Chapter 219: Residents of a Ruined World (15)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 219: Residents of a Ruined World (15)
In the midst of charging toward her own death, Cathy suddenly felt like bursting into laughter.
She had fought countless powerful enemies until now, and among them, of course, were many stronger than herself.
There were many she felt were an Absurdity, and many she believed she could never defeat. But even so, this was her first time fighting such an ominous existence.
Wait, is that really true?
Thinking back, it felt like she fought increasingly bizarre monsters every single time. Perhaps an even more horrific entity would crawl out next time.
Forcing down her fear and revulsion, she dodged an aura that could be fatal—no, that could kill her—with just a graze, yet she never stopped throwing her fists.
Was there a reason to go this far?
The question that surfaced in her dazed mind soon returned as a firm conviction.
There was. Of course there was.
There was something far more important than her own safety or her sense of duty as a hero.
Beyond her responsibility as a teacher or her affection for him as a woman, there was perhaps even guilt for her mistakes and a desire to repay his kindness.
So many emotions were intertwined that she couldn’t define it clearly, but regardless, this was far more important than the fear of death or instinctive loathing.
And so, she could cut away her hesitation.
Dodge and strike, dodge and strike.
She repeated the cycle of dodging and striking again and again.
Without even knowing if it was having any effect.
Even so, she must not harbor doubt. She must not stop her fists.
She had to concentrate her mana into her fists a little more cleanly, a little more accurately, and focus on driving the blows home so that the impact wouldn’t waver.
How many times had she driven her straight punches into that formless aura?
Cathy could feel it, bit by bit. Very slowly, something was changing.
Was it thanks to a battle that crossed the Boundary of Life and Death, or was it the result of the training she had accumulated until now?
Perhaps the Fortuitous Encounters she originally wouldn’t have obtained had finally fully blossomed.
Even while facing something formless, she began to sense where and how to strike.
A kind of sixth sense, different from sight or hearing, awakened. Through the sensation of impact felt beyond her fists, she could sense where and how to hit to make her opponent feel the most discomfort.
The hero, whose growth should have originally ended long ago, miraculously managed to leap over the wall at this very moment.
And that meant she had shifted from being a mere nuisance to a definitive obstacle for the Deity of the Otherworld.
Now, what was the first thing Cathy felt after crossing that wall?
It was the very strong probability that her head would be severed within the next ten exchanges.
Though she had crossed the wall and was growing stronger in real-time, it seemed that Death, having recognized her as an obstacle, would tear her apart just a fraction faster than she could reach completion.
The scenery she saw for the first time after crossing the wall was filled with despair, yet Cathy did not give up.
And as she continued to throw her fists without surrendering—one exchange, two exchanges—just as Death drew near her…
She felt something warm.
It felt almost too warm, yet it was cozy. A fierce energy instantly completed her developing self and allowed her to reach something beyond.
She knew this sensation.
It was So-hyun’s Talent, which she had experienced several times before.
However, the warmth that usually would have ended there flowed in once more.
It reached a realm she hadn’t even dared to imagine right after crossing the wall.
For a split second, the Death rushing toward her faltered.
* * *
Meanwhile, a thought suddenly occurred to Kang Ha-ni, who had similarly lunged toward Death.
…What is love, exactly, that I’m charging at a monster like that?
She felt a bit like a moth to a flame.
At first, she had rushed in without a second thought, but facing such a monster in person made her wonder if this was the right move.
The rational part of her mind—the relatively cold-headed side—kept questioning her.
To put it bluntly, they had only known each other for a few months.
Though they had grown close through various incidents, it was also true that they had many secrets they hadn’t told each other, and there was still more they didn’t know about one another than what they did.
Did she really have a reason to risk her life to save him?
Of course.
Her emotions and instincts, which crushed that tiny rational part and told it to shut up, provided the answer with refreshing clarity.
So what if it’s only been a few months? Since when does the time spent together matter when you like someone?
What she already knew was precious and heartbreaking enough, so it didn’t matter.
There’s a lot I don’t know? That just means there’s plenty left to find out in the future, so it doesn’t matter.
Is it worth risking my life?
Need I even say it?
My life? He was always the one risking his for us.
It would be far too pathetic to back out now just because she was scared.
So, whether she could reach him or not, she would give it her all.
Her father had said:
Please don’t use the family’s Secret Sword Technique unless it’s a truly dangerous situation.
Unless your life is at risk, never using it for the rest of your life might be the best path for you.
Her mother had said:
But if a moment comes when you truly need strength, you may use it.
When is the moment I truly need strength?
When she had asked that, what had her mother replied?
Ah, right.
— When that moment comes, you will know naturally.
That’s what she had said. You were right, Mother. Truly.
Because he was so precious. Because she was so worried. Because she wanted to be of even the slightest help.
There was a saying.
No matter how hard you try, if the swordsmanship you learned is weak, there is a limit to your realm. In contrast, the swordsmanship she had originally learned was the opposite.
It was a family sword style that had been developed bit by bit, inheriting the teachings of ancestors who were obsessed with the blade.
It was a swordsmanship so profound that it could momentarily elevate one’s realm in response to the obsession of an incomplete, immature swordsman.
She sensed it. The price for forcibly raising her realm would be that she could only swing it properly once.
