Chapter 717: Young Future (2)
Rumble– The entire space twisted violently again.
“You okay?”
“Thanks to Han Seol holding it up before he left, I can manage. It’s closer to a summoning than an intrusion, too.”
“That’s a relief. You gotta stay healthy.”
No one had approached my room yet. Maybe the Mermaid Queen didn’t have any suitable subordinates to send the way the King of Predation did. That was good news for me, but it wasn’t like she’d quietly back down, so I couldn’t relax.
“Well then.”
I walked toward the achievement reward. The spear, a little taller than me, was perfectly smooth from tip to butt, not a single seam. It looked less like a practical battlefield weapon and more like a ceremonial lance for a festival, carved from white jade or pearl. It was much shorter than an actual jousting lance, though.
I reached out and wrapped my hand around the spear. It was lighter than I expected. Light enough that I could lift and swing it one–handed. When I checked the weapon’s status, a window appeared in front of my eyes.
[Threefold Godslayer – Undetermined
A single white ray for the downfall of false gods.
Even in the frail hands of a child, it pierces Transcendents.
※Bound to Han Yujin]
A weapon that kills Transcendents. I raised the white spear upright.
“False gods.”
The system had checked my Achievements and decided to call them that. Transcendents, not gods. But ones who swung the world around as if they were.
I looked over the weapon info again in detail. The part about killing Transcendents, and the “three times,” both nagged at me. Maybe the name came from my Achievements of killing three Transcendents, counting Chatterbox. Or it might mean that with this spear’s power, I can only erase up to three Transcendents.
Even if it was the latter, it was enough.
“Let’s get ready, Partner.”
“If you call me that, won’t the babysitter Partner cry?”
“He can cry all he wants. I do miss him, though.”
If we’re working together, that makes us partners. Still, I felt weirdly guilty, so I added quietly,
“It’s not like we’re close enough to call each other friends yet anyway.”
“How hurtful.”
What is he even saying. He’s the one who keeps going on about how I’m not “that” Han Yujin. Mana started to gather where the snake had died, so thick it looked like it might condense into liquid and drip down.
“…Grace, I’m counting on you.”
– Peep!
The blue bird answered fiercely and melted into the gem on my bracelet. The blue jewel flashed briefly. It’d be nice if we could settle this by talking, but that was probably a long shot. I stowed the spear in my inventory and stepped forward. Thanks to Seol, the greatly expanded space was filling up with mana.
Drip, drop–
Raindrops fell from the distant, towering ceiling. Wherever the rain touched, grass sprouted. Fresh green shoots and tiny puddles. Tender stems quickly thickened and rose into trees that spread their branches, and the swelling buds popped open one after another, scattering petals of every color.
The space transformed as if a god were descending. The shattered, jumbled marble floor vanished, replaced by a wild, waterlogged field. Above that–
Sssslither–
Golden–red scales glided by. The massive red serpent’s body rippled vividly, like a heap of jewels piled across the grass. Far overhead, there was the faint clink of metal ornaments striking one another. I craned my head all the way back. A chest and belly stood firm like sheer, vertical cliffs. Above them, the snake’s eyes looked down at me. Each time the earrings dangling almost to his shoulders swayed, they rang out like great bells. They were probably the size of a temple bell, too.
It was a presence that would make even most S–Rank Hunters bow their heads and bend their backs without thinking, but I stared straight up. A Fear Resistance message blinked, but I ignored it. Pillar–long claws tapped at a rain cloud coiling around his own body. Rain came pouring down. Drenched in the sudden shower, I blinked. Water that had gathered on my eyelashes blurred my vision.
– Tiny thing.
Its voice echoed like a giant mountain.
– I will not ask at length.
I thought I heard a hint of laughter in that voice.
– Will you protect your world?
Will you cling to and endure with the three fragments you ought to offer up? Even though I’d killed his subordinate, the King of Predation still felt some fondness toward me. If I said I’d hand over the fragments, he would withdraw quietly.
“I won’t give a long explanation.”
No matter what reasons I tried to dress it up with, there was only one answer.
“Yes.”
That place is where those I love have lived and will live, and it’s the land where I’ll live too.
– Good!
Laughter boomed, ringing like a bell. The King of Snakes laughed as if he was delighted.
– No matter how small a small thing is, it is not weak. Those who stand against the strong are strong themselves, even if they are utterly defeated. Only those who bow their heads of their own accord are truly feeble!
