abcnovels
Chapter 20
Chapter 20
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
Chapter 20
The path between the blade-filled cliffs.
Baekya advanced, his hardened body shattering every blade in his path.
Clang!
Another blade shattered and fell.
'Talking about judgment and all that nonsense.'
The gap narrowed further.
The walls were rough and abrasive, as if he had entered a car wash with glass sandpaper instead of bristles.
'A demon who came to collect human suffering and despair.'
Baekya pushed his body into the tight space without hesitation.
'I refuse this gore story. I won't even give it a second of playback.'
Scrape!
The glass-shard-filled walls couldn't penetrate Baekya's white skin; instead, they were smoothly shaved away like mashed potatoes.
This was Baekya, who had climbed to the 20th floor alone, burning the Tower's rules with Law of Light.
The finale story of a mere low-level Gate like this— in the past, he wouldn't have even bothered reading it before incinerating it.
The notification window frantically displayed messages, seemingly flustered.
?Notice from the Valley of Bankruptcy?
?Using skills or other means to circumvent the challenges will not be considered as completing the Road to Judgment!?
?Release Hardening!?
Baekya waved the message away from his vision as if shooing a fly.
Finally, thick blades emerged from the narrow gap.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several blades blocked the path between the cliffs like iron bars.
'Should I break them?'
It wasn't meant to inflict pain; it was meant to completely block the path.
Another sadistic notification appeared.
?If you remain in one place for more than 60 seconds, the Road to Judgment process will end, and the second subject of judgment will be summoned.?
?59?
?58?
'Damn it. Time...'
'Should I use the Law of Light? No. My mana is already low from fighting the rock golem. I need to conserve it until at least I reach the core.'
Baekya glanced back briefly.
At this distance, Wolha probably couldn't see him clearly.
He looked up at the blood-red sky visible through the cracks.
Its intentions were obvious.
'You want us to play along with your story, don't you? You want us to fight amongst ourselves, to struggle and fail on this path, and to despair.'
But Baekya had never once played along with such obvious intentions.
He was the Sun of Humanity.
The Pinnacle of the Era.
The Chosen One.
The one who had reached the peak of this world.
'I decide how I ascend. I decide what story I’ll write. Anytime, anywhere!'
Ignoring the notification, he used a skill.
?Form of Fire?
Baekya's body flickered, transforming into flames.
He meticulously controlled his mana, maintaining a human form.
Even from behind, it was impossible to tell that he was using Form of Fire.
'If Wolha finds out about it, he’d never let it go.'
Sizzle.
Baekya moved forward with his feet not even touching the ground.
'Let's go.'
Clunk!
The blades, both the ones blocking the path and the countless others beyond, raked against him, but they only left white scars on his burning form.
The more notifications popped up, the more certain he became that this method was working.
?Deactivate your skill!?
The distant other side was now visible.
The gap between the cliffs was too narrow to pass through, even without the blades.
'I knew it. Well, at least there is another side.'
Within the space beyond the fence of spear-like blades, he saw...
["You."]
["What have you done?"]
["You ruined everything!"]
A demon with four blade-adorned arms and red skin pointed at Baekya.
?The Lesser Demon of Pain (B-) shows strong hostility towards you.?
Baekya scoffed at the demon and passed through the final gap between the spear-like blades.
"I ruined everything? That's impossible."
His fiery body was covered in white scars from the blades.
["I'll kill you a hundred times over… I'll make you wander this hell forever…"]
"I fight for my country and my dreams. So I'll always be right, and you'll always be wrong."
The androgynous demon swung all four of its blades at once.
Slash!
Instead of dodging, Baekya used a skill.
?Explosive Recovery?
BOOM!
The power of Explosive Recovery was proportional to the number and severity of his wounds.
And Baekya's entire body was horribly mangled.
?Titles: Demon Slayer, Flame of Destruction, Bringer of Dawn... are activated.?
Thanks to various titles and traits he possessed, the already powerful skill amplified several times over.
FWOOSH!
Fierce flames erupted from the countless wounds all over his body.
The Demon of Pain's eyes widened in shock.
