Ch.17960. Original Creator RedLake (1)

The capital of Trelia, Luentz. I was in the middle of a battlefield, two days’ journey from there.

At the front, thousands of heretic soldiers along with monsters were blocking the Trelian army.

‘Blue Flame. The fire of the Vermilion Bird.’

And I cast a spell toward those soldiers.

A spear formed of magic. That spear transformed into the shape of a phoenix and flew forward.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

A unit of heretic soldiers was engulfed in flames.

A massive explosion surpassing the previous Blue Flame.

Like flames rising from a bomb dropped by a tactical bomber. The heretics and monsters were all reduced to ashes.

“So… so many soldiers with just one spell… even though the enemies used defensive spells…”

“Enough! The Apostle of Fire has opened the way. Strike while the enemy is in confusion!”

“The great Apostles are with us!”

The commanders of the Royal Knights shouted. The soldiers they led charged all at once.

They pushed against the enemy in perfect unison.

Yuri, Soso, and even Arin all demonstrated their skills in the middle of the battlefield.

“Now is the time! Have the left and right wings attack simultaneously!”

And I gave simultaneous orders through the magical device provided by the Trelian army.

‘We’ve clearly gained the upper hand now.’

It had been three days since I obtained the power of the White Tiger. About two weeks since arriving in Ailetan.

Our group was approaching the end of our mission in Ailetan.

After several hours of battle, the Trelian army succeeded in pushing back the heretic forces.

“We have won!”

“The Apostles have aided us! Bow before them!”

Knights and soldiers knelt before us in unison, showing their respect.

Commander Alicia, her entire body covered in enemy blood, placed her hand on her breastplate and bowed her head toward our group.

“We have successfully recaptured Rubiena! Rubiena is where Arel’s sanctuary exists! Now the Apostles can safely head there.”

Though she maintained an extremely solemn expression in front of her soldiers, I could sense great regret and sadness in Alicia’s eyes.

Shortly after, our group gathered in Alicia’s command tent.

We took a brief rest there, drinking tea.

I recalled the battle that had taken place today.

‘The power of the White Tiger. Fortunately, it seems to be integrating with me easily.’

Three days ago. In the basement of the command headquarters, I obtained the Ancient Gear, the Tiger’s Fang.

It was a longsword much larger than Windcutter.

And the moment Alicia awakened the will of that fang, metal blades spread in all directions and attacked her.

– To withstand this attack and successfully grasp the Tiger’s Fang. That is the qualification to become the captain of the Royal Knights.

It was like blocking the strikes of a supreme swordsman.

Alicia, befitting her role as captain, blocked all of the Tiger’s fierce attacks.

But after grasping the longsword, Alicia said:

– However, that qualification merely proves one can subdue the Tiger’s will. No one in our family has ever become the true master of this Tiger’s relic.

Yet the moment I saw that relic, I felt it. That the Tiger’s Fang was the final puzzle piece.

– It’s dangerous!

I reawakened the Tiger’s Fang that Alicia had subdued.

– H-how is this possible…

And the Tiger’s Fang created metal blades that tore through the air in all directions.

But those hundreds of sharp blades couldn’t wound me at all.

– The Tiger… has chosen you, Minsu.

She was right. The longsword remained in place.

But a new fang-shaped metal, similar in size to Windcutter, formed above my hand.

That fang contained the will of the divine beast, the White Tiger.

“The power of the final divine beast… it was amazing.”

Yuri, sipping her tea, looked at me and spoke.

Soso quickly nodded in agreement.

“In this battle, the person who shone the brightest was undoubtedly Minsu! Before Minsu’s flame spells, the heretics posed no threat at all.”

I felt a bit embarrassed by their praise, but it wasn’t an exaggeration.

The Tiger’s Fang. I had absorbed the will of the White Tiger. Because of this, the Vermilion Bird’s fire had evolved to the point where it could no longer be simply called the Vermilion Bird’s fire.

A blue-white flame containing the powers of the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger.

If the Blue Flame I created before was in the form of a sphere, the current Blue Flame manifested as a massive flame spear.

