Chapter 225
Chapter 225
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: Sacred Mountain Decisive Battle, My Name Is (4)
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5.
Saitonan, scattered in all directions with blood-mixed water, bone fragments, and bits of flesh.
“I...”
Even in that state, astonishingly, the bastard was still alive.
“I won't die...”
How the hell was that possible.
Chunks of flesh began wriggling like slugs, gathering toward one spot.
“No thing... can... kill me... no...”
That spot was where Heo Cheon-gyeom was.
More precisely, the heart that had fallen right in front of Heo Cheon-gyeom's eyes. Shin Tae-yeop yelled in panic.
“Hey, Heo Cheon-gyeom! Get away from there!”
In that urgent moment, Heo Cheon-gyeom was gasping for breath, assessing the situation.
This heart...
It looks just like a bug...
A bug with nine protrusions... wait, protrusions...?
- There are nine protrusions in total; they said to cut off the pure white one.
Wasn't this the weakness of Saitonan that the Pope told Gong Min-young about?
- The one who kills a god is destined to die. Karma, or something.
For a moment, it felt like his breath had stopped.
Heo Cheon-gyeom slowly raised his eyes and looked at his friends rushing toward him. So he shouted.
“Don't come────────!”
Shin Tae-yeop. Do Ye-jin.
The handsome guy and beautiful girl couple froze, staring at Heo Cheon-gyeom with bewildered eyes.
You kids... you look good together...
Heo Cheon-gyeom chuckled.
If he evaluated himself, his weapon had always been his judgment.
“Hey, you fucking bastards.”
Right now.
A knife is gripped in my hand.
The prey's heart lies before my eyes.
Shin Tae-yeop and Do Ye-jin are exhausted.
If he missed this chance, and Saitonan revived, they'd all die helplessly.
“When the world goes back to normal.”
Saitonan had to be killed now.
And among these three... right now, and from here on, the most useless one was him.
“Write my biography, one each.”
This sucks.
It doesn't even piss him off that much.
Maybe that's why he didn't hesitate to grip the knife.
“Hey, you idiot, what bullshit are you saying! Get the hell out of there!”
“Not a joint husband-wife authorship—each one separate.”
There was no time for more chit-chat.
The flesh, bones, and muscles crawling toward him at ferocious speed were already clinging to the heart, forming a new body.
“Ah, seriously, that dumbass! Cut the crap and crawl away if you have to!”
“Heo Cheon-gyeom, hurry!”
His friends' screams.
At that moment, the boy raised his dagger and activated the ultimate unique ability of his life.
《Star Radiance Formation》.
Grown-ups weren't wrong for once. You really do learn something new every day.
A pathetic technique that couldn't even critically wound a subordinate or an 'Exalted One,' and yet this was what would sever a god's breath.
Hahaha... The boy laughed hollowly as he slashed the air with the blade.
The moment something thick and rough was severed by the blade crossing the newly forming divine body...
The heart convulsed.
With that tremor, the world shook... and in an instant, pure white acidic liquid gushed from the heart.
Hot... so fucking hot...
Before he could even feel the pain, the hand gripping the knife began melting, along with the flesh of his limbs.
The boy's world grew quieter and quieter. In that final moment of agony, the boy raised his gaze.
Bubbling bubbling bubbling bubbling bubbling.
A pure white wave foaming madly. Steam rising thickly from it.
Beyond that, he saw his friends.
“...!”
“...!”
Do Ye-jin trying to rush over, shouting something. Shin Tae-yeop urgently grabbing her arms.
Hey, you bastards.
He was too embarrassed to say it out loud, but.
The time spent with you guys... well... it was pretty fun...
Lived as a so-called delinquent punk.
Thought he'd end up as a worthless piece of trash even as an adult... but this ain't bad.
A man who killed a god, right?
Not bad, yeah? Yeah... this kind of ending ain't bad.
Right...?
Tell me it is. Remember it that way.
[Hunt Success: Northern Infant God, Saitonan]
[Mythic Achievement Unlocked: God Hunter (1 / ???)]
[Warning: All stars of the outer universe curse the irreverence of the hunter who slew his kin.]
- Flee. If you can.
Remember it.
6.
Saitonan's holy blood.
