The Mage of Primordial Chaos

Chapter 514 – Trapped

"Uh… hi there," I said awkwardly in reply, unsure of what to say back to a god when they greeted you.

"Long time no see, Sister Aquira," Terrarim said in my soul, and Aquira nodded as if acknowledging his words.

"Yes. It has truly been a long time. And Aerim… you, I see, are as annoying as ever."

"E-Eek!" Aerim squealed as she was caught, and obediently took off her invisibility. She had been trying to sneak up behind Aquira and prank her, but it failed miserably. After all, Aquira's known Aerim since… well, since the world was created. 

"In any case…" Aquira cleared her throat. "You passed all of my tests, so you shall receive your due reward. Come closer, child."

It felt weird being called a 'child' by a woman who looked to be not much older than I was, but I knew better than to argue with a god. She could pass for my older sister, but it's whatever.

Stepping closer to her until we were mere inches apart, I came to a stop.

"Is this fine?" I asked, but she did not respond.

Instead, she suddenly took a step forward herself, and brought her faces close together.

"—!"

"W-Wha…!" The girls watching all dropped their jaws in shock, and I was completely frozen still. As Aquira's lips touched mine, I felt my brain cease function, and my body lose all sense of movement.

Before I knew it, however, she had pulled away. But me? I was still left in a state of utter shock and surprise.

"Uh…"

"Done," she said. "I have given you your reward."

"W-Wait, what?" I cut in. "That was my reward?!"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Uh… how do I put this… I was expecting some sort of power… I don't know…"

"What are you talking about?" Aquira asked, narrowing her eyes. "That is exactly what I gave you."

"H-Huh?" I blinked, confused and dazed.

"What she means to say is that kiss just now was just her method of giving it to you, idiot," Aerim said with a snicker. "Really, you have so many beauties around you, but you still get so flustered at getting kissed? How pitiful."

"There's a significant difference between having girls around me and getting kissed by a literal goddess," I replied, frowning. "Besides… I doubt you've even kissed anyone before, have you? So shut it."

"W-W-What are you talking about, mortal?! O-Of course I have… kissed someone before…"

"Yeah… sure you have," I muttered, shaking my head. "Anyway, what's the power I received? I don't particularly feel any different."

In response, Aquira only lifted her arm at me. And in her hand…

… Was a gun.

"W-Whoa there! Where the hell did you get that fr-"

She pulled the trigger.

"—!"

I froze as the bullet penetrated my heart, and…

And… nothing happened.

I glanced down at my body, and there wasn't even a wound there where the bullet had pierced me. At the moment of impact, I had felt it enter and exit my chest, but it didn't hurt. My organs weren't even damaged either.

"… What just happened…?" Lan Xiao Su murmured in shock, and I could only blink at her.

"That's what I'm wondering too…"

"I see… Master, your body has turned into water," Mei Gui explained after some observation.

I froze. "… Come again?"

Mei Gui touched my chest, poked it a little, then rubbed her chin.

"Hm… it would seem your body will only automatically turn to water against a hostile force."

"… You can't be serious. Does that mean I'm immune from all physical attacks now?"

"In essence, yes," Aquira replied, finally lowering her gun that I still don't know how the hell she got. "However, like any other material entity, water is not infinite. Every time you take an attack, a little bit of water in your body will disappear. Eventually, only your real flesh will remain, and you will be rendered vulnerable. The water will replenish itself over time, but take care not to rely on it too much."

"I see… but uh… where did you get that gun, first of all?"

"Oh… so this device is called a gun," Aquira murmured to herself, inspecting the pistol up and down in her hand. "How interesting. It was in an ocean somewhere, and I simply pulled it. All water is part of my body, after all."

"So… even I'm part of your body now?" I arched an eyebrow.

"You could say that, yes."

"Huh…"

Also, who the hell thought it would be a good idea to just toss a loaded gun into the ocean?

"Well, now that we've got what we came for, let's head back," Lan Xiao Su said, stretching her arms. "Whew… that was a journey."

"Right. But…" I turned to Aquira. "Can you… uh, live, outside water?"

"There is water everywhere, child. Thus, I am everywhere. In your tears, in your sweat, in your-"

"Alright, I get it, that's enough, thanks. What I meant to ask was… are you going to be staying in my soul as well, like Terrarim and Aerim?"

"… Hm, yes, I suppose I shall. There is must to catch up on, after all."

"Don't worry, kiddo. Our discussions won't distract you," Terrarim added friendlily. 

They better not.

*****

With that, our return trip was easy. Aquira simply sent us directly to the surface of the ocean with her powers, and we emerged completely dry and unscathed. The only problem was… where the hell was the boat?

"… This… doesn't look like… where we went… in," Yu An Xue muttered, glancing around at our surroundings. Yes, we were still in the middle of nowhere, but there was definitely a difference between where we dove underwater in the morning and here. The atmosphere… felt different.

"What's going on…" Lan Xiao Su asked herself, trying to search for any clues but to no avail.

I narrowed my eyes. "Aquira… I'm going to go ahead and assume this isn't your doing?"

"It is not. I merely sent you all to the surface. Theoretically speaking, you should have emerged directly where you entered my temple hours earlier."

"Then that means on the way up… we were teleported, somehow."

"… Master, I am sensing a powerful hostile signature nearby," Mei Gui suddenly said. "Be careful."

"… It's got to be them," I muttered, and after glancing around, I hollered. "Hey! Mr. Cardinal of the Midnight Syndicate! We know you're there! Why don't you stop being a coward and come face us head-on?"

Despite knowing full well such a taunting strategy was not going to work on an opponent who was beginning their fight with us like this, I still decided to use it anyway. Surprisingly enough, I actually received a response—but naturally, the opponent didn't truly show themselves.

"Heheheheh…" An old woman cackled, voice aged and creepy. "You've fallen straight into my trap, just as intended… kukukukuku… don't even think about escaping now…"

The laughter faded away into the wind, and I furrowed my brows a little.

"… Well then. Thanks for uh, letting us know." 

Then, turning to the girls, I sighed.

"… Looks like we have no choice but to try and break out of here. Mei Gui, you carry Xiao Su. I'll carry An Xue—we can get a better view from the sky."

Mei Gui nodded in agreement, and together, we took off into the air, each of us carrying one. But even after we flew far high up… there was nothing in the distance but endless sea.

It was almost as if we had been transported to an alternate pocket dimension with no way out. Eventually, we would starve to death—it would seem that was the goal of whoever trapped us here.

I had to admit, it was a smart tactic. Certainly a lot more devious than the wolfman who challenged me head-on. It was clear just from their method of attacking that they were a lot more experienced in doing this kind of thing—and a lot more evil at the same time. 

Too bad…

I had the perfect counter.

Forbidden Magic — Zero.

A pulse of black and red chaos energy shot out from my body, not damaging anyone or anything. Rather, it served to erase anything made of magic—if I had to guess, this was just some kind of glorified version of the domain Ling Xin once trapped me in. Following that logic, if my Forbidden Magic worked on that, then it should work on this too.

However… contrary to my expectations… it didn't.

"… What's wrong, Master?" Mei Gui asked.

"… Zero. It's not working here, for whatever reason."

"Impossible. Zero erases everything created by magic—"

"What if it's not created by magic?" Lan Xiao Su interjected, deep in thought. "I mean… it doesn't necessarily have to be created by magic, no? If these people are truly experimenting with antimagic, it wouldn't make sense for them to use magic themselves."

"That's true," I muttered in reply. "My father told me all Four Cardinals each have their own reasons for hating magic… if that's the case, then they shouldn't use it."

"But if it's not magic…" Mei Gui narrowed her eyes, glancing out at the horizon that seemed to have no end. "… Just what is it?"

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