Chapter 411 – The Final Battle (6)

Again.

The cursed red sky greets me.

“…”

Has Sargenti made his move?

I perished earlier than anticipated, but I’ve already exhausted all the cards I had to play. Though many were crude, I did my best to interpret the enigmatic information about King Mokryeong and draw my own conclusions.

‘The war is over.’

The dungeon has gone berserk.

‘…I tried to save my people too.’

My master and Cornus still weigh on my mind. Numerous questions remain unanswered, and though I yearn to express my emotions, would it make any difference?

-Splash!

Something fell onto the crimson river that drenched my body.

[Grrrrr…]

The murderous intent directed at me is terrifying. Yet with my head already split in two, what meaning does it hold?

I struggle to my feet, clenching my fists in determination.

【Fate】

King Mokryeong’s influence, which had grown stronger, completely devoured me upon my death.
Someone could snatch it away…
Indeed, that was the task assigned to Tae-yang.

‘I am dying.’

The once bright view before me suddenly vanished.

My pulse weakened and ceased. The surroundings distorted, and the urge to survive directed at me intensified.

An unknown hand sought to tear at my throat, a massive beast opened its house-sized maw before my eyes, and my entire body ached as though pierced by thorns.

‘Even so.’

I couldn’t see, couldn’t feel anything, there was no scent, and I couldn’t even sense that I was standing on solid ground.

My five senses disappeared. It tightened around my neck.
As I heard the anguished cries of the unknown, those I had killed gazed upon me.

‘I can’t die.’

I asked the presence within me.

If my life had been twisted from beginning to end.

If it had already been determined that my life would crumble due to this king’s benevolence…

And if destiny truly exists for me.

‘At least I should have been the only one to suffer. That’s how it should be, right?’

This power is devastating to those around me.

And so, today, I must die.
I had no other choice but to die.

From the very start, they would try to prevent me from doing anything.
If I were to mentally link with King Mokryeong’s power, I believe I would willingly forfeit my life in an instant.

Thus,
It was essential for me to sever this connection.

I love them.
They are so dear to me that I would willingly die numerous times.

I never knew that in my life, I would have such unbreakable bonds with everyone.

So…even if they become disillusioned with me and leave my embrace, even if they find someone else,
I understand. I’ve committed unforgivable acts, and I deserve their resentment.

I simply wish for them to live a new life, without facing death.
All that matters is that my feelings remain unchanged.

In that, I was confident.

[Creaking!!!]

The sound awakens first.

My body is flung somewhere, and I hear the sound of a human body slamming into a rock.

– Smack!

The sound of skin tearing and blood and veins squirting from the gap.
As the sensations return, followed by sharp pain, I bite down hard on my teeth to stifle a scream.

‘If I can’t escape from here and it’s the end, there must be someone who can carry on.’

I had already planned for it.
Sargenti, who fell from the sky… was as sudden as the World Tree of Purity that appeared unexpectedly.

Suddenly. In truth, most of our encounters were like that.

I met Se-Young at a shopping mall while they tried to steal my belongings.
Azalea scorned me during the academy exam.
Cornus was at the training grounds when I was at my weakest.
Hae-nul was at the hospital when I was severely injured.

Suddenly, Master, who was struck for his predilection for peaches, faced the same fate.
As did Maroni, who struggled to break free from the brainwashing.

– Shivering.

Both arms and legs trembled in pain.

The familiar agony here became meaningless.
No matter how much air I inhaled, I gasped for breath. It felt as if my eardrums and mouth were filled with flesh-eating insects.

This space condemned me.
It argued that I was nothing.
It persistently emphasized my powerlessness, and it was true.

‘…there will be someone who will succeed me.’

I lacked the strength to bring down even a single officer of Flower.
Power was always in short supply.

Though I hadn’t intentionally sided with Flower and the World Tree faction, I couldn’t deny that my own weakness was the cause.

‘Still.’

My sense of smell returned.
The horrendous stench of rotting corpses filled my nostrils.

I heard a voice, strikingly similar to mine, in my ear.

[…You know.]

– Crack!

An uneasy burst of sound echoed in my ears.
Something was charging toward me, shattering the ground.

I raised both my hands and assumed a stance.

Will it come?
It’s coming.
Now is the time.

A right fist extended, guided by instinct, without using any technique.
My feeble hand and the monster’s body made contact.

The outcome was predictable.

– Argh!

My arm bone snapped without even putting up a fight.
As I slammed against the wall, even my neck bones twisted and dangled.

An indiscernible monster swung its fist at me, as if urging me to vanish.

[Someone else is far better than you.]

“…I know.”

[It’s about time to let go.]

At the monster’s voice, I finally lifted my eyelids.
Dead visual cells reacted once more, and my vision brightened.

Darkness surrounded me.

“……”

But I could see.

There was no path for me to take in the future, only thorny trails lay ahead, and every road I had ever pondered seemed to mock me, urging me toward death. I could see that all too clearly.

I let out a hollow laugh.

[Chrrrk?]

A massive creature, its form barely discernible in the darkness. If I closed my eyes here, I would surely die.

I struggled to my feet. As I stretched my trembling legs forward, something sharp protruded from the floor and pierced my foot.

A stinging sensation burrowed through my flesh and jabbed my muscles. It felt as if I had recklessly placed my foot onto a working sewing machine.

“Kuhh… heh.”

Painful moans and crazed laughter intertwined, and beads of sweat collected on my chin.

[Why are you still getting up?]

To someone’s question, I responded with a pitiful face, drooling.

“…I have to do something.”

– Kwad-deuk!

I focused on the sound. I couldn’t see what lay ahead anyway.

