Chapter 219: From Now On, I Will Put an End to Everything (1)
Imperial Year 378, August 3rd.
I’ve read a few fantasy novels about the end of the world. The publishing house that our Dukedom used to sponsor also published one, and it was quite popular.
The worlds that people imagined ending were all the same, even though the process was different.
Only those groaning in despair and pain, screaming because they can’t die.
“M, Mother……!”
The moan of a soldier calling for his family with blurred eyes.
“Ugh! Ugh! Huuugh!”
Screams of those trying to push the pain out of their bodies, but suffering even more pain in the process.
“Haa……! Ugh! Ha, Haa!”
The tenacious endurance of those who endure the peak of pain after holding it in, take a breath, and then exhale again.
The day is damn sunny, but a heavy darkness seems to be cast over our camp.
Only the sounds of those unable to bear the pain, trying to endure, and enduring, flow from all directions like the sound of the wind.
A terrible fever.
A horrible pain that makes it impossible to move, no matter what happens, gnaws at the whole body, and heats up the whole body even more under the hot sun.
The mind becomes more and more hazy, but I can’t pass out. Fainting or losing consciousness would be a blessing. Both humans and animals groan under the terrible heat boiling throughout their bodies.
Namias and the other military priests are diligently casting Divine Barriers around and treating the patients, but even the blessings of the gods seem to be weakening. Or maybe it’s because there are too many people.
My colleagues and I were treated first, but this is only a temporary measure. As long as we are subject to the law that everything in the world must fall ill, there is no way to avoid this.
If we were attacked at a time like this, we would surely die, but even the Imperial Army could not escape the signs of the end of the world.
This disease is as persistent as the fact that people have to breathe. A soldier who was treated yesterday feels chills that same day, and then gets sick again this morning.
Those who were not sick or who received treatment that day quickly moved to help the rest, and those who could move even a little, moved somehow.
How could we avoid the ridiculous situation of hundreds of thousands of troops all starving to death from fever?
The Guard, in particular, surprised me because they only felt a slight chill and didn’t get sick.
Perhaps it’s a bloodline issue. Both I and they are descendants of the demon race that is said to have existed in the past. Especially in my case, my mother was a pureblood, right? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever been sick much.
As a test, I refused Namias’ treatment this morning, and as a result, I realized that I wasn’t getting sick either. In the same context, Aila also inherited my bloodline, so she didn’t seem to be in bad shape.
Except for these few, now that the nightmare has crossed the boundary between dream and reality and has heavily descended, any positive thought is nothing but a luxury.
I looked at the sky of the Imperial Capital, which looked like red glass powder being blown into the sky, and then opened my mouth.
“8 days left, huh?”
“Maybe even less. I didn’t think he would complete the ritual so early.”
“Then how much is left?”
“I’d say 5 days. After that, even if you kill that bastard over there, it’s already spilled water.”
Aila gnawed on her thumbnail. It was a sight that anyone could tell she was anxious. Among the people around me, only she, Kun, and Namias could move properly.
Levidian, especially, showed a somewhat weak side in these matters. She was enduring the pain with iron-like patience, but every time I saw her groaning with her body like a ball of fire, my heart broke.
“The wounded are also a problem. There’s no way that those who are already injured can endure this fever. If there are any, it’ll only be those with really tenacious lives.”
“Seeing only groans overflowing makes me think the world is really going to end.”
“It really will end, in 5 days.”
I want to cover my ears. The sight of people hallucinating and waving their hands in madness, those desperately calling for their families, friends, and lovers, those trying to endure everything with groans, those whose rough breathing is the only sign they are alive.
I can hear the sounds. Their screams, screaming because they can’t die, are etched in my ears.
Damn it. Did it have to come to this? Artshever!
“Artshever won’t get sick either, will he?”
“Because he’s you. Namias said so. This fever has a lot of similarities with the plague that bastard spread using demons in the past. Of course, it doesn’t whisper the secrets of the world, but it’s a pretty similar disease.”
“So he went into practice after going through rehearsals? Tsk. This kind of joke isn’t funny.”
Laughter disappeared from everyone’s faces since yesterday. Who can laugh in a place where everyone is groaning? If there is someone who can laugh, something must be wrong with their mind.
Aila let out a sigh that could be a lament.
“There’s only one way left.”
“Yeah. In the end, there’s only one.”
She and I simultaneously looked at the center of the Imperial Capital, the Imperial Palace, where red particles were constantly rising.
We have to go there.
I said,
“We’ll go to the Imperial Capital gates at high speed and quickly get over them. The inner castle will probably be open. For quick support and retreat. If we run straight to the Imperial Palace past that, all that’s left is the final battle with Artshever.”
“But will the Imperial Army just let it be? There are quite a few people in relatively good condition there as well, right? If we go right now, at least five thousand of them will be able to move. We would have a few thousand more on our side. But the moment they take up arms, Imperial Army or Kingdom Army, they all die. It’s an extreme scenario, but that’s how it is.”
Right now, a ridiculous situation is unfolding where the medic is receiving care.
In a place where a devil would feel right at home, telling those who should be providing care to fight is tantamount to declaring that everyone will die.
“Then what should we do?”
“You choose. I’ll follow your will. One, we go as we are and confront Artshever. Two, we watch the world’s destruction unfold as we are. Three, we wait, standing on the precipice.”
