Chapter 787
As the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' clenched her hand, otherworldly darkness engulfed from all directions.
The airship Blue Pearl had no means to avoid or block this attack.
However,
Flash-!
The acting commander of the monster front had a way to do so.
"Haaaah-!"
Lucas, who rushed out from the bridge to the deck, combined his two swords, [Bestowed Sword] and [Excalibur].
The two swords transformed and merged, reassembling into a giant greatsword — [Towards the Stars].
Originally, it was a transcendent weapon that no living human could wield, but Lucas, using [Full Divine Descent], was temporarily released from all those restrictions at this moment, forcibly stepping into divinity for an instant, and…
Slash-!
He was able to swing the greatsword without issue.
A dazzling flash erupted, tearing apart the darkness summoned directly by the master of nightmares.
"…"
After crossing the boundary between death and life for a fraction of a second.
Lucas shouted to everyone on the stunned Blue Pearl, no, to everyone on this battlefield.
"That monster cannot be defeated!"
"…!"
"All forces withdraw from the battlefield and regroup! The enemy commander has appeared, so we're moving to the next phase of the 'Lightning and Tsunami' operation!"
On the bridge of Blue Pearl, the two captains and crew quickly manipulated the instrument panel.
Blue Pearl, which quickly turned direction, urgently evacuated the airspace, followed by the Sky Knight Division. The snipers preparing to snipe from nearby spires also began to retreat quickly through teleport gates.
"…"
Instead of launching the next attack, the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' just silently watched the knight on the departing airship.
"…"
After separating [Towards the Stars] again and releasing [Full Divine Descent], Lucas also faced such an enemy commander… and raised his head to the sky.
'I will wait, my lord.'
It's impossible to fight and win against that monster.
But as ordered by his lord, it's possible to hold out while buying time.
While his lord fights another decisive battle on another battlefield, everyone here in the World Guardian Front must block the enemies by all possible means… and also survive.
'Please return with news of victory.'
The black lake began to spew out monsters endlessly again.
To the left and right of the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' walking slowly and gently northward, the poured-out horde of monsters was crawling up, bubbling and covering the earth.
With that sight as the last thing imprinted in his eyes, Lucas returned to the bridge from the deck.
The final war had just begun.
Thump…! Thump…! Thump…! Thump…! Thump…!
The ground shakes.
Far above, the world vibrates with the footsteps of monsters.
Destruction has already risen right up to the neck of the human world.
"…"
Praying that my warriors on the distant ground fight well.
That they endure well… I was walking in the dark shadows.
Lake Kingdom.
10th Zone.
Deepest core.
Royal Castle.
"…So you've finally come here."
I looked up at the heart of the nightmare.
A skyscraper spewing darkness… wrapped in pitch-black mist, soaring high into the sky.
To the final dungeon of blood and death where the final battle always took place in the game.
I silently stepped forward.
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
The sound of insects gnawing on something echoes.
It's the sound made by the otherworldly darkness surrounding the royal castle.
No, this is not the sound of insects.
If you listen carefully, you can hear.
— Die.
— Perish.
— Explode.
This is a curse.
— Dieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplodedieperishexplode…
That thick curse full of malice, so childish it's naive.
I no longer fear it.
Their wish for me to fall, their desire for this front to be defeated, their hope for this world to perish…
I'll shatter it all.
That's why I came here.
Thud…!
I stood before the entrance of the royal castle.
The cursed mist enveloping the surroundings had thickened so much that now not only the castle gates but the entire surroundings were invisible.
"…Hah."
I took a deep breath.
The 'Sleepless Lake Princess' had already left this place.
This place no longer functions as a dungeon. It's not a target to be conquered. But I deliberately came here alone knowing that.
'I didn't come to kill the 'boss' of the 'dungeon'.'
My purpose for coming here is different.
I assembled the ceremonial longsword [Light and Shadow] into a flagpole and grasped it.
A bright light flag was generated and fluttered, and the cursed darkness invading around me retreated all at once.
However, the darkness covering the castle gates remains the same.
I silently put my hand in my bosom and took out the key that Crown had given me.
"…"
The large golden key shaped like a single flower was blackened with pollution, but still held its beauty.
After turning the key once in my hand,
Looking down at the key for a while,
"…Even if lightning and tsunami are the only way."
I suddenly uttered an old verse that came to mind.
"Open the door, flower, open the door, flower…"
I thrust the key in my hand forward vigorously.
Flash-!
The key that the rightful successor, the legitimate rights holder of this royal castle, had kept hidden in their bosom all their life was a right in itself.
No matter what curse, what obstacle blocks the way, it allows entry into the royal castle by opening the door…
Whoosh!
The cursed mist parts.
Magical light spread across the entire door where the key was inserted beyond the mist, and I turned the key vigorously.
Click!
Rumble…
The sturdy gates of the towering royal castle slowly opened inward as if being sucked in.
I stepped through that gap without hesitation.
Thud, thud, thud…
My footsteps echoed in the wide corridor of the royal castle.
The castle was quiet with all nightmares gone.
Without any soldiers, any subjects, any political rivals, any historians, any people.
Without laughter, crying, commands, sighs, or even breath.
As if even the concept of silence had disappeared, it was just nothingness.
At the end of this empty corridor where nothing exists, in the audience chamber…
"…"
The Demon King existed alone.
Sitting buried in the lonely throne as if exhausted, looking into the empty sphere of nightmares with tired eyes.
"…"
I quietly observed him.
