Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: This World Must Perish, Human Loss (3)
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5.
“We’re heading to <Tarkirten> as planned.”
Outside the holy city of Castlebeia.
Valerin, who had joined us late, spread out a leather map as she spoke.
“I know. It’s the capital of the Fairy Kingdom, right?”
“No, that’s not why we’re going.”
“...?”
“I’m saying the Fairy King Valdemaar isn’t the reason.”
I had to cock my head instead of Park Hyun-soo at Valerin's words.
“Then why go all that way?”
“Someone’s waiting for you there.”
“The Fairy King?”
Valerin kept her eyes fixed on Park Hyun-soo as she replied.
“One of the [Arrived Ones]. The Forlorn Moon, Lady Tersia.”
In that instant, I couldn’t even tell how wide my eyes had grown.
The [Arrived Ones]...?
The Holy Apostles of Radiance, the [Arrived Ones].
In the game, they were all said to be dead or gone.
Which meant no true player had ever encountered one.
“Really?”
“Yes. My master told me so. That’s why we...”
Valerin traced her finger horizontally across the map.
“...head straight east to the trading city of <Reltaron>. From there, we take a sea route to <Tarkirten>.”
“All fairy cities.”
“Exactly. The problem is the stretch between human lands and fairy territory... This area falls under Edelweiss’s control.”
A strange tension crawled up my spine at those words.
Edelweiss...
The usurper infamous for slaughter on par with Richard.
“We can’t let our guard down. No room for optimism. There will come a moment when someone’s sacrifice is demanded.”
There was an inexplicable resignation and despair in Valerin's tone. Why?
“When that happens, don’t hesitate for a second. Sacrifice that someone and move on.”
And why did it feel like...
Those words weren’t directed at us...
But at herself.
“Our mission... is always to get Park Hyun-soo to <Tarkirten>. Keep that in mind.”
And so began our perilous journey eastward.
We traveled day and night.
Our only breaks were when the horses grew exhausted or for quick meals.
The world stretching before us was nothing but dead.
A vast, desolate desert.
Not a single sign of life anywhere.
The only things twitching with animation were the undead.
“The Abyss is consuming all of Ideia.”
“...!”
“We have to stop this, and fast. Before it’s too late.”
No need to explain every detail, but two key members of our group deserve mention.
Michelle.
This decadent dark-circle-eyed, stuttering <Storyteller> big sis was a player.
“Jeongcheol’s raid party? Which one?”
The important part was, of course...
That she’d once been a comrade of Jeongcheol’s, just like us.
“Wh-which one...? Uhng... I don’t know. I-I only met them after coming here.”
“Then that makes you my junior.”
“Uhng...? J-junior...?”
Michelle had this habit of sticking “uhng” into everything, like some kind of interjection.
“If I may boast, this body was a striker in Jeongcheol’s Raid Party Six.”
“Uhng... Is that... a b-boast...?”
After I roasted her like that, things were awkward for a full day and we barely spoke. But we got close quick after.
“What’s your wish, sis? Why’re you chasing after Mr. Park Hyun-soo?”
Michelle stayed quiet for a long stretch, looking embarrassed, before mumbling back.
“...Money.”
“Money? Oh, me? Sorry, you’re not my type.”
I recoiled in horror as I shot back.
Michelle spent a good while flashing me the OK sign with thumb and index finger.
“Wh-what’re you talking about? I said Money...!”
“Oh...”
“Even if you make bank... uhng... if Earth ends... it’s all meaningless, right?”
Maybe because we were both players who could actually communicate.
We were pretty well-read types, so we’d dive into constructive debates about Earth’s events.
Like this exchange, for instance.
“Pineapple on pizza is the way.”
“Uhng... Pineapple pizza? Even A-Americans don’t eat that.”
“Bull! It was invented in Hawaii—why wouldn’t Americans eat it?”
“H-Hawaii’s... uhng... pretty far from the mainland, you know?”
“!”
“?”
“...”
“...”
Park Hyun-soo?
That guy didn’t even think to join our debates. Too busy with romance.
“There’s really a festival like that?”
Charlotte Kandragun.
The emperor’s discarded princess and knight commander of the Holy City’s Relief Knights.
Elegant silver hair and a stunning beauty.
