Chapter 108 – Beyond

000

After scattering colorful paints moderately on a black sketchbook, the chaotic sky was hacked up with a thin brush.

A world in which heaven and earth are turned upside down, black and white reversed, and light and darkness reversed.

The more you are in a dark place, the more clearly you can see yourself, and your body is enveloped in the sensation of being endlessly sucked into the void.

Even when you breathe, it is a space of doubt that makes you question whether the act of breathing in and out is correct.

Originally, a trash can where waste from an unnecessary world that is not even allowed to exist is collected.

That this is the true nature of this space, the magic swordsman could feel desperately with his body, without adding or subtracting.

A swarm of bugs clinging to his entire body his and eating away at his skin his, or disparate magic like the digestive juices flowing down from the stomach of a giant monster, wraps around Cleon’s body without a break.

If it had not been for the protection of the flames that Layla had received, she would have been eroded by them, continuously depriving herself of her magical energy in all these unpleasant and dangerous spaces.

However, Cleon senses that the reason why the rift in another dimension is dangerous to humans is not because of the existence of this magical power.

The Cleon-rejection of life felt throughout this space.

You shouldn’t be here, no. Deny your very existence.

Refusal, denial, denial, rejection, disclaimer.

As if space itself had a will, it constantly whispered destruction to Cleon’s body, soul, and mind her.

It was clear that this rejection was not only coming to him.

Therefore, many beings who have entered this place before will eventually change and collapse to the point of losing their selves, transforming into monsters such as Beasts and Humbaba.

Then, if he stayed here for a long time, he would become the same existence as them.

This is a poisonous swamp from which there is no escape. The venom is a deadly poison that will someday replace the blood that runs through your veins.

Just as those desperate visions filled his head his, Cleon bit his right index finger hard.

The pain that runs in the affected part manages to bring back the mind that is becoming muddled and removes the hopeless fantasies that filled the head.

He himself was still in human form, and was not devoured by this space and turned into a monster.

Less than 5 minutes have passed since I set foot here, but in a space where even the sense of time becomes strange, it evokes the illusion that several days have passed.

If even this is the malice of this space, there must be two types of people who maintain their egos here.

One is a person who stands with indomitable will, possessing truly strong mental strength, unshakable spirit and conviction.

The other beings who have already surrendered to the space, but without being aware of it, mistaking the altered ego as their own and crawling on the ground.

As for Cleon, he didn’t even want to confirm whether he was the former or the latter.

The wisest decision is not to step into this space first, and even if you do enter, do your best to get out of here.

However.

Cleon looks back at himself, there must have been an entrance he had just passed through.

Although it had disappeared without a trace now and was enveloped in black light like the other places.

He himself has work to do here. It was not yet possible to evade or retreat here.

It has been reported that something huge is approaching this place through a gap in space.

It was literally like a sense, not through sight, but in this space, judgment based on intuition is more helpful than the five senses.

Quietly holding the sword, I closed my eyes and focused on the approaching presence.

Clearly, Rail said, a snake that devours the world.

Even if I had my eyes closed or open, the blackness covering my field of view did not change.

Only the pure darkness visible from the back of the eyelids, the intermittent twinkling caused by stimulation of the visual cells, remains.

And two red eyes that can be seen through the twinkle.

Cleon felt the fragments of the predator of the world with poisonous fangs.

“I’m sorry, but could you move away from there? I have business to do in the world beyond.”

A voice suddenly came from the front.

When Cleon opened his eyes in surprise, a huge snake in front of him—

There wasn’t

Standing in front of me was a tall middle-aged man wearing a white suit with a polite attitude.

He had a nice beard and a straight physique, and on his head was a bowler hat that he expected to be a set with a suit.

At first glance, the man looked at him with his gray hair tied in a ponytail and a relaxed smile on his face, but he seemed like an ordinary human being.

The pupils of his golden eyes were slit vertically, and the reptilian scales on his cheeks showed that he was not human.

“Are you the serpent that devours the world?”

Cleon, realizing that he could communicate with the subject, questioned him, hiding his embarrassment of her as much as possible.

The man responds politely, nodding his head and bringing his gloved hand to his chest.

“It’s sometimes called that, though I prefer to be called ‘Jormungand’.”

It was the first name I heard. Perhaps this man does not exist in the world Cleon belongs to.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t go beyond this.”

As Cleon stands in the way of Jormungandr, the man narrows his eyes and looks at Cleon.

Then, as if in trouble, he let out a sigh.

“I thought I would be able to have a luxurious meal after receiving the coordinates of a lively world after a long time… But it’s an unexpected variable.”

Though Cleon was preparing to pull out his sword, thinking that he would immediately show off his skills, Jormungand’s reaction was unexpected.

“Are you also aiming for the world beyond that? Then, of course, I’m late and I’m going to give you a concession. How about it? How about going ‘together’ with me this time?”

And Cleon couldn’t help but frown at the man’s words.

This man thought of Cleon as a ‘kin’.

In other words, they mistakenly thought that Cleon, like this man, was an existence from a rift in another dimension that had come to ‘devour’ Cleon’s world.

“…I’m sorry, but I’m different from you. I’m here to protect this world.”

“…Huh. Weren’t you the existence of the gap? But you’re quite familiar with that…”

Jormungandr’s torn eyes cast a sharp gaze as if piercing Cleon’s entire body.

It was as if he was examining and grasping the soul within.

“Hmm? Hmm… Oh my God. You, were you ‘Cleon’! The appearance and atmosphere… And the ‘weapon’ you had were different, so I couldn’t recognize you.”

