Incompatible Interspecies Wives chapter 214

214 – Berg(1)

“BERG!!!”

Gale’s voice shouting my name reached me.

But even his figure was hard to find in this darkness.

“Urgh…!”

Blood kept pouring from my mouth.

I couldn’t believe that so much blood could come out.

“…”

Strength gradually drained from the hand that was holding the sword.

Sean shouted from behind.

“Danjang!!!”

I grabbed Crund’s arm that pierced my stomach.

Our eyes met at close range.

Crund asked me.

“…Does it hurt?”

“…”

“Are you mad?”

“…”

“Or are you scared?”

I was struggling to catch my breath.

Even in moments like this, I think of my brother Adam.

I was in the same situation as him.

Adam must have endured this pain for me back then.

I let out a faint laugh.

“…I’m in big trouble…”

I said honestly.

“…I promised I would go back.”

Crund replied to that.

“…You will go back. You were told not to die. To live… and see all the things you love get destroyed.”

I thought of Neru, Arvin, and Cien.

I even thought of my child who must be in Cien’s belly.

Is this what it feels like to experience defeat at the most crucial moment?

…Honestly, it was a reality I could not accept.

-Swish!

Crund pulled his hand out of my stomach.

Blood gushed more violently from the pierced hole.

All my strength drained from my legs.

I fell to the ground, kneeling.

Crund, wiping the blood on his hand, shouted.

“Everyone, give up!!”

A smile filled his face.

“I’ve defeated your leader!!”

The voices of Crund’s members wavered, one by one.

I knew I had to muster my strength for them, but I couldn’t.

My spirit was not broken at all.

If my strength miraculously returned, I could run again.

I still had the confidence that I could defeat Crund.

But my eyes slowly closed.

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It was too heavy to lift my eyelids.

I could feel my frantic heartbeat gradually slowing down.

In this strangely peaceful situation, I asked.

‘…Brother, what should I do?’

.

.

-Kwaaang!!!

Then, with an explosive sound, the ground shook violently.

The unpleasant cry of the monster disappeared all at once.

Startled, I opened my eyes.

My eyes were no longer as heavy as before.

“…Huh?”

Then I looked around at the unbelievable situation.

A bright light was surrounding me.

A pillar of light had descended from the sky.

It took me a long time to figure out the identity of this pillar of light.

I belatedly realized that this light was the same light that had shone on Sien years ago.

“……………..”

I blinked my eyes and looked down at my hand.

It felt as if a strange power was filling my body.

Even the flowing blood stopped. Although there was still a hole in my stomach, strength was returning to my body.

The surrounding environment, which had been dark, was brighter than ever in that light.

I could see all the monsters and my party members without fail.

I could see the worried gazes directed at me.

As I looked around in surprise, Gael asked from behind me.

“…Berg…?”

“…”

“Are… are you alive…?”

He was looking at me with a confused expression.

His eyes were fixed on my wound.

I didn’t know anything either, but I explained the situation to him.

“…I’m not sure.”

“…”

“…but ever since this light shone down…”

“…light…?”

Gael asked me as if he couldn’t see anything at all.

Shaun, who was supporting Gael from behind, also looked confused.

“…You…you don’t see this?”

I asked Gael.

Gael just frowned strangely at me.

“…What are you saying you see?”

“…”

“First, let’s… calm down…”

I blinked my eyes and let out a bitter laugh.

I now understood what had been given to me.

“…Ha.”

It seemed indisputable.

The Lone Warrior.

It seemed that was me.

But just like the name, others didn’t seem to realize I was the Lone Warrior.

It seemed that only I could see this pillar of light.

It seemed as if only I knew the fact that I had been chosen.

The mere existence of such a cruel god was absurd.

– Silence…

“…Huh?”

I slowly rose from my position.

At the sight of me, Shaun gasped in disbelief.

Kroond, too, closed his mouth slowly at the sight of me.

Thanks to this light that only I could see, all of Kroond’s reactions were in my sight.

I took a deep breath.

“…Everyone, get up!!”

I shouted so that my voice resonated across the battlefield.

One by one, the shaken members firmly gripped their swords as well.

“Da, Danchang (Leader)!”

