NOVEL WEB Chapter 153
The Wolf was already right at my doorstep.
I could hear the spell chanting. Of course, I knew magic was being prepared. But no matter how great the magic, it means nothing if it doesn’t hit its target.
However, those words didn’t apply to the Butterfly of Covenant. Her great magic was a little different.
The chanting accelerated, and the Wolf surged forward. As it ran with great speed, countless thorns erupted, but the wall of purple magic blocked them.
The Wolf wielded shadows and tentacles like whips, deflecting numerous magical constructs, and finally unleashed a whirlwind.
At that moment, the Wolf’s jaw widened to the max, nearing the Butterfly of Covenant. The spells that didn’t catch up to the Wolf exploded behind it, and from within, a new butterfly flapped its wings, pursuing the Wolf.
The Wolf broke through the wall of magic, which had been covered by black magic. The shadow immediately pierced the Butterfly of Covenant.
Was it from pain, or some other reason?
With a twisted expression filled with emotion, the Butterfly of Covenant trembled her lips, while the Wolf widened its eyes.
This has to end here—but just a smidge faster than the Void calls for. Faster than the shadow tears everything apart, the magic unfolded.
Her remaining constructs wrapped around the intangible shadow, stretching it thin.
That relentless movement, even tinged with desperation, successfully bought the Butterfly of Covenant a precious moment of time.
Standing on the brink of death, the Butterfly of Covenant was oblivious to the outside situation. Unaware that she had been pierced, she became consumed by her inner turmoil and concentrated fiercely, finally uttering the last incantation of the great magic.
—The world transformed.
What was bitten by the Wolf’s open jaw were the wings of the purple butterfly. They exploded and flapped wildly in its mouth, turning into deadly blades that wreaked havoc on the Wolf.
As the jaw shattered and was cut off, the Void she called upon finally arrived late, consuming all the purple butterflies.
As the Wolf surveyed the area, it grimly realized that her great magic had been unleashed.
In the end, it was indeed an illusion. But with her skill to manifest phantoms, great magic became a reality.
The altered world was one of nothingness. In that moment, she had created an entire world.
Though it was a hollow space where countless butterflies merely fluttered as if observing something, it was another reality in which all of this existed.
Just as the altered world became reality, so too did the butterflies manifest. This meant that the number of those butterflies would create manifestations and become reality.
There was only one way to escape this deception.
To kill all the butterflies that composed this world and break free.
—Before the hands of the Butterfly of Covenant could reach her daughter.
***
Only after the great magic of the Square Master Set was unleashed did the Plague finally retreat. The march of the army came to a halt, and Tehran lay in complete ruins.
Amidst exhausted mages, drained of magic atop the shattered city, Hong Yu-ri was also panting for breath.
It felt like she had poured everything, and it wouldn’t be strange if she collapsed now…
She thought she’d fall here. She thought this was her limit, yet she managed to push forward despite having faced numerous walls.
It was a strange sensation. As if her limits were slowly stretching further away. Almost as if… she was breaking free. While the effects of mental exhaustion were not absent, she felt it was manageable.
Hong Yu-ri clenched and unclenched her fist.
Surveying her surroundings with a somewhat different perspective than before, she nodded calmly. Then, her gaze cautiously drifted to the highest roof of the Square.
…Before she knew it, she was gone.
She wondered if she was simply hallucinating due to exhaustion, but she could never mistake that presence. The Master of All Things was definitely there. So where had she gone?
As Hong Yu-ri stared blankly upwards, someone’s hand rested on her shoulder, startling her into looking back.
“Good job. You’ve improved so much.”
“…But I still don’t have great magic.”
Aster smiled kindly at her curt response to his compliment.
“That’s how you see it.”
“…Because it’s true.”
Feeling rather childish, Hong Yu-ri shook her head. Anyway, now was the time to prepare for what was next. Of course, it wasn’t her place to butt into matters that weren’t even about her anymore.
Great magic… wasn’t really anything special. Even if she obtained it, it wouldn’t mean she could kill the Plague and the Disease. Despite the barrage of countless spells, they had survived yet again.
Instead, they merely vanished as if mocking them. Perhaps killing them was something humanity could never achieve…
No, that wasn’t right. Hong Yu-ri shook her head.
Hadn’t she already defeated the monster that endured three great spells? The will of the unyielding volcano. Remembering the monster she and the Wolf had taken down together, Hong Yu-ri inhaled deeply. Yes. Plague and Disease could be wounded. They weren’t invulnerable.
Then surely, one day, they could be defeated.
