Chapter 369: 144. Ring Number: Infinite (7k)
Valentina lay alone behind one of the countless doors in this cylindrical space. She sat in the dark corridor, above her, chilling tremors and roars echoed continuously. She could only hold tightly onto the ring that Fisher had placed on her ring finger, hoping it would protect Fisher above.
Beside her, Emhart, who was bound with a series of illuminating magical necklaces, flew back and forth anxiously, muttering to himself.
“What should I do, what should I do? That base is at least at the mythical rank. That brat Fisher can’t possibly deal with two people at the same time. The one chasing him isn’t good news either; there’s something strange about him. What should I do? I have no one to shake anymore.”
“Roar!!”
“Boom!!”
Outside the door, that base seemed to be constantly pursuing someone. The terrifying force could even fling the much heavier door beside Valentina into wild shudders, scaring Sir Book into rushing over to brace the door with his body, afraid that anyone outside would discover them hiding here.
“Wait, Emhart! Help me with that platform below. I saw that instrument earlier; it seems to be able to open the pristine ice cover below, revealing the tree roots inside.”
Emhart turned to glance at Valentina in suspicion and asked her, “What do you want to do?”
Leaning against the wall, Valentina explained to Emhart, “There are two enemies outside, both hard to deal with. Fisher’s knife can only handle one of them, right? I want to have a backup. If the situation really becomes unsolvable, I can use the tree roots to remove the phoenix blood inside me, so that the base won’t become complete.”
Emhart opened his mouth, shaking his head in annoyance, “Fisher would absolutely not agree to this. While he’s greedy, he cares about you. He won’t let you die. Also, since the Moon Princess allowed you to come back, there must be a reason for it. It absolutely can’t be so you can cause trouble. Just wait a bit.”
But Valentina shook her head upon hearing this, then pointed to her eyes, where the light of the pristine ice could be seen clearly even in the dark, “The Moon Princess may have her arrangements for doing this, but I cannot place all my hopes on her plans. During the holy marriage, I also saw the future. I mean, Fisher and you will be fine, I promise.”
Emhart was momentarily taken aback, looking at the frail girl lying on the ground, seeing the determination in her eyes, and murmured, “You guy… really is a phoenix after all. I know.”
But before Emhart could finish his words, a sudden, quite out of place滴滴滴 sound echoed in the pitch-black narrow corridor, like water dripping from somewhere that had leaked.
“滴滴答答~”
“Emhart, open the door now, go!”
Valentina, initially puzzled, narrowed her eyes and shouted at Emhart when a faint scent of blood reached her. At the same time, she suddenly felt an enormous force squeezing her neck, lifting her effortlessly into the air.
“Ugh!”
“Found you, little phoenix.”
The door behind them was smashed open by Emhart. Following the last sliver of light from him, Valentina saw the figure of the person wearing a bird-beak mask staring at her. Although he was looking at her this way, Valentina instinctively felt a sense of fear.
Erwind gripped Valentina’s neck as he walked toward the door, glancing down at the book that was fluttering away in the distance, not paying any mind to the fleeing Emhart. He simply looked up at Fisher, who was being pursued by the mythical ranked base.
“Fisher, you need to make a decision quickly. Do you want to use the death rune on that cursed one or not? Your little girlfriend.”
Erwind cast another glance at the ring that Valentina was struggling to hold on to, then suddenly changed his wording.
“Oh no, your little wife might not last much longer. Her body is already weak, and forcing a human body to contain the phoenix blood that far exceeds her rank is a miracle that she has survived until now.”
“Roar!”
“Erwind!!”
Right above, Fisher, who was being pursued by the horrific base behind him, felt his pupils constrict slightly in anger. He seemed to be furious beyond belief, reaching for the short dagger hidden in his chest and suddenly releasing the Fluid Sword hanging from the above bridge, charging towards Erwind with incredible speed, seemingly wanting to use the death rune in his possession to kill Erwind first.
Erwind, who was clutching Valentina, sighed slightly. The grip he had on Valentina’s neck tightened.
“It’s a shame, even someone as clever as you will become irrational at times like this. If you could think it through and weigh the pros and cons, perhaps you wouldn’t have made such a decision.”
He raised his left arm and swung it forcefully, creating a fiercely powerful gust of wind. This bottom-to-top attack seemed to have no space for Fisher, who was being pulled downward by gravity to dodge. The force of the wind neutralized Fisher’s offensive, just as Fisher had anticipated. Even with the death rune on him, the rank gap was obvious, and Fisher simply couldn’t land a blow on Erwind.
“Valentina, it’s now!”
But at the moment the attack was unleashed, Fisher’s shout reached Erwind’s ears in advance.
