〈 Chapter 283 〉 Hero Galahal (2）
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Shining light!
Raniel pulled out a wooden box from the robe. It was a box large enough for a human arm to fit inside. Light was leaking out from the seams of the box.
Unable to endure the light, the box opened on its own.
Inside was the arm of the First Saint, obtained long ago from the North. A vessel to contain a star, and a cyclic device arranged by the Grand Magus for the future.
Four stars orbited around the arm.
One of the stars began to shatter.
It was the faintest star among the four, a star that had never shone brightly for years. Yet now, it scattered the brightest light.
Brighter than any other star.
And, fiercer.
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Lifespan is the most precious currency a human can offer. The lifespan granted by a star cannot be replaced by anything else, and that uniqueness is the value of a lifespan.
However, the value of all time is not equal.
A second lived by one who lives an instant is more valuable than a hundred years lived by one who lives eternally. Time is both absolute and relative.
“I offer it.”
Here stands a human.
“All of me.”
A human who has lived while saving every minute and second.
The human dreamed of becoming a hero. The path he wished to walk was long and treacherous, so he had to run without rest his entire life. Hence, the path he walked is beautiful.
Beautiful, therefore valuable.
The star recognizes that value.
A human who has lived to the best of his ability is acknowledged by the star. The star acknowledges that even the fleeting moments of time left to the human are more valuable than anything else.
The star asks the human.
What is your desire?
Without the slightest hesitation, the human replies.
What spills forth without hesitation is will, and thus the human’s wish. The star is a being that responds to wishes. The star willingly conveys the human’s reply.
【The transaction has been established.】
The fleeting moment holds eternal value.
Eternity thus becomes starlight.
Crumble.
The last scales of Balance shatter.
The shattering scales turn into starlight, flooding into the body of the human who dreamed of becoming a hero. Starlight surged forth.
“Please wait, Chloe.”
Galahal smiled.
“I’ll go save you now.”
Galahal took a step forward.
He advances, pulling the brilliantly shining starlight along. With each step he takes, the starlight breaks apart. Not only the starlight shatters.
Galahal’s flesh also crumbles.
Even knowing this, Galahal stepped forward resolutely. With each step, Galahal thinks.
His body is light.
Light, so he feels he can accomplish anything.
Galloping along with the starlight, Galahal raced ahead.
2.
A wave of Beasts crashed down upon Galahal.
However, such brilliant light cannot be blocked by mere beasts. Light leaked through the gaps of the wave, and Galahal emerged, cutting through the tide.
Light burns darkness.
Behind Galahal, who advances carrying light, were the remnants of burning beast corpses. Yet, the number of beasts did not dwindle. It only continued to swell. The tide kept crashing relentlessly.
The Betrayer, Gletus.
This is why this calamity is regarded with horror on the battlefield.
With a mere gesture, he commands an army, endlessly unleashing beasts. This terrible calamity has no weaknesses even as a Summoner.
From the torn space, beasts continually emerged.
Watching the beasts pouring out from the air, it seemed more like birth than summoning.
Thud.
Galahal gripped his spear tighter and leaped into the swarm of beasts. His body moved several times faster than usual, and each time he swung his spear, starlight followed.
Together with Kyle, known as the strongest hero, Galahal cut through the Betrayer’s forces. He sliced and diced.
However, the distance did not close.
Swinging the spear to the point of numbness in his arms, and piercing through the beasts, when he looked up… the distance remained unchanged. He was still far from the Betrayer. The beasts continued to flood out.
Endless.
When the Betrayer waved her hand, the Carapace Dragon that guarded her moved. The Carapace Dragon, dug into the ground, approached Galahal. Thud, thud, the ground trembled.
Galahal runs.
He strides toward the approaching Carapace Dragon on the shaking earth. Swoosh, he struck the ground with his spear and jumped into the air.
Kragakaka!
At that moment, the Carapace Dragon surged up from below.
Mud flew up, and the gaping maw of the Carapace Dragon sought to swallow the airborne Galahal. Towards that gaping mouth, Galahal plummeted.
The Carapace Dragon, the strongest beast possessed by the Betrayer.
Galahal had at least a theoretical understanding of how to combat such a beast. He recalled the tales he heard from Kyle, who had repelled it numerous times.
“The Carapace Dragon’s shell is hard to break even with the stars’ blessings.”
“So, leap into its maw.”
“It’s easier to tear it apart from the inside.”
Advice he would never have dared to imagine before.
But now, with his current body, it is possible. Just as the Carapace Dragon swallowed Galahal whole and snapped its maw shut. Galahal twisted his body.
Spin.
Twisting in midair, Galahal swung his spear wildly. There’s no technique behind that swing.
Tear, stab, slice apart.
The continuous sequence of those simple actions was indeed effective.
The Carapace Dragon screamed as its body tore open. Galahal emerged, ripping it apart from the inside.
