Chapter 51

[Translator - Hestia][Proofreader - Kaya]

Chapter 51

Baekya's fingers tapped the air as if playing a piano.

His rough hand motions swept from his thumb to his index, middle, ring, and little fingers.

Immediately after, an emerald light, which shouldn't exist, flickered in the crimson sky.

The light flew towards Baekya.

Whoosh!

An emerald tail stretched long.

Ryu Haneul, watching it, muttered as if in a trance—

"Comet store."

The comet, flying in an elegant curve, crashed above Baekya's head.

Fwoosh!

A burst of intense emerald light erupted.

Baekya's silhouette was enveloped in the radiance.

Immediately after, Baekya soared into the sky like a fallen star rising again.

Tap. Tap. Tap!

With each step he took, red and blue lights bloomed from his shoes, stretching long like a comet's tail.

From the moment he tapped the invisible status window to the moment he soared into the distant sky as a comet, only three seconds had passed.

It was the time it takes to blink a few times.

In the blink of an eye, the comet crossed the sky and reached the north where the gate entrance was located.

However, as if he had left something behind, the comet suddenly changed its direction and flew towards the Turtle Dragon. Only after retrieving something from the severed neck of the Turtle Dragon did it turn back.

'I guess he left the spirit core behind.'

Ryu Haneul gazed at the trail of light with eyes filled with admiration and excitement.

Sometimes, escaping the scene was the best solution.

Just a moment ago, he was gathering mana to ambush Cheong Siyeol, but he didn't expect the situation to be resolved so cleanly.

Cheong Siyeol, as if finally regaining his senses, pointed his deep blue sword at the empty sky.

"...."

But Baekya was already passing through the gate.

Leaving Ryu Haneul and Cheong Siyeol behind amidst the countless demon army.

["Krrr...." ]

Ryu Haneul twirled the Dark Heavenly Demon Sword, looking at the countless mid-rank demons looking back at him.

'But, senior. You didn't think about how I would get back, did you?'

["---, ---!"]

The roars of the demons echoed loudly.

Eventually, the two were able to return to the gate before long.

The core of 'Finale Story: Commander of the Fallen Demon Assault Force' was the Turtle Dragon.

The moment the Turtle Dragon died, the countless demons that filled the horizon evaporated without a trace.

Barrier Mage Lee Baejeong explained.

"That Turtle Dragon was a production base and a router. A router that allowed the demons to draw on their original power. It's no wonder they were all reverse-summoned when it was destroyed."

'Fairy King' Na Jeongwon said.

"Still, they held on well because they were quantity-based. If their numbers were 1/10th but each individual was ten times stronger, Seoul would already be a sea of flames."

The giant gate slowly disappeared.

In the distance, the horizon shimmered, and the buildings of Seoul began to appear.

The crimson sky tore, revealing a blue sky, and the sounds of footsteps on asphalt echoed from the black earth burning with sulfur and embers.

Before they knew it, the group of hunters was standing in the middle of a wide intersection in downtown Seoul.

Citizens waiting anxiously outside the police line at the intersection were the first to burst into cheers.

"Clear!"

"We're alive!"

"Honey! You don't have to sell the stocks! Buy more now!"

The hunters, who had been holding their ground against the waves of enemies, cheered a beat later.

"Did we win?"

"We won!"

"We won!?"

Some even slapped their own cheeks in disbelief.

It was understandable.

Most of the hunters hadn't even been informed of the plan where the three - Cheong Siyeol, Ryu Haneul, and the unnamed pyromancer - charged forward.

Even the commanding officers who had received the plan were too busy trying to block the demon army that filled the horizon.

A certain director from the Gate Management Bureau sheathed his sword with a deep sigh.

'We couldn't have done it without Lee Eunwoo and Lee Baejeong. The Fairy King was our lifeline - without him, we wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes. The arrival of the Magic Tower and the Holy Church gave us a fighting chance... but even then, I thought we were going to be overwhelmed.'

He honestly thought they were going to die, completely and utterly.

The feeling of helplessness, that no matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't change anything, rose to his throat.

If even he, a veteran hunter who had experienced countless battles since Baekya, felt that way, the other hunters were all in a state of shock.

Many hunters collapsed on the road from exhaustion.

But, in the end, it was a victory.

The director clapped his hands and roused the hunters around him.

"Alright! Let's move! Get up. Load the critically injured onto the emergency helicopters, and the lightly injured can find a healer on their own. The Holy Church is distributing holy water in the empty lot next door, so grab a bottle each."

Then he looked at the two hunters who were the biggest contributors to this operation.

In the very center of the intersection.

On a beautiful afternoon with tall glass buildings rising in all four directions and the sun starting to set on one side.

