Chapter 305.
Kim Seon-Hyeok never intended to use such harsh methods from the beginning. But as he looked at the Fragments of Chaos and saw the rolled-back eyes of the Warrior, he couldn’t help but prepare for the worst chance, just to be safe.
The responsibilities he carried were too heavy for him to cover this up based on his loyalty and friends.h.i.+p with the Warrior.
“Kyeakkkk!”
The Warrior died a painful death once more as his body melted. The Warrior’s distorted face from the pain and fear was engraved into Kim Seon-Hyeok’s mind.
Curse me. Resent me. If that is truly your feeling, I will gladly accept it.
Kim Seon-Hyeok watched the Warrior repeatedly dying and resurrecting countless times with a hard face.
How much time had pa.s.sed like this? Hatred began flickering in the eyes of the terrified Warrior.
“What the h.e.l.l did I do wrong?!”
Instead of screaming and begging, he yelled out bitterly, full of resentment. But before his shouting could end, the Dragon’s breath engulfed the Warrior once again.
“Kim Seon-Hyeok! I will never leave you alone!”
The resurrected Warrior continued to curse at him.
“Whatever it is, as long as it’s related to you!”
This time, Edda didn’t even listen until the Warrior finished.
“I will not leave any one of them alive in this world!”
The Warrior grabbed the Holy Sword and rushed at Kim Seon-Hyeok, but he melted away.
“I will burn your beloved Empire to the ground without leaving any traces!”
Even in the face of countless deaths, the two pairs of wings hadn’t lost their splendor. But now, the Warrior had lost a pair and was cursing Kim Seon-Hyeok terribly.
“I will tear your beloved Empress into thousands of pieces and feed her to the wild beasts! I will make your child suffer the same as his mother…”
The Warrior, who had been speaking with a mouthful of evil, suddenly shut his mouth.
“Even if.”
The chain of death finally broke; before the Warrior could fully understand the situation, Kim Seon-Hyeok took a step forward and began speaking.
“Even if I would not be forgiven and would have to continue to atone until I died.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok’s face didn’t show any more anguish or guilt.
“I would much rather have that.”
The only thing left was a chill like the northerly wind and cold snow.
“But I should be receiving the resentment of my younger sworn brother Joon-Min, not from you when I don’t even know who or what you are.”
“How long are you going to rationalize your own actions with a delusion that will never come true…”
But before the Warrior could finish talking, Kim Seon-Hyeok bellowed.
“If you were the Joon-Min I know!”
Seon-Hyeok started walking towards the Warrior.
“You would have cursed at me, but you wouldn’t have threatened to take revenge on me by killing innocent people like you did a while ago.”
“You’re going to accuse me like that without thinking about what you have done to me?!”
“If it was Joon-Min!”
Bright red sparks began falling from the corner of the War Dragon’s mouth.
“He would have known what would happen the moment he dared to speak ill of my wife and child.”
“Wa, wait…”
The Warrior had faced countless deaths in this very spot, but he trembled as if facing death for the first time in his life.
“You should have realized how I would react.”
The Warrior seemed puzzled as he looked down at his legs that were stepping backwards without himself realizing it.
“Why…”
Even as he retreated, the Warrior didn’t seem to understand what he was doing; he seemed bewildered.
“Even if you don’t know, the body will remember.”
At one point in time, the absolute power Kim Seon-Hyeok wielded against the Warrior in the Holy Kingdom under the guise of training had been imprinted deeply into the Warrior’s body. Because of it, the Warrior didn’t dare stand up against his sworn brother at this moment.
“If you were truly Joon-Min.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok spoke coldly as he looked at the Warrior.
“You would have already escaped while your two pairs of wings were still intact.”
The Park Joon-Min he knew was more accustomed to running away rather than fighting fiercely. He was also someone who valued practicality over pride. The Warrior wouldn’t have been able to withstand the uneasiness and immediately run, especially if the person who was trying to kill him was his sworn brother.
