Chapter 118: The Power to Erase the World, The Power to Sustain the World (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: The Power to Erase the World, The Power to Sustain the World (2)
Every step was a walk through hell. To have one's bare flesh scorched by fire was a pain beyond description—especially for someone like Laosa, who lacked a warrior’s physical conditioning.
Yet, the hell tormenting her body was a mercy compared to the hell that had plagued her mind. Laosa felt that she, who had done nothing for her suffering kin, was finally fulfilling a fraction of her duty as their Shaman.
As Young Master Jin said, I will reach my people, even if this body turns to ash.
Jin had chosen to save them when he could have fled.
And inspired by Jin’s sacrifice, Laosa had responded with a will that transcended her own limits.
Their desperate resolve was beginning to move Siris’s heart.
“Jin! Hold on just a little longer! Shaman Laosa is coming herself! I’ll handle the debris behind you, so just look forward and run!”
Jin managed a faint nod.
The fading aura of Bradamante flared with fierce light once more. Trusting Siris to cover his back, he squeezed out every last drop of his strength for one final push.
Jin, Siris, and Laosa.
Amidst the storm of mana and shattered aura, the three of them forged slowly ahead.
Meanwhile, the mages of the White Night looked down on them with contempt. To them, the trio were merely amateurs. With the Palace Master occupied holding back the main cannons, there was no way they could succeed.
“Increase the cannons’ output! Today, this land will be wiped from the face of the earth, leaving not a single trace behind!”
Vvvvvvvvvv—!
The cannons that had brought ruin to countless nations for a century unleashed their light once again.
If not for the chill of the Ten Thousand Ice, every living soul here—save for Talaris—would have been melted into nothingness long ago.
“Adults shouldn’t interfere when the children are trying to achieve something. Don’t you agree?”
Though her words were leisurely, Talaris was also reaching her limit. Even for her, suppressing the White Night without killing a single person was an impossible task.
Daughter… and Jin. There’s no time left. Hurry up and finish this…!
Thirty steps.
Twenty steps.
And when only the final ten steps remained…
Ah…
The horrific pain that had been ravaging Laosa’s entire body vanished all at once.
Her feet were charred black, exposing the white of her bones.
Her hands, which had pushed through the searing winds, were in the same state. Even with her eyes open, everything was dark. Her wretched form could hardly be considered a living person anymore.
Naturally, her feet would no longer move. The life flowing through her body was flickering out, fading toward death.
If only I had returned to my people sooner. No, if only I hadn't run away in the first place.
A wave of apology washed over her.
To her kin who had remained in Colon to suffer, and to Jin, who had given her the courage to act, even at this late hour.
“Shaman!” Siris cried out, her voice laced with urgency as she saw Laosa stand motionless.
But Laosa’s back did not move another inch, and Siris was too busy parrying the frantic rain of debris to properly check if she was still alive.
“Jin! Shaman Laosa is…!”
She couldn't bring herself to say the word “dead.”
She knew how desperately Jin was holding the front.
Amidst the non-stop explosions that roared with every passing second, Jin continued forward, not yet realizing Laosa had fallen.
Five steps left.
Jin was also far from normal.
He wasn't sure when it started, but he no longer felt pain. Not when fragments as heavy as iron struck his blade, nor when jagged shards sliced into his thighs and chest.
So, even as his bones shattered and fresh blood sprayed from his skin, Jin only felt his mind growing hazy. He felt no pain at all.
His eyes, stained with his own blood for some time now, were red and clouded.
His breath came in ominous, wheezing gasps.
Jin… Jin… Jiiin…!
Siris, having finally managed to rush to his side, screamed his name. But her voice sounded small and distant, and Jin lacked the strength to even turn his head.
In the few seconds it took for her to reach him, his blurred vision cut out completely. Even when a long fragment pierced straight through his chest, not even a groan escaped his lips.
Is this the end?
Unless he possessed the Tears of Numerus, fabled to bring even the dead back to life, there was no escaping this.
Should I have run after killing Myuron Zipple? Or when Midore Elner came to track me? Should I have abandoned the natives and fled then? Or even when the White Night’s Kozec appeared in the sky?
Or perhaps, he should have never come here in the first place.
As he wondered where it had all gone wrong, Jin let out a silent, internal laugh.
Even if he could go back to the moment before he came to Colon, he didn't think he would have made a different choice.
No matter how many chances he was given, even if the result of every choice was death, he would not have turned his back on the people of Colon.
Of course, he would have tried to find more allies and craft more meticulous plans so as not to fail like this.
But now, that was a meaningless hypothetical.
To think I was such a fool. I could have just looked the other way.
Why couldn't he do that?
Risking his life to save people he had just met had nothing to do with his goals for this life: surpassing his father to become the strongest knight, or reaching the pinnacle of Runcandel to manipulate the world and compensate for his miserable past. This incident aligned with none of those objectives.
