Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: ACT.28 Disaster of Solitude (8)
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‘I’ll pull out the information engraved in my mind.’
Something that would have been impossible in a game.
But paradoxically, it's possible precisely because this is reality.
This isn't a game scripted to only progress along a specific strategy if you follow the normal route.
If you know it, you can use it without having to follow the exact path.
“Ugh!?”
Cayrum, who had been struck again, winced.
Hwang Chan-jin had frozen the ground, creating another opening for an attack, but even in that situation, Cayrum blocked my strike and launched a counterattack.
*Kwaang!!*
A deafening roar that didn't sound like two swords clashing.
Forcing strength into my tingling hand, I parried Cayrum’s sword.
‘*Not like a noble lady? Ahaha! You’re right!*’
‘*I was confident in my family's swordsmanship, in my own way, but it turned out I was wrong, you know?*’
‘*It took nearly dying several times for me to understand what the mercenaries meant when they asked what use such a rigid, impractical swordsmanship was on a battlefield like this.*’
‘*So I changed it. Into a fighting technique purely for defeating an opponent.*’
I pressed on, giving Cayrum no room to breathe.
Her words echoed in my mind.
The image of her, smiling yet looking lonely as if apologizing for her death, was superimposed over Cayrum's tormented face.
‘*Actually, this is…*’
‘*Something I was gradually refining to try and beat that idiot.*’
‘*I haven't fought him with this version yet, but I'm sure it'll be effective!*’
It was closer to a fighting technique than swordsmanship.
Moreover, a technique created for the sole purpose of defeating one person.
‘Cayrum.’
The reason Cayrum was struggling against my attacks wasn't just because this swordsmanship was his counter.
It was because seeing this style would constantly remind him of *her*.
Because even within his frayed and worn-out emotions and memories, he could never have let go of her.
“…It can’t be.”
Cayrum bit his lip, hard.
Purple blood trickled from between his clenched teeth.
“She died! Without passing that swordsmanship on to anyone!”
*Kwaaaa!*
An immense aura erupted from Cayrum, spreading in all directions.
I was pushed back even while defending.
It was laughable to think that this was his strength while being suppressed by more than half.
*Swaak!*
A sharp killing intent snapped me to my senses, and I swung my arm, clashing with Cayrum’s sword, which had closed the distance in an instant.
“Kuh!?”
“I witnessed everything! The way she fought! The weary smile she wore after a long battle! The way she swung her sword until her mouth went dry, trapped in the middle of enemy forces!”
The speed of Cayrum’s sword strikes began to increase.
Far faster than when he had crossed swords with Hwang Chan-jin deep in the mine.
I was barely keeping up.
Just when I thought I was getting used to it, the pace would quicken again, leaving no room for complacency.
Even if I tried to use the swordsmanship, applying it immediately to counter such an unexpected situation was difficult.
This was the power of one who had earned the title of Disaster with a sword alone.
The thought that there were several more monsters like this ahead sent a chill down my spine.
“And the faint smile on her face as she looked at me, pierced by a sword…!”
*Kiiiing.*
As if representing its master's heart, the sword let out a mournful cry.
A flash of light from the blade passed by, followed by a whoosh of wind and a fierce shockwave.
A sonic wave.
A phenomenon that should only occur when a fighter jet breaks the sound barrier had just happened from the swing of a sword.
“Thanks, you saved me.”
With a slight nod, Zeta vanished back into the shadows.
If Zeta hadn't deftly grabbed me and moved me out of the way, I might have been swept up in it.
“Cayrum!!”
Hwang Chan-jin roared and struck from behind.
Without even turning, Cayrum deflected Hwang Chan-jin’s attack with a slight movement of his arm.
A cheap surprise attack wouldn't work on the Disaster of Solitude.
He did it intentionally to divert Cayrum's attention since I was being pushed back.
Hwang Chan-jin's attack came to nothing, but that was enough.
He had bought me time to use the swordsmanship again.
Zeta stealthily moved to widen the angle.
The three of us—myself, Hwang Chan-jin, and Zeta—now surrounded Cayrum.
Hwang Chan-jin glanced at Zeta and then paid him no mind.
He must have known about the ‘Army of Darkness’.
He would have recognized Zeta as a commander-level entity the moment he saw him.
I hadn't wanted to reveal which commander-level entity I possessed to Hwang Chan-jin, but I couldn't afford to hide it in a situation like this.
“…I am one who could protect nothing.”
Cayrum muttered, his eyes losing focus.
“Nothing remains in these hands, and my heart has long since turned to emptiness.”
The whites of Cayrum’s eyes began to disappear.
A pitch-black something, clearly different in nature from the darkness I controlled, squirmed within them.
The ‘Solitude’ of the Disaster was reactivating.
I couldn't let that happen.
I immediately caught my breath and took my stance.
“No matter what you say.”
I had to replicate it perfectly.
I had to recall the information from my memory as if I were seeing it right before my eyes and graft it onto this body.
The master who taught this swordsmanship to the player character, and Cayrum's lover.
I recalled everything she had said and done.
‘*If you move like this here, Cayrum will definitely react in that way. You just have to use that against him. Got it?*’
‘*But because I died, the final part is missing, leaving it incomplete.*’
‘*So for the finale… you just have to use the most powerful attack you can muster.*’
“This swordsmanship remains.”
[The effect of the trait, ‘Wind and Moon,’ slightly increases your Agility stat.]
[Stamina consumption rate is reduced.]
*Kwaang!!*
Cloaked in Black Flame, I rushed at Cayrum.
Normally, Cayrum would have reacted without difficulty, but with Zeta and Hwang Chan-jin, who were timing their attacks, constantly interfering at crucial moments, it wasn't easy.
They were too bothersome to ignore.
