Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The One Who Is Death Itself
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The dragons said it.
"Wish" was the utopia they sought to attain.
It was hope. It was a dream.
Known as the progenitors of magic—or its masters—even they, born wielding high-grade spells with effortless grace, dared not approach "Wish" lightly.
It wasn't as if ascending to the 11th hierarchy and gaining the stature of a Transcendent granted everyone the power to use "Wish."
Park Chan-woo had witnessed a "Wish" user exactly once, right before his decisive battle with Dragon God Sepiro.
—I'll hold them off. Park Chan-woo, you head to the Dragon God Temple.
The monster blocking the path to the Dragon God Temple.
Humanity's final commando unit had clashed with a mad dragon, and powerhouses like Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo threw down their lives to barely buy Park Chan-woo enough time to reach the temple.
The mad dragon's rampage back then went beyond shocking—it bordered on awe-inspiring.
"Wish" activated as naturally as breathing, chaining countless spells in perfect simultaneity.
And that wasn't all.
"Wish" read the thoughts of every member of the commando, countering them with flawless precision.
There was no solution in sight.
Humanity's defeat was sealed before they even set foot in the Dragon God Temple.
But.
—That mad dragon's "Wish" couldn't read your thoughts. That's why you have to go. You're the only one who can face Dragon God Sepiro, Park Chan-woo.
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo retracted his prior assessment of Park Chan-woo.
He'd been disappointed at their first clash of blades, later dismissing him as some weirdo. But the moment he confronted the mad dragon's "Wish," it hit him.
Humans couldn't oppose miracles.
If a mere mad dragon wielded power like that, how unfathomable must Dragon God Sepiro be?
Yet Park Chan-woo was the exception.
Strangely, "Wish" couldn't read Park Chan-woo's thoughts—or sense his very existence.
This stemmed from how his magic diverged sharply from the framework dragons employed.
Not high-grade spells, but basic magic honed to its absolute limit. Its foundational values were so low that even the mad dragon's "Wish" failed to register him.
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo had no way of knowing this, yet he'd grasped it instinctively.
That Park Chan-woo alone could contend with a "Wish" user.
"Wish" operated on an entirely different plane.
So overwhelming that Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo surrendered before the fight truly began, claiming the lives of the entire commando.
'Lee Hyuk-soo. It wasn't that "Wish" couldn't read me. The dragons' arrogance simply excluded me.'
But Park Chan-woo knew.
The precise reason "Wish" failed to perceive him.
Their pride and self-assurance as magic's progenitors.
No way a mere dabbler in basic spells like Park Chan-woo would catch their eye.
Even Dragon God Sepiro had let his guard down.
They hadn't spared him a second thought.
From the dragons' perspective, Park Chan-woo was less than a worm crawling in the dirt.
Worse than nothing in the commando.
Thus, "Wish" had overlooked him entirely.
'I want to reach it.'
And so.
Park Chan-woo yearned to reach it.
Their utopia.
To become an Archmage towering above them, flattening their arrogant noses.
Standing at magic's pinnacle—that was Park Chan-woo's dream.
When Adora unleashed "Wish," he'd stared in rapt awe purely from his ravenous hunger for magic, his burning desire.
Of course, craving what one lacks—what one can't have—is natural enough.
All the more so when it's a mythical power incomparable to legendary gear or priceless treasures.
How vast would that desire grow?
'I want it. Enough to die for!'
It was worth wagering death over.
If death granted it, he'd gladly embrace it.
Park Chan-woo's passion for magic transcended dimensions.
"Wish." Absolute magic.
To become an Archmage wielding countless ultra-high-tier spells at will.
...But was that even feasible in reality?
He was dying.
Standing on death's doorstep, facing the inevitable.
"I want it."
Park Chan-woo answered without hesitation.
"I want to reach it."
A familiar laugh echoed from beyond the threshold.
Surpass what? Who?
The entity beyond death's threshold spoke softly.
An inexplicable phenomenon began manifesting throughout Park Chan-woo's body.
"'Death' itself...!"
The domain of death Adora had deployed.
A death aura on another level entirely—far more intense and potent—was now pouring forth through Park Chan-woo's flesh.
It defied comprehension.
How could a human warrior emit an aura of death thicker than that of Adora, the Death Witch herself?
"......"
Even Adora was thrown into confusion.
She had clearly offered "Wish" as a sacrifice to pull Park Chan-woo back from death's threshold.
"Wish" had deemed it viable and entered his body.
But in that instant...
...it began to leak out.
The "death" lurking deep within an abyss inside Park Chan-woo.
If he'd harbored death of this magnitude, she should have sensed it ages ago.
Yet she hadn't.
In other words...
'It was sealed.'
Something had been secretly sealed away.
"Wish" had merely caused a tiny fraction to seep forth.
