Chapter 265
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 265
"Roen! Roen!"
Crimson blood bloomed instantly from the wound where the holy sword had pierced him. Freya frantically pulled the blade from his body and examined the injury, her hands trembling.
But the holy sword had run through his heart with unerring precision; there was no way to save him.
Soon, the hand that had been caressing Freya’s cheek fell limply to his side.
"Ah… ah…"
As Freya let out a cry of despair, a prismatic orb rolled from his body. It tumbled across the blood-soaked altar, becoming stained a deep, macabre red.
Freya stared with vacant eyes as the orb rolled away.
The Orb of Life—the artifact said to be capable of resurrecting the million souls who perished in the Human-Demon War.
Did Roen have to die for something as simple as that?
Perhaps, for this very purpose…
Thud.
The orb, which had been rolling for some time, hit the tip of someone’s foot and stopped. Freya, watching blankly, lifted her head to see who stood before her.
"…Ciel?"
It was Ciel, Roen’s maid. She had reached the altar.
Ciel bent down, picked up the Orb of Life, and placed it in Freya’s hand.
"Take it," she said coldly. "In exchange, I am taking Lord Roen."
Ciel pulled Roen’s limp form from Freya’s embrace as if snatching him away, then lifted him into her arms. Caught off guard, Freya let him go, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"There’s a way to heal him, right? Yes? Isn’t there?"
"…"
Freya’s question was a desperate plea.
Ciel bit her lip hard, looking down at the man in her arms. Roen’s breath had already ceased. His heart had stopped beating, and the warmth was gradually fading from his skin. Moreover, this body was no different from that of a pure human. There was no way to heal or revive someone who had so clearly met their end.
"Hah… hah…"
Looking down at Roen’s corpse, Ciel’s breathing grew ragged and her body began to shake. It felt as if her blood were flowing in reverse; her body turned ice-cold even as her head burned, making her vision swim.
To be unable to prevent the death of a loved one, to gaze upon their lifeless body, was an agonizing experience. Worse still was having to exchange words with the one who had killed him.
Even if none of this was Freya's fault.
Ciel swallowed the feeling of her heart being torn apart and glared at Freya. She spoke of what she had to do, emphasizing his final command.
"Take the Orb of Life and go back, Hero Freya. Do not let Lord Roen’s death… be in vain."
Rumble—! Rumble—!
The massive pillars supporting the structure buckled, and the ceiling began to cave in. The magic that constituted the Demon King’s Castle had begun to disintegrate.
"Freya!"
As the castle crumbled, the rest of the extermination army finally arrived at the altar. They found Freya sitting alone amidst the ruins, sobbing.
"..."
The altar was drenched in blood, the holy sword stained crimson. In her hand, she clutched a small orb.
There was no need to ask for an explanation. Just looking at Freya, they could guess what had happened.
Elena, Beatrice, and Kiriel silently approached Freya to comfort her. Though they were in no state to comfort anyone themselves, they knew that Freya, as the one who had struck the final blow, must be feeling the weight of it most intensely.
Freya wiped her tears and handed the Orb of Life to Elena.
"…Here it is. This is what we gained in exchange for Roen."
What we gained in exchange for Roen.
Knowing the weight of those words, Elena accepted the orb without a word and bowed her head. Within the brilliantly colored orb, she could feel the energy of millions of souls. Just as the Chairman had said, it truly held the power to bring back the dead.
Of course, Elena had neither the ability nor the confidence to resurrect them all on her own. But reviving them was not her task to begin with. Elena would simply offer a prayer and call forth the divine glory of God upon this land.
‘No.’
To be precise, she would remember the words Roen had spoken and pray for him.
Roen, who had vanished after shouldering all sins and karma. This was the path he had prepared. Elena wanted to respect his will. Even if no one would remember the deeds of Demon King Roen…
"I will pray."
Elena, at the very least, would cherish this memory for the rest of her life.
A radiant halo of light spread out from the Demon King’s Castle. The pillar of light pierced through the blood-red sky of the demon world, pushing back the dark clouds and emitting a brilliant glow.
A sequence of miracles began from the heart of the demon world.
Shaaa—!
As Elena’s prayer activated the Orb of Life, the people held in the giant laboratory beneath the castle began to be transported.
Flash—! Flash—!
Under the sacred light shining down on the demon world, figures began to appear one by one.
"Huh?"
The resurrected people looked at their own hands, then checked for the wounds they had received from demon beasts in the past, utterly bewildered. Not only had they been brought back to life, but not a single scar remained on their bodies.
Each time the light of Ru shone upon the land, children and the elderly, women and soldiers, all appeared from the halo of light without distinction. Everyone who had died in the Human-Demon War had begun to return.
The soldiers of the extermination army stared blankly at the resurrected, then looked up at the sky and shouted.
"We did it! We did it!"
"The Demon King is dead!"
"The Hero and the Saintess did it!"
The soldiers embraced each other, rejoicing. The light of Ru shining in the demon world and the dead returning to life meant that the Hero’s party had succeeded in defeating the Demon King.
The cheering soldiers soon began to protect the resurrected, handing out clothes and food.
"Everyone, this way!"
"Come over here!"
The extermination army’s base camp was a whirlwind of activity. It was confirmed that nearly a million people had returned, and they were safely transported back to their hometowns.
March, Year 317 of the Starfall Calendar.
