lord together with him.’

Strength surged through her as though she had never been powerless.

She drew out the handful of mana remaining in her Mana Heart.

Srrrk—

It was so little that using even a single 8-Star spell, let alone a 9-Star one, would drain it dry.

‘He stole even my mana while I was being encroached upon.’

No matter who her opponent had been, it was such a humiliating mistake that she could not have faced the ancestor who had passed the Seed down to her.

Swoooosh—

Violet mana flickered at the tip of her index finger.

She pointed that finger at Lord before her.

[You are mistaken. I am not your enemy.]

“A moment of clouded vision was enough for me.”

The violet mana compressed into the shape of a bullet.

Kiiiiii—

She spun the mana, driving its power to its limit.

‘I will have only one chance to use magic.’

If she exhausted all the mana she had now, there would be no second chance.

In the single instant she invoked a formula—

She detonated countless spells linked together in succession.

‘Creation Magic.’

Drawing upon the magic that formed her very foundation—

Fwoosh—

She fused a formula for flame magic—

Ssssss—

With a formula for freezing magic.

The air expanded, and an enormous explosion compressed.

She laid another formula over it to maintain the explosion.

Crackle—

Lightning coursed through it.

Rumble—

The atmosphere trembled.

Whoooom—

Space rippled.

In the blink of an eye, she fused thousands of spells.

And the magic thus refined—

“…….”

Was quiet.

It was a perfect sphere without the slightest disturbance.

It seemed as though every form of energy in the area was being drawn into that sphere.

[Without the Magic Tower’s aid, you have created power akin to an Authority.]

Two incompatible emotions mingled in Lord’s voice.

Joy that his choice had not been wrong, and discomfort at the manner that reminded him of Adamas.

[It cannot be helped.]

Creeeak—

Lord’s mouth opened wide enough to surpass the bounds of his own body.

[I have no choice but to devour you, then force you to submit.]

He added that it would lower her rank somewhat, but it was still preferable to losing her completely.

“If you can.”

Bang—

Charles’s magic, fired in the form of a bullet, buried itself in Lord’s maw.

BOOM!

The fused magic activated, followed by a succession of explosions.

Crunch—crunch—

Lord greedily chewed through the magic.

The explosions stopped.

[Ptooey.]

Lord spat a tattered lump of flesh from his mouth.

[My victory. You have no mana left.]

“Yes. That spell was everything I had.”

With insufficient mana, she had fused the many arcane spells inscribed into Cornelia’s Magic Tower to create that attack.

She had no mana left with which to use magic.

Creeeak—

Lord approached Charles and opened his mouth.

[You will be reborn.]

“…….”

It was dark.

She could see the interior that her magic had left utterly ruined.

Crack—crunch—

The sounds of flesh being crushed and entrails being chewed battered her ears.

His organs were closer to a monster’s than a human’s.

Whether from fear before death or the reaction of a body depleted of mana—

Her entire body trembled.

“……!!”

Clench.

She gripped the teeth of the maw that had swallowed her to the neck.

Drip—

Blood ran down.

Ignoring it, she tightened both hands around the teeth.

Trickle—

The blood that fell from her flowed into Lord’s body.

“I will not die.”

She recalled the last magic she could use.

She would use blood in place of mana.

“I—”

Sizzle—

The blood inside her body evaporated, and dizziness overtook her.

“Will get out.”

Magic that staked her life.

‘Diana, I will use your magic.’

The final formula her ancestor had recorded as a forbidden art.

‘With my blood. With my will. With my existence.’

Her blood became the lines that composed the formula, and her will became the bonds that completed the magic circle.

‘My body will be reconstituted as fuel, my existence as form.’

She suppressed her trembling body and voice.

Kyaaaaaah—

Red light spread as it tore through Lord’s esophagus.

“I shall be immortal.”

She completed the chant.

Blood Binding Formula.

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