It lay beyond Adora's perceptual reach.
She couldn't even begin to quantify it.
'Even the Black Witch couldn't match this...!'
It surpassed the might of the strongest Black Witch she'd ever witnessed.
What could it be?
What could emanate such overwhelming pressure upon her?
And this was just a sliver.
A minuscule portion of what remained sealed within.
That mere fraction already eclipsed the Black Witch.
Utterly inscrutable.
If such a thing could exist...
"The one who is death itself..."
An existence far beyond merely wielding or devouring death.
One worthy of being called "the one who is death itself."
The issue was that the leaking death aura was now strangling Park Chan-woo.
Her offered "Wish" wasn't enough.
...Only then did she realize.
Why Park Chan-woo had been immune to her "death."
'Not because of his divine beast. From the start, my death could never have killed him.'
With that profound death aura sealed inside him, would her paltry power ever suffice?
It must have seemed laughable.
Like a child's plaything.
But one thing was now certain.
'It can't be allowed to emerge now.'
If left unchecked, Park Chan-woo would die.
He couldn't yet wield this "death" freely.
There was only one recourse.
A sacrifice.
Something greater than "Wish."
But nothing held greater value than that.
Save Adora herself.
"Has the warrior awakened emotions in you, witch?"
That was when Kankun spoke up.
"......"
Silence, but an unspoken affirmation.
Kankun couldn't help but marvel.
"...I see. I'd heard witches were emotionless monsters."
This man hadn't granted enlightenment solely to him.
He'd stirred emotions in a witch and awakened her to the sanctity of life.
No mere warrior.
A great warrior—nay, something more...
'A prophet.'
Ah.
Park Chan-woo was undoubtedly a prophet.
It was in that moment.
Swoooosh.
Amid the death aura, a heart sword rose from Park Chan-woo's body.
The very heart sword Kankun had embedded in his heart.
Kankun extended his hand and grasped it once more.
Then.
'Memories are flooding in.'
Memories surged through Kankun's mind like a tidal wave.
Adora's memories. Park Chan-woo's memories.
Their very hearts.
All of it flashed through his consciousness.
"...So that's how it was."
And with it, realization dawned.
The tribe's annihilation hadn't been Adora's intent.
She'd simply panicked, unsure what to do.
What befell the orcs was akin to a natural disaster.
Moreover.
Had Adora willed it, Kankun would have died long ago.
Yet the true culprit behind all this wasn't Adora.
"Witch. Can you slay the Black Witch?"
"......"
"She dropped you onto my homeland. She built this tower. All of it—the Black Witch."
"......"
"The Black Witch created the Lord of Arrogance to defy the Abyss. Now I understand. My true enemy isn't you, Adora—it's the Black Witch."
Accepting the heart sword brought it all back.
He now knew who had orchestrated this game.
Adora and Kankun had been mere pawns, toyed with on the Black Witch's board.
Puk!
In an instant.
Kankun thrust his hand into his own chest.
Thump! Thump!
He tore out his heart.
He handed it to Adora.
"You were just a little girl back then. You've grown well."
"...!"
Adora's eyes trembled.
Kankun had successfully recalled the image of the child Adora he'd once saved.
But it was too late.
Too late for a heartfelt reunion.
Kankun turned to Park Chan-woo.
"Offer my heart to the God of Offerings for this warrior. Then go together and kill the Black Witch. I entrust my tribe's vengeance to you both."
"...Why?"
Why sacrifice himself?
Kankun gave a faint smile.
"Witch, a defeated warrior's natural fate is death."
Tuk!
Kankun's heart landed in Adora's palm.
Indescribable emotions churned in Adora's eyes.
But there was no time for deliberation.
This was Park Chan-woo's only chance.
She bit her lip and placed Kankun's heart atop Park Chan-woo's chest.
《You have died.》
《Awakener Park Chan-woo's 'Death' has been confirmed.》
《THE END.》
Death. The end. The ending.
The conclusion of all things.
He'd been through it once before, but it never got any easier.
Yet this differed starkly from his first death.
No Demon-Sealing God. No Demon-Sealing God's Grail. No Dragon God Sepiro's flesh to offer.
'Is this the afterlife beyond the threshold?'
He had glimpsed death's threshold.
Crossing it would likely mean the true end.
Park Chan-woo stared blankly at the words "THE END."
...It was then.
The window before his eyes.
Suddenly, one letter vanished from it.
He first thought he'd seen wrong.
......That was the beginning.
All the letters erased themselves.
In their place, new ones began to fill the void.
《'Great Warrior Kankun's Heart' has been offered to the God of Offerings.》 《'Wish' has been offered to the God of Offerings.》 《The 'God of Offerings' responds for the first time.》 《Acquired hidden trait: 'Eternal Sword, Eternal Magic'.》
《Class evolves!》