That pure white liquid continued gushing endlessly even after swallowing Heo Cheon-gyeom.
As if to blanket the entire world.
It was truly repulsive liquid.
Boiling furiously, so hot that steam rose thick as fog.
Heo Cheon-gyeom... you crazy bastard...
Autobiography my ass... where does this lame-ass get off acting cool...
Shin Tae-yeop gritted his teeth and calculated the formula for a 6-star magic circle in his head.
《Flame Lord Holy Curtain》.
The next moment, a flame barrier surged up, covering the heart's location in a massive semicircle. But.
“It doesn't work...?”
Iklas's holy blood pierced right through the flame barrier and poured out.
It was the flood of the apocalypse itself.
The torrent's momentum grew fiercer and hotter. There was no time to escape.
“Heo Cheon-gyeom... Heo Cheon-gyeom... Shin Tae-yeop, Heo Cheon-gyeom's gone. Where, where...?”
“Don't just stand there, you idiot!”
Shin Tae-yeop pulled Do Ye-jin toward Lee Ha-ram while...
《Fire Dragon Eleven Gates》.
...raising eleven overlapping flame gates in front of the oncoming tsunami of holy blood.
Sizzle─────!
The clash of flames and holy blood.
The smell of the god's blood evaporating was so horrific and foul it made his head ache.
Hold, hold on, please.
Holy blood swirling and overflowing around the flame gates. The destructive current melting deep into the ground, spreading to both sides.
Pop.
One flame gate flickered out.
Not yet, not yet?
It's not over yet?
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
One after another.
Then another... the sounds of despair rang out in succession.
It was an eternity.
Those 10 seconds until the wave of death ended and the world grew quiet again.
“...?”
“...?”
When they finally opened their eyes.
The boy and girl were collapsed at the edge of a cliff. The surrounding ground had melted into a U-shape.
“How... this...”
Shin Tae-yeop muttered, thinking. The saying that the one who kills a god must die... was it true...?
He hurriedly looked back.
Lee Ha-ram was intact too. Behind her, the bodies of Ryu Hyun-ji and Park Ji-won, and Shyrak collapsed.
“Heo Cheon-gyeom... Hey, Heo Cheon-gyeom...?”
It was then that Do Ye-jin called the name of the friend she would never see again, her voice trembling.
“Hey... stop joking...”
The voice that could get no reply merely echoed mournfully in the newly formed valley.
“Come out... we have to go home together... right...?”
Shin Tae-yeop placed a hand on Do Ye-jin's shoulder. Tears were streaming from her eyes.
“Do Ye-jin, that's enough...”
They probably wouldn't even find his remains.
A friend he'd shared life and death with since the First Hunting Squad was reformed...
“Heo Cheon-gyeom... Hey, Heo Cheon-gyeom...”
Do Ye-jin, murmuring blankly, finally covered her face with both hands and began sobbing quietly.
Silently... for a long time...
Then, suddenly, a ray of light.
Shin Tae-yeop silently looked up at the sky and swallowed.
The blizzard... is clearing?
The dark clouds that had blanketed Nowon-gu in gray were slowly dispersing, centered on Surak Mountain.
Starlight leaking through the gaps.
Ah...
Shin Tae-yeop felt the strength drain from his entire body at the sight. He even felt a strange elation.
Dawn, it's dawn.
This endless game is finally over...
But why.
Why does it feel so empty.
Why is it just so hollow.
…………………………Whoooosh………………
Around then, urgent footsteps and voices rang out.
“Over there!”
“They're alive, alive!”
“Injured too!”
“Ye-jin-ahhhhhhhhhh!”
This voice... Do Ye-jin slowly raised her head, and saw someone running toward her, tears streaming.
“Sister...?”
Light brown topknot, pulled-down combat goggles. A woman rushing over, her tattered leather white coat flapping.
“H-... how...?”
Seo Hwa-yun? He couldn't believe his eyes.
Back then, she had clearly been killed by Choi Sin-yul. Seo Hwa-yun rushed up in one breath and hugged Do Ye-jin.
“I missed you... You're not hurt? Huh? It was tough, right? It hurt, right? Sorry. I came too late...”
Those tears.
