Ch.240239. The End

# 239. The End

Despite the considerable distance, the large sphere was clearly visible.

It was different from what I had known.

“Didn’t you say it couldn’t shoot?”

That’s definitely how I remembered it.

Even the most recent time I saw it, the dragon hadn’t fired its breath.

Yet that majestic figure was undoubtedly the dragon I knew.

“Well…! More importantly, soon…!”

Magical power was gathering exponentially.

The rate of increase was reaching its limit. Just looking at it, it seemed like something one could dodge if they tried.

However…

‘What’s the point of surviving alone…’

If I did that, I’d be the only one to live. Such an ending would be meaningless.

I asked the girl who was anxiously shifting her feet behind me.

“Is it okay if I don’t run away?”

“That’s what I should be asking… Because of me…”

“If you know that, why not at least set up a barrier?”

I wasn’t sure how effective it would be, but dispersing the power couldn’t hurt.

“That would be better, right?”

-Groar!!-

“You don’t mind?”

-Groar!-

But barriers were already being deployed.

A cascade of barriers extending from Solomon’s position all the way to here—it seemed some magical power had remained.

“You still have quite a bit of magic left?”

“Can’t you see this? I just received it…”

She pointed at the empty bottle in her hand, puffing her cheeks.

As if she felt wronged.

Of course, I wasn’t doubting or scolding her.

“I’m just glad there’s some left.”

Having something was better than nothing.

Though whether it would block the attack or not was another matter entirely…

I spoke to our last hope.

“Can you block that?”

-Groar! Groar!-

As always, he showed an inappropriately bright demeanor.

Seeing him like that somehow reassured me too.

“That’s good then…”

“Here it comes…! For real!”

The massive form in the distance didn’t even feel distant.

Beside it, Bael, who had regained his vitality, was smiling.

And behind that, much further back, stood a massive mountain.

Looking at its middle section gave me some relief.

‘Still need to survive…’

Just as that thought crossed my mind…

A blinding radiance like a star’s explosion filled my vision.

-BOOM!!!-

All those barriers were torn like paper, and the light was approaching us rapidly.

The dragon’s might easily pierced through her magic and their barriers.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Nothing was visible.

Yet it wasn’t dark at all.

‘I want to live.’

To survive, I swung darkness toward that light.

***

“Hahaha!! After gloating about winning with cheap tricks, now look at you…”

Bael couldn’t finish his sentence.

That light was definitely the dragon’s breath—something even he… even the legendary angels couldn’t block.

But now…

“How is this possible…”

The darkness springing from his sword was responding to the light, gradually advancing forward.

The sight, though he hated to admit it… was beautiful.

Desperately fighting to survive and ultimately achieving something far beyond human capability… it was too beautiful to be called human.

Though an enemy, he had to acknowledge someone accomplishing what even he couldn’t.

“Truly… you exceed my expectations.”

-Whoosh!!-

As soon as he finished speaking, an arrow flew toward the back of his head.

An arrow traveling at considerable speed, on an unexpected trajectory… but Bael immediately ducked.

-Whoosh!!-

The arrow cut through empty air and eventually plummeted to the ground in a parabolic arc.

Bael smiled as he watched the arrow’s final descent.

Feeling reassured, he turned back to look at that person.

At that moment…

-Thunk!!!-

A sword flying from the front pierced between his head and torso, cleaving the sky.

His body lost balance and collapsed to the ground, while his head rolled away.

What little life force remained converged to almost zero, and the blood that burst forth soaked the surroundings.

Yet he was still alive.

“Huff…! Huff..!”

Even now, if someone handled it well like before, he might somehow survive.

However…

“Well, what do we have here?”

The person standing before him—or more precisely, before his head—was a young man from the Empire.

A young man who harbored deep resentment against him…

“Have you ever seen someone who looks like me?”

The questioner’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not.

Unlike his wide smile, his eyes didn’t allow even a moment’s blink.

