Chapter 179
Chapter 179
Ch. 179 .｡.:✧ The End (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Gasp?!”
A giant centipede jolted awake in a damp cave, its body trembling. It transformed into a human girl, wiping sweat from its brow.
“A death dream…”
An unsettling dream. A dream of being consumed by flames, burning alive.
Sogong sighed in relief, then assumed a meditative posture, resuming her training.
Sleep, train. Eat, train. Relieve herself, train.
Her life revolved around honing her skills.
Her master, Guiho, had said she possessed a once-in-a-millennium talent, that every day she rested was equivalent to ten years of lost progress for others. Conversely, a day of dedicated training put her ten years ahead.
“I’ll surprise Master and my clone with my improved skills!”
She chuckled, her focus returning to her training, imagining Guiho rushing towards her, praising her progress. She had severed the connection with her clone to avoid distractions, completely unaware of what was happening to it.
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“Hurry! We have to leave Elvenguard, now!”
“Oracle! The search is complete! All citizens accounted for!”
“Good. Are there any injured who can’t be transported, Rex?”
“We have enough carriages. We’re prioritizing the evacuation of the injured, including the Guardian.”
Mia sighed, watching the endless stream of refugees. They had averted the immediate crisis. The elementals had regained their senses, and the evacuation was proceeding smoothly.
No casualties. Aside from a few injuries sustained during the attempt to slow down the elementals, they had emerged unscathed.
Yet, Mia couldn’t shake her unease.
“We have to hurry…”
The chilling cold emanating from the dungeon was encroaching on Elvenguard.
She had initially assumed it would be contained, a minor inconvenience at most, but the curse, fueled by the otherworldly network, seemed endless, creating a vast snowfield around the dungeon.
The snowfield continued to expand, its icy tendrils reaching the roots of the World Tree.
Within an hour, the World Tree would freeze, wither, and die.
Time was of the essence.
They had to escape before the cold reached the refugees, and she had to see Yoo-jin emerge from the dungeon.
‘It’s cold…’
Even at this distance, the temperature had dropped below freezing.
How cold was it inside the dungeon?
Mia shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her.
The persistent cold meant Yoo-jin was still alive. She simultaneously wished for the cold to vanish and for it to remain, a conflicting desire.
“Elvenguard…is finished…”
“The World Tree is dying…”
“Don’t look back! Keep moving! Don’t slow down!”
Elves, their faces streaked with tears, lamented as they glanced back at their dying home.
Mia urged them forward, her heart heavy. The World Tree’s fate was sealed. Its lush green leaves, which had sheltered Elvenguard in warmth, now rained down like tears.
Frost crept up its thick trunk, turning it into a pale imitation of the Frost Duchess’s land, Palana.
The elves, their faces wet with tears, continued their orderly retreat, their gazes fixed forward.
“289…288…287…”
At the rear of the procession, the Frost Duchess stared at the freezing World Tree, counting down the seconds.
Twenty-five minutes had passed since the elementals stopped their attack. Yoo-jin’s plan had worked. The elementals were no longer under Luna’s control, and he had retreated into the dungeon.
But Yoo-jin hadn’t emerged. The promised thirty minutes were almost up, and Yerina’s anxiety grew.
“Sorry. I can’t keep my promise!”
“Frost Duchess?!”
She turned and ran, back towards the dungeon, ignoring Jill and Yulia’s calls. Transylvania followed close behind.
Yerina gritted her teeth, drawing her sword.
“After this, you’re free, Murderer.”
“How generous. I would have helped regardless. My friend’s life is at stake.”
“Friend…? How close are you to Yoo-jin?”
“Close enough to…touch each other’s chests.”
“…?”
Yerina’s mind short-circuited.
Touching chests? Was that…what friends did?
“We’ll talk later, slave.”
“What? I thought you were setting me free?”
“Shut up.”
She would interrogate Transylvania and Yoo-jin later, after this was all over.
Of course, that was assuming Yoo-jin returned alive.
“Transylvania!”
“I know!”
The frozen stone gate loomed before them. They didn’t have time to waste trying to open it.
At Yerina’s signal, Transylvania unleashed a swift, wind-infused attack.
One strike, then another. The stone gate shattered, and Yerina, her momentum unchecked, was about to charge inside when…
“Whoa?!”
Rumble!
The dungeon entrance collapsed, a pile of rubble blocking the path.
Yerina frantically kicked at the rubble, channeling her magic into her feet.
“No! No! No!”
Her attacks merely chipped away at the stones. It wasn’t enough. The rumbling continued, suggesting the collapse extended deep into the dungeon.
Breaking through by force was impossible. Clearing the rubble manually would take days, days they didn’t have in this freezing cold.
“Yoo-jin!!!”
Yerina screamed, her voice echoing through the blocked entrance, a desperate, heart-wrenching cry.
Transylvania watched, her head bowed in sorrow.
