#756

#756. God's Will (7)

When Burnt One spread his hands, a massive flame fell through a pitch-black hole torn in the sky.

The flame that broke through the pitch-black sky revealed itself and burned everything below to ashes.

The surrounding buildings and land that withstood the heat of the lava, and even the Hunger embedded in the lava, either crumbled into ash or shriveled up and evaporated.

"Haah...!"

Oliver was no exception.

In the intense heat, the colors of the world faded, and as the land and buildings turned to ash and the lava evaporated, Oliver too relished the heat of the flame summoned by Burnt One.

It was hot. So hot that it couldn't be described in any other way.

He didn't know what he was doing, what he was trying to do, whether he was awake or had fainted; his whole body was just hot.

As Oliver was out of his senses, the flame that pierced the sky fell to the ground, and the flame turned into a sword made of thin embers, looking incredibly insignificant in the hands of Burnt One.

Crackle.

As Burnt One grasped the sword of flame, which shone with the same light as the lightning in his eyes, a sound like a bonfire blazing echoed, and the lava and the creatures made from it completely evaporated and disappeared.

Burnt One had handmade it, and the lava containing Oliver's blood, hunger, and life force melted away in an instant.

It wasn't just the lava and creatures that disappeared.

The heat from the sword held by Burnt One not only erased the colors of the world but also its shapes and even gravity, turning everything into nothing.

An unknown buoyancy overwhelmed him, and Oliver felt as if he had entered a world empty like a blank canvas. At least, that's how he felt, unable to do anything as his body froze.

No, 'froze' would be a more accurate description. Overwhelmed by a sight beyond perception, Oliver was frozen in fear.

Isn't that so? Just by existing, it erased not only colors but also shapes and gravity with its heat. What on earth could...

"Ah."

In a world devoid of colors, shapes, and even sounds, Oliver involuntarily exclaimed.

Then, in the world he thought had returned to nothing, Oliver's voice echoed.

It wasn't just his voice.

The bubbling lava underfoot, the buildings that had crumbled from the heat, even the horizon had burned and vanished, but Oliver still existed, not yet erased.

One eye had burned away, but the other was still intact and could see.

He saw his own two arms and the dagger in his hand.

Upon seeing the dagger, Oliver remembered something Kent had said.

"Aaaagh!"

He screamed involuntarily and kicked off the nonexistent ground, leaping up.

Thud!

Fortunately, his legs were still attached to the ground, and by a narrow margin, Oliver was able to escape from the world that had returned to nothing. At the same time, he could see.

He saw Burnt One holding the sword horizontally, and the surrounding landscape had transformed into an alien scene, as if it had been carved out by a sword.

In that state, as Burnt One swung his sword horizontally, the alien landscape evaporated, and a heatwave that seemed to burn space itself swept through. 

For Oliver, it was hot enough to feel; needless to say, the impact on others was immense, and he barely managed to prevent the spread of the heatwave by activating his power. 

Chiiiik...! 

Although, as a consequence, he suffered light burns on both hands. 

'This too should recover—' 

"—It won't." 

Above Oliver, who was looking at his burnt hands and thinking, Burnt One's voice rang out. 

For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped, stretching out endlessly. 

Oliver, slowly but quickly, lifted his head to look up. 

There was Burnt One, with wings made of smoke and fire, like lightning. 

He had caught up in an instant using his wings. 

"This sword is made of my power. Even the heat it emits is imbued with my power." 

Burnt One raised the flame-engraved sword with his sole arm and struck down. 

───────────────!!! 

With a simple swing that involved no fancy techniques, the blade's path evaporated everything, leaving only a strange, white-ashed plain. It was as if he had erased the world. 

"Hoof...! Hoof...! Hoof...!" 

Fortunately, Oliver managed to escape the space by a hair's breadth. 

Click, clack. 

Although he couldn't completely avoid the heat, smoke rose from his body, and due to that, he struggled to breathe properly, overusing his power and bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. 

Had Burnt One swung his sword immediately, Oliver would have been burned by it, but fortunately, that didn't happen. 

Instead of swinging his sword again, Burnt One looked at Oliver with a peculiar smile. 

"Your hair has gotten even whiter." 

"Huh...cough! Cough!" 

Oliver tried to stabilize his breathing to respond but ended up coughing. 

With each cough, hot blood and smoke spewed out. 

"I think... white hair suits me better." 

"To make jokes even now. Your bravado is something I can hardly match." 

"I'm serious. I may be a warlock, but I'm also a disciple of the Archiver. That means I'm a wizard too. Do you know what that means?" 

"What does it mean?" 

"It means I can pull off a foolish hairstyle that bleaches a healthy head of hair white... Just kidding. Smile." 

Oliver spoke with a hint of disappointment to Burnt One, who showed no reaction. 

But perhaps it wasn't funny this time, as Burnt One wiped the subtle smile off his face. 

Meanwhile, Oliver felt his face, and the blood from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears slowly stopped. 

"Do you think delaying with wordplay will change the outcome?" 

Oliver, confirming the bleeding had stopped, took a long breath out.

