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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Boom!
The greatsword swung, unleashing a fierce gale. Hoback, who had just faced Kurika moments ago, felt a mixture of awe and disbelief.
‘Was he holding back against us?’
He wanted to deny the possibility, but Kurika’s attacks were growing increasingly powerful.
Though called the Army of Death, the enemy forces were essentially the beast-kin army. The Beast King, his soldiers, his advisors… all fighting to protect the goddess.
‘King Lyger is stronger than I imagined.’
Hoback couldn’t deny it. Lyger was a formidable opponent. Even he, Hoback, would have been quickly defeated. The realization made this rebellion feel utterly futile.
“I never imagined things would turn out like this.”
Gripping his spear, Hoback lunged at the approaching army. He had anticipated fighting Lyger’s forces, but not like this.
Hoback’s rebels were now protecting the citizens, while Lyger’s army had become a crazed mob, driven by a thirst for destruction.
The irony of hearing the cheers of the escaping beast-kin, supporting his rebel army, made his ears itch.
“You shall not reach them before defeating me!”
Kurika’s roar shook the earth.
Despite being stabbed multiple times, with several swords still embedded in his back, he dominated the battlefield without hesitation.
“Oh, Callius!”
“You have come to save us!”
“Our King! Our savior!”
“Go, Callius!”
The beast-kin behind him cheered, believing their savior, their king, had returned to protect them from this calamity. They believed they were witnessing another legend unfold, but…
“Silence.”
The goddess, irritated by their cheers, extended her hand with an expression that sent shivers down everyone’s spines. Darkness snaked across the ground, creeping through the shadows.
It bypassed Kurika and Hoback’s army, aiming to consume the fleeing citizens, but…
“You shall not pass!”
Kurika’s greatsword tore through the earth, sending dirt and rocks flying like a geyser. The darkness recoiled, unable to cross the line carved by his sword, dissipating into nothingness.
He glared at the goddess beyond the battlefield, his voice filled with menace.
“None shall pass before defeating me.”
“Kurika…!”
The goddess clenched her fists, raising her sword. She couldn’t remain passive. Her army was immortal, rising again and again, even after death. King Lyger himself had been slain by Kurika’s greatsword five times already, yet he continued to rise.
She had believed she could eventually overwhelm him with sheer numbers, but…
‘Does this monster have infinite stamina?’
He had fought Hoback’s army before facing her, and he had been ambushed, his back riddled with swords, yet…
Kurika showed no signs of fatigue. His eyes blazed with a crazed intensity, as if ready to tear her apart at any moment.
Fear.
She had never felt it before, and the fact that a mere beast-kin was making her feel this way was infuriating. She slipped into the shadows, approaching Kurika.
She directed her strongest forces – King Lyger, Jaegua Backflin, and Hatsim Bellok – towards Kurika, creating a diversion while she prepared another attack from the shadows. It almost worked.
Clang!
Two daggers, wielded by the white-haired girl, blocked her attack.
“Predictable.”
Mastering killing intent also meant being able to read it. The goddess, accustomed to one-sided massacres, found it difficult to conceal her intentions.
Sen pushed back the swords emerging from Kurika’s shadow with her daggers.
Her strength alone wasn’t enough, but white chains, formed from Adriana’s magic, wrapped around the goddess’s swords.
“We witches are quite familiar with gods.”
With the combined efforts of Sen and Adriana, the goddess’s attack was thwarted. Frustration began to build within her.
How dare these insignificant beings interfere?
Instead of retreating, she emerged from Kurika’s shadow.
Sen and Adriana recoiled. Direct contact with the darkness was dangerous. The Army of Death was growing stronger, absorbing the fallen soldiers.
But there was one being here who could touch the darkness without being consumed – Kurika, already tainted by the darkness, could move freely within it.
He swung his greatsword.
“……!”
“I shall claim your head!”
Kurika’s greatsword descended with unprecedented force. Even the goddess was forced to raise her sword with both hands to block the blow.
The darkness continued to encroach upon Kurika, spreading across his body like a pattern. One of his eyes had already turned black, obscuring his vision, yet…
He continued to swing his sword with unwavering strength.
The goddess grew anxious.
She had to claim Kurika now. If she delayed any longer, Daniel McLean would arrive.
Kurika was a threat, but he was nothing compared to Daniel McLean, wielding the Sealing Dagger and the power to stop time.
‘Hurry! Hurry!’
Sensing her desperation, Kurika pressed his attack, his muscles bulging, his aura so fierce that even his allies dared not approach.
