“Grrrrr...”
The monster groaned, impaled by the spear.
“Grrr... rrrrr...”
The creature, which had been struggling desperately to break free, suddenly fell silent.
Its torn, crimson eyes widened slightly.
Ssssssss—
Something began to change within its body.
Sssssssssss—
The wind blew. Amidst the raging gusts, sparks of thunder crackled. The sky, still displaying the night, trembled with aurora.
As the crimson aurora flickered wildly, beneath the turbulent atmosphere, Taechon gazed across the battlefield.
The ground was scorched black. A woman stood upon it.
Her expression showed exhaustion, but her violet eyes still shone.
Even as she clenched her sword, she staggered.
“Cough.”
She spat blood.
Grimacing, she clutched her head as though something throbbed painfully within her skull. Her breath came out ragged and strained.
Watching this, Taechon spoke.
“How curious.”
He tilted his head slightly.
As Taechon did so, his body crumbled. His shattered flesh fell to the ground in fragments.
Yet, he showed no concern.
He didn’t even acknowledge it. His dull, detached gaze remained fixed upon the woman.
“You must be cloaked in divinity. So why are you so weak?”
The longer they fought, the more the question lingered in his mind.
The divine presence surrounding her was by no means insignificant. Even by Taechon’s standards, it was remarkable.
And yet...
It was strange.
She was powerful, but in comparison to what she possessed, she was utterly lacking.
Her strength and authority were extraordinary, yet she wielded them so poorly.
Puzzled, he came to a conclusion.
“You’ve sealed it.”
She was suppressing her own power, blocking herself from using it.
There was no other explanation.
Then...
“For what purpose?”
Why was she restraining her own power?
This was the part Taechon couldn’t comprehend.
If she had a separate true body, he could have understood.
“No... your very existence is a mystery.”
She bore the mantle of divinity, yet she was no master of it.
She possessed strength, yet she could not use it.
How could she exist in such a form?
“What exactly are you?”
No matter how much he thought about it, Taechon could not understand.
At that moment—
“I already answered that question.”
The woman—Cheonma—lifted her head and spoke.
She had already given her answer.
Regret.
Her name, the reason she still lived—it was all because of that.
“Regret, is it? A meaningless notion.”
Taechon laughed.
For those who lived in eternity, it was a truly pointless sentiment.
“So, does that regret have anything to do with what you’re doing now?”
For what reason?
Beyond her very existence—what was she standing here for?
The answer lay behind her.
“Are you protecting that?”
“......”
Something impaled by Taechon’s spear.
A moment ago, it had been letting ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ out faint sounds, but now it made no noise at all.
Was it dead?
From the lingering signs of life, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Are you protecting that?”
Was she trying to defend it?
That must have been the reason.
It was the only explanation for why she had endured up until now.
“You haven’t moved a single step.”
Even under Taechon’s relentless assault, she had not taken a single step back.
Despite the countless attacks she had suffered, she had held her ground.
It must have been solely to protect that creature.
Then—was she an Apostle?
Both of them were connected to the Dragon Lord.
Perhaps it was because of that connection.
“How foolish.”
Ssssssshh—
Taechon gripped his spear with one hand.
Whatever her intentions were, however strange her existence might be—
It no longer mattered.
It never did, for Taechon.
“It’s about time to put an end to this.”
His shattered body was regenerating more slowly.
The limits of descending as a Half-God had nearly been reached.
Time was running out.
He had to finish this quickly and return.
BZZZZZZZZZ—!!!
Power gathered at the tip of the spear.
It would pierce through the woman and strike the Divine Tree beyond.
As he focused his energy, preparing to strike—
‘Tsk.’
Watching him, Cheonma let out a bitter smile.
‘This is troublesome.’
The power she had drawn upon was nearly exhausted.
She had done everything she could to hold him back.
But now, she would no longer be able to stop him.
What could she do?
Cheonma turned around.
Behind her, he lay still, as if dead.
His form had become grotesque.
Yet, even in that shape, Cheonma could still see him.
‘Still such a heavy sleeper.’
Even now, he showed no sign of waking.
Truly, he was a frustrating man.
‘It would be nice to see his face one last time.’
She had held on.
Even now, she was waiting, hoping to see his gaze just once more.
But he would not wake.
‘It’s fine.’
Even as she thought that, she convinced herself that it was okay.
She had long since passed the point of longing for such things.
If she were going to regret something as trivial as this, she should have done so long ago.
