DEB 87

In the desolate silence of the temple, Huiyun faced his disciples’ bewildered expressions and ran a hand over his face, exasperated.

Good grief.

He had lived as a human for 20 years, yet the sudden return of Yasha’s memories led him to say something incredibly foolish. Telling them to remove their hearts? It was practically telling them to commit suicide.

“Hmm…”

But no other method came to mind. The power Yasha had granted them was infused into their souls through their hearts, so to extract it fully, removing their hearts seemed the only way.

“So, what should we do now…?”

“It’s quite troubling for us if you ask that…” 

Vina sighed and mumbled. 

“Yes, this is the kind of person he was.” 

Huiyun guessed that the faint mutter from earlier was something similar.

He clicked his tongue, feeling his authority as their master faltered.

In times like this, he wanted to demonstrate his wisdom from years of experience, but that experience was all accumulated as a Lord, so thinking of what to do in a human body didn’t come easily.

“Hmm…”

As Huiyun’s silence dragged on, the disciples put their heads together to think.

“…Vita, Ash, do you think putting your heads together like that will actually help?”

They had literally put their heads together.

How could their thought process lead to this?

Huiyun looked at his disciples with the same kind of pitying gaze they had often directed at him. 

It was then that Moot spoke up.

“Yasha, how did you originally plan to open the passage?”

“I intended to have you remove your hearts, gather them in one place, and pierce them with a sword to combine and amplify the energy contained within.”

“…Hmm, then perhaps we can mimic that in some way.”

“Mimic?”

At Huiyun’s question, Moot pulled out a transparent stone from his inventory.

“It’s a void stone that can contain mana. It’s the best one I have, so if we’re going to store our power, there’s nothing better.”

Vina raised his eyebrows.

“Of course. You’re suggesting we pour all our power into it and then detonate it.”

“Yes. It won’t be as effective as using our hearts, but we can at least mimic Yasha’s plan to some extent. This way, we might be able to open the passage for a short while.”

It made sense. 

To confirm, Huiyun sought out a familiar presence he hadn’t consulted in a while.

System.

[Finally, you call for me! I was so lonely, I almost switched to auto-response mode!]

A golden window appeared in the air, grumbling eagerly.

You haven’t shown up much lately.

[Was there ever a chance to butt in? You never thought about me while having serious discussions, so how could I interrupt?]

[Anyway, if you awaken now, there’s a 100% chance I’ll forgive you!]

So, seeing that you’re busily promoting awakening as soon as you show up, I guess nothing serious has happened.

Huiyun, tired of the system’s relentless pestering, asked about the void stone and the passage to the world’s backside. 

The system responded, saying it needed to check, and disappeared with an automated response message.

“Yasha, can we open the passage using Moot’s method?” 

 Zenith asked.

“Wait a moment. I’m checking.”

So, Huiyun could only tell  Zenith to wait.

Fortunately, the system returned before Huiyun became too embarrassed and displayed a notification window.

[Phew, Mr. Huiyun, you really need to appreciate how hard I’m working for you. If you awaken now, there’s a 100% chance I’ll be moved!]

Just get to the point.

[Ugh, you’re so mean. Fine, Mr. Huiyun, the passage will open, and it’ll open well. But it’ll only stay open for 10 minutes! If you don’t make it back within 10 minutes, there’s a 100% chance you’ll be trapped in the world’s backside!]

The system’s petty sulking was evident in every word. Huiyun frowned at how short the passage would stay open.

Ten minutes was ridiculously short. He had never been to the world’s backside before, so he didn’t know what awaited them there. 

How could he trust such a brief window of time?

[But don’t worry too much. If you get trapped in the world’s backside, you can use the void stone to come back! Of course, since it’s the world’s backside, your power, the Hunter’s power, and the void stone’s power will all be weakened, though!]

The system cheerfully provided this information, making Huiyun feel uneasy. Annoyed by the system’s excitement over his potential hardships, Huiyun conveyed the situation to his disciples.

“We’ll probably need another void stone. Do we have another one?”

“…It’s quite a loss,” Moot said, frowning. 

But he still pulled out another void stone, even though it seemed quite precious and expensive. 

Seeing this, Huiyun felt a bit guilty, but Moot smiled.

“If you want to give me something in return, you could give me your blood, Yasha. I’ll store it fresh and drink it later.”

