This was the sign of self-destruction she had been waiting for.
This was the perfect chance to seize the title of the strongest Esper—the rightful end for an Esper who relied on a Guide, something Roilnia loathed with every fiber of her being.
For a woman who had wished for nothing more than Haimar Alec to vanish from the earth, this was the moment she had anticipated.
If she could just add fuel to the fire to hasten his ruin, it would be flawless.
Theoretically, the plan was perfect.
And yet, an inexplicable sense of dread gripped Roilnia.
There should be nothing better for her than seeing the man walk toward his own demise, yet she could not find it in her to rejoice.
Unlike other Espers on the brink of a rampage, Haimar did not look like he was in pain.
Far from suffering, he sat amidst the murky energy filling the dome, legs crossed, lazily resting his chin on his hand.
His posture was elegant, refined, and deeply noble.
Who on earth could look that utterly indifferent in the face of a rampage?
Was he truly an Esper approaching his breaking point?
Watching his composed figure, she felt a cold tide of anxiety rise from her toes.
His gaze, looking down at her from his dark throne, seemed to ask:
‘So, what exactly can you do to me?’
His eyes seemed to point a finger at her, mocking her desires as insolent and beyond her station.
Standing before the man who loomed like a great mountain, Roilnia felt herself shrinking until she was no more than a speck of dust.
A dark premonition flickered through her—no matter what her plan was, it would be useless against him.
What reared its head in her heart was not hope or a sense of victory, but terror.
As she stared at Haimar, it wasn’t her reason but her survival instinct that suddenly suggested a way out.
The same method she used whenever she was at a disadvantage against him: flight.
‘Terror? Flight?’
Roilnia shook her head to dispel the thoughts.
Stinging inferiority scratched at her pride.
She tightened her grip on the tin case in her hand.
She had endured several of his abilities.
She had withstood the gravity that once crushed her, the lightning, and the psychokinesis.
In this situation, without a Guide, he was the one at a disadvantage, not her!
Everything was perfect, so what was wrong with her that she was thinking such idiotic thoughts?
Roilnia’s red eyes, shaking violently, contorted with rage.
In truth, the answer had been given many times.
She had simply refused to acknowledge it.
Throughout her life, countless people had told her that no one can achieve everything alone.
Yet, she had been able to defy providence because she, Roilnia, was special.
These were things one couldn’t do without power.
She could do them because she was special.
Because she was chosen by the Heavens!
She couldn’t have come this far otherwise.
In the past, the difference between Haimar and Roilnia was merely one of power.
The only thing that had changed was their methods.
She had pursued the path of becoming perfect alone, while Haimar had found a Guide that suited him.
This was the most fundamental and decisive difference.
Roilnia still didn’t think she was wrong. Far from it, she believed she was right.
If she didn’t, she would have to deny her entire life—a life spent failing to surpass Haimar.
She would have to accept that Roilnia Ranilgraph was wrong.
She would have to reconsider her own weakness compared to Haimar and the value of a Guide.
Roilnia didn’t want to do that. She wouldn’t, not even out of sheer spite.
She told herself she was just momentarily overwhelmed by the man before her.
Unable to admit defeat, she spiraled deeper into self-justification and stubbornness.
‘He’s the one at his limit. If I just hold out a little longer, I can turn this around. Then, finally…!’
Snip—
“AAAAAAUGH!!”
Before Roilnia could finish her thought, the hand holding the medicine was severed at the wrist.
Before the smoke from her other injuries could even clear, her body began to emit fresh plumes of white vapor.
Her recovery speed was slowing down.
Along with it, her thirst grew even more intense.
Seeing the tin case arc through the air and hit the ground, she lunged forward to grab it.
“…What…!”
The moment Roilnia dropped to her knees, the world turned pitch black.
The dark energy inside the dome dyed everything, swallowing every detail.
Like being enveloped in a dense fog, the space was submerged in a perfect darkness where she couldn’t even see her own body within seconds.
The water columns, the burning flames, and even the ground she stood on vanished.
She was floating in a void of total shadow.
As her sight and hearing were cut off, goosebumps broke out over her arms.
‘The medicine. I need the medicine.’
This was no time for pride.
