Ch.196Chapter 196

Alfodur judged Alkeides to be a complete idiot.

How could a god fulfill something the world does not permit—bringing the dead back to life?

However, calling him an idiot didn’t mean Alkeides was incompetent. Except for his love toward his lover, he was a more perfect hero than anyone else.

His sculpture-like beauty, capable of enchanting even men, drove artists to despair and made them cut off their own hands.

His ultimate physique, without the slightest waste, instinctively terrified both veteran warriors and the worst monsters.

Above all, Alkeides’ most outstanding quality was his innate character.

Among heroes who treated even their own kind as mere accessories to their glory, Alkeides could be called one of the few true heroes who maintained their humanity.

“It’s only right that I return the head I cut off with my own hands.”

Though to the Wendigo, he was nothing more than an obstacle blocking the path.

Alkeides held his gladius in a thrusting position. Though not particularly threatening due to the characteristically short blade, the Wendigo remained vigilant.

From the extreme love for his lover and the fact that it had sprung from the beast’s neck, he could guess the opponent’s identity.

‘Here he comes.’

It was just a very slight movement of the leg, but that was enough of a sign.

In an instant, Alkeides’ form blurred, and he appeared right in front with a gust of wind. The sharp blade lunged for the neck with murderous intent.

Kagagak!!!

The ice sword raised like a shield collided with the gladius, creating a loud noise, and a slight dissatisfaction appeared on Alkeides’ beautiful face.

“□□□□□!!!!!”

There was no need to consider the surrounding situation. Materialized cold energy, flickering like a flame, burst toward Alkeides’ front.

The aftermath alone froze the surrounding plants and ground, which easily shattered with the slightest impact.

It was an intense cold that would kill an ordinary human—literally turning them to ice rather than freezing to death.

But Alkeides blocked the roar with a cloak made of liquid and stepped aside.

“Hup!”

Alkeides leaped off the ground and swung his gladius, creating a black flash.

It wasn’t as swift an attack as the previous thrust, but there was a strong intuition that it couldn’t be avoided.

The only options were to block or attack.

The Wendigo chose to attack Alkeides. More precisely, his body moved instinctively rather than by choice.

Condensing mystery into the ice sword, the blade emitted an eerie light and screamed.

Witnessing this sight, Alkeides’ eyes trembled slightly, expressing surprise.

As the ice sword and gladius collided, there was a thunderous explosion as if heaven and earth were collapsing.

The moment Alkeides and the Wendigo’s eyes met, both were pushed to opposite sides with the sound of tearing flesh.

The Wendigo checked the hole in his stomach.

“That’s quite painful.”

The beast’s leg had easily penetrated the hide that even steel spears couldn’t easily pierce. Though the claws weren’t sharp, they left a wound with overwhelming force.

But the Wendigo wasn’t the only one wounded.

“……”

Alkeides checked his stomach where the Wendigo’s fist had struck. His skin, which wouldn’t easily tear even if struck by a giant, was torn, and a dark blue liquid flowed out.

The wound wasn’t the end of it. The arm holding the gladius trembled, unable to withstand the aftermath of the recent clash.

Liquid dripped from his torn-off nails.

“I couldn’t fully manifest my power, it seems.”

The beast’s body nervously stamped its foot and manipulated the dark blue liquid to repair Alkeides’ wounds.

Like a spider subduing its prey, dozens of threads sealed the wounds, and more liquid than before seeped into his body.

Amusingly, the Wendigo thought this resembled himself quite a bit.

Being able to regenerate after being wounded, wastefully expending limitless mystery…

“So my root is still my root, I suppose.”

“If you were born from this one’s head, you’d naturally resemble him, whether you like it or not. Do you have any intention of returning your head willingly?”

“Your comrades might welcome death… but I’ve never thought about wanting to die yet.”

“Death isn’t necessarily bad. Death is more warm and cozy than any rest in this world.”

That’s probably because his lover, for whom he risked his life, was waiting in the afterlife.