He had taken down one.
However, there was no time to rejoice in that fact.
With the spear lodged in the corpse of the bleeding Carapace Dragon, Galahal looked ahead.
Three Carapace Dragons rushed in.
Two approached from the side, one was charging straight ahead. Just as Galahal gritted his teeth to leap, a question emerged in his mind.
The Betrayer has five Carapace Dragons.
One has been slain, and now three are rushing in. Where, then, is the remaining one? Galahal’s eyes scanned quickly. But it was nowhere to be seen.
Thud.
At that moment, the ground shook.
From beneath the fallen Carapace Dragon’s corpse, another Carapace Dragon surged up. Galahal’s eyes widened. Urgently, he attempted to leap, but what he had to face wasn’t just the Carapace Dragon.
【———!】
Dragons soaring in the sky screech.
As the overlapping howls rang out, Galahal’s body froze for an instant. It was just a moment, but all battles are decided in a moment.
Snap.
The rising Carapace Dragon bit into Galahal.
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It’s over.
Watching the Carapace Dragon bite into Galahal, the Betrayer thought that. The Carapace Dragon, with Galahal in its jaws, headed straight for the ground.
Kragakaka!
With Galahal slammed into the earth, the Carapace Dragon began to violently twist its head from side to side. Galahal’s body was torn apart, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.
At this point, the battle was essentially over.
However, such was not the Betrayer’s prediction.
The thrashing Carapace Dragon suddenly halted, unable to go any farther. Through the shared vision with the Carapace Dragon, the Betrayer saw Galahal.
Galahal, half swallowed, with only his upper body sticking out. Even in that state, he succeeded in stabbing his spear between the Carapace Dragon’s teeth.
Thud.
The plunged spear penetrated through the Carapace Dragon’s mouth and was lodged into the ground. In that state, Galahal twisted his body. Blood spilled from the crushed gap as Galahal swung his spear.
Snap.
The jawbone of the Carapace Dragon shattered, and its mouth opened.
Galahal, having escaped the Carapace Dragon, staggered to his feet. Blood flowed from his bitten abdomen, and his entrails threatened to spill out.
“…Cough.”
Spitting blood, Galahal pressed his palm against his abdomen. Then, he pushed his innards back in, grasping the torn wound. His body, infused with starlight, heated up, and the wound began to close.
Galahal’s eyes met those of the Carapace Dragon.
In that moment, Galahal’s eyes turned bloodshot. The intensity of his gaze made the corner of the Betrayer’s mouth curl up.
“Oh.”
The Betrayer exhaled heatedly.
“How beautiful this sight is.”
Spitting blood, Galahal moved once more.
He threw himself at the approaching Carapace Dragon. Even while being bitten by beasts, torn apart by the Carapace Dragon, and feeling the breath of flying dragons, Galahal never once ceased.
He moved forward.
Shedding blood, he took one step ahead.
His figure, rushing forth to accomplish what seemed impossible against the never-ending tide of beasts… was far too beautiful in the Betrayer’s eyes.
Gleria Bel Armias recalled the past.
The brilliant past that cannot be returned to, she reminisced about the glorious light displayed by her comrades who fought against the impossible. How beautiful that light was!
And now.
A human, who bears that very same light, charged toward her. In this moment, Gleria both rejoiced and despaired. Amidst those two conflicting emotions, Gleria laughed madly.
“————!”
A human charging with a wild scream.
A human who burns all to challenge the impossible.
No less than a hero, and her mouth stretched into a smile.
“How adorable.”
Yet, it will not reach.
Just as her past self had done, that light shall never reach her.
Behold.
Is he not already on the ground?
“Cough, hack…”
Galahal bled as he lay on the ground.
Beasts continued to surge over him. Still, the distance between Galahal and the Betrayer did not close.
“How unfortunate.”
The Betrayer laughed.
Seeing the struggling human was pitiable, and that sight was so beloved that she laughed.
3.
Drip.
Blood poured out.
At first, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, but now even that sensation has faded. Sensations began to disappear one by one. Galahal looked down at the ground through his reddened vision.
The ground was red.
Whether it was because his sight was red or due to his own spilled blood, he couldn’t tell. Spitting blood once more, Galahal staggered to his feet. He could not afford to stop.
‘I must go.’
He had to move forward.
‘For what purpose?’
To save.
Thinking of only one goal, Galahal moved his body. His ripped and healed body had been destroyed enough that he felt no pain at all.
Galahal walked.
He could hear nothing. Feel no pain.
Thus, each step Galahal took was light. With eyes wide open, he walked. He kept on.
The waves surged forth.
He walked through the incoming waves.
Something brushed against his face. One of his eyes was now gone. With his narrowed vision, Galahal looked ahead. With a narrower field of vision, he thought he could only focus on what’s important. Thus, Galahal walked forward.
His hand felt numb.