She had to restore her condition immediately to overcome this crisis.
The medicine was an absolute necessity to keep her whole.
Roilnia scrambled on the ground, relying solely on touch.
She tore through the dry earth, her fingernails scraping desperately against the floor.
She did this over and over, but the medicine she sought was nowhere to be found.
Whether it had flown into the air or vanished into the earth, she couldn’t find it, even though she had seen it right there before the darkness fell.
“No. This can’t be happening…!”
Something was wrong.
Kneeling on the ground, Roilnia trembled with humiliation.
The negative emotions she couldn’t accept crawled back to life, overwhelming her.
Her current state was no different from any other Esper struggling without a Guide.
‘Superior? You’re nothing but a drug addict.’
A silent voice, unheard by the ears, burrowed into her mind.
The darkness whispered that despite her boasts of being perfect alone, she was exactly the same as those she loathed.
“Shut up! I’m different. I’m different!!”
Roilnia groped the ground frantically.
She had to find it, even if her nails broke and her hands became filthy.
She wandered through the encroaching abyss, desperate to find the medicine and escape.
Yet, she could hardly bear the sight of herself crawling like this.
The one who was supposed to be dying in agony was that man; she couldn’t understand why she was the one in this position.
What Roilnia had imagined was killing the man while he was vulnerable from losing his mind, or watching from the sidelines as he destroyed himself.
She never wanted this.
The fact that nothing was going as planned was driving her to the brink of insanity.
The abyss was slowly draping itself over her.
She already knew the name of the abyss that was darkening, encroaching, and preparing to imprison her.
The shadow of defeat deepened over Roilnia, approaching rapidly regardless of how much she struggled or how close Haimar was to a rampage.
Plip. Plop.
Cold droplets of water touched her skin.
One drop, then another, quickly turning into a downpour that flooded the bottomless pit.
Shhhhhh——.
The sudden shower soaked Roilnia instantly.
A rain falling in a place where the entire world was covered in darkness was eerily strange.
As water dripped down her nose and lips, Roilnia froze.
The droplets, which should have been just moisture, weighed heavily on her shoulders.
The rain striking her arms and back was incredibly painful.
It felt as if hundreds of needles were being driven into her body without mercy.
“…?”
Roilnia noticed the water entering her mouth tasted of iron.
Her face, which had been uninjured, was now bleeding from fresh cuts.
Soon, she felt smoke rising from her entire body.
It wasn’t just the feeling of needles.
The rain was literally stabbing into her like needles.
She realized then that this was no ordinary rain.
This, too, was a part of Haimar Alec’s ability.
Power that had overflowed and filled the space was now falling like rain.
Stunned by the impossible phenomenon, Roilnia blankly held up her palm.
There was pain, but she could see nothing.
There was nothing for her eyes to confirm.
She could only guess through touch—that the rain was falling like blades, shredding her skin, and then melting away.
She was utterly powerless before the encroaching attack.
Her only role now was to wait for the man hidden in the abyss to flick his wrist and take her head.
As reality closed in, the fragments of fear she had suppressed began to take shape.
“…This can’t be. I have to be different. I have to be more special than anyone…”
Roilnia muttered despondently.
Her voice sounded like she was trying to hypnotize herself without conviction.
Her instincts and her skin already knew the truth, even if her mind denied it.
‘A wall.’
Between Roilnia and that man, there was a wall that could not be crossed, no matter how much she struggled.
It was a wall she could never overcome, not in a hundred lifetimes.
Roilnia Ranilgraph could never defeat Haimar Alec.
It was an unchanging truth, regardless of whether he rampaged or destroyed himself—a mandate of heaven that was already decided and beyond human control.
Her ambition to surpass him was crushed by the instinctive certainty that she could never even touch him.
An overwhelming gap existed between them that Roilnia could never close, no matter how hard she chased.
The confidence she once held was ruthlessly shaved away by this vast difference.
Trapped alone in a labyrinth with no exit, she no longer knew what more she had to do, or what price she had to pay to surpass him.
Even her attempt to muster fighting spirit out of spite was crushed within his perfect domain of falling blades. Roilnia stared into the darkness before her.
A bottomless, infinite darkness that had swallowed the world.
