Chapter 153: - End of a Long Journey

༺ End of a Long Journey ༻

“Y-You shall not pass!”

Roswyn firmly stood in the way of Frey, blocking the sole entrance into the palace. Her challenge carried an icy tone.

“I will never let you get to where the Hero is.”

“...Sigh.”

“I will stop you, even if it costs me my life.”

In response to this, Frey sighed and slowly turned his head to look behind him.

Kwang! Kwang!

Intense battles raged in every area of the once beautiful palace garden.

“Grrr... ohhh...”

The combat executives watched the sub-heroines with lifeless eyes as they battled fiercely, the contrast creating an eerie dichotomy.

“It’s dangerous!”

“I’ll handle these bastards! Hurry, we have to stop Frey...!”

The sub-heroines facing them unexpectedly put up a strong fight, each effectively utilizing their own abilities.

From the rear, Arianne set up a protective barrier, while Lulu used magic to analyze the enemies and advise the others.

Meanwhile, in the center, Aishi casted ice magic towards the enemies with a cold expression.

And finally, at the vanguard, the youngest paladin of the academy boosted the team’s vitality and stamina while fending off enemy attacks.

“...How impressive.”

After blankly staring at them, Frey let out a bitter laugh before turning his gaze back to Roswyn.

“Move aside, Roswyn.”

Frey spoke with a detached expression.

“Uh, I’m sorry, but...”

Roswyn, frowning at Frey, started talking with a disgusted expression.

“...Can you not call me by my name? Or actually, can you not call me at all? Just hearing you say my name makes me shudder with goosebumps. Oh, it also makes me feel like throwing up, you little piece of shit.”

“Is that so?”

“Ugh, it’s the absolute worst. It really distresses me.”

Roswyn, who loved the Hero more than anyone else and despised Frey, muttered with a sullen face as she looked at the girls fighting hard behind Frey.

“I should have just fought the executives over there. Why did I take on the gatekeeper role?

If I could have fought without having to see your disgusting face, it would have been great.”

“...”

Frey’s hands trembled slightly as he listened to her muttering. His strength was amplified by the Hero’s Armor he wore.

“You’re doing all kinds of bullshit, aren’t you?”

Roswyn remarked, her exasperation clear as she observed Frey’s trembling hands.

“Just hurry up and attack, you disgusting maggot.”

Clenching her fist, Roswyn took a combat stance.

“I will kill you with my own hands and offer your head to the Hero.”

Frey, whose hands had been trembling until then, muttered with a desperate expression as he stood in front of Roswyn.

“Remember. I have to control my strength before I reach the Demon King.”

“You trash, what are you doing standing there without attacking...”

“Shut up.”

With a menacing aura, Frey cut off Roswyn’s provocations, his focus unwavering.

‘...Concentrate.’

As he drew his sword from his waistband, he was trying to focus to the point of using something akin to self-hypnosis.

‘If I make a mistake even once, I have to Retry. That is something I cannot afford to do like last time.’

“Hyah!”

Roswyn, unable to bear the standoff any longer, launched an attack at Frey.

Fwwoosh!!!

Roswyn’s powerful strike met its end all too easily, dispelled by Frey’s single-armed block.

“...Huh?”

Fwooooosh!!!

A moment later, Frey swung his sword at the flustered Roswyn in a counterattack.

“Good.”

Pushing aside the unconscious Roswyn, he muttered to himself as he finally stepped into the palace.

“Let’s keep going.”

.

.

.

“I’m going crazy.”

Frey, who had defeated Roswyn and entered the palace, was still muttering to himself in a soulless voice.

“What’s going on...”

The ‘Translucent Frey’ followed, observing with a bewildered expression.

“How could this...”

Just as he was about to start panicking due to the incomprehensible events he had witnessed up to this point, the ‘Translucent Frey’ was suddenly pushed by someone behind him, causing him to fall down to where Frey’s physical body was.

“...Ugh!”

Shaaaa...

At that moment, the two versions of Frey began to merge.

“...Ferloche? What are you-?”

Frey attempted to say something to the ‘Translucent Ferloche’ who had pushed him. The main heroines had similarly pale expressions amidst this strange phenomenon,

“I-I am...”

But before he could finish his words, they had completely merged.

“Do you hear me, Frey?”

After the merged Frey briefly tilted his head, he began to walk again inside the palace once more.

“From now on, please proceed with the ordeal by integrating with the Frey from this time.”

With a tender expression, the translucent Ferloche spoke as she gazed at the merged Frey.

“That way, you’ll be able to understand your ‘true’ feelings...”

Her voice began to tremble slightly.

