Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 028
Chapter Title: Savior of Seoul (6)
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"M-monster...? How am I a monster, Hero? I'm just a pitiful princess, locked away here after incurring the wrath of the gods due to my innate beauty."
It was a voice drenched in sorrow. Yet Eurielle's expression looked shadowed and cold.
"Please believe me. I've been... counting the days until you came."
Her voice and expression didn't match, but there was no sense of repulsiveness. If anything, it felt endearing.
"Monster."
Lee Sang-hyun quietly swallowed, then spoke.
"Take off the mask."
It was a pathetically trivial provocation. But a crack formed on the beautiful Eurielle's face.
"Take off that ugly mask."
Lee Sang-hyun didn't stop provoking her.
"You're a monster."
"...Shu...t...up..."
A voice colder than ice leaked from between her twisted lips.
"Shed your skin like a monster."
"...Shu...t...up..."
"Peel off that husk you're wearing."
"...Shu...t...up..."
"If you're a monster, turn into one properly."
"...I...said...shut...up..."
"Why pretend to be human? You're a monster."
"Shut up."
Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shuuuut uuuup!!
The face of Eurielle, now unmasked, was still beautiful. But it wasn't lovely.
"I... am... beautiful...! The most...! The most beautiful in the world! The most beautiful!!"
"That world isn't this one, is it?"
"Shut up!! You cockroach-ugly trash...! How dare filthy scum like you spout nonsense?!"
"Says the one who can't even look in a mirror? At least I can."
The word "mirror" seemed to be her complex, as Eurielle's face twisted ferociously.
"How... dare... you!!"
Her body trembled.
A sinister aura surged from her body unable to contain its rage. It was an immense power. Just brushing against it felt like it would tear him to shreds.
But Lee Sang-hyun didn't back down and kept provoking her.
"Finally showing your true colors, monster."
"...Shu...t...up...!!"
"Ah, no need. You've been a monster all along."
Crack!!
Something shattered with a resounding noise. And Eurielle's blue eyes turned red.
"...I'll... kill... you..."
The sturdy metal cage tore apart like paper. It was monstrous destructive power. Perhaps two or three times stronger than the skeleton warrior.
Yet it wasn't threatening.
Because her attack movements were clumsy, like wearing ill-fitting clothes.
Boom!!
Lee Sang-hyun dodged Eurielle's attack and provoked her.
"Now you look like a monster."
"Shut... up...!!"
He didn't let up for a moment.
"But it's not enough. Why not fully transform? Why hide your true self?"
"Shut your trap!!"
Bang!! Kablooey!!
"I... am beautiful!! More than anyone in this world!! More than those lofty constellations...!! The most noble beauty!!"
It was practically a scream. It was so pitiable that his heart felt like it was rotting away.
"Sure, for now. But you'll show your true colors soon."
"This is my true form!! My real self!!"
Lee Sang-hyun, who had retreated a good distance, said,
"Is it, really?"
Sneer on his lips.
"You'll transform into an ugly monster. You'll shed that skin you're wearing and become the ugliest monster in this world. Wanna bet?"
"No...!! I'm not a monster!! Not an ugly monster!! I'm not!!"
Eurielle screamed in denial of Lee Sang-hyun's words. Her face turned hideous and her voice grating, yet she was still beautiful.
"No, you'll become a monster. You'll transform. Just watch. We'll see who's right soon enough."
"Shuuuut uuuup!!"
Eurielle's scream echoed.
Kang Mu-hyuk, entering the white tower, faced a 'wall'.
"Kraaa!!"
"Krok! Krok!"
"These bastards!!"
In terms of pure strength, they weren't that formidable. Just orcs, at best.
But the orcs in the white tower wouldn't fall.
Clang! Clang!
'Damn it! Blocked by mere orcs!!'
The reason Kang Mu-hyuk couldn't cut down the orcs was simple.
Bang! Bang! Clang!
Surprisingly, the white tower orcs were armed. With proper armor and shields, no less.
Bang! Clang!!
"Kroooaaar!!"
The armor reminiscent of medieval full plate had no gaps. It was an iron wall, combining sturdiness and lightness.
Clang!!
"Urk!!"
For Kang Mu-hyuk, who would be at a disadvantage in a prolonged fight, the armored orc warriors were a wall and a nightmare.
Slash!!
Still, as one of the Strongest 7, Kang Mu-hyuk didn't retreat and sliced the orc warriors.
If there were no gaps, he forced them open, targeting relatively vulnerable joints, flanks, armpits, eyes, and mouth to land his attacks.
"Kroar!!"
"Krooo!!"
The problem, however, was that they were orcs. The kind he could handle dozens of easily.
"Damn it...!!"
Kang Mu-hyuk ground his teeth. Frustratingly, conquering the first floor of the white tower would take more time than expected.
Eurielle's nails, elongated like a wicked witch's claws, flashed with light.
Swish!
Five streaks of light flew toward Lee Sang-hyun. Too fast to react even after seeing them.
Slash!!
The five lights easily tore through the cage. But Lee Sang-hyun was no longer there.
'That was close.'
Barely dodging the attack, Lee Sang-hyun watched her next move and provoked.