The Wendigo swallowed the rebuttal that was about to escape his lips. This was because Alkeides charged immediately after finishing his words.

But it wasn’t as fast as before, not to the point where he couldn’t follow with his eyes.

Kwaddeudeudeuk!

Following the Wendigo’s will, a giant wooden hand emerged from the ground and swung its fist toward Alkeides. A loud noise rose along with a cloud of dust.

What was heard wasn’t the sound of bones and flesh being crushed, but only the sound of the innocent ground splitting.

At that moment, Alkeides’ figure appeared faintly in the dust and then disappeared.

The Wendigo swung his ice sword with full force. The dust caught in the air pressure swirled around the ice sword, and the ice sword cut through the surroundings with the force of a storm…

“Oh no.”

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out briefly, and all the dust was blown away by the sword strike.

What entered the Wendigo’s eyes was the sight of Alkeides deflecting the sword strike with his cracked gladius while pressing his body close to the beast’s body.

Rising to his feet, Alkeides unhesitatingly readjusted his grip on the gladius, aiming for the heart. The beast’s body urged him to thrust quickly.

The Wendigo intended to move his arm to interfere with the trajectory toward the heart. He could recover an arm, but he wasn’t sure about the heart.

Give up the arm and cut down the opponent with the ice sword.

… At least, that was the plan if his body had moved.

“!”

Finding his body immobilized as if chained, the Wendigo looked behind him.

His shadow had lost its owner’s form and was now in the shape of a strange woman, pulling out threads made of shadow. These threads extended over his body, hindering his movement.

Alkeides, with one eye melting, aimed his gladius at the Wendigo’s heart and said:

“It seems having the head doesn’t mean you inherited the memories as well.”

In the past, the dark art used to hunt the Beast of Death now manifested in this world at the cost of one of his eyes.

The woman who weaves the threads of doom, Moira’s threads could stop the movement of any powerful being…

Tudududuk!

“■■■■■■■!?!”

“What?!”

As the Wendigo exerted more strength, the shadow threads broke, and the shadow in Moira’s form melted away in pain from the recoil.

Alkeides, surprised by the unexpected turn, thrust his gladius.

The speed, posture, and strength were flawless, but the moment his mind wavered, the thrust missed its timing.

“I may not know about the head, but my body has a different origin.”

Bang!

The Wendigo swung his ice sword toward the gladius with enough force to shatter it. Alkeides was pushed back, trying to regain his balance.

But unlike his upper body, his lower body was that of a beast.

It was inevitable that his lower body would waver against his will. The Wendigo didn’t miss this opening.

With an arm densely wrapped in hundreds, no, thousands of roots, and a massive ice spearhead added to it, the Wendigo extended his arm toward the gladius like a cavalryman thrusting a lance.

Frowning, Alkeides attempted to deflect the wooden and ice lance by swinging his gladius.

However, the massive lance with overwhelming mass and weight was precisely targeting the cracked part of the gladius. Alkeides, relying on luck, clicked his tongue as he watched his gladius split apart.

Kwajijijik!

With the unpleasant sound of flesh tearing and being crushed, the lance was embedded in Alkeides’ chest. He exhaled a faint breath and dropped the broken gladius.

Kwadeudeudeuk.

The Wendigo drove the lance deeper to ensure that the wound couldn’t be healed even if the beast poured out all the liquid it could extract.

Separating his arm from the lance, the Wendigo raised his ice sword high. He intended to cut down both Alkeides and the beast’s body in one stroke.

“Go back to your lover now.”

“Maga… ra.”

Should one say he’s truly a lover recognized even by the gods?

Even facing defeat, Alkeides called out his lover’s name until the end. It seemed he desperately wanted to see the lover he would meet again upon returning.

Alkeides reached out a trembling hand toward the void, and the Wendigo brought down his sword toward his face.

Kkadeudeudeudeuk!

