Chapter 178: The Last Possessed (3)

My stomach burned.

The eerie sensation of a razor-sharp blade, heated to extremes by friction, slicing through skin, cutting internal organs, and severing the spine, spread throughout my body.

Even my lower half, which should have lost all feeling, was engulfed in searing pain. Though it wasn’t quite like my life flashing before my eyes, I found myself recalling past events.

All the lives I’d taken over the years… Among them were some who’d been cut in half like I was now. Had they experienced the same pain?

I didn’t exactly feel regret, but thinking they might have felt this same agony made me feel a bit sorry.

After reminiscing about the long 500 years, I found myself in a place that could only be described as hell, drenched in blood from all directions.

The surroundings were filled with densely packed high-rise buildings, something I’d never seen in the world of the novel. Perhaps because 500 years had passed, I didn’t feel any particular nostalgia.

Then again, even if 500 years hadn’t passed, I couldn’t afford to feel nostalgic in a situation where blood and flesh were scattered everywhere.

‘Is this hell?’

Considering what I’d done up until now, it wouldn’t be surprising.

I’d spilled countless amounts of blood, waiting for the day I’d meet the protagonist.

I didn’t particularly regret going to hell like this, but I did feel a bit of remorse for dragging the Doctor and Ganryu into it.

“Don’t worry. Hell only interferes with the circulation of souls. No matter how evil your deeds, you won’t end up in a place like hell.”

I looked up at the unfamiliar yet somehow familiar voice. There stood a strange man, standing on a pool of blood without a single drop staining him.

“…Swordmaster?”

“That’s right. I guess you web novel readers are quick to catch on to this kind of development.”

It wasn’t because I’d read a lot of web novels. In this kind of place, if you encounter a mysterious man who can read minds, the Swordmaster is the most likely candidate.

“I suppose that’s true. I didn’t think this through.”

“…I have something I want to ask you.”

I could understand why Ian Barthow was chosen as the protagonist of this world after our recent fight.

His skill, which overwhelmed me despite my 500 years of experience and power accumulation in just 20 years, was impressive. Though his personality might be a bit flawed, what web novel protagonist isn’t?

I had no complaints about him being the protagonist, but I couldn’t understand why I was the second to be possessed.

I wasn’t like Thor Kim, who was possessed first and laid the groundwork for those who would come after, nor was I like Gintokang, who was possessed closest to the protagonist’s time and had a chance to meet him.

I kept wondering why I was possessed in such an ambiguous time, 500 years ago.

“Why did you make me possess a body 500 years away from the original story? What did I lack compared to them?”

“…Damn it.”

The Swordmaster sighed and rubbed his face. He looked more tired than angry.

“First, let me tell you this: I never thought of that guy as the protagonist or center of this world.”

“What? Then the timing of possession…”

“There’s no special meaning to the timing of possession. The order was based on who wrote the least amount of bullshit in the comment section.”

“…What did you say?”

Shocked by this statement, which made me wonder if my ears were playing tricks on me, I recalled what the Baldo House had said before I died.

That guy treats us all like idiots equally.

“It’s not exactly equal treatment. That whip guy at least realized the reality in the end and lived according to my intentions, so he was a bit better than you lot. Ah, Rapier too, despite his end, lived up to my expectations.”

“…Your intentions?”

“Yeah, first of all, the reason I sent the Baldo House to the original story’s timeline was simply because that period had the most hardships. I sent him there to make him suffer a bit.”

He lamented that most of those hardships disappeared thanks to our hard work, but such trivial details didn’t register in my ears right now.

What mattered now were those words that rendered all our struggles meaningless.

“…What exactly were these intentions? What made you turn me into an idiot who wasted 500 years?”

“Nothing special, just living a normal life without being obsessed with weapons and such.”

At first, it was just a mean-spirited idea to make us suffer a lot.

But after some time, thinking about it coolly, I wondered if sending us to another world for just causing a bit of trouble in the comment section wasn’t too harsh.

“So I gave you bodies that could unleash your talents. And accordingly, my purpose gradually changed. It became about abandoning your strange beliefs and finding ordinary happiness.”

“So what you wanted from us was…”

“To abandon those weird beliefs you showed in the comment section and just live normal lives. In the end, not a single one of you managed to live that way till the end.”

“…Haha.”

It wasn’t a funny situation at all, at least not to me, but laughter burst out of me due to the sheer absurdity of it all.

The laughter continued for a while, seeming like it would never stop, but suddenly, as if someone had hit the brakes on my emotions, it stopped, and my mind cleared.

“It looked like it was going to go on for a while, so I stopped it.”

