Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Assemble!
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Time rewound to that very morning—the day Trisha headed out of the castle with Risikida for a final inspection.
Sion was secretly meeting with someone.
“...Say that again.
Young Lord Sion.”
“In case of emergency, just in case. There might actually be a Dark Dragon slumbering inside Trisha, you know.”
“...”
Kim Yu-hyun wore an expression of utter disbelief.
He was already completely fed up with Trisha’s Black Flame Dragon nonsense, to the point where he wouldn’t even glance her way.
One more “Kuhuhu!” cackle from her, and he might’ve drawn his sword.
“Young Lord.
Are you joking with me right now?”
“I’m dead serious.”
“She’s a woman whose mana barely registers at all.
Even if she’s hiding her power, she can’t hide the mana she possesses.
You might not sense it, but...”
Kim Yu-hyun trailed off mid-sentence and shut his mouth.
In this world, being unable to use or sense mana was seen as almost a fatal, incurable disease.
And the Sion Klauzen standing before him suffered from that very affliction—he’d just poked at it.
“...I apologize.
I failed to distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said.”
“It’s fine.
I’m used to it now, so there’s no point getting mad.”
Sion accepted the apology but emphasized with his tone that it had indeed been a slip-up.
“You don’t seem too fond of Trisha either, huh?”
“I never said that.”
“It’s written all over your face.”
“...”
At Sion’s words, Kim Yu-hyun cleared his throat lightly with a “Ahem.”
It was as if to say, *Why keep asking when you already know?*
“She’s just a big kid, still a child.
A child.”
“Pardon?”
“Both her parents died when she was young, leaving her big brother as the only one she could act spoiled with.
Naturally, she keeps craving the love and attention she never got as a kid, which makes her exhausting to others.
Sure, that makes her a tiring person.
But it’s not a ‘crime,’ right?
Just a bad habit that needs fixing.”
“...”
“On one hand, she might really be a braggart stuck in her delusions, like you think.
On the other, maybe there’s a real reason she talks like that.
After all the crap we’ve been through—palace attacks, nobles running slave markets out in the open, monsters being herded to start wars—now everything anyone says seems suspicious.”
Kim Yu-hyun still didn’t know about the Stigmata.
So Sion was laying the groundwork in advance.
*Everything happens for a reason, so trust me and follow my lead.
I’ve helped you this far—surely you can help me this time too.*
“...Sometimes, traveling with you gives me a strange feeling.”
After minutes of contemplation, Kim Yu-hyun finally spoke.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Kim Yu-hyun?”
“It’s like... I’m not the one in control of this body.
It’s you, Young Lord Sion Klauzen.
I’m the one moving and acting, but it feels like everything flows exactly the way you want.”
*...Damn, this guy’s instincts are sharp.*
Sion grumbled inwardly while staring straight at Kim Yu-hyun.
His expression screamed, *No idea what you’re talking about.*
Scratching the back of his neck, Kim Yu-hyun continued.
“If that came off badly, I apologize.
I didn’t mean anything by it.
It’s just venting—being swept along without any purpose in life bothers me.”
The moment he heard “purpose in life,” Sion recalled the criticisms readers had leveled at the novel.
*‘Come to think of it, Kim Yu-hyun got a lot of flak and questions as a character.
He’s clearly a munchkin by birth, but he’s so passive—not proactively tackling or resolving things.
No, he’s dragged along by events rather than dominating them.’*
The novel’s structure practically forced that.
When an incident arose, people around Kim Yu-hyun got swept up, or someone else investigated or handled it for him.
He’d jump in at the end to wrap it up, triggering chain reactions that spawned new events elsewhere.
Plus, the author hadn’t made Kim Yu-hyun’s personality or mentality adamantium- or vibranium-tough like peak munchkins.
Naturally, he’d grapple internally with each event, stumbling a bit—and that’s the man Sion kept watching now.
*‘In the novel, his passivity shows up here as questioning himself, swept along by events without even a purpose in life.’*
Purpose in life.
