Chapter 32:

Chapter 32:

Chapter 32

The front line collapsed.

The wooden stakes that we barely piled up crumbled, and the enemy’s spears and swords poured in through the gaps.

The Roman infantrymen tried to block them with their shields, throwing themselves desperately, but they were powerless against the overwhelming numbers.

“The line is pushed back! Everyone, retreat...!”

“No! If we lose this spot, it’s over!”

“Damn it! Then what do you want us to do!”

Despair spread like a plague.

Dracasis, who saw that scene, couldn’t hold back his lament from pity.

“Is it impossible after all?”

He thought that maybe this time would be different.

But the light of hope was too small and weak to illuminate this hell.

Kang Hye-rim was certainly strong and performed beyond expectations, but she couldn’t handle that many enemies with her help alone.

Kang Hye-rim knew that too.

But still, she couldn’t stop swinging her sword.

‘I have to stop them. Even one more!’

Her breath was already at its limit, and her appearance was a mess with dust and sweat mixed together.

She wanted to rest right now, but her body swung the sword as if it was out of control.

‘Why?’

In the state of emptiness where everything seemed to disappear, she asked herself.

Why don’t I give up? Why don’t I stop?

She couldn’t answer that question.

‘I don’t know.’

Do I have to fight this hard?

If I die, everything will end.

Wouldn’t it be better to just get out of here?

She wasn’t without such thoughts.

But even so, she couldn’t quit.

She felt like she would lose something precious that she had if she stopped and ran away at this moment.

‘I am...’

As soon as her thought reached that point, a part of the wooden stakes broke down.

Kang Hye-rim’s eyes shone and she flew to the gap.

Her sword strike, which had reached its peak, swept away the enemies mercilessly.

But there was no end to the enemies.

“Ugh!”

She finally reached her limit.

Kang Hye-rim barely managed to stand up when her legs gave way.

But she couldn’t avoid the enemy soldier’s spear that flew at her in the meantime.

The sharp tip of the spear pierced her left shoulder.

The wound wasn’t deep, but the burning pain made her left hand lose its strength.

“Holy Lady!”

“Protect the benefactor!”

Dracasis’s sword pierced through the soldier’s neck who stabbed Kang Hye-rim.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Yes. It’s not serious. But...”

Kang Hye-rim looked at her trembling left hand and clenched her teeth.

She had to apply a potion containing [Healing Story] right away, but it wasn’t a wound that would heal immediately.

And the more she left the front line, the more damage this side would suffer.

Above all, the enemies didn’t allow any leeway for this side.

“They broke through! Kill them!”

“Hahaha! Loot everything and sweep them away!”

Dracasis stepped forward to face the wave of Ottoman soldiers, but it was not enough.

The more he cut down the enemies, the heavier his body became, and soon he began to lose even in a simple struggle with ordinary soldiers.

“Ugh!”

“Lord!”

“Damn Ottomans! Protect the Emperor!”

The soldiers were also exhausted and couldn’t muster any strength.

The new enemies were fresh and energetic, while this side was close to exhaustion.

“Ack!”

“Gurgle!”

A one-sided slaughter began.

The soldiers died one by one, and some of the escort knights were slashed all over their bodies by several enemies at once.

Kang Hye-rim watched that scene with trembling eyes and bit her lips.

It was over.

She was already at her limit physically and mentally.

‘I thought... I could win.’

It was arrogance.

The arrogance of having done things that others couldn’t do by herself.

The arrogance of thinking that she could do it in the future too.

That made her have a vague hope that everything would go well.

‘What should I do...?’

***

The situation went bad.

No, it would be fair to say it was the worst.

Despite Kang Hye-rim’s desperate efforts, she couldn’t avoid the inevitable flow.

I watched the dying phantom soldiers with an expressionless face.

[Most spirits are sorry.]

[Some spirits are frustrated by Kang Hye-rim’s attitude.]

[A few spirits point fingers at her actions.]

The reactions of the spirits who watched this scene were also a problem.

Most of them felt sorry for Kang Hye-rim because they knew she tried hard, but some pointed out that she couldn’t do anything in the end.

