Chapter 166: George's Dimensional Sanctuary
George was truly exhausted.
Feeling his body on the verge of collapse, George was really, really tired. His lungs had given up, his brain was throbbing. As the power of the gods slowly left his body, George had no idea how many hours had passed. Five or eight?
"Damn it! Just kill him already!"
Hearing the frightened scream from the other side, a smile crept onto George's lips. At the very least, he had instilled enough fear in the enemy before dying. Blood dripped from his mouth as he clutched his stomach. More than twenty times before, the power of the gods had healed him.
Unfortunately, his body could no longer endure that power. Even the power itself was leaving him now, as if to avoid harming him any further. George sighed for a moment and looked toward the city gates. Even from here, he could feel Emily's angry and tearful gaze.
Frowning, George then turned his attention back to the endless waves of soldiers rushing toward him and cursed. A broad grin spread across his lips. It was time to reveal his greatest weapon.
"You pigs... You've been helping my plan all along."
Standing tall with eerie calmness, George scanned each soldier with his eyes, his wicked smile growing unconsciously. Seeing the enemy flinch, he took a step forward and raised his axe.
"I never wanted to do this from the start... but now, the time has come."
As George lifted his axe, a massive black smoke spread in all directions, filling the battlefield. The Republican army, already wary, was once again gripped by fear. Just like before, sinister dark tendrils emerged, causing them to retreat in panic, swords drawn.
George grinned. Then, using the last of his strength, he lunged forward. Taking advantage of everyone's momentary blindness, George pushed forward with the last breath in his lungs. With a determined expression, he built up momentum and hurled his axe.
The axe spun mid-air, cutting across dozens of soldiers before curving and slamming into the ground. A small dark explosion destroyed the dwarven cannon as the enemy commander yanked his horse back in terror.
Drenched in blood, George finally dropped to one knee, gasping for air. He could feel the black smoke slowly dispersing, and with it, the last remnants of his strength fading away. What he needed now was more time.
Taking a deep breath, George turned his gaze toward the remaining two dwarven cannons.
"Just two. Two more… If I destroy them, I can retreat safely."
Summoning his courage, he narrowed his eyes. As he saw several soldiers rushing at him, he swiftly shattered them with his fists. Then, as he began to run, he clasped his hands together and charged into the Republican army like a raging rhinoceros.
The lingering black smoke still blinded everyone. And now, with the rising mist, George's movements created total chaos. Bodies were sent flying as screams echoed through the ranks of the Republican army.
As corpses fell to the ground, George finally neared the dwarven cannon. At the same time, the mage guarding it sprang into action.
"Damn you, demon!"
The mage swiftly launched stone bolts at George. Dodging four of them, George couldn't avoid the fifth— it grazed his already-damaged shoulder, tearing away what remained of his armor and sending it tumbling to the ground.
George growled in fury and lunged forward like an enraged lion, throwing a punch at the stunned mage. The mage quickly retreated using wind magic, spread his arms, and suddenly, a rune lit up beneath him.
A blinding light emerged from the rune, instantly transforming into chains that wrapped around George. The mage didn't stop there— with a serious expression, he conjured a massive earthen coffin that rose from the ground and encased George's body.
"No one has ever escaped from this! You will die like the others!"
Enjoying his personal combo, the mage smirked. Inside the coffin, George's body suddenly froze. His eyes widened as sharp spikes emerged from the walls, piercing into him.
"Grraaah!"
Coughing up blood, George trembled. His eyes briefly flashed purple. His body shook with rage, his breaths became beastly like a dragon's growl. Another force—something other than the god's power—began to fill him. A deep purple mana erupted around him.
As the purple mana surged, George's vision flickered. A thick miasma seeped from his body, making the chains tremble. Yet, just as hope lit up in his eyes, more spikes shot out, impaling his spine, legs, and heart.
For a moment, the purple energy flickered. George gasped, his vision blurring. He struggled to breathe.
Blood dripped from his lips. The chains burned into his skin, tightening. Yet, George refused to give in.
"I... can't... die... here..."
His eyes shook. With immense effort, he grabbed one of the spikes impaling his leg and broke it with a grunt. But as soon as he did, the spikes twisted deeper into his flesh.
"It's... useless..."
His eyes fluttered shut. His mind went blank. Then, his thoughts wavered.
If he died, Sarden would be lost. All their efforts would be for nothing. Worst of all, his sister would be killed.
He couldn't let that happen.
No. He would never let that happen.
His sister and Sarden were far more important than his life.
George's eyes flared with a bright purple light. His irises darkened into a deep violet as the new power inside him surged forth.
A sudden realization struck him.
As his muscles tensed and his wounds rapidly healed, the chains trembled before shattering under his overwhelming strength.
"The connection… is gone?!"
The mage gasped in shock. He could feel his spell breaking, and terror crept into his heart. Half of his mana had already been spent maintaining the spell.
The magician, who feared the power of this man called George, trembled and fell to his knees due to the sudden tremor when a massive purple light suddenly covered the entire sky.
Hundreds of purple particles illuminated the black smoke that had scattered. For a moment, silence spread everywhere. As the magician looked up at the sky with a mix of admiration and curiosity, he could only watch in shock when the coffin suddenly shattered and an explosion erased his existence.
George, who had emerged from the coffin, kneeled on the ground under a heavy burden. He lifted his head and looked at the sky. There was disbelief in his eyes. "Th-this... is my Dimensional Sanctuary?"
George raised his hands. As he stared at the swirling purple miasma in his palms, he was surprised. He realized that the miasma was constantly healing his body. His wounds vanished instantly, and George felt better than ever.
Sensing the miasma, George felt that it was even more sacred than Light Magic. As if there was a bond between them, he trusted it instinctively. It was strange because the thing before him was merely mana or miasma.
Looking at the sky again, George ignored the sudden influx of knowledge pouring into his mind. Then, he turned his gaze toward the still-frozen and terrified Republican army.
"This is the end for all of you..." George looked down at the ground with a gentle expression. As his words echoed, the purple light in the sky suddenly shifted and transformed into brilliant purple swords.
Astonishingly, the weapons that had appeared in the sky and were ready to strike radiated a terrifying power—dangerous and unstable, yet equally sacred.
George closed his eyes, wanting to rest them for a moment. He sat down, knowing that he had already won. At George's command, thousands of purple swords suddenly changed direction.
Their target: the Republican army.
"Haa! Waaa!"
"Help! Someone help!"
"Mother! Father!" Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire
"Goddess of Light!"
"My family—"
In an instant, the Republican army found itself facing a massacre. George watched everything with tired eyes. As the swords pierced bodies and even caused blood to evaporate, he observed it all.
The swords tore corpses apart completely. They did not stop and continued to painfully cut, destroy, and damage everything in their path. It was a horrifying scene, but George watched it all.
Blood upon blood. It was nearly traumatic, but George was in no state to care. His body had healed, but his mind was under immense pressure.
The new power weighed heavily on him. George even felt lucky to still be conscious. The sight of thousands of purple swords, covered in miasma, easily slicing through flesh and causing chaos everywhere was shocking.
George then turned his gaze to the fleeing enemy. As they ran, he sent his swords after them. His vision blurred.
"Damn it, I feel drunk." After resting for a while, George rose from the blood-soaked ground. Limping, he made his way toward the city.
When he arrived, the city gates opened to greet him with a massive crowd. The Imperial Army and Emily stood at the gate to salute him, and Emily immediately rushed forward, hugging him tightly as she cried.
"I—"
"I'm fine, Emily. I—"
Before George could finish his sentence, his consciousness faded. Emily held him anxiously. "George!"
The last thing George saw was the concerned soldiers carrying him away. His consciousness slipped, and his eyes closed.
For a brief moment, George found himself in an enormous place. More precisely, he was in a grand palace. Raising his gaze, he immediately realized that this was a dream realm and furrowed his brows in curiosity.
"Where is this?"
"This is your Dimensional Sanctuary, Master." A male voice suddenly spoke. George immediately turned around, cautiously eyeing the man before him.
"Who—who are you?"
Staring at the long-haired, red-haired man with purple eyes, George spoke warily. The red-haired man chuckled, his cloak swaying behind him as he locked eyes with George.
"My name is irrelevant, Master."
"Really? Are you going to play riddles with me?" George scowled. The red-haired man seemed rather amused by this.
Not knowing what to do, George stared at him in confusion.
"I have questions for you. Answer them." George spoke seriously, but the red-haired man simply pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough time right now."
The red-haired man then smiled. As George felt his body starting to fade, he was filled with regret. He wanted to ask the being before him more questions, but the figure simply raised a hand to silence him.
"You don't need to know anything about me. The only thing you need to remember is that I am your power. You can only trust me." The red-haired man spoke seriously. Before George woke up, he heard one last thing.
"I will always be here, Master. All you have to do is reach out to me, and my power will be yours..."
Then, George's consciousness returned. The presence of the red-haired man faded away, leaving behind the grand palace, and everything fell silent...