Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Part 2 Epilogue 01 - Sword Saint of the Ruined World (1)
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0.
It was the day after the war ended.
The rain that had started pouring at dawn showed no signs of stopping even by noon.
The funeral proceeded as planned.
They stacked logs to build a cremation pyre and laid out the bodies of those they could recover on top.
It was truly a cruel sight.
Among those familiar faces on the far right lay Do Ye-jin's friend.
“How was it...?”
It was already his fifth time asking.
In response to Do Ye-jin's question, Shin Tae-yeop gave a bitterly wry smile as he described his friend's final moments.
“...A cool way to go, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. Wouldn't lose to Cheon-gyeom.”
A sorrowful silence fell.
Only Shyrak, perched atop Shin Tae-yeop's head, stretched its neck toward the sky and wailed.
“Shishishishishishi...”
A faint smile lingered on the lips of the boy atop the pyre.
He looked as if he were simply sleeping peacefully.
As if pinching his cheek would make him bolt upright and get angry.
“...”
But that wouldn't happen.
This boy would never open his eyes again.
“I see...”
When had she arrived?
A beautiful woman stood behind the boy and girl. Her features were strikingly similar to those of the boy on the pyre.
It was no surprise.
This woman, Park Ji-yeon, was Park Ji-won's last remaining family.
“Ji-yeon noona...”
Every time Shin Tae-yeop looked at her face, a sharp pain pierced his chest.
“I'm truly... sorry...”
“For what...?”
“I should've stopped Ji-won from... doing that...”
“No... it's okay, Tae-yeop.”
Park Ji-yeon lifted her head with a heartrending expression. Rain soaked her long hair and streamed down her face.
“Ji-won was always like that, you know? Ever since he was little, he was such an idealistic kid...”
“...”
“As his sister, I can tell you. If he hadn't done it then... if it had been you or Ye-jin standing here instead of him, he would've regretted it for the rest of his life...?”
Do Ye-jin bowed her head in devastation and sobbed.
“I-it's all my fault. Because of me... he came to save me...”
“...”
“I... I've never once helped Ji-won... always, always... just receiving his help...”
Park Ji-yeon shook her head and took her little brother's hand.
It was small, rough, and cold.
Irrefutable proof of death, no matter how one tried to deny it.
“Ji-won went with a smile. Look, he looks relieved, doesn't he...?”
“...!”
“So, Ye-jin, Tae-yeop. Stop tormenting yourselves now.”
“We can't—”
“—Let's send him off with smiles too...”
The smile Park Ji-yeon showed as she said that.
Was so utterly wretched and heartbreaking.
That Shin Tae-yeop and Do Ye-jin couldn't muster a single reply until she left the spot.
“Their hunt is now over.”
Finally, the time had come, and the executioners began pouring oil onto the pyre.
“Their hunt is now over.”
“Their hunt is now over.”
“Their hunt is now over.”
A frail, trembling chorus followed Pastor Park's lead chant. The executioners holding torches lit the pyre all at once.
Roooaaarrrrrr...
Fire, fire, fire rose.
Fire to soothe the souls of the departed and send their flesh to the distant sky.
*Don't go,* they wanted to say.
*Don't go,* they wanted to shout.
But with no one left to answer those words, no one opened their mouths.
Instead, they began to weep.
For weeping was not a dirge for the departed, but solace for those left behind.
“Baek-jun-ssi...”
It started with Park Ji-yeon.
Park Ji-yeon buried her face in Kim Baek-jun's shoulder and sobbed more desperately than anyone.
“What are we going to do without our Ji-won...”
Kim Baek-jun's hands, wrapped around Park Ji-yeon's shoulders, trembled powerlessly.
“If only.”
If I'd arrived just a little sooner... If I'd been just a little stronger...
*The First Hunting Squad walking side by side down the street, chattering noisily.*
The sight I could see now with these weakened eyes... the sounds I could hear... were right there in that illusion.
Ah...