["Wait...!"]
BOOM!
The explosion filled the space between the cliffs.
?"That was a decent finish. Explosive endings are always reliable. The more gruesome the setting, the more satisfying it is."?
?Your Constellation, 'Sunny,' gives you a high-five.?
?You have defeated the Lesser Demon of Pain (B-).?
?You have acquired the Demon's (B-) Spirit Core.?
?You have been granted the traits 'Painless' and 'Indomitable Will.' You will no longer flinch from pain.?
?Finale Story: Valley of Bankruptcy, The Road to Judgment has ended.?
?You have been rewarded with a Certificate of Pardon (Masterpiece). The Certificate of Pardon nullifies Condition-type status effects.?
?You have used 'Form of Fire' with exceptional control. 'Form of Fire' has now evolved into 'Flame Dance.' You can now maintain a clear human form even while transformed into flames.?
?Explosive Recovery used 10,000 times! You have been awarded 1,000,000 Achievement Points. The power of Explosive Recovery has increased by 250%.?
Reward notifications filled one side of his vision.
Baekya first secured the Certificate of Pardon, which nullified Condition-type status effects.
It was a document written on high-quality paper with gold-infused ink and stamped with a red seal.
?I, Luciella, guarantee to all who possess this Certificate of Pardon (Masterpiece) the freedom to escape from any condition.?
'This will be useful until I regain my strength.'
He placed the demon's Spirit Core, along with the Certificate of Pardon, into his subspace ring.
He could incinerate it with Law of Light to absorb its mana, or he could use it for various other purposes.
He didn't pay much attention to the traits 'Painless' and 'Indomitable Will,' or the new skill 'Flame Dance.'
After all, this was Baekya, who had stood at the pinnacle of pyromancy and obtained Law of Light after trying everything imaginable.
'If I act on my will, that itself becomes a skill.'
That's how Baekya sorted through his rewards.
Finally, he looked at the core of the crack dungeon, embedded halfway up the cliff.
A crimson orb lodged in a rock wall that looked like flesh with bulging veins.
From the beginning, he had endured all this hardship to incinerate that core with Law of Light and absorb its mana.
Now, for the sake of the injured, he had to burn it with Law of Light.
He had to make sure that their injuries disappeared as if they had never happened in the first place.
* * *
The Hunter from the Sun and Moon Divine Guild and the official from the Gate Management Department in Korea (GMDK) arrived at the scene an hour later.
Unfortunately, the rift had opened right in the middle of the highway, paralyzing traffic in the area.
They had been delayed while arranging for a helicopter.
'This is bad.'
'It's a Judgment-type story, who knows how many casualties there might be.'
The Divine Guild’s Hunter, clad in a pristine white robe adorned with a white sun and a black moon, and the GMDK Hunter, wearing a combat uniform with the GMDK insignia, jumped out of the helicopter without even bothering with ropes.
There had been reports of a few Awakened being pulled into the Gate, but statistically speaking, they were most likely just porter-level Awakened.
It would be fortunate enough if they didn't cause more trouble than they were worth.
Such issues were very common with low-ranked Awakened in Gates.
They are looked down upon in the Awakened society, but to ordinary people, they are still superhuman.
The Divine Guild and GMDK Hunters braced themselves for the sight of bloodied victims.
"They're here!"
"They’ve arrived?"
However, the scene on the overpass was completely different from what they had expected.
On the shoulder of the road, women and children were huddled together under blankets.
"Thank goodness."
"Did that person leave? I wanted to express my gratitude."
"I think he looked like someone famous."
Some men had parked their cars close to the side of the road and were even taking it upon themselves to control traffic with tripods and safety cones.
There was no laughter, given the ordeal they had just experienced, but everyone's faces showed deep relief.
The GMDK official asked the taxi driver, who had just moved his doorless taxi to the side,
"Wasn't there a Gate Break?"
"Yes, there was."
"But how..."
"The Awakened person I was driving was around C-Rank. At first, I thought I was going to die, but then he just stepped up and..."
The two Hunters listened intently to the taxi driver's story.
'It isn’t a joke, is it?'