“…I see. So what happens to me now? You said there’s no hell, right?”

“Like all souls, you’ll enter the cycle of reincarnation and gain another life.”

“…I know I’m in no position to ask for favors, but can I make one request?”

“What is it?”

“…In whatever world it may be, please don’t let me meet the greatsword in my next life.”

…I’m sick of it now.

“Strangely, everyone says the same thing when I tell them the truth. Maybe I should have done this from the start?”

——

“…It’s over.”

The thought slipped out involuntarily, driven by some indescribable emotion burning in my chest – perhaps a sense of achievement.

This finally ended the 600-year-long conflict between the possessed, but looking at the bisected corpse, I couldn’t quite grasp the reality of it.

[Master? Are you alright?]

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine…”

Coming to my senses, I shook the blood off Jinta’s blade and sheathed it again.

Then, not knowing what to do next, I stood there blankly staring at Bisword’s corpse split in two. That’s when I sensed someone’s presence behind me.

“…So it ended like this after all.”

The wizard called the Doctor seemed to have anticipated this outcome. Her eyes were sad, but there was no surprise in them.

“It was a fight where one wrong move could have killed me. You speak as if you knew this would happen.”

“I didn’t exactly predict this outcome based on any evidence. I just had a feeling it might turn out this way.”

“I see. So what are you going to do now? Planning to avenge your dead boss?”

“…”

As I placed my hand on Jinta’s hilt, she glanced at my hand and shook her head.

“It would be a lie to say I don’t want to. But at least I have no intention of seeking revenge against you.”

She said this was a duel that proceeded with both our consent, and interfering after the fact would be an insult to Bisword.

“…May I ask for just one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’d like to collect Bisword’s remains. If you allow me this, I promise never to appear before you again.”

“If that’s all, I don’t mind. I didn’t have enough of a grudge to desecrate his corpse anyway.”

“…Thank you.”

With those final words, she opened a teleportation gate and walked towards the setting sun with Bisword’s remains.

Her retreating figure looked so pitiful that I couldn’t offer even a word of comfort as I turned towards the gate.

“…It’s all over. Let’s go now.”

I mounted Silence, who had been leisurely grazing nearby, and returned to the academy. By the time we arrived, night had already given way to dawn, with the morning star illuminating the earth.

Just as when I left, I passed through the gate and over the wall, intending to slip in quietly as if nothing had happened. But Jessica, waiting at the main entrance, caught me.

“You’re up early?”

“Thanks to someone, my side was cold. So, who did you go meet? Was it another woman I don’t know about?”

“It’s nothing like that. I just went to cut ties with an old acquaintance.”

I dismounted and gestured for Silence to return to the stable on his own, then headed back to the mansion with Jessica.

“Hey Jessica, should we skip the academy today?”

“What? What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“I just suddenly want to get you pregnant. Oh, and maybe Julia and Hori as a bonus?”

“…What kind of perverse nonsense are you spouting out of nowhere?!”

Jessica said it was out of the blue, but in fact, what I just said was something I’d been putting off, fearing the day I might die at Bisword’s hands.

I’d been pretending otherwise, but the truth was, I had been afraid. Afraid that I might lose my life to him someday.

But now, having concluded my ties with the possessed, I have nothing to fear.

If there’s one thing I’m afraid of, it’s leaving this world without leaving anything behind, just like Bisword.

‘…I wonder what he thought at the very end.’

No, if he met the Swordmaster after death, his real final moment wasn’t when the sword cut him, but after that.

What he thought when he faced death and learned the whole truth is something only the Swordmaster and he would know.

“Ian? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden? You’re just standing there blankly without saying anything…”

“It’s nothing. I’m going to take a shower. You and Julia wait for me naked.”

“What? But that was just a joke— Kyaa!!”

Jessica tilted her head in confusion, but when I grabbed her backside forcefully, as if slapping it, she finally realized I wasn’t joking.

“No, you can’t…! It hasn’t been that long since the new year, how could you…!!”

“If you keep resisting, I’ll give Julia the first child.”

“You piece of trash…!!”

Watching Jessica’s retreating figure as she headed to the bedroom, gritting her teeth, I thought to myself.

From now on, I’ll live looking forward, not dwelling on the past.

And I’ll make sure the Baldo I’ve mastered continues to be passed down to future generations even after I’m gone.

—

[And that’s it guys! Forgot to write this little note so might be a day late for some of you but yup this novel is indeed complete. Feels a little abrupt but that’s just how light novels go. That’s completed novel #5 I believe. I hope you all enjoyed it and are enjoying your holidays as well! New novels soon!]