C516
Yang In-hyun was recalling an unpleasant memory in his foggy consciousness.
"You call it Annihilation when you erase a world; you call it Blooming when you sow seeds in a desolate world; after a long time, flowers bloom again, you call it Fulfillment... So, what is the next step?"
The reason he felt uncomfortable was simple and childish.
"What do you want to contain in your sword, destruction or regeneration? Can you answer? No. You can't."
Those words had hit the mark. It could be said that he got even more angry when his sensitive nerve was touched.
"...Huu."
He tried to wipe the blood off his face, but it didn't come off well. The blood of the Demon King had a much more nauseating smell than human blood and was disgustingly sticky.
[It's okay. Your last step.]
The Demon God who borrowed the body of the Demon King.
His limbs were torn, and his body was covered in countless sword cuts. It didn't seem like he had fallen victim to a sword technique, but rather to a butchery with countless small blades.
[It seems incomplete.]
"......"
[It's strong. On the contrary, it's even stronger because it's incomplete. It's the step that suits you best right now.]
The Demon King smirked mockingly.
[The power of the Twelve Void Lords. Maybe it was a bit higher than I thought. Or are you just special? I have a more interesting topic to ponder.]
And gradually life began to fade from his body.
[It was a rather decent way to pass the time.]
Plop, his head rolled off. The body of the Demon King, turned into a corpse, soon turned to ashes and scattered. Yang In-hyun looked at the scene with indifferent eyes and murmured.
"...Now I'm stronger than when I first arrived at the Three Thousand Worlds. If it weren't for that, I would have lost to you."
Yang In-hyun took a step forward but couldn't move more than a few steps before falling.
"Kuhk."
The blood he had been holding back gushed out belatedly. Yang In-hyun spat it out without caring that his clothes would get dirty. Losing more blood would be dangerous to his life, but forcibly swallowing it wouldn't change anything.
Yang In-hyun looked up at the sky with cloudy eyes.
He could see the shape of the [Next Stage]. He had a vague understanding of what was happening there. He reached out unknowingly, but his sight soon turned completely black.
"......"
Why did I fight so desperately, even to the point of obsession? Me.
Yang In-hyun asked himself.
He had never used the last step of the Everlasting Plum Sword in real battle before. There were hardly any opponents who justified it, and even if there were, he would have hesitated to use it.
After all, as the Demon King said, this step was incomplete. Not only was the physical burden heavy, but the mental energy consumption was much greater than he imagined. It was a blow that truly infused one's own existence, to the point that he even had the illusion that the "self" was fading away.
The last step of the Everlasting Plum Sword was a trump card that Yang In-hyun would only use when he was willing to give his life.
"Why?"
Was the battle against the Demon King worth it?
Coldly and objectively, no.
"It would have been so if you hadn't been involved."
He fulfilled his promise. Thanks to that, he felt an incongruous satisfaction in the face of imminent death.
But he regretted more.
The Everlasting Plum Sword is a manifestation of Yang In-hyun's inner world in the form of fencing.
Past, present, and future.
What Yang In-hyun wanted to embody in the last step of the Everlasting Plum Sword was the future he wanted to create. The reason it had been incomplete until now was that he didn't have a clear future he wanted to create.
But that has changed.
Has the time come to create the future he desires?
-For me, humanity is being able to smile while tilting a glass of wine under the moonlight.
...Is that so?
Is that how you call me human?
Have you found the answer by looking at me?
In that case, I have something to say too. I have something to show you and a conversation to share.
"How about we have a drink and chat?"
You said you had something to tell me about Lee Jong-hak.
Yes.
It would be a good day, when the air is a little chilly if you don't button up your shirt collar, when the moon is especially beautiful on a dark night.
Yang In-hyun forced himself to get up. And he used the sword as a cane to walk, but he couldn't walk much before falling to his knees. He didn't know that losing a leg would be so uncomfortable. This is not the Void World, so there is no way to regenerate the lost leg.
Maybe he should develop a martial art suitable for one leg, as he might have to keep living like this.
