Chapter 604 |
So this is how it ends.
Feeling a gentle force wrapping around his body and pulling him downward—a feeling closer to sinking into the Abyss utterly helplessly rather than a freefall plunge towards the ground—Ludwig focused his dim gaze toward the sky.
Naturally, he couldn’t accept such an ending… but it was also the ending he had long been prepared for.
He, who had betrayed both the disciple he had taught and the comrades he had fought beside, only to achieve nothing in the end, deserved such bitter emptiness. Accepting his end, he closed his eyes.
Thud!
He landed squarely on his tailbone.
“Agh!”
Ludwig’s eyes snapped open at the pain shooting up his spine. When the pain subsided, his eyes landed on the familiar Ring above him and then on the clouds spread out below.
“The Tower…?”
“When someone shines brilliantly in the sky but then falls, it makes it look like they lost. So I brought us back up.”
“I see…. It is something that you would do.”
With a faint chuckle, Ludwig tried to rise but was forced to realize that his body wasn’t working properly. Well, he knew the cause. Ludwig looked down.
“…”
A pure white wound ran across his chest, golden cracks spreading all over his body. Just as expected, his body, or more precisely the projection left behind, had reached its limit after enduring battle upon battle.
The reason I couldn’t feel any actual pain… is most likely because of this wound in my chest.
The golden cracks left by the Golden Ring were surging restlessly, trying to erase him. In contrast, the wound left in his chest by Se-Hoon’s sword remained utterly still… no. It was actively suppressing the Golden Ring’s power so that they had time for one final conversation.
“Is there something you’re curious about?”
“Hm?”
“If that isn’t the case, there is no reason for you to show me such mercy. I don’t know what you would like to ask, but ask whatever you like.”
Thinking it was probably a request for him to pass on everything—the method of controlling the Void, skills related to the Celestial Infinity Blade, even the secrets of the Celestial Infinity Blade—Ludwig waited for Se-Hoon’s last question.
“Even if you tell me that… there’s nothing I’m curious about…” Se-Hoon answered, looking away awkwardly.
“Nothing?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not curious about how to handle the Void or how to use the Celestial Infinity Blade? Things like that?”
“It’s fine. I got the gist of it during the battle.”
He wasn’t making an excuse. He had gotten a feel for the Void by experiencing it directly, and since he had already dealt with the power of Space before, he naturally just figured out most of it just from watching.
“…”
Left speechless, Ludwig just opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head with a bitter smile.
“Now I understand why Kwang-Soo used to say you were so irritating.”
With that, Ludwig simply accepted that Se-Hoon wasn’t curious about anything he had or had to say. But then, why had he shown him such excessive mercy? It was something he wasn’t able to figure out despite thinking about it, so Ludwig just asked. “Well? Why did you show me mercy?”
“Mm… honestly, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this either.”
“…?”
Glancing next to him to see Ludwig’s questioning gaze, Se-Hoon lifted the pure white sword in his hand.
“The wish dwelling in this sword is technically mine, but actually, it also belongs to the entirety of humanity. So… I guess most of humanity wanted you not to die in pain.”
If a majority of humanity had despised Ludwig and wished for him to die in agony, then the wound in his chest would have made him feel just that. So, since there wasn’t any pain, it simply meant a majority had wished for Ludwig’s death to be met with dignity or something similar.
“…”
Ludwig was unable to speak, simply staring blankly. Was it because of the achievements? Did they simply not understand what he was attempting to do? Questions swirled in his mind.
“I don’t understand…” he softly murmured.
It was simply impossible to understand.
Se-Hoon, too, didn’t have an answer, so he just shrugged.
“Well, don’t think too hard about it. Things worked out well, so let’s just leave it at ‘good is good.’”
“Worked out well?”
“No one died, and the Ascension Project can be activated again at any time. Sure, some people got hurt… but compared to what the other Perfect Ones have caused before, wouldn’t most people think this was getting off lightly?”
