The battlefield was silent.

Every shade had settled into a dark, blood-stained hue. Occasionally, when the corpse giants swung their fists or stomped their feet, the ground trembled.

In truth, it wouldn't be quiet.

The heaps of flesh still opened their ghastly mouths at intervals. The corpse giants weren't creatures that would remain still either.

Even the sorrowful slicing sound of blades cutting through flesh was absent.

It was just that I had gone deaf.

A high-pitched ringing was piercing through my mind. It had been quite some time since I'd last heard the sound of my own labored breathing.

My vision was blurred.

Even after drinking the potion Emma gave me, my body wouldn't move properly.

I had gone against her earnest plea and drank another bottle, but it was still the same.

As soon as I spat out a mouthful of blood, another heap of flesh lunged at me.

Instinctively, I leaned back to avoid an arm flying at me like a whip.

Grabbing another arm that stretched toward me, I pulled it toward me.

A natural throw followed.

With a loud thud, a shockwave spread, accompanied by the sound of bones shattering.

When using a sword or axe, each hit had to smash through, but with the martial techniques of the Holy Nation, it was simpler.

Under normal circumstances, lifting such a heavy monster would have been impossible.

Every time I paused to catch my breath, fragments of memories crashed over me like shards.

A flood of emotions stabbed at my mind like needles.

I wanted to kill.

It was an urge that surged out of nowhere.

I despised and loathed everything. I wanted to kill anyone who harbored hostility.

The burning intent to kill testified to the life a certain man had lived.

I wanted to kill, but I couldn't.

I should have killed, but I didn't.

A brutal regret slashed across my heart.

For him, abandonment wasn't a choice; it was essential.

If he didn't, he would have to give up something more precious and live with regret.

My breath, filled with murderous intent, grew heavier.

That was when a shadow darkened the sky.

A corpse giant was attempting to stomp on me.

Since it had happened countless times before, I quickly dodged.

I wanted to bend space, but without magic, it was impossible.

My body, thrown to the ground, floated up again from the immense shockwave.

I rolled over, coughing up blood mixed with spit.

"…I'm going to die."

It was a fleeting thought.

It wasn't a joke—I genuinely felt like I might die.

Although I had crossed countless life-or-death situations, this battle was unlike any other.

My skills grew sharper, and my magic, strangely invigorated, pushed me onward.

Even though magic was drying up in my entire body, I could still maintain my aura.

If I closed my eyes now, I'd be at peace.

The end of the world and all that…what did it matter if it happened after I was gone?

With such mundane thoughts, I surprisingly flipped myself over.

Groaning, I planted my sword in the ground.

The wind was cold.

The snow soaked with blood squelched underfoot, delivering a dreadful sensation. For that, I was grateful to the snowstorm.

Without even that feeling, I wouldn't have felt alive.

As my body temperature dropped, my senses dulled one by one.

Even the smell of blood, which I could once taste with each breath, was faint now.

Gradually, heaps of flesh crowded toward me.

I groped at my waist, pulling out a hand axe.

I had no stamina left to deal with small fry.

The axe shot forward like a streak of light, tracing a bizarre trajectory.

Its first victim was the heap of flesh charging straight at me.

The axe blade, imbued with a silver aura, burrowed into its philtrum.

The hand axe, after cleaving the first heap in half, spun to the left and then to the right, taking down a total of three creatures.

The art of stillness within movement.

I could now adjust the trajectory twice.

Each time, my heart was painted in a somber shade.

Unbearable sadness and pain shook my spirit.

The image of a weeping man replayed endlessly.

In the end, the man could no longer shed tears.

Staggering, I moved forward.

Another heap of flesh charged at me.

Clenching my teeth, I slashed downward with all my might.

With a splatter of blood, the heap crumpled.

One more remained, so I staggered forward again.

When I forcefully awoke my stiffened muscles, searing pain erupted.

Yet, I didn't stop, delivering another horizontal slash.

With the fall of the last heap of flesh, only the corpse giant remained.

The corpse giant leaned forward, gazing down at me with a curious look.

It was as if it were a child observing an ant.

I didn't like the smug look on its face, so I spat blood and sneered.

"…Keep your head down like that."

It makes it easier to take your head off.

With a bravado that was barely convincing, I leaped forward.

The corpse giant chuckled, lowering its hand to crush me.

But I rolled, bouncing off and evading its palm.

Thud. Thud. Two consecutive shockwaves swept around me.

I didn't resist the shockwave.

Instead, I used its force, launching myself onto the corpse giant's foot.

The climb began.

Sinking my hand axe into the flesh and using my sword as leverage, I climbed up to the corpse giant's knee.

Numerous legs lashed out, hitting me repeatedly.

Each strike left blood streaming, and my arms trembled fiercely.

But I didn't give up and continued my ascent.

That was until the corpse giant swatted at me, as if I were an annoying bug.

I was flung away again, rolling helplessly on the ground.

This time, I didn't even lose consciousness.

From the start, the line between consciousness and unconsciousness had been blurred.

Through my fading vision, I repeated shallow breaths.

My exhaled breath scattered in a white mist.

