Chapter 30:  Not peaceful Australia

Somewhere in Australia…

On this vast land of Australia, a new presence had taken root.

No… perhaps “taken root” is a bit awkward. The person who had arrived didn’t know where they were, and being dropped here wasn’t their intention.

Though the land was vast, and the area occupied by humans was relatively small, there were still many people coming and going, and some even staying, though not as many as one might expect due to the nature of Australia’s vast land, which some might appreciate.

As such, on this Australian land, especially in the lawless territory where countless individuals who needed to hide their identities, rest, or disappear gathered, unlike the typical and ordinary sunny side of Australia… the arrival of just one person might not seem like a big deal.

That is… if that person was truly insignificant and just an ordinary outlaw who might come to this part of Australia…

The one who had newly set foot in this lawless territory was none other than the one who, not long ago in Korea, had appeared through a dimensional rift and, after fighting with someone who had similarly appeared through a dimensional rift, had chosen mutual destruction instead of defeat.

And the one who had crossed dimensions solely for love and obsession, the knight of resentment.

Aegis Charlotte. It was Australia where she had landed.

It was definitely not a landing she had desired. It wasn’t like she knew anything and came here.

Just at the last moment, when she realized she couldn’t win against the madwoman, Elasia Celestia, who had become a god through madness and obsession, she deliberately created an opening and, instead of losing alone, chose to take the crazy saint down with her in a suicide attack, attacking with all her might…

At that time, the impact caused by the clash of two monster-like strong beings… and decisively, the distortion of space caused by the clash of forces during the final collision, had caused the knight and the saint to be thrown off and land in different places.

Well, and that wasn’t the only reason, it was also because such a clash occurred shortly after the dimensional rift opened… but even if that wasn’t the case, the collision of these crazy monsters had enough impact to… well, to shake and even tear space apart.

The dimensional rift had simply caused them to fall farther than where they would have originally landed… that was all.

The problem was that, for one side, it turned out to be lucky, and for the other, unlucky.

In other words… Aegis, very fortunately, had coincidentally arrived on the land where the person she most wanted to meet was.

It was truly incredible luck. Could it be a reward for the years of endless patience she had endured, even though it was a different world?

But the luck that had come didn’t solve everything… her body was still not in good condition.

“Urgh… ugh…!”

It was already a body that could not be considered human.

Aegis was a being who had surpassed the limits of humanity through tenacity, obsession, and resentment, and still remained in the world.

To put it differently, she was closer to a vengeful spirit, a ghost… well, something like that. She was definitely closer to that category than the human category.

She wasn’t… a possessor of transcendent talent that could easily, as if breathing, surpass the limits of species, life, and mortality.

Of course, she was a human who was called a genius and a promising knight who had reached the pinnacle… but that alone wouldn’t have allowed her to wait for so many years as a human.

The spirit might endure, but the body wouldn’t. Unless she had continued to train and train… after messing up the world, she had only been guarding the grave of the lord she served.

But it would be unreasonable to call her ordinary, as she had reached this level, this stage, with just that tenacity and sticky obsession.

However, even she couldn’t properly handle even one rival who was aiming for the same goal.

That was why she had ended up in such a mess.

Severely injured, her body was in such a state that even maintaining its form was difficult, let alone moving.

If she were an ordinary human, she would have died dozens of times over.

‘…Such a person, it wouldn’t just be that madwoman.’

One might wonder why those who came for Zion, those who loved Zion, were so strong.

But that’s a flawed premise.

It’s not that Zion’s lovers, who loved him and still crave his love, were exceptionally strong.

Out of countless encounters and countless accumulated relationships, only these few, with transcendent strength and matching obsession, were able to come.

It’s not just nightmares. The years they had passed through were too long…

In short, there were none who were easy to deal with.

Of course, one of those not-so-easy ones was this Aegis… but she was just troublesome.

Compared to the madwoman and great sinner who had completely shed her human shell and become a god through her own transcendent talent, she was severely lacking.

That was why what she needed now was… recovery.

Whatever it was, her body had to be in a normal state to be able to attempt or challenge anything.

‘At least… I’m confident in defense. That… should be enough.’

Unless there was a monster that made even that transcendent talent seem trivial…

“Human, is… needed…”

As a being who had transcended humanity, what Aegis needed to recover was also not normal.

Humans heal and recover from injuries within the bounds of human common sense, or if they are powerful beings, they might recover from most injuries just with their own regenerative power and vitality.

But that didn’t apply to Aegis.

What Aegis, who sustained herself with resentment, needed to recover…

“Huh? What’s this guy… this is our turf, how did he get in?”

“The alarm didn’t go off?”

“More than that, what is he? He doesn’t look normal at all?”

“…Human, I see?”

Simply put, what was needed was humans. Living, breathing humans.

The reason was also simple.

Stab!

Slash!

Crack!

“Guh! Ack, urk…”

“H-huh… ughhh…!”

“W-wait…! I, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m sor… Argh!”

“Hey, h-hey…! Please! Please spare… Ugh!!”

As a body close to a ghost… she needed to kill living humans, completely crush their souls, absorb them, and repair the damaged parts.

It wasn’t like there were no other methods, but there was no faster way to recover.

“If my resentment is not enough… I’ll just forcibly fill it with others’.”

Stab! Slash!

How much time had passed?

When the slurred words began to flow properly…

Blood was already caked on her sword and armor.

In other words, it meant that she had harvested countless human lives to recover her body.

Even in the sparsely populated lawless territory of Australia… overall, there was quite a large population residing there.

It was just that the land was so damn vast that there weren’t many opportunities to encounter each other, which was why this market was maintained so well for such purposes.

But in a situation like this, those factors became detrimental.

Since everyone was so spread out… unless they were the direct victims, there was no way to know about the appearance of a monster that suddenly appeared and began indiscriminate slaughter…

“Ah, now I can feel it clearly… You were not far! My one and only master, the most noble and unique sun…!”

Marveling at her own luck, the knight moved towards the felt connection, her face filled with joy.

And so, as the broken knight, who had long since abandoned all things like pride, slowly began to paint the lawless territory of Australia with blood, starting from the west…

“What a nice land. Beasts roam freely in the lush bushes… and in the center, one can feel peace while fully experiencing nature…”

The east side of the territory was also not safe at all.

Here too, a madman no less than the broken knight, a person trapped in the past and unable to escape, was wreaking havoc and advancing.

Blood pooled thickly in their path, and thoroughly destroyed debris littered the ground.

If destruction were personified, it would be such a being.

“Ah, that’s right. I can’t meet you looking like this… Yes, I have to be presentable when I see you. Like back then… I must be bright…”

The monster, who had crushed the skull it was wearing on its head into powder, muttered somberly as it advanced.

Pretending to be clean, forcing a smile on its face.