Just as Erwind’s strike sent Fisher flying, its powerful force caused Fisher’s grip on the short dagger to loosen, and the dagger hidden beneath his coat flew into the air. Just as Erwind was contemplating whether to seize the death rune back for his own use, he suddenly caught sight of the true appearance of that dagger.
It was an extremely short, miniature triangular dagger that looked nothing like the imposing weapons made by the demon tribe. In fact, it didn’t even qualify as a weapon that a “human could use with ease.” The dagger’s rough craftsmanship looked rather ridiculous, with even a cute fox symbol drawn at the hilt.
Is this a dagger made by the Snow Fox Tribe?
Where did the real death rune go?
In that instant when this thought popped into Erwind’s mind, the corresponding answer followed. His movements momentarily froze, as behind him, Valentina, whom he was choking, had already drawn a beautifully crafted short blade from her bosom. Wasn’t it the death rune gifted by Eil?
Did I fall into a trap?
In the blink of an eye, Erwind’s left hand had just swung towards Fisher, while his right hand was still clutching Valentina’s neck, his gaze fixed on Fisher, not even bothering to turn around to look at Valentina, just as the thought of having been outsmarted surfaced in his mind.
This is an opportunity, a rare chance!
Valentina gritted her teeth, preparing to seize the moment to draw the knife. Yet Erwind didn’t even turn his head, appearing to be in the perfect position.
But just at that moment, everything changed.
Erwind’s body remained motionless, but a thick, fleshy arm abruptly sprouted from his neck, swiftly and accurately pinning Valentina’s hand, which was about to draw the blade, thus immobilizing the death rune that was about to be unsheathed.
This inhuman scene exceeded Valentina’s imagination, but just that brief moment of pause cost her the critical offensive opportunity.
“Ugh!”
On that arm, clusters of quivering eyes rotated, all fixated on the completely restrained Valentina, while Erwind, who had originally been looking in Fisher’s direction, slowly turned his head, admiring Valentina, who was still struggling to pull out the death rune, and said,
“Good strategy. So you intended to deal with me first? That cursed one may have a high rank but lacks intelligence, so it should be easier to deal with than me. And just now, even a normal person at only one rank could draw the dagger. It’s unfortunate, though, that you are just a crippled human with phoenix blood and don’t possess that capability.”
At that moment, a “crack” sounded from the platform below, which began to shift the pristine ice, revealing the distorted roots of the World Tree below.
“Ah, that may indeed be the case, but at least I am still not in a position for you, this ugly creature, to judge me,”
Valentina painfully covered her neck, squinting her eyes at Erwind.
Erwind seemed to sense something off. His bird-beak mask scrutinized Valentina carefully, suddenly noticing that the ring which was originally on her finger had somehow appeared in her palm, with activated magic runes gradually dissipating, completely exposing her aura.
“Roar!”
Just at the instant Valentina, the last phoenix, exposed her aura, Erwind suddenly felt a chill run down his back. Without needing to think, he knew that the curse had reached behind him.
He instinctively tried to dodge the curse’s attack from behind, but even a mindless mythical rank entity was still a mythical rank existence—its speed was countless times faster than Erwind’s. In the fraction of a moment that could not be captured by the naked eye, Erwind was swallowed whole by that curse.
But Valentina, having been prepared, forcefully pushed against Erwind’s head, causing an opposite reaction that immediately sent her falling downwards.
“Roar!”
Yet how could that curse allow the bloodline so near to it to escape? It rushed towards Valentina like mad, its colossal force seemingly attempting to pierce through the entire Parasol Tree. Countless debris from the structures was battered down by the base’s immense force, akin to the world’s most beautiful art piece about to shatter.
The vicinity around the colossal base became contaminated by some invisible power, as black feathers stained with blood began to sprout wildly on Valentina’s clothes and skin. Above, Fisher was also dashing towards the falling Valentina with the Fluid Sword held high, doing everything in his power to save her.
“Boom!”
But the next moment, beneath Fisher’s feet, the body of the base suddenly exploded open. Erwind, having been splattered with some black feathers, calmly emerged from inside the curse’s body. In mid-air, the death rune spun wildly, and both saw the dagger rotating intensely before simultaneously moving.
However, Erwind headed towards the death rune, while Fisher dashed toward Valentina.
“Weakness will destroy you, Fisher. Drop the death rune, and you’ve lost.”
“…”
In the moment they crossed paths, Erwind’s calm voice reached Fisher’s ears, but Fisher ignored him, leaping from the base to Valentina, holding her tightly in his embrace.
And from Erwind’s back sprouted a pair of fleshy wings, reaching out towards the falling death rune from above. Yet in the next moment, a square book that glittered with golden light was flying frantically and shouted as it swiftly clamped down on that short dagger.
