Chapter 603 |
“What are you doing?!”
The sight of the Golden Ring that had covered the sky drifting further away and the disappearance of the dimensional pressure that had been weighing down on the planet made it clear: humanity’s ascension had been stopped.
That one fact made Ludwig show anger for the first time, making him swing his sword at Lea in desperate fury.
Clang!
But before the attack could land, a crimson spear smacked it aside while two icy daggers pierced through the air to knock away the intangible sword strike. Seeing the two who had stepped in front of him to block his attack—Sung-Ha and Amir—Ludwig frowned.
Did they wake up when the Ascension Project was halted?
If that was the case, then it was more than likely that Se-Hoon’s other companions in Babel had awakened as well.
And just as he expected, the moment that thought crossed his mind, transparent mirrors appeared on either side of him. From within them, the two golden-haired siblings swung their star-filled swords in perfect unison.
Slash!
Slow yet fast, Jake’s sword pierced through the crack between intervals. At such a distance, even Ludwig had to acknowledge that he could not block the power of Premotion. Switching gears, Ludwig twisted space instead.
Thud!
“Urgh…!”
The sword that should have pierced his heart instead stabbed into his shoulder, making the chance for Sung-Ha and Amir to lunge in and strike at Ludwig. On top of that, Aria’s Dawnlight had flashed gold once more and was about to slash through Ludwig—
Splurt!
The tip of Ludwig’s sword had stabbed forward into empty air before anything could land. Yet, despite piercing through nothing at all, all four of the attackers had simultaneously been pierced in the shoulder. And when they recoiled, the follow-up dimensional slash split into thousands of branches to blanket the space before them.
Crack-
From the one-dimensional slash it started out as, an entire plane was now crashing down on them.
Combat, at its core, was a battle where it was determined by who seized control of the opponent’s space first. So, how could one even defeat a Perfect One who had total rulership over space? You couldn’t, at least with conventional means.
The four attackers were aware of that too, but strangely, they were simply watching the black plane rushing toward them with calm eyes.
Crackle!
A strike of golden lightning crashed down, shattering the wall of slashes with ease before continuing on to strike Ludwig head-on.
“Ugh!”
Lightning ran wild through his body, trying to tear him apart. Against that force, even Ludwig could not keep control over the Void and Whitespace to stop them from crashing into each other. Enduring the agony, especially with his powers being twisted out of alignment, Ludwig struggled to turn toward the golden lightning and the mirror that had fired it.
This lightning… the coercive force of the Ring. I see. Since the Ascension Project has been…ugh… interrupted, it can interfere again….
In the first place, the reason Ludwig was able to wield both the power of Space and the might of the Destroyer of Heavens, despite them being conflicting, was because the Ascension Project had blocked the Golden Ring’s interference.
But now Lea had halted the project. In other words, the source blocking the Golden Ring was gone, allowing it to assert its influence on its Perfect One once again, to punish him for violating the laws it created.
“You borrowed an illegitimate power, so pay the price for it! Keep pressing him on!”
Watching from the rooftop, Lea shouted excitedly, while Erika, standing atop the massive barrier, held up the Yata Divine Domain Mirror with both hands and reflected Ludwig’s form within it.
Swish-
The mirror that had fired the golden lightning multiplied into hundreds, then thousands, covering every direction. Using Erika as a conduit, the Golden Ring’s power rained endlessly down toward Ludwig.
RUMBLE-
Golden cracks spread across Ludwig’s body. The body resurrected from a projection of the past through the shortcut called Ascension had always possessed a fixed limit. And now, that shortened limit was being shortened further still by the Golden Ring’s interference.
Seemingly unable to resist, Ludwig’s body was completely swallowed by the lightning—
“Do not… INTERFERE WITH MY WISH!!!”
The black-and-white sword shattered space as he swung it toward the heavens.
Crash!
Ludwig’s Celestial Infinity Blade split the golden lightning, escaping it to slash at the sky. Along its trajectory, it left behind a trail of destruction, space crumbling, making the Golden Ring disappear.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Not a single person could believe their eyes. Not a single one broke out of their stupor until Meirin’s voice resounded.
“Se-Ha just confirmed it. He didn’t destroy the Ring—he only severed the connection and blocked it off. But he must’ve consumed a huge amount of power doing that, so we proceed according to the original plan.”
