Chapter 126

The blade of light emitted from a beam hilt felt completely different from a steel-forged blade.

Monsters like Yuria mastered it as soon as they held one, and geniuses like Baek Jun-woo became familiar with it after just a day… but even after several years, Monggu still occasionally found the light sword awkward.

It felt too light in his hands.

It took him a long time to distinguish whether he had cut something or not, and when an enemy blocked his attack, the resistance felt like wet cotton, making it impossible to execute rhythmic combinations without fumbling.

And when he cut someone… the surreal nightmare of limbs suddenly falling off and blood gushing out was truly awful. If the sword had been heavier, if bones had caught on the blade, he might have been mentally prepared. But the feeling of being drenched in mushy blood and organs without even realizing what his hands had done… it was too traumatic for Monggu.

Yet Monggu never showed his distress.

From the 3rd to the 13th floor, while incorporating a full ten floors into their sphere of influence, Monggu had continued to gain combat experience and committed just as many killings. Though sticky self-loathing occasionally settled in his chest, he deliberately erased it. So as not to burden the nomad.

Around that time, Monggu stopped entrusting the mysterious coin to Jun-woo.

‘Somehow, I don’t think I’ll lose it. And… I don’t want to separate it from my body.’

Sometimes Monggu felt like the coin was calling to him. This phenomenon was particularly pronounced when fighting mages. The feeling of ending someone’s life with a light sword still felt empty… but the coin in his pocket seemed to grow heavier in contrast. Nothing had actually changed. The coin was still rusty, still bearing the image of a man who hadn’t drawn his sword. Nevertheless, his gaze kept returning to the coin.

No, it was the opposite.

‘It feels like it’s watching me. Jun-woo always said magical powers observe us… is this what that feels like?’

Originally, Monggu disliked the lightness of the light blade. The thought of ending someone’s life with a touch as light as cutting through air… it felt too regretful and horrific. The disconnect between the sensation in his hand and the carnage visible to his eyes made him nauseous. Yet he stuck with the beam hilt solely to be helpful to the nomad.

For Monggu, who endured day by day like this, the coin was like salvation. Every time he fought mages who opposed the ‘Great Cataclysm Emergency Committee,’ every time he swung his beam hilt to sever their limbs or sometimes their necks, the coin somehow seemed to grow heavier, as if a solemn gaze swept over his entire body. It was as if the heaviness of the coin in his chest made up for the emptiness in his fingertips. Only then did Monggu feel like he was properly shouldering the burden of his killings. It would sound ridiculous to Baek Jun-woo and Yuria, who had massacred the Lanches Nomad at a much younger age, but Monggu was that sensitive a person.

Monggu relayed these changes to Jun-woo. But Jun-woo just shook his head saying, ‘Well… I don’t see any difference.’ Thus, the 10,000 Morning coin gradually faded from Jun-woo’s memory while becoming an essential charm for Monggu.

* * *

“Cough! Cough!”

Monggu coughed violently. Instead of breath, blood poured out.

‘Was there really this much blood inside me?’

The area below his chest felt like it had turned into mushy jelly.

‘…It didn’t even hurt that much…’

The water surface where his face touched was turning bright red.

He had thought it wasn’t a serious wound, but this was the result. It was all the more confounding.

‘Hah… light swords feel just as disgusting when being cut as when cutting.’

Splash. Splash.

Pressing against the blood-soaked water surface, Monggu raised himself up.

Squish…

Things that shouldn’t be outside his body poured out through his widely opened abdomen, but Monggu didn’t stop. His level 2 enhanced body somehow kept moving even with lost organs.

‘Though I’ll probably die soon anyway…’

Did he really need to go this far?

Such a question suddenly came to mind. But Monggu shook his head.

That day in the forest, Monggu had promised.

That he would never run away again. Though he wasn’t a mage… Monggu had not the slightest intention of breaking his word.

‘Even if I lose to the enemy, I must not lose to myself.’

Zing!

He activated his beam hilt. The light blade that should have been green was now yellow. Evidence that the output had dropped, but… in a situation like this, wasn’t it a blessing just to have it working?

-Synchronization rate 81 percent.

He thought he heard a voice, but Monggu paid no attention. He simply assumed it was a hallucination before death.

“…You got up?”

Looking at Monggu who had managed to stand, Evan wore a sickened expression.

