Chapter 185: Reversal of the Law (5)
L5aVGardrock found the desired location not far away.xcqP
z3iOAThe canyon had sunk, creating a fissure. It was a narrow gap, just wide enough for one person to pass through, and a single beam of light was shining through it.1gL9
Yue“Look here.”8u3
EjqgqGardrock pointed to the center of the beam of light. Only there was the light clustered together. It looked fluffy like snowflakes, but upon closer inspection, you could see particles of light swirling around.8cl
eiDShirone peered at it and scratched his head. How could he explain this? Naturally, light particles clumping together like this was impossible.
The Nor didn’t think differently either.b4Ayk
Nnu8TMGardrock, emphasizing the peculiarity of the phenomenon, cupped the light particles with both hands and said, “Do you see how the light gathers here?”nDaB12
ZJ36Qk1“Yes, but how is this possible?”oIOC
ap2“This place is imbued with the essence of light.”Z8siPE
GAwBXi“So, this essence is gathering the light?”nM41d6
XYbn“No, it’s the light that stayed for so long that the essence settled. Essence can inhabit anything—wind, water, even thoughts—as long as those thoughts remain unchanged for a very long time.”TZqE2nj
0agUShirone thought it was similar to the concept of mana stones.cAFo
bwtWhen a certain quality accumulates over a long period, the essence of that quality materializes.9wWO
MsGwTdl“When essence accumulates for a long time, it becomes a spirit. A spirit is essentially an active form of essence. Moreover, humans can make contracts with spirits. If you contract with a light spirit, you can draw on the power of light anytime, anywhere. But finding one is like plucking a star from the sky.”Uet
6fZShirone pointed at the essence and said, “So, this light will become a spirit eventually?”jTuU
xHjZA“Haha, yes, maybe in a thousand years, as long as it doesn’t dissipate in the meantime.”avIsx
zTg79A thousand years was far longer than the time given to humans. The period for an essence to become a spirit would be similar. It made sense why finding spirits was so difficult.15uwh
E2K“Anyway, we can use this place to reach Nor’s Haven. Gather here, everyone.”5sLeLt
x9sW“The space is tight. Shouldn’t some of us move to the other side?”U9pSNn
6nvuPDg“It’s fine. By the way, the magic of the land of the earth doesn’t have a wide range. With the essence of light, we can expand the scale as much as we want. Like this.”F5zi
kO255Gardrock grasped the cluster of light. His fist glowed golden, and the light spread up his arm to his shoulder.IyUXZl
RwY4XFSoon, it seemed the light would cover his entire body.ErV9o
ptfNature’s power was limitless, so humans borrowing that power could expand their scale indefinitely.XQJ
lX8However, it took quite a bit of time.3QxEn
pQaEven after a while, the light didn’t go past his shoulder, and a look of doubt crossed Gardrock’s eyes.FtpkwP
mUGyi8e“Strange. Why is it taking so long? It usually takes about five minutes.”3DGTiDp
4izKbxN“Master, could it be that the essence of light has weakened?”2dWTlx
5zpBL“Impossible. It worked fine three days ago. For the essence’s energy to change, it would take at least hundreds of years. Or something could be weakening the essence’s energy.”Qz08i
vLvc35m“But that can’t be. This place only has one law. That’s why we use it as an intermediate base.”ndYje
eRNnSUFrom Clove’s words, Gardrock realized. It might be a delusion, but looking for other factors while ignoring the only correct answer was an even bigger delusion.2YycC
D2Y“Could it be…? But why?”1wYo
ZJRsThe essence of light began to waver. The ground, and finally the entire canyon, shook as if an earthquake was happening.UQhb
eFD9i“What’s wrong? What’s the problem?”iPA
OWg“Get out of here quickly! It’s the Vortex Serpent! The essence is destabilizing!”uNaGm7
SVBk2If the cliff collapsed, they’d be crushed, so Shirone’s group hurried out of the canyon fissure.4oT
tMGwLooking from outside, the entire area was shaking. Something significant had to be nearby.uqDEh
PdZ1UOBut they couldn’t see anything snake-like around.UFHwInu
yY48Z“Damn! Where is it? Where’s it coming from?”I814
AwpobPRian drew his greatsword and stood in front of Shirone.tBZ5L
UdYDJC4The mages formed a formation and prepared for battle.ewSPRQ
