213 – The Final Battle (5)
I looked at Krund from the center of the monster horde.
Now that I’ve come this far, I could tell for sure.
It was just this moment that I had been anticipating.
It was a curse that sat heavily on my heart since the moment Adam was killed by Krund.
But now, I also wanted to confront Krund for more reasons than just that.
Besides the pretext of protecting the territory, I wanted to see the end of this tiresome war.
The war that started when I turned 17.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my life changed completely because of that war.
I parted ways with Sien, joined the mercenary group…
In the end, I met my fellow members who became like family, as well as Ner and Arwin who became my actual family, but there were so many hardships during the process.
Every time I talked with my wives, these feelings became more certain.
I realized it thanks to Gael’s advice as well.
I had no intention of enjoying wealth and glory.
Expensive food, fancy houses, estates, and servants were unnecessary.
The burden of having to endure and protect such things would only weigh me down.
Even if this war hadn’t broken out, perhaps I could have lived a life like that.
Not the life of a noble or a leader, but simply as the head of my family, focusing only on them.
“…Sigh.”
Though the battle had not yet begun in earnest, I made a vow.
After this is over, I will live the life I desired.
“…Berg…”
Klund whispered my name.
I frowned at the fact that he knew my name.
He continued.
“It seems like you’re living well…becoming a noble, having a wife…”
“…”
“Surely, cutting off my arm and interfering with the Demon Lord was worth a reward.”
Klund raised his left arm to show me.
There were only blunt scars below his wrist.
“I endured all this with the intention of killing you alone…”
Klund whispered, saliva dripping from his mouth.
“I endured all this wit
I withstood the electrifying sensation that rose in my skin as Crund’s sharp attacks continued.
Although I didn’t like fighting, maybe I was now addicted to this thrilling sensation.
With every swing of the sword, I steadied my breath with the vibrations transmitted to my hand.
I could feel that his attacks were not as sharp as they used to be, thanks to the subtle vibrations.
Only when the sword made a clean, satisfying hit could it be called a well-executed swing.
This was the message Adam had always conveyed to me.
– Thwack!
Swinging my sword, I managed to land a forceful kick on Crund’s torso.
Crund was pushed far back by the blow.
After one bout, he loosened his body and spoke.
“You fool. I just need to buy time.”
“…”
“Look around. See what the situation is like.”
As he said, we were surrounded by a horde of monsters.
However, things were not as terrifying as Crund made them out to be.
“You should look around.”
That’s what I told him.
Crund glanced around at our surroundings, his pupils barely rolling.
The members of the Hongyeom gang were now forming a massive circle around me.
They were fighting and shedding blood to make sure the monsters wouldn’t interfere with our battle.
“Until you die here… my comrades will hold on.”
I told Crund.
Snorting, he charged at me again.
Following what I had learned from Gail in the past, I used my sword to reflect a twilight glow into Crund’s eyes.
Crund did not squint, but his reactions to those attacks were slightly delayed.
“Using… grappling techniques…!”
I was using everything I had learned so far against him.
Even the instincts I had learned in the slums were awakened, just like before.
The weight on my shoulders, the promises made to my wives, and the desire for revenge against Adam – all were put into this fight.
Dozens of bouts were exchanged.
No one allowed for a major attack.
It was merely a battle of attrition.
I saw the scars that filled Krund’s body.
There were many wounds on him that I didn’t inflict.
They seemed to be the scars that had formed as he ran tirelessly from the other side of the kingdom to here.
Krund seemed to be running towards revenge just like me.
I didn’t want to think like this, but… there were subtle similarities between Krund and me.
He, who lost the Demon King, and I, who lost my brother Adam.
Krund was known to have more powerful forces than the Demon King, and I, too, was talked about as the strongest swordsman after Warrior and Gale lost their power.
Krund traveled alone across the plains, and I was also in a state with many speculations of being a lone warrior.
Now we both even harbored vengeance towards each other.
…Maybe, I continue to feel that this fight may have been inevitable.
How much longer did we continue our long fight?
He and I stepped back from each other for a moment to catch our breath.
“Haah…haah….”
At the same time, I was aware of the situation around us.
