Volume 5 Chapter 50-2 [('Sealing God')]
Horace had been building up his conviction this whole time.
Magic power wanted stability. Human nerves could turn mental images into something stable for magic. In that system, "conviction" was the key.
So, Horace had been gathering and stacking up belief until it became real to him.
It took time to find the best answer for something that appeared all of a sudden. But Horace had done that sort of reinterpretation before—when he first held magic sword Duran.
"...I see. There's still more—much more—power to pull out."
He already knew what Duran could do. Its functions were always active.
Now, it all came down to how much strength he could put into it. Could he reach its full power?
"Then, there's no need to hold back."
Horace readied magic sword Duran again.
Yes. He didn't have to hold back anymore.
This sword's strength was massive.
Even Laris, who was much stronger than Horace, had said: "Magic sword Duran can't be broken."
"...Then there's no point in chipping away slowly at someone who only throws out chains."
He gathered power.
A huge amount of magic flowed into Duran.
"Ah!"
Shildress saw it and raised a wall of chains.
"...Let's go. God of Sealing, Shildress."
Horace pulled his sword back, getting into position.
Magic energy roared wildly.
"Dragonium XX."
A flash of light, shaped like a dragon, burst from the sword's tip.
Even though it used dragon power, this was not a normal blade strike from Duran.
Shildress tried to block it with chains—but the light touched them and shattered them.
"What! Impossible! My sealing power should be absolute!"
"It's the difference in interpretation."
The light blast tore through the chain wall, hit Shildress in the stomach, and blew apart the throne room wall.
"Gah... Guh—!"
Blood spilled from her mouth. She had taken a fatal wound.
"A difference in interpretation... you say?"
"That's right."
Horace used to hate reinterpretation. It always took too long to feel real.
But now, he understood.
The simpler the answer after the reinterpretation, the easier it was to believe it.
"You are the power of sealing. You unlock sealed things through release. But you're not in charge of 'Release.'"
"...Huh?"
"If you believe in 'Release' so much that it blocks your sealing power, then sealing won't work. That's all."
"Don't be stupid!"
Shildress, spitting blood, threw new chains at Horace.
But when they touched his white armor, they crumbled into dust.
"...No... No way... a trick like this?"
Horace had not become a god.
Shildress lacked something—not power, but understanding.
She could seal anything. But she didn't truly understand "Release."
Sealing wouldn't work on a power so deeply linked to Release that it existed on another level.
"...I see. So that's why that person back then..."
Shildress understood something. She remembered the past and gave a small smile.
"...Looks like I'll be disappearing soon. I'll vanish, but I'll leave gold coins and an item behind. You can take those as your reward. But here's another thing—some information."
"Information?"
"Yes..."
Her eyes had no focus.
"The place where dead souls go... the 'Cross Palace.' I created it..."
"...?"
"The god you beat—Arzent, the God of Provisions—he isn't there."
"...Huh?"
Horace looked truly confused.
"U—"
"It's not a lie. Once I disappear, moving between the palace and the mortal world will be harder. But still, there are people who can go back and forth. You should ask them. They'll all say the same thing—Arzent isn't there."
"...Then it's real?"
"Yes. I—we—don't know why. But that's the truth. What you think about it... that's up to you."
Shildress slowly closed her eyes.
"...I'll be looking forward to it."
Then she fell to the ground... leaving behind a mountain of gold coins and one glowing ingot. Her body faded away into dust.
"...So Arzent's not in the palace. And now Shildress too? Is that really possible...?"
Souls were powerful.
But Horace knew that power alone didn't make something absolute.
That's why he never thought a soul could escape the palace after losing its body.
"...Looks like this world still has places I don't understand."
He sighed, collected everything... and quietly left the throne room.
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