Chapter 445: Day of the Festival
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 445: Day of the Festival
I felt no pity, nor did my heart ache for her. She was a human who had little to do with me; I'd only seen her face once. A foolish woman who made a stupid choice in a moment of weakness. That was all I thought of Jeong Jina.
She was talented and intelligent. I couldn't know for sure, but the North and the East had likely been watching her closely, holding certain expectations. Our community doesn't ostracize newcomers. On the contrary, we have expectations for them and even encourage them to engage in various social activities, within acceptable limits.
It wasn't just the humans; I was the same.
The original Kim Taesung had always been greedy for talent, but after meeting Lee Wanyong, I had become particularly receptive to anyone or anything I could use.
I form relationships and use everything and everyone I possibly can. Taking Jane into my embrace was undoubtedly influenced by this as well.
But this woman had already turned her back on us once. I held no personal grudge or immense anger toward her, but I wasn't foolish enough to take back someone who had already betrayed us.
‘A traitor?’
That might be too grand a term. Still, she had abandoned the community she belonged to. I didn't care whether she was drunk on their grand cause of "freedom and peace," whether she genuinely believed the continent was on the wrong path, or whether she was simply acting for her own gain.
Choices have consequences, and it was time for Jeong Jina to face hers.
“S-save me… someone… please! Please!!”
She crawled on the ground, desperately trying to reach her comrades, but the faces of the remaining soldiers were just as pale with fear. She reached out, begging for help, but of course, no one took her hand.
“Whether they're simply terrified or now see you as an outsider, I can't say. But they've abandoned you.”
“Aaaaaaaargh!!”
I didn't even need to lift a finger. I already had dominion over all the blood here. I raised my hand, and a thorn of blood shot out, piercing one of her legs.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!”
It was so large that "spear" was a more fitting term than "thorn." In an instant, one of her legs was torn to shreds. It wasn't just punctured. More flesh was ripped away than remained. Whether she had lost the will to live or simply couldn't move, Jeong Jina just stayed there, clutching what was left of her leg.
“Ah… ugh… It hurts… It hurts! Save me, please save me. Please, it was a mistake. Lord Blood Dagger, please…”
Her face, pressed against the dirt, was a pathetic mess of tears and snot.
“If things had gone as you planned, the one crawling there would have been me, not you. You must have considered that possibility, which is why you joined this war.”
“It hurts… it hurts… Ah… ugh… Aaaaaaaargh!!”
“But I am a merciful man. If you can crawl to where that sword is embedded in the ground, I might just consider it.”
Her expression brightened noticeably. For her, this must have been an act of mercy she never expected.
“Th-thank you. Th… thank you.”
At my words, Jeong Jina began to crawl, her expression marginally better. The sight of her moving without one foot and arm made one forget she was human. She looked just like an insect.
“Ah… it hurts… Hnghhhh…”
But of course it was painful. Her limbs, her entire body, were in tatters. She was in no condition to move as far as I had indicated. Her wounds scraped against the ground, and every movement caused more bleeding. As she crawled, she must have been regretting it… regretting her choice with every inch she gained.
She must have been wondering why she'd made such a choice, what she had thrown away everything for, why she had been so greedy for something beyond her reach. The others, watching these events unfold in silence, knew it too.
The others watched her slow crawl, their faces twisted in grimaces. They winced when she cried out as her wounds scraped the dirt. Some even shot her looks of encouragement as she struggled over the corpses in her path.
Some time passed.
The goal was just ahead. I could only see her back, but her movements were surprisingly determined.
‘If I go a little further, I can live.’
That's what her movements seemed to say.
“Agh… it hurts… Huk… Just a little… just a little more…”
The fact that her voice was the only sound echoing across the battlefield began to feel surreal. I smirked as I saw the humans swallowing nervously, glancing my way. And yet, she kept moving forward. She crawled all the way to the sword and finally grasped what she desired.
To live.
“I'm… alive… Th… ank…”
But after a final groan, her body… lost all its strength. The hand she had stretched toward her allies fell limply to the ground. The light faded from her eyes. Her body grew cold. There was no sound of breath. Not even a twitch.
Her life had ended. That was the most fitting description.
A strange silence settled over the place.
“………………………………….”
“………………………Ah… ugh…”
The atmosphere was different now. Their gazes began to sink, heavy with dread. It was only natural. They had just witnessed it firsthand. In the theater of war, they had watched—not as actors, but as spectators—the detailed performance of a human life being extinguished.
