Chapter 688
The symbol of the North’s victory.
From far beyond the mountain range, a black arrow came flying. It leapt over the peaks in an instant.
Puuuuuck!
It struck squarely into the center of the Fourth’s chest.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The force of the arrow sent the Fourth’s body crashing through the city’s buildings, endlessly driving it backward. He tried to stop himself with his remaining leg, but no brakes were working.
[Krrgh!]
The Fourth hurriedly turned his head.
Right behind him, the Grand Duke’s castle loomed.
[Noooo!]
Crunch!
A dreadful sound shook the air.
The fortress walls, built from alloy, bent and caved in. The black arrow pierced through them, impaling the Fourth’s Core as it entered.
The black storm the Fourth had maintained died down, and the surrounding undead, having lost their master, reverted to mere corpses.
“The Fourth, the Fourth is!”
“He’s dead!”
Uwaaaaaahhhh!
A colossal cheer swept over Bilkenos.
“Long live the Grand Duke!”
“Long live Ursula!”
Everyone roared in jubilation.
The northern warriors rushed with worried eyes toward the fallen Kamibarez.
“...Thank goodness.”
With blurred vision, Kamibarez gazed up at the sky.
“Stay strong, Simon.”
Fwoooooosh!
Dust surged through the air. With her long hair whipping in the wind, the Grand Duke lowered the hand that held the Bow of Tempest.
“Did I hit him?”
Exhausted, she tilted her head back to endure the fatigue.
The fierce snowstorm that had raged so bitterly was fading, replaced by pale sleet drifting down.
“There are no other variables. Now it’s all in your hands, Simon.”
* * *
Simon and Feer were descending deep into the newly revealed Abyss.
But in this Abyss, the attacks of the undead were rare. Simon tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“There are hardly any undead. Could this place be empty too?”
[Krrh-huh! On the contrary, I think the chances it’s a jackpot are higher.]
No one had cleared the way in advance, yet there hadn’t been a single attack on their descent. The few undead they encountered stood frozen in place, broken like faulty machines.
As if the North Star itself were telling them to come down.
Simon willingly went lower.
Tap.
His feet touched the ground. Raising the Greatsword of Destruction, Simon walked along the veins that stretched throughout the Abyss.
‘Found it.’
Like the first time he entered the Abyss, there was a red membrane of blood.
And beyond it, he felt a chilling Darkness unlike anything he had sensed before, a Darkness that prickled his very skin.
Simon swallowed hard, throat bobbing. He pushed aside the membrane and stepped forward.
‘!’
He froze at the sight before his eyes.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
Countless biological tissues pulsed like beating hearts. Veins sprouted everywhere, endlessly transporting blood, Darkness, and nutrients into the organs, spreading throughout the Abyss.
It looked like a fully restored version of the ruined Abyss he had once visited with the Grand Duke. But if that had been a broken factory, this one was running.
And at the center of this bio-facility stood a throne, grotesquely covered with veins. Upon it, something was seated.
‘Could that be……!’
At first, he thought it was human, but it wasn’t.
Tall and gaunt, its body was encased in a white exoskeleton of bone, like armor. In the middle of its chest was an eye like that of a monster, veins snaking out from around it.
Its head was also armored by the exoskeleton, and within, his face was marked with strange curved ridges. The chin was long, the muzzle protruding.
It looked like a being from another world.
‘That’s supposed to be the North Star?’
The Darkness radiating from it was the closest Simon had ever felt to the very ‘source’ of the blackness that pervaded the Abyss and the North Star’s undead.
Yet its appearance was different from the descriptions the Grand Dukes had always given of the North Star.
[So, you’ve come.]
The creature’s eye flared as it noticed Simon.
[The son of Yona.]
The figure on the throne of veins rose. Overwhelming Darkness flooded the space.
Simon’s eyes narrowed, lids heavy.
‘What did it just say? The son of Yona?’
[Even seeing you with my own eyes, it’s hard to believe.]
Then Feer’s voice groaned in disbelief.
[Impossible, utterly impossible. How are you here?!]
From Feer’s thoughts, Simon felt immense shock and confusion. It was the first time Feer, usually calm, had been so shaken.
[General of the Selgui Unit, Xairos!]
At that, goosebumps erupted all over Simon’s body.
A General?
The North Star that had tormented the North for over a thousand years was actually an Ancient Undead of the 7th Legion?
[It’s been a long time, Feer.]
Xairos’s eyes gleamed. Clearly, the two undead were old acquaintances.
Simon’s head spun with confusion.
“Wait, Feer! Xairos is……!”
[Yes.]
Feer’s voice dropped low.
[The very Ancient Undead Richard ordered to guard the North.]
Over twenty years ago, the day Richard had met the young Grand Duke.
—I’ll annihilate the North Star’s forces right now. For the next five years they won’t move an inch. I’ll even leave behind one of my Ancient Undead. But it will protect you for only five years.
Richard had promised Jin Arskalt, the young Grand Duke who had just lost her father, that he would protect the North for five years.
And the Ancient Undead assigned to that role was none other than Xairos.
[Why are you here! You were supposed to have fought the North Star and……!]
[Fought and died. That’s what humans believe, isn’t it?]
Darkness flickered from Xairos’ hand, and in response the biological organs in the Abyss pulsed harder.
[But the opposite is true. I went beyond Lord Yona’s orders to defend the North. I alone slew the North Star, and implanted its power into myself!]
