Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: The Dawn of the Whole World, Our Promise (1)
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0.
This is the final tale.
If any historians had survived, they would have adorned this battle with flourishes like [The Final War] or [Armageddon].
This is the story of the battle to retake the holy city of Castle Bayia.
1.
By the time we reached the outskirts of Castle Bayia, I was dealt a massive shock by the utterly transformed world.
“The sea…… how did it reach all the way to Castle Bayia……?”
The ocean, which should have been dozens of kilometers away, now wrapped around the northern and western sides of Castle Bayia.
“This is astonishing…….”
Paul let out a genuine exclamation.
If the enemy was the Abyss, Castle Bayia was impregnable. Thanks to the sanctity of the Sacred Tree.
“So Jeong-cheol conquered that.”
And with Abyss attributes, no less……
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what method he’d used.
Perhaps.
The moment we laid eyes on that sight.
We should have retreated.
Of course, it would only have bought us another month or two at best.
The reclamation operation was a disaster from the very start.
Our plan was to breach the gates.
Then form ranks and march straight to the heart of Castle Bayia, where the Sacred Tree stood.
While I raised 《Flame Barriers》 on either side of our advance route to make the push easier.
But……
“M-Movement detected underground!”
Had it really only been about ten seconds after passing through the gates when Michelle suddenly shouted in alarm?
Ruuuumble─────
The ground shook violently as cracks began to spiderweb across it……
─────BOOOOM!
……and a tentacle the size of a skyscraper burst from the earth, mercilessly sweeping away the vanguard of the allied forces.
“Sh’yrulcula…… it’s Sh’yrulcula!”
“A…… aaaaaaaaah!”
Sh’yrulcula?
The [Ruler of the Ancient Seas]?
One of the Abyss lords, the [Forgotten Kings]? But this was land?
What the hell……?
Was the sea reaching this far…… to summon Sh’yrulcula to the holy city?
“Fall back! I’ll handle it!”
I immediately spread both hands wide.
Seven layers of magic circles spun atop my palms.
My head…… my head was ringing.
But I had to push myself and cast 7-star magic at high speed.
Shiiiing─────!
The moment the magic circles shattered.
Crimson mist slithered forth like a serpent, coiling around the tentacle, and in the next instant, it erupted into a whirlwind of flames.
────Whoooosh!
Sh’yrulcula’s tentacle was tenacious.
Even as it was engulfed in fire and charred to cinders……
“It’s coming this way!”
“E-Evadeeeeeeee!”
……it thrashed wildly, smashing soldiers into bloody pulp.
Grooooan……!
It took an agonizingly long time for that tentacle to collapse into ash on the ground.
“Damn it…… not even the main body…… just one tentacle…… and it took this much…….”
I grumbled through ragged breaths…… but honestly, we’d been lucky.
The first wave, with Fairy King Valdemaar, had been utterly pulverized in that ambush.
Ruuuumble……
That was when it happened.
With a wet, squelching boom, the world shook as if it were collapsing……
“What the hell is that……?”
……and a dark blue mushroom cloud rose from the center of the holy city.
“I’ll…… ngh…… I’ll take a look…….”
Michelle immediately closed her eyes.
A phantom eye materialized above her head. 《Clairvoyance》.
“A girl……? No, it’s…… Johan IV……!”
“What? Johan IV?”
The queen of the holy city?
She was still alive?
“The Sacred Tree…… ngh……? It’s in the middle of being corrupted…… but it’s stopped…… Johan IV is sitting right in front of it…… the Sacred Tree’s barrier…….”
My brain was at capacity from there on. So…… contrary to Paul’s guess, Jeong-cheol hadn’t destroyed the Holy Grail yet.
He’d only halted its function by corrupting the Sacred Tree.
And Johan IV had somehow stopped that midway.
“Jeong-cheol is trying to break through it…… doing something…… agh……!”
In that instant, the Clairvoyance vanished.
Michelle groaned and opened her eyes. Her face was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
“I…… my eyes…… met Jeong-cheol’s gaze…….”
Paul Read immediately turned to Park Hyun-su.
“I don’t know what’s going on…… but it looks like it’s turned into a race against time, Park Hyun-su.”
