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Chapter 195: Incarnation
Chapter 195: Incarnation
Chapter 195: Incarnation
The northern border of the empire.
Those living there called the vast mountain range that obscures the sky Makal. In the past, it was known as Mother’s Mountain, and at times, simply the White Mountain.
However, the land beyond has always been known as the land of death, regardless of the era.
The land of death, not just the outside world but specifically the land of death.
It was called the land of death because it is uninhabitable. Not only the continent but also the outskirts of the sea encircle it, so it could well be considered the outside world. Even the very first scripture, said to hold ancient records, describes this strange land as the land of death.
“Isn’t it strange? I’ve thought several times that it might be nice to call it by a different name at least once.”
The sky is dark, and the ground underfoot sparkles with stars.
A place where the sky and the earth are inverted.
Above a particularly bizarre area in the land of death, at the entrance of a temple built of obsidian, a beheaded angel awaited a response.
“Even I only feel denial when I hear the words the land of death. Why specifically the land of death? I can somewhat understand why the people beyond the mountains deny this place, but shouldn’t those who honor Him call it paradise?”Again, no response came.
The headless angel widely opened the black stone doors.
Inside the temple, there was no difference from the outside.
The ceiling was dark, and the floor of the temple did not cover the ground, so the stars twinkled unless the obsidian ceiling obscured the sky.
No different from the outside.
The headless angel stepped forward to meet the unresponsive one. Step by step. Ripples formed on the twinkling starry ground.
Eventually,
When he reached the very center, it was then that Jaganata recognized the back of the one he wished to meet.
The 7th Apostle.
[Temple Keeper Korax]
“Why don’t you answer? I see you were engrossed in hunting.”
“…”
“I don’t expect you to come to meet me, but couldn’t you at least greet a visitor from afar with some joy?”
“…”
Despite the ongoing conversation, Korax did not turn to face Jaganata. Even a simple reply would have been appreciated, but Korax remained fixated on a frame that took up an entire wall.
The frame held no picture or photograph. Instead, it seemed to emit light on its own, attempting to portray everything.
However, Jaganata was a headless angel. Naturally, he lacked eyes, so he could be aware of the frame’s existence but unable to see the scene it depicted.
Click- Click-
Fortunately, Jaganata could perceive Korax’s rapid hand gestures, realizing he was wielding his power.
Click-
“…What are you doing?”
Beside Korax, Jaganata inquired with curiosity and friendliness.
Over the past 500 years, many have been called by God to become apostles, only to disappear. Korax was the last to be called by God, creating at least a 500-year gap between him and Jaganata, the first to become an apostle.
Click- Click-
Moreover, unlike Korax, Jaganata was an immortal being, fundamentally an angel.
For this reason, Jaganata often found it challenging to empathize with the mortal apostles like the 4th Apostle Bernoulli or the 2nd Apostle Camilla.
For instance… Jaganata instinctively did not fear death, but Camilla and Bernoulli, despite being immortal apostles, cherished incomprehensible abstract notions like life or honor.
“Although I don’t have a head to understand what you’re doing, I can sense that you’re deeply engrossed.”
Click-
“But really, unlike me, you have a perfectly fine mouth, don’t you? I think you could at least respond…”
“…Do not disturb me.”
Korax muttered irritably.
It would have been nice to express joy to a believer who hadn’t visited the temple in a long time, but Korax only saw Jaganata as an unwelcome guest.
And that was because Korax was in the midst of controlling an incarnation.
Controlling an incarnation is an arduous task, even for an apostle endowed with the power of the Supreme God.
Korax, now possessing overwhelmingly superior skills compared to when he was mortal, still required significant mental strength to handle the incarnation thousands of miles away from the temple.
If that was all, how much more so now? Currently, he has been going without eating or resting for over a month.
Using the Lord’s power, he created gates and sent forth the incarnation, crafted according to the Lord’s teachings, through the gate to deal with the Lord’s enemies. Normally, such a process would defeat an enemy in one or two attempts…
For some reason, even the 10th incarnation didn’t blink an eye before it was slaughtered.
Click- Click-
Screech-
-Weep, Sirius.
-There is nothing that the lightning breaking the sky cannot sever.
