Chapter 582: Supreme Sacrifice (2)
I didn’t know exactly how to explain it, but I felt like I had become the villain for some reason.
‘I don’t like the way these bastards are looking at me.’
They really believed that they were the ones who were just, causing me to become a little more reluctant. I didn’t know the reason behind their behavior, but if I were to make a guess…
I thought it might be because what they were showing was the royal road of cliché. Wasn’t it beautiful to see that they had been neglected by the world but insisted on acting that they believed to be just and righteous until the end?
The way they relied on each other along with their strong companionship was worth a round of applause. In the end, it seemed that they wanted to show their motives through a beautiful end, but unfortunately, I had no intention of becoming a victim of such a cliché.
If the situation got worse, I was prepared to pull back at any time… and more than anything else…
‘There’s no way we’ll lose.’
The light on the continent would never fade.
‘I need to make an effort too. Their acting is amazing. I’m still far from it.’
Weren’t they really thinking their justice was right? It was almost funny when I thought about it.
Those that looked like disgusting and dirty devils were showing such passionate expressions.
Although I felt that they were spitting on my face, it was difficult to gain public sympathy even if they shouted for others to recognize them when they looked like that.
There were many visual differences from Doom Kiyoung’s silver-haired appearance.
Rushing in with blood-dyed saliva flowing from their mouth and with reddened eyes, they looked more like descendants of a demon rather than warriors of justice. In some aspects, they didn’t even look like humans.
I smiled as I watched them fall miserably during the tedious battle, but I continued to exhale harsh breaths to maintain the balance.
“Hold on… Don’t give up!”
“Hold on, Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung!”
“Keep going! Ugh… hold on… Ugh… Keep fighting!”
“Good job, Cho Hyejin! Good job!”
“Sniff… Hold on. Hold… on.”
“Let’s pray. Let’s all pray for the Honorary Cardinal, for the Chairman.”
“Sniff… Stand up. Ugh… Oh, god… please… please give them a tiny miracle…”
“The Chairman is standing up again. Let’s root for him harder!”
“Hold on!”
The sounds of cheers coming from all over the place naturally made me feel very good.
I felt like I wanted to give them a handshake, but I couldn’t. That was because the enemy faction’s atmosphere had changed.
“Did everyone hear it?”
“Yes, leader.”
“We can do it.”
“We can’t let everything end here.”
“We can definitely succeed. Remember that we lived only for this day.”
“Haha, sir… I think I’m done for. Leader, please… please come up slowly.”
“Thank you for everything, Sirviola.”
“My power is weak, but I want you to use it…”
“Don’t carry it on your back.”
“Please accept my strength.”
“Be at ease. Don’t let it burden you down.”
“Leader… Was my life… meaningful?”
“Of course.”
“Thank… you.”
The delay was quite long every time one of them fell. Besides, it felt like they were doing something that resembled an awakening. Their magic power was visibly and gradually being amplified.
Even when I checked with my Mind’s Eyes, I could see that the Head of the Order was getting stronger. His body seemed to have already reached its limit. However, his energy itself was expanding so much that even I couldn’t believe it.
Perhaps he was feeling it the most.
That a miracle was happening, that they would be able to do it, that they could succeed in their mission. They gained more power to move a little more, and it was all due to his colleagues and all of those that supported them.
It was a small miracle created by faith and trust, fellowship and justice, and it’s clear that he instinctively felt that way. But wasn’t that impossible?
Obviously, that kind of awakening existed. There were cases like Park Deokgu.
Stats could rise due to internal growth such as enlightenment, and they even grew explosively in dangerous situations.
The systematic thesis on awakening was popping up frequently. However, the case with those demon contractors was completely different.
If the awakening were as easy as the awakening that those guys showed with their companionship, no one would die on an expedition. An interesting story soon came out in a related paper, stating that awakening also required some conditions.
I also remembered that I scouted the thesis author of Blue because it was something that I also agreed with. The most important thing was that mental growth had to be the foundation.
It meant that the mind had to be prepared in advance proportionate to the body that needed to grow quickly.
Of course, they couldn’t have such a mentality. No, in the first place, there was no such thing as normal growth, mentality included. Individuals that had signed a contract with a demon and crossed their limits in the past, even assuming that they grew in the usual way, couldn’t obtain the same strength as they had right at that moment.
‘And they’re going to evolve once more here? That’s bullsh*t. Bullsh*t.’
“Vice Guild Master… That’s…”
‘Hyejin, you shouldn’t be agitated.’
“Cough, perhaps… it seems they’re amplifying the power of the demon they contracted with.”
“What?”
“Demons use negative energy to act. The negative emotions that humans have are their power and their source of energy. Anger against the world and feelings like vengeance and inferiority… are most likely amplifying the power of that leader…”
‘Yes, I’m saying this for you Order members to hear. Motherfuckers, you don’t really want to say that you’re here with a noble feeling to protect the continent, do you?’
“They may also be pitiful people.”
“For someone like you… to be thinking of that…”
‘Hyejin, come on. I’m a warm person once you get to know me.’
“I don’t want to think of it like this either, but… they’re pitiful. Weren’t they brainwashed by the demon summoner Jin Qing? Look at those ugly chunks of emotion mixed up in different ways. And the way they changed due to those feelings…”
“Chairman, you don’t have to feel compassion for them.”
