The Law of Regression and a Gift
At least I can wait until this body reaches its limit before leaving, Leon thought to himself.
If it really came to that, he would choose to sacrifice others to save himself.
No matter what, he had to preserve this body that could bear the Elden Ring. There was no room for negotiation on that.
It affected too many things, directly or indirectly-finding Earth, searching for fellow transmigrators, and those fellow transmigrators who had been waiting for so long.
As for whether the world saw him as a good man or a bad one, he had long since stopped caring.
Besides, in a sense, if this body died, the consequences would be no less destructive than Azik unleashing his power. They would only be more terrifying.
Even a deity might not be able to bear the cost of the bodily death of someone who possessed the Elden Ring.
When that happened, half the city would be the least of it. All of Tingen might cease to exist.
That was precisely why he had held off on summoning his other fellow transmigrators.
Unless he faced a local deity directly, Leon did not think anything could truly threaten his life under normal circumstances.
If anything was to blame, it was this body for being far too weak.
Leon blocked Azik's indiscriminate attacks as he tried to get close and wake him, even if doing so would interrupt the recovery of Azik's memories.
Suddenly, he remembered a special incantation from the Lands Between called the Law of Regression (note 1).
It might work, but only if he could get close to him first.
He abruptly stopped, lowering himself into a sprinter's stance.
Invisible waves emerged from within him, and his coat whipped around him.
The Black Flame surrounding him grew so dense in that instant that it seemed almost solid!
He had unleashed the full power of Destined Death. He intended to resolve the trouble as quickly as possible before his body fell apart.
As the faint, stabbing pain deep within his body grew more intense, Leon suddenly thought the situation was pretty damn fucked up.
Wasn't I supposed to be an evil god in this world?
How did I end up saving people instead?
He shook his head helplessly, then suddenly surged forward.
With an explosive crash, the floor shattered, and a figure streaked with red and black charged at Azik with unstoppable momentum.
The Rune of Death finally revealed its mightiest authority in this unfamiliar world: the law that doomed all things to perish, the "Fated Death" that could claim even a deity's life.
He did not believe Azik could withstand that blow with his subconscious self-protection.
Yet he seemed to have overlooked one thing: not everything could withstand that blow.
As the terrifying aura on the verge of bursting forth battered the Wall of Spirituality, cracks like those in shattered glass spread across the invisible barrier in mere seconds.
"Damn it! Leon, stop!" Klein watched the sudden turn of events and shouted hoarsely toward the center of the turmoil.
But his voice could not reach them at all.
As a mere Sequence 9 Beyonder, he was in no position to take part in a clash at this level.
At that critical moment, Klein forcibly suppressed the urge to flee that nearly overwhelmed him. Wielding his silver dagger, he frantically poured the Spirituality gushing from its tip into the Wall of Spirituality, trying to reinforce it.
But it was a drop in the bucket. His Spirituality could not keep up with the rate at which the two people inside were destroying it. The makeshift barrier could collapse completely at any moment.
The sharp cracking grew louder and louder. Just as the thought It's too late rose in Klein's mind-
A beam of warm golden light emerged from the center of the intertwined Black Flame and pale power.
The Black Flame and pale power rapidly contracted, receding layer by layer to reveal the two men piled atop each other in the living room.
Leon raised his arms in a peculiar pose.
Golden light burst into the air. There was no sound, no impact, only an invisible curtain of light spreading outward in every direction with him at its center.
Wherever the curtain passed, everything seemed to be "restored."
Azik's pale power was gently but irresistibly pushed back into his body by the golden light, disappearing from view.
His unfocused eyes gradually began to focus again, and the terrifying power that had awakened was falling dormant once more in a peculiar fashion.
The Wall of Spirituality collapsed completely at the same time. Fortunately, no supernatural power remained in the fairly spacious living room.
Klein ran to the two men as quickly as he could, separated them as they lay unable to move, and examined them carefully.
Only after finding no obvious external injuries did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and discovered that only five minutes had passed since it began.
An hour later, the Sun was close to setting.
The three men, having mostly recovered, sat in the undamaged sitting room, sunk in an eerie silence.
The gas lamp's flame burned quietly inside its glass shade, casting the three men's shadows long and short by turns. Three cups of black tea sat on the coffee table, long since cold, untouched by any of them.
Klein's gaze shifted back and forth between Leon and Azik. His lips moved several times, but he still could not come up with a suitable opening.
In the end, the deeply apologetic Azik was the first to speak. "I'm very sorry that my situation caused you so much trouble."
"If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll pay for all the damage in full."
"There's nothing to apologize for." Leon sighed and thought about it. If he hadn't been so reckless, things wouldn't have turned out this way either.
He then said, "Even if you hadn't recovered your memories today, they would have been awakened sooner or later, someday in the future."
"At least there were no irreversible consequences this time." Leon smiled. "It's just a shame I couldn't hold out until you recovered all your memories."
"No, no, no, that's already more than enough," Azik said hurriedly. "If it were really that easy to remember the past, I think I would have found a way to escape my fate long ago."
"But I would advise you not to keep trying to recover your memories for the time being," Leon said seriously. "I can't guarantee there will be anyone to stop you next time."
Of course, that's if no one else courts death by provoking you like I did, Leon said silently to himself.
"Of course." Azik's face was full of excitement. "I must thank you for your kindness and for your help."
As he spoke, Azik removed an accessory from inside his left cuff and placed it on the table.
It was an exquisite, ancient Copper Whistle, covered in peculiar patterns that gave it an air of mystery.
"I plan to leave Tingen soon to verify the memories I have now." Azik took a deep breath.
"This was an item I had with me when I woke up in Backlund. You only need to blow it to summon a messenger that belongs to me alone."
"This messenger itself is no weaker than a Sequence 8. Perhaps it can help you. It's the only gift of thanks I have left to offer."
Note 1: Law of Regression: An incantation of Golden Order Fundamentalism.
One of the incantations that form its foundation.
It can cure all abnormal statuses, dispel special effects, remove all mimicry, and reveal the true form.
Fundamentalism explains the Golden Order through two powers-Regression and Causality.
Regression means the convergence of all things toward what is unchanging,