Although Ludwig’s power was undeniably miraculous, it was far from limitless. The golden cracks throughout his body were proof of that, convincing the four to tighten their stances once more.
“I… don’t see Se-Hoon here…” Ludwig remarked, struggling between labored breaths.
Had he fallen back to treat the wound in his chest? Reasonably speaking, that was the most likely answer… but Ludwig considered another possibility.
Now that he looked more closely, the Ascension Project had been interrupted, not stopped. Also, his opponents were trying to stall him here rather than kill him. Then there was Se-Hoon, who had disappeared…
Rationally considering the clues, Ludwig thought over what move would be most lethal to him in this situation, and arrived at the answer without much difficulty.
“Are you planning to reactivate the Ascension Project without me and escape?”
“…”
“In my current state, if I fall behind even once, I’ll never be able to catch up to you. An excellent plan.”
Ludwig’s gaze shifted from the people blocking his path to Eun-Ha, who was running toward the Tower in the distance with Se-Hoon in her arms.
“Unfortunately, it seems my little stunt just now has complicated things.”
Reactivating the Ascension Project shouldn’t have been difficult—at least, before he severed the Golden Ring’s connection with the Celestial Infinity Blade.
Ascension, by nature, was a leap toward the Golden Ring. Yet how would they do that now that they could no longer perceive its location accurately?
So that’s why those two are heading for the Tower.
Indeed, the Tower of Heroes would keep its connection to the Golden Ring so long as it stood.
Having grasped a rough outline of the situation, Ludwig lifted his head and gazed at the white tower stretching endlessly toward the dark heavens.
“The top of the Tower… wouldn’t be too bad a place to end this.”
To bring everything to an end at the place where it had all begun…. Vowing to do so in his heart, Ludwig returned his gaze to the people barring his way.
“Let’s end this all.”
He leapt toward the final trial.
***
Rumble-
The roar and trembling of battle sounded from a distance. Realizing that someone was fighting Ludwig to protect him, Se-Hoon clung to his fading consciousness so that he could say something.
“Eun-Ha… stop…”
Not even realizing he had slipped into informal speech like before the regression, Se-Hoon struggled to plead with Eun-Ha, who was carrying him in his arms to somewhere.
“I… can’t do this anymore…”
“…”
“I can’t activate the Ascension Project…. Lea has to go, not me…”
The wound in his chest from Ludwig’s blade still had not healed, and his synesthetic mindscape had collapsed upon accepting that his wish could no longer sustain the Ascension Project.
Se-Hoon knew that better than anyone, and so he gave the best solution he could think of.
“I’ll buy time… if I try to activate the power of Regression… Ludwig won’t be able to ignore it…”
He didn’t know whether he actually could trigger a regression in his current condition, but it didn’t matter. Ludwig, who feared him, would never be able to dismiss even the slightest possibility. The best candidate to buy time—the one who had to be sacrificed—was himself, not the others.
“…”
Eun-Ha said nothing. She merely held Se-Hoon’s weakly struggling body tighter, as if refusing to let him slip away, and kept running along the golden path.
Failing to get a response, Se-Hoon opened his mouth—
“Se-Hoon.” Eun-Ha spoke before he could, her voice steady. “Do you remember the last words I left behind in the world before the regression?”
Not expecting her to mention that, Se-Hoon’s eyes widened as Eun-Ha kept her gaze straight ahead.
“When we became deeply connected during the battle against the Seeker, I once saw those memories in a dream.”
“…”
“In that world before you first regressed, I said this to you: ‘I regret eating your weapon.’”
The final words left behind by Eun-Ha back then, when she had saved him from Aria, the Destroyer of Light. Unlike her current self, the Eun-Ha of the previous world had always worn an unreadable expression and rarely showed emotion, so Se-Hoon had never known what those words truly meant.
“At first, I thought I had resented you. I’d been living as though it wouldn’t matter if I died… so tasting your weapon must have left me with lingering attachment.”
If she had never met Se-Hoon, if she had never tasted the weapon he forged for her, then perhaps she never would have regretted anything so deeply.
That interpretation of hers was the same as what Se-Hoon had believed all this time.
“But if it had truly been nothing but resentment, I wouldn’t have phrased it like that. I’m not that kind of person, then or now.”
Knowing herself, Eun-Ha knew she would have just said it directly if she resented him. Then why?
Having thought about it for a long time, Eun-Ha had come to an answer.