Not that surprising, really—all the Kandragun royals in the story were lookers.
“Yes. They shoot fireworks into the night sky, and the flames really turn into flowers.”
And the reason was simple.
The Kandraguns were the bloodline of the gods.
Dig deep into the lore, and you could infer they were clones made by the gods.
“If it’s a festival like our magic festival... then this world has one too.”
No clue who they cloned, but the originals must’ve been even more gorgeous.
“But it’ll feel different. And it’s not just for nobles either.”
Jeongcheol was one.
Park Hyun-soo too.
Both strutting around with silver-haired babes like it was a cheat code... Guess I needed to step up my game.
“I really... want to see it someday. With you. If the Sun permits that path...”
I scowled at her back, making a show of it.
“Uhng~ Romance blooming amid ruin~! Uhng~ Uhng~ Uhng~!”
“Uh... uhng... Are you mimicking me?”
“My life’s got zero of those dramatic moments.”
“E-everyone’s the same.”
“If I got isekai’d... no, regressed... I’d charm every girl out there. Uhng~”
Day one, day two, day three.
The journey was precarious every single day.
We were crossing right through the heart of a warzone.
As mentioned earlier.
Jeongcheol’s forces had seized central Ideia.
“War’s no longer mere skirmishes—it’s full-scale now.”
The problem? We were losing, day by day.
Both humans and fairies.
It was here that the Queen of the Holy City, Yohan IV, sent a missive seeking alliance with Fairy King Valdemaar.
“Our mission is to deliver this missive safely to western Ideia, <Tarkirten>.”
The task was monumental.
And monumentally dangerous.
And... humanity and the fairies might not hold out until we made this alliance happen.
Every front was collapsing.
This world... was perishing, slowly but surely.
It was a war we could never win from the start.
Jeongcheol wielded the undead as his army.
“The rampage of the Wraith Soldiers is the Abyss’s dominion.”
Every one of those undead was a soldier slain on the battlefield or a civilian caught in the crossfire.
“The more the world crumbles, the stronger Edelweiss’s forces grow.”
I swallowed dryly at Valerin's explanation.
“How the hell do we win, then?”
“We light the Tarhye Rondel.”
“Tarhye Rondel...?”
Michelle stuttered the name in bewilderment, then hiccuped.
“That’s... from the Mythic Age... uhng... the beacon the Mirror Knight Liam lit... right...?”
“Yes.”
“The symbol of unity between humans and fairies...”
A beacon forged by the [Arrived Ones].
Obviously, in the game, it was just tooltip lore—never implemented.
“But I’m not talking about just any beacon.”
“...?”
“The blade of light wielded by Liam Talorden... A light that illuminates a world, a dawn power that incinerates the Abyss.”
A blade of light...?
I’d never heard this before.
“You’re saying... I’ll wield that power?”
Valerin nodded straight at Park Hyun-soo.
“That’s right. Now do you get why we’re going to <Tarkirten>? It’s not for fairy aid.”
“...!”
“You must meet Lady Tersia and inherit that power.”
Truth be told, every day was a nightmare. Jeongcheol was hounding us relentlessly.
Day and night, I fought.
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!”
Maggot-men sneaking up with stealth.
Fishfolk bursting from the water without warning.
Abyssal insects ambushing from the brush.
“We’ll rotate night watch. Like this.”
Even with watch, my heart pounded too hard for easy sleep.
“Kyolona... Lenafrapra... Edelweiss... Ideia... Warbar...”
Every moonless night, the echoes...
Of the undead’s dirge.
That melody chilled me for some reason.
No, less chill and more foreboding. Like it shattered your sanity...
“Kyolona... Lenafrapra... Edelweiss... Ideia... Warbar...”
Damn it.
Plugging my ears didn’t help... it still seeped in.
“You okay? I’ve got eyes on everything.”
That’s when Park Hyun-soo would come over, flash a gentle smile, and keep me company.
“Want a lullaby?”
“Pass. What am I, a kid?”
“Right, you’re our baby bro.”
Our...?
Come to think of it, amid that grueling trek, there were joys too.
Joys born of bonds.
Park Hyun-soo.
He became a father figure, honestly.
To me.
To all of us.
His selfless care, truly cherishing us, often reminded me of my dad or the old Jeongcheol.