“...”

“If you stay here, you will die. I don’t want that. Even if it leaves a scar on your successful path, it’s better than dying. You did your best. Some things just don’t work out.”

Some things don’t work out even if you try.

That phrase weighed down on Kang Hye-rim’s heart like a lump of lead.

She bowed her head. She couldn’t face Yu-hyun.

She muttered regretfully.

“That’s right. There are things that don’t work out in this world.”

“...Do you want to give up?”

“Never!”

Kang Hye-rim shouted.

It was a scream filled with anger that she had never shown before.

“I know! I know this is my stubbornness! There are things that don’t work out in this world, just like Yu-hyun said. No matter what I do, there are some processes that I can never reach. But, but! But how can I say that I give up! Why do you say such cruel things?!”

She yelled as if she was venting her frustration.

It was the same in the past.

When she awakened as a collector and received training, people around her sneered at her.

They said that she couldn’t do anything, that she should quit this path and do something else.

What could someone like her do?

She gave up for a moment at those words.

But.

“Yu-hyun taught me. That I have talent. That I can do things that others can’t. Thanks to him, I learned who I really am. That’s how I got here. And I just realized what I want to do.”

Crack.

She clenched her fist with the hand on the ground.

She slowly got up from her seat with her head down.

“I don’t want to run away anymore. I’m sick of it.”

She had lived in despair, but she learned what success meant.

The hope that she had never known before, the light that moistened her dried heart like a sweet dew from the sky.

Now that she knew it, she couldn’t go back to the way she was.

“You will die.”

“I know. I’ll probably die. But... I don’t want to give up. I’m sorry. I’m really stupid, right? Being stubborn at such an important moment.”

Kang Hye-rim let out a weak laugh.

Even at this moment when her life was at stake, she only felt guilty for bothering Yu-hyun.

But even knowing that, she couldn’t stop.

This was her greed. It was also her stubbornness that would never bend once she held the sword.

“I see.”

Yu-hyun’s voice was still calm.

But Hyelim couldn’t see his face.

He must have been disappointed.

Maybe he even despised me.

For not listening to him, for acting on my own.

The only regret she had was that.

“Die! Witch!”

One of the Osman commanders who broke through the defense line spotted Kang Hye-rim who barely stood up and ran towards her.

‘I have to stop him...’

She lifted her sword to block the attack, but she could barely stand up.

She had no strength left to swing her sword.

Kang Hye-rim sensed her death.

‘It’s over.’

She closed her eyes.

Thinking of the pain that would soon follow.

At that moment, Yu-hyun’s voice broke her thoughts.

“That’s a relief.”

What does he mean...

Kang Hye-rim finally lifted her head and saw Yu-hyun’s expression.

He didn’t scold her from the beginning.

He didn’t despise her, or get angry at her.

He didn’t look at her coldly as she had assumed.

He was smiling with satisfaction.

[Genesis Protection is deactivated.]

[Once deactivated, it cannot be reversed.]

[Do you want to deactivate?]

“Yes.”

At the same time,

Yu-hyun pulled out his sword from the void and slashed the neck of the Osman commander who was running towards Kang Hye-rim.

A clean strike that was hard to believe even with open eyes.

Kang Hye-rim’s eyes widened in disbelief.

And so did the spirits who were watching this situation in silence.

[The spirits can’t believe it and point fingers at you.]

[The spirits are confused if this is a dream.]

Everyone opened their mouths, widened their eyes, and gasped.

The impact of their emotions was conveyed through the messages.

[The one who laughs in the darkest place supports 100TP!]

[Hahahahahaha!!!]

Only Satan laughed like crazy at that sight.

“Get up.”

Yu-hyun ignored everything around him and reached out his hand to Kang Hye-rim.

Kang Hye-rim stared blankly at the scene.

Suddenly, she remembered what had happened just a while ago.

The day she fell into despair, he had also reached out his hand to her like this.

And he had held her hand.

“It’s not over yet.”

Unlike before, the hand he held this time felt warm.