Chapter 408 – The Final Battle (3)

‘Is it Cornus? What happened?’

The reason for contacting Champi to protect Cornus wasn’t solely because Champi felt guilty towards her. It was also because Champi possessed enough power to protect Cornus without causing her harm.

[Sigh… I can’t move right now.]

Despite this, the fact that Cornus escaped meant there was only one possibility.

[My magic power is completely drained. I don’t even know what happened. I’m sorry.]

‘Signs of awakening.’

Champi didn’t respond any further, as if they had lost consciousness.

-Thud!

As I attempted to get up, I suddenly felt an intense pain in my chest. It was as if my heart was being tightly gripped and twisted in someone’s hand. At the same time, an overwhelming wave of nausea swept over me, causing me to lower my head.

“Eugh, ugh… Ughhh!”

The sound of retching echoed off the walls of the alley.

Globs of jelly-like black blood welled up in his mouth, filling his throat before spilling out.

The play of light and shadow before his eyes wavered.
He couldn’t even muster the strength to keep his head up.
Head drooping, his limbs went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

‘Not yet.’

Dying here would be far from a trivial issue.
Gritting his teeth, he tensed his legs.
He planted his feet on the floor and, with a quivering arm, leaned against the rusty drum beside him for support.

‘Sargenti.’
[Yes.]
‘Come to me immediately.’
[Understood.]

He leaned to the right and walked. Each time he stumbled, his head struck the stone wall, scraping off his flesh.

“Huff…huff…”

Even on the brink of death, he couldn’t think of anything.

In all honesty, there seemed to be no way to survive. His current physical condition made that abundantly clear.

Should he have delayed this a bit longer?
No. The time was right.

The World Tree’s restraint will only grow more severe. Even the Flower has a force targeting me.

My master believes that my problem solely concerns the World Tree and thinks there must be a way to save me somehow. The issue isn’t that, though; it’s my cursed fate.

【Fate】

Heir to the king.

-Fishik.

I can’t help but laugh, even as I’m dying.

I am the subject of that prophecy. To my knowledge, both the Flower’s ‘prophecy’ and the World Tree’s ‘oracle’ were supposed to be quite abstract. The fact that Tae-yang found me through brute force speaks to this. And even that can be perceived as a miracle intertwined with my own fortune.

‘Still, I managed to figure it out somehow.’

When I first met Angelica, the principal of El Academy, she merely harbored suspicions about me and never went as far as to scrutinize me further. If she had known that I was the successor to King Mokryeong, our relationship would never have remained so ambiguous.

The World Tree likely discovered too late that I was the successor to King Mokryeong.

I can’t pinpoint when that realization occurred.

…I even wonder if it’s truly possible.
Having breached Cheondo’s information network, the era’s most formidable military force,
and with the user wielding spatial magic of nearly unmatched difficulty limitlessly,
how could anyone discern that I was King Mokryeong’s heir in such circumstances?
It’s possible that the authority of the World Trees enabled this revelation.

‘Initially, I thought that if I performed well enough, I could simply bypass the issue.’

The situation involving the World Tree was worse than anything else.

The majority of the World Tree’s military strength was engaged in confronting the Flower, and from the middle, there emerged a conflict of opinions with the World Tree of Prosperity. Subsequently, the Flower’s acts of terror ignited the war. The Cornus family, the most powerful aristocratic force, maintained close ties with the Flower, making early subjugation an absolute necessity. The United States, which was the World Tree’s greatest source of power, was embroiled in a civil war, resulting in countless intelligence agents and S-class hunters being excluded from the available forces.

Despite the circumstances, the speed at which my neck was being constricted was extraordinary. Perhaps even if I hadn’t stepped up myself, it was clear that my neck would have been targeted within a few weeks.

Thus, now was the optimal time to act.

‘…’

However, the more I consider it, the more unjust it feels.

Still,
it truly hasn’t been a full year yet.

In fact, until June, I had done nothing but train. It’s only been four months since I started making moves that could be considered a thorn in their side. The seasons have changed just once, yet my breath continues to constrict.

As a young sprout, I knew nothing. In the summer, I bloomed flowers and fruits so carefree, preparing for decline in the autumn, and in winter, only the withered branches remained.

– Gritting.

I bit my teeth and regained my composure.

“…How.”

I continued to advance, murmuring obsessively.

“How to save Sansuyu alone… The teacher can escape on their own. If only I could somehow pinpoint the location-”

Lost in my deepening thoughts, a sudden question disrupted them.

‘How do I find Sansuyu now?’

I had assumed that, even with her awakening, I could fend her off with just a bit of strain. But that wasn’t the case.

As this realization struck me, a wave of anxiety washed over my entire being. What if my master chose death instead of fleeing? What if Se-Young or Byul were to fall?

All the legal and political mechanisms I had put in place to protect them would become utterly useless.

‘…’

Failure. The word echoed in my head before dissipating.

My feet kept moving, and before I knew it, I had left the hidden alley behind. As my vision cleared, I saw brazen assailants charging towards me on the now-exposed road.

Edward, the representative of the World Tree of Strength.

A man with black hair, red eyes, and wielding a sword pointed its tip in my direction.

“…Huh.”

A single, hollow laugh escaped my lips. The moment I tried to lift my feet to run, my body crumpled forward.

-Swoosh!

A leg severed with a clean cross-section just below the knee.

-Thud!

As I fell, my head scraping against the rough ground, I strained to muster my magic and invoked a wind spell. For a brief moment, my body floated and moved forward.

Turning my head, I saw the barrel of a gun.

