Chapter 231

〈 Chapter 232 〉 Final Battle (7)

*

We must prevent destruction.

‘First, I need to resurrect Albert.’

Every bone in my body felt crushed, and my muscles felt like mush.

Even with the Demon King’s life force, I was barely hanging on.

But somehow, I managed to move my arm and pulled out a sword case from my inventory.

Reincarnator.

A relic that gradually restores the sword’s durability and can completely regenerate a fully broken sword once.

Originally obtained by Sara during a trial, it was a relic that she couldn’t use for anything other than regenerating a fully broken sword, so it was in my possession.

I shoved the remaining handle and blade part of Albert into the case.

Then, light burst forth, and gradually, the weight started to return.

‘Albert.’

There was no response.

That meant one thing.

‘Is the divine authority still lacking?’

It must be.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Each time my chest heaved, intense pain surged, but I couldn’t hold back.

“Haha…”

I had failed.

I succeeded in defeating the enemy, but…

In the end, I couldn’t save the world.

“…”

Perhaps I was truly arrogant.

Just like the High Priest said.

And maybe…

It was my unilateral decision.

‘Yeah, it was my unilateral decision.’

My choice not to offer myself to the High Priest was unilateral.

So…

‘Everything is my responsibility.’

This world is about to be destroyed.

And probably Earth too.

Ultimately, I hold the responsibility for this catastrophe.

So go ahead and blame me.

Just like in the future I had glimpsed through the trial.

If that brings you even a bit of comfort.

‘Damn it.’

I clenched my fists and struck the ground.

Boom.

At that moment.

‘What is this…?’

A message had appeared out of nowhere.

< You have reached a total of 9000 SP, and the fifth Stigma will be inherited. >

A total of 9000 SP.

That was a ridiculous number that not even the most capable heroes could typically achieve.

Yet here I was, reaching that number as Allen Pleuk.

Of course, it meant nothing now.

‘By the way…’

As for the fifth Stigma, it must be that one.

‘Please inherit the Snowflake Vision.’

After all, I had SP to spare.

So I inherited the Snowflake Vision.

Then I began to crawl towards the High Priest’s corpse.

‘Freira.’

Since he had absorbed Freira, I would be able to activate the Snowflake Vision if I touched his corpse.

Before the world ends, I want to see her one last time.

I want to hear her voice.

Even if I can’t feel her warm embrace, that would be enough…

‘That would be enough…’

It was freezing.

So cold and drowsy.

It seemed my body was nearing its limit.

‘Just a little more…’

If I can move just a bit closer, I can reach it.

But…

My vision darkened.

“Allen!”

“Mr. Allen!”

“Open your eyes!”

Suddenly, voices rang out.

Elsie, Sara, Luel, and Miss Weiss.

It seemed they had come looking for me.

But… I disappointed their hopes.

‘I am…’

A hot something fell on my cheek at that moment.

‘This is…’

It was definitely a tear.

Because of that, I opened my eyes.

“Allen!”

I saw Elsie’s face, completely drenched in tears.

Far away, my other companions were crying as well.

“Why…”

I intended to make a joke about their funeral-like atmosphere, but I stopped.

Now was not the time for jokes.

I had to apologize.

“I’m sorry.”

“Allen? Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I couldn’t prevent the destruction.”

But Elsie shook her head.

“No. I can see just by your condition that you did your best. So…”

“No, there was another way to stop the destruction. But I rejected that option unilaterally. It’s my fault.”

“Allen? What do you mean…”

I explained to them.

The process by which the world came to the brink of destruction.

And the unilateral decision I had made.

“So Elsie, everything is my…”

At that moment.

Elsie suddenly buried her face in my chest.

And began to sob uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“Elsie?”

I was merely bewildered.

In a situation where she should blame me, why was she apologizing?

“You made that tough decision alone. You carried all that weight by yourself…”

No, this was the path I chose.

“Elsie…”

But then someone placed their hand on my shoulder.

It was Luel.

“Stop it now.”

“Stop it?”

“You don’t have to carry it alone. That was not your unilateral decision.”

Sara beside her nodded in agreement.

Miss Weiss was also smiling warmly and nodding.

“No, there’s no need for that…”

“No, we will all bear it together. Miss Gwen and Lucy will bear it too.”

“You guys…”

They were sincere.

They really wanted to share the burden of responsibility for the destruction with me.

Even so…

‘Why…’

It was hard to comprehend.

Yet tears began to flow down my cheeks.

In the warmth of Elsie’s face buried in my chest, my hardened heart began to melt.

Because of that, I sobbed.

So much that it was hard to breathe.

I cried out, shedding tears.

Because I was that happy.

That the path I had walked was not alone.

That I still had comrades by my side until the very end.

Then, I heard it.

“Allen Pleuk.”

A voice came from nearby.

It was the High Priest’s voice.

‘Is she still alive?’

What had perished was only the Creator God’s divine authority.

The High Priest seemed to still be clinging to life.

“Everyone, just wait a moment.”

I stopped my comrades from rushing toward her and asked.

“Why are you calling?”

“Because that’s all I can do.”

It seemed her condition wasn’t great.