Purpose, huh.
Who even needs that crap in this world?
“Kim Yu-hyun.
I have something to say.”
“...What is it?”
“Don’t live to find meaning—find it while you live. How’s that?”
“Pardon?”
“Humans don’t always live for some goal, search, or achievement, right?
Sometimes you lose it or forget it along the way.
No need to obsess over forcing one into existence.”
“...”
“Just let it flow.
Don’t fight upstream to chase something down.
Life’s not that simple, but it’s not that complicated either.
Just my opinion, though.”
“Still...”
“You walk your path, react to whatever comes, wrap it up, and keep walking. Isn’t that it?
We’re not saints on a quest for enlightenment.
Even if someone says it’s all meaningless, who knows?
Maybe one day, a connection that reaches you becomes your purpose?”
He was beating around the bush, but Sion’s goal was clear.
*Stop chasing bullshit purpose—just do what I say.
It’ll be good for you, good for me.
So follow me, you bastard.*
Meanwhile, Kim Yu-hyun gazed at Sion with a peculiar expression.
It couldn’t be helped—Sion’s words echoed the advice from Kim Yu-hyun’s most trusted senior martial brother, in form if not exact.
*‘What the hell is this guy?’*
*What if he’s reincarnated? Could he be my senior brother?*
Entertaining that absurd thought, Kim Yu-hyun spoke.
“...Back at the slave market riot, I owe you a debt.”
“Hmm, maybe?”
Truth was, Sion had straight-up egged him on to cause chaos.
But Kim Yu-hyun thought it was just him losing emotional control.
“Consider this paying it back.”
―
If Lily charged with unbridled intent to rip her foe apart,
Kim Yu-hyun was like a massive pack of wolves: meticulous, flawless, strangling without mercy.
No openings for counterattacks, no time for defense, not even a split second to think.
He’d thrust like a stab, then slash down; feint a diagonal cut only to smash a vital with the hilt, using even the scabbard to disrupt balance.
“Ugh...”
Even Trisha, whose eyes had been unfocused, now showed clear panic.
Her Stigma wasn’t activating properly, making her movements awkward—and her foe was the novel’s late-game world strongest, Kim Yu-hyun, who’d annihilate any enemy with a single sword.
*‘Even in the novel, Saik could never beat Kim Yu-hyun head-on.’*
Trisha’s infamy wasn’t just raw strength—it was her terrifying obsession and malice.
Even if Kim Yu-hyun severed her limbs, she’d never stop burning Hispania, fueled by love-starved hatred fully blackened.
A woman that unhinged still ended up beheaded by him.
Sure, this Kim Yu-hyun wasn’t the novel’s endgame version—but neither was Trisha.
*‘It’s a mismatch from the start!’*
Sorry, senpai, but this was like level 2 LeBlanc vs. level 16 Kassadin—you could respawn and still lose.
Plus, Kim Yu-hyun had mastered supreme martial arts since arriving in this world.
Sword and martial arts fused into a realm where sword sage met martial pinnacle.
*Thwack!*—
His elbow slammed precisely into Trisha’s side.
Bones cracked; her body twisted grotesquely.
Catching the sword he’d tossed midair, Kim Yu-hyun severed her leg, fully immobilizing her.
“Guh!”
Trisha flopped face-down, writhing futilely.
Her Stigma granted healing, but it was slow—riddled with wounds, she couldn’t even stand.
Kim Yu-hyun stylishly spun his sword, flinging blood from the blade, then pressed it to her throat as if to say, *No more resistance.*
“Young Lord.
What now?”
Even without Sion speaking first, Kim Yu-hyun sought orders.
A definite positive sign—a green light for Sion.
*‘Kim Yu-hyun’s getting easier to control.
Good, perfect!’*
Sion raised a hand to signal “hold,” then slowly approached the slumped Trisha.
Under Kim Yu-hyun’s relentless assault, her Stigma seemed spent—the thorny vine mark on her body faded.