"Why destroy the cage? Wasn't it meant to hold someone more beautiful than you?"
Swish!!
"Ah, right. Infinite cages, so no big deal. No one uglier than you in this world, after all."
Light flashed from left and right hands indiscriminately.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of lights streaked, leaving afterimages.
Of course, they didn't faze Lee Sang-hyun, who was tracking her movements.
Thwack!
Lee Sang-hyun calmly read the lights' paths and dodged. Then he quickly stood and provoked.
"Finally feeling like turning into a monster?"
"I'm not a monster!!"
"Then what are those nails? Don't tell me you're calling them manicure? Let me be clear. Those are claws. Disgusting, ugly beast claws. You're a monster."
"...I'm... not... a... mon...ster...!!"
Crunch!! Crack!!
Her snapping her own nails to deny being a monster was chilling.
But on the other hand, it was pitiful. So heartbreaking he could hardly breathe.
"...I'm... beau...tiful...!!"
Eurielle's obsession with beauty bordered on desperation.
However, Lee Sang-hyun felt no pity for Eurielle.
"...I'm... not... a... monster...!!"
Because it was clear she had mocked and killed the world's inhabitants, trapped in cages, from behind that beautiful mask of malice.
But against his rational thoughts, his emotions were addicted to Eurielle's 'tears,' crying out in pain.
Throb!!
'...Pheromones.'
Lee Sang-hyun belatedly realized her tears were laced with pheromones.
'...Creepy.'
The fact that even tears of sorrow could be a fearsome weapon sent shivers down his spine.
"Die! Just die! Die already...!!"
Yet Eurielle's tears weren't repulsive. Even her terrifying rage felt endearing.
'...Get a grip.'
Lee Sang-hyun steadied his shaken mind and dodged her attack.
Bang! Kablooey!!
Of course, he didn't forget to provoke.
"Your mask will come off soon."
"Shut... up...!!"
Swoosh!!
"Don't look in the mirror?"
"I said shut up!!"
Crunch!!
"Such a ferocious glare. Can't imagine how horrific the monster hiding inside is."
"Shuuuut uuuup!!"
Lee Sang-hyun's steady provocations were working.
Bang! Boom! Kablooey!!
Eurielle completely lost her reason and rampaged.
"Beautiful!! I!! Am beautiful!! The most in this world!! More than anyone!! More than them!! I'm not...!! A monster!! Not a monster!! Nooooo!!"
Magic poured endlessly, but wildly. Nothing but desperate flailing to deny.
Boom boom boom!! Explosions!!
Thanks to that, there were plenty of openings. But Lee Sang-hyun didn't close in.
Because he lacked confidence to defeat the 'monster' lurking within.
Twitch twitch!!
Even now, his senses were on edge, not knowing when it might burst out...
If Eurielle dropped her mask, his survival chance would be under 1%.
So he only provoked.
"Yeah, the most beautiful in the world. Of course, a world of cockroaches, not humans."
But Eurielle didn't drop her mask. Even gasping from mana depletion and exhaustion, she denied being a monster to the end.
Hah. Hah. Hah.
"I'm... not... a monster...!!"
At this point, he had to acknowledge it. Her obsession and desire for beauty.
Even beyond enmity, he felt respect.
"Not... a monster...!"
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun looked at Eurielle. Then quietly opened his mouth.
"If you turn into a monster now, you can kill me. But if you're not... you'll die by my hand."
This wasn't provocation. It was a 'gamble'.
Vrrr!!
"What will you do now, Eurielle?"
A gamble premised on her 'obsession' with beauty being so tenacious it wouldn't break even for her life.
Lee Sang-hyun bet his life.
Perhaps the moment he first uttered 'monster,' the ending was set.
For Eurielle, beauty was an 'obsession' irreplaceable by anything.
Slash.
So ugly even demons abandoned her, she envied beauty.
Abandoned by demons, she craved beauty more than anyone.
Discarding such beloved yet hated beauty was impossible.
Eurielle chose beauty.
"I'm... not... a monster..."
Stagger...
She didn't shed her beautiful mask even at the cost of her life. To the end, she kept it on, denying her ugliness. Insisting she wasn't a monster.
"...Mon...ster..."
...No...t...
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun watched such an Eurielle and swallowed. Then he acknowledged her beauty.
Even if it was twisted, a lie hidden behind the mask—he couldn't deny it.
"...You're right. You're not a monster. Twisted, but even that's lovably beautiful."
At least to Lee Sang-hyun, Eurielle wasn't a monster. Just a warped being who held to her convictions till the end, not an ugly one.
"Hng, uh, ugh......"
Eurielle's body slowly crumbled.
But her face was beautiful. Incomparably so...
It even evoked the sublimity of saints who gave their lives for true faith.
Swoooosh...
Lee Sang-hyun watched Eurielle's end to the finish. And accepted his defeat.
"......"
A hollow ending, if hollow. He hadn't slain or even beaten the monster.
Honestly, he was angry. So frustrated he couldn't tell who the real 'monster' was.
But Lee Sang-hyun held no regrets.
No regrets...
He silently moved on.