“Iseo.”
“Yes......?”
“Take me to the Wall.”
At my words,
Han Iseo stared at me with startled eyes.
“Youngjun...... weren’t you not supposed to be seen like this right now?”
“That was true up until a moment ago.”
“What do you mean—”
I couldn’t reveal it to others.
But to my eyes, it had been crystal clear.
[Occupation War - 99%]
That Gangwon Legion.
That there wasn’t much time left until they achieved 100% occupation.
From the start.
Unlike everyone else, for me,
The condition for surviving in Gyeonggi wasn’t something like “defeat the monsters together with Gyeonggi’s survivors.”
My own victory condition, decided the very moment I resolved to cross into Gyeonggi.
It was this.
‘Save as many people as possible, and hold out until the Legion arrives.’
It had never changed even once.
Everything I had done up to now
Had all been for that goal.
An enemy that could have wiped out humanity before the Legion crossed over.
I identified that existence.
And by entering that Gate myself, I shaved off a significant portion of their strength.
Thanks to that.
Even though the Association had lost most of its potential,
They were able to endure against those monsters for a considerable amount of time.
The little bit of time that still wasn’t enough, I supplemented through Ariella and the Demon Realm’s monsters.
And all of this wasn’t to defeat those bastards directly.
It was only to buy time.
‘There were variables.’
The Legion’s occupation might have taken longer than expected.
Or contrary to our expectations, even if they completed the Occupation War, there was a strong chance the Wall wouldn’t open.
In reality.
The Wall didn’t fully open—at best, its heat weakened.
Something that strayed from our expectation that the Wall would vanish in an instant.
This time, thankfully, the Legion was able to cross that wall on its own.
But if we’d ended up in a situation where they couldn’t cross.
Or if the Legion’s occupation itself looked like it would be far too late—
......Then.
We would have had to use the last resort.
‘Morzan.’
A fragment of that thing lodged somewhere inside my body.
If I pulled it out and used it, no matter how powerful those giants were,
I would have been able to win somehow.
But.
‘It’s power that needs to be saved.’
Only when there truly was no other way.
A card you had to bring out as the final resort.
That was why I didn’t use Morzan.
When everyone else thought there was truly no way left,
I alone knew there wasn’t much time left until the Legion’s occupation was complete.
And.
That was exactly why—
“The reason I couldn’t show that I was injured was because the Association’s morale couldn’t be allowed to break.”
It was also the reason I’d gone so far as to hide my injuries.
It was a situation where we only had to hold out a little longer.
But if my injuries were discovered and morale broke, and everything collapsed—
Nothing could be more tragic than that.
So that morale could last even a little longer,
I had to hide the fact that I was injured.
But now, it was different.
“Look over there.”
“.......”
Han Iseo followed my gaze and looked up at the sky.
Up there was a massive fortress that kept pouring down bombardment.
“If I look like this, I don’t think anyone’s morale will break...... and even if it does, it doesn’t seem like it matters much, does it?”
The fight had already shifted into the Legion’s hands.
It didn’t seem like the Association people, watching them, would lose morale.
And even if they did, it didn’t matter—because the Legion was the one fighting now.
“That’s...... true.”
Han Iseo stared blankly up at the sky,
Then turned her head to look at my face.
“......Youngjun.”
She opened her mouth like she had something she wanted to say,
Then gave a small shake of her head and brought up something else.
“Then you should go to the infirmary and get treated. I’ll take you.......”
Mm.
It was true my condition was bad.
I looked down at my wounds and thought.
‘My recovery is clearly slower.’
Whether it was the aftereffects of [Severe Aftereffects] or [Vital Energy Loss],
The blood of the Night Noble wasn’t working properly.
Now that I thought about it, even Ariella only recovered after drinking my blood,
Back when her hand had been cut by my sword wrapped in [Anti-Magic Light].
Even when I crossed the Wall, I couldn’t recover properly until we supplied monster blood.
This blood’s healing effect was never absolute.
......Even so.
“No. Take me to the Wall.”
“Why? Your injuries are serious. Up until now, it couldn’t be helped, but from here on you should be treated, shouldn’t you?”
Why.
Because—
‘The Legion is fighting over there.’
It wasn’t like I’d gone insane and lazed around the whole time I was away from the Legion.
The Legion would be able to win.
And besides, if the [Droplet] are willing to vanish,
Even if only temporarily, they can display abilities at a level similar to what I have right now—without having Legion gear.
And since they must have crossed over after eating dishes made from those [Droplet],
There was no need for me to cook for them now.
But.
That didn’t mean I could just lie down and do nothing.
‘I have to watch.’
As the Legion Commander.
I had the duty to watch them fight.
Even if I couldn’t fight alongside them.
