NOVEL NEXT Episode 12: Final Episode / Chapter 200: That Day (3)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
“What? Who’s going where?”
On the first floor of the Tower of Warriors, Dark-Sound’s body and the 12 Exalted Wings were gathered in a hall the size of a basketball court. The somber mood broke out into a commotion at the sudden news.
“Why is Exalted Wing Flame-Rain coming here?”
“She’s bringing her army? She observed some rebellious activity? What’s rebellious? What? She doesn’t know?”
“She simply talked one-sidedly without giving a proper explanation and hung up… I don’t know who’s calling who rebellious. Is she going to overrule the matter decided at the ‘Brain’ on her own?”
This situation was so bewildering that they didn’t know what to do even after pushing their subordinates to contact others and discuss the matter.
“Shouldn’t we regard this as high treason?”
“What is she trying to do on the day of Exalted Wing Dark-Sound’s funeral…?”
“What do you mean high treason?! It’s not like she’s forcing her way here, she notified us in advance.”
“In advance? She just said what she wanted. What is it if not a sudden attack for saying something then leading her army here?”
“Your words are harsh!”
This was a delicate matter. The general in charge of defending their border declared that she would ignore orders and lead her army to the headquarters. She also justified her actions with an abrupt ‘rebellious activity’. Just looking at the situation, it was undoubtedly an act of treason, which was also why the Exalted Wings couldn’t believe it.
“I mean… Isn’t the power currently gathered in Alliance City too high for a revolt…? Leader Choi Hyuk, did you notice any activities that could be considered rebellious in Alliance City?”
“None.”
Choi Hyuk feigned ignorance.
However, he smiled bitterly in his mind.
‘As expected… Flame-Rain, did you figure it out?’
Notifying them in advance instead of coming abruptly and not revealing the specifics while declaring ‘rebellious activities’ made it seem like perhaps Flame-Rain was sending him a warning, telling him not to act rashly.
‘It’s too late.’
All preparations were complete, and he had already resolved himself.
“No… I think it’s been a bit noisy outside for a while…”
Leviathan, who had been silent, said as his brows wriggled. As an enormous dragon, he currently covered his body in the fourth dimension, laying his body out throughout the hall. Because he was covered in a higher dimension, the walls weren’t damaged when his body passed through them.
When Leviathan pointed out the commotion, the other Exalted Wings noticed it as well. The racket was picking up speed as it approached the Tower of Warriors.
“What is going on? Leader Choi Hyuk?”
Flame-Thorn demanded an explanation. Her eyes narrowed as if she was warning him.
Choi Hyuk smiled. If they noticed the commotion, then it was already too late. Lee Jinhee was faster than anyone gave her credit for.
‘The moment’s finally come.’
Sling.
He unsheathed his sword.
**
Lee Jinhee closed her eyes and controlled her karma.
She had originally thought that karma was a special, extraordinary ability. She had believed it was an external power that took root in her body, but she was mistaken.
As her rank increased, karma permeated into her cells, and now, it even absorbed the cells themselves. Karma was her body.
Controlling karma meant that she could control even the tips of the hairs on her body.
Her calm figure resembled a metal object inside a powerful magnetic field rather than a living being. She didn’t move a muscle when she stood still, yet her entire body reacted without wasting even the tiniest bit of energy when she began to move.
Opening her eyes, she saw her target. There was a total of 16 warriors from the Flame Wing Tribe protecting the Light of Eternity. 15 of them were high-ranked warriors while the one leading them was a highest-ranked warrior.
Lee Jinhee’s goal was to end it without giving them the chance to scream. It would be best if no one knew about the rebellion until they activated the karma freezing devices.
“Whew… We’ll go in immediately.”
Whoosh!
Her smooth thighs exposed beneath her shorts became taut. Feeling hot, she stared in front of her. Instead of a kicking the ground and jumping, this was more like the gathering of willpower.
Lee Jinhee took a deep breath and then exhaled.
“Hu!”
Bang!
Accelerating to her top speed instantly, her body shot through the air.
Space rippled in front of her like a sonic boom erupting from compressed sound waves when a jet exceeded the speed of sound.
The space ripples were like a shell left behind by her sheer speed so the situation had already concluded by the time the Flame Wing Tribe warriors noticed.
“Huh?”
“Something just…”
The warriors tilted their heads, but the head of one of them dropped as his neck had been sliced at an angle.
The warrior beside him opened his mouth in surprise as his head split vertically in two.
