Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Fate
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Meanwhile, at the outer fortress north of Sonain's crumbled walls.
"Escort the Princess up and get her out. If things go south, use the waterways or whatever it takes to take her to the Sun Forest. The rest of you injured, help with her escape and protect her as best you can. Anyone who can still fight, come with me to hold off the demons."
The knights moved with disciplined precision at Graveheim's command, splattered in blood from head to toe. His unyielding fighting spirit leaked out with his breath, carrying the stench of death. The knights who caught that scent were already resolved to squeeze every last drop of life out of themselves alongside him.
"Captain! Here's the remaining forces of the 1st Knight Order. Excluding the wounded, we've got nearly two thousand men!"
"Good! Those who can provide ranged support with Sword Signs, position yourselves behind the makeshift barricades. The rest, out beyond the walls. Move! Yerutsa Rahav!"
"Yerutsa Rahav!"
"Wait!"
At that moment, the Princess cried out tearfully from the outer fortress entrance.
"I, Mariel Sonain, bless your valor! It's all I can do, but please... don't die! I pray in the name of Goddess Miflas! Hold on until the Hero returns!"
The knights' morale surged even higher at the Princess's tearful cry, mingled with her sacred tears as she clutched the ceremonial dagger. Even if it was all a lie, they neither knew nor regretted it.
"You all heard that. That's an order from the Princess. Don't die! But if you must, then pass on your sword. Take it up again! Strike down the enemy! And when you've struck, take it up once more! We are all proud knights of the Empire! Hold until the Hero arrives! Charge! Yerutsa Rahav!"
And so, the thousand-strong force led by Graveheim marched once more toward death.
And then.
"Damn it all! Just die already!"
The Princess, ascending the castle stairs, gripped her dagger tight and completed her curse with her prayer.
"A saintess of Miflas won't die to demons who follow Neshef anyway. Only I can open the Holy Brazier. So those useless knights will die in vain for me! And if any of them are holding back their strength, they'll use their Signs and die too."
"Princess, what do you-"
"End yourself. And if any other knight hears this, end yourselves!"
Several knights who overheard the Princess as she hurried past suddenly drove their swords into their own throats. But she didn't even glance at them, heading straight for the top of the castle.
Boom!
At that moment, one knight, struck by the Princess's curse, exploded gloriously amid the demons.
Most knights wouldn't activate their Signs-even the ones they knew-by killing themselves. But under the Princess's curse, they unwittingly brought death upon themselves without restraint.
"Yes! Die for me, all of you! Yearn for me even more!"
The Princess moaned in ecstasy at the sounds of death echoing around her. And the Great Demon King sensed this cursed energy.
"So there you are, Saintess."
The Great Demon King raised his hand slightly, and the revived corpses of night goblins charged toward the walls.
'A wall reaching the heavens, crumbling the world.'
Graveheim did his utmost to block them, but one slipped through and clung to the top of the castle.
"Princess!"
Boom!
Even across that vast distance, their eyes met clearly. The saintess who sought death and the Great Demon King who wrought it sneered at each other.
"So you're the king of this filthy trash."
"Vile and unclean woman."
The Princess stood on the castle stairs, her hair whipping in the ominous wind blowing straight at her. Of course, her words wouldn't carry, but this time the Great Demon King looked down at the ground and spoke.
"You... die today. Fate will kill you."
And at that moment, Iven returned to the Great Demon King's side through the portal.
And at that moment, the revived king of the Mountain Giants attacked where Graveheim stood.
And at that moment, Bulki arrived at Sonain.
By the will of the elves, the fated players gathered in one place, and the story none could refuse began to flow once more.
It was the final conclusion of this chapter.
An inevitable tale.
The same fate in every story.
The Hero defeats the Demon King and saves the Princess.
But the tale flowing through time in this world was different. The protagonist wasn't the Hero, nor was the adversary the Demon King. Still, those who always suffered wounds, died, and were forgotten in every story-the Empire, shattered like glass against sorrow-gathered all this. One could only pray it was the great will of the elves.
"I am the king of all demons, the king of Demon Kings, Great Demon King Lucifer van Ivelhac."
