121. A Fate Transcending Time
121. A Fate Transcending Time
The will to win.
An emotion she never imagined she would see from a human standing before her.
A possibility that should never have manifested before her—she who sought to annihilate all of humanity and leave only their madness behind in this world.
"Win... against me...?"
—Craaack!!
Crimson currents of surging mana. All of it became afterimages trailing behind her as she advanced, solidifying mid-pursuit and beginning to reshape itself into the forms of weapons.
Temporary material creation achieved through precise mana control.
"A mere Hero—a single, insignificant Hero—dares spout that he can defeat me, war incarnate!?"
Soldiers burst apart in the torrent of magical power that erupted alongside those weapons, but the Red Knight paid them no mind.
Those fools who could do nothing but gawk stupidly, compelled by her ability to forcibly imprint her existence upon them—in this fight, they were nothing more than lumps of meat obstructing her advance.
"You're nothing on your own—if only they hadn't interfered, you'd have been beneath me long ago!!"
Thus did the Red Knight seek to overwhelm him, drenching her own body in blood.
But though her resentment-fueled attacks were ferocious, they lacked composure.
To her, fixated as she was on childhood memories, fighting was something that permitted no room for leisure.
—Kwaaang!!!
And he did not let that opening slip.
The Red Knight's body was hurled backward by the explosion of a throwing spear cast into that very opening.
The putrid blood trickling from her mouth immediately after told her plainly—he had finally caught her off guard.
Even if she could not command her forces properly, she had sustained enough damage to draw blood in a fight against a mere human.
"Gh—uaah, aaagh!"
The Red Knight rose while spitting blood, regenerating her wounds as she regripped her sword—yet the man who glared at her simply spoke in a quiet voice.
"...You must have worked desperately to gain the power you have now."
"Shut your mouth...."
"Thrown onto the battlefield at such a young age—it's only natural that you, having survived to the end, would end up this way."
"What do you know—what could you possibly know about me...!!"
"Everything. I've experienced all of your memories."
Her indignant voice cut off abruptly, and with it, the deployment of her power ground to a halt.
It meant that those words were not something she could dismiss lightly—enough to momentarily quell the fury she exuded.
"Experienced... my memories...?"
Yes—what he had shown thus far was not something achievable merely by inheriting a dragon's dignity.
For that alone could not explain how the weapons he materialized and the techniques he employed matched her own so exquisitely.
"Ah, I see. My memories..."
Above all, even in a situation where he held a slight advantage, he did not mock her.
What lay beneath that cold gaze was an emotion one might call pity.
Surely, it was not the sort of emotion born from merely hearing someone's tale—it was something that could only be shown by one who had personally become that person and lived that life.
"So... you and I are the same, is that it?"
If that were truly the case, then the state of the one before her could be described as two personalities coalesced into one.
The him of this moment was Woo Hyosung and, at the same time, Tachia Piloi.
One who understood both the heart of a child abandoned by her mother, wandering the battlefield, and the feelings with which she finally met that mother at the end.
"You too, if you've seen my memories... you can understand me, can't you."
Having contrasted those memories with the present, he must have realized.
That though they saw themselves as victims for now, standing in the position of the weak—in the end, the human race was a species rotten to its very core.
"You hate the world too—that's why you sought power and chose to take on the same memories as me."
The strong always despise the weak, and those with power always blind the masses to shape the world as they please.
That humanity, toyed with by such wretches, should fall into madness and ultimately careen toward total ruin—that was only the natural course.
What she sought was to hasten the demise that would come as a result of such a species' ways, and to preserve that hideous spectacle for all eternity.
Just as they wished—and just as her mother wished.
"Because you hate humans. Because you want to sweep away all those who torment you...!!"
"Is that really all there is to it?"
She wanted him to understand that sense of bitter injustice, and yet—
the pity in his eyes as he faced her would not fade.
"All... there is...?"
"I asked whether every human you ever met did nothing but torment you."
And pity was an emotion expressed precisely because one was merely observing from a distance...
It was an emotion that could only be shown because he did not consider it his own affair—and that told her plainly that the one she had thought understood her would not walk the same path.
As if to declare with certainty that even if they shared memories, they were ultimately different beings.
"...The reason I stand here now is because there were people who carried on after you."
Unlike the wraith before her, who was maddened only by the past, he had faced the world that moved on after her death.
The lonely mentor who, unable to forget the one she admired, sought to create a successor.
The old general who, though he could not become a hero to replace her, sought to build an army that could stand together—and this moment, created by those who inherited their will.
"Because even after you died, the people who remembered you connected your existence to me."
If something remains after a person dies, then even a life that was miserable and hopeless has meaning.
The same was true of the hero standing before her.
One who understood that honor and a greater cause existed in her final moments could not live seeing only the negative side of humanity.
"So I'm sorry. I owe too many debts to walk the same path as you."
That difference, in this moment, became the decisive factor that divided them—even though they shared the same memories.
The monster born of lingering regret remained bound to the past, while the successor sought to pursue a future that the one who had gone before could never reach.