IU5A9u8Tess focused her senses, searching the surroundings. The tremors on the left and right were different. The creature was rounding the corner on the right.R5bg
NyHly9PThe ground shook so much that it was hard to stand. Tess realized something was wrong. Her senses and reality didn’t match. With such tremors, it should have already appeared before them.0MWJr
AIEX“There! Over there!”ZsEoubT
irbUjbShirone pointed in surprise.ZKKS
kUB5A tiny, white creature, no larger than three meters, was crouched on a rock on all fours.bddHAGR
J42YWqBut could this really be called a creature?NdPC1al
j9iYIt had no eyes, nose, or mouth. It resembled a salamander, but its surface was smooth like polished jade.Q8wE7z
5aNaUHe had never seen such a white creature in his life.Kev
tprzz“What is that? Is that the Vortex Serpent?”Oq45aP
8dD“It’s not that one!”l6nr
EPxyJiAt Gardrock’s shout, Shirone instinctively stepped back. As his view opened, he finally saw it.ilJ
UyCmFQiA shadow of the Vortex Serpent was cast over the canyon. Unbelievably, it was a shadow large enough to fill the entire cliff.iefdT0
0rFEShirone turned his gaze back to the rock. The salamander-like creature was glowing intensely.gyOizN
J8R5SThe light from its body was casting the shadow.1TsVLp2
WVluCUaBy the time Shirone realized this, the shadow had already split its massive jaws and was lunging at them.14s
F0imnDA curtain of darkness blocked their view. The sheer size defied common sense, making it hard to believe they were under attack.jXvVKhX
3Aycy90As Shirone’s group was engulfed in the darkness, Gardrock, watching from the canyon fissure, shouted.gMOmFO
qFqYyt“Danger!”X5i
t8zShirone’s Photon Cannon exploded.lubMg
lKCidThe moment the light spread, they realized how close the sharp shadow claws had come. Just a bit later, and they would have been torn apart.0GK7quG
P0S5YAk“Kiiaaaah!”Ja6Du3
mZX4esSThe Vortex Serpent screamed as the Photon Cannon ripped through it.JckQ
mLBJJIt was likely similar to the mechanism of the Harvester. A creature without a mouth couldn’t possibly have a sound organ.gGVQbs
YC6f7When they regained their senses, they saw the shadow of the Vortex Serpent retreating like storm clouds.14jeA0
56FTqhQIt was fortunate they blocked the first attack.eO37k
UKbmlwMost prey lost their lives to the Vortex Serpent’s first strike. Trapped in darkness, they couldn’t even see the attack coming.vHVVu
t1QCCVAmy wiped the cold sweat from her brow and asked.dcI1
hJLB3C“What is that? Is it a creature or not? Is that salamander controlling it?”TEgA3W
yF0Gardrock emerged from the canyon fissure and explained.tZk3
Bv7“No, the true form of the Vortex Serpent is the shadow. There is no main body. The thing on the rock is just an ‘avatar’ created by the Vortex Serpent’s shadow.”0He0
iJ0A“How can that be? There must be a body for there to be a shadow!”C27t4
TMaTy“I don’t know. We call this a ‘reversal of law.’ That’s an outsider. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s definitely not from any world we can imagine.”ZeKYI
YA4XOnzThe Vortex Serpent hesitated to approach. Among the humans it had killed, none had emitted light before, so it was naturally cautious.1qHQ
Te6NAs the avatar’s body glowed, the shadow grew larger. It was similar to a wild beast displaying itself before its enemy.hHL
jPrXShirone realized something. This might not be his grave after all.ZGn
KINhE9l“It’s like a wild animal. It probably wasn’t a common predator in its original world. Maybe like a cat or a mouse. If it were the top predator, it wouldn’t react so defensively.”5gC4S
pVo“A cat? A mouse? Are you joking?”7dfcAJF
kpUMUKanya voiced what everyone else was thinking. However, one more person understood what Shirone meant.H2hmEY
72remrHIt was Canis.FTpMG
g2xHe watched the Vortex Serpent’s every move with wonder.J9j
0woei“It really existed, a world where darkness rules over light.”0iZUeuk
XLGjF7Reversal of law. What was written on Arcane’s note was true.63Vm9O
qhu5“Shirone is right. If it’s a world where rules are reversed, all creatures would exist as shadows. The Vortex Serpent wouldn’t be particularly strong. Of course, things are different here.”Kylbq
M6HxUG4Gardrock examined the canyon fissure.bqSLY
u3Gxi9ZAs expected, the Vortex Serpent’s law had weakened the essence of light.rwtcN
