Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Illuminate the Dawn on This Land, Final Battle Against the 'Exalted One' (6)
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15.
“That fucking bastard…… He’s starting to head inland.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong spat as she glared beyond the railing.
It was true.
Whenever Barpakh’Tika moved, the ground would shift…… and that shift was now pointing toward the new Seodaemun-gu area.
“We can’t just let him go like that.”
Im Yong-gon.
He spoke those words as he set Seo Hwa-yoon down on the rooftop floor.
The situation was the worst it could possibly be.
Seo Hwa-yoon, Choi Uk, Lee Seong-mi, Do Su-jin, Shin Tae-yeop…… To knock out every single one of the <Association>’s executives……
If I had been even a little later, they would have died.
“What about Yoo Seong-deok and Eom Jae-beom?”
When I asked that.
Do Ye-jin, who had been stroking the Soul Chain on her sister’s palm, lowered her head.
“Those uncles are all……”
She didn’t finish the sentence…… but her demeanor made the rest all too clear.
Dead?
No way. That couldn’t be.
Eom Jae-beom and Yoo Seong-deok…… The veterans who had supported me in every way since the founding of the <Association>……
Ah……
Despair tangled with grief swirled in my heart, and I clutched my forehead, hidden beneath my bangs.
“We’ll mourn later.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong said.
“For now…… leave the wounded where they are and head inland ourselves.”
“……Why?”
“To create an opportunity for Kim Baek-jun.”
At Jeong Ha-kyeong’s words, Do Ye-jin shot to her feet.
“An opportunity? What opportunity? Is there a way to beat that thing, that monster?”
“……Yeah. Apparently there is.”
“What? What is it, mister? Tell me. I’ll help too.”
That’s what Do Ye-jin said.
I looked into her pure eyes and forced a bitter smile.
“It’s not hard to explain…… For now, let’s head inland. I’ll tell you on the way.”
“But why inland……?”
“Because that’s where it’s going…… and we need to target the moment it surfaces on the ground.”
That’s the only window for attack.
But to do that…… someone else’s sacrifice would be absolutely essential.
It was a truly heartbreaking battle calculus.
Just then, Do Ye-jin’s eyes sparkled, and she spoke up.
“Wait…… Mister, if the goal is to lure out the ‘Exalted One’…… we might not need to go inland at all.”
“What……?”
“Shin Tae-yeop said it. That my, Ari-Shel’Rap’s power draws in other nightmares.”
What……?
I exchanged stunned glances with Jeong Ha-kyeong and Im Yong-gon.
“It happened at the Grand Library too, and with Roheiritz. And earlier when we were protecting the evacuees. He said the ‘Exalted One’ kept lingering in Cheonun Hyoja-dong because I used 《Subordination》.”
What……?
No, wait.
It wasn’t impossible.
“Even though Ha-kyeong and I joined so late…… the reason it was still in Cheonun Hyoja-dong…… was that?”
That’s why.
A faint spark of hope bloomed in my chest.
“Ye-jin. Can you become a Subordinate again?”
“Honestly…… I can’t hold it for long. But…… short-term, I can control it. As long as we don’t fight.”
“That’s enough.”
Yes, that would be enough.
After that, it was adult business.
“Thanks to you, Ye-jin, we can save a lot of people.”
I lifted my head.
“Alright. Let’s lure it here, to Cheonun Hyoja-dong, now that evacuation is complete.”
Then Im Yong-gon asked me.
“So now you can explain. What exactly is the way to beat it?”
“…….”
“I saw you earlier, carried on Jeong Ha-kyeong’s back. That was definitely a footwork skill hitting its usage limit, right?”
“……Yes.”
“And the one-strike skills are already depleted too. You definitely can’t use those anymore.”
Im Yong-gon shrugged as if he couldn’t comprehend, then continued.
“In that situation, what the hell are you planning to do?”
I held my breath for a moment.
Then I looked at Jeong Ha-kyeong again. She gazed back at me…… with eyes tangled in despair and resignation, before lowering her head.
I’m sorry, Ha-kyeong.
My resolve churned like it might shatter.
To steel that resolve once more, I opened the [Paradise Population List] in the info window.
My heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
Casualties…… The Paradise sub-districts were nearly wiped out.
We couldn’t let that thing rampage any longer.
My fists trembled as I finally opened my mouth.
“……No. There’s exactly one method left.”
I explained that method.
When the explanation ended.
Im Yong-gon fell silent, and Do Ye-jin grabbed my sleeve, babbling incoherently……
“No, no way. How could you? There’s no guarantee it’ll work.”
“No, it’ll definitely work……”
I looked once more.
At the blade of the Dawn Sword, at the Runic script engraved upon it.
The info window that appeared every time.
Blood filled each Runic engraving halfway, like a spring welling up.
Who was the first one……?
I’d never know…… but it was clear that just one more sacrifice was needed now.
“The power of the Dawn Sword has never been unlocked in vain. Not even once.”
“But…… but how…… It doesn’t make sense. Why do you have to die, mister?”
“Because that’s the only way.”
“What do you mean only way! You’re talking about suicide? Don’t do it!”
You really……
You’re as kind as Gye-sang and Byeong-gyu. I silently stroked Do Ye-jin’s head, then turned to Im Yong-gon.
“So, Im Yong-gon. I have a request.”
The giant in the tin-pot helmet.
He raised his head to meet my gaze.
“Please become the <Association>’s Chairman in my place.”
“……What?”
“You’ve always been on par with the Lead Hunter, so you can naturally be the <Association>’s ace.”
Now.
