Chapter: 212
Step by step, I made my way into the rain without stopping.
It was tough just to hold onto the frayed thread of my sanity, especially with all kinds of noises swirling around and dizzying my mind.
The endless sound of rain pouring down.
The sound of flames burning fiercely despite the rain.
And the voice that constantly urged me to burn everything down with those flames.
Voice, voice, voice.
Even when I covered my ears, that persistent sound wouldn’t stop.
It continued to gnaw at my sanity.
“───!!!”
Then, suddenly, a different sound mixed in among the rest.
It was too small and distant compared to the others.
But as if drawn by something, I began to move toward the source of that sound.
As I got closer, the faint sounds became clearer.
“──Aaaah!!”
“──Damn it, we’ve lost another one! Fill the gaps!!”
It was the sound of a life fading away.
The voices of those who were stuck in a hopeless fight brushed past my ears, conveying their emotions through mere echoes.
Fear and anxiety and doubt.
“Don’t panic! Hold on until the captains arrive!!”
“Son of a bitch! You think I’ll let you through?!”
Yet still, there was an unwavering will to not back down.
The cries of those who were burning their last flames, even as they were fading, filled me with renewed strength.
I remembered. Why I was moving forward.
Reaffirming my purpose in my heart and using the voices as a guide, I pressed on until I saw the fierce battleground through the pouring rain.
Countless heroes surrounding the giant demonic beast.
“Burn it─!!!”
As soon as I spotted them, the voice roared in madness, flames erupting from my body.
One of the heroes, who had been attacking the beast without pause, spotted me and shouted loudly.
“Ugh, it’s a student?! This is dangerous, get away quickly─”
The one who was trying to warn me suddenly stopped, face turning stiff in shock.
On his face were expressions of confusion and horror.
Who wouldn’t react that way?
What kind of student radiates such a menacing aura?
Grinning through the crimson energy pouring from my body, I gazed at the frozen hero.
Of course, I’d be doubted in this situation.
But there was no helping it.
After all, I couldn’t control this properly right now.
And besides,
If I burn it all, it won’t matter.
Flames erupted from me.
The flames that burst forth blasted into the tentacles heading toward the petrified hero, igniting with a whoosh.
I barely twisted the direction of the flames and inwardly scolded myself.
What do you mean “burn it all”? Don’t spout nonsense.
But the flames surged once again, as if trying to escape my control.
Instinctively, I understood.
Stopping the flames was impossible.
Then all I could do was determine the direction of this rage.
I turned my gaze.
The giant demonic beast came into view.
I mumbled to myself as I looked at the beast.
“Hey, look. The one who just put a hole in your belly is right there.”
How does that feel, huh? Aren’t you angry? Don’t you want to burn it down?
As if in response to my mumbling, flames surged from my body.
That reaction made me realize.
It didn’t matter what the target was for this creature.
It intended to burn everything down regardless of the order.
Yet, I had no intention of letting it harm the people.
Focusing to not unleash flames on the man blankly staring at me, I moved past him towards the beast.
As I observed the demonic beast, using its massive body and writhing tentacles to clash with the heroes, I was abruptly reminded of its strength.
Despite being surrounded by many heroes, the beast held the advantage.
No matter how much it was battered, tentacles severed, and wounds inflicted upon it, it would quickly regenerate after just a bit of time.
The beast appeared to be in fine shape, likely continuing this exhausting battle for quite a while.
Surely there’s a limit to regeneration, but it looked even livelier than before, prompting my suspicion of why that was.
Suddenly, a hero caught in a tentacle was skewered by another tentacle and coughed up blood.
The hero’s body, pierced by the tentacle, mixed with the rain, flowing into the murky waters towards the beast.
And, as if drinking through a straw, tentacles sprouting from the beast greedily absorbed it.
Just as its namesake, the gluttonous beast feasted voraciously.
It was likely recovering energy through that.
Gurgling, the beast rumbled in satisfaction as it gulped down the rainwater mixed with the essence of what was once a hero.
Conversely, the heroes fiercely struggling against the beast were in stark contrast to this sight.
For the beast, this wasn’t a battle but a meal.
Hah.
A chuckle escaped my lips.
And at that same moment.
Hwaruk─!
[■■■■■■■■?!!]
The flames bursting from my body detonated the tentacle that was drunkenly sucking up the rainwater.
[■■■■■■■!!]
The burned tentacle quickly regenerated, but the beast, now glaring at me, let out an agitated roar.
It must have felt like having its spoon snatched away mid-meal, making it incredibly displeased.
But right now, I was feeling infinitely worse than that, you son of a bitch.
