Chapter 50 – The Youth in the Prophecy – 2
“Ooooo!!!”
A cry filled with triumph echoed across the sky. It was still so great that his whole body trembled. I gripped my sword tightly and spoke to Rachel.
“Are you okay?”
“At least me. But Bella’s not feeling well. But why are you here…”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Can you run away?”
“I’ll try, but…Well, I think it’s impossible to be honest.”
“Okay…”
I glanced back. Then he saw Rachel bleeding from one leg and Bella breathing weakly in her arms. Her breath seemed to be stuck, but I could see thin streams of blood dripping from her nose and ears.
Is even the shout of the Minotaur fatal to Bella? My whole body trembled just by hearing it, but I couldn’t imagine what kind of adverse effect it would have on that child. I need to evacuate somewhere…
“Whoa… Whoa…”
…No.
Is such a thought a luxury?
I faced the Minotaur again. It was definitely an opponent he had encountered once, and he succeeded in killing him. However, it was doubtful that having the experience of defeating it once would be of any help.
If it was the other Four Heavenly Kings, he would have been able to infer his weakness through his previous experience, but this guy was different. His strategy was just overwhelming power, itself. He had no choice but to suppress it with stronger force to break it.
…
I was determined to finish it in three hours.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible.
If you do your best
“Ha…”
Even if you regret it now, it is too late. I just kept repeating to myself what I needed to do now. Get it done ASAP. Sure to win Rescue Rachel and Bella.
It should be returned as intact as possible.
…
Why is the last one the most difficult?
“Whoa… Whoa…”
The man’s breathing was heard again. I took a deep breath, realizing I had no more time to think. After a long time, heat surged through my body uncontrollably.
“Ooooo!!!”
And the moment I heard his shout again, I kicked off the ground and ran toward him.
The sweat on his body rubbed against the hot air and evaporated in an instant, rising like steam. Amidst the swiftly-swissing landscape, the minotaur’s gigantic fists surged over me at a speed that was out of proportion to its size. Before I even thought about it, I kicked off the ground again and rose up, inserting my sword into the back of his hand.
“Ugh…!”
I thought I put it in with force, but it was blocked by the hard skin and didn’t do much damage. But it didn’t matter much. Because it wasn’t meant to hurt in the first place. I used the recoil to pull out the sword embedded in his body and jumped up on his head. Then, with all my might, I rushed towards the eyeballs.
“Oohhh!”
However, the moment I thought I had met his eyeballs, my fist flew again. Watching the fist approach at incredible speed, I quickly landed on the ground and skimmed through the lower groin to avoid the palm of another slam. Then he swung his sword towards the invisible back.
Kang!
The sword he swung collided with his fingers, echoing the sound of blade clashing with blade. The sword didn’t hurt me this time either, but I didn’t dwell on that and cast my gaze toward the other side of his body.
“Haha…!”
Behind him, he saw Rachel crawling with Bella in her arms. It wasn’t fast, but I let out a sigh of relief as I watched them steadily walk away from the scene of the fight. But there was no time to rest. Again, his fists were coming straight towards me as if they were going to explode my head.
Bang!
I quickly ducked to avoid it, but the space above my head was compressed and the sensation of air exploding shivered on my skin. I swallowed a breath that I couldn’t even breathe out and turned the sword along with my body to tear off the protruding tendons. Soon, bodily fluids along with blood gushed out and covered the whole body.
“Oohhhhh!”
“Whoa…!”
I exhaled what was left of my breath, plunged the sword deep into the torn tendon, and swung it like it would cut through my wrist. The sword, which tore skin, flesh, and veins in turn, lodged in the bone and made a crackling sound, but he turned his shoulder and cut it without hesitation. Then, with a heavy feeling, half of the Minotaur’s wrist was cut off.
Awesome!
Blood spurted again with a terrifying sound, and I rolled to the side to avoid the flood of bodily fluids before casting my eyes back to Rachel and Bella. Now they were almost reassuringly distant. I took a deep breath, thinking that I would just have to focus on the fight now.
“Whoa…”
“Whoa, whoa…!”
At that moment, the red bloodshot eyes of the Minotaur popped out in front of my eyes. The guy who met his eyes with me quickly enough that I couldn’t even recognize him slowly followed my gaze and looked behind him. In an instant, the image of Rachel and Bella running away caught in his eyes. I caught my breath and hurriedly raised my sword…
…
“Ooooo!!!!!”
The wild roar of the monster resounded over the human city along with the heat. He didn’t focus on the fight against himself and let out a sound with all his might as if he was venting his anger at me for performing tricks.
“…!!!!!”
Something hot and thick dripped from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Although it wasn’t to the point where there was a malfunction, it was so powerful that it made me wonder if my heart stopped for a moment. I had forgotten about the strength and power of the guy, but a girl suddenly caught my eye as I gritted my teeth.
