Ch.238Chapter 238: Epilogue.

# Chapter 238: Epilogue

The war ended quickly.

With the absolute focal point, Arch-Devil Zmorael, gone, the command structure of the demon legion coming through the gates of hell completely collapsed.

The demons, plunged into chaos, were no longer an army but merely a herd of beasts scattering in terror.

Though the Dark Society remained as the mastermind, without the shield of the demon legion, they were no match for the Continental Alliance forces.

Under the name of Emperor Gehrt von Halkin, the Continental Alliance launched a merciless subjugation operation.

It was no longer a war.

It was more like a cold, precise surgical operation to root out the cancerous entities that had infected the massive body of the continent.

One by one, the secret branches of the Dark Society were destroyed, and the scattered, desperately struggling dark mages and fallen knights were brought to their knees.

Finally, the leader of the Dark Society, the source of all calamities, was discovered in their final stronghold hidden in the deepest part of the Great Forest.

In the audience chamber at the heart of the fortress, filled with ominous symbols.

Emperor Gehrt arrived there with the Imperial Guard.

On the dais arranged like a throne sat the leader of the Dark Society, wearing a hollow expression, having lost everything.

Even his last loyal guards were nowhere to be seen.

The Emperor dismissed all his escorts with a gesture.

Now only two men remained in the empty audience chamber, symbolizing the light and darkness of the continent.

“Traitor Arthur. Your madness ends here.”

The Emperor called him by his real name in an ice-cold voice.

The leader—no, Arthur—heard that voice and smirked.

His smile contained both resignation and deep hatred.

“So you knew all along. Should I call you Emperor? I’m honored. That you personally came to this humble place. Ah, no. At times like this… should I call you ‘brother’ to be proper?”

At the word “brother,” the air in the audience chamber instantly froze.

For the first time, a subtle crack appeared in the Emperor’s iron mask-like expression.

He did not answer, but his silence was itself an affirmation.

Arthur slowly rose from his throne.

“Yes, you were always like that. The shining crown prince, the sun of the Empire, Gehrt von Halkin. And me? I was just a shadow that shouldn’t exist, left behind by your great father, His Majesty the late Emperor, after one night’s mistake. A bastard who grew up in darkness without even a proper name. Kuk kuk kuk.”

His voice gradually began to heat up.

It was a cry filled with decades of resentment and jealousy.

“I was robbed of everything! My father’s acknowledgment that I should have received, the glory of the Empire, and everything you had! That’s why I wanted to overturn the world. I wanted to throw this Empire and continent you so love into the flames of hell and see your despairing face as you sat on the throne of ashes! That was my only goal in life!”

“…Your method was wrong, brother.”

He had not worshipped demons.

He had simply needed the power to destroy everything.

“Damn it!! Now you call me brother!? Bullshit!! Don’t look at me with those eyes!! Don’t pity me!! You bastard!!”

“……”

His frenzied outcry ended, but the Emperor remained motionless.

He slowly drew his sword, Imperium, the symbol of the Empire, from his waist.

“Your birth may have been a tragedy. But that does not justify your sins that sacrificed millions of continental citizens. I’ll say it once more—your method was wrong.”

The Emperor’s voice contained not a single trace of pity or compassion.

He was no longer speaking as a brother, but as the Emperor of the Empire.

“You were a plague born in the shadow of the Empire. And I, as Emperor, merely excise the Empire’s disease. There are no personal feelings.”

“No feelings? Khahaha! Yes, that’s exactly who you are! Those arrogant eyes that always looked at me like I was an insect! Unchanged to the very end! Die!”

Arthur drew his dagger and charged at the Emperor like a madman. It was his final struggle.

Clang—!

But his dagger was deflected before it could reach the Emperor’s sword, blocked by an invisible wall of aura.

The Emperor’s sword traced a quiet yet elegant arc as it pierced Arthur’s heart.

It was an incredibly swift and precise strike.

“Kuh… hack…”

The life faded from Arthur’s eyes.

Even as he collapsed, he looked up at the Emperor with resentful eyes and uttered his final words.

“In the end… you… never… acknowledged me…”

“It would have been different if you had remained my brother. Farewell, my brother.”

Swoosh—

The Emperor silently shook the blood from his sword.

