Episode 12: Final Episode / Chapter 203: That Day (6)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
Sponsor: Teisen
They gathered the scattered warriors and hastily created troops.
They decided to leave the corpses alone as they didn’t have time to spare.
A mountain of corpses was also discovered at the Light of Eternity. This was proof that the Berserkers and Kundle Tribe members had laid down their lives to defend the Light of Eternity.
They didn’t have a moment of mourning. As they would lament with their lives.
{I’m deactivating the karma freezing devices. Prepare for the shock.}
An announcement went live from the broadcasting device and a storm of karma swept over them.
Those who had obtained enlightenment during the intense fight and those who had accumulated retribution by killing those much higher ranked than them instantly reached the highest rank and transcendent level. The scattering karma of the dead and the surging newly obtained karma mixed together to create a storm.
After this gale swept over them, they all felt awkward.
While it was welcome because it would be useful in the final battle, there were some who felt empty or sad because it didn’t feel like their own strength for some reason.
The Sword of Vow ‘Lee Jinhee’s Vow’ used the power of the transcendent level to transform into the Sword of Conclusion ‘Lee Jinhee’s World’.
The Sword of Sentiment ‘Baek Seoin’s Premonition’ became the Sword of Conclusion ‘Baek Seoin’s Stronghold’. Always saddened about how his Intuition only protected his life, Baek Seoin’s wish of protecting others was forged.
Lee Jinhee and Baek Seoin were the only ones among the Berserkers to reach the transcendent level, but before they could express their emotions of reaching the peak of the alliance in strength, their jaws dropped when they saw Choi Hyuk.
“Wh-what the hell? Leader? Is he even human?”
“… Huh.”
It was so shocking that Baek Seoin, who was always respectful to Choi Hyuk, couldn’t help but say, ‘Huh.’
Although the highest-ranked warriors couldn’t sense it, the transcendent warriors could see the mighty flow of fate surrounding Choi Hyuk.
Choi Hyuk’s fate of denying everything in his path had been achieved when he took down all the Exalted Wings, who maintained order in the alliance. His fate was so overwhelming that it could be called more of an incarnation of the great universe than its will.
Would a god among gods look like that? Even the karma of transcendent warriors seemed to bow in front of him.
‘Denial’ became his soul itself and the Tower of Warriors, which had turned into ruin because he denied it, became his flesh and bones, in other words, his karma.
Could Flame-Sky, who was at the peak of the transcendent level and the strongest warrior in history, be able to face off against him? Everyone shook their heads inwardly. There was no way that was true. ‘That’ couldn’t be categorized as a warrior. Wasn’t it more appropriate to call him a ‘phenomenon’?
Grrk.
Choi Hyuk clenched his fist. He could clearly sense the universe hanging from his five fingers.
‘In my current state, couldn’t I deny even the universe?’
However…
Falter.
Choi Hyuk almost collapsed from the dizziness pounding his head.
Karma didn’t stop flowing. Even though he had obtained god-like powers, it continued to surge.
Blood almost ripped through his veins as it circulated and pounded his head, and the surging energy heated his body. His vision became blurry and it became difficult to breathe.
“Huu…”
Still, Choi Hyuk managed to hold onto his knee and straighten his body. Though he only moved slightly, his hand felt hot like it was on fire and so strong that he almost smashed his own knee.
‘This isn’t a power I can control.’
Choi Hyuk realized this.
Denial had already encroached inside him. The moment he couldn’t rein it in, he himself would be denied. His insides were already a mess as the blood that filled his head, nose, and stomach repeatedly regenerated.
Although it was godly, it wasn’t his. Although he could wield it, he couldn’t put it down. A single slash. That was the amount of time granted to him.
Choi Hyuk collected his breath as he looked at the surprised Baek Seoin and Lee Jinhee. Though he was previously taken aback by the sudden changes, he was used to it now. He would be able to move for now.
In a calm voice, he only said what was needed,
“I can’t use my strength until I reach the monster queen. You two need to open up a path.”
Lee Jinhee and Baek Seoin understood without needing a detailed explanation. The moment he used his power, which was like holding the entire universe in his hands, it would explode immediately like the Big Bang which created the universe and could no longer be stopped or used again.
“W-wait. Then leader… No, never mind.”
Having a hunch regarding the future, Lee Jinhee was about to hastily ask Choi Hyuk, but she swallowed her words in the end. She knew as well. No matter what, Choi Hyuk was going to die, and that was his fate.
However, if Choi Hyuk replied to her question ‘Are you going to die?’, she felt like it would no longer be reversible. In the end, Lee Jinhee swallowed her boiling emotions. It hurt like her stomach and esophagus were being burned. Enduring the pain, she gritted her teeth.
‘Just watch. I vowed, didn’t I? I won’t watch you die before me.’
Her eyes shined with a blue light.
**
“I finished our mission. I’ll join you.”
Guardian Bae Jinman was waiting for them when they crossed over to the monsters’ universe. Choi Hyuk had told him to stealthily join them at the rendezvous point if he became a transcendent warrior, but even Choi Hyuk didn’t know he would actually come.
Though he didn’t see Zero, he didn’t say anything.
He simply announced his final order.
“It’ll be a lightning-fast battle. No one will fall behind. If you do, you will continue to advance while killing the monsters. Today will be the day of the complete eradication of the monsters.”
