Ch.119Chapter 119. You’re Someone Who Shouldn’t Exist.

Hero.

A word that inherently embodies hope, a title bestowed only upon the “most special and powerful beings” in this world.

“…Hero?”

How should she respond to someone who appeared before her mentioning such a term?

Before she could even process it, mockery began to leak from her lips.

“You claim to be a Hero?”

Before someone who understood the meaning and weight of that word better than anyone else, someone who called himself a Hero had come to block her path.

Wouldn’t that naturally be amusing?

“…And what of it?”

A subdued voice escaped her lips as she calmed her overheated emotions.

The respectfulness she conveyed no longer carried the same madness as before.

Though lifeless as a corpse, she could feel her rationality gradually establishing itself.

“I’ve faced countless self-proclaimed Heroes before. Except for the last one I faced, none managed to behead me.”

What emerged then were traces of the act she had maintained to escape her rough mercenary days.

It was arrogance and composure born from her position as an absolute being.

“Do you really believe you can face me with just what you’ve shown so far? You, with merely the power of a single Hero?”

Yes, the Red Knight was certain.

She had an unwavering belief that the person before her could not interfere with her, a feeling of déjà vu emanating from him.

“…That said, I am somewhat concerned. Unlike ordinary Heroes, you seem to perfectly replicate the techniques I’ve used.”

The temporary materialization she had used before was the culmination of creating matter using mana—energy that responds to will to generate physical force.

Since it’s clearly a technique that manipulates energy responding to will, one cannot reach such a level without seeking cooperation from beings like spirits who can control mana in minute detail.

And the only way for humans to handle spirits to that degree is to inherit the lineage from beings like dragons.

“Ah, I see… Are you saying you’re like me?”

And there is only one dragon in this world.

A living corpse that refused to die despite having its dragon scales poked countless times, and whose will to survive remained even after losing consciousness.

Such a being had passed on its lineage to another human after her.

“…With just that much.”

With that realization, a sword thrust pierced her dragon scales with a squelch.

“Do you think you can oppose me just because you were chosen by this one? Even when you see the army surrounding you now?”

Now that her madness had subsided and she could think rationally about her calling.

Though there was nothing left to extract from her mother, she felt she could handle her power more skillfully as her emotions toward her intensified.

-Crunch, crunch.

The forces rising from the earth in response to that power showed that she had far transcended her power from her previous life.

Beyond just materializing weapons, she could now manifest an army, even an era of madness that mocked such things—there was no way a single hero could defeat her.

“…You’re silent.”

The man before her remained silent, just glaring at her as she confirmed this.

The Red Knight smirked and began to mock him.

“Have you finally realized the reality and frozen in place? Well, if you’ve entered enemy territory…”

“You seem quite different from when I saw you before.”

His mouth finally opened belatedly.

The Red Knight paused, unable to understand his meaning as she glared at him.

“…When you saw me before?”

“Don’t you remember me? We met once about 4 months ago.”

Remember? What does he mean?

As she wondered, the Red Knight gradually felt the man’s face before her becoming familiar.

Yes, definitely that common adventurer she met when she went to prevent the Black Knight from acting independently.

She hadn’t killed him then—a being she could have easily slain—because she deemed him not worth killing.

Eventually all living beings would join their legion anyway, and to retrieve the Black Knight who was interested in him, she considered it correct to keep him out of mind.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember well. Even if we met, those memories are too trivial.”

But now that doesn’t matter.

She who no longer even considers the Lord of Corpses her mother would find it strange to care about someone she spared before who had returned stronger.

“…No, even if we met, it doesn’t matter. Someone like you cannot stop me, no matter how many come.”

As she pointed her ash-covered sword forward, its magical power began to transfer to the soldiers whose numbers were gradually increasing around her.

When thousands, tens of thousands of troops soaked in madness and hunger focused their attention on him.

“Everyone, eliminate that man. Starting with his defeat, we declare a blood war on this world!”

It was essentially a death sentence.

An individual facing an army might be somewhat possible for her former self, but what he faced now was an endless legion.

An army of blood that would be infinitely generated as long as she remained standing, destined to devour the entire world before long.

