abcnovels
Chapter 256
Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Market street.
Noubelmag’s workshop.
Clang-
Noubelmag wiped the sweat flowing down and stopped his work.
Once he focused, he could devote himself to work for at least half a day, but the disturbance that occurred a few minutes ago ate away at his concentration.
‘What’s the commotion about?’
After a few shouts, most of the security guards guarding the market street headed somewhere in a hurry.
The market street fell silent.
Most of the shops had closed their doors, so the surroundings were completely quiet.
…If only Nyhill were here, she would have reported what was happening.
Unfortunately, she had been helping with work all afternoon and left about an hour ago.
Chin-
In the end, Noubelmag picked up the connector stuck in the corner of the workshop.
It was given by Yussi a while ago.
Although he rarely used it because it was cumbersome to operate.
“Damn it, why is this happening again?”
It’s dead.
Noubelmag, who was looking at the black screen from side to side, picked up the connector again.
…Then he glanced at the water artifacts scattered throughout the workshop.
They were the latest ones that had been refilled after being partially blown away by an explosion some time ago.
After confirming the sufficient supply that could withstand dozens of demons rushing in, his tension eased.
Noubelmag chuckled and shook his head.
‘Damn, this is not the time… I’m getting more fearful as I get older.’
Noubelmag picked up the hammer again and looked at the sacred stone and “God’s Gaze” on the workbench.
The time for the leader to return was approaching.
But he hadn’t yet extracted the sacred power from all the sacred stones and relics.
The sacred stones and relics provided by the academy had undergone the extraction and amplification of divine power and had been applied to the God’s Gaze, but new stocks purchased by Yussi had arrived.
He would have to stay up for a few more nights.
‘…The more, the better, the more certain.’
Noubelmag thought of the face of the Hero.
He often thought so when the work was tough.
‘A deadline, what nonsense.’
Fragmented images flashed through his mind.
The face checking the armor before going to the dangerous battlefield.
The expression when losing comrades and surviving alone.
The noble joy shown after saving lives at the end of a struggle.
People who didn’t know the Hero well often described him as an unbreakable iron man despite numerous hardships.
But Noubelmag, who had watched the Hero for a long time, knew that he was just human.
Just a human being.
A selfless and strong human being who loved the happiness of others more than his own life.
‘Someone is trying to leave already.’
He was someone who should enjoy more.
[PR/N: Bro he already left….. He will never be able to see it…..]
He had to see more possibilities on the happiness he had protected.
Clang-!
The sound of the hammer resounded again.
Clang-!
Intermittent noise interspersed with it, something strange was next.
…Thud.
Noubelmag looked towards the entrance of the workshop.
Thud-
Thud-
Thud-
He walked as if wriggling like a snake.
The shadow under the forge stretched long over the old man.
Eyes trembling with faint excitement.
He passed by Noubelmag as is and headed towards the workbench.
‘…Ha.’
There was no need for further explanation.
However, the old man instinctively understood how the situation was unfolding.
Countless emotions rose and sank on his wrinkled face.
A brief silence followed.
“How?”
“I drew it.”
The answer was straightforward.
While the God’s Gaze was being improved.
He had visited Noubelmag’s workshop several times for a simple experiment.
From the entrance to the interior of the workshop.
He had already memorized the layout and structure of the workshop where the artifacts were guarding.
It was simple to make it inoperable.
Just draw it with a few essential parts missing.
The connector, always placed in the same location unused, was no exception.
To Dante, it was an easy way to expose.
“God’s Gaze, wouldn’t it be better to keep it in Noubelmag’s workshop while the research continues? Humans may be deceived, but machines are not.”
Noubelmag’s expression distorted, recalling memories from a while ago.
“Right, it’s a damn useful ability.”
At this, Dante burst into laughter, bending down to his waist.
“I agree.”
Meanwhile, Noubelmag slowly reached behind.
Continuing to talk to prevent Dante from noticing.
“Why?”
“Why?”
What’s so funny, Dante laughed again.
“Haha, why not?”
Laughter echoing throughout the workshop.
Noubelmag’s hand moved a little further.
‘Just a bit more. Just a bit more.’
