Swordmaster's Awakening
BOOM! Black flames erupted from the cracked earth.
Balruk's passive skills—an earthquake and black fire. They sent the terrified Kuku and griffins flying, and I frantically scanned my surroundings. Everyone had scattered, but thankfully, they were all safe. More importantly, right now, that terrifying monster was the priority.
If I didn't defeat Balruk here and now, true to its moniker as the hellgate sentinel, it would fling open the gates of hell itself.
In the original story, the male lead—the crown prince—and the female lead, Yurina, joined forces to barely overcome Balruk. But neither the crown prince nor Yurina was here now. I had no confidence we could hold it off with just our strength alone.
"Grraaah!" It sounded like a beast's roar and a man's shout at once. Balruk looked every bit as horrifying as described in the novel. Black, elongated horns on its head, massive bat wings. It exuded an aura of raw power, the incarnation of ash and flame.
But the moment it appeared, it locked eyes on me. Instinctively, it must have sensed I was the strongest here—and the biggest thorn in its side.
"Lady Abigail!"
Thud! Balruk's whip lashed out, sweeping across the ground around me. Shards grazed my body, but I wasn't badly hurt. I shouted at the startled Ren.
"I'm fine!"
Since I was already the target, I'd play bait to buy Ren and Sian time for their incantations. Dodging the merciless whip, I shot them a glance, and they nodded in understanding.
"Ian, protect Ren and Sian!"
"...Yes." Ian looked reluctant but nodded at my command.
If I kept Balruk's attention while stalling, victory was ours. But of course, this world wouldn't let me win so easily.
"Grk, grrrk."
Something emerged from the fissures caused by the earthquake.
"Ugh, damn it."
Balruk's demonic minions, right? Annoying pests that came out in droves. Smaller and weaker than Balruk, but their numbers had made even the crown prince struggle in the story. And right before dying, they exploded like living bombs.
"Stay back—they're dangerous!"
Cold sweat beaded on my sword hand. Only now, facing this overwhelming battle, did fear grip me. For a split second, the sword in my grip felt impossibly heavy.
"Haa, ha... "
This hellish scene was all my doing. Arrogantly, I'd thought I could handle everything myself. Building a base to drive out monsters with northern forces alone, checking the crown prince to steal his feats.
But maybe because I'd twisted the plot so freely—hidden bosses appeared that weren't in the novel, monster difficulty spiked, and now we were on the back foot.
Only now did it hit me. I wasn't the protagonist of this novel. I was just the villainess who got chased out and killed for obstructing them.
[That's right.]
A voice burrowed into my mind.
[Everything will fall apart because of you.]
In an instant, darkness swallowed my surroundings. Even the ground beneath my feet crumbled to ash, leaving me alone in nothingness.
[Soon, the world will perish, and all will return to void.]
"The world... will perish?"
[Yes. All because of you.]
"Because of me..."
I blankly echoed the unknown voice. Too thin for a man's, too husky and low for a woman's. Yet strangely familiar.
[The saintess's relic draws power from love. But this barren world holds no mercy now.]
The saintess’s relic—Yurina’s necklace, treasured like a precious gem. It was an ancient artifact bestowed by the temple after her official recognition as the saintess. Unlike the mastermind’s relic, it held miraculous power capable of saving the world.
In the battle with Balruk, the crown prince reached Swordmaster at his limit, but it still wasn't enough. Seeing him on the brink of death, Yurina realized her deep love for him—and awakened the relic's true power. To the dark lord of ash and flame, that holy light was a natural counter.
In the end, the protagonists defeated the final boss with the power of love.
"Love..."
I murmured softly. A word meaningless to me. In the novel, only the protagonists' love carried weight—for this pivotal event. And I'd ruined it all.
To save my own neck, I'd dragged countless others down with me.
"...Lady."
The scene shifted. Amid the ashen wasteland, someone stood unsteadily. Dazzling golden hair fluttered in the sky. The woman chosen by god, beloved by all—the beautiful heroine.
"Yurina..."
I called her name and reached out.
"Lady Abigail..."
Yurina gazed at me with sorrowful eyes. Her frail body, on the verge of collapse, was covered in wounds.
"Run away..."
