Chapter 575: Body complains, but upright?
Without a doubt, the newly appeared skill "Oath Stake" was crafted by Morgan’s hand.
Unlike the systems of "Mirror," "Tower," "Garden," and "Coffin," "Stake" was a grand magic that Reiger was unaware of in the original story.
This grand magic surely was the cause behind the emergence of the skill "Oath Stake."
"The blessing of fairies, huh?"
Reiger furrowed his brow, sinking into deep thought.
From the description of this skill, it indeed seemed to be a blessing as Morgan stated, just a special kind of blessing.
What the effects of this blessing were, Reiger had yet to learn.
However, the question of why he had lost his strength when he intended to attack Morgan might have been answered.
The reason for such an occurrence was due to one of the effects of "Oath Stake"—"Limited to a specific individual, strength cannot be exerted when facing each other as enemies."
In other words, when Reiger was the enemy of the "specific individual" referred to in the description of the skill’s effect, his strength would be rendered ineffective.
And who this "specific individual" was had become a matter that required no further speculation.
Who else could it be but Morgan?
"So, if I were to stand against Morgan and lay a hand on her, my power would be negated,"
"Conversely, if Morgan were to become my enemy and try to strike me, her power would also be rendered ineffective."
"Since this isn’t a purely negative effect, but a condition underlying the establishment of the skill itself, and considering the target is neither my body nor my spirit, but the power within me, is that why neither my ’Abnormal Resistance’ growth ability nor the ’Self-redemption’ skill effect took hold?"
That was likely the reason why Reiger eventually lost his power.
"As for the ’Unique Garden’ crafted specifically for me, its target isn’t myself but rather the space where the battlefield resides, a part of the world."
"When the ’Unique Garden’ unfolds, the world as the battlefield’s part gets sealed off. No magic power, magic, or spells can emerge within this sealed world, which is why I couldn’t use magic at that time, right?"
"This is the same principle as the ’Light of the Celestial Pillar’ found in the King’s palace of the Ginas Kingdom; it’s an antimagic sphere acting over an area, not on an individual."
It was not interfering with Reiger himself but with the world that allowed magic power, magic, and spells to exist.
Therefore, the ’Unique Garden’ Morgan unfolded could affect Reiger and strip him of his magic power.
Having realized all these things, Reiger didn’t feel relieved; instead, he fell into an even deeper and heavier doubt.
"Why does she know me so well?"
This was very abnormal.
Reiger had never had any contact with Morgan, and it had only been a few days since he had arrived in this world; before that, there wasn’t even a person named "Reiger Brillhaut" in this world.
The people who had come into contact with Reiger were limited, aside from Altoria, there were only enemies like Woodworth, Gawain, and Lancelot.
Yet, Morgan’s "Stake" and "Garden" were clearly developed with him in mind, based on an understanding of Reiger’s unique characteristics and developed to specifically counter his abilities and effects.
This only meant one thing, that Morgan knew him very well, understood his capabilities, or else she couldn’t have tailored these measures so specifically.
For this purpose, Morgan even openly admitted that she had spent a full thousand years on developing these two strategies.
In other words, Morgan knew of Reiger’s existence a thousand years ago, or maybe even earlier, and began developing "Stake" and a new "Garden" to counter him.
"...Why is this?"
Reiger’s expression began to fluctuate with uncertainty.
"Could it be..."
A boldly speculative thought emerged in Reiger’s mind, and even though his furrowed brow relaxed slightly, he still didn’t feel at ease and continued to ponder.
Reiger pondered for a long time.
"Sigh."
After a while, Reiger let out a breath.
"Forget it. I won’t think about it now. Let’s see how things unfold."
Saying that, Reiger stood up, left the throne, and walked toward the empty wall behind it.
He approached the wall, stood at the edge of the outward-facing floor, and gazed out.
This gaze revealed a startling view before Reiger’s eyes.
Outside the throne room was neither a bustling district nor a beautiful landscape, but an enormous void.
This vast void lay above the earth, as if the world itself bore a hole, exuding an overwhelming presence and a suffocating oppressiveness.
The fortress known as Camelot was situated in front of this great abyss, backed against a cliff. Looking down from it, one could see the endless black depths below.
From where Reiger stood, a mere jump would send him plunging from Camelot into the abyss, consumed by the endless darkness.
"..."
Rather than being shocked by this appalling sight, Reiger looked steadily down as if he already had the mental preparation to face it.
"[Flight]."
Before long, Reiger cast a spell and his entire body lifted into the air.