Chapter 254: Episode 254

He remained silent.

Yusin descended from the sky.

When the explosion subsided, a single egg-like sphere floated alone in the middle of the receding seawater.

Albert had frantically entered Absolute Defense Mode within his dimensional space, but there was no way he could withstand that level of firepower.

His organs had twisted, his blood had shriveled, and his mana had turned pitch-black. As his exhausted wings unfurled, Albert’s tattered body was revealed.

“I…”

Albert tilted his head back.

“…thought I could save the world.”

Yusin descended and grabbed Albert’s face, lifting it.

In his right hand, pitch-black mana surged with ferocious intensity.

Sensing his end, Albert’s eyes flew wide open.

“I…!”

CRACK!

Suddenly, the black coating around Yusin peeled away, revealing his face.

For a brief instant, Albert’s and Yusin’s gazes met.

Yusin strained with his last ounce of strength to thrust out his right arm, but the black mana in it dissipated as his power failed.

CRACKLE!

The black power covering his body shattered like a thin shell. But instead of elation, Albert squeezed his eyes shut.

“A pity.”

As Yusin’s arm went limp, the displaced seawater rushed back in to fill the void.

Watching the swirling ocean return to normal, Albert lifted his head.

Yusin seemed to have completely lost consciousness, but the Wing Golem on his shoulder was still functioning, so he didn’t fall into the sea.

“Phew…”

His body trembling, Albert let out a long breath. A mere few seconds had decided the outcome.

The typical end for a hunter who had gone berserk.

Still, it was undeniable that he, an officially ranked 1st-class hunter, had been utterly overwhelmed. He had no choice but to admit it.

“I lost, Tower Master.”

Feeling a crushing sense of defeat, Albert plucked out a single feather. He intended to send Yusin off painlessly, as a sign of respect.

At that moment, a warp gate hummed open a short distance from Yusin.

“Sorry, but I don’t intend to let you go.”

The Wing Golem began moving Yusin toward the warp, but Albert had no intention of letting him escape.

He focused mana into the feather between his fingers, swinging his arm to send it flying.

He paused.

Then all sensation vanished from his arm.

Feeling a hollow emptiness where his right side should have been, Albert turned his head.

The arm holding the feather had been severed and was falling into the sea.

“I heard the Tower’s combat power caps out at officially rank 3, aside from the Tower Master.”

The warp gate hadn’t opened to retrieve Yusin, but to let someone out.

A woman with blazing red hair stepped through, holding a radiant, pure-white sword.

Her hair and shoes were soaked with sweat, her breathing was ragged, and her face was deathly pale. Anyone could see she had rushed here in a panic.

When she set foot on the sea, the water sloshed beneath her. She stood firm, both feet planted on the surface of the ocean.

“……Yusin.”

Hong Yeon lowered her gaze to him.

There wasn’t a trace of strength in his limp body, and his skin was covered in dark blotches.

For a moment, a vast, seething rage filled her eyes.

“Step away.”

The hand gripping her sword bulged with veins. Her warning voice was thick with barely concealed hostility.

“A shame,” Albert said, looking at Yusin. “He’s already dead.”

She gasped.

Hong Yeon’s brown eyes trembled.

“Th-that can’t be…”

“He’s not breathing. After what he did to his body, it’s only natural.”

Albert shook his head slowly and turned away.

“My business here is done. You may take the body if—”

Albert never finished his sentence. Enraged beyond reason, Hong Yeon flashed past him like a bolt of lightning, her sword raised in an upward slash.

Too exhausted to even react, Albert looked down at his chest.

His clothes were turning red.

“So this is how it ends.”

Albert’s gaze settled on Hong Yeon’s back as countless emotions flickered through his eyes. The last to remain was acceptance.

“Not a bad way to go.”

SPLASH!

Blood erupted like a fountain as his body split along a diagonal line. His upper body plunged into the sea first, followed by his collapsing lower half.

