Ch.71Chapter 71 – Reminiscence (4)

# The Day of the Final Battle

***

“Huff, huff! Damn, these insufferable demons just keep coming out of nowhere!”

In the corridor of the 487th underground floor of the Demon King’s Castle, Cha Eun-kyung gasped for breath after barely repelling a surprise attack by a group of demons during a brief rest.

“Damn, the casualties are severe… How many are still following us?”

“Not even thirty percent of our original forces! Captain, are we still going forward? At this rate, we might be annihilated before we even reach the 666th floor! Besides, Kwak Tae-woo is nothing but dead weight right now!”

Cha Eun-kyung looked back at Kwak Tae-woo, who was stanching the wound on his right shoulder with a dirty cloth. Her oldest friend who had fought through countless battlefields with her. He had lost one arm in a demon ambush on the previous floor.

Kwak Tae-woo, originally a dual-wielding swordsman, couldn’t demonstrate his skills after losing his right arm. And no matter how A-ranked he might be, a swordsman who couldn’t pull his weight in such a treacherous demonic realm was merely cumbersome baggage. Cha Eun-kyung pressed on.

“Damn it, we have no choice! We just keep going! This is our last chance, with all the suicide squad’s forces poured into it, and every single fighter is incredibly valuable! For the sake of the comrades who sacrificed themselves for us, we must get our hands on the Holy Grail!”

The Holy Grail or annihilation. Every surviving member of the suicide squad knew this fact. Though the situation was desperate, they had no choice but to continue descending underground, clinging to the single thread of hope that if they used the Holy Grail to turn back time, their sacrificed comrades would eventually be revived…

On the 535th underground floor, one squad member, stressed from constant exposure to the fear of death, burst out in complaint.

“Damn it! If only Baphomet or Leonardo had come with us, we wouldn’t have suffered so many casualties!”

“It can’t be helped. Someone needs to buy time against the Demon King, and we don’t have the strength to face him. Let’s hope those two can hold out until we use the Holy Grail…”

“Come on, don’t say such ominous things! They’re people who defeated two of the Four Heavenly Kings in just a few days. Wouldn’t they easily defeat the Demon King in a 2-on-1 fight? In the unlikely event they defeat the Demon King, they could come to our aid in an instant. Just like how Baphomet’s ability to freely open gates teleported the entire suicide squad into the Demon King’s Castle in just a few seconds!”

As gloomy conversations kept arising among the squad members, Cha Eun-kyung offered an optimistic outlook to boost morale. When a ray of hope finally shone through the despair where they couldn’t see even an inch ahead, the squad members’ faces brightened somewhat.

“Yes…! If those two come to support us…!”

“We just need to hold out until then!”

Cha Eun-kyung continued to boost the morale of her members and reassure them. Though she feigned composure, she herself was actually deeply troubled inside.

‘Baphomet and Leonardo. What exactly are their objectives?’

Leonardo had stated his goal was to prevent humanity’s extinction, but Cha Eun-kyung couldn’t believe his words. Someone with the power to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings who had just watched as humanity was driven to the brink of extinction without offering any help, now claiming he wanted to prevent extinction? It was completely untrustworthy.

But Cha Eun-kyung had no luxury to continue her worries. As soon as they descended the stairs and arrived at the next floor, demons that had been hiding attacked.

***

After defeating numerous high-ranking demons that blocked their way, the suicide squad descended floor by floor deeper into the Demon King’s Castle. When they finally reached the 666th underground floor, the deepest part of the castle, the Demon King’s throne stood in the center of a vast audience hall.

“This is the place where the Holy Grail is sealed…”

“After enduring so many sacrifices, we’ve finally reached here…! Captain! Hurry and break the seal as Baphomet instructed!”

At everyone’s urging, Cha Eun-kyung looked up at the throne. A ten-meter structure built from human skulls and femurs. Standing before it, Cha Eun-kyung opened her status window and confirmed a newly acquired achievement.