“Although Joon-Min is a guy without pride or anything, he is a broad-minded guy who is willing to forgive even the people of the Holy Kingdom who have persecuted and tortured him. There is no way that Joon-Min would take a woman and child as hostages and threaten them.”
His trust in Joon-Min was weak evidence, but Kim Seon-Hyeok was certain. The Warrior in front of him was a completely different being who was wearing Park Joon-Min’s body as a sh.e.l.l.
“Who are you? Who is it possessing my brother’s body?”
The Warrior didn’t answer. But Kim Seon-Hyeok hadn’t asked because he wanted an answer.
It was obvious who had taken over Park Joon-Min’s body. It was the being who had sent down that prophecy; it was the Transcendental who had been looking for an opportunity to cross over into this world from beyond the border; it was clearly the Lord of Divinity.
“Edda.”
[Unfortunately, there is no way to restore the Warrior who has already become the incarnation itself. Even if the Warrior returns to normal, if He wants to return, He can take back the body anytime He wants to.]
Kim Seon-Hyeok made up his mind when Edda spoke as if she had looked in His mind.
“Wa, wait!”
Belatedly, the Warrior tried to speak, but Kim Seon-Hyeok had no intention of listening.
“I’m sorry, Joon-Min.”
Before he could finish his short apology, the Dragon’s yellow and red breath surrounded the Warrior.
The Warrior repeated the cycle of death and resurrection again. Finally, he even lost the remaining pair of wings as well as the s.h.i.+ning armor of light.
After continuously repeating the cycle of death dozens of times, the Warrior’s level couldn’t drop any further.
“Are you sure you won’t regret it…”
Once again, Kim Seon-Hyeok had no intention of listening to the Warrior who was desperately talking, trying to convince him.
“Wa, wait! Listen to me!”
Before the Warrior finished his sentence, the War Dragon’s flames burned the Warrior. The Warrior did not come back to life.
“Regret…”
Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed as he looked at the empty spot where it seemed like Warrior would revive at any moment.
“I would have regretted either way.”
Even at this moment, suffocating regret was weighing down on him.
Why hadn’t he noticed the changes that happened to Park Joon-Min earlier? Was there really no other way than this? Perhaps it was possible to bring back Park Joon-Min, who had become an incarnation?
There were endless possibilities and a.s.sumptions, but now, all of it was in vain. The Warrior had died at his own hands and no longer existed.
[You are not wrong. If we left a link, no one can predict what the crafty man will do next.]
At Edda’s rare words of comfort, Kim Seon-Hyeok came to his senses.
“There’s still one left.”
The link between the cursed Lord of Divinity and this world hadn’t been completely broken yet.
The Holy Sword Balmung.
The only sacred object left by the Lord of Divinity, its seal contained the two pieces remaining still.
Thump, thump.
Seeing it left behind after losing its owner, Kim Seon-Hyeok hurried over and grabbed the hilt.
Flare.
The flames of the War Dragon that could burn everything engulfed the Holy Sword.
The hilt of the sword burned first, and then the colorful decorations protruding from the side of the blade melted next. Finally, the blade of the Holy Sword grew red.
[Ow! Hot! It’s hot!]
Just before the Holy Sword turned into a handful of melted iron, a familiar voice suddenly entered Kim Seon-Hyeok"s mind.
“Huh?”
[Hyung-nim! Stop it! I’m going to burn to death like this!]
It was the voice of someone he never thought he would hear again; it was Park Joon-Min’s voice.
“Joon-Min?”
[Do something about the fire first!]
At Joon-Min’s scream of pain, Kim Seon-Hyeok hastily extinguished the flames
[Ughhh! It’s so hot! I’m going to die!]
Kim Seon-Hyeok wondered if the Lord of Divinity was messing with him again, but there was no doubt that this flippant and impudent voice was Park Joon-Min.
“Where did Balmung go, and why are you…”
[Don’t even talk about that d.a.m.ned b.a.s.t.a.r.d. The Holy Sword my a.s.s. Ugh, there’s no better Demonic Sword than that.]
