NOVEL NEXT Chapter 254
Running through the sky, stepping on golden rising currents, soaring high into the sky at supersonic speeds.
“Arrival!”
Driving to Sky Island was truly fantastic.
As soon as we reached Sky Island, we didn’t land on wheels but transformed into a new form and settled on the runway of Sky Island.
“Wow.”
Celestial Horse.
I was somewhat suspicious just from the name, and indeed, the basic form of Sleipnir was a unicorn.
A golden unicorn.
With a long horn on its head, it walked into Sky Island on six legs, making me feel as if I were riding atop a unicorn.
“How was it? Lucius?”
“…….”
Lucius looked extremely tense, his face frozen.
I may have stomped a bit hard in the middle, and I was driving the Spirit Device at speeds beyond the speed of sound, but there was really no reason to be this tense.
“Do you want to go again?”
“…I’m fine.”
Lucius forced a smile and shook his head.
“I’d like it if we could go a bit slower next time.”
“Why? There was nothing to bump into. I can’t step on birds on the ground, but up in the atmosphere, I can step freely.”
“Because it shook too much.”
“Shook? Ah, I see.”
If it’s motion sickness, that can’t be helped.
Even for a hero, experiencing supersonic flight for the first time while on a Spirit Device would naturally lead to motion sickness.
“Sleipnir. We’re landing now.”
[Seatbelt unfastened.]
Whirr, clunk.
The Spirit Device Sleipnir slowly walked to the center of Sky Island, folded its legs, and we opened the door that popped up like a sunroof on our back and stepped outside.
“Phew. It’s different from what I saw through memories. Nothing beats seeing it for real.”
The Sky Island I had seen through Blue Bell felt like a scene viewed through a photograph.
But coming here and seeing it with my own eyes was clearly different.
Unlike when I was watching through Blue Bell, I could see various traces of ancient civilizations spread across the walls.
I could see the frontline, the perpetual engines, and all sorts of things.
And among them, the most noticeable was, of course, the place where Sleipnir should be.
The Golden Throne of the Sky God.
Behind it, ‘that’ was there.
“That’s it. That’s the one.”
“What is it?”
“A weapon that can split a planet in half.”
Now that I saw it with my own eyes, I understood.
A planetary destruction weapon that could be launched through Sky Island.
Once, I had physically received the light of destruction.
And now, the weapon that could emit that light was right in front of me.
“Lucius. This wall in front of you—does it look like a wall?”
“…Isn’t it a wall?”
“It’s not a wall.”
Even the hero Lucius saw it as a wall.
It appeared as a wall even to Blue Bell, who was a clone.
No need to mention the rest of our companions.
But to me, it looked like something other than a wall.
Either I’m special, or this ‘body’ is special.
It must be the latter.
Thanks to the divine blood flowing in Asydia’s body, I can see things that normally shouldn’t be visible.
“Golden Mount. Is this the reason you had to come here?”
[Affirmative. Wishing to open all authority of ‘Sky Island’ to Hero Arthur Lucius.]
“But I haven’t even completed the fourth awakening yet?”
[Emergency measures due to a crisis. Requesting judgment following the actions of Sorceress ‘Bel.’]
“…….”
Could it be that I had to come to Sky Island unavoidably?
It’s nice that you call her Bel instead of Belphegor, but the fact that the main body must come to open the door…
“Alright. I shall give a fair judgment on behalf of the gods. Lucius, do you want to undergo the fourth awakening right now?”
“…What?”
Lucius pointed at himself with a bewildered expression.
“Can that be done so easily?”
“Of course not. The fourth awakening actually depends on the hero personally. Only the Master of the Holy Sword can undergo the final awakening after passing through trials.”
This is common knowledge.
No matter how much you know the trigger words.
No matter how much you know the name of the Spirit Device.
Ultimately, to gain the power to freely manipulate the entire attribute of that magical power, one must undergo considerable growth.
“Did I mention last time? If you achieve the fourth awakening, you’ll be able to reach a position akin to a god.”
“You did say something similar.”
“A god. Truly a god. You will exhibit powers akin to the Moon Goddess spoken of in the Intermediate Realm. No, even more intense.”
The current Moon Goddess manifests divine power as a protective barrier clinging to the skin of women.
That was the power of limited divine protection before the gates of the Celestial Realm opened.
“You can take the place of the Moon Goddess and become a new god. Just like Arpe.”
“Lady Arpe…?”
“She became the god of that island. She could have been the god of the empire, but she chose to be the guardian of that island. So she wasn’t exposed anywhere… How Lucifer found out is something to look into later.”
Arpe became the goddess of light, protecting the island.
She repelled everything approaching the island with a barrier of light and erased the island’s existence from the world.
