Chapter 32
The front line collapsed.
The wooden stakes that we barely piled up crumbled, and the enemy’s spears and swords poured in through the gaps.
The Roman infantrymen tried to block them with their shields, throwing themselves desperately, but they were powerless against the overwhelming numbers.
“The line is pushed back! Everyone, retreat…!”
“No! If we lose this spot, it’s over!”
“Damn it! Then what do you want us to do!”
Despair spread like a plague.
Dracasis, who saw that scene, couldn’t hold back his lament from pity.
“Is it impossible after all?”
He thought that maybe this time would be different.
But the light of hope was too small and weak to illuminate this hell.
Kang Hye-rim was certainly strong and performed beyond expectations, but she couldn’t handle that many enemies with her help alone.
Kang Hye-rim knew that too.
But still, she couldn’t stop swinging her sword.
‘I have to stop them. Even one more!’
Her breath was already at its limit, and her appearance was a mess with dust and sweat mixed together.
She wanted to rest right now, but her body swung the sword as if it was out of control.
‘Why?’
In the state of emptiness where everything seemed to disappear, she asked herself.
Why don’t I give up? Why don’t I stop?
She couldn’t answer that question.
‘I don’t know.’
Do I have to fight this hard?
If I die, everything will end.
Wouldn’t it be better to just get out of here?
She wasn’t without such thoughts.
But even so, she couldn’t quit.
She felt like she would lose something precious that she had if she stopped and ran away at this moment.
‘I am…’
As soon as her thought reached that point, a part of the wooden stakes broke down.
Kang Hye-rim’s eyes shone and she flew to the gap.
Her sword strike, which had reached its peak, swept away the enemies mercilessly.
But there was no end to the enemies.
“Ugh!”
She finally reached her limit.
Kang Hye-rim barely managed to stand up when her legs gave way.
But she couldn’t avoid the enemy soldier’s spear that flew at her in the meantime.
The sharp tip of the spear pierced her left shoulder.
The wound wasn’t deep, but the burning pain made her left hand lose its strength.
“Holy Lady!”
“Protect the benefactor!”
Dracasis’s sword pierced through the soldier’s neck who stabbed Kang Hye-rim.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“Yes. It’s not serious. But…”
Kang Hye-rim looked at her trembling left hand and clenched her teeth.
She had to apply a potion containing [Healing Story] right away, but it wasn’t a wound that would heal immediately.
And the more she left the front line, the more damage this side would suffer.
Above all, the enemies didn’t allow any leeway for this side.
“They broke through! Kill them!”
“Hahaha! Loot everything and sweep them away!”
Dracasis stepped forward to face the wave of Ottoman soldiers, but it was not enough.
The more he cut down the enemies, the heavier his body became, and soon he began to lose even in a simple struggle with ordinary soldiers.
“Ugh!”
“Lord!”
“Damn Ottomans! Protect the Emperor!”
The soldiers were also exhausted and couldn’t muster any strength.
The new enemies were fresh and energetic, while this side was close to exhaustion.
“Ack!”
“Gurgle!”
A one-sided slaughter began.
The soldiers died one by one, and some of the escort knights were slashed all over their bodies by several enemies at once.
Kang Hye-rim watched that scene with trembling eyes and bit her lips.
It was over.
She was already at her limit physically and mentally.
‘I thought… I could win.’
It was arrogance.
The arrogance of having done things that others couldn’t do by herself.
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The arrogance of thinking that she could do it in the future too.
That made her have a vague hope that everything would go well.
‘What should I do…?’
***
The situation went bad.
No, it would be fair to say it was the worst.
Despite Kang Hye-rim’s desperate efforts, she couldn’t avoid the inevitable flow.
I watched the dying phantom soldiers with an expressionless face.
[Most spirits are sorry.]
[Some spirits are frustrated by Kang Hye-rim’s attitude.]
[A few spirits point fingers at her actions.]
The reactions of the spirits who watched this scene were also a problem.
Most of them felt sorry for Kang Hye-rim because they knew she tried hard, but some pointed out that she couldn’t do anything in the end.
Why did she stay if this was going to happen?
Isn’t she no different from the other collectors?
