Chapter 352: He Who Remembers
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 352: He Who Remembers
[Gram - Great Sorrow partially unleashes its power.]
[The greater the emotions you possess, the more your body is enhanced.]
Just what I wanted to hear. My body slowly began to transform. The pain was immense, completely different from anything I had ever felt before. What flowed into me was pure emotion. I bit my lip and forced the corners of my mouth into a smile. I hadn't performed the ownership ritual, and it hadn't acknowledged me as its master, but integration itself was still possible.
My body continued to change. My fingernails and toenails grew sharper, my horns and tail longer. This wasn't an infusion of an element, like with Levatain or Mystletainn.
It was a physical enhancement, similar to when I integrated with Ridil, but not quite the same. It felt as if I had become the Seat itself. Even after becoming the conceptual entity known as the Seat of Sorrow and Despair, my emotions had, for the most part, simply been points to spend on Customization. I couldn't convert emotion into holy power like the Seat of Pride, nor could I turn it into an element like the Fallen Prince.
I had received a tremendous gift, a truly useful ability.
My body began to change, hardening to a degree that would suit an item description reading, Durability will not decrease under any circumstances. Emotions surged endlessly from within me. The feelings erupting from my own heart were far greater than those flowing from my surroundings.
I could no longer hear Gram's voice. By unlocking this one ability, it seemed the sword had decided to acknowledge me in its own way.
Tears streamed from my eyes, but it wasn't uncomfortable. No, in fact, the tears felt incredibly natural. It was likely an effect of integrating with Gram, but I paid it no mind, felt no shame.
Behind my back, a tangible, black emotion took form.
I smiled.
[Weapon Integration]
[Target - Gram - Great Sorrow]
[As an effect of Weapon Integration, your durability is greatly increased. You can now release the user's emotions and stored emotions.]
[The greater the emotions you possess, the more your body is enhanced.]
[Not Viewable]
[Strength +10, Stamina +20, Magic +10]
As I took a slow step forward, the integration completed. I didn't have much time. I knew the state of my own body better than anyone. Though the description didn't say it, I knew this integration would only last until my body collapsed. It wouldn't take long to tear him apart. No, I would rip him limb from limb as quickly as possible.
The surrounding undead saw me and charged, only to be obliterated by a casual flick of my tail. They vanished without a trace. Struck by my body, which had been enhanced to its absolute limit, they exploded in mid-air, not even leaving dust behind.
Focusing magic into my eyes, I saw the expressionless face of the Fallen Prince. My mind was perfectly cold. I suppressed the rage that threatened to boil over.
Han So-Hye and Jang Ye Ri were still fighting him, but they were being pushed back, their stamina failing. If the battle had continued like this, they would have been forced to retire. No, even now, they were on the verge of it. They must have been relieved to see me arrive.
"Hoo…"
The emotions of the battlefield were continuously drawn toward me. I could feel a great power welling up inside, an emotion likely born the moment I saw Choi Eunju.
"Hoo… Hoo…"
Drawing emotion from the Seat was highly efficient. Just as I had drawn sorrow from the Sword Saint, he had drawn anger from me. He must have been feeling pretty good. The anger I was sending him was likely becoming his nourishment. But I didn't care.
"You… that form is…" Jang Ye Ri murmured as she saw me. Han So-Hye, her face etched with exhaustion, also spoke.
"That magician…"
"She should be alive. No, she is alive."
No more words were needed. The two women who held up the continent of humans and Green Skins nodded in unison. The Queen of the North and the Queen of the East slowly began to fall back. They knew better than anyone that there was no chance of victory if they kept fighting. He used emotion as sustenance. Han So-Hye might have managed, but for the highly emotional Jang Ye Ri, he was a difficult opponent.
As I took another step forward, the Fallen Prince turned to me and opened his mouth.
"You've grown strong. You can become stronger still, O Sorrow."
"Bullshit. I will grow stronger. By killing you here."
"I am no longer a living being."
"…"
CRUUUNCH.
My faith was in my flesh. I wouldn't use any other weapon. Every last drop of my remaining magic and all the emotions flowing into me would be used as fuel to move my body. I lacked the magic and stamina to wield weapons like Levatain, Dainsleif, or Ridil. If I tried to use them, my body would crumble long before I could kill the Fallen Prince.
The bastard was strong.
But I didn't feel like I would lose.
I had thought it was a disadvantageous fight. But it wasn't.
If he and I fought one-on-one, it was by no means a disadvantageous fight.
CRACK!
The moment I kicked off the ground, a tremendous sound ripped through the air. Before I could even register that I had moved, my body was already in front of him. I grabbed his hateful face with one hand and slammed it into the ground, and another deafening roar echoed out.
KRA-KOOM!!
CRUUUUNCH.
As I raised my other hand to strike again, I saw that my left hand, the one holding his face, was already half-frozen. I immediately used my magic to thaw the encroaching ice and then slammed my right fist into his face.
CRUUUUNCH!
There was no technique. No martial artistry. I had never been professionally trained to throw a punch. But the destructive power was beyond imagination. Overwhelming physical ability made it possible. When I raised my right hand again, a massive ice shield appeared. I ignored it and threw another punch.
KRA-KOOOOM!
