Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 158

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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158
Nella and Goldi could only glare at me in silence as I pressed them about the Spirit of Light, one of their objects of faith. My argument held weight because there was no other hypothesis to explain the current situation.
“Priestess Goldi, you need not believe me immediately. There is a passage here leading to the Spirit of Light’s stronghold—I will enter and verify the truth myself.”
“You’re saying you can reach where the Spirit of Light dwells?”
Nella asked.
“Possibly.”
“Nella, I have told you everything truthfully. Now it is your time to choose. Besides, didn’t you say it yourself? That he is not a god, merely an incarnation. Even if he dies, light itself will not vanish, will it?”
Not long ago, Salamander, the Spirit of Fire, had perished, yet fire remained.
I waited silently for them to contemplate.
“What will you do if I refuse to cooperate?”
“Well… I’ll have to find another way. Perhaps relocate the people of Newus to Earth. But…”
“Most of Telus will perish.”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain the Spirit of Light caused this catastrophe?”
“His betrayal is certain. But regarding the extreme heat—I know nothing unless I verify it myself. To do that, I must enter. Nella, I need your promise that you won’t interfere, no matter what happens.”
“…I promise.”
Faith mattered, but her concern for the people burned stronger.
“And you, Priestess Goldi?”
“The Spirit of Light, Aither, would never do such a thing.”
“But what if he has betrayed us?”
“…I will not stand in your way.”
“Good. Step aside.”
Jae-in, who had once been consumed by darkness and survived, moved to the side first, and Bae Na-young followed. Though Nella and Goldi didn’t fully understand, they read the atmosphere and stepped aside with Bae Na-young.
“I’m going in.”
I grasped the edges of the light rift the same way I had opened the darkness rift. My muscles swelled as my aura spread, and Nella and Goldi watched in awe.
“Can a human truly wield such power…?”
Nella broke into a cold sweat. She had seen me fight from a distance using her skills before, but this was her first time witnessing such raw power displayed directly.
Craaaaaaash!!
The rift opened, and concentrated light poured down upon me. The cascading radiance pierced through my body, burning both surface and interior.
I immediately enveloped my entire body in armor and aura to shield against the light.
“It truly opened.”
Nella marveled at the gate to the Spirit of Light’s origin appearing before her eyes.
“Spirit of Light…”
Goldi gazed at the torrents of light with rapturous reverence.
“Let’s go.”
Bae Na-young raised her shield to the front and came toward me. It seemed slightly more taxing than piercing through darkness.
“I will accompany you.”
Goldi stepped forward.
“…That light is dangerous.”
“The light of the Spirit of Light could never harm me.”
Before I could say anything, she threw herself into the cascading light. I watched my body burn away, yet there was not a shred of hesitation or fear in her movements.
And as if to prove her infinite faith, the waves of light did not harm her at all. Just as Rondi from the Dark Temple drew strength from darkness, light granted her its power.
“Very well. Bae Na-young, if things become dangerous, flee first. That way I can withdraw as well.”
“Understood.”
I cautioned her once more, but I knew she would never run. Bae Na-young was normally sharp-minded and logical, yet when it came to me, she became utterly blind with devotion.
I threw myself through the fissure first, followed by Bae Na-young, and then Goldi came after.
Upon entering, a space flooded entirely with light appeared—utterly unlike the Darkness Origin.
In the midst of it all, Aither stood in a place that shone with particular brilliance.
“Ohhhhh… Lord Aither!”
Goldi fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
“To come this far—truly, you are one blessed by Mother’s love.”
Aither swept his gaze across us, then fixed it upon me as he spoke.
“Mother?”
“Eres, that is.”
“You call her that?”
“Do you dare measure divinity by human standards?”
“You’re not divine.”
“As insolent as I’ve heard, then.”
“Where is Eres?”
Aither did not answer, but behind him, a faint mass of darkness was visible. Just as Aither had been imprisoned in the Darkness Origin, it was clear that Eres was imprisoned there.
“Why are you trying to kill everyone on Telus? So you can live?”
“My own life matters little.”
“Then why did you agree to the Destruction God’s bargain?”
“To protect Mother.”
…
“If this world is consumed by the Destruction God, not even darkness will remain. It is complete annihilation—a dimension without space or time.”
“So you’ll kill countless lives on Telus in exchange for saving Eres?”
“If the Destruction God devours this dimension, they all die anyway. Their deaths are merely accelerated. And even that is your fault. Telus had centuries remaining, but because you’ve been meddling everywhere, they’ve hastened their own demise.”
“How is that my fault? Blame those who came attacking. And a Spirit of Light of your caliber won’t even fight—you tuck tail and run? Is that what Eres taught you?”
“You resemble Mother even more than I do. We’ve exchanged a few words in passing amusement, but now you shall vanish.”
As Aither raised his hand, the light spreading throughout the space gathered into his palm. Even as it was, the light felt overwhelming—I had no confidence I could withstand it.
Fighting the Spirit of Light at the Light Origin itself was far too disadvantageous. Now that I understood the situation, I needed to retreat and devise a strategy before returning.
