Chapter 303

Chapter 303
Chapter 303

—

Wish

The landscape was a marsh of subconscious reflections. Yet, a shift had occurred since the last time; a solitary beam of radiance—a brilliant glow—was cascading from above. Even though it was merely a single streak of light, the environment no longer felt freezing, desolate, or shrouded in shadows.

“Where are you heading?”

I called out to the figure walking a great distance ahead of me. Despite my shout, he did not pause. He simply kept marching toward the silent illumination.

“You stubborn bastard. If you just walk away like this, what am I supposed to do?”

Our journey reached its zenith only because we were a pair. Had I been solitary, this destination would have remained out of reach. It was entirely because of him that I gained freedom from the Gods of Ill-Omen and Ash, scaled the Tower of the War God, and overcame the other Randolph. Because of that, I was finally able to ‘be’ whole.

He had remained by my side, quiet and resolute. He had wielded his blade without ever faltering.

“Wilhelm!”

…It was because Wilhelm was there that the ‘me’ of this moment could exist.

Squelch.

Taking a step forward, my foot became trapped in the dense, heavy sludge of the marsh. I struggled to force another stride. Then another, and another. Yet, advancing was not as simple as I imagined. No matter how much effort I exerted, it felt as if I were stationary.

‘Damn it.’

I gnawed at my lip. While Wilhelm moved with perfect ease, I remained mired in the muck. I was thrashing, sinking deeper into the bog. At this pace, I would never catch up to him. The logic behind this disparity was painfully obvious.

The living and the departed. We were entities inhabiting separate realms. Consequently, we could not cross paths, and I was unable to draw near him.

However.

“Let’s go together!”

…I want to stay with you, Wilhelm. Being by your side was good. It might be a selfish desire, but this time, I truly wished to reach the conclusion as a pair. Not merely through the clashing of steel or a connection formed by holding weapons—but by sharing mundane tales of everyday life, having a meal now and then, or sipping tea. Complaining about someone, offering praise, or perhaps venting about the pains of love while sharing our burdens. Fretting over trivialities, showing compassion for one another’s troubles, and enjoying a slow conversation while laughing.

“You are my…”

…I yearned for that kind of bond. And there was a specific term the world used for such a connection. A word that came easily to some, but was incredibly difficult for me.

“My one and only friend…!”

Friend. I thrust my hand out. But the marsh was consuming me. Before I realized it, the sludge that had swallowed my waist surged past my chest, then my shoulders, and finally submerged my head.

I understood then. This swamp was the threshold separating the land of the living from the land of the dead. I was going under. After being pulled down into the depths, I would eventually return to reality. There would be no further opportunities to see Wilhelm. It would end like this, for eternity…

Grip!

In 그 moment, a hand caught my reaching fingers. Then, hoisting my torso out of the mire—

“…We cannot remain together.”

He—Wilhelm—spoke.

Flash!

Immediately, the radiance behind him intensified. It was the light summoning Wilhelm home. Looking closely into the glow, the two Goddesses were waiting there.

“I am returning to the sanctuary of the Goddesses.”

Back to the place where he truly belonged. He was stating that he would find peace within the Goddesses’ care. I found myself unable to speak. I could not disregard the desire of a companion who longed for everlasting rest.

“I have already found salvation. So, do not look at me with those eyes.”

Those eyes? What expression was I wearing? And was it truly acceptable? To conclude in this manner? Was he saying this sort of end constituted redemption?

“I harbor no regrets concerning our time together.”

Thud.

Shortly after, he released my hand, as if indicating this was no place for someone like me. Watching me descend back into the marsh, Wilhelm murmured his final parting.

“My stubborn… friend.”

—

Rumble!

The Tower shuddered. Simultaneously, every person within realized—it was over.

[The Ruler of the ‘Tower of the War God’ has shifted from ‘Randolph’ to ‘Wilhelm.’]
[All maledictions of the ‘Tower of the War God’ are cleansed.]

Wilhelm was victorious! Every spectator threw their arms up in celebration.

“Wilhelm…!”
“He actually won!!”
“Victory!!!”

Cheers erupted as they shouted Wilhelm’s name. The path he had walked and the feats he had achieved had ignited the spirits of the people. His triumph felt like their own personal victory.

However.

“Where did Wilhelm disappear to?”
“Is Randolph gone then?”

The champion was nowhere to be found. The same applied to the defeated, Randolph. They had vanished as though they had turned to mist. No matter the search, they were absent from the Tower. While the crowd questioned the situation—

“…This was not what I anticipated.”

A man spoke under his breath. He was the individual who had accompanied the Sword Master Laktusha and the Ant King Pheromone. The Dark Elf Lord. He remarked as he gathered the remains of Laktusha and Pheromone.

“I assumed ‘that individual’ would eventually step in…”

From the start, he had zero interest in claiming the Tower. Carrying out the Black King’s directives to locate Baal and the Fragments of Ruin was something he had never cared about.

‘The Erased One.’

The entity lost to history. The bluebird who referred to himself as the Operator. He had expected that being, who sought only the downfall of the Heavens, to play a hand.

‘Even though he orchestrated all of this, he pulled back the second Wilhelm appeared.’

The Gods of Ill-Omen and Ash. It was the ‘Erased One’ who had manipulated those two as well. Otherwise, there was no reason for those two Primary Gods, who had stayed hidden like cowards within the ‘Gap,’ to suddenly interfere with the Tower’s business. Only the ‘Erased One’ knew of the Gap concealed within the Tower of the War God and could navigate toward it without doubt. He was supposed to have re-opened that breach using Randolph’s physical form and summoned himself.