“Woo, woo…”

As these soldiers received her orders and focused on him.

They recognized his existence and began to open their mouths stupidly, dropping their weapons to the ground.

“Woohyo?”

For the Red Knight who expected them to charge immediately, they uttered something completely unexpected.

“Woo, woohyooo…”

“Woohyo, woohyo.”

She watched for a moment thinking she might have misheard, but it was the same no matter how many times she listened.

Those facing him were all making bizarre sounds, just standing there stupidly.

“Woohyoooo~”

“Woohyoooooo~!!”

Eventually even the battle cries that should have resounded were infected by these bizarre howls, and the Red Knight’s face began to harden as she finally sensed something was wrong.

“What on earth…”

“Aaaaargh! Please, stop with that damn woohyo sound!!!!”

The man swung his spear at the soldiers standing there stupidly.

Though the soldiers’ bodies were dismembered by his attack, they continued to make those howling sounds after recognizing him.

The sight of them stupidly making those sounds even as their bodies were cut apart made it seem as if the man had cast some strange spell to bind them.

“You bastards!! My name isn’t Woohyo, it’s Hyoseong Woo! How many times do I have to tell you!?”

But why was the man himself so enraged, mercilessly cutting them down?

Dumbfounded by the incomprehensible situation, the Red Knight stared blankly as he finally stopped slicing through the soldiers and began shouting at the top of his lungs.

“My ability makes people remember my name, so why do you keep saying it wrong!? The surname you should drop is not the back but the front! The front!!!”

“Did I go through all that trouble to be treated like this in this situation? Please be serious in serious situations, huh!?”

“Woohyo?”

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!!”

The man finally lost his mind and began sweeping through nearby soldiers indiscriminately.

As she watched the forces gathering around him gradually diminish, the Red Knight took time to recall the name he mentioned.

‘Woohyo, seong…’

It’s a name in her memory.

She had faced him directly once, and moreover, the undead under the Lord of Corpses shared memories to some extent.

Of course, as corpses, they mostly ignored everything except their lingering attachments or orders from superior beings, but despite this natural flow, there was one name that particularly refused to be forgotten.

‘An ability to forcibly imprint one’s existence—isn’t that fascinating?’

The words the White Knight had mentioned about him before coming here gradually came back to her.

What she had considered trivial chatter then was now the answer explaining the current situation.

‘Is it really that serious?’

‘Not so much serious as interesting. To thrust a memory clearer than lingering attachments into the memories of us undead who care about nothing else… If used well, it might even cause a revolution among us corpses.’

A seemingly trivial power that merely imprints a name.

But like the powers wielded by other Heroes, it clearly belonged to a concept that transcended the rules and common sense of this world.

The absolute rule that the undead live for their lingering attachments had been fractured simply by encountering his existence.

‘My calling…’

And beyond the undead, it was now reaching the level of preventing the actions of soldiers created from nothing.

Soldiers without self-awareness who should only be faithful to their instincts, repeating eternal war, extracting only the madness of the era and hatred toward humanity.

Just by encountering him, their actions stopped, and they began to focus only on him.

‘My war is being… defiled by that man?’

The moment she realized this, the Red Knight moved.

Beyond emotional, she was passionate.

-Kwang!!

The trajectory of blood drawn as the bodies of colliding soldiers burst mercilessly at her rough movement.

Recognizing the blood-soaked sword being swung at the end, he quickly raised his spear to counter the attack.

-Kwang!!!!

The magical spear he formed in his hand collided with the sword the moment he recognized it.

Despite the magical explosion that occurred, swords created around the Red Knight who didn’t back down were repeatedly swung fiercely at him in response to her will.

-Kwakang, kwang! Kwarreung!!!

Continuous creation of weapons, and magical explosions.

Though she seemed to be pushing him back using that power, even that soon stopped.

“Woohyo, seong……”

At the end, a power struggle formed as the weapons in their hands collided.

In the tense exchange where neither gave an inch, the two began to glare at each other through the gap between their weapons.

“Hyoseong Woo, Woohyoseoooong!!”

The Red Knight, radiating madness again with anger and fear toward her opponent.

“Finally, I’ve met someone who calls my name correctly.”

