Chapter 443: Turning Point (3) -End of Volume II-
That night,
the snow fell endlessly from the sky, while the sun slowly rose on the horizon, announcing the beginning of a new day for the Empire.
[Time remaining until the final mission’s deadline: 1 hour.]
The notification reflected coldly in Frey’s eyes as he walked forward at a slow, steady pace, dragging a wheelchair up the slopes of a distant hill.
As expected, the Shadow Court had moved with flawless precision and terrifying speed, carrying out the task Frey Starlight had entrusted to them, with Ghost personally leading the operation.
Without any resistance, they infiltrated the Silver Dragon Guild’s headquarters and extracted Danzo from within, bringing him to Frey’s side.
Danzo remained unconscious in his wheelchair, his body wrapped carefully in warm clothing, thick blankets covering his paralyzed legs to keep him as comfortable as possible.
Frey figured this was Ghost’s doing.
A quiet, considerate gesture.
Ghost himself lingered nearby but chose not to appear, leaving Frey alone with Danzo for what had to be done.
Elsewhere, the Shadow Court’s assassins secured the entire area, ensuring that nothing would interfere with what was about to happen.
Even though they were far from the Imperial Capital, Belgrade,
the Silver Dragon Guild had already discovered Danzo’s disappearance.
The capital was likely in chaos now, and it was only a matter of time before they tracked down their location.
There wasn’t much time left.
And with every passing second, Frey’s face grew darker and darker,
until at last, the summit came into view, where the morning sun cast its distant rays upon them.
Danzo looked terribly weak.
Throughout the journey, he would wake briefly, only to slip back into unconsciousness moments later.
It was probably the effect of the sedatives Ghost and his team had used .. ensuring everything would proceed smoothly.
Frey preferred it that way.
He didn’t want to meet his friend’s gaze.
But, as if fate was mocking him, with less than an hour remaining...
Danzo slowly opened his eyes, consciousness returning at the worst possible moment.
As his mind cleared, confusion spread across his face.
To Danzo, only moments ago, he had been asleep in his room.
Now, he found himself in a strange, isolated place he didn’t recognize.
Then, in that moment, he caught sight of Frey pushing his wheelchair.
Seeing his friend eased his heart, reassuring him, if only a little.
"Frey... where are we?"
Danzo’s voice was weak, still dulled by the lingering effects of the sedative.
It made him seem even more pitiful than ever before.
Receiving no answer, he tried again.
"Frey, what’s going on? Why are we here?"
He kept asking, confused and growing more anxious by the second.
But Frey didn’t reply.
He simply continued walking in silence, his face cast in shadows, dark circles heavy beneath his eyes.
He looked utterly broken. Exhausted.
When they finally reached the summit,
Frey released the wheelchair, letting it sit still in the snow.
He then paced back and forth for some time, walking in circles ...
lost.
Every now and then, he’d stop and stare at the sunrise, his mind clearly adrift,
burdened by a thousand thoughts.
Danzo noticed the faint tremors shaking Frey’s shoulders from time to time.
That’s when he realized ..
something was very wrong.
"Frey..." Danzo called softly, but Frey cut him off before he could say another word.
"The Demon Seed."
With his back turned, unable to face him, Frey spoke .. his voice shaking, unfamiliar.
"There’s a malicious entity inside you.
A Demon Seed. It’s fused with your body. You and it have become one."
Without warning, Frey laid it all out.
He spoke of the Demon Seed, and what had infected Danzo.
He spoke without pause, spilling the truth in its entirety.
Listening in silence, Danzo recalled all those times Frey had asked if he felt anything strange in his body.
He had thought Frey was simply worried about his health.
But now...
he understood why.
"The demon inside the seed is incredibly strong.
Once he fully awakens, he will seize control of your body and unleash a catastrophe that could kill thousands.
There is no cure. Once the seed takes root, it cannot be removed from its host."
Frey’s voice stumbled from time to time, but in the end, he managed to explain everything clearly.
Drawing the Dark Sister, now radiating with holy energy, Frey stepped in front of Danzo ... face to face.
"I couldn’t save you.
I couldn’t find a way to cure you.
So now... there’s only one choice left.
If I want to stop the demon inside you,
I have to kill you."
The moment those words left his mouth, Danzo’s eyes widened .. but only for a moment.
Then his calm returned,
as Frey continued speaking in a rushed, breathless tone.
"That’s why I brought you here.
So I could end this... far from everyone else.
In a place no one can reach you.
With this sword... I’ll end your life."
Gripping the Dark Sister tightly,
Frey stared at Danzo.
The latter remained silent for a few seconds, trying to process what he had just heard.
It was absurd, wasn’t it?
For your best friend to suddenly appear out of nowhere, claim that some demon was living inside you, and tell you that killing you was the only way to stop it.
Who could possibly believe that?
