Ch.211211. Stupid Senior (1)

The culmination of offering magic, born from countless sacrifices.

Terrible mana link mediums created by offering living beings as sacrifices.

The dark hungry ghost, created with the sorcerer’s will fully inherited, charged forward as if to devour everything in its path.

Yet even with this corrupted power, with this dark and cruel magical force.

It couldn’t reach Alcaide.

“Cough!”

The Saint King, whose lower body had been completely blown away, spewed a dark red fountain from the ground.

And he lamented.

Despite using such sacrifices, despite pouring out so much magical power, he couldn’t surpass Alcaide.

“Haa, haa…”

By then, the boy had approached.

Though one could tell he was extremely exhausted just from his labored breathing, the boy stood firmly and took one step at a time, revealing his face.

Anyone could see at a glance.

He was on the verge of collapse from even the slightest physical contact. A mere touch would make him fall in that direction.

It wasn’t just his external appearance that seemed unstable. Internally too, his body trembled as if he had poured out everything he had.

Yet, how could he still walk?

“Are you… some kind of monster?”

No matter how great Alcaide might be, he was still human.

Using that much magical power should have resulted in tremendous backlash, so the fact that he could stand in that state and come to see the fallen Saint King made no sense.

The aftereffects would undoubtedly include pain, and it was obvious that some of his nerves or tissues would be unresponsive.

“The monster is… you… you… damned… old man…”

“…”

So this boy was Alcaide.

The black hair filled the eyes of the Saint King, who could barely keep them open and was about to breathe his last.

His bloodstained lips trembled briefly and turned upward.

‘So the deity did not make the wrong choice after all.’

In the end, the old man had chosen the wrong option.

The deity had correctly summoned the one who would save this world and entrusted everything to him.

It was none other than himself who had misinterpreted the oracle and trampled the empire.

The evidence was clear.

He had activated all the mana links connected to the lycans, drawing out magical power, and squeezed out all the magic to create the form of a hungry ghost’s maw.

That alone should have had enough power to annihilate all the humans fighting the lycan army above.

If this wasn’t evidence, what was?

The humans would soon come down after finishing the subjugation above. Before that, there was something he needed to convey.

“Can you win this time? You who have witnessed the end of the first world.”

“…?”

The black pupils trembled slightly. He seemed puzzled yet somehow understanding.

At this, the Saint King spoke directly.

“Don’t pretend to ask. You already know how the first world perished.”

“What are you… saying…”

“No one but you can defeat it. Without borrowing your power, this world will be no different from before.”

“!!!”

Certainty dawned in his weakening pupils.

He had realized.

That the story the Saint King was reciting was related to the fallen empire.

Cough!

Once again, he spewed a fountain of blood.

It likely meant his life thread was nearly cut. In this short time, determined to convey something, he strained his voice.

“So… if you haven’t… given up… prove it…”

“Hey, what do you know? What…!”

“You… in this world… as Alcaide… beco…”

The old man’s voice, which had been straining his vocal cords even while spewing blood, completely stopped.

The pupils of the one who had worshipped the deity were looking at the sky, but the vitality had been cut off, and the focus had completely disappeared.

Soon, all the organs in his body stopped, signaling the Saint King’s death.

“What on earth… what…!”

Despite breaking through all kinds of attacks and thinking he had defeated the enemy, Junon was left with numerous questions instead of feeling relieved about defeating a formidable foe.

But that was only for a moment.

Though he had stood up with indomitable willpower, he had reached his limit.

“Ugh, damn… it.”

He needed to forcibly get up and ask what was going on.

He should have grabbed him by the collar to find out what he was trying to say at the end, a truth that needed to be discovered.

But his body wouldn’t listen.

“Senior!!”

His focus blurred. The world turned upside down.

His thoughts weren’t flowing smoothly, and all the energy had drained from his body, making it impossible to move even a finger.

After collapsing on the ground, he rolled his eyes to see silver hair fluttering in the distance before closing his eyes.

“Senior? What should I… Don’t close your eyes… okay?”

Renias, anxious and restless.

She tried shaking Junon’s shoulders to keep him conscious, but his body didn’t move at all.

But he was alive.

