Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: True Dawn Sky
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A space filled to the brim with crimson tentacles.
With Kaal and Freddy on his back,
Havel pressed forward.
Every time Havel's Dawn Light scattered, the red tentacles split apart.
The crimson tentacles were powerless against Havel's Dawn Light.
But the real problem was elsewhere.
The tentacles regenerated faster than they could be erased.
Because of that, even though Havel's group was clearly advancing,
the red tentacles kept closing in tighter and tighter.
"At this rate, we'll get caught!"
Freddy shouted, clenching both fists tightly.
His face was swollen as if it might burst at any moment.
He was desperately trying to summon his power,
but the parasitic seal embedded in his body prevented any attacks.
That frustration boiled into rage within him.
A profound sense of helplessness washed over him.
He couldn't use his strength or abilities at all.
All he could do facing the approaching red tentacles was rage.
It was the first time he'd felt this powerless since gaining his abilities.
Kaal felt the same.
He wanted to activate his spatial powers somehow,
but there wasn't even a hint of them stirring.
They both knew they couldn't attack the colony's master.
But reality was harsher than they'd anticipated.
Not a shred of their abilities manifested from their bodies.
By the time the red tentacles had filled the surroundings,
they couldn't even flee properly, let alone fight.
So they had no choice but to rely entirely on Havel.
That fact only fueled their frustration.
"Havel!"
"I know."
Havel pondered as he advanced.
With the two on his back, he couldn't unleash his full power.
One wrong move, and they'd both be consumed by the Dawn Light.
But they couldn't stay trapped in these tentacles forever.
The red tentacles were likely expanding outward as well.
Even as Havel carefully pushed forward,
they kept refilling the space behind—that was proof.
Soon, they'd engulf the entire city.
'If that happens, clearing this floor will be out of reach.'
The clear condition for this floor was to slay the colony's master and save the world.
With that in mind, the Dawn Light on Havel's sword intensified.
Havel glanced back at the two for a split second.
Freddy met his gaze and understood immediately.
"...You're holding back because of us."
Kaal realized it a beat later, thanks to Freddy.
He hurriedly looked at Havel.
Havel swung his sword silently,
but his agreement with Freddy's words was clear.
"Use your full power."
Freddy urged him to ignore them and unleash everything.
"You'll both die."
"No, I'll protect Kaal."
"What?"
Kaal stared at Freddy like he'd spouted nonsense.
But Freddy's expression was deadly serious.
"If I pour out everything I've got, I can shield at least one—Kaal."
That meant burning away the heart engraved with the parasite.
In those brief seconds as his heart incinerated,
he'd protect Kaal with his body.
That's what Freddy was saying.
"Then it'd be better if I use spatial transfer!"
"Kaal, we've never even had a proper talk because you were always running off."
Despite Kaal's outburst, Freddy continued calmly.
"But every time a dimensional gate appeared, I saw you.
I couldn't see your face... but someone always showed up to close it."
The world called him Abraxis.
A supreme god to some.
A devil to others.
Abraxis carried that dual meaning.
"Because of you, we've fought this long.
You saved our lives time and again in those dire moments."
In the six years since dimensional gates began appearing, there had been 435 incidents.
And Kaal had sealed 399 of them.
After the ones that closed on their own due to time limits,
from the moment his powers awakened and his mind matured,
Kaal hadn't let a single gate slip by.
Freddy had witnessed it all, from the early days as the founder of the Dimensional Species Special Forces.
When despair set in amid the flood of dimensional beasts from the gates,
a brilliant star-like light pierced the darkness to seal them.
Seeing that figure gave Freddy the strength to rise again and again.
Freddy rose, and so did his agents.
They gripped their weapons and unleashed their powers against the onslaught,
holding out in hope that Kaal would close the gates.
And Kaal always answered that hope.
"We've owed you our lives more times than we can count."
It was a sentiment shared by every agent.
Kaal, the youngest ability user,
had saved more lives than anyone.
And that wouldn't change going forward.
Because Kaal was confronting the colony's master to protect humanity.
"So of course we have to repay you."
Freddy's thick hand gently rested on Kaal's small head.
He looked mid-20s on the outside,
but that hand bore the weight of his true years.
"But... you're the chairman. If you die, the other agents..."