“A horde from the right! I’ll handle it—fall back and patch up!”
Weakest fighter here, yet the bravest.
Of course, with a condition.
Only when one of us was in danger.
“I’m good! You’re hurt bad too, sir! Fall back!”
“No, I can hold!”
In those blind ambushes, we had one certainty.
No matter what.
Park Hyun-soo would never abandon us.
That certainty worked wonders.
It let us all hold onto positive courage.
“You’re right, mage boy.”
Charlotte.
She was like a mother.
“Who else is our expedition’s baby if not you?”
Performing healing miracles.
She tenderly mended our wounds while strictly monitoring our health.
“I told you boiled water only, but you shove your face in the first well you see.”
“...!”
“Beef jerky’s supposed to be boiled soft when we have time, but you always scarf it down in one bite, bellyaching about hunger.”
“No way? Jerky’s meant to be chewed tough—that’s the rule! You don’t even know!”
If we slacked on health, she’d nag like a mom for minutes on end.
“Then... uhng... if Park Hyun-soo’s no good... I’ll sing you a lullaby...!”
Michelle.
We’d grown like siblings by now, and with her butting into the chorus with brain-melt verses, I decided to end it here.
“I’d take Hyun-soo sir’s lullaby over yours any day, sis.”
“Why...?”
“You’d uhng-uhng-uhng right through it!”
“...!”
“Oh shit, it wouldn’t be a lullaby—it’d be the Uhng Song. You’d hear uhng-uhng-uhng even in your dreams. Ew, nightmare fuel.”
“You... get over here...!”
“S-sorry! Mercy!”
Maybe imperial dignity.
Charlotte didn’t laugh often, but when Michelle and I bantered, she’d cover her face and stifle giggles.
“Hnng... Kh... Hnng...!”
The issue was everyone knew she was laughing, but she thought she hid it well.
“...”
“...”
But...
Even in that family-like warmth, Valerine and Amber stood apart.
Those two never laughed.
Always gazing sadly at the night sky or sighing wordlessly at each other.
“Uhng... Feels like a romance manga...”
“Romance manga?”
“Wh-when one’s... terminally ill... that’s how the emotions play out...”
Romance manga?
I snorted at the time, thinking it was a joke.
I’d only learn later how sharply intuitive it was.
Because back then.
I couldn’t even imagine Valerine and Amber dying to Jeongcheol.
“Amber. I’ll raise a barrier 500 meters out. Herd them into it.”
Those two were bona fide genius mages.
Superior to 7th-circle spells.
Handling mythic-grade magic at will said it all.
“Got it. How long do I need to hold?”
The Flame Witch, Amber.
Her infamy fit—her fire magic outdid even Valerine’s...
“Three seconds. That’ll do.”
...but Valerine was a genius versed in every element.
Proof they were the strongest mages?
Mana rose from Valerine in blue wisps, from Amber’s body like red mist.
To me, they were mentors—no, masters.
“The key to combat magic is multi-angle formula conversion.”
They taught me magic with utmost sincerity every day.
“Converting the formula...?”
“Simple. It’s like fooling your own head.”
“...?”
“Insert meaningless variables and equations into the magic calculation.”
“What?”
“The result’s the same, but the added complexity amps the power.”
“Whoa, that’s total cheese.”
“Cheese...? You use the strangest words sometimes. Anyway, you’ve got talent as a mage. You’ll catch on soon.”
Writing it now, I really was the baby.
Least to do, after all.
“I’ll handle cooking!”
“Here? With what ingredients?”
I knew it was impossible.
Desert expedition rations were jerky only.
“Haha. Just add heart and soul. The Shin Tae-yeop touch. Call it the GodTouch.”
“Hey Shin, shut it and chew your jerky.”
Michelle secured our path with 《Clairvoyance》.
Charlotte healed our combat wounds.
Valerine, Amber, and Park Hyun-soo took the front lines in the deadliest fights.
I was in the thick of it, yet protected body and soul by everyone.
What I can state now, unequivocally.
Those days.
Crossing that extreme desert...
Were the happiest of my battle royale life.
So maybe that’s why.
I started harboring hope.
That this happiness would last forever...
But.
This world had no room for hope.
I learned that for sure.
The day it all shattered.