“If Arpe had set her mind to it, she could have taken the place of the Moon Goddess. The Moon Goddess would have simply become a heretical religion shining blue over there, and the entire continent would have glittered in Arpe’s white… the so-called ‘White Religion.'”
“Can I do that too?”
“Of course. You’re just not aware of it yet, but once you awaken a little more, you can do anything.”
I lightly tapped the side of my head with my index finger.
“Though I’ve seen and learned many things through the Holy Sword, you’re still trapped in human thought. But the moment you undergo the fourth awakening, you will see and judge everything from the perspective of a ‘god.'”
The moment he steps beyond that door, Lucius will become a god.
“Me… a god…? Master, isn’t that a bit too early?”
“Were you thinking about becoming a god?”
“If you judge that my becoming a god is necessary, then I will do so.”
“What do you want to do?”
“My answer is…”
Lucius briefly smiled with self-deprecation, then clenched his fist and placed his hand on his chest.
“If that power helps your plan, I will do it.”
“……Saying that much is making me feel guilty.”
“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize. I’m wishing for this.”
“…Being too kind can be a problem?”
I extended my hand into the air, drew a magic circle, and used the wind magic received from Lucius to control the devices of Sky Island.
“Come forth, Gambanteinn.”
A long, golden branch appeared in my hand.
“Alright. Then, Lucius, you need to become the new wind of the Intermediate Realm.”
The tip of the staff, seemingly woven from ash wood, slowly began to dry, and I infused my magic into its end.
“In the name of the hero’s teacher, Sorceress Bel, the Great Witch… Open. O Shrine of the Sky. Welcome the Master of the Throne.”
When I tapped the end of Gambanteinn on the ground, the wall behind Sleipnir revealed its true form.
“I, the Great Wizard… acknowledge the man recognized by the god as the new god of the sky.”
Creeeeak.
“Open, gates of Valhalla.”
The massive golden door opened wide, presenting a new space.
A place with a bright blue sky and white clouds, distinctly different from the surroundings of Sky Island.
This was the space meant solely for the Sky God.
With just a single finger, I could cause a woman’s hem to flutter or possess the power to split a planet in half.
Valhalla.
“Then Hero, are you ready to become a god?”
I pointed behind Lucius, who stepped forward, fidgeting with his collar.
“Of course.”
He walked ahead even more than I did, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
“It feels rewarding to have raised him as a teacher.”
Arriving here and backing away with ‘a bit of a god’ would cause me genuine disappointment.
“Uh, Master.”
“Yes?”
“Is this it? Without advancing further, is this everything?”
“Yes. That’s what it seems.”
This was my first time coming here directly as well.
A place that extended like a roof.
At the edge of the railing was the golden throne, an amalgamation of gold and red.
“Lucius.”
I perched myself on the armrest of the throne and extended my hand to Lucius.
“The moment you sit on this throne, you become the god of the wind.”
“Is it really okay to become a god this easily?”
“Of course not. To undergo the fourth awakening, it wouldn’t have been any easier than the third awakening. It’s probably a hundred… no, incomparably more challenging than the trials of the third awakening?”
“…….”
Lucius’s face turned pale in an instant.
He wasn’t the type to have such a face normally; Lucius was genuinely nervous, slightly biting his lower lip.
“What kind of trials did you undergo here? You didn’t even tell Blue Bell.”
“I can’t say. Not to you, Master.”
“Oh, really? I roughly understand what it might be.”
Lucius’s eyes, as he clenched his fists, went wide.
“You faced me, didn’t you?”
“…….”
“You fought against me one-on-one. You must have had an incredibly tough time. Well, that version of me wasn’t the real me, though.”
“It was similar…”
Lucius replied in a dying voice.
He seemed unwilling to think about just how difficult it was, closing his eyes.
“You were truly strong, Master. Strong enough that I couldn’t win no matter what method I used.”
“So did you eventually win?”
“No. I lost. Oh, so cleanly. But…”
Lucius walked confidently towards the golden throne, turning around and sitting down.
“I will definitely win one day. For sure.”
“That’s a good mindset, Hero.”
The hero shall always be the one to defeat the Demon King.
Well, that’s not wrong.
“Then shall we start… learning the most fundamental technique as the god of the sky?”
I sat on the armrest, spreading my mana in front of Lucius.
“First, let’s create some wind.”
“Press this screen like this. This is called ‘touch.'”
“Like this?”
Gently.
Lucius pressed the screen with his index finger.
Soon, a golden light flashed from his ring, and the golden throne shone as well.
“Good job.”
I used the magic of clairvoyance to check the spot Lucius pressed.
“Wind creation, success.”
“Creating wind is something I can do with the Holy Sword too….”
“Oh. Let me correct that.”
It is a success.
“Typhoon creation.”