Chapter 99
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: The Final Chapter, Yuriha Geldina (5)
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“Be careful, Your Excellency!”
Under the influence of the total eclipse, a wave of corruption was sweeping over the world.
The dead rose.
The veil that had isolated the great and terrible things from this world began to tear.
There was not a single point of light in the world.
The only illumination came from the fiery breath spewed by Akirea of Crimson Flame, which incinerated the worms of the Abyss.
“The Worm Lord’s seal is cracking as well. We must hurry.”
That wasn't all. The real problem came from the sky.
The veil of the eclipse moves…
Becoming the hand of ruin pressing in from an absolute space, it descended upon Akirea as she raced through the darkness.
Celestial Lightning Flash.
A phase shift using Galadiel, a thunderbolt that tore sharply through the evil god’s hand and streaked across the sky.
“...Su ku ras ha... Disobedience to the unknown leads to madness and fear. Accept the peace and salvation I bestow...”
With every slash.
The remnants of darkness scattered into fine pieces.
As they clung to my head, an indescribable voice was transmitted directly into my mind.
“...I alone am the absolute being, who truly transcends time and space. Receive my blessing, which bends even providence, and enjoy eternal life...”
The enchanting ecstasy and excruciating headache brought on by that absolute mystery…
The morbid melody of the starlight reflecting on the water below, and the screams of the decaying spires from some ruined world…
The absolute Abyss, encroaching upon the brain, the consciousness, the soul… I might have been devoured whole.
*Voom, voom, voom, voom, voom, voom.*
If not for the beams of light that cut through the eternal darkness at that moment.
The light erupted from every peak of the Eternal Mountain Range, which stretched between the continent and the peninsula, taking aim at the eclipse's veil.
Holes were punched through the veil, and the world began to brighten faintly, like the dawn before sunrise.
“────────!”
The absolute being’s grip began to lose its power and control amidst the light’s persistent resistance.
The Beacons of Tarhye Rondel.
A wave of light surged endlessly over the mountain peaks; it was erupting from watchtowers installed on every summit across the continent.
‘Liam, you did it.’
I felt my fists clench with all their might, though if I had known the full story, I would not have dared.
I couldn't have known then.
That Ridwards and Kaduel had died in the process of activating Myu Rondel.
And that the being who had engraved Yurvelmung onto Kaisen’s soul had delivered a Verkensia from the future to Liam.
“Yes, Nen and Mir’s efforts were not in vain...”
“Pardon?”
“My father discovered all those beacons three hundred years ago. Nen and Mir have protected them according to his will...”
Akirea’s voice was deep and submerged as she reminisced about days now irretrievable.
‘Lady Setsunen…’
The Hunting Dog Autonomous Territory was located at the northeastern tip of the continent.
Where the Eternal Mountain Range ended and the Idea Peninsula began, villages of the Beastmen were dotted across the plains.
It was said that three hundred years ago, the Water Dragon Yeriserica had transformed that wasteland into a land of life and gifted it to them.
—Sharrilion, convincing the village elders won't be easy.
Despite being descendants of the greatest warriors, they had been driven to such a land and lived ostracized.
—They won't welcome anyone deep into their lands unless they're from the Eijin or Ludwig families.
Until a thousand years ago, they had actively engaged with humans and elves to protect Harbadonia. When had they become objects of hatred?
—It was because of the dark magician Zernix.
Akirea of Crimson Flame, a living witness to history, explained the hidden details.
—Zernix was a master at toying with people’s hearts through magic.
Originally, there was a curse placed upon the Beastmen when Jayun, second in rank among the Five Limbs of the Spider Lord, Ashron, was sealed.
—He amplified and nurtured the curse Jayun had placed on the Beastmen. He revived the very curse that Lord Karenden had purified.
Akirea’s mother dragon, Alakish, was said to have died protecting the Beastmen, who had been cut off from the civilized world.
Akirea’s adoptive father, Rein Ludwig, had resealed Baekdoryeong Shar’kas of the Five Limbs in that battle and led the Beastmen to the southern lands.
When I saw the token Akirea presented as proof, I felt a searing pain that made my heart tremble.
“Is this… Cheonghyeon?”
On that day, in the final moments of the most intense and desperate battle of the Mythical Age.
—I will surely return.
The token of promise Enuel left for his assault squad.
Enuel had failed to keep that promise, but the Beastmen had cherished it dearly, even now, after two millennia.
The tale of their heart-wrenching loyalty had been passed down through the succession of the great chief, who inherited this Cheonghyeon.
The silver-blue jewel still emitted an elegant and brilliant light.
As if to prove their loyalty, its light was noble and beautiful.
“The great chief at the time, Griffion, gave this to my father as a token of his oath to help with anything he asked. My father entrusted it to me. He must have known a day like this would come.”
Akirea's face was pale after flying all day, her wings of flame tearing through the veil of the eclipse that was swallowing the world in shades of black and blue.
The guardian of history, the Crimson Flame, did not have much time left either.
The being who had brilliantly illuminated the Silver and Bronze Ages by resealing the Lord of Time, Anridal.
“Now, you must do it. You are the one who can change the hearts of the Beastmen. Only you. As the successor to the will of Eldia Kata (05) Enuel, and as one who carries the direct bloodline of Yonghyeon Rein Ludwig, only you can do it.”
Akirea said so, but it was by no means an easy task.
The Hill of Oaths was located halfway up the White Mountain, which rose high in the center of the autonomous territory.
On this hill, representatives from all tribes gathered annually for a council meeting to decide on important matters.
It was fortunate, in a way.
