Chapter 189: Chapter 185: A World We Can't Live In Alone (2)

“Now, young man.”

I thought that would be the end.

“The time has come. Would you adorn this old man’s end with your hands?”

Retaining sanity was only a momentary effort.

The distortion that consumed his body gnawed at him even then, urging him to revert to his previous state.

“…Virgil.”

“It’s a simple task of stabbing my heart and burning it. If you watch until it turns to ashes, the hideous monster before you will disappear from this world forever.”

If it breaks again, it won’t return as it once was.

Knowing this better than anyone, he urged me to end his life.

“Are you okay with that? To end so meaninglessly…”

“Everything has its end.”

How could he remain so composed facing his own end?

No matter how long he had lived, the end was approaching.

And yet, it wasn’t even a proper death, but a painful one buried in the darkness of this wretched world.

“Aren’t I rather fortunate? In a world overflowing with those who can’t even choose their end… If a young man like you decorates my final moments, that’s enough.”

Virgil, trembling as if holding onto sanity was his limit.

Seeing that alone conveyed indirect pain, but still, I couldn’t bring myself to stab him with my spear.

“…Why?”

Even though I understood that I had to.

There were still too many unanswered questions about him.

“Why do you help me so much?”

If I killed him here, I would never have another chance to resolve my questions about him.

“Do you need a reason to help someone?”

“If you were a good person equally to everyone, sure.”

But the person before me was definitely not someone to call a good man.

From the first meeting, he had mercilessly killed people like me, so how could I consider it normal to make an exception for me?

“I don’t understand… You who cares for me even in such a moment…”

“…You just stand out.”

To my question, he answered in a strained voice.

“I stand out?”

“Yes, even though I’ve lived a long time, you stand out…”

The ability to be remembered by no one applied to him, too.

That’s why he cared for me.

“Do you know how much chaos this world has been in before people like you arrived?”

As he said that, he wanted to tell me the deeper reason.

With a more desperate struggle in his last moments, he tried to give me the answers, pushing his limits to the extreme.

“People from different origins, living in different environments, live different lives… The conflicts arising from these differences never cease, so this world has always been filled with chaos, regardless of the era.”

Fights between humans before the calamity, and even before that, wars between races…

He had secretly watched over all those eras.

He was trying to convey the insights he gained to me in this moment.

“Some deny such chaos and believe that unifying the world under one path is the only way to benefit it. Denying differences, they seek purity and believe that those closest to that purity are noble and deserve respect…”

Worshipping what others consider dirty is one way to live in this chaotic world.

“But if we can’t resist chaos… perhaps accepting it is also a way?”

Regardless of birth, environment, or life lived…

Simply accepting and being with someone who shared the same mind—that was his way to survive in this harsh world.

“And to accept that, we need what we call a focal point.”

“A focal point…?”

“Whether it’s a nation, religion, ideology, or race… or even an individual like a hero. If there is power to lead someone, anything can become a focal point.”

His finger slowly extended to conclude his argument.

A deep smile appeared on his face as he aimed his finger at me, concluding his words.

“Do you know how dazzling someone like you appeared to someone like me, who sought such a focal point?”

Simply being remembered by someone…

Claiming that this ability, labeled useless as soon as I arrived in this world, had irreplaceable value.

“You have the talent… to bring together those who inevitably must part in this chaotic world…”

“…Do you really think so?”

In this harsh and difficult world, the talent to lead more people…

Maybe the things my loved ones spoke of, the ‘mission of a savior’, were present in me now.

“You may have lost confidence. But you’ve overcome such things many times. That’s why you’re here now, isn’t it?”

To those uneasy words, he answered.

“You’re doing well.”

Encouragement that felt all the more sincere, as he faced his end.

And his belief.

“If you continue on that path, you’ll surely be able to lead all those you love and all those who love you.”

“…”

“…Is it okay to end this old man’s will here?”

As his body, which continued his belief, swelled again, his original form soon disappeared.

Even so, the monster, as if retaining consciousness, directed a steady gaze at me…

“…Young man.”

No, not yet.

The voice from its mouth indicated that he still had some sanity left, despite becoming a monster.

“You too…”

Even as I pointed the spear at him, he didn’t attack and just stood there.

How could I see him as just a twisted monster when he was showing consideration and ignoring his instincts?

“You too… Can you be included in that?”

“…You.”

“You came back, right? As soon as you saw me, you came back.”

I know. A fallen monster can’t come back.

It’s foolish to hope that the miracle of him coming back when he recognized me in the underground could happen again.

‘If we don’t end it here, he might come back again someday.’

But isn’t it too early for that?