But what was heard wasn’t the sound of flesh splitting, but a dull sound of the sword embedding into something solid.

The Wendigo looked at Alkeides’ hand. His hand was grasping the void.

The Wendigo then realized that what Alkeides had grabbed wasn’t the void at all.

It gradually revealed itself: a club wrapped in lion’s skin and snake scales.

Though its appearance was unsightly due to the skin and scales being torn by the sword, the power contained within hadn’t diminished. The mystery felt from it was overwhelmingly strong compared to the gladius.

Alkeides grasped the club with his last strength.

“I must… apologize… to the beast…”

Unable to resist the temptation that he could save his lover, he had cut off the beast’s head with a gladius received from an unfamiliar god.

If he hadn’t abandoned his original pride, his lover’s last request, he could have met her again simply by dying himself, without needing to cut off the head.

Death had forgiven that sin and allowed him to rest with his lover… now it was time to ask the beast for forgiveness.

“Apologize in the afterlife.”

“Ah…”

Retrieving his ice sword, the Wendigo swung it like lightning. There was no time to be leisurely with the unusual energy felt from the club.

But even a half-baked recreation of a hero didn’t lose its extraordinariness.

The Wendigo’s ice sword cut Alkeides’ body in half, lance and all.

Kwadeudeudeuk!

“Kuk?!”

Alkeides’ weakly swung club half-destroyed the Wendigo’s chest.

In the past, the club gifted by his lover, the witch, with the meaning of not losing pride.

It contained the pride he had maintained. Things lightly regarded like love, friendship, and a kind heart.

Although it was pride he had given up to save his lover against his oath, losing it didn’t mean that pride disappeared.

“Watch… your back…”

Having delivered his final blow, Alkeides melted away as if his task was complete.

The beast’s body stood still in front of Alkeides’ melted remains as if it had a head.

Eventually, the beast forcibly stuffed Alkeides’ remains into its severed neck. Even as liquid continued to flow from the cut neck, it didn’t stop this action.

‘If only it would stay still, continuing that act.’

Whether due to the magic contained in the club or purely because his body was shattered, the pain was intense.

The bigger problem was that, unlike before, recovery wasn’t easy. Damn it, the lover boy was indeed formidable.

Step, step.

The beast, seemingly realizing it was impossible to salvage the remains, moved forward. Tentacles sprouting from its neck rapidly surged forward.

He raised a wall of roots to buy time for recovery, but it was useless. The liquid tentacles rushed like a torrent, smashing through the root wall.

He charged toward it, swinging his sword with a body uncomfortable to move, but…

Whirrrr!

“… Damn it.”

Like a kraken with hundreds of legs, the dark blue liquid tentacles sprouting from the beast’s neck didn’t diminish no matter how much they were cut, frozen, or torn apart.

The dark blue liquid wrapped around his neck and tightened. Pressure that felt like his head would be severed at any moment tormented him.

The beast’s body approached him as if to watch this scene.

‘Am I dying?’

If death was frightening, then it was frightening; if not, then it wasn’t.

At least he had seen with his own eyes that death in this world promised rest rather than pain.

But how could a living being easily accept death?

‘… How amusing. From the first time I killed someone, I’ve been thinking I might die like this someday.’

From the moment he first killed after departing from humanity, he had vaguely thought that such an end might be waiting for him.

Just like those who died by his hand, he too could meet the same fate.

Kkwadeudeudeuk!

As if it were death itself, the liquid wrapping around his neck flowed fiercely, digging deeper and deeper.

The sensation of his neck gradually being severed was the worst, but there was no way to resist. His arms, legs, and even the ice sword were caught by the dark blue liquid.

Should he accept death like this?

With this pointless question rather than a scheme to survive, the beast’s body waiting for his head to fall approached closer and closer…

Kwajijijik!

The Wendigo answered himself with action.

In the final moment, with legs that could barely move, he took a few steps forward and sank his teeth into the beast’s body.

Death was not yet his.