“The first and second options aren’t even worth considering. So, explain the third option?”
Normally, this would have been a moment for laughter, but Aila’s face was as pale as a wax doll. She spoke with a hardened expression.
“It’s a rather cruel method for one that avoids despair. Even those who can barely move now will be unable to move in about four days. At that time, those who are still healthy will quickly settle things with Artshever. Most likely, this fever will disappear the moment the ritual is canceled. Since the world won’t be destroyed, the signs, the cause, will be nullified. So, the idea is to wait until the very last moment.”
“But if that happens……”
I understood the meaning behind her pale face. She nodded.
“The number of victims from the fever will increase. Not only here, but countless people across the continent will die.”
We also received contact from Baekslan, the capital of the Herduke Kingdom. Everyone is suffering from the fever. This means that the entire continent is boiling over with fever.
In this situation, the third method Aila mentioned is the most cruel method. It’s a way to sacrifice countless unspecified people for my convenience.
If we attack the Imperial Capital right now, the battle will probably continue for at least two days. I can’t guarantee that we will safely escape the Imperial Army’s camp, which is heavily deployed there, at high speed.
In those two days, even those who can move will get the fever, and countless others who need their help will groan with the fever and die.
Considering the disaster that has spread across the continent, we need to resolve this quickly, even if it means resorting to such measures. But there is also a way to minimize casualties.
Aila is saying this. That I am the only one who can kill Artshever, and I am the one who holds the key to solving this.
So the choice is in my hands.
My fingertips tremble. My chest boils. It’s a painful dilemma. My head pounds. My heavy breathing bothers my ears.
I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it, shook my head, then closed my mouth again.
And then I said,
“If I die this time…… surely hell will be waiting for me instead of a third life. I will put an end to this damn war in four days!”
In the end, I chose the third method. We need to preserve our strength as much as possible. Not only me, but my friends must not be hurt either. At least during that remaining time, people will be able to receive care from others.
And they will also writhe in pain for that long.
Damn it. Even if I die and go to hell, I have nothing to say.
I turned my back on the Imperial Capital. And I walked towards the groaning barracks, leaving Aila behind.
Aila said,
“It’s okay. I don’t intend to just leave the decision to you and avoid responsibility. If you go to hell……”
I turned my head.
She was smiling faintly.
“I’ll go too, Dad.”
I smiled faintly for the first time in two days.
I guess I won’t be bored even in hell.
Not only in hell, but also in this world, I wouldn’t be bored, but I couldn’t laugh. The current reality was already hell, and it was falling into a bottomless pit.
Whose will is this?
Mine, or Artshever’s?
There is no time to think. I gritted my teeth and raised my sword again, shouting,
“I am here―!”
Proof of one’s existence. The act of revealing oneself. Something that is only mine, that no one else can take away. I shouted it.
“Arisein Pen Herduke is here―!”
At the same time, I struck the neck of a charging soldier. The sword that had become one with Bran디오네 easily sliced through the soldier’s neck, and a fountain of blood gushed from the headless body.
Hot drops of blood splashed on my face. It was the blood of the Imperial Army.
We decided to endure for a few more days and resolve this situation, but that was just my thought. It seems Artshever, or at least the Imperial Army, had no intention of doing so.
Before the sun even set on the western mountains, the Imperial Army launched a surprise attack.
We had prepared for the possibility, so we were able to barely prevent the indiscriminate massacre by the Imperial Army. However, the five thousand cavalry trampled our forces at a terrifying speed.
Those bastards! Are they trying to attack the enemy while they still have strength left!
“I am here―!”
I shouted again.
We need to concentrate our attacks. We need to buy time to retreat somehow.
The background of the situation was obvious anyway.
In the Imperial Capital, there is the Great Temple of Achuni, the state religion of the Empire, and a huge number of priests.
High Priest Damachi Ir, who was appointed a few years ago, decided to close the temple doors and not participate in the war, but we could also force our way in.
They would treat the soldiers with the priests they forcibly mobilized. And then charge.
It was an act of the Imperial power ignoring the religious power, but the emergency situation of wartime and the threats that were probably made to the priests would have made the impossible possible.
Seeing that both the men and horses are all lively, this much can be easily guessed.
Gathering all those who can fight will only increase the casualties. We can stop them, but there will be devastating losses.
In the end, I stepped forward. I, Aila, and 1,500 Grenoians stepped forward to actively participate in the defense. Meanwhile, the twilight retreat began, with the entire army withdrawing.
The footsteps of the Kingdom Army, desperately trying to move and escape, are desperate but slow. They are ridiculously slow compared to the Imperial cavalry charging from behind with spears in their hands.
A spear pierces the chest of a sick soldier and protrudes out. The soldier shudders and then collapses.
As the blood dripping from the soldier’s mouth falls to the ground, I jump with a roar.
A scream that feels like it will tear my throat. And my sword cuts through the cavalryman’s waist. A small, scraping sound. The Imperial cavalryman will probably die before his upper body hits the ground.
“I am here―! Arisein Pen Herduke is here―!”
I shout.
To draw as many Imperial soldiers to me as possible. So that as many soldiers as possible can escape.
Run. Run!
Move your legs!
Run away!
But my wish is easily trampled. Like a wildflower carelessly trampled on while running, it is torn to shreds and crushed without receiving any attention.
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