episode_0171

53. I will be the dawn that divides the darkness. (4)

A dark night. Five people standing in front of the Mokdong settlement. And a large wolf.

” Be careful on your way back. Especially, Ara. Don’t run off on your own. ”

” Oh, really! Dad! I’m a grown man now! And I’m not the same as I used to be…! ”

” Sigh… Pedro. ”

” Yes, yes! ”

” I’m sorry… I don’t really like you that much… but please take good care of Ara. ”

” Yes! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you, Ara! ”

” And two meals. ”

” Yes. ”

” Be sure to… come back with your daughter. When you come back… I’ll treat you to a big meal! ”

” I’ll be waiting. Haha! ”

Kang Han-cheol spoke to the three people standing in front of him and prayed for their safe return.

Because I was incapable, I had no choice but to wait for them here.

He took a deep breath and looked at a woman petting a wolf next to him.

When I first met her, I was surprised to see her grow up to be a completely mature woman, even though she was so small. But when I heard that she was the ‘goddess. Manienu’ from the rumors, I was even more surprised, to the point where my heart ached.

But that was only for a moment, as I knew that she was the only hope that could return the sky that had been dyed dark to the clear and bright sky I had seen before.

” Ahem… So… Goddess… ”

” Just call me ‘Charlotte’ like you usually do. Mr. Hancheol. ”

” Really? Then what about me? Okay. Anyway, please take good care of these three. And Ling too… ”

” Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Oh, and I’ll just leave Cerberus here. Just in case. Now that he’s reconnected with me, he should be stronger than before. ”

At those words, Kang Han-cheol looked at a large three-headed wolf next to him.

Certainly, the wolf seemed to have turned a bit whiter, just as she said. Of course, it was funny to see it yawning like a puppy, lying down, and wagging its tail.

” Okay, I got it. Everyone, be safe! ”

After saying that, Charlotte snapped her fingers and one by one they entered the ring of pure white flames that appeared, and the last remaining walnut tree stopped for a moment.

” I’ll be back soon, so get ready for the banquet~ ”

” Right. Okay, I got it! ”

With those words they left.

Kang-cheol walked with a ‘thump, thump’ pace, put his hand on the face of the wolf next to him, and looked up at the sky.

The sky was so pitch-black that no stars, no moon, and no sun could be seen.

But soon, he firmly believed that the sky would return to the sky he had seen since he was young.

*****

After passing through the ring of flames, there was a temple. Now, there was not a single intact building left, but it had rotted away and collapsed, and only the temple site remained.

” This is… Beopseongsa Temple in Bongjesan Mountain. ”

Mr. Doosik looked around, frowned, and opened his mouth as if he was displeased.

” Beopseongsa… is that what you mean? ”

” Yeah… Yeong-i and I used to live around here… It’s a place we used to come to whenever we went on a holiday… There’s also a gym nearby. ”

” Really… is that so? Well, then… we can say that it’s fortunate. Because it means that Yeong-i’s feelings for the old man still… remain. ”

” Really? ”

The old man, who had been making a disgusted expression, asked me with a bright face when I told him that Yeong-i’s feelings still remained.

” Yes, Thanatos would not necessarily come here. Perhaps, it was because of Yeong-i’s thoughts of memories with her uncle that she came here without knowing it. ”

” Sister. So where should I find Ling now? ”

” Oh, that’s it? ”

As he finished speaking, he simultaneously pulled out the great sword he had on his back and swung it vertically towards the center of the temple.

Then, as if something was breaking with a ‘snap’, a solid line started to appear starting from the point where the greatsword was struck vertically, and soon…

” So, did you see it? ”

A pitch-black tower that looked quite tall appeared in front of us.

*****

Upon entering the tower, there was a spiral staircase that seemed different from the usual ones, going ‘all the way’ upward.

At that sight, Pedro uses his power to fly towards the empty ceiling, but he sees the thread falling down as if it was blocked by something.

” So… you’re telling me to go up the stairs…? ”

” That’s right. Haa… Sister, is it okay to just go up like this? Is there a hidden trap or something… ”

” No. That won’t happen. That Thanatos guy. He’s quite proud. ”

As I slowly walked up the stairs, three people followed behind me. I turned my head slightly to look at them, then headed forward again.

‘Crunch, crunch’ How far up the stone steps had we climbed? Now we could no longer see the floor of the entrance we had first entered from, and there was only darkness that seemed to be trying to swallow us up.

All we had was the sound of our bodies moving together and the distance visible through the ‘holy fire’ I had created.

Yeah, that was all.

At the sound of ‘Touk! ‘

” Everyone! Be careful! ”

Let’s quickly create a sanctuary that surrounds everyone. Skeletons covered in black crystal appeared before our eyes.

Clearly, it must be the work of Thanatos. He must have gotten tired of waiting so he sent us a doll he made.

” Charlotte…! This is…! ”

” I’ll open the way. Everyone, follow me. ”

I ran forward and pulled out [Durandal] instead of [Greatsword. Juwayez.] and cut down the guys, and kept running.