And yet, why?
Why couldn't he just pass them by?
If the people of Colon meet a tragic end today, it’s a result of my regression. I am the one who hastened the deaths of these poor people.
He had always believed the world turned according to the will of the strong. It was only natural.
This time, he was simply the weak one.
It’s a shame… I couldn't say thank you, or sorry. To so many people.
Gush!
Jin coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
“No!”
Perhaps because Bradamante had stopped moving, the fragments filling the air seemed to multiply, descending with even greater fury.
“Were you parrying all of this by yourself? You fool! To die such a pointless death!”
Siris’s eyes brimmed with tears as she rushed to the fallen Jin. Though they weren't lovers as her mother jokingly suggested, he was someone she was loath to lose like this.
“Answer me! You’re supposed to survive and settle the score with me!”
That was the last voice Jin heard.
His breath had already stopped.
Siris realized this, but she impulsively stayed to protect his corpse.
Clang!
Crunch! Thud!
“Daughter! Stop that and get over here, damn it!”
Once again, the massive barrel of the Kozec turned golden.
The interval between shots was shortening, but its power was only growing stronger.
The power to erase the world.
That was the name whispered for the Kozec. Indeed, the ship possessed a destructive force worthy of the epithet.
“I told you, Palace Master! You will never achieve what you set out to do!”
“If my daughter is harmed, not a single one of you will leave this place alive!”
“You are certainly stronger than us, but the Secret Palace is not stronger than Zipple. Is that not the very reason you have remained quiet despite possessing such martial prowess?”
Just as Talaris was about to respond, something else appeared in the sky. It was a presence that forced a triumphant smile onto the faces of the White Night mages.
“Kadun…?!”
“Our final reinforcements have arrived. Palace Master, now it is not just your daughter’s life that is forfeit, but your own as well.”
The Fire Dragon Kadun.
The guardian dragon of Kelliark Zipple and the King of Fire Dragons. As Kadun let out a roar, the chill of the Ten Thousand Ice that had permeated the bombardment began to flicker out.
[It has been a long time, Talaris Endorma. Human chosen by the Ten Thousand Ice.]
Talaris did not answer, only gritting her teeth.
And in those desperate moments…
For some reason, the dead Jin was watching them clearly.
What is this? I should be dead. Hah, damn it. I can even see my own corpse down there.
His body felt infinitely light. Jin’s form, floating in the sky, was translucent—a shimmering mirage.
He could see the entire battlefield at a glance, but no one could see him. Not Murakan, who was screaming in grief as he transformed into his true form; not Siris, who had just collapsed while protecting Jin’s body.
Not the natives still performing their ritual, nor Talaris, who had just fully unleashed the Ten Thousand Ice to face Kadun.
Everyone fought desperately.
He thought that perhaps watching this entire scene after his death was his punishment. A punishment from a god for being reckless despite his weakness.
It was cruel.
To be forced to watch those he had just fought alongside die. As his chest felt tight enough to burst, a voice spoke.
[How does it feel, boy chosen by Solderet?]
Jin spun around in shock. A person of indistinguishable gender stood in the sky, looking down at the battlefield.
[You are…]
[I have been waiting for you for a very long time.]
[Waiting for me? What does that mean?]
[My name is Klam. The one who, with Solderet’s help, sealed himself within a mirror.]
Rage flared within Jin the moment he heard the name. Just as he was about to demand why Klam had only appeared now, Klam spoke first.
[You wish to ask why I appeared so late.]
[You already know the answer.]
[First, answer my question. How do you feel watching this? How does it feel to see the people who fought for you, the people you tried to protect, dying before your very eyes?]
Jin wanted to draw his sword and strike him down, but instead, he let out a low sigh.
[I am disgusted by my own weakness and foolishness.]
At that, Klam gave a thin smile.
[Do not forget that feeling.]
Snap.
Klam snapped his fingers. When Jin opened his eyes again, the world shifted abruptly, like a page being turned.
His body, which had been floating weightlessly in the sky, now had the heft of bone and flesh again as his feet touched the ground.
And right in front of him stood Klam, now wearing the face of Laosa.
[I responded to Laosa’s call a moment ago—at the very instant she found enlightenment watching you. The death you just experienced, and the horrific sights you saw afterward…]
Klam placed a gentle hand on Jin’s forehead.
[…was a small lesson. I showed you what would happen if you failed to draw me out. Contractor of a Thousand Years, you must become stronger. So much stronger that you cannot be compared to your current self. So strong that even the gods dare not touch you.]
Dazed, Jin looked around. The chill of the Ten Thousand Ice and the roaring bombardment had fallen silent. In the sky, where dawn was just beginning to break…
The massive flagship Kozec was emitting black smoke, half-destroyed. And below it, the mages of the White Night lay fallen, their bodies trembling.