Chapter 110: Savior (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 110: Savior (1)
Truth be told, I hadn't fully understood Yoo Se-in's explanation. We were right in the middle of battle, and she hadn't had time to lay out the whole story. But one thing was clear.
I raised my eyes. Standing there was a Rakshasa—a fiend straight out of Hindu mythology. Plenty of words could describe it, but "horrific" summed it up best.
=...!=
The moment its eyes locked with mine, the creature flinched.
That alone told me everything: Kali Yuga, the personified apocalypse, was no immortal.
'Maybe its attempt to turn this world into Blessing of the Apocalypse M 2nd...'
Was all part of a process to elevate itself into immortality. After all, Ragnarok had been sliced apart by my blade. It was highly likely that Kali Yuga, belonging to the same kind, had felt the terror of death etched into its mind for the very first time.
That was probably why it lurked in the shadows, disguised as a mobile game, waiting for the right moment. But people hadn't surrendered their minds to the game as easily as it had hoped.
Their craze for Blessing of the Apocalypse M was ultimately just them enjoying a game. Complete addicts like Yoo Se-in were rare.
Because... the people already had...
"With so many eyes, that thing makes an easy target for archery, doesn't it?"
Their heroes.
"Shall we turn it into a pincushion first?"
Immortal Archer Ryozo.
"Okay. Abel, get in close and help Geomma run him through."
Sword Princess Abel.
"...Sigh. We shouldn't be fooling around. But I suppose if it helps you all loosen up, so be it."
Hero Leon.
"Nyahaha! True heroes enter battle prepared to eat lunch in life and dinner in hell! What's wrong with me? My heart's pounding like crazy. This isn't arrhythmia, is it?!"
Bongseon Rachel.
"Now, now. How dare you speak such wicked words in front of an elder? Children, your teacher will lead the way, so take it easy and follow my lead."
Sage Medea.
"Everyone."
And me, Kang Geomma.
A strange sensation filled my chest—a feeling I couldn't put into words. Come to think of it, these were the people who had brought warmth to my otherwise tedious past life. And now, we were fighting together, urging each other forward.
My nose stung. Amidst it all, I looked at Kali Yuga's pale face. Tension coiled tight in my forearms.
'That bastard.'
It had tried to spread a cancerous plague over the world of the people I loved so dearly.
I didn't want to play the hero with childish, grandiose lines like "I'll never forgive you!" Though, then as now, our heads were still filled with idealistic nonsense.
"Let's go."
I took a step forward.
'Ryozo, you said it before.'
That I was your pride.
Me too.
Ten years ago, afflicted with my edgelord syndrome, I tried hard to deny it.
Now, I have no choice but to admit it.
I feel pride.
Because past or present, I am with you all.
Episode. Savior
Seoul.
In the middle of Olympic Boulevard.
HONK!
The sound of a car horn pierced the air. Citizen A raised his head in a daze.
"...Uh, huh?"
He wondered why the horn was blaring, only to realize his forehead was pressed right against his steering wheel.
"I think I suddenly passed out... Ugh!"
He clutched his head as a stabbing headache hit him. Stumbling, the citizen scrambled out of his car.
"What the..."
He wasn't the only one suffering from a headache. Olympic Boulevard was packed with stalled vehicles.
A gridlock severe enough to cause a headache on any normal day. Other drivers were opening their doors to check the cause of the bottleneck.
The reason was glaringly obvious to anyone with eyes open. At the very top of Jamsil Tower, a landmark of Seoul, a colossal eyeball glared fiercely down at humanity. Only then did fragmented memories from before losing consciousness flash back in the citizen's mind.
"Right... the red ray!"
The eyeball had sprayed red beams in every direction!
Those struck by them had started casting sinister magic and rampaging down Olympic Boulevard.
Most civilians driving on the highway had been swept up in shock and horror, passing out on the spot. Citizen A had been one of them.
"I—I need to evacuate."
