Beyond the Eternity

ImmortalClown: Hey, what do you guys think about the current arc so far?

FalseReader: Thank you so much, Author-nim. I've been enjoying the current arc a lot! Honestly, it might even rival the First Disaster arc for me.

Faker999: It's okay, I guess. But I have to say, Luxuzia is kinda dumb. Why didn't she just kill her enemy outright? Find more chapters on empire

HornyRegressor: You're right, Faker. Eliminating the enemy quickly without hesitation would've been smarter!

Faker999: Huh? Who are you? Wait... aren't you RoyalKing? Why did you change your username to that?

HornyRegressor: (•_•) ...Do I really need to explain myself?

FalseReader: This is starting to make me uncomfortable.

HornyRegressor: Who the hell asked for your opinion, idiot?!

FalseReader: Who is this damn guy? I don't remember talking to you either!

HornyRegressor: Hm. Your breath stinks. Go and brush your teeth!

FalseReader: You horny bastard, go and change your username before you start insulting others!!

Faker999: Damnit! You two idiots have started again! If you want to ■■, then go and get a room or something!

OneEyedDokkaebi: Sigh... Author-nim, please continue the story. This might go on for a while.

ImmortalClown: Um... Yes. I think that would be the right choice at the moment. Time to draft the story!!

***

[Purple Arrow]

[Object Class: Dormant]

[Effects: Inflicts the curse «Voiceless» on the target, causing intense damage to the throat. This results in excruciating pain and prevents speech for one minute. If the target attempts to speak during this time, their voice will be permanently lost.]

Luxuzia stared at the purple arrow embedded on the ground as if it was death reincarnate.

The arrow itself was unremarkable apart from its purple head.

But simply calling it "Purple Arrow" felt woefully inadequate to convey the terror it inflicted.

It was no ordinary weapon.

Contained within was the hex «Voiceless», a curse that silenced its victim by force, stripping away their voice and ability to speak. For a Magus, losing the ability to chant was the same as being rendered powerless.

With this thought, a sudden chillness crept up her spine.

The Lustful Flame understood better than anyone the precariousness of her position.

She truly understood the danger.

Swish—!

With an air-parting sound, something swooshed through the empty space.

Two arrows.

Their trajectory was unmistakable. They were hurtling straight toward her.

A surge of terror froze Luxuzia in place like a statue.

She couldn't tell if these were ordinary arrows or ones imbued with dangerous enchantments. Perhaps one carried an even more sinister hex, deadlier than the last. But she had no intention of taking the risk.

Luxuzia swiftly dropped into a crouch and darted to the side, narrowly evading the incoming projectiles.

The arrows whizzed past her, slicing through the air as they disappeared down the long corridor. Moments later, a faint thud echoed, as if they'd struck an unseen barrier or the end of the passage.

But then, a 'clicking' sound followed just seconds later.

The attacking Miyuki was reloading the crossbow.

She wasn't firing arrows rapidly, despite the crossbow being capable of such speed. Instead, she was carefully conserving her limited supply of bolts.

Unlike mana, which could regenerate over time, she would be skewed if she ran out of arrows.

So, she fired only one or two bolts at a time, cautious with each shot.

Currently, Miyuki only had fifteen arrows left in her quiver.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Bbbbbbllllrgh...!!"

Luxuzia tried to roar out a few curse words in anger, but she could only make strange, gibberish noises. From an outside perspective, she resembled a fish struggling to speak.

Indeed, being [silenced] was an unpleasant experience.

No, silenced wasn't the right term. It seemed she had permanently lost her voice.

As if to mock her further, dark tendrils shot out from the shadowy corners, converging on her from all directions.

Her blood boiled with anger, and in the next instant, bright energy circles erupted from her body!

Even without using her voice, she could still use her low sequence, small-scale instantaneous spells!

White energy circles spread across the space, vanishing in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the shadow wolves were obliterated, and all traces of shadow in the area were wiped out.

Realizing the shift in the atmosphere, Miyuki quickly turned and fled in the opposite direction.

