Chapter 143: Three Norns (2)
Drip-
Drip.
The sound of something falling.
The Sword God opened his eyes at the ticklish sound. The lion mask that always covered his face was gone at some point.
Where was this place?
The Sword God wanted to speak but only a whimper escaped. He couldn’t muster anything.
From birth, he was mute, so he didn’t know how to speak. Thanks to this, he was always bullied. Because a disabled person could only survive by being strong in this Tower, he worked harder towards his goal.
Then, the Martial King noticed him, and he became his disciple and arrived at a high point in his life, earning a skill called Open Speaking.
At the time, he was so moved to tears. That was the first and last time he cried.
After that, he used Open Speaking all the time and he didn’t feel any discomfort anymore.
But since his body was heavily damaged, as was his magic power, he couldn’t use Open Speaking.
It was this uncomfortable to not be able to speak. The Sword God reminisced about his old days.
And barely pushing down his confusion with pain and pulling out whatever he could, he opened up his Open Speaking.
[Is…..anyone…..there?]
He spoke with difficulty, but there was no answer. His Open Speaking evaporated futilely into the air.
Did no one here?
The Sword God pushed out his Open Speaking again.
[Anyone, there?]
But there was still no response.
He grimaced.
Wherever he went, his subordinates always followed like shadows. So even when tired, they always followed him.
No, they used to ask if he was tired first before he called for them.
So the Sword God thought something was wrong. In his scattered memories, his subordinates still existed. His subordinates that followed him even when badly hurt, and Spear God running with him on his back.
And after that…..
What happened?
His head ached like it had been bitten into with canines. The Sword God frowned.
As if saying he shouldn’t think about anything else, his head was denying further thinking. Saying as if to rest, since it was tired.
But the Sword God frowned and tried to explore his mind even further.
It was clear he was missing something. He had to remember it.
So he tried to remember what he was missing, and with his mind becoming clearer, everything started to fit like a puzzle.
The Summer Queen right behind them, red Dragon, his subordinates who threw their bodies like moths drawn into a flame, and the collapsing island.
And.
The Spear God who had been protecting him to the best he could, receiving arrows and knives with a smile.
[…..!]
The Sword God shot to attention. When he opened his eyes, everything swept by like a panorama.
He remembered being chased, but he didn’t know what happened after. The Sword God ended up using the last of his energy at the ominous feeling.
The destroyed magic power system continued to move.
Everytime it did, his body twisted around screaming in pain, but he endured it.
Beginning with his fingers, he slowly moved half of his body. Moving his arms, then his legs, his body started to unsteadily stand up.
He stretched out his hand to grab the wall. And he lifted his heavy head to observe his surroundings.
The Sword God was able to realize he had been in a tunnel all this time. He could feel the humidity through his nose. And when he barely managed to trudge along, the puddles on the floor made a splashing sound as he went.
He moved towards the light he could see far away. Like it was a lifeline from the sky, he walked towards it like it was a signpost.
After some time, he was able to leave the tunnel. The damp smell of the tunnel disappeared, and a breeze slapped his face. He felt relieved.
But the Sword God couldn’t smile.
He saw a sight spread along the large field in front of the tunnel.
Familiar faces were standing along it like a wall.
As if they weren’t going to allow anyone inside the tunnel, they stood trying to block the tunnel, standing in a line. No, they did block it.
People who looked like enemies were all collapsed on the floor, not able to climb the wall. Like there had been a messy fight, the surroundings were all destroyed and only empty ruins were left.
[Ah…..!]
The subordinates making up the wall were all smiling.
Like they were over the moon at the fact that they were able to protect the Sword God without letting a single person in. Like they were happy to be able to complete their tasks until the very end.
[Ahh…..!]
Although they had already breathed their last breath some time ago, they were still standing firmly. As if they would protect their master even in death.
And in the middle of them all, was the Spear God.
In an even worse state than he remembered, with numerous weapons planted in his body, leaving him to wonder how he was still alive at the time.
Using a spear as a cane, he was kneeling on one knee with his eyes closed. There were numerous corpses lying down in front of him, like he had been fighting until the very end.
[AHHHHH!]
The Sword God screamed at the unbelievable sight. He wanted to release the emotions building up. He wanted to shout, but his voice didn’t make a sound. For the first time, he cursed his mute body.
He was the Sword God, calculating every single one of his moves.
There was only one person he revealed everything to.
Spear God. His friend who had extended a hand to him, who only received scorn and contempt from others. The mischievous guy who had continued to entice him saying that they should learn a fun game called Mugong together.
And he died. But he was strangely smiling. He must’ve been happy at the fact that he was able to protect his friend using all means possible.
But the Sword God felt even more pain from that fact.
He should’ve run away, what a foolish guy he was. Why would he risk his life for him. If he was alive, at the very least, Sword God could slightly hate him and sweep him aside. But with this, he couldn’t even hate him.
He wanted to pull his heart out.
If only he could save Spear God. If only he could return his dead subordinates.
Then he would immediately give it up. But the world wasn’t that simple.
So the Sword God sobbed. And he lifted his head, clenching his fist and gritting his teeth. The veins in his red face popped out.
Then.
He felt something with his hands. It was Gungnir, in the bracelet form. The sword that he wanted to wield so bad was still in his hand.
At that moment, all of his emotions settled down like a lie.
He thought to himself.
He already had experience setting up Cheonghwado from nothing. Why wouldn’t he be able to do something he already did once? Aside from that, he had the confidence to establish something even bigger.
Unlike last time, Spear God wasn’t with him. But the Sword God thought that he would still be with him after death.
No, not ‘still’ be with him.
[Always with me. Forever.]
Sword God slowly stood up. It was painful because his body wasn’t healed yet, but he approached Spear God with a dry face like he didn’t feel anything.