Kaal gazed at Freddy with a face full of unspoken protests.
"The zero-rank agents are all like me."
Anyone in this position would choose the same.
Knowing that, Freddy made his choice.
"Tell them this for me."
Live without denying the will to save someone.
Freddy turned to Havel.
"Get us out of here."
Havel raised his sword at Freddy's request.
"Got it."
He respected his resolve.
In that instant, pure white Dawn Light began seeping from Havel's sword.
It was far more intense than before.
Boom!
Suddenly, the area around Havel shook as if struck by an earthquake.
Even the red tentacles swarming him faltered,
their movements halting for a moment.
"Here we go."
Before that overwhelming power,
Freddy raised his hand like a blade.
Then he thrust it toward his own chest.
Stab!
The hand blade sank deep into his chest.
Freddy's fingertips pierced his heart.
Kaal watched every second with wide eyes,
as if etching the sacrifice into his memory.
Tears welled in Kaal's eyes.
At that moment, a torrent of power surged from Freddy's body.
The hand in his heart had erased the parasitic seal.
Before his heart could fully stop,
he lifted his head amid the erupting energy.
Simultaneously, Freddy's body swelled enormously.
Muscles bulged on the verge of bursting, veins stood out.
His height and build doubled in size.
It was his unique ability: physical amplification.
Blood oozed thickly from his heart,
but Freddy ignored it, wrapping his arms around Kaal.
Kaal felt Freddy's heart rapidly cooling.
He clutched Freddy's clothes tightly.
Freddy felt the small body in his embrace.
This tiny, young frame had saved countless lives.
So many had leaned on these narrow shoulders.
Today, to protect the one forging toward the future,
Freddy gladly offered his body, smiling brightly.
"I leave it to you!"
Freddy's voice boomed.
With that cry, Havel's Dawn Light exploded outward.
It was bright enough to pierce even closed eyes.
In the blinding glare where nothing was visible,
Freddy spoke to Kaal in his arms.
"Kaal."
Tears scattered from Kaal's eyes amid Freddy's beaming smile.
"You've always had my thanks."
He'd never properly said it before.
This time, he could make it clear.
"I always knew."
Freddy had thanked Abraxis in the news and on TV countless times.
Good to know.
With Freddy's brief laugh, the Dawn Light enveloped all the red tentacles.
Banpellyon Dawn Swordsmanship
True Dawn Sky
The Dawn Light pierced through the red tentacles.
As if filling the entire world,
the endless crimson mass vanished upon contact with the light.
This Dawn Light outpaced their regeneration by far.
As the fierce light surged, every last tentacle was eradicated.
In that moment, the sky finally revealed its true face.
The Dawn Light that broke through pierced even the thunderclouds, illuminating the heavens.
When the dawn glow bathed the land from the sky,
all the red tentacles that had blanketed the buildings and airspace were gone.
"Havel."
Havel turned at the voice from behind.
There stood Freddy, heart stopped, body turned ghostly white.
His back was torn apart beyond recognition.
Yet he'd protected the front at all costs—
his embrace around Kaal remained intact.
Kaal, floating Freddy's body, looked at Havel with tear-filled eyes.
"I'll definitely take down the colony's master."
Just as he'd aimed from the start.
Kaal spoke without a hint of wavering.
"Good."
If his resolve held, that was enough.
Havel looked up.
The scene below the building came into view.
It was like a vision of hell.
Gigantic red tentacles had ravaged the city.
Scattered atop them were dimensional beasts and humans intertwined.
The agents could do nothing against the beasts.
Worse, they were killing their own people.
Because of the parasites in their bodies.
But some were holding those agents back.
"Stop! I said stop, you bastards!"
"It's pointless. Better to blast them all away!"
A handful of zero-rank agents.
They'd rushed here upon hearing of the crisis.
Ring ring—
Then Freddy's communicator buzzed.
Kaal picked it up; the caller ID read "Fire Fox."
He answered,
planning to share the news of Freddy's death too.
—Chairman! We've located the colony master!
Kaal's eyes widened at the voice.
"You found it?"
—Huh? Who is this?
Fire Fox sounded flustered.
She'd called Freddy, only for some kid to pick up.
But Kaal had no time for that.
Instead, he looked to Havel.
Havel nodded back.
"Time to take it down."