Plop!
He knelt down and leaned his body against the sword stuck in the ground. His eyelids felt heavy, and his body barely moved.
I'll rest a bit and think of a name for the new step.
"...Moon Reflected in a Wine Glass."
That name seems appropriate.
...Everlasting Plum Sword, Third Step. Lunar Mirror.
Yang In-hyun froze with a faint smile.
And he didn't move anymore.
------------------
Lucas didn't despair despite being face to face with his own future. He simply fought to contain the resignation looming like a wave.
...Is there really no way to change a predetermined future?
Lucas desperately sought hope. However, in the sea of stars that once brimmed with possibilities, no color was felt anymore. The ocean of possibilities had stagnated, turned into stagnant water.
"What have you seen, Lucas Traumen?"
The voice of the Lightning God resonated.
"...Tsk, there's no need for stupid questions."
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
Undoubtedly, he was the one who most clearly felt that the landscape had changed.
In the words of the Lightning God, the "current" had passed to the enemy. Pale, with her uncontrolled emotions, was overwhelming the Lightning God with absurd bravado.
"Looks like your madness has succeeded? You're a really annoying guy. Making this Lightning God experience defeat, even if indirectly."
[Sorry.]
"Hmph. Anyway, this is your body."
In that instant, the aura enveloping his body was cut by Pale's sword.
It was as if he had been stripped naked, stripped of his armor, shield, and even sword. However, the Lightning God was neither surprised nor perturbed, he just clicked his tongue once again.
“Tsk.”
Pale didn't miss the chance and lunged like lightning. Cornering him until only the distance of a chin separated them, she raised the sword with both hands and swung it upward.
Even Lucas, who was seeing the future, was blinded by a blue flash that engulfed everything.
“...Hm.”
And the Lightning God let out a brief groan. His only remaining arm was cut off in an instant.
"That's it."
The moment he spoke those words calmly.
Plop, into the body of the Lightning God...
No, the sword was plunged into Lucas's body.
"
..."
The return of Lucas's consciousness happened almost simultaneously. Since they already shared sensitivity from the beginning, the pain wasn't sudden.
However, the blade of the sword pierced through his abdomen, not a vital point. Thanks to the Lightning God managing to twist his body at the last moment.
Thanks to that, he was granted a little more time.
Before him stood Pale.
From the beginning of the battle, she had been there, in the closest spot.
At a distance he could reach with just extending his hand, even closer than that.
"What will you do after killing me? You've already killed everyone who bothered you."
"It's not like that."
Pale's lips curved into a cold smile.
"The Black Knight on Earth, the Rulers, the VIPs. There's a pile of garbage to clean up."
"Are you going to kill them all by yourself? Do you really think that's possible?"
"Why don't you believe it?"
Pale's smile gradually tinged with a dangerous color.
"I know what you want."
"No, Lucas, you don't."
"Secret friend."
The smile froze.
A glimmer of confusion crossed her eyes, followed by quiet anger.
"Where did you hear that? Did the White Knight, that idiot, tell you?"
Come to think of it, she had never uttered that word aloud in this life.
It didn't matter. Lucas let out a laugh full of disillusionment.
"For you, a secret was a sin. You could only love and approach those who had committed the same sin as you."
The purer and more honest a person was, the less likely they would be to approach Pale. In fact, they would only disgust her.
But if someone had committed a terrible sin, similar to hers...
Pale couldn't help but love that person.
"Knowing that..."
Her voice didn't come out as a whisper, but rather as a choked sob.
"Knowing what I want, why didn't you do it?"
Pale drew her sword. The cold sensation of the blade cutting the skin made a groan escape Lucas's throat.
"You know. You know what needs to be done."
"......"
"Come here."
Pale led Lucas. The warmth of her hand through the gauntlet was palpable. Once again, with an angelic smile, she slowly guided him towards a place.
Toward the body of a corpse.
"Eat it."
"......"
Iris's body lay cold on the ground.