And the Hero, feeling satisfaction in the current situation.

She felt that the composure emanating from his face was severely scratching at her conviction that she had the upper hand.

It seemed abominable that a power merely remembering a name had risen to become the greatest danger to her.

-Kwareung!!!

With that sense of crisis, her sword strikes began to increase in output again.

Around him as he stumbled backward from the pressure, the forces that had been standing still began to gather.

“Hyoseong Woo, you should not exist in this world.”

If left to their instincts alone, they would just stand still.

But if she poured magical power and forcibly commanded them, there was nothing preventing them from charging.

“Your very existence interferes with me. My realization, the reason I exist…!!”

Using such a command on the entire force consumed considerable magical power, but this opponent was worth the cost.

The opponent had reached a level equal to her former self who had handled armies single-handedly.

Facing him carelessly would only give him an opportunity to counterattack.

“…Is that why you made your mother like that?”

“Because I hate her.”

Realizing his gaze was directed at her fallen mother, the Red Knight shouted, mixing fever with her anger.

“I hated her as much as I loved her. Despite that, I wanted to be with her forever!!!”

-Kyaaaaaaak!!!

The undead horde began to rampage in response to her emotional outburst.

He tried to fend them off with weapons and stop them with created armaments, but that wasn’t enough.

For every one he dealt with, twice as many enemies appeared, and after handling those, enemies multiplied tenfold, charging with killing intent.

“So I will fulfill her wish. By destroying humanity and trapping them in an eternal crucible of war!”

Yes, the opponent was a calamity completed by accepting dragon’s blood.

With enough time, her overflowing magical power makes it possible to produce infinite forces centered on her.

It might end if the caster were killed, but the reason he couldn’t charge in was clear.

Even while facing off like this, he instinctively realized that her power was overwhelming his own.

-…Diring~♬

But still, he doesn’t retreat.

Despite understanding that a situation like this would unfold, he jumped in here prepared for even that.

Not because he overestimated his own capabilities, but because he believed in the existence of allies who would stand with him even in this moment.

-Diriring, diring~♬

As the Red Knight confronted him as he controlled his will with such faith, she felt the faint music sound gradually becoming clearer in her ears.

And simultaneously, a presence felt from the side.

“Chaaaarge~!!!”

What she saw when she turned was humanity’s army rushing in, led by an old man.

Those she thought were waiting for death were now running toward certain death, forgetting their fear.

****

And the place left behind after he departed.

“Why are you staring so blankly?”

Merilyn approached Irie who was gazing emptily at the scene, plucking the strings of the lute in her hand as she turned to her.

“Didn’t you want to save this world, even one like this? After drawing in the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord’s army, you shouldn’t give up here.”

“…Miss Merilyn.”

Save it? How?

The unforeseen calamity had awakened, and even when the future was prophesied, that prophecy had been broken multiple times.

How could they think of opposing a calamity that even Tashian, whom they couldn’t handle, had surpassed?

“Are you alright? Hyoseong…”

“If the end is the same no matter where we flee, I shouldn’t stand in his way.”

Though she thought her feelings were the same, the sound of the strings in her hand continued to resonate without stopping.

“Besides, if the world ends, there will be no one left to listen to my performance, which would be quite regrettable for me.”

“…Performance?”

“Yes, performance~”

-Diriring~♬

With a clear smile on her lips, she produced an even clearer melody.

As Irie stared blankly, feeling the change in emotions from it, Merilyn’s lips slowly began to open.

“Irie, you know…”

She wants to explain here why she let him go, despite being in a position to stop him.

She wants to convey the realization that the feelings she has for him cannot be perfected with just the two of them alone.

“I want more people to understand the love I feel for him.”

The current performance stems from such desire.

It was to express her selfishness of wanting to prove her love is right by having others understand the intense love she feels.

“And there are audiences over there who can understand that.”

Yes, that’s enough.

The reason she needs to perform here.

“If the stage and actors are sufficiently prepared, all that’s needed for the audience is music to set the mood…”

“Now, shall we begin the performance together?”

Merilyn Sutherland, the Troubadour of Love.

Her beautiful performance begins to resound across this cruel battlefield.