Slowly, Monggu pointed his light blade at Evan. Despite his horrific physical condition, the tip of the light blade was steady, not trembling even slightly.

Evan’s feet made a splash! sound as they lifted from the water surface and then returned to their place. It was ambiguous whether he had tried to step back or step forward.

He spoke in a complicated voice.

“If we had met earlier, many things might have been different… young brother. I think I will never forget today. It will be an eternal regret.”

Monggu responded to Evan while coughing up bloody foam.

“What… a long-winded bastard…”

Evan smiled slightly. He slowly walked to change his position.

After Monggu turned his body to follow Evan, the battlefield where Baek Jun-woo was fighting Beatrice ended up behind Monggu’s back.

Evan spoke with an expression that was almost reverent.

“Indeed. Young knight. Let me show you the ultimate power of a knight. It won’t be a bad end.”

Boom boom boom!

Crack!

The sky split open. Above Evan’s head, darkness like the night sky opened its mouth. Like watching scenery from horseback, blurry silhouettes changed their forms intermittently within the darkness. Monggu thought he briefly saw a massive city.

Then suddenly, a single star shone within the darkness. It was a brilliant light. What had been a small dot seemed to grow to the size of a coin, then suddenly filled the entire opening in the darkness and poured out.

“Summon. Longinus’s Spear.”

Evan’s low incantation.

Monggu sensed it intuitively.

‘This can’t be blocked.’

Him dying wasn’t the problem.

‘Even Jun-woo can’t block this.’

Monggu had seen <Saíl> many times. Jun-woo’s power… was not yet, not yet enough to match that.

Only then did Monggu understand why Evan had adjusted his position.

‘So it was just for courtesy.’

After all, Evan’s target wasn’t Monggu but Jun-woo behind him. Since Monggu had been so persistent, Evan had simply included him in the path. If he was going to die anyway, let him die to his best attack.

He never thought for a moment that Monggu could block or weaken this attack.

‘This is really… the worst.’

So… even after coming this far, he still couldn’t be of help? To be disregarded like this again? …It really made his blood boil!

-Synchronization rate 95 percent.

Whooong!!!

The light pouring from Monggu’s beam hilt fluctuated greatly. The yellow light gradually turned green, with patches of blue swirling around it.

“Overclock…?”

Evan’s eyes widened, and a new world opened for Monggu.

It was as if the world had stopped.

-Synchronization rate 98 percent!

Even the beam of light shooting from beyond the darkness appeared… slow.

But Monggu wasn’t confused.

‘I really must be about to die. Still, hold on at least until I swing my sword once.’

Slowly, he raised his beam hilt above his head. Looking at the brilliant beam of light… the overwhelming beam of destruction, <Longinus’s Spear> summoned by Evan, he focused on just one thought.

‘I’ll cut it…!’

He didn’t doubt it for a second.

-99 percent!

Whooong!

The light blade that had always felt light now felt weighty, with a grip that fit perfectly. He could sense where the blade was pointing, where it wanted to point…

He felt like he understood its innermost feelings. He sensed the subtle but persistent elasticity flowing through the light. Monggu’s senses became so keen that he could detect even a single breeze brushing against the light.

‘I was a fool.’

Had he really been complaining about the light sword feeling too light? Had he been wielding a light sword all this time without knowing what it truly was?

‘To only realize this right before death.’

With a bitter smile, Monggu swung his beam hilt downward.

At that exact moment,

[Synchronization rate 100 percent!]

The coin in his pocket began to vibrate violently. All sorts of messages frantically appeared in the corner of Monggu’s retina.

[Having achieved 100% synchronization, you are registered as a Rebellious One!]

[You can load the final, ultimate weapon stored in the Shadow Library by consuming points.]

[Current remaining points: 1,830pt]

[Warning! Severe damage detected in the Rebellious One’s body. 500pt will be consumed immediately to replenish lost organs and proceed with physical enhancement.]

[Warning! Hostile environment detected for the Rebellious One.]

[The hostile entity has been identified as another Rebellious One. Conflict between Rebellious Ones is not recommended. Calculating causality-fault ratio.]

‘What is all this?’

In the middle of swinging his beam hilt, Monggu gaped in bewilderment. But Evan was the same. All sorts of messages were appearing on Evan’s retina as well.