The image of a girl collapsing, bleeding while holding another girl in her arms.
“…!!!”
I held my breath at that moment and charged him. Only then did he stop shouting and swing his fist at me.
“Huh…!!!”
I managed to stop him and throw his head back, but the disordered breathing made my lungs feel like they were being crushed. However, before the pain could be captured, the attack continued again. I gave up fighting back and rolled over to get closer to his arms, but this time a sharp kick like a dagger landed me and I rolled backwards again. Then, this time, an elbow ran toward his head. I raised my head again to read the trajectory of the next attack while narrowly avoiding it. And I realized
That there is no meaning
It wasn’t that he couldn’t read the trajectory. With no abilities or tricks, his attacks were stupidly easy to read.
And those readable attacks were flying in, splitting one second into tens of thousands.
It was like avoiding pouring rain. The moment I breathed in, a fist flew in, and when I exhaled while avoiding it, the other fist attacked from a different trajectory. His attacks were so fast that it was a waste of time to even breathe, and each one was fatal.
“Huh…!!!”
When I was with the party members, it was a problem that was not revealed because each other supported each other’s moments. But now I was alone, and there was no one to assist me in earning my breath. Even the act of rolling on the floor to dodge took away the chance of a counterattack.
Even while thinking, the attack continued. And time was passing. From far away, even from the bodies of Rachel and Bella, thick blood must continue to flow.
…
There is no time.
Bang!
I stomped my feet vigorously and planted my legs into the ground. And he took a deep breath.
“Whoa…”
And again, the fist of the Minotaur, which was charging at it, was struck down with the sword with all its might.
Bang!!!
“Oooooh…!!!”
“Ugh…!”
The sound of the rocks hitting was scorching, and the bones in my body vibrated as if they were about to shatter. But thanks to that, he finally had a gap, and I thrust my sword through it.
Bang!!!
Then, instead of dodging, he also responded by striking the sword with his fist. Again, there were sounds and vibrations, and it felt like tendons and bones were momentarily snapping. I thought that if I did it a few more times, my bones would really be crushed.
…No.
I don’t have time to think like that.
Attacks are blocked with attacks. If you see a gap, poke it.
There’s no point in avoiding it. Block or hit, one of the two.
“Whoops…Whoops…Whoops…”
He stopped his feet and took a deep breath, probably thinking the same thing as me. I could feel the obvious hostility towards me in the whitened eyes. But I didn’t make eye contact with him. I couldn’t read the spirit in the lifeless eyes, so I looked instead at the muscular twitching shoulders and arms.
“Ha…”
“Whoops…”
Like that, when we breathed in each other’s last breath in this fight, we moved at the same time. Fists and swords intertwined roughly without shouting right before the fight or without eye contact.
Bang!
A harsh sound rang out. But before the sound could stop, another burst sounded. And before that sound died away, another sound broke out again.
Kang!
Bones trembled, and bloody sounds echoed one after another over the trembling skin. One impact cut through, and another burst, crushing it, shattered the air again. Like a snake growing infinity swallowing its own tail, it gradually became deaf and silent in the ceaseless din.
…!
…!
…!
As I stopped breathing and my hearing was blocked, my mind went blank and I couldn’t think of anything. But the eyes still followed his movements like instinct. Sound, breath, sensation. The world where everything disappeared in an instant was filled with helplessness as if submerged in water. And the only inhabitants of that damn world are me and him. There were only two.
…!
…!
…!
Now I don’t even feel the pain shaking my shoulders and back. The fight between him and me was intense but calm at the same time, noisy but at the same time unmatched for silence.
…
…
…
At the end of this journey, I expected to meet this fight. But in my expectation, it was Leo who stood on the other side of the fight. My true master. And the culprit behind all this that took away everything. But now I was fighting the Minotaur with all my might, not him. To be precise, towards the fate that could not be shaken off.
After being freed from the curse, I had two options to choose from. Will I follow my destiny, or will I reject that destiny and go my own way? Which of the two I would choose was very self-evident.
But the world forces fate on me. When I finally refused, the waves swept away and sent me back to the path of fate. They are shouting out to me to become a hero, to become a hero and defeat the demon king. Then he sees me struggling on the road and says, Are you still a warrior? Even so, are you going to deny it?
Am I really a hero, doing my best to decapitate the resurrected demon?
It was a question that seemed to have an answer. I felt like I was going to cry because of my helplessness. Anyway, since you were little, you wanted to become a knight who would save the world. Isn’t that what you wanted The world is turning its back and leaving as if it had already heard the answer from me. Trapped in their shadows, I barely raise my head to look at their backs.
Just what I wanted…
…
In an instant, the hand stopped. Maybe he’s out of breath.
I am…
…
“Ooooo!!!”
