Book 2: Chapter 387
Shuk-
A blade cut into his skin and muscle. It didn’t reach his bones or internal organs. The reason it had missed his internal organs wasn’t because Lukas’ dodge had been excellent.
Although he had twisted his body to avoid the blade, from Yang In-hyun’s perspective, it would have been like the struggles of a bug that had lost its leg.
The time when his struggles had any effect had long passed. In terms of time, it would have been about ten minutes ago. His mana room, which didn’t have much capacity left in the first place, quickly emptied out, and there was no way for Lukas to respond to Yang In-hyun’s attacks without mana.
Zero Technique? That was impossible.
There was no mana in the atmosphere of the Imaginary World. It was the same for the desert, and it was the same for ‘territories’ like Flower Mountain and the Underground City.
This place, which looked rich in natural energy on the outside, was actually no different from an empty wagon. Even a land of death, which had been soaked in blood and left neglected for hundreds of years, would have more mana than this place.
The only way to replenish mana in the Imaginary World was by consuming food.
The powerlessness of a Wizard without mana.
Currently, Lukas, who was in an empty state, had absolutely no way to respond to the attacks he was receiving.
Nevertheless, there was one simple reason why Yang In-hyun’s sword had not taken his life yet.
Yang In-hyun had no intention of killing Lukas just yet.
Shuk, the pain was a bit clearer this time. His right ear had been cut off. He could feel his blood flowing. Even though his vital points had been left relatively untouched, his blood loss was already serious.
His consciousness was faint, and the only thing he could feel was pain, but Lukas didn’t even make a sound.
“Is torture your goal?”
Compared to the ruined state of his body, his voice was relatively clear.
The reason for his question was simple. If his goal was torture, then he would never achieve it.
Yang In-hyun stopped swinging his sword.
Then he stared at Lukas. The moment their eyes met, Lukas realised that his goal had nothing to do with torture.
“No one truly wants to die.”
Yang In-hyun opened his mouth.
“There are many people who can ignore their lives and rush in, but that usually only occurs when they have the determination to protect something even at the cost of their lives, or if they want to escape a fate worse than death. Pessimists who say they want to die. Cynics who treat life like nothing. What do you think their attitudes are when they realise that they are on the verge of death? Do you think they feel happy to finally die?”
It wasn’t a question he expected an answer for.
Yang In-hyun shook his head calmly and denied the question himself.
“No. Not at all. There has never been a case like that. When they realise what’s about to happen, their faces are always covered in fear. Regret and despair engulfs them in waves. It is a vivid, ugly sight.”
“Do I look like that too?”
This time, Lukas’ voice cracked slightly. It felt like his head was being split open. Even just opening his mouth felt like it took all of his energy.
Nevertheless, Lukas asked again.
“Does it look like I’m filled with regret at the brink of death?”
“No.”
Yang In-hyun denied it simply.
“You sincerely wish to die.”
Then he spoke in a softer voice.
“That’s why it’s even harder for me to understand. Why are you still alive if you wish to die?”
“…”
“No one really wants to die. Do you know why?”
0
“…if there was such a person, they would be dead already.”
Yang In-hyun’s eyes widened slightly.
After a while, he smiled slightly and lifted his sword.
Kuk, the tip of his sword touched Lukas’ Adam’s apple.
Soon, drops of blood appeared on the tip of the sword like fruits.
With just a bit more force, his sword would easily pierce through Lukas’ throat.
There was no way he didn’t know that fact. Nevertheless, Lukas’ eyes didn’t even shake in the slightest.
“Look at yourself. And realise just how contradictory you are. If you want to die that badly, then why don’t you take your own life? Is it that you cannot accept suicide? So you’re looking for someone strong. If you were to die at the hands of someone stronger than you, then it can’t be helped.”
Yang In-hyun’s voice was like a cool blade.
In a sense, it was even sharper and fiercer than his sword technique.
Most of what he’d said was true.
Yang In-hyun had accurately read Lukas’ inner thoughts, which even he himself had been unsure of.
Nevertheless, Lukas smiled vaguely.
“Do I still look like I’m alive?”
“Do you think this place is the afterlife?”
“No. I know that it is similar, but it’s something different. I’m not talking about that concept… I mean that my very existence has disappeared from my home universe.”
“I know that. It is the fate of Absolutes.”
“Right. Nevertheless, it was not perfect, there are still people who remember me there.”
Lukas’ voice was soft. For some reason, Yang In-hyun didn’t interrupt his speech. He just stared at him with a hollow gaze.
“I was happy. I thought that it could perhaps be a clue. Maybe, maybe if I used that as a key, other people will remember me as well. I had that kind of hope.”
His soft smile slowly turned cynical.
“But it wasn’t. In the end, fate still forced me to die.”
When he learned the truth of the world from the Great Medium, Lukas had collapsed. It had happened many times before, but this time was different.
He couldn’t get back onto his feet.
For the first time, he found himself unable to overcome his despair.
“When I realised there was no way out of this place. That all that I could do was accept. I became a corpse. Yang In-hyun, did you know? A beating heart doesn’t mean you’re alive. If I don’t have the means to prove my existence, I am a corpse. Right now, I’m nothing more than a wandering ghost.”
“…not looking for someone to kill you, but for a place to die.”
Yang In-hyun knew the difference.
“And you are not the only one who has the discerning eye to see the essence.”
“What do you mean?”