Someone called me, uneasy.

I knew better than anyone that they needed a story to give them strength.

Words that could rally their morale were needed.

I spoke more confidently than ever.

“…We won’t end here.”

For some inconceivable reason, I believed those words.

Even though I uttered them myself, I had faith in them more than anyone else.

Though it seemed as if death was nearing with a hole in the ship, I had confidence that I wouldn’t yield.

“I’ll break Kroond… Just hold on for a bit longer. Just gather more strength.”

I lifted my sword, gripping it firmly.

Witnessing this change in me that’s inexplicable, I saw Kroond’s complexion change as well.

“Let’s finish this and return to our families.”

As if endorsing me, Varan blew what seemed like a horn somewhere at the end of that sentence.

It seemed as though he, too, was thinking the same thing as me.

He knew that there was a need to raise the morale of the members.

With the sound of Varan’s horn, resounding cheers started coming from everywhere.

The crumbling ranks started to regain their composure.

I charged at Krund as they regained their strength.

I must have seemed strangely invigorated as I got up again.

“…How…how did you…”

I couldn’t understand it either, so I couldn’t answer him.

Could it be that I was receiving recompense for all the pain I’d endured thus far in one fell swoop?

I didn’t dwell on it, and simply swung my sword to defeat Krund.

-Thud! Thud!

Each time the sword collided, Krund’s arms wavered and were pushed back.

I felt as if an even stronger power had filled my body than before.

It was as if my fallen comrades were with me.

Perhaps, being so close to death, they were by my side after all.

“Gugh!”

Krund soon began to falter under my onslaught.

His sneak attack on me in the dark seemed to be his last bit of strength.

My momentum began to tip in an instant.

Krund kept backing away, and I continued to close in on him.

He had no idea that I could see everything in the darkness.

He tried to continue his covert and sharp attacks, but to me, they all seemed far too obvious.

Tracks from my sword began to appear on his body.

“Hmph!”

With a close shave, I deflected Krund’s attack and pierced my sword into his shoulder.

-Thunk!

I felt something being severed.

At the same time, Krund’s arm lost power and sagged.

“Ugh…!”

Krund started to retreat in response to the attack.

Simultaneously, I instinctively felt that I didn’t have much time left.

I couldn’t afford to let Krund go for the sake of my comrades and my family back in Stuckfin, even if this was the end for me.

So, I mustered all the strength in my body and chased the fleeing Krund.

I followed him as he disappeared into the swarm of monsters.

I relentlessly overcame the horde of demons closing in on both sides.

“Follow the leader!”

Even the members who couldn’t see well in front were somehow supporting me along the way.

The members started dealing with the approaching horde of demons.

Those on horses cleared a path for me to head towards Krund.

Members who ignited fire in the darkness began raising torches one by one, and some shot fire arrows in the direction we were going to illuminate the path.

Of course, these actions didn’t have much effect on me, who could see everything.

-Schwack!

Finally, I surpassed Krund’s thigh.

“Krekk!”

Krund fell over and turned to look at me.

-Shoook!

Instantly, something sharp like a spear flew out from his abdomen.

It was an attack that had taken Adam’s life.

-Kahng!

In order to fend off the unexpected attack, the sword slipped from my hand.

Krund looked at my disappearing sword with a resentful expression.

“I’ve-“

“-It’s not over yet!”

But as always, the fight was not over.

I dropped the sword and started punching Krund’s face.

-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The taste of hitting with my fists was different from usual.

A distinct force was passing through my whole body.

I could feel Krund’s body crumbling from under me.

Groaning and splattering blood, he tried to stop me… But even his body was losing strength.

“Sto…stop…!”

Krund pleaded.

I couldn’t hear his words at all.

If this Krund is the one who can threaten everything I love, then it is my duty to eliminate him from this world.

“Baran!!”

I called out the name of my most trusted subordinate, Krund.

Even though I didn’t know where Baran was, I raised my hand while calling his name.

-Thunk!

Suddenly, a long sword came flying from somewhere.

Baran, whom I trusted, responded to my call of trust, and a smile spread across my face.

-Snap!

I caught the sword.

“It’s over.”

Then, I whispered to Krund.