I just I just wanted to see her once more.
“…!!!”
Clink!
At that moment, the sharp shining sword was shattered, and the sunlight shining on the blade poured into his eyes. As if the sky was punishing me, the pieces of the broken sword were deeply embedded in my face like arrows through the dazzling beams of light. At that moment, his right vision went blank, and blood flowed out. A trickle of blood seeped between his lips.
“Oohhh!!!”
As the taut balance was broken, he let out a rough breath and raised his fist. Perhaps the feeling of his lungs being crushed reached a limit. Its mouth opened greedily for sweet air.
And I spurred the ground as hard as I could, squeezing out the remaining air in my lungs for the last time.
“Ahhh…!!!”
The sense of breathing he was not accustomed to because he had been patient for too long messed up his rhythm. Before he could react, I jumped up on his neck and grabbed the shaft of the spear that was the only thing stuck in his unscathed body. Then, after ramming it in as hard as I could, I twisted all the flesh inside and pulled it out.
“Oohhh…!!!”
As red blood and rotten flesh poured down through the hard skin, the huge body collapsed in an instant, and I jumped on my head with a spurt on my lowered shoulders. The light of the sun piercing my back, and the feel of sweat droplets evaporating in the scorching heat. I let out my last breath and slammed the spear down.
“Aaaaa!!!”
Awesome!
With the sound of skulls being smashed, blood spurted out and soaked his vision. The last breath, which had reached its limit, faded, and the strength of the whole body drained away. I fell miserably to the ground.
Thud.
…
“…”
Wind noise. The sound of rustling collars. And the sound of my body rubbing against the floor. All of that leaked into my ears and the sensations in my whole body slowly returned. Accumulated fatigue weighed down my body in an instant, and finally my body opened its mouth to crave oxygen.
“…Ah…Haaaaa…!”
Breathing returned, the cold air rushed furiously into his lungs. As the hot wind sweetly moistened the inside of my dry throat, my vision, which had been blurred for a moment, opened.
“Kuhh…Hah…Ah…”
I barely raised my eyes and looked at the Minotaur. It was still standing precariously, with a spear stuck to his head. Poisonous bastard, are you still standing? I tried to get up, but I couldn’t get the strength in my arms and legs. Damn it, move it. The moment he spoke to himself like that, his body moved a little.
“…”
And just like that, the huge body was laid on the ground.
Bang!!!
…
“Ha…”
I quietly raised my eyes and stared at him. But there was no further movement.
“Fuck the dog…”
I sighed and stood up from my seat. Breathing returned to some extent, and finally strength came back to the whole body. I hurriedly approached it, grabbed one of its huge horns, pulled it out, and stuck it deep into the whitened eye.
“Aaaaa!!!”
Awesome!
Once again, blood and flesh splattered and the horns were driven deep into the skull. At that moment, I lost my strength and sat down again. Now, I really feel like I’ve used up all my strength.
“Ha… Ha…”
I stared at the body that didn’t move anymore, then cast my gaze back. Rachel and Bella were still there. Even though the whole body was buried in blood and ash, it was still proving that the body was still alive.
Okay. Not yet.
“Haha…”
I walked over to them. It was painful, but I had to get him to Vanessa somehow.
“Rachel…Bella…”
I called out their names with difficulty, hoping they would answer. Soon, Rachel raised her head a little and stared this way.
“Luka-san…”
“Ha…”
Rachel was still bleeding from her ears, but she seemed fine. But she still couldn’t be relieved. I moved closer, knelt down on her knees, and put my hand on her shoulder.
“Bella?”
“…I’m still fine. But I’m in a very bad condition.”
“As long as it’s okay, it’s okay…”
Only then did I bow my head and let out a sigh of relief. Then she stretched out her hand toward Bella, who was cradled in Rachel’s arms.
“Bella. Can you hear me?”
“Ah…”
A groan sounded as if it would break at any moment. I stroked the child’s blood-stained hair and felt a warm touch.
“I’ll take you to Vanessa. Just be patient, okay?”
“Abba…”
“Don’t tell me, Bella. Now…”
“Baa…Ah…Ah…”
Bella moved her extended lips as if to say something. I finally put my ear to hear what he had to say. Then, the child’s soft voice. Rang in my ears
“Ah…Aaaaa”
Aaaaa
Aaaaa
In an instant, Bella’s voice resonated and dozens of sounds rang out simultaneously. I frowned at the sudden grotesque noise, then suddenly realized something about her and turned her head away.
“Damn it…!”
And met her eyes with the Minotaur, who opened her mouth.
“Gaah…”
Blood and dark blue magic leaked out of his head at the same time. Saggy skin, loose muscles, and completely dead eyes. All of that clearly pointed to his death, but his mouth was open and a wave was coming. There was absolutely no way he had come back to life. Someone who controlled that body pulled out all remaining mana and vitality and made a fuss.
