314 Final Chapter (10)
[I was born as the eldest son of a poor farming family. My destiny was, of course, to live my entire life as an ordinary farmer, cultivating the land. However, when I was seven years old, my father was beaten to death by a tax collector. All for a mere half-sack of wheat.]
[When I turned twenty, I decided to defy fate and become a mercenary. I wanted to leave sooner, but in order to keep my family from starving, I had no choice but to wait until my second child became an adult.]
[I survived three years of near-death experiences. However, after becoming a C-class mercenary, I learned that no matter how hard I tried, I could never become a Class 4 after I turned 20.]
[That was the beginning of my intense journey.]
This is the curse left behind by the mercenary king Damon, and is written in the skill book of Ferum Infinitus.
After that, it was written in detail how desperately he tried.
Damon had never met a good teacher, never learned how to breathe mana well, and did not come from a wealthy family that could easily afford expensive equipment.
But he survived every time and kept trying.
So when he reached Class 8, Damon realized something was holding him back.
At first, I simply increased the intensity of my training.
But no matter how hard I tried, my strength gradually weakened.
It was only after a long time that he realized why strong people above Class 8 rarely showed up in the world.
As we became more entangled with the secular world and had greater influence on the future, the system of causality demanded an increasingly greater price.
That's why others hid in remote areas and practiced alone.
But Damon refused to do so.
Since he had been a mercenary for a long time and had been through a lot, he could easily see through the hidden intentions.
[The causal system was a ploy to trap latecomers.]
[The gods do not want anyone to break the limits of humanity and ascend. If I were to reach that level, there is a very high chance that they would try to destroy me. I have never regretted preparing in advance. That is why I created a weapon to fight against the gods.]
[Infinity Blade. I am convinced that this is the most effective way to kill a god who is close to a spiritual body.]
[To the descendants who have obtained this book. Unfortunately, I do not know whether I will fail or succeed. It would be difficult to leave the results in this book.]
[But one thing is certain. If I succeed, the existence of this book will be a driving force that will constantly spur me on.]
[If I fail, this curse you have learned will make you the natural enemy of the god who absorbed my power.]
[See you in heaven.]
[Damon]
Calix opened his closed eyes.
“Are you tired already?”
“You cheeky bastard.”
Although his expression was hidden by the mask, his tone of voice was sharp.
Calix smiled faintly at the Lord of the Sky.
“After 500 years, you should have made some progress, but you’re still just a superficial learner.”
“What?”
“The technology you’re using now. It wasn’t created by you, was it?”
“How, how did you… …!”
“If you inject a huge amount of divinity into something and forcefully increase its power, it doesn’t necessarily make it a strong technique.”
Calix said and held out one hand.
The divinity gathered in his palm and took on the same size and shape as the dagger he usually used.
“The Infinite Blade isn’t simply a technique of summoning countless blades and slashing. Damon probably didn’t teach you that. You absorbed the memories and powers, but you just learned them roughly without thinking about it properly and then threw them away.”
“Huh! Even so, you… …!”
Calix pushed the hilt of the dagger he had created with divinity with his finger.
It flew very slowly towards the Lord of the Sky.
Laughter flowed from the eagle mask.
“Are you just being so arrogant and boastful? Get out!”
As he shouted and waved his hands, some of the numerous blades behind his back flew towards the dagger.
The moment the first blade was about to touch the dagger.
Slurp-
The dagger that had been flying slowly split into two, and the blade flew between them.
The next blade was the same.
Swish- swish-
The daggers were drawn out one by one with a sound like the hem of a garment brushing against the ground.
The Lord of the Sky waved his arms nervously and sent his blade flying.
But every time, the dagger seemed to disappear for a moment, then split into two and flew towards him.
Then, before I knew it, the distance between the dagger and the spirit had been reduced by half.
He waved his arms around in a confused manner, feeling anxious.
The millions of blades split into many branches, some of which intercepted the daggers, while others circled around and flew towards Calix.
It was a longer route, but Calix's dagger was slow and his blade was fast, so he thought he could deal damage first.
but.
Flash-
One of the daggers, which had now numbered in the hundreds, began to glow white and then disappeared.
And then it appeared, embedded in the Lord's chest.
“Ugh!”
The Lord of the Sky clutched his chest and let out a ragged breath.
If it were simply a dagger made of divine power, it wouldn't have been this shocking.
However, the dagger thrown by Calix was imbued with the power of Pena Tellum, a technique that inflicts fixed damage proportional to the caster's maximum level.
“T, this is Hecatria’s power? No way! To have this much power, your talent… … is ridiculous!”
“I know. I heard from Hecatria. Originally, powers weren’t supposed to be taught in detail to others, but you took them out while pretending to be in a relationship? How could an author who ascended to the ranks of gods be so lethal? Oh, right. Those here were just idiots with strong powers. What about gods?”
“How dare you! What are you guys doing! Join forces now!”
The Lord of the Sky, with his ears glowing red, spurred the other animal masks around him.
But they just trembled and didn't move.
It was only then that Joo Shin realized that something was strange.
“Wh, what did you do?”
“As you know.”
Calix said, holding out two fingers.
“There are two ways to win a battle between gods. One is to inflict endless pain and break the will to live. The other is to neutralize the opposing divinity with overwhelming divinity and make them mortal.”
“Yes, you have more divinity than all of us? I can’t believe it!”
“Hekatria, that woman. She may be a little creepy, but her magical abilities are truly outstanding. I never thought she could really connect to Earth. But if she can’t do that, then the fact that she said she’d send her back to Earth was probably a lie. That would have cost her a lot.”
“What does that mean!”
“Well, you don’t have to understand everything I say. It’s just that you were never meant for me in the first place. I was just playing around for a while for the person who gave me the gift.”
