Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Final Immortal
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—The final immortal. I shall execute you.
—Cry as a human, laugh as a human... and live as a human.
The large, ancient greatsword in the man's hand turned toward his own neck. It was poised to strike at any moment.
Kneeling before his lord, his expression was calm and accepting as he wished for that happiness. There wasn't a hint of hesitation about his own death.
He tensed his arms. The blade pulled back slightly, then swung full force toward his neck. The rusted, chipped blade dug effortlessly into the man's throat.
Cherry blossoms scattered in the wind.
'It's always so moving, no matter how many times I read it.'
I nodded as I closed the book. It was truly a touching story every time.
The book I'd just closed was titled *One-Armed Wolf*.
It was one of the collectible "books" that traditionally appeared in the *The Brightest Darkness* series. Scattered pages throughout the open world had to be gathered to complete them.
Up to this point, it would just be a typical padding collectible used by potato-server companies to extend playtime in open-world games. But the reason these collectibles were infamous was something else entirely.
The novels were insanely good.
Anyone who skipped checking them from the start wouldn't know, but once you got hooked, you'd shove the main story aside, eyes blazing, and hunt down every page. It happened all the time.
Until someone leaked the full PDF on the community forums, it tormented countless players with its sheer addictiveness.
I was one of those countless victims.
'I never imagined it'd be here.'
The imperial palace library really had everything.
I searched a bit more just in case, but there were no novels from *The Brightest Darkness* 1 through 3. It made sense, considering this was the world of 4.
The novels in 1 through 3 were *Black Soul* 1, 2, and 3, in order. Then 4 introduced a completely different series: *One-Armed Wolf*. And every one was a masterpiece.
There were rumors that 5 would feature a novel called *The Old Ring*, but nothing confirmed.
I'd only know if 5 ever came out.
'Why won't they release 5? I'd buy it day one.'
I inwardly cursed the garbage developers as I stood up. If they didn't want the hate, prove it with *The Brightest Darkness* 5.
After shelving *One-Armed Wolf*, I returned to my reading spot. I was about to wake Lize to leave when I paused at the sight of her half-buried in her own chest, dozing off with her head bobbing.
Precisely because her chest was so huge, that was the only way she could nap face-down. Or drape them over the edge of the desk.
'...Can busty girls even sleep like that?'
Her chest rested on the desk, chin buried in her cleavage, arms half-wrapping around it in an awkward pose—and she was out cold.
I stared, mesmerized, then snapped out of it. Her sleeveless top exposed her bare shoulders, which I gently shook.
"Lize. Done. Let's go."
"Mmm..."
Still groggy, she whined softly and blinked her eyes open.
She looked around, then beamed at me standing beside her, arms spread wide. I hugged her from the front and pulled her up.
"All done reading?"
"That's why I woke you. What now? Sleep more in your room if you're still tired?"
"Nah. I'm awake now. Let's check the training grounds."
After yesterday's audience with Kaikilia wrapped up, we basically had nothing to do.
I'd expected an all-day affair since we were summoned early, but the audience lasted less than 30 minutes—mostly chatting with me.
We'd idled in our rooms all day, unable to do much, until the next morning when His Majesty finally ordered us to act freely until called again.
"Even if it's short, doesn't it take a week? Is it okay to leave the estate that long?"
"Lana can handle a year solo if it's not a huge crisis. I've given her full authority for anything major, and she's super competent. As long as nothing big happens in the territory... oh."
Aurora cut herself off, muttering how saying that always jinxed things, and blamed herself. I chuckled inwardly—flags existed here too.
We decided to each do our own thing after that.
Aurora, back after ages, went off alone to reminisce. The knight captains minus Lize grabbed their weapons with grim resolve and headed to the palace training grounds.
I came to the library hunting for the full *One-Armed Wolf* from 4, and Lize tagged along.
I was shocked it was actually here. It got masterpiece treatment even in this world.
"The other captains are probably still at the training grounds?"
"Most likely. That's why I suggested it. Delta, how long was I out?"
"You started after I read half the book, so not long. About an hour?"
"That's not long?"
Chatting idly, we walked the corridor until sharp clashes of metal echoed—close to the training grounds now.
The first arrivals were sparring enthusiastically. Rounding the long hall revealed the grounds. The clanging grew louder.
The central arena resembled a shrunken Colosseum, where weapons clashed.
It was Erika.
Flames rippled along her katana, bursting into sparks with each swing. Lingering fires smoldered across the grounds.
Erika leaped into the air. Gripping the hilt two-handed, she spun clockwise, tracing a perfect circle. Cherry blossoms and embers trailed the blade.
