TL: Yul
–
Gemini kept her head, which was spinning inside, down.
‘I…lived. I…lived?’
She thought of what Lee Sungmin told her just now…
She had to gather all the remaining vampires holed up in the North and do everything in moderation.
That was all she needed. She was satisfied with escaping Travia, where she had spent the majority of her life, and escaping Geniella’s shadow.
Gemini slowly lifted her eyes. Lee Sungmin was still looking down at her.
She flinched and recoiled, but she was able to see Geniella’s soul clutched in Lee Sungmin’s hand.
To live, Geniella tried to kill her. However, it didn’t matter to Gemini why Geniella tried to do so.
Rather, Gemini thought that the fact that Geniella had betrayed her was more important. When they had made eye contact, Gemini was able to see through her emotions.
When she was taking the life of the younger sister that she supposedly loved, Geniella did not show an ounce of hesitation.
There was a sense of regret in her mind, but that regret wasn’t guilt. She just didn’t know what she was regretting.
‘The one who betrayed the other was you, unnie.’ (TL: You guys probably know this already, but unnie is used by a younger F to address an older F, and noona is used by a younger M to address an older F. Then, oppa and hyung for addressing an older M. Also, just to recap, Gemini and Geniella are blood sisters, with Geniella becoming a vampire and turning Gemini into one without consent (as far as I can remember).
Thinking that, she lowered her head again. She wouldn’t ever think of Geniella ever again.
Lee Sungmin turned away. There wasn’t a grand reason behind his mercy toward Gemini. He had received help from her multiple times in the past, and Gemini had also figured out the situation quite fast just now. Because she bowed her head first and pledged allegiance, he didn’t see a reason to necessarily kill her.
And the Blood Demon’s memories in his head affected his decision significantly. This was the last act of mercy he could offer.
Then, he headed toward Prescan, who lay motionless, face down from the beginning till now. Lee Sungmin stopped in front of Prescan.
“Is she dead?”
Prescan didn’t answer the casually thrown question. It was as though he were empty.
Lee Sungmin scratched his chin, feeling slightly bitter. Unfortunately, he didn’t possess any of Aine’s memories.
What he had consumed was Aine’s heart, but because he had sold Aine’s soul to Erebrisa before consuming her heart, her memories were not passed on to him.
Thus, he did not know what kind of relationship Aine had with Prescan.
Because he had memories of the Blood Demon, he showed compassion to Gemini. If he had memories of Aine, he might have done the same to Prescan as well.
“She didn’t die painfully.”
“Shut… your mouth…!”
At Lee Sungmin’s mutters, Prescan’s head shot up. His spiritual body was shaking.
Prescan, without a physical body, couldn’t cry, but his spiritual body was covered in sadness and wrath.
“If only, if only you didn’t exist, everything would have been good. If only you didn’t exist…!”
“Well, that’s the same for everyone.”
Lee Sungmin nodded his head while listening to Prescan’s curses.
“It was the same for me.”
“I’ll, I’ll curse you. My daughter… I wanted to do so many more things with her, better things, more beautiful things…”
Before he finished talking…
Infinity tore through Prescan’s chest, and his spiritual body started to collapse.
Lee Sungmin muttered while looking at Prescan’s spirit, which was twisting and turning.
“Aine was a monster.”
“Keuu….”
“You didn’t control Aine at all. No matter how much Aine consumed, you just let her do whatever she wanted.”
“Because… that child… wanted to… do that…!”
Prescan roared.
Lee Sungmin pulled out the formless spear that was embedded in Prescan’s chest, and his spiritual body crumpled to the floor.
Prescan, shaking and shivering, managed to speak again.
“Aine…”
It was a voice filled with fatherly love toward his daughter.
“I…I should have killed… you back then…”
“Everyone says that.”
Lee Sungmin smiled bitterly as he muttered. Prescan’s soul scattered in the air. Lee Sungmin, like he did to Geniella, tried to grab onto his soul, but even with Dragon Magic, Prescan’s soul faded away. Originally, because of his contract that turned him into a lich, Prescan’s soul belonged to the Demon King of Horror.