And he used his hand to cut his chest. Past his chest, a cold heart could be seen.
Sword God unhesitatingly put his face towards his heart.
Crunch. Crunch. The tough heart pieces mushed through his teeth. He felt like barfing, because it was on its way to being rotten, but Sword God forced himself to swallow Spear God’s heart.
Very slowly. So it would be properly digested.
[Cannibal]
To reestablish Cheonghwado, he would need more strength than before. And to do that, it wasn’t possible using normal means.
He needed to touch a taboo.
Cannibal was an energy-drain type skill that absorbed the powers of the person who’s heart was eaten.
It was also one of the basic skills written on the Emerald Tablet Leonte had.
The Sword God had never once used it, even though it was in his possession.
Power gained through shortcuts only came back to hurt its owner. And it was something that he, who prioritized martial training over everything, couldn’t accept. So he just ignored it.
Also, if souls and curses were mixed into his magic power, it could irrevocably damage his body.
However, the Sword God didn’t have anywhere to turn to. And if he tried to slowly heal himself, it could take years. Then, his dream of reestablishment of revenge wouldn’t be accomplished.
More than anything else.
Since he didn’t have a method to get the Stone of the Sage, this was the only way to activate Gungnir.
So the Sword God threw away the last of his pride.
He no longer had the pride of the martialist. Thankfully, there were many ‘materials’ that would shoot him up to even higher than before.
His friend and subordinates. He was going to make their wish to protect him even by dying true.
And he was planning on returning the power of the enemies back to his owner.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Only the sound of Sword God chewing and swallowing could be heard. It shook the peace of the field.
***
“…..So. You’re leaving?”
The Summer Queen wrinkled her face at Bow God, who was bowing at her. No, she needed to call him by another name now.
Jang Wei. She remembered it was something weird like that. He was from some insignificant planet called Earth. She remembered it because it was the same world as Heaven Wing.
“I think we’re done. Are we not?”
Jang Wei didn’t belong to Cheonghwado or Red Dragon.
He was a mercenary who did whatever he was paid to do. And in that field, he was quite a well-known S ranker mercenary. Once upon a time, he was better known by the name ‘Secret Twilight.’
However, other than the fact that he was from Earth, not much was known about him. Also, his face that he showed every time was different, so it was said that no one knew his real face.
And there was one job he had received from Red Dragon a long time ago.
To climb up to a high position in Red Dragon, and become their eyes and ears. And to help them until they needed him to.
Because Cheonghwado was known to be exclusive, this was the only method they could choose. And over the span of a few years, he showed huge potential in Cheonghwado, and was able to sit in the position of Bow God.
From the Summer Queen’s perspective, Jang Wei was a chess piece that could be used efficiently.
Since no one would want to throw away years of what they had been working on.
And Jang Wei had even become one of the Five Martial Gods of Cheonghwado. If he wanted to, he could easily cut ties with Red Dragon.
However, he dissipated all suspicion and led Red Dragon to their final victory.
Even though it was a victory with losses for the Summer Queen, with Bahal gone, she wouldn’t be able to find a henchman like this.
So Summer Queen suggested he become one of the 81 Eyes. With the conditions to give him the highest position.
But Jang Wei firmly said no.
Saying that he would do it if it was a job, but that he wouldn’t actually go under someone to work for them. Adding on a threat-like statement asking if they could handle a spy like Cheonghwado.
So the Summer Queen wanted him even more.
In the Draconic Eyes that had to get what it wanted, Jang Wei was like a precious treasure.
But the Summer Queen had to regretfully fold those thoughts.
Since she wasn’t in the position to be greedy now. Her hair that she was twisting in her fingers was even more blue now. It was proof that her Dragon Heart was halthing.
The Summer Queen felt danger every now and then. If this kept up, her Dragon Heart could end up as a single stone.
A Draconic species without a Dragon Heart was nothing more than a large lizard. The value of the Draconic species would disappear. It was the same thing as following the fate of the rest of the species.
The Summer Queen was scared of such a future. She hadn’t felt fear even during the war with Allforone, but she was scared that she might disappear.
But the Stone of the Sage that she thought would be able to fix her heart disappeared, along with the rest of the materials to make the stone.
It was really dangerous if this continued.
She was still searching the floors to find the Sword God, but she thought even if he was found, she wouldn’t find the Stone of the Sage.
Someone had definitely taken it. The person who had made them fight from behind the scenes and left them with confusion.
She needed to find his trace. Fortunately, Jang Wei said that he was able to track people as well.
“Fine. Then I’ll ask you for the last time. Do you really have no intention to work under me? You should know very well what it means to receive my blessing.”
“I already have a god that I serve.”
“Sure. There’s no better answer than to reject like that, right?”
“Thank you.”
“Fine. Then I’ll request another job. There’s no time limit. I’ll give you as much as you want. But I want you to finish the job as quickly as possible. You just have to find someone.”
“Who are you looking for?”
At Jang Wei’s question, the Summer Queen crossed her legs and opened her mouth.
***
“Another job…”
On the path away from the red portal from the 76th floor, Jang Wei rubbed his chin with his thumb and foreigner.
“I wonder how long it’ll take this time.”
Jang Wei didn’t want a lot of money. He had already earned a lot, and he already had the Four Directions Bow he received from before, so he didn’t need anything else.
But he needed something to quench his thirst. The thirst that always itched his soul from the corner of his mind.
If this wasn’t quenched, he wouldn’t be able to settle anywhere and would have to wander around.
“I hope it lasts a long time this time too.”
With his fast movements, a necklace shined from within his clothes.
It was a shell necklace that he had made with his fellow comrades back when he was young.
But now, it was the origin of the thirst that was tightening his soul.
Like it was waiting for something.