Calix said and took a big step forward.
thud!
With a trembling that seemed to shake the heavens and earth, hundreds of daggers flew towards the surviving gods and sank into them.
“Kwaaak!”
“Aaah”
“Whoa!”
“Ugh!”
As dozens of daggers were embedded in each of their bodies, they soon dispersed into a pure white halo.
Where they disappeared, only the masks they had been wearing remained.
After a while, Calix was left alone in the middle of the endless snowfield.
A portal opened in the air and Hekatria appeared.
She wore a black dress and walked barefoot across the snowy field.
She stared at the eagle mask on the floor for a long time.
The expression was both sad and relieved.
When she raised her head again, Calix said.
“Everything you wanted has been accomplished. Now it’s time to bring Leila back to life.”
“Don’t worry. I will definitely keep my promise. But is your intention to return to Earth still the same?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve definitely realized one thing. You shouldn’t stamp a contract carelessly. And a quiet and boring routine is the best.”
“You’ve grown so much.”
“Oh my. Do you think I’m some kind of kid?”
“Hohoho, how many years do you think I’ve lived? You may be stronger than me, but you’ll always be a brat to me.”
“Tch!”
Hecatria said, her expression becoming serious again.
“To be honest, you may not remember, but you are the hero Sedrak who was with me when I lost my power and fell to the underworld.”
Calix shrugged.
“Well, I kind of noticed it.”
“I see. Well, that’s not surprising. You must have seen some of my memories while absorbing the fragments of power.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember, but I know I did something terrible to you. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have spent the rest of my life regretting it and carving murals like that.”
“Well, when I first summoned you, I wanted to get revenge somehow… … , but maybe it’s because so much time has passed. Even that feeling has faded. That’s why… … .”
Calix looked at Hecatria with a puzzled look.
I could see the great conflict in her eyes.
“Ugh! No matter what, it still hurts to give up my ex-boyfriend.”
"What are you talking about?"
“You will find out soon.”
Hecatria took out her staff from her bosom and struck the floor.
A red light began to flow from the staff that was dug into the thick snow.
Calix asked, frowning.
“What is this?”
“It’s a magic that sends you back to Earth.”
“I clearly told you to save Layla first.”
“It’s something she asked me to do. I tried not to listen to her… … I feel like such an idiot.”
"no way……!"
Hecatria snickered.
“She wished to be with you on equal footing. They say that Earth is a place where there is no distinction between nobles and commoners. However… … If the two of you are to meet again, you will have to go through some hardships. Think of this as the jealousy of a woman who has had her ex-boyfriend stolen. Well then, goodbye.”
“Okay, wait a minute!”
Calix reached out his hand urgently, but Hecatria raised her staff high with an indifferent expression.
“I’m sure she’s not overflowing with divinity either. If you reject her, there won’t be a second chance. Do you still want to give up?”
“Damn it!”
Calix eventually gave up the power he had been pulling up.
“Hohoho. Well then, it’s time to say goodbye. Sometimes, if you call me through Heroes of Destiny… … . No, don’t pay attention to what I just said.”
For a moment, Calix felt a sense of pity for Hecatria.
But she kept him silent by putting her finger to his lips.
Soon the spell flowed from her mouth.
“DEA Vult!”
Calix felt his eyes going dark.
“Hey, is the patient in room 3 still the same today?”
“Yeah. How many years did you say it’s been? What’s the cause?”
“Nobody knows. That’s why the hospital is holding on to him while supporting all the medical expenses. I heard that Professor Shin is writing a thesis on that patient.”
“It’s so amazing that the dialogue is so perfect that it’s like someone just fell asleep?”
“He said he didn’t lose a single muscle. The guy who was doing the treatment said he looked like a Greek statue.”
“Oh my god!”
While the two nurses were chatting for a while.
Suddenly a loud noise was heard from the end of the hallway.
“Kwaaak!”
But the nurses didn't seem to care at all, as if this happened all the time.
“Please, Jin-ah. Your new role is that of a young girl with an incurable disease. I put salad in the fridge. Why aren’t you eating it? Aren’t you going to lose weight?”
The woman answered stiffly, still standing on her head.
“You can’t maintain perfect physical condition with just that kind of grass.”
The man spoke, pounding his chest as if he was frustrated.
“No, you have to build a body that suits the role. Do you think that just having a good body is the best? Why are you so good at handstands? If you do that, you’ll gain muscle and broaden your shoulders! Why don’t you come down quickly? Are you some kind of Amazon? Or some kind of special forces assassin?”
“Assassin? I guess there’s a job like that here too?”
“What are you talking about? Are you protesting to the company because your schedule is a bit tight? Hey, you should row when the water comes in. Please come to your senses!”
The woman named Jin-ah then stood up, uncrossing her legs, and wiped the sweat off her body with a towel.
It was hard to believe that he had just been exercising and stretching for over an hour.
Her pure white face had a nice flush to it, making her look healthy, and her body shape was perfect.
But she didn't seem to like the way her body looked in the full-length mirror.
“So you’re going to catch a bear? I need to step up my training intensity. I don’t want to get eaten by a beast before I even meet Calix.”
“Hey! Why are you catching a bear! And the knife… … What? Are you meeting a Yankee? Before this guy gets dirt in his eyes… … Kaaaaaaah!”
The nation's little sister Ryu Jin-ah, who successfully transformed from Korea's top idol to an actress.
She poked the manager's eyelids with two fingers, then touched her own face as if it were a curiosity.
“You followed me all the way here, so you wouldn’t recognize me just because my face has changed a bit, right? Well, you said that there isn’t a single person here who has learned the Mana Breathing Technique… … There’s no way you could be mistaken.”
-Complete-
Author's Note
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the readers who have stayed with me until the end.
The epilogue will be updated sometime next week.