"...Ah, I see. So that's... how it is."
The Red Knight understood it in her head, but in her heart, she could not accept it.
Even as all the memories of her life resurfaced, what rose most vividly within her were still only the memories of slaughter from her childhood.
What was permitted to a wraith who drew power from such memories and moved by them was only to act as instinct drove her—until that lingering regret was finally resolved.
"If even another version of myself cannot understand me..."
The sword imbued with that will was aimed at him—and then lowered.
It was redirected toward the place they had reached once more amidst the fierce battle—where the crumbling dragon lay collapsed.
"W-wait. What are you—!"
"In the end, only Mother accepts me!!"
By the time he realized it, the sword had already pierced through her body.
He noticed too late and materialized a spear to hurl at her—but even with half her upper body blown away by the impact, she did not fall.
Instead, she simply lifted the entire sword she had impaled herself with, wearing only a smile filled with ecstatic madness.
"Ah, Mother... Motherrr...! Why did you abandon me, only to reappear now!?"
A body now infinitely light, with nothing left inside.
But what remained was the concept—the dignity—of a living corpse that had once been the lord of all creation.
"That's right, you loved me too... That's why you rampaged—because you loved me. If only those vile humans hadn't interfered, we could have loved each other again!!!"
The Dragon's Heart.
Though it had weakened to the point where not even embers remained, the heart of a being bound by an unfulfilled covenant was not permitted to die even when pierced by a blade.
As long as that vessel remained intact, any lacking power could simply be filled in. If power was insufficient, she could simply fill it with her own.
As that ominous magical power responded to her will and coursed into the heart, the flesh began to swell grotesquely.
"No! Tachia...!"
—Kwaaaaaaang!!!
By the time he realized, it was already too late.
The body, having rapidly expanded after absorbing the magical power, erupted with enough force to blow away everything in its vicinity.
And what took shape in the aftermath was a dragon surging up from the earth... no, something that bore a dragon's form.
"Yes... There's no need for war. Just like back then."
Ashes scattered across the ground coalesced, and a framework began to form, starting from the bones.
New flesh gradually sprouted over it, to the point where it looked as if a dragon were being created on the spot.
"Just like back then—just blow everything away and start over. Isn't that right...!?"
For now, it was only an unstable construct.
But if her obsession with her mother grew fiercer still, it would not be long before that too led to the manifestation of the dragon's form as it once was.
With that conviction, she drove her blade into the spine of the formed smoke dragon, and further, began to burn her own will to pour power into its vessel.
Countless spirits began to gather, and by their hands, the dragon's form was nurtured and gradually solidified.
The moment he saw the core framework of bones begin to swell, fresh flesh and scales sprouting from the mass, a voice quietly echoed inside his head as he stared up at the spectacle.
'Disappointing, isn't it?'
No, more precisely, it was something from a question and answer they shared before coming here.
Even though they were now so completely one that they no longer needed to exchange words, that child would probably have repeated the same conversation from that day if she could see this sight.
'I'm no hero. I'm just a coward who ran away from reality because I wanted a new life.'
She was just one human.
Just a girl who had inherited a dragon's dignity and been born with slightly greater power, but whose heart was frail and held nothing but love for her mother.
"...But you still forgave Lady Tachia."
Yet, because he knew she was nothing more than a fragile human, he spared no ounce of respect for her.
"Even though you could have transformed into this kind of being at any time while you were alive, in the end, you forgave your mother."
The greatest share of her life had been hatred toward humanity, but she endured and suppressed it, granting her mother the chance to meet him.
Because she granted a stay to the life of a mother who might have committed even greater sins, and proved through her final act of forgiveness that she, too, was someone who knew how to love.
"That's why I find it a shame. If you'd only been given a little more time, you might have been reborn as a true hero, one remembered by all."
'...Do you really think so?'
"Yes."
Because he believed that, he could summon the courage to stand here holding his spear, even while facing the colossal disaster before him.
"After all, I'm here to prove it."
By succeeding her, he would fulfill what she left unfinished.
Having admired heroes to protect himself and those who looked out for him, and at the end of that road, having inherited Tachia Failoy's will—this had to be the duty he must shoulder.
-Kwarreung, Kugung!!!
The first gate standing in his way: an incomplete dragon that coiled through the mountain range, and grotesque soldiers that began to pour down from atop it.
The monsters, formed from tangled memories of the past, delivered a feeling of terror as if this place had become a living hell.
"...Don't chicken out, Woo Hyosung. It's a fight that'll all end once we take down just one target anyway."
But no matter how mighty an army, there is only one commander, and just as a massive dragon inevitably has its reverse scale.
What he needed to target in this vast battlefield was no different than before.
The key was whether he could break through to reach it.
Could he reach the master of this legion—who stood in place of a reverse scale—atop this gigantic dragon that could be called a living fortress in itself?
"Yo, Woo Hyosung~ Did you get crazy strong or something while I wasn't looking?"
While he held his breath to gauge that chance, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
Turning his gaze right toward it, he spotted a man approaching as he handled the troops scattered nearby, a shovel resting on his shoulder.
