Chapter 519: Rising Light (2)

Regressor Instruction Manual

The explosion sounded particularly loud in my ear, and the ground started to split. The debris from the ruins of the city was flying all over the place while I was bouncing around in different directions.

I couldn’t breathe properly because of the pressure. To be exact, I didn’t have the luxury to catch my breath because I couldn’t afford to take my eyes off of the opponent in front of me.

The moment I looked over at him, I saw a deadly attack filled with mana flying toward me from every direction.

Crack! Craaaaaack!

I was getting tired of these noises because it had been a while since the city was destroyed. If I were to exaggerate, the current Lindel looked worse than the Lindel in my past life. The damage was so great that it would be difficult for people to believe that only two people did all this.

The Red Mercenary’s Guild House and the city plaza that the adventurers frequented had been destroyed along with everything else. Actually, I couldn’t even differentiate which brick belonged to what building anymore.

The wall that the people were protecting with their mana was the only thing that was standing because they had nothing else to protect. They were watching the battle from the top of the wall, and they knew that this battle would decide the fate of everything.

Therefore, it felt like the chaos settled them and became somewhat organized.

However, the cheering people had become quiet.

‘How long has it been?’

I honestly wasn’t keeping track—no, it was more like I couldn’t keep track because I was busy. Doom Ki-Young officially entered his final phase, and I couldn’t say for sure, but I was confident that the same was true for Kim Hyun-Sung.

He decided to incapacitate me, but he seemed to have gone too far and ended up going berserk because a vast amount of mana was pouring out of him. To be honest, he looked kind of pitiful on the outside, but it was all because he was that desperate.

Of course, he was still desperate, and I wasn’t in the best condition either, but my condition wasn’t as bad as his condition.

‘Seriously, this guy…’

Kim Hyun-Sung’s condition was extremely bad. I was going to end this at the right time, but the right time hadn’t arrived just yet, so we were currently exchanging moves in the calm before the storm. One thing I was relieved about was that he still firmly believed in me. At this point, it would be understandable if he gave up, but his gaze remained firm.

‘Geez, I feel really bad.’

At this point, I was sure that even a psychopath would feel his determination. Kim Hyun-Sung kept mumbling that he was going to save me, and he stood up again and again without losing even a tinge of his determination.

He charged at me once more. He was still fast, but his movements weren’t that sharp anymore. He swung his sword at me, and Belial’s mana reacted by slapping his sword away.

Kim Hyun-Sung was forced backward, and he tried his best to suppress the blood that wanted to come out of his mouth. Honestly, I was exhausted as well. Belial was the one fighting for me, but I was so exhausted that I couldn’t help but think if I had ever been this exhausted before.

I wasn’t as great as Kim Hyun-Sung, but I wasn’t as tired as him. However, it didn’t mean that I wasn’t tired at all. Anyone’s legs would hurt if they were forced to walk for five hours straight, and considering that I had been fighting with all my might all this while…

…I really felt like collapsing to the ground and sleeping right there and then.

Booooooooom!

Kim Hyun-Sung charged, and I blocked him once more. I wasn’t sure how many hours it had been since this boring pattern started, but we both had a clear goal, so the fight wouldn’t be that complicated.

Our movements were slowing down, so I was sure that the people observing us felt even more desperate. There was a shrill noise as Belial’s mana deflected Kim Hyun-Sung’s sword once more, but the impact sent me flying away.

I didn’t stand up right away because Kim Hyun-Sung flew away as well.

‘I don’t want to get up.’

It had been quite a while since I got a brief break. I glanced at the wall and saw people watching us from above the wall. Even the members of the Blue Guild couldn’t do anything right now while the named adventurers were currently recovering.

However, those whose jobs were related to swordsmanship couldn’t take their eyes off of Kim Hyun-Sung. It wasn’t really strange because even a swordsmanship layman like me found his swordsmanship amazing, so those people were bound to be more emotional than me upon seeing Kim Hyun-Sung’s swordsmanship.

Quite a few people were praying while others were talking to themselves. However, they all had one thing in common—their eyes were fixated on the battle. The fight was so gruesome that I couldn’t quite describe it.

It had to be tiring watching a fight for hours on end, but I was sure that they were feeling something.