"That's the beginning. If you eat that, I'll forgive you for everything you've done so far. The Ruler that's in your body? I'll remove it. The Demon King and Diablo? As long as they're VIPs and as long as they borrow the power of the Rulers, they can't escape my elimination target. But you... Lucas, you're different."
"......"
...Now I know.
How special Pale's offer is. And also how much she appreciates him now.
For a moment, he imagined the future if he accepted this offer. She would probably faithfully fulfill her words.
She would pour upon Lucas, without reservation, the love she had accumulated over her long life. And he could also learn more about Pale. Then, perhaps someday... he could harness her love for his own benefit.
It's not impossible.
He knows how unstable Pale's mind is.
At first, acting compliantly, and then gradually reversing the relationship wouldn't be difficult for the current Lucas.
- Being able to control at will a being with the same power as the Rulers.
It's an incredible opportunity he had never been able to reach in his repeated lives.
"Let's go."
Pale smiled flirtatiously and urged him.
Now there's only one step left.
Eat Iris,
A corpse already dead. Cold flesh with no trace of vitality, an experience he has already lived through.
"......"
Lucas walked towards Iris. His bruised body took considerably long to take a few steps.
"Uh-huh."
Pale laughed.
Lucas, looking at Iris's body, closed his eyes to her.
And he then turned around again.
"What are you doing?"
"It's been bothering me since earlier. That she has her eyes open."
"That's not what I'm asking."
A roar echoed in the air.
Just with that pressure, Lucas vomited blood again.
"Have you forgotten what I said already?"
"Pale, I thought of you as a monster."
"......"
Pale's expression didn't change at these unexpected words.
"I've always watched you and feared you. But still, I can say one thing with certainty."
"What's that?"
"I've been trying to understand you."
"......"
"Since we met, I've been trying to figure out what kind of being you are."
It no longer mattered if the reason was fear or something else.
"What do you mean?"
"Have you ever done it?"
Pale's movement abruptly stopped.
"Have you ever tried to understand me? Have you ever wanted to know what I'm thinking?"
"......"
"I don't think so. You wouldn't have cared about that. You just... always tried to change someone. You didn't care what others thought."
"You're very sure."
"Yes. Because if you had a little understanding, you wouldn't have made such a repulsive proposal to me."
Pale's expression changed once again at the words "repulsive proposal".
"Repulsive?"
These words must be a taboo for Pale.
Lucas knows her past.
And he also knows how much these words hurt Pale.
"Ah."
That's why he said it more clearly.
"You're so repulsive that I can't even look you in the eyes."
Plop.
Once again, a brief sound was heard.
Lucas looked into Pale's eyes instead of the sword piercing his throat.
He contemplated the unstable and dangerous blue light in her eyes.
'...To understand that person, you must first know what they hate.'
I guess the fact that she's stabbing me in the throat means she doesn't want to hear me prattle on anymore.
Pale withdrew the sword. Lucas staggered, feeling the warm blood spurting from his throat.
However, Lucas nodded with the strongest voice of his heart.
No matter what happened, he never wanted to eat Iris Phisfounder.
Bam.
He fell to the ground and looked up at the sky.
And he realized that his current appearance was exactly the same as the future he had seen with the power of Omniscience.
─This is it.
The future that Lucas had carefully observed only reached up to this moment.
The power of Omniscience, though grandly called, the Lightning God was right.
He couldn't fully comprehend all the past, present, and future that occurred in that space. Most of it accumulated in his mind as raw, unprocessed information.
So, the landscape that stretched before him must be the "after".
"..."
With his mind clouded and his vision blurry, he saw someone standing in the sky.
A man descended slowly towards him.
Pale, belatedly realizing, also hardened her expression.
'[Lucas Traumen]...'
In this world, he had been observing him since shortly after knowing his existence, but he had never been able to uncover his true identity.
The man looked at him with a bitter expression.
'Who are you...?'
Looking at his awkward face mimicking him, Lucas asked one last time, but his voice didn't come out.
Then his vision darkened,
and Lucas Traumen found death once again.
Tags:
TGMRA (Novel)