Chapter 155

The Gatekeeper (1)

Time flows by in the blink of an eye, so for some people, it might hold no meaning at all.

It was such a monotonous daily life.

-Oh! Son of man! Connector of heaven and earth!

A life of being revered without even knowing exactly who you are.

I’ve never been dissatisfied with such a life. After all, I wasn’t the type of person cruel enough to be dissatisfied with people’s goodwill.

Every day was boring, with significance placed merely on the act of living.

Still, there were changes.

-Where’s Lute? Not coming today?

-……Lute died four years ago.

-I see.

Time is unfair, making the disappearance of familiar things feel all too brief for some.

-He was a good lad.

-Lute would have been honored to hear you say that.

-How can a dead person hear anything?

-Because you’ll relay it to him.

-Nonsense.

There was no dissatisfaction. No sadness either.

Just carrying a bitter feeling, thinking that such things happen.

-This child will serve you from today.

-This one’s quite young. Is there some connection?

As I continued my tedious life, the people around me changed frequently.

I became friendly with some, and came to despise others.

At first, I felt sad and got angry. Later, I realized all of it was futile and stopped—until I had to stop.

In the midst of such a long, inexplicably purposeless life, there was a peculiar turning point.

-Apparently, she’s Lute’s granddaughter. She seems to have grown up hearing a lot about you, so her faith is unwavering.

-Hmm… I see. Alright.

-■■-nim! I’ll be in your care from now on!

A child with a lovely smile.

A tiny thing that made me wonder if she could even properly do her duties.

-■■-nim, would you like to try this?

-Ugh! Why does this taste like this?

-I put chocolate in the herbal tea!

-Why would you do that…?

-Because they’re both delicious! When you mix delicious things with delicious things, they become even more delicious!

-…Children, get this one out of here right now. She tried to poison me.

Children are honest with their emotions and expressions, making them often influence or gain sympathy from those around them.

Yes, I began to enjoy the change in my monotonous daily life.

But change is always a harbinger.

-Run away! He has discovered this place!

-Hide them! We must protect them with our lives if necessary!

-■■-nim.

There are times when lightning bolts from the sky ruin everything.

-It will be alright.

*     *      *

The moment I encountered him, strange memories surfaced as if I’d been struck in the head with a hammer.

“Kuk?!”

It feels like I just had a dream.

Are these really my memories?

They’re so alien. Like they belong to someone else.

“If it hurts, why don’t you rest a bit?”

Klang!

As I clutch my head, a massive hammer passes by my side.

Phoenix’s body, which had approached right before my eyes without me even noticing, gets buried far away in the snow.

Yes, the moment I recognized Phoenix’s existence, such memories came flooding back.

Before I was picked up by my Master and Teacher, I had already lost my memories once, and that was a different issue from Morpheus’s influence.

Memories forgotten due to shock.

Is that what’s happening now—recalling them upon facing the culprit?

“It’s not complete, but……”

At the very least, I can be certain about the identity of the lightning bolt I saw in that final moment.

“Now I know that bastard’s a real piece of shit.”

Countless people burned to death.

I witnessed it while being protected by others.

They were people whose names and faces I can no longer remember, but certainly not people who deserved to die like that.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He’s not the kind to die just from being buried in snow. Titan’s hammer did hit him properly, but he was never going to die easily in the first place.

I fire my revolver at the snow mound, immediately creating chains along its trajectory to drag him out from the snow.

“Hit him once more.”

“Gladly.”

Phoenix gets dragged out helplessly.

Titan’s hammer strikes him once again.

A second blow while he was being dragged. With a golden radiance, sand scatters as the flames enveloping him are greatly disturbed.

Kiriririk!

I grip the chains that are making a sound as if about to break, even if it tears my palms, and pull him again.

“Once more.”

“Ha-ha!”

Boom!

This time, the chains couldn’t hold.

The moment Titan’s blow struck Phoenix’s body, the chains broke, and he was buried in the snow once more.

“Hmm, it did hit properly.”

But Phoenix rises.

It’s not that he’s undamaged. His flames are flickering, and his human-like body is visibly bruised and broken.

-Don’t you know?

“……”

-Don’t you know that while this environment is my restraint, it also guarantees my immortality?

“Then just keep getting beaten until you die.”

Schwap!

When I encountered Phoenix, I recalled strange memories.

Honestly, I was angry, but not so passionately.

I can’t even remember their faces. Even if I wanted to be angry for them, that emotion is significantly diluted.

But what I can confirm through my memories is just how terribly persistent Phoenix is.

He has died several times in the past.

Born from an ember, burning eternally until he can no longer handle his own flames, then perishing.

Yes, that’s how he died.

-You should already know this? You can’t kill me this way.

“……”

For him, flames and heat are both his strength and his physical body. He always dies at his most powerful moment.

The environment of Skadi suppresses his power, making it nearly impossible to reach that process.

Simply put, we can’t kill him.

Even if we strike him tens or hundreds of times, he’ll rise again with his flames.

-My fire never extinguishes. It merely burns away.

Yes, it’s as if we’re confronting two trials at once—Phoenix and Skadi.

*     *      *

Boom!

We’ve already attacked him so many times I’ve lost count. Phoenix occasionally spewed flames in resistance, and we did our best to avoid those attacks while continuing the battle.