“Huff..! I… I’m not sure? I know many people…”

His voice trembled.

Yet he still didn’t release his sword; rather, he gripped it even tighter.

The young man brought his sword right up to his eyes and said:

“You know. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

He had claimed ignorance, but he knew.

Who the young man resembled, and by whose hand that person had died.

And the young man was certain he was lying.

That fact revealed his future.

Bael asked, seemingly resigned:

“Will anything change if I tell you…?”

“No, it won’t.”

“Then just kill me… without any unnecessary actions.”

He had tried his best.

He had done all he could, and even if he went back in time, he wouldn’t do better than this.

Realizing that made him laugh.

“Hahaha..! Hahahaha!”

It was just funny.

The current situation, the future ahead, and his own pathetic state.

It was all too amusing.

Compared to that brilliantly shining person, his own figure was infinitely shabby and pitiful… it was laughable.

Where did it go wrong? How did it come to this?… Why?

Such questions… it was finally time to answer them.

In his final moments, he uttered words he never thought he’d say:

“Perhaps I was the inferior one all along…”

***

Aside from my weakened legs and uncontrollably trembling body, my hands were empty.

In this situation, a god stood before us.

“Haha… this is fucking interesting…”

-Thud! Thud! Thud!-

With each step, the vibrations made my body tremble even more.

It was on a completely different level from any trembling I’d felt before.

I asked Reina, who was in a somewhat more normal state:

“Hey… can’t you carry us and run?”

“Is that even—”

-Thud!-

“—possible, do you think?”

Despite her weak words, Reina moved immediately.

It seemed she still had enough strength to carry us.

Reina held me with her left hand and the girl with her right, running with all her might.

“Ah…! Really…! When is our team coming?!”

We ran and ran.

But those footsteps didn’t last long.

Reina, who had been running well, suddenly stopped. However, I couldn’t disagree with her action.

Solomon appeared before us, flapping his massive wings, and Reina couldn’t close her mouth at the sight.

The winds created by his wing beats were quite refreshing.

I thought to myself:

‘That’s a relief…’

Now, no markings remained on the dragon’s body.

The dark aura that had been perceptible until just now had completely disappeared, and now he displayed his original majestic appearance as the Dragon King.

-I apologize… humans, how can I ever repay this debt and gratitude…-

Solomon seemed to have regained his senses.

That appearance also signified Bael’s death, which brought a sigh of relief. It was a bit disappointing not to witness directly what I had so desperately wanted, but it was enough.

Solomon, freed from [Mind Control], seemed like someone we could reason with.

I made a request:

“For now… please end this war.”

It was an absurd request, but he could do it.

More than enough.

And indeed, he crossed the sky to fulfill that request.

Seeing that, I finally began to feel the reality of it all.

“Ah… it’s over.”

“You know that’s a flag, right?”

“It really is over, for real…”

It had to be over; there was no other possibility.

After all…

“Taking a hit like that, he has to be dead.”

A sword without the abyss but containing my final strength.

There was no way he could survive taking that head-on. Not unless heaven had abandoned us.

“Now I can finally rest comfortably…”

I stretched out my arms and legs for the first time in a long while.

Normally, such a hard and uneven ground would be uncomfortable, but ironically, it felt comfortable.

To be honest, it might have been the most comfortable ground since my regression.

I savored that comfort with my entire body.

“It’s more anticlimactic than I thought.”

“You can’t even move on your own, yet you say…”

“I think I can move?”

Perhaps because it was too comfortable, I forgot about the fatigue accumulated in my body.

So, not knowing my limits, I tried to get up on my own.

“Ah…”

My arms and legs, which wouldn’t move no matter what, seemed to be ordering me to just lie down.

So I listened.

With Solomon gone, my help wouldn’t be needed at all, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do anything now.

Of course, those reasons were just superficial, and the real reason…

“It’s over.”

That was the true reason.