Staring blankly at it, a fundamental question suddenly crossed my mind.

Why am I doing this?

There were many reasons, but as my mind grew foggy, none came to mind.

Just as I was about to close my eyes without a care.

"…Ian Percus."

A thunderous voice snapped me back to my senses.

"Save the world."

Panting, I lifted my head.

An unknown voice echoed in my mind, shattering the ringing in my ears.

A curse-like vow that wouldn't allow me to fall or flee.

So, that's why, I thought, smiling bitterly as I planted my sword into the ground.

I, too, had made a promise.

I once told my young friend that I would protect everyone, that I would defend the world where we all must live.

So, I couldn't collapse here.

A fierce gleam blazed in my eyes.

The corpse giant, seeing this, let out the loudest scream I'd ever heard.

Wooooooo—

Then the corpses rose.

Not across a vast area, but enough to raise all the refugees who had died and fallen around here.

There were even some familiar faces.

Though they didn't remember me, their reddened eyes stared at me.

It was a vile trick.

As I silently observed the newly risen enemies, supporting myself with my sword.

"…Light, overflow!"

I faintly heard a girl's voice.

Instantly, the ground began to glow white-hot.

The newly risen corpses had to glance down in confusion.

And in the next moment.

Screeeeeech!

The electrified corpses screamed in unison.

Still in a daze, I couldn't fully grasp the situation.

But instinctively, I knew this was my chance.

I sprinted madly, climbing up the corpse giant's leg.

Unlike before, the corpse giant's body, which had raised the dead, was strangely still.

Perhaps it hadn't expected me to exploit the opening, for it shook in confusion.

But I had endured enough to get here.

Desperately, I alternated between my sword and hand axe, climbing the massive body. Soon, I was face to face with the corpse giant.

The face, made of hundreds of faces, was grotesque beyond description.

So I smashed it with my hand axe.

Screeeeech!

The corpse giant screamed for the first time as I began crushing face after face.

As it staggered backward, I clung on, swinging the axe relentlessly.

Blood, flesh, and shattered skulls fell like rain.

Die.

As if praying, I wished so, swinging the axe with all my hate.

Just die, already.

Surely, I had done enough by now.

I felt as if I would collapse and die any second. But I held on to climb this far.

The cold had seeped into every joint, numbing them. It felt as if ice shards had lodged in my joints.

My muscles had stiffened like lead, refusing to move any longer.

Blood poured from my mouth, and my lungs had been screaming for some time.

The unfamiliar man's memories had drained my mental strength.

Yet, I couldn't stop swinging the axe.

For one reason alone.

A true knight doesn't break promises.

Screech. Screech. Screeeeech!

With relentless blows, I'd gouged out a considerable part of the corpse giant's head.

The staggering corpse giant, flailing helplessly, scraped away parts of its own head.

Its tremendous strength crushed a third of its head, sending pieces tumbling down.

Caught in the unexpected response, I was thrown back, tumbling along with the falling pieces of flesh.

Thud. My body collided with the fallen corpses below.

One after another, more corpses rained down, crashing onto me.

Thud, thud, thud.

Blood flowed, suffocating me as it filled my mouth and blurred my vision.

If this continued, I was certain to die.

Summoning the last of my strength, I swung my sword upward.

Five silvery lines burst forth, slicing through the mound of corpses.

The strain was intense. My vision dimmed, and I had no choice but to look up at the corpse giant.

And yet, I could still see.

The face of the corpse giant was regenerating, its twisted features mending.

The creature, seemingly angered by my single blow, stomped its feet with a thunderous roar.

The tremors alone forced me to collapse, unable to keep my footing.

"Uwooooo—!"

The furious cry echoed, and I let out a bitter laugh.

Was it still not enough?

Just a little more, and I could sense the answer was within reach.

Yet, I couldn't cross that thin line, as if something prevented me from accessing that final memory.

I should have died already.

The only thing keeping me alive was Emma's potion, extending my life against all odds. My body was practically a corpse at this point.

The snowstorm grew fiercer.

The sun had vanished entirely from the sky.

My vision was cloaked in ashen gray, making it impossible to discern shapes.

By now, snow had piled up on my body as I gripped my sword, struggling to stand.

Blood dripped down my cheek, falling in thick drops.

I tried to rise, but in the end, my knees buckled.

Was this truly the end?

No matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn't budge. Even as a shadow loomed closer beside me, I couldn't move.

It didn't look like another heap of flesh.

Then who…? As the question crossed my mind, the swirling snowflakes suddenly halted.

It wasn't a metaphor or an exaggeration.

Time itself seemed to freeze.

Yet, the sound of footsteps continued, one steady step after another.

Slowly, my eyes drifted toward the source of the sound.

Walking as if out of a ghostly dream, a man strode through the frozen landscape.

There was something oddly familiar about him.

Dark hair, golden eyes.

For a moment, it felt as if I were looking in a mirror.

The man wore an expression of utter exhaustion as he knelt beside me, crouching down.

He spoke.

"…You really did something foolish."

His voice was harsh, almost scolding.

It was the first conversation we had ever shared.

---

Would you like to continue translating from here?