Honestly, Phoenix himself wasn’t that powerful.

While the Skadi environment allowed him to maintain his immortality, it also weakened his strength.

But we’re growing tired.

We’ve cornered him many times, but he never reaches death.

“Haa… Haa…”

It’s a one-sided consumption.

Phoenix regenerates his body even if we blow off his head or rip out his heart.

He doesn’t even seem tired, making me wonder if he even feels pain.

Yes, with such ridiculous immortality, it’s no wonder heretical cults worship him.

It means a trial is still a trial.

None of them are easy opponents.

“Eeheehee!”

Lilia’s kick snaps his neck. Flames burst from the broken part, trying to engulf Lilia’s body, but she turns into mist and avoids the attack as if used to it.

Grab!

Claire grabs Phoenix’s face as his broken neck returns to normal, and buries him in the snow.

But in just a few seconds, he escapes amidst the steam.

Even though she’s resisting to some extent with Vitege’s Armor, Claire can’t maintain contact with him for long.

Línea couldn’t even approach Phoenix, and even Titan’s spirit magic couldn’t bind him.

This standoff has continued for several hours now.

“Lost, this isn’t working.”

We can’t win.

More precisely, we can’t kill him.

To kill him, we need to forcibly make him stronger, not keep him in this weakened state. And even if that were possible, there’s no guarantee we could defeat him.

Making him strong enough to self-destruct—the risk we’d face in that process is too great.

“Right, we should retreat.”

Persisting further would just be stubbornness.

That’s for certain, but…

“Senior, tell me. If we retreat, is there any guarantee he won’t pursue us?”

-…He will pursue you. Phoenix doesn’t let go of a target once he’s marked them. I honestly never thought he’d still consider you an entity to be destroyed.

“So you were aware of this possibility beforehand?”

-When you put it that way, I don’t have much to say. Hoee.

She had definitely factored in the probability that Phoenix would become an enemy. The fact that she didn’t mention it is quite significant. This is the result.

But I can’t blame her. She said she didn’t expect this either, so Phoenix’s behavior must be quite unusual.

“Senior, one more thing. If we try to flee, can we actually escape?”

What if we retreat once and prepare thoroughly?

We’d end up facing a much stronger opponent than the one we’re beating now, but at least we can’t say we’d have no chance of winning.

Even if he’s lost power, we have three trials on our side. If we put our heads together and combine our strength, we could probably handle Phoenix, couldn’t we?

-…It might be better for you to go to the destination alone.

Essentially saying it’s impossible.

Even so, it’s surprising that she suggests going deeper in.

Unlike Phoenix, we can’t completely overcome Skadi’s cold.

“You won’t tell me, will you?”

-…

Well, if she was going to tell me, she would have done so already. I don’t particularly resent her for it.

“Then that seems right. But can my companions hold out?

If it’s just about restraining Phoenix rather than defeating him, Titan alone could manage.

With Lilia and Claire joining in, it should be even more comfortable.

But that too is just a matter of time.

People get tired. No matter how dominant we are, we’ll lose as time passes.

Our opponent was such a trial.

An enemy named ‘Eternity.’

“I’ll be here.”

Then Ilina Crowley, who was standing as if leaning on her staff, spoke.

“Princess. Please don’t push yourself.”

“I’m not pushing myself. I can do it. Even if my power comes from him, I’m the one who wields it. And when it comes to handling fire, I’m better than that fool who’s just scattering it around.”

“…Can you do it?”

“I absolutely can. Don’t fall for my impressive display. No, go ahead and fall for me.”

“Well, if you hold out well, I might give you a gift.”

Ilina Crowley swung her staff with a grin.

The flames that Phoenix was emitting gradually lose control to her.

-Take care then.

Hecate smiles as she sends me off.

I could see her in her original form.

“…So you did have your own agenda.”

Whether it’s unfortunate or fortunate, if the situation hadn’t turned out like this, it would have been Hecate blocking me, not Phoenix.

Because she knew what it meant for me to head this way.

Yes, if she had betrayed us at the last moment and blocked our path, there would have been nothing we could do.

She probably didn’t want to kill me, just subdue me well and chase me out of Skadi.

In that case, I would have had no choice but to retreat.

Truly…

“She’s frightening. So frightening.”

She can’t be anything but a terrifying ghost.

*     *      *

Fortunately, Phoenix couldn’t pursue me. It seems my companions and Ilina Crowley are blocking him well.

I move forward, clutching the map.

In a white world where directions can’t be distinguished, I maintain a barrier infused with holy power and rely on a compass to head toward my destination.

The cold piercing through the barrier grows increasingly freezing.

The snow piled up to my thighs hinders my movement.

The white world makes me lose my sense of direction and often blinds my eyes.

Still, I move forward.

My fingertips and toes lost sensation long ago.

“Oh no.”

Finally, even the compass freezes, unable to indicate the correct path.

A white snowfield with no trace of human presence.

Having lost my sense of direction, I moved forward relying solely on intuition.

Moving forward and forward.

“Is this the limit……”

I finally reach my limit.

The holy power I was pouring into the barrier freezes. Despite forcibly maintaining warmth over a wide area to prevent this very thing.

The barrier I’d been maintaining flickers as I reach a physical limit.

“……”

Just as I was about to collapse, having lost both strength and warmth.

In the distance, I saw the form of a city.