Episode 11: The Grand Scheme / Chapter 193: Spring of the Great Universe

TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk

Later on, Flame-Rain would recall this fight and say, ‘It was a thrilling romantic comedy!’ She would then proceed to boast about how well-informed she was of Earth, making comments such as, ‘How about it? Don’t I sound exactly like an earthling now?’

Choi Hyuk, on the other hand, who didn’t enjoy watching movies and dramas, didn’t have much feeling towards the words ‘thrilling’ and ‘romantic’, but whenever he recalled the strange fight that day, he too unknowingly ended up shaking his head.

**

“Should we do it again?”

She laughed like a child with the screaming demise-ranked monster in the background.

When she tapped Choi Hyuk’s shoulder, without realizing it, he immediately swung his sword at the tooth next to it.

Jjong!

Flame-Rain’s sword followed right after it.

Glory filled the vacuum created by denial.

Baang!

It was the same this time as well. The demise-ranked monster’s tooth popped out like a piece of popcorn, accompanying the explosion caused by denial and glory.

Her villainous grin widened.

“All troops!! Cover us!!”

Her order heated the warriors’ bodies as though they had taken a shot of strong vodka.

Speckled lights gradually shone brighter and members of the Flame Wing Tribe members interspersed the universe with flames. Darkness spread by the Dark Tribe members cast shadows and the Armored Soul Tribe members made metallic sounds that were like guns being loaded.

An orchestra in space.

The demise-ranked monster that tried to capture Choi Hyuk and Flame-Rain was the conductor, the transcendent warriors that slashed, smashed, and pushed to obstruct it were the musicians, and Choi Hyuk and Flame-Rain were the dancers in the center.

Bang!

A tooth popped out.

Bang, bang!

Two teeth popped out.

Even as she narrowly dodged the monster’s attacks with the help of the other warriors, Flame-Rain’s face gradually blossomed into a bigger smile.

If Choi Hyuk decided on a target, Flame-Rain would follow his lead, and when Flame-Rain popped a tooth out, Choi Hyuk would look back at her and deliberate their next target. Since she kept laughing, Choi Hyuk laughed as well as though he was infected.

“I think we’re crazy.”

Flame-Rain said.

“I’ve never gone crazy like this…”

Choi Hyuk replied.

To think they would laugh like this while fighting a demise-ranked monster, which made the entire universe tremble in fear. They weren’t scoffing or laughing manically, rather they naturally began roaring with laughter. The moment they thought, ‘I never imagined such a funny fight…’ they would smirk and laugh.

Of course, it didn’t only make them laugh. It was thrilling as well.

Even the monster’s smallest movements distorted space and made stars look like streaks, and its hard claws and teeth, which were hard to discern, poured down on them like a waterfall or subway. Even though its attacks didn’t land, they had to protect their bodies with karma to survive and their cheeks and chests tingled as though they had been slapped. Cold sweat ran down their backs every time they narrowly avoided the monster’s attacks.

However, after perspiring cold sweat, they giggled due to the thrilling chill.

“Blow it away!”

“Push!”

“I’m on my way there!”

The warriors suppressed the demise-ranked monster with all their strength, and Choi Hyuk and Flame-Rain danced. They laughed as they danced a dance that would lead to their gruesome deaths with a single misstep.

Every time the monster’s claws swept the universe and its teeth devoured space, Choi Hyuk and Flame-Rain, like falcons, would target its teeth with their blades, popping out one after the other like fireworks brightening the universe.

Then, at some point…

{Kuaaah! Feel the demise!!}

Enraged to no end, the monster sent out a comprehensible telepathic message as it raised its upper body like a snake and took a big bite of the world.

Cruuuuuunch!!

“…Huh?”

The heatedly fighting warriors suddenly froze.

No one could react to the monster’s sudden action. Choi Hyuk and Flame-Rain were no longer in sight.

Its mouth was firmly shut.

“Don’t tell me…”

The warriors became pale.

The demise-ranked monster’s mouth curved upwards.

Just like that, its mouth tilted back and exploded.

Baaaaaang!

The monster’s dented head exploded.

Whoosh!

Hundreds of teeth shot up into the air.

Stepping on the monster’s slumped torso, Flame-Fain held an exhausted Choi Hyuk up as she stood in place.

The ‘Spring of the Great Universe’ had begun.

**

Killing a demise-ranked monster was completely different from killing any other monster.

The death of a demise-ranked monster, whose existence approached the bounds of a law of the universe, created a phenomenon that was called ‘the Spring of the Great Universe’ throughout the universe.

The universe, which had been trembling at the sight of demise, cheered at this unexpected victory.

Having overcome demise, new possibilities opened up for the universe. Warriors would get stronger, karmalings would prosper, and new species would be born.

Standing in front of the demise-ranked monster’s remains as it melted from the light of the universe and dispersed, the warriors could confirm this as fact.

Like a sunrise, the universe became transparent starting from its edges. From this transparent beyond, a warm, red light rose like the sun. A horizon was created in the universe that had been dark in every direction. As if the sky was opening, the light in the horizon slowly pushed on and covered the entire universe. White and red light fluttered like feathers.

“Wow… Look at this.”