“The me from before the regression only came to yearn for life when death was already in front of her.”
“…”
“She realized far too late what she had been wishing for, how she wanted to live… and in front of you, she lamented that fact.”
Finally, Eun-Ha’s gaze turned to Se-Hoon, her scarlet eyes looking straight into his.
“Just like you are now.”
The Eun-Ha of the past had realized her wish, only to die. The Se-Hoon of the present had realized his wish and was now trying to die.
Their situations were similar in some ways, but there was one fundamental difference.
“But you are not dead yet.”
“…”
“You still have the freedom to choose how to fulfill your wish and what kind of life you want to live from now on.”
Splurt-
Seemingly rejecting that notion, the wound in his chest split wider, and blood flowed endlessly, staining both their clothes red. But Eun-Ha didn’t waver.
“So do not give up. Do not settle. Because in our future—no…”
She cut herself off and looked directly at him.
“Because in my future, there must be a place for you.”
Fwoosh!
A crimson flame rose from Eun-Ha’s heart. The flame Se-Hoon had forged during the final battle against the Seeker for her traveled through her blood and into his wound, burning away the Void that had been gnawing at his origin.
Thump-
The heart that had been slowing began pounding fiercely, reigniting the dying spark to blaze once more within him. And, feeling that warmth in his chest, Se-Hoon reflected on his wish and on the life he had lived until now.
I… didn’t want to leave behind regret.
His first life had been a painful one, overflowing with regret, and so he had struggled desperately to make sure he would never repeat such a life again.
But… is it really possible to live without leaving behind regret?
To live meant to yearn for a better future. To become happier than yesterday. To become happier tomorrow than they are today.
Some might call such a life one destined to be stained with regret, with Se-Hoon being one of those people himself. But perhaps it was not only regret—
Boom!
A roar crashed against his ears again, cutting his thoughts off. Even though Eun-Ha hadn’t stopped running, the sound was closer than before. It was time.
“Please put me down here.”
“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“I’m alright now. So…”
He paused briefly, then looked at Eun-Ha straight on.
“Please buy me time with everyone else until I finish this.”
“…”
The two held gazes for a moment, as Eun-Ha studied the certainty in Se-Hoon’s eyes, before she finally came to a halt and gently set him down. He struggled, swaying on his legs, yet Se-Hoon stood upright on his own once more.
Seeing that, Eun-Ha tightly embraced him one last time to pass on the warmth still lingering within her.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Boom!
With that, Eun-Ha turned back the way she had come, and for the first time, the roaring battle sounds began growing distant. It was only when her figure had fully vanished that Se-Hoon turned and started running down the endless path before him.
“Huff… huff…!”
Naturally, because he still lacked blood, his head spun the moment he started running. His whole body felt heavy, as if submerged in water, and his breathing grew ragged rapidly.
Even my body right after the regression wasn’t this heavy…!
Was it really a physical problem? Or was the issue in his synesthetic mindscape manifesting itself in physical form? Regardless, he would struggle—especially because the golden road before him shattered into pieces and had transformed into a precarious staircase.
Whoosh!
A golden stairway spiraled around the pure-white Tower. Returning to the entrance of the Tower he had once passed through long ago, Se-Hoon climbed upward with extreme difficulty.
“Huff… huff…”
Violent winds buffeted his body, and the stairs before him crumbled and narrowed.
“Huff… huff…”
Even so, he kept climbing higher. Even when something pierced through his shoulder and blood streamed out, even when his leg was cut and forced him to limp, he never looked back, only forward, continuing upward.
Eventually, through sheer will, his hand touched the clouds covering the sky—
Whoosh-
He reached the top, and the landscape changed. Arriving beyond the heavens, the Golden Ring shimmered faintly among the magic array of the Ascension Project.
“…”
Lea’s enchantment had already completed all the preparations. All he had to do now was confirm the Golden Ring’s coordinates and reactivate it.
And yet Se-Hoon did not trigger the magic array. He merely stood there, gazing upward.
“Are you really hesitating at the very end?”
Appearing after a moment, Ludwig, covered in blood, staggered onto the summit and fixed his sharp eyes on Se-Hoon.
“If your wish was only worth this much, then I really have to say that I’m disappointed.”
If Se-Hoon had activated the Ascension Project just before he arrived—or better yet, the moment he reached the top of the Tower—then there might still have been a chance.
But he had chosen neither. It was an absurd, hollow result.