He slowly turned.
On his back were grafted the pulsating organs of the North Star. Horrific eyes rolled and shifted, staring at them.
[Now, I am the new North Star.]
Puuk!
Thud!
All around, organs ruptured, spilling out freshly mutated undead, drenched in fluid, crawling forth.
Their wails echoed throughout the chamber.
[You betrayed the Legion Commander, Xairos!]
Feer shouted.
[Betrayal?]
In an instant, Xairos’ eyes flashed with menace. Darkness gathered on his arm, instantly forming a greatsword over seven meters long.
[The one who betrayed first, was Lord Yona’s side!]
Xairos moved.
‘Fast!’
Simon gasped in shock as he swung the greatsword.
Kkaaaaaaang!
With a thunderous crash, Simon’s body was driven backward. A tingling sensation ran through his fingertips, his pupils trembled. Just one clash of blades, and he realized.
‘This bastard! He’s absurdly strong!’
They had said the North Star had no combat ability.
What a ridiculous lie.
Kkaaaang!
Kkang!
Kkang!
Compared to the Three Brothers, who were supposed to be the sum of the North Star’s combat power, Xairos was incomparably stronger.
“Khck!”
Simon staggered, the Greatsword of Destruction frozen solid with frost.
[Be careful, boy! If you come into direct contact with Xairos’ cold, it’s dangerous!]
And it was exactly as said.
Not only did the Greatsword of Destruction grow heavier, but the transmission rate of Darkness plummeted. Simon clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the hilt.
‘Please, sword!’
Srrrkkkk!
The greatsword darkened into a murky green, venom dripping to coat the blade. At the same time, it extended to match the length of Xairos’ sword.
“Haaah!”
Simon and Xairos swung their swords at once, trails of green and blue colliding.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Thunderous blasts erupted.
Liquids and gases collided one after another, sparks flying as green and blue froze and melted against each other.
[Far below expectations.]
Xairos easily batted Simon’s greatsword aside and advanced, slamming Simon with his free hand.
Kwaaaang!
Simon went flying, smashing into the Abyss wall. “Khk!” Blood spattered from his lips.
[Boy!]
[Is he truly that one’s son? Hard to believe. You cannot replace Lord Yona.]
Xairos dispersed his frost-forged blade into thin air, then made a gesture as if to sit.
Grrrk!
From the empty floor of the Abyss, veins rose up and shaped themselves into a throne. As soon as he sat down, the North Star’s power surged forth, and hundreds of tentacles with eyes writhed from walls, ceiling, and floor alike.
[If I kill the son—]
Seated on the throne, he raised his arm.
[Lord Yona will not be able to resist coming here himself. Am I wrong?]
Kwaaaaarrrrk!
Grrrk!
At his gesture, the tentacles lashed out, undead swarming in.
“From the beginning!”
Kwaaak!
Simon stomped the ground and twisted his waist.
“What nonsense are you spewing!”
Shhhhhhhaaaaaaaak!
With all his might, he thrust his greatsword. A silver slash carved through tentacles and undead alike, but Xairos raised his arm from the throne. The ground lifted like a wall to block the attack.
“Explain properly! Why do you say my father is a traitor! What do you mean by luring him to the North by killing me!”
Simon gripped the greatsword tight, pointing it toward Xairos.
“Is it all revenge against my father?”
Xairos rested his elbows on the throne, clasped his hands, and propped his chin.
[Do I need to answer?]
“You do.”
Simon’s voice was cold.
“I am Simon Follentia, son of Richard Follentia. At the same time, I am the current 7th Legion Commander. If you belonged to my father—”
Simon’s eyes gleamed.
“Then you belong to me.”
[Hahahahahaha!]
Xairos shook with laughter.
[All you inherited was his blood, and yet you are so arrogant! A wretch, with revolting blood mixed in besides!]
“I’m not just speaking empty words.”
Simon growled low.
“If it is my father’s legacy, then I will claim it. Just as naturally, I will bear my father’s sins as well.”
[The son cannot possibly replace him! You are not even a speck of Lord Yona!]
Xairos raised his arm again, the power of the North Star manifesting.
[The only one I want, is Lord Yona!]
Shhhhhhhk!
Shhhhhhhk!
Countless tentacles surged, undead appearing all around.
[If the mind of an Ancient Undead is distorted, dialogue is meaningless by default. Boy!]
Feer’s voice echoed.
‘But the one who deals with such Ancient Undead, is the Legion Commander. I must succeed.’
[Krrh-huh! Judging by the state he’s in, though Xairos claims to be the North Star, I think he is nearly under the North Star’s control himself.]
‘Yes.’
Simon pulled the Greatsword of Destruction close.
There were two objectives.
‘I will take Xairos, and liberate the North.’
He declared boldly, but Simon was reaching his limit.
He had burned too much Darkness and stamina getting here. He hadn’t slept properly, only camped in the freezing weather, exhaustion piling up.
And now, Xairos, having gained the North Star’s power, was an opponent far too much for Simon alone.
He admitted as much.
Wooong!
Simon opened subspace.
At last, his ultimate weapon, saved until the very end.
Flaaap!
Xairos’ expression twisted into a vicious snarl.
In his right hand Simon gripped the Greatsword of Destruction, in his left the Golden Flag, lowering his stance.
“No more time. We end this here, Xairos.”
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