Once he used his water attribute to cool the heated sword, Park Joon-Min began talking loudly.
[It seems like the spirit of the Warrior was transferred to the Holy Sword when the body was taken away.]
Edda quickly realized the situation; Kim Seon-Hyeok showed an expression that wasn’t smiling or crying.
“Uh, uh…”
He couldn’t decide whether he should be happy that he was able to at least hear the Warrior’s voice again like this, or to sympathize with the poor soul for being imprisoned in the sword.
[What’s so complicated about it? It’s good enough that I’m alive like this.]
When Park Joon-Min spoke naturally, as if he was talking about someone else’s life, Kim Seon-Hyeok wasn’t able to come up with a response.
[Even if my body was fine, I’m sure I would have slowly gone crazy.]
Park Joon-Min told him that by the time he realized the cost of resurrection wasn’t just a drop in level, his soul had already cracked and he couldn’t hold on for long.
[That is actually quite clever. The solid cage made to confine the beast has now become a strong vessel to replace the vessel of the soul.]
However, Edda said that this was a blessing in disguise since the soul that should have been extinguished was still intact.
[I might not have Lady Luck on my side, but I’m still lucky.]
Park Joon-Min agreed and played off of Edda’s words. Kim Seon-Hyeok was the only one who felt confused by the existence of a human who had become a sword.
But he couldn’t keep worrying about the Warrior’s circ.u.mstances forever.
“Let’s talk later.”
[No! I don’t want to! Do you know how frustrating it was in here? That d.a.m.ned Demonic Sword wouldn’t even listen to me. I really thought I was going to go crazy…]
Kim Seon-Hyeok strapped the sword around his waist as it continued to chatter endlessly.
Wooooing, woooooing.
Ignoring the force of the sword trembling, Kim Seon-Hyeok looked around.
“Let’s first deal with the demonic beasts and demons.”
The Darkness was gone, but the evil it had spread was still everywhere.
“Let’s go.”
Edda flew energetically at those words.
Kim Seon-Hyeok and Edda made their rounds as they went around hunting demonic monsters and beasts. Not long after, they had dealt with a good number of the demonic beings in the vicinity.
As the demons disappeared, the survivors reappeared one by one. They were the ones who had survived the h.e.l.l created by Chaos.
It was truly amazing.
Even though they had gotten tired of fighting against the beasts, they hadn’t given up their will to live. And although they showed a slight madness because of the demonic energy, they still maintained their integrity.
The devoted and altruistic priests and the upright knights had protected the followers until the end.
[Although the Lord of Divinity is cunning, it cannot be said that the purity of those who follow him is worthless.]
Even the mighty Edda exclaimed at the tenacious vitality and willpower they showed.
“Hm?”
Kim Seon-Hyeok, who rescued and led the survivors, was able to see a familiar figure in the dest.i.tute crowd.
[Maram!]
It was Park Joon-Min’s Fairy companion, Maram.
“How?”
Maram instantly recognized the newly turned into a sword Park Joon-Min, after all, he was a companion who had sworn to share his soul.
“Joon-Min?”
Maram’s eyes widened until they were huge circles behind his mask. Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed and held out the Holy Sword. Maram hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the hilt of the sword.
Pah.
At that moment, a fine ray of light emanated from the sword and surrounded Maram.
“Huh?”
Maram let out a sound as he looked dumbfounded.
“Why am I…”
Maram stood there blankly, but his tone was strange.
“Hyung-min, my body suddenly…”
Before he could finish talking, the light flashed again and Maram returned to his usual expression. His eyes were a bit blank, but his stoic expression and his overall impression were unmistakably the original Maram.
[Hyung-nim, I think I just transferred into Maram’s body?]
What on earth was this now?
Kim Seon-Hyeok frowned and spoke to Edda.
[While it cannot compare to a contract with a dragon, the vow of companions.h.i.+p they made is also sharing a soul. The sword has found a new master.]