Amidst the cheers of joy from countless citizens and hunters.

The hunter with the blue halo and the hunter with the purple halo stood still with dazed expressions.

Cheong Siyeol was biting his lower lip as if overcome with self-disgust, and Ryu Haneul was clenching his fists as if filled with anger.

'The pyromancer must have died. I need to talk to the Support Bureau about designating him as a veteran and awarding him a medal. It's a shame. Truly a shame.'

The director prayed for the repose of the rookie whose name he didn't even know.

He approached the two high-rankers.

He could faintly hear their conversation.

For a moment, the director doubted his ears.

"Don't you understand the situation? You killed your senior, and your senior saved you, even though it meant dying again. And you still can't let go of your stubbornness? Are you even human?"

"I admit that I was blind. But that's why it's even more impossible."

"It's all in the past now. Didn't we go through all that trouble to make it that way?"

Kill?

Save?

'What are they talking about?'

He couldn't follow their conversation.

But he couldn't intervene either.

Cheong Siyeol's deep blue halo, which visualized countless swords, sent shivers down his spine just by looking at it.

"Can you say that in front of Joo Suhyeok?"

Ryu Haneul's purple halo, which symbolized the Eastern concept of "Heaven is Round, Earth is Square", made him feel as if he was being crushed by the world of the Heavenly Demon.

"Since when did you care so much about others? Let's not be so hypocritical. Or at least be honest. Did you secretly resent or envy your senior?"

Ryu Haneul asked a question.

A foxy sneer was mixed in his crescent moon-shaped smile.

Cheong Siyeol responded with a glacial sneer.

"What do you know to say that?"

"...."

"He is my idol, my hero, my sun. Before, now, and forever, as long as I live. I only wish for him to remain that way."

Ryu Haneul looked as if he had been struck hard.

He trembled as if he couldn't overcome the surging emotions.

"Yes, that's true. But you also need to know this. Just as you saw your senior as an idol, a hero, and the sun, and will continue to do so, he will also continue to see you as his beloved disciple."

"Do you think he will?"

"The sun rises where it always rises and sets where it always sets. Seniors also live by inertia and emotions. In some ways, even more so than us. Your senior chose to save you instead of killing you even when the demon kicked you, and he will continue to save you."

His tone was laced with intense jealousy, contempt, and indescribable anger.

"You ruined everything back then. You could have changed everything, you could have had everything I wanted, and you could have achieved everything you wanted."

Ryu Haneul walked past Cheong Siyeol and approached the director.

Their shoulders bumped hard, and it wasn't an accident, even on second glance.

The director felt both curiosity about what they were talking about and the instinct that he shouldn't ask even if the sky fell.

Ryu Haneul, passing by him, gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Sun-Moon Divine Sect. We're withdrawing!"

* * *

Baekya headed not home, but to a nearby hotel.

It wasn't unusual for an Awakened, battered and bruised, to check in when a gate had just opened nearby.

"A potion and some holy water, please. And a small room."

He downed the potion and holy water the staff brought to his room in one gulp, then discarded his blood-stained shirt and pants, changing into a hotel gown.

Sitting in a chair by the window, he called Wolha.

A scream-like shout answered immediately.

[You idiot! Have you completely lost your mind?!]

Baekya frowned but didn't let it show.

This emotional reaction meant his act was working perfectly.

[What were you thinking, going in there and causing a scene? What were you thinking?! Do you have a death wish or something?] Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"You were worried. I'm sorry."

He answered softly in a low voice, and a response came right away.

[... Are you hurt?]

The tone softened noticeably.

"No. I didn't really fight anywhere too intense."

[Good.]

"I want to come right away, but the guild and everyone else is calling. I'll talk to them and then head over. If it takes too long, I might not get there until tomorrow afternoon."

[Okay.]

"Are you hurt?"

[No.]

"Alright. See you the day after tomorrow."

Baekya ended the call with a gentle, smiling voice.

And as soon as the call ended, all traces of his smile vanished.

"Come in."

Click.

The doorknob of the hotel room turned behind him.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

An Awakened approached Baekya from behind and stood a step away.

Although it was daytime, their faces were reflected in the windowpane.

A halo where blue and black diamonds overlapped more than halfway.

Dazzling earrings that didn't quite match his cool, intellectual face.

Baekya called his name.

"Lee Eunwoo."

He, too, called Baekya's name.

"Hong Baekya."

They stared at their reflections in the window for a moment.

Memories of a time when they stood in a similar configuration, in a different place, resurfaced in their minds.

But they both knew too much had changed since then, so the peaceful silence didn't last long.

Lee Eunwoo spoke first.

"Let's talk about the future."