"Hoo... Yes."

"Unfortunately, it's only a matter of time; the result will be the same."

"That's enough. If I can delay it even a little."

Oliver's response was without hesitation. Burnt One answered a beat later.

"...This time, I will not be as kind as in the past."

Burnt One intended to burn the entire First Step but only burned a quarter of it in exchange for a promise from Oliver.

Oliver remembered his kindness from that time.

"I don't resent you. But aren't you being too confident? Even you, Mr. Burnt One, is not in a perfect condition."

"Missing a side, an arm, doesn't hinder my work."

"But you won't do that, will you? Because you have a promise with me."

Oliver referenced the promise Burnt One had made.

He had promised not to pursue the people as long as Oliver did not fall.

"I know. I told you to try your best. So, will you continue with me as I am now?"

"Ha... Of course not."

Without hesitating, Oliver started to run away, using his power to leap through space far beyond the horizon.

It seemed as if Burnt One was dumbfounded behind him, but Oliver didn't care and kept running forward.

Burnt One used his wings made of smoke and fire to fly and caught up instantly.

"This is a bit startling."

Burnt One honestly expressed his feelings and swung the sword of flames. As the world seemed to burn, a sinister sound filled the air, and everything around turned to ash.

However, Oliver was not caught in it.

Like before, he activated his power to evade through space. He hid between buildings, out of Burnt One's line of sight, trying his best to reduce his presence.

This was why he had run within Burnt One's sight range.

To attract and deceive his eyes. Oliver tried to use this opportunity to hide his appearance and maximize the time—

Flash!

A sensation like a fleeting spark dug into Oliver's side, causing a stinging pain.

Oliver's side was cleanly burned away as if carved out by a knife.

Chiiiik...!

"Argh...!"

As the sound of flesh burning echoed, Oliver bit down hard, and soon dizziness overcame him, causing his body to stagger.

It was not strange.

A considerable amount of blood flowed from the neatly burnt wound, and he had already been bleeding before.

Added to that was the hunger from eating the flesh of Human-meat Chef, making the onset of dizziness quite natural.

Above all.

"The heat. It's getting harder to bear, isn't it?"

Looking straight ahead where the sound came from, Burnt One was standing there.

Due to the bleeding, hunger, and heat, Oliver's vision was distorted and it was difficult to see properly, but he was sure of it. In this heat, the only beings that could endure were Oliver and Burnt One.

"It's nice because it's warm."

"It must be warm. The heat of hell is burning even your life force."

Life force being burned.

Thud.

Not just empty words, Oliver, unable to overcome his dizziness, leaned against a building.

No sweat flowed anymore.

Had it been since Burnt One summoned his sword?

No, that wasn't important now. The important thing was—

"Why are you telling me this?"

"My interest is waning, noble being."

Burnt One responded in a disrespectful tone, contrary to the respectful title he used.

"I'm hurt by that."

"I'm not blaming you. You've done well enough on your own. Strictly speaking, it's my fault... I think I drew my sword too early."

Burnt One's voice mixed disappointment and regret.

Crackle. Crack.

Following that, the sword of flames in Burnt One's hand made a cozy sound, unfitting its sinister power.

"I admired your efforts so much, I couldn't control myself properly. It's my fault."

"It sounds like you're blaming me for not living up to your expectations?"

"That's not entirely wrong. I never expected you to run away. In such an ugly manner."

"Running away has always been my specialty."

It was sincere and true. During his childhood in the orphanage and the mines, Oliver had endlessly run away.

From all the evil, injustice, and violence in the world, he had only sought to keep himself safe by avoiding everything.

At that time, Oliver had wanted to live, and he had no pride.

Even after being taken in by Joseph and becoming a warlock, nothing changed. He disliked taking responsibility; he ran away from the Joseph family on a small scale, and later tried to escape from his own destiny.

He had no sense of responsibility. His only interest was his own amusement.

So, running away now wasn't strange. He was a being without pride or responsibility, and if running could hold back Burnt One's feet even a little longer, he was more than willing to do so, no matter how disgraceful.

But Burnt One seemed to disagree. He shook his head from side to side.

"I'm sorry, but I dislike wasting time. I'm willing to overlook efforts to change the outcome, but I have no desire to indulge in meaningless time-wasting."

"I believe that delaying is also a way to change the outcome."

Oliver ended his statement and tried to leap through space again, but at that moment, Burnt One's wings thrashed like lightning, sweeping through the area around Oliver.

────────!!

The flap of his wings thwarted Oliver's attempt to leap through space. Not only did the buildings swept by the wings crumble to ashes, but the ground burned and cracked, and giant flames burst through the gaps.

Surrounded by the infernal fire, the overwhelming heat prevented Oliver from escaping.

"Still..."

"Is it okay for you to run away?"

Burnt One questioned Oliver, who was searching for an escape route. An unusual heat pressed down on the surroundings.

Burnt One held the sword horizontally.

Chills...

Oliver recalled the first time Burnt One summoned the sword, feeling a shiver run down his spine. At the same time, he inadvertently saw people evacuating in the distance behind him.