The other warriors turned around and kept a distance from them, but before they could completely turn their backs, their bodies fell apart in various pieces.
“What…?!”
Pscht!
The warriors who had avoided this calamity as they were further away, were stabbed to death before they could open their mouths in shock. The Berserker team leaders who followed Lee Jinhee were able to easily take their lives because Lee Jinhee had caught their attention.
Claang!
The only warrior who blocked her short sword was the highest-ranked warrior in charge of protecting the Light of Eternity. He had a flustered expression as though he had only blocked her attack out of reflex.
Thud.
The corpses of the slaughtered warriors fell to the ground after he blocked her short sword. The corpses burned up as they were strewn on the ground as though a Molotov Cocktail had been thrown. Only then did the highest-ranked warrior come to his senses and attempted to shout.
“A revo-…”
Slice!
He slumped to the floor before he could even finish.
‘Lee Jinhee’s Vow’ shined in a brilliant white light, and he couldn’t deal with Lee Jinhee’s speed which used her Sword of Vow’s limitless power. With only his lower jaw intact, everything above his upper jaw was sliced off.
Blaaze!
The place Lee Jinhee stood was blazing with flames from the dead warriors, and her five loyal team leaders, including Alexei, stood around her.
“Haa… Ha…”
Panting, she tightly gripped her trembling hand. Even though she had borrowed the strength of her Sword of Vow, she still sliced ten high-ranked and one highest-ranked warrior in an instant. Overwhelmed with exhausted, she felt like was about to faint.
Her karma, which had been well-controlled, extended out on its own, her legs shook, and her shoulders trembled. Her legs felt so heavy that she felt as though they were melting onto the ground.
She needed to rest, but Lee Jinhee squeezed out more strength.
Kiing!
‘Lee Jinhee’s Vow’ became brighter, and Lee Jinhee used this strength lent by the sword to forcefully steady her breath.
“Huu.”
When she turned around after letting out a short breath, a report immediately arrived.
“The link has been established.”
She wasn’t the only one who moved at full speed. During this short period of time, glass crabs surrounded the Light of Eternity and began to stack glass pebbles in a complicated pattern. This arrangement was set up to extract power from the Light of Eternity.
Lee Jinhee glanced down at the other short sword hanging on her waist. The patterns that densely covered the short sword shined as they received the power extracted from the Light of Eternity. Soon, the patterns fell away from the surface of the sword like holograms and twirled around her.
Lee Jinhee nodded.
She glanced at the Berserkers, Kundle Tribe members, and glass crab surrounding the Light of Eternity for the last time. These warriors who were dispatched under Choi Hyuk’s authority as head of security were assigned to defend the Light of Eternity until their revolt concluded so that the karma freezing devices wouldn’t lose their power source.
“Hu.”
Exhaling once more, she left without saying farewell. The five team leaders followed behind her, but the distance between them grew instantly.
The path to the Tower of Warriors was crowded. Due to the excessive number of people, warriors sat on rooftops and some even floated in the air as they waited for the funeral.
Since it was impossible to avoid their attention, Lee Jinhee decided to move more quickly. She charged at full speed, stepping on rooftops and sometimes even on air.
“Huu… My body feels heavy.”
The karma of the many warriors gathered here pressed down on her body. She didn’t notice it when she moved at a moderate pace, but the pressure increased as she gained speed.
“Huh? Who’s that?”
“Isn’t she Director Lee Jinhee of the Berserkers? Is it something to do security?”
People noticed Lee Jinhee’s fleeting appearance as she rushed over their heads.
The majority just let her be, but the highest-ranked warriors of the Flame Wing Tribe were a little different.
“Huh? Wait! Isn’t that the Light of Eternity?!”
The problem was the repeater, which was shaped like a short sword, dangling from her waist. Constantly receiving power from the Light of Eternity, the repeater released streams of enormous power. The Light of Eternity was a power originating from the Flame Wing Tribe’s homeland. These warriors, who prided themselves for being the sole possessors of such power, couldn’t disregard the Light of Eternity’s power emanating from Lee Jinhee.
“Hey! Wait!”
Flame Wing Tribe warriors flew over from every direction and stopped her.
“Why do I sense the Light of Eternity from you?”
One said coldly as he obstructed her path. When she looked at these meddlesome fellows stopping her, she realized that each and every one of them seemed to be highest-ranked warriors. The type of warriors who believed themselves to be intrinsic to the alliance.