vju7Escape was impossible in this state.BcaB8E6
AQPqqxzBut it wasn’t time to give up. Shirone’s Photon Cannon had been strong enough to repel the Vortex Serpent.faN
v5PE“Hey, we’ve passed the crisis, but stay alert. Its weakness is light. That’s why it doesn’t act during the day. I don’t know why the law is broken, but using light magic gives us a chance.”o9M4Y
FLIxrkWShirone recalled his battle with the Harvester. From that fight, he learned that shock wasn’t important to darkness. The key was the total amount of energy.QYHXxC8
KL4ddBShirone cast Photon Cannon, and eight photons appeared in irregular positions on the left and right.2KQ
pQAnThe eight beams of light struck the Vortex Serpent. A terrible scream echoed.hNe
RAgQAmy unleashed Fireballs. Fire contained light, so it should be effective.p1OF
bdE30DThe Vortex Serpent’s shadow caught fire.5fcUw
Dh7KdBut it was like an ant biting an elephant’s skin. The shadow was so enormous it felt like cheating.F799m
CBWCanis couldn’t even attempt his magic. Attacking with darkness only made the Serpent stronger.A1vAMBp
9e1dThe outcome between identical attributes was determined by power.yuQu4kw
3pUtDeNIf you couldn’t control a darkness greater than the Vortex Serpent, you’d be devoured.JkbdLI
o9PZ5Shirone left his friends. If the creature’s shroud enveloped them again, it would be truly dangerous.BO4
SX3The Vortex Serpent moved in wide circles, true to its name. When Shirone hit its side with the Photon Cannon, it writhed in pain and pursued him.0lzFB
Mvj8As the Vortex Serpent abruptly changed direction, its massive tail swung towards Amy’s group.zksA2hQ
gY1Clove clutched his head and screamed.rgInd
7oC9NP“Aaah! It’s coming!”g7AI
OTJAmy deployed Fire Mist. The fire’s smoke protected everyone, but it wasn’t enough to burn the tail.UiEU
oNLzJust as the tail was about to sweep them away like a broom, Amy cast Fire Wall for extra protection.cE9HAQJ
6VeGZThe tail caught fire, but its trajectory didn’t change.1PvMA
Izdzx5sAmy bit her lip and increased the power. She was determined to hold her ground, even if it cost her life.z5tAC8
tdheJust as the tail was about to hit Amy, it suddenly diverted, grazing her face. The Vortex Serpent couldn’t bear the fire’s pain and pulled back.ekFkmR
PkH9“Shirone!”1mqV5Y
IxSEdAmy shouted, not even pausing to catch her breath.gS7LRz
6pgKwbThe Vortex Serpent snapped its jaws and engulfed Shirone. Simultaneously, the Photon Cannon exploded, blowing the Serpent’s head apart.AWWk
jePudL4The Photon Cannon fired in rapid succession.jyD
BN6Amy estimated it fired about 200 rounds per minute. For Shirone, who held the school’s speed record, this was possible.006gLl8
O2mJtzAThe firing speed increased, and then it became a continuous beam that pushed the shadow to the opposite wall.TSHFBZh
LhOShirone had excluded mass from the photons.nU1se
IibCWith zero impact force, the beam couldn’t tear the shadow, but it slowly ate into the Serpent’s body.6JxHL79
PCu“What kind of magic is that? It’s ridiculous! That can’t be possible!”HO4w
sOpRzGNWhile it was good for their side to be winning, Clove couldn’t believe what he was seeing.hG4PQ
GQFlxgKanya and Rena were equally shocked.0H63QLp
iX5CTLUnlike the Mecha, the Nor could exert great power alone. But they had never seen anything like this in Heaven.HyB0fng
nMeZObSeeing someone single-handedly fight the feared Vortex Serpent was awe-inspiring.ihEPpMx
SCwMore so, they were winning. Seeing the Serpent thrashing against the wall sent chills down their spines.9JYiQ4h
P7HShirone’s beam turned red.3rgmwY
n4b0From the Photon Cannon’s photon output, it further compressed the energy to a single-wavelength laser.lznTs
h7i5doThe Vortex Serpent tried to recover its shadow realm and push back the laser, but it only resulted in chain explosions.3QmAXhj
Mf19Q“Kiiaaaah!”q31
pk1S3HThe fierce roar echoed.3156L8P
meiOrOThe Vortex Serpent was terrified.znNqLtT
bSNxGjYIn its original world, it was a lower-tier predator. It had crossed into Heaven through a strange tunnel ten thousand years ago.D4jk2x
l0ZjkKDUnable to evolve without predators, it had lived comfortably here.TrQj
MOUe0oXBut now, that comfort was breaking. By a mere human it used to tear apart for fun.4vAuZV
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