They'd be back. The villains strutting around calling themselves magicians, scattering spells everywhere, were still nearby. Not to mention that the Giant's eyeball was still hanging atop Jamsil Tower. He had to escape somehow—even if it meant jumping off the bridge...
"Don't worry."
In that instant, someone grabbed his shoulder. Startled, the citizen turned around stiffly.
The man who spoke was a heavily armored male hero, wielding bladed weapons instead of firearms—a clear sign of his heroic identity. Yet, a sudden sense of incongruity struck the citizen.
'His equipment and armor look pretty ancient.'
Even at a glance, it looked quite old. However, it was so well maintained that it gleamed brightly. What bothered him wasn't the condition, but the style of the armor.
Wait...
Ah, no way.
His hair is black?
The citizen rubbed his eyes and stared at the man again. Raven-black hair, as if dyed in pure ink.
"...H-Heavenly Sword-nim?"
"Dammit. So now whenever people see a black-haired hero, his name comes up first? Back in my day, black hair meant me."
As the man grumbled like he was chewing sand, the citizen's gaze shifted past him. His eyes widened to their absolute limits.
At the far end of Olympic Boulevard, a mountain of those magicians who had been rampaging madly until a moment ago was piled high. Circumstantially, anyone could tell this was the black-haired man's handiwork. He couldn't have been unconscious for more than five minutes... and in that short time, this man had swept up all those enemies?
"Ugh."
A groan.
Rumble...!
The cables supporting Olympic Boulevard suddenly screeched. The giant eyeball atop the tower scowled, radiating an unprecedented aura that shook all of Seoul.
"Looks like the main force is finally heating things up," the black-haired man chuckled softly.
Clanking in his armor, he began walking toward Jamsil Tower. In an instant, a thunderous presence was felt overhead before a figure landed.
Just landing, the shadow crushed a dump truck beneath its weight. Leaping down, the figure noticed the citizen.
"Are you hurt anywhere?!"
"Gasp!"
S-Sword Emperor-sama!
It was his first time seeing him in person!
The other people who had been trapped in despair all brightened up. Overwhelmed with emotion, the citizen nodded frantically.
"Yes! Thanks to that gentleman taking care of those weird magicians..."
"That gentleman?"
The Sword Emperor looked where the citizen pointed. A valiant warrior stood on the bridge railing, gazing toward Jamsil Tower. A hero. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Sword Emperor approached him.
"Thank you. I do not know which organization you belong to, but thanks to you..."
He couldn't finish his sentence. The moment the man turned his head, the Sword Emperor's heart sank into his stomach.
"Oh. It's you, kid," the man grinned, revealing his teeth. "Was it a few decades ago? I saw a kid who looked just like Aaron swinging a sword in a dream and gave him a few tips. Guess that was one of those cross-worldline glitches that happens once every three thousand years."
Aaron.
This man casually uttered the name of the first Sword Saint, the progenitor of the Nibelung family. To top it off, the black-haired man patted the Sword Emperor's shoulder as if treating a younger brother.
"Time really flies. Unlike Aaron, who was always slacking off, you were always diligent—and you've aged just as diligently."
"...Are you..."
Are you truly That Person I think you are?
As if reading his inner thoughts loud and clear, the man gave a refreshing nod.
"I heard the gist of it from Lycan. You guided Geomma well so he wouldn't stray off course."
"Don't tell me Kang Geomma is..."
"He's my last disciple, and my son."
"...!"
"Feels like the timelines are all tangled up, doesn't it? Just roll with it for now. The world's been pretty chaotic lately anyway."
The man raised the sword he had been holding loosely. The Sword Emperor was mesmerized. How could a simple ready stance be so extraordinarily beautiful?
The Sword Emperor had never neglected his training even after awakening his blessing. Yet, he felt he wouldn't even reach the knees of this man—the Hero of the Origin, the progenitor of all heroes.
"Forgive me for asking... but before, your arm..."