Not through flailing or struggling…
For the first time in a long while, that thought crossed her mind.
As if to stir those thoughts, several mages were rushing somewhere in a panic.
‘Purple Square?’
Seeing the purple mages running like they were afraid of something, Hong Yu-ri frowned.
That place was certainly where the Alpha was hiding.
***
“…”
It was a tough fight. Her body was covered in wounds. If she had been even a little slower, it would have been her end. Spitting blood, Amelia wiped her mouth and took a deep breath.
Suppressing her raging heart and tumultuous emotions, Amelia returned to being the Butterfly of Covenant.
In the end, she was the one who claimed victory.
A manifested world of another kind.
It was no simple great magic.
The world constructed based on her other skill, the dominion of illusions, the purple butterfly, spanned another realm intertwined with skills and magic. Even the magic user, the Butterfly of Covenant, wielded a magic that could not be recklessly judged. She had even managed to manifest it. It was something she could not escape.
…Naturally. This was magic prepared to kill her.
The extreme of illusions. She had poured everything she could into it.
Would she live isolated in another world or die? She would never see Marang again. Although it wasn’t her intention, she had avenged Agail.
The Butterfly of Covenant walked towards the fallen Anela.
Yes. She would never encounter Marang again.
She needed to hide Anela quickly and redraw the summoning circle…
Standing before her daughter, the Butterfly of Covenant stifled the urge to spit out blood, but it was leaking through her fingers.
Her condition was at its worst… Yet there was no time to stay still. As the Butterfly of Covenant approached Anela, she could vaguely sense that her daughter had come to her senses.
“…Mother?”
A tremble that couldn’t be hidden came through her dry voice. When she heard that voice, the Butterfly of Covenant briefly became Amelia.
…This cannot be.
I must not have anything precious to me. It cannot be you.
If that were the case…
Having killed her emotions, Amelia once again became a mage.
Maintaining an ice-cold, expressionless face, she raised her hand. Although walking was a struggle, her magic remained. The purple chains quickly ensnared Anela’s entire body.
Trying to muster magic to resist, Anela quietly shook her head. …It was indeed futile. She couldn’t even defeat her completely messed-up mother. The difference was that stark. Even the Alpha couldn’t reach her mother…
“…Are you going to kill me?”
That wouldn’t be the case… Answering that question was impossible for the Butterfly of Covenant. Without responding at all, she merely let Anela’s voice flow past her.
It felt as if a knife was stabbing her chest.
Even the wounds inflicted by Marang didn’t hurt, but this was unbearable.
“This time… after all, Mother…! Rather me!”
The trembling voice and frantic struggles were stopped by the tightening chains. Anela, completely resigned, lowered her head, while the Butterfly of Covenant, who had resigned long before, silently gnawed on her lips.
Talent… that was my sin.
If only I hadn’t learned magic. No, if only I had no talent.
Because I had talent, I caught her eye.
If I could have lived without catching her eye… I might have been able to lead an ordinary life.
But ultimately, everything merely danced under her palm.
Yet, even so, nothing would change.
My only trick left was to threaten to tear down her island. I had no choice but to cling to that.
…It wouldn’t be so bad to let everything go and follow her will now.
But that couldn’t happen.
If that were to happen, everything I had done would lose its meaning.
I should have given in before Edgar died.
…That is to say, I simply cannot join the organization she leads.
Time passed, and eventually, it all turned into this tangled mess. So twisted that it couldn’t be unraveled.
The mother walked endlessly with her resigned daughter.
When they reached the front of the castle, she could not enter.
“……”
She let out a long sigh.
She was sure that there had been no mistakes… the magic had succeeded, and that should have been the end of it.
It should have been…
The Butterfly of Covenant laughed hollowly. What was reflected in those red eyes was still herself.
The extreme of illusions. Even the world she had manifested couldn’t keep Marang contained.
‘—I’ll ask. Did you betray me?’
Was it better to answer that question? No, it wasn’t possible. After all, Marang was the one who killed Agail.
But if she were to be honest… she was a bit envious.
That she could resist her. That she believed she could keep moving forward.
Now, the Butterfly of Covenant had none of that energy left.
It wouldn’t be so bad to die at Marang’s hands.
Seeing Anela bound, Amelia felt a sense of relief.
This child didn’t have talents like Agail or me.
If I were to die here, at least Anela might escape this horrific cycle.
As she watched Marang approach, Amelia let go of everything.
Having escaped even from that illusion, certainly, there was no longer a way to defeat Marang.
Giving up and slowly waiting for the end, Amelia ultimately fell into despair.
For the purple city was already being tainted black.