She was executing her strategic retreat!

Seeing the girl retreat so casually only fueled Luxuzia's fury.

Without hesitation, she activated a low-sequence Wind Magic spell, [Flight]. The air whipped into a fierce gust, rattling the passageway as she surged forward in pursuit.

Luxuzia was very much determined to skin Miyuki alive!

Glancing back, Miyuki caught sight of Luxuria storming after her, fury radiating off the woman in waves. Her flushed face was so crimson it seemed on the verge of exploding.

Miyuki smiled.

Everything was going according to plan. Provoking the enemy had worked like a charm.

Now it was time to proceed with the second phase.

She swiftly pulled out a card from her pocket. It was a Magic Card that held an unknown effect.

Without delay, she infused it with her magic. The intricate spellwork within the card activated layer by layer, like an ancient scroll unrolling itself.

The faint but gentle mysterious power, like an autumn breeze, swept across the corridor and shrouded upon the incoming figure.

In that instant,

Luxuria, who had been hurtling forward like a cannonball, suddenly froze mid-flight. Her body became bathed in a soft, radiant light.

It was unmistakably a pure healing spell!

But instead of relief, Luxuria's face contorted in sheer agony.

Her teeth clenched as if to unleash a scream, but no sound escaped her lips. Even though her body was being physically restored, her expression betrayed the unimaginable pain she was currently experiencing.

Miyuki glanced at the Magic Card in her hands.

[Error Recovery Stasis]

[Category: Magic Card]

[Effects: A flawed attempt at a healing spell imbued into a Magic Card. Crafted by an inexperienced Mythic Cardmaker, it is riddled with errors and severely lacks magical potency. While it can heal minor wounds, the process inflicts excruciating pain on the target, making it more of a curse than a blessing.]

Miyuki didn't know how to feel about this card, really.

She wondered what purpose such a dysfunctional card could serve, but it seemed there might be value in its flaws after all.

Kim Jakga's reasoning was always shrouded in mysteries she couldn't fully comprehend. While Yoo Rin had been gifted enchanted gauntlets and Yoo Jinsung a pair of twin swords imbued with power, Miyuki had been entrusted with these peculiar Magic Cards.

He must have deemed them the most fitting for her.

After all, he had deliberately denied them the chance to secure a strong Patron Constellation, leaving them with no choice but to rely on his judgment. If nothing else, he owed them that much.

"Ah, that reminds me. Did senpai really make these cards himself?" she mused aloud.

The thought brought back memories of the nights before the Sixth Narrative, when faint explosions would echo from somewhere in the distance.

It was highly plausible that Kim Jakga had experimented with creating Magic Cards using only his own knowledge, and these flawed creations were the unfortunate result of those attempts.

「 Neither she nor the rest of the party knew, but Kim Jakga had cried himself to sleep after failing to create a Magic Card. 」

「 The failure only confirmed his lack of magic potential, leaving him disheartened by the bitter truth. 」

Even so, he had given her these flawed Magic Cards, cautioning her not to use them on herself but to turn them against her enemies.

Lacking magic potential himself, he couldn't teach her magic directly. However, he could provide her with something that would allow her to strike her enemies and escape if she ever found herself in a perilous situation.

Just like now.

She finally understood the intent behind his words.

Miyuki chuckled softly.

"Hehe! A card that heals the enemy. How wonderful!"

The sadistic curve of her lips was enough to unsettle anyone, if anyone had been present in the dimly lit corridor, that is. For now, it was just her and her unfortunate victim.

Her thoughts were already crafting plans for how she'd deal with that woman.

Wasn't there an old saying? When slapped, make sure to strike back with the other hand, harder.

With a cruel grin, Miyuki retrieved more of the flawed healing cards, stacking them onto Luxuzia's head.

Luxuzia, who had halted her relentless pursuit, now writhed in excruciating agony, as if every inch of her body was being torn apart.

Her body was frozen in place, and trembled all over.

Her eyes were bloodshot, thick with the hue of red wine.

Her ears rang incessantly, as though a bell had been tolled directly into her skull.

