SWNOVELXO Chapter 460
“That specter was defeated so easily….”
“….”
But we had no time to spare sympathy for the specter’s miserable end.
Since the specter disappeared in an instant, the next targets were me and Liche.
However, the answer that came to my mind was different.
Wrong. When the Black Tentacle first absorbed us into its body, it intended to vent its anger on all of us. But the Black Tentacle’s mind changed.
“Changed its mind?”
The answer came from above.
“Just as we read the Black Tentacle’s emotions and thoughts, it also read our thoughts and memories. Through that experience, the Black Tentacle acknowledged that you desperately resisted to close the gate.”
“Mr. Kurt! The specter’s head in the sky…!”
The source of the answer was beneath the Black Tentacle’s eye, above our heads.
Just moments ago, there was only the mouth it had taken from the specter, but now the specter’s head was preserved there.
Even as it spoke to us, it seemed to be in excruciating pain, its eyes rolled back, drooling, and trembling uncontrollably.
Yet, the specter’s head, now a puppet of the Black Tentacle, conveyed its will without a single moan.
It was a pitiful sight.
A human who once manipulated an entire nation and even turned the emperor into a puppet was now reduced to a mere speaker for the Black Tentacle.
“Normally, the Black Tentacle’s way of thinking is vastly different from ours, so it uses my head to mimic our thought processes. This makes communication a bit easier.”
“It doesn’t look very good.”
“First, the Black Tentacle holds no anger toward you. In fact, it feels goodwill. Your actions resemble those of someone it saw when the gate first opened. The Black Tentacle became interested in this world because of that person. Ah, Rahan. Yes, it was Rahan. The one who closed the gate… I knew him. Rahan gave up his life to close the gate, knowing he would die whether he succeeded or failed. That selflessness, prioritizing something over his own survival, caught the Black Tentacle’s attention, and that’s why it stayed in this dimension to observe us.”
The specter was now completely merged with the Black Tentacle, serving as its puppet to convey its will.
“Then, are you letting us go?”
“Didn’t I say? The Black Tentacle holds goodwill toward you. It is observing and anticipating your actions, expecting you to act like Rahan. The only one the Black Tentacle is angry with is me. And since you’ve captured me, the one who opened the gate, the Black Tentacle has no further business with you. I envy you.”
“That’s a relief.”
I sincerely sighed in relief at the specter’s words—or rather, the Black Tentacle’s will.
The thought of being captured by the Black Tentacle and ending up like the specter was horrifying. I’d rather die.
“…Wait! We’re grateful you’re letting us go, but won’t the world end and we’ll die as soon as we step outside?”
At that moment, Liche urgently asked the Black Tentacle.
She, unable to feel the Black Tentacle’s pressure, was even bolder than me in questioning it.
The sight of the specter being devoured without resistance was shocking, but to her, accustomed to the Holy Kingdom’s doctrines and unable to sense the Black Tentacle’s true nature, it was more like a god punishing evil.
“Yes. To be precise, in 10 minutes, when the gate’s activation completes, the dimension will be torn apart, and all life within it will be shredded along with it.”
“T-then, could you please close the gate, Black Tentacle?”
“Why should the Black Tentacle do that?”
“Because you’ve been watching over this world for so long, wouldn’t it be a waste to let it be destroyed?”
No.
That’s not how it works.
Having glimpsed even a fraction of the Black Tentacle’s true nature, I knew.
It would never directly help us.
And, as I expected, the Black Tentacle quickly cut off Liche’s plea.
“And since you hold goodwill toward us, please, for our sake… The Black Tentacle has watched this world for thousands of years without ever interfering. To break that principle now would be like a reader picking up a pen to rewrite an ending they didn’t like. But in doing so, it becomes the reader’s story, not the author’s. The Black Tentacle wants no part in such a thing. Gasp…! M-my mouth is moving on its own…!”
Quite directly.
Her body moved against her will, and as soon as she regained control, she covered her mouth.
“The Black Tentacle borrowed your mouth to speak. It likely chose your mouth over the specter’s to warn you not to cross the line.”
“The fact that the Black Tentacle is even engaging in this conversation is proof of its goodwill. It sees a reflection of Rahan in you, who tried to close the already opened gate.”
Liche shrank back, realizing that if the Black Tentacle wished, it could erase us with a mere gesture.
“B-but still….”
Yet, Liche couldn’t give up on seeking the Black Tentacle’s help and tried to say more.
I quickly cut her off, fearing she might end up like the specter if she persisted.