Without realizing, Kim Seon-Hyeok looked alternately at Maram and the sword after hearing Edda’s words.
***
The Alliance Forces guarding the barrier didn’t leave even after the Darkness had completely disappeared. This was in preparation for a wave that may come unexpectedly.
But what caught their eyes as they stared intently beyond where the barrier once stood weren’t ferocious beasts and monsters, but exhausted survivors.
“The Indomitable Grand Duke is hunting monsters with the Dragon.”
Through the survivors, information inside the Holy Kingdom was spread throughout the defense lines.
“Darkness has finally come to an end.”
The Allied forces cheered when they heard that the Chaos that had swallowed the Holy kingdom had finally been extinguished.
“The Indomitable Grand Duke does it again!”
They complimented and praised the legendary knight for another heroic achievement.
“The Apostle of G.o.d…”
When the veil fell, the Templar Knights and priests who had escaped from the Holy Kingdom searched for the Warrior. But the only news they heard was that the Warrior’s last moments as he didn’t back down in the face of evil.
“Why did G.o.d take him so early? Did G.o.d want him by His side that much sooner?”
The Templar Knights and priests knelt to mourn the death of the Warrior.
However, except for them, most of the soldiers and superhumans rejoiced at the fact that the terrible war had finally come to an end instead of mourning the death of one person.
“We won! It’s finally over!”
“Long live the Indomitable Grand Duke!”
“Hurray for the Adenburg Empire!”
The soldiers and superhumans, who had continued to maintain the defense line until the end without giving up, let out cheers of victory. Over the heads of the cheering Allied forces, a dragon with splendid platinum scales flew by,
***
‘The Holy Kingdom’s Darkness, completely extinguished!’
The long-awaited message of victory finally resounded through the Imperial Palace.
‘Warrior, killed in action!’
‘Half the expedition, killed in action!’
‘About eighty percent of the Holy Kingdom was caught up in the disaster and are either missing or killed.’
But before they could rejoice, news of the damage left behind by the terrible calamity was delivered.
“The Grand Duke! What about the Grand Duke!”
The Empress had been listening with a woeful expression to the endless report of the dead, when she interjected the mage with her question.
“The Indomitable Grand Duke is safe, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Ahh! Good! I’m glad! That’s truly fortunate!”
The Empress’ usual stern face was nowhere to be found as she expressed her happiness that he was alive and sound before she finally got around to asking about the whereabouts of the Indomitable Grand Duke.
“So, where is the Grand Duke right now?”
The mage had announced that the Indomitable Grand Duke was unharmed with a happy face, but now, his expression stiffened.
“Can’t be…”
Seeing the Empress’ expression turn cold, the mage hurried to report.
“The, the Indomitable Grand Duke said he would come back after he finishes dealing with the Darkness that appeared in the West…”
The Empress lamented before the mage had finished speaking.
“I told him to finish his work before returning so that he’d never think about leaving again! It seems like he plans on resolving all the world’s problems before returning!”
Shortly thereafter, news was delivered to the Imperial Capital that the Darkness that had bloomed again in the West dissipated before it could spread out.
After a while, the legendary knight the Empire had been waiting for finally returned.
“Ophelia.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok jumped down from the Dragon who had landed gently on the empty square in front of the palace. He embraced his wife.
“I kept my promise.”
His soft voice was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
“Now, no one will dare cross the Empire.”
He smiled in antic.i.p.ation of the glorious Empire his child would create one day.
“Whether it’s human or non-human or whatever.”
His words weren’t simply what he was wis.h.i.+ng for, he was willing them to be true as well as making a declaration to the world.
“Do not even think about going out of the Imperial Capital in the future.”
But that wasn’t what his wife wanted to hear.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Belatedly, he saw that the wife he was holding to his chest actually had a cold expression on his face. He flinched as he answered promptly. The triumphant appearance he had in the beginning was no more.
The platinum Dragon sighed and shook her head as she quietly looked down at the two.