I would become a single grain of wheat.
To bear the fruit of life in this world, I would gladly offer this worthless life.
- We came to save you.
Those words were the life I aspired to.
Those words were the life I had walked.
“It’s time now to make that life bloom.”
The Dawn Sword trembled faintly.
It’s okay, [Master of the Broken Dawn]. You’ll soon find someone more fitting than me.
“So, someone has to sacrifice themselves, is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Voluntarily…… with all their heart. Then you can use the ultimate technique?”
“……Yes.”
“In simple terms, you’ll save us and die in our place.”
“……Yes.”
“Then I’ll die in your place.”
I couldn’t believe my ears for a moment.
Do Ye-jin and Jeong Ha-kyeong wore equally stunned expressions.
“Huh……?”
“What did you just say?”
“I said I’ll die in your place.”
The one who immediately shook his head was me.
“No.”
“Are you worried the conditions won’t be met?”
Im Yong-gon replied firmly yet coolly.
“Didn’t you just say Kim Gye-sang met the conditions even though he was a Seven Star God Hunter?”
“That’s──”
“──No need to worry. I’m an Absolute God Hunter.”
As expected…… the same power as Paul.
But that wasn’t important now. I shouted.
“The conditions aren’t the issue! Yong-gon, this…… this is a matter of life and death. It means certain death! Don’t you get it? How could I let someone else──”
“──Kim Baek-jun.”
His next words.
Left me flustered, my mind going blank.
“Kim Jae-shin sunbae-nim and Park Mi-kyeong sunbae-nim. Do you want to repeat the same mistake they made?”
No…… How did Im Yong-gon know those names?
Kim Jae-shin and Park Mi-kyeong.
The names of my parents, who saved me and showed me the path of life.
“From what I felt, sunbae-nim were greatly mistaken.”
Sunbae…… sunbae-nim?
“People like them shouldn’t die young. A heroic life isn’t completed through death.”
For the first time.
Three months after the apocalypse.
Im Yong-gon removed his tin helmet in front of me, Do Ye-jin, and Jeong Ha-kyeong.
A sharp, angular face.
Skin hideously covered in burns.
I’d seen this man before. Vaguely remembered him. How could I forget?
“Im Yong-gon……”
At my parents’ funeral.
The giant who swallowed sincere tears upon seeing me.
“You…… you’re not…… that guy from back then……”
“After seeing off sunbae-nim, I became the pillar of the fire station. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fill the void they left.”
“……Even someone like you, a superhuman?”
“It’s not about ability.”
When Jeong Ha-kyeong asked, Im Yong-gon shook his head.
“Those two had something I, an ordinary man, didn’t. The power to pull people forward.”
He jabbed my chest with his index finger.
“And Kim Baek-jun…… Whether inherited or not, you have that power too.”
“…………?!”
“I don’t. That’s why I couldn’t replace sunbae-nim’s void. And yours would be the same.”
“…………!”
“I…… don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”
What mistake was that?
I couldn’t ask. Because a deep sorrow passed through Im Yong-gon’s eyes.
“In short, the one to lead the <Association> to the end of this nightmare is you, not me.”
“You’re more than capable enough─”
“─Don’t you get it? You saved me, all of us, and taught us.”
“…………?”
“Where hope lies. How humans should live even after the world ends.”
“………….”
“The hunters who might’ve become thugs drunk on power are now fighting for the world, holding onto hope.”
“That’s because those people─”
“─No. It’s all because you taught and led them.”
“……No.”
“To my shame, I lived only for revenge. As a firefighter, I had a duty…… Kim Baek-jun, you reawakened that in me.”
“……Me?”
“Yes. Just like sunbae-nim did the day I became a firefighter.”
That was when.
From far inland.
An earthquake began again, and wretched screams echoed.
“I once saw this line in a movie and was deeply moved.”
Im Yong-gon then.
Picked up his iron hammer from the ground, slung it on his back, and rose.
“I memorized it to say to sunbae-nim someday, but I missed the chance. Forever.”
He…… gave me the most radiant smile.
Kim Jae-shin and Park Mi-kyeong.
The exact same smile…… my parents used to give young me……
“Kim Baek-jun, trample me and go to tomorrow. I will be your stepping stone.”
16.
…Ding…… Ding…… Ding…
The bell tolled quietly, echoing through the ruined city.
“……Hoo.”
I was the one who rang it.
To signal the start of the operation.
After hanging the bell on my waist, I drew the Dawn Sword from its sheath.
Let’s check the situation once more.
I was now in the clock tower.
This structure had an unusually high roof compared to others.
I would wait here until the moment of the killing blow.
Below this roof, the six-lane road.
At its center, Do Ye-jin stood with Im Yong-gon, muttering to herself.
“It’s entirely my choice how to use despair. It’s entirely my choice how to use despair.”
And thirty meters to the left, on another rooftop.
…Ding…… Ding…… Ding…
There, Jeong Ha-kyeong rang her bell in response to mine.
Wearing only the <Association> uniform.
She had removed all her gear to minimize weight.
Alright, now.
The outcome would be decided in a single instant.
The fate of this world, and all of ours.
[Paradise Population List]
Current / Limit
- [Paradise Main District] : 2,517 / 3,000
- [Paradise Sub-District - 1] : 266 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 2] : 311 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 3] : 327 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 4] : 242 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 5] : 261 / 500
- [Paradise Sub-District - 6] : 119 / 700
- [Paradise Sub-District - 7] : 0 / 500
[Final Liberation: Berkenxia]
Sacrifices Fulfilled: 1 / 2