-Die.
-Twenty-Four Sword Spirit Formation, Type 19: Heaven-splitting Effortlessness.
“…”
And just now, the 9th incarnation died gloriously. Korax, splitting the incarnation into thousands of shards, watched the dragon’s stone statue and tore at his hair.
“Aaagh! Aaaaagh!”
“Why, why are you doing this?”
Above Jaganata’s neck, a black ring sparked and sputtered. It was a shock caused by Korax’s sudden fit.
But even amid such turmoil, Jaganata tried to comfort his companion, who was in the throes of madness. Being the first chosen apostle, Jaganata had the leeway to care for his comrades.
“Did something go wrong? Huh? It’s a precious body given by the Lord. What will you do if you harm yourself like this?!”
“It’s your fault!”
Unfortunately, Jaganata’s concerned touch was coldly rejected. Jaganata staggered backward, overwhelmed by the immense hostility directed at him.
“Korax…?”
“Wasn’t it because you unnecessarily spoke to me that I lost my focus! Just a little more, and I could have killed it!”
“Is it my fault?”
“Yes! Controlling the incarnation already takes a lot of mental strength, and because of you, my carefully crafted incarnation was brutally killed by that damned woman!”
“I was just… out of joy…”
Jaganata fidgeted with his fingers. Although he couldn’t see the details due to his lack of eyes, he had a keen sense of the situation.
Until just now, Korax was apparently in the middle of subduing the Lord’s enemy with an incarnation. Understanding this, Jaganata sincerely apologized.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. As you see, I don’t have eyes so I can’t see ahead or think deeply.”
“If you knew that, why couldn’t you have waited! Eh! Aren’t you an immortal? Waiting a few more days won’t make you age!”
“Please understand me. As I said before, I lack empathy.”
Jaganata acknowledged his fault and reached out to Korax, urging him to calm down. However, he also saw that Korax was at fault.
“But it’s ‘just’ an incarnation that was harmed?”
Jaganata was someone who knew to admit when something was wrong. He straightened his back and spoke as if admonishing.
“Incarnations can be created any time, but honor, once lost, is hard to regain. So, as the keeper of the Lord’s temple, maintain your dignity.”
“…What?”
But for some reason, Korax’s anger had grown even more intense.
“What did you just say?”
“Eh? It’s just an incarnation, isn’t it? Since the Lord’s power is endless, ‘just’ create it again.”
“…”
“So, calm down and behave properly, even though you were born a mortal, now you’re an apostle graced by the Lord. The Lord has many followers, and as His most loyal servant, an apostle must maintain a certain decorum. So…”
“Your mother.”
Jaganata couldn’t finish his words. From Korax’s mouth burst a remark inquiring about his mother’s well-being.
“What did you just say?”
Jaganata’s black ring trembled sharply.
Unlike other apostles active beyond the mountain, Jaganata was preoccupied with dealing with the head of the Prient family. He knew that such a word created significant discomfort, almost as if it were a curse.
“Are you saying ‘your mother’ to me? I hope I misheard…”
“Your mother.”
Korax ignored Jaganata’s anger and continued to inquire about his mother.
There’s a limit to tolerating insolence.
Wooong-
Enraged, Jaganata reached out and wielded his power. With a sizzle, the wall that Korax had been looking at vanished, revealing the remaining incarnations hidden behind it.
“What, what are you doing!”
Korax rushed toward the incarnations.
Beyond the crumbled wall stood the Supreme God’s armor and the lord of the land of the dead. These were the last remaining incarnations Korax had crafted with great effort and affection.
“My babies!”
He must have cared deeply to consider them almost like his own children.
However, tragically, two of the incarnations couldn’t evade Jaganata’s power. A hairline fracture appeared around their waists, and they split in half under the vibration as Korax approached.
Koo-koo-koo-kung-
A massive vibration shook the earth, and stars floated in the void.
Korax’s world was turned upside down.
“This! Shit!! Bastard!!!”
Embracing the severely damaged incarnations, Korax turned around, filled with rage.
It was an immense rage.
To grasp the magnitude, it was greater than when, 500 years ago, at the start of the warrior Kyrie’s journey, in front of her most cherished guide, he killed him.