Someone distracted me…

‘Where’s Ha-Yan?’

I found Jung Ha-Yan, and it seemed that she really didn’t participate in the battle. I knew that she still hadn’t recovered, so I was kind of worried about her. Her condition was bad, but she was so quiet that I felt like there was something wrong.

‘Yeah, it’s best if she doesn’t do anything here.’

If possible, I would like to be able to keep moving until the end so that I could teach her a lesson and wrap all these beautifully and properly.

Regardless, the ongoing situation was more important to me than anything else at the moment. I got up slowly, and Kim Hyun-Sung was doing the same.

I saw him continuously staring at me while catching his breath.

“Pant, pant…”

He raised his sword once again, and his relaxed expression turned grim. I kept on placing my hand on my mask. Keeping all this up had been extremely exhausting, so I started talking to him so I could rest even for a moment.

“I didn’t think you’d fight this hard… Impressive.”

“Pant, pant….”

“You’re the strongest human I’ve ever seen. I could have never imagined that you’re capable of dragging this boring battle out. Cough! Cough!” I continued.

“...”

“However, you’ve already reached your limit. I’m sure of it. I think you can’t even stand anymore.” I pointed out.

“...”

‘Please say something, Hyun-Sung. Let’s take a breather.’

“Because I’m not fighting here by myself,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

‘Damn it, I take that back. Don’t say things like that, Hyun-Sung. Please… I’m cringing…’

His line sounded so cringey to me that my face turned red.

The line where I begged him to kill me was pretty cheesy as well, but this was just as bad as that line. Obviously, he and I were in different situations, and his dialogue was proof of how immersed he was in this play.

I touched my head and acted like I was in pain, so I was sure that he was thinking that Light Ki-Young was still resisting Doom Ki-Young. It was embarrassing, but this was great because our immersion in our roles meant that the audience members were immersed as well.

“Can you stand?” he asked.

“...”

“Since Mr. Ki-Young is still fighting, I can still fight,” he continued.

“Kgh…”

I was afraid that he would notice my flushed face, so I grabbed my head and lowered it.

“I won’t give up either. So please… don’t give up, Mr. Ki-Young,” he said.

‘What a great dialogue… it’s touching.’

Unfortunately, it was my responsibility to endure the cringe.

The conversation and break ended when Kim Hyun-Sung started walking toward me once again. I raised my arm slowly, and with a loud boom, we got back up again.

We were definitely at our limits.

I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I reached my limit. I had depleted my mana long ago, and I was convinced that my arms and legs were broken.

My stamina was depleted even before I could enter Phase Two, so it wouldn’t be strange if I ended up dying after all this.

“Pant, pant.”

“Ha…”

The fire on his started to wane, and Belial’s mana was the same. I was sure that Belial still had some mana to lend to me, but I wouldn’t be able to handle such an influx of mana with my broken body.

In addition, I was sure that he had already used up his mana. He had also gotten nerfed upon being summoned here, and he even had to summon his high priests on top of that, so unless he was prepared to sacrifice his merits…

‘He’s at his limit as well.’

The next exchange would finally be the final exchange of moves. If we were to continue fighting, I was sure that Kim Hyun-Sung would finally collapse. His magic armor was no longer functioning along with his personal shield, and the mana on his sword was flickering. Even Belial’s mana was having a hard time maintaining its original form.

It looked as if the mana’s original form was about to shatter into innumerable crystals at any moment—it looked like a candle in the wind.

“Whoo…”

Kim Hyun-Sung inhaled and took a stance.

‘Yeah. At this point, this is the best thing to do...’

I grabbed my mask and unsheathed Juliena. When I recalled the red light that I had seen in Kim Hyun-Sung’s dream, I became sure of it.

‘I have to end it here.’

The sunrise was the best background to end this arc, and the sunrise looked more beautiful than any other sunrises I had seen so far. It actually looked like it was cheering for me. The faint light that illuminated the skies also dyed the ruined city in its color.

‘It looks nice.’

Kim Hyun-Sung tightened his grip on his sword. He was about to use the gift that he had received from his close friend—who was like a brother to him—to save the Corrupted Saint.

A typical villain had to say something in a situation like this.

“Don’t think I’m the same as that dumb Donovan, you scum.”

