Chapter 287 The Truth Of The Chronosphere
As Chloe was teleported between Chronosphere and Logan, the moment her soft abdomen was pierced, everyone present froze in shock.
The first to snap back to reality was Io.
From within the [Divine Robe] that was being reconstructed, he moved the [Black Feather Robe].
[Divine Robe]──[Black Seal]
The black, ribbon-like cloth wrapped around Chronosphere's entire body like a snake, restraining it. While pouring a large amount of magical energy into the [Black Binding] to increase its power, Io shouted.
"Logan!!"
That alone conveyed the meaning.
"Ooohhhhhhh!!!"
Logan, channeling aura into his right hand's "Black Moon," dodged Chloe, who stood in his way, and thrust his sword forward.
The tip of the sword plunged deep into the center of Chronosphere's chest.
Mimicry Skill Sword Technique──[Black Seal Sword: Death Blow]
If the [Dragon-Slayer Blade] could be avoided by severing his own neck, what should be done?
Logan's answer to that question.
It was to completely restrain him so that it couldn't be avoided and then deliver the [Dragon-Slayer Blade].
To achieve this, Logan used Aaron's technique as a Mimicry Skill.
Stabbing the target with a sword infused with multiple attributes, the technique disrupts the activation of Space magic by allowing the aura to invade the target's body. What Aaron used was the [Black Seal Sword] with an aura sword, but Logan stabbed the Chronosphere itself with the physical sword.
There is one advantage to this.
From the hand gripping the sword's hilt, aura can be continuously supplied.
While there is the disadvantage of needing to get close and stab directly, the ability to supply aura continuously makes this method overwhelmingly more binding.
This has become such a powerful technique that even the Chronosphere can no longer escape.
From the center of the chest where the sword is stabbed, black aura "roots" invade the entire body of the Chronosphere.
And then──,
"────."
"Chloe!!"
Lucia and the others rushed to Chloe's side.
Chronosphere is eerily quiet.
"Lucia──."
When Lucia and the others approached, it was Chronosphere that called out her name in a calm tone.
"You can use [Status Restoration] on Chloe, right? ...I will pull my arm out now. After that, immediately use [Status Restoration] on Chloe. That way, she will be saved."
"What are you...!!"
Lucia felt a surge of anger at the Chronosphere's selfish words, and then a question immediately arose. She glared at Chronosphere, but he didn't even look at her.
He simply stared at the suffering Chloe with an unusually calm expression.
"...I understand."
Instead of getting angry for no reason, helping Chloe is the priority.
With that decision, Lucia nodded.
Chronosphere slowly pulled his arm out of Chloe. Chloe let out a groan of intense pain.
Right after the arm was pulled out from Chloe's abdomen, Lucia immediately activated [Status Restoration].
Normally, even for Lucia, it was difficult to use this magic on someone else. This was because she needed to have the data of the normal state recorded in her device to restore it.
There was no way she could keep track of someone else's body data.
Still, Lucia was able to activate [Status Restoration] for Chloe because Chloe had told her through 'thought communication':
──Lady Lucia, I will take the attack from the Chronosphere and stop his movement.
When Lucia heard those words, she thought it was impossible. She believed that it was simply not possible for Chloe to take the attack, and even if she tried to sacrifice herself and hug Chronosphere, she would just be thrown off immediately.
Doing something like that would be pointless. It would be a waste of life──she thought.
That's why, to be prepared for the worst, Lucia activated [Space perception] around Chloe and recorded her body data.
However──the reality was beyond Lucia's expectations.
"""......"""
With [Status Restoration] activated, not only was Chloe's body restored, but even the holes in her clothes were perfectly fixed.
But neither Lucia nor Logan, nor anyone else present, spoke a word. For a moment, an unusual silence fell over the battlefield, one that didn't seem fitting for the situation.
Chronosphere had stopped all resistance and was quietly accepting the restraints of the [Black Seal Sword]──only Chloe and Chronosphere understood this strange situation that had unfolded.
Eventually──Chloe opened her mouth.
"Lady Lucia, everyone... please listen."
Still staring at Chronosphere, Chloe began to speak quietly about the truth of Chronosphere that only she knew.
"Chronosphere never intended to kill us from the very beginning."
This was a statement that overturned the premise of the series of crises surrounding the revival of the [Evil God].
As if confirming a fact she was sure of, Chloe asked.
"Chronosphere's goal was... from the start, to defeat the [Evil God], wasn't it?"
"Huh...?"
Whose voice was that questioning? Perhaps it was a voice that slipped out from everyone except Chloe and Chronosphere.
"Chloe, that's impossible."
Lucia denied it.
