Chapter 144
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: A Difficult Thing.
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Swish.
Like snowflakes drenching winter.
Light particles drifting down from thin air, then melting away upon his palm as if vanishing.
The moment Rimon sliced through the constellation that had taken over Velos's body, he gazed intently at the starlight fragments that burst forth explosively.
'As expected.'
Whether it was severing a constellation.
Or absorbing its fragments.
It was something Rimon had grown thoroughly accustomed to.
Yet there was a reason he was now paying special attention to these starlight shards.
'Is this the fate of a human who fails to fully digest a constellation's power?'
He had vaguely suspected it ever since he felt that strange sense of dissonance in his body after cutting down the constellation.
That these starlight fragments weren't merely blessings.
That if mishandled, they could even become a curse.
That's why he had set aside everything else to focus solely on assimilating the constellation's power.
And in this very moment.
After slicing down Ryu Gangcheol, who had been eroded by a constellation, and now Velos, who had fully merged with one, he realized it for certain.
This was one possible form of ruin that could befall even him if he mindlessly absorbed constellation power without restraint.
That's why he had always felt such profound alienation toward that power.
'Well, it's no surprise.'
Thinking about it, it was only natural.
Only game characters grew stronger unconditionally after defeating foes.
In truth, repeated battles left one scarred and weakened, with losses outweighing gains—that was the way of the world.
How much more so for power vast enough to encompass even divinities? It couldn't come without a price.
Players who gained items from monsters and leveled up effortlessly might wonder why any cost was necessary.
'But even players don't seem to get pure strength without strings attached.'
After absorbing even the last mote of starlight remnants.
Rimon slowly turned his body.
He stared fixedly at the blonde woman slumped with a gaping hole in her chest, then after a brief silence, quietly spoke.
"It was a magnificent song."
Yujin didn't reply.
She merely flashed a grin.
Rimon furrowed his brow at the sight and made a light gesture with his hand.
"Na-kyung, come here for a moment."
[Huh? Why?]
Perplexed by the sudden summons yet obediently hopping over, Yuna Kyung.
Rimon scooped her up without warning and deftly slipped off the ring from her ankle.
[Hey! Wait, Team Leader! That's my item...!]
Beep, beep!
Startled by the abrupt theft of her item, Yuna Kyung flapped her wings in protest, letting out bird-like chirps.
Rimon tossed her aside.
Then he took Yujin's limp hand and slipped the ring he'd taken from Yuna Kyung onto her finger.
[Quick on the uptake, partner.]
"I'm not the type to waste my years, after all."
As soon as he fitted the ring, a telepathic voice echoed in his mind, drawing a smirk from Rimon.
He tossed out a casual question.
"Was this it? The personal circumstances you mentioned?"
[For starters.]
"Yeah, I figured."
Rimon understood.
Why Yujin couldn't abandon her Liberation Brigade mission, no matter what.
Even with a hole punched through her chest and her heart ripped out, she clung to life.
Her lips kept moving ceaselessly, yet not a single word escaped her throat. That sight revealed the reason.
"Innate or acquired?"
[Fortunately, the latter.]
"Is it fortunate that without borrowing a constellation's power, you can't sing—hell, can't even speak?"
[Thanks to it, I learned that money ruins the soul.]
Yujin spoke nonchalantly.
If she hadn't loved singing since childhood.
If a white orphan like her couldn't earn money just by singing on the streets.
She wouldn't have ended up resisting over pocket change out of greed, becoming someone who could never sing again.
In the end, she would have lived her life never realizing money held no value, that it was merely poison corrupting the soul.
[Including that every reward comes with a price.]
After losing her voice, she scraped by on begging and pickpocketing, eventually risking her life to enter a dungeon.
The 'Raving Immortal Giant' coveted her talent and offered to restore her song, so she accepted the contract without hesitation.
That's why defying Liberation Brigade orders cost her voice.
Why, after slaughtering the culprits who stole it, she became a berserker reveling in the pleasure of killing each time she used her skill.
It was a precious lesson she could never have gained if she'd been born unable to sing from the start.
To the brazen Yujin, Rimon murmured softly.
"It sounds like you have no regrets whatsoever."
[Huh? Why would I?]
"You spent your life as a constellation's puppet and ended up like this, yet no regrets?"
[No reason to.]
Yujin stated flatly.
Even if she could go back in time, she'd make the same choices.
[At least I got to sing my fill.]
If she hadn't become a Liberation Brigade ghost, she'd have ended up selling her body in back alleys.
Without even the freedom to speak freely, caged and slaughtered like livestock, living in stifled silence.
Better this life where she sang freely.
To Yujin, who spoke without a hint of hesitation, Rimon quietly asked.
"For that song, the people you've killed up to now probably aren't just one or two, right?"
[That's a pity.]
"...I see."
Rimon understood.
That Yujin regretted the lives she took, but only that much.
And that if she could sing again, she'd gladly sacrifice hundreds or thousands more as offerings.
In the end, she was a berserker.
A deranged murderer, the worst criminal imaginable.
"As expected, I can't let you live."
