Published at 10th of January 2021 11:34:14 AM
Chapter 87
Chapter 87 .
Translator: thursdays Editor: Sasha PR: LightBrin
A light flowed from my sword and covered the black dragon .
[The Compassion Sword resists the absorption!]
However, there was a substantial amount of rebellious energy working against me . Srrung! A dark malice inundated me like a summer monsoon of sewage . It was like a black panther who had been sleeping quietly and had been startled awake by a touch .
[The Compassion Sword is baffled . ]
[She censures her sister and asks if she betrayed Lefanta Aegim . ]
[The Guardian Goddess is comforting her sister . ]
The light of the Holy Sword and the shadow of the black dragon fused together messily .
[The Compassion Sword demands the new owner to prove himself . ]
White and black .
Neither side would simply back off .
[The Constellation’s power is great . It should never be given to an unqualified person . The Compassion Sword does not yet recognize you as a new lord . ]
“All right . ”
I looked calmly at the sword embedded in the black dragon’s chest .
“You have a point . But how should I prove my worth?”
Takgi continued to leak from the black dragon’s body . It was throbbing… The malice was incomparable to what was there before . And that malice took on a shape .
A dark angel .
It was an angel made up of sooty water from toe to head .
[I am a fragment made out of the goddess’s compassion . ]
[If you want to prove that you can be someone’s idol—] [1]
[You must prove that you can be compassionate . ]
The expressionless angel spread its wings .
Even those wings looked murky .
Black spittle dripped from the two open wings .
[I ask you to leave your mind and body to me for a little while . ]
“Why should I?”
[To peek into your memories . ]
The light emitted by the Holy Sword became a little brighter .
[The Guardian Goddess cannot agree to this . If you travel together, you will end up seeing warrior-nim’s qualifications to be the new owner . There is no reason to take unnecessary risks . ]
“No . It’s fine . ”
I sheathed the sword .
“I can’t carry a sword around my waist that doesn’t believe in me . Even if it’s the greatest sword in the world, I wouldn’t be able to stand the uneasiness . Come! Come and look at my memories or whatever until you’re satisfied . ”
It was the moment I opened my arms wide .
[The Compassion Sword is testing your compassion . ]
The angel’s two wings covered my sight . Like a mother bird wrapped around its chick, huge black wings surrounded my body .
It was dark everywhere .
Then, a dreamlike scene appeared in front of me .
「Kind man . 」
A garden on fire .
「Hang in there…」
「You poor things . 」
A paradise engulfed in smoke .
「The whole world has become empty . 」
A snowfield in which peonies bloomed red .
「You are my disciple . 」
The garden, the paradise, and the snowfield passed through quickly in turns .
Suddenly, my darkened vision became bright .
The angel’s wings that covered my eyes had gone away .
[…… . ]
The black angel hurriedly gathered his wings and looked at me . The fragment of the Constellation was still expressionless . However, the black eyes under his dark brows could not hide his bewilderment .
[You are…… . ]
“I’m not perfect . ”
I spoke first .
“I’m weak for other’s goodwill . I want to gain their favor . I can be a little unreasonable because of that . I really love being praised, and I struggle because I want others to see me as a ‘good person . ’ Maybe that’s my weakness . ”
The Constellation fragment closed its mouth .
“And your former owner wasn’t perfect, either . ”
[…… . ]
“I don’t know what sort of magnificent vision Lefanta Aegim had to kill the Constellations . Not yet, at least . Maybe he’s doing it for noble reasons . But even if he has a good reason, I’m still going to say that he did something wrong . ”
I lifted my sword and pointed it at the black angel .
“If you think your old owner was perfect and never did anything wrong, don’t follow me . I don’t need such a sword . ”
The black angel slowly opened her mouth .
[Do you intend to kill Lefanta Aegim?]
“If he deserves to be killed . ”
[Can you promise me that your personal feelings will not affect your judgment of him?]
“I don’t know . ”
I was speaking honestly .
“My master died . The world is ruined . Too many people were hurt and killed, so I don’t know . But I promise that I’ll do my best . ”
[…… . ]
“So if you think I’ll stray from the right path, do your best to correct me . I’ll do my best . And you can do yours . That’s what it means to work together . ”
The black angel’s wings were crumbled .
