Chapter 66: Reward (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: Reward (1)
All combat personnel, including Vanquisher, stood ready before the storm of lightning.
They were poised to charge the moment the massive barrier disappeared.
“Please…”
Park Gwang-cheol glared at the lightning storm before him.
His fists clenched unconsciously.
The destructive flow of mana completely obscured the situation inside.
-Crackle!
Erratic arcs of electricity made it even harder to discern the fight beyond the storm.
He was certain he’d seen Hae-in’s attack land true.
But right after, the Apostle had unleashed a torrent of lightning, and his vision was obscured.
It felt like an eternity, but in reality, only a moment had passed.
Then.
-Fzzz…
The barrier blocking their view slowly dissipated.
And the first thing they saw was Jung Hae-in.
Clutching his spear, Jung Hae-in was hanging onto the creature’s body with all his might.
His entire body was charred black, a complete mess.
The Vanquisher members gritted their teeth and turned their gazes to the one responsible for Hae-in's state.
But.
The target itself was motionless. With a spear embedded in its heart, it simply stood there.
-Fwoosh!
Park Gwang-cheol and Lee Do-hyun moved at the same time.
Lee Do-hyun’s sword flew toward the creature’s neck, while Park Gwang-cheol’s fist slammed into its side.
-Crumble.
It felt like striking old, dead wood—a brittle sensation. The creature’s body offered no resistance, allowing the sword and fist to penetrate it.
-Thud.
Its neck was severed with ease, the head flying into the air. A look of bewilderment crossed Lee Do-hyun’s face.
The severed head spun once before falling to the ground with a soft thud.
Only then did they get a clear look at its face.
A face frozen solid. Its skin was dried out, as if all moisture had evaporated.
Like a corpse that had mummified over long years.
The skin was cracked all over, looking as if it would crumble at the slightest touch.
And.
In the center of that decaying chest.
A black jewel revealed itself between the cracks in the skin.
-Thump… thump…
It was beating like a living heart.
An overwhelming evil overflowed from it, visible to the naked eye.
An alien aura emanated from it, so foul it was difficult to even approach.
“What… is this…”
Before the cold corpse, no one could easily find their words.
And then.
Jung Hae-in’s body began to fall.
“Whoa…”
“Catch him!”
With the support that had held him up—the spear—now gone, Jung Hae-in’s body lost its balance and fell precariously.
-Snatch!
The Old Man shot up like lightning and swiftly caught Jung Hae-in.
He held him in his arms and checked his breathing.
“Hah…”
The Old Man let out a sigh of relief.
He was alive.
But. He was in critical condition.
The Old Man twisted in mid-air and headed straight for the Paladins.
He needed immediate medical attention.
“I’ll take a look at him!”
The leader of the Paladins, Sophia, rushed over.
His injuries were severe, even at a glance.
It looked like he would need the Holy Method of a high priest.
After safely handing Hae-in over, the Old Man returned to the center of the battlefield.
Lee Do-hyun tilted his head slightly, then drew a finger across his neck.
It was the hand signal for ‘target eliminated’.
“…”
It should have been a joyous occasion. Everyone here had experienced the creature’s power firsthand, so killing it was a tremendous victory.
Yet, no one cheered. Only silence descended.
“Sob…”
“My lady…”
Suppressed sobs broke out from the Paladin priests and the members of the Cheongpung Sect.
Gone in an instant. Without a chance to do anything.
No one had been able to protect them.
The Old Man fell to his knees, clutching his forehead.
“Sion…”
Again, I failed to protect you.
I promised.
“How can I ever face you…?”
Sion’s mother, Ha Tae-sung’s daughter.
He had sinned against her again, a woman he could no longer even see.
Just then.
-KWAAAAANG!!
Simultaneously, mana erupted all across the battlefield.
Wind, shadow, chains.
Mana of different attributes exploded in every direction.
The locations were all the spots where the others had been abducted.
Malevolent energy ran rampant all at once.
“Prepare for battle!!”
At the Old Man’s shout, all combat personnel raised their weapons in unison.
Vanquisher was the first to react.
A Pillar of Silence rose before them.
A mana wave resonated, and the pillar trembled. They felt it instinctively.
Something was about to appear.
Everyone held their breath, waiting in tense anticipation.
And finally, the Pillar of Silence faded, revealing the figure within.
It wasn’t an Apostle.
Ha Sion.
She lay there, covered in blood and unconscious.
She had wounds all over, and red blood trickled from her nose and mouth.
But she wasn’t dead.
Everyone here had been expecting the worst.
Sion seemed to be fine, alive.
The Old Man rushed over in a single bound to check on Sion.
He checked her pulse and her breathing.
“She’s… alive.”
A single, strained phrase.
In that moment, all their pent-up emotions were released.
“Ah…”
Seong Ara collapsed to the ground.
Park Gwang-cheol clutched his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
And then, shouts erupted.
“Saintess!!”
“My lady!!”
“Vice-Representative!!”
As the pillars vanished in different locations, the abducted women returned one by one.
They were all seriously injured, but in the end, they were all alive.
“Reinforcements are here!!”
Just then.
The Association’s reinforcements began to arrive from the distance.