‘…’

Bang. Bang. The echoing sounds of two gunshots. One pierced through my heart muscle, and the other accurately penetrated my forehead.

Death came so suddenly, it felt utterly futile.

The gun, which couldn’t even kill a mere monster, had used up all the power within my innate energy and energy center, completely devastating my body that had already fallen beneath that of an ordinary person.

Thoughts ceased, leaving only my visual cells barely alive.

Hearing, smell – one by one, my senses vanished, and a bitter smile formed on my lips. As if to confirm my death, a sword passed through my head.

-Swish.

From beneath the right eye, across the nose, and up to the left corner of the mouth.
I felt an illusion as if something was gliding upon my face.

* * * * * * * * *

One. Before long, the perpetrator shall emerge.

A human nurtured in the cradle of a lone tree will bind or reap the limbs of two demons.

Those who do not become kings will be taken by my sons.

—The king’s tome inscribed within the tomb, “From the End to the Stirrings”

“Breaking news. The government has announced the confirmation of deaths from disasters classified as S-class, beginning with the heretical Gangdong catastrophe on October 18th.”

“The ongoing suppression of the heads of Mokrang and Do-won-hyang has yet to be resolved. To address this issue, Mugung, the president of the Korea Hunter Association, along with Angelica, Azeline, and Edward, representatives of the World Tree, have been called upon—”

It was a situation akin to the Cornus family.

Swallowing Lee Si-heon could be a double-edged sword. Some Flowers were cautious, fearing the collapse of the delicate balance of power when Lee Si-heon’s influence entered the fray. Many among the World Trees were apprehensive of King Mokryeong’s burgeoning might.

However, if swayed by the opposition, Lee Si-heon could become their most formidable adversary. Ever since his true identity had been revealed, a continuous struggle of wits had ensued.

The consensus between both parties was that eliminating Lee Si-heon was the right course of action. Executives of the Flowers and the World Trees sought victory while preserving their own factions intact. Should they accept Lee Si-heon, his inherent potential would undoubtedly elevate his status beyond that of King Mokryeong.

The prophecies of the World Trees’ oracle and the Flowers proved to be accurate.

Had either side embraced Lee Si-heon, the balance of power would have been drastically disrupted.

It could be a help or the worst enemy.

Very few forces were willing to give up everything and strive for victory. The eighth leaf of the Flower, and the World Tree of Prosperity were among them.

However, the size of these forces was so small that the moment they accepted Lee Si-heon, they would inevitably abandon him, severing their connection with him.

Being aware of this, Lee Si-heon could not hastily accept offers from either side. He could buy time, but he couldn’t guarantee the lives and fates of those around him. The World Tree and the Flower continued their cold war, never leaving an opening.

Personal power and ambition took precedence, making Lee Si-heon the greatest risk factor, whether as an ally or an enemy. Consequently, he could not hastily resort to force, nor could he be quickly drawn into an alliance.

If he attempted to punish them and ended up siding with the enemy, his forces would be annihilated. Conversely, if he joined their side, it would put his position at risk.

Individuals may have been desperate. Some adhered to their beliefs, some endeavored to protect their love, and others devoted their families to uphold their family creeds.

“Lee Si-heon has been confirmed dead.”

No one could alter the grand vortex. In the end, it was merely a matter of whom to save more and whom to save less.

It was Lee Si-heon who held the line, and his judgment was swift.

“The Vice President of the Association? Why?”
“…”

It was nothing more than a miserable life.

“…Nothing. It’s not important.”

A life thoroughly toyed with.

Lee Si-heon arrived in this world and faced the condemnation of others. He overcame it, yet his life was targeted by the resentment of a world tree. Even after surviving several brushes with death, he had to worry about life and death.

In the meantime, love had already grown beyond control… The icy wind of the approaching winter was frigid.

A man who could be found anywhere, known only as the king’s successor. Buffeted by two forces, he wandered until his eyes closed for the last time.

That was his life.

– Thud!

A single act.
A solitary explosion reverberated throughout the world.
Around the time when attention was drawn to the war in Korea, gates began to open across the globe.

A dungeon, presumed to have been constructed by King Mokryeong, akin to Purgatory and mere twigs.
A gate far larger than that, too immense to handle, burst forth, and monsters surged forth.

– Beep!

Disaster messages poured down from every location, urgent news blared, and some regions were instantly submerged.

The monsters that emerged from dungeons throughout East Asia appeared to move with a single purpose, converging upon one location.

Yet the fervor in Seoul had not abated enough for the problem to fully surface.

– Thud.

And there, the place where Lee Si-heon’s body lay.

Sansuyu’s hand lifelessly faced the floor.

A head cleaved in two, with exposed brain matter. Legs detached from the lower torso, lying in the middle of the road, accompanied by a gruesome corpse too horrific to behold.

She knew. She wasn’t the type to have such poor vision that she would mistake people.

Her eyes turned to Edward as the body of the person who had whispered love to her now lay completely melted.

“Si-heon.”

Disheveled bangs, and two unnaturally pale legs. Her skin appeared almost translucent, seeming to shimmer even more under the sun.

In contrast, the shadow cast by her bangs upon her face was incredibly dark.

Within that shadow, near the brow.

“…Si-heon?”

Above the glinting eyes. Burst blood vessels stained the eyes a deep red.

Tears streamed out endlessly. The pupils, shaking left and right, swelled and shrank in a rhythmic pattern, similar to a pulsating heartbeat.

Cornus retreated, overcome by dizziness. She looked at her own grasp.

“…….”

Crimson sight. Attachment unfulfilled and severed, Lee Si-heon departed from her embrace.

Now, nothing remained.