Every time we cut down the guys, they would press us from behind again. As expected… If we just kept fighting, it seemed like it would eventually lead to a war of attrition. As we continued to move forward, the Thanatos dolls turned to dust and disappeared.

As we continued to run forward, a faint light greeted us, and as we entered it, what we saw was…

{ Welcome. To my stage. }

The daughter of Mr. Dosik. She welcomes us in the body of Yeong-i.

Goddess of Death. Thanatos. She was there.

Wearing a black dress that seemed to shine even when no light was shining on it.

” Give me back my daughter! ”

{ Oh my~ You’re still alive? As expected, humans are tough, huh? }

Thanatos looks down at us with a smile, as if he is not affected by Mr. Dosik’s words at all.

With a wave of his hand, hundreds of skeleton dolls covered in black crystal, the ones he had fought with earlier, appeared.

{ good. }

In short, dolls rushing towards us.

” Phew… From here on out, I can’t protect you properly either. Everyone, be careful. ”

” Don’t worry… I can’t die… until I get my daughter back. ”

After saying that, Mr. Doosik quickly ran forward and started to deal with the dolls while striking the ground with his axe.

” Sister, we take care of our own bodies. So… Sister, please take care of Yeong-i. ”

” Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you two! ”

Pedro, who had woven a thread around the pillar of clay that Ara had made, flew with Ara to where the old man was, and the three of them, contrary to my worries, were destroying the dolls properly.

And what’s left is…

[ Hey! You did something really funny last time. ]

{ You idiot, you deserve this. What did I do to deserve this? }

I just held up [Juwayez] and pointed at her, saying,

[ Okay. I have to return that child’s body. ]

{ Heh! If you can, try it! }

Thanatos, who had pulled out a scythe that was completely black, unlike the ones he had seen before, flew into the sky with wings made of black smoke fluttering, and then spread wings of pure white flame to match her and headed towards her.

With this fight… it’s time to put an end to everything.

*****

The sounds of ‘Chung!’, ‘Kwaang!’, and ‘Ppeowung!’ resonate from all over.

Below, three people were shouting a girl’s name while smashing the dolls that filled the room, while above them, two goddesses were swinging their weapons at each other’s throats.

{ You can’t… cut off my neck anyway! It’s the body of that bastard’s daughter over there! }

[ Not a burr! ]

The scythe coming from below, cutting through the air diagonally, collided with the greatsword slashing down vertically, sending shockwaves that shook the entire room, followed by a ‘Phew! ‘ sound.

The sharp scythe blade and the greatsword blade intersect each other, and the two goddesses look at each other.

[ Why do you hate humans so much? They haven’t done anything to you! ]

{Because they took my most precious mother away from me! You saw it too, so you know!}

[ Still, Gaia… wanted you to follow her will and help humans together with the other gods! ]

{Even though I help humans… my precious mother won’t come back…! And… I’m cooperating with other gods? Don’t make me laugh! From the beginning, they didn’t pay any attention to me! They thought that if they were close to me, their precious things would die! }

[ We’ve never even had a proper conversation…! ]

{ They’re the same! Why do you think we fought to kill each other? Of course! They never saw me as their family from the beginning! }

[ That’s wrong…! ]

{Shut up! And… You don’t understand anyway! Even though you were human! Look at this…! }

Thanatos slowly raised one of his hands, which was holding the scythe’s pole, and brought it to the blade. Blood began to flow and quickly hardened, creating black crystals.

After that, without looking back… it flew to the three people below.

[ really…! ]

Charlotte slightly pulled out her greatsword, knocked away the crossed scythes, and with a quick snap of her fingers, the black crystal disappeared.

At that sight, Thanatos quickly got away from her and began to laugh.

{ Hahahaha! See! In the end, you… can’t give them up. So… }

– I can’t do this without seeing this. –

With those words, the black crystals that had been created to fill the room flew towards the three people below, quickly flying towards them and swinging their greatswords.

With a ‘Paaaang! ‘ sound, a slash of pure white flame engulfed the black crystal, but at the same time, Charlotte felt a ‘Poouk’ sound from her body and looked at her chest at the pain, and a black-bladed scythe had popped out, and when she slowly turned her head to look behind her, there was a ring of black smoke behind her back.

[ Cool… ]

From her pierced chest, black smoke began to consume her body, and soon the pure white wings of flame behind Charlotte’s back disappeared in a fluttering of feathers, and the greatsword fell from her hand with a ‘slurp’ and hit the floor with a ‘thud!’

{See. In the end, you die because of humans. Our mother. Just like Gaia.}

Thanatos simply looked at Charlotte, who had fallen silently, with his eyes darkened by the thought of Gaia leaving him.

In those eyes, countless emotions intersect.

” Charlotte…! ”

Walnut quickly grabbed Charlotte, who was collapsing, and laid her down in his arms. Ara held Charlotte’s hand and looked at her with tears in her eyes.

[ Oh, it’s okay. Don’t worry. But… Do you see ‘that’ on Thanatos’ neck right now…? ]

” Sister…! That’s it? ”

Charlotte opened her mouth and vomited black blood towards Ara, who was holding her hand.

