Chapter 59
Chapter 59
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Icarus's Wings (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya had longed for something special. Something intensely unique, set apart from the ordinary.
But even as a "shrine maiden" different from ordinary girls, she wasn't special at all.
She was downright boring.
The kind of boring that made people mutter, "This is a shrine maiden?" Pitiful and dull enough that an ordinary high school girl's daily life seemed preferable by comparison.
At least high school girls didn't waste their time in a musty old shrine reeking of mold.
So when she was chosen...
Kaguya was truly delighted. So overjoyed that she vowed to fulfill any role perfectly.
As long as it wasn't some worthless shrine maiden duty...
"......"
But perhaps because she was a shrine maiden? Whether she liked it or not, she had to become the Eternal Shrine Maiden. Nothing else was visible.
Countless other paths vanished, leaving only the Eternal Shrine Maiden. She had no choice but to select it.
Still, she was happy. Because she had become one of the chosen.
Because she had become a special existence, unlike ordinary people.
And that wasn't all.
She was special even among the chosen.
One of the most special seven.
She had become one of them.
"Noble one...! I shall gladly follow you."
Her dark heart filled with ecstasy. Joy beyond words soaked her entire body in tremors.
It felt like she had become the center of the world.
Like she had become the "protagonist."
Above all...
Being burdened with this sacred destiny gave Kaguya radiant wings.
"No matter what trials threaten me, I shall never give up. I will save those in danger. And thus, save the world."
Kaguya, who had gone from an unremarkable shrine maiden to the world's savior overnight, never doubted her fate.
She believed in it absolutely.
She was convinced it was justice.
So for justice, she could do anything. Because it was for the world's sake.
Even if it meant sacrificing a few, as long as justice stood by her side, it was right.
Those who resisted were the evil ones. They couldn't help save the world and only hindered it.
She felt justice in the god at her side.
In the eyes of people stained with despair, and the voices filled with agony, she felt justice.
Kaguya believed in the god.
"Everything is for the just world."
She believed in her destiny.
Nameless gave no orders to Lee Sang-hyun. Whether entrusting it to his judgment or simply watching silently like the taciturn man he was, he stayed back.
"Do you know what you've done? This Purification Tower housed... soldiers to cleanse the tainted world. And you slaughtered them. You killed those bearing the sacred mission to purify the world."
"......"
"You have stolen the hope of the Dragon God Church... the hope of humanity. You robbed humanity of hope and gave them despair. Your sin cannot be washed away by any punishment."
Kaguya Hime's voice carried anger. Anger born of fear and sorrow at justice being trampled.
Prepare yourself.
"I will judge you. Repay your sin with death."
Kaguya Hime's eyes burned with the sense of mission to represent humanity.
Her faith was unshakable.
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun had no qualms about killing Kaguya Hime. Because killing a fellow "human" felt wrong.
For the same reason, he hadn't killed Choi Tae-seong, despite his poor character. If he'd truly intended to, he could have killed him anytime, yet he'd spared him multiple times.
But Kaguya Hime...
He judged she must die.
Because he could see the constellation behind her.
Shlick. Shliiick.
The constellation called the Dragon God, Yamata no Orochi, flicked its long tongue behind Kaguya Hime like a puppeteer manipulating a doll. He felt it must be defeated.
So he gripped the Knight King's magic sword tightly.
'Here goes.'
Lee Sang-hyun pierced Kaguya Hime's guard and swung his sword.
Slash!!!
She hadn't expected an attack, or perhaps she had absolute confidence in her skills—either way, her head flew off limply.
Thud. Roll.
An anticlimactic end, hard to believe for one called half-human, half-divine.
'...Not yet.'
But it wasn't over.
As expected, perhaps? The constellation, with its tongue dangling long, moved.
More precisely, it burst forth borrowing Kaguya Hime's body.
「TRAAASHHHHHH!!!」
It was the Dragon God's descent.
In the minds of the Japanese people, its form appeared as a pure white dragon.
"Ah, aaaah...!!"
In a world stripped of color, reduced to charred ashes, it was the most pristine, noble, utterly immaculate white dragon.
Thump!! Thump!!
The Japanese recognized it at a glance. That was Kaguya Hime's true form.
The true savior descended from the heavens.
"Kaguya...!"
"Hime!!"
"Our savior!!"
"Everyone's hope!!"
"The light of the world!!"
The people, dyed in screams, cast aside their horrific cries and cheered as one for the pure white dragon, Kaguya Hime.
"Lady Kaguya! Don't give up!!"