And that fire, according to my will, bombarded the enemy like divine punishment.

“The soldiers were saying that the Apostles directly brought down Arel’s divine punishment upon those heretics.”

As Yuri said, the person who contributed most to this battle was, objectively, me.

‘With this, Trelia should be safe for the time being.’

Our group consists of people who must return to Earth.

So we cannot completely quell the chaos in Ailetan. Still, with this battle, the heretic forces will be temporarily weakened.

‘And if we manage to defeat the Red Dragon…’

Earth and Ailetan.

The reason gates appeared in both worlds is because that Red Dragon entity has distorted the balance of the world.

If we defeat that evil god, we might be able to quell the chaos in both worlds.

‘So now it’s time to complete our final mission in Ailetan and return.’

And the moment I obtained the Tiger’s Fang, our destination became clear.

It’s Rubiena, where today’s battle took place. Arel’s sanctuary is located at a lake here.

Finally, Commander Alicia entered the tent.

“Then I will personally guide the Apostles to the sanctuary.”

Our group headed toward Rubiena’s sanctuary with Alicia.

***

Rubiena’s sanctuary.

Our group was about to arrive at the sacred lake, said to have been formed from Arel’s tears.

That lake is a place that Trelian clergy must visit on their pilgrimage.

So once we drove the heretic forces away from this area, the path there wasn’t difficult.

I was sitting in a carriage provided by the knights. I had been lost in thought the entire way here.

‘Now I have only two weeks left…’

I had obtained the power of all four divine beasts.

Because of that immense power, I had transcended even the limits of a mage.

The limit a formula mage could reach, the 7th tier.

Even without using resonance compression, with individual magic spells alone, I could use 7th tier magic of four types: fire, wind, ice, and metal.

‘It’s not arrogance. The heretic forces, compared to Earth, are elites equivalent to at least S-rank hunters. But even they…’

I easily reduced such heretic forces and S-rank level monsters to ashes.

I single-handedly incinerated over a thousand elite soldiers.

And I instinctively sensed that the compression magic created by simultaneously resonating the power of the four divine beasts had reached beyond the 7th tier to the realm of the 8th tier.

‘Theoretically possible but… no, humans on Earth… not even the great mages of Ailetan could achieve it.’

It was the realm of demigods that transcended humanity.

The realm of the divine apostles who existed in the era of Yu Jahyun and the ancient imperial era that followed.

‘Well, since I am that divine apostle, I suppose it’s natural.’

Yet despite possessing such strength, my lifespan felt like a candle in the wind.

A lamp that could be extinguished at any moment.

And once extinguished, a broken candle that no fire could relight.

Only now did my death begin to feel real.

‘How ironic. Only now.’

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t afraid of death at all.

There’s still a possibility of failing in my revenge. The evil god is a being that transcends apostles, a deity itself.

I haven’t obtained Epitheus yet. So I’m not confident I can defeat that evil god. It means everything I’ve done so far could be ruined.

‘That sanctuary. The sacred lake might hold the answer…’

But in truth, what I feared most was…

Parting with them forever. I have no life before the possession.

So the existence called Lee Minsu…

Is a person created by their presence. They were my everything.

‘I love them all. I want… to spend more time with everyone like this.’

That’s why I revealed all my emotions since coming to Ailetan.

Even before coming to Ailetan, I had already crossed the line with everyone.

But since coming here, as if shedding all pretenses, I spent nights with them.

As if those hot summer nights would continue forever.

‘But they’re all just pretending not to know. Or maybe they want to forget. At least for this short time, the fact that I’m terminally ill…’

So both I and they, deliberately not thinking about that fact, actively explored each other’s warmth.

And until the moment of death, I wanted to engrave the image of the people I love in my eyes, in my body.

‘And although I shouldn’t…’

I became honest in the face of imminent death. I wished for their happiness.

Even without me. They are all young, beautiful, and talented. Being women, I prayed they would forget me and live new lives.

But in truth, my heart felt differently.

If we manage to save the world like this, I hope they won’t forget me.

Then even if I die and disappear, I will find a new eternity within them.

