Chapter 81: Apostle (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Apostle (2)
"Haah, haah..."
Her throat burned.
Her stomach churned.
Cornered. It had been a very long time since All Mute had found herself in such a dire situation. The last time was probably during her sparring match with Kang Geomma. Drunk on blind nationalism, she had recklessly charged in, only to receive a brutal reality check.
'That sure snapped me back to reality.'
Yet she harbored no ill feelings toward Kang Geomma. If anything, he had reawakened her brain cells, which had been numb with nationalistic pride. Kang Geomma's methods might have seemed rough on the surface, but the outcome was always right. For a simple reason.
Because Kang Geomma was not an evil person.
"Pretty impressive, aren't you?"
A man in a tracksuit said, stepping forward. Even with his zipper pulled up to the top, he couldn't hide the slick, crooked curl of his lips. He seemed to be the leader of this group.
All Mute swept her gaze across the area. A crowd of people in mismatched clothing and with vastly different impressions stood in formation. They were literally men and women of all ages—no specific age group, no single gender. It was difficult to find any common ground among them.
She glanced around the vicinity. The pillars stretching all the way to the hallway exit had collapsed, sparse and jagged like an old man's missing teeth. It was the aftermath of a fierce clash.
'Humans who manipulate magic.'
Villains.
A word she hadn't uttered in ten years. An organization that Kang Geomma had rooted out back in his cadet days. Though there had been persistent signs of their revival, they were beings who had been crushed under the sheer weight of Kang Geomma's existence, unable to surface.
And now those bastards were rearing their heads. Which meant they had something backing them up. Who was behind them?
There were no Corps Commanders left. The Dragons, the only demon race comparable to them, were friendly toward heroes. What's more, they were close friends with Kang Geomma. They had no reason to ally with treacherous humans.
Throb.
She clutched her temples. Her muscles were exhausted, but her brain cells felt as if they were tearing apart.
'Things are getting complicated.'
Keep it simple, think simply.
'...Like Kang Geomma.'
What would he have done in this situation?
People often misunderstood. They assumed Kang Geomma would recklessly draw his Sashimi sword first without a second thought.
But those around him thought differently. Kang Geomma never jumped to conclusions. Uncannily strong as he was, he never let his guard down.
He would test his opponent as much as possible before taking action. All Mute had learned that prudence during her sparring match with him. That was the very reason she had come to respect the Heavenly Sword.
"Ptu."
All Mute spat blood onto the floor. It was red. She wiped her lips with her thumb and growled.
"...I didn't think there were any villain bastards left. Your resilience really is no different from bugs..."
"Haah, haah... I agree, Senior."
Rachel's chest heaved up and down. Exhaustion was evident all over her face. Under any other circumstances, All Mute would have been shocked. An adrenaline junkie like Rachel, panting for breath?
"Hey."
Regaining her composure, Rachel snapped coldly.
"Are you villains slow learners, or do you just have bigger balls than us heroes? Did you not learn your lesson after getting instantly obliterated by him once?"
"……."
Him.
A crack appeared on the man's slick, greasy face. He tucked his chin further into his tracksuit collar. Hunching in like a turtle, he spoke.
"There are a few things that need correcting."
"Don't try to lecture us, you villain trash. Just because you managed to clash evenly with us for a few exchanges, do you think we're buddies now? Keep that up and you'll get hurt real bad."
"Haha!"
"What are you laughing at?"
A glare burst from the man's eye sockets—a pale green light reminiscent of poison. He pulled down the zipper covering his mouth slightly.
"Bongseon Rachel. Legitimate successor of the Spear Saint Family. Currently active as a hero at Lancelot Company."
"A basic briefing anyone could get just by looking at my Stargram..."
"Before that."
The tracksuited man cut her off.
"You are a 'hero'."
"……?"
Rachel was dumbfounded by the tracksuited man's bizarre phrasing. He was stating an obvious fact as if it weren't obvious. Was this an effect of magic?
"Who does a hero fight for?"
"What kind of bullshit is this all of a sudden?"
The tracksuited man ignored her.
"Right..."
He added, pointing a thumb at himself.
"...for humans like these bodies."
A chilling sensation pierced their souls. 'These bodies.' The sense of incongruity that phrase produced made both Rachel's and All Mute's faces turn pale.
"No matter how rotten many of the nobles are, no hero has ever broken this unwritten rule, have they?"
"D-Don't tell me..."
"Assuming we were villains just because we were humans using magic was short-sighted thinking, Bongseon. And you, All Mute."
The enemies surrounding Rachel and All Mute stretched out their hands in unison. They wrapped their thumbs around their middle fingers and aimed, as if about to flick their foreheads.
The tracksuited man spoke on behalf of the group.
"You are the fools who do not know the end of this world, nor the scale of its outer bounds. Majin? Heroes? You are the ones who created such black-and-white logic."
Cruel ecstasy filled the man's pupils.
"We are those who uphold the will beyond Causality. As long as the truth and the ending exist, we will not vanish. We will keep growing back no matter how many times you root us out."
"That's a lot of fancy words just to say you're stubborn."
Rachel grimaced.
"Bongseon, you don't understand. To break this vicious cycle, a choice must be made. By that brilliant friend of yours."
"...You guys..."
The tension left All Mute's fists. She spoke as if pouring out her blood.
"Those bodies belong to civilians..."
A sneer washed over the tracksuited man's face.
"Correct. As expected of the next Seven Stars."
"What does that mean, Senior?!"
Rachel's eyes widened. All Mute let out a heavy, resigned sigh.
"It's just as he says. They don't have physical bodies. They abandoned their own vessels and inhabit the bodies of civilians in the form of souls."
Possession.
