Chapter 750: Beyond Destiny (22)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 750: Beyond Destiny (22)
Fifty percent.
In the brief time Murakan had spent on the battlefield, nearly half of the enemy forces had vanished.
Mary, the Tona brothers, and Yona had already claimed the heads of those who were once Great House leaders. Even with the Black Chains gone, the enemies failed to mount a decent struggle.
Their lines were collapsing. The allies desperately exploited every opening, swinging their swords and unleashing volleys of magic.
The chaotic melee resumed.
However, the Temporary Alliance now held a clear advantage. Though their own casualties continued to mount, the enemy was falling in far greater numbers.
"Victory is within our grasp! Stay sharp until the very end!"
"Is there still no word from the 12th Flagbearer?"
Whenever a brief lull occurred, the allies turned their gazes toward the Veil of Chaotic Energy that imprisoned Jin and the Evil God. The veil had shrunk significantly since Murakan first broke through it. It now looked so narrow that two people could barely stand inside.
Has Jin entered a new subspace with the Evil God…?
Valeria narrowed her eyes as she scanned her Record Windows. The records stated that Jin and the Evil God had departed from the battlefield.
She was worried. He had already used the Wavelength Tracking Synchronization Device and even summoned Murakan; Jin had no more trump cards left.
Sensing her inner turmoil, Enya took Valeria’s hand.
"Lord Jin will surely return."
Valeria’s eyes widened for a moment before she offered Enya a small smile.
"Wow, seeing Valeria smile is a rare sight. You’re already pretty, but when you smile… should I start another fan club? Anyway, stop worrying about Lord Jin and help me. I need to use this."
Enya pulled a 'mirror' from her robes.
"The chaotic energy surrounding the Ram is continuing to tighten. If we use the Dragon Fire Barrier reinforced by the mirror, we might be able to slow it down."
As the chaotic energy constricted, the Ram was slowly sinking. It wasn't losing altitude due to any conscious control but was instead losing functionality under the weight of Murakan’s Breath and the destruction wrought by the battle.
Humans and monsters alike stood atop the falling giant ship.
Enya activated the mirror, praying that everyone on their side would survive. Valeria assisted her, reading the infinite flow of mana in her stead.
Slowly, the traces of the subspace that imprisoned Jin and the Evil God began to drift away. Even as the Ram sank, the mark of that subspace remained suspended in the sky, unmoving.
Thinking of Jin, who was fighting alone within that void, his comrades continued to fulfill their duties.
*
Jin stood face-to-face with the Evil God.
At first, it had been a massive monster resembling Gliek. After merging with the Ram, it had taken on a demonic form with horns and wings, stained by chaos.
But now, the Evil God wore the form most familiar to Jin.
Calmly settled black hair, a cold and steady gaze, and a back so straight it seemed it would never break. It was the image of the woman who had led their family as the Matriarch of Runcandel for so many years.
Unlike when he had encountered the young Rosa in the Evil God’s castle, Jin was no longer flustered by the entity's transformations.
"Evil God. I had a feeling you would look like this if I followed you in here."
Not even a microscopic tremor ran through the sword Jin pointed at her. The turbulent emotions that had surged within him moments ago had been tempered into a singular, sharp intent to kill.
The Evil God stared at Jin in silence for a long time.
Jin could feel that he couldn't form Aura. The same applied to Mana and Spirit Energy. In this subspace, no special powers could be used.
Yet, he was not afraid. He felt a certainty that he would not die here, even if he had to fight bare-handed without a sword.
"A lonely landscape, indeed," the Evil God said. Her voice was hollow, like that of a condemned prisoner who had accepted their fate upon ascending the gallows.
Unlike the places they had been before, the subspace where they stood was entirely white—a vast, empty desert of pure white. This was the inner world of the Evil God, the very edge of her subconscious.
"I find myself wondering what your space looks like. Surely it isn't as empty and chilling as mine."
"That’s because I didn't live my life the way you did."
There was no trace of anger in Jin’s voice as he answered.
"No. Your life and mine are still alike, youngest. They are simply not entirely the same."
"And where do you think that small difference came from?"
"Are you going to say it was a heart that chose to struggle?"
"Yes."
"How cruel. Even if I were born again, I do not believe I could live a life more fierce than the one I have already led. I don't have the confidence to choose a path that wouldn't lead to becoming the Evil God. For the sake of the family, I truly gave everything… I controlled every desire my whole life, never once prioritized myself over the clan, and never complained. Not once, throughout those lonely, cold years."
"Your methods were wrong."
"Then what is the right way? And is that something an ordinary person like me could have achieved? Especially without the chance to return to the past with one's memories and live a new life, as you did?"