“Great Sir Book is here!! Get away, get away!”
“…Tear Droplet Artifact?”
Erwind lifted his gaze to lock onto Emhart’s square figure, intending to pursue, but behind him, the mercurial sword blade easily pierced through his body, dragging him down again. He turned his head to see Fisher’s feathers becoming heavier and more numerous. The curse from the base was significantly stronger than the phantoms previously seen in the Spirit Realm, and Fisher could not hold on much longer.
Then, resolving to take care of Fisher could also be a good choice.
Erwind slammed a fist to his chest, and with a tremendous burst of sound, the Fluid Sword that had once hooked Erwind was sent flying. Erwind’s whole arm transformed into a rain of weapons faster than bullets, descending towards the ground.
The mindless curse plummeted onto the roots, its energy scorching its forehead painfully, granting Fisher and Erwind a chance to clash.
Fisher’s body at the thirteenth rank operated at its fullest extent. In a few movements, he dodged all of Erwind’s attacks; he could even counter with the Fluid Sword, though due to the unresolved curse below, neither had yet unleashed their full strength. Even so, Valentina, who was in Fisher’s arms and not at even one rank, could not withstand it.
“Fisher, even if your little phoenix is too stubborn to speak, she is actually very fragile. Are you sure you want to continue?”
Erwind’s hands morphed into numerous sharp tendrils, whipping at the dodging Fisher, as he remarked. Hearing this, Fisher glanced down at the pallid Valentina in his arms, her complexion frighteningly pale.
Battles above the tenth rank exceeded ordinary humans’ tolerance. Even if Fisher could dodge everything, Valentina wouldn’t hold up; continuing to fight would harm her internals.
But just at that moment, Fisher’s back was struck violently by Erwind. Blood mist erupted from his back, and that blood mist poured into Erwind’s body. Whether it was an illusion or not, Erwind’s movements seemed to lighten considerably.
Gripping the【Dream】ring head magic tightly, which he had prepared as his trump card, he was determined to apply the death rune to the curse and draw Erwind into a sleep to fight to the death.
If successful, both he and Valentina could survive; conversely, if he failed and died, the two completion manuals would be seized, but Fisher didn’t believe Erwind would kill Valentina since his goal had already been achieved, and there was no need for such meaningless actions.
Thinking thus, he no longer hesitated, calling out “Emhart.” Emhart quickly tossed the death rune he held in his mouth to him, and Fisher caught the short dagger as it was thrown, lowering his head to the below base that had just pulled its head from the energy of the roots.
Erwind seemed to understand his intentions, which suited him, as he knew that if Fisher didn’t have the death rune, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he wouldn’t win. Hence, he quietly stood a short distance away, waiting for Fisher to act upon the base.
Fisher took a deep breath and suddenly leaned down, giving Valentina in his arms a firm kiss on the cheek, causing the pale Valentina to smile.
“F-Fisher.”
“This may be the last time. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t.”
From a distance, Erwind quietly turned his head slightly, only to keep his gaze downward at the curse. But the next second, in his line of sight, the curse suddenly trembled, exploding into thousands of bloodshot eyes, fixating on the figure above.
Previously, both Fisher and Erwind had prioritized dealing with each other, as the base below had no sense and only brute strength. However, they overlooked that mythical ranks were mythical ranks; the power of any being below that rank was beyond imagination.
Now, sensing the last remnants of the phoenix bloodline, the incomplete base was finally ready to unleash its offensive.
“Roar!”
The next second, an extremely harsh and indescribable sound erupted from the base, waves of blood-red light burst forth in an instant, covering the entire Parasol Tree. In the next moment, the magical circuits of Erwind, Fisher, and Valentina lit up brilliantly.
Erwind’s body trembled slightly, then he instantly vanished from sight, escaping upward without looking back, but he was a moment too late. As the radiant light conveyed, Fisher immediately felt as if he were deaf, his entire power of magic quickly siphoned away by an invisible great force, and he collapsed to the ground weakly.
“This is all your fault; you didn’t stitch in the souls of others. Your soul is damaged now without a backup.”
“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and devour the phoenix bloodline in your arms, then you can—”
The mad whispers returned to Fisher’s ears, but that shriek was more harmful to a powerful soul like a wizard. This one blow left Fisher dazed, as if his mind had been struck and was utterly blank.
Emhart, floating in the air, fell to the ground like an ordinary book without energy, rolling several times.
“Roar!!”
The light and shrieks continued from below. More terrifying was that, in Fisher’s terrified gaze, all the magical rings on his body began to drop away. His soul magic fell layer by layer from five rings until it completely turned into a pile of powerless patterns. The pendant gifted by Valentina’s mother also fell ring after ring until it became trash; only the【Dream】magic he designed remained intact at two rings.
