Chapter 669
As Luna disappeared, the world began to move again.
With the sky growing cloudy once more, the raindrops that had been suspended in the air came pouring down to the earth.
-Whoooooosh!
Deafening thunder roared and lightning flashed, while all around, the battle between the monsters and the allied forces raged on.
Deep within the chaos.
Hidden in the torrential rain, the final battlefield.
The being beyond.
It was the only one, besides myself, who had noticed the sudden anomaly.
Lament and Lapelt had vanished unexpectedly.
"A strange trick, indeed."
It must have thought that I had done something, not realizing that the world had stopped.
The cloak of the sun god and the sword of the moon.
It was only natural that Luna, the incarnation of the sun and the moon, could take them away from their owners.
Giving me the maximum possible assistance without paying the heavy price of disappearing.
Or, perhaps she had taken on a cost for this, but she hadn't said, so I couldn't know.
Luna didn't want me to die.
Look.
Mother.
I was acting like a stubborn child, she said.
Being stubborn, she still helped in ways other than disappearing.
If I hadn't known the future, I would have acted like I was going to die and told my mother to leave, and Luna would have eventually given in to my stubbornness.
Then I would have died, and so would Ellen.
If I had just stayed still, Luna would have solved everything, disappeared, and Ellen would have lost her mother.
I chose the third option.
Not accepting the deal.
Not taking the hand Luna had extended at the cost of her own existence.
I would find a way.
So I told her to step back.
As a result.
Luna didn't disappear, but the two relics that made Ellen the most powerful being in the world were gone.
The absolute attack of the Void Sword.
The absolute defense of Lapelt.
She had lost both.
And I still had two relics.
It would have realized that the two relics that had suddenly vanished were no longer responding to its will.
The hero had lost her relics.
So, it might have thought that I could now be a worthy opponent.
And Luna said.
She would no longer help.
The price for refusing the favor of an incarnation was great.
She really wouldn't help anymore.
If I still lost after all this, it would be better to die, she must have meant it.
Absolute attack.
Absolute defense.
Both were gone.
It wasn't an equal condition.
I still had two relics.
Now, rather, the conditions were in my favor.
If I still lost.
If I still faced defeat.
Yes.
As Luna said.
I might as well die.
-Rumble
Thunder rumbled in the distance, somewhere far away on the battlefield.
-Whoooooosh!
In a massive puddle formed from the heavy rain, the being that had lost its relics looked at me.
"The disappearance of the relics must mean that the gods have abandoned us."
"It means the gods want you to win."
"They must want our deaths to be forgotten."
"Yes..."
"Then we shall reject the gods."
It did not demand the return of the lost relics.
Instead, it declared that if the gods had forsaken them, it would no longer seek their names.
It moved slowly.
-Swish
Between the wreckage of a collapsed building or some other unidentifiable ruins, something was there.
Something sprouted out from that corner, and she grabbed it.
It was a rusty sword, with only half its blade remaining, so broken and old that it was impossible to even know who it belonged to.
It was a sword of such poor quality that it couldn't have been much better even in its prime.
It was likely the sword of someone who had fought here long ago, during the initial Gate incident at Diane.
For the first time, an expression appeared on her face.
Undoubtedly, it was a smile.
"Rather... isn't it better this way?"
Ellen laughed, holding the broken sword.
"It's not some grand artifact."
"It's the sword of some nameless person who got swept away in your story."
"A trampled, broken weapon of a nobody."
"Isn't it more fitting to pierce your heart?"
A nothing sword, trampled and forgotten.
Countless such swords, spears, and bows would have been discarded in the world.
While it may not have been the most powerful weapon to kill me,
it was a weapon that had the right to do so.
A gray aura began to surround the broken sword.
Woosh -
The ominous gray aura enveloping the weapon began to emit a shape reminiscent of death like smoke.
A weapon of nothingness.
Rather, the ancient and fragile sword seemed as if it would break with a mere touch.
Something within that sword.
Neither magical nor divine, but something else.
A culmination of hatred, anger, and despair.
Surely, it was resentment.
"Behold, Demon King."
"Can our resentment reach your heart?"
"We're curious too."