「===

<Grail Knight> – Collected the keys and earned the qualification to use the Holy Grail.

===」

This was an achievement newly created in Cha Eun-kyung’s status window when Baphomet handed over the “Goetia Code,” the key to the seal. Thanks to the achievement’s effect, Cha Eun-kyung knew how to use the Goetia Code to release the seal. So she did.

A golden energy rose from Cha Eun-kyung’s hand. The golden energy took shape in the air, forming a key that twisted the void. Then the space above the throne rippled, and sacred light poured down from the sky.

“Ah, that is…!”

A golden chalice slowly descended from within the light.

‘This is the Holy Grail…’

Kwak Tae-woo was lost in contemplation, staring at the sacred halo with an overwhelming feeling. With this, they could turn back all the sacrifices of their comrades and the decline of humanity as if they had never happened. And Kwak Tae-woo had no doubt that Cha Eun-kyung, who had been unanimously chosen to use the Grail, could go back in time and prevent humanity’s extinction.

Cha Eun-kyung gazed at the Holy Grail slowly descending from the void. Then she looked at her squad members. Though everyone was injured from fighting numerous high-ranking demons during the invasion of the Demon King’s Castle, intense hope shone in everyone’s eyes. Amidst those expectant gazes, Cha Eun-kyung looked at Kwak Tae-woo.

Kwak Tae-woo nodded toward her. Though no words were exchanged, through the bond they had built traversing thousands of battlefields between life and death, he understood what that nod meant.

Go and save humanity.

With resolute eyes, Cha Eun-kyung was about to recite the activation words for the Holy Grail.

At that moment.

BOOM-!!

As if an earthquake had struck, the entire Demon King’s Castle shook violently. So fiercely that walls, pillars, ceiling, and floor cracked.

“An earthquake?!”

“What’s happening?!”

“Everyone, don’t panic and guard all directions! It might be an enemy attack!”

BOOM-!!

With the intense vibration, cracks formed in the pillars, and the floor split open, creating fissures that dropped into an endless abyss. As the squad members’ attention shifted from the ceiling to the floor to avoid falling into the gaps forming in the ground, a chunk of rock fell from the ceiling and unfortunately struck the Holy Grail suspended in mid-air.

“W-wait! The Grail!”

The Holy Grail, hit directly by the falling rock, dropped to the floor, bounced a few times, then rolled across the ground, about to fall into a crack in the floor.

“No! If we lose that-!”

“Someone catch it-!!!”

Kwak Tae-woo, who was closest, dove toward the crack. He managed to grab the Holy Grail just as it was about to fall into the fissure.

“Shit, thank goodness! I thought I was just dead weight after losing an arm, but I’m actually useful here!”

“Your head might be bad, but your reflexes are good! Well done, you bastard!”

While everyone was relieved by Kwak Tae-woo’s quick action, the booming sounds from the ceiling—BOOM! BOOM!—grew louder. Focusing on the sound, they realized it was periodic and getting louder. Only then did the suicide squad grasp the nature of the sound.

“Something is… coming down…!”

Someone was breaking through the floor and heading toward the deepest part of the Demon King’s Castle. Someone very powerful.

Judging by how they were descending so urgently without using the stairs, the chances of them being allies were slim. Cha Eun-kyung bit her lip. The speed of whoever was descending with such terrifying force, destroying the castle, was too fast. Fast enough to reach this place before she could complete the incantation to use the Holy Grail.

Cha Eun-kyung’s decision was swift.

“Someone is approaching rapidly! Kwak Tae-woo! Hide the Grail for now! We’ll retreat from here and use the Grail in a safe place!”

Rather than taking the Grail from Kwak Tae-woo to use it herself, she ordered him to hide it. Following the captain’s orders, the squad members began to retrace their steps to retreat to a safe place. They ran through the corridor, and ran some more. The booming sound from the ceiling now sounded like cannons firing right next to their ears. Their ears were ringing.

