Rudeus carried Eris through the clouds.
Under his manipulation, the raging wind elements became as docile as lambs, gathering into an invisible current that lifted the two of them.
Eris gasped in surprise. Before her long-haired, large eyes, accustomed to ground combat, could react, an invisible current had already lifted us up from the ground, soaring straight into the sky.
A howling wind swept past, and the earth's gravity lost its power in that instant.
The ground receded rapidly, the enormous manor shrank to a miniature sculpture, and the crisscrossing streets degenerated into a dense chessboard grid.
" Rudeus! You flew too high!"
Eris clung tightly to Rudeus's collar.
Even though she wouldn't admit it verbally, the excitement sparkling in her bright red eyes was impossible to hide.
For Eris, who grew up with wooden swords and sweat, the freedom to trample the whole world underfoot was fatally attractive.
Rudeus couldn't help but chuckle:
Are you scared?
"Who, who's scared!"
She glared at me sharply, but her body betrayed her by snuggling even closer into Rudeus's arms, muttering angrily:
"I'm just afraid you'll fall and get smashed to pieces!"
"Yes, I believe you're not afraid."
"Hey! What kind of dismissive tone is that!"
Eris pinched Rudeus's waist in embarrassment and annoyance.
Through the clothes, the force was so gentle and soft that it sounded more like an unconscious act of coquetry.
Her fiery red hair danced wildly in the fierce morning wind.
A few strands of hair brushed against my cheek, bringing with them a faint, unique fragrance.
Rudeus tightened his arms around her, looking down at her in his embrace, his heart filled with tenderness and contentment.
If there is no memory lapse.
Today is the day it all begins.
The Fittoa Territory Teleport Incident.
In the course of fate, this sudden disaster shattered the lives of countless people, marking the cruel prelude to the true beginning of this epic.
For the world, it was an unsolvable natural disaster;
But for him, the reincarnated one, it was an inevitable ending already written in advance.
From a very long time ago, he has been desperately practicing magic and altering details in an attempt to change all of this.
Waiting for the gears of fate to mesh with their destined click.
He turned his head and looked towards the horizon.
The azure sky stretched to the horizon, with drifting clouds, and everything appeared utterly tranquil.
However, the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Here it comes...
It wasn't a light effect visible to the naked eye, but rather a massive, suffocating surge of magical energy awakening deep within space.
It was like an ancient behemoth that had been asleep for ten thousand years, slowly opening its sky-covering eyes in the void.
Even though we were dozens of kilometers apart, the overwhelming sense of oppression instantly sent shivers down my spine.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment, heavy as mercury.
Eris's animalistic instincts alerted her to something amiss:
" Rudeus? What's wrong?"
She followed my gaze, and the smile on her lips gradually froze.
Because at that moment, the sky cracked open.
The once pure azure was torn apart by a sudden burst of intense white light.
At first, it was just a barely perceptible trace, but then, the crack expanded wildly to both sides at an incredible speed.
It was as if an invisible divine hand had torn the sky apart.
An endless, pale light poured out from it.
"What... what is that?"
A slight tremor finally crept into Eris's voice, which she had been trying so hard to hide.
Rumble--
Heaven and earth began to resonate intensely.
That wasn't thunder, but rather the mournful cry of space itself as it could no longer withstand the immense pressure.
The atmosphere was churned into a chaotic vortex, and the magic power within a radius of a hundred miles nearly went berserk.
This terrifying pressure far surpasses the Saint Rank, King Rank, or Emperor Rank...
This is a miracle, and also a divine punishment.
The Teleportation Magic circle has been activated.
A white curtain of light spread across the horizon like a tsunami, its engulfing speed defying logic.
In the blink of an eye, most of the sky above Roа City was filled with this pale white light.
A flurry of screams and cries erupted from the ground, and the alarm bells in the clock tower rang frantically.
Countless civilians surged into the streets like ants, gazing in terror at the apocalyptic scene, yet unable to find a way to escape.
Panic spread like a plague, but the overall situation was already settled.
Where the white light passed, there were no deafening explosions, no ruins, only a chilling "absolute annihilation."
Houses, city walls, ancient trees, bustling squares...
The moment all matter came into contact with the white light, it abruptly dissolved into nothingness, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.
Rudeus used his Perception magic to quickly detect the unusual magical fluctuations.
He quickly came to terms with it.
This is a disaster that he simply cannot solve at present, even if he is a time traveler and even if he has a cheat code.
But shouldn't we give him some time to grow?
Even faced with this predetermined, God Rank disaster, how can he possibly change it?
He did want to be a savior, but he couldn't save everyone...
" Rudeus! What on earth is that?!"
Eris panicked completely; she gripped my clothes tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The usually arrogant little lion was now as helpless as a lost cub in the face of the devastating natural disaster.
Rudeus looked down at her face, which was filled with fear and unease.
He reached out and gently placed his hand on the top of her head, rubbing it softly.
Don't be afraid.
Eris stared blankly at the other person.
"I'm here."
Just three words, yet they seemed to possess some strange power, diminishing the ferocity in the air.
Eris bit her lower lip hard, and the panic in her eyes miraculously subsided the moment she met Rudeus's gaze.