Could it really be called a weak weapon?
Rather, being the weakest in the world,
the most dangerous and,
the saddest weapon of all.
------
After the Gate incident, there were countless people who had died, and countless moments when they had to fight monsters with nothing more than mundane swords and spears.
There must have been as many broken weapons as there were people who died.
How many moments did powerless people have to fight with powerless weapons?
How many people fell without even a weapon in hand?
As if all those weapons were combined and refined, the sword of resentment exuded a dangerous aura.
The moment that sword collided with Alsbringer.
Clang! -
"Ugh...!"
I felt indescribable pain.
Not from the flesh, but from the soul.
It was precisely the same kind of pain I felt when the vengeful spirits tried to swallow me and entered my soul.
The mere collision of the swords brought on an unbearable spiritual pain and fear that felt like my brain would be torn apart.
Sweating coldly, I retreated, and she smiled at me.
It wasn't a weapon like the Void Sword, where one misstep meant death.
However, the eerie power within that sword caused a chilling pain in my body without even touching me.
It was the same kind of pain I felt when my soul was almost swallowed.
The fear and pain I never wanted to remember again.
That's what I felt with just one exchange of sword strikes.
"Ha... ugh..."
Physical wounds could be regenerated by Tiamata's divine power.
But the pain inflicted on the soul accumulated.
It could not be healed.
If the Void Sword could kill me at any moment, that weapon was one that slowly whittled me down.
Not as sharp, but it attacked another part of me.
When it entered my body, I had experienced unconsciousness several times.
Although not as powerful as the Void Sword, a massive gap emerged when my mind wavered.
- Kwaang!
- Kkiaaak!
The broken sword couldn't pierce my Aura Armor, but the powerful impact and the horrifying sound it emitted pierced my brain, threatening to tear my soul apart.
- Jjeok!
“Ku...euk!”
Ellen's body was not only a weapon but also a lethal instrument itself.
Even without a weapon, she could tear monsters apart with her bare hands.
Hadn't the situation actually worsened, allowing her to perform both physical and spiritual attacks?
Hadn't stealing the divine artifacts only led her to find an even more dangerous weapon?
Excuses were pathetic.
The future had already changed.
Luna had given all the help she could.
What mattered was that although she had found another weapon, she hadn't found another shield.
That was crucial.
“O flame.”
- Kururung!
With the will-infused incantation, a massive wave of fire erupted from the Flame of Tuesday, causing a huge explosion beneath Ellen's feet as she charged towards me.
- Kwakang!
However, as if she had known about the flames even before they appeared, Ellen evaded and lunged at me simultaneously.
The explosion of water vapor created by the evaporating water was meant to obstruct her view, but her heightened reflexes remained unchanged.
As if she already knew without seeing, she charged through the steam, aiming straight for me.
- Kakang!
“Euk...!”
Just by blocking the sword, it felt as if my mind was being torn apart.
In a split second.
My unwavering spirit was disrupted.
The Aura within Tiamata and the Aura Armor protecting my body wavered.
Just for a brief moment.
“...!”
- Squeak!
But in that short gap, the broken sword pushed out the protective aura and cut into half of my neck.
Thankfully, my wavering spirit lasted only for a brief moment.
- Bang!
I managed to create some distance by kicking Ellen away as she attempted to land the finishing blow.
Tiamata healed my bleeding neck.
If the cut had been any deeper, I would have died.
No, it seemed like the cut was deep enough to have severed an artery.
That sword disrupted my will. Even if just for a moment, I was rendered powerless.
If it hadn't been for the special training in Rezaira, my spirit might have been shattered at the first clash with that sword.
No, I wouldn't have even made it this far, devoured by those vengeful spirits instead.
My fingertips trembled.
Dangerous in a different way than the Void Sword.
That broken sword attacked me directly.
The longer the battle lasted, the more my mind would deteriorate.
Once I lost consciousness, it would all be over.
- Kadeuk! Kang! Kaang!
As the onslaught continued, I felt a pain that seemed to tear my soul apart throughout my entire body.
Beyond the physical limitations of the broken sword, it deflected and countered all my attacks.
“Heuk... Heu... Heu-eok...”
