Chapter 81 - Episode 12. Path of the Abyss (2)
Chapter 81: Episode 12. Path of the Abyss (2)
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It had been four days since Jaehwan returned after destroying the Palace of Rebirth.
Gorgon Fortress was steeped in a strange atmosphere, half relief and half exhaustion.
Many had died or been injured.
Some had become Deadmans while fighting the Nether Ghost Envoys. Some had met their deaths at the hands of Companions who had become Deadmans. Souls had been swept away like blades of grass beneath the Lords' attacks.
At first, some got excited without really knowing why. Others wiped away tears that suddenly began to fall. Yet even those who cried could not explain their own tears.
Perhaps that was only natural.
Most residents of Chaos had not faced the Lords, but the Nether Ghost Envoys.
《Palace of Rebirth》 had suddenly vanished and freedom had arrived, but it was not something they could truly feel. It was like fighting desperately on a battlefield, only for a nuclear bomb to explode somewhere far away and end the war in an instant.
Freedom had come without warning.
That unfamiliar feeling paralyzed their minds, forcing them to admit that they were not ready to accept freedom.
Jaehwan was the one who brought 《Chaos》 to order.
On the fourth day, Jaehwan gathered every soul in Gorgon Fortress and made an announcement.
“For the next three days, we will hold a Soul Farewell Rite.”
The Soul Farewell Rite.
A rite for the souls who had died on the battlefield.
Behind Jaehwan stood Yulhen, several officials, Cheongheo, and the Hall Masters of the Ten Halls. Below the platform, a vast black curtain had been spread out.
The crowd murmured as they watched Jaehwan standing above them.
A Soul Farewell Rite, all of a sudden?
It was not unimaginable, but it was still bewildering.
Too many people had met with soul extinction for them to mourn properly.
How could they hold a Soul Farewell Rite for so many souls?
Their concerns vanished the next moment as the curtain was drawn aside.
Thousands of coffins appeared as the enormous curtain parted. They were for the souls who had died during the Rebirth War.
The crowd was overwhelmed.
When had they prepared this many coffins?
The startled crowd looked up at the platform together. Jaehwan was nowhere to be seen. Only then did they realize he was coming down from the platform.
What was he planning?
Expectation and anxiety mingled in their eyes.
The Hall Masters waiting behind the platform remained calm. They did not know exactly what Jaehwan intended to do either.
Still, they vaguely understood one thing.
He was about to do something amazing again.
Why did they not stop him, then?
There was no reason.
Only...
“That must be trust.”
Cheongheo murmured from behind the officials, quietly watching Jaehwan as he descended from the platform.
Silence settled over the venue as Jaehwan finally stopped before the thousands of coffins.
His gaze fell on the first one.
“Isaac Kendel.”
Isaac Kendel. It was not a name Jaehwan knew well. Yet Isaac Kendel had become a hero of this war, reaching the third Awakening and even defeating a Lord.
There were many like that in this war.
Those who met death as the price of walking the path of Awakening.
The coffins held the belongings left behind by the dead.
Souls of 《Chaos》 left no physical form behind after death, so there were no bodies. The rite was held with the objects they had used while alive instead.
Swords, letters, combs, brooches.
There were sometimes pieces of armor or small lockets as well.
After the Soul Farewell Rite, all of them would be burned. The rite was not held to remember the dead, but to forget them completely.
It was 《Chaos》's final consideration for the pure souls who had departed in search of life.
Before they knew it, the crowd was holding its breath as they watched Jaehwan.
Click.
Jaehwan closed the coffin containing the belongings.
It was not something extraordinary. He was only closing a coffin. Yet even such a small act could carry great meaning, depending on who did it.
Jaehwan continued calling the souls' names.
“Rachel Belder.”
Click.
“Kasim Hill.”
Click.
Had Chaos ever had a Fortress Lord like this before?
Every time that quiet click sounded, something echoed within the people as well. Stifled sobs. Trembling shoulders. Whenever a coffin closed, something within them came to an end.
The sound was dry yet warm, indifferent yet comforting.
Without realizing it, the crowd's eyes reddened.
Click.
How much time had passed?
The final coffin was closed, and Jaehwan stood up.
Everyone was looking at him.
“You all fought hard.”
People were crying. Some wailed openly, while others wept quietly. Some bit down hard on their lips to keep from crying.
“But you also know this. Nothing is over yet. The war has only begun.”
Some wore solemn expressions at those words. For most, though, they did not fully sink in. They had only just begun to savor the joy of victory. In this situation, Jaehwan's warning sounded like a stale formality.
Yet the crowd had overlooked one thing.
Did Jaehwan not know what they knew?
Creeeak.
Something was coming through the gate behind the curtain.
It was a cart with enormous wheels. An apparatus shaped like a dragon biting its own tail rested on top. The crowd watched, wondering what it was, then their expressions changed.
“Th-the Narrow Gate!”
“It is the Narrow Gate!”
The 「Narrow Gate」, whose mechanisms had been shut down and could no longer function for the time being.
The terrible item that had allowed living Lords to enter 《Chaos》 stood before the crowd.
Jaehwan spoke.
“You all know what this is.”
“Ah...!”
The crowd trembled.
