NOVEL NEXT Episode 12: Final Episode / Chapter 202: That Day (5)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
Sponsors: P.S., E.C., and Teisen
The two team leaders and Alexei were only the start. Not long after, Baek Seoin, leading the main force of the Berserkers, forcefully pushed his way through the guards’ defensive line. After that, everyone fought mixed together, disregarding battle lines.
Choi Hyuk slashed the guards blocking his path again and again as he chased and killed the Exalted Wings. Stepping on their corpses, he would look for his next target.
Due to the warriors pushing the Berserkers from the outside, the battlefield slowly became more confined and cramped. Corpses were pushed and piled together, and weapon fragments fell down and embedded themselves in them. Warriors pushed and pulled on top of the hill of weapons and corpses as they targeted their enemies. Covered in fragments, blood, and fluids, they now looked like strange lumps fighting each other.
“Haak! Haaak!”
Rough pants shook his ears. He could no longer tell if those breaths were his or others, or if the world itself was growling at them.
The world of red, blue, yellow, lumpy, hard corpses and fluids was wet, sticky, and prickly.
Though almost all the karma in his body was frozen, the reason why he, an earthling, could survive in this unfamiliar and distant universe was because the karma that made up his body had already changed it. His bones and muscles remained the same even under different environments, and sufficient energy was supplied to his veins.
However, it seemed he had reached his limits now. It hurt.
No matter how big his breaths were, what entered his lungs wasn’t oxygen, and his joints creaked under Alliance City’s gravity as it became more and more unbearable. His body had reached its limit like the collapsed Leviathan, whose body was too much to handle without karma.
Still, Choi Hyuk moved to kill.
“Haa… Haa…. Got you.”
Choi Hyuk revealed his teeth and raised his sword. Covered in various fluids, all that stood out were his shiny teeth.
“St… Stop. Just why? Why?!”
His body was short but rough-looking. His height and width were the same length. Unsuited for his muscular build, his arms trembled as he raised his hammer. He was the only one amongst the 14 Exalted Wings who didn’t have his own species. The only Exalted Wings who didn’t belong to the top four species were Leviathan and the ‘Blacksmith’ in front of him.
He was the sole survivor of his species, and he introduced himself as the ‘Blacksmith’, saying he had no name after losing his species. As the top blacksmith in the alliance, he was accepted as an Exalted Wing as a symbol encompassing minor forces under the banner ‘One Alliance’ and for being a political pushover with no force of his own.
He was the ‘Blacksmith’, who silently raised his hammer for the alliance while bearing the pain of his past.
Even during final moment, what he raised was not a weapon but a forging hammer. Regret, fear, and dejection filled his heart.
“Th-there’s no need to kill this blacksmith as well, is there?!”
He pleaded to Choi Hyuk, whose eyes and teeth were all that stood out.
Choi Hyuk mocked,
“Why are you asking me that? This is a game you guys started. After making species that were living fine on their own kill each other… Why? As the Blacksmith, do you not know? You didn’t participate in that decision?”
“That… That’s because there was a reason! The earthlings weren’t the only ones! Isn’t the entire universe in a war right now?!”
“Then I probably have a reason too.”
The ‘Blacksmith’ swung his hammer and Choi Hyuk swung his sword.
Thump!
Exhausted, Choi Hyuk couldn’t avoid the hammer. He simply curled his left arm and pressed it against his ear, receiving the strike fully on his arm. The impact shook his head and his bones ached in pain.
Pscht!
Still, the sword in his right hand precisely burrowed into the Blacksmith’s bulging chest. Feeling the sensation of ripping flesh, breaking bones, and drawing blood, Choi Hyuk grabbed his sword at an angle and pulled it out. Blood gushed into the air with a ripping sound.
The Blacksmith slumped down with powerless eyes.
Choi Hyuk looked down at his corpse and mumbled,
“Now… Is Hell the only one left?”
Everyone was dead.