But if he didn't ignore them, I, using the swordsmanship, was closing in menacingly.
The cornered Cayrum tried to do something, but it was impossible to break the explosive chain of techniques that had already begun.
His face contorted frighteningly as he screamed as if in a lament.
“If you truly learned that swordsmanship from her, then tell me, survivor of Earth! What is her name!”
I extended my left arm and grabbed Cayrum’s right.
Cayrum was left-handed.
That’s why this method was possible, and this ‘fighting technique’ was designed to match.
Cayrum, realizing his mistake, hastily tried to swing his sword with his other arm, but its trajectory was exactly as ‘she’ had described.
“Aira.”
Cayrum’s eyes wavered.
The one name he would never forget.
Even as he lost everything else, forgetting all else.
“Aira Lystein.”
*Kaang!*
The golden sword flew from Cayrum’s hand and into the air.
One of his arms was caught by me, the other extended upwards from the recoil.
Toward him, unable to escape or counterattack.
“Shattering Moon.”
I swung my sword with all my might.
***
It was quiet.
Cayrum, who had taken a direct hit from Shattering Moon and been sent flying, was lying flat on his back, staring up at the sky, showing no signs of getting up.
Judging the fight to be over, Hwang Chan-jin approached me, asking with a frown.
“Kim Se-hyeon. How in the world did you obtain that swordsmanship? You couldn't have met her, could you?”
“I didn't obtain it. I remembered it.”
“You mean you replicated it so precisely without acquiring it as a skill through the system…?”
He clicked his tongue in disbelief.
So this guy was capable of pure admiration.
Though it seemed to be mixed with something other than just admiration.
‘It probably wouldn't have worked if my stats weren't high enough.’
It's impossible if your body can't keep up with what your mind understands.
The me from before the world changed wouldn't have been able to do it.
Even in such a chaotic situation and using a technique that was a perfect counter, overwhelming a Disaster was by no means an easy feat.
It was the result of many factors aligning.
“…How do you know Aira’s swordsmanship?”
Cayrum slowly began to speak.
“That was something she created on her own, something she never passed down to anyone, even in the world I came from. For her legacy to continue in a place so far away…”
“In any world, you are not alone.”
To that, I gave a completely different answer.
“Those are the words she left for you, Cayrum.”
A long silence followed.
Cayrum closed his eyes, and for some reason, let out a chuckle.
“I see.”
*Whoosh!*
Cayrum suddenly took something out and threw it to me.
As I caught it, bewildered, Cayrum continued to speak.
“It was inside there. It should be of help to you.”
Then, as if his work was done, he wore a very peaceful expression.
He simply gazed up at the moon.
It was a sight that made me think a bottle of liquor placed next to him would have been quite fitting.
“My wandering was long.”
Cayrum’s body began to slowly crumble away.
He didn't seem to be in pain; he closed his eyes with great satisfaction.
His body started to disappear, beginning with his hands and feet.
When the disintegration reached his chest, he spoke for the last time.
“I failed. So, this is not the advice of a failure… but a prayer.”
His lips moved.
He tried to say something, but without a throat, no voice could come out.
But I knew what he was trying to say.
“I will, even if you don't say it.”
When I answered with a faint smile, Cayrum, whose face was already half gone, smiled properly for the first time.
[Absorbing the remnant of the Disaster.]
[The stack for the trait, ‘Disaster Eater,’ has increased.]
[The effect is enhanced.]
[The conditions for the trait, ‘Diamond Body (S),’ have been met, and it is now activated.]
[The Main Quest has been cleared.]
With the death of the Disaster, a flood of system messages appeared.
Perhaps because it wasn't a proper main quest, there wasn't even a reward coin.
And at the same time, Besial's time-stalling was over.
[Player ‘Kim Se-hyeon’ has broken the rules.]
*Charrreuk!*
A crimson gate opened, and dozens of chains shot out, binding my body.
“Kim Se-hyeon!?”
Hwang Chan-jin, startled, reached out but stopped at my gesture.
Instead, his face hardened.
“Did you… kill the succubus?”
“It was necessary to defeat the Disaster.”
Hwang Chan-jin was silent.
From his contorted face, I could roughly guess what he was thinking.
Being unable to move my body at all was uncomfortable.
Is this what a condemned prisoner being escorted feels like?
“…You did it because you’re confident you can come back, right?”
His glaring eyes stared at me.
It was a look that said if I told him I wasn't confident, he would beat me to death and send me to hell himself.
“It's fine. It's all part of the strategy.”
I smiled lightly.
No matter how rushed things were, I wasn't foolish enough to do something with no chance of success.
The Disaster of Solitude appeared earlier than expected, so I just did something I had planned to do later, but sooner.
Hwang Chan-jin’s eyes slowly relaxed, and he let out a sigh tinged with exasperation.
“Make sure you come back. I won't sleep well if you die while you still owe me.”
“What, are you worried about me?”
“Go to hell, Kim Se-hyeon.”
*Chareureuk!*
The chains pulled tighter, and my body was slowly sucked into the gate.
Just getting close to the gate, a heat more intense than the Red Zone pricked at my skin.
I couldn't help but squint, even as I tried to endure it.
So this is hell.
The heat, meticulously maintained at a level that wouldn't quite kill me, was infuriating.
[As per the terms of ‘Punishment,’ Player Kim Se-hyeon will be forcibly summoned to hell.]
The chains pulled me inside the gate.
Bracing myself for the intensifying heat, I mulled over Cayrum’s final words.
‘*They are strong. Far stronger than you think.*’
‘*I hope you can protect your world.*’
Up to this point, it was dialogue that appeared in the original game.
The problem was what came next.
‘*In your dimension, there are those who are intentionally summoning beings from other worlds. Be careful.*’