“Stand aside. I don’t want to waste any more of my time.”
If one accounted for all possibilities, killing Se-Hoon would have been the correct decision. Regrettably, though, Ludwig had no time left for that. After all, he had to reactivate the Ascension Project before killing Se-Hoon. That was more important.
“You’re right.”
When Ludwig passed by, Se-Hoon turned his head to look at him.
“I said I wanted your help for humanity’s future, but in truth, I only dressed it up in noble words so everyone would agree. I have no right to represent everyone.”
He was not a hero who represented humanity, nor a leader fit to guide them all. That was why Se-Hoon had not activated the Ascension Project. In his current state, he had no right to do so.
“So now, shameless as it is, I plan to ask again.”
Not by dressing it up in lofty ideals, but by speaking of his actual wish and earning everyone’s consent once more.
“…Don’t tell me.”
Hearing that, Ludwig’s eyes widened upon realizing something—which made Se-Hoon smile.
“Lea said it, didn’t she? Time for a revote.”
CRACK!
An ominous tearing sound echoed from the sky.
Following the noise, Ludwig looked up and saw a massive crack spreading across the celestial magic array.
Crash!
Then, with a tremendous roar like the world itself had collapsed, the magic array of the Ascension Project shattered and fell apart toward the land below.
“…”
Under the ideal of humanity’s future, everyone’s wishes had united as one—but now, the stars that had sustained the magic array had lost their center.
“Just what…”
The eerie yet beautiful sight of his wish cultivated over decades collapsing before his eyes left Ludwig hollow. Just what kind of wish was it for it to warrant destroying a nearly completed process so completely? No matter how he tried, he could not understand such a choice.
Likewise, the people who were awakening all turned their heads to the same sky as Ludwig, one by one.
“…”
The stars that had illuminated the night continued to fall, making endless darkness spread. The surreal sight, akin to the heavens themselves collapsing while darkness descended, allowed humanity to understand.
Ascension has failed.
It was an undeniable reality. Some lamented, some denied it, and others resented Se-Hoon.
Regardless of their emotions, everyone fell into chaos with no light left to guide their way—except there was. One star did not fall.
“That’s…”
It was not especially large, nor especially bright; just a shabby little star. Compared to the countless stars that had just fallen, it wasn’t particularly different, and yet, for some reason, that one star alone stood its ground. Against the darkness, it alone continued to shine.
But why? What purpose was it enduring so desperately? While everyone was seized by that question, Luize, standing before the Divine Tree, slammed her staff into the ground.
Clang!
The staff resonated with the Divine Tree and shone brilliantly. Seeing that, Luize steadied her breathing, her expression taut with tension.
“Phew…”
Could she really do it? Hesitating, Luize recalled the words she had once heard during that moment so long ago, when finally stood on her own once more.
“Just trust me to the end and do your best.”
Remembering how Se-Hoon had sounded so bold despite being held by the collar, Luize let out a small laugh, slowly opened her eyes, and looked up at the shabby star in the sky with blue-glowing eyes.
Then, clasping both hands together, she gently closed her eyes once more in prayer..
“Wish.”
The whisper containing her wish spread through her incantation to everyone.
Woong!
A single beam of light shot up from beneath the Divine Tree toward the heavens, and those who saw it instinctively understood what they had to do: offer their wishes toward that star.
“Is that…”
Watching the streams of light that started from Babel spread across the entire world, Ludwig’s gaze moved to where they were gathering.
Whoosh!
Looking down at the multicolored wishes blooming in his chest like flames, Se-Hoon raised his right hand over them.
My life was stained entirely with regret… huh.
If his life were just regret, if that were truly all it were, would he have even survived until now? Knowing the answer, Se-Hoon gave a new definition to his life—and to the wish encompassing it.
[The host’s bond has grown to Lv. 5]
The system message that rose before his eyes proved it.
[Since the bond has grown to Lv.5, a Relationship has been established. The host’s Relationship is currently ‘Hope’.]
[Relationship: Hope]
[For a today better than yesterday.
For a tomorrow happier than today.
May all your wishes come true.]
“…Now you’re trying way too hard.”
Reading the message, Se-Hoon gave a small laugh and gripped his chest.
“Bond Extract.”
Woong!
Starlight gathered in Se-Hoon’s hand, containing power dwelling within it that shook the entire world. That power had undergone no processing whatsoever and remained pure, yet it was still a boundless material capable of triggering a phenomenon on the scale of ascension.