Choi Hyuk had personally killed Flame-Wind. A loyal subject of the old king, he was always in favor of Flame-Rain, which was why he had also treated Choi Hyuk favorably. Yet, in reality, he didn’t have any influence, having been kept in check by Flame-Hell. Unable to believe Choi Hyuk’s betrayal, Flame-Wind died, cursing him before worrying about Flame-Rain and then mumbling her father, Flame-Sky’s name.
The sword expert, Dark-Resentment, and the close-combat expert, Dark-Tooth, were killed under the combined attacks of Alexei, the two team leaders, Lee Jinhee, and Baek Seoin. Alexei died during the fight. The boy who joined the Berserkers at fifteen because he admired Lee Jinhee. Nicknamed Lyosha, he was closer to being Lee Jinhee’s personal soldier than a Berserker. He saved Lee Jinhee, who was in danger due to exhaustion, by receiving Dark-Tooth’s fist at the last moment. Put romantically, love was what killed the boy. Besides that, his death wasn’t special. This battle was far too intense for a middle-ranked team leader to handle. This wasn’t limited only to Alexei as most Berserker team leaders fell in battle.
Choi Hyuk heard Lee Jinhee’s cry.
Only Flame-Hell overcame this crisis, sometimes hiding and sometimes assassinating skilled Berserkers to survive. However, the battlefield was slowly closing in. He wouldn’t be able to find a place to hide or escape on top of the hill of corpses and weapons.
Just as he thought this, Flame-Hell showed himself on his own. He crawled his way up the mountain of corpses and weapons and stood at the top where everyone could see him.
‘He made it easier for me.’
Choi Hyuk dragged his heavy feet and walked towards Flame-Hell.
Their gazes met. Flame-Hell was above and Choi Hyuk was below.
Looking up, Choi Hyuk saw the Tower of Warriors, still maintaining its structure, as broken karma weapons fell.
Flame-Hell revealed his teeth as he smiled. His smooth face, which was difficult to differentiate between that of a middle-aged man or a youth, was contorted like an old man’s due to the bloody battle and malice.
“Choi Hyuk! And all you insects! The moment of your judgment has come!”
Madness shined in his eyes.
Whoong!
The shattered and dull karma weapons of the dangerously standing Tower of Warriors slowly realigned. They possessed a faint golden light. Following this, the scattered karma weapons on the ground and in corpses began to rise.
Murmurs erupted on the battlefield.
“But karma was frozen?”
“Wasn’t karma frozen?”
“What about the frozen karma?”
Various questions left warriors’ mouths.
Flame-Hell’s body trembled as if he found this thrilling.
“If you are a truly great warrior and if you are a warrior who knows your own fate and soul, you will be able to squeeze out a little strength from your karma weapon in a world devoid of karma! Also, I am the chairman of the Exalted Wings! The entire Tower of Warriors is no different from my karma weapon! Now I will retake control!”
Accompanied by his ringing declaration, a portion of the fallen karma weapons flew back up and joined the Tower of Warriors.
While its strength was incomparably weak compared to normal, a strength unimaginable in this situation where karma was frozen swept through the Tower of Warriors.
“Now, it’s too late. Choi Hyuk and you trivial insurgents. As a filthy bunch of ash, turn to ash like you belong!”
Thinking about how he shouldn’t accept groups without roots and would have to investigate their qualifications more strictly when rebuilding the alliance, Flame-Hell spread his arms.
Exhausted and seemingly in despair, Choi Hyuk replied while standing rigidly in the middle of the mountain of corpses.
“Ah, really?”
Grkk.
His body twisted with a terrifying sound. Squeezing out all his strength, he poured it into ‘Choi Hyuk’s Denial’ and pointed it at the sky. Around the blade, a black snake of emptiness opened its maw, seemingly ready to devour everything.
“Wh-what? Your karma?”
“The words you said just now, did you forget them?”
Just as Flame-Hell recalled his words about great warriors, souls, and so on…
Puhwaaak!
