The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 374

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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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Chapter 374. Omen (2)
A speed at which even light itself warped.
A wormhole-like tunnel materialized across Marzen’s vision.
I slid through it helplessly.
Everything around me was blue.
A chromatic aberration phenomenon engulfed my entire field of perception.
With it came a suffocating pressure—all the air resistance bearing down upon me—
“GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
I’m dying. I will die.
Absolutely, without question, I will die!
I wrung out every last drop of mana from my reserves to shield my body.
Yet it was utterly useless.
At this velocity, under this pressure, I knew no magic capable of withstanding it.
Even if I did, it would change nothing.
Such magic was beyond my capacity to manifest!
I’m dying. I’m dying.
Absolutely, without question, I’m dying!
The moment I reached that conclusion.
The tunnel’s exit forcibly consumed my vision.
Light folded, space inverted.
The blue landscape shattered, splitting into black and white.
And then.
My body crashed into the hard ground.
No—it exploded.
BOOOOOOOM!!
My body was hurled backward by the violent detonation.
Crack! Bones shattered.
Squelch! Flesh tore.
But there was no mercy in that.
Cursedly, my consciousness remained intact.
“Cough—hack!!”
The agony of my entire body being torn to shreds was vivid and immediate.
A piercing tinnitus screamed through my ears.
My skull felt as though it would split apart.
…I would have welcomed death.
I wished I had simply perished.
But cruelly enough(?), my breath and consciousness persisted alongside the torment.
In other words.
“Hah—hack! I… I’m alive….”
An experience I never wished to endure again in my entire existence.
Marzen forced his battered body to roll.
He barely managed to collapse face-down on the ground.
For a while, he could do nothing but gasp for breath.
Then, suddenly.
A mass of blood entered Marzen’s vision.
A mass of blood…?
Marzen struggled to narrow his eyes.
His blurred focus gradually sharpened, and a shape emerged.
And so, soon enough.
I could discern what the bloody mass was.
Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound.
He had been reduced entirely to a mass of blood.
“H-hey… a-are you alive…?”
Whether he was alive was itself questionable.
Kim Fujiwara twitched.
Fortunately, he still drew breath.
“W-White….”
But it seemed it would cease at any moment.
A voice as precarious as a candle before the wind.
“…Territory….”
After that, Kim Fujiwara’s voice fell silent.
* * *
Seraphia cast her gaze out the window.
A clear, cloudless sky.
A winding path stretched before her.
Treacherous terrain with cliffs and dense undergrowth.
It was a route no ordinary carriage could ever traverse.
But the Ether Carriage moved along the path without any difficulty.
Powered by Ether rather than horses, its levitation mechanism completely severed friction with the ground.
The Ether Carriage advanced with a low hum.
A peaceful journey.
Soon, the sacred grounds of the Holy Kingdom came into view.
Seraphia gazed out the window and murmured thoughtfully.
“The immigration checkpoint line is quite long.”
“…Is it? Where?”
Iliana beside her leaned in close.
She cast her gaze out the window and scanned the surroundings.
“Oh, it really is.”
Pilgrims, adventurers, merchants, mercenaries, and more.
The procession of those attending the canonization ceremony stretched out like a serpent.
Their origins and statuses were all different.
Seraphia suddenly pointed with her finger at a particular spot.
“Look, the Brontie Family is here too.”
“Huh? The Brontie Family?”
Iliana turned her head to follow her gaze.
Not far away.
A carriage bearing a purple-hued shield crest caught her eye.
Seraphia continued immediately.
“They’re a noble house belonging to the Gerdia Kingdom, but there’s a succession dispute.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. They’re using the Canonization Ceremony as a pretext to display their influence, it seems.”
Iliana glanced at the carriage again.
Then Seraphia spoke once more.
“See that golden hawk crest on the right?”
“Huh? That one…?”
“The Peyron Family. They’re from the Arpeon Kingdom. A traditional noble house, but recently they’ve grown quite powerful through military procurement contracts.”
“I see…”
“They probably want to establish formal diplomatic channels with the Holy Kingdom.”
Truly, countless kingdoms from all across the Continent.
Not just the royal families.
Great nobles whose names alone were recognizable were gathered in abundance.
“That red sword crest at the very end is Sernos.”
“…”
“They’re a noble house under the Trana Kingdom, and I suspect they’ve come seeking an independent diplomatic route.”
And Seraphia knew the circumstances of every single one of these houses.
“How, how do you know all this so well?!”