It’s a selfish thought, but I had such thoughts because I was truly afraid of death.

‘Arel… the god of Ailetan.’

And to overcome that fear, I needed to know the truth about this world.

The original author, Red Lake. And another name hidden within that name. Arel.

The divine beasts that Arel created by dividing his divine nature. I had obtained the power of all those divine beasts.

‘So I’m fully prepared to approach that Red Lake.’

The carriage finally stopped.

Commander Alicia, who had guided us here, dismounted and said to us:

“This is the sacred lake. The sanctuary.”

***

The lake was filled with blue light.

Mana overflowed there. And between the mana, divine power was intertwined.

It was a place where the miracle of the deity seemed to remain as it was from the beginning of time.

Our group approached the surface of the lake, which looked as transparent as a mirror.

“This is the sanctuary? But apart from the thick mana, there’s no special phenomenon…”

But I shook my head at Soso’s words.

“No. This is definitely it. I feel like we need to head inside.”

Although it was my first visit, instinctively I knew what needed to be done here.

‘It feels like the power of the divine beasts is guiding me there.’

At that moment, Commander Alicia, who was with us, said:

“This is a place pilgrims visit, but approaching the water’s surface is forbidden! More precisely, the power filling the lake doesn’t allow anyone to approach!”

Meaning we couldn’t get any closer to the lake. The mana and divine power felt extremely strong.

An ordinary awakened person might have their body burned just by forcibly immersing themselves there.

But I answered Alicia:

“It’s alright. I think I know the method.”

Following the whispers of the divine beasts’ will, I spoke to our group:

“Yuri, focus the mana from the water’s surface. And Arin, focus the divine power from the water’s surface. Each to yourselves.”

The two were momentarily puzzled but soon followed my instructions.

WOOOONG-

Then in front of the two, spheres of mana and divine power formed and rotated violently.

Soso anxiously looked at me.

“Do… does this one have nothing to do…”

She seemed nervous when I only gave instructions to the other two.

“Just wait a little longer.”

Five minutes passed. No one could approach.

Yuri and Arin focused all the mana and divine power from the lake onto themselves.

Then the lake, which had allowed no one to approach, changed to feel like an ordinary lake.

“Now! Soso, part the water’s surface!”

Soso understood my meaning. She slashed the lake’s surface with her Fayeong Sword.

“The… the lake…!!”

Commander Alicia was startled. The lake parted at Soso’s strike. And between the parted waters, stairs leading down beneath the lake appeared.

“Is that… a gate?”

And at the bottom of those stairs.

A gate similar to the one we used when entering Ailetan revealed itself.

I said to Alicia:

“It seems it’s time to say goodbye.”

Alicia’s face turned pale.

“Are the Apostles… already leaving Ailetan?”

She was right.

But I and our group knew that we were already being hailed as Ailetan’s new light, its saviors.

So I had already prepared words befitting an apostle.

“No. To save Ailetan. To defeat the Red Dragon Sethanas. We intend to return to the celestial realm where that evil god exists.”

I conveniently referred to Earth as the celestial realm. Of course, since the resurrection of the evil god was prophesied on Earth, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Alicia, unable to control her emotions, grabbed my sleeve.

“Then… if you defeat the evil god, we’ll definitely see each other again, right? Minsu…”

Her eyes reddened. I smiled at her.

“I pray to Arel that such a day will come. I promise.”

With those words, I moved away from Alicia.

“Then everyone, through that gate!”

I crossed that divine power-filled gate with our group.

To the place where our final goal, Epitheus, should be.

And shortly after, I opened my eyes again in a colorless space where nothing existed.

‘Where are the others…’

It was truly a white space where nothing could be felt.

Just then, in that space I thought was empty, I met someone’s gaze.

‘Who…’

And before that thought could finish, the being who met my eyes spoke:

“You’ve finally arrived. You, the key of darkness.”

Somehow, this person felt very familiar. And he continued:

“I am the being you have been searching for all this time. And the one who has been waiting for you.”

The moment I heard those words, I sensed his identity.

“Red… Lake…?”

He nodded at my words.