The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 875

Episode 875: Now… Let’s settle the score. (3)

Crackle!
Golden lightning spread across Yulien’s body.
Dozens, hundreds of glowing lines spread, slicing through his entire body.
Wherever the lines touched, darkness failed to hold its form and crumbled.
Like an old shell peeling off, Yulien’s body began to quietly split apart.
It wasn’t just his body that was crumbling.
The spirits entangled with him also scattered with sad smiles.
The spirits once tainted by darkness regained their original beautiful light, and one by one, as if they had found peace, they vanished into the air.
Salvation.
Yulien’s soul had finally been truly purified.
The energy that had surrounded Giselle was also dissipating.
The darkness, too, lost its form, becoming black particles that seeped into Giselle’s body.
Giselle, returning to her original form, slowly turned her head.
“…Why?”
Yulien’s sword stopped just before Giselle’s neck.
He could have cut.
Even though he could, Yulien stopped his sword.
If Julian hadn’t stopped his sword, the two would have died simultaneously.
“Julian…”
Giselle’s eyes trembled slightly.
It was clear that Julian had finally overcome the demon’s evil thoughts.
That must have been why he stopped his sword and gave his heart.
Paaaaaaa… …
Julian’s body began to gradually disintegrate into particles of light.
His form was already disintegrating. If just a little more time passed, not even a trace would remain.
Julian slowly reached out his hand to Giselle, who stood there in a daze.
“…Giselle.”
Giselle unconsciously grabbed Julian’s hand. She felt a need to do so.
And she could feel it.
The last of the strength Julian was giving her.
“Julian, you…”
Hearing Giselle’s trembling voice, Julian whispered softly.
“Ernhard… will be waiting for you in the Demon Realm…”
“…”
“Which one of us wins…it doesn’t matter to him…”
Only then did Giselle begin to grasp Ernhard’s motive.
Saving Deneb meant breaking the seal on the Demonic Mirror.
Ernhard must have sought the power that had been trapped for a thousand years.
Giselle forced her voice to ask,
“…Why did you do that?”
Julian, gradually crumbling, slowly closed his eyes.
His face no longer showed any pain or conflict.
“Because…I trust you…”
Those words contained everything.
The belief that he would be able to save Deneb, and this world.
The conviction that he would never crumble, even with the power she had bestowed upon him.
Giselle had proven that trust was not misplaced.
So… …it was time to trust Giselle and leave.
The fragments that shattered from Julian’s body floated into the air, bathed in light as they gradually scattered in all directions.
As golden debris spread like flower rain, Julian’s voice, steeped in longing, quietly echoed.
“A thousand years ago, I… those days I met and spent with you… were truly happy.”
The time I set out with my friends to save the world.
Countless times we were hurt, fell, and despaired, yet we stood up again, trusting in each other’s backs.
Those days were arduous and difficult, but they were brilliant, irreplaceable memories.
“But… after losing Deneb… I… lost my reason for living…”
In that moment, the world seemed as if all light had gone out, a shade of gray.
It wasn’t just the collapse of my purpose in life; it felt as if the very meaning of existence had vanished.
I fell into despair.
It felt as if I had lost everything in the world.
There was no reason to live, no purpose to move forward.
Julian slowly opened his eyes. He looked gently at Giselle.
“Even after being reincarnated, I… still couldn’t find a reason to live.”
The moment he was born, his mother passed away.
And ominous signs continued to appear around him.
Even his father called him a cursed child and raised his sword.
Assassination threats became a daily occurrence, and he felt constantly on the edge of a precipice, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of just surviving each day.
After becoming stronger, he stopped connecting with anyone. He forgot how to have someone by his side, living alone.
So, he was always lonely and alone.
He wanted to die, feeling like he had no reason to live, but an inexplicable will prevented him from doing so.
“But…”
Julian’s voice grew slightly warmer.
Giselle and Fenris’s friends were different.
