Chapter 541 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial ‘Fallen King’ (27)
– Harrison
It’s about year four since everything started.
Leaning back, I savored the late autumn atmosphere.
Is it because I won that I can enjoy this moment?
…
Unfortunately, it’s the opposite.
I lost.
To someone similar but far superior.
— rustle!
I heard footsteps in the distance.
The opponent was small, so the sound wasn’t loud.
I should at least greet them.
Even if they’re here to hunt me.
“Can you wait just a moment?”
“…”
“Even if you’re leaving, wouldn’t a cup of tea be okay? Want some?”
‘She’ tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled, before simply replying.
“I prefer cola.”
“Haha! So American! Of course, we have cola too.”
As I sipped my warm tea, I reflected on my defeat for the last time.
Why couldn’t I handle this American girl?
Was it because she started out from a stronger country?
With a larger population and more shards, it’s easier for them to grow stronger?
“Phew…”
No, that’s not it.
The method of using power is subtly different.
While I scattered my consciousness across hundreds of thousands of bodies to form a kind of collective consciousness, this girl…
“Stop staring at me.”
“My bad.”
She concentrated her consciousness into a single point to manifest a solid absolute ego.
In other words, I lost ‘myself’ while she maintained ‘herself.’
“I didn’t think I could use power like you.”
“It’s the result of worrying about the future, I guess?”
“Worrying about the future?”
“Prince. Haven’t you thought about this? When all the shards gather and the great one awakens, can we call him ‘us’?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“I want to leave ‘me’ intact even after the final moment. That’s all.”
It’s a strange concern.
At the same time, I partially understood.
“You look young, but you sure have deep thoughts.”
“I’m smarter than you!”
“How arrogant of you!”
“I haven’t seen anyone better than me yet!”
Her immense arrogance made me chuckle for a moment.
“I’ve finished my cola.”
“My tea still has quite a bit left!”
“What does it matter? I drank it all. I’m busy, let’s wrap this up.”
In that fleeting moment, fierce combativeness surged within me.
If I could somehow seize ‘Serena’s’ body!
“… Huh.”
“Oh? Were you trying to use your power at the last moment?”
“I am a royal of England. Even if I leave, I must have my dignity.”
With that, Serena smiled brightly and clasped her hands.
“Prince, that was quite impressive.”
As I watched her hand approach my forehead, I thought one last time.
I lost, but I hope someone teaches this arrogant girl some manners!
— Crack!
*
– Serena K. Wilde
About three months have passed since I retrieved the shard held by England’s Harrison.
At some point, it became vague.
During the nearly four to five years of savage bloodshed worldwide, it seems the end is finally in sight.
In retrospect, ‘we’ are like magnet pieces scattered across a sandy beach.
At first glance, with 348,000 shards, it seems impossible to unite them all, but they naturally come together as they attract each other.
“…”
Walking near Moscow, I sensed eyes watching me from every direction.
Those unaware might think there’s a large shard in Russia, but that’s not the case.
The shards in this area have long been swept up by the Chinese secretary-general.
Thus, the watchers are likely his minions.
“…”
I’ve managed to defeat and absorb countless opponents with ease, but I’m not so confident against Jin Mookgyeong.
Unlike me, who recognized the power of ‘Suh,’ he’s obtained the power of ‘Light.’
He’s reportedly become more like a phoenix than a mere human, drawing the loyalty of possibly hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens.
That level might make possession or body manipulation ineffective.
At the moment I felt suffocating pressure, someone approached.
Is it an assassination attempt?
How absurd.
Even ordinary humans are completely out of my league –
— Thud!
“… What?”
Before I even faced them, they sprawled flat on the ground.
“I am Mok Seong-jun. From the, uh, Central Secretariat of the People’s Republic of China –”
“Jin Mookgyeong’s subordinate?”
“… I have come to convey a message from him.”
“Speak.”
“Read it yourself.”
“What?”
What the heck?
“I figured you wouldn’t easily believe my words, so please take the information directly from my body.”
I was a bit flustered.
I’ve fought against numerous shards, but this was a first.
For a moment, a thousand thoughts raced through my mind.
“Fine.”
The quiet stillness of Moscow’s night fell over us.