The scale was different… but it couldn’t be denied that the rampages of the other Perfect Ones had much worse results. That was most likely why Ludwig’s rampage barely stood out, because people’s senses had simply grown numb.
“What do you even…” Ludwig trailed off, stopping himself. “No, never mind. It would be shameless to keep doubting mercy that has already been given. I’ll accept it with gratitude.”
“You made the right choice.”
Ludwig fell silent, staring up at the starry expanse. He had once believed he would vanish the moment he was defeated, so, with the time now granted him, many thoughts freely occupied his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For everything.”
The thoughts began spilling out.
If only he had been a little stronger, then perhaps the war against the Demon Force would have ended and allowed his disciple to suffer much less.
If only he had spoken about Ascension a little sooner, perhaps they could have found a better way and avoided such an ending.
If only he had not regretted things to the very end, perhaps he would not have had such discomfort left by being remembered as a loathsome traitor at the end.
“I should have figured out long ago… that I had grown too used to looking down from above.”
Reflecting on the arrogance he had to say he was acting as the representative of all of humanity, Ludwig drowned in bitterness.
“You know… I realized something this time. I think regret might be a genuinely needed step for creating a better future.”
“A needed step?”
“You use the past to refine your methods by looking back on your mistakes. Then you hammer yourself like steel in a forge so that those blemishes won’t be repeated. And lastly… you polish the last piece—hope—which will let you move forward. Only then, I think, is the weapon known as the future completed.”
“…”
“So don’t let your past end as mere regret. What matters to us is the future that comes after.”
The heartfelt advice made Ludwig look up at the sky and gently close his eyes.
“The future…”
Could he, too, leave something behind like those who had gone before him? Trying to temper the regret in his heart, just as Se-Hoon had said, Ludwig eventually opened his eyes and looked up at the Golden Ring beyond the sky.
“Have you thought about how to control the Ring?”
“Uhm… I was going to use the power I got from ascension and the Tower’s system to block the Ring’s interference while adding a control system to it.”
“That’s not too bad. But there’s one thing missing in your plan.”
“Something missing?”
When Se-Hoon looked down at him in puzzlement, Ludwig slowly raised his limp right hand.
“Because of the Perfect Ones and Harbingers of Destruction, it’s easy to mistake the Ring for an unchanging force. But in truth, its nature is just as varied and ever-changing as we are.”
Just as the abrupt emergence of the Towers of Heroes had changed the world in an instant, the Golden Ring’s true nature could one day bring about changes that even Se-Hoon could never imagine.
“If you truly want to control the Ring, it is a must that you make the direction of change turn outward, not inward.”
Black-and-white light gathered into Ludwig’s raised right hand, and the Celestial Infinity Blade he had failed to swing at the end revealed itself.
Woong!
The power it contained was so immense that it was inconceivable that someone already on the verge of erasure had summoned it. And that very person aimed it at the sky once mo—
Crack-
The arm reached its limit, shattering and dropping the sword.
“Ah…”
It seemed, in the end, he truly had no right to leave anything behind. Ludwig looked at the falling blade with mixed feelings.
Tap-
“I just have to aim it at the Ring, right?” Se-Hoon asked, catching the falling sword.
“You…”
“Just so you know, I’m not doing this out of pity. What you said simply makes sense, so I’m cooperating.”
And with that indifferent reply, Se-Hoon, in Ludwig’s stead, held the Celestial Infinity Blade steady and aimed it with perfect precision.
It was a sight that made countless emotions cross through Ludwig, bringing a smile though the tears on his face.
“Thank you.”
Woong!
Se-Hoon’s bonds naturally flowed into the Celestial Infinity Blade, engulfing the summit of the Tower in a pure white light. In the next moment, when the light of the sword was shining more brilliantly than the Golden Ring beyond the sky to illuminate the earth…
Bond Manifestation: Ascension
Everyone’s wish pierced through the Golden Ring and stretched out toward the future.