Her voice was hoarse, reduced to nothing more than a low, pitiful moan.

Even though her mouth was open, she could not scream.

The excruciating pain twisted in her gut, but all she could manage was a silent, helpless cry. She longed to curse the enemy responsible for this suffering, but the words wouldn't come.

Miyuki, observing this, raised her crossbow and let loose a flurry of arrows.

Not all of them found their mark, but a few embedded themselves deep into Luxuzia's thigh, shoulder, and forearm.

Even as the wounds began to heal, the pain lingered. In fact, the healing only intensified it, as if each arrow's pain were magnified by the unnatural restoration.

Every fiber of Luxuzia's being burned with the torment of her own body's healing. The magic, instead of granting relief, tormented her in ways more cruel than the injuries themselves.

She would not die, but she would live in this cycle of pain.

The physical agony was matched by the mental anguish.

Stripped of her voice, she was powerless to chant.

Without the ability to chant, she could not access her full potential or dispel the curse.

Magic required clarity of mind.

But even the ability to think has been stripped from her.

Something dark and chaotic stirred deep within her mind, pulling her toward a boiling point. Her blood burned as if it were being set aflame, and an intense, uncontrollable sensation arose from her body.

As if something was about to burst out, her body trembled uncontrollably.

In that moment, Luxuzia was no longer the composed and calculating magus she had once been.

She lost her previous elegance and became a frenzied, enraged beast.

She gritted her teeth, her face twisted with a mix of fury and incomprehensible madness. The rage and resentment building up inside her felt like a volcano on the brink of eruption.

Furthermore, reason was no longer important.

All Luxuzia knew was that, regardless of the battle's outcome, on this day, if she didn't tear Miyuki to pieces with her own hands ten times over, she would never find peace, even in death!

With a sudden shift, Luxuzia lowered her center of gravity.

Then,

With a feral roar, the Lustful Flame shot toward Miyuki, accompanied by a violent gust of wind as she lunged. The distance between them, which was a few dozen meters, disappeared in just two or three swift, explosive strides.

Like a stone skimming across water, Luxuzia's movements were both fluid and terrifyingly forceful.

Her intent was unmistakable. Bringing her hands together with an almost primal fury, it was as though she declared her sole desire: to utterly crush Miyuki.

Feeling that overwhelming, indescribable malice radiating from Luxuzia, Miyuki did the only logical thing.

She turned and bolted in the opposite direction.

Even as she fled, Miyuki made sure to continue her torment. She applied more of the flawed healing cards to Luxuzia while firing arrows from her crossbow.

As if driven by pure instinct and hatred, Luxuzia made no attempt to avoid those arrows.

But Luxuzia was beyond reason. Driven by pure hatred, she made no effort to dodge the arrows.

Her bloodshot eyes blazed with an unspoken fury that seemed to scream: "I DON'T CARE IF I DIE, BUT YOU WILL NOT EXIST IN THIS WORLD!"

Everywhere Miyuki turned, Luxuzia was there, pursuing relentlessly, oblivious to the mounting injuries and the searing pain that coursed through her body.

It was a grotesque game of cat and mouse, and Luxuzia cared for nothing but catching her prey, no matter the cost.

"Has she finally gone mad? I thought those cards would just break her a little... but this?"

Miyuki let out a wicked giggle as she glanced back at the disheveled, bloodied figure chasing her with inhuman determination.

"I would've loved to repay her in full for that time..." Her fingers grazed the lone arrow remaining in her quiver, her smirk fading into a slight frown.

"...But I only have one shot left."

Her archery skills were, as expected, atrocious. A novice like her could barely manage to land a few arrows on target. Even pulling back the crossbow's string had been a challenge.

She couldn't afford for her final shot to miss, as it would only embolden her enemy.

With no room for error, she resolved to initiate the final phase of the plan.

She abruptly turned down another corridor and darted into a room at the very end.

Moments later, Luxuzia, who was wild-eyed and trembling with rage, rushed after her without hesitation and charged straight into the room.