Fortunately, Dante seemed to have little interest in him.
“It’s strange. When people do good deeds, they don’t ask for reasons.”
It was none other than Dante who brought documents from the First Age and presented the “God’s Gaze improvement project” to the members.
Pushing forth a noble cause that his own treatment could be postponed for the sake of the Hero’s treatment, no one questioned it.
Such irrational thinking seemed natural.
“But when it comes to evil deeds, they ask for reasons more diligently. Why are you doing this? Why?”
“……”
“Do you wish evil to be complex? You know that it’s often not the case.”
As Dante’s voice became calm when the speech ended, it became thin and low.
Noubelmag felt a greater threat from him than when he burst into laughter.
‘What on earth is that?’
No emotion could be discerned from his empty pupils.
Only instinctual malice was revealed along with a serene smile.
His laughter exuded an eerie rigidity like a broken doll.
“Just. For fun. Without any particular reason. Because I like it. Because I don’t like the other party. Mostly like that.”
“… Have you finished babbling?”
“What?”
“You’ve finished babbling, you son of a bitch.”
Noubelmag pressed the hidden button on the wall.
Clunk-
As the mechanical sound reverberated in his ears, Noubelmag grabbed the staff on the workbench and prostrated himself on the floor.
“What!?”
As the wall opened, revealing the water artifacts, before Dante could react, dozens of magic bullets rushed in, fragmenting everything in their path with a roar.
The workshop was engulfed in intense vibrations, smoke, and flames.
Even a large demon couldn’t withstand the attack….It was an attack a scrawny painter who could only ‘draw’ things could not withstand.
“……”
However, Dante didn’t need to withstand it.
The fierce onslaught vanished like an illusion as if it had never existed in front of Dante’s nose.
“What…?”
Seeing Noubelmag’s distorted face, Dante laughed mockingly.
“You don’t necessarily need a brush and paint to be able to draw.”
He just imagined ‘a workshop where magic bullets couldn’t shoot’, then overlaid it.
At Dante’s gesture, Noubelmag turned around.
The artifacts he painstakingly crafted… had transformed into balloons fit for a child to play with.
Perfect balance.
Noubelmag pretended to be nonchalant as he spoke.
“I didn’t know such foolishness was possible.”
But there was no hiding the trembling in his voice.
“Where is the fool who shows everything to those who will eventually turn their backs?”
Suddenly, Noubelmag noticed that Dante was holding the God’s Gaze which he had grasped like a lifeline, in his hand.
He opened his mouth as if reluctantly.
“The entire defense of the workshop has been neutralized. It doesn’t require much chance to take away one staff from an old blacksmith.”
“That…?”
Noubelmag knew.
This was a fight where there was no chance of winning.
But he couldn’t let that staff be taken away.
There was a rightful owner of the life force contained within it.
Noubelmag grabbed the hammer firmly.
“Come here.”
“A demand for a painter who hasn’t even reached the climax or the protagonist role yet… Where’s such audacity coming from?”
As Dante’s eyes rolled unsettlingly at the end of his sentence,
Noubelmag noticed he was mentally drawing something.
‘…What on earth is he trying to draw?’
Though unsure of the form, a clear death loomed.
But oddly, the trembling left the old man’s body.
“Dante!”
As Noubelmag shouted and rushed forward, Dante’s eyes froze.
“Unfortunately, Noubelmag, there’s no place for you in this artwork.”
Noubelmag raised the hammer in his hand forcefully.
Crash!
The two silhouettes simultaneously rushed into the workshop.
For the first time, Dante’s face seemed to falter.
“…?”
Creak…
As the smaller figure swung a dagger, a huge earth wall erupted between Dante and Noubelmag.
In an instant, Dante’s mental image distorted.
Splat!
Simultaneously, darkness coalesced in the air as a black spear hurtled towards Dante.
Using the power of spirits to cleverly buy time, the woman immediately seized Noubelmag’s body and rolled towards the workshop corridor.
It was to escape Dante’s manipulative sight.
“…Nyhill?”
Noubelmag, wide-eyed, stared at the black hair swaying before his eyes.
“Are you alright?”
Nyhill’s voice remained calm and unwavering as usual.