I received the intentions of the other party through the ‘living letter’ sent by Jin Mookgyeong.
The contents of the letter were honestly quite surprising, ending with a message.
“‘Don’t move from Moscow. If you leave, it will be taken as a refusal to negotiate’…?”
*
Three days passed.
I pondered countless times before this day arrived.
My enemy told me to stay in Moscow, so what kind of fool would just sit idle and wait!?
“…”
But ultimately, I remained in Moscow.
Why? Because the secretary-general’s proposal was just too tempting and persuasive.
By evening, the flight carrying the secretary-general landed in Moscow.
I’ve heard he even has the ability to fly, but perhaps he didn’t want to waste effort on meaningless tasks.
I didn’t care about that.
What really puzzled me was why the secretary-general wanted to meet me directly.
“…”
As I saw the secretary-general approaching the airport waiting area, I felt an overwhelming sensation wash over me.
He could have brought an impressive escort if he wanted, but he came alone.
He surely understands that a mere human is of little significance in our fight.
As soon as he spotted me, he cut straight to the chase.
“You must be Miss Serena. Let’s declare a ceasefire.”
“A ceasefire?”
“Seems rather sudden—”
“The reasons have already been conveyed. You should understand.”
“…”
About four and a half years ago, since I received ‘the revelation’, I haven’t taken a break, fighting day in and day out.
The fate bestowed upon the shards scattered across the world was to ‘die or kill.’
Sometime along the way, a foreboding thought took root deep within me.
What if I were to absorb all the shards and become the final victor?
Would ‘I’ really be the one, or some unidentified demon born from that?
Recognizing that ominous fate, I employed various methods to keep my mind firm, but the fear lingered.
“There are few meaningful shards left in this world. What if they all gather? What would happen then?”
“…”
“The merger may very well be our death. So, let’s stop fighting here and go our own ways.”
He took quite some time to present his negotiation terms.
You stay in America, I’ll operate in Asia.
If something needs to be discussed regarding Europe or India, we’ll use those as meeting points.
— Thud!
As I set down my water cup, I spoke.
“I understand everything you’ve said. I see your ceasefire proposal as reasonable. I’m inclined to accept.”
“Really?”
“However, there’s just one thing I don’t understand.”
“Speak.”
“Why did you go out of your way to meet me here?”
“… Just in case.”
“What?”
Right at that moment.
“Excuse me.”
— Bang!
Jin Mookgyeong suddenly reached out and caught me, pulling me down flat to the ground!
I was momentarily stunned by his lightning-fast move –
— Rumble!
An inexplicable force instantly demolished the building!
As I looked in awe at the secretary-general, his gaze was already in battle mode.
“Serena. Get ready to fight. For a while, we’re on the same side now.”
In no time, numerous thoughts raced through my head.
Why did the secretary-general come all the way to Moscow to meet me?
To fight alongside me!
Since I wouldn’t fly to China at his beck and call, he came personally.
Why didn’t he fight within his absolute power in China?
Can he not trust his subordinates?
— Rumble!
Another invisible strike came at me.
Once again, he protected me with a lightning-fast move.
Of course, I wasn’t going to just sit back either.
“Haah!”
In an instant, my consciousness expanded in all directions.
The consciousness I scattered among the citizens of Moscow began to buzz with information, flooding my mind to the brink of overload.
“Ah?”
The moment I recognized the identity of the threat, I was greatly taken aback.
Not because I didn’t know – but because I knew it all too well.
Isn’t this someone who frequently appeared alongside Jin Mookgyeong in the media and TV?
“What? She’s your secretary! Since when did she have this kind of power?”
“She’s my secretary. But much more terrifying than that.”
“Terrifying? Wait, why is she attacking us –”
In the next instant, this opponent, who seemed to be at least a hundred meters away, suddenly leaped into the sky!
“… That girl! S-She’s wearing -!”
As the secretary-general furrowed his brow and extended his hand, a crimson beam of light flickered across the air.
But the opponent moved so cunningly that she was hard to hit.
As I focused my consciousness again for another strike.
“Don’t possess my body!”
“What?”
“If you enter Ahri’s body with the power of ‘Suh,’ you’ll be eaten by an incomprehensible force. So just interfere with her movements!”