That warmth was unbearably tender... Do Ye-jin burst into loud sobs.
“No... I missed you too, so much... I thought I'd never see you again...”
Watching that warmly, someone softly hugged Shin Tae-yeop from behind.
This is...?
Right away, he saw lotus-pink hair streaked with dirt. Turning his head... sure enough, Lee Seong-mi was smiling brightly.
“Tae-yeop.”
“Seong-mi noona...!”
“I was so worried... There were those boom boom sounds nonstop? I was worried we'd be too late...”
Lee Seong-mi, rubbing her cheek against Shin Tae-yeop's head, looked around with bewildered eyes.
“What the hell... happened here?”
“It'd take forever to explain.”
“What about Hwang Ga-in? The god she gave birth to?”
Lee Seong-mi asked questions in a flurry, but Shin Tae-yeop was just as confused by the situation.
“Noona, how did so many of you survive...?”
Did Jeong Ha-kyeong overwhelmingly defeat that Choi Sin-yul? The answer to that question then ascended through the pillar gate normally...
“Ah...”
...Shin Tae-yeop felt the world blur white, and his body start running on its own.
It was true dawn.
His whole body was more wrecked than anyone's, and Jeong Ha-kyeong and Gong Min-young had to support him from both sides... but he was alive. Alive.
Kim Baek-jun had returned alive.
Shin Tae-yeop charged straight at Kim Baek-jun. Kim Baek-jun patted the boy's back with a gentle smile.
“I'm here, Tae-yeop. You waited a long time, huh...?”
He knew somehow.
Those words and that innocent smile meant Kim Baek-jun was delivering Park Hyun-su's message.
- I'll definitely come find you with [The Dawn of All Worlds]. So... wait for me.
Now he could remember.
So now he could answer.
Thus, the boy replied in a voice choked with tears and laughter.
“No... welcome, mister...!”
That day, the war ended.
Iklas's holy grail was banished from this world. But it was too惨 a victory to celebrate.
[All Things] said this.
Because of farewells, people learn the preciousness of bonds, and because of death, they finally know the greatness of life...
If borrowing those words.
That day, Seodaemun-gu.
Had to learn the preciousness of countless bonds...
7.
“This... this, it doesn't, make sense...”
Nowon-gu's Star Messenger, Lysavera, muttered blankly. Seodaemun-gu's Star Messenger Karen laughed, ho ho ho.
“Nothing is impossible in this outer universe, Lysavera.”
Seodaemun-gu and Nowon-gu's grand cathedrals.
The physical distance was considerable, but they were connected by illusory mist, so they could see each other's gestures and expressions.
“What the hell happened?”
Songpa-gu's Star Messenger, First Scribe Tantareska, asked the two Second Scribes reproachfully.
“Who the hell beat that Sword God. The overwhelming one among the Absolute God's apostles.”
“Genesis God... the vessel of the Genesis God... that guy again...”
“We definitely filled the holy grail with his blood.”
Despite Tantareska's barrage of questions, Lysavera just mumbled blankly.
What the hell is going on?
Tantareska quietly furrowed her brow.
Hwang Ga-in and Saitonan's deaths were unbelievable too, but compared to the issue below, it was nothing.
In terms of individual prowess, there was no hunter who could beat the current Sword God Choi Sin-yul, not even among the Absolute God's apostles.
In a word, the strongest apostle.
One who reached demigod realm in 100 days was one of the few in this long history of the outer universe.
If classifying, he was on par with the old World Enforcer, Edel Weiss.
And that Choi Sin-yul... was dead?
“Karen, you didn't use some trick, did you?”
“Me?”
At Tantareska's question, Karen covered her mouth with her sleeve and smiled seductively.
“What trick could I use. In 'this world,' we can't even use our power properly.”
Then, the sole male among the Star Messengers, Gwanak-gu's Star Messenger Biltanter, finally spoke.
“To end this quickly... We must hurry too, First Scribe.”
“No. This isn't something that happens because we hurry.”
The problem might no longer be the progression of the [Age of Predation].
Kim Baek-jun came back alive...
Resurrection of life? Have the Genesis Gods grown strong enough again to achieve that? This isn't a trivial matter.
“Let's end here for today. I must report this grave issue to Mother.”