Naturally, there was a quarrel between the subscription spirits who had been in my library and the new spirits who came in.
[100TP donation!]
[No, why did she do it if she couldn’t do anything? It’s so frustrating like a sweet potato.]
[100TP donation!]
[She did well until here. You should praise her, don’t whine like a sweet potato spirit. If you don’t like it, go to another library.]
[100TP donation!]
[I heard that the sword master was rising lately, so I watched it, but I ended up disappointed.]
[100TP donation!]
[If you’re going to leave, just leave ㅋㅋ]
It even came to the point where they were fighting with each other instead of cheering for Kang Hye-rim directly.
Even if I tried to stop and mediate them somehow, it was practically impossible to cover them all since there were more than 1,000 viewers.
‘Damn.’
The message window became dirty, and some spirits left because they were bored.
If I couldn’t handle this properly right now, I would lose a lot of customers.
It would be nice if someone who was strong enough to silence them would hold them tight at this time.
Ding.
It was then.
A new customer came who I thought wouldn’t come anymore.
[‘The One Who Laughs in the Darkest Place’ enters the library.]
“What?”
I opened my eyes wide.
And that was the same reaction as the other spirits.
[All spirits in the library are silent.]
The spirits who were noisy until a moment ago all shut their mouths.
It was natural.
The one who came in now was different from the other spirits in terms of class.𝒏օν𝔢𝙡𝙗ì𝖓.𝑛𝙚ｔ
The One Who Laughs in the Darkest Place.
Although he used a pseudonym like other spirits, it was easy for anyone to know his real identity because he was such a famous spirit.
One of the seven lords of Pandemonium, the Great Warlord.
Everyone started to look around because he was a first-generation spirit who was known to have started with the mixed world.
But for me, his appearance was very welcome.
‘Why didn’t you come right away? Right now? It’s like you’re coming in at a perfect timing.’
It couldn’t be a coincidence considering his personality.
But it didn’t matter. It was almost as if the urgent fire had been put out.
[‘The One Who Laughs in the Darkest Place’ laughs and asks why the atmosphere is like this.]
“That’s because everyone is nervous.”
[The spirits are shocked by your remark.]
Was it because I spoke too casually?
The other spirits sent me a look of disbelief.
For them, talking to him like that was like suicide, considering his notorious reputation as one of Pandemonium’s lords.
I shrugged my shoulders lightly and continued.
“But you came at a good time. I thought you would come right away when I opened the library.”
[‘The One Who Laughs in the Darkest Place’ donates 100TP!]
[I’ve been busy too. Then I heard a rumor and came when I had time. It seems like things are going pretty interestingly?]
You’re such a snake-like bastard.
He was sensitive to negative emotions more than anyone else.
He must have easily noticed what kind of situation my show was in.
As he said, Kang Hye-rim had reached her limit.
The protagonist who formed the basis of the show had reached a critical point.
He knew that and still asked like that. How could he have a good personality?
But I smiled and said.
“It will be more interesting from now on.”
Did he read something from my eyes?
[‘The One Who Laughs in the Darkest Place’ laughs as if he is enjoying it.]
[‘The One Who Laughs in the Darkest Place’ donates 1,000TP!]
[I’m looking forward to it.]
He threw ten times as much money as he needed for direct messages.
As expected, first-generation spirits had much bigger pockets than other spirits.
“It’s time to stop sitting still anyway.”
Maybe because I had a peaceful conversation with Satan, the spirits still looked at me as if they couldn’t believe what they saw.
But I ignored it.
They were still too early to be surprised.
What I was going to show them now was something that they couldn’t understand with their common sense.
They wouldn’t be too late to be surprised then.
I immediately left [Integrated Zone] and moved to Thought World.
***
Is this the end…?
Kang Hye-rim stuck her sword into the ground and held her body from falling.
But the blood flowing from the wound and the breath that reached the limit made her mind blurry.
She knelt on one knee.
At that moment, Yu-Hyun appeared in front of her.
He was invisible to the phantom soldiers because he had [Genesis’s Protection].
So, his figure standing still alone in this fierce battlefield was too out of place.
“Yu-hyun… sir.”