But her grip on Noubelmag’s captured hand became increasingly tight, almost painful.
With a pale face, Nyhill scanned Noubelmag’s body.
“Sorry for being late.”
Simultaneously, on the other side of the corridor,
Labin’s thunderous roar reverberated where Noubelmag had just been.
His body seemed almost numb with anger conveyed in his voice.
“How dare you! Plotting such dirty conspiracies at Rosenstark!”
Crash!
The sound of clashing swords and blades filled the air.
Nyhill also found herself standing amidst the chaos, her body now part of the tumult.
For Noubelmag, left alone, all he could hear was the terrifying noise.
‘Damn it…’
Despite the desire to help being as strong as a chimney, Noubelmag remained seated, holding his position.
——————
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release /invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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.
.
.
The disturbance unexpectedly ended quickly.
“Noubelmag.”
Noubelmag breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the old professor and the girl before him. But he wasn’t out of the woods yet.
“…Where is he? And the staff?”
“He fled with the staff.” “…….”
…After briefly reporting to others through their connectors.
They shared the information they knew briefly.
Starting with the current situation of the academy.
In short, it was a mess.
“Bodies are being found everywhere.”
It was when news came that a body of Dante, shot with arrows, had been found in the infirmary.
Labin encountered another Dante lying in a coma.
“That body seemed to have been struck by Iira’s White Sword.”
It wasn’t just Dante.
Bodies of all kinds were subsequently found in quick succession.
The traces left behind were clear enough to identify the culprits.
People were momentarily confused, unable to connect the dots and trembling with distrust and suspicion.
“But it’s hardly enough to cause long-term chaos.”
It’s a joke if you play well and within ten minutes, the culprits are revealed.
Even now, all of Rosenstark’s forces were searching for Dante.
“Why did he do such a thing…?”
Labin shook his head with a contemptuous glance.
“Was it just to monopolize healing powers and extend his lives? So he obtained the improved God’s Gaze and fled?”
Noubelmag slowly spoke up at that moment.
“No… That’s not all.”
If someone didn’t know Dante well, such reasoning might make sense.
But no.
“Where is the fool who shows everything to those who will eventually turn their backs?”
He entered the Dawn Knights from the beginning with betrayal in mind.
It means that he has been postponing his goal for tens of years.
The God’s Gaze was just a means to an end for him to gain the trust of the members.
He almost spent all of his own life to gain their trust.
Noubelmag recalled Dante’s words.
There must be clues there.
“Just for fun. Without any particular reason. Because I like it….”
“Just because you need a brush and paint doesn’t mean you can’t paint.”
Climax, protagonist.
Suspicion and fear slowly mixed in Noubelmag’s eyes, which were full of questions.
“Sadly, Noubelmag, there’s no place for you in this masterpiece.”
… And the masterpiece.
“Ah.”
Noubelmag, who had guessed something, stiffened like a statue.
His mouth was wide open in shock and horror.
Pieces of the puzzle fit together in his mind, forming a huge picture.
Noubelmag murmured as if groaning.
“It can’t be… Who the hell would dedicate ten years to such a purpose…”
He stood up without saying a word.
“We need to find him as soon as possible.”
Labin and Nyhill’s trembling eyes met his.
Noubelmag’s lips trembled.
“Before it’s too late.”
Ssueeueeuug-
They all heard an alien sound in their ears at that moment.
Ssueeueeuug-
The sound of a brush sliding on a canvas.
The sound of a brush moistened with enough paint drawing a moist line.
A soft scraping sound.
Noubelmag, Labin, and Nyhill approached the window without hesitation, looking out to find the source of the sound.
No one could speak.
“……”
Ssueeueeuug-
It wasn’t a sound that was unpleasant to hear, but it felt eerie, as if it paralyzed the whole body along the spine.
They didn’t know, but they weren’t the only ones hearing this sound.
The sound forcibly resonated in the ears of all humans in Rosenstark.
Noubelmag’s mouth opened slightly.
“Damn it, it’s already too late.”
Labin, the first to turn his head from Dante’s painting, muttered quietly as he headed straight for the workshop door.
“I’ll hold him off.”