[My ability is pain . ]
[The one who is cut by me feels pain, but I do not leave a scar on their body nor kill them . ]
[Suffering without injury is my ability . ]
The angel’s form collapsed .
It collapsed and became black water .
[New master . ]
[I swear to serve you as best as I can . ]
Chwaaaak!
The black liquid swirled and flowed into the Holy Sword I was holding . It was like a violent flood . The Holy Sword drank in all the water like a thirsty fox in the desert .
[The existence of the Guardian Goddess has become more pronounced . ]
The changes didn’t stop there .
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-Oh, oh…… . .
It was the mythical beast that had been the Constellation of this world .
The black dragon groaned as the blade stuck in its chest was absorbed into my sword .
-Oohhh…… .
The black dragon had been killed a long time ago . It was like it didn’t have enough of a mind to express anything in words anymore . The black dragon just murmured as if it were an old woman, tired of life .
-Ohhhh, oh…… .
Finally, the corpse of the Black Dragon turned into essence and flowed away .
Its horn crumbled and shattered . Its scales melted like a candle . The beast that reigned over a world met its end .
And the winter gave way .
The permanent snow cap on the mountain crumbled apart . It was an avalanche .
From the top of the mountain, I could look down at the snow that broke under my feet and poured over into the world .
“Winter is the season of death . ”
Next to me, the Librarian also looked down at the landscape .
“You’ve ended this lonely season . ”
A white avalanche swept over the white world . But what was left behind after the avalanche had passed was no longer white .
The brown dirt of the ground could be seen .
Brown was the color of this world’s flesh . The long winter finally came to an end, and the ground began to bare its skin .
“…… . ”
How was it that the spring breeze was so different from the gusts of winter?
Would Master know where the scent of spring came from?
“…Library director-nim . ”
“You can speak . ”
“I have a benefit from clearing the previous stage, so I can see people’s natures . I can see the person’s favorite plots and character type . ”
“I know . ”
The Librarian exhaled .
The breaths that we let out were no longer frozen white .
“I am the one in charge from the 21st to the 30th floor . The perks that you received were also prepared by me . Mm . Since I was the one who gave it to you, of course I know . ”
“Your preferred character is [the Constellation Killer] . ”
“It is . ”
“Why do you like the Constellation Killer? Lefanta Aegim is a human who kills Constellations . I could understand why you would hate him, but I don’t see a reason to like him . ”
“Ahem . ”
The Librarian closed his right eye .
“Since you asked, I’ll give you a special answer . For a long time, I have had a dream . ”
“A dream, you say?”
“Exactly . It is to make an appearance in a novel that I enjoy!”
The eyes of the Constellation shone innocently .
I was puzzled .
“If it’s appearing in a novel… Can’t you do that right now? You can freely travel through the Apocalypses . ”
“Huhu . You don’t understand the reader’s mind, I see . [Appearing] in a novel is a bit different from [intervening] with the novel . No, it’s very different . ”
The Librarian laughed, covering his mouth with his sleeves .
“From the Apocalypses’ perspective, I am no different than an alien matter . An alien matter, an invasive species… An existence that should not naturally occur in that world . The Constellation Killer, who killed the dragon in the Murim world, is on the same level as I am in terms of being a foreign body . ”
“…… . ”
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“But I do not want to intervene in a novel as an outsider! Nope . That’s not allowed . I want to appear as a respectable character who has been in the world from the beginning, just like the other characters! This is my dream as a reader of the world!”
I still didn’t understand .
The Librarian looked at my face and laughed .
“Then, this time, I’ll ask . Gongja . Why didn’t you kill the Heavenly Demon?”
“…… . ”
“The Heavenly Demon mastered how to kill with her mind in her final moments . Even though she was no longer as strong as she was in her prime, you could have used the Hundred Ghost skill on her and make use of her memories . The Heavenly Demon thought well of you, so she would have been a strong ally and an excellent master . So why didn’t you kill the Heavenly Demon?”
“……That’s . ”
“Shh . ”
The librarian raised his index finger and blocked my lips .
“It’s all right . You don’t have to say it . I already understand . ”
Softly .
His fingers pressed against my lips .
“You did not want to interfere with the last moments that your Master achieved . It’s the same for me . I don’t want to directly intervene with the end of the world . Your heart and mine are not so different… . ”
Suddenly, the scenery over the horizon melted .