The warriors advanced towards the heart of the monsters’ universe.
It was similar to falling into a confusing dream.
Worlds possessing different laws were ripped away and spread around in this surreal world.
A gigantic tree that looked like the home of fairies and a metal skyscraper that looked like someplace the Terminator would jump out from connected together like a work of Escher. The third, fourth, and fifth dimensions all tangled together at the same time, making it difficult for one to figure out what was up and what was down and whether they were even standing at all. It felt nauseating as though they were on a rollercoaster.
Nightmares, meaning monsters, were hidden in this dream-like world.
The only reason why they didn’t lose their way was thanks to the karma they had brought over from their own universe.
Facing the monsters’ universe, which twisted and bent as if saying this chaos was its order and law, the warriors raised their own order. They pushed back the space-time as if it was a jungle and advanced while picking up speed.
Like how you would fall from walking through a cliff painting on the floor in the movies, there was a sense of disharmony amongst the scenery they walked. It clearly showed that they were unwelcome guests in this universe.
Choi Hyuk was very well aware of where the monster queen was, having led the reconnaissance team previously.
The army took the shortest path and the monsters, weakened from chasing Flame-Rain’s stronghold, couldn’t stop them. The various worlds in this universe gradually brightened as if they were expecting to be released from this nightmare of being crushed and violated.
However, the army soon scattered. The army, which had been traveling like a comet, became as thin as a shooting star and as small as an ice pellet. Like how rocket boosters would fall away from rockets, weaker warriors fell behind and each began their own lonely battle in this unfamiliar universe.
The ones who remained until the end were the small number of transcendent and highest-ranked warriors.
What they faced was a cocoon as big as the Sun which spread its nervous system throughout the universe.
The cocoon pulsed like it had a beating heart and its nervous system flickered as though it was firing neurons.
The heart and the brain of the monsters’ universe, without a doubt, it was the monster queen.
“But how is that a queen? It’s just a monster lump. Why did they call it the queen from the beginning?”
Lee Jinhee grumbled.
“That’s not the queen.”
Shocked by Choi Hyuk’s words, Lee Jinhee looked at the cocoon again and felt its overwhelming presence.
“That’s not the queen? If that’s not the queen, then what could possibly be the queen?”
“… The queen is inside it.”
Choi Hyuk said while grimacing. His chest was rising and falling quickly along with his fast breathing.
He hadn’t participated in a single battle all the way here. Simply holding onto his explosive strength and maintaining a speed where he wouldn’t fall behind was difficult enough.
Lee Jinhee’s eyes narrowed.
“Meaning we have to slice it open?”
She took action. Since Choi Hyuk wasn’t in any condition to command, Lee Jinhee took command all the way here.
“Baek hyung. Guardian. Please guard the leader and enter. Baek hyung can sense danger and Guardian can heal. Now, the rest of you will slice that monster lump open! If you can, follow the leader in since we don’t know what’s waiting for us inside.”
The warriors stood at the front. There were three transcendent warriors including Lee Jinhee. Ten highest-ranked warriors. They looked quite unmatched against this gigantic cocoon that was comparable to a demise-ranked monster.
The air was tense.
They thought that this could be the end.
“Lee Jinhee.”
Baek Seoin called her. When she turned, her short hair fluttered, contrasting the monsters’ universe behind her.
“What?”
Hearing her blunt reply, such empty farewells like ‘See you on the other side’, ‘Don’t die’, ‘Thanks’, or ‘I actually…’ disappeared from his mind.
As if trying to help her relax, he lightly asked,
“Ah, I’m suddenly curious. What’s the skill of your Sword of Conclusion?”
“… I don’t know.”
Lee Jinhee turned her body away as if trying to hide her sword.
Her vow to protect her friends became stronger and was now complete. Her sword would find its way towards anyone precious to her, even if a dimension lay between them. That was ‘Lee Jinhee’s World’. Her precious friends were her world. And since one of them was Baek Seoin…
‘He’ll be surprised if I say something so fluttery.’
Lee Jinhee couldn’t say it even if she died. Since Choi Hyuk was insane, it didn’t matter, but wasn’t Baek Seoin a crafty guy?
Still, seemingly less tense than before and moving more fluidly, Lee Jinhee stared at the pulsing cocoon. Her flesh and blood felt as tense as a drawn bow.
Just then, she shouted,
“Let’s go!!”
The gigantic cocoon spread its tentacles like wings as it faced Lee Jinhee. Warriors followed behind her.
There was a sudden flash. The tentacles devoured them like a tidal wave. Screams erupted.
Although Lee Jinhee told the warriors to follow Choi Hyuk in if they could, it didn’t seem like that would be possible. Baek Seoin clenched his fist at this tense battle.
After a tense, nightmarish period of time, Lee Jinhee slashed a part of the cocoon. Drenched in blood and slashing the tentacles shooting towards her, she shouted,
“Now!”
Baek Seoin held Choi Hyuk and Bae Jinman, who weren’t as mobile as him, under his arms. At some point, Choi Hyuk’s body began getting worse rapidly.
“Then.”
He shot forward.
The warriors blocked the tentacles targeting them with their lives.
Leaving the blood-soaked Lee Jinhee, who was grinning as she kicked a tentacle away, when he entered the cocoon, it felt like he was diving into water.