Why Is This the Last Life?
Thud—!
The colossal flame giant collapsed.
It had been a fierce clash between thousands of mummies and the giant.
Only about twenty-one mummies had been lost.
It was an overwhelming victory.
“I-impressive.”
Katz swallowed dryly.
Ever since awakening the ancient king, he had stayed with Carteon the entire time.
More precisely, he had not found any chance to escape.
‘Even if he is an ancient emperor, to think he could defeat a flame giant.’
The flame giant was a legend of the Extinction Desert.
It was a rare monster one might encounter on the seventh mirage of the month.
Its height rivaled a mountain, and the flames covering its body burned everything around it to ash.
Carteon had succeeded in hunting a being that was essentially a living disaster.
‘An emperor truly is an emperor.’
Carteon had remained in the rear, yet his tactics were astonishing.
The mummy legions that followed his sharp commands with blind obedience displayed overwhelming firepower.
By defeating the flame giant Elcana, the calamity of heat, 147 time power has been accumulated.
Affinity with the ice giant has increased.
“Still a long way to go.”
Carteon spoke with little emotion on his face.
Katz hesitated before asking.
“Your Majesty, what is your current level?”
“It was 13 before I killed the flame giant.”
“Pardon?”
Katz blinked, visibly flustered.
He had assumed it would be at least in the four hundreds.
Carteon lifted the corner of his dried lips slightly, as if amused by the reaction.
“After reviving across time, my body has grown weak. In the past I held a level of 527, but it has since regressed. Thanks to the artifacts on my person I possess a right hand that drains life force, yet it is only a fraction of my former strength. Time revival revives lost life at the cost of sacrificing much of what I once was.”
“Th-that’s truly surprising. If your level has dropped, it must be difficult. No, no, I would never intend to anger Your Majesty.”
“That is why I seek to return to the past.”
Carteon kicked the side of a bandaged mummy camel.
He moved swiftly, and Katz urged his own camel to follow.
When Katz drew alongside him, Carteon spoke again.
“Katz, my body is ruined. Therefore I will erase all life on the continent and gather time power. I will return to the past before my death, kill the Sirian who murdered me, and bring prosperity to Sharsanon.”
Katz looked at Carteon.
From what he had observed, the ancient king Carteon was a peculiar man.
He possessed an emperor’s leadership, was strict, yet at times warmer than anyone.
Usually a fierce leader, yet sometimes like an older brother or close friend.
Even now, he had openly admitted his own weakness.
‘Even if I tried to kill Carteon, it would be impossible. He would simply turn back time or stop it and kill me instead.’
Crunch. Crunch.
Thousands of mummies followed the two men.
The sound of sand being crushed echoed.
The setting sun dyed the desert red.
It was a spectacle visible only in the Extinction Desert at the close of day.
“Is regression truly the right answer?”
Katz finally voiced what he had long wanted to say.
Normally he would have been too afraid to speak, yet the words came easily now.
Carteon raised nonexistent eyebrows.
“If not, what would be the answer?”
“To regress, Your Majesty must kill every being on the continent.”
Katz’s mind raced.
Perhaps the sunset had reached his thoughts, for the words flowed clearly.
“If Your Majesty turns time back to the ancient era, this world will disappear. Even I and this beautiful desert will cease to exist. Would it not be painful to be the only one who remembers a world everyone else has forgotten?”
Carteon snorted.
“Katz, with such a weak mindset you could never be an emperor.”
“But are you not human as well, Your Majesty?”
“You wish for me not to destroy the continent.”
Katz flinched and fell silent.
Carteon spoke sharply.
“I will kill every living thing on this continent. You are no exception.”
“Well, I’m just a worthless grave robber. In my original world I was a petty thief, so no one would miss me if I vanished. I never lived particularly virtuously either. However…”
Katz gazed at the burning sunset.
He spoke with melancholy.
“It feels somehow sad to think a scenery this beautiful would never have existed in the first place.”
“The scenery of the ancient times was far better than now. This place was once a lush forest.”
“…Is that so?”