***
Swoosh-
The sound of waves rang in Se-Hoon’s ears. When he opened his eyes at the sound—one so familiar that it had long since become tiresome—he saw a sight he had thought he would never behold again.
“…”
The black sea that had swallowed the world. A world where everything had been destroyed, where only he was left.
Staring at that desolate, unbearably lonely landscape, Se-Hoon instinctively knew.
“…A dream.”
Everything he had experienced until now had been nothing more than a fleeting daydream, the final images before death. Belatedly realizing that fact, Se-Hoon looked at the black sea drawing closer to him with an indescribable expression—
“What a stupid dream.”
Dismissively waving his hand, he slowly opened his eyes.
Swoosh- Swoosh-
The sound of waves screamed from the phone lying by his pillow—the emergency alarm that would go off if he failed to wake up at the last moment.
“I really need to change that alarm.”
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Se-Hoon irritably slapped the phone to turn it off. He had used it because it was guaranteed to wake him up, but who would have thought it would end up giving him a shitty dream like that?
Rubbing his face to chase off the remnants of sleep, Se-Hoon got up and checked the time.
“Twelve o’clock…? I don’t have much time.”
With not even twenty minutes left before his appointment, Se-Hoon went straight into the bathroom and washed up quickly.
“Oh. You’re up?”
Walking into the living room, Se-Hoon looked at the uninvited guest greeting him cheerfully, sipping her coffee while watching TV in disbelief.
“Se-Ha? When did you come?”
“Just a little while ago. The repair work ended earlier than expected.”
“Then why didn’t you wake me—”
“You set an alarm anyway. And you looked like you were sleeping well, so I couldn’t just wake you for no reason.”
“…”
The sight of Se-Ha’s calmness as she continued to sip on her coffee made Se-Hoon make a strange expression.
He had told her she didn’t have to be so stiff with him, but now that he was actually seeing it, the difference felt oddly jarring in a way that he couldn’t really explain.
Honestly, that damn woman is the problem.
If only Se-Ha had taken after him more, then she never would have turned out like that. Shaking his head, entertaining that shameless thought, Se-Hoon looked over towards the TV upon catching a few familiar faces out of the corner of his eye.
「New Product Launch for Phoenix Wear! Stay comfortable even in zones over 4,000 degrees!」
Li Wen and Li Fei rode atop the Vermillion Bird, laughing brightly as they passed through roaring flames. No matter how many times he saw it, the commercial’s bizarre sense of style defied understanding.
“That thing is really selling that well?” he asked dubiously.
“The ad is a complete disaster, but the performance is so good that it became even more of a hot topic because of it. There’s even a trend where people try to imitate it.”
“Seriously… trends are impossible to understand.”
Bzt- Bzt- Bzt-
Right as Se-Hoon shook his head, he felt his phone vibrating as messages came in one after another.
“Hm? Damn it…”
“What is it?”
“They’re telling me to stop by the store and buy some fruit before I head over. They could’ve just gone themselves…”
“Guess it’s for oversleeping.”
With a chuckle, Se-Ha flicked her fingers to clear away the empty coffee cup neatly and got to her feet.
“Let’s get going then. If you’re late again today, they won’t let it slide this time.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
Leaping through space, the two arrived at the entrance of the grocery store and began picking out some fruit under Se-Ha’s lead.
“Hm?”
When Se-Ha dragged him past the apples, he paused, noticing an apple that felt strangely familiar.
The much-talked-about Manuel Apples are now in stock! Limited sale, 100 boxes only!
“It worked out this time, huh,” he remarked, reading the sign.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Picking up a box with a faint smile, Se-Hoon paid for their items and stepped outside with Se-Ha.
The streets were bustling, crowded with people out and about over the weekend. Gazing over them, Se-Hoon’s senses naturally gathered recent information, which was organized by the Akashic before being lined up before his eyes.