Jin didn't flinch when the Evil God mentioned his regression. He guessed that death had revealed a secret to the god who was about to vanish.
"There is one thing I’ve been curious about for a long time. In my previous life, why did you fast for two days after exiling me?"
The Evil God let out a short, dry laugh.
"You ask the obvious. Did you think I wasn't human? I, too, feel sadness, fall into depression, and writhe in agony. I wanted to be with my husband and embrace my children. But if I had done that, the Runcandel family could not have grown stronger. That is the way of an ordinary family, not the way of the Great House of Runcandel."
Jin closed his eyes tightly for a moment.
"I am not a monster, youngest. I was simply thrown into a position where I had to become one. Even before I accepted the chaos, I was already a monster. I had no choice but to become one. It wasn't a matter of whether I chose it or not. The right to decide my own life was never mine to begin with."
That is the difference between you and me.
As the Evil God trailed off, transparent tears fell from her eyes.
"I fought against life with everything I had, but I lost. I could not overcome the inescapable fate—the destiny I was born with. The difference between us was born from the disparity in the capabilities we were given and the opportunities we were granted."
The Evil God slowly drew Frenzy from its sheath.
"I do not feel wronged by that. Not everyone can realize their dreams, and not everyone can fulfill their given duties. There are things that cannot be helped, no matter how fiercely one struggles. Naturally, I have no desire to make excuses. I simply wanted to tell someone… to tell you."
"If you had failed as a human, if you had remained a person instead of becoming the Evil God—even if you had eventually pushed the family toward decline—I might have felt a shred of pity for your story."
"Perhaps."
"I might not have been able to forgive you, but I would have tried to understand."
"But even now, I do not wish for that. I no longer know what a human heart is, or what choices a human should rightfully make. I have no desire to deny my horrific past, and I certainly have no intention of justifying my sins."
I simply wish to break and fall while fighting you now…
Clang—!
Frenzy swung down toward Jin’s chest.
It was heavy. Jin couldn't tell if it was the sword itself that was heavy, or something else entirely. He simply had to parry, slash, and thrust.
"Youngest. This fight is more like a blessing to me. The last of my humanity cursed me as it died in your arms. I now desperately hope that curse is fulfilled. Do you know why? Because pain is better than loneliness."
This time, Jin drove his blade toward the Evil God’s neck.
Squelch.
Blood stained the blade as it grazed her throat. Hot, red droplets blurred his vision.
It felt like he was cutting a human, not the Evil God. It was the sensation that he could finally settle things with a person, not a monster.
However, Jin did not think of this as a 'duel.' The Evil God had already lost to life long before he was even born. She had been a person no different from a monster long before he had even grown up.
It was impossible to defeat someone who had already been defeated. That person was not here.
Between the two swords clashing in silence, one belonged to a human living in the present, while the other was merely the trace of a person who had vanished long ago.
In the relentless exchange of blows, wounds multiplied on both Jin’s and the Evil God’s bodies. They were soon drenched in each other's blood, reaching a point where one might wish to stop fighting altogether.
The Evil God thrust her sword desperately, showing no hesitation even as her body was hacked to pieces.
Jin thought that she was selfish to the very end. It was just as one’s heart feels strange when a parent dies, even if they were cruelly abusive. An unavoidable agony washes over you.
He didn't know how long they fought.
Jin was looking down at the Evil God, leaning on his sword with one knee on the ground.
"Heugh, cough…!"
The fallen Evil God gasped for air. She kept opening her mouth as if to say something, but only blood bubbled out instead of a voice.
Jin had no strength left to deliver the final blow. He had to catch his ragged breath and quietly watch the Evil God’s end.
Her consciousness was fading. Jin never once took his eyes off her. He held onto his own waning awareness just to witness her death.
In the end, the Evil God failed to leave any final words for Jin.
The moment her breath ceased—
Flash—!
A brilliant white light suddenly erupted, and Jin instinctively closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the blue, glowing sky of Huphester—a sight he hadn't seen in so long—enveloped him. Jin was falling toward the ground, unable to move even a finger.
He had escaped the subspace.
One by one, voices reached his ears as he fell. He could hear the desperate cries of his comrades.
"Jin…!"
A mass of mana, warm as a spring breeze, wrapped around him. It was Valeria’s.
Gently pulled by the wind magic, Jin fell into her arms.
And then, Jin could see it.
He saw Valeria and his comrades shouting something urgently as they checked his face.
And behind them, the Garden of Swords stretched out.
Confirming that the scenery remained safe, Jin closed his eyes.