“Just… naturally, from handling the diplomatic affairs that have been pouring into the territory recently.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Above all, there’s no shortage of houses trying to scheme with my older brother.”
Seraphia’s crimson eyes suddenly gleamed.
As if soaked in blood.
Her gaze glinted with murderous intent.
“Those shameless wretches trying to arrange marriage talks with my older brother! Those sneaky creatures feigning innocence and flirting! Those wanton women mixing coquetry into every word!”
Cunning, treacherous, and crafty.
Sinister and vicious beyond measure.
“Those utterly despicable women, I’ll just-!”
Seraphia cried out as if grinding her teeth.
In that instant, the air around them froze solid.
Seraphia’s power, strengthened further by Iliana’s recent tutoring.
The frozen air could not maintain its existence and ultimately dissipated into nothingness.
“….”
Iliana averted her gaze in silence.
In that moment.
The ether carriage entered the sacred grounds of the Holy Kingdom.
At the very back of the immigration checkpoint.
Seraphia murmured softly.
“The immigration process seems quite rigorous.”
It looked like it would take a full day just to get through.
Iliana nodded in agreement.
“It’s probably because people from all across the Continent are gathering here.”
“True, there must be plenty of suspicious characters.”
Seraphia scanned the window.
Just then.
A single knight approached rapidly from the distance.
Azure-silver armor.
The cross insignia engraved at its center proved he was a Holy Kingdom Paladin.
The knight who had drawn near spoke with courtesy.
“Are you perhaps from House Whitewolf?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Seraphia nodded and continued speaking.
“I am Seraphia Whitewolf from House Whitewolf. And this is—”
Just as she was about to introduce Iliana.
The Paladin bowed with proper posture and spoke.
“Please come this way. I shall guide you.”
“…Pardon?”
“His Holiness wishes to see you at once.”
His words were brief and resolute.
Seraphia had no chance to ask further.
“Distinguished guests designated by the Sacred Council! All sectors, clear the way immediately!!”
With those words, the atmosphere shifted.
The soldiers of the sacred grounds straightened their posture in unison.
The astonished gazes of waiting travelers poured forth all at once.
“Distinguished guests designated by the Sacred Council…”
“Aren’t they directly under the Constellation?”
“And if they’re designated by the Council, they must have nearly internal authority level?”
“How did they receive treatment that’s among the rarest in the Holy Kingdom?”
Thus, amid the confusion and reverence of the people.
And the intermingled gazes of caution and admiration, the ether carriage proceeded directly into the sacred grounds.
* * *
Holy Kingdom of Cordelia.
The Papal Palace, granted all authority and the legitimacy of governance.
Beneath the soaring vaulted ceiling of the vast Papal Palace.
Hundreds of candles flickered, casting their dim light downward.
And illuminated by that light stood a single figure.
“Sister!!”
Seraphia cried out with unbridled joy.
Her voice cut through the hushed atmosphere, spreading outward.
The ripples of sound echoed through the silent Papal Palace like waves across still water.
Seraphia instinctively clapped her hand over her mouth.
She realized she had been far too loud.
But that was not the only reason.
The dancing shadows cast by the flickering candles.
And beneath them, Isolde.
‘Oh my goodness!!!’
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Isolde had always been beautiful.
But when I had seen her in Whitewolf Territory, it was something different.
She possessed a human, relatable beauty.
Yet the Isolde standing beneath the light of the Papal Palace was entirely transformed.
Dignity and mystery.
Elegance and purity.
She was the ‘Goddess of Beauty’ herself—as if the Divine had taken special favor and woven together all the world’s loveliness into her form.
Isolde approached.
Even her footsteps seemed to radiate beauty.
“It has been a while. I hope you have been well?”
“…Y-yes! Sister, you have become even more beautiful!!”
Seraphia’s true feelings tumbled out unguarded.
Isolde smiled gently and spoke.
“Thank you. You have grown more mature and beautiful as well, Seraphia.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Before, you were pretty and cute, but now you are pretty, cute, and magnificent all at once.”
Seraphia’s eyes widened in surprise.
Embarrassment flushed her cheeks crimson.
Isolde tilted her head with a subtle smile, turning her gaze elsewhere.
“Iliana and Broombar as well.”
The two of them reacted differently.
“Oh…! U-um, th-thank you….”
“You have grown even more saintly in the time we have not seen each other.”
A moment of silence.
Isolde turned her gaze to the side.
“And who might this person beside you be?”
Seraphia collected herself and answered.
“This is Rielin. She’s the Forest Keeper of the Elven Forest.”
“Ah, I’ve heard the rumors. They say Elves have come to live in Whitewolf Territory.”