“What the heck is your secretary’s identity?”
She’s flying and wielding unseen blades.
Her speed is so fast that it’s hard for human eyes even to catch her, let alone the threat of being engulfed if I possess her.
Is this what humans are like?
Are they monsters even greater than us!
Jin Mookgyeong mumbled in despair.
“Really. What on earth is that girl?”
In the blink of an eye, the Moscow Domodedovo International Airport laid in ruins.
In one corner, a girl with an unreal beauty, as if she popped straight out of a comic book, landed.
“…”
Her beauty led people to speculate wildly that she was the secretary-general’s lover.
I had thought so too, but it took me until today to realize.
She’s not even a mere lover; no foe has ever been as disastrous as her!
Her first words were simple.
“I’m disappointed. Jin Mookgyeong.”
“…”
“A ceasefire? How truly disappointing.”
“What’s so disappointing about that?”
“What I bet on was that your character was just dictatorial enough.”
“…”
“I thought you’d try to gather every shard like a tyrant until the very end, but now you suddenly want to stop? Did you hear something strange from Seo Il-do and gain some insight?”
“… So you were never on my side.”
“That’s a misunderstanding. I’m still working for you.”
“Ha!”
Jin Mookgyeong’s eyes gleamed ominously.
“You cunning one! I knew you had some tricks up your sleeve. But do you really think you can beat us alone?”
“We? Is Miss Serena also planning to fight alongside me?”
“…”
She didn’t respond.
But considering the unfolding situation, it seems I must deal with that girl first.
“Hah! I’m disappointed in Kain. I thought you would all handle it quietly, but now you all want to stop fighting?”
‘Kain’?
The girl, externally known as Jin Mookgyeong’s secretary, suddenly pulled out a smartphone from Ahri’s pocket.
“Everyone has a phone, right?”
“What the—”
“Pull them out. You both probably didn’t check because you wanted to maintain security, but there’s some interesting news.”
As Jin Mookgyeong frowned, I calmly pulled out my phone.
“Serena! That girl is up to something -”
“I’ll just check some interesting news for now.”
“You make it easy to talk to.”
Since I clicked on the international news section, a shocking headline appeared immediately.
“… I seriously have to see this.”
“‘Jin Mookgyeong of the People’s Republic of China resigns!’”
“‘Who is state successor, Li Huofeng?’”
“‘A new era? Or the start of another turmoil?’”
The secretary-general – or rather, ‘former secretary-general’, seemed flustered as he skimmed through the article.
“What does this mean?”
“Mookgyeong, didn’t I tell you before? Accept the new faith that regards you as a nonbeliever. But you were content with your ‘secretary’ role until the end. Titles can easily be taken from you, you know.”
“…”
“You can no longer gain additional strength since the loyalty of the people isn’t directed towards you.”
“Ha! You played a clever trick on me. But even with the strength I have left, I could easily kill you, and reclaim my title back in the mainland!”
“That’s true. If you were to return, then yes.”
And then—
— Clack!
Footsteps echoed from behind us.
Just as we weren’t alone, neither was Ahri.
“…”
Strange.
The ‘newly appeared her’ looked exactly like Ahri.
*
– Third
Faint lighting.
An old and dark hospital room.
The environment is truly grim.
Weakly people won’t last long and will perish.
Fortunately, the person I found was at a healthy age, so there were no major issues.
“It took a while to find you.”
“…”
“I didn’t expect to find you here. If I had known beforehand, I could have brought you somewhere nicer.”
At that moment, the TV beside me started broadcasting news about the Chinese secretary-general abruptly resigning.
“What a surprise… My colleagues are quite diligent.”
“…”
“I told you to just stay still and not do anything, but you didn’t listen. Anyway, it’s fine this way.”
After some time, I changed his filthy clothes and cleaned the room.
Yet, there was no gratitude or any sign of intelligence in the man’s dull eyes.
Perhaps that’s because his vessel was empty.
“…”
The most foolish and senseless person in the world.
And…
The vessel of the great one.
“So, how do we go about this? Should I swallow up all the shards and then kill myself in front of you at the end?”
“…”
“And if you don’t want that?”
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