[Vol. 8] Chapter 61: Entering the Game
The open field at the center of the buffer zone.
Even though both sides had silently agreed to keep most of the fighting in the sky, this ancient wasteland had still suffered unimaginable destruction. The once rocky ground had been turned into loose yellow sand by the repeated shockwaves. The whole area had sunk several meters deep, and cracks stretched across the land in every direction. It was a terrible sight.
Even if there had once been some low-intelligence wild creatures living here, none of them could have survived such devastation. And yet, in the middle of this dead, silent wasteland, a figure slowly floated down from the sky. She looked around, as if searching for something.
This was none other than the [God of Wilderness and Savagery], who had just taken her followers to safety and now returned alone, still worried about the battle.
“No need to look, the fight is already over.”
The three-headed bone dragon that had helped the giant serpent burst out of the ground circled once in the sky before landing loudly near [Wild]. A slim figure jumped down from its back and looked directly at the dark crystal figure.
It was a young girl wearing a loose, pitch-black dress. Her skin, though smooth, was unusually pale for some reason. Her long hair was a dull grayish-white, full of lifelessness. She had a pretty face, but everything about her felt… off. The way she moved and spoke was strangely eerie and seductive.
Clearly, a normal person would never ride something like a bone dragon.
If someone from the Holy Empire or Frederica’s team had been here, they would have instantly recognized her, and probably shouted out in shock.
Yes, this mysterious girl who had ridden in on the bone dragon to support the [God of Wilderness and Savagery], who even brought the giant undead serpent that swallowed the priestess, was the same undead magic user Lorga Blanca, who had mysteriously disappeared from the Holy Empire group’s watch earlier that morning.
But to [Wild], it seemed she had another name with deeper meaning.
[Immorei, you already knew who she really was?]
Lorga glanced calmly at the [God of Wilderness and Savagery]. Her gray eyes, marking her as an undead, flashed with a strange light that didn’t belong to her, like something ancient and powerful was using her body to express a will from beyond this world.
“How could I know? I only realized recently, at least not before I met her in person. The Chairman never explains his plans. But we know that whatever future he sees will always come true. Even the great change a thousand years ago was exactly like this. So why would this small action be any different?”
[Hmph…]
[Wild] looked down at her damaged body and let out a cold snort, clearly unhappy.
[This so-called 'small action' actually required seven of us council members, including you and me, plus the Chairman and Lord Hen, who personally took action, a total of nine Gods to barely succeed in the encirclement and kill. If I had known it would be this tough, I would’ve never come myself! That old fool made such a big move but didn’t share any useful information. I will settle this with him later!]
Lorga or rather Immorei smiled slightly.
“Oh my, weren’t you always curious about that white dragon who defeated Flam? You said you wanted to see what made her so special. The Chairman just gave you what you wanted. Why are you angry now~?”
[Nonsense. I didn’t lose! One-on-one, she might not even be a match for me!]
The undead girl casually waved her hand, clearly not taking it seriously.
“Alright, alright, I get it, you’re amazing. But even if you didn’t lose, you couldn’t win either. Even one-on-one, you still couldn’t beat her. You have to admit that much, right? Looks like Flam didn’t lose unfairly after all.”
Not wanting to argue further, Immorei turned to look at the massive pit where the giant serpent and black-haired girl had disappeared, then quickly looked away again.
“By the way, Bister, you must have looked into it during the battle. That white dragon… is she really one of the [Keepers of the World]?”
Understanding what she meant to ask, [Wild], called by a different name here, nodded calmly, not minding the name change. Her voice was low and serious.
[She’s very strong. She fought me head-on, body against body, even though my form represents the power of divine laws, and she didn’t fall behind. Just that alone is something no non-divine being should be able to do. And she didn’t use any law-based powers at all, even when she was forcibly transferred by Lord Hen at the very end. There’s no reason for her to pretend, unless she really doesn’t care if the god named Violet lives or dies.]
[If she’s not the same dragon god that once fought the Wheel of Fate, then she must be from the [World Sustainers]. And that’s really bad news. Did you notice anything when you met her earlier?]
A faint flash of golden fire and a strange color, clearly not from a god, briefly appeared in the undead girl’s gray eyes. But Lorga shook her head without hesitation.
“Nothing. That white dragon never used any divine power. And as far as I know, that one should still be asleep. The Chairman said so himself.”
Perhaps distracted by the topic, [Wild] didn’t notice the slight change in the girl’s expression. Instead, as if recalling something, the two ancient gods fell silent. After a while, the one using Lorga’s body, Immorei, shook her head and spoke again.
“Anyway, this time all the council members worked together to send the biggest threat into the time stream. Even if that white dragon really is from the [World Sustainers], it doesn’t matter anymore. What we need to deal with now is the Goddess of Life and that dragon god who suddenly appeared. If we can’t bring them into the Council…”
[Wild] shook her head. Her crystal-black face showed no expression, but her voice sounded colder.
[That’s your problem. The Chairman used me for this plan without offering a proper explanation or reward. I’m not going to put in any more effort without good reason. I’m heading back to rest.]
[Huh? But if you just leave, what about your mortal followers and divine messengers…?]
[…Who cares? A bunch of ants who only pretend to be loyal. Let them live or die on their own.]
………………………………………
In just a moment, the world completely changed.
When her surroundings finally became clear again, Violet opened her eyes and looked around curiously. But it wasn’t what she had expected. Not the inside of the serpent, not the dark red flesh like that insect’s body from before.
At this moment, she was within some kind of space.
There was no sun or moon, no sky or earth. The space around her was vast and bright, not dark. Countless streaks of light flew around like shooting stars, forming glowing clouds across the sky. It looked magical and strange.
“This place…”
“This is the [Time-Space Rift], a place cut off from all worlds and all space. It is the void abandoned by the [River of Time].”