“No-“

Krund tried to shout something, but my hand was quicker.

-Swish!

I pulled the sword down and cut through his neck.

Skin, muscles, bones. Again, muscles, then skin.

My sword pierced through it all.

The sensation of a clean cut was transmitted through my hand like never before.

-Thud…

Krund’s head was cleanly severed.

The being that faced death had nothing more to say.

“…Ha…ha…”

In an instant, the surroundings began to quiet down.

As if time had stopped, a momentary silence lingered on the battlefield.

-Thud!

I grabbed Krund’s head and raised it high.

In the darkness, my comrades who confirmed the scene began to cheer one by one.

“The…leader has won!”

The horde of monsters that felt Krund’s death began to scatter in an instant.

-Boom!

Shaking the ground, they fled in various directions.

The squad members who were fighting looked around in confusion at the sight of the fleeing monsters for a moment.

Soon after, they began to slowly lower their swords one by one at the sight of me holding the head of Krund and the cheers that followed.

“It’s…over…!”

“We survived!!!”

“Leader!!!”

“Ha…haa…”

I looked down at the dead Krund along with their cheers.

Somehow, I felt that maybe it was really my destiny to kill Krund.

Only now did a sense of relief come to me, as if everything was finally over.

There was a feeling of relief that Krund would no longer target Stakepin.

Now various problems will disappear from our territory.

I’m not sure what I can do about the thieves, but the squad members will be able to handle it well.

Farming matters were resolved through Aruin.

The plague was resolved through Ner.

Little by little, we can expect changes in how our people perceive the tribes.

Adam’s revenge was achieved.

Krund was no more.

“Ha…haa…”

Was it relief, or was the miraculous power disappearing?

The world seemed to spin around me.

My strength began to drain from my body.

Unable to withstand the dizziness, I began to collapse to the side.

-Thud!

“Bergh!”

But before I hit the ground, Gael came to my side and supported me.

“Leader…!”

Barrando, his voice trembling, also appeared and approached my side.

-Drip…

The blood that had stopped began to flow again.

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To everyone, it seemed that I endured the pain and fought on.

Baran tried to stop my wound, but it was not something that could be stopped.

I knew that death was approaching.

But I wasn’t scared or resentful.

Rather, I only felt relieved that I had resolved the issue with Krund.

…There was, however, a sense of regret.

It seemed like I would not be able to keep the promise I made with my wives.

“Leader…! Please…you can’t….”

Before I knew it, Baran was pleading with me, tears streaming down his face.

“You need to go back… It’s all over now…”

Gale, too, approached and whispered.

He was also still severely injured.

“Don’t do this again, Bergh. Don’t ever do this to me again…”

But amusingly, I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at them.

The situation was so similar to the time with Adam.

I wondered if my brother felt this way too.

I was more worried about the people I would leave behind than my own death.

Especially, the anxiety about my wives surged.

It seemed like they would be so sad without me.

Now, there was also regret left behind.

How great would it have been if I had fulfilled more of what Ner and Arwin wanted, just like I did for Cien?

When they asked for a hug, how great would it have been to hug them? When they asked for a kiss, how great would it have been to kiss them?

I finally seemed to understand Adam’s dying wish.

At that time, he asked me about my dreams and then left me with the words “I believe”.

Perhaps it wasn’t just a request to fulfill his dream, but rather a hope that I would live happily without being consumed by Adam’s death.

No, that was what it was. I finally understood.

Just as I am now, Adam hoped that I, who would be left behind, would live happily.

I wanted to shiver in the cold, but I didn’t have the strength left.

I saw Baran in my darkening vision.

Holding Baran’s tearful hand, I whispered.

“…My family.”

“Berg… please…”

Balan called out not only my title but my name, trying to hold onto me.

The friendship we had shared for a moment flashed by.

I asked my friend, who had been close to me after Adam, for a favor.

“…Please take care of my family.”

-Thump.

And then I closed my eyes.

A deep darkness came over me.

****

-Squeak!

“……………..”

Arwin froze as he looked at the world tree leaf that had landed in his hand.

Berg’s leaf, cut in half.

“…No… this can’t be true.”

There was only one thing this meant.

Berg had faced death.