But Frey had to tell him.
Whether Danzo believed it or not didn’t matter.
He just...
wanted him to know why he was about to die by his hands.
Frey expected countless possible reactions.
Denial.
Anger.
Laughter.
Or perhaps Danzo calling him insane, telling him to cut the nonsense.
But Danzo did none of those things.
He simply gave a quiet reply.
"I understand."
Those two words, spoken softly and calmly...
They shook Frey more than any scream could have.
His shoulders trembled uncontrollably as he shouted without thinking ..
"What do you mean you understand?!"
Raising his sword, Frey screamed...
"I just told you I’m about to kill you!
How can you respond like that?!"
He couldn’t understand it.
Why did his friend accept this so easily?
If only Danzo had fought back, yelled at him, cursed him...
it would’ve made things easier.
But to accept it so quietly ..
What the hell was Frey supposed to say to that?
Danzo remained calm, watching Frey’s turmoil for a while.
Letting him speak his heart, Danzo gave a faint smile.
"It’s simple, Frey. I believe you. And to be honest... this way might be better."
"What are you saying...?" Frey asked in a strained voice, but Danzo continued speaking, in that same quiet tone ..
.. a calm that didn’t suit him at all.
"I’ve already died once. What’s left of me now is just an empty shell.
I left myself behind on the battlefield."
Smiling faintly, Danzo glanced down at his paralyzed body ...
a body he could no longer even move.
"You know, Frey... ever since we returned from the Ultras Continent, I’ve always wondered... why did I survive?"
Out of all the elite students who perished,
why was he the only one who lived?
"I left everything behind .. my blood, my strength, my will, everything I lived for.
I lost it all on that battlefield. I was supposed to die there.
But somehow, I survived."
"Or rather... only a tiny piece of me survived."
Hearing those words, Frey understood exactly what his friend meant.
Who was Danzo Smasher?
A friend. A warrior. A man who always carried that explosive energy,
that unbreakable will of steel.
He was the one who challenged geniuses far more talented than him, relying solely on his relentless effort.
He was loud, strong, and an essential presence in Frey’s life.
But now?
"I already burned the candle of my life... burned it to nothing but ash."
He was weak. Quiet. Bound to a wheelchair.
That will of steel? Shattered like broken glass.
The ambitious young man who once lived for the fight...
had nothing left to live for in this harsh world where only the strong mattered.
"I believe you, Frey. I’m just a ghost of who I used to be.
I should have died that day. But I lived."
And then, to Frey’s surprise,
Danzo smiled .. a bittersweet smile.
"But you know... I’m kind of happy about this."
Frey unconsciously took a step back.
"Danzo..."
"If dying by your hand means preventing a disaster...
then I guess it’s not such a bad way to go, is it?"
"Danzo..."
"Do what you have to do, Frey.
And thank you... for telling me the truth until the very end."
At that moment, their eyes met.
And that was what hurt Frey the most ..
for in his friend’s eyes, he saw the gaze of a man who had already accepted his fate with open arms.
Danzo had come to terms with it.
But Frey...
he still couldn’t bring himself to act.
Gripping the Dark Sister, glowing with sacred light, Frey trembled in place, unable to take that final step.
And he knew ..this hesitation,
this weakness...
was an insult to the resolve Danzo had shown.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move forward.
"Don’t hesitate, Frey. This isn’t your fault."
"I know you’re hurting.
And maybe that pain will stay with you for a long time.
But you’ve always had the strength to move forward... haven’t you?"
Danzo chuckled softly, trying to encourage him.
But Frey couldn’t return the smile.
"End it, Frey.
Isn’t this why you brought me here?
Do it!"
Danzo tried to shout with all his strength—
but even then... his voice was faint, fragile.
"Finish it, my friend."
...
The sun rose in the distance,
while snow continued to fall upon their shoulders ..
as if mourning what was about to happen.
Frey raised his sword, placing it gently against Danzo’s heart.
The demon inside his friend had not awakened yet, so killing Danzo would destroy it as well.
One clean strike, using a weapon imbued with powerful holy energy.
And the Dark Sister was more than enough for that.
With the sword positioned over Danzo’s chest, Frey trembled.
The Dark Sister itself trembled in his hands.
"Compared to your pain, my pain will end in a moment.
So don’t hesitate."
There were only minutes left until the mission’s end.
Knowing that,
Frey gritted his teeth,
his hands clenching the sword so tightly that his skin nearly tore.
Forcing himself to act, he slowly pushed the blade forward.
It touched Danzo’s chest ..
piercing it, inch by agonizing inch.
Aiming for his heart.
Counting on this one strike to end his suffering.
At that moment, Frey was about to finish it.
But he couldn’t.
The space around him suddenly froze ...
as if some hidden defense mechanism had been triggered by his actions.
Time itself stopped.