At this, Rielin stepped forward.
“I’m Rielin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“This is our first meeting. I’m Isolde.”
Rielin and Isolde exchanged greetings naturally.
There was neither wariness nor tension in how they regarded each other.
Despite meeting for the first time, there was a familiarity as if they were reconnecting with an old bond.
The sight of the two of them.
Seraphia’s mouth fell agape.
Internally, she let out a silent scream.
‘Good heavens!!!’
Beauty sculpted by divinity—Isolde.
Beauty woven by nature—Rielin.
Just one of them was enough to make one’s gaze falter, but standing side by side like this? Good heavens.
‘This is completely unfair!!!’
It was nothing short of a beauty bombardment.
Their very existence held one’s gaze hostage.
The moment one’s eyes settled upon them.
A threat to reason followed, shaking one’s very heart.
An overwhelming beauty.
Before true beauty, inner beauty meant nothing whatsoever.
Everyone in the Holy See simply held their breath.
Isolde calmly surveyed her surroundings.
Then she tilted her head slightly.
“Didn’t Adrian come?”
“…Pardon? I beg your pardon?”
Seraphia’s mind snapped to attention.
“What… what did you say…?”
“Adrian.”
Isolde glanced around once more.
“I don’t see him. Didn’t he come with you?”
“Oh, my brother had matters to attend to.”
“I see.”
A brief reply.
Yet within it lay a subtle hint of disappointment.
Seraphia quickly continued.
“He said he would arrive separately. I suspect he’ll be here by tomorrow at the latest.”
“Ah, I see.”
Isolde nodded.
Her expression was always composed.
Yet beneath her calm demeanor, a faint glimmer of barely concealed joy shimmered in her eyes.
* * *
The outer reaches of Whitewolf Territory.
Near the Ether Carriage route connecting Florent Earldom and Whitewolf Territory.
Beneath a twilight-draped sky.
Sarpedon walked slowly toward the mouth of the Gorge.
This was the vital route between Florent Earldom and Whitewolf Territory.
It had been newly assigned to patrol just recently.
As a newly assigned sector, it should have required unit-level operations.
Yet the personnel numbered only two.
One was Sarpedon.
The other was a grotesque creature easily over three meters tall.
“Listen, academy instructor.”
“Speak.”
Zemu turned his head slowly.
Eyes resembling a reptile’s stared at Sarpedon like hollow, lightless voids.
It had been unsettling at first, but now he accepted it as it was.
“Aren’t you busy with Florent Earldom?”
“I am busy.”
“Then why take on patrol duties yourself?”
“There is no evolutionary benefit.”
Sarpedon tilted his head and asked again.
“Then why did you volunteer for patrol duty?”
“I am executing the Empress’s command to protect and maintain the Earldom and the Territory.”
“So, you mean Seraphia’s orders?”
“Correct. There is no other evolutionary benefit.”
Zemu resumed walking.
Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps that reverberated against the ground.
“That obsession with evolutionary benefit.”
Sarpedon chuckled softly and fell into step behind Zemu.
Just then.
Zemu, who had been leading, suddenly stopped.
Sarpedon halted as well and asked.
“What is it?”
“Someone is present.”
“Someone? Who?”
Sarpedon cast his gaze forward.
Between the gorge walls.
Some indistinct form came into view.
“It’s real.”
“An unidentified entity of unknown origin. Approaching recklessly offers no evolutionary bene—”
“That’s exactly why we patrol. To confirm these things.”
Sarpedon strode forward with purpose.
He paid no heed to Zemu’s restraint.
Drawing the Dragon Axe from his back, he advanced slowly toward the form.
One step. Two steps.
As he drew closer, the outline of the figure grew gradually clearer.
“…A person?”
A person collapsed in a pool of blood, no less.
“Are they dead?”
Sarpedon examined their condition.
Their chest rose and fell faintly.
They were not dead.
But they were unconscious.
He shook their body gently to check their state of consciousness.
“Hey. Come on, wake up.”
…There was no response.
Not even a reflexive reaction.
Sarpedon reached out to check their pulse when suddenly—
“There’s another person here?”
He discovered another figure, cradled beneath the first as if embraced.
The one who had caught his attention first lay sprawled over the newly discovered one, shielding them.
“They must have dragged them this far, trying to save them.”
But in the end, their strength gave out, and both collapsed together.
Sarpedon examined the condition of the newly discovered person.
It was at that moment.
“Evolution Lord!!”
Zemu rushed forward from behind, eyes wide with shock.

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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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