Hong Yeon’s eyelids quivered as she sheathed her sword. Then she turned and ran to Yusin.

“Yusin!”

She wrapped her arms around his body. When she saw his pale face, her mind went completely blank.

“Yusin? Are you okay? Please, open your eyes! Please!”

He didn’t wake, even when she shook his shoulders. When she pressed her ear to his chest, her own heart plummeted.

“Yusin…?”

The Sky Castle Lord’s voice, saying he was already dead, echoed faintly in her ears. Panic clawed at her as she burst into tears and screamed.

“Please, Samia! Open a warp, now!”

A moment later, Samia opened a new warp gate.

Hong Yeon clutched Yusin to her chest and threw herself into it.

* * *

Yusin was immediately transferred to the world’s largest hunter hospital, located in Minnesota, USA.

Hong Yeon had brought him there, and soon after, the other members of the Tower arrived as well.

Once the emergency treatment was complete, a full battery of detailed examinations began and continued for ten hours straight.

“I’ve been in the medical field for a long time, but I’ve never seen a case like this,” the doctor who emerged from the examination room said gravely.

Hong Yeon and Jin Bora, hearts in their throats, hurriedly asked, “H-how is he?”

“The patient’s body can no longer be described as human.”

“…Ah.” Hong Yeon clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“This is different from what we see in Metamorphosis ability users,” the doctor explained, his voice heavy with grim finality. “They use a human body as their base, momentarily activating monster DNA to transform. The key is that they eventually revert to their human form.”

“But this patient… his very foundation is no longer human. The composition of his tissues, the nature of the mana he emits—it’s all fundamentally different.”

“So… what does that mean?” Hong Yeon asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“I’m very sorry,” the doctor said, bowing his head. “We are a hospital that treats humans.”

He looked up, his expression a mask of professional sorrow. “His breathing has stopped, but respiration continues. His heart is still, yet his blood and mana still flow. There isn’t a medical facility in the world that can diagnose Hunter Kim Yusin’s condition.”

Hong Yeon’s legs gave out, and she crumpled to the floor. Beside her, Jin Bora buried her face in her hands, her body wracked with gut-wrenching sobs.

“Based on human standards,” the doctor stated, his tone bleak, “I will deliver the results of the examination. Patient Kim Yusin is deceased.”

* * *

Modern medicine was powerless. Even if they attempted surgery, the doctors wouldn’t know what to fix. All they could do was treat his external wounds, help him recover from exhaustion, and administer IV fluids to aid his circulation.

Yusin was moved back to the Magic Tower. The doctor’s declaration of death had shattered the morale of its members, leaving them reeling in a state of shock.

“The Tower Master is not dead,” Ea announced, her calm voice cutting through the disarray. “If the Tower Master were to die, the homunculus disposal protocol would automatically initiate. The Tower itself would also seal all floors except the first and ninth. But I am still here, and all the floors remain open. That is the most definitive proof that he is alive.”

At Ea’s words, Na Daeyong rubbed his chin, his expression grave. “Th-Then is it possible he’s just… unconscious?”

“But they said his heart stopped!” another mage cried out.

“But his blood is still flowing! What does that even mean?”

As chaos and confusion swirled, Ea spoke again. “Actually, the Tower Master was conducting research for a situation just like this.”

Her statement was met with a sea of bewildered faces. Only Jeong Seojin seemed to understand, nodding slowly. “Are you referring to the resurrection magic?”

“Yes.”

Jin Bora, who had been wiping away her tears, looked up in shock. “Seojin, you knew about this?”

“The Tower Master mentioned it once, as if in passing,” he confirmed.

They decided to proceed with the magic Yusin had been researching before it was too late. It was an unstable, incomplete spell, but they had no other options.

Jeong Seojin carried Yusin to the Sealed Study within the Great Library on the second floor, while Ea brought the blueprints for the resurrection magic that Yusin had been drafting. They laid him on the floor and began to draw a complex magic circle around him.