“Hye-rim, it’s over.”
“…”
Kang Hye-rim bit her lip.
Yu-hyun was right. It was over. She had failed.
“I, I…”
“You can give up.”
“…”
“If you stay here, you will die. I don’t want that. Even if it leaves a scar on your successful path, it’s better than dying. You did your best. Some things just don’t work out.”
Some things don’t work out even if you try.
That phrase weighed down on Kang Hye-rim’s heart like a lump of lead.
She bowed her head. She couldn’t face Yu-hyun.
She muttered regretfully.
“That’s right. There are things that don’t work out in this world.”
“…Do you want to give up?”
“Never!”
Kang Hye-rim shouted.
It was a scream filled with anger that she had never shown before.
“I know! I know this is my stubbornness! There are things that don’t work out in this world, just like Yu-hyun said. No matter what I do, there are some processes that I can never reach. But, but! But how can I say that I give up! Why do you say such cruel things?!”
She yelled as if she was venting her frustration.
It was the same in the past.
When she awakened as a collector and received training, people around her sneered at her.
They said that she couldn’t do anything, that she should quit this path and do something else.
What could someone like her do?
She gave up for a moment at those words.
But.
“Yu-hyun taught me. That I have talent. That I can do things that others can’t. Thanks to him, I learned who I really am. That’s how I got here. And I just realized what I want to do.”
Crack.
She clenched her fist with the hand on the ground.
She slowly got up from her seat with her head down.
“I don’t want to run away anymore. I’m sick of it.”
She had lived in despair, but she learned what success meant.
The hope that she had never known before, the light that moistened her dried heart like a sweet dew from the sky.
Now that she knew it, she couldn’t go back to the way she was.
“You will die.”
“I know. I’ll probably die. But… I don’t want to give up. I’m sorry. I’m really stupid, right? Being stubborn at such an important moment.”
Kang Hye-rim let out a weak laugh.
Even at this moment when her life was at stake, she only felt guilty for bothering Yu-hyun.
But even knowing that, she couldn’t stop.
This was her greed. It was also her stubbornness that would never bend once she held the sword.
“I see.”
Yu-hyun’s voice was still calm.
But Hyelim couldn’t see his face.
He must have been disappointed.
Maybe he even despised me.
For not listening to him, for acting on my own.
The only regret she had was that.
“Die! Witch!”
One of the Osman commanders who broke through the defense line spotted Kang Hye-rim who barely stood up and ran towards her.
‘I have to stop him…’
She lifted her sword to block the attack, but she could barely stand up.
She had no strength left to swing her sword.
Kang Hye-rim sensed her death.
‘It’s over.’
She closed her eyes.
Thinking of the pain that would soon follow.
At that moment, Yu-hyun’s voice broke her thoughts.
“That’s a relief.”
What does he mean…
Kang Hye-rim finally lifted her head and saw Yu-hyun’s expression.
He didn’t scold her from the beginning.
He didn’t despise her, or get angry at her.
He didn’t look at her coldly as she had assumed.
He was smiling with satisfaction.
[Genesis Protection is deactivated.]
[Once deactivated, it cannot be reversed.]
[Do you want to deactivate?]
“Yes.”
At the same time,
Yu-hyun pulled out his sword from the void and slashed the neck of the Osman commander who was running towards Kang Hye-rim.
A clean strike that was hard to believe even with open eyes.
Kang Hye-rim’s eyes widened in disbelief.
And so did the spirits who were watching this situation in silence.
[The spirits can’t believe it and point fingers at you.]
[The spirits are confused if this is a dream.]
Everyone opened their mouths, widened their eyes, and gasped.
The impact of their emotions was conveyed through the messages.
[The one who laughs in the darkest place supports 100TP!]
[Hahahahahaha!!!]
Only Satan laughed like crazy at that sight.
“Get up.”
Yu-hyun ignored everything around him and reached out his hand to Kang Hye-rim.
Kang Hye-rim stared blankly at the scene.
Suddenly, she remembered what had happened just a while ago.
The day she fell into despair, he had also reached out his hand to her like this.
And he had held her hand.
“It’s not over yet.”
Unlike before, the hand he held this time felt warm.
