Chapter 231
Chapter 231
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: The Beast's Frenzy - The End of Everything (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***
*Swoosh!*
Barely managing to pierce the black lion's head in a single blow wasn't enough; I swung the spearhead wide, cleaving it in two.
*Thud.*
The lion's head, split in half, fell to the ground. I stared at its savage teeth and calmly caught my breath.
‘It’s… over.’
With this, it was all over.
The thought was accompanied by a faint sigh.
As I retrieved my spear with a soft rasp, my body felt like it was creaking.
Although I'd instantly recovered with a top-grade potion, it felt as though my body couldn't keep up with the sudden surge of power.
And now, even my vision was blurry.
That moment of intense focus, aimed at ending it in a single strike, felt like an eternity.
As I deactivated the skill, I used a faint trace of aura to once again spread a spiral current through the air.
‘Nothing.’
I checked just in case, but I couldn't sense any foreign presence.
“…Han Cheon-seong!”
Hearing the voice, I blankly turned my head.
My eyes fell on Glacia approaching me. She was a complete mess.
Her face and hair, stained with blood, were still a shocking sight. I knew she was fine because she'd drunk a potion, but… I didn't feel at ease.
“It’s really… over.”
“Yeah. Glacia, you went through a lot.”
As I spoke, a heavy fatigue seemed to press down on my entire body.
“What do you mean? You had it much harder.”
I let out a small laugh at her cautious tone and gently planted the shaft of my spear on the ground.
*Thud!*
Leaning on the spear for support, another sigh escaped me.
“Are you okay? Didn't you push yourself too hard?”
“I guess so. I think I need to rest a bit.”
I admitted my condition honestly… I had no energy left to pretend to be strong.
And we couldn't go back looking like this.
I suddenly felt we needed to regroup for a moment.
“Glacia, let's take a moment to compose ourselves before we head back. There's a lake I saw on the way here. It'd be best to wash up and get ourselves together there.”
“…Alright, I get it. Han Cheon-seong, you should stop talking, too. You're clearly exhausted.”
I nodded at her worried voice, thinking only that we'd somehow managed to get through it.
Glancing down, the remains of the apostle, split in two, were still in my sight.
“……”
Looking at the remains of the lion-shaped apostle, cleanly cleaved in half, the thought of how dangerous it had been was overwhelming.
From its ability to manipulate darkness to the apostle itself, there was a mountain of things I couldn't understand, but I set those questions aside for now. For the moment, I was content with the ‘reality’ that Glacia and I had defeated the apostle and were safe.
‘And I'm so glad we had potions.’
"I'll help you. Just lean on me."
Seeing Glacia gently embrace me for support, I decided to accept her help.
"Thanks…."
As I mumbled the words, Glacia's face, now so close, seemed to fill my vision.
'Was it a stroke of luck?'
My connection with Glacia allowed me to approach Anastasia, and not only did I receive great help from her, but the potion she gifted me also saved my life.
*Step. Step.*
As I slowly matched her pace.
*Whoosh.*
My head snapped up without me realizing it.
It wasn't intentional, nor was it because I'd sensed something.
But for a split second, my gaze was drawn upward.
“…Han Cheon-seong? What's wrong all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing….”
I replied awkwardly to Glacia, who seemed startled by my movement, and tilted my head.
My upturned gaze fell on an old tree.
And on the large branch of that old tree, there was nothing. Not a single trace.
That's why even I was puzzled.
‘Why did I….’
…suddenly look up there?
***
*Step. Step….*
As the two carefully began to leave, Vermian, who had been watching from the shadows, felt a strange sense of admiration.
‘I had my doubts, but to think it would be to this extent.’
The black lion-shaped apostle was imbued with his authority. It was merely a small seed containing the providence of the nine apostles, so its potential was limited.
However, that was precisely why it could be hidden, undetected even by the instructors' senses.
And I had deemed that to be sufficient. I had greatly enhanced the seed by bestowing my authority upon it.
I even considered it an apostle with more than enough power to handle Cadet Han Cheon-seong and Cadet Glacia….
But the reality I witnessed was quite different.
A rather fierce, bloody battle had ensued. And at its end, when they both collapsed to the ground as if in mutual destruction, I thought it was all over.
Both cadets had injuries so severe they would have been fatal without immediate treatment.
I was certain they would die.
But when they unexpectedly used potions and began to heal, I was surprised.
Potions were luxury items among luxury items, something a cadet couldn't normally acquire.
‘Moreover, that's a potion of a quality you can't even buy on the market.’