Dozens, hundreds of troops swarmed the battlefield and quickly began tending to the wounded.
Only then did the survivors take a breath. The tension that had been wound tight enough to snap finally released.
They finally realized they had survived.
Some let out quiet sighs of relief.
Some collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
Some silently clasped their hands in prayer.
The Gangneung Mine Colony Elimination Operation.
Zero casualties.
Four Apostles, retreated for unknown reasons.
Apostle Barcus, killed in action.
An unprecedented great victory in human history.
A great victory that would never be repeated.
This battle ended in humanity’s victory.
*
I opened my eyes.
I could feel a soft bed behind my back.
“Ah…”
A sound that could hardly be called my own voice escaped my throat.
It was almost a metallic rasp.
Maybe because I’d just woken up, I couldn’t grasp the situation at all.
My eyelids were heavy. My mind was a jumbled mess, filled with shock.
My last memory.
I was curled up, holding my breath.
And I remember finally landing a blow on Barcus’s heart.
The fact that I’m alive here now must mean I succeeded… which is a relief.
Wait.
What about the others?
Forgotten memories began to surface. One by one, quickly.
Four people were definitely abducted.
Even if I succeeded in taking down Barcus, there was no way in hell I could have defeated the other four.
In that case.
I reflexively sat up.
“Ah… shit.”
My whole body screamed.
My joints creaked, and my muscles felt like they were tearing.
-Creeak.
I could feel my entire body shrieking at me to stop moving.
But I didn’t have the luxury of listening to it right now.
Nurse call.
I reached out.
Nearby, on the table right next to me.
A small, red, protruding button came into view.
My fingertips trembled. I slowly dragged my body toward that button.
And then.
-Slam!
I pressed the button as if to smash it.
I stayed collapsed like that for several dozen seconds.
-Thump-thump-thump-thump.
The sound of urgent footsteps running down the hall.
I could tell from the sound alone that there were several people.
-Slam!
The door flew open.
At the same time, the lights in the room flashed on.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Patient Jung Hae-in has regained consciousness!”
A voice shouted as soon as they entered.
Doctors in white coats and medical priests.
Some checked the machines, while others approached me.
“Sir, can you hear me?”
A priest waved a hand in front of my face.
“Sir, try moving your fingers!”
“I’m fi—”
Before I could finish.
-Beeeeep—!
A machine suddenly blared.
The nurses around me scrambled into action.
“Ah, fuck…”
My vision blurred from the sudden wave of pain.
And darkness fell once more.
When I opened my eyes again, the Old Man was in front of me.
“Are you all right?”
“No.”
Not at all.
It’s better than before, but it’s still fucked up.
I’d just heard from the Old Man what had happened.
Four Apostles repelled.
Barcus killed.
Zero casualties.
And, most importantly, the safe return of the key figures.
He said they’ve all recovered from their injuries and are attending the academy as usual.
It was an unbelievable outcome.
“But how…?”
“It seems you played a crucial role.”
This was the Old Man’s account.
Right after I took down Barcus, the explosions and pillars erupted simultaneously.
In other words, his death was a trigger linked to the forced retreat of the other Apostles.
The Old Man added that if they’d been any later, the abducted girls would have been in grave danger.
‘So that’s what it was.’
It was strange from the start for five Apostles to appear at this point in time.
Dispatching Apostles is a huge risk, even for the Evil God.
To them, Apostles aren’t mere pawns.
They are forces comparable to divinity, wielding power granted directly by the Evil God.
To dispatch such forces meant delaying its own resurrection.
Therefore, it’s highly likely it created a mechanism linked to an Apostle’s death, a sort of loophole to minimize the risk.
It probably never expected an Apostle to die, and there’s no way the Evil God would have shouldered the full burden.
In the end, that complacent choice resulted in a massive burden for the Evil God and its Apostles.
One of their precious assets was dead, and the rest were repelled.
‘At this rate…’
They won’t be able to show themselves for a while. I can guarantee it.
But wait. A question suddenly occurred to me.
“Old Man, didn’t you say one of the Apostles died?”
“He did.”
The Old Man answered firmly.
“Then was there anything left behind? Like a… sticky, dark-looking orb or something…”
The Remains of the Evil God.
The fundamental source of power that makes them transcendent beings and constitutes their restrictions.
If he had truly ‘died,’ then that should have been left behind.
“…There was.”
Perfect.
This is a massive, unexpected haul.
If we succeed in researching and analyzing those remains, even I can’t begin to fathom what the results will be.
But one thing is certain.
We now have a clue to understanding the power of the Evil God and its Apostles, and a way to use it against them.
In the original story, it was little more than a dummy item, like loot, so it was never used. But I always believed in the potential of that setting.
Because even the settings I’d carelessly thrown together were alive and breathing in this world.
An unexpected disaster had struck.
But we overcame it.
And in doing so, an unexpected reward fell into my hands.
The future I faced through the trial.
‘The annihilation of Vanquisher.’
That bleak ending.
But now, the one before my eyes is the Old Man, looking right at me.
At this result, a complete 180 from the future I knew.
“Ha.”
A smile spread across my face on its own.