“Ru…Ta…”
Suddenly, clear words leaked from his mouth. Ruta. Do you mean stop no fucking This is not the time to be interpreting. The guy now…
“Ru…Ta…!!!”
I got up and tried to throw something into that fucking mouth, but unfortunately my legs wouldn’t move anymore. I grabbed my leg, which had completely undone, and hurriedly turned to Rachel and Bella. But there was one thing that he couldn’t move either.
“Ruta…!!!!!”
My skin trembled and a wave came through. Because I had mixed swords with him twice, I could intuit that this was really my final struggle. And that struggle was too fatal for Rachel and Bella.
No.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…!!!”
All the air around him was sucked into his mouth. There was no time to react.
“Rachel! Bella! Get down…!”
I hugged their fragile bodies. And before he could even finish his words, his final outburst tore through the space.
“Ooooo!!!!!!!!!!”
The sound, the wave, opened a gap between the air and shattered the space between them. As if to turn the fragile flesh of humans into powder, the power as if a huge mountain range were exploding attacked the entire body.
“Ahh…!”
Because they covered them without covering their ears, blood burst from their ears and their internal organs twisted. But I didn’t feel any pain. No, I didn’t even want to feel it. My eyes were only on Bella.
Ah ah ah ah ah…
No.
Rachel was barely holding her curled up, but Bella was shaking her body as blood spurted from her nose and mouth. I couldn’t tell if this was due to the vibrations of the sound or if it was because my body was aware of death.
AA AA AA…
No. No.
I wrapped her as much as I could with her earnest heart. But a wave that I couldn’t help but a shock wave grabbed Bella’s hand and led her to her death.
In my arms Bella was dying.
No! Damn please! Oh God!
Blood flowed from her mouth. No, not just the mouth, but the eyes. Nose. Ear. Everywhere she gushed what was left of her life force. No matter how hard she hugged her, the breath escaped between her fingers.
Ahhh…
At the last second, I met Bella’s eyes. Then the little mouth moved again.
Abba…
That meaningless word did not escape with a sound. My eyes just closed as if the lights had gone out. And drops of blood that hadn’t been spilled ran down his cheeks.
And at the same time, the vibration stopped.
…
“Oh…Oh…”
Behind him, the last mana remaining in the corpse evaporated, and the forcibly revived suffocating sound rang out. Soon, something big and heavy fell, but I didn’t turn my head. My gaze was still on Bella.
“Bella.”
I called the child’s name without meaning. But there was no answer. There was just a mixture of blood and tears flowing from the corners of her eyes that seemed to never open again.
“Bella.”
My hand went to the nape of the child’s neck. I slowly brushed her thin skin to feel even the slightest evidence of breathing.
“No…”
And what came out of my mouth was always a symbol of the same tragedy as mine. The girl who called me a killer was dying in the arms of the killer.
“No no…”
I shook her head, put my hand on Bella’s chest, and started pressing frantically. Please, please, please. He continued to shake his shoulders to get his stopped heart beating again. I couldn’t even do my best because I was afraid that my weak body would break because of my strength.
“Please. Bella. Please don’t do this.”
Please. Oh God. You did as you were told this time. I followed the fate that was set for me, and I did what you damn people told me to do. But why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to me
“Please. Please don’t do this. Please. Please…”
Are you saying it’s enough for me to just cut down the demon king? Even if everything she held in her hands slipped out, would it be enough just to smear those hands with the demon king’s blood? Is that my destiny? Is that fucking shit my destiny?
“No…No Bella. Please don’t do this to me…”
Suddenly, a few drops of blood fell on the back of my hand. I wondered what this was, and it was blood that flowed from my nose and mouth. Only then did I realize that I wasn’t in a good state either. But he didn’t stop. Even though my mind was getting blurry and my head was getting distant, I tried to revive the dead heart by repeating only one word over and over again.
“Please…Please…Please…”
…
“The Lord…Is dead.”
Then a stranger’s voice was heard. When I looked up, I saw several guards approaching me, looking miserable. One of them, who was walking with their respective injuries, spoke again.
“That monster…Is dead?”
“It’s dead. Look at that. It’s completely broken.”
“Really. But who the hell…”
Suddenly, their gaze fell on me. As soon as I met his gaze, I shook my head. Even though I haven’t heard it yet, my head is dizzy.
“Could it be… That young man?”
“Oh my God. I think that’s right. That young man killed it.”
“My God… My God… That… That means…”
…
You are.
Why are you being so cruel to me?
…
My mind went blank. But even in the meantime, the shape of Bella’s mouth remained clear. What was the last word of the child whose short life was full of tragedy?
Dad? Or brother?
…
Perhaps. Just..
It hurts. May have been
