Chapter 77
Chapter 77
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Shattered Barrier
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey."
Yoon Na-rin called out to Han U-sol, who was still helping evacuate the remaining residents.
"Yeah?"
"What's with that look on your face?"
What expression was he making? Han U-sol reflexively asked back.
"What are you talking about?"
"Why are you looking at Anis like that?"
"……."
Was it that obvious? Yoon Na-rin looked somewhat dissatisfied, maybe even a little angry.
"Tell me. Why the face? It's like you're disappointed she killed a few criminals on her own and treating her like a potential villain."
Yoon Na-rin snapped at him. It was a bit harsh, but not wrong.
If he said he was disappointed? No, he wanted to deny it. It was shocking that Anis, who always tried to save people, had killed someone—but it was self-defense, a justifiable situation.
So it wasn't just that. The raw scene of slaughter unfolding before his eyes. If that was all, Han U-sol might have comforted her and professed his unwavering faith to the end.
But the thick scent of magic beasts wafting in the air. That smell gripped and shook him.
The trust he thought was rock-solid was rattled by that faint whiff claiming she was nothing but a magic beast. The senses sometimes overrode faith.
Han U-sol fell silent, not answering Yoon Na-rin.
How could he say it? That she was a magic beast.
That his gaze toward her couldn't help but mix with a bit of doubt.
"Don't tell me... you made that face in front of Anis too?"
"……."
Yoon Na-rin pressed Han U-sol, who clung to silence. He couldn't answer again. He didn't even remember what expression he'd worn back then.
"...Ha. Guess I misjudged you."
Interpreting the silence as affirmation, Yoon Na-rin let out a scornful laugh.
"If you can't trust her over something like this, then don't act all high and mighty from the start."
"In the end, you only liked her for her looks. You imagined some perfect Anis in your head and fell for a fantasy that doesn't exist."
Yoon Na-rin's sharp words stabbed his chest.
She was someone who always rushed ahead to save people, no matter the time or place. Han U-sol had loved that about her.
But maybe, because of that, he'd decided she had to be noble, had to be the ideal hero.
He'd turned a blind eye to her other sides, loving only the parts he wanted—a half-hearted love.
Could that even be called love?
Anis in the abandoned building had clearly been suffering. What tormented her was surely guilt.
She'd only acted to save Daniel, and since there were so many enemies, things got a bit rough.
In the end, that's what she'd done—for Daniel.
That was the action of a human, not a magic beast.
"……."
Suddenly, Han U-sol felt like his head had been struck with a hammer.
He hadn't been seeing Anis wholly, like Yoon Na-rin had.
Maybe he'd just wanted an ideal hero from her, one who saved everyone.
He hadn't even considered looking at her other sides, demanding only purity and nobility.
As Yoon Na-rin said, maybe he'd arbitrarily expected and arbitrarily been disappointed.
The magic beast scent was just an excuse—she was still human, and he was the selfish one. He'd forgotten that.
"……."
Han U-sol bowed his head and bit his lip hard.
Even as he directed these selfish feelings at her unilaterally, he'd ended up disappointed alone and hurt her too. He felt pathetic.
Watching Han U-sol quietly, Yoon Na-rin turned away and left with one last word.
"...Go apologize to Anis and talk it out. Before it's too late and you regret it."
Han U-sol nodded.
Now he really didn't want to disappoint her.
Before he regretted it...
Craaaack―――.
And then, cracks split the sky.
The barrier began to shatter.
There are only three possible ends for the person grabbing someone falling off a cliff.
Successfully pull them up,
or fail due to lack of strength and let go,
or...
fall together.
People murmured in agitation.
"Wh-what is that!!"
"The barrier's breaking!!"
They pointed at the cracks in the sky.
"Everyone, hurry!"
Fergus shouted urgently. We quickly joined the other heroes and raced toward the fortress.
The cracks spiderwebbing across the barrier multiplied,
and then―――!!!
Shatter―――!!!
It broke completely.
"It... it's broken..."
"Did the magic beasts breach the fortress?"
"Th-then the heroes at the fortress..."
The heroes, shaken by the barrier that had protected the city for centuries shattering, showed faint fear on their tense faces.
Mingled among the heroes who stopped to stare at the sky, I blankly gazed upward too.
Dawn passed, and daybreak arrived.
The sun cast its light. The warm sunlight that had always pierced the magical veil to illuminate the city now poured down raw and unfiltered.
Undoubtedly the worst situation, a dire crisis. A moment to despair and brace for death.
And yet, paradoxically...
Light descended.
Radiant light.
The fragments of the shattering barrier, crumbling like glass shards, sparkled as light reflected off them.
Memories from the past overlapped beneath the layering glow.
My father smashing a liquor bottle over my head.
Red liquid flowing down, covering my vision.
Green glass shards exploding into the air, alcohol droplets scattering.
