Chapter 125. Limit
Memoria collapsed—
And a sense of exhaustion, as though every last bit of strength had been wrung from my body, overwhelmed me.
I couldn’t put any strength into my body.
Still, perhaps because there wasn’t a related quest—
Berserk Overreaction [?] didn’t appear.
....That was truly fortunate.
If I had encountered Berserk Overreaction [?] right now, I felt as though my mind wouldn’t have survived.
“Urgh...!!”
Predator [M].
An Ultimate Skill that completely awakened the instincts of Predation [S+].
It was a skill that entrusted every cognitive and decision-making process to “instinct”, allowing the body to judge and move on its own rather than relying on the brain.
As a result, it granted reaction speeds surpassing even spinal reflexes. Simply put, it reduced reaction time to nearly zero milliseconds.
A response at the maximum biological level.
There was a reason its measured rank was [M], representing Myth.
It was one rank higher than Wrath of the Frenzied Dragon [L].
Perhaps because of that, its side effects were tremendous.
The first was its effect on the mind.
Since every perception and judgment was entrusted to instinct and the body, reason was completely excluded.
Uncontrollable ferocity.
If this had been my previous life, I would probably have become a rampaging monster incapable of distinguishing friend from foe.
But things were different now.
Successor’s Will [EX].
Since the limits of my mental strength were Aleph-Null, I could avoid losing control of myself.
I had overcome the most dangerous side effect.
However, since I was “completely” governed by instinct, conscious judgment was excluded.
Because of that, I couldn’t fight tactically.
Since I merely followed my combat instincts, the skill could cause inappropriate actions and excessive aggression.
But the greatest side effect and weakness of the Ultimate Skill, Predator [M], was—
“Cough...!!”
Physical overload.
It completely omitted the decision-making process based on perceptual information from the five senses.
As a result, it produced instantaneous and efficient movements at the “maximum biological level”.
In other words, my biological functions were pushed beyond their limits.
It also meant that my body was subjected to the maximum load a living organism could endure.
“Urghhh...!”
It truly felt as though my entire body was being torn apart.
No.
Everything had already been torn apart.
Every one of my muscle fibers had ruptured, my bones had fractured after failing to withstand the pressure, and my nervous system had literally been severed by the overload.
And that wasn’t all.
Perhaps because I had elevated the instincts of Predation [S+] to the Ultimate State—
It wasn’t merely my body that had been overloaded.
◆ Error: The skill, Regeneration [B+], cannot be used.
◆ A twenty-four-hour cooldown has been applied.
And my skills had also been overloaded.
Predator [M] was a skill that burned through everything I possessed.
In any case, it wouldn’t have been strange if I died immediately.
The reason I could endure was Ian’s ability—
Solo Level Up [EX].
‘Thank goodness I raised my stats....’
Otherwise, my body would have been torn apart and disintegrated while Predator [M] was still active.
“Huuup!”
I inhaled deeply.
Then I raised the heart in my hand.
Memoria’s heart.
A heart whose vitality had completely disappeared couldn’t be absorbed through Predation [S+].
My entire body felt as though it would tear apart, but I endured.
I absolutely had to absorb this with Predation [S+].
Without hesitation, I brought Memoria’s heart to my mouth.
Crunch.
The tough texture of the heart filled my mouth—
◆ You have consumed the individual known as Memoria!
A message appeared before my eyes.
Fortunately, Predation [S+] had not entered cooldown.
Memoria had perfectly replicated my abilities.
Just as I began wondering what ability I would obtain—
Whoooooosh—!
Pitch-black darkness suddenly obscured my vision.
It was a side effect of Predation [S+].
And it was madness of an entirely different magnitude.
Whoooooosh—!
The darkness grew even denser.
Reality distorted, and space collapsed.
All my senses blurred, and the boundaries of existence disappeared.
Time flowed as though it had stopped, twisting, breaking, and eroding—
【While investigating the Ultimate Infinity, a question suddenly occurred to me.】
A bizarre vision abruptly overwhelmed my sight.
【A state that expands endlessly and continues growing larger.
That is called Infinity.
And infinities can be compared in magnitude.
In other words, infinities of different sizes exist.
After a long investigation, I discovered several different infinities.
But the Ultimate Infinity, an infinity greater than every other infinity—
Was the one thing I could not discover.
Perhaps that could be called the end of infinity.
The end of infinity.
If I could find it, I might also find the Ultimate Infinity.
Let us change our perspective.
What about the opposite?
Rather than searching within something that grows infinitely larger, could the end of infinity be found within something that becomes infinitely smaller?
A number exists in this world beyond which nothing can become smaller.
Zero, which represents nonexistence.
There is no number smaller than zero.
Negative numbers are merely concepts and directions, so in terms of mass, no existence can be smaller than zero.
Therefore, when it comes to becoming infinitely smaller, infinity must be finite.
I had found a clue.
The end of infinity within a state of continual reduction. Let us search for whatever exists at that endpoint.
Perhaps it can be found within a zero-dimensional world—
A Point.