The members were still guarding the giant circle well.
Barran, Gale, and Shaun were listening to my requests more than anyone else.
In that situation, Krund laughed at me and said,
“…Do you still think you can win?”
“…”
“The sun will set soon. A mere human like you won’t be able to see anything in the dark.”
I caught my breath and said,
“You’ve been talking a lot.”
And then I charged at him.
Krund’s words weren’t wrong.
As night came, our situation would become extremely unfavorable.
There would be too many things we wouldn’t see relying on the moonlight to fight.
I knew that this was Krund’s provocation.
He was waiting for me to make a reckless move to end the match quickly.
However, I couldn’t help but fall for his provocation.
With determination, I began to attempt even more dangerous attacks than before.
.
.
.
Darkness slowly descended.
The wounds I inflicted on Krund were increasing.
Krund was certainly weaker than when we first encountered him in the past.
I couldn’t tell whether it was because he had lost his left hand or because he was exhausted from coming here.
However, if there was a problem, it was that it ended there.
I hadn’t yet managed to cut off his breath, and Krund’s sharp attacks continued to fly relentlessly.
I, too, was in a situation where my life hung in the balance due to a single mistake.
Confidence that I could win and anxiety that time was running out coexisted.
Krund seemed to have a similar mix of emotions like me.
“Ugh!”
Screams from the members echoed here and there.
Although Gail and Baran tried not to show weakness to Krund by holding back their cries, it was an undeniable fact that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable.
It had been a long time since the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
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For now, we relied only on the remaining twilight and the rising moonlight.
Gail had tried to join me in helping, but the situation did not allow it.
If the circle we had formed began to break, everyone would be swept away together.
A delicate balancing act continued.
I gathered my resolve once more.
“…. Hoo!”
It was a situation that required a more challenging attack than ever before.
I kicked the ground and approached Krund.
I used his habit of countering my attacks with his right hand as an advantage.
-Bang!
Krund, who had blocked my sword, swung his right hand through the air.
—Swoosh!
Instead of dodging the attack, I leaped into the sky, clearing his hand in the process.
His fingernails barely grazed past my back.
The sound of slicing through the air brushed against my entire body.
At the same time, I swung my sword towards his neck.
-Whack!
Kroond matched me, instinctively tilting his head to avoid the blow.
-Shwoosh!
My attack narrowly missed, leaving a long scratch on his cheek instead.
-Thump…
“…”
Kroond retreated from the strike, blood streaming down his face.
I exhaled my next breath.
It seemed possible to continue this way.
“Gahh!!”
But at that moment, a familiar voice groaned beside me.
Kroond and my eyes simultaneously shifted towards the source.
Sean.
Having been engaged in the most intense battle, he was the first to show signs of exhaustion.
From the moment Sean began fighting Kroond, blood had been flowing down his head.
It was natural for his strength to be waning.
“…”
“…”
As my eyes met Kroond’s, I could sense what he was thinking.
Having survived the slums by any means necessary, it was all too apparent to me.
-Bang!
Both Kroond and I started running towards Sean simultaneously.
But I was a little late.
“Sean!!”
At my shout, the faltering Sean regained his composure.
He raised his sword upon seeing the approaching Kroond, but…it was already a somewhat delayed situation.
The more that happened, the more I gritted my teeth and pushed on.
Was this how Adam felt when he was protecting me?
-Clang!
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Gael stepped in to block Krund.
I took advantage of the time Gael created to approach Krund.
-Swish!!
However, Krund was slightly faster.
While protecting Shaun, Gael’s stance crumbled, and Krund struck with a blow.
-Thud Thud!!
Blood began to spurt from Gael’s body.
I held my breath and swung my sword at Krund’s body faster and harder than ever before.
To dodge the attack, Krund fell to the ground and crawled.
I shouted while guarding Gael.
“Gael!!”
“…Uhgh…I’m…I’m fine.”
Gael replied.
He tightly clutched the new wound on his body.
I was reminded again of what happened to Adam.
My heart began to waver.
Noticing my changed state, Gael spoke again.