[UD Group fully dismantled across all affiliates. Chairman Richard Kruger has announced that he will devote himself to running an orphanage.]
[The Human Alliance establishes the Dimensional Frontier Bureau to oversee extraterrestrial exploration. Investigator Ha Seon-Woo has been appointed as the inaugural minister, with Inoue Ren assigned as chief advisor.]
[Pilgrimage Order leader Kamal Sharma and vice leader Jane Rose have discovered a newly found planetary system rich in spatial resources. Scheduled to be transferred to the Dimensional Frontier Bureau.]
[A private expedition led by the Myers family has slayed a giant dragon that appeared in the borderlands and successfully defended the exploration base.]
[Newly appointed director Lan Fei formally submits to the council a motion to uncover the truth behind former Association Chairman Gregory and reevaluate his contributions.]
A full year since humanity’s ascension had passed. In that time, the world had changed beyond recognition. However, just as it was in the past, the thing at the center of it all was the Tower of Heroes rising high into the sky.
“…”
The pure white Tower soared as high as ever from the center of Babel. No, actually, when one looked all the way toward the summit, a very apparent change was unmistakably noticeable.
Woong-
The Tower now pierced through the Golden Ring and continued to stretch beyond it. The opening created by Ludwig’s Celestial Infinity Blade had allowed it to pass through, overhauling the very structure of the world.
The Tower of Heroes expands, and the Golden Ring supports it.
Put simply, a canal from a huge stagnant lake had been carved to allow the water to flow out toward the sea. Thanks to that, the lake water became fresh once more, allowing settlements to develop along the waterways.
This had been the optimal result at the time, and even now.
Well, who knows what the future will bring?
Se-Hoon stared up at the Tower, where countless people were likely undertaking new challenges at that very moment.
“…”
Meanwhile, Se-Ha glanced at him and then teleported both of them.
Whoosh!
“Hey! What are you doing?”
Seeing the busy streets of downtown turning into the seaside, Se-Hoon glared at Se-Ha. He had been savoring the mod for once, and now she completely ruined it!
“It looked like we’d be late if I waited for you to finish, so I just transported us. I did well, right?”
“You little…”
Hearing that shameless answer, Se-Hoon felt his patience reach its limit. He would definitely teach her about how to fear her elders—
“Hey. Unemployed freeloader.”
Luize suddenly appeared in front of them with her arms crossed.
“I definitely told you to get moving quickly.”
“I’m not unemployed, I’m just on a leave of absence—”
“Leave of absence, my ass. Stop talking nonsense and get over here!”
Dragged by the collar by Luize, Se-Hoon was pulled into the villa’s backyard, where he found his companions already gathered.
“Is this enough?”
“Isn’t that a little too strong?”
Sung-Ha was lighting the grill while Amir thawed the meat they had brought while giving advice.
“Starting from this end, this is for lunch, this is for dinner, and that is for tomorrow morning. Ah, and Professor Kasar gave us some sushi too…”
“Hold on a second. I’m going to put enchantments on the refrigerator first.”
Near the villa’s back door, Eun-Ha was pulling endless side-dish containers from her void pocket, which made Lea head into the kitchen to expand the fridge.
“Sis, should I put this here?”
“No, put that over there.”
Walking out with other dishes was Jake, who headed over to Aria as she neatly arranged the table.
“Hmm… hm…”
“Just make it roughly decent. Who’s even going to look that closely…”
“Caw!”
Meanwhile, Erika was busily decorating their surroundings with her summoned crows, while Meirin helped her take out ornaments while grumbling in annoyance.
The sight of them all, being so much closer than they had been a year ago, made Se-Hoon feel a strange ticklishness in his chest.
“…”
Savoring that embarrassingly pleasant feeling, Se-Hoon stopped walking without realizing it.
And being the one dragging him in, it was only natural that Luize could tell.