They approached him without any suspicion, reached out without any conditions. They
laughed together, fought together, and ultimately became friends willing to risk their lives for each other.
In fact… … he was grateful.
Through the time he spent with them, his frozen heart began to thaw.
Julian finally found a reason to live.
With Giselle, and with his friends.
To save this world.
But now… … he had to leave that task to others.
“Giselle, meeting you and your friends…”
Julian smiled at Giselle.
That smile was so serene, it seemed as if he had been waiting for this moment all along.
“I…”
Those words he had always wanted to say, but never managed to utter.
Those words he had swallowed countless times.
Now, as if letting go, he blurted them out.
“…I was happy.”
With that final smile, Julian’s body quietly crumbled.
But it wasn’t destruction.
The broken traces scattered like petals bathed in light… … .
Riding the wind, they permeated the earth, the sky, and every corner of the world.
As if seeking to become one with the world he had saved, and as if the world quietly embraced him in his wounds.
And so, Julian… … .
dispersed into the world.

* * *

“…….”
Giselle stood there for a long moment.
Until the last bit of light was carried away by the wind,
unable to move an inch.
“……Julian.”
Giselle quietly closed her eyes.
Now she understood.
Why had Giselle insisted on a fight to the end?
Why had she given up a favorable battlefield to create this opportunity?
It was to hand over her final “authority.”
A power granted only to those who had proven their worth, the power to overcome their opponents.
Giselle had demonstrated it in her final moments.
That was why Giselle… …was able to pass on her power to Giselle, the “new successor.”
To pass on that power, she had held on to her human heart through pain, entrusting her last remaining hope to Giselle.
However, the demonic spirit that had passed through that power now clung to Giselle.
Thrash thud thud thud…
“Ugh!”
Giselle clutched her head and collapsed.
Something inside her mind tore at her soul, scratching and burrowing.
This thought was not a proper will.
It was because Giselle had not chosen the demon, nor had the demon chosen her.
She had merely clung to the last of Julian’s strength, driven by instinct to destroy… …a filthy, torn remnant.
But even that remnant held a power beyond the human mind’s capacity.
―Purify the world… … .
―Destroy everything… … .
―And… …a new world… … .
The whispers, like orders, and the orders like longing, enveloped Giselle’s mind.
Although it wasn’t a proper thought, combined with the power Julian had bestowed, it wielded unprecedented power.
This could only be stopped by a powerful will. Giselle’s will was enough to withstand the thought.
But it could only endure, not defeat.
His mind was now bound in an endless battle, unable to rest for even a moment.
And the more he used this power, the more he would be consumed, little by little, but surely. Just
as the Pope, Ernhard, had been a thousand years ago.
“Ugh…”
Giselle clutched her head and stood up.
The power Yulienne had given her was dangerous. But this power was the only way to resolve this situation.
This power was the only way to control the rift.
Giselle bit her lip. A sharp pain forced her hazy mind back into focus.
She staggered toward the rift and reached out.
Paaaaah!
Darkness burst from Giselle’s hand, enveloping the rift.
The eyes within the rift shook.
The being within the rift could have escaped if they waited a moment. But their king had given the power to another.
As if responding to this betrayal, the rift slowly contracted.
Kaaaah!
A giant hand burst out from the shrinking gap.
It twisted and tried to escape. But its massive body was caught in its shoulder, unable to move any further.
Kwaaaaah!
The hand that barely escaped struck the earth.
The earth roared, and the hand reached out relentlessly toward Giselle.
Pure malice, intent on grabbing and tearing her to pieces.
Jiselle retreated, drawing in more energy. The more she did, the smaller the crack became, and the lesser god of the other world screamed.
Kaaaaaaah!
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The giant hand twitched even more, as if in a fit of convulsion.
But as if unable to overcome the power within the crack, the hand was pulled further and further into the crack.
The problem was Jiselle.
“Kuuuk…”
A nosebleed flowed, and black veins gushed out on his face. The more he exerted himself, the more the evil thoughts consumed his mind and body.
