Chapter 310
Chapter 310
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.65 – The Knight Remembers and Repays (4)
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...Inanna saw.
It wasn't intentional.
The more contact there was, the more naturally it became visible.
The mystery of discernment—one that anyone born as a god inevitably possessed—clearly revealed the humans' memories.
As if she had seen it right beside them...
- Aren't you going to run away? It's just someone else's problem, after all.
- If I run away from here, I'll just keep being a coward. I'm more afraid of the regrets that will come later than the peace I have right now.
When the human man chose not to flee despite the old woman's warning.
- Is that so? Then I'll give you this. It should help if it reveals its true form.
- What is this?
- Who knows? I don't really know myself. On the first day I left the temple in my youth to walk the path of asceticism, two sparrows delivered it and flew away.
- ...Isn't that a gift from the gods, Elder?
- Hehe, it might be. Or perhaps it's the will of this bell.
The moment the Song of the Stars nestled into the man's arms.
- Ah, take this too. It's nothing special, but it's a cloth I blessed myself.
- ...How is cloth that glows on its own nothing special?
- It's just cloth soaked in holy water for a mere fifty years and infused with the energies of the sun and moon. Anyone can make it with steady effort and time, so it really is nothing.
- ...This is too heavy an item. It might be the heaviest thing I've ever received in my life...
She saw the moment the nameless cloth was born—after raising silkworms herself, drawing thread from the cocoons, and imbuing each and every strand with blessings over fifty years.
And then,
- ...Why did you go that far?
- What do you mean?
- Why did you sacrifice yourself? Why not ask for help? Why shoulder all this suffering alone...? You stayed in this land for fifty years without returning to the temple because of the evil spirit, didn't you? All by yourself...
She saw the moment the man posed his question, laden with genuine doubt. And in response,
- I did. When I was young, I asked the temple for help. But there was no reply, so I wandered. Wondering what I should do. But in the end of that wandering, I found my answer. Not to wait for someone to help me, but to do it myself. Not to wait for someone to change things, but to strive so that I could do something myself.
- ....
The old woman answered with a bright smile, leaving the man speechless.
- But in the end, things turned out like this. I couldn't do anything after all. All I could do was pray. And give thanks when someone came to help. I'm sorry... for being so worthless, for being so powerless...
- Elder...
- My strength was feeble. Hopelessly inadequate. So worthless that there was nothing I could do. And I grew old. I don't even have the strength to clench my fist anymore. So all I can do is beg and rely on others. That's why I'm grateful—to you for coming to this land... truly, thank you.
- ...Please don't do this, Elder. You're making me ashamed of myself, really.
The old woman knelt down, and the man tried to help her up.
The man said he was ashamed of himself, and the old woman kept repeating her thanks to him.
- May the blessings of light grace your future.
...That was the end of the conversation between the man and the old woman. Inanna, having witnessed it all,
[So, what the hell is it?]
still couldn't comprehend.
She didn't understand the meaning behind the old hag kneeling and pleading, or why the man was doing everything in his power to fulfill that request.
Nothing made sense.
[Idiot? Why sacrifice myself to help someone? It's utter foolishness. Not even a fool would...
If you're weak, you get toyed with. Submitting is only natural.
Instead of sacrificing for others, it's better to ignore the danger and live for your own pleasure.
That's the right way...
"-That's why you were chased out of the kingdom you ruled, you ugly bastard."
[You, youuu!]
Inanna's eyes widened.
His words felt like they had read her very thoughts, filling her with confusion.
As expected.
"Yeah, living selfishly isn't always bad. Unconditionally sacrificing for others might be foolish, and being good isn't always right. But..."
Kwachik!
"The fact that a repulsive piece of trash like you—who's spent your whole life mooching off others like a parasite, flapping your mouth—has no right to judge someone else's sacrifice is crystal clear, you ugly evil spirit!"
[!!!!!]
His fist finally pierced through Inanna's eye, and she writhed in agony, unable to even scream.
A foreign sensation unlike mere pain burrowed into her eye, stirring nausea.
[[[Kyaaaaaaa...!]]]
The delayed screams erupted from dozens of mouths, but before long...
Hwaaak!
they began to fade.
It wasn't Inanna's intention.
Simply...
Saruruk.
Petals—no...