"Yurina!"
I stretched toward her, but my hand passed through. Turning to ash, Yurina gave a sad smile.
"Hurry, run. I can't hold it back..."
"Yurina!"
As she dissolved into ash, I collapsed before her. Indescribable emotions clawed at my chest—guilt, sorrow, despair. Her final smile burned into my retinas.
"I ruined everything."
A parched voice escaped my throat. Flashes of my past arrogant self filled my mind. The me who strutted ignorantly was trash, not even fit to stand in for the protagonist.
[Fool.]
"......"
The voice condemned me, and I had no rebuttal.
[All shall return to void.]
"All to... void..."
Ah, so this was how the world ended. So futilely, without accomplishing anything. For meddling and ruining the original, reaping karma that killed me and countless others.
What an ending.
"...Damn it all!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and slammed my head into the ashen ground. My blurry vision sharpened.
"Like hell I'd accept that insane ending!"
I screamed.
"Get out of my head!"
The dark void fell silent at my roar. Then, it rippled violently.
"My liege!"
"Ugh, Ian..."
Regaining my senses, I shook my head. While I'd blacked out briefly, Ian had fought twice as hard in my place. Protecting me and the casting Ren and Sian had left his body a mess.
"Ian, you okay?"
"Yes."
He clearly wasn't, but Ian nodded. Face hardening, I stood.
"I'm good now."
"...My liege?"
His questioning tone suggested he'd nearly given up on me—but it fueled the opposite. My resolve and tenacity blazed fiercer than ever.
Dare to manipulate me? No way in hell.
I raised my sword, glaring at Balruk wreathed in black flames.
"Ian, fall back."
"Yes."
As I snapped to, Balruk's gaze fixed solely on me. Its rage shook heaven and earth.
"GRRAAAH!"
I met its stare, drawing up my power. My Aura clashed with its whip in a deafening explosion. Savage mana blasts ravaged the area. The cracked earth split further; fierce gales howled.
Even with Aura armor, cuts bloomed on my cheeks and body. But I was more focused than ever. Every hair on my sword hand, every cell in my body sang with awareness. My wide eyes tracked the whip's swift arcs.
Faster, faster—faster than its movements!
Pushed to my limit, my body felt weightless.
"Raaah!"
Crash! BOOM!
A surging power squeezed my heart; I roared, unable to contain it. Too vast for me to handle. Something electric raced from fingertips to toes, piercing me dozens, hundreds of times before converging in my heart.
Eyes bulging, Balruk seemed frozen. Time stopped. Everything halted. I alone could move.
I cloaked my blade in darker, redder Aura and thrust with all my might.
"Haat!"
Was this what it felt like to be as light as a feather? The strike was instinctual; realization followed.
"Grraa...?"
Balruk staggered, disbelieving the massive wound on itself. I gritted my teeth. I needed a finishing blow now, but my stamina was drained; I couldn't move.
Then Ren and Sian's shouts rang in my ears.
"Lady Abigail! Fall back!"
"Get out now!"
"Ugh."
I dragged my unresponsive body backward. Simultaneously, their grand magics slammed into Balruk.
Fsssh. A small light touched it, exploding into an uncontrollable burst. It chained endlessly, like wind-swept fire, engulfing Balruk's minions in a massive blast.
BOOM, KABOOM, RUMBLE!
"Incredible..."
I watched in awe. Light magic, the natural bane of Balruk's darkness—passed down from Benjamin, the grand light archmage—was shining on the battlefield.
I beamed proudly at the panting Ren.
"Lady Abigail!"
"...Yurina?"
Yurina approached from the cracked earth, grunting with effort. Seeing my wounds, she gasped.
"Lady Abigail, you're hurt! H-Here, let me heal you."
"No, more importantly..."
"GRRROOO!"
"Kyaa!"
Startled by Balruk's agonized cry, Yurina burrowed into my arms. I looked down awkwardly, then gripped her shoulders firmly.
"Yurina! You have something to do."
"Me? W-What?"
"Yeah."
I stared intently at the relic around her neck. Only its power could finish Balruk.
I met her eyes seriously.
"You're in love, right, Yurina?"
"...Pardon?"
She stared blankly, as if caught off guard.