Chapter 645
I Knew You’d Come. (2)
At that moment, when everyone was frozen in shock, only one person moved swiftly.
“Ghislain!”
Julien swung his sword toward the black tendrils.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Dozens of dark tendrils were severed, but he couldn't cut through them all completely.
Everything had happened in an instant, and with Ghislain already ensnared, Julien couldn't afford to exert his full strength.
In the blink of an eye, Ghislain’s body was sucked into the black veil.
“Young Master!”
“Your Highness!”
Belinda and Gillian rushed toward the veil. Their furious attacks struck against it.
Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!
They unleashed their most powerful blows. They had to rescue Ghislain, no matter what.
But the veil only trembled slightly, standing firm against their assaults.
Parniel, unable to watch any longer, intervened. She raised her voice.
“Holy One! Grant me your strength!”
Piote immediately closed his eyes. His hair turned silver.
In his desperation, he gathered all his divine power and transferred it to Parniel.
Fwoooosh!
Parniel’s mace shone more brilliantly than ever before. Without hesitation, she swung it toward the black veil.
BOOOOOM!
The veil shook violently. But still, it held firm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
No matter how hard they struck, the veil wouldn’t yield. And with no way of knowing Ghislain’s condition inside, the growing desperation of those outside intensified.
“Move aside!”
Jerome shouted as he gathered his mana. He was prepared to unleash his strongest attack with everything he had. In terms of sheer destructive power, nothing surpassed magic.
Vanessa placed a hand on Jerome’s back, channeling all of her mana into him.
Ruuuuuumble!
As the immense mana of two mages intertwined, the ground trembled. Jerome thrust both hands forward.
BOOOOM!
A surge of raw, unfiltered mana exploded from his hands - pure destruction concentrated on a single target.
Roooooar!
The collision between the mana and the veil sent shockwaves through the surroundings. It was the most intense tremor yet. But that was all.
“Damn it!”
Jerome gritted his teeth and gathered more mana. He had poured too much out at once, and now blood streamed from his nose.
Vanessa staggered. Her mana had been depleted in an instant.
Even so, the black veil remained unbroken. It was an impenetrable wall of despair.
“Let me try.”
At that moment, Julien stepped forward.
The others stepped aside, watching him with desperate anticipation.
Julien slowly raised his sword and closed his eyes.
“…Haa.”
Unlike usual, Julien was careful. He had to put everything into a single strike.
He focused his will. The power he wielded defied the natural order.
The black veil was also an entity manifested in this world. He had to shake its very foundation.
Ssssshh…
A heavy silence settled around Julien. It was as if the sky, the earth, and all of existence were holding their breath.
At the peak of his concentration, he swung his sword through the air.
Swish.
A small ripple, as delicate as a butterfly’s wingbeat, spread outward.
And then—
CRACK! CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK!
The earth split apart. The world, unable to withstand the force of his will, was torn and crumbled.
That power reached the black veil.
Fwoooosh!
The veil split open. Everyone’s eyes darted inside.
Ghislain was nowhere to be seen.
Inside the veil, there was nothing but darkness.
Without hesitation, Belinda and Gillian charged in.
Thud!
As soon as they stepped forward, they were repelled as if they had slammed into an invisible wall.
The black energy rapidly intertwined, restoring the veil to its original form as if it had never been torn apart.
“Ah…”
Belinda’s face twisted in despair. No matter what they did, it felt impossible to break through that veil.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Gillian clenched his teeth and continued striking the veil, determined to break it down with sheer force.
Parniel joined in as well. Even with Piote’s divine power backing her, she kept attacking relentlessly but the veil only trembled and refused to open.
After a long moment, Julien finally spoke.
“Stop.”
Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!
No one seemed to hear him. No one stopped attacking.
Belinda gripped a dagger and stabbed at the veil. Jerome and Vanessa continued pouring out what little mana they had left.
Piote, desperate to help, kept channeling divine power into them.
Julien spoke again.
“Stop.”
This time, his words carried the weight of his will. Only then did everyone turn to face him.
Their faces were filled with confusion, despair, sorrow, urgency, and rage, all emotions colliding at once.
Julien gazed at them with cold eyes. Then, in a slow, deliberate tone, he spoke.
“We wait.”
“…”
“He's not someone who'd go down that easily.”
“But—!”
Before Belinda could protest, Julien continued.
“There must be a reason why it reacted only to Ghislain. There's nothing we can do right now, so let's wait.”
His voice was calm but firm.
Strangely, upon hearing him, the others felt their panic subside.
This was yet another reason why, in his past life, Julien had been able to lead the United Human Army.
He possessed a mysterious power that went beyond sheer strength, a force that compelled others to follow him.
“Haa, for now, let’s wait a little longer.”
Jerome let out a sigh and slumped down. Even with all the knowledge he had accumulated, he couldn’t find a solution to the current predicament.
Vanessa, concern evident on her face, asked,
“What if nothing changes?”
Everyone turned to Julien. With Ghislain gone, he had naturally assumed the role of leader.
Julien pondered for a moment before speaking.
