Elven Village Siege, Part 6

Potimas' Perspective

Watching Ariel crouched on the monitor screen.

A long, truly long acquaintance.

Among all the years of my life, Ariel ranks alongside Guriédistdies and Dustin as one of the longest-standing adversaries I’ve known.

Yet even such a prolonged rivalry ends with startling abruptness.

Ariel likely does not understand why he lies fallen.

Perhaps he has already lost consciousness.

If so, then dying peacefully—like falling asleep—might be an ideal way to go.

As I declared earlier, I can end this without suffering.

A final gesture of respect, in my own way, to a long-time enemy.

Foolish.

I’m becoming unusually sentimental.

That must mean Ariel’s presence has been significant in my life.

Unfathomable, really.

What I once considered a negligible failure has now grown to oppose me.

If that is the case, perhaps among the discarded relics I cast aside, there was, by chance, a talent that would later blossom.

Of course, such an occurrence is a miracle—nothing short of sifting gold from a mountain of refuse.

Spending time searching for such a gem is far less productive than mining a new gold vein elsewhere.

Ariel is a miracle, a singular, one-of-a-kind phenomenon.

That is precisely why she is both precious and irksome.

If only one thing had been different—just one—she might have been at my side.

She might have served as my right hand, without worshipping some trivial goddess.

Then I would not have called her a failure, or a mere girl, but treated her as a true daughter.

The thought provokes an irrational anger.

I understand that hypothetical speculation serves no purpose, yet I still feel this way—because what was lost was too significant.

Yet in reality, we are adversaries. He lies here, prostrate.

Ariel’s condition results from poison-induced unconsciousness.

Not a simulated toxin from the system, but a chemical poison.

If the poison originated from the system, Poison Resistance would neutralize it.

But that effect applies only to system-generated toxins, not to genuine poisons.

A truly absurd contradiction.

Using magical attacks disguised as poison, then claiming resistance to poison to endure them.

That is how the system generates skill energy.

Ariel has lived within the system for years.

Thus, she believes poison holds no effect on her.

Naturally occurring toxins are nullified by the system. Only synthetic imitations remain.

It is not surprising she believes this.

Indeed, the system is utterly arbitrary.

It distorts every natural law, alters the fundamental nature of the world, and then forces living beings within it to consume energy.

I attempted countless times to create a toxin the system could not erase. In the end, I failed.

That failure, which felt like defeat, is now a nostalgic memory.

Though the system embodies such absurdity, it is not without flaws.

Ariel’s poisoning and unconscious state are proof of that.

The toxin driving Ariel to the brink of death is carbon dioxide.

Upon reflection, it is obvious. Toxins are not a singular category. Their variety is vast.

Some substances are poisons, yet indispensable to this world.

The most prominent example is carbon dioxide.

Not only humans, but the vast majority of organisms absorb oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide is then absorbed by plants and released as oxygen.

This cycle cannot be overturned by any system.

Thus, carbon dioxide cannot be eradicated from this world.

Carbon dioxide, which becomes a potent toxin at high concentrations.

The rest is simple.

Disperse large quantities of carbon dioxide into an enclosed space.

At elevated concentrations, it causes respiratory failure, induces confusion of consciousness, and ultimately results in death.

Even if one wields power beyond natural law through systemic advantage, the body remains undeniably biological.

As a biological entity, one cannot escape the laws of nature.

Systemic forces and divine powers resembling them appear to disregard principle, yet they are not entirely outside of it.

They appear to be beyond principle, yet a fixed set of rules remains.

They seem capable of anything, but this is merely the manifestation of miracles through equivalent exchange—requiring vast energy consumption. Without sufficient energy to execute the process, realization remains impossible.

Even with energy available, the procedural framework must be understood.

Magic is not the creation of something from nothing.

Hypothesis only: what I term energy may well be a state preceding the atom.

Matter undergoes phase changes—solid, liquid, gas. Thus, a preceding state to atoms, and by extension to matter itself, is not implausible.

That is energy.

Magic is the technique of manipulating energy, converting it into matter through interference.

Therefore, transforming energy into oxygen, or conversely reducing carbon dioxide back into energy, is theoretically possible.

Thus, Ariel avoiding Gloria’s attack at the last moment, and rising despite her body being saturated with carbon dioxide, is not implausible.

Indeed.

It appears he properly understood the process required to break this situation.

Even with energy present, magic—this miracle—cannot occur without the knowledge to manipulate it.

If Ariel possessed the internal energy, self-treatment of carbon dioxide poisoning and continued combat would not be impossible.

If he knew.

And Ariel did know.

That was why he could stand.

Truly, a most regrettable outcome.

And yet, despite possessing such power, such knowledge, he must still crush it. That is how it is.

To stand is commendable.

But the magical interference barrier has not vanished. The carbon dioxide concentration indoors has not decreased.

Ariel must fight Gloria within this environment.

Miracles wrought by magic require energy.

Without sufficient energy, execution is impossible.

Then, how long can Ariel endure?

He maintains physical enhancement internally to resist the magical interference barrier, continuously treats carbon dioxide poisoning, and fights Gloria.

This is the answer I derived, anticipating confrontation with Guriédistidies.

Gods are beings whose energy levels are incomparably greater.

And as biological entities, they cannot escape the laws of nature.

Even if it harbors an immense amount of energy.

Even if it performs a miracle-like technique—so long as it is powered by energy, that energy can be drained.

A stage for that purpose.

A Gloria Type Ω.

Gloria Type Ω specializes in endurance.

Capable of fighting continuously—whether for a day, a week, a month—indestructible.

Once I've cleared the outside, I'll keep fighting with you.

Until you die, Ariel.