After dozens of exchanges, I finally realized.
The problem wasn't the Void Sword.
It wasn't the Sun Cloak.
It wasn't even the broken sword.
We had crossed swords multiple times.
For days, weeks, months.
There were times when we spent entire nights fighting.
Although Ellen's body was controlled by vengeful spirits, I was ultimately facing Ellen.
She had no will of her own, but she fought in Ellen's style.
That was the problem.
The fight from my dreams was reenacted.
I had learned the sword from Ellen.
Therefore, Ellen not only knew everything about me when it came to the sword, but she was always ahead of me.
How to slash.
How to stab.
How to measure distance and close it.
How to use angles.
How to utilize joint techniques.
How to use counters.
How to counter a counter.
I learned all of this from Ellen.
Of course, Ellen, who had taught me all of this, was incomparably better at everything than I was.
Now, I had to fight the person who had taught me everything.
Without surpassing my master, I had to fight against her.
Even though she held a broken sword.
Even with a divine weapon, I couldn't win.
-Click!
Suddenly, Ellen charged and struck her sword directly downward from above.
As I tried to deflect the sword diagonally, at that moment.
-Swoosh!
“Ugh…Ah!”
I was hit by her knee, which she raised while maintaining the same speed as her charge, and I was sent flying into the sky.
I rolled several times on the ground while feeling the agony of my innards being crushed.
As I landed and rolled several times in a puddle, I barely managed to get back on my feet.
She feigned a downward strike, drawing my gaze upward, but in reality, she didn't put any strength into the sword at all.
She read everything about me.
She knew my weaknesses all too well.
Ellen, having taught me everything, couldn't lose to me even if she wanted to.
Ellen Artorius was my arch-nemesis.
As a result of learning the sword from Ellen, I quickly grew stronger. I learned how to fight, and thus, my skills were no longer inferior to anyone.
However, because of this, I became someone who could never defeat Ellen.
It was similar to the old days.
I kept getting hit, falling, and rolling.
But I didn't feel any nostalgia.
I wasn't dead because of Tiamata's divine power.
I should have died several times by now.
I could only recover because the injuries weren't absolutely fatal.
And now, an unbearable mental pain was accumulating.
My vision blurred, and I felt like I was about to lose consciousness.
Even channeling magic through my entire body was becoming increasingly difficult.
Despite having come this far.
Without Lament and Lapelt.
Am I still losing?
Can't I win even after all this?
Or am I just weak?
Then how?
What should I have done?
I thought I had done everything I could on my own.
The pain accumulating in my mind weakened me.
Negative and self-destructive thoughts rose up. I knew that these thoughts were forcibly induced by the whispers of the vengeful spirits.
An urge to give up everything and let go welled up within me.
If there were no broken swords.
Then what?
Would it be better?
If she held a truly ordinary sword instead of that grotesque one.
No, if she had no weapon at all, would anything change?
It was a fight against someone who knew everything about me.
Now, it felt like I would lose even if Ellen fought with her bare hands.
No, without the penalty of that broken weapon, I felt like I would be defeated even more overwhelmingly.
There was no reason for my opponent to watch such a mindset of a loser rise up.
Lightly, as if leaping, Ellen charged at me.
I raised my sword to block her charge, but I already knew as I held the sword.
I wouldn't be able to stop her this time either.
My spirit was broken.
Certainty of victory couldn't guarantee victory.
However.
Certainty of defeat.
That would surely bring about defeat.
In the midst of the pain that once again enveloped my soul, as Ellen struck my listlessly raised sword.
At the same time as I was completely disarmed, Tiamata left my hand.
-Splash!
The moment Ellen swooped down on me, the water in the puddle spread in all directions, creating a rough spray.
Was I going to die?
I lost my grip on the sword, and Ellen pounced on me, crushing me underneath her.
My entire body was entangled and crushed, leaving no chance to escape.
I knew it.
It was simple.
I had fallen for this several times before.
While charging and deflecting her sword, she would send her whole body flying at me, crushing me beneath her.
Looking down at me from above.
Aiming her sword at my neck.
Always.
"You're dead."
Yes.
Always.
Like this.
She had said.