If Burnt One swung his sword now, those people would be caught in it too.

"Isn't this against our promise?"

"I'm just broadening the scope because it's bothersome to chase you individually. It's like accidentally stepping on one or two ants while walking."

Whoosh!

A small yet intense sound emanated from the horizontally laid blade of flames, and a vision flashed through Oliver's mind.

An unreal landscape where the capital and all of England would be engulfed in flames.

That unreal landscape was about to descend upon this land, and Oliver, holding a quarterstaff and a dagger in his hands, tried to stop Burnt One's attack with his powers.

In that instant Oliver was about to unleash his power, Burnt One swung his horizontally held sword, and the world seemed to erase.

Nothing could be seen.

All Oliver felt was intense heat engulfing his body, a sensation of floating, and a powerful wind. Indeed, Oliver was now flying.

He had been sent flying, unable to withstand the power of the sword swung by Burnt One.

Desperately rubbing his right eye, the vision he regained showed the sky torn open, evidence of what had happened.

Oliver's withered body, having lost the freedom of its limbs, flew up like a rag doll before slowly falling.

The fierce sound of wind scraping past his ears and the heat that even the wind couldn't wash away were the only indications that Oliver was still alive.

'Did I block it?'

Oliver thought.

Whether he had blocked Burnt One's attack that intended to burn the capital and all of England. It seemed he had, fortunately.

The sight of still living people on the scorched earth and his own severely burned arms confirmed it.

Sizzle...

His arms, burnt black and emitting smoke.

He had lost his quarterstaff and dagger, now with empty hands.

But that wasn't immediately important.

Oliver, feeling severe burning pain throughout his body, strained to find what was most crucial at the moment. That was none other than Burnt One. He—

"Here I am."

Burnt One reappeared above Oliver, using wings of smoke and fire.

Although expected, his appearance was unscathed.

Apart from the initial damage to his arm and side inflicted by Oliver, there were no changes.

"Will you run away again this time?"

Burnt One, raising his flaming sword vertically as he saw Oliver flailing in mid-air, asked, "Is it okay for you to run away?"

Below Oliver were people looking up at this site.

He had to stop it, but he couldn't.

Oliver tried to speak, but Burnt One, seemingly not interested in listening, was about to strike down with his sword. Oliver gave up on dialogue and immediately began an incantation.

[Longinus]

Just as when Burnt One had summoned his sword, Oliver's dagger and quarterstaff merged into one and came down through the black hole in the sky, aiming for Burnt One's back.

The quarterstaff and dagger that had flown away when blocking Burnt One's earlier attack unexpectedly came to his aid.

Instead of swinging his sword, Burnt One turned back and lightly flicked away Longinus.

Oliver's desperate move was futilely deflected.

That was enough.

Thud!

In the brief moment Burnt One turned to block Longinus, Oliver grabbed his back and stabbed Burnt One's back with his right arm.

"It feels familiar," said Burnt One, referencing a past event in the New World.

Oliver agreed. It was almost the same as then.

He drove his dagger into Burnt One's back, attempting to extract his power and burn him.

He had also acquired his demon-possessed right arm at that time.

It was exactly the same as before. The terrible smell of burning flesh and the wave-like surge of pain. There was only one difference.

"The result will be the same."

"No, it will be different. Now, I can freely extract my emotions."

Holding his position with his dagger plunged into Burnt One's back, Oliver began extracting his emotions and life force generously, focusing it into his right arm.

Then he rummaged through Burnt One's body, which was akin to hell itself, and grasped his heart.

Thump! Thump!

The hateful beats transmitted through his fingertips.

Oliver tried to summon hell from within his body.

The gate of hell opening within. Whether even a demon could withstand it was questionable then.

Thump.

The flaming sword that had emerged through Burnt One's back pierced Oliver's right shoulder.

Burnt One had stabbed himself in the back to strike Oliver behind him.

Overwhelmed by indescribable pain, Oliver lost sensation in his right arm, and Burnt One slipped away from his grasp, turning around and raising his sword of flames again.

He then swung the sword at Oliver.

The sky was tainted with a bizarre color, hard to even call white.

People lowered their heads against the blinding light, then later looked up again.

Something was falling from the sky, like a meteor, emitting desolate smoke.

People, without speaking, knew that within it were Dave and the demon.

A massive flame seemed to explode up to the sky, then subsided, and Dave, flying above, was attacked by the demon with wings of smoke and fire.

People, stunned, watched the meteor falling from above, stepping back to make space.

Ironically, the meteor fell precisely in the middle of that spot, scattering an incredible and fierce flame around.

Luckily, no one was hurt. Someone must have controlled the power.

The smoke and flame were too dense to see inside, but after a long wait, it became visible.

"Ah... ah..."

Oliver, with his right arm severed and his body covered in burns, lay collapsed, and Burnt One stood over him, holding a sword made of flames.

In a scene that could only be described as pure despair, everyone froze, and then Burnt One looked up at the people and asked,

[What did you expect?]