How they drove back enemies that powerful—
I had to see it with my own eyes and remember it.
Of course.
I couldn’t say that outright.
“I just want to see it up close.”
“.......”
“Is that not allowed?”
“I don’t know if I can say this, but.”
At my words,
Han Iseo let out a strange sigh.
“Youngjun, you’re hiding something.”
And said that.
“You never told me the name of the great spirit protecting me, but you knew it anyway...... and you act like you knew in advance when the Legion would cross the Wall, too.......”
“.......”
“When we first met in the Northern Branch, that wasn’t everything you told me. Right?”
At that,
I hesitated for a moment.
Han Iseo had the ability to discern lies.
If I wanted to fool her, I’d have to mix truth in cleverly.
I hesitated, thinking how to phrase it—
“Yeah.”
I just
Nodded and said it.
“......Pardon?”
“You asked if I’m hiding something. I am.”
“.......”
“Why is that strange? Everyone in the world has at least one secret.”
I could have hidden it.
I could have tricked my way through it somehow.
But—
‘There isn’t much time left.’
Even if I couldn’t reveal everything.
I didn’t want to keep lying to people after coming this far.
“......For someone who’s hiding something, you’re incredibly bold. At that level, shouldn’t you be able to tell me what it is?”
“No. And if I may add one request...... I’d like you not to even think about it.”
“That’s a difficult request.”
“I’m asking you anyway. I can’t tell you right now, but I’ll be able to tell you soon.”
Han Iseo stared hard at my face.
Then she sighed and nodded.
“It’s the truth.”
“I don’t lie to people.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Haha.”
“Haa. You really are shameless.”
Supporting me, she spoke.
“Fine. I get it for now. But later, you have to tell me. For sure.”
With her supporting me,
I began walking toward the top of the Wall.
“Uh, uhh?”
“Isn’t that Shin Youngjun?”
Since my [Environmental Assimilation] had been undone, my state was a mess.
And as injured-me approached the Wall,
“The Shin Youngjun is hurt that badly.......”
“What the hell happened?”
The people gathered near the Wall widened their eyes at the sight of me.
But it only lasted a moment.
“Everyone, look over there!”
“Huh?”
“That giant—the one that shot down the white lion! That giant is going down!”
“......Is that true!”
The people who had been startled by me
Turned their gaze outside the Wall.
“The giant that toppled the Southern Branch is almost down, too!”
“Damn it, we have to go look—!”
They turned their heads at once and stared beyond the Wall.
Seeing that,
Han Iseo watched my reaction and said,
“......Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Hm? What do you mean.”
“We were able to survive up to now largely because of you, Youngjun. But they just brush past you like it’s nothing when they see you injured like this.......”
“Oh, that’s what you meant.”
At that,
I gave a small laugh and answered.
“Isn’t it fine?”
“Yes?”
“I’m badly hurt, sure, but I’m not dying. Surviving up to now matters, too. I won’t deny my share was big.”
Climbing the Wall’s stairs with effort, I continued.
“But...... what matters more is surviving what comes next.”
When we reached the top of the Wall,
The first thing I saw was—
“So, Iseo, you don’t have to worry about how I feel, either.”
A massive Wall that was half collapsing.
Slumped against it as if leaning—
[Ariant Guardian]
[This chassis once served as a guardian of the empire.]
[The soul from the time of its creation has been extinguished, but because it was utilized in a possessed state until just before, its freshness has been kept high.]
[Warning!]
[The possessing soul has been extinguished.]
[If left at room temperature, freshness may decline.]
A gigantic giant.
And beyond that giant’s body—
“Requesting fire support!”
“Squad Three, drive the enemies to the designated coordinates! There will be a magic circle the hunters set!”
The battlefield where the fierce fighting was taking place revealed itself.
Those giants, and the monsters sharing the giants’ cold.
Their resistance was still fierce.
In some places, the Legion was even being pushed back—this fight wasn’t completely one-sided.
But.......
‘Little by little.’
An army of winter wrapped in overwhelming cold.
They’d occupied most of Gyeonggi under the giants.
‘They’re collapsing.’
THUD.......
Slowly.
They began to step backward.
“Another one went down!”
“How strong is that warrior, exactly?!”
On top of the Wall, people didn’t pay attention to someone like me at all.
Some cried, some shouted in joy—
All while watching the Legion’s fight.
‘Yeah. That’s how it should be.’
I liked that.
How we survived in the past mattered, sure.
I’d been trying to restore lost civilization myself.
But if you’re human.
If you’re still alive.
Rather than staring back at the past and worrying,
It was better to see people rejoicing at the fact they could survive tomorrow.
That had more of a human taste to it.
Slumping down in a corner of the Wall,
I looked up at the sky.
[Group Skill - War Song activates!]
