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Chapter 407
The Cascadia estate was thrown into complete chaos.
The appearance of an unidentified, grotesque lifeform.
And Arsha had nearly been attacked.
Fortunately, the magical beasts that adored Arsha protected her, leaving her without physical injuries—but the real problem lay elsewhere.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Arsha, having co face to face with the unknown monster, appeared to be in severe psychological shock and struggled to calm herself.
“Shoggoth….”
Isna muttered, swallowing a grim breath.
“You know what that is?”
At the very least, it was not an entity she had ever seen in Labyrinthos.
“It’s a lifeform that crosses over from another dinsion. A being that devours and digests everything it sees. It’s also a creature that exists as a massive mass of energy. I’ve heard that the outer-dinsional monster—the Red Moon, Yog—absorbs these Shoggoths in great numbers to build its power.”
In other words, the outer god known as the Red Moon, Yog, was gaining strength by consuming deford outer-dinsional lifeforms known as Shoggoths.
“Can we use that too?”
“At first, we thought the sa. If we could harness the power contained within it, we might be able to deal a direct blow to that monster. But every single person who took part in the research suffered violent seizures. Hunting it and absorbing it are completely different matters.”
That made sense.
Even rely looking at it caused a discomfort beyond simple disgust.
Absorbing it would surely bring unknown side effects.
Unless one possessed an almost perfect ntal barrier—which was currently impossible.
It also beca clear that if Garlan started summoning such beings into this world, it would lead to catastrophic consequences.
“It’s a sha. If that energy could directly damage that monster, it would’ve been a huge help.”
Unfortunate, but unavoidable.
From the start, trying to make use of outer-dinsional lifeforms was no different from gambling with disaster.
“Judging by its small size, it looks like a fragnt that broke off from a larger entity… but how did it even get here?”
“How would I know?”
“This makes no sense… With the archangels sealing the boundary between dinsions, it should be practically impossible for sothing like that to cross over.”
Isna’s expression hardened.
“What are you saying?”
“I really don’t want to assu this, but… the appearance of a Shoggoth on the Lazarus continent ans that the influence of the Outer Gods has begun to directly interfere with this world.”
“In other words…”
“The archangels are being pushed back.”
“……”
Isna clenched her fist tightly.
“We’re not ready yet….”
Now it made sense why Michael had summoned and sought Lucifer’s power.
Why Raguel tried to take Luna, Remiel—and our child.
The archangels themselves were under pressure.
Even sealed, that entity was gradually pushing them back.
It wasn’t much different from Lucifer speaking to through the necklace I carried.
“Things are getting pretty serious.”
“Shoggoths are essentially a precursor—a warning sign. Their appearance marks the beginning of massive change.”
“I’m not ready to fight that thing yet.”
“Don’t worry. Who do you think I am?”
“Isna Mielephon.”
A woman notorious for her eccentric behavior.
She chuckled at my words.
“The archangels aren’t idiots. They won’t fall easily. If we create even the smallest opening, they’ll reinforce the barrier.”
“Hm.”
“If that monster directly interferes with this world, we’re all as good as dead anyway. Just encountering it is enough to shatter one’s consciousness.”
After hearing that, I pulled out my demon sword and placed it on the table.
“So. What exactly did you do to make it 15?”
When enhancing her orichalcum sword, I hadn’t used any special power.
Yet she succeeded.
She couldn’t have retrieved so rare artifact from a closed world.
Which ant there was a special thod.
“There are two conditions. First, the Authority known as the Breath of Iron. Second, you must ta the object using aura and mana mixed in a precise ratio. It’s not absolute, but the success rate is absurdly high.”
Mixing aura and mana in perfect balance made sense.
But the Breath of Iron?
“…Don’t tell . Is that what I gave you?”
“Yes. It’s an authority that resonates with the only Breath of Iron that exists in this world.”
She placed her hand on the demon sword.
“It takes ti to prepare. It requires enormous amounts of mana and aura… though that’s not a problem for you.”
“So it’ll be quick?”
“More accurately, it depends on my condition. You might be fine, but I struggle to control this authority.”
aning the pace depended entirely on her condition.
“Still, I’ll make it succeed within a week.”
A 15 enhancent was impressive, no doubt.
It would bring noticeable changes.
But asured against my current strength, I couldn’t be sure how aningful it would truly be.
I silently watched her steel herself.
“You know… I’ve been thinking.”
“What now?”
“You were best when I first t you.”
“…….”
Back then, Isna was carefree—reckless, eccentric, endlessly bright.
Even if that was an act, I was certain it reflected her true self.
But now she was different.
Even though she had shed so burdens, she felt unnaturally mature.
It made feel strangely regretful.
“Let’s begin imdiately.”
“One more thing.”
“What now?”
“We need materials. I prepared everything for the enhancent, but you didn’t. And yes—we need a lot.”
“A lot?”
“Yeah. They’re expensive.”
I smirked.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“You have no idea how much money Cascadia is raking in right now, do you?”
“…….”
She clearly had no clue.
I still rembered lissa nearly fainting after checking the first month’s net profit.
“Do you know what Cascadia’s best-selling product is?”
“Fairy Wood? Succubus artifacts?”