"Was missing one, right? How should I explain this? Should I say it's thanks to rejuvenating? Once I got younger, the lost arm just grew back with it."
"I... see."
"By the way, how did your arm end up like that? Sure, it's stranger for a hero to have all four limbs intact, but from the brief time I saw you, you didn't strike me as someone who'd just hand over an arm to someone."
The Sword Emperor stroked the sleeve where emptiness had long grown familiar. A faint smile touched his lips.
"...I bestowed it upon the new era."
"Tsk, spoken like a true descendant of Aaron. Frivolous as hell in daily life, but striking all kinds of cool poses when serious."
"I—I am not!"
"Look at you getting defensive. Anyway—"
The man gripped the hilt of his sword and tested the Sword Emperor.
"How about it? Want to come along?"
"...If you would grant me such an honor."
The Sword Emperor quickly gathered his composure and answered. The man chuckled, resting his right foot squarely on the railing.
"Honor, my ass. We're going to fight. Just a hunch, but that Giant's eye is probably only here in Seoul. Let's wrap this up quickly and head straight over to Hawaii Island where Geomma is."
"Understood."
"E-Excuse me..."
"Hmm?"
A young boy was clinging close behind them. Holding a smartphone in his trembling hands, he was recording the two giants of history. The boy swallowed hard and spoke.
"N-Not Sword Emperor-sama... but the person who looks like Heavenly Sword-sama. J-Just in case, I wanted to a-ask..."
Gulp.
"Are you... really That Person I'm thinking of?"
The Sword Emperor looked back and forth between the boy and the man.
"Record this clearly with that and let the world know," he said, stroking the boy's head with his remaining hand. "That the Hero of the Origin, Balor Joaquin, has leaped across time and returned."
* * *
Thanks to the swift actions of Kang Geomma and his party, Kali Yuga's original plan—invading humanity's psyche to deal a catastrophic blow—had failed.
That alone was bitter enough for Kali Yuga. To make matters worse, it had been dragged out into reality, possessing less than seven-tenths of its expected true form's power.
Normally, an apocalypse alone possessed enough power to drive the world to ruin. Such was the overwhelming, species-transcending strength flexed by the Apostles of the Counterforce.
=That bitch from Hell...=
Kali Yuga gnashed its teeth, parrying an endless onslaught of attacks.
=She struggles to twist the frames of causality!=
Defying the true intent of the Counterforce had undoubtedly been Kali Yuga's miscalculation. Unlike the rigid Ragnarok, Kali Yuga had secretly plotted a treacherous scheme: devour this world and become the Ruler of the worldline. Then, it could say goodbye to being a miserable pawn of the Counterforce.
All those schemes had crumbled. Due to the whim of the last Apostle chosen by the Counterforce—that bitch from Hell—the tether between reality and Blessing of the Apocalypse M was severed.
Chae Lina's illusion.
It had pushed away the plague spread by Kali Yuga into the distance. Manifesting illusions was a unique authority bestowed upon that bitch from Hell by the Counterforce. Compared to that, Kali Yuga's plan was nothing more than a cheap trick.
=I will slaughter you all, then defile that bitch's mind. I will turn her very life into a living hell!=
Eyeballs embedded across its skin rolled frantically, trying to track the heroes bursting into motion from every direction.
Swoooosh! Thwack!
Arrows flying from the flank pierced through its eyes. It dodged a few, but two or three hit Kali Yuga squarely. Whenever it tried to reach out and crush them, a spearman and a swordsman unleashed a relentless assault from the opposite side.
Even with dozens of eyes, tracking them was hard. In fact, it only made things more dizzying. These humans were masters of hit-and-run tactics.
How dare these flies land clean hits on an Apostle of the Counterforce? Ordinarily, it would be unthinkable. But at their center stood Kang Geomma.
"Geomma-kun! That blue guy is about to do something!"
Rachel shouted, and Ryozo chimed in.
"We need to hah knock him off the front lines for a moment."
"I'll buy you ten seconds. Reorganize yourselves in the meantime."