[Huh? If I'd answered well, could I have lived?]
"No, I'd have killed you anyway."
[That's truly a pity.]
"You weren't planning to live anyway—what's there to pity?"
[HAHAHA, my partner knows me best.]
"We're friends, after all."
She was merely clinging to life via remnants of immortality.
With the 'Raving Immortal Giant'—the source of that power—gone, her death was inevitable.
And even if she could survive, Yujin would refuse.
A life without song was worse than death to her.
Thus, Rimon voiced the one lingering question he couldn't comprehend.
"Just one last thing."
[What?]
"Why did you help me? For you, it would've been better if that bastard won."
Yujin, who valued nothing but her song, wouldn't have helped out of mere revenge.
Having Velos win and reclaim the constellation was her only shot at singing again.
So why had she forsaken that hope to aid him?
To Rimon's question, Yujin answered clearly.
[Because you're my partner.]
"Just for that?"
[Not 'just.' I've become someone who can't live without you now.]
Yujin giggled.
She had once been a free spirit, content with solitary song.
But after meeting Rimon and discovering the joy of harmonizing with his performance, solo singing could no longer satisfy her.
Her soul had been tamed by him.
She was willing to sacrifice not just her life, but her precious song, to help him.
In truth, from the moment they first met.
From the instant she accepted his request to borrow her voice, her downfall was sealed.
[So, partner, in lieu of payment for my song, can I ask one favor?]
"What is it?"
[Play for me one last time. Not some fake tuned to my song, but a true performance infused with your soul.]
She wanted to know if Rimon's playing—the thing she'd sacrificed everything to protect—was truly worth it.
Watching the audaciously demanding Yujin, Rimon asked awkwardly.
"You think I'll grant that request?"
[Yeah.]
"...What's with that confidence?"
[You promised before, didn't you? Next time we meet, you'd hang out with me till... well, you know.]
"I never said till death. Just all night long."
[A promise is a promise, right?]
Rimon scowled at her cheeky haggling.
She grinned back.
[In return for granting my wish, I'll tell you something good.]
"Something good?"
[Yeah. The Liberation Brigade's most vital objective. Something you absolutely need to know.]
Yujin declared boldly.
The Liberation Brigade, shrouded in veils of secrecy.
This chance to hear their core intel for the price of one performance wouldn't come again.
"You serious?"
[I swear on my soul—dead serious.]
"What good's a soul you can't even sell as collateral?"
He stared briefly at Yujin, who winked lightly despite the hole in her chest.
Rimon sighed.
Then he picked up the pitch-black violin left behind where Velos's corpse had dissolved into light particles.
"I'll warn you upfront—I can't guarantee it'll satisfy you."
[It's fine. As long as it's infused with your soul.]
"That's exactly what I don't know."
Grumbling, Rimon still gripped the violin and bow, assuming position.
He forcibly restrained his body from auto-playing due to the curse and closed his eyes.
He still didn't know what this 'soul' Yujin kept yammering about truly was.
But he could guess.
That soul was the root of why her songs always pierced the heart, and why his own playing hadn't advanced further.
'Julia said it: if I love music, my playing will improve.'
As the Violin Witch had pointed out at the end, Rimon didn't particularly like performing.
He'd only learned violin as a means to assimilate constellation power.
That's why he'd claimed he didn't enjoy it.
'But is that really true?'
Rimon questioned himself.
Could a mere tool not be enjoyable?
Could something unloved evoke displeasure or感動?
Had he sought Yujin in his spare time purely because he had excess leisure?
'Fine, I'll admit it.'
Reflecting objectively, Rimon had no choice but to concede.
'Playing with you was fun.'
Not to the extent of devoting his life like Yujin, but he had come to enjoy performing.
Like getting soaked in a drizzle.
Or tagging along with a friend to the sword tower.
Amidst the madwoman who staked her life on song, he too had grown to savor music.
Yet, contrary to Julia's words, his playing hadn't progressed for one reason.
He hadn't wanted it to.
He subconsciously knew that advancing his technically perfected performance required infusing it with sincerity.
'Being honest is a difficult thing.'
A naive youth might not know, but a cunning old fox struggled to bare his heart.
The longer one lived.
The more experiences accumulated.
The more one recognized their ugliness and grew adept at hiding it.
How much more for Rimon, a swordsman who had lived centuries?
Having spent most of his life blood-soaked, pouring stale memories and emotions into his playing was not just hard—it was agonizing.
Especially since he couldn't even imagine how horrific his emotive performance might sound.
To liken it, it felt like publishing his childhood diary as an autobiography, exposing everything.
'What a damn nuisance.'
Even so, Rimon didn't set the violin down.
For Liberation Brigade secrets?
Repaying her aid?
Such things didn't matter.
No matter her circumstances, Yujin—as a mad killer guilty of countless crimes—had no right to negotiate or deserve recompense.
But as a friend who shared camaraderie.
And as a fellow performer.
Rimon resolved to endure the pain now.
The instant he flung open the tightly shut door of his heart and drew the bow across the strings.
Ziiiiiing.
The stars roiled.
The world held its breath.