Suruna looked at Setadel and sneered.
“Right. I did make that promise with you, didn’t I? That when all this is over, I’d let myself die by your hand.”
“......”
“I couldn’t do it before even if I wanted to, but now it’s more than possible. You’ll finally have your chance for revenge.”
You even have a weapon, after all.
Suruna muttered as he glanced at the sword in Setadel’s hand.
Instead of replying, Setadel raised the sword he was holding and brought it down—
Right beside Suruna’s face.
As Suruna looked at him in puzzlement, Setadel spoke in a voice burning with fury.
“What the hell are you doing? You’ve caused all that carnage, endured everything until now, only to collapse here? Is this how you plan to end it, in such a meaningless way?”
“......”
“Get up and fight. Even if you die, die fighting. You endured all those long years to come this far for that very reason. That’s what you’re supposed to do.”
Suruna’s eyes widened.
“That’s true.”
He forced his barely functioning body to stand.
His legs trembled, and the blood flowing from his wounds made his vision blur.
His sense of direction and balance were completely off. He felt as though he might collapse and close his eyes at any moment.
But he did not forget what he had to do.
“That’s what I’m supposed to do.”
Gripping the sword that Setadel handed him, Suruna looked beyond the cursed doll—at Arkenis.
His mind felt a little clearer.
Sss. Hoo—
He inhaled the clean air and gazed at the cursed doll.
The cursed doll merely stared back at him in silence.
There was neither awe nor curiosity toward Suruna, who, despite his wounds, refused to give up.
The cursed doll was, after all, nothing more than a fragment of Lumenis—a mere creation.
It possessed no reason or emotion beyond sealing the Saintess and eliminating the intruder who sought to free her.
“I really don’t like that.”
Suruna didn’t like the look in the cursed doll’s eyes.
The way it regarded everything except itself as inorganic reminded him too much of its master, Lumenis.
Suruna let out a hollow laugh at the realization that he hated things like that.
‘I really have changed, haven’t I.’
Suruna had lived through ages filled only with hatred, disgust, contempt, and rage.
A disciple left alone in the world after losing his god—he had been nothing but an object of fear and terror.
Suruna thought that was natural. So he treated others the same way.
Fear with fear.
Hatred with hatred.
Suruna could learn anything.
But what he learned in life was only how to kill—through swordsmanship, magic, and black magic.
The first person to treat him differently was Arkenis.
The moment she saw him, she called him “pitiful.”
At first, Suruna couldn’t understand those words. He even felt anger.
He fought her, shouting that she knew nothing—and lost.
Then he lost again. And again after that.
He couldn’t comprehend it. What kind of conviction did that easygoing woman have to make her so strong?
Every time he challenged her, Arkenis accepted the fight and always smiled as she let him go.
It was the first time he had ever felt something like that.
Losing to a strong opponent was something he could accept.
But someone who showed him no hostility, only a warm smile—that was unbearably awkward.
‘It would’ve been better if I had never learned it.’
But Suruna had learned it.
He had learned warmth from another person.
And once he learned it, he could never forget.
That very enlightenment became the curse that bound him.
His battles with Arkenis had drained the poison from his body.
At some point, their conversations became more frequent, and he even played along with her jokes.
He listened to her trivial stories, sometimes asked her questions out of curiosity.
Back then, he hadn’t known—
Why he had clung to such meaningless time.
But now he knew. Now he understood.
‘Did she act that way knowing I would end up like this?’
He hoped all of it had been calculated.
Otherwise, he couldn’t understand why he had become so obsessed.
He felt his sense of self wavering.
Being manipulated and used by someone superior might have been easier ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to accept.
But the more he tried to deny reality, the clearer the answer became.
‘Right. You would never do something so deceitful.’
She wasn’t the kind of person who’d ever do that, even if someone told her to.
In the end, the reason he had come this far wasn’t because of anyone’s command—
But his own will.
“I only wanted to save you.”
For that, he had brought chaos to the entire world.
He uncovered the existence of the Judgment System, shook the continent, and destroyed the Church.
He overthrew nations, used demons, and started civil wars.
All—
For the sake of saving just one person.
‘Let it all out.’