Just as one squad member finally reached the stairs to ascend to the upper floor, the ceiling collapsed with the loudest boom they had heard yet.

“Watch out-!”

But the warning came too late. Something long pierced through the debris and fell. A jet-black spear wrapped in ominous crimson-black lightning.

CRACK-!

The squad member who had just set foot on the stairs was instantly killed, impaled from the crown of his head by the spear.

“That lightning…! Could it be!”

Cha Eun-kyung let out a scream as she guessed the owner of the spear. As if confirming her suspicion, a powerful presence was felt from above.

“It’s the Dark Knight! Get away-“

Before her warning could finish, the black knight who had dyed the world in terror crashed through the ceiling.

When the black armor collided with the floor, the ground caved in with a tremendous sound, and the corpse of the squad member trapped under the debris was crushed, spurting blood with a splat. The Dark Knight, holding a mace in his left hand, pulled his deeply embedded spear from the pile of debris with his right.

There was no time to mourn their comrade’s death. Everyone’s minds were frozen with shock and terror. One squad member who was still alive due to his slow pace cried out as if screaming:

“The Dark Knight! How did he know we were here-!”

Information about the final operation, down to the minutest details, should have been kept top secret on the most secure server of the human resistance headquarters, so how did the Dark Knight know they would be here? There was no time to ponder.

As soon as he pulled out his spear, the Dark Knight immediately took a charging stance and rushed at the nearest enemy. Responding to this surprise attack, Cha Eun-kyung blocked his spear with her sword.

“-Retreat! Retreat and deliver it to the Sage, Leonardo!”

Cha Eun-kyung shouted, gritting her teeth as if struggling against his strength.

Kwak Tae-woo hesitated, unsure whether to help her or flee. But both she and he knew.

The one loved by the Evil God.

The S-ranked slaughterer.

The Dark Knight was too strong. So strong that even Cha Eun-kyung, the strongest existing hunter, could only buy time. Kwak Tae-woo led the squad members in a circle around the Dark Knight, running toward the stairs behind him. Then, from between the helmet of the Dark Knight, known for his silence, a low voice emerged.

“The Sage is already dead. My lord has triumphed in the final battlefield. Hand over the Holy Grail quietly. Then I will kill you without pain.”

Kwak Tae-woo’s eyes widened. He had no time to be surprised that the Dark Knight, whose race wasn’t even known, spoke Korean; the words he uttered stopped Kwak Tae-woo in his tracks.

Only those with the Goetia Code—those qualified—could use the Holy Grail. If Cha Eun-kyung, who was qualified, was tied up here blocking the Dark Knight, there was no one who could use the Grail even if they escaped.

The Dark Knight was calmly informing them that their last hope had vanished. All seven surviving squad members realized this fact. If they fled without Cha Eun-kyung, they couldn’t use the Holy Grail.

‘We have to defeat the Dark Knight here for the captain to use the Holy Grail!’

Everyone’s thoughts aligned. The squad members exchanged glances. The Dark Knight was facing away from the retreating members, brilliantly wielding his spear against Cha Eun-kyung. Even if he was the Dark Knight, unless he had eyes on his back, a surprise attack from five people at once…! Five people simultaneously lunged at the Dark Knight. It was their final desperate act.

“Foolish. Do you truly desire a painful death?”

Darkness—. The Dark Knight recited an aria. Hellfire of crimson-black blazed on the mace in his left hand. After forcefully swinging his spear with his right hand to knock Cha Eun-kyung far away, the Dark Knight turned his upper body and swung his mace in a backhand. Following that trajectory, hellfire spewed out, engulfing the squad members attempting the surprise attack.

“AAAAARGH!”

As the flames that burned even the soul engulfed their entire bodies, the squad members writhed on the floor in terrible agony. And in less than a minute, their writhing ceased.