“I don’t feel compassion. Cough… Ms. Li-ahn. What I feel is regret. If I had met them a little faster… maybe I could have led them on the right path. I might have prevented them from turning into someone full of vengeance, inferiority, and anger.”
“Chairman…”
‘You reactionary bastards. You don’t have to look like that. I didn’t say anything wrong. Do you really think he’s been awakened because of your companionship? That’s never going to happen. Those who have already signed a contract with the demon get new powers because of their sense of mission? That’s bullsh*t. Open your ears and listen carefully, because I’m saying all of this for your sake.’
“Chairman, are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine, Ms. Li-ahn. I am… fine.”
The light was standing amid the ruins of the site. It wouldn’t be strange to shed tears unknowingly. I was worried that Cho Hyejin would notice it was crocodile tears, but all she did was turn her head slightly.
She probably didn’t have the time to nibble over the little details.
As she recently started to like me to some extent, and the misunderstanding about me had been cleared, I thought she would have played along if she had seen through my tears.
Perhaps she thought I was sympathizing with them. Hyejin knew I had been in a similar situation, after all. Rather, it was the reactionary bastards, the demon contractors, that reacted to the crocodile tears.
“That… despicable… abominable, vile bastard…”
‘You’re the vile ones. I’m not the only one shedding crocodile tears, you damn demon contractors.’
“Look at him, eating away at the power of his colleagues. The very same comrades he had been working with are treated indifferently by him… How… how did he become like that…”
It was a trashy comment that disparaged the scene that could’ve caused tears to fall if it were a normal situation. I noticed the guy shivering. His eyes were getting redder, and the saliva flowing from his mouth was becoming more and more abundant.
‘Ugh. That must feel sticky.’
“Despicable bastard… I will kill you. I will surely kill at least you. I’ll make sure to tear you limb from limb. I will comfort the spirits of Jin Qing and my fallen comrades.”
“Think carefully about whether it is their anger or your own anger that you really want to comfort… Cough… The demon is manipulating you. You are being deceived… by Jin Qing and your contractor. I know you feel great hatred against the world, and I understand that you felt like you had no choice but to go down the dark path because of that, but… but it may not be too late. I can see the purity that is suppressed… in your eyes.”
“…”
“Close your eyes and ask yourself. What are you really fighting for?”
‘Is it true that what you really want is for the continent? Is that really why you even signed a contract with a demon?’
“Look carefully to see if your mind is deluding you… Cough…”
‘It can’t be that. In my opinion, you’re not as noble as you think.’
“Think about what it is… that you truly want…”
‘You just want vengeance and spite, motherfucker. Or maybe you’re feeling inferior. It’s honestly not my business, but I know this.’
“…”
‘You’re not an ally of justice, and you’re not a victim of a cliché where you’re misunderstood by the people.’
“…”
‘You’re just… an ugly monster.’
Dropping tears as clear as the morning dew, I put a smirk on my lips for him to see.
It wouldn’t be visible to the crowd, but it would be clearly visible to him.
Truthfully, I was provoking him. I was laughing at them because that was what they really looked like, nothing more. I didn’t know if my expression, which Lee Jihye called a lively provocative totem, worked, but he eventually lost his temper regardless.
“It’s not anyone else… but you… we’re not depraved enough for you to have the right to say that. Words that insult the members of the Order are absolutely, absolutely unforgivable, you bastard.”
“…”
“I’ll kill you. I will surely kill you, again and again. I will see to it that your life ends even if I have to throw everything away, you dirty scammer…”
‘Yes, that’s right. That’s your guys’ position.’
“No, I will make sure your death isn’t swift. I’ll cut off your limbs and throw you into the pig pens to live with the livestock. After pulling out your tongue, your eyes that witnessed our end will also burn with fear, you disgusting, deceitful man. I’ll destroy you, you continent-deceiving demon bastard! I’ll surely… kill you!”
‘The reaction is good.’
If there was a problem, it was that the response was better than I thought. The guy who started sucking up the magic of his companions had his human skin peeled off, revealing the flesh inside.
The swarthy purple flesh gradually expanded and began to penetrate out of the surface of his body. He was growing larger, transforming into an indescribable monster.
His appearance had given me nausea just by looking at it, and his body soon made me lose my appetite due to the dirty mucus that was dripping from it.
I could affirm that he was a completely lost cause by then. Not only was he eaten by a demon, but he also became a fool who couldn’t think of anything else. He had become an abomination that acted based on nothing but instincts.
-Kill… I will kill you. I must… kill you… Revenge…
‘Why did he change like that? No, his appearance doesn’t matter, but… Why did he become so strong?’
Who on earth was the demon that signed a contract with that bastard? What kind of being was he? Could others deliver that much power even with the summoning door closed?
‘I’m getting lost in thought…’
The guy took a big breath. Great energy gathered in his mouth, which soon blasted forth in the form of a beam.
I habitually raised my hand to make a shield of bones, and yet-
Craack!
The bones were destroyed almost immediately. I soon realized that I didn’t have to take countermeasures due to the entity’s appearance blocking the front.
“Don’t be afraid. I will be your shield.”
It was a line I had heard a lot before.
“What should I say?”
The voice was familiar.
Park Deokgu and Ahn Ki-mo.
With a loud sound, the attack the monster made was deflected with ease by his large shield.
‘You have grown. You really grew. How did you grow so much?’
He reminded me of a fortress.
“It’s been a while, hyung-nim. I missed you.”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
‘You pig bastard.’
At this, I smiled unknowingly.