Chapter 574 – #118_Betrayal (3)

#574

One.
A life-and-death failure.
Siu, caught in the aftermath of the javelin, fell into a large crater.

The consciousness that had been far away returned.
Blurred vision, a hazy feeling of pressure, and the sticky smell of metal that fills the mouth bursting with shock.
Half a beat later, the sharp stabbing pain paradoxically tells us that the battle isn’t over yet.

“Coke… ! Kkeuk….”

The gamble failed, but it seems that the review was received.
Turning his head to the side, he spit out half the blood and checked the affected area.

The moment the spear was about to enter the abdomen, he twisted his body with all his might, avoiding a direct hit.
In addition, through elemental techniques, all mana was consumed to increase the armor’s protective power.

It was an instinctive improvisation that she would never have been able to do if she had tried it twice.

And yet it is this far.
Caught in the compressed distortion field and shockwave, the moment the anti-tank cannon was deflected, the black armor, which had hardness, shattered into pieces.

The feedback that acts as the spell is broken gives the stigma a burning sensation.
The magic circuit on his side, which was in direct contact with the distortion field, was necrotic.
Blood flowed non-stop from the sharp, wildly torn wound.

The wound is deep.
Bleeding and protruding intestines were temporarily blocked by roughly tying them with ribbons.

Unlike the previous ‘ordeal’, vivid pain that does not attenuate at all.
This is probably because the brain secretes adrenaline and endorphins.
In the serenity that didn’t suit the situation, I came up with a wild idea like ‘what are we having for dinner tonight anyway?’

“Eww….”

Deliberately block consciousness from sideways.
As he barely lifted his body, which was as heavy as wet cotton, his cold head analyzed the current situation coolly.

The important thing is the list of phenomena.
And what defines the cause and effect.

One phenomenon.
The only spear that was now stuck at an angle next to it was the red branch that Siu originally wielded.
In other words, the black knight retrieved the spear he used for his extraction.

Causal one.
The phenomenon that occurred during the last trial was not a bug.
It has the ability to retrieve the rampaging red branch through some method.

Two phenomena.
Now, Siwoo’s body is full of wounds.
He may have been unconscious and defenseless for some time.
It was a state that could be defeated with simple magic rather than a javelin, but the black knight did not.

Causal two.
Because it can’t be.
The moment the red branch collided with Shiu on the ground, the distorted field that was released destroyed the magic ceremony all at once.

The magic formula that the Black Knight has now unfolded to alter the ordeal is not in a stable state by itself.

It is a precise and extensive computational work that must be flexibly dealt with with each change in time, just like heart surgery without administering cardiac tablets.

“…….”

Looked up
Even if you are a little bit careless, you will be able to focus on the blur.

A black knight holding a red branch.
As expected, he stood still and looked down at Siwoo as if something had broken down.

I wanted to run at it or do something right away, but my body wouldn’t listen.
Sensation has already disappeared at the extremities of the body, and to be honest, standing alone is the limit.

If you sit down to rest, you probably won’t be able to get up.
I was afraid of vague certainty, so I melted the accumulated damage in my body in a standing position.

About 30 seconds.
By the time I can flick my cold fingertips now.

-Ridge!

Siwoo heard some very ominous news.

A magic formula that was constantly changing as if it were alive and breathing.
The magic that consumes calculations to control the ‘trial’ of the black knight has calmed down.

While Siwoo was recovering from damage, he optimized and entered a stable state.
Considering that it takes several days to stabilize such a large-scale magic, the calculation speed was unreasonable.

With this, the penalty that oppressed the black knight has completely disappeared.

“Bloom.”

He picks up a red branch and recovers his mana, which has been depleted by repeated amplification.
With the armor reconstructed, it flew vigorously toward the black knight.

It’s still worth a try.

Although this side also suffered a back injury, the black knight also broke one of his arms while gambling.

In other words, the advantages and disadvantages of the close combat, which had been inclined by a slight difference, were evident.
Knowing this, the black knight chose to flee rather than intercept on the spot.

While chasing through the wind, we delve into the questions that have arisen over and over again.

How did the black knight retrieve the red branch that had run amok? Was a question about

Of course, among Siwoo’s magics, there is a magic called coordinate movement.
It is a magic formula created by extracting parts from the space movement formula that was originally being completed for the purpose of escaping Gehenna.

However, it is close to impossible to retrieve the runaway red branch using the coordinate movement method.

Haven’t you already simulated by going over the calculations several times outside the ordeal?
No matter how much the black knight possessed non-standard computing power, the conclusion remained the same.

If that’s the case, there’s something I’m overlooking.
It means that there is a way to use the red branch that the black knight knows and that Siwoo does not know about.

At the moment of desperation, the accident unexpectedly stretches like an old film.

Suddenly, the words of Count Yesod that we exchanged quite a while ago came to mind.

‘This…. It has already gone beyond the categories that should be classified as artifacts or courtesy. Great.’
‘A general courtesy is, in the end, just a tool. But this is a little different. They are trying to contaminate the surroundings in different ways without a separate order. It’s to the point where I believe it’s a witch who was cursed and turned into a spear.’

As she said, the red branch is different from the general scepter or artifact that passively executes commands and processes.