Yet, the moment Wilhelm surfaced, he went into hiding. Even the two Primary Gods of Ill-Omen and Ash shifted their objective toward unification. Nothing had proceeded as intended—all due to the presence who had manipulated the entire board from beginning to end, Wilhelm.

“…It appears I must expand the playing field.”

The Dark Elf Lord contemplated the situation gravely. To locate the ‘Erased One’ once more, he felt he had no choice but to broaden the game’s scale. At that moment, a strategy occurred to him.

‘I shall dismantle the Goddess Religion.’

If he wiped out the Goddess Religion, that entity would be forced to show himself. The bluebird, the ‘Erased One,’ maintained a tight bond with the two Goddesses. The process was already underway regardless. Exiting the Tower of the War God and moving toward a secluded area, he softly closed his eyes.

At the same time—

[You have logged out.]
[Logging in as ‘MintChocolateIsDelicious(4).’]

—

The Empire. Deep within the gargantuan Imperial Palace, inside a chamber that surpassed all luxury.

“…”

A man was observing his reflection in a mirror. He was the one sporting a golden mask. The top commander who governed the Reaper Cult. Slowly, while staring into the glass, he removed the mask.

“…”

The man’s face grew stern. Behind the mask lay a face that was somehow recognizable.

“Wilhelm.”

The visage of the man who had just claimed victory in the Tower of the War God. Why was he, who had disappeared after his triumph, here in the Empire? And wearing a golden mask, no less.

“I am the genuine one. You are… nothing more than a fraud who mimicked me.”

The pretender who had been cast out of the Imperial Palace as a youth. The copy who possessed the exact same features. Because that was who Wilhelm was. Consequently, he had never removed his mask since childhood. Because a being with his identical face was roaming the world outside. A profound loathing and bitterness, a supreme sense of irritation, rose within him.

“…There is no room for you here.”

He scowled and replaced the mask. It was his own face, but he genuinely detested even looking at it. However, this face served as the emblem of the Empire. It was the confirmation that he belonged to the Emperor’s bloodline. He spoke as he gazed toward the horizon.

“Please… I pray and pray again that you never return. Even if you do find your way back, the salvation you sought will not exist anyway.”

—

Serengeti let out a cry.

…Knight King. My sole Master. Where are you going, leaving me behind?

-Serengeti! You must safeguard the Commander!
-Our ‘Round Table’ exists exclusively for the Knight King!
-We place our faith in you and leave it to you, our youngest!
-Stop crying, you brat! A man shouldn’t…! Ah, my mistake. Were you a girl?

Voices echoed in a fleeting moment. They belonged to those who had already perished. They were knights who had fallen and ceased to be. Everyone was gone, and only Serengeti was left alone. That was why Serengeti screamed. Why? For what purpose! We were finally back together, so why are you abandoning me once more?

In that heartbeat—

-You are not solitary.
-Your King survives.
-Therefore, remain alive and pass on the message.

Once more, a voice reached her. It did not belong to the knights. It wasn’t the Knight King either. It was a recollection. Serengeti’s suppressed ‘memory’ surfaced. The memory from after Wilhelm had accepted the curse and perished at the hands of the Demon King. In that time, someone had assisted Serengeti in fleeing the Demon King’s Castle. And then, he had spoken.

-To bring the ‘Round Table’ back to life.
-To summon them from the ‘Sanctuary of Honor.’
-That they are waiting solely for the King’s summons at the threshold of death and life!

‘You are…’

In her hazy vision, Serengeti seemed to have inquired. She seemed to have clearly asked who he was. Then, he had replied with a grin.

-I have a fondness for fishing.
-Every so often, I pull in people in peril like yourself, and I also reel in unexpected things from various thresholds.
-One day, at some shore, or at some boundary, we will cross paths again.
-So, please convey this to my ‘Redeemer,’ to your King.

—

It felt as though I had been trapped in a long-winded dream. I was sprinting without pause. Toward a destination I didn’t recognize, I was just running with an absurd level of persistence. How far was I trying to travel? At the conclusion of that sprint, was there actually an ‘end’?

I wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain. I could not halt. I must not halt. To fulfill my dream. To reach my one and only wish.

Of course, initially, I possessed no wish. I began because I was told a wish would be granted, but I didn’t actually know what I desired. Even when I stood at the peak known as Phantom. Even when I was summoned and possessed into Pangenia, I had no particular dream to mention.

But now, I had one. A wish I wanted to fulfill had been born. Ah. Yes, I am sprinting toward my wish at this very moment. I am sprinting toward you. I might not be able to reach you, but still, if I run without surrendering—one day, I will surely get there.

“Are you awake?”

…I returned to consciousness at the sound of a voice. No, I was already drifting awake piece by piece. My vision was blurred.

‘Ugh.’

I instinctively winced at the harsh sunlight. I pushed my upper body up and cleared my head; only then did my surroundings become clear.

‘Where is this?’

It wasn’t the Tower. It was a far cry from the view I had seen from the peak of the Tower of the War God. A grand, opulent room. An atmosphere that felt oddly familiar.

‘It’s the Empire.’

This was the Empire. And it was the Imperial Palace. I couldn’t help but feel bewildered. Why was I here? Now that I thought about it, it seemed someone had been calling me. So, as I turned my head to the side—

“Are you finally coming back to us?”

…There, as I expected, was a face I knew. Lyca was present. The reason I hadn’t recognized his voice initially was that it had changed so drastically I couldn’t imagine it was the same man. Because of the voice that sounded shattered in a thousand places, I hadn’t immediately known it was Lyca.

And that state wasn’t just in his voice. A ghostly complexion. A hollow face and eyes that looked half-dead. Lyca was staring at me in a condition that was essentially no different from a cadaver.