“I’ll draw the main framework,” Seojin declared, his voice steady despite the circumstances.

“Hmm, these are dimensional formulas,” Na Daeyong mused, leaning in. “I’ll handle this part.”

“Leave the calculations to me!” a young mage volunteered.

Each of them contributed their expertise, meticulously drawing the intricate magic circle. Finally, Ea infused it with mana. A blue light pulsed through the lines, and the circle began to hum with power.

Above the main circle, they placed a smaller, connected one. Upon it, they set the Dimension Stone—the crystallized soul of Armin Walter, all that remained after his body had been vaporized. The stone was the most crucial component.

“This magic is called Requiem,” Ea explained. “It was developed by the sixth Tower Master, Roist, to revive a user of the Titan procedure. The Tower Master pretended it was nothing, but he was always concerned about the dark magic lingering in his mind.”

She spread her arms wide, just as Yusin would have, and activated the circle. The azure light flared, and both Yusin’s body and the Dimension Stone began to glow in unison.

“Ooh!” Na Daeyong couldn’t hide his excitement, his fists clenched tight. Jin Bora and Seo Shimhee clung to each other, unable to watch.

The room filled with a palpable surge of mana. Something ethereal flowed out of Yusin’s body and was drawn into the Dimension Stone. The magic circle blazed even brighter as a swarm of blue, firefly-like motes of light rose and danced around them.

And then—

Thump!

Like a computer suddenly losing power, the light in the magic circle vanished. The intricate lines faded, and the room plunged back into darkness.

The Dimension Stone shattered.

Everyone recoiled in horror.

“Wh-What just happened?”

“Did it… succeed?”

Ea and Jeong Seojin rushed to check Yusin’s condition. But there was no discernible change.

* * *

[Magic Tower Master Kim Yusin Dies During Battle with Sky Castle Lord. (First Report)]

[Netizens in Disbelief Over News of Kim Yusin’s Death: “We Can’t Believe It.”]

[The Absolute Idol of Mages Worldwide Is Gone. Trainees Left in Despair.]

[Kim Yusin, Who Was Instrumental in Creating the Antidote, Suffers Cardiac Arrest After Battle with Mastermind Albert.]

[U.S. Media: “A Hero’s End, Heroic to the Last.”]

A wave of mourning swept not only across Korea but the entire world. The Magic Tower refused to acknowledge Yusin’s death, but their claim that a man whose heart had stopped was not dead rang hollow. Eventually, a memorial altar was set up in Sanggye-dong to honor him.

Since Yusin had no family, Jeong Seojin, Jin Bora, and Hong Yeon stood vigil.

The line of mourners was endless. Executives and hunters from Garam Management, employees from Alchemia, Im Namjin and officials from the Hunter Association, academy professors and students, the Vanzev Project that operated the Paju hunting grounds, the troops stationed in Changwon, and the countless mages who had been inspired by him. The number of people Yusin had directly or indirectly helped was immeasurable.

Two days later, mourners began arriving from all over the world: officials from the Federation headquarters, fellow hunters from Tanzania, Grizzly and the Russian hunter team, Captain Squall of the Alliance Army, Colonel Frederick from the Indian Ocean Naval Base, and agents from World Guilds like the Ghost Corps. Everyone was stunned by the sheer breadth of Yusin’s connections.

Upon hearing the news, Shin Na-ra collapsed and was bedridden. She managed to make it to the memorial, but Jin Bora, fearing she would collapse again, quickly sent her home.

As late dawn approached and the procession of mourners dwindled, Yusin’s closest friends were finally able to rest.

“Why are we even doing this…?” Jin Bora whispered, her voice raw from crying as she leaned against a wall. “This isn’t a real funeral. Sunbae isn’t dead yet. His heart stopped, but his blood is still flowing. So why…?”

Even Jeong Seojin, the Magic Tower’s pillar of strength, was uncharacteristically disheveled. His tie was undone, his clothes were rumpled, his face was covered in stubble, and his hair was a mess. He stared blankly at the ceiling, a cigarette he had long since quit dangling from his lips.

