Chapter 188

Chapter 188

EP.188

“Your soul’s structure has been twisted.”

“...What?”

“Oh, it doesn’t mean you’ve become a god. I don’t know any magic that turns mortals into gods. It’s just that I was able to make it possible for you to ‘absorb’ fragments of the divine. Did you feel anything unusual?”

Back then, everyone who had been with me died, and everyone who attempted the same thing failed.

Was it because I kept moving until I could finally kill Abiditas?

And now. Even in a state where my body is being torn apart, even when I could collapse and close my eyes at any moment.

Why am I still not tired?

Why can I still move?

“Yes. Even at this moment, you are inhaling fragments of the divine. So I have no choice but to apologize.”

“Apologize? Why?”

To apologize means there’s something wrong, but just based on that statement, isn’t it a good situation? Just looking at the fact that I can continue fighting without getting tired while slaughtering the Seven Dragon Lords.

“You know about the curse you get when you kill the Seven Dragon Lords, right? Because you’ve done it.”

“Yes.”

“That’s not a curse. Ivan. To be precise, it’s closer to a blessing. The mortal body cannot withstand the divine blessing, which is why it appears to be a curse.”

Since it wasn’t a curse, it couldn’t be healed by the saint’s baptism. It was a type of blessing bestowed by a god.

“A blessing that shaves down human souls and transforms them into conceptual beings. In other words, anyone who kills the Seven Dragon Lords steps onto the first stairway to divine status.”

“Given that, I....”

“Yes. It’s only the first step. After achieving an extraordinary feat and soaking your body in divine blood, you ascend that stairway. You become a conceptual being and finally strip away the remaining ‘mortal part’ of your soul. Yes, you can become such an existence.”

Or perhaps you elevate your achievements by killing the ‘Seven Dragon Lords.’

The stature of a soul. Once it rises, it can no longer maintain the form of a mortal.

“Therefore, I forced you up that stairway. Your soul will gradually draw closer to divinity.”

“What if I defeat that one?”

“Perhaps that will solidify it even more.”

“How do I defeat it?”

At Ivan’s blunt words, Veolgrin was taken aback, which was unlike him.

“Are you not angry? I have just made you time-limited! Is that not clear to you?”

“Was it necessary?”

“...Yes. But...”

“That’s all that matters.”

Ivan looked straight ahead again. With Beolgrin’s appearance, the movement of ‘that’ was gradually slowing down. As if wary of him right in front.

He had bought some time to catch his breath.

“But, Ivan Petrovich. I must reveal that I have used you. You and your companions, even my daughter!”

Was it guilt? He hadn’t expected to see this side of the old elf. Ivan looked at Beolgrin with fresh eyes.

Could it be yet another proof that even elves could not escape dementia? The sane Beolgrin was someone who would never apologize or feel guilty.

“I have used your daughter as well. Your relatives... yes, ‘our’ companions too.”

“What?”

“I wanted to go back to my hometown. That thought alone consumed me. Perhaps these guys might show me the ending of this story. Perhaps, they could take me out of this hellish world and send me back to my hometown.”

He thought that if a hero killed the Demon King, he could return. So, he willingly took on the role of the hero party’s vanguard, risking his life to defeat the Warlord of the Seven Dragon Lords.

When that ended in failure, he remained in this world.

When the hero’s children form a new hero party and complete the new story, could he return then? If he taught these guys well and finished the remaining ‘stories’ in this world, would that be possible?

He made many attempts. He saved many people. And as many died.

He still remained in this world.

Kim Sun-woo finally gave up. He no longer said anything. He did not scream, nor did he comply.

Ivan turned his head again and looked at the group of people walking from afar.

At the forefront, with black hair fluttering in the rough wind,

an elf, glaring directly at him with one shining eye like a hawk, was grinning fiercely.

That glance was proof of the achievement of facing the Dragon Lord alone and surviving.

“Under Elpheira Cohenulf, the total number of the Swordsmanship faction is six hundred and ninety-four. We are participating.”

“You’re bad with numbers. Then why seven hundred thirty-two?”

“Because we are here too.”

Elpheira responded with a tired smile.

“The Hero Party is originally one body. We won’t leave anyone behind again.”

I see.

Ivan nodded calmly.

The snow cleared, revealing the frozen landscape of Ydranhill. A massive branch burst out, smashing a pillar of the Eternal Palace, towering like it was stabbing the sky.

Finally, the Warlord of the Seven Dragon Lords had been unleashed upon the world. But, yes.

The current Hero Party, along with all the members who faced the previous Dragon Lord, were gathered here.

This should be doable.

Ivan nodded at the gaze of Veolgrin felt from somewhere in the sky and said,

“The immediate task is the death of ‘that thing.'”

Somehow, I felt a little cheerful.

“The top priority is survival.”

So don’t die. Ivan finished with a faint smile.

“The grand strategy is the end of winter.”

*

“Ku Geor. Yes, let winter die. For there is no eternal season.”

Veolgrin looked down at his increasingly fading form and smiled.

“Now the harsh season of the gods will come to an end, and the season of man will arrive. That is enough. That is all.”

Is that really so?

Did you truly devote your whole life for such a noble ideal?

You, mortal who greedily consumed wisdom. Is that truly enough?

Whether it was an echo or the whisper of his own desires, or perhaps a true trial set upon him by the gods, none of that mattered. Veolgrin nodded with a smile.

“Indeed. Would a great elf be inferior to a human?”

You all will meet your end in solitude. No god will help you now. All your prayers will be disregarded. You will perish lonely in silence.

“The gods have never answered our prayers, and we have never hoped for their help.”

Veolgrin concluded as he gazed at the shimmering sky.

“Moreover, does solitude not signify standing alone? Those who can stand and walk on their own legs are, in essence, their own gods. Now the mortal realm shall finally be free.”

You will perish. Your soul will be torn apart and scattered as dust.

“That’s a pitiful last will. As parents, should we not bless our children’s independence? Now be silent, you forgotten ones. Just watch.”

The first sight of your child gaining independence.

With a smile, Veolgrin looked down at the earth, at the people scurrying about, fondly.

Finally severing all the desires that almost clung to him grotesquely, he smiled.

Yes, act.

That burden I shall bear. And then.

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