Obviously, Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t say anything.

He simply stared at me while holding his sword in a stance.

When he finally moved, I was surprised. It was only then that I gathered my mana.

“Die while brooding over your own ignorance and stupidity,” I added.

“Whooo.”

The preparation was long, but it didn’t take long for him to swing his sword. When the sunrise finally covered everything in its light, Kim Hyun-Sung’s sword also emitted light.

The soft red light illuminated the world, blinding me.

‘Wow…!’

I had to resist as much as possible and play along.

“Die! You scum!” I yelled.

The two powerful energies collided, and Lindel was temporarily colored in white. Light and darkness had collided, so I thought the effect would be great, but it was a more beautiful sight than I expected.

Of course, beautiful wasn’t the right word to describe it, and I was sure that the audience members thought the same.

Our swords clashed, and we flew backward at the same time.

Under the influence of the final vestiges of our mana, the ground beneath us caved in, creating a massive circle that sent rocks and debris flying away from us.

Booooooooooooom!!!

“Aaaah…!” Kim Hyun-Sung let out a shout that was unlike him. It was a raging cry, and I was sure that he was yelling instinctively because he thought that he wouldn’t be able to endure it otherwise.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh…!”

He looked like the perfect hero. Who would speak poorly of him when he was doing his best to drive out the demonic energy in me while being enveloped in light?

It was obvious, but he felt holy to me.

When I looked at him with an evil smile, I saw Kim Hyun-Sung looking straight at me.

There were tears in his eyes as if he was telling me that he couldn’t give up.

He bit his lips and poured everything he had to drive the demonic energy away.

‘Good job. Let’s end it here, Hyun-Sung…’

It was the right thing to do because I would feel bad if I were to make him suffer even more. Something inside of me kept on telling me that the play wasn’t perfect just yet, but I thought that everyone would be satisfied with this ending.

Of course, I knew that creators were never satisfied with their own work.

There was a cracking noise as my half-mask fractured, I felt anxious for some reason, and I finally realized why I was anxious.

‘T-That crazy bitch…!’

I saw Jung Ha-Yan standing not too far away from where we were, and I was shocked.

‘Damn it!’

I was worried that she might interrupt Kim Hyun-Sung, and my worries weren’t unfounded because I had seen Jung Ha-Yan attacking a mage who was trying to attack me with a spell back in Rimoura’s nest.

I looked at Kim Hyun-Sung, but he was completely focused on driving the demonic energy out of me that he didn’t even notice Jung Ha-Yan.

I thought about retrieving my energy to attack Jung Ha-Yan, but I couldn’t retrieve something that had already been used.

‘He might die…’

Kim Hyun-Sung was at his limit, and if Jung Ha-Yan interrupted him… his mana might shred him into pieces.

“Huh?” My thoughts about the worst-case scenario were interrupted by a small lump of fire landing on my head.

“What?! You…” I turned my head and saw a pale Jung Ha-Yan; her hand that was pointing at me was trembling because she had just attacked me with a spell.

“I-I-I’m… sorry. I’m sorry, heuuuk…!” Jung Ha-Yan cried.

‘D-Damn it.’

“Heuuuuuuk… I’m sorry… heuuuuk…!” she repeated.

‘I’m proud of you, Ha-Yan. I’m really proud. Hell yeah! This is what I’m talking about, damn it! This is the scene that I needed…!’

My happiness caused me to raise my voice.

“You bitch…! How dare you…!”

“Please… wake up… Hiccup… Please wake up… hiccup…” she begged.

‘Hyun-Sung! Now! Do it nooooowwww…! Now! Now!!!’

“Aaaaaaahhhh!”

It seemed that Kim Hyun-Sung was aware of the Do It Now cliche as well because he finally poured his remaining strength into his sword and…

Crack!

…the mask broke.

When I felt the light enveloping me, I hurriedly activated Job Change to change my job and appearance.

I had truly reached my limit, so I couldn’t move anymore, which made me worried about my chances of survival.

The light soon faded, and I was still alive. I turned away from the rising sun to see Kim Hyun-Sung reaching his hand out toward me.

However, all I could do was smile weakly at him.

“Good job. Good… good job. Sniff! You did really well.”

Right now, he truly looked like a child.