The coin, which had always conveyed information through notification sounds, was now sending visual messages instead of auditory signals—something that had never happened except when awakening as a coin master.

[Causality-fault ratio calculation complete. Rebellious One Evan Petrov’s 99 percent causality-fault ratio is acknowledged. Rebellious One Monggu can delete Rebellious One Evan Petrov’s points at a ratio of 1 to 99. You can also request the recall of already loaded weapons to the Shadow Library, calculated as points equal to their respective value. The current loaded weapon <Longinus’s Spear> is valued at 65,000pt.]

Though these were unfamiliar expressions they had never seen before, both Monggu and Evan could clearly understand their meaning.

Evan’s eyes filled with dismay.

“What, what?! No!!”

But cruelly enough, Monggu shouted without the slightest hesitation.

“I use all my points to recall Evan’s weapon! Delete his points too!”

[Executed.]

That was the end of it.

<Longinus’s Spear>, which had been extending with enough force to destroy the world, vanished like a mirage.

As if nothing had ever been there, the world was clear and quiet.

[Remaining points: 5,830pt]

A desolate notification rang in Evan’s ears. What? Did I hear that wrong just now? 137,500 points… became how much?

Evan hurriedly took out his coin.

The coin that had been shining with golden light had now faded to a dull color, and the man’s sword that had been fully drawn was now back in its scabbard.

“I caught so many mages to collect this…”

After a moment of silence, Evan turned toward Jun-woo and sighed.

“Huff… consider yourself lucky. Divine Mage. But…”

His gaze returned to Monggu.

“It’s not a loss if a new coin master has been born. You’ll have to come with me. Young knight… no. Monggu, was it?”

“Haa… haa… you think I’ll follow you?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t go easy on you. Your body’s stronger now anyway.”

Evan’s gaze turned to Monggu’s abdomen. The place where it had been sliced was completely healed. A smile formed on Evan’s lips.

“Once you come and hear what I have to say, you’ll understand too. Why we had no choice but to do this. And… you’ll feel very embarrassed about defying me today.”

Evan spoke fondly, like a mischievous senior teaching a junior. But his hands were anything but warm.

Ziiiiing-!

The blue light emitted from Evan’s beam hilt gradually deepened, changing to navy blue.

“Now, let’s go.”

Evan took a big step forward.

Monggu hastily raised his beam hilt.

Just then, a playful voice cut in. It was a woman’s voice. Clear and resonant, pleasant to hear.

“It’s been a while, but have you gotten worse? Seven years ago you attempted murder against me, and now you’re attempting to kidnap a boy?”

“You… you!”

Evan’s face twisted horribly.

“Seems you forgot I was glaring at the back of your head?”

Thwack!

A blinding light exploded,

Splash!

Evan’s body sank beneath the water’s surface.

“This may look simple, but it’s actually a combination of two secret techniques.”

Where had she appeared from?

With her beautiful platinum blonde hair fluttering gently, the woman smiled refreshingly.

* * *

I looked down at the three people tied up and unconscious side by side.

From the left, the Saint of Ragnarok Beatrice, the vampire lord Kaisel, and the heir of the Knight Order, Evan.

They were bound by something like vine stems, which were plants created with <Sowing> and imbued with the [Wish] that ‘May the enemy be unable to use their strength or regain consciousness.’

If they were at full strength, they would have broken free before [Wish] could even take effect… but having already been subdued, they could never break those restraints now.

Those vine stems would prevent their strength from recovering in the first place.

I stared at the three.

No matter how many times I looked… it was satisfying.

To think we’d capture all three?

I never dreamed we’d capture Evan too.

I looked at the person who played a decisive role in capturing Evan.

When our eyes met, she spoke with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help properly. The battle situation at the 70th floor defense line has deteriorated rapidly, forcing all the Magic Battalion that came down with me to withdraw. I rushed here thinking I could at least be of some help.”

Her name was Hwi Someong. She was called the princess of Truth Tower.

She was counted among the Eleven Hatchlings like Lytol, a super rookie… but seeing her now made Lytol seem pathetic.

How could you possibly be ranked alongside this person?

This person is clearly a 6th Circle, a Mage.

Moreover…

Her power wasn’t just that.

-I can feel it! Really. She smells like one of our kind! I can definitely sense it!

Ari exclaimed excitedly.