Choi Hyuk swung his sword and the Tower of Warriors, which had just began operating, scattered like sparks. He ‘denied’ its magnificent power and the spent-up weapon fragments fell down to the ground.
Flame-Hell hastily dodged the falling fragments before rolling down the mountain of corpses. Coincidentally, what he saw when he stopped rolling were Choi Hyuk’s feet.
Choi Hyuk turned around and said to the Berserkers near him,
“See? The special training was worth it. I told you we could never know what the Exalted Wings would do.”
Flame-Hell trembled in shock.
“You, you crazy… Just what did you do? Even if you used the strength of your karma weapon, how could you…!”
Then, as if he realized something, his eyes widened. He realized something facing death.
“Crazy… It became your fate… Does your soul possess ‘denial’? Do you know what kind of power that is? You’re going to die! Soon, even your soul will be denied!”
Choi Hyuk lowered his sword, aiming it towards Flame-Hell, without much emotion.
“Aah, I already threw away such foolish thoughts long ago. I only have a few days left.”
“Keuk!”
At the frightening killing intent, Flame-Hell unconsciously retreated back. He had never imagined that he would die.
The Flame Wing Tribe was the strongest tribe in the universe, and he, born of the highest nobility, had never been in a situation where his life was at risk. He had also fought countless battles, but they were all battles that he would inevitably win. To him, fighting battles he could win was a source of pride, and it was proof of his shining strategic decision-making ability.
When Flame-Sky died while possessing immense power, he had inwardly clicked his tongue.
Yet, for the first time in his life, he was in front of the god of death’s blade. A death god who had climbed up from the depths of hell.
“Just why?”
He asked in despair.
“Choi. Mi. Yeon. You don’t know who that is, right? My mother. Who passed away during the recruit training. That day, I vowed to kill and kill until the day I killed all of you.”
“Revenge? You did all this just for revenge…?”
It seemed his pride was hurt as this was all because of revenge. His eyes were filled with enmity and madness.
“That was appropriate for Earth! Inhabitants who hadn’t awoken karma, who pushed all the killing to the minority as the majority lived in their false sense of peace! An underhandedness that persecuted the weak when you were so powerless you couldn’t hunt a beast! A selfishness that thought first of personal benefit even in situations where you needed to work together! And a cowardice, so much so that it was rare to find anyone willing to sacrifice themselves! You know it as well! Weren’t you an executive of the alliance? What can we do with a species like that? You were destined to be annihilated by the monsters if it wasn’t for the alliance! The alliance didn’t always use methods like that. To species of value, we assigned them non-combative missions too! It was the case for the Speckled Light Tribe and the Seo Tribe in your galaxy! But the earthlings? There was even a method where you could have escaped the ‘Ring of Rebirth’ without killing anyone! Yet, you guys killed each other on your own!”
Flame-Hell swore as he recalled the report he received several years ago. Choi Hyuk’s gaze was cold.
“And who are you to judge the earthlings, to judge me? You were mistaken. And it’s time to pay the price.”
‘Choi Hyuk’s Denial’ was aimed at Flame-Hell’s neck.
“Wait! Wait! Flame-Rain! Flame-Rain’s on her way! If that happens, do you think you’ll live? Hostage. Take me as a hostage!”
Flame-Hell made a last-ditch effort.
Choi Hyuk was cold.
“Do you think you have value as a hostage to Flame-Rain? Also…”
He glanced at the sky. With karma frozen, Alliance City’s sky simply reflected the dark, murky universe. There were only a few stars. It was peaceful.
“Flame-Rain won’t come.”
With this chilling remark, ‘Choi Hyuk’s Denial’ harvested Flame-Hell’s neck.
The 13th head fell and rolled on the ground. Flame-Hell’s eyes remained glaring fiercely.
Choi Hyuk and the Berserkers stood motionlessly as though they were offering a silent prayer to the avengers of Earth who fell along the way. Shadows were cast beneath their feet from the faintly shining Light of Eternity.
It was strange and quiet.
