Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 307
TL: Elphie / PR: Marm
Irene bit her lip hard as she stared at the Impossibility, her gaze shifting to the scene unfolding before her.
“This is…”
A distant past she remembered was spreading out before her.
A priest grasping her small hand, eyes wide with surprise. People rushing over.
And before long, the well-dressed gentleman who had come to take her away.
âCount Rhodiam.â
What the Impossibility was showing her was her childhood.
The images before her flickered and changed rapidly.
Smack!
The count’s hand struck her cheek. The moment she saw it, she knew exactly when this was.
The day she had been judged as a Grade 10.
Unconsciously, Irene raised a hand to touch her own cheek.
This wasnât an illusion. Everything she was seeing had truly happened. Every memory was real.
The Impossibility was severing pieces of time and thrusting them before Ireneâs eyes.
Was that why?
Though it was a distant past, every memory came back to her as vividly as if it had just happened. The despair she had felt, the painâeverything.
The Impossibility continued to show her the hardships she had endured.
When she saw the moment Michael had turned away from her, a cold ache pierced deep into her chest, as if something inside her was being carved out.
It showed her death. Every agonizing moment she remembered.
And then, at the instant of her death, the scene changed.
Before her stretched a beautiful world, one created solely for her.
Looking at it, Irene felt ashamed.
Because what lay bare before her was the deepest desire she had hidden away.
Unmatched talent and ability, something no one could dare to challenge.
Parents who showered her with love, willing to endure anything for her sake.
Friends who comforted and supported her.
And even a Michael who was kind only to her.
It was a childish, blind, selfish, yet pure desire.
And because of that, the world before her was irresistibly sweet.
A world crafted from only the best things, so much so that Irene couldn’t look away.
It was only after a while that she finally turned back to the Impossibility.
And in that moment, she understood.
This wasnât a proposal. It was a threat disguised as one.
As she learned more about the Impossibilityâs abilities, Irene had questioned something.
It possessed such an overwhelming power, yet its monster rank was lower than Michaelâs. Why?
If it could create new worlds and even bring back those who once existed.
Wasnât the Impossibility practically an omnipotent god?
If that were the case, it wouldnât have needed to go through the trouble of choosing Michael for its amusement.
It could have simply âcreatedâ such a being.
But the Impossibility had deliberately waited for the existence of someone like Michael.
And not only that, it had only allowed Irene to exist after the creation of tens of millions of worlds.
What if that wasnât just its mischievous nature?
What if that was the limit of its power?
Irene turned her gaze to the worlds the Impossibility had created.
Though each had its subtle differences, they were all fundamentally based on the world she and Michael had once lived in.
As if they were copies of the original world. But never perfect copies.
Irene reconsidered the true nature of the Impossibilityâs ability.
âYou don’t have the power to create a new world.â
If that was the caseâ
âYou can only tamper with time. Thatâs whyâŚâ
The Impossibility had simply replicated things that once existed and stitched them together.
The world they had lived in, and Irene who had died. Everything had merely been copied from a moment right before its disappearance and relocated elsewhere.
Irene thought back to the âimperfectâ version of herself that Michael had seen.
Michael had thought it was merely the Impossibility toying with him.
âBut that wasnât it.â
More likely, those imperfections were traces of failure.
And as Michael had slaughtered countless monsters, the Impossibility had likely fed on that blood, growing stronger with each kill.
Only after that had it finally managed to pull her from the past.
Irene wasnât sure why it had been so difficult to bring her back, but the most plausible reason was that she was too deeply connected to Michael.
Now that she had grasped more of the Impossibilityâs nature, she understood what it was truly using to threaten her.
âIf I destroy you, youâll send me back to my most miserable moment.â
To when she was a Grade 10 purifierâa worthless existence, no better than trash, a girl about to be sold off like a slave to some aging merchant.
And if she went back to that momentâŚ
Irene bit her lip. Michael had perished using the Holy Sword against himself, his monster rank having sealed his fate.
And the lingering fragments of his memories had faded, erased as she passed through them.
If she shattered the last world the Impossibility had created⌠if she destroyed the Impossibility itselfâŚ
Then, with its final ability, it would cast her back to the moment when she had been at her weakest, her most insignificant.
âHahâŚâ
A dry laugh slipped from her lips. She chuckled again, softly, a sound like a sigh. Then her gaze turned cold as she stared down at the Impossibility.