And the sparkle reflecting off those shards—a single ray of light slipping through the small window gap.
Undoubtedly the worst, most despairing situation.
But because of that, I'd always thought...
That light was so beautiful.
It stood out because it was the worst, beautiful because it was despairing. To me, light was a single flower blooming in despair.
And light always faded, betraying my hopes.
A hallucinated voice chattered. It whispered that this light would fade soon too.
Like always, granting brief beauty and hope before oxidizing away, flipping to darkness in an instant.
An ominous feeling crept in. Lately, it seemed like bad omens every day.
Since my life had always been pointlessly miserable, daily dread was par for the course.
The barrier fragments scattering in the sky vanished, and the sparkling reflected light faded too.
"Everyone, listen up!!!"
A blonde woman came running from the fortress direction, shouting. She looked familiar—probably from the top ranks of the hero rankings.
Other heroes followed her, all looking ragged from intense combat.
"The fortress is breached and the barrier's down!! All heroes from Sector X, assemble!!! Hold the line at the entrance barricades!!!"
The blonde woman yelled with a desperate face. A storm of emotions swirled in her eyes.
"This is the last line of defense!! Fight like your lives depend on it—because they do!!!"
I turned to look at Yoon Na-rin. She looked back at me.
For a brief moment, our eyes met.
Yoon Na-rin frantically scanned the crowd, searching for someone. Her eyes darted between the disheveled heroes, returning empty-handed several times.
After a few sweeps, a small anxiety began to overwhelm her.
"……."
He's not here.
Her brother, Yoon Kang-woo, was nowhere to be seen.
Daybreak passed into morning, the sunlight growing stronger. With it, Yoon Na-rin's anxiety snowballed.
Why?
Why isn't he here?
Those people were the vanguard who arrived first. Was her brother coming later?
The barrier was already broken. If they'd retreated, they should've arrived by now.
Why isn't he coming?
That woman said this was the final defense line. Then the heroes outside the barrier...
Yoon Kang-woo...
"……."
Her hands began to tremble faintly. She desperately denied the possibilities rising in her mind, scanning again.
"Um, excuse me."
She approached the blonde woman who seemed to be the leader.
"...Do you know where my brother, K-Kang-woo, is?"
The woman's long hair, tied up high, swung as she turned. Seeing Yoon Na-rin's red hair, she stiffened.
"...You're Kang-woo's little sister?"
Yoon Na-rin nodded. Aselrica's lips trembled as if to speak, then closed.
Yoon Na-rin's instincts rang alarms. She reacted sharply to every twitch in Aselrica's expression and eyes.
She tried to ignore it. Denied it couldn't be. Looked up at Aselrica, hoping for denial.
But her answer was...
"...I'm sorry."
"……."
The moment those words left her mouth, Yoon Na-rin felt herself crumble instantly.
Yoon Kang-woo had been the pillar silently supporting her life from behind.
Now the pillar was gone. In the blink of an eye.
Staggering at the pillar turned to ash, Yoon Na-rin began to collapse.
Flickers of flame rose and died around her repeatedly, mirroring her extremely unstable emotions.
Staring blankly into space, the first emotion to surge was deep rage.
"You abandoned him, didn't you? All of you."
"……."
"You left my brother behind and ran!!"
"Na-rin, stop!"
Han U-sol restrained Yoon Na-rin as she lunged at Aselrica, grabbing her collar. Aselrica accepted the fury head-on without retort.
And apologized.
"...I'm sorry."
"……."
Meeting Aselrica's eyes, Yoon Na-rin read the emotions there. She too had eyes clouded with sorrow, anger, and regret.
Yoon Na-rin released her grip and collapsed to the ground.
She knew. They hadn't wanted to leave Yoon Kang-woo behind.
The one to resent was someone else.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Sad tears, but laced with deeper hatred.
Even those tears couldn't purge all the hatred and resentment inside.
Her insides still rotted, crumbling.
"I'll kill them all."
Hand on the ground, head bowed, Yoon Na-rin spat out hatred and resentment again.
"Those magic beast bastards... and everyone who let my brother die..."
Vowing to eradicate from the world the magic beasts who killed her brother.
Vowing to get revenge on whoever caused his death.
Pouring out all that resentment.
"I'll kill them all."
She poured it all out,
yet she was still crumbling.
Falling.
Her descent wouldn't stop until she'd killed every demon and traitor, wiped out every magic beast in the world.
No, maybe not even then.
The light that had shone brightest, illuminating the path ahead, began to wither and wander.
"I'll kill them all."
She spewed thick, dark emotions. So dense it felt like she was speaking to me, I instinctively stepped back.
Yoon Na-rin was breaking down. Her figure, hand on the ground, gasping—it was heartbreaking.
This time, I had to catch her. Like she'd caught me.
I stepped forward again, reaching for her shoulder.
And the moment my hand was about to touch it,