Katz clicked his tongue for no particular reason.
This isn’t working.
Iris woke up.
It was early morning.
She looked around at the sleeping companions.
The two people who should have been there were missing.
Iris tilted her head.
‘Where have those cute men gone?’
Then, after a long while, an answer came from within.
It was not a voice.
The thought flowed in as if being read as text.
Northwest sand dune.
“Thank you.”
She walked slowly up the sand dune.
Henrik lay buried in the sand, still drunk.
Iris lightly jumped over him.
“Didn’t you sleep?”
“No.”
Kang Yoonsoo was staring into the far side of the desert.
Dawn was rising.
The once freezing desert gradually warmed.
“Staying up all night is not good for you.”
When she spoke, Kang Yoonsoo turned his head.
He looked at Iris and said.
“Why is this my last life?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Ask.”
Iris placed both hands over her chest.
She thought.
‘White Shadow, why is this Kang Yoonsoo’s final life?’
She waited quietly.
Kang Yoonsoo waited as well.
A brief silence passed.
“You will not answer.”
Kang Yoonsoo walked past her without another word.
He shook the shoulder of the intoxicated Henrik.
“Wake up.”
“Every lazy person in the world uses that excuse. How tiresome.”
“Let’s have another drink.”
“Ugh! You bastard! Doesn’t your stomach turn at all?”
Henrik rose with a look of disgust.
While he went down to drink water, Iris walked up behind Kang Yoonsoo.
“Kang Yoonsoo.”
“What.”
“If the White Shadow had not been inside me, would you still have traveled with me?”
“No.”
Tears welled in Iris’s eyes.
Kang Yoonsoo remained silent for a moment.
He blinked several times quickly, then spoke.
“Sorry.”
“Even so, I wish to stay with you, Kang Yoonsoo.”
“We are together right now.”
Iris shook her head.
“That is not what I mean.”
“I don’t like you.”
“Goodness, it is not about romance. I want to marry a man who tells me interesting stories all night long.”
“Then what is it.”
Iris glanced at the sand near her feet.
She scooped up a handful and scattered it into the air.
The sand reflecting sunlight looked golden.
“It is because you are a strange traveler, Kang Yoonsoo.”
“What are you talking about.”
“You are curt and speak little. You head only toward your goal without explaining anything to others. You never share your own secrets, yet you know everyone else’s completely. You really are a boring man, Kang Yoonsoo.”
“I know.”
“Then why would we travel with you?”
Kang Yoonsoo closed his mouth for a while.
After thinking, he answered.
“I don’t know.”
Iris smiled softly.
The brightening desert sunlight bathed her hair.
“Because you sacrifice your life for those precious to you.”
“Others don’t know that.”
“They can tell. Even without knowing your countless regressions, everyone can sense it. Your kindness, your sacrifices, your loneliness.”
“How?”
It was the moment Iris opened her mouth to speak.
Kang Yoonsoo drew his blade and swung it fiercely.
Slash—!
The head of the sandworm that had crept behind the dune to swallow her split in two.
Kang Yoonsoo indifferently sheathed his sword.
Iris was not particularly surprised.
She looked at him and smiled faintly.
“Do you understand now?”
Kang Yoonsoo did not answer.
He silently descended the dune.
Iris followed behind him with a smile.
“Did you sleep well?”
Shanette stretched, her hair still tousled.
The fire trolls rose with obvious reluctance.
“Waking up is annoying! Let’s sleep ten more minutes!”
“No! If we wake late we’ll get caught in another sandstorm!”
Henrik picked up the water canteen, thirsty.
Then his face twisted hideously.
“There’s no water?”
“The water’s all gone? Oh dear!”
The fire trolls shouted in panic.
No matter how accustomed to the desert they were, they could not cross it without water.
At that moment Kang Yoonsoo, knife already drawn, spoke.
“Let’s stop by the elf settlement.”
“But the elf settlement is far away!”
“I know the way.”
Kang Yoonsoo spoke indifferently and dragged over the long corpse of the sandworm.