A bright light flickered in Lukas’ eyes.
“I can see your twisting as well. Unlike me, who collapsed due to exhaustion, you became disillusioned with everything. You too, must have experienced numerous ups and downs.”
“…”
At those words, Yang In-hyun froze for the first time.
And he looked at Lukas with a strange gaze.
“…disillusioned.”
His mumbled words seemed to be filled with sorrow. That was probably the word that best described the being known as Yang In-hyun.
Yang In-hyun looked at Lukas again. He had a strange feeling.
This was the first time Lukas and Yang In-hyun were meeting each other, but they got to know each other’s inner thoughts deeply. Perhaps even more than all of the beings that knew them.
It was such a strange event that would probably never be replicated.
“I’m curious. Lukas Trowman, a man who even possessed the status of Lord in the past. Why do you accept death so easily? You called yourself a corpse, but that isn’t true. You can still move, still think. In other words, you can still struggle. Are you really completely exhausted? To the point where you don’t have the strength to throw off a fly that landed on your eye?”
“I knew that I would be crushed by my task one day.”
“Task?”
“After I became an Absolute, I killed many people. I killed so many that even the word ‘genocide’ is not enough. Simply for my personal goals. That task gradually gnawed on my mind, destroyed my ego. It is a madness that even Absolutes cannot withstand. That’s why most of them…”
“Leave it to the Rulers.”
Yang In-hyun interrupted.
Lukas nodded.
“I didn’t do that. I thought it was my own responsibility, and above all, I didn’t want to forget the fact that I was human. Because only I could be responsible for my own actions.”
“…you are obsessed with humans.”
Yang In-hyun’s expression became strange.
“Humans are not a beautiful race.”
“I know that.”
“No, you don’t know. I’m not talking about duality or two-facedness. Humans are inherently ugly. They are the most disgusting, evil race.”
There was certainty in his quiet voice.
Humans were an inherently evil race. That was the answer Yang In-hyun had derived after a long period of pondering.
If that was the case, what was Lukas’ answer?
“…you’re probably right.”
“…”
“But they have the most colourful emotions in the Three Thousand Worlds. Even when they do something wrong, they may someday realise it and regret it. Then, they would learn to repent.
He heard Yang In-hyun suck in a breath.
He silently looked at Lukas for a while before opening his mouth.
“…is that the answer of the being who wanted to become the God of Humans?”
Lukas didn’t answer. They simply looked at each other.
After a while, Yang In-hyun took a few steps back. Then, after sheathing his sword, he cupped his hands politely.
“I didn’t know anything about you and yet I spoke carelessly. I apologise.”
He wasn’t speaking vainly or being sarcastic.
Yang In-hyun’s expression was serious, and his hand gestures were sincere.
“My thoughts are different, but I will respect yours as well. I also salute the thorny path you’ve taken.”
His tone also changed a bit.
Was it because he acknowledged Lukas? He wasn’t sure.
He didn’t have the time to dwell on it.
Yang In-hyun drew his sword again and took a stance. Seeing this, Lukas smiled.
Death.
He had felt its shadow numerous times in his long life, but this time, it felt like it was devouring his entire body.
“Everlasting Plum Sword, First Move, Martial Annihilation.”
Suddenly, a colourless flower bud appeared.
The bud was hazy like smoke, and it seemed like it would collapse with a touch, as though it was made from ashes.
But the moment the bud bloomed.
‘Ah…’
There was an explosion of light, creating a variety of colours like sunlight reflected off of a piece of glass. The scent of flowers that pierced his nose was enchanting. Lukas found himself standing in the middle of the most beautiful flower garden he’d ever seen in his life.
‘This is the end of the path of the sword.’
Lucid, Riki, Snow.
It was a state that all the Swordsmen he knew were aiming for.
“With this move, I erased the world of Murim.”
Swoosh!
With that voice, the scene disappeared as if it evaporated. The same was true for the scent of flowers. Everything he saw seemed fleeting like a midsummer night’s dream.
Through that, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
“…”
Jurk.
Blood dripped from Lukas’ lips.
Yang In-hyun, who looked down at him with a solemn gaze, asked.
“Do you have any last words?”
“…my party, there are two of them.”
“I know.”
“Please spare them.”
At those words, a bright smile appeared on Yang In-hyun’s face.
“One of them is an opponent I cannot face, but the other, I can accept that.”
“…thanks.”
Splatter!
Lukas’ chest cracked open and a fountain of blood gushed out. A few drops managed to splash onto Yang In-hyun’s face, but he did not wipe them away. Instead, he continued to look at Lukas with his solemn gaze before silently turning away and leaving.
—There was a boundary between day and night in this place.
Even though it was fake, the sun that lit the world went down and the entire area was shrouded in darkness.
It was around midnight when someone appeared in this place.
“…”
It was a woman with dark blue hair.
She poked Lukas with her foot.
“Uncle.”
“…”
“Hey! Are you dead?”
“…”
“Wow. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”
Pale squatted down and looked at Lukas in disappointment.
“That fight was really one-sided, ya know. It was really boring.”
“…”
“…or was it my expectations that were too high? It might have been too much for you to deal with one of the Twelve Imaginary Lords from the start.”
Huu.
Pale sighed awkwardly and straightened up again.
“In any case, you did well, Uncle. Sleep well. Bye.”
After the brief farewell, Pale turned around.
At first glance, no traces of regret were visible on her face.