Reversal of Law (Continuation)

"Shouldn't citizens naturally follow the law? You ran away as you pleased, and now you talk about freedom and the right to die, and you think your lives will get better because of that? That's why I don't like Norr."

Lena stopped him.

"Stop it, Sister. Even if you fight the heretics, the result will be the same."

Kanya also knew. He could not communicate with them, who stood at the symmetrical point of the law.

But Gardlock was determined to finish it off since he had already started the fight. He had accumulated a lot from his long life in purgatory.

"Do you really think so? Do you think you're right?"

"Of course! We are different! The reason we came to Purgatory is because in Heaven, they don't use elixirs. If we just get the items, we'll return to Shamain, and there, we'll be protected by the gods and live happily ever after!"

"There's no need to package it like that. You too are just a creature thirsting for eternal life."

There was a look of death in Kanya's eyes.

The reason I've kept quiet about the profane conversations up until now is because there's a line I can tolerate. But Gardrak just now crossed that line by a long shot.

"You, even if you are a heretic, I cannot forgive you for saying such things. I can destroy you right here on the spot."

"Sister, don't do it."

Kanya shook off her brother's hand and took out the Ark. But Gadrak only looked at her with calm, and in a way, sympathetic eyes.

"Then why have you come to me? No, what are you trying to find at Nor's Shelter?"

Kanya's shoulders flinched as she aimed at the arc.

"It goes without saying. Sooner or later, someone in your family will receive Ilhwa's alcohol, right? That's why you came here to buy Nor's medicine."

The aim of the Arc wavered. At this distance, if she let go of the handle, there was no way to stop the projectile. But she couldn't shoot in the end. Tears poured out uncontrollably.

"What, what's wrong with thinking about your parents? What's wrong with thinking about your parents! This has nothing to do with the law! I just… … just my mom… … !"

Even the men of heaven are weak to women's tears, so Gadrak's emotions softened. He was once a citizen too. That's why he knew better than anyone how Kanya felt.

Lena hugged her sister and said to Gardrak.

"I'm sorry. My sister… … ."

"I know. You don't need to apologize to the heretic. The Mechans have strong family ties. I guess I got agitated unexpectedly. It's all because of this wound."

Gardrak examined the wound on his abdomen in a dazed manner. Only the muscles were cut, but the internal organs were unharmed. The problem was the amount of bleeding, which was not severe, but was not stopping.

Gardrak turned around and said.

"Don't worry. The Norse don't attach emotions to things, so you'll get what you want. You'll just need a lot of elixir, though. The Norse are very good at business."

Kanya said bravely, wiping away her tears.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've saved enough for a year."

A sad smile appeared on the corner of Gardrak's mouth as he walked away.

Shirone, who was watching their conversation, felt depressed. Many of the words were unfamiliar and the motive for their emotional outburst was unclear, but this place was not a place where absolute values ​​ruled.

What is the wine of anecdotes? Is it really God? Is this heaven or just another world?

Will I return with all the answers at the end of this journey?

4. Reversal of the Law (6)

Gardrak found the desired location not far away.

It was a place where the valley had sunk and a crack had formed. It was a gap that was barely big enough for one person to fit through, and a ray of light was streaming down through the gap.

"Look here."

Gardlock pointed to the center of the flash, where the light was concentrated. It was fluffy like a snowflake, but if you looked closely, you could see grains of light swirling around.

Shirone looked at it and scratched her head. How should she explain it? It was impossible for particles to naturally clump together due to the nature of light.

Of course, the Norsemen thought no different.

"Gardlock said, wrapping both hands around the particles of light as if to emphasize that it was a unique phenomenon.

"Do you see how the light only gathers here?"

"Yes. But how is this possible?"

"It's called love. The love of light dwells here."

"So… … are you saying that love is gathering light?"

"No. It's because the light stayed for a long time that it became imbued with emotion. Emotion can be imbued with anything. It can be imbued with the wind, with water, and even with thoughts. Of course, that is, if those thoughts remain unchanged for a long time."

I thought that Shirone was a similar concept to the Magic Stone.

It was a phenomenon in which, when a certain quality was accumulated for a very long time, the concept of it became concrete.

"If spirits stay in one place for a long time, they become spirits. Spirits are… …spirits that have activity. They can also make contracts with humans. If you make a contract with a spirit of light, you can draw on the power of light anytime, anywhere. However, obtaining one is like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

Shirone said, pointing to Jeong.

"Then this light will also become a spirit someday?"

"Haha, I guess so. Wouldn't it take about a thousand years? As long as it doesn't disappear in the meantime."

A thousand years. It was much longer than the time given to humans. Perhaps the time it takes for a certain quality to become true is similar. I understood why it was said that seeking a spirit was like trying to catch a star in the sky.

"Anyway, you can get to Nor's Shelter through here. Everyone, gather here."