That cursed object had led their 《Chaos》 to ruin.
Tension swept through the crowd as though a riot could break out at any moment.
“Destroy it!”
“Break it completely, Fortress Lord!”
“W-what are you thinking?!”
They were terrified that another Lord might cross through the Narrow Gate.
Jaehwan did not respond to the crowd's cries. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying the situation.
“Bring him out.”
A pathetic-looking man emerged from behind the 「Narrow Gate」. Magic-treated iron chains wrapped tightly around his entire body.
The crowd did not know who he was.
A few who had fought on the front lines of the Rebirth War recognized his face.
A pale voice rang through the air.
“A-a Lord!”
“A Lord of the Great Realm!”
...A Lord?
The crowd nearly panicked. Why was a Lord believed to be dead here?
“Cowardly Lord Laika!”
Even though Laika was only a Lieutenant General, the pressure of a Lord's presence was overwhelming to the crowd. Most had never even faced a Lord during the entire war.
Vague fear bore down on everyone.
Only now were they beginning to understand exactly who they had been fighting.
That man was a Lord.
“...You will regret this.”
Cowardly Lord Laika's voice followed.
“Darkness will never forgive you.”
The crowd was swept by a chill, as if cold water had been thrown over them.
His voice alone had the power to overwhelm them.
That was why they knew Laika's words were true.
What were the Lords?
They were more vicious and cruel than anyone.
They would surely come to punish 《Chaos》.
Resentment began to rise within the crowd.
Why had they started this war? Why had the Fortress Lord brought that Lord here instead of killing him? No, more importantly, what would they do with him now?
Should they kill him?
But what if killing him brought even greater anger from the Great Realm?
Should they let him live, then?
What if he returned alive and spread word of everything?
The crowd could make no decision.
So once again, the decision fell to one man.
His answer was simple.
“You are noisy.”
Shiiing.
Dokbul rang as it left its sheath.
The moment everyone widened their eyes, Dokbul's blade swept precisely across Cowardly Lord Laika's chains.
The severed chains fell apart where the blade had passed.
The crowd gasped.
“What are you doing...?!”
As if he had been waiting for it, Laika charged at Jaehwan. If he was going to die anyway, he wanted to land at least one blow.
Of course, it was futile.
Something flew into the air with a chilling slash.
Cowardly Lord Laika's left arm.
“Aaaagh!”
Then his right arm.
His left leg.
And finally, his right leg.
A flood of silver blood poured out in an instant, flowing beneath the platform.
The crowd could not believe what they were seeing.
That powerful Lord was being cut down so helplessly.
“Khh, khahaha! Khahahaha!”
Suddenly left limbless, the Cowardly Lord rolled across the ground and laughed like a madman.
“Kill me already!”
The Cowardly Lord was still a Lord. His declaration was the last shred of his pride and his final struggle as one.
He had already watched countless Lords slaughtered before his eyes. It was better to die here than return to Darkness and report it all.
“It would be troublesome if you died whenever you pleased.”
Laika's eyes visibly shook at Jaehwan's calm words.
“W-what are you talking about?! If you do not kill me, you will die! Darkness's army will come here!”
“That is why I am letting you live.”
The crowd listened to their conversation with hearts ready to burst.
“Go back and tell your master clearly. If he wants war, he can come whenever he likes. Tell him I will be waiting at the top of the 《Tree of Illusion》.”
Laika's lips moved, but he was too shocked to answer.
The Dragon Gate of the 「Narrow Gate」 began to spin.
A dazzling light poured from the gate.
Watching the scene, Jaehwan added one final remark.
“Of course, that is only if he has the courage to die.”
Jaehwan threw Laika's body through the 「Narrow Gate」 as though it were trash.
The bursting light swallowed Laika.
Then an overwhelming Stab rained down on the 「Narrow Gate」.
With the sound of dimensions twisting, the small gate that had kept 《Chaos》 trembling in fear for centuries closed forever.
Rumble.
The thunderous sound rang out like a declaration.
Jaehwan turned around.
The completely stunned crowd was staring up at him.
He opened his mouth.
“From this moment on, Chaos declares war on the 《Great Realm》.”
* * *
“What the hell are you doing, Fortress Lord?!”
Every high-ranking official of Gorgon Fortress had gathered in the Fortress Lord's office.
Cheongheo stood in the back, holding his forehead as he shook his head.
Jaehwan was reckless, but had he not crossed far too many lines this time?
Jaehwan frowned at the officials shouting over one another. He could explain it if he wanted to, but it felt bothersome.
Then pale mist began to rise from one wall of the office, and the surrounding scenery started to change.
An illusion.
The officials who had entered the Fortress Lord's office tilted their heads blankly, as if bewitched, then soon left the room.
Jaehwan spoke to the person who had cast the magic from the wall.
“Thanks.”
“I knew you were crazy, but you really are out of your mind.”
A woman's voice spoke as if she had given up entirely.
It was the Dream Demon, Sirwen.
“What was going through the head of a man who said he would quit being Fortress Lord tomorrow, starting something like that?”
“What else? War.”
“Why?”
Jaehwan answered in a calm voice, as if she had asked something obvious.
“I have to make 《Chaos》 safe.”
Footnotes:
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