“Uh… this isn’t what I intended.”
Jaganata shuddered.
“This isn’t what you meant to do?! You said you could feel it even if you can’t see!”
Korax, crying bloody tears, spat as he spoke.
“My babies were inside! They died without being able to fight back because of you!”
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
“Is sorry all you can say?! Eh!”
“What, what else can I do… I said I’m sorry…”
Jaganata wanted to rub his temples due to the headache, but he couldn’t since he had no head.
“Take responsibility! You need to take responsibility!”
“…Help you make them.”
“You, what do you know about incarnations!”
“…”
“I have been crafting incarnations all my life! Even when I was a dwarf, from my birth until now, I have lived in the soil!”
“I too… managed incarnations until recently. I’m not completely ignorant about them.”
Jaganata’s words were not spoken lightly. In fact, he had used crafted incarnations when he went to recruit a new apostle to the Rien Imperial Palace.
“Aaah. Aaaah!”
But despite repeated apologies and sincere offers, Korax only cried out in sorrow.
‘Tch. I shouldn’t have come.’
Indeed, apostles born as mortals were troublesome and emotional. Jaganata lamented Korax’s lack of fundamental decency and was displeased with a temple keeper who cried, forgetting the dignity of an apostle.
[The Great Savior, the Immortal Epic of the Progenitor Kyrie]
[Appendix 11-3. The secret techniques displayed by Kyrie when she saved the world.]
The day of the battle when Kyrie, both a divine sword and a hero chosen by God, and the owner of the holy sword, was fighting! I happened to have the chance to witness the great Kyrie’s majesty in person! Although my own martial prowess was meager and I could not see Kyrie’s moves up close, nor could I imprint the speed of her sword strikes like lightning or her unstoppable force in my eyes! But the saintly heart of Kyrie, always before unleashing her sword energy, would fill the heavens and earth with a shout!
Therefore, I decided to record the secret techniques used by Kyrie at the end of the page!
-Weep, Sirius.
Ah! Kyrie was not only overwhelmingly powerful but also a truly charming hero, singing to the night sky! The name of the brightest star in the night sky! Before cutting down her enemies, Kyrie sang the name of the star as a prelude to a dirge!
-Sky-Cleaving Slash.
Ah! Kyrie’s sword energy vastly exceeded ordinary measures! Its length was such that it could reach the heavens! Even clouds in the sky split in half, and its trajectory marked the heavens as if splitting them, visible to all!
-Thousand Variations.
Ah! Kyrie was the only human who mastered all sword techniques! Even at a young age, just over adolescence, there was no sword technique that Kyrie couldn’t use! In fact, perhaps all sword techniques that exist after Kyrie derived from her! All masters in the world were influenced by Kyrie! Indeed, it is natural that Kyrie’s sword techniques reached a level of unparalleled mastery! The evidence is written in [The Great Savior, the Immortal Epic of the Progenitor Kyrie]!
-Heaven-Breaking Thunder.
Ah! Kyrie’s Sky-Cleaving Slash did not stop there! If the Sky-Cleaving Slash was mere iron, then Heaven-Breaking Thunder was dark iron! When she swung her sword that reached the heavens, a thunderous sound like thunder filled the heavens and earth! Ah! Ah! Long live Kyrie! I am ashamed to admit that I ended up soiling my pants!
-Falling Lightning.
Ah! Now even the striking motion was not visible! The sword energy simply became light, and the opponent was merely split in half! No! There was no enemy who could withstand it, so not even a corpse was left!
-Meteor Sword.
Now there was no need to aim! Just swinging the sword was enough! The enemy was split apart! What an irrational force! Truly, only demons and even gods would fear this!
Thud-
“…Whew.”
Lucia closed [The Great Savior, the Immortal Epic of the Progenitor Kyrie], exhaling a breath filled with ecstasy.
A strange cloud floating in the void caught her eye.
“…Is he not coming today either?”
It’s been a fortnight since the tenth enemy attacked.
Contrary to what Shiron said about a twelfth attack, today again the open clouds were silent.
“…I hope he doesn’t come.”
Rustle-
Lucia carefully opened the first page of the worn-out book.