Such low-ring magic had no effect at all; let alone drag Erwind in, even pulling a slightly more powerful wizard was hard.
Below, the base watched as Fisher and Valentina lost their capability to act. It screeched strangely and then spread its wings, intending to swallow both Valentina and Fisher whole.
“Fisher, be careful!”
At the moment the curse was about to open its massive mouth to attack, an equally distressed Valentina suddenly pushed Fisher hard. She uncontrollably rolled downward, allowing the gaping base to bite down on her body and carry her skyward.
“Boom!”
The base that had bitten Valentina shook, seemingly impatient to swallow her, while below, the magic ring on Fisher’s finger finally flickered with a hint of pink light, like a powerless infant trying its utmost to take down a strongman, but no effort was of any avail.
“Is this the trump card you prepared for me? What a shame. This mindless thing, in pure instinct alone, could make you completely lose your fighting capability. One could say it’s destined by fate.”
Among the surrounding smoke and dust, Erwind, covering his body, slowly approached Fisher. He looked at Fisher’s pitiful appearance, akin to a brain burned from a failed high-ring magic, and couldn’t help but sigh.
He lowered his head to pick up the fallen death rune before steadily walking towards Fisher.
“It hasn’t swallowed the little phoenix yet. After killing you, I’ll use the death rune to kill it. You can go in peace, Fisher Benavides.”
“念”
Erwind’s hands abruptly morphed into two sharp blades. He stepped on Fisher’s chest while mocking the dazed Fisher, whose hand still attempted to activate the now two-ringed dream magic, but it registered no sensation of soul drawing for Erwind at all.
“念”
Erwind placed the blade at Fisher’s neck, showing no hesitation to kill him. But just at that moment, he seemed to hear Fisher struggling to speak something.
Erwind didn’t know that at this moment, in Fisher’s ears, the rumbling tinnitus from the exhaustion of magic and the crazy whispers from the completion manual had completely vanished. Instead, there was a single, simple phrase spoken by a rhythmically charming female voice.
She said,
“念，唐沢あすか（Tang Zeming Asuka）。念，唐沢あすか。”
As Fisher watched the base that was biting Valentina grow distant, seeing Erwind’s blade come closer, a blankness overtook his mind. He instinctively followed the woman’s voice and spoke, saying,
“唐沢.あすか。”
At the moment before the blade embedded in Fisher’s neck, as those words composed of a language unknown to him left his lips, a deep crimson suddenly erupted from the magic lord’s ring on his finger, tugging at the depths of the world and sending forth a peculiar wave in the spirit realm.
In that instant of the wave appearing, the base that was biting Valentina suddenly seemed to lose all its strength, becoming limp in mid-air, subsequently plummeting alongside Valentina, pulled down by gravity.
“Roar!”
“Boom!”
Erwind’s magical circuits flared to life, and in his astonished gaze, the dream magic in Fisher’s hand that only had two rings suddenly burst forth with brilliant light. The previously dull pale pink turned radiant like the sun, and the magical runes meticulously etched by Fisher above were instantaneously devoured. Yet, the ripple of the world grew only more intense!
At that moment, it seemed as if the magic’s runes had been infected by the power leaking from the ring. While the brilliance of the ring grew dim, the magic in Fisher’s hand swelled further, pushing the ring number towards an unmeasurable extent.
At this moment, the spatial fluctuations representing the ring number increased layer by layer, as if there was no end, triggering a commotion within the depths of the world. The energy of magic surged from an unknown source, automatically displaying exponential growth, quickly enveloping the mythical ranked base, Erwind, and Fisher within it, until those layers of magical wave energy could no longer be bound by the realities created by the gods in the real world. It transformed into the endlessly variable, interconnecting “horizontal eight” symbol.
Endless energy from the rings instantly devoured all rules of the real world, with an irresistible great power distorting time and space, effortlessly pulling all present souls—whether twisted or powerless—into the crevice between the spirit realm and the world.
“Crack, crack, crack!”
Around the world, the sound of glass shattering resonated, as Valentina fell from the sky to the ground. With a sound of bone cracking, the blood beneath her surged continuously, representing both her phoenix bloodline and her fading life, oozing towards the nearby curse.
This scene gradually aligned with the prophecy she had seen, but the next second, just as the dream magic of “infinite” was about to cover her, the flow of her life and blood abruptly halted, as if the weaving of fate had paused for rest at that moment.
Inside the Parasol Tree, the fragments, the fallen base, the dying Valentina, and the soulless Fisher were all suspended in this instant, oddly trapped in the infinite crevice of time and space, but the souls of every being present had all left their bodies and, following the flickering pristine ice, plummeted into an infinite, kaleidoscopic, profound illusion constructed by an unknown existence.
