Episode 377
Erze is a strong opponent enough to kill the members prepared by Shin Ha-yoon in one go, and he is even a member of Rebellion.
No matter how noticeably strong Sumire was, it was a burdensome opponent.
“If it’s a deal…”
“Oh you seem interested? Is it okay to accept the enemy’s trade? I am a notorious Rebellion.”
“Wow, tell me what you want first!”
Sumire stuttered as she went out in an uncharacteristically strong tone. This time, as Velvet’s safety was at stake, her intention was not to look down on her opponent, but her appearance was just ridiculous.
“…because I’m quite interested in you. It feels like there are two scents of mana instead of one… It’s been a while since I’ve had a case like this.”
Claw, who had overheard the story unintentionally, was on the verge of going crazy at Ergé’s sudden sudden action.
– Erje! What do you mean by dealing with the enemy? I’ll warn you again!
Pick!
Hearing Chloe’s voice growing louder, Erze turned off the communication with a loud expression. There are no interrupters now.
“What we Rebellion want is a huge vessel containing mana. If it’s an intact dragon heart, if it’s split into many branches like this… it doesn’t have to be a dragon’s.”
Herze looked at Sumire and poured bloody mana on his palm. PS- As the fog-like mana dissipated with the sound of wind blowing, what was revealed was red glass work.
“This is something similar to the glass heart you are looking for. It is an artifact that seals mana and makes it look like a magic tool.”
“…So you’re saying that I have to sacrifice myself to save Velvet?”
Herze burst into laughter at the sight of Sumire’s stiff expression.
“Aha! I’m not that ruthless person either. A deal like that doesn’t count. What I want is another existence hidden in your body…”
Ergé’s index finger pointed at Sumire, but he was not pointing at Sumire. Herze pointed out another mana flowing from Sumire’s body, although it was not clear whose side it was.
“Even this sealing sphere is just an ordinary piece of glass right now, but if you put the piece in it, it will become a fairly classy collectible.”
Another heterogeneous mana.
The meaning of what Ergé was pointing at was clear. What Erze wanted was Laplace’s personality in Sumire’s body.
However, to Sumire, Laplace was not something that could be exchanged with others. He was always on his side and an experienced mentor who guided his immature self.
“…The things dwelling in my body are not simple fragments or mana. They obviously have personalities, they have wills and souls. It is not something that can be given like an object.”
Sumire was adamant.
It was absurd to treat his friend Laplace as an object. However, Ergé only let out a light laugh.
“Hmm, it’s the will and the soul… even if you say you’re right after yielding a hundred times, what is the meaning of that?”
piece.
Fragments are fragments of memories. It embodies the original’s thoughts and personality close to 100%, but Ergé did not treat them as human beings.
“Even if it is said to imitate a human, a fragment is a fake that only embodies the original in the end. It’s just a piece of non-human data.”
What is the life of knowing that you are fake when you remember the life of the original? This was a subject Sumire had never thought about before.
How would Laplace respond if he heard this story?
“It would be a pity if you thought of such a piece of data as your friend. Whoops, you can call it stupid or pitiful…”
Sumire felt worse when Erze laughed at her friend Laplace than when Erze treated her as a fool.
“What’s wrong with that?”
If we can talk together, if we can share our feelings, if we can be valued, then what is not a human being and what is not a friend?
“If there is an ego that can think…”
Sumire refuted again for Laplace, but before she could finish her words, Herze’s refutation blocked another one.
“The ego is not the exclusive property of man. Even low-level summons, like golems and familiars, have egos.”
“I still remember!”
Sumire shouted in anger, but Erze did not waver.
“Rather, it’s proof that your imaginary friend is going to rip apart your meager data. It is not human to have memories of a previous life. How is that any different from the files on your computer?”
Rather, it was perfectly stepped on so that the opponent could not refute.
“It is a one-sided relationship parasitic to you, not a friend. What kind of human is data that cannot exist alone?”
Sumire silently looked at the back of her hand. The pattern on the back of her hand was emitting a purple light, perhaps because her emotions were fluctuated without her knowledge.
“…okay.”
“Looks like you understood right away. Even though you look dull, you are smarter than you think.”
Sumire slowly approached Erze. Erze, thinking that he had complied with his wish, smiled with satisfaction, and Sumire’s face was hard to tell.
Saaa-
The wind blew in the field.
Even with her hair blowing in the wind, Sumire looked at Erze.
“…You are right.”
It would be a lie if I said there was no shaking, but it wasn’t difficult to organize my mind.
