Chapter 31: The Scarlet Sword (1)

Chapter 31: The Scarlet Sword (1)

On the eleventh stage, when I had Sarbas Aegim, the NPC general, kill me, I witnessed his trauma. He stood among many other people, screaming.

—I pity you. You don’t see humans as people.

No one knew exactly why, when, and where that being showed up from. Its existence didn’t need other people’s understanding.

—You’re born as humans and yet you devour the lives of other humans. Do you try to console yourselves by claiming that this is the fate of all humans? I call that animal karma. I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t butcher animals today.

However, red rain, the rain of nightmares, poured down whenever that being showed up. A river of blood soon flowed across the lands.

“Retreat!”

“It’s the rain again...”

“Run to the land where the rain doesn’t follow!”

Small countries in remote regions fell first. Next were bigger countries formed by the unions of those small countries. This led to the silent fall of more small countries, those that had been relying on the bigger countries to be their walls.

The history of mankind was reaching its end as one nation fell after another. Every time a country fell, the land of humans got smaller. Yet the red rain continued.

“Find a place where it doesn’t rain...”

It went on.

“It’s the end. The end of the world.”

The rain poured down.

“Dear goddess, please don’t abandon us...”

And it never stopped. What little land humankind could claim as their own grew smaller and smaller—the history of man was on its last page. Historians carefully sharpened their old quills. They had accepted their fate; the last thing they would write would be, “Thus, humanity has fallen.”

Only one empire remained on the continent.

—You pitiful humans, let your malice consume you.

The master of nightmares. The king of all monsters. The last historians named the being “The Demon King”.

***

Rain poured down, but the sky was lit as bright as day. The light from my holy sword pierced the red clouds, leaving clear skies wherever it shone.

“Ohhh...”

The soldiers, their faces covered in blood rain, turned their eyes to the sky when they realized that the rain had stopped.

“Oh goddess...”

Not all of the rain stopped. The downpour only stopped where the holy sword’s light reached, buying them a short reprieve.

“The goddess...”

“The goddess protects the empire!”

However, sometimes a little thing was enough for people, especially for those who were already left with very little. To the people of the empire, their country was the pitiful scraps of what used to be an entire world. They were living the last page of their history.

The soldiers, generals, low-level civil servants, high-ranking officials... Everyone in the empire knew this fact. That was why no NPCs could be seen in the audience chamber. The empire’s prime minister had given up on the nation’s affairs. The grand general gave up on the military. The Imperial Guards no longer protected the empire. The Imperial Knights didn’t uphold their duties.

Everyone had abandoned the empire—and that was probably why the Tower chose it as the eleventh stage. Just how the abandoned children were placed in a certain mansion on the tenth floor.

“Rise!” the Black Witch shouted.

One after another, the soldiers staggered to their feet. Some soldiers on the walls and their spears; others grabbed their comrades’ hands and helped them up.

“Stand!”

The Black Witch told them to become the empire’s last wall. Yes, they would be the walls; just like how the Demon King’s voice passed through the empire’s wall, the Black Witch’s words reached all of the empire’s soldiers.

“Stand up!”

“Our prime minister is here! She’s with us!”

“The first emperor’s sword protects us!”

Every man returned to his position. The empire’s walls stood. As the soldiers returned to their duties, spears, swords, and other weapons were returned to their hands.

“Get up. Get up!”

“You’re disgracing yourselves in front of the prime minister!”

[The deceased hero was not the Demon King’s underling.]

My ears rang. I could hear the sound of the imperial palace breaking apart in the distance, while death was announced in my ear.

The Black Witch and I exchanged glances.

“...The audience chamber was there,” the Black Witch said first. “The Sword Star, Inquisitor, and the Viper probably aren’t there because they’re leading the knights, guards, and officers. You asked the Paladin to search for the emperor, so she’ll be busy doing that. That leaves...”

The Countess, but she wasn’t the traitor.

“...You shouldn’t have died first, you heartless girl,” the Black Witch muttered to herself.

She didn’t dwell on it. Instead of giving a long goodbye, she shook her head several times. I assumed that it was her own way of moving past her friend’s death.

“Black Dragon Master, if Miss Countess actually died, then the outside world...”

“Let’s...let’s focus on the matter at hand,” the Black Witch quietly answered. The second strongest Hunter in the Tower just glared at the prey on the horizon. “Even the Demon King won’t be able to keep using attacks like that. Mr. Kim, hold the breach with me.”

The behavior of the red dots on the mini map had changed. Unlike their movements before, which resembled an ocean wave, the red dots were now traveling in a line that led directly to the opening the laser beam had just blown open. Their formation was sharp as a spear. It looked like the monster army was trying to break through.

“Yes, I think that’s the best course of action.” I grabbed the Black Witch’s hand.

She nodded. “Teleport.”

We headed into the breach.

The monsters were a lot closer now. Goblins, orcs, skeletons...all sorts of monsters came running toward us, howling like animals. The archers atop the ramparts released their arrows, but it was far from enough to stop the red tide. We had around two minutes before the first wave arrived.

—Zombie, one minute will do. No, it doesn’t matter if you manage for only thirty seconds, the Guardian said.

Hundreds of monsters emerged from the cloud of dust. However, a hundredfold more monsters were approaching, creating new clouds of dust.

—Hold out on your own. In order to win this war, you need to become their hope.

No ally stood in my way. I was alone on the front line.

—Hold out on your own. It doesn’t matter if it’s only for thirty seconds. It’s important to show them that you can stop those monsters on your own. A hero isn’t someone who survives for thirty years; it’s the person who gives thirty seconds when everyone needs them.

I dropped my backpack on the floor.

—Become a hero.

I pulled out a bottle from my backpack. It contained the elixir made by the Chemist, who would be known as the Master Alchemist in the future.

—I’ll help you.

One sip, two sips, three sips... I poured the entire elixir down my throat.

—I promised sword lessons until we reached the twentieth floor, didn’t I? It’s a little early, but it’s time for a practice session.

My heart hammered against my chest.

—Place your back foot at a slight angle.

It beat in one-second intervals.

—Put pressure on your front foot.

My heartbeat became faster.

—Look forward.

I did just that.

—Two goblins are at the very front. Their innate eyesight is already bad, but they’re squinting because of the dust clouds. When their vision is obstructed, creatures instinctively swing their swords wide. They’re trying to get a lucky hit, not worrying about where their enemy is. Thrust your sword before they swing their weapons.

My heartbeat grew faster over time, but one second became slower and slower.

—All your holy sword does is shine, but it’s perfect to temporarily blind your enemies. One second on an absolute measure doesn’t matter, but in a fight, it’s one second on their relative scale. Take away their vision and you take one second from your enemies.

That was how one second for me became a little quicker than my heart.

—They’re here.

My sword would be faster than one second.

—Let’s go, partner. The Guardian stood right next to me. It’s time to be a hero.

I swung my sword.