Echoing like in a cave, I clenched my teeth against the immense pressure, reminiscent of when a subway train approaches.

-Jaw.

Tensing up, I took another step. Another thorn pierced my foot.

‘Now.’

-Kwaaang!

As something belonging to a massive monster lunged at me, I timed my jump upwards. Jaw. Something with a megalithic surface passed beneath me, and I tripped over its upper part, flipping in midair.

-Thunk!

Thorns stabbed into my entire body. I was unsure if this was a thorn bush I had created myself, or the resentment of someone I had killed.

One thing was certain… it was unbearably painful.

“Huff… kheh.”

A puncture in the jaw saps strength and causes muscles to stop obeying.

Blood and saliva seeped through the crevices. Out of bad luck, one of my eyes was impaled by a thorn and lost vision.

After groaning for a while, I managed to regain my posture and barely stood up once more.

[Why, is he still standing?]

“……”

[He’s already a dead man.]

“…Quite the sharp tongue.”

The one who answers in a fractured voice.

“King Mokryeong. You said you were going to change the world.”

[…….]

I don’t know who stands before me now.
Perhaps it’s just another version of myself, dull and foolish.
Or… it might truly be the king’s confidant.

“…You said you’d change it.”

I sacrificed everything for that cause.

[There’s no reason to save a failure like you.]

The remainder of my life and my lover.
My mentor, friends, and subordinates.

“Infuriated with my politically-minded father, I abandoned even the smallest shred of conviction I sought to protect—”

I cast it all aside.

“—scrapping every last bit and even killing the father who sought the bounty for his daughter’s sake.”

It all gradually settled down.

How many hunters did I kill?
How many children starved to death as a consequence?

There are even those who cower in fear.

“I shall intervene in your destiny.”

[…It’s already too late.]

– Thud.

My surroundings brighten ever so slightly. The monster I now see is even more massive than I had imagined. The foes I’ve faced until now are feeble in comparison to its main body… They were but insignificant limbs.

[It’s all too late.]

An empty tunnel. A mass of vivid red flesh lies before me.

Chunks of meat, adorned with sharp, jagged iron shards, stand ready to tear my mind to shreds.

My consciousness seems to be unraveling into a void, stretching on indefinitely. I experience an indescribable terror, and a sense of despair.

Submerged in a misery beyond words, I close my eyes.

【 Accept death. 】

I am overwhelmed by an unending sense of powerlessness. Long-forgotten memories resurface before me, and I plunge into the depths of a dark ocean.

Abstract words come to mind. I recalled the experiences I had since arriving here.

Submerged in the depths, dreaming, I raced onward without despair.
I was merely a novice, a small human entering society.

Though one may know a well, learning is endless.
I chose fists lighter than my scrap-metal mind, but now even those fists were barred by a wall too high to reach.

Within the brothel, not a trace of warmth could be found in the biting embrace of the tree; it merely gnawed at me.

“Skitter, skitter.”

The wondrous sound of insects in the grass, shared with the old man that day… Surely, it would be perfect for sharing a drink and singing together. However,
that day brought a rupture in time, and I had to till the fields once more.

The moon leans over the black lake, reflecting in the sky.
It gleefully taunts me with great vigor,
and now, with the stars’ light, it seeks to offer solace against being swallowed by misery.

The moon’s reflection in the waves distorted, swallowed by my shadow and stained black.

It’s terrifying.

“Regardless.”

Even so, I must continue.
Even if everything turns to foam and vanishes.

“…I must do it.”

I cannot give up. Only I mustn’t.

– Squeak.

As my foot moves, the opponent reacts. They open their eyes again and raise a hand.

One more step forward.
Both fists outstretched.
Chin lifted, gaze directed straight ahead.

Defiantly, using the air filling the space around my feet as a foothold, I balanced the black moon atop my head.

“Hand it over.”

* * * * * * * *

In that fleeting moment of resisting death, a reaction occurred first in Lee Si-heon’s body.

He pierced Sargenti’s heart, which had been perfectly fine just moments ago, and swallowed it whole.

The inhuman body absorbed Sargenti’s form without leaving a trace. As if piecing together fragments of skin, the roots of various trees engulfed the body, expanding in volume until it was impossible to tell what was emerging from where.

Trees burst forth from the minuscule human form like popping the cork on a bottle of champagne.

-Kkeudeuk, kkeudeudeuk!

An amalgamation of characteristics from hundreds of species, including oak, azalea, horse chestnut, and carambola.

Tough and flexible branches sealed off both corners of Lee Si-heon’s mouth, and a massive helmet was placed on his face.

“….”

It didn’t stop at devouring Sargenti’s body. He began to survey his surroundings.

A body slightly over 2 meters tall, devoid of any human features.

“Glurp.”

The ghastly creature approached Edward’s lifeless body and devoured it.

Its hand stained red, the creature grasped Edward’s body with one hand and swiftly enveloped it. In that state, it absorbed all the remaining mana and vitality.

The body, swallowed by the growing monstrosity, rapidly adapted to its outer form. As time passed, the once-soft flesh grew increasingly rigid.

“…Squeak, squeak.”

Uttering a series of strange, unintelligible noises, the beast moved along the roadside.

In response, countless battle priests flew towards the creature.

“Edward…!”
“…What is that?! Halt!”

The knights, who had arrived as reinforcements, surveyed the blood-soaked surroundings with a gasp.

Filling their vision was a towering demon standing behind Edward’s corpse. The monstrous creature crouched down and plunged both of its arms into the road.

– Koo-goo-goo!

An overwhelming surge of magical power shook the city, impossible to resist.