As if they had a premonition, those who were intensely fighting outside the tower slowed before coming to a halt. One after another, they glanced at the tower which was turning into a pile of weapon fragments before fixing their gazes on it.
‘The fight has ended.’
They sensed this.
Choi Hyuk climbed up the mountain of corpses and weapons with exhausted steps before looking down and shouting,
“As of this moment, the 13 Exalted Wings excluding Flame-Rain are all dead.”
The shock on everyone present was almost visible. A few actually lost their balance and faltered.
What was going to happen now? What about the war against the monsters? Did Flame-Rain not know of this situation?
With no one to answer, these questions burst out from here and there like cracks on a thawing ice rink.
Choi Hyuk gave them the answer they wanted,
“And I, in second place in the alliance ranking, will now go kill the monster queen.”
Choi Hyuk was ranked first amongst the warriors, fifteenth overall, and currently, with only Flame-Rain left, he was ranked second. But… what did he say?
“The alliance is facing a crisis. If we drag things on, the alliance will be annihilated by the monsters. The only method is launching a sudden attack on the monster queen right now and killing her. If we kill her, the monsters are just beasts, nothing to worry about.”
“And who was the one who created this crisis?!”
“Who was the one who killed all the Exalted Wings?!”
The raging crowd shouted.
“So? It’s already done. I’m the only transcendent warrior left.”
Silence abruptly hung in the air.
Well, if Choi Hyuk deactivated the karma freezing devices right now, all the warriors gathered here wouldn’t be a match for him.
“I am going to kill the monster queen now. I’ll probably die there. It won’t be so bad for you. But, after that? If you aren’t confident in dealing with the war against monsters, then follow me. Support me in the final battle.”
While brazen, he was the only hope for the despairing warriors.
Choi Hyuk looked up at the sky and thought for a moment before saying,
“Yeah, for your life and freedom.”
There was a great commotion. Though enraged, this was the undoubted acceptance of the warriors of different affiliations and species.
Someone raised their voice and asked,
“What about Exalted Wing Flame-Rain? Does she know about this?”
Choi Hyuk smiled as he said,
“Flame-Rain is currently busy. She’s going to open up a path for us.”
‘Open up a path.’ As he said this, Zero, who was dispatched to the monsters’ universe, was dying. Holding his deteriorating body, Guardian Bae Jinman wailed,
“Why? Why? Why did you?!”
Bae Jinman had lived on while being thoroughly exhausted life. Although he was prepared to die during the final battle, he was dispatched to the monsters’ universe instead of the Tower of Warriors. Still, he stood as the vanguard, prepared to die, though he had never done it before. Yet, Zero saved him and was dying in his place.
While dying, Zero forced himself to take deep breaths and said in a calm voice,
“Isn’t this the final battle? When the war ends, blade-carriers like me will be useless, but healers like you should continue to live and help rebuild the world. That’s… (Haa) Overseer Richard’s desire. He dreamed for the survival and prosperity of earthlings.”
Dispatched to Flame-Rain’s stronghold, their duty was to invade deep into the enemy territory and flock monsters to the stronghold.
The stronghold appeared and disappeared constantly throughout the monsters’ universe and dealt blows to the monsters. When its precise location was known, the monster queen dispatched a large army. Even after Handke and Leah had successfully baited the monsters and returned, Zero and Bae Jinman remained as vanguard in order to bait even more monsters, notifying the monsters of the fleeing stronghold’s location in real-time.
As a result, Flame-Rain, who was about to advance to Alliance City, was caught up in this, the monsters near the monster queen were sent to the border, and Zero, who was Richard’s right-hand man, died.
Although Choi Hyuk didn’t know about Zero’s death, no, though he predicted it when they were dispatched, he calmly ended his speech,
“Then I’ll consider this as all of you participating in the final battle.”
There was no other choice.
These warriors who were caked in blood from trying to kill each other not long ago raised their swords as allies.
The alliance’s final assembly of the strongest elites. That was what people later called them.