âThe fact that you, who mocked me all this time, have resorted to threats must mean youâre finally cornered.â
Even as she spoke, her eyes flickered toward that world she had dreamed of.
She remembered its sweetness.
A world without pain, without wounds. A world where she had spent her days laughing, unburdened, happy.
A world where everything she had ever wished for had come true.
If she stopped fighting now, the Impossibility would return her to that world.
For a long moment, she let herself recall that happiness. Then, she smirked bitterly.
That world had been her dream.
And dreams, eventually, must end.
Irene tightened her grip on the dagger. Just one last strike remained.
With all her strength, she drove the blade down toward the Impossibility.
Bzzzzt!
A blinding light flared, searing her vision.
Just like before, the final world the Impossibility had created clashed against the dagger.
But this time, the resistance was stronger than anything she had faced before.
[Your Majesty!]
Chomp-chomp grabbed onto Irene with its tentacles, but even so, she was being pushed back by the fierce winds.
She clenched her hands tighter around the dagger.
She had to erase it.
She had to erase her own dream.
She had to erase this wretched artifactâs existence.
And if she did, then the world in which Michael had been erased would disappear as well.
Then the fact that he had used the Holy Sword to destroy himself would vanish, too.
But even so, even if she erased it all, there was no guarantee he would return.
She had seen with her own eyes the memories of him fading away.
Still, this was the only thing Irene could do.
The final world was being pulled into the dagger.
Once it was gone, nothing would be left to protect the Impossibility.
She watched as the last remnants of that world were consumed. And then, the space around her began to distort.
Clang!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out as the dagger in her grasp trembled violently.
And in the very instant the last world vanished.
Crack.
The dagger she was holding began to fracture.
Deep, jagged cracks raced along the blade, splitting it apart until there came a soft, crumbling sound as it disintegrated into dust.
â……!â
Irene couldnât make a sound. She could only stare blankly, frozen in shock.
After a moment, a loud laughter echoed from the darkness.
The laughter of the Impossibility.
[T-ThisâŚ!]
Even Chomp-chomp, which had been holding the Impossibility, flailed in panic.
No matter how high Ireneâs monster rank was, the only reason she had been able to fight the Impossibility was because of the daggerâs power of annihilation.
Without it, erasing entire worlds would have been impossible.
And now, the only thing capable of attacking the Impossibility was gone.
The laughter grew louder.
Even Chomp-chomp and the earless Hand of Appraisal struggled as the overwhelming mockery crushed down on them, suffocating and immense.
The Impossibility began to vibrate.
It was telling Irene exactly what had happened.
The tables had turned.
[ Now what will you do? ]
Words formed in the air.
Irene knew exactly what the Impossibility wanted.
It wanted to watch her crumbleâcompletely and utterlyâjust a step away from victory. To mock her as she fell into despair.
[ You canât do anything anymore. ]
The words exuded the Impossibilityâs joy. Just before the last world was annihilatedâwhen space had distortedâthis thing had clearly gathered every last bit of its remaining power to do something.
“Nothing I can do⌔
Irene murmured, her gaze fixed on the Impossibility.
Then, she reached out and grabbed it from the air.
And as she did, she issued an order to Chomp-chomp, who was still tightly wrapped around the Impossibility.
“Chomp-chomp, let go.”
[What? But if I release it nowâŚ]
“Hurry!”
At Ireneâs command, Chomp-chomp hesitated before reluctantly uncoiling its tentacles.
The ends of several tendrils quivered, shedding silent tears.
Just a little more.
Just a little more, and they could have brought His Majesty back.
Just a little more, and they could have finally erased this wretched Impossibility.
Chomp-chomp, now withdrawn into Ireneâs bag, left only a few tendrils hanging out, watching as Irene and the Impossibility faced each other.
A single step back was no longer an option. If nothing else, she had to protect herself.
The Impossibility remained, resting calmly in her grasp.
As if watching with idle curiosity, amused by what she would attempt now that she no longer had any artifacts to wield against it.
“You must think I have nothing left.â
The laughter grew louder in response, as if confirming her assumption.
But Irene, rather than faltering, smiled along with it.
The Impossibility fell silent.
Irene tightened her grip.
“Artifacts are all born from the monster realm. Which means you, too, are a monster.”
Her gaze dropped to the ring on her finger.
The one he had given her.
Michael.
And along with that ring, he had left her something else.
Irene drew forth every last ounce of purification within her.
SCREEEEEEEEEE!