As the sacred light of Ru brightly illuminated the demon world, Demon King Roen was subjugated.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked around.
It was an entirely white space. A void of nothingness.
Have I truly died?
I checked my chest to see if the wound from the holy sword was still there. But on my body, which was now a pure white spiritual form, not a single scar remained.
Just as I was feeling confused, the figure of a young girl appeared before me. A blonde girl in a white one-piece dress. She waved cheerfully at me.
"We meet again, don’t we?"
"Joshua?"
The prophet, Joshua. She had appeared before my spiritual form. I stared at her silently for a moment before my lips parted.
"…Director Lee Yeon-hee."
"Oh my, have I been found out? I thought I’d hidden myself quite well."
Joshua’s form, which had feigned surprise while covering her mouth, soon shifted into a familiar figure. It was a woman in professional office attire.
Director Lee Yeon-hee of Mir Corporation. She was the one who had contacted me back when I was making a name for myself as a gamer and hired me as an external consultant.
I’d had a vague suspicion, but I never thought I’d be right. Nor did I expect her to reveal herself in this way.
‘Thinking back, it was strange from the start.’
After the alpha test, I was invited to the headquarters to discuss game settings and balance. On my way home, I was hit by a truck. Wasn’t that too much of a coincidence? Furthermore, every conversation I had with her resulted in changes within the game, so I had guessed there was some connection between her and this world.
But to think she was hiding in this world as a prophet. Then again, Joshua’s existence was a major turning point that created branches and variables in each playthrough. It wouldn't be a stretch to see her as some kind of administrator.
I let out a deep sigh, looked at my spiritual body, and asked, "What is this? Is this some kind of secretly developed full-dive game?"
I had never experienced or even heard of a game this vivid. A game so perfect that I hadn’t felt a single moment of dissonance over several years. Was that even possible?
Director Lee Yeon-hee answered, "Unfortunately, Earth’s technology hasn’t advanced that far. You know that well, don’t you? Myrillin Saga is not a simple game."
I felt a slight sense of relief at her words, but also a hint of doubt. Did that mean the things I had experienced, the people I had met… that world wasn’t really a game?
As if reading my thoughts, Director Lee Yeon-hee asked me a question in return.
"To you, was the journey of several years you experienced in Myrillin Saga just a simple game?"
At that question, I shook my head firmly.
"…No."
It wasn’t. At least to me, this world was not just a game. The bonds and emotions I had formed while living in this world for the past few years were by no means fake or illusory. Even if it had been a game, it wouldn’t have mattered. Myrillin Saga was another world, another life for me.
Director Lee Yeon-hee continued, "Then I’m glad. In reality, Myrillin Saga is another world that has borrowed the form of a game."
"Another world?"
"Yes. The countless dimensions that exist in this universe… they need heroes like you."
Director Lee Yeon-hee waved her hand in the air, creating a projection of a familiar planet.
"The Earth you lived on is no different. Even now, someone is likely dying and reviving hundreds of times to protect it. Just like you."
"..."
Another world. According to Director Lee Yeon-hee, Myrillin Saga was just another world borrowing the form of a game. I had truly saved that world and the people living in it. My death, the history of all my struggles and efforts, had not been in vain.
After confirming the look in my eyes, Director Lee Yeon-hee smiled.
"Good. In any case, you have met a true death, and you have come to this place to meet me."
I looked at her and asked, "Then are you some kind of divine being?"
To manage multiple worlds and meet the souls of the dead, she would have to be a being comparable to a god.
At my question, Director Lee Yeon-hee scratched her cheek. "A god, you say? I’m a bit far from the omnipotent being defined by the people of Earth. Please think of me as something like a dimensional administrator."
"No wonder you never aged."
A long-held question was finally answered. Director Lee Yeon-hee gave a slight smile and extended her hand to me.
"For successfully saving a world, I will give you a choice." She took my hand and said, "You may not remember, but this is actually the 100th time we’ve met like this."
"What?"
"Every time you completed a test play of Myrillin Saga, you met me in this place. Since you’ve cleared the game 100 times, that makes it 100 times. You are the 100th Roen."
"..."
The 100th Roen. So, the memories of Roen and the records left in his diary… did that mean all of it was a trail left by my past selves? If so, Roen’s mysterious actions now made sense.
At the same time, a question popped into my head.
"Then does that mean… this is my 100th death?"
"You could say that. But I never forced you, you know."
Getting hit by a truck 100 times is just too much.
Reading my mind, Director Lee Yeon-hee added an explanation. "Ah, don’t worry, the cause of death was different each time. You’ve died in a variety of ways."
‘That doesn’t make me feel any better.’
"Anyway, as always, I will give you a choice. Tell me which world you desire, and I will resurrect you there."
Director Lee Yeon-hee spread her hands out to me. She looked at her left hand first.
"If you choose the dimension of Myrillin, you will be revived just as you were and can live out your life in the world you saved. You’ll be able to spend a happy life with the people you love. Or…"
She looked at her right hand.
"You can return to Earth. The 101st Roen—or rather, Doctor Cola Zero. You will once again begin the game with the fate of a dimension on the line. The result could be better than now, or it could be worse."
She looked into my eyes and tilted her head slightly.
"What… will you do?"
Two choices were given to me. Either be satisfied with the results of this playthrough and remain, or challenge it once more for a better future.
I let out a deep sigh and slowly parted my lips.
"I…"