Total annihilation. It took just one exchange for all survivors except Kwak Tae-woo and Cha Eun-kyung to lose their lives. Kwak Tae-woo, who was virtually combat-ineffective due to his injury and was hesitating while hiding the Holy Grail, managed to stay out of the hellfire’s range. The Dark Knight glanced at Kwak Tae-woo, confirmed he had no intention to attack, and rushed at Cha Eun-kyung, who was presumed to have the Holy Grail.

Kwak Tae-woo hesitated. Fleeing was pointless as humanity’s future without the ability to use the Holy Grail was obvious, and rushing at the Dark Knight seemed futile. Despite Cha Eun-kyung fighting desperately before his eyes, he couldn’t make a firm decision, like someone with decision paralysis. He wasn’t wise enough to abandon one choice instantly.

Meanwhile, the battle ended. The Dark Knight, who had been pressuring Cha Eun-kyung by alternately thrusting his weapons with both hands, spun his body around once and used that centrifugal force to swing his mace powerfully. Cha Eun-kyung, frantically maintaining the exchange of attacks and defenses, failed to see the mace approaching her, obscured by the spear shaft the Dark Knight had brought before her eyes.

The spear and mace, wrapped in crimson-black lightning, were truly as fast as lightning. So when the mace suddenly appeared before her eyes like a ghost jumping out in a cheap horror movie, Cha Eun-kyung couldn’t react at all. With the sound of bones being crushed, her body flew backward like a puppet with cut strings and hit the wall. Her body slid down, leaving a long blood trail on the wall.

“No, no! Cha Eun-kyung-!!!”

The Dark Knight approached Cha Eun-kyung to retrieve the Holy Grail. Kwak Tae-woo, belatedly coming to his senses, rushed at the Dark Knight, but was hit in the abdomen by the casually swung spear shaft and rolled on the floor.

“Fortunate that I can retrieve the Holy Grail before it’s too late…”

The Dark Knight bent over the fallen Cha Eun-kyung and searched her coat.

“Hmm?”

The Dark Knight’s voice was tinged with confusion. The Holy Grail wasn’t there.

At that moment, Cha Eun-kyung, who had been pretending to be unconscious, quickly extended a dagger from inside her garment, aiming for the Dark Knight’s head. The Dark Knight, in a state of confusion, reacted 0.03 seconds late. Thus, he couldn’t completely avoid the attack. He tried to pull his head back, but her hand struck his helmet faster.

The black helmet that had covered the Dark Knight’s entire face came off. Through his vision blurred with sweat and tears, Kwak Tae-woo saw the face of the man inside the helmet. A handsome man’s face. Contrary to his expectation that a distorted demon’s face would exist beneath the helmet, the face of the merciless slaughterer was a person no different from himself.

“What! How could you—”

Cha Eun-kyung’s astonishment came out before Kwak Tae-woo’s reaction. She cried out in a shocked voice, as if betrayed. As if to cut off her words, the Dark Knight kicked her in the abdomen. With a “kuk-” sound, she crashed into the wall, leaving a crater. This time the impact was truly severe, as her body convulsed, spewing blood.

“Yes. So you have the Holy Grail.”

The Dark Knight walked leisurely toward Kwak Tae-woo, as if he had already caught him. His attitude suggested that he could dispose of an injured man without an arm in an instant if he wanted to.

Kwak Tae-woo barely stood up, supporting himself with his sword. There seemed to be no hope. How could an A-rank like himself… when even the S-rank Cha Eun-kyung and the other comrades were killed in an instant by this enemy? Kwak Tae-woo took out the Holy Grail from inside his garment.

“So, the Evil God wants this?”

Rather than let the Evil God’s servant take the regression item, he intended to destroy it so the Evil God couldn’t have it. The Dark Knight mocked him as if he found it ridiculous.

“Do you think someone like you can destroy one of the divine artifacts personally created by the God? You, who can’t even defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, let alone me?”