"The space is limited, so how many people need to cross to the other side?"

"It's okay. Now that I think about it, the Earth Kingdom's magic doesn't have a wide radius. We can increase the scale as much as we want as long as we have the essence of light. It's like this."

Gardrak grabbed the bundle of light. His fist turned golden and rose up to his shoulder.

It seemed as if light would soon spread throughout my entire body.

Since the power of nature is infinite, humans who borrow its power can increase its scale as much as they want.

But it seemed to take quite some time.

After a long time, when the light did not reach his shoulders, a questionable light passed through Gardrak's eyes.

"That's strange. Why does it take so long? Usually, five minutes is enough."

"Master, could it be that the light has weakened?"

"No way. I did it without any problems three days ago. It takes at least hundreds of years for the spirit of justice to change. Or there is some factor that is weakening the spirit of justice."

"But that can't be the case. There's only one law here. That's why we use it as a middle ground."

From Clove's words, Gardlock realized. It may be a delusion, but it was an even bigger delusion to leave the only correct answer and look for other factors.

"No way… … ! But why?"

The light began to shake. Then the ground, and eventually the entire valley, shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Get out of here quickly! It's the law-whirling snake! The mind is in disarray!"

Since they would have been crushed to death if the cliff collapsed, Shirone and her group quickly escaped through a gap in the valley.

Looking from outside, the entire surrounding area was shaking. If it was on this scale, it was clear that whatever was there was nearby.

But when I looked around, I couldn't see anything that looked like a snake.

"What the heck! Where are you? Where are you coming from?"

Lian drew his greatsword and stood in front of Shirone.

The wizards also formed a formation and entered battle stance.

Tess focused her senses and scanned her surroundings. The tremors on the left and right were different. The thing was turning the corner on the right.

When the ground began to shake so much that it was difficult to keep her balance, Tess finally felt something strange. Her senses and reality were not in sync. If the shaking was this severe, it would have been normal for it to have already appeared before her eyes.

"Hey, over there!"

Shirone pointed with a surprised expression.

A small, white creature was lying on its four legs on a rock about three meters away.

No, can this really be called a living thing?

It had no eyes, nose, or mouth. Its appearance resembled that of a salamander, but its surface was smooth as if carved from jade.

I have never seen such a white creature in my life.

"What is this? A whirlpool snake?"

"Not you!"

At Gardlock's shout, Shirone reflexively stepped back. As her vision opened, she was finally able to see the guy.

The shadow of a serpent swept across the valley. Incredibly, it was so large that it filled the entire cliff.

Shirone turned her eyes back to the rock. The body of a creature that resembled a salamander was glowing brightly.

The light from the body is creating a shadow.

By the time I realized that, a shadow had already sprung from the cliff and was flying towards me, tearing open the corner of its huge mouth.

A curtain of darkness blocked my vision. It was so out of this world that I didn't even think I was being attacked.

The moment Shirone and her party were trapped in the pitch-black darkness, Gadrak, who had been watching from a crevice in the valley, shouted.

"It's dangerous!"

Shirone's madness exploded.

The moment the light spread, everyone realized that a sharp shadowy rake was closing in right before their eyes.

If it had been even just a little bit later, the flesh would have fallen off.

Kiaaaah!

The whirlwind snake screamed as it was torn apart by the lightning.

It would probably be something like Harvest, since a creature without a mouth can't possibly have a sound organ.

When they came to, everyone saw the shadow of the whirlwind snake moving away like a typhoon cloud.

It was fortunate that the first attack was prevented.

Most prey die from the first strike of the Whirlwind Serpent, as it is unable to even see the attack coming due to the darkness surrounding it.

Amy asked, wiping away the cold sweat.

"What the hell is that? Is it a living thing or not? Is that salamander thing controlling it?"

"Guardrock said as he emerged from the crevice in the valley.

"No, the Whirlwind Serpent's true nature is a shadow. It has no main body. What's standing on the rock is nothing more than an 'incarnation' created by the Whirlwind Serpent's shadow."

"Where in the world is there such a thing? There must be a body to have a shadow!"

"I don't know about that. We call this 'reversal of the law.' It's a celestial thing. I don't know where it came from, but it's definitely not a world we can imagine."

The whirling snake didn't approach readily. It was natural to be wary, since none of the humans he had defeated so far had ever radiated light.

As the incarnation's body glowed, the shadow grew larger, like a wild beast showing off to its enemies.

Shirone realized from that fact that perhaps this was not his grave.

"It seems similar to a wild animal. Weren't they common predators in the world they originally lived in? Like cats or rats. A creature at the top of the pyramid wouldn't respond defensively like that."

"A cat? A mouse? Are you kidding me?"

Kanya said what everyone wanted to say. However, there was one more person besides Shirone who realized this fact.

