Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Illuminate the Dawn on This Land, Final Battle Against the 'Exalted One' (4)
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10.
“Ha-kyeong.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong came to her senses.
Around 11:20 p.m., fifty minutes after the Samcheong-dong raid.
“You’ve finally opened your eyes.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong.
She stared at me for a long while with her clear eyes beneath her short hair.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
The moment I said that.
She suddenly pulled me into a hug and began to sob.
“Ha-kyeong...”
I was momentarily flustered.
But soon I calmed down and gently patted the back of her head.
“I’m so happy that you’ve opened your eyes again... You have no idea.”
“This isn’t... a dream, right...? It’s not a dream...?”
“Of course it’s real. All of it.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong.
The strong woman who had never shown a moment of weakness since the world’s end.
“How... How did this... How did it happen...?”
And yet here she was.
In this desolate nightmare land devoid of heteromorphs or humans, crying like a little girl.
“Someone helped us. Someone who blocked the Ice Dragon’s curse.”
I was flustered by her state yet overjoyed at the same time... but I felt a grief just as profound as that joy.
“Where is... that person...?”
I didn’t answer.
Jeong Ha-kyeong didn’t ask again.
She simply buried her face in my chest and continued to sob quietly.
Like that, five minutes. Ten minutes.
To be honest, we didn’t have time.
But in that moment, I simply...
Etched that time into my soul with all my might...
This time that might be our last together.
“Ha-kyeong, please gear up again. I’ve gathered everything for you.”
“Oh... Thanks...”
“And... Ha-kyeong? There’s something I absolutely have to tell you. It’s important.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong wiped her tears and tilted her head.
“What is it?”
“Listen after you’re fully dressed. It’s a bit embarrassing to say it while you’re like that.”
I put on a lecherous expression for show, and Jeong Ha-kyeong’s face flushed red for a moment.
“You son of a...?”
I thought she’d punch me in the face for the joke.
But at that moment, Jeong Ha-kyeong.
Turned around sharply and began dressing hurriedly.
“Don’t try to set some mood... If you have something to say, say it now while we’re both comfortable. What is it?”
“I’d like that too.”
I swallowed hard.
Barely suppressing the cold pain that tore at my heart.
“But... I need to prepare my heart for this too.”
“...Okay? Got it.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong finished dressing much faster than expected.
Was she that eager to hear it?
Her face flushed, she pretended otherwise... and that only made it hurt more.
Couldn’t we have just a little more time? Just a bit?
But the time had come.
No more leeway for my mission, or for this world.
11.
「PHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!」
It happened in an instant.
Do Ye-jin felt the transcendent energy surging wildly through her entire body.
Sight. Smell. Hearing.
Things clearly hundreds of meters away were visible, audible, tangible.
Overwhelming power and flesh.
Unreal speed and reflexes.
「HAAAAAAAA………….」
The dragon head flashed with dark blue-black eyes. As it exhaled, the world shuddered and bowed low.
The approaching snake-humans.
They screamed as she glared fiercely at them, their heads exploding like bombs.
What is this...?
A being of pure dominance.
The rampaging despair, Ari’shelrab.
Good... Control successful for now.
All the power of this strongest subordinate... was now under Do Ye-jin’s control.
- Through repeated training, the 《Subordinate-ization》 control time has increased dramatically.
As she thought that, Seo Hwa-yun’s words echoed in her mind.
- Maybe up to five minutes? Any longer, and your mental strength won’t hold.
Five minutes.
Five minutes is enough.
I don’t expect to hunt the ‘Exalted One.’
Just buy time.
She closed her eyes and focused her mind.
It was clear... the vibrations... deep underground...
Stealth movement, perhaps.
A near-silent ambush... Eom Jae-beom used this earlier too.
But it’s useless against me.
Ari’shelrab kicked off the ground.
Transcendent leg strength propelled her body like a bullet toward the target area.
Right... now!
