Every time she took a step, she felt as if she were in hell. Setting fire to bare skin was a pain indescribable by words. Especially for an untrained human like Laosa.
However, the physical hell she was currently experiencing was far better than the mental hell she had been putting herself through. She believed that she was finally doing something as the prophet.
'As Lord Jin said, even if my body becomes a pile of ash, I will serve my people.'
He had many opportunities to escape, but Jin chose to help those around him.
Laosa responded to Jin's sacrifice with her transcending will.
Their commitment moved Laosa's heart.
"Jin! Last a little longer. Laosa's going on her own! I'll take care of the shards behind you, so just move forward!"
Jin nodded.
Bradamante's fading glow began to shine once more. From Syris's reliable words of having his back, Jin trusted her and mustered up the rest of his strength.
In the storm of flying energy shards, the three slowly moved forward.
And the Twilight Magicians could only watch this sight. They thought there was no way that the children would succeed without the Master of the Hidden Palace's help.
"Increase the cannon's strength! We will erase this land off the face of the earth!"
Chiiiiiiing…!
The cannon that had forced clans and empires into extinction emitted an even stronger light.
If it weren't for the cold aura of the Myriad Ice, the entirety of the Kollon Ruins would have melted.
"When the kids are achieving something, the adults shouldn't just slack off, right?"
Although she spoke in a carefree manner, her limit was being reached. Pressuring the Twilights without killing any of them was a tiresome task.
'Syris and Jin, there really is no time. Just finish the job…!'
Thirty steps.
Twenty steps.
And when there were only ten steps left…
'Ah…'
The excruciating pain that encompassed Laosa's body forced her nervous system to shut down.
Her feet burnt to black, and the white of bone was exposed.
Her two hands that were flailing in the hot air faced the same senseless fate. Her eyes were open, but her vision was dark. It was hard to say whether she was even alive.
And of course, her feet no longer moved. Her entire body started to die.
'If I had come back a little earlier… No, if only I never ran away in the first place…'
She felt sorry.
Sorry for Jin who risked everything to free the Kollon natives from their misery.
"Milady!"
Syris shouted towards Laosa, who had stopped moving.
The prophet's body did not budge, and Syris couldn't even check up on her as she was too busy deflecting all of the energy shards.
"Jin! Lady Laosa is—!"
She didn't want to say that she was dead.
Because she knew how hard Jin was trying to keep them safe.
In the continued explosions, Jin didn't notice Laosa's death, and he continued forward.
'Are there only five steps left?'
Jin, too, was not in his right mind.
"Ji…in… Jiiiiiin…!"
Syris caught up to him and shouted his name in his ear. Her voice sounded so far away; Jin didn't even look back at her.
His fading vision caught a glance of her face before fading to black.
Ffff-thunk.
One long shard pierced his chest, yet not a single groan of pain came out.
'Is this it?'
Without Numerous's Tear to save the dead, Jin had no way of escaping death this time.
'Should we have escaped after killing Myuron Zipfel? Or when Midor Elner came here? Did we have to escape with the natives? Maybe the moment when the Kozak revealed itself over the horizon?'
Should they have never come in the first place?
'Where did it all go wrong?'
Jin thought as he exploded into laughter.
However, even if he could go back to the time before he came to the Kollon Ruins, he wouldn't have made so many different decisions.
Because every time he was given the choice with the consequences of death, he refused to ignore the Kollon natives.
Of course, he would make better plans and allocate stronger allies in order to evade failure.
However, it was all pointless at this point.
'How could I be such an idiot? I could've just turned down the job. …But why couldn't I?'
In the first place, saving these people was such an unimportant side quest.
Would it help surpassing his father and his goal of becoming the strongest knight in the world? Would it help him have a hold on world politics by becoming the patriarch of the Runcandel Clan?
All of his goals did not line up with this request that he took.
Then why?
Why couldn't he just walk away?
'If the natives face their end here, then that's my fault. I basically forced their untimely death.'
He realized that he couldn't overpower the Zipfels and that the world went how the strongest wanted it to.
He was the weakling once more.
'I couldn't say any thanks or apologies to many people.'
