Chapter 557 – Contact
Gregory approaches me leisurely.
Perhaps due to the nature of the strong demon body, the body was recovering quickly, but it was nothing compared to Gregory, who received support from the Demon King.
And even if he was in good condition, it was impossible to face Gregory alone since he could not use magical power.
It was seen that the fallen punitive force came to their senses one by one and wriggled and tried to get up. However, he did not appear to be in a state capable of fighting.
“Even if you roll your eyes like that, there is no one who can help you anymore.”
Gregory said with a wry smile.
‘… Sigh… I lost.’
The subjugation of the Demon King failed.
Gregory’s eyes turn to the women next to me.
“. Did you betray yourself by falling for those bitches? It’s absurd. Those bitches will make me go to hell instead of you.”
Gregory knows that I am just an avatar. Since there was no way to do anything about me right now, I thought I was going to take my anger out on my women.
“… You’d better not do anything you’ll regret.”
“Huh, regret? Are you aware of your situation now?”
“… Gregory. I have a secret trick. If you leave quietly, I won’t use that tactic either.”
I don’t like gambling that much.
Even if the probability of success was high, I was reluctant to make that choice if there was a possibility of failure.
If there is someone you need to protect, this tendency becomes even more noticeable.
Gregory makes a bewildered expression at my threat.
“… What? Do you think I’ll fall for such blackmail?! You brought things to this point and have such an attitude even though you know I’m a member of the military. I wonder if you’re normal. I’ll destroy your avatar. I will definitely find you in Zephiria. Let’s see if you can say the same thing when you see me.”
Gregory’s big hand reaches out to me.
The crude hand gesture without any technique was like trying to pick up a toy. This is proof that they are looking at me completely downward.
Gregory’s hand, which was reaching towards me, gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.
No, the world stopped.
And it became quiet.
His head is hot.
I felt as if my body was floating into the air as the accident accelerated to an extreme.
No, that was my consciousness.
In an instant, the heightened spirit breaks down the boundaries of reality, escapes the laws, and enters a new world.
‘It was successful.’
We have achieved an expansion of consciousness that is vaguely similar to the main body.
What is the holding time?
It’s not long.
It will take less than 0.01 seconds.
But that wasn’t important.
Even if it was only a moment, it was enough time in this world, and success or failure was important.
I strengthened my skills and had a strong body, but I was a bit anxious because I had no magic power, but fortunately I succeeded.
And the insight I gained from that allowed me to immediately understand the state of my avatar.
‘This… Will disappear.’
The very moment when thoughts and expanded consciousness that have accelerated to the limit are returned to their original state.
The avatar disappears.
I see Gregory standing still, trying to reach out to me.
As for the main body, it can’t exert enough power to deal with Gregory in this state.
I didn’t do this even hoping for that.
When times are difficult, you have to know how to ask for help.
《Terra!》
My call, containing a will that transcends time and space, resonated throughout the world.
I felt that just calling Terra like that was a significant burden.
The holding time was cut in half.
If I had known this would happen, I should have called when I had magical power…
Soon Terra’s mental body appeared.
She didn’t look much different from when I first saw her.
Long hair and wings of light fluttering with colorful rainbow colors.
She still looked like a beautiful goddess.
My eyes seem to be a little blurry… Am I tired at all?
Her mental body looks somewhat blurry, different from before.
It seems like only the bare minimum of consciousness was sent here.
That meant a lot of attention was being paid to other places.
《… You are… Unho.》
She didn’t look very welcoming, but she recognized me right away.
It is a conversation between consciousness and consciousness.
It was natural because she was looking at my essence, not my body.
《Okay… Unho, why did you call me?》
It’s been over seven years since Terra and I last saw each other. It was an unexpected conversation considering it had been a long time since we had seen each other.
《What happened, is that all there is to say?》
Even if it wasn’t a welcome greeting, there was something strange about saying that it’s been a while since we met.
《What do you want to say? It was you who called, wasn’t it? Are the warlocks in the labyrinth finished?》
《…》
It seemed like her memories were still frozen at that time.
《… You don’t know what happened?》
《What’s going on… I haven’t had time to pay attention to the underworld.》
As she said that, Terra looked at me and frowned.