Now, there is a Point here.
Can you not see it?
Of course not.
A Point possesses neither area nor length.
A Point is zero.
When such Points gather, they form a Line.
A Line possesses length.
....What?
A Point has no length.
It has no volume, size, or anything else.
It is zero.
Yet when Points gather, they become a Line that “possesses length”?
Zero plus zero is still zero.
Zero plus zero plus zero plus zero is also still zero. No matter how many times zero is added, it remains zero.
....Then what is this?
Was a Point not zero?
Did it merely appear to be zero?
Let us divide the Point further. Let us divide it even more. Again and again and again and again, infinitely….
Now, this should be enough.
Let us gather the infinitely divided pieces of the Point again.
It is a Point.
It worked!
....No, wait.
....It formed another Line.
When the number of Points was “finite”, they unquestionably remained Points.
But when an “infinite number” of Points gathered, they became a Line.
By adding zero infinitely, something had been created.
....Infinity had created something from nothing.
In other words, the value of zero multiplied by infinity was not zero.
It was equivalent to saying that absolute zero did not exist before infinity.
There were only values that drew infinitely close to zero.
Even within a Point becoming infinitely smaller, length and size continued to exist, though they were so infinitely small that they held no practical meaning.
It could never truly become zero.
There was no end even to becoming smaller.
Does infinity truly….have no end?
It is too early to conclude that.
Let us consider an infinitely repeating number.
For example, the number [0.9999….].
It should merely be a number that becomes infinitely “close” to one.
Let us compare its magnitude to one.
Since it merely approaches one without limit, it should still be slightly smaller than one, even if the difference is infinitely small and practically meaningless.
But that wasn’t the case.
The answer was that they were “equal”.
This wasn’t merely a convenient assumption that they should be considered equal.
The infinitely repeating number [0.9999….] was “perfectly identical” to one, without even the slightest difference.
The proof was simple.
One-third is equal to [0.3333....].
Multiply both sides by three.
The conclusion is that one equals [0.9999...].
What about within a world of infinitely diminishing values?
Was there not even an extremely minute difference like the size of a Point, one so infinitely small that it held no practical meaning?
There was absolutely no difference.
Even within a world of infinitely diminishing values, the two were completely identical numbers.
....It had reached the end.
A question occurred to me.
What made them different?
Both merely drew infinitely closer to something.
Yet why were their results so different?
One had unquestionably reached the end.
Then why was the other unable to reach it?
....I believe the answer lies here.
I do not yet know what it is.
But if I can discover the difference between the two, I will be able to understand infinity.
And thus, at the end of an infinity that possesses no end—
At the contradiction—
At the final destination—
I will finally reach the truth of this world.】
* * *
◆ Successor’s Will [EX] is resisting the Forgotten Unknown Record!
◆ 3,024 Sanity has accumulated!
Translucent messages flashed before my eyes.
At the same time, the memories that had lost their continuity returned in an instant.
“Urgh...!!”
....It felt as though my head were being torn apart.
A staggering 3,024 Sanity.
The overwhelming dizziness made it impossible to control my body properly.
My body was already overloaded from Predator [M], so I couldn’t maintain my balance.
I dropped to one knee and collapsed onto the floor.
“Haa...! Haa...!!”
I barely managed to draw one ragged breath after another.
Forcing myself to regain control, I recalled the memories from the vision.
Honestly, I didn’t fully understand what it meant. But it was identical to what had happened before.
It was like the vision I had witnessed after consuming Avarus with Predation [S+].
The speaker within the vision was the same.
Someone who called himself a Hero—
But someone who wasn’t Ian.
The contents, however, were different. In a way, the vision seemed to embody Memoria.
An entity that had tried to become infinitely close to me—
One that had sought to reach the end but had ultimately failed—
At that moment—
◆ You have acquired the Concept Skill, Limit [M]!
◆ Limit [M] : A state in which a certain concept approaches a specific value without limit. Based on the player’s [understanding of limits], the player can attempt to integrate this skill with a specific concept. When integrated, the state of the corresponding concept is converted into a Limit.
Contrary to my expectation that I would obtain an ability related to myself, I had acquired an entirely different skill.
It appeared to be an Authority belonging to the Commander of the Dark Legion—
In other words, an Authority belonging to the Monarch of Darkness.
That was even better.
It was an ability on another level even among those already on another level.
I had obtained a fragment of the Authority that even Ian had been unable to resist.
Its measured rank was [M], representing Myth.
It was also a Concept Skill like Infinite [M].
In other words, it was a skill that required understanding.
But for now, I simply attempted to integrate it with every available ability.
At that moment—
◆ The Concept Skill, Limit [M], is being integrated with Dragon’s Claw [A].
Unexpectedly, it began integrating with Dragon’s Claw [A].
◆ You have acquired the Fusion Skill, Monomolecular Blade [S].
◆ Monomolecular Blade [S] : The player consumes [50 kcal per second] to make the [contact area] touched by Dragon’s Claw [A] converge toward the Limit of [0].