With that power…
Ludwig realized. Not only could ascension be achieved once more… he could even destroy the Golden Ring entirely.
Ludwig clenched his fist and looked at Se-Hoon.
“Will you not cooperate, even now?”
“I don’t think so. I’m the type who has to pay back what’s been done to me.”
Tapping his chest as he said that, Se-Hoon made Ludwig give a bitter smile.
“That’s regrettable. If I had more time, I might have allowed you to cut me once.”
“That’s not a problem. I can do that much myself.”
The two slowly stepped forward, each as calm as ever.
“So in the end, it’s a one-on-one fight?”
“Well, depending on how things go?”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little cruel, challenging an old man like this?”
“And asking a blacksmith to fight one-on-one isn’t cruel?”
Surprised by that retort, Ludwig burst into laughter a beat later.
“Now that you mention it, you were from the Department of Blacksmithing, weren’t you? You’ve spent so much time fighting on the front lines that I completely forgot.”
“I’m already planning to be more restrained from now on.”
“That may not be a bad idea. There are quite a few people worried about you.”
Their steps stopped at the same time, facing one another. The distance, so close that it could be closed in a single leap, was meaningless to Ludwig. But the time bought so far was enough, gaining Se-Hoon his chance to counterattack.
Having each yielded a single turn, the two slowly lowered their stances and faced one another for the last time.
“Here I go then.”
“Go ahead.”
They simultaneously kicked off the ground and swung their swords at each other.
Slash!
Ludwig’s blade crossed space and struck Se-Hoon’s body directly, the tip splitting into thousands of branches and shredding his entire form.
Facing the unavoidable slash that was the foundation and essence of spatial swordsmanship once more—an attack that had defeated him so many times before—Se-Hoon chose the simplest way to break it.
“Hmph…!”
Clang!
He just wrapped his entire body in his bonds and charged straight into the wall of slashes to break through it in a single burst, scattering white sparks all the while.
“What—”
Ludwig’s eyes widened at the unexpected counter, whereas Se-Hoon, having confirmed that he had blocked the slash, immediately used the power of Space.
Whoosh-
The checkered spatial field spreading around Ludwig—the infinite space of Voidless Horizon—became perceptible to Se-Hoon’s eyes for the first time. Confirming its spatial coordinates, Se-Hoon attempted without hesitation to teleport directly before Ludwig.
What is he trying this time?
Ludwig knew better than anyone that Se-Hoon was well-aware of the risks and dangers of using the power of Space in front of him. So what could he be planning? Perplexed by Se-Hoon’s reckless choice, Ludwig twisted the nearby space.
Rumble-
The space the two occupied split into cubic forms and rotated, resulting in Se-Hoon, who had tried to move to Ludwig’s front, appearing midair instead. Far from closing the distance, he had effectively leapt into a trap.
Ludwig hadn’t intended that, yet he wasted no time and thoroughly sealed the surrounding area around Se-Hoon with the Void and Whitespace.
Crunch!
Black-and-white grid patterns crossed and interwove space, forming a tiny cube that compressed everything into a single point. With all his might, he ground down the space with clenched teeth, going against the immense pressure trying to erupt from inside—
Bond Manifestation: Crimson Furnace
A crimson meteor pierced through the compressed space and exploded before Ludwig’s eyes.
BOOM!
Crimson flames burst outward like a tidal wave, consuming the entire top floor of the Tower in flames.
When they receded, Ludwig, who barely avoided the blast by wrapping his body in the Void, immediately looked toward Se-Hoon.
Whoosh-
There he was, shrouded in a crimson glow like heated metal… along with Eun-Ha? Realizing that the two of them had joined forces to break through the spatial seal, Ludwig narrowed his eyes.
Did they move through space? No… if it had been that, I would have detected it.
It was a higher-order force than that—something that seemed to rewrite reality itself according to their will. It was similar yet distinct from the Dream Manifestation Se-Hoon had used before, making Ludwig wary.
Meanwhile, Se-Hoon and Eun-Ha looked at each other.
“Did it take a while?”
“A little.”
The two smiled faintly at one another, then faced forward and charged Ludwig without the need to say anything to the other.