Before Akirea’s summons, the Beastmen tribes had already been gathering here as the dead emerged across the world due to the total eclipse.
While the Beastmen defended the Hill of Oaths, Akirea set Kaisen down on the ground, her breath of fire incinerating the dead.
“Son of Raminea, you speak with them. I will hold back the power of the absolute Abyss. Hurry.”
The chieftains gathered hesitantly at the foot of the hill, while more Beastmen continued to assemble on the plains at the mountain's base.
‘My heart… my heart is pounding.’
My heart wouldn't stop racing as I faced the suspicious gazes of the Beastmen chieftains.
Why had I come straight here?
It was Enuel who had received the loyalty of their ancestors, and Rein Ludwig who had brought their ancestors to this land.
What had I done?
With what right could I ask them to march to their deaths?
There is no time.
There is no time, and yet.
I had no idea how to begin.
“This is too humble a place for one as noble as you.”
A chieftain with the face of a wolf spoke. It was less an expression of reverence and more a rebuke.
“Why have you come here? The world’s end has already begun, and we, the most hideous creatures in the world—”
My mouth wouldn't open. I couldn't seem to form a single word.
I was surprised at myself.
At the fact that the tip of my tongue moved in response to his taunt.
“—You are not hideous.”
I still wonder how I managed to unleash such a tirade then. Once my mouth opened, it wouldn't stop.
“Why would you be hideous? Why? You, the descendants of the world’s greatest warriors. You, who have lived great lives worthy of those descendants. Why must you be called hideous?”
Was it because I had fought on the same battlefield as their ancestors, even if only in a reenactment? Or was it the genetic sorrow etched into the bloodline of the Yonghyeon?
Words like a sob.
They flowed endlessly from my mouth as if a cry had burst forth.
“I must go to end this war. To do that, I need your help. I need soldiers for the final battlefield. Just like that day, two thousand years ago.”
As I raised the True Holy Sword Sharrilion high, its silver light brilliantly illuminated the hill and the plains below.
“Sharrilion…?”
“It’s Sharrilion…”
“It’s Sharrilion!”
When I attached the Cheonghyeon I received from Akirea to the hilt, its light grew even more powerful.
“As the successor to Eldia Kata (05) Enuel, whom you serve with such fervor to this day, as Eldia Omek (06), I command you.”
Was it because I had found the lost key, or because I had met old connections? Sharrilion began to cry out.
“And as a direct descendant of Yonghyeon Rein Ludwig, who guided you from Harbadonia to this place, I implore you.”
Thrusting Sharrilion deep into the hill, I knelt and bowed.
“Please, help me, and be freed from the oath that has bound you for two thousand years…”
I have no right.
And I can offer no reward.
All I can do is kneel like this, sobbing with tears.
“Do not kneel.”
The one who spoke was an old warrior who seemed to embody the majesty of an eagle in a human form.
A tremor ran through my chest.
I sensed the fragment of Enuel, unified with my soul, stir and try to speak the name ‘Griffisorn…’
“Strong, yet prone to tears. You are the spitting image of your mother. I would know your words to be true even without the guarantee of the Crimson Flame.”
I learned later.
His name was Griffveren, a descendant of Griffisorn, and the head of the family that had served as the great chief for generations.
And that he had been a member of my mother’s party of warriors during the ‘Black Summer.’
“From birth, we are raised on the deeds of our ancestors… My father from his father, and he from his. Do you know why?”
“...?”
“So that when the great call comes, we will be ready to answer it. Lord Enuel promised he would return, and if he were to come back to us, it would surely be because he needed our strength.”
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. For a moment, my vision blurred with a fresh surge of tears.
—We will wait, Captain.
They didn't have to answer the call.
They didn't have to march to their deaths.
—Until the day you return. Even if it is the last day of the world.
No one in this world could blame them if they didn't. Who, who in this world could possibly blame them?
“Whatever you command, we will carry out, and wherever you send us, we will gladly go.”
Another voice overlapped his.
The voices of other Beastmen warriors, one by one, joined the oath Griffveren was chanting.
“Just as our ancestors obeyed Enuel in all things, we pledge to obey you.”
Those voices soon became a great roar, echoing mightily in this remote land.
“And may the Light that was with Enuel be with you also.”
As I stared blankly at the oath, Griffveren finally raised his hand on behalf of everyone.
“Descendants of the great Enuel Assault Squad, let out your war cry!”
The cheers of the Beastmen warriors shook the valley, growing ever louder.
This was not a bond of my making alone.
The threads of all connections, starting from the distant Age of Origin, were weaving together to form a path.
“It is time to uphold the will of our ancestors and begin the final march of the Enuel Assault Squad!”
Then, the Cheonghyeon on Sharrilion suddenly shot out a powerful beam of light.
The light rippled at a single point, tearing open a dimension and creating a gate to another world.
The gate of light was shrouded in a black, ancient mist. The familiar mist sent a shiver down my spine.
‘Lord Karenden…!’
The gate shimmered like a lake, or perhaps a mirror, reflecting the scene beyond.
A traceless rain fell.
A chilling moan echoed.
The dreamlike veil that obscured the land, the moss-covered statues, and the pillars of collapsed geometric structures—it was the undersea temple, Shuyulkelis.
And within it, burning more brilliantly than the dawn, was the light, the radiance of Verkensia.
‘Thank you, truly.’
For never giving up.
The lamp you kept lit, even by burning your own body, is now brightly illuminating the path to the final battle.
Griffveren shouted thunderously through the dimensional rift.
“Humans and Elves! We are the Enuel Assault Squad. We will handle the old ones and the dead! Leave them to us and press onward!”