Through all the long years since birth, life, and up to this very moment,
Everything he had seen, heard, learned, and mastered flickered within his mind.
‘All of it. Until I feel satisfied.’
Dark, muddy mana surged around Suruna, wrapping around his body.
Every form of black magic doping technique was applied to his flesh. Finally, the ancient curse once used by Krabat imbued itself into his body, spreading black energy along the blade.
The aura emanating from the sword mixed with the curse, turning pitch black.
Behind Suruna, blue mana spread, drawing circles of incantation in the air.
The powers of the beastkin, druids, and all manner of shamanic arts flowed around him.
The cursed doll moved.
Sensing the danger of leaving him unchecked, it raised its blade-like arms and charged toward him.
Boom—its form vanished.
A heartbeat later, the ground where it had been collapsed.
White petals scattered along the path it had rushed through.
In an instant, the cursed doll closed the distance and swung its arm—
Intending to cut Suruna down in one stroke.
KWAANG!
Suruna blocked it by raising his sword arm.
Creak—
The cursed doll’s sturdy limb struck, but the blade did not break.
Even though its strength pressed down with trembling force, the sword did not yield an inch.
“What? So you weren’t that impressive after all?”
Suruna let out a short laugh at the sight.
Crack—
A fracture ran across his face like glass breaking.
Concentrating all that power into one vessel was too much; his body had begun to crack.
“I can see it all. That filthy, sticky malice of yours.”
Crrrk—crrkkk—
The fine cracks across Suruna’s body multiplied.
Ignoring them, his eyes shone with a fierce, otherworldly light as he tightened his grip on the sword.
The pitch-black aura surged like waves, swallowing the cursed doll whole.
The cursed doll hastily leapt back, struggling to escape the black surge.
It managed to survive, but the arm that touched Suruna’s sword began to rot away.
It quickly severed the decayed section and regenerated the limb.
Thud!
The cursed doll’s body glowed white as divine energy burst forth.
The power radiating from it was stronger than before, as if it were screaming in anger.
“Good. That’s more like it.”
The cursed doll and Suruna rushed toward each other at the same time.
They collided, and blinding flashes and thunderous roars overwhelmed sight and sound.
In less than a second, hundreds of life-and-death exchanges took place.
Within the span of a moment, they crossed the boundary between life and death countless times.
Crack—
Branches sprouted from the cursed doll’s back and turned into arms.
The total number of its new limbs reached six—
Adding to the original two, it now had over eight arms that closed in on Suruna from all directions.
Suruna faced them with only a single sword.
Thunk!
One arm pierced his thigh.
Suruna’s blade severed it instantly.
Slash!
A blade grazed across his right eye, searing pain cutting his vision in half.
Suruna’s sword tore through the creature’s shoulder.
Boom!
A large hole burst open in Suruna’s left side.
Blood poured from the gaping wound, but he gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Black flashes erupted several times, slicing through the air like blades of darkness.
All eight of the cursed doll’s arms were severed.
A spiral-shaped crack twisted open across the cursed doll’s face.
From that gaping fissure, rows of sharp teeth sprouted outward.
Krrrraaaagh!
With a roar, the teeth lunged for Suruna’s throat.
Suruna looked at it and smiled—a quiet, knowing smile of victory.
“You’re too late.”
Before the cursed doll’s fangs could reach his neck, Suruna’s aura had already pierced through its throat.
A perfect circle was drawn in midair—clean, smooth.
The cursed doll’s sharp head, caught within that circle, was neatly severed and rolled across the ground.
Headless and armless, the cursed doll collapsed to its knees.
“Haa... haa...”
Suruna breathed heavily, looking down at the corpse of the cursed doll.
“My victory.”
He pushed the doll’s body with his foot.
The body toppled backward, and Suruna stepped over it, moving toward Arkenis, who was still buried within part of the tree at the edge of the chamber.
Thunk.
The sword slipped from his hand and drove into the ground.
With his trembling right hand, Suruna grasped Arkenis’s hand and pulled with all his remaining strength.
* * *
The breath of the Great Dragon Heliodor swept across the sky.
The clouds that had still lingered above were erased in a single exhalation.
The force of that one breath was so immense that it could be seen from anywhere on the island.