Flame-Rain propped Choi Hyuk on top of the crumbling demise-ranked monster’s body and jumped around. Since she was jumping around on top of a corpse, it should have looked strange, yet contrarily, it was a beautiful sight. The demise-ranked monster melted into the universe as its corpse dispersed into specks of light, and Flame-Rain jumped around like she was running through a shimmering field of spring flowers. She chased after the fluttering red and white lights. She tried eating them, sticking them to her hair, and twirling around.

Her cheeks glowed, and transparent flames blazed on her hair.

Choi Hyuk thought she was dazzling.

He suddenly realized that he no longer saw the symbols and lights shown by his Eyes of Distinction and Eyes of the Judge, which had helped alleviate concerns from his actions. They had changed so naturally that he didn’t realize it.

Choi Hyuk now simply read a portion of people’s will and fate.

His ‘Eyes of Distinction’ allowed him to sense the other’s will towards him, and ‘Eyes of the Judge’ allowed him to read the relationship between one’s fate and his.

Her will was still firmly directed at him, and her warm fate was embracing his cold-hearted one.

While this information wasn’t as intuitive or simple as seeing a white light or a blue shield symbol, perhaps she was more dazzling because it was so.

While what kind of goodwill she possessed towards him and how her own fate embraced his own wasn’t as simple to read as before, because he knew them more clearly, she was dazzling.

Acting exhausted, he closed his eyes and mumbled,

“Thanks.”

“Huh? What did you say? This nunim{1} who was cold-heartedly rejected yet magically appeared to save your life couldn’t hear you properly. Say it again.”

Choi Hyuk shook his head when she smiled and acted innocent even though she had heard him clearly.

He had refused her proposal of going to the monsters’ universe together with her and had fought as a loyal subordinate of her mortal foe, Flame-Hell. Yet she was still like this.

‘What’s making her so happy for her to laugh like that?’

Seeing how he didn’t speak and simply shook his head, Flame-Rain laughed. Then she looked up at the universe, which was now clearly dyed like spring flowers, and said,

“It’s spring.”

In this spring which had clearly arrived, warriors who had scattered to run from the demise-ranked monster were now looking for each other as they gathered.

Chu Youngjin was the same. He traversed through the gently glittering universe to find one person.

Even though he suffered a moderately severe injury and was completely worn out, he felt like he had to find that person.

It was a highest-ranked warrior who had been unable to bear the monster’s roar and had retreated. Since he didn’t know where she went or if she was alive, it was a suffocating search.

‘Not here, not there.’

Though he needed rest and get treatment, perhaps it was due to his exhaustion, but he couldn’t think at all. He searched for her thoughtlessly like a machine with a predetermined command.

Just as his vision became blurry and his strength left his arms and legs, he finally discovered a familiar silhouette. She too discovered him.

“Chu Youngjin!!”

Even hearing it again, she sounded awkward because her voice was overfilled with emotion. Still, it wasn’t bad.

“Ha… I found you.”

As soon as he said this, all his tension relaxed. Chu Youngjin lost consciousness. It was fine since she was alive. For some reason, a smile hung on his lips.

Shiro embraced Chu Youngjin.

She covered her smooth, hard skin with warm, gentle karma.

She recalled the fight against the transcendent-level monsters, which she couldn’t perceive let alone join in, and the fight against the demise-ranked monster that followed soon after. Then she gazed down at Chu Youngjin, who had come looking for her after all the fighting had ended.

While it was impulsive, she made a decision.

She whispered quietly,

“When you wake up… I’ll tell you about the grand scheme. Let’s fight together, and bask in the glory together. From now on.”

To Shiro, them partaking in the grand scheme together meant that they would be fighting together in the most important battle in this war, which could be considered her life. It meant spending their lives together.

She couldn’t imagine this great warrior, who had come looking for her, rejecting their grand scheme.

No, it was her selfishness. She no longer thought she would fight apart from him.

Her unease disappeared, and certainty and expectations filled that space.

This was the first Spring of the Great Universe since Flame-Sky died slaying a demise-ranked monster.

Some said that those who watched this spring together would be tied by fate and that if they held hands or gazed in each other’s eyes when the dark universe turned transparent and white and red lights fluttered like feathers, they would become once-in-a-lifetime lovers or friends…

**

As the Spring of the Great Universe occurred at the same time throughout the universe, the Exalted Wings soon learned that the demise-ranked monster had died.

“Haa… Was this a blessing in disguise?”

Dark-Sound’s eyes shined.

Shiro was alive. Just this fact filled his heart with emotion.

Yet, that wasn’t all. The entire situation was the best.

While the demise-ranked monster was killed, a significant number of remnants remained. Dark-Sound now had the justification to personally mop them up.

Flame-Hell would have no choice but to personally act following Dark-Sound’s suggestion in order to keep Flame-Rain, whose name spread once again as a hero of the alliance, in check.

That wasn’t all. He was able to confirm that Light-Maze and Choi Hyuk were both alive through the restored communication network.

There couldn’t be a better opportunity than this.

“Carry out the grand scheme.”

Finally…

Finally, this day had arrived.

Dark-Sound revealed a huge grin.

*

“Apparently, Youngjin obtained Dark-Sound’s trust.”

“Then tell him to kill Dark-Sound during this expedition. The method will be… the same method he requested me to use.”

{1} A more respectful version of nuna, which is how a younger guy would refer to an older woman

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