Chapter 669
As Luna disappeared, the world began to move again.
With the sky growing cloudy once more, the raindrops that had been suspended in the air came pouring down to the earth.
-Whoooooosh!
Deafening thunder roared and lightning flashed, while all around, the battle between the monsters and the allied forces raged on.
Deep within the chaos.
Hidden in the torrential rain, the final battlefield.
The being beyond.
It was the only one, besides myself, who had noticed the sudden anomaly.
Lament and Lapelt had vanished unexpectedly.
"A strange trick, indeed."
It must have thought that I had done something, not realizing that the world had stopped.
The cloak of the sun god and the sword of the moon.
It was only natural that Luna, the incarnation of the sun and the moon, could take them away from their owners.
Giving me the maximum possible assistance without paying the heavy price of disappearing.
Or, perhaps she had taken on a cost for this, but she hadn't said, so I couldn't know.
Luna didn't want me to die.
Look.
Mother.
I was acting like a stubborn child, she said.
Being stubborn, she still helped in ways other than disappearing.
If I hadn't known the future, I would have acted like I was going to die and told my mother to leave, and Luna would have eventually given in to my stubbornness.
Then I would have died, and so would Ellen.
If I had just stayed still, Luna would have solved everything, disappeared, and Ellen would have lost her mother.
I chose the third option.
Not accepting the deal.
Not taking the hand Luna had extended at the cost of her own existence.
I would find a way.
So I told her to step back.
As a result.
Luna didn't disappear, but the two relics that made Ellen the most powerful being in the world were gone.
The absolute attack of the Void Sword.
The absolute defense of Lapelt.
She had lost both.
And I still had two relics.
It would have realized that the two relics that had suddenly vanished were no longer responding to its will.
The hero had lost her relics.
So, it might have thought that I could now be a worthy opponent.
And Luna said.
She would no longer help.
The price for refusing the favor of an incarnation was great.
She really wouldn't help anymore.
If I still lost after all this, it would be better to die, she must have meant it.
Absolute attack.
Absolute defense.
Both were gone.
It wasn't an equal condition.
I still had two relics.
Now, rather, the conditions were in my favor.
If I still lost.
If I still faced defeat.
Yes.
As Luna said.
I might as well die.
-Rumble
Thunder rumbled in the distance, somewhere far away on the battlefield.
-Whoooooosh!
In a massive puddle formed from the heavy rain, the being that had lost its relics looked at me.
"The disappearance of the relics must mean that the gods have abandoned us."
"It means the gods want you to win."
"They must want our deaths to be forgotten."
"Yes..."
"Then we shall reject the gods."
It did not demand the return of the lost relics.
Instead, it declared that if the gods had forsaken them, it would no longer seek their names.
It moved slowly.
-Swish
Between the wreckage of a collapsed building or some other unidentifiable ruins, something was there.
Something sprouted out from that corner, and she grabbed it.
It was a rusty sword, with only half its blade remaining, so broken and old that it was impossible to even know who it belonged to.
It was a sword of such poor quality that it couldn't have been much better even in its prime.
It was likely the sword of someone who had fought here long ago, during the initial Gate incident at Diane.
For the first time, an expression appeared on her face.
Undoubtedly, it was a smile.
"Rather... isn't it better this way?"
Ellen laughed, holding the broken sword.
"It's not some grand artifact."
"It's the sword of some nameless person who got swept away in your story."
"A trampled, broken weapon of a nobody."
"Isn't it more fitting to pierce your heart?"
A nothing sword, trampled and forgotten.
Countless such swords, spears, and bows would have been discarded in the world.
While it may not have been the most powerful weapon to kill me,
it was a weapon that had the right to do so.
A gray aura began to surround the broken sword.
Woosh -
The ominous gray aura enveloping the weapon began to emit a shape reminiscent of death like smoke.
A weapon of nothingness.
Rather, the ancient and fragile sword seemed as if it would break with a mere touch.
Something within that sword.
Neither magical nor divine, but something else.
A culmination of hatred, anger, and despair.
Surely, it was resentment.
"Behold, Demon King."
"Can our resentment reach your heart?"
"We're curious too."