His heart ached so painfully it felt like it would shatter, forcing Kim Baek-jun to bite his lips until they bled.
“Unnie.”
Gong Min-young, watching the scene from afar, poked Jeong Ha-kyeong in the side.
“You just gonna leave that be?”
“What're you on about all of a sudden.”
“That vixen over there is wagging her tail right now! You should be flipping out like—!”
*Smack! Smack!*
“—Kidding, kidding, unnie! Stop, stop! Your punches actually fucking hurt!”
Jeong Ha-kyeong slowly lowered her fist after genuinely beating Gong Min-young and let out a sigh.
“I was close with that kid too.”
No... I think I was.
She changed the words in her mind because she couldn't be certain.
“What~? Weren't you all about Baek-jun oppa, unnie? So younger guys are your type.”
“You little shit, who said anything about dating? What the fuck am I gonna do with you...”
Normally, she should be crying with those two right now. Sharing memories and shedding tears.
“Hey, where you going all of a sudden, unnie?”
But she couldn't.
“You know, why ask?”
“I don't?”
“Gonna smoke. Don't follow. Unless you wanna die.”
There were surely precious memories... they must have cherished each other quite a bit... but nothing came to mind.
That's why she couldn't go over there.
She couldn't let on any more than this. She couldn't give Kim Baek-jun more worries.
“Hong Byeong-gyu, Kim Gye-sang, Yoon Geon-woo, Cha Seung-hyeon.”
That's why.
She muttered those four names she must never forget like a daily mantra.
“Hong Byeong-gyu, Kim Gye-sang, Yoon Geon-woo, Cha Seung-hyeon... okay...”
Even if she one day forgot these memories.
Those names, at least those names.
She etched them into her mouth, her ears, her soul every single day so she would never forget...
“Good...”
The world had already perished, but Jeong Ha-kyeong was still alive.
So. Therefore. At the very least.
She prayed desperately that she could remember these four fools... until the moment she died...
“Yeah... before I forget everything... I gotta settle this quick.”
She'd hesitated when she first learned the power, but now her resolve was firm.
These heartfelt emotions.
Before even these fresh memories faded... she had to hash it out with Kim Baek-jun.
1.
The postwar cleanup for the Seodaemun-gu to Nowon-gu war was simple. There weren't even any prisoners to negotiate terms with.
They abandoned Nowon-gu and Gangbuk-gu.
Well... naturally, no one wanted to live in that hell infested with countless vengeful spirits.
“Hunter uncle...?”
Instead, they brought over about a thousand survivors from Gangbuk-gu and resettled them in Jongno-gu.
“I said I'd come get you, right? Glad I wasn't late...”
Fortunately, the girl they'd met during the Papal Court raid was still alive, and they could bring her to Jongno-gu.
Nowon-gu's Star Messenger, Lysabethra.
Now the Star Messenger of a fallen paradise, she followed them into Seodaemun-gu's grand cathedral.
“...”
She glared at me with clear displeasure the whole time... but back then, I didn't even have the energy to react.
“Jongno-gu's reconstruction policies shouldn't be too hard if we focus soul stones on it for a while.”
<Association> headquarters.
New Gyeonghui Palace, Jajeong Hall.
Lee Seong-mi said as she organized files on the desk. Shin Tae-yeop sprawled over the table and said.
“Whew... finally done. What time is it? No more agenda items, right?”
I pretended to scan the agenda list Jeong Ha-kyeong had handed me.
The words wouldn't come into focus.
So even though I knew the question was directed at me, I couldn't answer. In the end, Jeong Ha-kyeong replied for me.
“Yeah, that's all of them. All 97 items done.”
“Wheeeeeee! Freedom at last, you fuckin' jailer~! Boss~!”
“Shishishishisi~!”
Laughter erupted in the executive meeting room at the sight of Shin Tae-yeop and Shyrak roaring and dancing.
Me and Seo Hwa-yoon boisterously.
Lee Seong-mi wiping away tears.