Meaning a consciousness dwelling within another person's body. It was the same method the Corps Commanders had used to descend upon the Human Realm in the past.
'How can mere villains accomplish possession?'
She didn't know. But that wasn't what mattered right now.
The ones preparing to pour out an assault were civilians. That fact seized control of All Mute's mind. Rachel's voice trembled.
"...Th-Then..."
"If we harm those bodies, only civilians will be hurt. Physical attacks probably won't even scratch their souls."
"Correct again!"
The tracksuited man looked ready to applaud. Baring his gums, he taunted:
"Do you know? The Human Realm these days provides an environment that couldn't be more advantageous for us. Conversely, it's an unfavorable environment for heroes. Magic Power flows through the Human Realm. Isn't this just the perfect setting to sound our opening flare?"
"Ha."
All Mute let out a hollow laugh.
"Favorable or unfavorable environments... I suppose so."
Staring down at her toes, she muttered as if chewing on the texture of the words. Then she raised her head. A sharp, brilliant light pierced through them from her eyes.
"There's one person to whom such advantages or disadvantages mean nothing."
"What—"
"The Heavenly Sword."
"……."
"Your reaction is way too transparent. Well, I suppose he would be terrifying. Physical attacks don't work, possession... He's the only person—no, a being beyond that—who renders all those tricks utterly meaningless."
Saying this, All Mute let her arms fall limp. She had no intention of continuing the fight.
Even if they fought with all their might to break through, civilian casualties were inevitable. The enemies' bodies themselves were hostages. If the two heroes showed even a hint of resistance, the villains would slit their own throats. Or worse, turn themselves into charred corpses with fire magic. Whatever happened, civilians would die.
'Just to save myself...'
She couldn't harm civilians. She couldn't inflict even the slightest injury. Just as they said, before being a hero, she had pride as a human being.
"I won't force you, Rachel."
All Mute bit her lip, keeping her gaze locked on the enemies.
"I won't blame you, nor will I hold a grudge. Do whatever you want to do, just like you always have. That's your charm, after all."
"……."
Rachel, too, went silent for a brief moment.
Clang.
A hollow metallic ring echoed as she dropped the Sky-Piercing Halberd. All Mute glanced sideways at her. Rachel shrugged her shoulders.
"Killing innocent people gives me nightmares."
"We're going to die."
"If I were afraid of dying, why would I do this job? Besides, that's why they pay us tens of billions a year. Senior, you're looking down on me way too much."
All Mute let out a soft smile.
The villains grew irritated. Such a relaxed attitude was not what they had intended.
The tracksuited man tried to provoke them, but Rachel beat him to the punch.
"He'll avenge us."
Clear and bright, Rachel's eyes did not harbor even a speck of darkness.
"Geomma will avenge us until they beg to be killed. If we see them in hell, we can just torture them to death then."
"You've grown up quite well, Rachel."
Rachel puffed out her chest.
"Of course I have!"
"I didn't... mean it quite like that."
"We've given you plenty of time for your final words in life."
The atmospheric pressure shifted. Magic Power swirled. A purple aura surged up, coiling around their legs like thistles. It was a potent Magic Power.
"Farewell, heroes."
"You guys better struggle hard, too. With all you've got."
"Until the very end...!"
Unable to hold back, a woman snapped her fingers.
Snap.
Flames erupted where her fingers met. The moment they ignited, a torrent of fire surged forward. All Mute took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
'It's going to hurt.'
It would hurt.
They said burning pain was the worst pain a human could feel. But All Mute thought that the pain of a guilty conscience after abandoning one's humanity would far exceed it.
'Humans die.'
They vanish, leaving behind nothing more than a small black-and-white photograph. That was why people focused on the trajectory of their lives.
All Mute reflected. How had her own life been? It was a pretty decent life.
She had lived for her country.
She had fought as a hero.
Now, she was dying as a human.
'I have no regrets.'
It grew hot in front of her. A scorching wind pushed her hair backward. The fiery demon seemed to have drawn close.
'Dying...'
Swoooosh!
A sound of tearing air burst forth. Slash! Immediately afterward, All Mute even felt cold as the inferno vanished in an instant. Before she could even open her eyes, Rachel parted her lips.
"This is..."
A sword. With a "30% Off" sale tag still attached.
"How...?"
Perhaps due to the light from the flames, a sword light flickered on the blade. Reflected on that transparent blade was something she met eyes with.
Black pupils.
■■■■■■■■■■■■—!!
All Mute's hair whipped forward this time. A wind created by lightning. Rays of light traced a jagged trajectory (ㄣ) through the air. Bouncing off the ceiling, floor, and walls equally, it stormed down.
Flustered, the enemies hurriedly cast magic. But it was far from enough to stop the high-speed movement. Their elemental magic was sliced through like soft taffy.
Sizzle...
The tracksuited man creaked his head backward. The single point of light behind his back—the exit—was blocked by someone's silhouette. He read the two words written there.
"Heavenly... Sword..."
He turned around, trailing the darkness behind him.
"H-How are you... here?"
They had deliberately used Choi Seol-ah, who became his close aide, to divert him elsewhere. They had even placed a plausible bait so he wouldn't feel he'd walked for nothing.
"You said the timing was perfect!"
"Sh-Sh-Shut up—!!"
He suddenly spat out cold, razor-sharp words.
"Do you know how many times light circles the Earth in one second?"
"Wh-What?"
"Seven and a half times."
Chills!
"I'm on my way back after wiping out every last one of your remnants one second ago."
Kang Geomma loosened his wrist.
"Don't worry."
The cord of Murasame slid down the blade.
"You guys won't even take a second."
Kang Geomma could see it.
The red threads originating from the crowns of the enemies' heads.
—Path of Death (死道). Conclusion (結).