Chapter 269: Before You Forgot Me [8]
In the midst of screams and the hammering sound of buildings falling apart.
"Le...on..?"
Ethan with one eye vividly identified the figure floating behind Dreamweaver.
Even though his vision was blurry, even though half his body was screaming in pain, he could still see him clearly.
Those bright golden wings made of pure light. It had to be him.
Dreamweaver, who was gripping Ethan seconds ago with some unseen force, loosened his hold around him.
His body turned halfway toward Leon. Ethan clearly saw it.
The look in Dreamweaver’s eyes. It was fear.
Dreamweaver... One of the Five Calamities.
A literal God. Was fearing Leon?
’What is he...?’
Ethan saw Leon’s face a bit more clearly now.
It looked as if golden lines were running across his skin. Or more like his face was getting cracked.
Several windows appeared one after another in front of Ethan’s eyes.
[Activating Emergency Protocol]
[Reaching Out to Moon Calamity]
[Trial #1]
[...]
[Success]
He ignored them entirely. It did not matter anymore at this point. They would both die.
Him and Leon.. both.
There was just no way they could take down a literal Calamity.
Not even if they went all out.
Ethan bit his tongue.
He could not save them. Lillian, and Vivy, he couldn’t save them.
With his bloodied eye, he glanced toward Leon.
Then, Ethan saw a grin on Leon’s face.
"...?"
’Why is he smiling? At a time like this?’
Does he have a plan?
No way.
No matter how much one could plan, they could never defeat a God.
That’s what Ethan thought. Before Leon started to talk.
"Rot where you stand."
Followed by a strange language he had not heard before.
"[World Manipulation. All movement set to: Static.]"
After these words left Leon’s mouth, everything around Ethan paused.
The flames, the sounds, the screams. Everything.
Ethan’s eyes widened as the entire world around him turned grey.
It was... soo.. quite.
Ethan had never heard silence this loud before.
"Haaah..."
He heard a sigh from Leon’s mouth.
He looked fine, but tired.
In front of him was the frozen figure of Dreamweaver. One of the five Calamities.
"What... what did you do?"
Ethan muttered through the pain in his throat with a splatter of blood.
Leon brushed his black hair and looked below where he saw everything paused except Irene.
Leon had made it so that in the entire world, only Irene and Ethan could move.
He could have just paused Dreamweaver, but it was not the right move.
This was a literal Calamity he was dealing with. Who knows what type of otherworldly abilities he had hiding elsewhere?
For just one minute he had paused the entire world. After it was over, only Dreamweaver would remain frozen.
This was what Leon had just commanded to the world.
After he quickly checked everything was perfect, he went to Ethan while walking on air.
He crossed Dreamweaver’s frozen body and looked directly at Ethan’s condition.
"You will die soon." Leon said.
He did not know if Ethan had realized this, but half his lungs and heart were ruptured and bleeding internally.
Leon clicked his tongue.
"It was my fault for taunting Dreamweaver."
Ethan replied, "No. What... pfaa." He spat more blood. "It’s my fault. Cyan. He and..."
"No!" Leon said out loud in frustration. "I missed this possibility. I never imagined Dreamweaver would pull this move! It was all my doing. My foolish brain kept predicting things based on this damn plot I made. Dreamweaver would never kill his own blood, but he did! This shifted this whole story!"
"What... are you...saying? Leon... hey... Pfaaa." He spilled more blood and this time he saw pieces of his intestine in the vomit he just did.
Leon paused as he saw this. He reached his pocket hurriedly and took out his last Drop of Limitless.
"This!!"
Ethan at first glance knew what this was!
He himself had taken this before joining Eclipse Institute because one of his quests told him to. He had removed all of his stat limits and rank limits to infinity progression.
Leon had it too, then that meant.
"You took this as well?"
Leon ignored his question and just opened the bottle and held it near Ethan’s mouth.
"Drink it, you will get healed."
"I am too damaged..."
"Drink!"
Leon screamed and even tried to force him, but then he saw Ethan’s eyes widen at something behind him.
"..?!"
"Leon!!"
Ethan hurriedly pushed Leon from in front of him. Leon’s body got thrown away by Ethan’s last bit of strength and flew too far from where he once stood.
"Kheuk!! ghaa!!"
Leon blinked. He did not understand what just happened.
Then he rubbed his head and raised it to see ahead.
"Huh?"
His whole world stopped once he saw where he had been standing.
He saw a pair of legs. Ethan’s legs which were the only remains of him now. His upper body was gone. It was cut in half. And his intestines were slipping out like wild snakes from his half cut bottom.
He saw Dreamweaver’s feather from his suit floating around it.
It was just one metallic feather.
Dreamweaver must have separated this piece before Leon said the command.
"..."
He saw the pair of legs fall to the ground along with Dreamweaver’s feather.
Thud!
Leon’s teeth chattered as he thought with full capacity of his brain what to do now.
The plan....? The Creator’s penalty....?
Dreamweaver would wake up again in the future.
He had to do something.
But before he could do anything, he felt his head grow heavy.
"No... no..."
The penalty for using Creator was in play.
Last time for just pausing Lucian’s body, he had received two weeks of coma. This time it was a literal Calamity.
What if he woke up after Dreamweaver. What if—
Before he could think further, all of his senses vanished.
And Leon’s body was in free fall the next second.
Thud-!
Irene caught him.
"No! Leon!"
She screamed.