“...and you’ll finally be able to judge us properly.”

.

.

.

.

.

“Frey.”

After walking for a while, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Stop right there.”

I slowly lifted my head, only to see many familiar faces before my eyes.

Kania the Dark Magician. Irina the Archmage. Princess Clana, Saintess Ferloche, and even Serena the Chancellor.

They had talked with more familiarity in the past. Now, they only looked at me in contempt. But it’s fine now. After all, nothing mattered anymore.

My heart no longer held the capacity to love them or myself.

Kwooooong!!!

And a moment later, my sword sliced through the air, the surroundings shrieking at the force of my blow.

***

“...Hm.”

After looking at the Hero’s Sword, which sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the window, I slowly sheathed it.

“It was a success.”

All five heroines surrounding me had collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

‘Well, it’s only natural.’

The Hero’s Sword was a weapon so powerful that it would enable me to fight against the Demon King when even all the main heroines and I combined wouldn’t be enough. If the weapon wasn’t able to do even this much, it would render my goal impossible.

However, there was something that slightly bothered me.

“...I hope there aren’t any injuries.”

I didn’t want to incur any more debts.

Instead, I now wanted to create light.1 light- 빛 debt- 빚 sounds very similar in Korean

“There’s none.”

By carefully observing the scene of the battle, I was able to confirm that there were no visible injuries on any of the main heroines. As such, I slowly got up.

‘The place where the Demon King is gathering her strength... must be the ‘Imperial Throne’.’

It was obvious where she would be.

As the epitome of arrogance, she would undoubtedly be at the top floor of the Imperial Palace, seated at the highest point of such a floor.

The Imperial Throne.

Trudge, Trudge

Having pinpointed her location, I slowly made my way up the stairs.

“Hoo...”

In countless regressions, this was the first time I had come this far.

Finally, the end was almost within sight.

I assumed that when this moment came, my heart would race or that I would break into a cold sweat, but instead, my mind remained utterly clear.

In fact, it wasn’t just clear...

My entire body felt strangely light.

“Hm?”

Soon after, I reached the uppermost floor, where someone stood, barring my path to the throne.

“...Frey.”

I wondered who it was. However, as I walked closer, I was greeted with an unexpected figure.

“Sister.”

“...”

It was Isolet, the person I once admired the most in the world just behind my mother.

Naturally, now she was just Professor Isolet to me.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

As I quickly drew my sword to subdue her and proceed towards my goal, Isolet asked a sudden and unexpected question.

“Why?”

“...?”

“W-Why did you... only...”

Isolet gazed at me with a confused expression on her face as I tilted my head in response.

“...Only knock those five girls out using the back of your blade?”

Isolet asked with a trembling voice.

“Hmm...”

Whilst listening to her question, I fell into silent contemplation.

“I forgot.”

“What?”

I responded with an exhausted expression.

“I might have had a reason once....but I forgot.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s been so long that I can’t seem to remember. Maybe if you give me a little more time, I might recall it....”

Whilst observing Isolet’s trembling pupils, I did my absolute best to grasp the memory.

“...Ah.”

I smiled as a memory from deep in the past surfaced once again.

“I remember now.”

“What was your reason?”

I stared back at Isolet intently in response to her question.

“...A sword isn’t meant to cut. It’s meant to protect.”

I replied in a quiet voice.

“You had taught me this once. I had forgotten it for a long time, but I remembered it just now.”

“...!!!”

Isolet’s eyes widened and shook upon hearing my explanation.

Why were her eyes widening?

Oh.

That was a mistake.

-Booom!!!

Before Isolet could say anything, I swiftly used the flat edge of my blade to knock her unconscious.

While sighing, I began mumbling to myself once again.

“Wake the hell up. You’ve come this far, but you almost had to Retry.”

I scolded myself as I slapped my cheeks with my palms.

-Screech...

Having finally opened the door to my long-awaited destination, I stepped inside.

“”...””

There was a brief period of silence.

“...How have you been?”

What broke that silence was Ruby, who was seated leisurely on the throne, with a wine glass in her hand.

“Hero.”

“I’ve been well.”

As I gazed at her, I cautiously summoned forth the system window.

[Stats]

Name: Frey Raon Starlight

Strength: Immeasurable

Mana: Immeasurable

Intelligence: Immeasurable

Mental Strength: ???

Passive Status: Awakened/Blessing of the Stars/Hero’s Strength

Now, it was finally time to stop this long journey. It was time to reach the final destination. It was time to cross the final hurdle.

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Footnotes:

1 light- 빛 debt- 빚 sounds very similar in Korean