Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 571



570 – The Sin Clad in Filth and the God Bound to Flesh – Conclusion

Just before Nebida was about to extinguish Meiel’s illusion, the returner sprang out from behind her, completely off guard.

‘An opening…!’

With a swift motion, Cheon-aeng plunged into Nebida’s back. The silk garment was torn, and a scar nearly a hand’s breadth long was etched into Nebida’s back, as gnarled as an ancient tree. It was a successful ambush, taking advantage of Nebida’s moment of complete distraction. The returner twisted the blade, aiming to sever Nebida’s neck.

However, far too many trees had already grown. Nebida was the forest itself, and being within it was akin to being in her grasp.

Branches extending from the small World Tree engulfed the returner. Vines wrapped around her arms, legs, and wrists. The growing branches intertwined, obstructing the returner’s movements.

The returner was also a formidable force, having mastered the art of energy manipulation. She could easily shake off mere vines with strength, but in that moment, losing momentum was inevitable. And against a powerhouse like Nebida, the gap was far too wide.

Nebida’s spear thrust deep into the returner’s hollow abdomen. She hadn’t even seen when it was unleashed, and with her limbs bound in the underbrush, she couldn’t even react in time. The returner merely enveloped her entire body in energy and curled up.

“Ugh!”

In a single strike, her waist folded in half, the shockwave reverberating through her body. The returner was half-buried in the ground, coughing up blood.

[Shei… you should have escaped alone. If you were alone, you could have fled.]

“If you wanted to help so badly, you should have come yourself. At least you’re better than that. You had the courage to stab me in the back yourself.”

Nebida mocked Meiel, encroaching upon her existence. Meiel’s form grew faint, like fireflies greeting the dawn. Nebida’s forest relentlessly blocked out the light, summoning darkness.

“Vanish, spirit of the wayward daughter. Next time, come in your true form. With a will to fight to the death.”

This was merely Meiel’s angel. It signified that she was watching over the future of this space.

What Nebida faced was nothing more than a single dream that Meiel was weaving from the distant palace of the divine.

As petals bloomed, Meiel’s form faded like a midsummer night’s dream. Nebida did not revel in her victory. She knew all too well that the triumph she had just achieved was but a fleeting illusion.

Instead, Nebida immediately began to move her limbs. She kicked the returner’s knees and covered the sideways-aiming Jizan with the small World Tree. With her limbs all bound, the returner squeezed out her last bit of strength and hurled Cheon-aeng. An invisible blade emerged, scraping against Nebida’s skin.

Even her trump card was aimed at killing her opponent. For the first time, Nebida looked at the returner and smiled faintly.

“Not bad at all.”

Before long, bark had begun to sprout on Nebida’s skin.

Bark skin. A primitive spell devised by humans who, without armor, even envied tree bark,

but for Nebida, the embodiment of the tree, it was harder than any armor.

The last move of the regressor ultimately did not reach its target.

“But this is the end. How unfortunate. If you weren’t a servant of the fallen woman,

I might have spared you.”

“…Shut up! This isn’t over yet!”

“No. It is over. There’s no fallen woman here to help you,

and no reason to spare your life. Your time ends here.”

Nebida aimed at the empty abdomen of the regressor and raised a hand.

The arm, once resembling a gnarled tree, absorbed the spirit energy,

transforming into that of a beast with sharp claws.

With no hesitation, Nebida unleashed the massive arm that could easily tear apart a human body.

Even in the face of imminent death, the regressor’s eyes widened.

‘I still haven’t reached it…! But there’s hope!

This round has already yielded enough gains!’

Sensing the threat, the regressor’s spirit moved urgently.

However, the limbs bound by the vines of the tree did not move as intended.

The qi, having learned from countless deaths, and the body,

which had yet to experience death in this round, issued a warning.

Countless images flickered through the regressor’s mind.

He etched the moment of this death deeply into his memory.

