Chapter 628.1: A Small Window for Victory (1)
Chapter 628.1: A Small Window for Victory (1)
The ocean was a place where many legends were born, both in Roel’s previous and current life.
In the Sia Continent, the ocean was the origin of all lives. It was said in the oldest legend that Sia had created land from the ocean, and it was from that that she created all lives.
Due to that, the ocean also represented motherhood. It was a vital part of Sia’s powers, and it was inherited by the Mother Goddess after Her soul split into two. Given that Alicia had inherited the Mother Goddess’ powers, it was not surprising that her Divine Domain was the ocean.
Roel wasn’t too intimidated by the ocean, but the phenomenon in the sky made his heart clench. He recognized it to be the Twin Moons, an ancient phenomenon that had been long forgotten by the humans of the current era. Just the sight of it was enough to chill his heart.
The Black Moon represented punishment and enforcement, but it was also the source of all evil and depravity. It had been one of the Mother Goddess’ strongest means in the ancient era. Yet, it was now making a reappearance in the form of Alicia’s Divine Domain.
Roel had never felt such stiffness in his body before. The overwhelming death chill he felt from the Black Moon made it difficult for him to take a single step.
Alicia extended a hand toward him and murmured, “Commandment.”
The two moons in the sky shuddered, and the Black Moon’s darkness began to spiral.
Roel felt a peculiar sensation as if he had caught the eye of an immensely terrifying being. Warmth drained from his body, and his fighting will was extinguished like candlelight in a cold night. At the same time, he felt the powers of his Crown’s Stones swiftly receding from his body.
The howling tempest giant and the ferocious beast manifested from a frost aura dissipated. The searing magma, having lost its source of power, fell back down to the ground as lumps of earth. The white fog and black cloud quietly dispersed as if they had never existed.
Roel’s Crown’s Stones were extinguished one after another, not reacting at all no matter how he tried to stimulate them with his mana, as if they had been sealed off by an invisible hand. Having lost the support of the ancient Calamities, he swiftly plummeted under the intense pressure from the sky.
This was the moment he realized that he couldn’t win this battle.
His earlier feats were already plenty impressive. Not only did he severely wound Shrouding Fog and ward off Light Devourer, but he had also significantly depleted Alicia’s mana, causing her to suffer from a temporary mana shortage. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹．𝐨𝗿𝗴
It was a miracle for him to have cornered her this far on a full moon night.
However, he had to pay a heavy price for that. His soul had to suffer the toll of Sia-fication, and the side effects of the Crown’s Stones were starting to settle in one by one after he channeled them to their limits. On top of that, he had significantly depleted his stamina just to get here.
He was already at his limit.
Most importantly of all, the emergence of the Black Moon had sealed his fate.
The Black Moon had sealed off his Crown’s Stones, which meant that he could only rely on his ancient gods. Furthermore, Alicia was still completely unharmed, and she was swiftly recovering her mana with each passing second under the silver moon.
It was total despair for Roel.
As if knowing that the battle had already been decided, Alicia didn’t bother curbing Roel right away. Instead, she looked at him with glowing crimson eyes as she asked with a cold voice, “What’s wrong? Are you not going to attack? You can’t take me away like that. Or could it be that you’re aware of the consequences of approaching the Black Moon?”
She was assessing Roel’s expression, as if curious to know how he would respond.
Roel looked at her before replying with a nod, “The Black Moon is one of the Mother Goddess’ most important authorities. It is the terminus for unforgivable criminals, as well as the reason behind the Savior’s depravity and downfall.”
“As expected of your clan. You know a lot. You should understand what’s awaiting you, then?”
“I do.” Roel nodded, but contrary to her expectation, he looked neither terrified nor despondent. Instead, he looked at her imposing and divine figure and smiled hearteningly. “You have grown strong, Alicia.”
“!” Alicia narrowed her eyes. She looked confused for a brief moment before she started to frown deeply. “I have grown strong? What are you saying? I don’t want to hear that nonsense. Do you think I’d let you off? That’s impossible.”
Her mana pulsated with the wavering of the moon, as she looked at the man below and coldly uttered, “I didn’t want to intervene; Lord Mother should have been the one to judge you and your clan, Kingmaker, but the situation has changed. You pose too huge of a threat to us… And your actions have piqued my ire again and again.”
Rage flickered across Alicia’s eyes as she thought about Roel’s earlier attacks. His earlier smile also left her inexplicably vexed. Unable to suppress her emotions anymore, she roared at him, “Why did you not direct your attacks at me? You know about the Black Moon, so you should also know about my regeneration. Why didn’t you attack me?”
“…” Roel’s expression stiffened up. He didn’t know how he should answer that question.
His lack of response further fanned Alicia’s frustration.
The combined attack launched by Roel and Grandar earlier had blasted off half of the colossal Shrouding Fog’s body despite Alicia and Light Devourer’s best attempts to stop it. If that attack had been aimed at Alicia instead, she would have disintegrated into bits by now.
This was not to say that Alicia would have died from that, but she would have taken a long time to recover from it. That was a golden chance for Roel, but he let it slip past his fingers.
She could tell that it was no oversight on his part; he had done it intentionally. Due to that, she had ample time to release her Divine Domain and force him back.
“What do you think war is? Playing house? Or are you making light of me? Did you think that I’d forever play second fiddle to you?” the infuriated Alicia questioned.
Roel shook his head and replied, “That’s not it… It wasn’t part of my plan.”
“What?”
“I told you. My goal is to bring you back home. Alicia, you’d always be family to me no matter who you are. I can never direct such an attack at you.”
“…” Alicia fell silent.
She locked her crimson eyes on the man beneath her, but she couldn’t detect the slightest trace of falsehood in his words. Before she knew it, her vexation turned into a dull heartache, and her body trembled ever so slightly.
“…Nothing will change no matter what you say.”
“I know, but I don’t intend to give up. However, I hope you can promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“It’ll be best if I win, but if I lose and die at your hands, please promise me that you’ll never recall your memories as a human.”
“!” Alicia was taken aback. Looking at Roel’s sorrowful smile, she felt her mind heating up, and she blurted out, “Why? Isn’t it your goal to make me remember my time as a human?”
“Yes, but above that, I wish for you to be happy. You can do without those memories if they only bring you pain. I believe our goals coincide in that regard?”
“…”
Alicia was left at a loss for words. She could feel irrepressible fear rising up inside her.
If the black-haired man is really someone incomparably important to me… If my adoption into the Kingmaker clan was really a coincidence… Is what I’m doing right? Can I confidently say that I won’t regret my decision?
Why am I even averse to recalling my time as a human? Is it not important to me, or am I trying to turn my eyes away because I’m afraid it’d change me?
She was terribly confused. The silver moon in the sky wavered in reflection of her feelings.
Roel looked at her and declared, “It’s time. Let’s begin our final battle.”
He unleashed his remaining mana and rushed at Alicia. The latter initially took a step back, but she gritted her teeth and directed the prowess of her Divine Domain at him.
…