=Insolent fools! How dare you mock me to my face!=
"Shut the hell up with your screeching," Kang Geomma cut him off. "Insolent? Mocking? You hid behind a mobile game because you're a weakling. Why don't you just be honest and admit you're scared shitless?"
=You arrogant—!=
"That's a death flag."
=...!?=
"Everyone who said that line in front of me ended up dead."
Right then, Kang Geomma charged. Kali Yuga twisted its body to avoid a direct head-on clash. Immediately afterward, the scenery shifted violently.
Starting with Hawaii Island, deserts, jungles, snowy plains, and oceans blurred past like a rapid montage. Kali Yuga observed its own status through its third eye.
Looking down at Earth from a cosmic perspective, it finally realized what was happening. A ring had formed around the blue planet like a hula hoop.
Kang Geomma had grabbed Kali Yuga by the head and dragged it around the globe at the speed of light. Accelerating continuously, the immense friction ground away Kali Yuga's skin.
Kali Yuga's arms stretched out, peeling Kang Geomma off. At that point, the two entities floated above the ocean. Kang Geomma kicked off the empty air and shot forward like a beam of light.
Kali Yuga pushed its ocular power to the limit. Capillaries burst in every eye across its body. On retinas stained with bloody tears, Kang Geomma's trajectory was captured. Kali Yuga struck back with the disk-like blades held in every hand—its chakrams.
Sashimi clashed with chakram. A single blow unleashed terrifying destruction. A single exchange generated a typhoon.
Friction screeched thunderously between the two beings. The weather shifted, tsunamis surged, and the ocean scooped hollow, exposing the bare seabed beneath. It was truly a battle of gods.
Surprisingly, at the climax of this clash, a blueprint formed in Kali Yuga's mind. Kang Geomma was purely, overwhelmingly strong. Not just in raw combat power, but in the loftiness of his inner realm. His sole weakness had been his precarious humanity, but even that was now anchored by his comrades.
=...I admit it. You stand at the pinnacle.=
Kali Yuga's eyes snapped open wide.
=However, you are still inferior to us.=
The Sashimi flashed. Three of Kali Yuga's arms were severed in a single swipe. Swallowing a groan, Kali Yuga hurled those severed arms toward Kang Geomma.
Kang Geomma dodged two with a tilt of his head. Capitalizing on that simple evasion, Kali Yuga threw every single chakram it had. Kang Geomma flipped through the air like a swallow, letting the chakrams fly past. In the next moment, one of the severed arms slammed right into his field of vision.
Kang Geomma swung his Sashimi reflexively, intending to mince Kali Yuga's arm into ground meat.
Thump.
Just a single fragment brushed his cheek, but with terrifying swiftness, Kang Geomma unleashed a strike. Kali Yuga pulled its shoulder back. The sword strike narrowly missed, but...
...Astonishment filled the third eye observing from space.
For his sword strike had split the cloud cover blanketing the Earth and parted the ocean in a massive fan shape.
Terrified, Kali Yuga hastily focused its eyes back on its foe. Kang Geomma stood stock-still, unmoving.
=Intoxicated by a dream, are you?=
Kali Yuga's unique authority: Golden Age of Gandhara. An authority that submerged the target in endless pleasure, rendering them completely incapacitated.
=Originally... I intended to use this authority to turn everyone into my thralls, but I admit it. You monsters far exceeded my expectations.=
It poured cosmic-scale pleasure directly into Kang Geomma alone. The bastard would flounder helplessly within the golden realm, unable ever to break free.
Kali Yuga briefly considered finishing him off, but gave up on the idea. It didn't want to step a single pace closer to Kang Geomma.
=...That bitch from Hell, I'll defile her first.=
Dragging its exhausted body, Kali Yuga flew away.
Kang Geomma... with light drained from his eyes, sank deeper and deeper into the sea. As if pulled down by tentacles stretching out from the dark, he sank gradually into the deep abyss...