Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Unbreakable Dawn, Holy Flame Cemetery (6)
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11.
“Speed up your form manifestation even more—faster!”
The Aspect of Dawn, Berkenzia.
Mastering all five forms of her power was truly a grueling task.
“When handling the Twilight Bow, you need to be able to fire on the move in any situation.”
“The Divine Radiance Crimson Curtain’s durability depends on the caster’s mental strength. Focus!”
That grueling task.
It had been etched into my body and mind thanks to the greatest of teachers.
“Fragments aren’t limited to just one.”
Tersia handled the theory.
“The power depends on how many fragments you concentrate.”
“Does that mean... with the Twilight Bow’s arrows...?”
“Yes.”
Proficient in all weapons.
She guided me from the basics of each one to advanced applications—everything.
“You can wield such immense power without using fragments?”
“There’s my Moonlight Scythe’s special ability, 《Cold Moon Annihilation》, or Liam’s technique, 《Ral Kensi Hyerden》.”
“《Ral Kensi Hyerden》?”
How curious.
It sounds strangely untranslated into Korean.
“Could it be... the Dawn Sword’s Final Liberation?”
Tersia shook her head at my question.
“No... You’ll learn that much later, but since it came up, let me mention the Final Liberation.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly.
Liam said something to Tersia, who nodded with a bitter expression.
“You must never use it unless in a dire emergency.”
“............?”
“It’ll definitely require over two hundred fragments.”
Over two hundred...
At minimum, that’s two-tenths of my lifespan.
It wasn’t hard to understand.
During the assault on the Exalted One, it had taken the blood of Im Yong-gon and two others just to barely pull it off.
“Let’s start over. Liam, 101st—get ready.”
Liam handled the practical training.
Liam’s presence was polite like a gentleman, yet weighty like a knight.
“Please, I’m in your hands.”
[Master of the Broken Dawn].
If there was a realm beyond his transcendent combat prowess, it might just be Liam’s own.
Day after day after day.
I grew ever more proficient in wielding all five Berkenzias.
“Berkenzia form manifestation, [Twilight Bow]!”
In my grasp.
The Dawn Sword transformed into a greatbow amid a dazzling flash.
Liam’s blade charging at me.
Leg strength amplification, eighty percent.
I kicked off the ground, launching into the air, and
Come forth, Twilight Arrows.
I formed three arrows, nocked them, and drew the string taut.
Blood-red. Golden. Blood-red.
The three arrows gleamed with Dawn’s light as they assailed Liam.
“Divine Radiance Crimson Curtain, alter!”
In that instant, I saw a scarlet X-shaped shield manifest before Liam’s mirror shield. Then, dirt and dust erupted like a storm from the fierce clash.
“Berkenzia, form shift... [Dawn Sword]!”
In that moment.
The Twilight Bow in my hand shifted into the form of a broken greatsword.
That split-second judgment decided life or death.
────Kaaaaaaaang!
Transcendent leg strength.
That was what allowed me to block Liam’s blade as he leaped toward me.
“Excellent.”
“Not yet! Berkenzia, form shift! [White Dharma Gloves]!”
In an instant, pure white gauntlets enveloped both hands, elegant magic circles etched on the backs.
“《White Flame Heaven-Shaking Thunder》...!”
The power dwelling in these White Dharma Gloves.
The spells 《White Flame Heaven-Shaking Thunder》 and 《Primordial Ironclad》 were starting to feel natural in my hands.
Kwa-gwagwagwagwagwagwagwagwa!
Blinding light scorched my eyes.
A gale like tearing flesh whipped up alongside the explosive thunder.
“Berkenzia, form shift, [Moonlight Scythe]!”
- The Moonlight Scythe harvests the world’s darkness, augmenting and transmuting it into light’s power.
- Like... bloodsucking?
- You could interpret it that way. But “bloodsucking” sounds too sinister.
The Moonlight Scythe’s unique technique.
The so-called 《Cold Moon Annihilation》.
I had become able to use that power, however clumsily.
And the Divine Radiance Crimson Curtain.
A barrier I couldn’t even deploy at first—I could now manifest a single layer.