“It’s all my fault,” Hong Yeon said quietly, her voice devoid of emotion as she cleared away the burnt incense. “If only I had arrived a little sooner…”

“Stay out of it, you bitch,” Jin Bora snapped, her voice sharp with grief. “It’s my fault. It all started because I took that cold medicine. If it weren’t for me, Sunbae wouldn’t have pushed himself so hard…”

“You’re the one who needs to stop talking nonsense,” Jeong Seojin cut in, crushing his finished cigarette into his pocket and immediately lighting another. “And I’m not just saying this to comfort you. Whether you took that medicine or not, the Tower Master would have made the same choice.”

Jin Bora hugged her knees to her chest. “We should have stopped him. It wasn’t the first time he’d pushed himself too far. We were so worried about holding him back that we just let him… and now…”

A ringtone shattered the heavy silence, coming from the pocket of Seojin, who was smoking with the expression of a man who had lost everything. He ignored it, but the calls kept coming. Finally, with a hardened face, he put the phone to his ear.

“What is it?”

—“V-Vice President! I’m so sorry to bother you at a time like this, but we have a huge problem! The President of the United States is making a move on the North American potion market—!”

“Handle it yourself.”

—“B-But…!”

A vein bulged on Seojin’s neck. “I said handle it yourself!” he roared, hurling the phone against the stone floor. It shattered, sending fragments scattering in every direction.

Anyone who knew Jeong Seojin in the slightest would have been shocked. With a look of utter resignation, he slumped to the floor.

“…What’s the point of any of this now?” he muttered, so quietly that no one could hear, as he pulled out another cigarette.

While the others were murmuring amongst themselves, stunned by Seojin’s outburst, Hong Yeon quietly knelt before Yusin’s portrait and lit a fresh stick of incense. The sight of his bright, smiling face in the photo brought a fresh wave of tears, which she thought had long run dry.

’I never even got to thank him properly…’ she thought, her fists trembling on her knees.

Rustle.

Sensing a presence behind her, Hong Yeon turned her head.

“Ah…”

A woman with long, tangled black hair that cascaded around her like a ghost was approaching. Her cheeks were hollowed, and her makeup was a smeared mess, but Hong Yeon recognized her instantly.

“Ph-Pharaoh…”

Han Yoonjeong knelt beside Hong Yeon. She stared at Yusin’s portrait for a long moment before slamming her forehead to the ground.

“I’m sorry…” Tears streamed down her face like a flood. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

She began banging her head against the floor, forcing Hong Yul and Jin Bora to rush over and restrain her.

“I should have gone! No matter what the old geezers on the council said, no matter what the media babbled about, I fucking should have been there! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!”

“Pharaoh!” Hong Yeon cried.

“C-Calm down!” Jin Bora pleaded.

“You idiot! Please! Just tell me it’s a lie! Huh? How did this happen? Why!”

Crash!

“For fuck’s sake! Everyone’s losing their goddamn minds!” This time, it was Hong Yul, storming in dressed in a gray suit with a bottle of liquor in one hand. “My kid is dead? Who the hell says so! Why would he die?”

“Is my Yusin the kind of bastard who just lets himself be killed? He’s probably hiding somewhere again, right? Yusin! Where are you!”

“M-Ma’am!” a staff member at the memorial cried out.

She kicked over nearby flower pots as she stomped forward, only to freeze when her eyes landed on Yusin’s portrait.

“Ha.” Her pupils trembled in disbelief. “…You rotten bastard! How could you do this to me! How could you do this the moment I turned my back! You reckless bastard, I can’t take my eyes off you for a second!”

Hong Yeon looked back, tears streaming down her face, as Jin Bora shot to her feet. “Ma’am! When did you get back to—ah, don’t step on that!”