Swallowed the souls of countless people.
Even the ‘lotus’ that fulfilled the cowardly witch’s wish bloomed.
She almost drove Master, who was said to be one of the strongest witches aside from Keter, to her death.

Until now, Siu had only used it to control, compress, and rampage the distortion field and red barrier.

But weren’t there other functions as well?

In the first place, the characteristic of red branches is ‘distortion’.
However, the action that simply interferes with magic is only a fragment of it.

Its essence is the distortion of reality and events.

The cowardly witch tried to distort ‘life and death’, and the red knight distorted the space, widening the narrow rainwater tunnel to the size of a playground and separating Siwoo and Eloa.
Compared to such a complex task, the function of ‘returning the ejected spear to the state before shooting’ may be too easy.

Then.

Siu looked at himself at the shining tip of the spear.
The black knight who opened a black flower to intercept the troublesome pursuer by opening enough distance before he knew it.

The Black Knight is better at coordinate movement than Siwoo, and therefore has excellent mobility.
In the first place, it was close to impossible for Siwoo to track down the black knight, given the distance.
It is in the same context that he had never defeated the black knight after dodging the javelin.

Also, even though he was wounded in the abdomen, it is no longer possible to evade as quickly as before.
Now that the 1/2 bet cannot be wagered, the only means left is to break through head-on.

The distortion field in the red branch starts to run out of control.

Fast-decreasing countdown.
The end of the battle was approaching.

Magic is a sophisticated science.
At first glance, all sorts of magic that seem like a miraculous event stand on the rock of sophisticated calculations.
Siwoo knows how much trial and error is required for stable magic.

So this was just another gamble.
A magical event that is tantamount to improvisation.

The new magic that came up on the spot came first, or if not, the first thing to do was pierce the heart with the red branch.

Siu closed his eyes.
I review all the characteristics, possibilities, and limitations of the red branch that I have looked into countless times so far.
The vast amount of paper that Siwoo had scrawled on so far passes by in front of his eyes.

Have to remember
You have to think.
You have to go beyond your limits.

Coordinate shifting, dimension shifting, maiden’s loom, strengthening of elements, law of shadows, king of panaceas, force field magic, sea waves, singing magic, and red branch distortion.

The given hand is many.
The question is which of these produces the highest genealogy.
In the midst of an accelerating accident with overclocking, a shattering headache pierced my head.

“Ah.”

A small sigh leaked out and my eyes opened.

I barely found it.
A trump card to turn a battle close to defeat.

The only thing lacking is time and confidence.

Will he be able to draw magic before his fleeting inspiration evaporates?
Even if it was drawn without mistakes, it would work normally.
Even if it works normally, the expected phenomenon will happen.

Everything is unknown

A golden fractal floated behind Siwoo’s back.

Its purpose is summoning.
The object to be summoned is the red branch kept in Gehenna Mansion Lab.

It is a place I have visited many times, and I remember the coordinates clearly because it is a place where I almost lived.

“Bloom!”

Even so, this is magic that is close to impossible.

Siwoo, who had only used the coordinate movement method until now, is trying to summon a difficult formality called the red branch to the space of trials by using the dimension movement method that suddenly stopped researching.

But there are already red branches here.
Although the cradle of dreams is just an imitation drawn over, there is a window that can exert ‘distortion’.

Through it, it fills the middle of the lacking ceremony.

The non-perfect magic formula required tremendous magical power and immediate feedback in return.
To put it simply in terms of a sense of crisis, it feels like hanging on top of a bike that runs like crazy on a rough road.

It makes me realize once again that it is a crazy thing that I would not have attempted if it were not for this much concentration.

And.
I just felt a slight discomfort.

The surface of the spear he was holding was crumbled.
What emerges after shedding layers of skin.
A window blade that looks like a willow leaf and a window frame that shines red without any joints.

The ‘real’ red eggplant that responded to the call as a sheep that had been here from the beginning.

Did ‘The Cradle of Dreams’ realize all the performances of the red branch, which would not be strange even if it was called a witch?

Not like that.
The items wielded by the black knight and Siu so far were only imitations limited to the ability the two could control.

And even though the appearance is the same, the distortion field that feels burdensome just by holding it in your hand is different from the fake in the ordeal that you just imitated.

I saw a flashing red light in the distance.
While Siwoo was preparing a new magic, the spear had already been shot.

All that’s left now is to hope that the predictions have been met.

“Bloom!”

– Ugh!

Siwoo poured all his mana into the red branch.
The red branch, which greedily devoured all mana, stretched out a harsh barrier in all directions that could not be fully expressed with just the word ferocious.

Even though I didn’t even blink in the moment of recognition, the javelin that reached my forehead.

– Perseok!

As soon as it penetrates the helmet and scrapes the skin, it crumbles like dust.

The power of counterfeits could not exceed that of the real thing.
The only red branch in this space is now in Siwoo’s hand.

“…… !”

In the distance, you can see the dark knight who looks very flustered.

The Black Knight’s fighting style is more like a supercomputer that calculates all probabilities and blocks uncertain variables.
Therefore, it is impossible to prepare for more ‘realistically impossible’ variables.

The black knight is trying to get out of the body belatedly due to an unexpected situation, but Siu was faster this time.
The blade of the spear, unified with the body, pierced deep into the heart of the black knight.