The monster, which looked like a mix of lizard and earthworm, was drenched in blood.
Henrik asked in a puzzled voice.
“What are you doing?”
Kang Yoonsoo began cutting the sandworm’s corpse with his knife.
He selected the edible parts.
Even Shanette looked surprised.
“Kang Yoonsoo?”
“I said I’d make breakfast.”
Kang Yoonsoo lit a fire.
It was quite a luxurious breakfast.
The sandworm, which could appear grotesque depending on one’s taste, had been skillfully prepared into proper meat.
The thin-shell broth and grilled skewers were surprisingly good.
“It’s delicious, Kang Yoonsoo.”
“Don’t make me cook again.”
Kang Yoonsoo stated clearly.
There seemed to be too much food, yet the gluttonous trolls devoured every last bite.
The trolls rubbed their bellies in satisfaction.
“Thank you! Bridegroom of the goddess!”
“It was an excellent meal! Though a little lacking!”
“That’s right! The goddess needed a husband skilled at cooking!”
The party packed their gear and began crossing the desert.
Kang Yoonsoo took the lead.
After walking two or three hours, a narrow cave crevice appeared.
“Let’s go in.”
“It’s too narrow! Our heads will hit the ceiling!”
“Bend over.”
The fire trolls entered the cave with sullen faces.
The dark interior brightened from the heat radiating off the trolls’ skin.
The farther they went, the wider the cave became.
“There’s the exit!”
Emerging outside, the bright sunlight stung their eyes.
In the distance they saw old tents and buildings constructed to suit the desert.
“It’s the elf settlement!”
“Much faster than circling around the desert! Even we who have lived here long never knew this path!”
The excited trolls were about to dash toward the settlement when Yanark shouted.
“Wait! Something’s strange!”
“What is it?”
“Look closely! It’s far too quiet, and there are no elves visible!”
Now that he mentioned it, it was true.
Normally a few elves should have been moving about, yet now it was eerily silent.
Occasionally unfamiliar shadows moved within the settlement, but they vanished the moment they were spotted.
Only then did the trolls tilt their heads.
“Are they all taking afternoon naps?”
Yanark cupped his hands like a megaphone and shouted.
“I’ll call out! Hey! Is everyone all right?”
There was no reply.
It was then that it happened.
Whoosh—!
A sharp arrow answered in their stead.
Seeing how accurately it flew from such a distance, it had clearly been shot from an elf’s bow.
Yanark caught the arrowhead that nearly pierced his face and snapped it with one hand.
“Something must have happened! Let’s go find out!”
“The kidnappers have taken over that settlement.”
Kang Yoonsoo spoke calmly.
The trolls were shocked.
“Is that true?”
“How do you know that!”
“The goddess’s bridegroom truly is different!”
Yanark fumed with impatience.
“If the kidnappers have occupied the settlement, shouldn’t we fight them immediately!”
“But the elves might be taken hostage.”
Shanette assessed the situation as she spoke.
The fire trolls’ skin flushed with anger.
“Then what do we do! Are we supposed to just stand here quietly!”
“No.”
Kang Yoonsoo walked toward the settlement alone.
He was by himself, so arrows naturally flew at him.
Whoosh—!
Kang Yoonsoo swung his sword and sliced the arrows in two.
Three more arrows flew in succession.
He continued walking and calmly deflected them.
“Goddess’s bridegroom! You’ll die like that!”
“Aren’t they your companions! Try to stop him!”
As the trolls panicked, Henrik instead spoke leisurely.
“From experience, when he steps out alone like that, he never dies. At least not unless he’s the one doing the killing.”
Kang Yoonsoo looked ahead and said.
“I’ll negotiate with them and return.”
Yanark looked puzzled.
“Negotiate? We have nothing to trade with the elves!”
“Well, the kind of negotiation he’s talking about is probably quite different from what you imagine.”
Henrik sat down comfortably and began carving a piece of sandstone with a chisel.
Shanette nodded.
“It will be a negotiation that benefits only Kang Yoonsoo himself.”