-I will protect this land.......
At some point, a military song began to flow.
The fortress kept bombarding the ground without stopping.
‘That...... is Bima as a [Mobile Fortress].’
In truth.
No matter how strong the squad leaders in our unit were,
They weren’t strong enough to surpass those giants.
Each of those giants was an existence radiating blue magic power.
Meanwhile, if you assumed our squad leaders had no buffs, they barely managed to trade blows with green-tier monsters.
Only after being slathered in all kinds of equipment and wide-area buffs would they reach a level similar to the Demon Realm’s magic beasts.
To be honest.
If it had been the Legion from when I first crossed into Gyeonggi,
There was a good chance we wouldn’t have been able to beat those giants.
And yet, the reason our side could drive the enemy back this hard—
The reason I’d been sure we could win as long as the Legion crossed over—
Was this.
P-P-P-P-BOOOM.......
That fortress in the sky,
Bombarding indiscriminately.
The bombardment falling from the sky.
Aside from the [Artillery Battery] built into Bima, the rest were merely things the engineers had modified.
It was substantial firepower, but ordinarily the giants wouldn’t have feared it.
The problem was two things.
First, that the bombardment was being carried out from the sky.
And second—
‘To stop that bombardment...... they’d have to assault the fortress in the sky.’
Even when it was on the ground, it was a fortress that wasn’t even properly gilded, except for its gate.
To stop the fortress’s fire, they would have to push through that barrage, approach the sky,
Climb to an altitude higher than the Fortress Gate, drop into the fortress interior, and then fight their way through from the inside.
‘An absurd difficulty.’
The artificial spirit, Vimanar, said.
The moment this fortress became Level 3,
Dependence on me would decrease, and dependence on this fortress would take its place.
‘It’s power that more than justifies that.’
The techniques Awakeners had used until now were certainly impressive, but
They were still at a level old humanity’s technology could reproduce somehow.
‘From there, it’s outside that domain.’
Something hard to replace even with the technology humanity had accumulated over thousands of years.
A realm beyond human common sense.
And that overwhelming power
Was being exercised under the name of the Legion.
It was encouraging, but.......
‘......It also worries me.’
In everything I’d lived through,
This world never let anything pass easily.
It wasn’t just negative imagination.
If power like that had come into our hands,
Then this world might present us with trials that we could barely endure only by having that power.
No—maybe.
Trials we couldn’t endure even then.
And it wasn’t just my anxious worry.
[With the end of the Occupation War event, the Beginner Protection System weakens.]
[All protective measures affecting the world will be lifted sequentially.]
[The speed of interference from the outside world will proceed a little faster.]
[You who endured and survived the difficult invasion!]
[Even if greater hardships come in the future, we pray you can survive even a little longer.]
“.......”
Even the System
Was warning us of greater hardship.
As I kept staring up at the sky—
‘......Huh?’
On the far side of the sky where Bima was flying.
Between those high clouds, an anomaly appeared.
-My lord...... we will take our leave.
‘Yeah. You did well. I’ll make sure you get a thick special meal for a while.’
The vampires, mostly exhausted from holding back those monsters.
Their remaining forces slipped into my shadow.
“E-everyone, look at the sky!”
“That is......!”
People’s gazes turned skyward.
I, too, looked up with them and gave a small smile.
“......Yeah. It’s not good to worry too much, either.”
After those winter monsters appeared,
Gyeonggi’s sky had been filled with gray snow clouds.
Even the sun was hidden, and the warmth on the ground had only been falling.
But now.
The giants who had covered the sky
And brought winter to this land
Were dropping to their knees one by one.
“The sun.......”
The massive snow clouds began to part.
Light streamed through the gaps.
{The Legion’s operational activity is concluded.}
{Citizens, please leave your safe hiding places and go out-}
The sunlight the people of Gyeonggi hadn’t seen in a long time.
That light illuminated the land.
And the sun’s heat melted the snow that had piled up.
“Ah.......”
And only then
Could people realize it.
A winter that had felt eternal.
A harsh season many believed they would close their eyes within.
Quite some time had already passed {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} since that brutal season arrived.
The people of Gyeonggi didn’t know.
But the world right now was—
“Spring...... has come.”
A season where snow disappears and vegetation blooms.
Winter ended, and spring arrived.
[The quest is updated.]
[With all elements threatening the player’s survival eliminated, survival is judged successful until inter-region protection ends.]
[Return to your home region, or survive until inter-region protection ends. (1/1)]
[Reward: Differential payout based on influence exerted in the moved region.]
[Calculating quest achievement for reward.......]
[Calculating.......]
[Unable to calculate achievement due to excessive overachievement.]
[The maximum payable reward will be granted.]
It was one day,
One year after the world’s collapse arrived.