At the same time, a smile forms on his lips as if he had reunited with a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Jormungandr’s words shocked Cleon, as if he had been hit in the head, and briefly fell into a stun state.

“Hmm. Come to think of it, it seems that the time warp was especially severe around here… Well, this could happen.”

He speaks for himself, nods his head as if he understood himself, and pats Cleon on the shoulder with kindness and friendliness.

Thanks to that, Cleon, feeling once again that this situation is real, asked while holding his hand her.

“Why do you know about me…?”

“Yes, you are quite famous among the ‘world devourers’ of the dimensional rift. As a being who has swallowed many beautiful worlds to the point of jealousy. What you don’t know now is that you are his past point of view. Or a mirror. Is it like a shadow reflected in the sky?”

What passed through Cleon’s mind was the contents of a dream in which he saw the future Quon.

He thought that it was a story of possibility that he became a human who did not return after he jumped into the rift of another dimension in search of Lecia.

However, when he heard the story of a being who saw himself in a different time right in front of his eyes, the sense of reality suddenly grew.

Jormungandr looked at Cleon wordlessly and then shrugged his shoulders.

“Hmm. Was it that shocking to be like me? It might have been a little stimulating for you. Don’t worry. One day you’ll understand.”

“I’d like to think that a day like that won’t come…”

At Cleon’s words, Jormungand giggled and tapped his forehead two or three times with his index finger.

“Okay. I’ll save that world for you. I’ll tell the other comrades the same.”

“What…?”

Cleon widens his eyes in disbelief at Jormungandr’s words, but the snake shrugs his shoulders and speaks.

“Because leaving the world behind until your time comes will lead to the birth of a great friend of ours.”

“…”

Although Cleon couldn’t follow this mysterious being’s kindness toward himself, he could understand what he was saying.

It was to stop his predation on his own world. That too, along with other predators.

Of course, he couldn’t trust these non-human beings, but he didn’t feel much of a lie or embellishment from him.

No, if it’s a gigantic being with such powerful power, there’s no need to lie.

“Then… Is my world safe now?”

“At least for us, it can be said. But only for gourmets like us. The dimensional rift is infinite, and the beings in this rift are infinite.”

Jormungandr brandishes an eerie grin and swings his sword into the air.

Beyond his lightly swung arm, a dimensional rift appeared above his academy.

“Now, look this way.”

When Cleon follows his words and looks down over the gap.

He couldn’t help but keep his mouth shut.

A large army of demons formed a hell of abduction in it.

Their identities were not difficult to find out even to Cleon.

All of the things here are ‘Humbaba’ that they were dealing with with all their might just a moment ago.

It was similar to it, or it was the same existence as him.

“They are ugly and filthy beings even in this beautiful world that is like a garbage dump. At some point, the magic of another dimension stuck to the black armor that had entered the dimensional rift on its own, and it mutated. It’s causing the same thing in a similar world in another timeline, another dimension.”

In other words, they are similar to the Quon he saw in his dream.

They are the Humbaba of the parallel world.

“Why are they fighting each other?”

“I wasn’t the only one who grasped the coordinates of your world and approached. They are the same. Demonic beasts with low egos instinctively rejecting beings that are aiming for the same prey, and when they run into each other, they attack each other.”

If you look closely, the monster whose core is destroyed collapses on the spot and other monsters eat the core inside. Truly, the solitude of a demon.

The birth of a gigantic demon was wriggling in the shaking poison pot.

“…When that fight is over-“

Cleon muttered as if trying to confirm the answer he already knew from someone else’s mouth.

Then Jormungandr answered as if nothing happened.

“The worst monsters that ate each other will pass over to your world.”

That monster must be ten times as powerful as Humbaba.

If you think that such a guy escapes from the dimensional rift and spreads malice indiscriminately, the entire world will burn.

Cleon gripped the sword he had.

“That’s right. You have no choice but to go there. If it’s the ‘Cleon’ I know.”

Jormungandr looks at Cleon and smiles with satisfaction.

Seeing that smirk, Cleon jumped inside while biting his lower lip.

He couldn’t possibly speak of normal judgment.

Fighting them in a situation without Galatea and without anyone’s help was a situation where there was no way to win.

However, Cleon wasn’t without thoughts.

They were beasts fighting each other for the same prey.

Among such wild beasts, the hunter named Cleon would feel infinitely small and unthreatening.

`If ​​the part that surrounds the core is destroyed, removing the core from this side before it is eaten will at least prevent them from becoming stronger… !`

Having made that decision, Cleon immediately put his thoughts into action.

He didn’t seem to have the slightest idea what was going to happen to him in the process.

001

Layla’s mansion, Galatea’s room that doesn’t open.

While everyone emptied the mansion to stop Humbaba, a small beating sound resonated nonstop in the room.

During this week, only she knew what had changed in the Galatea inside her.

What is certain is that now she is eagerly seeking her own partner her, Cleon.

And she said that the being conceived by her was about to reveal itself to her world.

Today’s Cleon desperately needed strength more than ever.

And that power was ‘Galatea’ himself, not anyone else.

That’s why I have to complete this existence as soon as possible and go to Cleon.

The core of Galatea’s sacred sword ‘Caliburn’, imbued with black magic.

In the prophecy that Quon received but did not reveal to anyone, it says:

‘This sword will be broken once, and eventually it will be forged anew and will have a golden light that saves the world.’

And the time of the prophecy was slowly drawing near.