"Seeing things on the way here, looks like you wanna get to the top. Need a construction worker to open the road for ya?"
"Ja-seong hyung? What are you doing here..."
"Save the happy reunion and briefing for later. I don't like stuff dragging on, you know."
Nam Ja-seong, the Hero.
A man who was always reckless and charged headlong into everything, but had survived this long because his instincts were sharper than anyone's.
"If you get the gist, get ready. I'll blow this thing with full power."
"W-Wait, hyung. Don't tell me...."
"Territory Expansion!!"
-Kwarreung!!!
A shovel swung with all his might slammed into the ground, and in that instant, the surrounding earth and sand began to reverse, defying all physical laws.
Great Earth Reversal.
A power that instantly flips the very ground he stands upon in proportion to the amount of his magical power.
-Kwaaaaaah!
The moment it was unleashed at maximum force, everything within its range of influence was launched high into the sky above the mountain, making everything around look like mere dots.
A scene where humans and wraiths alike appeared no different from insects.
The only thing remaining clearly visible was the dragon of ash weaving through the mountain range—but even that was only for a moment.
-Kieeeeeek!
The reversed gravity would soon return to normal, and they would plummet back down.
As if sensing that, crows formed from the coalescing scattered ash began to fly in unison toward the debris he clung to.
Memories of crows flocking to devour corpses on the battlefield awakened their appetite for the living, and they began their assault.
-Kwaang!!!
Just as it seemed he had no choice but to helplessly tank such an attack—
The trajectories of the boulders that had risen with him twisted grotesquely, blocking the crows' paths and crushing their bodies with their own speed.
It was a familiar phenomenon.
This was the power of Object Control, capable of manipulating dozens of tons of mass as long as the target lacked a will.
"Ga-ram!"
"Leave the cover to me!"
Yi Ga-ram, the Hero.
Having ridden up with the Great Earth Reversal, she used her ability to glide the debris, systematically taking down the approaching crows.
By the time a controlled fragment was positioned on the dragon's bone, Ga-ram readjusted her ability, preparing to launch him and the debris he stood on toward that point.
"We're targeting the Red Knight, right? What speed should I set!?"
"Goddamn, throw me as fast as you can!!"
Receiving help was always a good thing, no matter what.
As he shouted, Ga-ram hurled the debris he was riding with every ounce of power she could muster, exactly as he'd demanded.
The moment gravity and the throwing speed accelerated together— the Red Knight, recognizing the intruder's existence, drew the sword he had plunged into the dragon's back and swung it at him with full force.
The crimson sword aura bursting from that slash was an attack imbued with mighty power that could annihilate a human body in an instant.
But he was already beyond Ga-ram's range of control; this piece of debris could not muster the maneuverability to dodge that strike. If he took it with his body, he would be pushed back and fall below.
-Kuwoong!!
While he was agonizing over how to respond to such an attack, a third ally came flying in from a side fragment, throwing their body in the way to block it.
His gaze snapped toward the man wearing a paper bag, who had collided with the attack and was now being flung far away.
-Rustle.
Im Taeyang.
After a total of 28 deaths, he had successfully thrown his body in the way to protect him and was now being pushed back by the force, plummeting down below the dragon.
"Taeyang-ssi...!"
His hand reached out reflexively the instant he recognized that presence.
But even as he fell, his fingers were already pointing toward the target.
'Go.'
With his ability, even if he fell from this height, he could simply attempt the landing thousands, or tens of thousands of times until he survived.
But once that time passed, the rest was his job.
Time that's passed can't be reversed, and if the path has split, those who remain simply have to move forward.
-Kwaaang!!!
Accepting that will, he finally kicked off the debris entirely, colliding with the Red Knight who held the position as if she replaced the dragon's reverse scale.
Pushed back, he deployed weapons made of magical power at his landing point, drove them into the dragon's backbone, and glared at the Red Knight, who was readying to face him.
"...Woo Hyosung."
Just like him, the Red Knight was deploying countless weapons in all directions.
But into the sword in her hand alone, she gathered an immense amount of mana, expressing her raw intent to kill him.
"You are someone who has no right to exist in this world...!"
"Therefore, I will erase you from this spot without leaving a single trace. I will stake everything I have, no matter what...!!"
Even though this opponent carried the same memories as him, she was a being determined to walk a diverging path.
Furthermore, she was the only one who, even in this eternal war, had carved her existence into him and dealt a crack to his fervent wish.
"...I'm a bit curious about that too. If I die, whether I'll be forgotten in this world or not."
Receiving all of that hatred head-on, he drew his mana into the spear shaft as he remembered what he had to protect.
The battlefield where the living and the dead mingled, and the Decayed Dragon gradually revealing its form before them.
And atop it, one hero standing before the reverse scale....
-Kwaang!!!
The two of them, realizing that all of this was rooted in the memories of the past, drove their momentum forward and began to clash their bodies together.
The tale of a hero who faced a dragon.
At this moment, with that fate stretching beyond half a century, it shall be concluded by the hands of those who inherited that destiny.