Chapter 248
Chapter 248
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 248
>Chapter Title: The Forgotten King's Soul
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Chapter 248
Kwa-gagaga-!
It must feel like this if a massive tsunami took the shape of light.
A colossal shockwave, reaching all the way to the ceiling, filled the temple.
The blinding glare made it nearly impossible to keep their eyes open.
-Wow... what the hell is going on?
-Ugh...!
-L-Li, Liza!
Pfft.
Jihad and Charlie covered their eyes with both hands.
Eliza, who had poked her head out from Do-hyun's clothes, couldn't take it anymore and ducked back inside.
'Whoa... so that's the kind of damage an Instant Kill Strike deals?'
Do-hyun could only stick out his tongue at the breathtaking sight before him.
The Mirror of Retribution was an item that fired back a shockwave equal to the damage it received.
In other words, the spectacle unfolding before his eyes was a visual representation of the Instant Kill Strike's damage.
And that wasn't all.
[The Forgotten King resists using the Northern Swordsmanship trait.]
[Instant Kill Strike ignores the blizzard.]
[Instant Kill Strike ignores defense.]
True to its setting of ignoring even invincibility, all of the Forgotten King's resistances were being nullified.
It was the epitome of Instant Kill Strike.
If he had taken that full force... Do-hyun shuddered and let out a hollow laugh.
'This thing really feels like a boss designed not to be broken.'
Without the Mirror of Retribution, it definitely would have been a failure.
He patted himself on the back for holding off on using it until now, admiring the sight for a few more seconds.
As the light finally began to die down, Do-hyun squinted and focused.
The revealed scene was devastating.
'No ruin could look worse than this.'
It was as if a 38th parallel had been drawn with Do-hyun at the center—the area behind him and in front were like entirely different places.
What lay before him wasn't just a dilapidated temple.
It genuinely looked like a temple that had been struck directly by a missile and reduced to rubble.
So Do-hyun couldn't help but look appalled.
[De... stroy... must...]
'So even this won't kill him with my swordsmanship, huh...'
It was because of the king who had somehow endured even that shockwave without dying.
His armor was 80% shattered and in tatters, the exposed flesh badly burned and grotesque.
Steam rose faintly from his back, traces of the intense heat.
[The supreme realm temporarily reached fades away.]
[The Forgotten King's health is below 20%.]
Even the supreme realm he had struggled to attain vanished, and his health plummeted toward zero, but...
[The em... pire's... peace... must... pro... tect...]
The king still stood resolute.
Unlike his body, which seemed barely able to stay upright, his eyes burned fiercely.
A tenacity that sent chills down the spine.
[Health below 30%. Caution advised.]
[Mana below 20%. Caution advised.]
But this side wasn't much better off.
The opponent's health pool was larger, so in raw numbers, Do-hyun's remaining health was probably even lower.
And that wasn't all.
[Effect of Tears of the God has ended.]
[Duration expired; mana consumption resumes.]
[Cancels Thunder Dragon Descent.]
[Cancels Darkness Cloak.]
[The power of the thunder dragon and black dragon dwelling within fades.]
With Tears of the God depleted, he canceled the black thunder dragon mode—the ultimate buff.
Mana was too low to maintain buff skills at full strength.
Do-hyun shook his head.
"Haa."
He had landed a perfect counter for once and thought he'd finish it off easily, but no.
"Yeah, I figured it'd end up like this."
It was nothing new at this point.
Nothing had ever come easy since his return.
No reason to get depressed over something like this.
Flick—thud.
He reached out, and Cheonbyeon, fallen far away, flew into his hand and wrapped around it.
It was the White Lion's Snowflake Sword.
He had sworn to raise proficiency in something other than swordsmanship, but here he was, swinging the sword nonstop. What could he do?
-Liza...
-Master, can you do it?
Looking at the worried Eliza and Jihad, Do-hyun assumed his stance.
Can he do it?
Wrong question.
"I have to."
Whether he could or not, he would make it happen. No other options.
With that resolve shining in his eyes, Do-hyun gripped the sword again.
Responding to his will, the blizzard swirled fiercely, and the white lion landed lightly, growling low.
Grrr...
Sss—
The king mirrored him, glaring back, regripping his sword and taking his stance.
Behind him, the black-and-white lions bared their fangs in threat.
[De... stroy... must... For the... em... pire...]
Do-hyun grinned savagely at the king, who repeated the same words.
"Yeah. Let's take it to the end."
With those words, the two clashed.
* * *
[The Forgotten King's health is below 1%.]
[The Forgotten King falls to one knee.]
Thud.
After a frenzy of blows, the king finally dropped to his knee.
Do-hyun, standing tall before him, finally looked up at the ceiling.
The shattered ceiling looked ready to collapse like the ruins around them.
[Health below 5%.]
[Mana below 10%.]
[Stamina below 5%.]
Below it, his depleted health and mana greeted him.
Lowering his gaze, blood pooled abundantly in the cracks of the broken floor.
Traces of the fierce battle.
"Damn, this guy's tough as hell."
Excluding the early game, this was the first time his stamina had hit rock bottom.
If he hadn't landed that final effective hit, things might have turned against him.
But in the end, he pulled it off.
Shluck—
And Do-hyun's sword pierced the king's throat.
[Defeated the Forgotten King.]
[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
[Achieved victory against an overwhelmingly superior foe.]
[An unbelievable feat. Reflected in rewards.]
[Measuring rewards.]
[Contribution to World Quest cleared acknowledged.]
[World Quest clear rankings updated.]
-1st: Arthur
-2nd: Kaiser
....
-4th: Astr
-5th: Xiao
As the light in the king's eyes faded, messages flooded in relentlessly.