If he completely turns into a monster, I’ll reluctantly handle it, but for now…

With someone who showed me kindness still here, I couldn’t possibly execute him with my own hands.

“That’s an unreasonable request.”

To me, dressing up my weakness as futile hope and aiming the spear, he answered in a quiet voice.

Perhaps knowing he couldn’t suppress the change, he even loosened his grip on his neck.

“But if that kind of heart is a necessary quality, it should be respected.”

For some reason, his voice felt more relaxed than before.

With that, he turned his back to me and prepared to step into the darkness.

“Let’s go. If we delay too long, we might miss the moment.”

With the last thread of sanity, he buried himself in the underground darkness, seeing me off as I headed above.

Abandoning even the last chance to die as the individual ‘Virgil Huntress’.

Yes, that was the last sight I remembered.

Even if he maintained his old appearance until the end, it wouldn’t be long.

So, I had to be prepared to handle him with my own hands when we meet again, once he completely turns into a monster.

With such resolve, I came to the surface, and even after handling Phobia, I solidified that determination…

“Kyaaa! Kaaaooo!!”

So why did he, who should have lost his sanity and become a monster, appear before me again, as if to keep his excuse?

Did he really regain his sanity?

Or is it just an illusion, and he’s simply following an instinct prioritized over hunger, like Phobia?

“Ugh, aah…! Damn, beast…!!!”

But whatever it was, the monster was drawn to him, and soon lost all interest in us as we left the sanctuary.

As we crossed the drawbridge and left the scene, what we saw was a blizzard growing fiercer from the moment we left.

The monster, unable to resist the cold, quickly froze, and its movement was soon halted.

Even with that much flesh freezing, I could immediately sense what happened to the immortal monsters inside without seeing it directly.

“We somehow survived… but what was that grotesque thing we saw at the end?”

Yes, as long as that cold doesn’t melt, those monsters won’t come out.

As I turned away from the scene, the question asked with such certainty came to me, and I quietly muttered what came to mind.

“…Hope.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Burying that faint hope in my heart, I just firmly gripped the reins of the horse there.

There was no hesitation.

Even though it’s impossible to hope that the cold filling that land lasts forever, even if there’s a possibility the frozen monsters would return to the world someday…

There was the expectation that among those awakening with them, there might be a being who hadn’t lost their heart.

“Let’s love.”

Recalling the last words of the one who gave me that hope, I quietly gripped the reins and spurred the horse to run.

“Remember, the only way to survive in this harsh world is to be true to that heartbeat in your chest.”

I engraved his final lesson in my heart, reminding myself that the heartbeat I felt in this moment would become the path I should follow from now on.

“Hero! This way!”

After finally escaping the sanctuary and traveling a good distance, I arrived at a temporary camp set up on a hill far from the sanctuary.

Waiting there in front were Sanson and the expedition members.

As soon as I saw them, I lifted up Flang’s damaged body and carried her directly to the healer among them.

“Can you treat Flang first?”

“I’m sorry, but Miss Flang’s body is so different from ours that divine miracles may not work on her.”

The healer didn’t seem surprised by her doll-like body, likely because they had already assessed it when she had acted unexpectedly.

However, as if they had already accepted this fact, worry was clearly etched on the faces of the expedition members surrounding Flang.

“Please, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine even if I’m left like this… my life isn’t in danger…”

“That won’t do! Miss Flang is our comrade too!”

“Now that you mention it, isn’t there a woodworker’s son here? Take a look at her condition!”

Despite her non-human nature, they exchanged ideas, trying to find a way to treat her.

Feeling that Flang had fully blended into the expedition, I let out a sigh of relief and turned my gaze toward the tent set up beside the expedition.

“I’m glad you’re safe, but what on earth happened in the sanctuary?”

“I’ll explain it gradually later, but there’s something I’d like you to answer first…”

Around the campfire in front of the tent sat a hunched man and woman in shabby clothes, along with a child.

They clearly weren’t part of the expedition, nor did they look like people who did rough work like adventurers.

To put it figuratively… yes, they looked as if they had just been rescued from a disaster site.

“Who are they?”

“They’re refugees who fled from the capital to the sanctuary. We encountered them on the way and provided temporary protection.”

My guess was correct, but I couldn’t view that answer positively.

The capital was the empire’s center, the last remaining haven of humanity in this world, and the safest place of all.

“What could have possibly happened in the empire for them to flee all the way here?”

Sanson seemed just as concerned, and in a serious voice, he summarized the current situation.

“With the upcoming imperial succession ceremony, riots have broken out across the empire.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

What we experienced in the sanctuary might only have been the tip of the iceberg.

A crisis might be unfolding that could bring down the last remaining “haven of humanity” in this world.