The Dark Knight, who had been slowly walking toward Kwak Tae-woo, was now halfway between the fallen Cha Eun-kyung and Kwak Tae-woo. Kwak Tae-woo’s body, holding the Holy Grail in one hand, staggered. But his eyes were still looking over the Dark Knight’s shoulder, watching for an opportunity.

Toward Cha Eun-kyung, who was muttering something quietly, as if waiting for something.

He met Cha Eun-kyung’s gaze. Kwak Tae-woo, holding the Holy Grail, looked at her, and Cha Eun-kyung, in a dying state, looked at him. There were no words between them. Yet their intentions were communicated. Cha Eun-kyung muttered softly.

“…Twelve saints who guard the Holy Grail, one with qualification requests…”

With his superhuman hearing, the Dark Knight noticed that small voice, turned sharply toward Cha Eun-kyung, and let out a roar.

“NO─!!!”

He dropped the mace in his left hand and explosively leaped toward her, holding only the spear. And at that same running speed, he forcefully shot the spear. To physically stop her mouth.

The spear was launched like lightning striking. But Cha Eun-kyung’s aria was completed first.

“The right to return to the past, the chance to change the future, I, Cha Eun-kyung, transfer to my dearest friend, Kwak Tae-woo.”

When the spell was completed, several things happened simultaneously. Kwak Tae-woo’s mind unconsciously realized that he had received the qualification to use the Holy Grail from Cha Eun-kyung.

The moment the Dark Knight turned around, Kwak Tae-woo’s lips were already reciting the aria to use the Holy Grail. Focused on activating the Grail, he could only watch helplessly as the spear flew. He saw the spear tear through the air, pierce Cha Eun-kyung’s neck, and embed itself in the wall, and her body go limp.

Two streams of tears flowed down his cheeks, but Kwak Tae-woo’s lips didn’t stop the aria. The Dark Knight, who had failed to fulfill his master’s order due to a final moment of carelessness, turned to look at Kwak Tae-woo with hatred.

“Next time will be different. Wait. I will once again become your despair.”

The Dark Knight glared at Kwak Tae-woo with burning eyes, as if he had anticipated the outcome of all events. Kwak Tae-woo also met that gaze with tear-filled but wide-open eyes, glaring back at the Dark Knight.

‘Dark Knight…! You, at least, I will definitely!!!’

And at the moment when the hatred between the two crossed, the regression aria was completed.

“──At the final end, one with qualification desires. To grasp the fate of the world in my hands.”

A sacred light burst forth from the Holy Grail. It was an incredibly powerful light.

The light, which extended to the end of the universe, split into several branches, enveloped the world, and then everything except Kwak Tae-woo slowly lost color like a black and white photograph and froze. The streams of blood flowing on the floor, his friend’s corpse hanging on the wall, even that powerful Dark Knight.

Immediately after, everything began to rewind.

The world was moving backward.

Kwak Tae-woo, the only one maintaining his sanity in this phenomenon, watched as all objects returned to where they should be. The blood splattered on the floor defying gravity and gathering back into his friend’s neck. The spear embedded in her neck being pulled out without resistance and the wound healing. The black helmet flying up from the floor and being struck by his friend’s dagger.

The process was almost instantaneous, but to the superhuman vision of humanity’s final awakened one, it was as slow as slow motion. The regressor stared intently, wanting to engrave the face of his hateful enemy in the deepest part of his mind, his soul.

‘I will never forget your face. Definitely, definitely, this time for sure-!!!’

Kwak Tae-woo vowed. To find him in the past and kill him without fail. To kill all the demon’s helpers and humanity’s betrayers who had pushed humanity to this state.

And as his friend’s hand slowly fell and the helmet completely covered the Dark Knight’s face, the regressor of the Sixth Heaven let go of his consciousness.

***

The avenger opened his eyes. Under the Seventh Heaven.