Copy Skills with Affinity!
Chapter 208: Conclusion (3)
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Naskah di bawah ini ditampilkan sementara dari versi English asli.
“……Let’s first hear how something like that even came up.”
At Noel bringing that up, Elisha and Bailey both flinched at the same time.
Anyone would, if every strand of her voice felt packed full with killing intent.
But from Elisha and Bailey’s perspective, it wasn’t exactly an absurd proposal either.
You could tell just from the fact that they still managed to stammer their way through despite that sharp, oppressive presence right in front of them.
“-I mean, honestly, you guys know it too.”
As she said that, Bailey pointed at the black heart that was still emitting a writhing, creeping dark energy into the surroundings.
“You can’t beat that with just your own strength.”
“…….”
“…….”
And the silence that immediately rose around them clearly implied agreement.
The pressure weighing down on their bodies made it painfully obvious that their current strength alone wasn’t enough.
“Trying to fight an Outsider with pure strength is meaningless. If we’re dealing with something that devoured gods in the first place, then even the power of gods wouldn’t work on it.”
It was logically sound.
As I quietly acknowledged it, Elisha and Bailey let out a sigh and continued.
“So there’s only one way.”
“And that is?”
“Instead of you getting stronger, we weaken that thing.”
My eyes widened slightly as I looked toward them.
“……Meaning?”
I probably asked again because I already had a rough idea of what they meant by weakening it.
There was something… solemn and resolute about the atmosphere they were giving off.
“We’re risking our lives too.”
As expected, the words that followed were in the same vein.
“You have to save us.”
After saying that, Bailey and Elisha smiled faintly. I looked between the two of them, then nodded with an equally resolute expression.
“Let’s save you first, then hold the ceremony after.”
“…….”
“…….”
They stared at me like, ‘We’re risking our lives here, and that’s your response?’ but I was being completely serious.
When I turned my head slightly to the side, Noel came into view glaring at me as if she could shoot lasers from her eyes.
“…….”
“…….”
Elisha and Bailey lightly patted my shoulders, looking satisfied.
It was clearly a gesture carrying a comrade’s vow, entrusting the aftermath to me.
“……So, what are you planning to do?”
“Ah.”
At my question, Elisha smirked slightly and answered.
“It’ll be over quickly.”
With those words, wings spread out behind the two of them.
Elisha’s were white. Bailey’s were black.
I had seen this once before, but compared to back then, their momentum was far more intense—as if the talk of ‘marriage’ with me had definitely strengthened them.
And then, with those wings unfurled, the two of them flew straight toward the black heart.
As if they felt no fear at all of colliding with it.
Then—
-……!
Crack—
As if opening its maw wide, the black heart split in half and swallowed Elisha and Bailey whole as they approached.
It happened so quickly that before any of us could even react, their figures were sucked inside the heart and disappeared.
And then—
-…………!!
From within the heart, a burst of white and black light erupted, mixing together.
It must have been the mana released by Bailey and Elisha.
And from that radiance bursting out from within, the heart twisted violently in all directions as if screaming in agony.
The grotesque veins tangled all over it writhed intensely, and the dreadful deathly aura that had been pressing down on us was clearly weakening compared to before.
“……So when they said they’d weaken it, they weren’t bluffing.”
As Katya said that, the people nearby nodded quietly in agreement.
They had just witnessed them sacrificing their lives to reduce the total power Wornil could wield. Everyone must have been feeling a strange, indescribable emotion.
“Why are you all looking so down? If we kill that thing, we can bring them back anyway.”
“…….”
“If they’re demons and celestial beings, then they’re spiritual lifeforms. That means they can be recreated as much as we want—”
“-Let’s make sure you undergo some proper social training after this.”
At Noel cutting her off, Katya tilted her head.
Huh. Wasn’t that something you could say?
She wasn’t sure if it was really that tactless……
“……Hmm.”
Then she rolled her eyes and looked toward me.
Among the people she knew, I was the only one who could rival her in causing social awkwardness with sudden remarks.
And the moment she saw me—eyes narrowed, hand resting on my chin, deeply immersed in thought—
A chill ran down the spines of everyone present, including Katya.
This was bad.
I was coming up with another ‘plan’—!
“…….”
Well, of course, to defeat the God of Devouring over there, they had to rely on my plans.
But still, there was a limit to how ominous that felt.