“My god.”
“Ahh... merciful heavens.”
The entire sky was burning.
Flames that illuminated the darkened world now blanketed the heavens, as though proclaiming the end of the world.
After a time, the sky gradually returned to its original color.
The heavy storm clouds had vanished, leaving behind a clear and crystalline night sky.
But the starlit heavens now felt colder, sharper, more distant than before.
No one present could imagine what could possibly be happening inside the fortress.
Kuuuuh—
The Great Dragon inhaled after releasing its breath.
Though it had attacked only once, that single strike had exhausted most of its strength. Heliodor’s body was already beginning to fade.
As its form blurred, Heliodor’s gaze turned—not to Catherine, but to Helia, who had summoned him.
The illusory Heliodor said nothing.
But the warmth and affection in his eyes spoke volumes, even for a mere projection.
Helia felt that gaze but deliberately looked away.
“...Thank you for your help.”
At her words, the illusion of Heliodor disappeared.
Silence settled over the night sky.
Helia’s expression grew even heavier.
“This is just ridiculous.”
She had unleashed the Dragon King’s Breath—
And yet Catherine still stood alive.
Not completely unscathed, perhaps. Even Catherine showed signs of exhaustion from the Dragon King’s Breath.
Still, surviving it with nothing more than fatigue was absurd.
“That one was honestly dangerous,” Catherine admitted, her voice calm but sincere.
She had thought Helia weaker than other demons in combat—but she was wrong.
For a brief moment, Helia had shown her true power, proving that she was no ordinary apostle who had merely lived long.
Of course, realizing that now did nothing to change the outcome.
Helia’s trump card had failed, and Catherine was still alive.
“Well then, I suppose now it’s about time—”
Catherine turned her head sharply mid-sentence.
Her gaze snapped toward the lower side of Galahad Fortress.
Her pupils widened, and the Judgment Eye trembled violently, resonating with some unseen force.
“Kh!”
Catherine winced and covered her eyes, unable to bear the pain.
‘What is this?’
Helia couldn’t understand what was happening to Catherine.
If she was reacting like that while looking at the fortress, it could only mean that Ludger or Suruna had done something inside.
‘Whatever it is—this is my chance!’
Seeing Catherine distracted, Helia’s eyes gleamed.
Her decision was simple.
‘Run!’
Using illusion magic, Helia cloaked herself and fled far into the distance.
By the time Catherine forced herself past the pain and uncovered her eyes, Helia was already gone.
“Ha.”
Catherine let out a hollow laugh.
She had acted as though she would fight to the bitter end, yet the moment she decided things were turning against her, she ran without hesitation.
Catherine had heard Helia was unlike other apostles, but she hadn’t expected her to make such a shrewd choice. She almost found it admirable.
‘At least now, there’s no one left to bother me.’
Her thoughts turned toward Rine and the sisters.
But not knowing what was happening inside, she couldn’t risk bringing them closer to danger.
‘And that pain in my eye just now—it definitely wasn’t an illusion.’
Catherine knew well that she was a false Saintess.
She had been kidnapped as a child and forced into experiments in the Church’s homeland, becoming a Saintess only by luck—because her body reacted strongly to a fragment of the true Saintess.
The Judgment Eye she used was only an imitation, not the real thing, and thus incomplete.
The true Judgment Eye was now in Rine’s possession.
And yet her own eyes had reacted so violently.
That could only mean one thing—
That the pain was linked to the original owner of the power residing within her body.
‘If that’s true... then that would mean the original Saintess, Arkenis—long gone from this world—has somehow...’
No way.
Catherine’s expression hardened as she flew toward Galahad Fortress.
* * *
The world was black.
Nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard.
A place where every sense was paralyzed.
She didn’t know how long she had been drifting in that depth deeper than sleep.
Then, from somewhere, a voice reached her—
A voice that should have been impossible to hear.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
Arkenis opened her eyes.
Before her stretched a vast chamber, a collapsed ceiling, and light pouring down from above.
Before she could even wonder where she was, her eyes found the man looking down at her.
His skin was cracked like glass, his body covered in wounds, one of his eyes missing—
Yet he smiled at her softly.
“It’s been a long time.”