Even so, it was enough.
The single-edged blade, infused with mana, accelerated with a scream.
A sword created to cut what humans dare not cut, to hunt what humans dare not hunt.
The first form.
Ghost Slayer.
Was it said the name came from cutting down Strange Powers and Chaotic Spirits with a blade?
An Instantaneous Draw that exceeded her maximum output stretched toward Death.
But even with her realm elevated, it wasn’t enough.
She had only intended to buy a little time for the Professor to complete her move. It annoyed her that she seemed to be yielding to someone else, but she had just wanted to increase the possibilities even by a little.
At this rate, she couldn’t reach it.
But in the next moment…
She felt his familiar warmth.
Thank goodness, you’re safe.
Her lacking strength became sufficient. The parts she hadn’t understood became clear. Seol-ah, which had been screaming due to the swordsman’s inadequacy, fell silent and grew calm.
With this one strike, she could do it.
She wouldn’t be able to finish that monster, but she could buy more than enough time for that purpose.
A single exchange, swung by pouring in all the mana circulating through her body at once.
Death, which had acted as if she weren’t even worth its notice, finally looked her way, but it was already too late.
Because she clearly felt the sensation of cutting through at the tip of her sword.
* * *
“Junior, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to kill me.”
“…Really? It doesn’t look that way.”
No, I had used Multiple Reinforcement on the Professor and Ha-ni, but surprisingly, it was actually bearable.
It hurt a bit because I had to shoulder the backlash they were supposed to receive after the reinforcement, but at least it was much less of a burden than stacking it dozens of times on myself.
Of course, my eyes and nose were bleeding a bit, but since it didn’t feel like I was going to die from blood geysering out of my whole body like last time, let’s call it a win.
…By the way, they told me not to overdo it, so what are they thinking, charging at a monster like that?
— Just to save a guy like me.
“Seriously. Look who’s talking about not overdoing it.”
A slash imbued with cold air rent Death apart.
The light dwelling in the fists of the woman clad in gold had finally opened a path to reach the core of Death.
The now-desperate Death struggled as if to resist, but I had no intention of letting go.
Black Shadow.
The Dragon’s Shadow, which had consumed life force through reinforcement, entangled and seized Death from an angle invisible to anyone else.
“Phew…”
A dense golden light surged toward the now-immobile Death.
“Haaah!!!!”
Her fist slammed into Death.
Seriously.
Both of them are so cool.
I think I might fall for them.
Yes, the two of them were cool enough.
They had worked harder than anyone.
So… whatever happens next isn’t anyone’s fault.
Death, battered, slashed, and torn to shreds, finally raised its head.
“…Not yet.”
At the Deity’s murmur and the sight of Death forcing itself back up, a faint despair and fighting spirit appeared on the faces of those who thought it was over.
There’s no need for that.
In the end, it was bound to turn out like this.
If you want to see me overexert myself that badly, fine, I’ll show you.
I’m sick and tired of seeing Death pounce on the people I care about.
“Get down.”
But there was someone who lunged toward Death a step ahead of me.
“Thank goodness.”
“…Spirit?”
“I’m not late.”
He swung his ‘sword’ at a speed the eye couldn’t follow.
With a level of perfection far beyond what Ha-ni had achieved by pouring in her everything just moments ago, he unleashed dozens, hundreds of slashes toward Death.
“Hah, look at how stubborn this thing is. But stubborn is one thing…”
The man, who looked incredibly furious as he cut through Death, finally forced it to retreat with that sheer momentum.
“What kind of bastard are you to be touching our d… kid?”
And a beat later, a tiger of flames and a storm struck the retreating Death, forcing it back several more steps.
…Even if it was weakened from fighting Sun Wukong, is that even possible?
“…No, these bastards at the Association, how the hell do they handle their work? Why is our kid here right now? Those pieces of trash, they’d better be ready for me to flip everything upside down this time.”
Ha-ni, slumped on the ground, stared at him with a dazed face and muttered.
“…Father?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry your pathetic father is late. If I’d known it was like this, I would’ve hurried even if it meant overexerting myself.”
He looked at his daughter with a gentle face, yet the hand swinging the sword never stopped for a second.
He scanned the surroundings for a moment, and then his gaze stopped on me. He frowned and let out a sigh before speaking.
“First, I should put out the immediate fire.”
…Uh-oh? Did I just suddenly get on his bad side?
I haven’t even met him in this life, let alone the 1st Timeline.
* * *
Kang Ho-in continued to swing his sword, trying his best to ignore the pain slowly rising in his heart.
To be honest, he was close to his limit after swinging his sword continuously without proper rest, but since his daughter, of all people, was here, he couldn’t stop.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked around.
To see if there was anyone who could stop that monster in his stead if he were to collapse from being unable to endure the side effects.
Chairperson Leilan? It wasn’t entirely impossible, but unless she could attack unilaterally from a distance, she wasn’t enough.
The others already seemed completely exhausted. Was there no hope?
At that moment, a boy caught his eye.
A boy who looked exactly like the young lady he had rescued, yet gave off a completely different feeling.
…He wasn’t sure why, but he felt that perhaps that boy might have the potential to stop it.
If that was the case, there was no need to hold back or calculate.
“Shall we start by putting out the immediate fire?”
It seemed he could go all out.