“They took everything.
Mom, Dad.
And someday, even my brother.
Even the one other person who was on my side... now you’re taking him too...
I just want to hold you close.
Can’t you just stay by my side? Just that?”
She wasn’t just a terminal chuunibyou case—trauma from losing her parents had started it.
Amplified by fears that even Jimmy, her sole family and pillar, would one day leave for someone else.
Dragging a mentally fragile character like her was like living with a ticking bomb.
To Sion, who valued his life above all, she was someone to avoid—or eliminate first.
*‘But killing her now would be a waste in too many ways.’*
Her combat power alone.
The Stigma hadn’t fully activated, so she’d been helpless against Kim Yu-hyun—but she’d already fought Lily before.
At full power, even Kim Yu-hyun would’ve struggled long and hard.
The Seven Evils were contrived in the novel specifically to counter him, after all.
Her strength was undeniable.
*‘And for justification or forces, nothing beats Saik.’*
Saik was one of the Celestial Clan’s top cards.
The vanguard blowing the apocalyptic horn, leading the world’s incineration.
Imagine that figure suddenly blocking the Celestials, snarling, *“You filthy bastards. I’ll kill you all.”*
To Celestials expecting unchallenged holy war, it’d spark civil war.
*‘Not just that—even lunatics yelling “World’s end is too much, but can’t defy Celestials—time to die!” could be swayed.’*
Picture a god burning the world versus another god stopping it.
Which do you follow?
Destroyer God?
Or Guardian God?
Obvious answer.
“Trisha.”
Sion met her eyes as she sat on the ground and continued.
“What’s taken can be taken back.
It’s not hard.
Just get stronger than the thief.
Simple and easy.
You’re already insanely strong, Trisha.”
“Take back... if I take back...”
“But some losses are forever.
Like your parents, probably.
Right?”
“Both of them... are gone.”
Slowly, surely, things flowed Sion’s way.
The Celestials watching would’ve vomited blood, he chuckled inwardly, then spoke in the gentlest tone.
“Yeah.
Exactly.
So think about it.
Someone who took from you but holds it where you can reclaim it anytime...
Versus those burning the whole world so you can’t reclaim anything.
Who’s worse?
Who harms you more?”
“...”
Suddenly, red light flickered behind Trisha; thorny vines reformed on her body.
As if the Stigma forbade answering, forbade giving the desired reply.
Sion thought, *Not a chance!* and whispered in her ear.
“I want to stay by your side, Trisha.
But some bastards want to burn the whole world.
If that keeps me from your side, turns me to ash you can’t reclaim...
What would you do, Trisha?”
“...I’d stop them.”
“How?”
“I’d burn them all.
Everyone who wants to burn.”
Flowers bloomed slowly along the thorny vines.
The ordinary woman transformed into a single flame.
Her hair shifted to bright red and yellow; unfocused eyes glowed orange, regaining vitality.
“I won’t give.
Never.
If taken, I can take back.
But forever lost means forever gone.
So I’ll stop them.
No—I’ll burn them.
Everything.
Anyone trying to burn what’s precious to me—whatever they are.”
Black Flame Dragon’s dark fire yielded to Saik’s radiant holy flame and lightning.
No longer terminal chuunibyou, but true Stigma bearer.
Saik Trisha emerged.
“Trisha.
Protect me.
Then at the end, you’ll have me.
Fully, completely—unlike your brother, all mine.”
Sion pledged himself as collateral.
Reality: he’d monopolize her, not vice versa.
―
“What is it?”
“Tears of the Gods briefly flowed somewhere on the continent, then stopped.”
At the woman’s report, the man flapped his wings and clicked his tongue.
“...We must hurry.”
“I’ll order those outside the holy land to move faster.”
She bowed and vanished.
Watching her go, the man closed his eyes and looked skyward.
As expected, the gods wished them to purify the world even a day sooner.
―――――――Author's Note―――――――
That's not it, you idiots.
―
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