As a result, the player severs [bonding structures] at the [molecular level], directly inflicting damage by [completely ignoring 100%] of the target’s [durability and defense], regardless of [the material].
<This skill can be toggled On/Off.>
<This skill is a Fusion Skill created through the fusion of Dragon’s Claw [A] and Limit [M].>
It was an insane skill.
Its measured rank was [S].
It was the same rank as Predatory Instinct [S].
Its effect completely ignored one hundred percent of durability and defense.
In other words, it was physically impossible to block.
Magical defenses, Aura protection, the mysteries of sorcery, and divine blessings were all meaningless before it.
It was the strongest and most powerful biological weapon.
It was truly an absurdly overpowered skill comparable to Predatory Instinct [S].
No—
In some ways, it was even more overpowered than Predatory Instinct [S].
The fact that Limit [M] was a Concept Skill made it even more ridiculous.
Like Infinite [M], Limit [M] could be integrated with other skills once my “understanding” of it increased.
But increasing that understanding wasn’t something I could accomplish immediately.
More importantly, I didn’t have time to worry about understanding it.
The battle wasn’t over.
The Abyssal She-Spider Carrying Fifty Thousand Young—
She still remained.
The Abyssal She-Spider was an Abyssal Legion Commander like Craulgarr.
However, unlike Iratum, Luseria had not yet been chosen.
Therefore, even if the Abyssal She-Spider had manifested through Luseria as a medium, she wouldn’t be able to maintain a complete manifestation.
Even so—
‘I can’t handle her.’
Seraphia couldn’t fight her alone.
They existed on entirely different dimensions.
Both figuratively and literally, their “dimensions” were different.
Even the Hero of the Coalition Forces, the Spirit Wielder, had been unable to confront the Abyssal She-Spider easily.
Wasn’t Seraphia someone who had once been afraid of Banshees and even Gremlins?
Mental Empathy [E] had its limits.
The unknowable terror presented by the Abyssal She-Spider—
Seraphia couldn’t overcome it.
I had to prevent Seraphia from awakening as the Monarch of Frost at all costs.
I had to move.
But at that moment—
“You!”
A shout suddenly came from behind me.
When I turned my head, I saw Leon running toward me in a hurry.
* * *
Adrian was trying to go somewhere.
Leon desperately ran toward him.
“You! Are you all right?!”
Seen up close, Adrian was in terrible condition.
He kept staggering as though merely supporting his own body was difficult.
Despite that, he remained fully conscious.
“Your Highness? How are you here? What about Seraphia...?”
“If you mean your sister, she’s right here.”
Leon carefully lowered Seraphia from his back. She remained motionless, as though dead.
However, the quiet sound of her gentle breathing could still be heard.
“Don’t worry. She merely lost consciousness for a moment.”
“What happened?”
“Something truly extraordinary happened.”
Leon briefly explained what had occurred earlier.
He described everything from the battle against Luseria to the desperate struggle against the Abyssal She-Spider.
As expected, Adrian’s eyes widened.
“Even moments before she lost consciousness, she desperately insisted that she had to help you.”
Leon looked at the unconscious Seraphia and shook his head once.
“More importantly, are you all right?”
Leon examined Adrian’s condition.
Adrian’s body was completely battered.
The fact that he was still standing was astonishing.
“Where were you planning to go in that condition?”
“I was going to help her.”
“In that condition?”
Even at a glance, his muscles were torn and his bones were practically screaming.
“Your Highness.”
Adrian suddenly spoke.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you for another favor.”
“Hm? What do you—”
Before Leon could finish speaking—
Adrian suddenly lost his balance.
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Adrian collapsed.
Leon didn’t even have time to catch him.
“H-Hey!”
Leon shook Adrian’s body violently.
But Adrian had completely lost consciousness and hung limply in his arms. Still, the quiet sound of his gentle breathing could be heard.
Leon sighed in relief.
Then he suddenly noticed something.
Adrian and Seraphia.
The two lay unconscious while facing each other.
Even after being battered to the point of unconsciousness, both had been filled with concern for the other.
Leon smiled.
Although they didn’t share even a single drop of blood….
“You really are siblings.”
The care they held for each other was deeper and stronger than any bond of blood.
* * *
The veil trembled and split apart in an instant.
Urgent footsteps rang out from every direction.
“How dare you cause a disturbance here!”
“This is a royal order. Please stand aside, Chief Palace Maid.”
“A royal order? Do you not know who resides here, Commander Lucas?”
“I know.”
“Then how could you—”
“We have received a royal order to arrest Her Majesty the Queen.”
“....What?”
“If you refuse to stand aside, you will be considered an accomplice to treason.”
“T-Treason?! What are you talking about...?”
The Chief Palace Maid, who had been arguing outside the door, became flustered.
Queen Marceline, who had been listening to the commotion from inside, was no different.
....This couldn’t be happening.
“How did this happen...?”
Queen Marceline’s eyes trembled violently.
The black veil that had covered the entire royal palace had been lifted.
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