A Happy Ending
A Happy Ending
Thump. Thump.
Thump.
[Remaining Durability 30%]
[Cockpit Damage Increasing]
[Evasion Alert. Evasion Alert.]
[The Advent is a critical asset of the Kyungdanryeon...]
"Shut up."
Cheonrang kicked the console, forcing the notification windows to close. He sensed his own death. He tried to grab the control stick, but there was no strength in his hands.
"Is the right arm already smashed..."
Still, since the other two comrades seemed to have escaped the battlefield, should he be relieved?
As he thought of his fallen comrade Cheolgyeon's face, Cheonrang muttered toward the screen visible through the damaged main camera.
Towards the black Advent,
Ominous like a crow,
Greedy like a wolf.
"You monster."
If that thing stayed alive, how many Kyungdanryeon Apostles would die? So, he wouldn't go alone. He didn't care about any secret agreements anymore. He decided that he would erase that thing along with this city.
"Be my companion on the road to the afterlife, 4th Generation..."
His hand moved over the panel.
Wide-area destruction using the Afterglow Phenomenon.
The power was equivalent to a tactical nuke.
Even if he couldn't take down the Advent, he would deal enough damage to the Southern Cross.
[Dies Irae activation confirmed]
[Warning: This protocol violates the Canberra Council...]
Of course, given the performance of this thing, its activation in a city area was prohibited.
"Shut up."
Cheonrang didn't have the luxury to worry about such things.
[Warning: Headquarters authorization code not entered. Usage unavailable—]
Then, Cheonrang closed his eyes for a moment and spoke to someone.
"I'm counting on you, my old friend."
He spoke to his own Saint, who was sleeping inside the Advent machine with only her brain remaining. And that desperate call reached her beyond the machine.
[—Covenant synchronization rate rising rapidly... Machine Main,]
[All control authority of the main program transferred to Apostle Cheonrang]
[Do it, Cheonrang.]
She on the other side had completely seized control of Borame's main program. She was alive after all. Cheonrang grinned and manipulated the panel.
"Yeah. This time, let's go together."
Until death do us part.
My vision slowly blurred.
"Evan, wake up!"
At Earl Grey's call, I barely managed to regain my senses, and red particles were gathering around Borame.
The Sanctuary Field's barrier was being sucked inward. I know this phenomenon, which swallows light into itself.
Dies Irae.
The power of wide-area destruction that only an Advent can use. The Council surely prohibited its use in city areas, but... if it's used here, the people in this city, who have nowhere to evacuate and no time to do so, won't be able to survive anywhere.
"We have to stop it."
Earl Grey shouted. I pulled the control stick of Logos. I definitely put strength into the hand holding the stick. However, Logos was still in the middle of crushing Cheonrang.
The machine's will defied my operation.
"Listen to me!"
I pulled the control stick again. I thought I had barely regained control of Logos's right arm, but it was immediately knocked away.
Logos's fist fell onto Cheonrang's cockpit again. The armor folded like paper.
The control stick tried to jump out of my hand. It felt like grabbing the scruff of a living beast with my bare hands. It didn't want to let go of its prey. It wanted to finish crushing the cockpit. That desire surged through my nerves and rejected my fingertips.
The red particles being sucked into Cheonrang grew a layer thicker. The scattered light gathered into a single lump. That lump swelled and shrank like a heartbeat. Every time it swelled, the color grew deeper. A little later, it would really be the end.
There was no time. I had to aim for the core inside, not the cockpit.
"Logos, can you hear me? If you get hit directly by that, even you won't be able to ignore it."
As if mocking me,
[Dies Irae confirmed]
[Survival possible within the machine's defensive limits 1 time]
This bastard... It knows it can endure it anyway. It doesn't care if the city is devastated or if people die; it just wants to do what it wants.
"...That won't happen."
I shoved my hand inside the control stick. As if telling me not to interfere, the machine's neural terminal bit deeper into my spine.
"Saint-nim! Please use your blessing to enhance my physical abilities!"
"Yes? Yes!"
She placed her hand on my back and poured Divine Power into me.
Earl Grey's blessing was for the Apostle's recovery and overall physical enhancement. Even if only for a short term, I could overwhelm the machine and regain control.
[Combat efficiency plummeting.]
"Are you trying to dress up what you're doing right now as 'efficiency'?"
[Anomaly in machine control authority.]
"I am the master. Not you."
[Severe nerve damage to the Apostle due to forced synchronization.]
Earl Grey flinched.
"Earl Grey, don't listen to that thing."
[Apostle's existence is a hindrance to combat]
[—Get out of there.]
No, you're the one who should get out of there. I tried to regain control of it with my will. The machine also resisted it with its own will. Two opposing wills trying to enforce their intent clashed.
The machine rejecting my hand holding the control stick, and me trying to tame the machine.
Our struggle for power was a tense balance. But it was a machine, and I was a human. If it went to the end, I would be the one at a disadvantage.
At that moment, Earl Grey's blessing seeped into my heart. It was warm. That became strength and headed to my hand.