His excited voice alone made my whole body tremble. I lowered my stance a little. One single instant, and it would be decided. Seong Hyunjae looked at us – at me. I drew in a deep breath.
– So you are surely one who lives adorably. Come.
Magnanimous. The King of Predation spread his arms wide. I kicked off the ground and leapt. A dizzying height. Wherever my feet would land, footholds appeared. I stepped on the stairs Seong Hyunjae created and jumped again.
From the lowest floor, you had to climb endlessly just to reach a Transcendent’s eye line. I ran and ran toward where that gaze fell. The steps appeared without end and then dropped away below. Even so, we kept stacking them, piling them higher and higher.
The King of Predation was laughing. He laughed loud, as if he found this tiny thing that just kept climbing adorable. But the moment I met his eyes–
– Now fall.
Merciless punishment fell. In his scale–covered hand, a curved sword had appeared at some point – a shamshir. He could have flicked me away with his bare fingers, yet he had drawn a weapon. It was respect for one who dared to challenge a vastly stronger opponent despite the obvious difference in power.
The red blade, trimmed with gold, swung toward me. The shockwave alone made my whole body reel. In the storm of magic bright enough to blind me, another foothold appeared in front of me, quivering like a leaf. One more step, a stepping stone to climb even higher.
Clang–!
The sword came down. Blue light flashed under the red blade. For a single instant, it nullified even a Transcendent’s strike – damage immunity. A faint crack ran through the semi–transparent bracelet made from the hardest material in the world. At the same time, I kicked off the last foothold.
Higher than a Transcendent’s eye line.
The pure–white spear was in my hand. The venom–soaked golden–red sword bent wide and came at me again. I drew my arm back and thrust. An F–Rank stat using a D–Rank Thrust skill.
– That is–!
Voooom– The King of Predation’s sword tip froze. As if time itself had stopped, the rigid blade was wrapped in white light. Like hundreds, thousands of serpents, the white light slithered along the sword, up its wielder’s arm, and coiled around his body. In an instant, everything turned pale.
Shaaahh–
Rain poured.
Rain fell. Golden chains wrapped around me as I fell through the air, helping lower me safely to the ground. The wet earth splashed under my feet. Ahead, I saw the King of Predation. Shrunken to about twice the size of a human, his figure was blurry. Red hair laced with gold was soaked, unable to block even the raindrops. As if he found the sensation curious, the serpent brushed the wet strands stuck to his cheeks and forehead back with his fingertips.
“Remarkable.”
He looked at the white spear. His gaze held no regret at all, even with his life about to end.
“You almost look relieved.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
The oppressive pressure vanished and the King of Predation smiled like a young man.
“I am a being that struggles to live. But at the same time, I have lived far too long. A straight path that never loops back.”
“Then…”
“It does not mean I wished to die. So long as there is a path, life walks and continues. And fading away like this is also life.”
The King of Predation reached his hand toward me. With a soft hiss, the bracelets on my arm turned into snakes.
“I have lived by devouring and devouring again. I have no regrets about that, yet I began to wonder if I had not devoured even my clan’s possibilities.”
“Their possibilities?”
“Yes. One who hoarded everything without sharing has enjoyed an unchanging life.”
The tip of his long claw tickled the chin of a young snake. The magic within the King of Predation slowly spread outward.
“From rotted, crumbling corpses, sprouts will rise.”
The power he had built up over a stretch of time too long to even imagine now scattered as nourishment for his people. To the seeds he had sown everywhere. To the two young serpents before him.
Maybe the King of Predation had been waiting a long time for this moment. As a living thing, he could not kill himself. He could not intentionally lose, either. If he were to be beaten by a Transcendent strong enough to defeat him, he wouldn’t be able to scatter himself like this – everything would be taken instead.
But I am not a Transcendent. Compared to them, my lifespan is short, and I’m someone who holds children in my arms and passes things on.
“King of Predation–.”
“Rhanahi. In your world’s language, pomegranate seed. I was born alone from an egg with no one to name me, so I named myself, after a sun–warmed pomegranate.”
“That’s a pretty name.”
His form grew even hazier. He was so translucent now that the scenery behind him showed faintly through him. He didn’t have much time left.
“It’s kind of a shame, honestly. You did help me, in your own way… Another Transcendent literally picked a fight and died first, then still left a curse on me as he went.”