He took out an Awakened cigar from his inner pocket and a gun from his waist.

Click, instead of a bullet, a flame flickered from the trigger, and Lee Eunwoo inhaled a puff of smoke.

His face bore the fatigue typical of someone engaged in complex calculations.

Baekya, looking incredulous, reached behind him and snatched the cigar.

"In front of me?"

It was unclear whether he was referring to the display of fatigue or the act of smoking.

Lee Eunwoo raised an eyebrow for a moment, then took out a second cigar.

"Do you know this saying?"

"I doubt it. I'm a middle school dropout."

"If you kill 100 enemies, you become a hero, but if you save one ally, you become a god."

"I know that one. I heard it in some kingdom inside the Tower."

"But you killed them all. To the point where it overshadows all your glorious achievements."

Lee Eunwoo lit his cigar again.

Baekya chuckled and waved his hand.

The cigar, which had been emitting wisps of smoke, was engulfed in flames.

Lee Eunwoo flinched and spat out the cigar.

"This...!"

Baekya then spun his chair while still seated.

Lee Eunwoo gripped the gun in his right hand with both hands and brought it to his chest.

Click!

His chest, with its rippling muscles like ropes, was exposed through the shower gown.

The cold, black muzzle contrasted with his warm, white skin.

Lee Eunwoo's diamond-shaped halo reflected in his jet-black eyes, making them look like those of an android.

"So? Are you going to kill me?"

The halo above 'Mr. Pistol's' head flickered.

Baekya, still holding Lee Eunwoo's gun and wrist, continued.

"Pisses you off, doesn't it? Things aren't going according to plan."

"Baekya."

"I guess you thought I'd be scared after dying once, but it wasn't that bad."

"Stop bluffing..."

"I still need to be alive. Why? Because I closed the Rank 1 Gate."

With each clear syllable he uttered, his crimson tongue flickered between his white teeth like that of an evil dragon.

"At least a few million. It could have been more. If it was a head-on confrontation, even if all the hunters in Korea gathered there, it would have been a definite loss."

"...."

"Not to mention the Tower raids. You guys have never even been there without me, have you?"

"The future is different."

"But you had to call Ryu Haneul because so many died?"

"...."

Lee Eunwoo's eyes clouded over like a computer's loading screen.

The more that happened, the more conviction Baekya's voice carried.

"But... I won't let bad luck make me unhappy. Everything I've wished for and achieved from the past to now is all connected, isn't it?"

"Is that so?"

"I wanted to see the top of the Tower. It was a long road to go alone, so I raised comrades. I realized that the country needs to be stable to secure a steady supply of power."

"...."

"So don't look at me like that. I have no intention of conquering the world or anything."

Lee Eunwoo spoke in a tone filled with endless suspicion.

His finger traced up to the trigger.

"What makes you so sure?"

Baekya calmly let his hand be and continued.

"I could have done it before, too."

"!"

"Things you can do anytime are practically already done. Destroying, burning, taking... those hold no value for me. Everyone knows I'm strong. Mending the social divide between Awakened and non-Awakened is harder than unifying Northeast Asia by force."

A sigh escaped him as he uttered the last words.

It was the kind of sigh only someone who constantly grappled with such concerns could make.

"So help me. Keep that damn Bureau Director and my messed-up disciple from chasing me."

Their gazes met in the air.

Lee Eunwoo removed his finger from the trigger.

"He won't be able to chase you even if I do nothing."

"Why?"

"The aftermath of a Rank 1 Gate is a long and arduous process."

"True. That's true."

He looked down at Baekya's shoes.

【The Little Prince's Shoes (Comet)】

【The Little Prince traveled between stars wearing these shoes.】

The upper part looked like ordinary shoes, but the heel part glowed with an emerald crystal like ice.

Artifacts from the Comet Store, which had a different system than ordinary artifacts ranging from Common to Unique, boasted incredible performance and mana consumption.

"Your Ascension level has risen, I see. 6th Stage?"

"That's right."

"I recommend focusing on that rather than stats. You know this better than me, but you get closer to Ascension by killing one Great Demon than 100 million small fries."

Baekya readily nodded.

"I know. I need to go in that direction. I've pretty much maxed out my basic stats."

It wasn't the content, but the fact that he offered helpful advice that mattered.

Lee Eunwoo opened his inventory and took out a short sword.

"Take this."

It was a stylish short sword with a dark blade etched with cyberpunk-style blue patterns and a handle wrapped in paracord over metal.

【22nd Century Katana (Master)】

【A Master-grade artifact produced in the workshop of the Iron Blood Legion. Heat-resistant and sturdy, but at the cost of some sharpness.】

[Translator - Hestia

[Proofreader - Kaya]