“Look at you, getting all shy. Come on,” she said with a smirk.
“What are you talking about—”
“That’s enough. Se-Ha, push him from behind.”
“Yep!”
Pulled forward by Luize and shoved from behind by Se-Ha, Se-Hoon was rushed into the villa’s backyard where everyone had gathered. After that, as always, they ate together and spent the time sharing little updates from their lives.
“Se-Hoon, when exactly are you planning to graduate?”
“After resting a little more…”
“If you don’t return to school within this year, I’ll have you expelled.”
Unfortunately for him, it started off with a conversation about the studies he had been putting off for a while.
“Brother, the Meisters were asking when that new weapon you showed them last time will be finished.”
“Well… inspiration hasn’t struck yet…”
“Yes, yes. I’ll tell them it’ll be done by the end of this week.”
Next came a conversation about some work that was only slightly behind schedule.
“Se-Hoon, you didn’t forget we agreed to work together, right?”
“You said you’d tune my mirror too.”
“We have to inspect the newly opened floor first.”
“…”
The one after and after that, too…. Every time a new conversation topic came up, the arrows somehow ended up pointing back at him, making Se-Hoon wear an odd expression.
How did it come to this…? I’m pretty sure my wish was for some rest.
Why was it that so much damned work kept coming at him endlessly, even after the war had ended and everyone had ascended?
It seemed he was simply destined to live in a reality that granted everyone’s wishes except his own.
Letting out a deep sigh, Se-Hoon headed out for a walk by the sea after dinner.
Swoosh-
His feet stopped, turning toward the night sea. That sight… reminded him of the stupid dream he had that morning. Just staring, comparing the differences, Se-Hoon sensed someone approaching from behind.
Tap-
“So now you don’t even turn around anymore?”
Glancing next to him at the woman poking his cheek, Se-Hoon faced Aria.
“I had a feeling someone was coming. You kept staring at me all day.”
Since lunch and through dinner, Aria had been sending him strange looks here and there. She had probably thought she was hiding it in her own way, but since it was subtly different from the way she usually looked at him, there was no way he wouldn’t notice.
“So I really was that obvious…”
Trailing off after that brief murmur, Aria glanced off into the distance somewhere before looking back at Se-Hoon.
“Then want to guess what I’m about to say?”
“That’s…”
“There’s a punishment if you get it wrong, though.”
Not allowing Se-Hoon to escape, Aria looked at him steadily with her beautiful golden eyes.
“If you pretend not to know after coming this far, I think I’d be a little… no, very angry.”
“Gulp-”
Se-Hoon unconsciously swallowed dryly, staring at that faintly chilly smile.
It seemed, at last, the moment had come for him to pay for everything he had been putting off—by pretending not to notice, pretending to be dense, pretending he wasn’t ready, or by pretending he was too burned out.
“I…”
“Wait!!!”
Just as Se-Hoon was about to answer, Luize burst out from a crack in the boundary where she had been hiding.
“No matter how I think about it, this won’t do.”
“Luize?”
“This is basically turning into a moment where we eavesdrop and then get rejected without even getting the chance to say anything! Even if we’re going to get rejected, it absolutely cannot happen like this!!!”
Luize’s cry created a strange silence, and a moment later the others who had been watching from afar also began walking out one by one.
“She’s right. This isn’t a good idea.”
“I don’t really mind.”
“I suppose it would be a little unfair if we didn’t even get the chance to speak.”
Eun-Ha, Erika, and Lea joined in succession, and soon the five of them had surrounded Se-Hoon from the front—nearly encircling him.
That, in itself, made the five look at one another and simultaneously realize something.
“Seeing it like this, you really are incredible.”
“What a fuckboy.”
“Even I can’t cover this one.”
“In a way, that’s also one of his strengths.”
“Our little boy really is amazing in all kinds of ways.”