Just before landing.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the target zone, and in an instant, something massive erupted upward.
The dull serpent, Barpakh’tika.
A perfect surprise attack.
With no interference, Ari’shelrab landed atop its head.
First strike.
Transcendent power gathered in her jaws.
As Barpakh’tika ascended toward the starry sky, Ari’shelrab tore into its forehead.
Scales... flesh... parasites.
Everything ripped free, spraying yellowish blood in a long arc across the heavens.
「KIIIIIIIIIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!」
Agonizing pain as if her skull were splitting.
Even embedded in the subordinate’s body, Do Ye-jin felt it. Is this... the ‘Exalted One’s’ roar?
Still... the effect was tremendous!
Then.
Physical ability amplification... 70%.
An application of the body hardening technique learned from Yoon Geon-woo. But the amplified power was incomparable to mere body hardening.
Transcendent energy focused in her claws.
She slashed, stabbed, and shredded the freshly torn forehead.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
It was right then.
A sharp sting of pain.
Then a binding sensation wrapping her entire body.
Why... can’t I move...?
The answer appeared before her eyes soon enough.
When did it...? A grotesquely long tongue wrapped around Ari’shelrab’s body, then drew close, dripping saliva.
Poison needle...?
After all that, with mere poison like this...!
The real problem exploded then.
「A dead mother’s lullaby.」
「Happy birthday, my daughter.」
「Uncle Hong Byeong-gyu’s smell.」
Echoes of despair.
They began eroding her vision, and even her smell and hearing.
- Be careful.
This already...?
- Every time damage is dealt to the subordinate’s flesh, your mental limit comes faster.
Did that poison do this much damage?
「Yoon Geon-woo’s smile as he slaps Cha Seung-hyeon’s face.」
「Yoon Geon-woo’s dying screams as Yu Jerusalem crushes him into a pulp.」
That was the end.
Earsplitting roar as if her eardrums were tearing.
Then Barpakh’tika crashed into the surface, blacking out her vision.
Exposed to the dive’s impact, Ari’shelrab’s body tore apart, bones shattered, fragments flew.
Escape, must escape.
She desperately tried to break free from the collapse, but could do nothing.
[Unique skill, 《Subordinate-ization》 damage synchronization begins.]
Excruciating pain engulfed her body in an instant.
Ringing in her ears.
Blood taste flooding her mouth.
Bloody mist clouding her eyes.
Breath... can’t... breathe...
She blacked out for a moment then.
When she opened her eyes again.
The dust-shrouded world was eerily silent.
「Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……?」
No... I hear it.
The ‘Exalted One’... circling underground and charging here...
Ari’shelrab tried to stand.
But she couldn’t.
Both legs and her left arm were completely crushed.
......Sizzle......
The sound of the ground corroding where the subordinate’s blood splattered.
「Cha Seung-hyeon laughing maniacally.」
And.
Despair’s erosion accelerated in her mind.
「Yoon Geon-woo’s lonely expression overlooking the funeral altar.」
Stop...
She had to escape this place.
「The scent of the cocoa my father first bought me.」
「The warm comfort of soul-chaining with my sister.」
But how...?
A human body can’t outrun the ‘Exalted One.’
And the subordinate’s body...
It drew closer... closer...
The ground splitting open on both sides like tearing flesh.
It was right then.
A footstep sounded with a thud.
“Hey, ‘Exalted One.’”
<Association> uniform.
Iron chain scythe dragging across the ground.
That figure stood between Ari’shelrab and Barpakh’tika.
“Act like a boss.”
Regiment mark embroidered on the back.
Sawtooth fangs and... laurel crown?! So for a moment, the girl.
Uncle Hong Byeong-gyu...?
Muttered.
The laurel crown was granted only to regiment commanders.
“Don’t kick newbies out of an already shit game.”
But the hunting regiment commander.
The most revered hunter.
The hunting regiment wasn’t just Hong Byeong-gyu.
