[Vol. 8] Chapter 178: Life That Blocks Out Death
Yes, Mevis's evolved ability, Death Sense, now does more than just help her spot an enemy's weakest point. It can even predict how close a living being is to death, in a way that almost feels like interfering with fate.
To put it simply, in the little fox’s eyes, every living creature gives off a kind of death aura. A mysterious “energy” that surrounds their body.
Normally, the closer a person is to the end of their lifespan, the heavier and thicker this death aura becomes. On the other hand, those with plenty of life left only have a faint aura. That’s one factor, but not the only one.
Other than natural aging, there are also death signs caused by outside forces like illness, injuries, or curses. These will show up in Mevis’s vision the same way, letting her roughly guess what kind of danger someone is facing.
Sometimes, even if a person looks perfectly fine, a sudden and thick death aura can appear right before an extremely dangerous attack. That’s a sign that something they’re doing might be leading them toward death.
Since the party first formed, Mevis had been silently watching everyone. In fact, ever since they came close to the Chaos Magic Valley, all of them, including Mevis herself, had slowly started showing signs of that invisible death aura, which only she could see.
And the closer they got to the valley’s entrance, the stronger that aura grew, increasing at a speed that could almost be seen with the naked eye. That’s when the little fox became completely certain of one thing.
There’s something near this valley that, if touched or triggered, will bring death much faster.
While her Death Sense gives only vague predictions about the future, and is best used as a reference, Mevis knew it was better to be cautious.
To her, the solution was already very clear.
After many years of experience, she had come to understand something, even though her Death Sense was absolute when it came to spotting weak points, there were still a few rare beings on whom she couldn’t see any death signs at all.
That was usually because they had some powerful item that could hide them from death, or because...
Well, in this party of about ten people, there were three such individuals she couldn’t “read.”
The first was the team’s leader, the newly chosen Heaven Hero, Elunie Light.
The second was Miss Xiao Guang, the golden-haired girl with dragon horns, who gave Mevis a sense of pressure and fear just by being nearby, like she was from a race that ruled over others. She clearly had some deep connection to the legendary dragons.
And the third... was the one who puzzled and scared Mevis the most.
The priestess, Violet, their current teacher and the famous Instructor of Heroes.
As the most promising young member of the foxfolk, Mevis had no interest in power or status. She chose to travel the world with her tigerfolk friend Kunnir, hoping to break through to a higher level of power. She had met countless powerful beings and strange things along the way, but nothing ever felt as strange as Violet.
After all, death exists because there is life. Without life, death has no meaning. Life and death are two sides of the same coin, opposites that rely on each other.
No matter how powerful a being is, one day they must face death. So, even if Mevis couldn’t see their weak points, there should always be at least a faint trace of death aura around them.
This was true even for Elunie and Xiao Guang.
But Violet... was the only exception.
In Mevis’s eyes, there wasn’t a single trace of death on her.
Instead, Violet gave off a constant glow, like a sacred light, that radiated a mysterious energy Mevis couldn’t understand. It was something completely opposite to death, something that repelled it.
And when people stood near Violet, the death aura around them would also fade, as if being purified by her presence.
This made no sense at all.
Everything in the world follows the cycle of life and death, how could there be a living being with absolutely no sign of death? Maybe Violet was already so powerful that no one could defeat or kill her. But as long as something is alive, it should still show some trace of death. Just like even the brightest light will always cast a shadow.
Unless…
This Violet wasn’t even a living being in the first place.
Mevis didn’t dare continue thinking down that path. She knew her Death Sense ability extremely well and trusted it deeply. Even though this was the first time she had seen something so strange, she never once doubted the truth of what she saw.
So, if someone had to deal with this situation, then naturally the best choice would be the one person who seemed completely unaffected by death, the priestess, Violet.
Noticing the little fox sneaking glances at her with a somewhat different expression, Violet, already well aware of Mevis’s ‘God Favored’ powers, instinctively turned her head and met her gaze. For a brief moment, her silver-blue eyes seemed to flash with a faint golden light, as if guided by some invisible force.
That glow made Mevis’s body tremble slightly, almost against her will. She quickly looked down and turned away, not daring to meet her eyes again.
“...?”
Violet found the fox girl’s behavior a little strange but didn’t overthink it. She couldn’t see death auras like Mevis could, but she had her own ways of sensing things, and what Mevis felt. She could also tell in her own way.
So, she turned to a certain someone instead.
“In that case, Elunie, this is a good chance to test the results of your training.”
“Huh? Sister Violet? But...”
Elunie glanced down at the wooden staff in her hand. Though it looked plain, anyone with sharp eyes could notice the faint golden glow swirling silently around it.
Violet knew exactly what Elunie was worried about, but just gave her a calm, wordless look.
“You should’ve sensed it too, like Mevis said, there’s a powerful force here. It’s far beyond what you can handle on your own right now. But no matter what their purpose was in placing this barrier, nothing we do here will affect it much, so there’s no need to worry. Go ahead and give it your all.”
“...Alright, I understand!”
With her teacher’s reassurance, the hesitant hero no longer hesitated. She nodded firmly and walked forward.
A few steps later, Elunie came to a stop.
As everyone else watched with curiosity, interest, or calm eyes, she slowly raised the staff in her hand, its tip pointing forward.
“O light of everlasting brilliance, I, Elunie Light, call upon your power. Please grant me the power of Light!”
“Vmmm~!”
Golden runes, glowing with sacred and mysterious light, suddenly appeared around her.
No longer looking plain, the [Staff of Eternal Radiance], the divine weapon only a Heaven Hero could wield, began to shine brightly. Surrounded by brilliant gold light, what was once a simple wooden stick transformed rapidly into a holy and noble platinum scepter, shining with the glory of something divine.