It would be a long and harsh night.
* * *
Thud-
Dante hummed as he climbed the hill.
It was a hill overlooking the center of Rosenstark that Leciel had introduced him to.
Below it.
Forces to capture him were converging like ants finding a cake.
It didn’t matter.
By the time they arrived, the painting would already be complete.
There was enough paint, and what he wanted to paint was clear.
It wouldn’t take long.
Dante raised the God’s Gaze.
A vast vitality began to flow through his body.
Swoosh.
From the long, straight strokes of the brush came a light sound, as if a gentle breeze were rustling feathers.
From the sharp, short strokes came a sharp sound, as if flames were burning.
As expected, the painting was quickly finished.
“Why did you join the Dawn Knights?”
“I wanted to paint you. The shining moment of the hero.”
“…What a worthless reason.”
Scratch-
As the paint dried, the brush made a rough scraping sound against the canvas.
It felt like nails biting into the floor.
“…Do you think the hero will recover from his injuries sooner than expected?”
“Yeah, and it seems he’s found a way to become even stronger than before. Should we continue to wait?”
“……”
Dante told the demons the exact opposite of what he had heard.
Literally the exact opposite.
He told them that the hero would recover from his injuries quickly.
Just to make them impatient.
‘…A deadline?’
The hero must not deteriorate so easily.
Dante didn’t think that way because he had special affection for the hero.
It just didn’t fit.
Such an ending didn’t suit him.
‘It must not become a mediocre work.’
The culprits may not understand, but to him, the world was a painting.
Everything had its own colors and meanings.
But that didn’t mean everyone’s importance was the same.
Some shone brightly, while others didn’t even seem to exist.
Confessing, Dante had chased only that light all his life.
All relationships were tools for his art.
If the light wasn’t visible, it was worthless.
Not even friends, lovers, or even parents.
They were all just light and inspiration, light and inspiration.
When his life was left with only faded canvases, sketches, and messy traces of paint.
‘I got to know the leader.’
Ted Redymer was… more than anything, a strong flame.
He had to burn.
As a torch of this dark age.
He had to burn himself into ashes.
‘So I prepared.’
Increasing the efficiency of divine power or improving the God’s Gaze were all meaningless stories.
Because repairing a broken vessel of life was impossible.
The documents of the First Era that Dante showed his comrades were lies.
‘If it’s here… I can burn satisfactorily.’
There were many things the leader wanted to protect in Rosenstark.
When darkness fell upon them.
How would Ted Redymer shine?
Swoosh-
The sharp creaking accompanied the brush strokes eerily.
But Dante didn’t stop moving his jittery hands.
Even when the uninvited guests arrived faster than expected, he didn’t turn around.
He just greeted them casually.
“Hello, Leciel.”
Behind him, a strong aura and bloodlust were felt.
Considering that it was emitted by a girl who hadn’t even reached twenty, it was simply amazing.
If they had met a little later, surely the desire to make Leciel the ‘lead actress’ would have blossomed.
“Now. What are you doing?”
“What am I doing…?”
Before he could answer, Leciel’s sword energy shot out sharply.
It wasn’t enough to kill Dante, who was using all his concentrated vitality and maximizing his prayers.
Hmmmmm-
The sword energy, intertwined with the scenery in his mind, quickly dissipated.
Dante replied with a slight smile.
“As always, art.”
“…Art?”
Creating an immortal masterpiece with finite and insignificant life.
If this wasn’t art, what was?
Scratch-
Dante shook his arms convulsively, completing the final brushstroke.
His thin hands, like dry branches, fell weakly.
Even the strength to stand was gone, and Dante collapsed onto the fallen leaves on the ground.
The staff without light rolled beside him.
However, his expression was filled with intense joy and awe.
“Ah… it’s complete.”
He was no less than the father of all the scenes that would unfold.
Now, all that was left was for the main characters to appear.
Dante reached out his hand toward the sky with a wide smile.
“Come.”
In the hazy darkness.
The outline of a skull drawn with black and rough lines slowly revealed itself.
The empty eye sockets in the helmet contained Rosenstark.
The one who extinguishes the light.
Yol.
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release /invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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