No—if she had let go back then, things would have been much easier.
But she hadn’t.
And that was why she was here now.
Regret.
Even to her own ears, it was the most fitting word.
Squeeze.
She tightened her grip on the sword-shaped mass of energy in her hand.
Was this the end?
Perhaps.
But—
“It’s fine.”
The woman muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
Even if she never saw him again.
Even if she faded into oblivion and vanished completely—it was still fine.
Hadn’t she already made peace with this path?
‘So, please...’
Even if only he remained after her regrets had faded away—
‘At least you...’
She only wished for him to be okay.
For her, the word "fine" was not just meant for herself.
In the end, it was meant for him.
Riiip!
A vast force began to gather in the distance.
‘He intends to finish it.’
Taechon was pouring all his strength into a single, decisive blow.
That meant he was in a hurry as well.
She glanced back.
Seeing Gu Yangcheon still lying there, she pressed her lips together.
She couldn’t dodge.
Taechon already knew she was protecting Gu Yangcheon.
There was no way to avoid it—she had to block it.
That was why Taechon was gathering so much power.
“Haa...”
She exhaled softly.
Then, she called forth her energy.
But it was empty.
Only a faint wisp of power leaked out from the tightly sealed gates within her.
It wasn’t enough—nowhere near enough.
She could release what had been locked away.
But she wouldn’t.
Because she was the one who had sealed it away.
To break that seal, the cycle of oblivion would have to end.
She had willingly sacrificed everything for it.
And she knew—the oblivion would never lift.
As she braced herself for Taechon’s attack—
She stiffened.
“...!”
She felt movement behind her.
She quickly turned her head.
Rustle—!
Gu Yangcheon’s body was changing.
His massive frame was shrinking.
His fur and tail receded.
He was returning—back to his original human form, before everything had gone wrong.
And then—
“...Ha.”
Taechon let out a quiet exhale as he looked at Gu Yangcheon.
“This is... unexpected.”
Something had alarmed him.
For the first time, urgency flickered in his voice.
What had he sensed?
To the woman, who was already at her limit, nothing seemed different.
Except—
‘I saw him.’
That alone was enough for her.
The moment he had fully returned—
Thunk!
The spears embedded in his body slid free on their own.
No one pulled them out.
They moved of their own accord, as though possessing their own will.
And then—
“Haa...”
With a deep sigh, Gu Yangcheon slowly rose.
The wounds in his body began to close.
The speed was astonishing.
His flesh rapidly regenerated, but more than anything—his eyes had changed.
They glowed the same crimson hue as before.
Unlike his usual eyes, they were completely unnatural.
As the woman noticed the difference, a realization struck her—
“......”
Gu Yangcheon’s gaze met hers.
Their eyes locked.
She opened her mouth, about to speak—
And then, Gu Yangcheon spoke first.
“Yehwa.”
A name.
Softly spoken.
A name that should never have been uttered.
The woman—Yehwa—froze in place.
She had heard a name that was never meant to be spoken again.
And then—
Krrrrrck!
The lock within Yehwa’s body shattered and fell away.
The firmly sealed gate swung open.
And from within—
A black Celestial Sea surged forth.
Fwoooosh!
The abyssal tide spilled into the void, filling the once-empty space.
In mere moments, Yehwa’s entire being was consumed by the Celestial Sea.
There was no room left.
She was completely filled by the dark tide.
Her eyes began to glow.
“You bastard—!”
Taechon unleashed his strike.
The overwhelming force, prepared for so long, surged toward both Yehwa and Gu Yangcheon.
The azure spear in Taechon’s grasp carried all his might.
Normally, that power would pierce straight through them and erase them from existence.
It should have been enough.
And so—just before the spear’s tip could reach them—
Shing!
A sharp slicing sound rang out.
Taechon’s spear was cleaved in two.
KOOOOOM!!!
The severed energy detonated in all directions.
The shattered spear whipped through the air before exploding.
Taechon’s eyes widened as he watched his own power unravel.
More precisely—
As he watched Yehwa, who had effortlessly cut through it.
“What...?!”
That power should not have been so easily severed.
And yet, it had been.
As though it were nothing.
Something had changed.
Something had shifted dramatically.
“...Ah.”
Yehwa let out a quiet breath.
And then—
Fwoooosh!
From beneath her feet, darkness surged forth.
A black sea spread like an abyss, swallowing everything around her.