“A petty one.”
“He said he was going to be forgotten and abandoned or something. Apparently, there are a lot of Transcendents who curse people as they die.”
The Elder said he’d got a lot of those too. The King of Predation – Rhanahi – smiled with his eyes.
“Then I shall bless you instead. You will have many children.”
“…Huh?”
I mean, thanks for the blessing, but that sounds kind of weird. I already have too many.
“Those children will not forget you and will love you, and you will hold in your arms a child who will stand at the very highest place in the world.”
“T–thank you.”
It was a really nice thing to say, that the kids would grow up splendidly. The King of Predation’s presence faded. Glancing down at his disappearing body, he spoke.
“The Origin is not a source of infinite new life.”
“Huh? The Origin?”
“The Origin creates worlds and takes them back again. The Unfilial Children call that a barbaric act, but I do not.”
“…From the side being eaten–.”
“There is no rebirth without sacrifice. Rabbits eat grass, and foxes catch rabbits. The dying things enrich the earth again. The power to nurture only comes by devouring. Did you know? The Origin has grown weaker lately in its power to create worlds.”
If Rhanahi was right and the Origin’s power wasn’t infinite – if it had to harvest and consume the worlds it created to replenish its power of creation…
“What the Unfilial Children are doing now is like killing every fox to protect the rabbits. Endless rabbits will eventually lay the land to waste.”
“…But that doesn’t mean we can just accept annihilation.”
“That is life, is it not? Everyone lives, but some die. All will die someday, as well. Even so, the System is no more than giving the rabbits better feed – to give them the strength to flee the fox.”
“The problem is excessive interference.”
The King of Predation nodded.
“And then, the worlds devoured when Transcendents are born. Originally, Transcendents did not devour worlds. They grew on their own, from an extremely small possibility that the Origin’s destruction provoked.”
“Do you know about Crescent Moon?”
“Her nature is quite far from mine, so I do not know her well. But is Crescent Moon involved?”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
The serpent’s eyes turned to the white spear.
“Under Crescent Moon stand many Transcendents who support her. That one spear will not be enough.”
“I know.”
It would run out of power before I even reached Crescent Moon. Even one–on–one would be one thing; fighting several at once, spear or not, was impossible.
“But originally, Lord Rhanahi, I couldn’t even dream of fighting you.”
Rhanahi’s lips curved in a satisfied smile.
“I wonder how far you will reach. Saving every world is close to impossible. But there will be new ways to make the impossible possible – like you, standing before me.”
“W–well, it’s not like I set out trying to save every world. I just… had one person I wanted to protect.”
Just one person. My world used to be that small.
“There is no one who is great from the start. Everyone begins as a seed.”
The King of Predation’s voice grew faint. His figure was nearly gone. What little power remained gathered toward the magic stone, which shone with brilliant light.
“So I leave it to you. My father.”
“…Huh? What?”
Wait, what did he just say? My vision exploded with light, then slowly settled back down. Where the King of Predation had vanished, instead of a magic stone–
“H–hey!”
A red egg tinged with gold was sitting there. So he wasn’t just dropping his kids on me to babysit, he was sending the whole parent home to raise? And it was an egg! I have literally never managed to successfully hatch one of these!
“What even is this!”
“Congratulations. You’ve gained another child.”
Seong Hyunjae gave a light clap as he spoke. So that was why he blessed me like that? I’m really never getting married at this rate! Still, I picked up the egg and slipped it into Myungwoo’s pouch. At this rate, we’re going to fill every awakened–and–nonhuman child education facility with just our kids.
Letting out a long sigh, I looked back at Seong Hyunjae. The white spear settled back into my hand. Like the King of Predation said, going straight for Crescent Moon wasn’t an option. Instead…
“Are you ready?”
“I should be the one asking that.”
Seong Hyunjae pulled up a system window. I supported him. A massive screen unfolded, filled with an impossibly tangled web of mana circuits.
“Requesting System Creator authorization.”
Right into the innermost core of the critical system settings.
Destroying the System itself was impossible. It was a power made when Transcendents – the creators – gave up everything and tied it to the Origin. But if it was just one part…
Seong Hyunjae dragged out the portion of the System that connected to our world – the pathway the Transcendents used to access it. I drew the spear back.
Crackkk–
I thrust.
–TL Notes–
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