Could it really be called a weak weapon?
Rather, being the weakest in the world,
the most dangerous and,
the saddest weapon of all.
------
After the Gate incident, there were countless people who had died, and countless moments when they had to fight monsters with nothing more than mundane swords and spears.
There must have been as many broken weapons as there were people who died.
How many moments did powerless people have to fight with powerless weapons?
How many people fell without even a weapon in hand?
As if all those weapons were combined and refined, the sword of resentment exuded a dangerous aura.
The moment that sword collided with Alsbringer.
Clang! -
"Ugh...!"
I felt indescribable pain.
Not from the flesh, but from the soul.
It was precisely the same kind of pain I felt when the vengeful spirits tried to swallow me and entered my soul.
The mere collision of the swords brought on an unbearable spiritual pain and fear that felt like my brain would be torn apart.
Sweating coldly, I retreated, and she smiled at me.
It wasn't a weapon like the Void Sword, where one misstep meant death.
However, the eerie power within that sword caused a chilling pain in my body without even touching me.
It was the same kind of pain I felt when my soul was almost swallowed.
The fear and pain I never wanted to remember again.
That's what I felt with just one exchange of sword strikes.
"Ha... ugh..."
Physical wounds could be regenerated by Tiamata's divine power.
But the pain inflicted on the soul accumulated.
It could not be healed.
If the Void Sword could kill me at any moment, that weapon was one that slowly whittled me down.
Not as sharp, but it attacked another part of me.
When it entered my body, I had experienced unconsciousness several times.
Although not as powerful as the Void Sword, a massive gap emerged when my mind wavered.
- Kwaang!
- Kkiaaak!
The broken sword couldn't pierce my Aura Armor, but the powerful impact and the horrifying sound it emitted pierced my brain, threatening to tear my soul apart.
- Jjeok!
“Ku...euk!”
Ellen's body was not only a weapon but also a lethal instrument itself.
Even without a weapon, she could tear monsters apart with her bare hands.
Hadn't the situation actually worsened, allowing her to perform both physical and spiritual attacks?
Hadn't stealing the divine artifacts only led her to find an even more dangerous weapon?
Excuses were pathetic.
The future had already changed.
Luna had given all the help she could.
What mattered was that although she had found another weapon, she hadn't found another shield.
That was crucial.
“O flame.”
- Kururung!
With the will-infused incantation, a massive wave of fire erupted from the Flame of Tuesday, causing a huge explosion beneath Ellen's feet as she charged towards me.
- Kwakang!
However, as if she had known about the flames even before they appeared, Ellen evaded and lunged at me simultaneously.
The explosion of water vapor created by the evaporating water was meant to obstruct her view, but her heightened reflexes remained unchanged.
As if she already knew without seeing, she charged through the steam, aiming straight for me.
- Kakang!
“Euk...!”
Just by blocking the sword, it felt as if my mind was being torn apart.
In a split second.
My unwavering spirit was disrupted.
The Aura within Tiamata and the Aura Armor protecting my body wavered.
Just for a brief moment.
“...!”
- Squeak!
But in that short gap, the broken sword pushed out the protective aura and cut into half of my neck.
Thankfully, my wavering spirit lasted only for a brief moment.
- Bang!
I managed to create some distance by kicking Ellen away as she attempted to land the finishing blow.
Tiamata healed my bleeding neck.
If the cut had been any deeper, I would have died.
No, it seemed like the cut was deep enough to have severed an artery.
That sword disrupted my will. Even if just for a moment, I was rendered powerless.
If it hadn't been for the special training in Rezaira, my spirit might have been shattered at the first clash with that sword.
No, I wouldn't have even made it this far, devoured by those vengeful spirits instead.
My fingertips trembled.
Dangerous in a different way than the Void Sword.
That broken sword attacked me directly.
The longer the battle lasted, the more my mind would deteriorate.
Once I lost consciousness, it would all be over.
- Kadeuk! Kang! Kaang!
As the onslaught continued, I felt a pain that seemed to tear my soul apart throughout my entire body.
Beyond the physical limitations of the broken sword, it deflected and countered all my attacks.
“Heuk... Heu... Heu-eok...”