At this point, instead of defeating that evil god over there through a proper, orthodox battle—one where the strength of comrades, the bonds they had built up, and sheer willpower shone in a desperate blood-soaked fight—
Just like before,
There came this bizarre feeling that it might all end with a single, insane, nonsensical stunt—
“Sir Noel.”
“……Yes.”
“That thing just now—it swallowed them because it ‘exploded from the inside,’ right?”
“…………Wouldn’t that be the case?”
“Then those two must have done that because exploding from the inside is the most effective, right?”
“………………Mr. Aiden. For now, could you at least stop thinking for a moment and give even a brief explanation—”
“Then I can do it too, right?”
“…….”
“…….”
It was the kind of statement that carried a resonance ominous enough for everyone present to dwell on it.
▣
For now, two things had become certain from what just happened.
True to its name as the God of Devouring, the heart of Wornil over there had the tendency to swallow everything that approached it.
And clearly, once swallowed, you would die.
They had already experienced firsthand just how terrifying Divine Authority was on their way here, wielding it themselves in all directions. And if it belonged to something that had been sealed in the Pantheon because of such power, then naturally, no one here would be able to resist it.
However, there was another fact they had clearly realized.
‘The inside is definitely weak.’
Even in this world—where one could harden their skin, infuse supernatural power into muscles to display superhuman strength, and even twist the very laws that make up reality—
There wasn’t a single person who could train their internal organs, especially their vital points.
It seemed that even gods were no exception to that rule.
Even considering that Elisha and Bailey’s mana had grown stronger through their engagement with me, it was originally far too insignificant to work against Wornil, who possessed abnormal power even among gods.
And yet, since it had reduced that much of its power, the effect had to be considered outstanding.
My plan was also based on that point—
“No.”
“…….”
“I’m saying this after hearing everything because I knew you’d try something without explaining again. Mr. Aiden. Have you truly lost your mind?”
She had stopped me countless times before, but this time Noel’s tone was far more serious than ever.
Up until now, the things I had done only involved some level of risk and had little to no chance of turning into something truly fatal. But the plan I had just proposed was on a completely unacceptable level.
Well, that reaction was only natural, considering the inspiration for my plan came from watching Wornil’s heart swallow Elisha and Bailey.
“If you make even the slightest mistake, you’ll die. No, even if you don’t make a mistake, that’s suicide. It would be far more efficient to consider a direct confrontation—”
“If we fight head-on, one or two of us will definitely die.”
“…….”
“We can win, but we’ll take losses.”
Unable to properly refute that, Noel fell silent.
Even though Bailey and Elisha had weakened it, the energy that thing was still emitting was overwhelmingly fierce.
Compared to before, when it was hard to even move, it had weakened—but actually fighting it was an entirely different matter.
Just as I said.
Even if they could win, the probability that everyone here would survive was practically zero.
And if that was the outcome, then it was closer to me taking all the burden alone to increase everyone else’s chances of survival.
Noel knew that too.
But this time, she simply couldn’t let me go as easily as before. The worry was too great.
Alright, then.
This was the moment for me to show off the silver tongue I had honed all this time.
Let’s lighten the mood a bit.
“Please make an exception.”
“……What?”
“I’m working this hard, so having multiple wives should be allowed, don’t you think? Maybe you could at least consider trying to accept that.”
“Mr. Aiden.”
“Yes.”
“If you don’t want to die, come back alive.”
“…….”
“If you die, you’ll die by my hands.”
“……Why does it feel like I’ll die even if I come back alive?”
“That’s just your imagination.”
Saying that, Noel let out a sigh and pulled me into a tight embrace.
Despite her words, the gesture was filled with unmistakable concern for me.
“…………I believe in you, Mr. Aiden.”
“Yes.”
“You must come back alive.”
“When have I ever not?”
I grinned as I lightly patted Noel’s back while she held me.
That was enough.
It was a signal that it was time to truly begin.
With resolute eyes, Noel firmly grabbed my waist.
It was a motion she had done a few times before, so she lifted me up with practiced ease, then turned her head for one last confirmation.
“Are you really able to do this, Mr. Aiden?”
“You said you’d kill me if I die, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Noel smirked.
I smirked as well.
And the next moment—
I was flying toward the heart like a shot put.
For now, the beginning of the plan was simple.
‘……Guess I’ll just let it swallow me once.’
It was truly a thought only someone who constantly walked around with his life hanging outside his body could have.