He threw up a clump of blood before falling to the floor.
"No!"
The energy shards in the air suddenly increased in number. Was it because Bradamante stopped moving?
"You were deflecting this many of them by yourself, but it's not enough for you to die just like that!"
Syris's eyes began to water. They weren't lovers like her mother insisted, but he was someone she didn't want to send away so easily.
"Give me a response. You have to survive and duel me again!"
That was the last thing Jin heard.
Soon after, he died.
Syris already knew that fact, but she still continued to protect his corpse.
Chang!
Kerk! Krak!
"Syris! Stop that and come over here, dammit!"
The Kozak's cannon glowed with another golden light.
As the spread of the laser got smaller, the destructive power increased.
The airship had immense destructive power, urging the journalists to attach a phrase to its name.
'A force that could destroy the world'.
"We have said it time and time again. You will not achieve your goals!"
"If my daughter gets hurt, not a single one of you will make it out alive!"
"You are definitely stronger than us, but the Hidden Palace is not stronger than the Zipfel Clan. Isn't that why you've stayed hidden even with this much strength?"
The moment Talaris tried to answer, something else revealed itself from the horizon. The Twilight Magicians smiled.
"Kadun?!"
"Our last reinforcement has arrived. Now, we cannot guarantee your daughter's survival. Yours as well."
Fire Dragon Kadun.
Kelliark Zipfel's guardian dragon and the King of the Fire Dragons. Kadun let out a roar, and the Myriad Ice's cold aura was immediately extinguished.
[Long time no see, Talaris Endorma. The one chosen by the Myriad Ice.]
Talaris did not answer. She only gritted her teeth.
And in these hopeless moments, even though he was dead, Jin was watching all of it.
'What the hell? I should be dead… Huh? Shit, I can see my own corpse!'
His body felt light. Jin's body was high in the sky, translucent, looking as if it were a mirage.
He could see the entire battleground, but no one else could see him. He watched Murakan as he changed into his true form from mourning at Jin's death. He even saw Syris, who fainted from protecting Jin's corpse.
The natives who continued their ritual. Talaris who completely unleashed the Myriad Ice to fight Kadun…
Everyone fought at their best.
And for a second, Jin thought that seeing this sight may be some kind of purgatory. God's punishment for attempting at the impossible whilst being a weakling.
It was a horrible sight.
He had to watch his allies die. He felt as if he couldn't breathe—as if his heart was going to explode.
「How does it feel, Solderet's chosen one?」
Then, he heard a voice.
Surprised, Jin turned his head and saw someone else standing and looking at the massacre. He couldn't tell if the person was a guy or a girl.
"You are…?"
「I've been waiting for you for a while now.」
"You've been waiting for me? What do you mean?"
「I am Kullam. The one who sealed himself inside the mirror with Solderet's help.」
As soon as he heard the other's name, Jin felt a surge of anger. He was about to ask why he didn't do anything, but Kullam spoke first.
「I'm sure you want to ask why I showed up so late.」
"Well, no shit."
「Answer my question first. How do you feel watching this sight? The ones who fought for you and the ones you tried to protect are all dying.」
He wanted to unsheathe his sword and slash him, but instead, Jin took a deep breath.
"I just think that I was weak and stupid. Crazy, even."
Kullam smiled.
「Don't forget that.」
Click!
Kollon's god snapped his fingers, and Jin opened his eyes.
As if a page was being turned, his surroundings started changing.
His light, floating body gained the weight of his bones and flesh, and he was standing on the ground again.
And the god that he was talking to took the form of Laosa.
「I responded to Laosa's call the moment she realized something while looking at you. The death that you face, and the death that you have witnessed.」
Kullam gently placed his hand on Jin's head.
「It's a small lesson. You showed your will even at the verge of failure. The thousand-year contractor, you must get stronger. Incomparably strong. Strong enough that the gods cannot budge.」
Jin looked at their surroundings.
The Myriad Ice calmed down. The darkness slowly took over the sky.
The Kozak was split in half, spewing smoke into the sky. The Twilight Magicians twitched and shook on the ground.
—————