There is no correct answer to the choice, but if you have a standard in your heart, if you believe in your feelings, there is the best. Sumire slowly reached out for the red piece of glass and opened her mouth.
“Human beings are so stupid and weak.”
At first glance, it seemed to agree with Ergé’s words. He seemed to blame himself for calling himself an idiot.
“I give meaning to flowers in the fields and give names to dolls made of cotton.”
However, Sumire was stronger than Erze thought.
“However, to believe that flowers in the field are valuable and to trust a doll that is nothing more than a ball of cotton as a friend.”
Sumire did not waver and did not break. Ergé said that Laplace was just a piece of data with the original memory, but she called it a friend.
“Because that love makes even a foolish and weak person like me… stronger.”
Sumire’s hand reached.
“I don’t care if you think I’m stupid. Being able to cherish and love something is proof that you are a person with a beating heart.”
However, what he touched was not glass, but Erze’s body.
“…I can never lose to you who treats other people like fools and can’t love anything. Neither Velvet nor Laplace-sama will ever be taken away!”
Sumire shouted and at the same time, Hwa-Ah-! A purple storm rose with a sound.
“Space Barrier. Plaguelands.”
The reversal has begun.
“You-!”
Ergé, enraged at the fact that she had been tricked, looked for the glass heart she was holding earlier. However, the glass heart was not in Hergé’s hands. Of course, it wasn’t just the belongings that had changed.
“…where is it?”
Erze looked around.
The smell of death and purple mana slowly rising. The owner of this land, the Witch of Plague, was waiting for Herzee so eagerly.
“You never thought you would see me like this.”
Herze turned his head toward the voice. What awaited Herze there was Sumire’s smiling face as she sat on the throne and looked down at her.
“My name is Plague Witch. Laplace. It is the ‘piece’ you have longed for.”
“…that’s a name I’ve heard before. One of the Witches of Calamity, the risk level of the original is level 7.”
The vampire of Rebellion and the witch of Gaon faced each other.
Basically, both Sumire and Erze had characteristics based on the principle of black magic, so they were heavily influenced by the ‘catalyst’.
The blood magic Erze is blood.
Sumire, a necromancer, is a familiar.
If there is a battle, a war of attrition is inevitable. In the worst-case scenario, you could lose all of your saved blood or reverse-summon all of your precious familiars.
However, an armistice is possible when there is someone on either side of the conflict.
“But that is the original story. Could your meager bowls and pieces imitate the original?”
Hergé laughed at Laplace.
“Well, think more. A frightened dog barks louder.”
Laplace laughed at Ergé. The tense atmosphere of the two was like a taut bow before letting go of the demonstration.
“…The fishy smell of blood vibrates all over your body. are you a vampire Or are you just a human using blood magic?”
The land of death trembled at Laplace’s beckoning. The dead but sleepless ghosts cried out to the sky, and Dyurahan raised his head and Lilith, the succubus queen, knelt beside the throne.
“I’m human, but I enjoy vampirism, so let’s say it’s both.”
However, the same applies to Erze who commands a familiar. As a 7th grader, she raised a large army using the blood she had accumulated through vampirism.
Level 6 hunters, including Yuwol, and a humanoid boss mob with a sword were also visible. Herze was able to create a doppelganger, albeit a downgrade, by analyzing the power of the opponent he had vampirized.
Of course, the one that stands out the most is the blood dragon with crimson-colored scales like a rose.
“Did you really intend to fight me?”
Blink- Erze asked with a leisurely smile. Laplace said while stroking the Bone Dragon’s head.
“That is your choice. If you get scared and run away, I won’t catch you. Of course, Glass Heart was ours from the beginning. I have no intention of returning it.”
“It’s so cheeky. …on a fake subject.”
“…Let them talk as they please.”
The two camps did not find it strange when a war broke out. It was clear that if either of them gave a signal, the land of the dead would indeed be covered with blood and death.
But Erze knew. That’s why the balance calculation doesn’t match.
The glass heart is an important thing to Sumire, where Velvet’s life is at stake, but to Hergé, it is just one of the artifacts.
Erze was not loyal to Rebellion to the extent of sacrificing his main unit to save the artifact.
“…What happened? Because the excitement has cooled. Let’s get out of here for today.”
When Hergé turned around, the space where the barrier had been spread collapsed in an instant, and the place regained its original shape.
It was clear who the victor would be now that he had recovered the Glass Heart without fighting and shedding blood.
Laplace said with a sneer as he looked at Ergé, who had turned into a swarm of bats and disappeared.
“You make a grandiose story about being scared.”