The sun shone over the lake where the ice road had collapsed and exposed the surface of the water .
“I refuse to intervene . That means that there is only one way I can become a character in a story . ”
“…What is it?”
“It’s simple if you think about it from the other point of view . I don’t go up to the protagonist of the novel; the protagonist comes to find me . ”
The Librarian whispered .
“Lefanta Aegim . The Constellation Killer tirelessly murders Constellations and moves back and forth between different worlds . One day, he’ll come to visit my world, the greatest library of all time . ”
The Librarian smiled .
“To kill me . ”
The Constellation pulled something out of his sleeves . It was a book that looked no different from the other Apocalypses . But it looked more worn out than the rest . Did he take it out and read it dozens, maybe hundreds of times? Like an old writer’s notebook, the book’s leather binding was weathered .
[The Epic of Lefanta Aegim]
The title was engraved with gold thread on the leather .
“…… . ”
“I am waiting . For the day that the Constellation Killer will visit the Grand Library . I look forward to seeing him stand in front of me one day, following his own story and his own will . That day . I will finally appear in the story of Lefanta Aegim . ”
“Even if the conclusion of that story is your own death?”
“Of course . ”
The Librarian smiled .
The Constellation looked over the landscape of melting snow .
His sleeves fluttered like a dancing crane .
“Isn’t dying at the hands of the protagonist the greatest epilogue?”
4 .
I had wanted to give a eulogy .
“Oh, Young Master . ”
Before returning to the library, I stopped by the cult members . I wanted to make sure that Master’s funeral was being taken care of properly .
“Welcome back!”
“Welcome, Young Master . ”
As soon as the members of the cult saw me, they bowed and greeted me . However, I felt that they were flustered for some reason . It wasn’t just one or two people, but all of them who were rushing away .
I tilted my head .
“Is the funeral over already?”
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“N, no . Young Master . ” Well, the funeral is still… . ”
“Did something happen?”
The cult members exchanged looks .
“That’s……”
“The body of Heavenly Demon-nim has disappeared . ”
The Bloody Demon, one of the Four Demon Lords, said . He was the cultist that Master often called the leader of the Blood Guard .
“What?”
“You’ll understand more quickly if you see it . Young Master . ”
I hurriedly walked where the Bloody Demon led me .
Shortly thereafter, I arrived at the place where I had let down Master’s body .
Then, I was at a loss for words .
“Suddenly, the snow all over the world began to melt . Heavenly Demon-nim’s body also disappeared… . I apologize . It was so sudden, in the blink of an eye, that we had no time to react . ”
Where the snow melted .
Master’s body was not there .
I couldn’t see it no matter where I looked .
“We think that Heavenly Demon-nim’s internal energy was so pure that as time passed, her body naturally melted and disappeared…”
However, a red flower was blooming there .
“…… . ”
In the last place Master had laid . Where her arm touched the ground . Where she planted her feet . Where her hair flowed . There, reddish peony flowers were in full bloom .
-Amazing .
Bae Hu-ryeong, who had been silent until now, muttered .
-The Constellation of this world died and left only a curse, but your master died and left behind a flower . Your master is better than that empty Constellation .
I approached the flower bed and bent down . I touched the peony petal with the tip of my finger . The petal trembled a little, staining my index finger red as I rubbed it .
It was the first spring in this world .
“Of course, we’re still preparing the funeral,” the Bloody Demon said from behind me .
“We had hoped that Young Master would be able to attend… . ”
“No . ”
I shook my head .
“It’s all right . Don’t carry out the funeral . ”
“What?”
“This is enough . ”
I stood up .
I turned my head to look back at the cult members .
“Although I received the mantle and became the young master, I’m sure there are those of you who cannot accept it yet . We live by strength . It is customary for the strongest warrior to arise to the highest position of a sect . ”
“Instead of a trivial funeral, let’s substitute it with a sword match . It’s also probably customary to offer what is the most valuable object at a funeral . And do we not value our swords the most? So, let us offer our swords to Master . ”
I laughed .
“Come at me . ”
Spring was coming .
Like all living people do .
My next story would begin on a stage a little higher than the last .
[1] Idol in the religious aspect, as in a representation or symbol of an object of worship (definition courtesy of Merriam-Webster)