Decisively.
My teachers weren’t just Liam and Tersia.
“I can feel... eyes on me?”
At every moment of training, I sensed the Holy Spirits cheering me on. Hands touching my shoulders, too.
“This isn’t my imagination, is it?”
The problem was, no one was there when I looked back. Or rather, I couldn’t see them.
“Of course not. I told you before—we’re all rooting for you.”
We all...?
“The 97 predecessor successors of the 101st unit, of course. Liam and I included.”
That sensation wasn’t a hallucination.
Whenever my progress with a Berkenzia slowed.
[Clap your hands together in prayer.]
Someone’s... advice flowed into my mind.
[With a praying heart... that will deploy even greater magic power.]
The 99th Holy Flame Keeper...?
They were truly watching over me from the side, teaching alongside.
I bowed toward them.
“...Thank you.”
Dawn Sword.
No need to explain how my proficiency with my main weapon had improved.
If.
Just if.
I could meet the [Master of the Broken Dawn] again...
“I want to show you the results of my training. That I made it this far thanks to you...”
Tersia and Liam exchanged bright smiles at my vow.
“Do that. But 101st, the 100th... Just what you said would make her overjoyed.”
12.
“Stop, Anridal.”
A voice carrying an authority beyond human comprehension... Anridal flinched and turned.
“Shalruan?”
In that instant.
The suffocating pressure.
The tongue licking obsessively at his mind.
Both vanished like lies.
Thud...
Shin Tae-yeop slid to the floor, gasping for breath.
“Shyrak...”
He reached out trembling hands.
And pulled Shyrak—who was curled up on the ground, whimpering weakly—into his arms.
“You’re okay... Daddy’s right here.”
What the hell...?
What just happened...?
Was Gong Min-young a traitor? No... She seemed like a completely different person.
“That body’s an important knight, you know. What if you overdo the possession like that?”
Shin Tae-yeop cautiously lifted his gaze... then gaped blankly at the bizarre sight.
“Lucky this is the cathedral. If you’d done it outside... your body would’ve burst apart.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong was petting Gong Min-young’s head. Gong Min-young sat before her like a dog.
“But Shalruan did it too.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“You and I on the same level, you little shit?”
Sudden barking.
Gong Min-young whimpered like a kicked dog... and curled up.
“Dayflies are bugs. That one. So had to kill.”
“Dayflies? That?”
“Yeah yeah.”
In that moment, Shin Tae-yeop’s eyes met Jeong Ha-kyeong’s.
No... Not Jeong Ha-kyeong.
It’s a Holy Apostle, ah... Realizing what had happened, his eyes burned hot.
- High chance she’d get her body taken by a Holy Apostle someday.
Damn it...
So it really happened...
My uneasy premonitions were never wrong...
“Ah, just leave that one. We need every hand we can get.”
“Shalruan, that bitch is faking memory loss. Magic’s half-assed too.”
“What... memory loss?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong (possessed by the Holy Apostle) glared at Shin Tae-yeop for a moment, then strode over in combat boots.
“Give it... give it back... That body... isn’t yours...!”
Shin Tae-yeop cried out weakly.
Damn... My collarbone’s shattered... Can’t form seals with both hands.
“Give it back? Oh, Anridal? That’s a special case. She didn’t become a Hunter ‘that bastard’s’ way, so possession’s easy.”
“You... you’re talking about...!”
“Me? This little shit gets too comfy with half-measures and keeps talking down—how old do you think I am, fuck?”
How the hell would I know?
He wanted to shout, but the crushing presence warped his consciousness, sealing his lips.
“I’ve got a thousand great-grandsons your age, kid. Even if they all had great-great-great-grandsons and we added up all those years...”
Her cursing was endlessly creative.
For a moment, he wondered if Jeong Ha-kyeong was just acting.
“...Enough, fuck this.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong clicked her tongue.
Then began groping Shin Tae-yeop’s body forcefully here and there.
The moment those hands touched his head.
Shin Tae-yeop finally gasped for air.
This... Ah... Consciousness... rotting away... like... like... Kanpult Katr... Shalruan─────
─────Fwoooooosh!