No matter how great Dragon Magic was, it wasn’t enough to destroy a Demon King’s contract and free Prescan’s soul.
‘It seems like I can’t even show any compassion.’
He wanted to sell Prescan’s soul to Erebrisa so it would be sent over to where Aine’s soul would be.
If they were lucky, a father-daughter reunion might even be possible in that unfortunate way.
However, he couldn’t do anything about it anymore. Lee Sungmin watched as Prescan’s soul gradually faded away and turned away.
The barrier surrounding the forest was still holding strong. Lee Sungmin sensed the presence of people gathered near the barrier.
He had deliberately prevented those inside the forest from coming out. He didn’t want to put them in danger, and… he also didn’t want to be interrupted.
What should he say?
Should he say that everything was over? But he knew everything wasn’t over. Although the fight with Geniella was over, the Apocalypse hadn’t happened yet.
If he were a bit faster…
No one would have gotten permanently injured.
No matter how great Dragon Magic was, no matter how potent the Elixer was, and no matter how strong Teresa’s healing magic was…
A plucked-out eye and a severed arm or leg couldn’t be restored.
His heart sank lower and lower, and his body felt heavier.
Yes, if he were just slightly faster. If he had gotten stronger before Geniella hurt them all.
If he parted faster with Heoju…
Standing in front of the barrier, Lee Sungmin grabbed his chest, right over his heart. A wave of emotions seemed to slam into his body.
Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth.
It’s okay.
He muttered to himself.
Didn’t you promise Heoju?
You said you wouldn’t despair. Never, never despair… and live happily.
To enjoy everything that could be enjoyed, and then meet again in that faraway world…
So, he couldn’t despair. Lee Sungmin broke through the barrier and walked into the forest.
Everyone had gathered together.
Osla, whose wings had been torn, was now sitting hunched over with perfectly intact wings.
Although she had no scars or wounds, her expression was gaunt and showed deep exhaustion. Seeing her face, Lee Sungmin clenched his fists.
Baek Sogo, who had lost her right arm, was holding the blood-stained sleeve with her hand, her expression anxious and uneasy.
Lee Sungmin bit his lower lip as he watched Baek Sogo’s sleeve fluttering in the wind.
Scarlett, whose left eye had been gouged out, kept that eye tightly shut. Although it had been healed to some degree, dried blood clung to her eyelid.
Seeing Lee Sungmin enter, Scarlett sat up quickly, startled. Lee Sungmin felt his steps become heavy.
The Black Dragon, with only his right arm remaining, was holding onto Teresa, whose face was pale, by her shoulder.
Teresa, huddled with her knees drawn to her chest, had a face drenched in tears. The Black Dragon’s eyes, filled with bitter emotions, met Lee Sungmin’s gaze.
He felt a sharp pain deep in his chest.
Lloyd, his right leg missing, held onto his staff as he struggled to raise his body. The bloody Griess was carelessly discarded near where he was.
Lloyd’s face, which showed a look of delight, seemed to have more wrinkles than before. Lee Sungmin felt his lips trembling.
And.
The Spear King’s corpse lay in the center. Blood had stopped flowing out, but the state the corpse was in was gruesome. Most of his upper body was missing.
Only his right shoulder and arm, neck, and head remained relatively intact. However, through all this, the Spear King’s right hand was still clenched around his spear.
Lee Sungmin stared at the satisfied smile still etched on the Spear King’s face. His steps faltered, and he stopped.
He had set off on the path that the Lord of the Sama Order and Heoju had gone to. He knew. The Spear King was dead here, but his soul had arrived at where it wished to go.
That didn’t mean Lee Sungmin didn’t feel sadness. As it was with the death of his master, and as it was with departing with Heoju… it wasn’t death, but ultimately separation… just separation.
Those left behind… could only feel sorrow.
He wanted to hear Heoju’s voice.
You did well.
Look at how much you’ve grown…
He wanted to hear those compliments.
He missed that nonsensical, sarcastic voice. He lowered his head.
Although he tried to stop them, tears began to well up in his eyes. The ground and the top of his feet wavered through the tears.