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“Aren’t you cold?”
“…Cold…but…bearable…”
Crack. Crack.
I could feel my hand, stroking Undecided’s hair, freezing, losing sensation. I had thought my encounter with the heroines, Yerina’s resentment flowing into me, had granted me some resistance, but after an hour in this dungeon…I was reaching my limit.
Undecided, however, seemed relatively unaffected. Perhaps it was because her body contained so little moisture.
“Undecided.”
“…Yes.”
“We might…not make it out of here.”
I had felt a sense of foreboding the moment we entered. Luna’s unique dungeon, its double-layered structure, its hidden traps…perhaps our fate had been sealed from the start.
I found myself accepting it, resigning myself to my fate.
“…It’s…okay…I’m…here…”
“…”
“…I…won’t…leave you…alone…”
“Thank you.”
I squeezed her small hand, sighing. And at that moment, I heard dragging footsteps echoing from the dark corridor.
|You bastard…!|
A figure emerged from the shadows, its face, bruised and battered, even more grotesque than before, but somehow…more pleasing to the eye.
“You look much better. Did you get a facial?”
|What have you done?! How?! How did you freeze my undead army?!|
“Ask Draken. He’s the one who gave me this curse.”
|Don’t you dare speak ‘His’ name so casually!!!|
Luna flew into a rage at the mention of Draken’s name.
Abandoned dogs, still loyal to their master…how pathetic. Draken wouldn’t take them back, no matter how hard they tried.
|Well, it doesn’t matter anymore…You’re the one who froze this dungeon! I just have to kill you! Then this body will become the Transcendent Being again…and I will transcend human limitations once more…! Ehihihi!|
“Sure. Kill me. If you can.”
|You’ve grown arrogant after I showed you mercy! I didn’t retreat because I was afraid of you! It simply wasn’t the right time to kill you! But here, in my unique dungeon, I can seal all your abilities!|
“…!”
The dungeon core glowed, and I felt my strength draining away. My magic, my demonic energy…gone. I tried to activate a trait, but…
[Trait activation restricted in this area.]
…nothing worked. Not even my Guardian Knight traits.
Strength: 20 *Guardian Knight penalty application failed
Stamina: 45 *Guardian Knight penalty application failed
Magic: 50 *Guardian Knight penalty application failed
Agility: 28 *Guardian Knight penalty application failed
Luck: 10 *Guardian Knight penalty application failed
My stats, boosted sevenfold, had returned to their original values. I was weaker than an ordinary knight, let alone a superhuman.
|Strength isn’t determined by the number of abilities! It’s determined by raw power! Are you finally facing reality, human?|
My body felt heavy, the armor and sword weighing me down, the cold exacerbating the weakness.
|Ehihihihi! Destroying the dungeon core is useless! That was just a decoy! There are hundreds more hidden within this dungeon!|
“…”
I quickly destroyed the glowing dungeon core, but the ability seal remained.
|Did you really think I would leave the core out in the open, begging to be destroyed? Ehihihi!|
He was right. Ordinary dungeons followed certain rules, but the Heavenly Kings, with their intelligence and adaptability, had no such limitations.
They could design their dungeons however they pleased, making them as difficult as possible. Kali’s dungeon core had been inside her body.
Luna’s…were numerous. These bastards were truly devious.
But even the most complex dungeons had a common weakness.
|This dungeon is impenetrable! Ehehehe!|
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’ll vanish when you die. It’s your unique dungeon.”
|Me? Kill me? You…?|
Luna tilted his head, a confused expression on his face. He stared at me, as if struggling to comprehend my words, then burst out laughing.
|Ehihihihihihi!!! How?! You’re just a weak, powerless mortal! Look! Your arms are trembling just holding that sword! Even without my Transcendent Being, my body is superior to a human’s! Strength, stamina, senses…I can stab you three times before you can even swing your sword once! How are you going to kill me-|
Slash!
A cut appeared on Luna’s cheek, dark red blood welling up and freezing instantly in the frigid air.
He touched his cheek, his gaze shifting to me, to the worn sword in my hand, to the empty air I had just slashed. He still seemed confused.
|Uh…huh…?|
“You talk too much.”
Slash! Slash!
A swift double strike. The Iron Blood Storm Slash engulfed him. His body, though dozens of times stronger than a human’s, wasn’t invincible.
He staggered back, blood gushing from his wounds, then collapsed, the blood freezing into icicles.
|How?! Your abilities are sealed! How are you using them?!|
“I think you were right. Strength isn’t determined by the number of abilities. True strength…comes from within.”
Strength wasn’t about special abilities or physical prowess. It was about a strong will, a mind prepared to wield power.
That strength, cultivated through hardship, remained, unlike the fleeting power tied to a physical body.
The Iron Blood Storm Slash, a technique I had mastered, would never vanish.
|Aaaaagh! No! No! I…I can’t lose to a human…!|
Perhaps due to his weakened state, the Iron Blood Storm Slash’s power seemed diminished.