“…”
Se-Hoon could not offer a single rebuttal against that merciless criticism from all five of them, and instead just met their eyes.
I guess… it’s time to say it. Yeah.
Hadn’t they all practically waited a full year for him?
Steeling himself, Se-Hoon finally gave them the answer he had been avoiding until now.
“I… can’t date any of the people here.”
“…?”
All five women, who had all been tense in case another person’s name came up, paused before looking at him in confusion.
Slowly, they processed it.
He had been giving them hope, practically stringing them along, all this time…yet he was saying he couldn’t date any of them…? The light faded from their eyes, their expressions slowly turning cold.
At that instant, Se-Hoon sensed unavoidable mortal danger. Thus, he hurried to save himself.
“It’s just… there’s too much of an age difference between me and you all, so…”
“Age difference?”
Four of them looked puzzled. In contrast, the fifth—Lea—had realized something.
“Physically, I’m in my twenties, but mentally, that’s not even close. If I date you all, I kinda… get a guilty conscience…”
“…”
They all wore strange expressions. Compared to what they expected, it truly was a trivial reason. At the same time, though, it wasn’t like they couldn’t understand.
“…Even I count as too young?”
Eun-Ha, however, doubted it. After all, she had always been in the position of an elder!
“A little, yes. Ah, but if it’s Master, then we’re probably around the same age, so that would be fi—”
Smack!
Before he could finish, a red hammer came flying in and struck him squarely on the forehead.
“Then you should come back after being ten years older!”
Meirin, who had been enjoying the show until she nearly got dragged into the romantic mess herself, felt her heart pounding.
“…Anyway,” Se-Hoon began, rubbing his forehead. “For that reason, I think I need a little more time.”
The five exchanged looks. They had all said they would settle everything today, no matter what, but in truth, none of them intended to give up.
They were high-ranking heroes who would likely live for hundreds more years; wasn’t it far too wasteful to give up after only a few?
“Well? How much longer are we supposed to wait?”
Thinking about Luize’s question, Se-Hoon cautiously held up two fingers while watching their reactions.
“Two years?” Lea asked to confirm, slapping her forehead.
They had already waited a year. Surely two more would pass quickly if they kept themselves busy, right?
Or at least, that was what they were thinking until they heard what Se-Hoon said next.
“Actually… about… twenty years?” he said in a tiny voice.
By then, they would be around a similar age by the standards of his pre-regression self, and so he could date them without feeling guilty.
Swoosh-
Only the sound of the waves rang out quietly.
“He’s dead.”
“He’s definitely dead.”
“Maybe he deserves it.”
Watching the show from the villa, the men all simultaneously shook their heads.
Rumble-
“You insane bastard!!”
“Die!”
And as expected, Luize and Aria lost all reason and flew at him, beating him senseless.
“Hm… twenty years… So, ten then?”
Typical of her, Eun-Ha had begun seriously calculating whether, at her age, waiting ten years instead would be enough.
“Rock-paper-scissors. Whoever wins goes first.”
“Fine.”
And Lea, having decided there was no point in waiting for Se-Hoon to sort things out, began whispering with Erika about a strategic alliance.
For humanity’s saviors, it was a scene so absurdly foolish and peaceful.
“Haha… everyone looks like they’re having fun.”
Watching Se-Hoon blend so naturally into the middle of it all, Se-Ha smiled.
Then, as if appraising the scene, she lightly swept a hand through the air.
[A ‘New Future’ has been completed!
An endless future, forged by a regressor who never gave in despite countless hardships, has been reached!
No one knows what the future may hold, but as long as everyone sticks together, the days ahead will surely be happier than today.
The tier evaluation for a ‘New Future’ is ‘Happy Ending’.]
kyokon's Thoughts
Sigh: Sorry Luize fans, BUT I AM THE WINNER IN THE END. WOOO MEIRIN GANG. Anyway, my real afterthoughts will be next chap (the afterword).