“Your mind is connected to an unpleasant doll. Where did your body go? It is invisible as a mental body without a physical body.》
“That…》
I shared with Terra the memories of her long journey.
Since we were in a state where we could see each other as mental bodies, the speed of information exchange was fast just by thinking about it.
Terra, who received my information, looks troubled.
《Terra. Zephyria… No, what can’t we do about the barrier on the demon planet?》
If only Zephyria’s planetary barrier could be secured, it would not be difficult to return to Panthera on the space battleship received through negotiations with her demons.
《That is difficult.》
《… Why? I ended up flying all the way to the Demon World while handling a task at your request?》
“Your situation is unfortunate, but I can’t help it. The barrier of the Demon World planet was something I created over a long period of time. It is not something that can be opened and closed easily like a door. It is easy to think of it as a tightly tangled skein of thread.》
《… In short, is this a barrier created without any thought of solving it?》
“That’s right.”
《You say… I have to live there for the rest of my life?》
《Once the work is done now, I will try to find a way.》
《Work now?》
《It is an erosion body.》
《There is an erosion body that is difficult for you to handle?》
《A monster stronger than expected came out of the dimensional rift. Can’t you feel that presence too?》
Hestia said while looking at the moon faintly visible in the blue sky.
Expansion of consciousness to the limit.
The resulting transcendental cognitive ability detected the presence of an erosion body with unusual power.
《Woonho, after you entered the labyrinth, not long after, that monster appeared from the dimensional rift.》
“No way? Have you been fighting all this time?》
《Yes.》
Terra answered casually.
I also fought against the great devils for quite a long time… But it’s a completely different story.
It means that we are still fighting without stopping.
《Does this often happen?》
《It’s not common, but it happens often. This might be the longest time.》
That means there are no promises.
You don’t even know how many more years it will take, right?
《… Is there really no way? If you let me know, I will return to Pantera and help you deal with that guy.》
《…》
Terra thought deeply and opened her mouth.
《It’s not that there is no way.》
“Really? What is that?》
《It is to remove the barrier of the demon planet.》
《You said you couldn’t solve it?》
《You can’t solve it, but if you are… You can break it.》
《How?》
《I will tell you the location of the core that maintains and connects all the barriers on the Demon World planet.》
《Where is it?》
《There is a condition before revealing that place.》
“… Condition? Aside from helping me deal with the erosion?》
《Yes.》
I felt somewhat uneasy.
《If the barrier on the demon planet is broken, the demons will definitely target Pantera. You must take responsibility for that.》
《… Are you telling me to stop the demons?》
《Yes.》
《That’s too…》
It seems like you’re using a dump…
Terra opened her mouth again when I looked reluctant.
《Lifting the barrier on the demon planet means bursting a beehive. Those bees will pour into Panthera. It’s a pity that you are in the demon world. However, breaking the barrier to return you to Pantera is a decision that is not easy for me to make.》
Should I still find Helena?
If it were her, she might tell us another way to return. But people don’t know what’s going on.
What if there is no way to bring back Helena, whom she found so hard?
The more options, the better.
I decided to consider the option presented by Terra as the final option.
《Promise.》
《Promise?》
《Promise to keep your promise to me. The promise of beings like us is heavy. If you break it, you will lose your ‘status’ equal to the weight of that promise.》
The information she provides flows to me naturally. And I naturally knew what the consequences would be if I broke my promise to her.
If I break a promise, the ‘grade’ that falls means that the level of the main body… Skill decreases.
The penalty is quite scary.
It felt like signing an unpleasant contract, but… I decided to consider Terra’s offer as the last option.
Terra told me the location of the core of the Zephyria planet barrier.
‘I should tell Liliana and Verna the location and ask them to investigate.’
They were now playing with a space battleship. Although they say it is research.
《Be careful. It looks like your presence hasn’t been discovered by Hellion yet… But you will have to reveal your presence in order to break the planetary barrier. Then Hellion will notice your presence and will definitely try to get rid of you.》
After she finished speaking, Terra’s appearance became blurry, as if she had finished her business.
《No, wait?》
I caught Terra trying to leave.
She looks at me with her puzzled eyes.
《Hey… I’m in a difficult situation right now…》
《Trouble?》
I pointed to Gregory.