‘See you next round! Now that I know Hughes is the king of humans,

I won’t waste time going in circles!’

To be of even a little more help in the next round.

Wait, hold on a second.

Then the regressor can’t die, right?

“Wait!”

I threw all my strength into stopping Nebida.

It was impossible for my meager power to halt Nebida,

but with Nebida’s strength, it was possible!

“Tree of Origins!”

Connecting to Nebida’s spirit through the divine spirit,

I moved the source that governs this green barrier.

While I couldn’t seize the space entirely like Nebida,

I could still move a little around Nebida and the regressor!

The vines that had bound the regressor suddenly changed direction,

blocking Nebida’s forepaw. The beast’s paw got stuck in the lush grass.

A strike that pierced through the very space.

It was far too heavy and intense for mere vines to withstand.

Yet, a divine spirit is still a divine spirit.

It was enough to create a momentary gap.

In that brief moment when the regressor’s limbs were freed,

he moved to protect himself.

“Ugh…!”

The regressor, unable to even let out a scream, was vomiting blood and being crushed. The two arms that had blocked the attack were now weak and broken, and the intense shock was almost enough to blow away his consciousness. Yet, even after receiving a fatal blow, the regressor was still alive.

I rushed to intervene before Navid finished him off.

“Wait, Navid! Stop! You can’t kill him!”

“It’s nothing, I’ll take care of it without leaving a single corpse behind.”

“No, really, you can’t!”

The world is going back in time, and the regressor will return to the past without any issues! He’ll go back to the past and wake up, and my past self will meet this disaster without knowing anything! The situation is beyond my control!

Navid, who didn’t seem to care about my will, suddenly showed a desperate attitude and stopped attacking, asking calmly,

“What reason do you have to say such a thing, that you can’t kill that woman’s subordinate?”

I couldn’t say, “Because he’s going to regress…”! This is a secret that no one knows, and the fact that I know it is a crucial weapon. Revealing it carelessly would mean giving up my advantage.

Besides, just a little while ago, Navid had used a strange technique that repeated infinite deaths, turning people into trees. If he knew about the regressor and used that attack… I couldn’t even imagine what would happen.

What could I say? That I’m related to the saint, but I’m a good person, so please spare him? That would be something Navid wouldn’t understand. Or could I betray the saint and join him? Navid wasn’t foolish enough to fight against the saint who could see the future.

Ugh, there was no choice. When I couldn’t give a reason, I had to appeal to emotions. I mixed in a bit of sincerity and shouted,

“He’s pitiful, I tell you!”

Navid, who hadn’t expected an emotional appeal, briefly tilted his head. His deliberation didn’t last long.

“The woman’s subordinate has a black heart and follows the woman’s will more than mine, so sparing him would only put me in danger. Please abandon him.”

“No, no. How can I abandon him? It’s not something that can be done easily!”

“Then I’ll take care of it myself.”

“No, no, no! Don’t do that! What’s with you, trying to take care of it yourself?”

It was no use. I didn’t want to say this much, but I ended up shouting at Navid.

“It’s Mr. Shea who saved me when I was trapped in the abyss! I nearly died because of that creature you created, but Mr. Shea stopped them and saved my life! He also helped me escape from there! Throughout this journey, he has saved my life countless times!”

In fact, during our first meeting, I nearly lost my right arm. There was a moment when I almost died because of a regressor, and the saint kept interfering, exposing my whereabouts and putting me in danger.

Ah, now that I think about it, I suddenly feel wronged. Should I really protect the regressor when I’ve suffered? I feel a bit of self-loathing, and then I heard Nebida’s voice.

“Your Highness. I apologize for the impertinence, but do you truly not understand the heart of a temptress?”

“The heart of a temptress?”

“A temptress twists fate to manipulate people. In a life-and-death crisis, she saves you and demands a debt of gratitude, while concealing the fact that she created that very crisis. The kindness you felt and the grace you received—all lose their meaning and become tainted when related to a temptress.”