Under the faded golden crown, made entirely of shadows… the root cause of all that has destroyed this world so.
As if only now noticing my presence, the Demon King slowly turned his head to look at me.
"…Player."
Our gazes met.
Though he, covered in shadows, had no organs that could be called eyes, at this moment we undoubtedly exchanged glances.
Though it's our first encounter.
For some reason, it felt familiar, as if we had known each other for a very long time.
I quietly uttered his name.
"…Demon King."
The Demon King wearily rubbed his face with his hand.
"I don't know how you got in here, but… yes. Have you come alone to kill me?"
"…"
"Eliminating me, the real culprit hidden behind the final enemy 'Sleepless Lake Princess'… certainly, if successful, the destruction game would stop, and this world could meet a different ending than before."
"…"
"It's quite a good change of perspective, but even so, are you going to face me alone?"
The Demon King slowly rose from his throne.
"You don't seem to know how countless heroes have met their fate at my hands."
"…"
"Dragons that have existed since the creation of heaven and earth, the masters of the most brilliant myths, kings and generals whose achievements reached the heavens, supermen on white horses… None of them could defeat me, none could even reach me with the tip of a sword or a fang. Rather, they all fell to corruption before my temptation and degenerated into mere monsters."
His hand made of shadows pointed at me.
"How are you different?"
"…"
"With what exactly do you intend to kill me? What weapon, what deadly poison, what strategy have you prepared?"
Without answering, I slowly walked towards the Demon King's throne.
Thud, thud, thud…
With each step closer to the Demon King.
The long adventure so far, the desperate journey my front has gone through, flashed through my mind.
The faces of people who fell to monsters, comrades who died bleeding, vividly came to life before my eyes.
My teeth clenched involuntarily, and my fists tightened.
— They are sinners for being born into this world. They must all be killed and eliminated.
— These monsters, couldn't we say it's a sin that they were born into the world?
— It's a sin that we were born into this world…
Blind hatred towards him still boils within me.
There is an impulse within me to deny his existence from its roots.
— Between some people, there is a gap that can never be filled. A gap so deep and profound that it can never be bridged…
— A deep hatred that cannot be overcome no matter how hard you try, and cannot be ignored no matter how much you turn away.
There is a distance between him and me that can never be narrowed. There is a valley that can never be filled.
We will never fully understand each other until the very end.
Because we are destined to fight and kill each other.
…
…
…
But.
— Come sit here, Vampire King. Let's have a drink and talk for a bit.
— I request a 'Commander's Meeting'!
— I'd like to stop fighting for a moment and have a talk. What do you think?
— As king to king, I propose to you — a summit!
Then why have I tried to dialogue with enemies so far?
If they were really just opponents to hate and be done with. If there wasn't even a one-in-a-nayuta chance that dialogue would work. Why have I always tried so hard to understand the other's intentions?
Why have I tried to look into the eyes of enemies and listen to their voices?
— I believed they could become people like us. Because they too had human emotions.
Because.
I also know.
— Although it was like a faint flame that disappeared before my eyes, I clearly saw the possibility. The moment when yesterday's enemy almost became today's compatriot…
The path that I, and our front, have walked so far.
It was a process of those who hated each other talking, understanding, and finally standing shoulder to shoulder together.
Countries that waged war, races that fought for a thousand years and lived as slaves for over a hundred years, people who hated each other for indelible past grievances…
Finally forgiving each other, embracing, loving, giving birth to the next generation's children, and everyone willingly giving their lives to protect those children.
I have clearly witnessed such miraculous scenes.
The hearts of wounded people who realize that there is no such thing as 'the sin of being born into the world' and finally forgive themselves.
The desperate hearts of children who lower their guns and swords aimed at each other across an unbridgeable valley… and try desperately to communicate by shouting.
I have watched.
This is precisely the path that I… and my city, my front, have proven over the past 3 years.
'I know.'
This is idealism.
This might be a stupid foolish act.
But…
Because this is the path my heart points to.
— Even if you're in tatters, it's okay. Even if you're shattered to pieces, it's okay. Whatever form you take, I like you.
Even if this attempt shatters me to pieces, it doesn't matter.
— If you don't lose your heart, even if you're split into a thousand or ten thousand pieces, you're still you.
Because I believe this path is right.
To be myself, I have no choice but to believe in my strategy and move forward.
— Ash. You have a heart stronger than anything in this world… the courage not to hate.
A voice, already distant, warm and affectionate, echoed in my heart.
— One who knows how to embrace others instead of hatred and anger. One who knows how to embrace a divided world and soothe others' wounds. Truly strong… goodwill.
Whether this is really an expression of such courage.
Or whether it's a reckless act that will pay a desperate price, I don't know.
— Love, Ash.
I'll live according to your last words.
I'll love.
"Hah…"
I stopped in the center of the audience chamber.
The Demon King's throne is close now. We're both at a distance where we can aim for each other's hearts and launch an attack at any time.
After taking a deep breath, I looked straight at my opponent.
And declared.
"I didn't come here to kill you."
"…?"
A puzzled light settled in the Demon King's tired gaze.
I gritted my teeth and refined my language.
This is not forgiveness.
This is not revenge.
This is, just.
A continuation of that winding road that I and my front have walked,
The only direction leading to the future that my flag has been pointing to,
And also the best struggle that I, a mere ordinary human, can wage.
"Demon King!"
Towards the opponent I hate the most.
Squeezing out all the courage I have-
With all my might, I shouted.
"I have come — to save you!"