From one step back, removed from the stage, they had seen in detail what death truly was: how miserable, how insignificant, how easily a human life could be snuffed out. This was different from the death one meets as an actor on that stage. The feeling was different from being struck by a stray blade, hit by a spell, or watching a comrade's head fly off in an instant. If the former feels surreal, the latter is more real, more… human.
A simple, brutal slaughter isn't without its merits, but this method wasn't bad either. It gives them time to think. It reminds them of all the things they've left unfinished. It makes them reflect more on death and contemplate the value of life.
Dreams, family, home, hometown.
“Ah…….”
And the rest of their lives.
It all vanishes in an instant. If you die, everything you've left behind, everything you've yet to achieve, disappears in a moment.
“S… save…”
Someone muttered into the silence, but they couldn't finish the sentence. They could only stare, silently, at Jeong Jina's corpse before me. In the midst of the silence, I began to speak.
“Freedom and peace. Fine words. Even Green Skins, who thrive on conflict, understand their meaning. But we also recognize how difficult they are to obtain. We don't care if you shout about freedom and peace amongst yourselves. It's no concern of mine if you choose to live your own lives by those values.”
“……………”
“But I cannot understand why you try to force your values upon us. I cannot understand why you raised your swords against us for the sake of your beliefs. For freedom and peace, you took up arms. How contradictory. For freedom and peace, you kill and die at the hands of others who have nothing to do with you.”
“………”
“You will fight endlessly until you die. I understand, to some extent, why you raised your swords for freedom and peace. But freedom without responsibility, peace without power—they are illusions. Look at yourselves now. Where is your freedom? Where is your peace? Reflect on who you are fighting for, what ideals you are dying for. The only truly free people are the ones beyond those walls.”
“…….”
“The ones looking down on your deaths from above.”
I casually raised my hand, and the weapons that formed my Iron Throne immediately shot out and embedded themselves in the ground. The magnificent throne gifted to me by Jang Ye Ri formed in an instant. I slowly leaned back into it.
They stared blankly at me, suddenly seated on a throne. The red-haired woman, Anne, was still watching me, unsure of where she should stand. I beckoned with a finger, and she scurried over to my side. It was quite amusing. An absurd thought, but I felt as if I were looking at a puppy. I tapped the arm of my Iron Throne and spoke again.
“I will spare only one hundred of you.”
“Wha… what.”
“I said I will spare only one hundred. I had originally intended to use others, but I've changed my mind. You can thank the redhead for that. It is time for you to take responsibility for your actions.”
“………………………………”
They knew what I meant. The people here weren't that foolish. The atmosphere grew heavy. I started to notice people exchanging wary glances, quietly preparing to defend themselves.
“Wh-what… D-don't be ridiculous, you monster bastard!”
“A pity.”
Such uncompromising, courageous humans exist everywhere. You couldn't call them a bad type of person, since they give hope to others. But from my perspective, they were unnecessary. I raised my arm, and the blood on the floor slowly began to rise into the air. With this much blood spilled on the ground, Dainsleif was a far better weapon than Levatain right now.
The liquid floating in the air slowly began to take shape. It would be a loss if the useful ones died, so I supposed I could control my power a little.
The countless tendrils of blood shot precisely toward their target—the one who had first spoken of fighting to the death. Naturally, those around him scrambled to get away, desperate to escape the range of the attack.
Thorns of blood rained down in an instant, sweeping up not only the man but everyone around him. The hell from before began anew. The thorns of blood created new wounds, and the blood from those wounds turned the area into another hell.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
Screams of all kinds pierced my ears, but I felt nothing. I briefly wondered if I was losing my humanity, but the thought was fleeting. I simply moved my hands mechanically.
“This will take a while, so I'll give you a little help.”
“Uwaaaaaargh!! Run!!”
“Sh-shit! Run!!”
I had expected this. The pools of blood on the ground rose once more and rained down indiscriminately upon the humans. But their struggles were meaningless. Jung Hayeon's plants had already sealed the ice walls, making escape impossible. In fact, they were now devouring the humans. Monstrous plants blocked the front, a tide of blood was at their backs.
It was obvious what choice they would make, trapped with nowhere to run. A smirk touched my lips as I glanced at the redhead, Anne.
Her expression was incredibly complex, but underneath it all, I could detect a subtle sense of relief.
“Freedom and peace. What bullshit.”
I hadn't muttered it expecting a reply, and the woman beside me kept her lips sealed.