Book 15 Chapter 39

To the city of water,

What? Give me my body back (2)

“When you became a Feyqourier, you received a small piece of Lord Yoshuhar’s Ruyi Orb. Okay up to here?”

“Huh…?”

“And this time, Rin’s Geumyeongjang was bound to her soul, and that’s also a fragment of Lord Yoshuhar’s Ruyi Orb, so you can say she’s under its influence.”

Originally, the act of extracting a soul and swapping bodies is the ultimate taboo.

More than anything, it doesn’t usually work on beings with strong physical bodies and souls. It means Feyqouriers are generally immune.

However, according to Friede’s hypothesis, since both their bodies are under the interference of the same Ruyi Orb, soul exchange would be possible.

“No, no! It can’t be! It’s morally wrong! And, above all, it’s physiologically wrong!”

As Rista’s face turned bright red in shock, Friede put his gombangdae in his mouth and his eyes gleamed.

“Hoo… I’m truly reluctant, but are you going to ignore the people suffering from the [King’s Flesh] in the Charcheol Empire? Was the origin of your sword actually a pretense?”

“Th-that…!”

“Rista, I think this way. To eradicate evil, one must eventually step into evil. What do you think, Rin?”

Rin stopped reading the grimoire and looked up at the sky for a moment.

Rista’s body?

Rista is the strongest in name and in reality. So, does this mean I can vicariously experience being the strongest through this opportunity?

“I’m good with it.”

“Y-you’re good with it?”

“I want to know through this opportunity.”

She meant she wanted to know about the strongest, but because Rin uttered it with a mature smile, the meaning was misinterpreted.

“I want to know your body.”

Rista’s face turned so red that steam seemed to be coming out, and she frantically waved her hands!

“No! Hearing that makes me think it’s even more impossible! Absolutely not!”

Friede put an arm around Rista’s shoulder and smiled cunningly.

“What’s the big deal, it’s fine. You’ll also learn more about Rin’s body, won’t you?”

“No no no no no no! Friede is a pervert! The pervert of perverts!”

“What kind of strange thoughts are you having? If you get to know a comrade’s body, it means you’ll know when they’re weak and at what moment they need help.”

“!”

“As a hero, as a party leader, wouldn’t that be important?”

“Ugh, ugh… If, if it’s like that…”

Friede secretly gave Kies a thumbs up behind Rista’s back. Baekchang-gung Serwebon extended a verdant branch to output Kies’s emotions! Master!

[b(=ㅅ=)d]

Then Friede threw the gombangdae at Kies’s forehead.

“Just giving a thumbs up would be enough! This crazy bastard is wasting so much time trying to show off his individuality!”

Meanwhile, Rista was gripping Rin’s shoulders tightly and imploring her.

“Rin, promise me instead. That you absolutely won’t do anything strange with my body.”

“I don’t know what the standard for ‘strange’ is, but I guess I just won’t do it.”

“Anything that goes against general standards, social standards, or ethical standards is a no-go. And above all, you can’t go to the bathroom! And no washing either!”

“Why no bathroom? If there’s no logical reason, it’s hard to accept.”

“If I say no, it’s no! If you don’t pinky swear, I’ll never switch.”

If enduring the bathroom for a bit means being able to experience the body of the [Strongest]… it wouldn’t be a losing trade.

“Hmph, easy enough. I promise.”

Sval, who somehow felt nothing but an uneasy premonition about the invisible parallel lines of this conversation, could only sigh!

“Kyuu…”

* * *

Thus, Rista and Rin lay on the deck, crown to crown, as per Friede’s instructions.

To increase the resonance value of the Ruyi Orb, Rin had to hold the Geumyeongjang with both hands over her chest.

Friede used moonstones (月石) imbued with moonlight to densely carve rune letters onto the deck, then simultaneously pulled out three Psalm scrolls from his waist.

“The power of the Myeongse Psalm is area-wide slowdown, it will lower not only physical movement but also metabolism as much as possible to reduce the bond between body and soul.”

To do that, the first thing to do was to deploy the Omunsipyeon and Sinaesipyeon to encircle Rin and Rista.

The power of the Omunsipyeon is an area-wide barrier; this barrier's power prevents the two souls from ascending instead of moving into each other’s bodies.

And through the area-wide healing power of the Sinaesipyeon, it prevents damage to the body when the soul momentarily leaves it.

“Are both of you ready? Then, here we go!”

The rune letters began to glow in the reverse order of their carving.

The priestess exerting her full power was a sight that money couldn't buy, so all the sailors climbed onto the deck or mast to watch the spectacle.

Chains of deceleration, with an invisible force, wrapped around their bodies, and a barrier of light double-enveloped them.

Psalm incantations are communication with creation.

To gaze upon the will of creation with a mortal body, one must shave down their soul.

As a reaction to chanting three powerful Psalms consecutively, which had a huge cost, blood poured from Friede’s nose and eyes.

Finally, as all the runes poured out light, the light surrounding the two also reached its peak… just as all the light seemed to go out for an instant, it then surged wildly in a golden brilliance.

“Is it a success…!”

The shockwave of that explosion spread across the entire sea.

In the sudden, powerful wind pressure, Friede had to hold his pointed hat down tightly so it wouldn't fly off.

Kies, who was leaning against the ship's rail and sipping a beer, had all his beer spilled on his face by the storm that made his clothes flap wildly.

And then, a moment of silence…

In the epicenter of light… where the afterimages of the three Psalms’ powers still shimmered like a heat haze, the first person to rise was Rista.

“Who is it? Rista? Rin?”

Friede asked.

Rista glanced at Friede, then let out a wicked guffaw.

“Hee, hee, heehahahahahahahaha! Mana rising endlessly, truly infinite! This is truly the ultimate body! Now everything shall bow at my feet!”

A cold shiver ran down Friede’s spine. Kies immediately gripped his Baekchang-gung.

‘Th-this can’t be… did it fail?’

Did both their souls disappear elsewhere, and some wicked being took over the bodies instead? Was this divine retribution for violating a taboo!

“Good. With this line, one more item on the [Strongest Mage’s Bucket List] achieved.”

Nope, it’s not.

“Ugh, this crazy bastard is confusing people!”

Friede immediately swung the gombangdae of retribution, but to his astonishment, the gombangdae cut through the air, and Friede tumbled forward.

‘F-fast…!’

The Feyqourier’s body is a product of human modification.

With Rista’s body, whose five senses were extremely amplified, easily dodging this level of attack was no problem.

And Rin, while she was at it, decided to achieve one more line from the [Strongest Mage’s Bucket List].

“How slow… even in collapsing.”

The next moment, what struck the playfully teasing Rin’s abdomen was… the staff of light, Geumyeongjang.

“Cough…!”

An area where even senses amplified to an inhumane level couldn’t react, truly a strike that slipped through the gaps of breath!

“Huk, heok, heueuk…”

Rista painfully realized that she wasn’t the strongest *because* her body was good; she was just the strongest *in herself*.

“You promised you wouldn’t play any strange tricks with my body, right? I seem to recall a pinky swear, too, isn’t that strange? Did I dream it? Doesn’t seem like it.”

Rin (Rista), gasping for breath as if about to vomit from Rista (Rin)’s blow, eventually fell to her knees. Rista (Rin) smiled eerily.

“Rin, attention.”

“Att-attention…”

“Your movements are sluggish and your voice is small, aren’t they? Is my sincerity not getting through? Attention again.”

At that presence, which chilled even the air, Friede stepped back, sweating profusely.

“Pipi, I might have awakened an ancient demon of the abyss…”

“Scary, scary, scary.”

“It’s all my fault, because I broke the taboo…!”