"Defeat that demon!!"
"Restore Japan's light!!"
"You can do it!!"
"Dragon God's Shrine Maiden!!"
"Kaguya Hime! We believe in you!!"
"You are our hope!!"
"We believe in you, Lady Kaguya!!"
"O holy shrine maiden!!"
"We are by your side."
"Dragon God, please protect your shrine maiden."
"Punish that hideous monster!!"
"Kaguya Hime...!!"
To the Japanese, evil was Lee Sang-hyun. Good, needless to say, was Kaguya Hime.
They prayed fervently for the destruction of the ugly evil and the victory of true good.
"Win!!"
"Everyone believes in you!!"
"Bring peace to the world."
"Radiant hope."
Splash!!
The dragon that descended to earth, Yamata no Orochi, spread its wings and took flight.
Its majestic wings that could blanket Tokyo and its serpentine body were enormous. Easily over 300 meters, and still growing.
Its bloodshot golden eyes reflected Lee Sang-hyun, brimming with rippling killing intent.
The killing intent manifested as clouds, rain, and wind, bringing a mystical aura to the colorless Tokyo.
Rumble!!
But it wasn't ordinary rain clouds.
It was a typhoon, called the wrath of the gods, inspiring awe and fear in humans.
"......"
A typhoon, nature itself.
Who could doubt the existence of the Dragon God in the face of this?
Yamata no Orochi was undoubtedly a god descended to earth.
'Lucky me.'
But to Lee Sang-hyun, it was merely a near-6th rank serpent. Well, given the rain clouds, perhaps an imugi rather than a snake, but not a true dragon or god.
The power infused in its words, the word spirit, transformed the rain into tens of thousands of needles assaulting Lee Sang-hyun.
Shick shick shick!!
Each needle was devastating. Unbelievably sharp for water—fatal if struck.
Drip.
But Lee Sang-hyun didn't die. Not even a light scratch.
Of course, Yamata no Orochi didn't expect mere needles to kill him. Even as a second player without a constellation, he rivaled the Strongest 7. It was merely a probe of his strength.
Born from Yamata no Orochi's word spirit: the wrath of heaven, thunderbolt.
Rumble boooom!!
The thunderbolt tore through the sky toward Lee Sang-hyun.
An attack no mere human could dodge or predict.
Kwaaaaah...
Yet Lee Sang-hyun dodged the thunderbolt. As if he'd known exactly where it would strike, he evaded effortlessly.
Three voices emanated from Dragon God Yamata no Orochi's mouth at once.
Sudden mist and raging winds swallowed Lee Sang-hyun. Then, massive 10-meter hailstones poured down madly.
Kwa-gwagwagwa!!
The hail from the sky approached near sonic speed. A single hit would shatter the body.
And that wasn't the end.
Thunderbolts were mixed into the massive hail.
Rumble kwa-gwagwagwang!!!
Thousands of meters of pale mist, winds raging madly within it.
Endless massive hail and thunderbolts plunging wildly—a miracle no one but a god could create.
"M-my God..."
To the Japanese, Yamata no Orochi appeared as an omnipotent deity.
A god wielding nature, beyond puny human power, at will.
The absolute sovereign of the heavens.
"O God."
"With holy mercy."
"Exterminate evil."
In their hearts bloomed infinite faith and reverence.
So they all believed in Dragon God Yamata no Orochi's victory. No one thought it would lose to evil.
Lee Sang-hyun hadn't attacked Dragon God Yamata no Orochi yet partly to gauge the Strongest 7's power, but more because his own strength was building.
Thump...! Thump...!
His power was literally rising. The strength spent killing the demon Charybdis replenished through the rain clouds and hail.
'Not the origin itself, huh.'
Yamata no Orochi's word spirit was tremendously powerful. A divine force a dimension above magic.
But not the true origin. Merely summoning and wielding power.
That's why dodging thunderbolts was easy. With rain clouds as the starting point, he could predict where and how they would strike.
Whoooosh!!
The fierce winds were a minor annoyance, but Icarus's Wings let him fly unhindered.
'...But it's strong.'
Despite the situation, Dragon God Yamata no Orochi was no weakling. Without water origin control, he'd have been helpless. It was that strong.
The title Strongest 7 was no empty boast. Undoubtedly the pinnacle representing humanity.
'The other six... I'll think about them later. For now, kill the dragon.'
Lee Sang-hyun steeled his resolve.
To slay Dragon God Yamata no Orochi—and Kaguya Hime, devoured by the dragon—right here.