Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Words of the Living Corpse
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The night draped over the corpses was chillingly cold.
I comforted Betty, who had cried herself out, and helped her to her feet before lifting Han's body into my arms.
"...Ugh."
Even after standing, Betty kept sobbing.
I didn't rush her. Instead, I matched my pace to her faltering steps.
As we walked amid the sprawl of limp bodies, the rustling of insects crawling over flesh grew thicker.
Leaving them like this would draw a foul stench and even more bugs, but that hardly mattered now.
There had to be somewhere nearby to bury Han.
He'd broken his promise not to die, going off and kicking the bucket on his own terms.
Still, considering our history, the least I could do was give him a proper burial.
He'd even joked about it in our last conversation.
His corpse—one eye still intact—fluttered open and spoke to me.
I jumped at the sight of the body that should have stayed shut-eyed suddenly stirring, but I quickly realized it was a hallucination and let out a hollow chuckle.
If he were really alive and talking, Betty walking beside me wouldn't be this quiet.
His body wouldn't feel this cold, either.
Han's corpse had stiffened, light as it was.
Black blood, still chilled, oozed from him.
Soaked in his blood, my clothes clung as Betty and I wandered the area.
Why had he died?
His goal wasn't annihilation—it was containment where possible.
If even that seemed impossible, cut and run.
He never shied from a fight, but he wasn't one to throw his life away recklessly.
That was the Han I knew, and he'd told me as much himself.
If things got dicey, he'd just bail.
"...He lied."
"...Huh?"
"Han lied to me."
All around Han's body lay heroes' corpses in every direction.
He'd been surrounded, isolated, and fought until the end.
So, had he fallen into some unforeseen trap and gotten encircled?
Tried to break out of the ring and failed fatally?
...No.
I shook my head.
From the footprints and traces left behind, he'd charged straight into the heart of the encirclement.
Desperately.
Why?
He could have escaped if he'd wanted.
He might have taken heavy wounds in the process, but he had the skills to survive. He wasn't the type to lack that ability.
"......Why."
By now, I was curious.
What had driven him to such desperation?
What had pulled him inward?
Enough to throw his body away without hesitation.
And in the end...
Did he achieve what he wanted, even after hurling himself forward—eye gouged, wrist severed, skull pierced?
It was a question I'd never know the answer to, now or forever.
Hey, Han.
Was it that meaningful to you?
Enough to die so pointlessly?
Even lying to me about it?
I gazed at Han's corpse and asked.
I couldn't ask him directly anymore—he was gone—so questioning the body would have to do.
The corpse kindly opened its mouth to reply.
I knew this.
It was just a hallucination.
Nothing but my mind conjuring up nonsense—not his real words.
But that signature flat tone felt so much like the real Han speaking that...
I felt pathetic for half-wondering if the dead Han was actually answering me.
The corpse. No, Han said that.
I nodded.
I see.
So, did you get what you wanted?
I see.
That's a shame.
Chasing something meaningless, dying unknown and unacknowledged.
I stopped walking and laid him on the ground.
As far as I knew, this spot got the best sunlight around here.
He'd probably like being buried here.
Betty and I dug into the soil to bury him.
We shoveled the damp earth, slick with faint moisture, and gently placed his body inside.
As dirt covered him, he looked up at me.
As if telling me not to end up like him.
His face vanished beneath the mound of earth.
As the pitch-black night deepened into sharper darkness, the heroes finally shook off the pursuing magic beasts and escaped X District.
The heroes slumped into seats, catching their breath.
They'd made it safely beyond the barrier—no more clashes with magic beasts now.
"Phew."
Ronel let out a sigh of relief too.
After a brief rest with hands on his knees, Ronel stood to tally the surviving privates.
One, two, three...
Small mercies, at least.
Fewer deaths than expected.
As Ronel sorted through his subordinates, classifying the dead and living, someone grabbed his shoulder from behind.
It was Han U-sol.
"Ronel, you...! Why'd you butt in like that?"
Han U-sol looked pissed.
He clearly hadn't liked Ronel interrupting his talk with Anis.
Why'd he butt in? Simple.
"Better to plant a bullet before the fight starts—gives you the edge."
"What...?"
Han U-sol's face crumpled.
"Why...! Anis was listening to me! We could've talked her down! Why then, of all times...!"
"...You really think so?"
"...What do you mean?"
"I didn't shoot the second we arrived. I watched a bit first, then fired when it felt off."
When Ronel and the heroes arrived, Han U-sol had just confessed to Anis and was trying to persuade her.
Against expectations of a fight, the mood between Han U-sol and Anis seemed calm. So the heroes held back, suppressing their presence to observe.
Ronel had the biggest say in letting them watch without interfering.
Han U-sol had endlessly insisted Anis would listen to reason, so Ronel figured they'd give it a shot.
If Han U-sol was right...
Was she truly bound against her will by a devil's contract, desperate to return to humanity's side?
...Doubtful.
Ronel was skeptical, but it was worth observing.
Aselrika agreed they needed to assess the situation, backing Ronel's call.
Thus, Ronel ended up eavesdropping on Han U-sol's desperate plea from afar.
And the verdict came shockingly fast.
She had no intention of coming back.
More precisely, no will to side with humans.
She'd seemed to harbor faint lingering regrets before, but now even those were gone.
"You know something? While you were talking, her eyes never once met yours."
Anis never looked at Han U-sol, not even once during his speech.
Despite his persuasion, she seemed set in her ways, staring into space with a bored reaction.
"But there was one moment she did glance at you."
When she confessed to the murder.
That instant, her gaze finally turned to him.
And when their eyes met, the grip on her sword hilt tightened—no illusion there.
Why had Anis tensed her sword hand then?
What would she have done if Han U-sol had answered differently?
"That's why I shot. Figured you might be in danger."
"No way that's..."
"You were too lovestruck to notice, but the watchers felt it. Even seen in the best light, it wasn't friendly. Na-rin sensed it too—got flustered and tried persuading again. Got shot down anyway."
Han U-sol froze like a statue. Pitiful sight, sure, but failure was failure.
"Anyway, it's over. Let it go."
Until now, Han U-sol had waffled between Anis and humanity, trying to save both.
It had always rubbed Ronel the wrong way, consciously or not.
To Ronel, Han U-sol sometimes seemed to value Anis over all humanity.
He'd brushed it off as imagination, but deep down, he worried it'd bite them at a crucial moment.
Now, with Anis essentially declaring war on humanity, choosing her was off the table. Clinging to both now would make him a delusional idealist with his head in the clouds.
Choices and focus.
Ronel's creed: pick one, discard the other ruthlessly, and pour everything into your choice.
He hoped this would snap Han U-sol out of his Anis fixation, letting him focus solely on humanity.
"You're beat. Head back and rest."
Having counted heads, the heroes headed for base. Bodies and minds weary, rest was paramount.
Rookies sometimes fretted the devils or magic beasts might breach the barrier, but veterans scoffed.
The holy power enveloping the barrier repelled even magic beasts. Touching it meant instant agony. Devils might approach, but breaking it? No chance.
This X District barrier was Han U-sol's, inherited from Auriel and reinforced over three years at full power.
Small-scale, but its strength rivaled the one Auriel once used to shield an entire city.
Even if devils had regained power, it'd have fallen long ago if it were that fragile—city wiped out.
So heroes laughed off such worries as jokes. Ronel did too.
But then.
- BOOOOOM!
"Wh-what is it?"
"Explosion?"
A mysterious roar erupted from inside the barrier.
Ronel whipped around toward the sound.
"...Hold on. What the hell."
He stared in disbelief, horrified.
- Crack...
Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier.