The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 200



Only Krnovel

Episode 200. The Flame That Never Goes Out (6)

A past that is distant but vividly felt.

The girl sitting on the rock kicked and threw a tantrum. The man skillfully diverted her attention with a question.

“Then, according to the theory of main attributes according to personality, what attributes are suitable for me?”

The girl covered the record. There was no answer there. She gently closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

The hero is ‘light’, the priest is ‘water’, the shaman is ‘earth’, and she is ‘fire’. then… … What are the attributes that suit this man? What attribute best suits this warrior, who never gives up no matter what hardships he faces and who carries a heavier burden than anyone else to protect his comrades?

Lips falling after long deliberation.

“… … steel.”

“… … .”

“you… … “It’s steel, Khadim.”

The man’s eyes flickered vacantly. The girl’s story continued solemnly.

“You are the kind of person who, even after being tempered by thousands of pains and despairs and beaten by tens of thousands of trials, will not break, but instead will become stronger and more solid. Even if you spend a thousand years, you will never break and will firmly move forward on your own path. Also, depending on how you sharpen it, it can either be a sword that harms others indiscriminately, or a sturdy shield that protects those precious to you… .”

“… … That’s an interesting story.”

The man said that and left.

But the girl’s story did not stop. She recited a lonely monologue to the empty space left by the man who had left her side.

“however… … Do you know that, Kadim?”

Sagrada is a soul that shines brightly like a ember.

“If you want to make steel that won’t break for a thousand years, you must have an ‘unquenchable fire’ right next to it… … .”

*

A present that is close but doesn’t feel real.

The piece of paper the man was holding eventually burned and scattered in the flames of blood. The girl who had become a woman frowned bitterly, her eyes still fixed on the crack.

“Yeah, I didn’t even know it was Gale at first… … . He also looked very messed up… … Because you don’t even recognize me… … .”

While enduring the long years in hell, Melissa occasionally encountered dead people she knew.

Some of them were her own, but most were humans that Kadim had killed to end his misfortune. They were all suffering in terrible pain and longing for salvation. Since they were mostly evil people, and because she had a mission to kill demons and close the rift, Melissa did not bother to look at them.

But one day, in the deepest abyss of hell… …I came face to face with a person I simply could not ignore.

The central point of the group of heroes, Gale, is a hero who holds the holy sword after receiving a revelation to slay the great evil.

At first, I thought I was mistaken. There was no reason for him to fall into hell. But it was definitely Gale. That piece of meat being chewed and torn to pieces by the high-ranking demons who swarmed like dogs… … It was definitely their warrior who always encouraged the party and lit the way forward like a light.

“Those disgusting demons… … Even though I chased them away with hellfire and built a barrier like a mountain to block them, they somehow came back. Perhaps Gale’s pain and despair were the perfect delicacy for them. Moreover, the dead who fall into hell do not disappear when they die… … .”

“… … .”

“The demons kept coming endlessly, and I eventually reached my limit. For almost several years, I just watched helplessly… … as Gale was torn apart… … .”

The sight of a precious person dying remains a lifelong trauma even if you only see it once. Melissa watched the same scene she had already seen once, over and over again, tens of thousands of times. As a result, the spirit that had barely endured the extreme environment of hell was horribly broken.

Nevertheless, Melissa did not give up.

After confronting the power of high-ranking demons, sacrificing the spirits that had been with them, pouring in infinite mana, and struggling for hundreds of nights, they finally managed to rescue Gale. He didn’t care if the rescued person didn’t recognize him. All I could think about was going back to the rift and rescuing him from hell.

But the moment she reached the rift, Melissa’s hopes were dashed.

“Yes, the dead one… … “I couldn’t get out of that crack.”

“[…] … .]”

“Well, that’s ironic. Demons can easily escape with just that narrow balance, but innocent people can’t escape even with the center of uniformity… … . In the end, I left Gale alone… … “I was the only one who came back through the crack.”

Melissa gazes through the crack where her colleagues still remain.

The despair of that moment turned the main demon tower master into a high-ranking devil, and the woman who returned from hell into the tyrant of the Great Forest. For a moment, a faint lingering light flickered in her eyes, but then her strange appearance swept over him and covered him.

“But now I’ve found a solution. Yes, you just have to completely collapse the center of the crack.”

“[…] … .]”

“When the dead were taken out through the crack, something like a force field blocked it, but the wider the diameter of the force field, the weaker the force was distributed, right? “If the crack completely collapses and a huge void opens up, we will definitely be able to take Gale out there.”

“[…] … .]”

“But how did I manage to dry up that root and kill it…?” … If they bring it back to life like that… … .”

Kadim clenched his fists without saying a word. But before she could argue or take action, Melissa turned around and ripped her hair out.