And then, without warning ..
the right side of Danzo’s face, along with his neck and right shoulder, erupted in a violent explosion of blood.
A bloodstained black hand burst forth from within Danzo, aiming straight for Frey’s face.
Everything slowed to a crawl.
Frey watched the hand expand in his vision, every detail clear thanks to his Hawk Eyes.
It was a hand filled with malice .. one that carried enough power to blow his face apart and end his life.
He knew it.
Perhaps the demon inside Danzo had sensed the danger and unleashed this as a final act of defense.
It wasn’t fully awakened yet, meaning Frey could have easily dodged the attack.
But he didn’t.
Frey stood there, motionless, as the hand reached for his life.
’This is fine...’
He thought for a moment.
It was fine.
Dying here, at Danzo’s hand, wasn’t such a bad fate.
It was far better than killing his friend with his own hands and bearing that weight for the rest of his life.
It was the easy way out.
And Frey took it without hesitation.
In that moment, he didn’t care what would happen if he died.
Ignoring the entire world, he simply wanted to rest. To end it all, finally.
But fate would not grant him such mercy.
The dark hand stopped, mere centimeters from his face.
It tried to move forward—to kill him—but it couldn’t.
And that’s when Frey realized what had happened.
Even though half of his face had been blown apart ... Danzo, with what little awareness remained, was still staring at him with his one remaining eye.
With the last drop of his will, Danzo had stopped the hand, saving his friend’s life.
Danzo couldn’t speak in that state, but Frey understood him clearly.
"Finish it."
That’s what he was telling him.
So, Frey smiled.
He gave him one final smile .. one he hoped would be the last thing Danzo would see, instead of his own pain-ridden face.
Then, he drove the Dark Sister into his friend’s heart.
It happened in an instant.
The sword pierced cleanly.
Flesh tore, blood spilled.
And the light faded from Danzo’s eyes, leaving behind only a broken body, half-consumed by that demonic arm still protruding from his chest.
As for Frey...
His world collapsed.
His chest burned and froze all at once. He felt an unbearable pain as he fell to his knees beside his friend’s lifeless body.
Soaked in Danzo’s blood, his body trembled uncontrollably.
In that chaotic moment, he heard screaming, sobbing, and crying.
And when reality slowly returned,
he realized all those sounds had been coming from himself.
Crumpled over Danzo’s corpse, Frey wept.
He thought his tears had long since run dry...
But they poured freely now, mixing with the blood of his fallen friend.
And amid all that ..
the system notification appeared.
[The Final Mission is Complete.]
He’d succeeded.
But at what cost?
Collapsed beside Danzo, utterly broken,
Ghost finally appeared from the shadows.
The moment his eyes landed on Danzo’s lifeless body ... and that monstrous arm protruding from his chest ..
a pained expression crossed Ghost’s face.
In that moment, he knew:
Frey had been telling the truth all along.
When he turned his gaze to Frey,
he saw just how shattered, how destroyed, his friend truly was.
"We need to go, Frey. The Empire will find this place soon."
Ghost’s voice was tight with sorrow,
but Frey didn’t respond.
He just clung to Danzo’s body, refusing to let go.
Seeing this, Ghost finally stepped forward and pulled him away by force.
And as he watched his friend in such agony, a sharp regret stabbed through Ghost’s chest.
’I should’ve done it instead.’
He’d been used to losing people.
He should never have let Frey carry this burden.
But what was done was done.
With no choice but to comfort his broken friend, Ghost buried his own grief deep inside his heart.
And so, the two of them retreated, leaving Danzo’s body behind...
his blood staining the pure white snow in vivid red.
They couldn’t even give him a proper burial.
And as for Frey, the pain he carried now consumed him even deeper than before ..
an endless abyss tearing at his soul.
Whatever would happen next...
this tragedy would cast its shadow over the future.
And over Frey, most of all.
...
...
...
Author’s Note:
It’s been a while, everyone. This marks the end of Volume 2: Convergence.
The next Chapter will begin the long-awaited Volume 3... The War of Darkness.
This novel has been through many ups and downs... moments of success and failure alike.
But this story is very dear to my heart. It was the first thing I ever wrote ..the first world I ever created. Despite all its flaws in the beginning, and despite how heavily it borrowed from other works due to my lack of experience, I kept going because I truly believe this story deserves more.
That’s why, recently, I’ve been giving it not just 100% of my effort, but 300%. I won’t hold back, even if it breaks me. I’ll keep releasing six Chapters every day until this novel reaches the top. I believe in this story... and I believe it will get there. But if it does, the credit will go to you ...the readers. If you’ve enjoyed the journey so far, I hope you’ll continue supporting this work. In return, I’ll do my best to make it even better.
Even though I’ve started working on my second novel, this one will always have a special place in my heart. I’ll always strive to improve and give you my best.
Thank you all so much!