She nodded vigorously.
As always, she chose to believe in him without reservation.
My gaze passed over her shoulder, and the all-consuming, pale light curtain was already upon me.
It was like an ancient, colossal wave formed from pure white light, obscuring the sun, the sky, and everything in sight.
At that moment, the entire world was stripped of all color, leaving only a blinding pure white.
No sound could be heard anymore; time seemed to stand still, and space itself seemed to freeze.
Rudeus took a deep breath, tightened his grip on Eris, and held her firmly in his arms.
Her body trembled slightly, then she hugged Rudeus back with even greater force.
" Rudeus..."
"Um."
Will we die?
Rudeus gazed at the all-consuming void before him, a reassuring smile playing on his lips:
"Won't..."
"Because I'm here!"
[ Emotion Points +1000 from Eris ]
In the next instant, a true torrent of magic erupted like a supernova!
boom--!!!
Space shattered completely, and the world twisted into a chaotic vortex of light.
The Roа City vanished, the Fittoa Territory vanished, and hundreds of thousands of lives were mercilessly scattered to every corner of the world at that moment.
At the heart of that pale storm, powerful enough to tear the soul apart, Rudeus simply closed his eyes and held the most important woman in his arms tightly.
There was no fear, no panic, only a calm acceptance of destiny.
Because he knew this was not the end of the destruction.
Rather, it is the true starting point of a long march of destiny.
The intense light faded, and the two figures vanished completely from the world, as if they had never existed.
A blinding white light suddenly engulfed everything.
It felt like only a moment had passed, yet also like an eternity had gone by.
When vision returned, the scene before me had been completely transformed.
The familiar streets of Roа City are gone.
The towering mansions and city walls are gone.
There were no more crowds coming and going.
All that met the eye was an endless expanse of desolate land.
The reddish-brown wasteland stretched endlessly towards the horizon, barren and desolate, as if forgotten by the world.
And what's worse is--
They are currently 10,000 meters in the air.
His body was swept up by an extremely violent spatial turbulence, and he was tumbling wildly in the air at an unimaginable speed.
Up, down, left, right.
Forward, backward, diagonal drop.
The sense of space has completely lost its meaning.
The scenery in my field of vision turned into blurry afterimages that kept flashing by, as if the whole world was spinning at high speed.
Even with my superhuman physical abilities, I felt a strong wave of dizziness.
All that could be heard was the howling wind and roar of the storm, like the raucous howls of countless wild beasts.
Eris in my arms had already lost consciousness. Her eyes were tightly closed, her Eris, bright red hair was flying wildly in the wind, and her body was softly leaning against my chest.
Clearly, she had been completely knocked unconscious by that terrifying torrent of magic.
He instinctively tightened his arms, holding her firmly in his embrace.
After confirming that she had not suffered a fatal injury, I breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then he looked up at the rapidly approaching earth below.
You only get one chance.
Rudeus took a deep breath.
The magical energy within his body was circulating wildly.
The next moment--
It deliberately gave up fighting the turbulence and its body plummeted towards the ground like a falling meteor.
The wind ripped at my clothes, and a sharp, piercing sonic boom echoed in my ears.
At the same time, the magic circles engraved on the inside of the robe lit up one after another.
One.
Two.
Three.
A light blue defensive barrier unfolded layer by layer, completely enveloping him and Eris.
Seconds later, the earth was right in front of them.
boom--!
A king descended from the sky!!
A deafening roar erupted, like a meteorite crashing to earth, and a terrifying shockwave spread outwards.
The ground collapsed instantly.
Countless stones and dirt shot into the sky.
The billowing dust formed a huge mushroom-shaped cloud, spreading in all directions.
After a long while.
The dust slowly settled.
In the center of the deep pit.
Rudeus knelt on one knee, holding Eris in his arms.
The defensive barrier around his body was on the verge of collapse, flickering with an unstable light.
but...
I survived, thankfully.
He gently placed Eris on a relatively flat surface.
After confirming that her breathing was steady, he took out a pale blue potion from the Magic Pocket at his waist.
Inside the transparent glass bottle, the liquid shimmered with a faint, bluish luster.
"Sleeping Potion"
He stared at the medicine for a moment.
He then gave a slightly ambiguous smile.
Following the original historical trajectory.
What happened next should have been a matter of course.
However, over the years, due to my intervention, too many things have deviated from their original course.
What will the future hold?
Even he couldn't be completely sure.
Since that's the case.
There are some crucial points that I must personally confirm.
And right now...
That is one of them.
"So, what's next..."
He slowly uncorked the bottle.
My gaze drifted to the distant, hazy sky.
His gaze gradually turned cold.
"It's time to go see that disgusting guy."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Rudeus tilted his head back and drank the potion in one gulp.
The cold liquid flowed down my throat and into my body.
The drug's effects spread rapidly.
Consciousness began to dull.
My vision is gradually blurring...
Everything around seemed to be shrouded in a thin, grayish-white mist.
My body is getting heavier and heavier.
The last thing that catches the eye.
It was Eris, sleeping peacefully beside me.
And that boundless, desolate land.
Immediately afterwards--
Darkness descends.
Consciousness sank completely into the abyss...