In that instant.
The rosary ignited in flames, snapping his awareness back.
“Fuckin’ hell.”
Through blurry vision.
He saw Jeong Ha-kyeong shake her hand off the rosary and step back.
“Pretty crafty. Not ‘that bastard’s’ work...”
“Edel?”
“Don’t say that name, you shit! Gonna lend power to the divinity or what?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong bellowed.
Gong Min-young slammed her head to the floor with a whimper.
“How’d they seal the whole memory in a tool like this? Pulled out just the ability activation.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong turned to Gong Min-young.
“Anridal, can you use 《Time Intervention》 now? Without wrecking that woman’s body.”
“Yeah... Once or so?”
“Perfect. Show the past to restore her memory. She’ll be way more useful with it.”
Gong Min-young blinked, tilting her head.
“That okay? Don’t trust.”
“Memory’s definitely gone, so listen to me, you little shit. Even reading her mind, it’s just fragments.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong sneered, pointing at Shin Tae-yeop.
“Right now, that’s pure trash.”
“Got it. Got it. But okay? Might wreck him.”
Gong Min-young pointed at Shin Tae-yeop with a grin. Jeong Ha-kyeong sighed deeply.
“If it breaks reading memories, oh well. If not, she’ll be a huge help.”
“But then.”
“Yeah, yeah. ‘Disposal’ later’ll take some effort.”
“Him?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong sized up Shin Tae-yeop briefly, then shook her head with a sigh.
“Yeah, but first, put out the fire in front of us.”
Gong Min-young approached slowly.
This time, Shin Tae-yeop didn’t back away.
Memories...?
She’d restore his memories...?
It was hazy, but that’s clearly what he’d heard.
“Won’t freak?”
Gong Min-young cocked her head. Shin Tae-yeop let out a hollow chuckle.
“No... I want it. Hurry and give me back my memories.”
“Why?”
“So I can get power... power to go to Nowon-gu.”
Ah... What a pathetic bastard.
Came to stop Jeong Ha-kyeong over this risk, and now I’m accepting this gamble.
“Hmph... Got some guts like an old dayfly.”
Shalruan snickered mockingly.
“Not worried that once you recover them, you won’t be ‘you’ anymore?”
What?
Shin Tae-yeop felt his mind go blank for an instant...
“Then... Shall we?”
As the powerless chuckle escaped, Gong Min-young brought her face close with a wicked smile.
“Al9eRta... When peering into this person’s heart.”
Her hot breath touched him, so close. In a tone like chanting a hymn.
“J*7#?Ё...... Peering into another person’s heart...”
And finally.
The moment her lips’ touch registered on his forehead, a squelching fullness flooded his mind.
“Uh...?”
His vision shook.
Two or three scenes overlapped in a chaotic blur, and his body toppled sideways against his will.
“...Weeping Queen of Madness, is what you just did not a rules violation?”
“...Rules violation my ass—this ain’t even a proper game, what fuckin’ rules?”
“...But.”
“...You, a fuckin’ sub-in, lecturing me, the great Shalruan, former Absolute Administrator? Wanna go at it?”
“...I’m sorry.”
As sight and sound split apart, his eyelids closed, consciousness sinking into the abyss.
The scent of memories.
Voices of memories.
Memories from ‘me’ in another world, another timeline.
- Forget it. It’s just a nightmare from a vanished past.
Those memories.
He’d wanted to reclaim the truth.
Yet feared reclaiming the truth as well—the nightmare memories.
“When you arrived at the hospital, she had already... passed away.”
One month after his father’s suicide.
The abyss’s whisper that came to Shin Tae-yeop, lost in grief.
[Do you want to save your father?]
- YES or NO
Out of spite. Rage. Resignation.
The apocalypse battle royale that began the instant he hit YES...
“...Do you want your wish granted? Then destroy this world before anyone else!”
“...Total annihilation, total annihilation! This world’s like a game but not a game! Total annihilation means everyone dies!”
“...Wait for me. With all the world’s dawns, I’ll come find you for sure.”
Yes...
The story he’d remember now.
Was the tale of that day’s tragedy.