Nebida spoke with certainty, neither hesitant nor doubtful. It was as if she were explaining a natural phenomenon like rain and clouds.

She’s saying what I already know. Just as Hilde couldn’t abandon the sanctum that saved her and the troubled Thunder Lord ultimately chose faith. The sanctum sows the seeds of faith even amidst crisis.

“The crisis you face is also a pit dug by the temptress, like twilight. Do not worry greatly, and just observe my actions.”

“Now that I think about it, there are indeed crises caused by Mr. Shea. Hmm. Nebida’s words are right.”

I know. I know. But my intention to save the regressor isn’t simply out of affection.

If he dies, he will regress!

“Still, I feel a bit of anger. It’s sad to see someone you know die right in front of you.”

“I will handle it unseen.”

She’s completely ignoring my words! Damn, what should I do? Let him die like this? But what if regression occurs then?

No. The regressor must not die! At least not until I regain my strength!

“It’s an order!”

At my sudden shout, Nebida stopped her actions sooner than I expected. She withdrew her hand that was about to tear apart the regressor, staring at me like a startled deer.

“If you are the king’s warrior, could you grant my request just once? Please spare Mr. Shea.”

“…An order, you say. Do you remember that?”

In the distant past, when humans were still beasts, it was an era of savagery. The human king did not rule, but only reigned. The human king, no more than a beast king, did not give orders or command anyone. They simply let their followers do as they pleased and treated them as kings.

However, even followers needed proof of loyalty. If the king did not demand anything, their loyalty was no more than a fleeting infatuation.

So, the king’s warriors demanded a promise from the human king.

Just once, they wanted a chance to confirm their loyalty.

No matter how important or trivial it was, the fact that the human king had “asked” was all that mattered, making them the king’s warriors. They had received a reward for their loyalty.

And Nevidad had not yet received an imperial command. It was as if she was receiving an imperial command once again. That was Nevidad’s limit, and it was the driving force that allowed her to endure for eternity.

Of course, I, a half-baked king, didn’t want to hear it.

“It’s not that you’re sitting on the throne, but this is just a desperate measure to avoid this situation. I will not accept that command.”

Nevidad did not entrust her wish to me. She already had the power to make her dreams come true. Nevidad approached the regressor who had fallen in the midst of the forest.

“I will accept a command that is not an imperial order. I will at least spare your life.”

“Ah, thank you. I’ll repay you greatly later.”

But wait, what? Spare your life? The words were a bit frightening.

Nevidad trampled on the regressor’s chest with her foot. The power gap was immense. The regressor was left with only one chance to start the next cycle. It was a significant one, but…

The regressor, despite being in agony, did not lose their defiant attitude. They looked up at Nevidad with an unbroken gaze.

“…Wouldn’t it be better to just kill me? That way, I won’t have any regrets?”

“It’s the king’s will, so thank the king.”

“Hmm, I suppose I should be grateful…?”

Nevidad did not respond, instead grabbing the regressor’s shoulder. It was not just a simple grab, but a fierce grip that turned her hand into a beast’s claw.

A ominous feeling arose. Even without being a prophet, the impending picture was drawn before my eyes. I desperately hoped it wouldn’t happen, but the ominous feeling did not subside.

Nevidad silently twisted the regressor’s right arm and then pulled it out in one swift motion, like breaking a branch from a tree.

The forest shakes violently. Hot blood is scattered over the cold wind flowing between the trees. The regressor lets out a terrible scream.

Nabida, casually lifting the regressor’s right arm like a toy, placed a hand on the other shoulder without a care. The regressor, trembling, shook his head urgently. Even a regressor who fears not death felt terror at the sight of Nabida’s hand, which was pure savagery.

Yet the opponent was the closest thing to a beast—a calamity of civilization that harbored the age of barbarism. There was no reaction, no hesitation at the fact that he had torn off a human arm. Nabida tightened his grip and muttered.

“Then, blame your lord.”