Driven by an obsession to destroy the apocalypse, his greatsword relentlessly sought to break through the goddess’s defenses.
“Ugh!”
Finally, he struck, severing the goddess’s left arm as if biting it off.
“Yes!”
“Kurika!”
Sen and Adriana, who had been holding back Lyger and Jaegua to avoid interfering with Kurika’s fight, cheered.
They thought they had inflicted a decisive blow, but…
“Damn you!”
The goddess let out a hysterical laugh.
Kurika, seizing the opportunity, raised his greatsword for a final blow, but…
Thud!
The severed arm, as if possessing a will of its own, flew through the air and pierced Kurika’s chest near his heart.
Like a ripe fruit plucked from a tree.
“Ugh…”
Kurika struggled to swing his sword, but…
Thump!
He collapsed, his massive form falling to one knee. He managed to avoid falling completely by planting his greatsword in the ground, but the battle was effectively over.
The Goddess of Death reached out to claim Kurika, but…
“Kurika!”
Daniel, carried by Eris’s wind magic, flew towards them.
‘He’s already here…!’
The goddess gritted her teeth, desperately trying to claim Kurika. She glanced between the encroaching darkness and the approaching Daniel, her anxiety evident.
“Now!”
“Get away from him!”
Sen and Adriana, in a desperate attempt to buy time, charged forward, stepping into the darkness they had been avoiding.
They were quickly repelled, but they had managed to momentarily halt the darkness’s consumption of Kurika.
Daniel McLean was closing in.
If he reached her, it was over. Time would stop, and she would find the Sealing Dagger embedded in her chest.
So the goddess…
“Aaaaaah! Daniel McLean!”
…screamed hysterically, retreating into the darkness.
The Army of Death vanished with her. The massive army, swollen from absorbing half of Hoback’s forces, melted back into the earth.
The people cheered, but…
Kurika coughed up a mouthful of blood.
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Seeing me approach, the goddess retreated into the darkness. A sense of frustration and a lump formed in my throat, but Kurika needed me more.
Blood continued to pour from his wounds.
His usually soft and magnificent black fur was matted with blood, his skin torn and mangled.
Even on his knees, on the verge of losing consciousness, he clung to his greatsword, waiting for me.
“J-Just hold on…”
Adriana frantically cast healing magic, but it was useless. Even she couldn’t save someone with a wound through the heart.
The surrounding beast-kin, who had been celebrating their victory moments ago, fell silent, their joy extinguished by the sight of their king’s condition.
“Kurika!”
Thanks to Eris, I landed directly in front of Kurika.
He looked at me, his voice a bloody whisper.
“My… bag…”
He had exhausted his remaining strength in his final assault, each word a struggle.
I quickly unfastened the bag at his waist and placed it before him. He reached into the bag, fumbling for something, but his strength failed him, and he dropped it.
I retrieved the object.
It was…
“The Tudogs’…”
The device Kurika had shown in the audience chamber.
The peculiar dagger with blades on both sides.
The device the Tudogs had used to transplant the abilities of the magical beasts from the Demon Realm Forest…
“Use it.”
Kurika’s voice was firm.
“W-Wait, Kurika! Don’t give up!”
I understood his intentions and pleaded with him, but he lacked the strength to speak, his eyes conveying his silent command.
Use the dagger. On him.
“……Kurika.”
“Hurry… use it.”
His voice, filled with resignation, brought tears to my eyes, but I obeyed, slowly inserting the dagger into his shoulder.
The dagger pulsed with light, and Kurika grew weaker.
As if drawing strength from the act, he managed a faint smile, apologizing.
“I’m sorry… for leaving you with this burden.”
“……”
“I lived as a king.”
He looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath, as if wanting to imprint the image of the brilliant blue sky in his memory.
“I became a god.”
“So I abandoned them, becoming a fugitive.”
“I entered the forest they called the Demon Realm, becoming a keeper of treasures, burdened with the heaviest responsibility.”
“And…”
He lowered his head, his gaze meeting mine.
He placed his hand on my head, smiling brightly for the first time.
“I die as your friend.”
Strength slowly drained from his body. He released his grip on his greatsword and pulled the dagger from his shoulder.
The dagger trembled violently, as if unable to contain Kurika’s power. He carefully inserted the other blade into my chest.
“My friend… I give you everything I have.”
Kurika’s eyes slowly closed.
The man who had witnessed and shaped the continent’s history, a man who had experienced countless miracles…
His final gaze rested upon his small friend.
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Nooo kurikaa T.T
Man. Just when they finally had a new bro.
Kurikaaaa ;;;-;;;