I shoved Bae Na-young first through the opening we had entered.
“Brother!”
After pushing Bae Na-young through, just as I was about to throw myself and Goldi back through the fissure—
Goldi seized me in a tight embrace.
“What are you doing, Goldi!”
“Heretic! Do not interfere with the Spirit of Light!”
“You saw him betray us!”
A dragon-human standing three meters tall and a priestess of light drawing power directly from this space—Goldi’s strength was far too formidable for me to break free from easily.
“I don’t care! Every last one of those Eastern Continent bastards deserves to die! If I can’t kill them all, then let this world burn!”
Goldi’s eyes held nothing but madness born from hatred.
“Child, thank you. Let us meet again in a new world.”
“Aither….”
Tears streamed down Goldi’s face.
A condensed wave of light crashed down upon us. Light dozens of times denser than what filled the Light Origin pierced through my entire body and incinerated it. Goldi, who had been holding me, burned away along with even her tears—nothing remained but ash.
As my head caught fire, consciousness fled in an instant. Yet unlike Goldi, I did not turn to ash.
“Tenacious creature.”
The moment I recovered my charred body and regained my senses, another wave of light crashed down upon me.
I kicked off the ground and evaded the wave of light, but it bent sharply and pursued me.
I twisted my body at the last moment to dodge the pursuing wave, but everything except my head and neck burned away once more.
Recovery was instantaneous, but that accursed attack ignored my defenses and incinerated everything from outside to within. Because of this, I couldn’t move my body the moment I was struck, and I took successive attacks in rapid succession.
My body regenerated with each attack, but the more I was struck, the more my strength drained away.
“What have you done to me?”
My body felt heavy, like wet cotton.
“It is an attack that burns the spiritual body. For one who has merely obtained a slight increase in rank, you endure remarkably well.”
Aither ceased his attack and spoke with ease.
“Spiritual body?”
“Indeed. The spiritual body is the opposite of the physical body in the real world. It seems your spiritual body has been strengthened as your rank increased. My rank is so incomparably higher than yours—for my spiritual body is my true form—that I can easily attack your spiritual body. Did Mother not teach you such things?”
“…She was never that kind of spirit.”
“True enough.”
“So that’s why you’re so leisurely? Because I have no way to defend against attacks on my spiritual body?”
“Precisely. You may think you’ve survived, but most of your spiritual body has already vanished. Without a spiritual body, the physical form is merely meat. You will die soon enough without my intervention.”
“I’ve heard that far too many times. Yet I’ve survived until now.”
“Do you still wish to fight? You fail to comprehend. The rank of the spiritual body is absolute. You, with your lower rank, cannot withstand my attacks with my higher rank.”
“I captured Salamander too. Isn’t light and fire essentially the same thing?”
“You speak of that Salamander’s corpse? Had that Salamander grown even slightly stronger, it would have melted you away.”
“… I never knew you were so talkative.”
“It matters not. The end approaches. Your arrival here was unexpected, but now that no more humans can enter this space, I shall wither all living things in Telus and hand them over to the Destruction God.”
It frustrates me, but killing Aither is not easy with my current abilities. However, if I can just free Eres….
I hurled my body toward the black mass that appeared to be Eres.
“Foolish creature. If you wish to hasten your remaining time, then do so.”
Aither, having read my thoughts, unleashed another wave of light upon me. The wave quickly caught up with me as I zigzagged to evade it.
I kicked off the ground and twisted my body to dodge, but half my body burned pitch-black once more.
My mind grows hazy. Is this what it feels like when the spiritual body disappears? It was different from physical pain or mental attacks. My very existence grew dim. My body no longer regenerated. Like kindling that had served its purpose, I crumbled to ash.
“Mother’s discernment is not to be underestimated. To think you would survive yet again.”
Aither approached me as I turned to ash.
“But now, it truly ends.”
Light gathered in his hand.
“With the spiritual body gone, the afterlife too shall vanish. Disappear from this world forever.”
I lacked the strength to evade, and with my legs reduced to ash and scattered, if that attack connected, it would be the end.
[Regeneration Skill has advanced from A to S rank.]
[Spirit body regenerates and evolves.]
In an instant, my body regenerated completely, and my muddled consciousness returned.
I threw myself out of the way of the incoming light attack.
Unable to dodge again, my spirit body and physical form burned once more, but I regenerated in a heartbeat.
“…You’ve enjoyed your amusement far too much. Now I shall end this.”
As I, who had been dying, came back to life, Aither’s expression hardened with a sense of crisis.
I tried to approach the imprisoned Eres while taking the incoming attacks with my body.
Aither slid through space to block my path, gathering light for his assault, and each time my body burned away.
Frustratingly, his words held truth. Though my Regeneration Skill had risen and I no longer died from taking hits, the gap between Aither and me was simply too vast.
I was holding on for now, but just as there was a limit to physical regeneration, there would inevitably come a limit to spirit body regeneration.
There was no choice. I had to gamble. As always.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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