“By picking on newbies like this.”
Yoo Seong-deok.
He swung the chain with a whoosh, and the connected scythe tore through the air, gleaming like starlight with a rattle.
“You old-timers become the bunny duo.”
And right behind him.
The <Association>’s aces came into view.
12.
“I’ll explain the current situation first.”
The Nightmare Zone’s annexation of Paradise.
The ‘Exalted One’s’ emergence and the forced raid battle commencement.
“Crazy... fuck... What?”
When the explanation ended.
Jeong Ha-kyeong’s reaction was a hollow laugh.
“You’re joking, right? Don’t pull some shitty American joke or whatever. It doesn’t suit you.”
“It’s real. Check the info window for Paradise population, and you’ll feel it immediately.”
“This... what the... fucking...?”
I showed Jeong Ha-kyeong my status.
“Now, about my condition.”
Physical recovery was complete, but the armor and coat still bore accumulated damage. That was.
“While raiding Samcheong-dong, I used up all my dedicated skills. Eighteen hours remain until recharge.”
“...!”
“And my unique skill... I can only use 《Dawn Sword》 once more.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong fell silent for a moment.
Realistically assessing the situation, no doubt. At last, she shook her head vigorously.
“Let’s run.”
“...Pardon?”
“Let’s run for now. It’s the final boss. Everything so far was mid-bosses. Don’t you know? Final bosses are dozens of times stronger by the rules.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong grabbed me like a child pleading with her parents.
“It’s not hard. Just thinking realistically.”
“...”
“I get how serious this is. But if you go, you’ll just die in vain. Let’s go somewhere, stockpile strength first.”
“Meanwhile, many people will die.”
“So what?!”
At my firm reply, Jeong Ha-kyeong teared up and shouted.
“You going to die in their place saves them? It doesn’t, right? Right?!”
Ah...
A stabbing pain in my chest.
Should I run...? Just disappear somewhere with Jeong Ha-kyeong and bide our time...?
Wooong. Wooong. Wooong. Wooong. Wooong. Wooong.
In my wavering vision, the flickering Dawn Sword appeared.
It was as if the sword spoke.
As if the inscription on the blade spoke.
Remember.
The compass of your fate.
The path of life you chose.
I steadied my breath.
And the words I’d prepared and prepared again until Jeong Ha-kyeong rose.
“I have a name, don’t I?”
I began.
“Kim Baek-jun... It means the one who makes the world white. This ‘white’ means with goodness.”
“...Sounds kinda like ‘eye.’”
“Right? My birthday’s in winter too. Opposite of you, Ha-kyeong, the summer treasure.”
Summer and winter.
Whenever I looked at the woman named Jeong Ha-kyeong.
It felt like fates that could never meet were joined by the world’s end.
“I’ve met many women in life, but you’re the first like you.”
“...?”
“So reliable and sturdy. I want you always by my side. Want to talk more. When we part, there’s this inexplicable regret deep down.”
“You... suddenly... why say this...?”
“I’ve never been in love. No first love. Never knew love’s thrill.”
But.
Precisely because of that.
“I knew it at once. You’re my... first love.”
Then, from Jeong Ha-kyeong’s lips came stifled sobs.
She knew instinctively.
What I meant to say next.
“You said there’s no way to hunt the ‘Exalted One’ and save everyone else.”
“...”
“There is. One way.”
Straining. Painfully. Barely.
I clasped Jeong Ha-kyeong’s hand, met her jewel-like summer eyes, and gave one last smile.
“But to make it happen, I have to die.”
[Dull Serpent, Barpakh’tika]
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[Paradise Population List]
Current / Limit
- [Paradise Main District]: 2,623 / 3,000
- [Paradise Sub-District - 1]: 315 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 2]: 397 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 3]: 405 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 4]: 276 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 5]: 301 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 6]: 149 / 700
- [Paradise Sub-District - 7]: 0 / 500