He wasn't behind the shattered remains of the ice shield. A sudden chill washed over me, and I instinctively dodged. A greatsword grazed past my neck.
He was highly skilled. I didn't know what he did before he died, but he was using everything he had. A continuous supply of magic, inexhaustible stamina, a tough body, and the martial prowess he'd built in his past life. If he had been just a mindless brute with a strong body, he would have fallen long ago.
But I could win.
I whipped my tail again. With an ominous sound, his body was slammed into the ground. I could feel magic gathering around him. In an instant, spears of ice formed and rained down on me, but I had no intention of getting hit.
With my arms.
With my legs.
With my shoulders, I shattered them all.
A giant greatsword fell from the sky. I caught it with both hands and threw it to the ground. Despite all this, he showed no emotion. He just stared at me silently. This battlefield, a vortex of despair, sorrow, and anger, provided a continuous supply of energy. For me, it became the fuel for my physical body. For him, it was likely being supplied as magic or elemental energy.
"You…"
CRACK!
Just as he was about to speak, the undead was struck by my tail and sent flying, crashing into the ground far away. He wasn't an idiot; the fact that he managed to wound my arm with his greatsword was painful, but my last attack had definitely done damage as well.
"What…"
"…"
"This is the most boring fight I've ever had, you fucking corpse."
"I have never felt enjoyment in battle. I fight only to kill the living."
"And that's why you're getting your ass kicked."
Emotion grants what one desires. For the Sword Saint Ha Yuri, who wanted to become a god, it granted holy power. For me, who yearned to become stronger, it gifted physical enhancement. What he probably wanted was for things to freeze.
For everything, for the living, for emotion itself, to freeze over. I didn't know if he was born a dead thing without emotion or if he was once human. I didn't want to know. Unbelievably, this fight wasn't enjoyable. In every battle before this, I had smiled. I was human, but I was also a Green Skin, and combat always brought me a sense of joy. It should have, but this time, it didn't.
"You… are crying. What does it feel like?"
"None of your business, you fucking corpse."
Once again, sword and body clashed.
Everything around us was destroyed. The ground beneath my feet, the air, the rocks—all were swept away as if by a colossal typhoon. The aftermath was too vast to be from a mere fight. This was probably why Jang Ye Ri and Han So-Hye couldn't intervene. I didn't know about him, but I was currently in a state of absolute focus. No matter how exceptional they were, their interference would be a hindrance.
If my current rhythm was broken, I would surely fall. They knew my current state. The greatsword cut through the white frost, plunging toward my head. I kept my eyes wide open, watching the blade until the very end.
‘An attack I can dodge.’
I let it get as close as possible before turning my head. I drove into his guard and thrust my fist toward his face. Of course, he wouldn't just let it hit. It wasn't a punch I expected to land easily.
I whipped my tail at his legs, and his balance broke. I kicked my leg high into the air to bring it down on him as he stumbled.
CRUUUNCH.
I heard the sound, but he had clearly blocked it with one arm. I expected him to be smashed pathetically into the ground, but he stabbed his sword into the earth to steady himself.
His power hadn't changed. It was only natural for humans and Green Skins to feel anger toward an enemy during a war, especially if that enemy was undead. I was angry, too.
But… but the emotions I possessed were far greater.
All he had was, at best, anger toward the living. I couldn't even tell if he truly possessed that emotion himself or not. The anger flowing from the surroundings was the source of his power.
I was different from him. I could endlessly remember, endlessly think, and endlessly feel.
Agar, Sand, Ragia… I endlessly chewed over all the fucking shitty things that had happened in my life.
The helplessness and sorrow I felt when I lost Choi Seulgi.
Najin, Gaon, and Kurajin, who threw their lives away for me.
The memory of standing in the rain at Ragia's grave.
Reuniting with her, holding her in my arms.
The battle between Great Tribe Leader Agar and Sand Glave.
The disgusting memories from just moments ago. I kept reliving the memories, the feelings from all that time.
These were things he, an undead, could not do. Things that a parasite feeding on the emotions of others could never do.
"You are not worthy, you fucking corpse."
He was not worthy to live on this continent. As he swung his sword at me, I pushed one step deeper inside his guard. Shards of ice became weapons, raining down and stabbing into me, but I responded by driving in even closer.
We were incredibly close. In my position, instead of backing away, I would have chosen to strike with the pommel of the greatsword. He chose the same method as me.
It was the most efficient judgment, so it was the natural choice.
I raised my palm and struck the pommel, knocking it upward. He didn't lose his grip on the sword, but it was enough to stop the attack aimed at my head. Our bodies drew even closer.
BOOM!!
A roar echoed as the ground shattered.
I poured every last bit of magic in my body into the attack.
What I swung was my elbow. My elbow slammed precisely into his face. I didn't stop. My tail struck his arm, my arm his torso, my leg his leg—I systematically disabled his body. I could feel wounds accumulating on my own body, but I didn't care. It was a ridiculous, formless brawl.
CRUUUNCH!
CRACK!
One of my arms was torn off, and a piece of my tail was severed and sent flying. But I didn't care. I thought only of breaking him.
In the end, when my arm pierced through his chest, his body slowly began to crumble.
The battle was won.