Without looking back even once at the fallen body of his half-brother, he coldly turned and walked out of the audience chamber.

Behind him stretched the long shadow of the heavy crown of the Empire.

His lips opened heavily.

“Imperial Guard!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The war is over. Declare its end and open the national treasury to aid the citizens and people who have suffered.”

“Your will be done!”

With this, the true war that had terrorized the continent finally came to an end.

The Emperor muttered one last thing quietly.

“Karma… is it…”

***

Balt’s casual comment that it was “no big deal” was the signal that broke the silence.

As soon as his words ended, his companions rushed toward him as if released from a spell.

“Balt!!!”

The first to throw themselves into his arms were Arias and Lilith.

Arias wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and buried her face in his chest, sobbing without even lifting her head. Her tears flowed hotly down his body.

Lilith also grabbed his arm and sat down on the spot as if her legs had given way from relief, quietly shedding tears. At the end of the massive war, they finally let out all the emotions they had been holding back, relieved that the person they loved was safe.

“As expected of my husband candidate!! Really… you’re really amazing!”

Solphin said gruffly, punching his back, but her eyes were also tinged with red.

“Khaha! That’s our big bro! You completely smashed that demon’s head!”

Victor’s booming voice echoed across the battlefield.

At his shout, true smiles finally began to spread on the faces of all the survivors.

In the midst of this emotional reunion, the five heroes, slowly recovered, approached them.

Their faces showed fatigue along with deep reverence for the young man before them.

At that moment, Airin and Victor spotted their masters and ran toward them.

“Master!”

Airin stood before Sword Saint Arka.

Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes had become much firmer and deeper than before.

Arka silently placed his hand on her shoulder.

A very faint but definite smile passed across his lips.

It was a deeper acknowledgment than a hundred words could express.

“Maaasterrr!!”

Victor ran to Fist King Lycan and embraced him tightly.

“Khaha! You rascal! Not bad! Your fists have become quite impressive!”

“I’m still far behind you, Master!”

The two large men heartily pounded each other’s backs, sharing the joy of reunion in the way of men.

In the warm atmosphere, Spear Emperor Valerius, representing the five heroes, stood before Balt.

He bowed his head respectfully.

“Young man, no… great warrior. Without your courage and sacrifice, this world would not exist. The entire continent, and humanity… owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”

At his sincere gratitude, the other heroes also nodded deeply.

Just then, Saint Seraphina stepped forward.

She reverently clasped her hands before her chest and looked at Balt with eyes full of awe, almost like a confession of faith.

“No. He is not merely a warrior.”

Her voice was filled with conviction.

“I saw it clearly. In the storm of six powers, the absolute figure subjugating all chaos under his will. What shone within him was the will of the Supreme God itself. He is the agent of the Supreme God, descended to save this world.”

Everyone held their breath at her declaration.

The title “agent of God” from the lips of the Saint, the most sacred being on the continent, carried enough weight to make Balt a living myth.

However, there were those who were not pleased with the direction of this fervent and pure attention.

“Ahem, ahem!”

Arias, who had somehow attached herself firmly to Balt’s side, cleared her throat and subtly positioned herself between the Saint and Balt.

“While the Saint’s words have merit, Balt is first and foremost my precious person, you know?”

Lilith also clung to Balt’s other arm and glanced at the Saint with a pouty expression.

“That’s right. Balt needs to return to the Academy with us.”

The cute and blatant jealousy of the two women instantly lightened the heavy atmosphere of the battlefield.

“Khaha, this is youth!! Indeed! Even gods cannot stand in its way!”

The Fist King burst into laughter, and faint smiles spread across the faces of the other heroes.

Balt, caught between the grandiose title of “agent of God” and the two women pulling him from both sides, could only scratch his head in bewilderment.

He had saved the world, but women were still difficult.

He looked at the companions surrounding him, the heroes gazing at him with reverent eyes, and the world waiting for a new beginning in the distance.

The long, long war. The terrible nightmare was now over.

It was time to return.

To the place where everything had begun.

Balt once again showed his characteristic refreshing and hearty smile.

“Alright, everyone, good work. Now it’s time…”

As everyone looked at him, Balt declared to all:

“Let’s go back. To the Academy.”

Balt’s academy life was not yet over.

No, it was just beginning.

-The Academy’s Barbarian Force Mage [The End]-