“……!”
“As long as the Holy Grail is intact…… we can rebuild this world.”
Jeong-cheol surely knew that. And Jeong-cheol was the greatest elite player in history.
Thousands upon thousands of raid experiences.
From that experience…… Jeong-cheol had figured out exactly how to turn a raid into a nightmare of extreme difficulty.
We were thoroughly toyed with by the ‘raid elements’ he’d devised and deployed.
That toying was a nightmare.
Everything failed.
Failure, failure, failure, and more failure. It felt like being trapped in a mad nightmare from which there was no escape.
“Greatwood, it’s a Greatwood!”
“Please, please just get this off me. From my head, my heeead──!”
The battle with the elite knights.
There, our allied insect horde turned into a horrifying enemy, slaughtering the allied soldiers.
「RAAAAAAAAAAIIIISSSSHHHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Adding insult to injury.
One of the [Forgotten Kings].
The Insect Lord, Kellek-Shai, let out a howl of ecstasy as it thudded toward us.
“Gaa── aaaaaaaaaa!”
“Aaaaaa─── hahahahahahahahaha hihehehe!”
A frenzy of madness.
The heads of fairies who couldn’t cover their ears exploded, spraying blood and bone shards everywhere.
“Ehehe, ehehehe, ehehe, eheht.”
“Heeheehee, heehee, mommy, mommy, mom, mom.”
Humans trembled as if sobbing, then began all sorts of bizarre antics.
Writhing on the ground.
Madly digging into the earth while cackling and giggling……
“Grrrraaaaaarrr.”
“Lelily lelily larela lu, Edelweiss Castle Bayia yelle.”
The deranged humans…… were pounced on by zombie fairies with burst heads, who tore into their flesh……
“Please.”
Magic.
Use magic.
Even if I burned it all away, incinerated it, walled it off with fire…… it never ended.
“Please. Please. Please.”
What the hell was this?
We’d prepared.
Me, Paul, Valdemaar, and all the battle-hardened veterans had put our heads together on tactics and strategy.
Why did it feel like we’d come with zero preparation? Why?
“Park Hyun-su.”
That was when Paul urgently called out to Park Hyun-su…… and held up two fingers.
“Leave this to me…… and go with Plan B, Park Hyun-su.”
“……Please.”
“Yeah. These two, I’ll protect with my life.”
What the hell was that about?
I didn’t even have time to ask.
Because Park Hyun-su bolted straight ahead.
“How the hell…… does he plan to break through here alone?”
I mumbled in a daze.
Michelle finished her Elder Sign incantation and replied.
“Ngh…… He’s…… that confident in his strength now……? We might just get in his way…….”
“No…… something’s off…….”
That was when I muttered it without thinking.
There was no proof.
Just a hunch.
The next moment.
I shook off Paul’s restraint and began chasing after Park Hyun-su as if entranced.
“Skesari!”
“Shishishi?”
“Go back to Lady Xerenia! It’s dangerous!”
“Shi…………?”
“It’s fine. We’ll meet again. So go!”
It was good that I sent back Skesari, who’d been perched on my head.
Right after that.
The horrors just kept coming.
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“Heeheeheeheehufufufuhehehe!”
From the alleys on both sides.
Sh’yrulcula’s minions, the deep-sea merfolk, cackled eerily as they hopped down.
Kikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikig.
Bizarre roots walked like men—the deep-sea trees shrieked as they charged at me.
“Over there────────”
The moment I tried to cast magic.
Park Hyun-su drew Verkenxia and swung it wide.
“───────Get out of the wayyyyy!”
A blade of light slashed across the world, and the creatures were reduced to ash in a miracle.
As expected.
Park Hyun-su really was strong.
Strong enough to rival even Jeong-cheol.
“Mister, mister, stop! Just stop for a second!”
I chased after Park Hyun-su, following the path he’d cleared.
“Mister! Look at me!”
Of course, there were plenty of interlopers.
Giant flying insects bigger than crows.
Colossal Greatwoods taller than the city’s spires.
“Small fry, begone!”
Whoooosh……!
A swamp of the Abyss rising to my ankles.
Splash splash splash…… As Park Hyun-su crossed the city, I pursued his back relentlessly.