[ Ara, you did it. You gave your and Pedro’s brooches to… ‘Ling ‘. ]

” That’s… but why is that…? W-No way, Unnie…! ”

The moment Ara felt Charlotte do something, she raised her head and looked at Thanatos.

” Just like my sister said… there’s something faintly shining on my neck…! ”

I heard Pedro speak.

[ Really…? Then, now… You and Ara, you two should step forward a little. Sob… ]

The three of them were surprised as Charlotte slowly got up, rekindling the black smoke spreading from her body. They supported her and asked her.

” Charlotte… What should I… What should I do… to wake up Yeong-i…? ”

[ Hoo… First of all, you can just talk about anything… You can talk about each other’s memories. Ara, you too. Pedro, you just have to watch over the two of you. ]

” Okay, Sister… I’ll try my best! ” / ” Yes! ”

[Okay. Then… Now, let’s go save Ling…!]

*****

{ Huh! I wish I had just laid there… }

[Unfortunately, I won’t stop until you leave that body. I can do this all day.]

{ Even so…! }

The moment he was about to fire a black crystal at the three people below again, he quickly approached him and pushed him away, pinning him against the wall.

{ Huh…! This much…! Huh?! }

[ Now that I think about it, I feel sorry for you and Ryeong, but… Honestly, I’m pretty good at healing, right? So… ]

He put the sword made of flames under the brooch visible on his neck.

Thanatos opened his eyes wide and looked at me, as if he didn’t know that I would suddenly injure her body, even though he didn’t stab her deeply.

{ You… You… What are you doing! This body… }

[ So, I’ll poke you ‘gently’ so that it doesn’t hurt~ ]

In fact, it is a steaming to create resonance with the brooch by sending out divine power…

{ Are you crazy?! No matter what…! }

Looking at his bewildered expression, I couldn’t help but laugh at his lack of notice.

[ And I told you. It’s just something I can treat, right? What do you think? Do you think so too? ]

Thanatos simply tried to throw me off in a flustered manner, finding this situation ridiculous, but the divine power was already entering the spirit’s body, and as the brooch around his neck began to ‘resonate’ with it, he began to see the strength gradually drain from his body.

{ Huh…! When did I get to this…! }

[ Ah~ That brooch? That was already there before you took the body… Yeah, to borrow your words, it looks like those filthy humans took the initiative. ]

{ Hey, wait…! I… Ugh…! }

I turned my head as I saw the black smoke that had engulfed Ling’s body disappearing and the patterns carved into her body disappearing.

[ Dude! Araya! Now! ]

After that, Ara and the old man talked about their memories with Yeong-i, and later on, they continued talking while shedding tears as if they missed those days, and Thanatos shook his head back and forth and shouted for them to stop, but there was no way he could stop there, right?

Finally, when Thanatos’ power was almost gone, I quickly extinguished the sword of flame and called out the spirit’s name.

[ Young-ah. Wake up! Your father isn’t dead yet! ]

” Ugh…ah, dad…? ”

When the closed eyes of the spirit opened, unlike the body that had been occupied by Thanatos, clear eyes were looking at me.

” Huh?! So… ”

[ Are you awake? ]

” Ah, yes…! More than that… that… scary… voice is…? ”

[ I’ll explain later… But first, you should meet Dad, right? Right? ]

” Yes! ”

As I slowly took Yeong-i down, Ara saw Uncle Doosik and left my arms to run to him.

” Dad!!!! ”

” Daughter…! ”

My heart was touched by the sight of the father and daughter hugging each other, circling each other’s bodies a few times, and then hugging each other tightly again.

” I, really… am glad… to be alive. At that time… I thought my dad died again… I… ”

” It’s okay, daughter. It’s over now. You don’t have to worry about that weird goddess anymore. It’s all over… ”

Ara, Pedro, and I stood by and watched the woman as she began to cry, hugging each other until she stopped crying.

Everyone was happy that they could just gather around the women and return to the Mokdong settlement, but… it didn’t end.

[ Okay, then. Everyone, let’s go back quickly. ]

I snapped my fingers, creating a portal to the Mokdong settlement and pushing them into it.

” Hey, Unnie? Come on, don’t push me like that…! ”

[ Sorry, from here on out… we need to talk amongst ourselves. ]

” What?! Hey, wait a minute, sis! ”

As if she noticed something, Ara grabbed my hand, but at that moment, the room shook and I felt ‘her’ power again.

[ Don’t worry. This time, I’m really going to go back. So go ahead and prepare some delicious food. ]

As the portal closed and everyone’s voices calling me disappeared, a sticky, murky voice followed from behind me.

{I can’t forgive you…! I’m almost… there!!!! You…! }

The black smoke filling the inside of the black crystal transformed into the shape of a woman and was glaring at me.

[ Wow~ You’re really tenacious. How can you keep yourself locked up like that and still be here? ]

{ Shut up! It’s… It’s… over! It’s all… It’s all…! Because of you…! Yes, because you were born… your mother also… died. Yes. That’s how it is…! }

[ Sigh… I really can’t understand. ]

I pulled out the [Juwayez] that was stuck on the floor and aimed it at her.

[ Now, this is the end of playing with you. ]