“If necessary, I’ll bring every mage and priest across the continent… and force this thing open.”
If it wouldn’t open, then he would destroy it no matter what it took.
His cold, unwavering gaze made that promise clear.
Strangely, everyone felt a sense of reassurance at his words. They believed that if Julien said he would do something, he would see it through.
The group took a step back, silently staring at the veil.
They watched, hoping for even the slightest sign of change in the black veil that had swallowed Ghislain.
“Oh?”
Contrary to the growing worries outside, Ghislain was perfectly fine. With a curious expression, he looked around.
Darkness. The surroundings were filled with nothing but endless black.
Even in such a space, Ghislain remained unshaken. He calmly attempted to assess the situation where he was and what was happening.
“Dark.”
Fwoosh!
A burst of flame flickered as Dark took on the form of a crow. Unlike usual, its body was faintly glowing with a reddish hue, enveloped in mana.
— This great one has arrived.
“How is it? Can you tell what kind of place this is?”
— Hmmm, something… something’s strange.
“What do you mean?”
— It doesn’t feel bad.
“That’s it?”
— That’s it. What more do you want?
Ghislain shot Dark a look of disdain. As expected, this creature was utterly useless in moments like these.
“For now, let’s take a look around.”
Ghislain created multiple copies of Dark and sent them in every direction. The glowing red crows scattered through the darkness.
— Nothing here.
— Can’t see a damn thing.
— Just darkness everywhere.
“Hm…”
— Ahhh! Are we trapped in here? I! Am! Scared!
As time passed, Dark started to panic. It was understandable anyone would begin to feel fear when trapped in such endless darkness.
Even so, Ghislain remained calm. First, he stomped his foot to test the ground beneath him.
“…No sound?”
He was certain he was standing on something. Yet, no matter how hard he struck the ground, he felt nothing, and not a single noise echoed back.
Reaching down, he placed his hand on the ground.
“…Huh?”
His hand should have met solid ground beneath him, yet it continued to descend as if nothing was there. He couldn’t see anything, but his senses told him the truth.
Ghislain confirmed once again this place did not follow the normal laws of physics.
It wasn’t mind control. If it were, Dark would have reacted.
‘Or… it might be something too powerful for Dark to even sense.’
He took a deep breath and waited. The Saintess’s voice had called to him before he was pulled in. There was no way this phenomenon was meaningless.
Fwaaah…
Sure enough, after a moment, faint light traced along the ground. It was as if it were guiding him.
Ghislain followed the glowing markings at a slow pace.
Not long after, something entered his sight.
‘Light?’
A tiny, minuscule light floated in the void.
And from that light, a voice emerged.
“…You came. I knew you’d keep your promise. Because that’s the kind of person you are.”
Ghislain let out a brief chuckle.
A talking light? And one acting as if it were an old friend?
He quickly steadied himself and asked,
“Who are you?”
“We already know each other well.”
“…”
Was this really the Saintess from his dreams? Even if it was, something didn’t add up.
— I don’t know you well, but I’ve heard a lot about you from my mage friend.
— They called you our friend from the future.
When he first started dreaming, the Saintess had claimed she didn’t know him. She spoke of a “friend from the future,” something Ghislain couldn’t understand at the time.
Back then, he had tried to fit the pieces together using the information he had. After all, his dreams allowed him to witness the past.
But now, she was saying they knew each other well?
It didn’t sound like she was simply referring to the few times they had met in dreams.
She wouldn’t have mentioned a “promise” without reason.
So he asked again.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t know me?”
“I do now.”
“How?”
“Because I met you. Because we were together.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t know you. I don’t even know your face or your name. We’ve never met.”
He had seen the Saintess’s face in his dreams. He had seen the Hero’s face as well, and some of the other heroes, though their features had been obscured.
But were those truly real? Or were they illusions his mind had conjured?
He had never spoken with them properly. He had never shared a real moment with them.
So how could he claim to know them?
The light trembled slightly, as if it were laughing.
“I understand your confusion. But now, we will meet for real.”
“What?”
“Through countless attempts and coincidences, the present and future have changed… and so has the past.”
“What are you—”
“The past, present, and future move together.”
“What nonsense is this? Where am I? What do you want? Speak clearly.”
“This is as much as I can interfere. This is my final arrangement.”
“Hey—”
“Don’t be impatient. Soon, you’ll understand everything. And the choice… will be yours.”
“What choice? What are you talking about?”
Ghislain pressed urgently.
The light was starting to flicker, dimming as if it were fading away.
It spoke slowly, as if squeezing out its last words with all its strength.
“Don’t forget… Do whatever you desire… I will respect your choice… And it will be the right path…”
“…”
A moment of silence followed. Then, in a soft voice, the light offered its final farewell.
“Now… it’s time for us to meet again.”
Fwaaaaaah!
The light scattered in all directions. The once-dark space was flooded with a blinding brilliance.
Ghislain instinctively closed his eyes.
And when he opened them again—
He was outside the veil.
The last echoes of the Saintess’s voice still lingered in his ears.
— My dearest friend, Ghislain Ferdium.