"If Chronosphere's goal was to defeat the [Evil God], then there would be no reason for him to interfere with us here and now. He should be cooperating with us to fight the [Evil God] alongside Aaron."
"That may be true. But..."
Acknowledging Lucia's words, Chloe still denied it.
There was a reason she thought that way.
"Chronosphere is the one who had me record the coordinates for [Temple]."
"What...?"
It was necessary to teleport Aaron and Logan to destroy [Temple] during the stampede. Chloe once told Ail that it was Jilva, before being consumed by the will of Chronosphere, who recorded those coordinates.
However, she denied those words herself. Ail widened his eyes in surprise and looked at Chloe, but she continued without explaining.
"When I was little, it was Chronosphere who helped me when I was kidnapped."
"Hmm...?"
Now it was Lucia's turn to tilt her head.
Lucia had heard from Chloe that the incident of her kidnapping was what caused Jilva's will to crumble. Chloe confessed that what she said at Aaron's house was a lie.
But why did she tell such a lie?
No, was it even a lie in the first place?
"And... in this battle, none of us have died. If Chronosphere really wanted to kill us, wouldn't it have been better to use a big magic from the start?"
"Well, that's..."
Logan murmured, as if he had thought of something.
From the very beginning, he had felt something was off about Chronosphere's fighting style. It couldn't be explained by the fact that time magic couldn't be used at the moment of attack or that it was weakened because it was maintaining [World Severance].
──Chronosphere isn't as strong as they thought.
Rather, the attacks against them were too gentle.
Why didn't he use a magic attack when he first kicked Logan? Even if the Space magic slashes don't work on Logan or Io, why didn't he target easier opponents like Chloe or Ail? Or, before being interrupted by [Space Control], couldn't he has just used a magic like [Extreme Heat Collapse]?
Logan had a feeling that Chronosphere's actions were strange.
If he really wanted to kill them, he could have just used [Extreme Heat Collapse] the moment they were teleported to this Space.
Even if he couldn't take them all down, he could have significantly weakened them.
So, what was the reason for not doing that?
When they thought it was strange and looked back, there were other things that seemed off.
With a Supernatural Ability to predict the future, why couldn't he stop Lucia's revival? Even if he couldn't, wasn't there a chance to take care of her?
And above all, why did he stop moving when he pierced through Chloe's torso?
If he truly intended to kill Chloe and the others, there shouldn't have been such a fatal opening.
Chloe spoke up.
"From the very beginning... at least when I was kidnapped and rescued, I realized he wasn't Sir Jilva, but Chronosphere..."
Ail and Noah stared in shock at Chronosphere.
Chloe was rescued about 8 years ago.
If there was no will to be Jilva from that time, then Chronosphere was pretending to be Jilva to those around.
For what purpose?
Doubt turned into confusion, and confusion was reflected in the gazes directed at Chronosphere.
"Ha, haha, hahahaha! Chloe..."
Chronosphere laughed loudly and said to Chloe.
"That's your misunderstanding. I hate humans. I was planning to use the [Evil God] to wipe them out. The reason I had you register the coordinates of the [Temple] was to lure Aaron out and kill him... I needed someone to transfer him there. Well, it ended up failing anyway."
Chronosphere denied Chloe's words. However, in doing so, he indirectly admitted that he had been pretending to be Jilva.
And with those words, Noah became certain that Chronosphere had lied again.
(Chronosphere originally had no power of foresight. He must have gained that ability after the Supernatural Ability manifested...)
Chronosphere's Supernatural Ability manifested after the last stampede, and Chloe registered the coordinates of the [Temple] many years before that, so the timing doesn't match.
In other words, it should have been impossible for him to have Chloe register the coordinates of the [Temple] for a plan that would take place years later without the power of foresight.
On top of that, at that time, Aaron Gale was just an unknown explorer. There was no reason for Chronosphere to want to kill Aaron back then, and he probably didn't even know he existed. Even if he said it was to kill him, it just felt off.
(If that's the case, then why did he have Chloe register the coordinates of the [Temple]? No, if he were only thinking about the revival of the [Evil God], there was no need to build the [Temple] so thoroughly. He could have just completed the [Seal Key] first and killed me to take it... or, if he were willing to sacrifice my life, he wouldn't even need to make the [Seal Key]. Just breaking the network of the 4 families would have naturally led to the revival of the [Evil God] eventually...)
He couldn't believe it.
It depends on when Chronosphere started thinking about destroying humanity──but if Chronosphere had been the main personality of Jilva's body for years, as Chloe said, then his actions seemed way too inconsistent.
His actions lacked consistency. When I tried to guess the reason, one answer came to mind.
(Could it be... was he hesitating? Was Chronosphere hesitating?)
Was he hesitating like a human?
Only Chronosphere himself knew the answer.
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