Luna screamed, his body riddled with wounds, desperately trying to counterattack, but his unskilled flailing couldn’t touch me.
I severed his limbs, one by one, and reached for his torso, the remnants of his Transcendent Being.
“It’s time for your trip to the underworld.”
|W-What…?|
His face paled as he saw my hand, sensing something ominous, even without knowing about the God of the Underworld.
He tried to abandon his body, to flee as a spirit, but my hand reached him first.
|Well done. I am eternally grateful for your service. Visit me in the underworld sometime, and I shall reward you handsomely.|
“Could you not sound so…threatening…?”
|What?! No! Aaaaaah!!! Why?! Why can’t I escape?! What’s holding me?! Where are you taking me?!|
|Where? To your new home, of course! Ahahahaha! What a big catch! So much karma!|
|Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!|
A wave of darkness erupted from my hand, engulfing Luna’s body. He screamed, his voice filled with agony.
The darkness converged on his chest, forming a sphere of light, and began to rise. Even as he was dragged towards the dimensional rift, he continued to scream.
|Are you insane?! Do you know what will happen if you kill me?! My unique dungeon will collapse when my soul is destroyed!|
“And the cold engulfing Elvenguard will vanish. Winter will give way to spring.”
|You fool! That’s not all! The dungeon will collapse! How will you escape from deep underground?! You and your women will be crushed to death! If you don’t want that, stop this darkness and release me-|
“That’s exactly what I want.”
|…|
Surprise.
The sphere of light pulsed with shock. I smiled, my voice low.
“While mortals cannot choose how they are born or the burdens they carry, they should at least choose how they die.”
|What nonsense!!!|
Luna wouldn’t understand. He was a creature who clung to life, devouring others to prolong his existence, too afraid to face the end.
He would never understand the value of a finite human life.
“Humans are mortal beings. Those who are born must die. I have briefly escaped that fate, repeating an endless life…but that’s how I learned this. How we live is important, but how we die is even more so. My fate ends here, with your demise.”
|You bastard!!!|
The sphere of light thrashed, trying to reach me, but his screams were swallowed by the darkness, fading into echoes as he was pulled into the dimensional rift.
“Is it over…?”
Luna’s body, withered and mummified, showed no signs of life. The God of the Underworld’s presence within me vanished. The dungeon cores embedded throughout the dungeon dimmed, their light fading. The chilling cold subsided.
Luna’s demise had destroyed the dungeon cores.
We had won. It was over.
“Ah…damn it…”
Rumble!
The dungeon began to collapse. I had to get out, but my body wouldn’t move.
I was drained, my magic depleted, my body numb with cold, the aftereffects of my encounter with the God of the Underworld catching up to me.
“Celestial Armor…”
I couldn’t even activate the Celestial Armor. I could probably manage ten seconds by drawing on Undecided’s magic, but what then?
There was no escape.
“Damn it…”
Despite my brave words, I hadn’t truly accepted death. I had planned to escape, but my body wouldn’t cooperate, and the dungeon was collapsing faster than I had anticipated.
There was no way out.
But as I had said, my fate ended here. I had chosen this path. I had no regrets.
“I’m sorry.”
I pulled Undecided close, shielding her with my body. Rocks rained down from the ceiling, but perhaps…if I protected her…
‘I’m so sorry…’
The heroines’ faces flashed through my mind.
Was this…what they called a life flashing before your eyes?
As death approached, my thoughts turned to them, to the pain I had caused them. I wanted to atone, to make amends, but I was dying before I could even begin.
How deeply would I wound them? It seemed the God of the Underworld’s offer to meet again might become a reality.
The thought made me chuckle.
“…Mmm…”
Undecided squirmed in my arms, as if trying to tell me something.
I looked up, and she held something in her hand, something she had pulled from my pocket.
“…This.”
Longinus’s Lance.
The device that opened dimensional rifts to other worlds. …A defective device, its destination unknown, its navigator missing.
“We can’t use that…We don’t know where it’ll take us…and how…we’ll return…”
“…If…we stay…we die…for sure…if we use this…we might…live…”
“…”
It sounded absurd.
The dimensional void was 99.99% empty, a vast nothingness. Survival was impossible.
Or rather…there was a 0.01% chance. A minuscule possibility of landing in a habitable world, another dimension.
A slim chance, but not zero. Staying here meant certain death. Using Longinus’s Lance…meant a chance at life.
“…Let’s go.”
“Haa…I don’t know! Okay, let’s go! Don’t let go of my hand, Undecided! We’ll be separated forever if you do!”
“…Okay!”
Our hands clasped around Longinus’s Lance, channeling our remaining magic, a mere sliver of what we once possessed.
I looked up, and the ceiling collapsed, burying us in rubble.
Flash.
Space distorted, and my vision blurred.
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