“Verg, it’s not an empty promise. I really am fine. I dodged the mortal blow. It’s just…I don’t think I can fight anymore…”
“…”
His frankness about not being able to fight lent more credibility to his earlier statement.
But the situation had not improved.
By losing Gael, our advantage in the battle was rapidly overturned.
The tide of battle always turns in an instant.
This situation was no different.
Krund started to regain his posture and chuckle.
“I’ve won…”
He whispered.
A confident expression covered his face as he stood up.
“You’ve lost, Berg.”
As if to support his words, the world gradually darkened.
Looking up at the sky, clouds began to cover the moon.
The remaining glow of the sunset receded, and the sky was filled with a dark purple hue.
Khrund’s face started to disappear into the darkness.
“…It’s over. Just listen to the screams around you.”
‘Argh!’
‘aaargh!’
‘Get up! Don’t lie there!’
His words made me aware of the desperate voices of my comrades around me.
“…”
Reality approached me gradually.
Defeat began to appear more distinct than before.
It was late, but I realized how dark the battlefield had become.
It was a miracle to see anything in such conditions.
At the same time, I felt the spirits of our members weakening.
Independently of my unshaken heart, the situation was clearly becoming more dire.
-Bang!
I heard the sound of Khrund charging at me again.
His attack was barely visible in the darkness.
Relying on sound, instinct, and a split second of visibility, I blocked Khrund’s assault.
I couldn’t retreat an inch because Gail was lying behind me, collapsed on the ground.
Fighting while holding my ground was like fighting with one of my weapons taken away.
“Berg…! Don’t make a foolish decision!”
Though Gail cried out from behind, I couldn’t move back even a little.
It seemed I wouldn’t be able to retreat until Sean had helped the fallen Gail out of the way.
Khrund was targeting my weakness.
As the battle began to tilt against me, he seemed to have resolved to attack my people.
‘Keeeyaak!’
Somewhere, the sound of demons echoed momentarily, coming closer.
Swiftly rolling my eyes, even the frontline established by the Hongyeomdan warriors was crumbling.
In that gap, a demon was charging towards me.
– Chaak!
Continuing the fight with Krund, I twisted my body to overcome the oncoming demon.
“Squad Leader!”
But this time, Sean yelled from behind, and I felt the sensation of a leg snapping.
Another demon, hidden in the darkness, was charging at me.
“Ugh!”
Hastily overcoming that demon too, I faced Krund’s attack next.
I lost balance under his dull blow.
Falling, I swung my sword in a circle around me.
Several demons approaching stealthily fell to that strike.
I quickly regained balance and stood up.
“…Ah.”
And at that moment, anticipating the incoming attack, I expected Krund, who had disappeared into the darkness.
-Thud!
Intense pain pierced through my abdomen.
A searing heat swept through my body.
Krund, appearing from below, whispered.
“…Don’t die.”
Blood spilled from his mouth.
“…I’ll show you the suffering of everything you loved.”
*****
Ner cautiously rose from the sickbed.
A profound silence hung over the camp in Stakfin.
It seemed like everyone was continuing prayers for the departed warriors.
Ner absentmindedly looked out the window, as if unable to believe that Berg had once again left.
In the end, it was she who let him go, but a stronger fear than ever before engulfed her.
She knew that this would be the most dangerous battle Berg had ever faced.
Berg had never lost a fight and had left to reassure her, but… that didn’t mean he couldn’t lose for the first time.
“…”
Ner trembled with fear.
She wasn’t sure if it was because her body was weakening due to the cold.
Berg’s departure and Berg’s death were different matters.
If they had to part…she would suffer endlessly and regret it.
But at least she could still see his face from afar. There would still be a chance to turn back.
Death, however, was not like that.
There would be no chance to turn back anything. It would be the end.
Her love for him would cross over to the other side.
Ner continued to tremble.
Even if she closed her eyes and turned the quilt over, her body still shook.
It seemed like this fear would only end when Berg came back to her side.
It felt like she could only breathe when the only one meant for her in the world came to her.
“Please….come back…”
She slowly looked up at the sky.
While looking at the moon that began to reveal itself, she continued.
Berg would be looking at that moon from somewhere too.
“…come back, Berg…”