Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: End and Beginning
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Demons only used bits of metal at best for weapons and ornaments. If they utilized the iron and resources in Hatam as Iven had said, they could craft their own unique weapons-even if not quite on par with those of humans.
No, perhaps even superior weapons unlike anything humans could make.
The research prowess of dream demons-including night goblins and devils-had already surpassed humanity when it came to magic. If they poured those resources into studies tailored to each race and pushed forward with development...
"This time, we can finally kill a god."
Iven smiled once more.
That smile resembled both the human Iven and Demon King Lucifer, yet was distinctly different.
At that moment, Iveldra approached and spoke.
"Iven, to kill a god rather than conquer the eastern continent, we need the power to defeat the Hero. The Saintess will try to use him, after all."
"Of course. The Hero's... no."
Iven hesitated for a moment. Not for any other reason, but because he caught himself viewing his own friend merely as a target in some tale called the Hero.
But that realization no longer stirred any sorrow in him.
"If the Hero scatters Or's light like last time and wields the Mir's power perfectly, there'd be no way to withstand it."
"In that case, I have a method."
"A method? That thing you mentioned once before?"
"Yes. Do you remember what I told you in Tehom last time? To block Or's light, just use me."
Iveldra explained how the Demon King could defeat the Hero, her face utterly expressionless.
"Or's corpse. If you place the will of Or within me, you can wield my power once more-as the vessel of the god."
"Your power? Isn't it limited to spatial translocation right now?"
Iveldra quietly shook her head. And rightly so, for that was merely one mode of travel inherent to each of the Mir. She recited the words she had spoken in life.
"I, Iveldra, the Mir symbolizing eternal darkness, am now dead-eternity turned to death-so you cannot wield the Mir's power like the Hero. But if you infuse Or's will into me once more, breathing life into me again, then you can deploy me."
The deployment of a Mir. It was exactly what the future Bulki had done during the third Demon incursion.
"Or..."
Iven pondered briefly before speaking. If their next path was set, all he had to do was trust.
"We'll move with you. To Or's corpse."
But first, Iven gazed at the last remaining horn and said,
"Levanaaron, you're the only one left now. Don't go outside."
Levanaaron still felt unprepared to become the Demon King, so he gave no reply. Yet for the sake of Imperial Iven-and to liberate Iveldra's power, to reach Or's corpse-he too would need to prepare himself.
Iven gazed at the unusually bright moonlight and continued, accompanied by Iveldra and Hyeon.
"Levanaaron, moon bluer than cerulean, you've forged the wills of other races, yet I have not confirmed yours. What is your will?"
"I..."
Levanaaron dropped to one knee, pondered silently, then answered.
"I wish to become the Demon King's sword. That is all our remaining kin desire."
"No, don't define it with such pleasing words. You must always agonize over it."
"Pardon?"
Iven, his face lit with considerable pleasure-like that of the young Hero-lowered the horn toward him and said,
"My parents were slain by werewolves shortly after I was born. But the reason I never revealed it until now, only speaking of it here... is that you must agonize even more. Over your tribe's prosperity, and the true reason to become my sword."
Purple-black hellfire blazed once more from Iven's horn. Leaving Levanaaron stunned into silence, Iven turned to Hyeon and Iveldra.
"Hyeon, once I vanish briefly from this reaction, take Levanaaron north and rally his tribe. Iveldra, I nearly died both times the reaction hit, but with you here now, I feel like it'll work out somehow. My final request."
And so, a hexagonal horn-emitting a faint dark-blue glow like a crescent moon-sprouted small upon Levanaaron's forehead.
"Agonize over it, my horn. Until I return, have your answer ready for me."
"I..."
"Urk!"
Iveldra transported the once more pain-wracked Iven to the valley of Habar, where night had fallen.
There, he vomited forth something foul and horrific-the backlash of bearing his tribe's sins.
"This pain... I can never get used to it. Levanaaron's lacking, but with Hyeon there, it'll hold for a bit. Whatever comes out this time, I need to hurry and kill it. Kill anything."