“Indeed, I understand your meaning. We won’t trouble you further. Could you return us to where we were?”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“W-wait! Mr. Kurt! What are you saying? If we go back now, not only us but everyone in our world will disappear!”
“Don’t worry. There’s a way, isn’t there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The Black Tentacle’s reaction confirmed it.
If it could share emotions and memories, it would have answered immediately, no matter how vague my question.
But its deliberate evasion meant my assumption was correct.
“Then send us back now.”
“Very well.”
Liche, sensing hope in my words, hesitantly came to my side, and the surrounding darkness began to writhe.
Just like when we first entered the Black Tentacle’s interior, the writhing darkness enveloped us.
As we were swallowed by the darkness, the Black Tentacle’s will echoed in my mind.
The Black Tentacle… finds you truly intriguing. A stranger from another dimension who came without being summoned.
I will enjoy watching your story.
.
.
.
When we opened our eyes again, we were in the center of the emperor’s chambers, as if we had never moved.
It was like waking from a dream.
“W-what? It feels like less than a second has passed since we were taken. Was what we just saw not a dream?”
“Indeed. Seeing that, it seems it wasn’t a dream.”
Where I pointed, only a wooden clock remained, proving that what we experienced was no dream.
And as the wooden clock hit the ground, the petrified people began to awaken one by one.
“This…! Let go…? Huh?”
“Daria!! Ah…?”
“I’ll kill you…! Huh?”
“Kurt… I’m sorry…?”
Mari, frozen while resisting the specter.
Aila, who had thrown herself to protect Daria.
Arisa, who had tears in her bloodshot eyes as she stabbed with her dagger, seeking revenge for her comrades.
Serena, who had looked at me with tears, apologizing for leaving first as she was taken by the specter.
Then, Karina, Kirsh, and Lakia, who had been petrified first and knew nothing, were freed.
“This flash magic… May it reach them. My last hope…? Huh?”
Tyrbing, who had been casting a flash magic with a solemn expression.
And the resistance members who had been protecting him.
All of them, freed from the time freeze, began to look around in confusion.
“Well, Mr. Kurt, I knew you’d pull through.”
“Don’t lie. Shail.”
Shail, freed from petrification, quickly assessed the situation and approached with a smirk.
“Hahaha. You caught me. I didn’t think you’d actually defeat the specter.”
“It wasn’t me who defeated it.”
With the specter gone, the time-stop magic it had used also disappeared.
“Arisa! Karina! Serena!”
“Ah…! Tyrbing!”
Liche, Arisa, and Yuri embraced in tears.
Daria apologized to Aila, who warmly hugged her.
Serena and Mari hugged Karina, who was still confused, having been petrified without knowing what happened.
Kirsh and Lakia, slightly left out in the wave of emotions, grabbed nearby resistance members to ask what was going on. Of course, the resistance members, just freed from petrification, had no idea either.
As everyone was having their emotional reunion.
Boom-!!
The gate above us grew larger in an instant, emitting a deep blue wave.
“Ah!! The gate is still there!”
Liche, snapping back to reality, shouted as she separated from Arisa and Yuri.
“Huh? Didn’t we already close the gate?”
“Wait! That’s the gate! Why is it still active?”
The atmosphere, which had just shifted from chaos to emotion, plunged back into confusion.
“Mr. Kurt! You said there was a way earlier, right? That wasn’t a lie, was it?”
Liche ran to me, leaving the confused group behind.
All eyes in the room turned to me.
“Right. The Black Tentacle won’t help us directly. It would rather let this world be destroyed than intervene itself. It has no intention of becoming a god of machinery.”
“Huh? What? What did you say?”
“W-wait, the Black Tentacle? Did I hear that right?”
“Why is the Black Tentacle even here?”
At my words, the group grew even more confused, staring at me.
But there was no time to explain the Black Tentacle now, so I ignored their questioning looks and continued.
“But that doesn’t mean it won’t help us at all. The Black Tentacle has a certain attachment to this world. Direct help is against its pride, but it can hint at indirect ways to resolve the situation.”
“What kind of hint?”
“The person the Black Tentacle mentioned, Rahan. In the era when the gate first opened, he alone fought through monsters to close the gate.”
“What does that have to do with our current situation…?”
“Think about it. He wasn’t trying to prevent the gate from opening. He was trying to close an already opened gate. And the Black Tentacle said we’re like him. That means we can also close an already opened gate.”
“…!!”
“We’ll close it. Before the gate fully opens.”