Jeong Ha-kyeong hiding her upturned lips behind a file folder.
*Ah, damn... this is what I came back for. This scenery that's become my daily life now.*
*Thank you so much... truly...*
I barely suppressed the hot tears welling up inside, turning them into a prayer of gratitude to the previous Holy Flame Successors.
You realize what you've lost only after it's gone.
That even this daily life in a ruined world was incomparably precious to me.
“By the way, now Seodaemun-gu has two Lead Hunters?”
At Seo Hwa-yoon's words, Shin Tae-yeop let out an awkward laugh. Then Jeong Ha-kyeong said.
“What the fuck. How long you gonna mope? If it bothers you that much, step up.”
“W-why?”
“Become a Lead Hunter couple.”
The moment Jeong Ha-kyeong declared that, everyone in the room stared at her in shock.
“Shi?”
“C-couple?”
“P-pro...posal...?!”
“Ha-kyeong's dropping a bomb...!”
Of course, I was the most shocked.
“Huh?”
Even though she'd dropped that bombshell, Jeong Ha-kyeong blushed and slyly averted her gaze from my stare.
“You... you keep disappearing all the time lately!”
“...?!”
“And this time... you were gonna not come back...! Picking up some crazy bitch with a head full of money...”
Crazy bitch with a head full of money?
She means Gong Min-young?
Feeling threatened by Gong Min-young, so she's coming on strong like this? No need at all.
“F-fuck whatever! I just thought there's no time for games anymore, that's why! Yeah!”
Jeong Ha-kyeong mumbled like that, then suddenly grabbed my collar and yanked my face right up to hers.
So close their breaths mingled.
My mind spun for a moment, everything blurring. Jeong Ha-kyeong inhaled and said.
“So... man up and make it clear! Do you like me? Or not?”
“Well... no, with everyone here? If you're gonna do it—”
“—T-ten seconds, you fucker! Answer or die!”
Glancing around with just my eyes, Lee Seong-mi was demurely covering her mouth with both hands...
*'Go Baek-jun! Go Baek-jun!'*
...while Seo Hwa-yoon and Shin Tae-yeop linked arms, mouthing that and thrashing in excitement.
“Shi! ShiShi! ShishiShi!”
Shyrak chimed in for good measure.
Wait... she's not even human, how does she get this?
Ha... At that moment, I chuckled.
Better this way. I'd been planning to clarify things with Jeong Ha-kyeong once we got back anyway.
“W-what're you laughing at—”
I didn't answer with words.
Well, words too, but first with actions. Maybe my humanity had worn thin, but the embarrassment wasn't as bad as expected.
“────Huh?”
How?
By lightly pressing my lips to the tip of Jeong Ha-kyeong's nose.
Might be lightning-fast for a normal person, but it meant something else to me with no time left.
I'm... on borrowed time.
“Whoa.”
“No way.”
“Epic.”
“Shi.”
I blinked wide at the unexpected reactions around us, and Jeong Ha-kyeong spaced out before her face flushed beet red exactly three seconds later.
“Ha-kyeong-ssi.”
To that adorable Jeong Ha-kyeong.
I made the first and last confession of my life.
“When the world returns to normal.”
I won't live long.
Probably when this nightmare ends, my allotted lifespan will too. Maybe even before.
“Will you go out with me, with marriage in mind?”
So I'd planned to refuse.
To draw a clear line with Jeong Ha-kyeong. So she could sort out her feelings and find a better match.
But. Instead. Precisely because of that.
I wanted to share this moment of confession. To give her this tremor of a confession.
I know.
I'll never end up with Jeong Ha-kyeong. But until this nightmare ends, we can be together.
As my first love for life.
As my lifelong companion.
Selfish or selfless, I don't know... but I'll never regret it.
“I promise. Then or now, I'll love only you, Ha-kyeong-ssi.”
Right now, right this instant.
Because I could witness Jeong Ha-kyeong's eyes warmly welling up, nodding with a dazzlingly beautiful smile...
“Yeah...”