After barely managing to clear the Calamity, Hong Yul had lost her mind the moment she heard the news about Yusin. She had rampaged across the globe, brutally tearing thousands of demonkin to shreds, before heading to France to single-handedly crush the Hunter Association branch that had turned a blind eye to Albert.

It was her own way of taking revenge, and of offering condolences.

“Fuck.”

Hong Yul stripped off her bloodstained suit jacket and dropped into the seat before Yusin’s memorial with a thud. She picked up an empty glass, shook it out, and poured the liquor she had brought.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke quietly. “I got drunk on the happiness you gave me, took it for granted, and neglected the one thing that mattered most—your safety. I’m the bitch who deserves to be beaten to death.”

She raised the glass and downed it in one go. Hong Yeon, eyes brimming with tears, rushed over and wrapped her arms around her sister.

The two of them stayed that way, clinging to each other for a long time.

’…Yusin.’

Hong Yeon thought of him. Countless memories flowed through her mind like a panorama. Meeting Yusin had changed so much about her.

Back in those days when everything felt hollow, she had suffered her first defeat to him at the Academy. Even when she threw everything she had into their graduation exam, she still couldn’t win.

She had gone all out, and the result was defeat.

Yet she hadn’t felt bad.

No, with that one defeat, she believed she had been saved. At long last, she had a goal she wanted to chase, just like everyone else.

But now—

’Please teach me, Yusin.’

Hong Yeon stared up at the ceiling, her expression empty.

’What am I supposed to live for now? What am I supposed to aim for?’

* * *

Adrift on a hazy sea of consciousness, I was a small sailboat lost in my own mind.

’Who am I?’

’Where am I?’

No one answered. I simply floated, a leaf carried along by the current.

…Mm.

As my vision grew dimmer, I could just barely make out a human-like shape.

[Meshara. Meshara.]

I lifted an arm, rubbed my eyes, and looked again.

We met again. The being with long white hair whose gender I still couldn’t place. They wore a white robe so long it trailed along the floor, and their arms and legs were as thin as chopsticks. They looked down at me and smiled.

“You’re back again.”

“…Looks like it.” I answered flatly and pushed myself up. “Where is this?”

“Inside your own consciousness.” They shook their head slowly. “I never imagined you’d throw yourself into dark magic and become a Titan. I’m truly curious to see how far your recklessness can go.”

“So am I.” I let out a long sigh, then asked in a serious tone, “Am I dead?”

“No idea.” They shook their head again. “At the very least, your comrades seem to think so. They all looked pretty heartbroken.”

“…If they were sad for me, I appreciate it.”

They grinned slyly. “A lot of women came to see you.”

“I’ve got a lot to answer for.”

We both giggled like children over a dumb joke.

“Alright, get up.”

They held out an arm. I took their soft hand and hauled my stiff body to my feet. This place was like a blank white canvas, completely empty. Here, I was nothing more than a tiny black speck, smaller than a grain of dust.

“Can I get out of here?”

“Of course! I’ll help you.” They smiled gently and raised their index finger. “But by the time you open your eyes, quite a bit of time might have passed in the other world.”

“…We’re not talking decades or centuries, right?”

They waved their hands dismissively. “Come on, it’s not that bad. If you want, staying here for a long time is an option, too.”

“That’s not happening,” I cut them off. “The worst catastrophe, Nemesis, is highly likely to occur within five years. I have to get back as fast as possible.”

“Okay then! Let’s make getting back as fast as possible our goal! Shall we go?”

They tugged on my hand, and for some reason, I felt an incredible sense of ease.

“By the way… who are you, exactly?”

At my question, they glanced back at me with a soft smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

I walked with them through the pure white space. I had no idea what lay at the end of this place or what awaited me, but one thing was certain.

’No matter what, I’m going back.’

I steeled my resolve and stepped forward with all my will. The world seemed to come into slightly sharper focus.

“Oh, right!” They snapped their fingers and turned back to me. “You really should learn the seventh-order before you go.”

’What the hell is this person?’

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep