Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Tearing the Heart
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A tsunami of magic beasts surges forth.
The uncontrollable waves soon course through the city's veins like blood, advancing rhythmically forward.
A red and dark hue.
Unstoppable.
It was almost like an optical illusion, in a way. The kind of image that tricks you into feeling nauseous if you stare at it too long.
"Urk."
It was a tsunami of illusions. A disaster, an irresistible force of nature. The kind that left you staring blankly until you dry-heaved without thinking.
And amid those waves of calamity, there were people daring to resist the unstoppable power. Not just one, but two of them.
Han U-sol and Aselrika.
-Kyaaak!
-Kwaaang!
They stood tall amid the torrent of magic beasts, swinging their swords and unleashing light from their weapons.
I fixed my gaze on them. Light poured from their swords and guns, erasing the advancing magic beasts.
As they wiped out parts of the illusion-inducing beast tsunami in steady patterns, the churning in my stomach finally began to settle, bit by bit.
Once it did, my first thought was sheer absurdity.
...What the hell are you two doing? You're gonna get yourselves killed? When even running away isn't enough, you charge straight in—what's going through your heads? Are you suicidal?
I kicked off the ground lightly and landed in front of Aselrika. My plan was to boot her in the butt and send her flying far away.
But.
-Bwooung!
What the—? She swung her weapon at me. With murderous intent, no less. All I was trying to do was save her life!
Unable to overcome her fierce resistance, I had no choice but to head toward Han U-sol instead.
"Ngh. Anis! No! Stop!"
But—this couldn't be happening. Han U-sol blocked or dodged my kick with a barrier or something! He didn't counterattack like Aselrika, but he was clearly rejecting my hand. No, my foot.
Why? Why reject me? Aren't you two going to die like this? For real? Are you dead set on getting killed?
That thought didn't last long. Surprisingly, the two of them were holding their own.
Every time Aselrika swung her sword, an ogre split in two. Every time Han U-sol fired a bullet, a troll's heart was pierced.
Han U-sol was especially impressive. Until just moments ago, he hadn't been able to use his strength—wide-area attacks—properly because of interference from me and the surrounding heroes.
-Kwa-gwang-gwang!
As if this situation suited him better, he unleashed his power without restraint. Holy energy rained down omnidirectionally, turning the beasts' positions into hellscapes.
-Kraaaah!
-Kyaaak!
The magic beasts glared at Han U-sol like he was their lifelong enemy, but that glare proved meaningless as most vanished before they could even reach him.
Even the few that got close had their hulking bodies ignite upon hitting the barrier surrounding him.
Aselrika was seasoned too. Like a veteran with tons of experience, she weaved through the beasts without overlapping Han U-sol's attack lines.
-Kreuruk...!
-Kyaaak!
The beasts' death cries echoed. The more they rang out, the louder Aselrika's battle shouts grew. In tandem, the explosive roars from Han U-sol's weapons increased in frequency. The beasts' resentful, agonized screams showed no sign of stopping.
-Kraaaah...!
It almost resembled the sounds of defeat. If a blind man who couldn't see ahead had been there, he might have even predicted the beasts' loss.
If new elite magic beasts hadn't been swarming in from the fog in real time.
If those beasts hadn't trampled their comrades' corpses and charged like a tsunami still.
If that pitch-black spear flying from somewhere far off hadn't shattered Han U-sol's barrier.
Maybe the beasts really would have lost.
-Zzaaang!
"Ugh, the barrier!?"
"That spear again. Damn demon bastard!"
But the barrier shattered.
The beasts still surged like a tsunami.
And from the low-hanging black fog in the distance, more magic beasts were still emerging.
Without their barrier, Han U-sol and Aselrika began to struggle. The thin, transparent shield that had protected them was smashed by that vile demon spear, and the beasts were still endless. They tried summoning another barrier, but it was smashed again by another black spear.
"Ngh!"
Aselrika took a wound. Nothing deep. Just a scrape.
But as time passed, the wounds accumulated, and their depth evolved from mere scrapes to something that couldn't be ignored.
"Ugh!"
And then, Han U-sol took his first wound. So minor it barely qualified as an injury. But for some reason, it felt like a turning point to me.
The wounds kept multiplying. From insignificant scratches to deep gashes. From deep gashes to actual injuries. They spread across Han U-sol and Aselrika's bodies like bacteria reproducing.
Yet they still stood tall. Still resisting the unstoppable force amid the waves.
Their wounds were still shallow, and they seemed to have plenty of stamina left, but surely they knew continuing like this would lead to an obvious end.
And yet, they kept fighting.
The wounds kept growing.
Why?
I couldn't understand.
You two. Not running? The barrier's broken? Can't put it up again?
Don't you know how this ends if you keep going? It's obvious. Even a blind man could see it.
Can't you see there's no one around but you two? Keep this up, and you'll die like dogs. With all due respect, aren't you on fire right now?
What good is burning up? Anything left behind?
You're not exactly devout Buddhists, are you? Burning won't leave relics or anything.
No one will know how you died. Or who killed you.
And still, you're staying there? Dying in a place no one sees, unknown to all? Is that really the end you want? Okay if it turns out that way?
Look. The sky's getting stickier. Night's deepening, dawn's approaching.
Really okay? Aren't you tired? Isn't that enough already?
What fuels you? Duty? Responsibility? Justice? Obligation? Resignation? Guilt?
Fine, Aselrika, whatever.
Han U-sol. You. Are you really okay with this?
Born saddled with unwanted duty.
Finger-pointed at for the crime of being born.
A life burdened with guilt on your head, forced into obligations.
You gonna burn for that? Satisfied with it?
Your life was bound from birth with threads of original sin, chopped into pieces by duty, dismantled by guilt.
And still you burn? Even bound, sliced, and mangled?
What remains after burning even that disassembled self as firewood?
I still couldn't see his expression. Even squinting, a hazy fog blocked it.
Okay with that? A life ending sliced to bits. That pathetic life engulfed in flames, burning to nothing.
Really okay? Truth is, you don't even know what your face looks like right now, do you?
You crazy bastard, spilling words you shouldn't when you had the chance, and now pretending to care!
No, well. Sides are sour anyway, but you know me, I know you.
Well.
No matter how nicely I put it.
Your life's a sewer.
Objectively.
Our lives are objectively, well.
Sewers.
Even if starting points differ, goals differ, if we end up in equally filthy places.
It's a sewer.
No, objectively speaking, haven't I gotten divine pity a few times? There was Yoon Na-rin, and Betty's still around.
So maybe my sewer gets a bit of sunlight? Yeah.
But you.
What do you have left?
Unlike me, you started in the light and flowed into the sewer, right?
No, not teasing. Not dunking.
Not bragging about my chains or ranking sewers between us.
Just curious.
What do you have left to burn like that?
Is there anything left?
Or maybe you burn because there's nothing left?
What. What. Why. My thoughts tangled endlessly when an unwelcome guest arrived.
"Hahaha!"
Kahatel laughed. A sneer full of malice, like it was dragged up from hell. The grating noise snapped me from my reverie.
"Amusing! Struggling before certain death!"
Amusing? Sure, with Han U-sol—the guy he'd been itching to kill—cornered, it must be hilarious for him.
But.
Not for me.
I was pissed. As I'd felt before, Kahatel and I just didn't mesh.
"Yeah. Keep struggling!"
-Kwaaaa!
Kahatel hurled a spear brimming with demonic energy. Leaving his hand, it flew—Kwaang!—toward the barrier-less, hard-fighting Han U-sol and embedded itself.
He didn't stop there. He conjured more of the same spears in succession and lobbed them at Han U-sol and Aselrika. The sounds of spears exploding on impact echoed for quite a while.
-Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Was it over? Ending as mere ash after all that.
Ah. I almost stepped forward without thinking.
-Pajijijik!
From the thick smoke, a counterattack shot from Han U-sol. A beam of light saturated with holy power, rampaging madly—something I'd never seen before.
The beam flew toward Kahatel at a speed even I struggled to track with my eyes, then.
Pierced right through his left shoulder.
"Ngh!?"
The demon's ever-grinning face twisted in pain. I liked the sight so much that.
"Puhaha."
I couldn't hold back a laugh. Kahatel glared at me.
"...What's so funny?"
"You said it was amusing, right? So I'm joining in."
The demon scowled and ordered me.
"...Why are you just watching? We agreed to cooperate if anyone interfered with killing Yeriel, didn't we?"
"We did."
"Too late to back out now. It was a 'contract'."
"Yeah, I know."
"Then what are you doing? Hurry up and help me take them out."
"Sure."
I stepped forward and looked at Han U-sol. Still couldn't see his expression, but the murderous intent pouring toward Kahatel was crystal clear.
"You hate that guy too, huh?"
"...Anis."
"Don't hate me too much. Honestly, you two are a nuisance, and yeah, you need to be cleared out."
I kicked off the ground and charged at Han U-sol.