I stood up with determination, even though Luel tried to stop me; I needed to know something.

So I approached the High Priest.

She then asked me.

“How did the destruction go?”

“There’s no method to stop it. It will likely come to an end as it is.”

“Is that so…”

She didn’t seem to place much significance on the destruction.

I asked her.

“Why is that?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you concerned about the world’s destruction?”

“Destruction is just destruction. It bears no meaning.”

“Then why did you want to become a god?”

At that, the High Priest smiled.

It was a wistful kind of smile.

“I wanted to experience being a god.”

“So then, why did you want to be a god…”

“That’s all there is to it.”

“Just… because you wanted to be a god?”

“Exactly.”

I couldn’t fully understand it.

“You’ve killed so many for the mere desire to be a god? Without any meaning?”

“Just so… Well, the truth is, I wanted to find that meaning too.”

“Meaning?”

“Yes, meaning. There’s no meaning in this world.”

“What do you mean…”

“In any case, a world created by beings called gods. Everything moves just according to cause and effect. What meaning could exist in such a world?”

Now I was beginning to understand.

Her way of thinking.

Why she seemed so calm now.

“Everything in this world is meaningless. Life and death. That’s why I tried to become the only meaningful existence.”

“That meaningful existence is god?”

“Yes, the Creator God, who created everything in this world. If I became that, I thought I could acquire meaning. But…”

She spoke with a bittersweet tone.

“In that brief moment when I grasped the divine authority, I realized again that everything is meaningless. It exists merely to exist. This includes the gods.”

Having said that, she suddenly started to laugh.

It was a laugh that felt maniacal.

“Yes, there’s still one thing I have yet to do.”

“One thing you have yet to do?”

“Destruction. Perhaps there might be some meaning in obliteration, the opposite of existence.”

She’s lost it.

Completely lost it.

Perhaps even if she had become a god, the outcome would have been the same.

‘In the end, it was all destruction, wasn’t it?’

But…

“I won’t forgive you.”

“What are you saying now… Gah!”

I plunged Albert into her.

“For now, this is revenge for everyone you’ve killed.”

I twisted the sword in that state.

“And this is a punishment for mocking the path we have walked together.”

There’s no way the path we walked thus far could be meaningless.

Even though I had failed to prevent destruction, it was not the same as simply accepting it.

“Indeed, every human lives according to cause and effect. Once born, they will face death someday.”

Yet…

“I cannot accept disregarding even the will.”

She shouted at me.

“Will is also cause and effect! Think carefully. That will must have been influenced by something as well!”

Perhaps this was similar to the debate of which came first: the chicken or the egg.

But what I sought was not such a debate.

Both the chicken and the egg were precious in their own right.

“Don’t ignore the will. No matter how everything is built on cause and effect, the will shines beautifully in its own right.”

Will.

According to Libero, it was where the end of swordsmanship resided.

And the thing that had led me to this point.

“I wanted to prevent the world’s destruction.”

That was my will.

Even if the outcome was failure, I could not forgive an act that trampled upon that will.

“Even if I failed to prove it, the effort to prove it is what matters.”

If I had given up long ago…

No one would be here with me now.

I would have probably been facing destruction alone.

But now I was happy.

“Perhaps you don’t feel the same, but my life had meaning.”

“Ah…”

A sigh escaped the High Priest’s lips.

“Ah…”

In that moment, I saw her veil become wet.

She seemed to have realized something.

“What have I lived for…”

As she spoke, her breath faded.

Finally, she had met her end.

What she realized remains unknown.

I could only…

A voice began to echo from the Earth, connected through the Demon King.

[An unnamed divine seat comforts you.]

[An unnamed divine seat encourages you.]

Until just now, most voices were filled with resentment.

But for some reason, those voices changed to warm ones.

And…

[The divine seat acknowledges your journey.]

Sung Yoo-rang.

He played an important role in this operation.

So recognition shouldn’t belong solely to me.

‘I will acknowledge your journey too.’

That was the moment I acknowledged Sung Yoo-rang.

– Allen.

I heard Albert’s voice.

“Albert?”

As I turned to where the voice came from, I saw Albert lying on the ground.

From the Reincarnator sword case he was in, radiant light was flowing out.

‘Light?’

– You did it!

That could only mean one thing.

‘Can I stop the destruction?’

I rushed to Albert and pulled him out from the case.

What emerged was a sword emitting a brilliant array of colors.

“Albert, what do I do now?”

– It’s simple! All you need is your will!

“My will?”

– Yes, the will to prevent destruction. Just lift me up!

That was no trouble at all.

So without hesitation, I lifted Albert.

In that moment, a shiver ran down my spine.

The light emanating from Albert shot up to the sky, beginning to color everything.

‘This is…’

For some reason, through the shimmering aurora, the outside world came into view.

The dense chaos that had surged was being pushed back by Albert’s light.

The youth and the old sculptor in the Lev Kingdom’s pasture.

In the underground room in Sakh, the young people starting their new life thanks to Libero.

And Gwen, Lucy, and the innkeeper in Basilium.

At this moment, I…

‘I proved it.’

I completed the proof.

*