And then he realized, one of his arms was missing. With one hand, Galahal swung his spear. In fading consciousness, Galahal desperately forced his body to move.
Swinging, stabbing, lifting.
He showcased everything he had accumulated in his lifetime.
His body felt lighter, but the spear he wielded grew heavier. The range of the spear he swung began to sweep wider.
Thud.
With each step he took, blood poured forth.
The more blood he spilled, for some reason, his mind became clearer. The sight of Galahal, spraying blood as he parted the waves, was no longer that of a living being.
A person meant to die still lived.
One who ought to fall continues to move.
Watching that sight, the Betrayer laughed. Behind her, Chloe was in tears. Chloe watched Galahal, who kept approaching her without stopping. She had witnessed him dying.
It was a tragic sight.
A desperate struggle.
Far from the hero of fairy tales. The sight of a human fighting against death was painfully tragic. Yet, because of that, it was noble.
Thud.
On the threshold of death.
With one foot firmly planted in death, Galahal advanced.
Somewhere along the line, the distance between Galahal and the Betrayer began to close. Behind Galahal lay the corpses of the mangled Carapace Dragons.
Rustle.
Galahal lightly swung his spear to slice through the attacking Carapace Dragon. Beyond the split Carapace Dragon, he pressed on. With determination and will alone, Galahal propelled his body forward.
However, cruelly.
Unlike fairy tales where hopes and aspirations can achieve everything, this was reality. To prove that, Galahal’s long-held pride began to shatter.
Snap!
The spear broke.
A weapon that was said to never break… a weapon blessed by the stars was now shattered. The spear broke. The weapon that had been with him his whole life was split in two.
The broken weapon floated in the air.
Galahal stared blankly at the broken holy spear.
The shattered spear shaft. The blade cracked.
It was much like his own life. Already destroyed and reached a point of no return. Staring at the weapon that had been with him all his life, Galahal thought.
‘Is the end approaching?’
What remained in his hand was the broken spear shaft.
What hovered in the air was the blade of the spear he had lost.
That question asked him.
Will you move forward or stop, broken?
‘No, not yet.’
Galahal answered the question.
He let go of the broken spear shaft. He reached out toward the floating spear blade.
‘Not yet can I stop.’
A weapon is akin to a warrior’s other half.
The moment a weapon breaks, the warrior is considered defeated. But not for Galahal.
Before being a warrior, he is a hero.
Even if his body breaks, even if the weapon he had carried for a lifetime meets its end, and even if his soul shatters, Galahal does not stop. He does not give up. A hero must be indomitable.
Thud.
Grasping the floating blade.
The moment he grasped the blade, blood burst from his hand. Now holding the holy spear that had turned into a dagger, he pressed on.
In this moment, as his end drew near, Galahal suddenly recalled the question he had carried throughout his life.
Talented individuals. Those with sharp blades that could reach the catastrophe. What reason was there for the blessing of the stars to descend upon someone like him? Galahal never found the answer to that question.
The human who couldn’t comprehend the stars’ whims spent his life searching for that answer. He believed that his life was the process of seeking that answer.
‘Ah.’
And at this moment.
A mere human finds the answer. That answer was borrowed from someone’s words.
Reasons are made.
Answers are found.
If the stars have a will, it lies within him.
‘Life is to prove.’
Proving that answer to the world.
‘So, I will move forward.’
To prove the answer.
Galahal gripped the holy spear. At some point, he was running. Running on broken legs. His body felt light. The distance closed in an instant. The approaching beasts could not block him.
He ran and ran.
As he dashed, Galahal prepared for the final strike. The human determination resonated with starlight. Just for a moment, Galahal’s crumbling body accelerated. In exchange for that acceleration, starlight departed from his body.
Where does the departed starlight go?
It seeps into the blade Galahal holds.
Until now, Galahal had never unleashed the starlight that dwelled in the spear blade. For this strike. Gripping the dazzlingly flickering spear blade, Galahal extended his arm.
In that moment, countless futures unfolded before Galahal’s eyes.
…In history, there has only ever been one superhuman hero. That being was the first hero, Ganikalt van Galatrick, forgotten in history.
However, at this moment, another example is born.
Galahal crosses over the wall that should not exist.
As the starlight departs from his flesh, the moment he becomes no longer a hero, he gains insight. A fleeting enlightenment. A realization that could vanish if grasped too tightly, Galahal firmly holds onto it.
The threshold of death.
In the moment of lifespan burning away, Galahal saw. The numerous paths unfolding before him. Within them, a shining line. It is what superhumans call the Path of the Sword. The single path found among countless futures.
Following that path, Galahal thrusts the spear blade.
The liberated starlight engulfs everything.
All that stood in his way disappeared. Before he knew it, only the Betrayer remained before him. Galahal roared and charged toward the Betrayer.
This shall be his last strike.
May my spear reach.
Galahal wished and wished.
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