Though faint, his breath hadn’t stopped, and his carotid artery was still pulsing.

No. Perhaps she had been certain from the beginning that he wouldn’t die.

“Please send a medical team here!! It’s urgent, hurry!!”

“Go check over there first!!”

Not long after, the medical team arrived and prioritized Junon’s treatment.

Thus, the first to leave the battlefield was the boy who had single-handedly defeated the Saint King.

And one person watching this.

Goden, who had boasted mountain-like defense and bought time, watched Junon until the end.

“…”

Many indescribable emotions passed through him.

Until his party members touched his shoulder and suggested they leave, Goden stood still in that spot.

***

A whole week had passed since the Saint King’s subjugation.

How do I know?

Well, because I just woke up.

I only realized a week had passed after waking up.

“…”

Normally, I might have just brushed it off, thinking I had nearly died again but somehow survived. Normally, that is.

Before closing my eyes.

I was bothered by what the Saint King had tried to say as he was dying.

-‘Can you win this time? You who have witnessed the end of the first world.’

It was a significant statement, but I couldn’t help but understand the reference to the “first world.”

Moreover, the direct statement he threw at me when I was puzzled.

-‘Don’t pretend to ask. You already know how the first world perished.’

The end of the first world. And its destruction.

That man might have already realized that I had experienced regression.

How did he know? The oracle was said to be like a prophecy from the deity, so did he know through that?

But there’s no way such an oracle would be given for a mere outsider like me.

Is it right to give another chance to someone who has failed once?

Besides, he said no one but me could defeat it? Without borrowing my power, this world would be no different from before?

It sounds like a warning, but I wonder if it’s really directed at me. I’m just a nobody.

“What on earth are you saying?”

-‘So… if you haven’t… given up… prove it…’

-‘You… in this world… as Alcaide… beco…’

What am I supposed to prove? What do “this world” and “Alcaide” mean?

If he were still alive, I’d rush over and ask him right away.

I might be swayed by words I don’t understand, but didn’t he strain his voice as if he had to say it right before dying? If I think of it as his last words… it’s hard to dismiss.

My body might not be in good shape, but after hearing those words, my head doesn’t feel right either.

But.

“Mmm. Senior…”

“…”

Seeing a certain rabbit girl sitting with her head resting in my bedroom, talking in her sleep, my tension eases.

Even if I’m wrapped in complexity and frustration, one sleep-talk from this girl makes them disappear as if they were just idle thoughts.

The strange thing is that I’m gradually getting used to this feeling.

“Hehehe… Senior so…”

Hmm. I can guess.

-Think about that after your body recovers, Senior!

If it were this junior who’s holding my hand tightly while sleeping, wouldn’t she say something like that?

With her hands on her waist, narrowing her eyes as if pointing out. I smiled slightly, imagining Renias like that.

Well, she’s not wrong. If I keep thinking complicated thoughts, my body’s recovery might slow down too.

Setting aside the complex story for now, I gently tidied Renias’s disheveled hair with my free hand.

“Mmm… Senior?”

Ah.

I’m definitely an idiot.

How could I disturb someone sleeping well just because I couldn’t tidy a strand of hair?

“Uh, sorry. Did I wake you?”

“…”

Seeing her rubbing her eyes with a drowsy face, my guilt swelled like a balloon.

Yet this girl is too kind.

“Senior, are you okay? You were so badly injured…”

Instead of getting angry at the person who just woke her up, she anxiously touches various parts of the patient’s body, asking if he’s okay.

She worries greatly about the visible wounds and scars, saying “What should I do…” and, not satisfied with that, she holds my hand tightly as if upset.

It was so warm. Her small hands that wrapped around mine.

“I’m fine, Renias.”

If she’s anxious, I should reassure her. I tried to speak in a way that would make her feel at ease.

Then Renias stared at me with round eyes for a while,

“Stupid Senior. How are you fine!”

She said that and climbed onto the bed, hugging my face tightly.

In the obscured view from her embrace, I could hear Renias’s heartbeat and her sniffling cries.

“You should have at least said something, you could have asked me for help!”

With a sniffling voice, she finally got angry.

A moist liquid touched my hair. A drop that rolled down. It must have come from Renias’s eyes.