My rage flared as flames blazed even fiercer.
The flames devoured several of the tentacles sprouting from the beast’s body.
As its attention focused on me, I could feel the surrounding heroes growing restless.
This time, nobody spoke of getting out of danger.
Those seeing me, with dark energy flowing off of me as I unleashed my fury, could tell I was no ordinary person.
Before the heroes could even judge my otherness, the enraged beast showered me with countless tentacles.
Waving, striking down, shooting.
Given its size, none of its attacks could be disregarded.
But that wasn’t all.
“This, bastard…!”
No matter how much I burned away the tentacles,
For every tentacle I burned, the beast merely regenerated one.
It felt brief, but the confrontation revealed something to me.
Indeed, I did not measure up to the beast.
“Ugh…!”
Though I burnt through all the capsules the uncle had given me, a massive gap in power stood between me and this creature.
Even if I dodged and burned the tentacles, when I managed to hit the beast’s body,
In the end, I could inflict no fatal damage.
This beast had not been toppled even when numerous heroes combined their efforts.
No matter how much power I pulled up, my flames weren’t stronger than the heroes’ combined attack.
I knew that well enough.
That much was certain.
[■■■■■■■!!]
As the exchange between flame and tentacle ensued, the beast finally moved its massive body.
The agility of such a large creature was hard to believe as it leaped into the air.
In an instant, as shadows enveloped me, its gigantic paw descended from above.
“Aaaah…!!”
There was no way to dodge that attack.
Even if I moved ten paces, it would only cover one, so I couldn’t evade the assault from something clearly intent on crushing me.
With a thud, the massive weight pressed down on me, and I screamed in pain as I felt my bones shatter.
Like squashing a bug, the beast merely pressed down and soon lifted its foot.
In that brief moment, my body was already a wreck.
For some reason, the flames that had been burning fiercely in me began to die down.
“Cough…”
Before I could even regenerate enough to move, the beast wrapped its tentacles around me and lifted me high.
As I was dragged without resistance, I felt it sniffing me.
Though it was unpleasant, I didn’t resist.
Even as it opened its maw, preparing to swallow me whole,
I still didn’t resist.
As its jaws closed, a gaping abyss unfolded before my eyes.
In that moment,
“Huh…”
I couldn’t help but smirk.
As planned, I thought.
From the very beginning, I hadn’t intended to face it one-on-one and win.
But having experienced it, I knew.
There was a way to take down a stronger enemy even in a much weaker state.
If one arm wasn’t enough, use the whole body.
The real problem was how to get it to swallow me.
So natural for it to want to swallow me, I couldn’t help but smile.
Did it want to eat me that badly?
After all, creatures like it viewed humans as mere prey.
And with the miasma leaking from my body, I probably smelled like the finest delicacy.
As the sound of the beast swallowing me echoed,
I felt my body melting at an alarming rate, as if it were trying to digest me.
A greater intensity than when I was pierced by the tentacle.
Even resisting, I wouldn’t last long, so I ignited my entire body with flames before I fully melted away.
Was the risk I took with doping worth it?
The flames ignited my body hotter than ever before.
The body that usually endured had now burst into flames, and agonizing pain threatened to shatter my sanity.
Yet I gritted my teeth and endured.
I had no intention of stopping.
This was never about whether you die or I die; I came here to die together with the beast from the start.
As I recalled the promise I made to Yoon Si-woo,
I remembered what I felt when I asked him to kill me.
I wanted to protect the people.
I thought living as Scarlet Evande—protecting people until the very end—was my happiness, so I said that.
And now that I had finally fulfilled that promise, I could say I was happy.
The promise Yoon Si-woo made, wishing for my happiness, was also fulfilled.
Thus, this was surely the best way.
A method to wipe out all uncertainties regarding becoming a witch—potentially alongside the beast.
Also, the best way so that Yoon Si-woo wouldn’t have to kill me.
After all, asking a friend to kill you is quite a tall order.
I still owed him a lot, so I didn’t want to put him through that if I could help it, but it seemed I could finally lighten that burden a little.
Ah, my consciousness is fading.
Yet, I still couldn’t uphold the promise of not overdoing it.
That guy must be angry.
As that thought crossed my mind,
In the dazzling flames,
I hoped this world, now filled with so many precious people, would meet a happy ending
And quietly closed my eyes.
*
A sound echoed.
The sound of the flaming beast screaming as it collapsed.
The sound of a prosthetic arm inscribed with a girl’s name shattering into pieces.
And then,
As the seven scattered heart fragments finally melded together, a rhythmic beat began,
Thud,
Resounding throughout the world.
“……”
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