You told me not to despair, but you didn’t tell me not to be sad. If you had, I would have taken it as a promise.
I would have thought that I wasn’t allowed to be sad.
Eventually, the tears fell.
He hated that he thought that it wasn’t… a bad thing.
The Spear King had died, but he was satisfied with his death.
Everyone suffered irreversible injuries, but they weren’t dead.
Heoju left, but in return, he gained immense power.
It wasn’t… a bad thing. It was true when looking ahead to the future. He hated himself for thinking that.
The Spear King died, Heoju departed, and everyone was injured, but he was glad that it ended with ‘just that’… and I hated myself for thinking that…
“Junior Brother.”
Baek Sogo approached Lee Sungmin, who was standing still as tears dripped down from his eyes. Aside from her severed right arm, she had sustained various other injuries, but those wounds had been healed by the Elixir and Teresa’s healing magic.
She was simply mentally exhausted. Although her steps were unsteady, Baek Sogo urged herself forward.
Scarlett followed behind Baek Sogo, and everyone else began to move. Lloyd, limping, was leaning on the Black Dragon for support, while Teresa, sobbing, followed.
Osla, moving her wings slowly, also headed toward Lee Sungmin.
“You… did well.”
Baek Sogo, who arrived first, put her arm around Lee Sungmin’s shoulder. She wanted to hug him tightly with both arms, but it saddened her that she only had one arm left.
“You did well… really… you did well…”
Why was he crying?
Baek Sogo didn’t fully understand why. She wasn’t Lee Sungmin. She didn’t know what kind of emotions Lee Sungmin was feeling, and what he had parted with.
She couldn’t fully empathize with Lee Sungmin’s feelings. However, she hugged Lee Sungmin while saying with sincerity…
“Why are you crying…”
Scarlett reached out and placed her hand on the shoulder that Baek Sogo couldn’t hug.
“You did a good job. You won. That’s all that matters… There’s no reason for you to cry.”
Scarlett, uncomfortable with her missing left eye, frowned and furrowed her brow.
“He left satisfied.”
The Black Dragon muttered. He glanced at the corpse of the Spear King, then back to Lee Sungmin.
“…That stupid old man. He should have at least shown how satisfied he was with his life before he left. You don’t need to be sad. He lived a long life, and he was satisfied in the end.”
Lee Sungmin covered his face with his hands.
“Thank you so much… Thank you…”
Teresa, with her head lowered, sobbed.
“It’s all thanks to Lee Sungmin-nim. If it weren’t for Lee Sungmin-nim… we would all be…”
Teresa couldn’t finish her sentence. Not everyone had survived, and everyone would have died…
Yet she hated having to say these words.
“Honestly, I thought I was going to die.”
Rubia, having exhausted all her magic, was slumped over with a weak expression. Lee Sungmin looked at Rubia and gave a bitter smile.
Before his head was blown off, he had aimed for Geniella through the opening that Rubia had created, although he failed and got his head blown off.
“…I apologize. I… I couldn’t do anything…”
Lloyd muttered in a voice filled with guilt. He despised himself. Why did the magic from Griess disappear? If only he had seized the opportunity to banish Geniella from space and time…
“Don’t cry.”
Osla sniffled.
“If you cry… what do I become? After everything, if you, who defeated Geniella, cry… It’s so embarrassing for me… I-I really… couldn’t do anything… because I was so scared…”
“…No, that’s not it…”
Lee Sungmin barely managed to speak.
“It’s because I’m happy… that I’m crying. We succeeded… Yes… It’s because we defeated Geniella. I’m happy because…”
“Liar……”
Baek Sogo whispered, and that small voice entered Lee Sungmin’s ear. And his shoulder shook slightly.
“……Why…… are you crying…?”
She asked, looking into his eyes.
His mind was crumbling. He couldn’t assign the specific emotion he was feeling to a single word.
“…… I… hate myself.”
Lee Sungmin muttered after a small, silent pause.
“I… really… hate myself…”
The me who was too weak.
The me who was too late.
The me who sent Heoju away.
The me who was glad that the damage was only this much.
The me who became a monster.
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