“I know, I know. Yeah, I know that too… … . This, this, is something that shouldn’t be done.”

“[…] … .]”

“To make the whole world a hell just to save one person… … . This, this is as selfish as the devil… … ? I had such a hard time not being possessed by the devil while fighting the army of the great devil… … I can’t become a devil, a devil… … . Devils are too disgusting and horrible… … . Devils are what Khadim hates the most… … .”

“[…] … .]”

“But, isn’t it so strange in the first place…? Why, why is Gale in hell? What crime did a noble warrior, who tried to save the world, commit to hell? I, I don’t understand at all… What kind of sons of bitches are those celestial gods? What is the purpose of this world? Is it just a playground for the gods to play with us through some incomprehensible providence?”

“[…] … .]”

“so… … How is Gail doing these days? “Are you still doing well after having your body torn apart by demons?”

Kadim did not respond to the incoherent tirade. I only briefly answered the last question.

“[It became light.]”

“……what?”

“[I don’t know what it was, but it became a walking ball of light.]”

“… … .”

“[I guess I don’t have to worry about being torn apart by demons. Rather, I received help from Gail. “He calmed me down and got me out of hell when I was crazy.]”

Melissa stares blankly.

He let out a brief laugh as if it was absurd, but soon his eyes turned red and his throat began to tremble. Emotions that could not be expressed in words drew complex ripples across his face.

“The light, has become light… … . It has truly become light… … . Now… … it will not be tormented by demons… … .”

“[…] … .]”

“No, no, no… … Still, we have to save Gale quickly… … . We don’t know when the abyss demons will capture Gale again… … . We have to collapse the rift as soon as possible and get Gale out of hell… … .”

Kadim turned his head and let out a sigh of flame.

“[I agree with the idea that we should rescue Gale from Hell. I also agree with the idea that those heavenly gods are bastards. However, I find it difficult to agree with the idea that we should collapse the rift. Rather than taking out the countless demons of Hell along with them, shouldn’t we somehow find a way to save Gale alone?]”

“Kadim, me too, me too… … I looked it up. I guess I chose this extreme method without looking for other options… … ?”

“[I have to look further. They say that if you revive those roots, you can buy about 40 more years.]”

“shut up – !!! I’ve been looking for it for over 100 years already -!! “There is no other way than this -!!!”

Frequently -!!

Red, white, and black hellfires erupted along Noh Ho Sung’s path. But before Kadim could come forward and put them out, Melissa, panting heavily, put out the flames herself.

“Ugh, huff, I’m sorry… … I’m sorry, Kadim… … . This isn’t what I really mean… … .”

“[…] … .]”

“I, I, I don’t know, I thought I had burned to the ground, but somewhere deep inside, the fire was still burning… … . Even though I know I ruined everything because of it… … I still spread the flames as the fire tells me to… … .]”

“[…] … .]”

“And now, the fire… … Do you know what you are whispering to me, Kadim?”

I didn’t know. But, I found out right away.

Due to the reflected light reflected in the blank pupils and the heat pressing heavily down the spine.

―――――― Kufuuuuu – !!

――――――― Kuhuuu, kwagwagwa – !!

A meteor shower occurred.

Over a hundred rays of vast, burning lines mercilessly tore through the sky. The sky, which had shed the sunset and cast dusk, was stained with the bloodshed of road heat. A spectacle as if the Absolute had cut into the skin of the firmament with a flaming sword.

――――――― Kufuuuuuuu – !!

The trajectories of all the meteors were converging on one place: the World Tree.

“Hehehe… … Kill Hesilia… … . Just as I killed demons and raised my ‘level’, I want to kill the elf god and gain ‘divinity’… … . I want to become a new god and save my old comrades, and burn down this world that was wrong from its foundation… … .”

Kadim’s eyes opened wide.

“[What is that… ….]”

“Yeah, that’s right. This is, this is, nonsense… … . I, I don’t want to kill the god of the elves who came down to earth to look after the world… … . And yet, look, I already did it? With my power, with my will, I can no longer control this undying flame… … .”

“[…] … .]”

“The flame in my heart is like a flame lit by magic… … How great it would be if you could turn it off with a single wave of your hand… … .”

Melissa looked up at the sky covered with meteors.

The face, stained with blood, resembled a sky scratched by firetails. At first glance, she looks closer to a woman helplessly watching a catastrophe than to a great wizard who brought about the end with a devastating mystery.

――――――― Kuhuuu, kwagwagwa – !!

Soon, the most unwanted but most earnest wish flowed from my cracked lips.

“Kill me, Kadim.”

“[…] … .]”

“Now this flame is no different from myself. Hurry and kill me, and plunge this unquenchable flame into the fiery pits of hell. There is only one way to save the World Tree and prevent destruction… … .”

Silence sinking like a heap of ashes.

While the whole heaven and earth was burning, only the two people’s flames died out.

But it didn’t last long.

―――― Crumbling – !

Kadim lit up the flames again. The bloody flame, which reigned over all flames, gazed at the flames burning the world. He distorted the air with his ferocious heat and spoke with the intention of chewing up and swallowing even small pieces of fire.

“[Don’t die like that.]”

“… … .”

“[In that way, don’t burn like a moth in vain and die in the flames. That is the way of cowards who will fall into hell, where there is only defeat and submission. If the fire within you has ruined everything, then somehow extinguish that flame and face death, even if it means tearing your wings off on a rock and throwing your body into the mud.]”

The woman’s face was blank and blank. She couldn’t say anything, but her hands were shaking convulsively. Her mind had long since been broken by the helplessness she had learned through hundreds of years of hardship.

Self-blame is like an involuntary muscle. Even if I realize it’s not my fault, at some point it gets out of control.

The man closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and thought loudly.

“[Spit it out at me.]”

“… … uh?”

“[Spit it out to me, the fire inside you. The direction that fire should head is not towards the poor World Tree or this world. It is towards me, who broke my promise to stay by your side and left the fire behind.]”

“Well, what is that… … .”

“[So do your best, pour all your fire into me. I will bear the fire. I will devour that unquenchable fire. I will take the fire that has become one with your life, and I will carry the sins, anger, and regrets that the fire left behind.]”

“… … .”

“[… … I will close the rift, save Gale, and punish the absolutes who have toyed with your fate, Melissa.]”

The woman wavered and shook her head.

“Oh, no, Kadim… … . This is not your responsibility… … . This is not the flame you lit… … . It’s just that I’m stupid… … I was so stupid that I couldn’t turn it off in time… … It’s a fire that I couldn’t control alone… … .”

“[No, the fire is mine. It was ignited by me, and it could not be used properly because I left silently. The reason why that spark bloomed in the first place is… … .]”

“… … .”

“[… … In order to forge steel that will not break even after a thousand years, there must be an ‘unquenchable fire’ right next to it.]”

Melissa’s eyes widened.

For a moment, both of them felt their heartbeats going backwards.

A distant but vivid past. The ramblings that were left unheard, after so many years, finally return to the one who spoke them… … .

―――Kwarrrrrrrr – !!

… … There was no further respite.

Kadim held Atala’s judgment firmly in his hands. The scarlet flames of blood spread fiercely along the embers. The resonating affirmations in the majestic flames echoed breathlessly.

“[I said it before, but I’ll say it again… … .]”

“… … .”

“[…] … Strike with all your might, Melissa.]”

Melissa stared intently at the man in front of her, lost in her bitter aftertaste.

Yeah, I knew it.

That was exactly what it looked like.

That was the true face of the man she remembered.

A figure that does not break even after being pickled in thousands of pains and despairs. A figure that does not break even after being beaten by tens of thousands of trials. A figure that stubbornly stands up and fights no matter what hardships one experiences. A figure that always carries heavy burdens that are the share of others and burns one’s own body without sparing anything in order to protect those who are precious to one another.

Melissa closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and focused her mind. She gathered all her mana and turned it in the direction of all the meteors that were pouring down on the World Tree.

――――――― Kufuuuuuu – !!

――――――― Kuhuuu, kwagwagwa – !!

And finally, he opened his fiery eyes straight and faced the warrior who had been approaching him for 300 years, which felt like an eon.

“[Uuuuuuuup – !!!]”

come.

come.

Even if I close my eyes and fall into a distant dream, I can’t erase it,

Even if you wander through hell swallowing blood, it doesn’t disappear,

Even if my soul burns to ashes, I will never forget it.

I remember,

I loved.

A warrior of steel that will not be broken even after a thousand years.

Now, I am no longer a coward who has taken over the whole world.

Become a flame that burns only for you,

Becoming a spark that permeates steel that will endure for eons,

Become the seed of a flame that will never go out forever.

The last chapter of a life marred by misplaced waiting,

With the flames of my heart beating so fiercely,

I will write it down in the most passionate way, without leaving a single trace.

―――――――― Kwakwakwakwakwang – !!

―――――――――― Kwakwakwakwakwang – !!

A falling meteor shower, a blazing new star leaping above the ravaging earth.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The ax blade, engulfed in blood flames, cut deeply into his chest.

The book he was holding in his arms crumbled, and drops of red blood scattered like fallen flowers.

“… … “Kadim.”

The girl magician put an end to the record of her strange journey where she met a man by chance with a faint smile.