A massive flower bud's stem had merely sealed Inanna's mouth.
Kuduk!
It wasn't a miracle. It was the inevitable flower bud born from karma and the resolve of countless souls.
The beginning was the 'horn' left behind by the bull.
The horn left by the bull who had suffered endlessly under the demon that called itself a god.
That horn now resonated with Lee Han more powerfully than ever, unleashing its strength.
Like a seed ready to bloom a flower grander and more beautiful than any before.
Deng-, Deeng-.
The Song of the Stars, upholding the bell's owner's will, rang out louder and stronger than ever, becoming the rain to nourish the seed.
The stronger the song grew, the vaster the seed would become.
Hwaaak!
And the final piece was one man's 'resolve'.
The burning flame of obsession from a knight sworn to exterminate the demon rang the horn—no...!
The sword left by the bull.
Sword Resonance.
Resonance was not merely vibrating the blade.
Its true essence lay in awakening the sword's will and unleashing its sword force.
And in the moment he thrust the sword in and began the resonance, Lee Han realized.
A flower would bloom.
A flower grander and more beautiful than any he had ever seen.
And so...!
"......"
Jeobeok, jeobeok.
Lee Han turned around.
Without delivering the finishing blow.
[Th-this bastard...!]
The demon flew into a rage.
Humiliated by the audacity of a mere human turning its back on her.
For a demon who had ascended to godhood, being ignored by a pathetic human was an utterly revolting experience.
The demon flapped its wings, intent on bringing doom to the impudent human...
Paaat-.
[......?]
In the next instant..., the demon saw that its wings had transformed against its will.
A flower,
a lotus bud, bloomed there.
Jeobeok.
Paat-.
As he took his second step, an even larger flower bud formed on its body.
Jeobeok.
By the third step, an even greater peak filled its mouth.
Jeobeok, jeobeok.
By the fifth step in one go, its entire field of vision brimmed with flower buds.
[St-stop, st-stop walking.... A-ah, n-nooo...]
Paat!
It squeezed out its final voice, but even that mouth was sealed by the flower bud, leaving the demon unable to scream.
Though his steps were agonizingly slow, they heralded not the human's end, but her own.
Jeobeok.
"......"
After eight steps, he still did not turn back.
Instead,
"-Lotus Platform Nine Grades."
When Shakyamuni was born, he took nine steps, each one blooming a lotus─.
Lee Han deemed his own steps akin to that and, as if granting a shred of mercy, named the steps that bestowed her end.
Steps drawn from Shakyamuni's compassion deserved at least this much mercy, did they not?
"I'm too soft-hearted for my own good..."
Tak.
Lee Han muttered as he completed his nine steps. In the next moment,
Hwaaaaaak!
the blooming lotus unfurled in full splendor, blanketing the earth and scattering vigorously into the sky.
[──!!!]
The demon's screams, destined to become new nourishment for this land and vanish, were buried beneath the flower's bloom, granting it an eternal conclusion.
An end that would not cease until its life force and soul were spent, that would not fully perish until every sin was paid...
A verdict more merciful than any other.
"......... "
The nun who had forgotten her name was left stunned.
At over eighty years old, it wasn't an exaggeration to say nothing could surprise her anymore. She had cultivated the discipline to maintain her composure no matter what happened,
"...Apparently not. It seems my training is still sorely lacking."
The nun stroked her wrinkled face and smiled.
To the nun,
"Waa! Granny! What's all this? Look at this! Flowers bloomed in the river! They're so pretty!"
"...Yes. They're truly beautiful."
A girl with a fresh smile approached, hopping about excitedly, and the nun couldn't help but smile.
The evils were being purified.
With every flower that bloomed on the river, the malevolence that had tormented this land for so long would be eradicated.
The nun thought,
'It had meaning. My efforts... they've been repaid...'
She hadn't lived her life seeking repayment.
But now, beholding this sight, the nun realized she was greedy after all.
Yes, she...
"Huh? G-Granny? Are you crying?"
"...I'm just... too happy. So happy..."
"Uuung? If you're happy, why are you crying?"
"Good question, isn't it? But now I understand."
"?"
"That you can cry from joy."
This was the sight she had wanted to see.
The nun was overjoyed that her life had not been meaningless, and she wept at the beauty of the lotus lake in full bloom.
There are no meaningless lives.