“What nonsense is this? You need to get your madness treated in a psychiatric hospital. Try to adapt to modern civilization, will you?”

Of course, before Huiyun could respond, Ash, who had no intention of letting such foolishness slide now that Huiyun had acknowledged them as his disciples, immediately shut Moot down.

However, despite Ash’s efforts, Huiyun, feeling that Moot was taking on too much of a burden, decided it might be okay to give some blood.

Unaware of Huiyun’s thoughts, Ash inspected the void stone Moot held and confirmed it was in good condition.

 Vita, who had been waiting impatiently, drew his sword with renewed energy.

“We’ve found a method, so let’s do this! Yasha, does the order matter?”

“To stabilize the power, the order of the first and last is important.  Zenith, you go first, and Moot, you go last.”

Life is the force that embraces everything, and death is the force that covers everything.

By placing these two opposing forces at the beginning and end, the remaining powers would merge more stably. 

With this order set,  Zenith nodded and cast a strong barrier over the entire temple to prevent its collapse.

“We’re ready to begin.”

After confirming the strength of the barrier with her eyes,  Zenith unleashed her power, pouring mana into the void stone.

A storm of power began to rage. Huiyun, noticing the metallic scent rising, stepped back.

Damn mana hypersensitivity.

Realizing too late that his condition was acting up, he hurriedly drank the resistance potion. 

After downing three bottles in a row, he barely managed to stop coughing up blood.

“Yasha, are you alright?”

Having finished her turn,  Zenith supported the staggering Huiyun. 

Vina clicked his tongue and gestured to the back.

“Take Yasha to the platform and set up a barrier. It’ll help.”

 Zenith followed the suggestion, assisting Huiyun up the distant platform. 

Once there,  Zenith created a transparent barrier around Huiyun, protecting him from the vast amount of mana as Vina, Ash, and Vita poured their power into the void stone.

Inside the barrier, Huiyun was unaffected by the immense mana being released, though he still had to drink another potion to counteract  Zenith’s lingering mana.

He finally realized that Huigang’s worries, who had packed a bag full of potions, were not excessive at all.

Boom!

With six S-rank Hunters, gathered and using their powers, the resulting energy was overwhelming. 

The temple shook slightly under the strain. 

Without  Zenith’s barrier, the temple would have collapsed long ago.

“You’re doing well.”

“This much is manageable.”

 Zenith smiled faintly and protected Huiyun tightly. 

Huiyun watched as Moot infused the last of the power and then, supported by  Zenith, descended from the platform.

The black energy, which had been swirling chaotically like a dragon’s breath, was drawn into the void stone under Moot’s control. 

Finally, with all the disciples’ energy contained within, the once transparent stone now shimmered with an aurora of countless colors.

“Vita.”

At Huiyun’s murmur, the guardian stepped forward.

“ Zenith, don’t forget to keep a barrier around Yasha.”

“I’m still maintaining it.”

“Okay, here we go!”

With a confident shout,  Zenith struck the void stone with her greatsword.

Boom!

A deafening roar filled the air.

“……!”

“…Be careful!”

A gale whipped through the area as the mana within the void stone seemed on the verge of explosion. 

The disciples shielded their faces with their arms, standing in front of Huiyun. 

Despite leaning forward, their feet kept being pushed backward, overwhelmed by the immense power filling the temple.

Thump!

Huiyun’s heart thumped in resonance with the chaos. 

 Zenith, gritting her teeth, strengthened the barrier, protecting Huiyun and the other disciples.

Rumble!

The explosion originating from the void stone showed no sign of stopping.

The sacred temple’s floor cracked, and dust fell from the ceiling. 

Just as Huiyun feared the temple might collapse, the system chimed in.

[Well, off you go, Mr. Huiyun! Just so you know, communication won’t be possible in the world’s backside! Make good use of Siho while you’re there!]

-Yipp!

As if responding to the system’s notification, Siho cried out, and the void stone emitted a blinding light.

The intense light, like an aurora overlaying their eyes, filled the temple.

Soon, the light swirled around the void stone, gathering into a single point and forming a mysterious portal in the temple’s center. 

The portal, radiating an indescribable light, connected to a new world that no one had ever set foot in. 

Seeing this, Huiyun exchanged glances with his disciples.

“…Let’s go.”

Even Yasha had never been to this place. 

Concealing his nerves, Huiyun took a step forward, surrounded and protected by his disciples, as they ventured into the world’s backside.