Strikes one and two chained seamlessly, a brief pause in midair, then three through five hammered down. After a 0.5-second delay, the final sixth strike whipped through.
The metal shrieks intensified: ching-ching, chaeng, cheng, jjang, zjaeng! The timing of the third strike decided if the fifth was off-beat.
And it was off-beat just now. I'd fallen for that dirty easy-choice trap so many times. Shuddering at the memory, I entered the grounds.
Her opponent couldn't hold out, sword flying free. The katana's tip tapped her forehead center. *Pak!* A crisp pop rang out.
The knight rolled her eyes back and collapsed. Match over.
"You're here."
"What're you doing?"
"What it looks like. Sparring."
"Feels pretty intense for sparring."
I glanced around. Erika wore no armor but gritted her teeth fiercely. Across from us, the Golden Twilight Knights looked resolute.
"You know why."
"Yeah. Fair enough."
I sat beside her, getting it.
From the Silver Dawn Knights' view, they couldn't look kindly on the Golden Twilight Knights who'd helped that bastard lord tear them apart.
The emperor held final say, but given why Kaikilia spared him, tolerating his half-baked antics wasn't incomprehensible.
No matter how rogue he got, compared to other imperial relatives' atrocities, he seemed saintly. At least until I cheesed him dead while he was still human.
No clue what the Golden Twilight Knights thought of us.
"Oh, hey, Delta."
Erika returned from her easy win, greeting me.
"Sudden sparring fest?"
"Well... it just happened. They picked the fight, though. Probably thought we looked easy since there were only three of us."
Her eyes flicked to the grounds. Knights rushed injured comrades—likely to the infirmary.
True to form, every visible knight was female. No males in sight.
"You've won all so far?"
"Of course. They're just regular knights, numbers or not. We're not weak enough to lose to them."
Erika chuckled shortly. I smiled back.
"Where's their captain?"
"No idea. Haven't seen her."
As we talked, a fidgety Golden Twilight knight in golden armor perked up spotting me, face lighting with hope amid their losing streak.
"You there!"
Our eyes snapped to her at the aggressive shout. Her gauntleted finger pointed right at me.
She was female too, so no distinguishing by build. Recalling her weapon jogged my memory.
One of the Golden Twilight Knights' vice-captains, a mid-boss in the game.
"Who are you? Why're you with them?"
"Uh, so... a newbie... right?"
Debatable if "newbie" fit, but sure. Not officially knighted yet.
"Perfect. Draw your sword. You're Silver Dawn Knights too—you join the spars."
Her face brightened hugely. Obvious ploy: trash the newbie, snag a win, salvage some pride.
Petty as hell, but it meant they were that desperate.
Lize and Erika giggled beside me. Claudia stifled laughs, even Iris eyeing it dubiously.
I spoke reluctantly.
"...Do I really have to join?"
"You said you're Silver Dawn Knights yourself. Planning to bail?"
"No, it's not that..."
It wouldn't go their way.
As I pondered accepting, Lize poked my back grinning—go for it.
Iris, Claudia, and Erika urged the same: shatter their last pride.
Receiving four beaming stares, I stood.
"Sure. Why not."
What could I do with the captains watching eagerly? Give 'em what they want.
She didn't know their captain had challenged me and gotten wrecked—probably too embarrassed to mention.
I headed to the weapon rack. Sword bloodied back in my room, so pick another. No reason to carry to the library.
Not borrowing from captains—avoid "lost 'cause of the weapon" excuses. Dirty claim, but they might try.
Rummaging, I grabbed the one at the bottom.
Knew it'd be here.
"This'll do."
A broken straight sword.
Why mix it with good ones? Golden Twilight punishes internals with it in spars.
Unenchantable, and even at full strength, weaker than bare hands—a bored vets' toy.
The golden knight's face twisted seeing it.
"...No regrets?"
"If I did, I wouldn't pick it."
Better than fists for me. As a one-hander, two-grip enabled parries.
Fists couldn't.
"If that's your wish, so be it!"
She stomped to center. I matched her. Four sets of amused eyes stabbed my back.
Her side looked baffled.
Why's their newbie using a broken sword without a hint of worry—instead smirking?
Odd feelings brewing.
Holding the broken straight sword, I glanced back at the captains.
"Captains. I have my usual weapon, but didn't bring it, so this time..."
Two-handed grip. Chipped, ragged blade in view.
Beyond it: their pretty vice-captain, pissed yet stunning. Mod power was real.
No slacking, though.
Slip up, eat a hit. Picking this was cocky enough. I aimed the tip at her.
"I'll give the broken straight sword a go."