If this continued, Jiselle would be consumed by the demon’s
evil thoughts. And not by proper thoughts, but by rotten fragments.
But she couldn’t stop. Even now, the darkness gathered here was seeping into the crack. The energy had nowhere to go.
Jiselle gritted her teeth, determined to hold on until the crack closed.
But her eyes gradually darkened, and her mind began to crumble.
Dark roared loudly within Jiselle’s consciousness.
“Master! Stop! I’ll get eaten by this filthy thing if I keep going like this!
” “No… no…”
I can’t let the rift open. I don’t know how many will burst out from there.
The original plan was to set up a magic circle like before, just to stop the rift from expanding. After that, I tried to find another way.
But Julian had handed over the power to manipulate the rift.
Time was running out, so they had to close it now.
If the rift grew any bigger, the beings within would squeeze through.
Dddddddddd… … .
Thanks to Giselle’s strong will, the rift began to close. However, as much as she exerted her strength, the evil thoughts consumed Giselle’s mind.
‘Should I stop?’
No, she couldn’t stop.
If she stopped now, the backlash would immediately suck the darkness within into the rift. She
had to close it completely. Now that she had begun to touch it, that was the only way.
“Ugh…”
Giselle endured the pain and concentrated, but in the end, the evil thoughts took root in her mind.
“Ugh!”
– Master! You have to stop!
Giselle’s hair was turning black, and the darkness was beginning to consume even his energy.
If this continued, Giselle would become a new adversary. Adding to the transcendent power accumulated by Giselle, the worst opponent ever faced.
And then, at that moment.
Paaaaaaaaaaah!
A miracle occurred.
No, this wasn’t a miracle.
It was a power that had been prepared for a long, long time.
A pure white light burst from Giselle’s body.
As if the gates of a long-sealed sanctuary had opened, the darkness that had consumed him slowly began to wash away.
The deepest part of her soul.
The divine power that had never budged, no matter how hard Giselle tried.
It finally awakened and turned toward the darkness.
“Deneb…”
Giselle muttered, her expression blank.
The longing, joy, and bewilderment contained within that single name.
Before Giselle could even think, the divine power gripped her mind tightly.
A warm yet resolute light spread throughout her body, beginning to subdue the darkness.
But the darkness didn’t retreat.
It screamed, trembled, and spasmed, resisting the light.
The darkness, combined with Yulienne’s power, radiated a persistent malice, strong enough to withstand even the saint’s divine power.
Then.
Paaaaah!
Another light flowed from the bracelet Giselle was wearing.
The sacred relic she had taken from Gattros.
The sacred power of Deneb, dormant within it, seeped into Giselle’s body as if it had long awaited this moment.
The light grew deeper and stronger.
It hadn’t yet overpowered the darkness, but it was enough to prevent it from invading Giselle’s mind.
Only then did Giselle realize
why the sacred relics had gathered in her hands. Why Deneb had chosen her from among countless possibilities.
“Haha… Deneb, you really…”
His words trailed off, but his smile held all understanding.
Her decision to stake everything on the future had succeeded.
If she could absorb all the remaining sacred power of the relics, she would be able to subdue the darkness raging within her and wield it with complete control.
Giselle regained her composure.
The darkness still writhed fiercely, and its power was a burden to handle.
But it was no longer hopeless.
I could endure it. I could
endure the encroachment of my thoughts and close this door.
Kaaaaaaah!
A howl was heard from within the crack.
But now the lesser god of the other world could no longer reach out.
His trembling hand, filled with rage, was completely drawn into the crack.
Beyond the narrowing gap, eyes bloodshot with hatred revealed themselves for the last time.
As if he would never forget you.
Jiselle stared into those eyes for a moment, then chuckled.
“Get out.”
Paaak!
After a short, sharp flash of light,
the crack closed completely and vanished from the world.
As if it had never existed in the first place.