Chapter: 371
Hwaruk, and.
From the miasma, a small spark ignited.
The blossoming spark spread through the miasma as if painting the black canvas with red paint, eventually swallowing all the miasma and dyeing the sky red.
The flame blazed as large as the miasma that had covered the sky.
It was a sight that could feel terrifying, yet the citizens who were evacuating and the heroes who were protecting them felt nothing of the sort.
Because from that deep red flame, only warmth was felt, not heat.
“Scarlet, let….”
Yoon Si-woo stared blankly at the flames filling the sky and slowly reached out his hand toward it.
But the moment Yoon Si-woo stretched out his hand.
Swish, and.
The flames that were scattering warmth to the world began to disperse like a mirage.
“Ah….”
As if trying to grasp the dispersing sparks, Yoon Si-woo waved his outstretched hand in the空.
Even knowing he couldn’t catch it anymore, with a pitiful motion, he grasped firmly.
But when he opened his hand, nothing was left there.
Not the darkness that had draped over the sky.
Not the flames that burned the darkness.
And finally, not even the girl who saved the world.
It vanished from the world without leaving even a handful of ash.
“…Ah.”
Yoon Si-woo slumped down onto the ground.
He knew as well.
This was the ending the girl had hoped for.
Surely the girl would have been happy to have protected the world, them, until the very last moment.
But,
“Ah, aaah….”
But Yoon Si-woo could not bear the ending that the girl did not wish for.
“Ugh, hhuuh… gghhh….”
Slumped on the ground, Yoon Si-woo clutched at his chest.
It was gone.
Something that had taken up a large space here had vanished as if a hole had been punctured.
That sense of loss, that agony.
It was beyond expression.
To Yoon Si-woo, the girl was a precious existence.
Thus, he had anticipated that if she vanished, it would cause him great pain.
However, having lost her, he realized.
To him, she had become something more precious, something he could no longer live without.
“Ahh, hhuuh…! Hwaaaah…!!!”
Yoon Si-woo writhed in the feeling of losing what he could not afford to lose.
Clutching at his chest, he let out a cry as if his soul was screaming.
He cried out for a long moment in such agony, before, at some point, he fell limp.
“……”
His appearance, which seemed to have completely lost the reason to live, looked extremely precarious.
Even a newborn baby or an old man lying in bed all day seemed more vigorous than him.
What was there was not the hero, Yoon Si-woo, who had become the hope of many, but merely a frail boy mourning the loss of a precious person.
His miserable appearance made those around him hesitant to offer comfort, plunging Yoon Si-woo’s surroundings into silence for a while.
[…Si-woo.]
It was Lucy who broke the silence.
In the form of a sword, Lucy appeared before Yoon Si-woo, glancing at him momentarily before softly asking.
[…Si-woo, do you remember? The contract you made with me before.]
“……”
Yoon Si-woo did not respond, but as Lucy saw his eyes slowly turning towards her, she continued without waiting for an answer.
[You said you wanted to grow stronger. So I helped awaken the true abilities of the holy swords so that you could become strong, and as a result, you became stronger.]
As Lucy said, with her help, Yoon Si-woo had become stronger.
Strong enough not to lose to ordinary opponents.
[At that time, there was something I wanted from you in return for making you stronger.]
However, what Lucy had wanted from Yoon Si-woo was not just strength enough to not lose to ordinary opponents.
[I didn’t want to see you lose to anyone, so I wished for you to become stronger than anyone else. That was what I hoped for you.]
What Lucy demanded in return was to become stronger than anyone else.
Among humans, there would be no one comparable.
If there was someone, it would be a witch, but now that all other witches were dead, Yoon Si-woo was infinitely close to that.
[I did my best to help you become stronger. Then you too must do your best to become stronger than anyone else.]
No, to be exact, he was ‘once’ closer.
[So what is this pitiful sight?]
Lucy looked at Yoon Si-woo sitting on the ground.
The reason he had wanted to grow stronger, the motivation he had to become strong, had been lost, reducing him to such weakness.
Anyone could knock him down immediately; his spirit had been crushed.
[Right now, your state is something I cannot possibly overlook.]
She did not want to see him like this.
What she wanted to see was not this weak and miserable side.
Thus, Lucy made up her mind.
To use the final means she had kept in reserve.
As Lucy made up her mind, her will surged.
It transformed into a sword, shattering the power that bound her.
Then, swish, and the form of Lucy who had taken on the shape of a sword flickered for a moment.
And in the next moment,
What stood there was a woman with ebony-black hair.
Those around her unconsciously caught their breath at her intensity, which had been contained to the extreme, like a sharp sword.
The woman approached Yoon Si-woo, holding a pitch-black sword as if pulled from somewhere, and thrust it towards him, saying.
“Si-woo, take up the sword. I’ll personally teach you a lesson so you can collect your thoughts.”
Yoon Si-woo’s gaze turned toward the woman, whose sword was aimed right at him.
It was a familiar sight to him.
It was Lucy’s form he had seen many times in the world created by the holy sword of Guidance.
However, even though this was their first meeting in reality, the fact that she had a sword pointed at him did not surprise Yoon Si-woo.
He had no strength or reason to be startled by that situation anymore.
“Looks like you’re out of it.”
Of course, Lucy had anticipated that Yoon Si-woo would react like this.
“Well then, how about this? Si-woo, if you can defeat me this time—”
Thus, Lucy tossed a bait to Yoon Si-woo.
“—I’ll tell you how to revive that girl.”
A bait so enticing that Yoon Si-woo couldn’t possibly ignore.
“…What?”
At the moment he heard Lucy’s words, light returned to Yoon Si-woo’s eyes, which had been dead inside.
He glared at Lucy as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard, as if she had made a cruel joke.
“…What did you just say?”
Lucy met Yoon Si-woo’s sharp glare.
Seeing his revived gaze, Lucy smirked and responded.
“I said if you defeat me, I’ll tell you how to revive that girl. Did you perhaps not hear?”
“…If it was said as a joke, I won’t forgive you, even if you are Lucy.”
“When have I ever lied to you? You of all people should be able to tell whether I’m speaking the truth or lying. Or have you decided to stop believing in the flawed truths just because you were tricked by that witch?”
As Lucy said that, a pure white dagger popped into existence in front of Yoon Si-woo.
Yoon Si-woo repeatedly shouted [It’s a lie] as the holy sword of truth emerged, calming down the worry and putting it back away while quietly observing Lucy.
According to Lucy’s words, she did not lie.
There was no reason for her to do so.
If that is the case,
“…Is there really a way to revive Scarlet?”
This meant she truly knew how to bring Scarlet back.
Yoon Si-woo clenched his fists tightly and said to Lucy.
“If that’s the case, tell me. Right now.”
The hope of being able to retrieve Scarlet.
As that hope emerged, Yoon Si-woo regained his vitality as if it was a completely different person, causing Lucy to smile joyfully.
“I told you, if you defeat me, I’ll tell you how.”
“…Does that mean if I can’t win, you won’t tell me?”
“Of course. I wished for you to become stronger than anyone else. Above all else, with no exceptions.”
With all the witches but her dead, Yoon Si-woo was close to becoming the strongest being.
But he still hadn’t become the strongest.
Because there was still a witch in this place who could match him.
This was the final test as her disciple.
“Now, come and defeat me to claim your desire, and greatness.”
With those words, Yoon Si-woo charged at the final witch remaining in this world.
The Witch of Arrogance, Lucifer.
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