“One more.”
“……Hair-loss treatnt.”
Yes.
Even I hadn’t expected it to be this absurd.
Hair-loss treatnt.
The sheer number of people desperate enough to buy it was staggering.
At first, the impact was modest.
So people hesitated.
But over ti, the montum exploded.
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Selling Queen’s Twilight for massive profit had only been two or three years ago.
Now we didn’t even need that.
“Unbelievable… all that over hair?”
“Watch your mouth! Hair is not ‘just hair,’ you lunatic!”
“Still, that’s insane!”
Even Isna—who had maintained a heavy atmosphere—was shouting in disbelief.
“Rember when hair-loss treatnt beca a thing? The continent was peaceful.”
Conflicts stopped.
Everyone focused on hair.
We thought it was temporary.
It wasn’t.
“Honestly, Cascadia is basically treated like a holy land now.”
I laughed at her stunned expression.
“You finally look normal again. Much better than carrying the weight of the world on your face.”
“…….”
She flinched and turned away.
“That’s who you are. The kind of woman who makes people think, ‘What kind of crazy woman is this?’ That’s your real personality.”
Her earlier self was an act—but an act recreating a long-lost innocence.
Boundless energy.
Like a border collie that never stopped moving.
“I’ll get the materials quickly. Just watch.”
If money can’t solve it, then it ans you’re not using enough.
And if even that fails—
Borrow the power of the Western Empire’s emperor, who owes a massive debt.
That was Cascadia now.
* * *
Gathering the materials wasn’t difficult.
The special components required to create the samples—if I had the knowledge, we could’ve skipped many steps.
But Isna knew only the formulas, not the machinery.
She didn’t possess Heart of the Machine God.
So she processed everything manually.
“Do you know how much this costs? And it’s gone in an instant…”
Despite her disbelief, she completed the materials.
And astonishingly, without any risk, she produced an 8 Demon Sword, Elekstra.
She could have gone further, but controlling the authority drained her to near exhaustion.
She possessed imnse power, but as she said—the Breath of Iron had terrible compatibility with her. Rapid, drastic changes demanded extre expenditure.
Stopping at 8 was still remarkable.
Risk-free enhancent alone was invaluable.
But for , sothing else mattered more.
Could this enhancent correction be applied to the Book of Fate?
The Book wasn’t tal, nor a normal object.
Extre caution was required.
As she enhanced the demon sword, I carefully observed how her authority, my aura and mana, and the samples interacted.
And I reached a cold conclusion.
It couldn’t significantly affect the Book of Fate.
There would be so correction—but it wasn’t enough.
The Book’s rank far exceeded the demon sword.
Still, it wasn’t aningless.
I told Isna,
“The demon sword matters—but this matters more.”
“…This object should never be revealed to the world.”
“I know.”
Fortunately, erasing existing fate—as opposed to rewriting it—didn’t cause catastrophic backlash.
At least, not for .
Why I can interfere with it at all remains a mystery.
“So we’ll enhance it regularly.”
“The goal?”
“To erase the predetermined flow bound to you and .”
Both of us were marked by fate.
A fate of struggle and failure.
An intolerable fate.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. Maybe I altered it unknowingly, but…”
“No. That’s not it.”
The Book of Fate operates regardless of closed or open worlds.
If my past self had tampered with it, my fate wouldn’t still be like this.
“Let’s change things, one by one. If we failed before, this ti we succeed.”
“…….”
She looked conflicted.
After all, I was the one who destroyed the world—yet now I spoke like this.
She still didn’t know the truth.
Why my past self made that choice.
Unforgivable, perhaps.
I destroyed the world with my own hands.
But if the Outer Gods had devoured everything instead…
There might not have been another chance.
For my past self, it was the only option.
Poor bastard.
I clicked my tongue silently.
I stared at the Book of Fate.
One thought lingered.
Divine Aura is not omnipotent.
Even if it works so far—can it really enhance an object that interferes with the world’s fundantal laws?
I tested a 1 enhancent.
It wouldn’t explode at that level.
The enhancent succeeded.
[ 1 Book of Fate]
But—
“Nothing’s changed.”
I expected to feel a stronger presence.
But the calm, inscrutable flow remained unchanged.
“No visible change,”
Luna said coolly.
She was right.
Yet the enhancent clearly registered.
“Maybe enhancent applies differently to this object?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Calling it a divine artifact doesn’t even fit. Its existence itself is different.”
Just as disappointnt began to surface—
—Foolish. Do you really think the book rely reads and erases fate?
Lucifer’s voice echoed.
And then—
The book began to change.
At the sa ti, the Libram glitched violently, as if hacked or resonating, and began outputting unfamiliar text—
As though the Book itself was speaking through it.
“…Is this real?”
I stared at the ssage.
[The Book of Fate awakens as the Book of Genesis.]
[The Book of Genesis selects you—bearer of the divine authority of Death and Life—as its Resonant.]
[The awakened Book of Genesis grants you Absolute ntal Resistance.]
[Additional abilities will activate upon successful further enhancent.]
This unknown book claid that with each enhancent, it would grant power that mocked divine authorities.
And just now—
Did it say Absolute ntal Resistance?
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