Slowly. But at a speed that wasn't slow. I overwhelmed and suppressed the machine's will.
[Machine control authority. Returned to Raven.]
"Yeah."
Sensation returned to my hand. Fortunately, the red particles hadn't reached the critical point yet. But there was no time to catch my breath. The red barrier was continuing to swell. The surface began to turn white-hot.
Now, I really had to end it. I pulled out the laser blade stuck in Cheonrang in one go.
{Ugh.}
Cheonrang groaned at the impact.
{It's too late. Earl Grey's Apostle!}
"We'll see about that."
I gripped the blade tighter. I twisted my wrist and angled the blade downwards. I overlapped the aiming reticle with the cracked gap of the ruined cockpit, inside it.
Just as the world was about to turn white.
I stabbed the sword in. The blade of the sword passed through the armor, passed through the inside. Destroying the power reactor that drew power from the world of the gods beyond.
Crunch
The machine's intent, which had been flowing beyond the Afterglow Field, was cut off as if a switch had been flipped. At the same time, the white light that had been racing toward the critical point lost its wick.
The particles that had been gathering into one point lost their destination, trembled, and then unraveled and scattered in all directions. Over the ruined slums, red, ash-like particles of light settled down without a sound.
Cheonrang fell just like that. Dies Irae never went off. The alarms turned off one by one. The sound of joints that had been creaking until the very end stopped. Silence settled in.
My fingertips trembled.
I won.
"Thank goodness..."
"Evan!"
Earl Grey hugged me.
Inside the narrow cockpit, she hugged me as I was buried in the backrest. With her face buried in my shoulder, her shoulders heaved.
"We really won..."
"Yeah..."
"That must have hurt a lot, right? Thank you so much..."
"Hahaha, I'm fine."
To be precise, my heart hurts too much.
Saint-nim. That distance is too close.
Earl Grey stared at me blankly. She's seriously incredibly pretty. If being pretty were a crime, this person would probably be on death row.
"Evan-nim. Thank you so much for being with a woman like me."
I showed a good-natured smile toward her as she said that.
Even at this moment, my heart was pounding like crazy.
But I desperately suppressed that emotion.
I am, after all, this person's number one fan. Even if I met her in reality beyond the screen. Seeing this person as a romantic partner is a separate issue.
Just like an idol fan doesn't think about wanting to date their idol, I just want to watch this person's happy ending.
"Evan..."
Whether she knew my heart, which wanted to remain in that kind of relationship, or not, she approached me.
Calm down, Kim Min-ho... No, Evan.
If I get carried away here and confess, only to get rejected, it'll be a catastrophe.
Heartbreak from my elementary school days was enough.
"I..."
Just as Earl Grey was parting her lips.
Bzzt.
A communication came in from somewhere.
{Can you hear me? Please respond!}
It was the people from the hangar control room where we launched earlier. Earl Grey pulled her body away in surprise. She quickly wiped her eyes, cleared her wet voice, and responded.
"This is Saint Earl Grey."
{Are you and... Apostle Raven-nim both safe?}
"Yes. We are safe."
I answered.
The other side of the communication went silent.
And then, cheers erupted.
{Logos is intact!}
{Apostle Raven. Confirmed all enemy units repelled! No enemy response!}
{This is a miracle!}
Three of Kyungdanryeon's elites ravaged this slum. One of them even pulled out a forbidden weapon. The moment they pulled out Dies Irae, they probably thought they were going to die in the slums.
But at least for now, they were alive, and this city was still standing.
{Saint Twining... We were wrong about you. We apologize for blindly following what others said and carelessly calling you incompetent... That thing you just did, no other Advent in this city could have pulled it off.}
Repelling three Advents alone. There wouldn't be many Apostles and Saints who could do that even in this capital. The overwhelming achievement was enough to erase the disregard toward Earl Grey.
It hadn't completely disappeared yet, though.
I guess I'll just have to try a bit harder to fix that.
{Earl Grey Twining-nim has saved this city today.}
Earl Grey hesitated. There were always words that followed her name. Defective product. A Saint without an Apostle. For the first time, those insulting nicknames were cast aside.
Earl Grey's lips parted. She tried to answer, but no sound came out. Instead, water welled up in her eyes again.
I quietly watched her profile.
"...Thank you."
She barely squeezed out one word. Her voice trembled faintly.
"I will... continue to do my best."
{Yes, we will await your safe return. Saint-nim.}
With those words, the communication faded.
I wanted to engrave that moment when Earl Grey was acknowledged for the first time deep into my retina. Earl Grey leaned on my shoulder, holding her breath and swallowing her sobs.
I don't know how much time is left. But at least for the remaining time, I wanted to be with you.
Yes. I don't know how much it will be, but I will definitely crush all the death flags looming over you and seize the future where you smile happily.
And if I get the chance...
It might be somewhat selfish.
I wanted to be there in the happy ending you reach.
—Nova Crux Sanatorium
"You have 3 years left."
The doctor said indifferently while looking at the chart.
3 years. That was my remaining lifespan.
...
It seems I won't be able to stay until the happy ending.