It was Canis.

He was watching the whirlpool snake's every move with wonderment.

'There really was a world where darkness ruled over light.'

The reversal of the law. What was written on the Arcane note was true.

"Shirone is right. If it were a world where the rules were truly reversed, then all living things would exist as shadows. In that case, the Whirlwind Serpent wouldn't have been particularly strong. Of course, the situation is different here."

Gardrak peered through the crevices of the valley.

As expected, the light energy was weakened due to the activation of the Whirlwind Serpent's Law.

Escape from this state was impossible.

But it was not time to give up. The wave of light that Shirone had displayed was powerful enough to make the Whirlwind Snake retreat.

"Hey, the crisis has passed, but stay alert. Its weakness is light. That's why it doesn't move during the day. I don't know why the law was broken, but if you use light magic, you have a chance of winning."

Shirone recalled the battle with Harvest. What he had learned from that battle was that shock was not important to darkness. The key was the total amount of energy.

When Shirone casted the Photon Cannon, eight photons were born in irregular positions on the left and right.

Eight flashes of light struck the vortex snake at once. A terrible scream erupted.

Amy fired a barrage of fireballs. There's light in fire, so it should work.

The shadow of the whirling serpent was on fire.

But it was only as shocking as an ant climbing onto an elephant and pinching its skin. It was a shadow so huge that I honestly thought it was foul play.

Canis' magic couldn't even be attempted. He tried attacking with the power of darkness, but instead, his power was being absorbed.

Victory or defeat between players of the same attribute is determined by brute force.

If he couldn't control a darkness greater than the Whirlwind Serpent, he would be the one being eaten.

Shirone left her group of friends. If the bastard's curtain were to close in again, then it could become truly dangerous.

As its name suggests, the Whirlwind Serpent was moving in a way that made a large rotation in space. When the photon cannon was hurled at its side, it writhe in pain and then chased after Shirone.

As the whirlwind snake abruptly changed direction, its massive tail curled towards Amy and her group.

Clove grabbed his head and screamed.

"Eww! It's coming!"

Amy unleashed her fire mist. The smoke from the fire protected everyone, but it wasn't enough to burn their tails.

Just as Tails was about to blow the party away like a broom, Amy added Fire Wall.

The tail caught fire, but the trajectory did not change.

Amy bit her lip and turned up the heat. She was determined to defend this spot even if it meant dying.

The tail that had been flying towards Amy's body suddenly moved away and passed her face. The vortex snake, unable to endure the pain of the fire, pulled out.

"Shirone!"

Amy screamed without even taking a breath.

The whirlwind snake opened its jaws and swallowed Shirone whole. At the same time, the snake's face exploded in an explosion of light.

The photon cannon's rapid fire was explosive.

Amy calculated that it would be around two hundred rounds per minute. It was a figure that was within the reach of Shirone, who had set the school record for speed gun tests.

The rate of fire was getting faster and faster, until it became a single flash of light that pushed the shadow all the way to the opposite wall.

This is the mass removed from the photon.

The impact force was zero, so it couldn't tear the shadow apart, but the flash slowly ate away at the bastard's torso.

"What kind of magic is that? That's ridiculous! There's no way something like that is possible!"

It was good that his allies were winning, but Clove couldn't accept the reality unfolding before his eyes.

Kanya and Lena were equally confused.

Unlike the Mechans, the Norse can exert great power on their own. But even in Heaven, they have never seen anything like it.

It was a wonder to see him fight alone against the vortex snake that everyone feared.

Above all, it was a thrill to see the vortex snake writhing against the wall.

Shirone's flash turned red.

From the photon cannon, the photon output is further compressed into a single wavelength laser by increasing the energy level.

The Whirlwind Serpent pushed the laser forward, restoring the Shadow Realm, but even that was scattered in a chain explosion.

Kiaaaah!

It was a ferocious roar.

The whirlwind snake was afraid.

In the original world, he was the lowest predator. Then, he passed through a strange tunnel and came to heaven 10,000 years ago.

In this place where there are no natural enemies, evolution was impossible, and they simply lived comfortably.

But now that comfort is about to be shattered. By the insignificant human beings he has torn apart for fun.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The whirlwind snake split its shadow into dozens of strands and attacked Shirone.

Shirone was defenseless against the tentacle attacks flying from all directions.

At that moment, the laser scattered and spread out into several beams.

The strategy of dispersing energy and destroying them through individual combat was an excellent choice. However, the decrease in damage per second was unavoidable.

Shadows thicker than a giant's thighs swarmed within arm's reach of Shirone.

The people watching screamed. It felt like Shirone's body would be torn to pieces at any moment.

One tentacle could not withstand the accumulated energy and exploded. Then all the tentacles exploded simultaneously.

The explosions, one after another, pushed into the main body, the torso.