At his side knelt the black-clad woman Iveldra and the pitiful sinner she had chosen, Iven, on one knee. The revived Mountain Giant King Nepil watched them, while Hyeon-the king of traitors-appeared wearing a mask and changed clothes, kneeling as well. Hyeon was alone, perhaps unable to find the Blue Moon Wolf King's corpse, but his bone lantern held a bizarre flame.
"My will flows to all demons through my horn, and so it is."
At his words, the demon horde blazing with pitch-black karma turned toward the saintess.
"Kill them all."
The sight alone was enough to make ordinary knights drop their swords and lose consciousness.
"Whispering grass works fine. Lifeless bricks too. Swarming rats and plague-ridden corpses crumbling to dust-those are fine as well. Kill everything that doesn't follow Neshef, be they elves, dwarves, or humans. Twist their necks. Explode together. Crush their bones, burn their flesh. Shatter, slash, stab. Sever their lives. Kill. Death is all mine. Yeruusa Ha Horn, inherit my horn."
And on the opposite side, below the castle that protected the Princess precariously-smaller than the Empire's highest cathedral raised by the Emperor, yet connected to the walls-every remaining knight donned their visors fully and raised their swords.
Leaning on the small barricade, entrusting their lives to it, they stared straight at the overwhelming death approaching.
"Knight Order! Hold position! Stand firm right there!"
Nia, now able to walk, stood at the center with Graveheim. Beside her stood Saint Holden, flexing and retracting his iron arm and bones as if testing them anew.
"Can you summon that wind again?"
"Impossible, Nia. Just standing is my limit. When I blacked out earlier, I heard a voice... but it won't come now. I can't remember. Don't even know what's what anymore. What about our captain? Hyeon?"
"I don't know either."
I don't know. What words could suit this situation better?
Boom!
And at that moment, a golden flash like lightning rent the air, and the one who would lead this tale to an unknown conclusion appeared on the battlefield.
Bulki Sonain, the Hero chosen by Mir.
"Hero!"
He had no time to tend to Mir as he surveyed the battlefield and its horrors. Then he squeezed his eyes shut. So many had died. So much lost. Friend, could you endure this tragedy? I'm drowning in the abyss, ready to die. Yet what must I do?
"Great Demon King! I am Bulki Sonain, Hero of the Empire, chosen by the golden Mir!"
In the standoff between knights and demons, Bulki rode forward on Mir, looking up at the Great Demon King and shouting.
It felt like begging for his own death, pleading for the others to live-a wretched cry, a scream of boiling anguish from his heart.
"I..."
Who should he seek?
Who could he lean on?
With everyone lost, no hope in sight.
But Bulki knew. No matter the situation, he must not be swallowed by the abyss. Everyone depended on him.
That was the fate of a Hero.
"I don't think we're on the defensive right now. We've protected the Princess, and now I'm here. I am the one who will defeat you and save her. So even in sorrow and rage, the tips of our swords will point at you until death! Even if we die today, our swords will be inherited! And someday, we'll gouge out your eyes and end this war! Do you understand?!"
Bulki spoke through tears of overwhelming fury. But to the Great Demon King, it seemed like a child's tantrum. As if to respond, the Great Demon King issued a command, halting all demons momentarily.
"Do you think I came here myself to kill the likes of you? Saintess, where is the Holy Brazier?"
"Knight Order! Ignore him! Don't yield to words as deep as the abyss anymore! Don't die! Survive and take up your swords again! Inherit them! Yerutsa Rahav! Knight Order! Inherit the sword!"
Bulki urged the knights on, blood tears streaming as if his desperate heart overflowed. The complete opposite of the Great Demon King's leisure.
"Pathetic."
"My oversight. I didn't expect him to earn Mir's approval."
The Great Demon King spoke while looking at the Demon King he had created to twist this fate.
"No matter. The Hero is far too weak. Probably just a temporary loan of power. Now, my strongest horn, look at them. See those trembling, cowering in fear of the overwhelming gap. That's my greatest pleasure too-just ravage them."
The Great Demon King spoke with a grotesque laugh, and Iven bowed his head.
"Wait. Before achieving my goal, I want to savor this more. All my horns and my legions, hear me."
As if welcoming the mad slaughter to come, he spread his arms wide and shouted.
"Kill them all."
And so began a massacre beyond invasion or war-unseen in any myth or history before.