A potion with such a potent effect is difficult to obtain, regardless of price. After all, a superior potion that can act as an extra life is worth a fortune to anyone.
It must be one of the finest top-grade potions.
So, for a moment, I hesitated.
There was a sliver of an opportunity for me to finish the job. But, forgetting my original purpose, I found myself wanting to see.
'Even in a crisis of this magnitude.'
Whether Cadet Han Cheon-seong's will would remain unbroken, allowing him to see what came next.
Even with a potion, the wounds were horrific. So severe that Cadet Glacia, watching, had fallen into despair.
So I became curious, wondering if he was truly the person the rumors claimed him to be.
—The limits of a human.
Furthermore, he wasn't the scion of a renowned noble family, nor was he a Legendary-grade cadet. He was Common-grade.
Could such a person truly manifest a will strong enough to achieve such unbelievable growth?
It was a doubt, a small temptation.
The curiosity of whether the power Cadet Han Cheon-seong had displayed when cornering Leteia's clone was merely a fleeting miracle.
And he proved it for all to see.
A single exchange.
Activating his skill, he manifested a powerful presence unbelievable for a cadet and, with a single calculated strike, executed the apostle instantly.
And at the end of it all.
...he even stared at the spot where I stood, as if he'd sensed my presence, which should have been impossible.
How could any of that be dismissed as mere luck?
*Step.*
My eyes fell upon the two cadets gently washing their faces by the lake, and a faint breath escaped me.
‘Perhaps it was greed.’
[It was greed. Not to kill when you had the chance.]
As Leteia's thoughts rippled through his mind, a small laugh escaped him.
‘But I can't kill him now anyway.’
Even now, I could feel an instructor rapidly closing the distance.
—Kalli Ishtar.
From the moment I became aware of her, I could no longer act. Even if I somehow managed to finish off Cadet Han Cheon-seong here, if I revealed a trace of my power to Kalli, I would never escape.
As a fellow instructor, I could clearly sense just how strong she was.
In fact, now that I had a complete contract with Leteia, her presence felt even more immense.
Therefore, I couldn't take any more risks.
Hyul-an, trapped in Leteia's unique domain, was also placing a significant strain on my power... I had to retreat for today.
“...”
As I slowly turned to leave, my gaze was suddenly drawn back to the lake.
There, I saw Cadet Han Cheon-seong washing his face with water, a faint smile on his lips. I etched his face into my memory, vowing for a next time.
*Flicker!*
And in that moment, as the darkness faintly shimmered.
Vermian's presence vanished from the space, unnoticed by anyone.
***
An unexpected commotion arose in the middle of the lecture.
Kalli was checking on the cadets one by one, as if taking attendance. But she couldn't sense a cadet who should have been there.
Han Cheon-seong.
She hadn't been too worried, as she'd secretly assigned Hyul-an to watch over him, but the bigger problem was that she couldn't sense Hyul-an either.
Spreading her senses over a much wider area, Kalli was finally able to feel it.
Cadet Han Cheon-seong was extremely far away.
Recognizing his familiar aura, she immediately took action.
…
A streak of red light shot through the dark forest, moving with the speed of light.
*Th-th-thump!*
The sound of her footsteps weaving between the old trees echoed almost simultaneously as she accelerated even further.
Soon after, as she darted through the trees, Kalli caught sight of the lakeside.
And the figures of Han Cheon-seong and Glacia by the water.
“…What in the world.”
A faint breath escaped her as she opened her mouth in a daze.
She had rushed here, driven by a sense of crisis, a ‘what if’ fear, but seeing them, the tension finally drained from her.
*Thud!*
As she landed near the lake, she saw the two cadets turn their heads at the same time.
“…Instructor Kalli?”
Meeting the surprised gaze of Cadet Han Cheon-seong, I blinked.
“…”
I started to speak, but my heart sank as I took in Cadet Han Cheon-seong's condition.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong. What on earth happened?”
The first thing I noticed was his terribly ruined uniform. What could he have possibly gone through for his clothes to be in such a state?
Even his undershirt was in tatters… so much so that I could see his bare skin.
“I'll explain everything.”
“…Alright. Tell me exactly what happened.”
I nodded at Cadet Han Cheon-seong's awkward smile, my gaze naturally shifting to the person beside him.
“……”
Cadet Glacia, who met my gaze with clear eyes… was also quite disheveled, and my eyes narrowed.
Outwardly, neither of them seemed to be injured.
They seemed composed, showing no signs of pain. The only strange thing was that their clothes were in such tatters.
"Instructor Kalli. First…."
I then listened intently to Cadet Han Cheon-seong's explanation.