Judging from the Hero Iven and Demon King Bulki that had emerged before, Iven braced for something equally horrific and mighty-something that never should have been born-and drew his sword.
"Huh?"
But what confronted Iven was something he could never forget, no matter how he tried-something that lingered as 'Iven' even if everything else unraveled and rewove itself, something that had always protected him from within.
Warm tresses like sunlight, a beautiful and gentle smile.
"Lije."
Standing before the wretched Demon King's eyes was Lije.
Lije was smiling, and Iven could not strike her down. Demon King or empire-builder, this curse of a fate or anything else-he forgot it all and fell into Lije's embrace.
Iven could never kill her.
"Is this... the end?"
Iven dropped his sword and sank into the abyss alongside her. In the end, he could not overcome the backlash, slipping into a deep, sweet slumber.
"Now the story truly begins, Iven."
Iveldra scooped up the sleeping Iven-just as Hyeon had instructed beforehand-and vanished.
***
Bulki returned to the helm. Waiting there were Rondnel and Shainelius, Captain Dayagnel and his son Dapbaganel, along with many crew members.
"You're here, Hero. I explained to the others, but first... I want to thank you again. I'm truly grateful for saving my son."
Dayagnel bowed deeply to Bulki in sincere gratitude. Bulki hurriedly lifted him and replied,
"It was only possible because everyone did their part so well. Ah, and this is... Liliet, the healer. She treated many during the battle, they say. She was part of this ship's crew, but for the adventures ahead, she's hoping to join me as our healer. Is that alright?"
Dayagnel replied mildly.
"Of course! That said, I don't know every crew member myself, so I had no idea we had such a capable healer aboard. Please take good care of our Hero."
Liliet bowed her head in greeting to everyone. She added nothing more. To break the curse of silence, she had to remain silent herself. The moment she spoke again, she would soon be forgotten by all once more.
"The Hero's party has grown by one! Splendid, Hero Gong! From here on, we're bound for mythical unknown lands, and while the beautiful sun fairy's healing is superb, a dedicated healer is essential!"
"Why beat around the bush? Dwarf, loosen up a bit. Hm, at any rate, welcome. I'm Shainelius, guardian of Helred Deinaus Forest."
To this, Liliet bowed her head once more in greeting.
"Such a bashful sort! I'm Rondnel, senior knight of the Sonain Empire's 2nd Knight Order. You've probably heard, but I'm a dwarf mix-blood! Ah, and it's something I'm mighty proud of."
Rondnel shook both of Liliet's hands vigorously in greeting.
"Having the party grow like this really is for the best."
Bulki smiled as he watched the three of them. Yet though it should have been their first meeting, the sight of Liliet-and her among them-felt strangely familiar.
At that moment.
『Hero, can you hear me?』
Her voice reached him across the waves once more. Yam, the Mir of the great sea symbolizing life.
"Ah, yes! Great Mir! I'm fully recovered now!"
『That's a relief.』
She propelled them forward with bubbles, channeling her energy to guide Hoshekh Hatar.
"It's truly beautiful."
Even glimpsed through that narrow gap beyond the cross spear, it was breathtaking.
『Leading this ship with a clone, while also erecting barriers to keep the terror at bay... it'll take some time to reach our destination.』
Bulki descended one step and asked again at her words.
"Our destination?"
Yam seemed to 'smile' once more. She continued,
『We are heading to the place where I am imprisoned-the other world upholding this one. Or's corpse.』
"Or..."
Bulki paused in thought, then said,
"So now it begins."
He knew not where it lay, but purpose filled him with hope anew. They set forth toward the deeper realms: the sun Or, which once illuminated the heavens before fading at dawn and perishing-toward its corpse.
"Of course, the tale ends just like this, Bulki."
Of course, he did not hear those words from the witch, who had confirmed the emergence of sin's kin-freed because the Demon King failed to overcome the backlash and was consumed.