“Hup!”
Obviously, Lee Jinhee didn’t plan on replying. Without slowing down, she stomped down with her foot. Bearing her will, her karma ignored inertia and changed directions. Lee Jinhee zigzagged vertically and rushed past the Flame Wing Tribe warriors.
“Huh?! Block her!”
The warriors shouted.
Other warriors in the crowd leaped up one after the other.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Warriors from other tribes stretched their heads out to look at the sudden commotion as they whispered to each other.
The Flame Wing Tribe warriors were proud of being members of the Flame Wing Tribe, more than their rank or position. When a few famous warriors shouted to chase Lee Jinhee, other warriors who didn’t know what was going on jumped on the chase.
Flames erupted amongst the noisy crowd. Various colored flames spread out like a net and blocked the white stream of light flying through the air. However, this stream of light didn’t stop and zigzagged around the flames. More flames surged up whenever she did, and sometimes, they fell after exploding intensely.
“What’s going on…? Fireworks…?”
The warriors who weren’t aware of the situation were taken aback, their mouths agape.
“Haa, haa…”
From the Light of Eternity to the Tower of Warriors, Lee Jinhee traversed this not-so-short distance in an instant. Even when faced with the Flame Wing Tribe’s obstruction, she flew in the air at such a speed that those watching could only describe it with a ‘Whoosh! Bababaam!’
She was already gasping for breath when she began to see the Tower of Warriors. As she didn’t possess the power to deny other people’s karma like Choi Hyuk, the karma emitted by the other warriors put a burden on her. Having charged her way through the massive crowd at full speed while being blocked by the Flame Wing Tribe, she was as exhausted as a swallow that had forcefully pushed its way through a typhoon.
There were still a few persistently chasing Flame Wing Tribe warriors behind her.
Glancing at them, Lee Jinhee gritted her teeth.
“I consumed a lot more stamina than expected… But this is the end.”
Lee Jinhee looked at the Tower of Warriors with shining eyes. The Exalted Wings were gathered there. It was the place currently concentrated with the most military power in the alliance.
The security guards were at least at the highest rank, and those who stood protecting the entrances were at the transcendent level.
Just standing there, they made her feel like a vast galaxy separated her from the door. No matter how outstanding she was as a highest-ranked warrior, transcendent warriors were on a different level. If they were whales, possessing fates acknowledged by the great universe, she was simply a sardine.
However, even a sardine could ascend if it leaped through the dragon’s gate{1}! No… Was it a salmon? Moving on…
A thrilling smile hung on her lips.
“Let’s go!!!”
‘Lee Jinhee’s Vow’ shined brightly. This Sword of Vow, which was created from her vow that she wouldn’t die before Choi Hyuk, could open a path to Choi Hyuk regardless of the situation. She saw a thread-like line passing through the entrance. Choi Hyuk was inside, and if Choi Hyuk was there, even transcendent warriors wouldn’t be able to stop her.
She felt hot. Having squeezed her karma beyond its limits, her ankle and thighs felt like they had evaporated. The entrance, which had seemed a vast distance away, appeared in front of her as though it had been compressed.
“Hmm?!”
Having felt something, the transcendent warriors moved. They swung in the air as their blades brushed past Lee Jinhee.
Even transcendent warriors couldn’t stop Lee Jinhee as it looked like she had been compressed into a dot and was being sucked through the entrance.
Jjoong!!!
The shockwave that exploded behind her flung the chasing Flame Wing Tribe warriors away.
Baaang!
Lee Jinhee smashed through the door and then rolled on the floor.
She saw Choi Hyuk who had just unsheathed his sword with calm eyes and then the Exalted Wing’s dumbfounded expressions. When she saw their faces, she recalled the peaceful day on which the recruit training had abruptly started. She didn’t know that such rage had been hidden within her.
‘We killed each other. We were killed by the suddenly appearing monsters without being able to resist. Yeah, these damn bastards. Now it’s your turn.’
She raised the short sword shining with mysterious patterns up in the air before stabbing it into the ground.
Kiing!
A powerful energy spread from it and activated the karma freezing devices, which had been installed beforehand.
“Touchdown, you bastards!”
She shouted fiercely as she stood up.
{1} From what I can tell, ‘leaping through the dragon’s gate’ originated from Chinese mythology, and it refers to how one can become successful if he or she is persistent. Here, Lee Jinhee forgets that carps are the ones featured in this story.