After dozens of exchanges, I finally realized.
The problem wasn't the Void Sword.
It wasn't the Sun Cloak.
It wasn't even the broken sword.
We had crossed swords multiple times.
For days, weeks, months.
There were times when we spent entire nights fighting.
Although Ellen's body was controlled by vengeful spirits, I was ultimately facing Ellen.
She had no will of her own, but she fought in Ellen's style.
That was the problem.
The fight from my dreams was reenacted.
I had learned the sword from Ellen.
Therefore, Ellen not only knew everything about me when it came to the sword, but she was always ahead of me.
How to slash.
How to stab.
How to measure distance and close it.
How to use angles.
How to utilize joint techniques.
How to use counters.
How to counter a counter.
I learned all of this from Ellen.
Of course, Ellen, who had taught me all of this, was incomparably better at everything than I was.
Now, I had to fight the person who had taught me everything.
Without surpassing my master, I had to fight against her.
Even though she held a broken sword.
Even with a divine weapon, I couldn't win.
-Click!
Suddenly, Ellen charged and struck her sword directly downward from above.
As I tried to deflect the sword diagonally, at that moment.
-Swoosh!
“Ugh…Ah!”
I was hit by her knee, which she raised while maintaining the same speed as her charge, and I was sent flying into the sky.
I rolled several times on the ground while feeling the agony of my innards being crushed.
As I landed and rolled several times in a puddle, I barely managed to get back on my feet.
She feigned a downward strike, drawing my gaze upward, but in reality, she didn't put any strength into the sword at all.
She read everything about me.
She knew my weaknesses all too well.
Ellen, having taught me everything, couldn't lose to me even if she wanted to.
Ellen Artorius was my arch-nemesis.
As a result of learning the sword from Ellen, I quickly grew stronger. I learned how to fight, and thus, my skills were no longer inferior to anyone.
However, because of this, I became someone who could never defeat Ellen.
It was similar to the old days.
I kept getting hit, falling, and rolling.
But I didn't feel any nostalgia.
I wasn't dead because of Tiamata's divine power.
I should have died several times by now.
I could only recover because the injuries weren't absolutely fatal.
And now, an unbearable mental pain was accumulating.
My vision blurred, and I felt like I was about to lose consciousness.
Even channeling magic through my entire body was becoming increasingly difficult.
Despite having come this far.
Without Lament and Lapelt.
Am I still losing?
Can't I win even after all this?
Or am I just weak?
Then how?
What should I have done?
I thought I had done everything I could on my own.
The pain accumulating in my mind weakened me.
Negative and self-destructive thoughts rose up. I knew that these thoughts were forcibly induced by the whispers of the vengeful spirits.
An urge to give up everything and let go welled up within me.
If there were no broken swords.
Then what?
Would it be better?
If she held a truly ordinary sword instead of that grotesque one.
No, if she had no weapon at all, would anything change?
It was a fight against someone who knew everything about me.
Now, it felt like I would lose even if Ellen fought with her bare hands.
No, without the penalty of that broken weapon, I felt like I would be defeated even more overwhelmingly.
There was no reason for my opponent to watch such a mindset of a loser rise up.
Lightly, as if leaping, Ellen charged at me.
I raised my sword to block her charge, but I already knew as I held the sword.
I wouldn't be able to stop her this time either.
My spirit was broken.
Certainty of victory couldn't guarantee victory.
However.
Certainty of defeat.
That would surely bring about defeat.
In the midst of the pain that once again enveloped my soul, as Ellen struck my listlessly raised sword.
At the same time as I was completely disarmed, Tiamata left my hand.
-Splash!
The moment Ellen swooped down on me, the water in the puddle spread in all directions, creating a rough spray.
Was I going to die?
I lost my grip on the sword, and Ellen pounced on me, crushing me underneath her.
My entire body was entangled and crushed, leaving no chance to escape.
I knew it.
It was simple.
I had fallen for this several times before.
While charging and deflecting her sword, she would send her whole body flying at me, crushing me beneath her.
Looking down at me from above.
Aiming her sword at my neck.
Always.
"You're dead."
Yes.
Always.
Like this.
She had said.