Confirming the end at last, Do-hyun finally relaxed his body.
At the same time, rowdy voices erupted from behind.
-Master!! I knew you could do it!!
-Liza Liza!
-Kuh~ See? I knew Master would win.
-Hm? Weren't you the one covering your eyes and stomping around, whining that you couldn't watch?
It was Jihad, Eliza, and Charlie.
-...Ahem! That was all just dramatic flair for the reaction!
-You've been picking up weird stuff from those apostles, and now you're getting pettier by the day.
-Liza Liza!
-Wow! Eliza, you can't say that! You were just hiding in Master's clothes the whole time.
-Liza?
-Look at her, playing innocent with those big eyes again.
-Liza Liza?
-My lord. This humble sword never doubted you would triumph. As expected of my lord.
-Sigh, fine, I'm the sinner again.
They were the types to crack jokes once the tension broke, but they were celebrating Do-hyun's victory all the same.
Chuckling at their consistent antics, Do-hyun turned to the messages.
'My clear contribution must've been insane. Jumped straight to 2nd place.'
Well, yeah—sealing stones only dropped from the Forgotten King, so it made sense.
Beyond that, taking down a core boss with this ridiculous difficulty warranted at least this much.
'But where's the sealing stone?'
Even scanning around just in case, Eye of Truth didn't activate.
Does it appear after rewards are measured?
Just as an ominous thought crossed his mind—maybe it only drops one sealing stone?—
Flash-!
-Ugh!? What now!?
-L-Li, Liza!?
-Ugh... that is...
A sudden burst of dazzling light made the guardians grimace.
Do-hyun reacted the strongest.
The source was the fallen Forgotten King.
A brilliant light emanated from him, and a blue silhouette rose.
[Encountered the soul of the Forgotten King.]
[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
The origin of the World Quest.
It was the Forgotten King's soul.
-Were you the one who awakened me?
Eyes sunk low like a voice fixed on Do-hyun.
No longer did he exude the same malice and desperation.
Instead, an inexplicable bitterness and affection emanated from him.
-That sword... I see. So you earned my old friend's recognition. He must have offered his soul to the tower in the end.
The soul murmured, then asked.
-What of my old friend? How did the Lion King's end play out?
"His final words?"
-When he entrusted everything to you after the trial's end and departed.
-...Please take care of it. Save my friend.
-...I see.
He didn't even worry about himself...
Do-hyun's eyes grew strange watching the soul trail off softly.
From the conversation, he could piece it together.
'So that was the Lion King's end.'
The Lion King's trial hadn't concluded merely because he found a suitable apostle.
It was a contract.
-Truly a foolish friend. His existence swallowed, unable even to remember my name—sacrificing for a friend he can't even recall.
Having lost his flesh and ended his predestined life, he offered his soul to the tower as the price for achieving his desire.
That spoke to the depth of their bond.
Do-hyun held his tongue, at a loss for words, and the soul smiled bitterly, changing the subject.
-I prattled on needlessly. He didn't sacrifice for chit-chat. Time is short, so to the point...!?
The soul, fading away, suddenly whipped his head toward the door.
His expression turned grave, teeth grinding.
-This presence... that bastard's...? Don't tell me the seal is broken?
"..."
-Ah...
Do-hyun nodded affirmatively, and the soul sighed genuinely.
-So it came to this in the end. What was the guardian doing? Did it fall?
"No, not that."
-Then why? What could keep the guardian from its door? It wouldn't budge unless the tomb's seal was threatened.
*Ahem.*
The memory of gleefully smashing the Fragment of Calamity flashed by, and Do-hyun turned away with a fake cough.
His conscience stung fiercely, but what was done was done.
Priorities first.
Fortunately, the soul got the hint and didn't press.
-No matter. With the seal broken, the guardian must have sent someone to stop it. And that someone is you, who awakened me. Right?
"...Yes. It told me to obtain an artifact to seal the existence-swallowing one."
-I see. Awakening me means you triumphed over me, even in my half-soul state without ego. I can trust you.
The soul extended his now half-vanished hand.
A crystal formed at his fingertips and dropped.
Do-hyun caught it swiftly—it was a hexagonal crystal.
[Flawless Hexagonal Crystal]
-Rank: ??
-Description: The ultimate artifact created by the empire's tower masters uniting their powers against an ancient calamity.
Extremely effective for sealing abyssal entities.
However, it must be precisely embedded into the target's vital point.
-It is old and worn, usable only once, so use it wisely, hero.
"Understood."
Pleased with Do-hyun's ready reply, the soul's gaze shifted.
The atmosphere changed abruptly.
Staring gravely at Do-hyun, intense emotion burned in the soul's eyes.
His voice dropped low.
-One more thing I must ask.
"...What is it?"
Do-hyun's tone grew serious in turn.
He could tell at a glance it was no trifle.
Sure enough, the words that followed were far from trivial.
-The five demons who appeared with the existence-swallowing one. Who drove the empire to ruin and ultimately imprisoned me, transplanting my thoughts.
"..."
-Do you know of the Moon Order?
[Heard the name of the Moon Order.]
[Acquired information related to the main quest.]
[Learned of the five suns and moons from ancient times, beings of nightmare.]
It was about the main quest, no less.
But it didn't end there.
-Judging by your reaction, you don't. Before the existence was swallowed, information planted deep in the imperial vaults as a precaution remains sealed—meaning someone destroyed the artifact.
The soul's bitter eyes gradually filled with rage.
-Only someone of high standing in the empire could do that. For instance... the imperial family.
"No way..."
-Indeed. Someone in the imperial family is in league with the abyss, or them.
"...My God."
...Looks like he's tangled in something huge.