BOOM
Their fists collided ceaselessly with Ludwig’s slashes, and with every exchange, the flames only burned fiercely. Se-Hoon’s bonds strengthened Eun-Ha’s flames, and Eun-Ha’s flames in turn strengthened Se-Hoon’s bonds.
FWOOSH-
Throughout that fierce clash, Se-Hoon’s bonds grew ever more crimson, like metal heated inside a furnace. And when they had absorbed enough flame to reach their maximum limit, Se-Hoon called forth another bond.
Bond Manifestation: Sun and Moon, Whiteblaze
Crash!
Sung-Ha and Amir emerged, shattering space.
They were suddenly pulled onto the battlefield, yet the two met Se-Hoon’s gaze and, as if understanding the entire situation from just that, moved immediately.
“There’s no second chance!”
Crack-
Dozens of ice pillars created through Frost Alchemy pierced every seam in the space Ludwig had twisted, freezing it solid before Voidless Horizon could spread again.
Thus Ludwig had to settle for the next best thing, layering the Void and Whitespace around himself to form a spatial barrier.
I don’t have to block it completely.
If he could only buy enough time to unleash the Celestial Infinity Blade—
“Now!”
The Inferno Ring traced by Sung-Ha’s spear and the Shadow Ring created by Se-Hoon’s bonds struck the spatial barrier at the same time.
WOONG!
Flames and darkness were blocked by the barrier, scattering outward, but the waves penetrated all the way inside and resonated at the very center where Ludwig stood.
They then merged into red-black light…
CRASH!
The spatial barrier around Ludwig shattered, opening a path.
BOOM!
Se-Hoon and Ludwig’s figures tangled together as both of them leapt through space simultaneously, hurling slash and fist at one another.
CLANG!
Their barely visible forms continued speeding up further and further, entering a realm beyond the tracking ability of the human eye, until only the light and thunderous booms bursting out after each clash remained embroidered across the air.
Soon enough, those two lights plunged downward and collided with the dimensional boundary surrounding the summit of the Tower, making both crash down to the ground with a sound like the scream of the world itself.
“Lee Se-Hoon!!!”
Falling down the Tower, Ludwig drew out every remaining ounce of power into the Celestial Infinity Blade, while Se-Hoon gripped a gray blade in his hand and summoned his final set of bonds.
Bond Manifestation: Dawnlight, Primal Unity
Aria and Jake appeared from behind Ludwig, both slashing their swords at Ludwig to create an encirclement that would pierce through Ludwig without fail—one strand of the Celestial Infinity Blade’s sword aura struck its own master.
Boom-
Ludwig, who had been trapped, was knocked away by the force of his own Celestial Infinity Blade, making the siblings’ blades aim at Se-Hoon instead.
If they didn’t recall their swords, they would stab each other. If they did, Ludwig’s Celestial Infinity Blade would finish them first. It was a perfect deadlock that had been crafted in an instant—
“You can finish this.”
“Do your best.”
Aria’s Dawnlight and Jake’s Primal Unity naturally crossed and honed Se-Hoon’s bond.
Crack-
The two swords sharpened the blade that had not yet been properly forged, and Se-Hoon’s bond, finally tempered through battle, released all of its power in a blaze of glorious light.
The bond contained the wishes of countless people, their hope, and everything Se-Hoon himself was.
Grasping his new sword, Se-Hoon swung it head-on against Ludwig’s Celestial Infinity Blade.
“AAGH!”
“AAAH!”
Both cried out, squeezing out every ounce of strength, wringing dry their flesh, skill, power, and even soul. But, when the two blades had come within arm’s reach, it became apparent that Ludwig’s Celestial Infinity Blade was one half step ahead.
It’s my victory…!
At the final, final moment, it was Ludwig who had seized triumph. Se-Hoon, too, had realized his defeat, but he still didn’t retreat.
Determined to finish things once and for all, Se-Hoon ignored the black-and-white blade closing in on his neck—
Thud.
Something struck Ludwig in the chest.
“…?!”
Neither had expected such a thing. Both looking down, they saw a fist… mark? Se-Hoon thought of one person.
“Advance without hesitation.”
Jason, who had thrown his fist even in the face of death, had told him to move forward. The legacy he had left behind for the future shoved Ludwig back, allowing him to continue taking those steps forward.
“…So this was your decision.”
With a bitter smile, Ludwig was slashed by Se-Hoon’s bonds.
kyokon's Thoughts
Sigh: I KNEW JASON WAS THE GOAT.