“Why are you pushing yourself like this? Why go on this reckless rampage all of a sudden?!”
“Don’t follow me, please! Wait with Paul!”
“No! Time’s tight, but not this tight! You don’t need to push like this!”
Frustrating. Scary. Out of breath.
That chase felt like it lasted centuries.
“Breaking through here isn’t the end! You still have to face Brother Cheol! Let me help! I’ll hel──”
That was when everything flipped.
Right to my side…… a building collapsed, and a tentacle shot out, slamming into my flank.
The impact.
The impact of my side being ripped open.
I flew through the air for seconds, tumbled through the Abyss swamp, and smashed into the opposite wall.
「KIIIIEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKK!」
The moment I finally felt the pain.
Hot blood surged up from below my throat.
[HP: 3%]
- Warning: Severe bleeding status.
Instant-death pattern……?
Ah…… damn it…… vision…… vision…… flickering.
“Tae-yeopaaaa───!”
Through my blurring vision, I saw.
The tentacle filling my view, lunging from above…… and in that instant, a brilliant flash of dawn.
………………………………
……………………… “Shin Tae-yeop!”
………………… “Tae-yeop!”
…………… “Hey, Shin Tae-yeop!”
…… “Shin Tae-yeop!”
“Shin Tae-yeop! Shin Tae-yeop! Snap out of it! Hey, Shin Tae-yeop!”
Noisy voices.
I barely lifted my eyelids.
As soon as my mind cleared, blood spewed from my mouth on its own, and I gasped for air.
“Good…… ah…… you’re really okay, Tae-yeop.”
In my blood-red vision.
Park Hyun-su’s relieved face swam into hazy view.
“Where…… are we……?”
“Helenia’s Hill.”
Helenia’s Hill……?
I repeated the name dozens of times in my dazed mind before I could speak.
“Why…… why did you come here?”
This was the northern part of the holy city.
Quite a distance from [Sacred Tree Plaza], where Jeong-cheol was.
“It’s the highest point in Castle Bayia. You can overlook the whole city.”
He was right.
Looking down at the city from the hill, a wave of wrongness made me dry-heave.
The holy city of Castle Bayia.
“The miraculous city built on the sacrifice of the sun and moon…….”
Now a blackened, rotting wasteland.
Only the Sacred Tree in the city center cast a frail silver glow.
“We have to…… stop Brother Cheol…….”
“…….”
“There’s…… no time…….”
As I tried to stand, Park Hyun-su shook his head.
“No need.”
“What……?”
“Jeong-cheol will come find me.”
What……?
Me, not us?
That’s when I realized the feeling I’d had before chasing Park Hyun-su was this sense of wrongness.
“Mister…… what the hell are you──”
That was when.
The house right beside us crumbled to pieces, and Sh’yrulcula’s tentacle rocketed upward.
My heart nearly stopped at the explosive force.
Magic, I need to use magic.
I repeated it to myself, but my ringing head couldn’t even manage a simple thought.
I hadn’t cast anything.
Yet the tentacle began to burn…… what?
Squinting, I saw…… black flames?
Black flames.
They reduced the tentacle to nothing—not even ash—in an instant.
“Park Hyun-su.”
Paul’s voice came right after.
Paul Read, as expected.
Paul had used the absolute authority of black flames…… with power I couldn’t even imitate with my magic.
“The allied forces are wiped out…… This was the best I could protect…….”
Wiped out……?
Wiped out……?
I asked frantically.
“What about Skesari? Roberto? Xerenia?”
“Haven’t seen them since it turned into chaos. It was a full hour of melee. Probably…… dead.”
“Ha…… haha…… haha…….”
As I let out a hollow laugh.
Paul set down someone he’d been carrying beside me.
This……?
My eyes burned hot.
Her whole body was covered in blood…… but her pulse was there.
She was alive.
Alive.
It was Michelle.
As I clutched Michelle’s small hand and sobbed quietly.
“Tae-yop, I’m doing it right here.”
Park Hyun-su.
Answered my earlier question.
And the conversation he’d had with Paul that day.
“I’m going to liberate [Tarhye Rondel] with Verkenxia.”