'It was a dangerous situation.'
It was an incredibly dangerous dungeon, considering that a normal clear was impossible from the start.
Hundreds of people could have been trapped in that hell forever, suffering endlessly.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
"Would it be possible to get his contact information?" the GMDK official asked the taxi driver.
The taxi driver turned to him, puzzled.
"Excuse me? His contact information, why...?"
"The government would like to give him a reward."
"Ah."
A moment later, the Divine Guild’s Hunter also spoke up.
"The Sun and Moon Divine Guild would also like to offer him a reward."
The two Hunters looked at each other, raising their eyebrows.
'It's a government reward. No ulterior motives!'
'I know you'll try to scout him while saying that. Don't even think about exploiting his patriotism for cheap labor!'
The taxi driver simply smiled.
"He already gave me a large sum of money as compensation for breaking my taxi door when he escaped, so hearing this puts my mind at ease."
That day's events even made it onto the news.
[Seoul Overpass Gate Resolved by an Unknown 'Good Samaritan']
Naturally, it also became a hot topic on the Awakened community, 'Chatter of the Stars.'
[So, does anyone know who it was?]
[If they solo cleared that, they should be at least C+ to B- Rank.]
[I heard they might even be a porter?]
[? Why the hell do these guys always have to downplay Awakened who were porters?]
[? Who cares about their background? They walked that blade-filled path, enduring the pain.]
[And in the end, they even destroyed the Gate's core cleanly, healing everyone's injuries. They could have made a fortune selling that core, they must be a really good person.]
The sentiment leaned towards praising the hero.
The direction shifted slightly when a notable user, with a High-Ranker verification mark next to their ID, appeared.
Anonymous (A) [Their injuries disappeared?]
[Whoa! An A-Rank, hyungnim?]
[It's a Ranker!]
[Welcome!]
[Yes! I was on the support team and saw it myself. I even interviewed people.]
Anonymous (A) [That doesn't usually happen, does it?]
[Huh?]
Anonymous (A) [The only way everyone's injuries disappear when a Gate closes is through Baekya-nim's Law of Light. He's been so active that it's become a common knowledge in Korea, but people are misunderstanding.]
[I'm sorry! I don't understand.]
Anonymous (A) [Really strong curses sometimes dissipate on their own when the medium or caster disappears. But most of them remain. If the knife that cut me breaks, my wound doesn't just disappear, now does it?]
[???]
[Am I the only one freaking out right now?]
Anonymous (A) [Well, maybe that Gate was special.]
Anonymous (A) [Or maybe that Hunter awakened a similar ability to his.]
* * *
Baekya and Wolha's house.
In the room.
I sat at my desk, lost in thought.
I messed up.
I was in the middle of reading a heated thread on 'Chatter of the Stars.'
I just did what I always do, out of habit.
For someone like me who can absorb mana with Law of Light, it was more beneficial to absorb the rift's core than to sell it.
"Maybe he's actually still alive?"
"It would be awesome if the whole death thing was just a hilarious prank."
"Maybe that's why the GMDK hasn't made an announcement yet, that would be epic."
I read a few comments aloud in a low voice before turning off my smartphone screen.
"..."
Anyway, I have no regrets.
If I hadn't used Law of Light, countless people would have been seriously injured or killed.
I'd do it again if the same situation arose.
But I also realized that I need to be more cautious from now on.
Those self-proclaimed... Yeah, those self-proclaimed regressors didn't care that I had saved the Earth and my country countless times.
They killed me once.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door.
"Bro. Here. I wore it well."
Wolha handed me the crystal coat.
I expected him to ask where I got it.
But Wolha simply said,
"Thank you."
He looked at me with those sincere eyes, filled with the belief that I would tell him everything someday.
"I was just being a good older brother for once. Get some rest, you must be tired. It's damn hard to come home everyday."
Wolha left, taking the crystal coat with him.
Ding.
I checked the new text message on my phone.
It was from the Sun and Moon Divine Guild.
Reward or compensation, I'll take it.
Tomorrow, I can finally launder the cash in my inventory.
From now on, I'll be grilling steak every day.
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]