Ending Maker

Baaaang!

The roar filled the entire room.

Sound was erased, and lightning struck again in the area that had become silent.

Black.

Just like lightning that split the night sky, it drew a line at once. It stretched out at a fearsome speed.

Bang!

At the time of the second thunder, the Lord Protector was unable to properly see the attack.

He managed to avoid the attacks due to his strong obsession with life and his long combat experience, but he didn’t even know himself what or how he avoided it.

But he was the Lord Protector.

He was one of the Ten Great Swordmasters.

He launched a counterattack before even realizing that he had avoided the attack.

His rushing left hand was filled with a dark blue aura.

Shwaaaak!

It was cut.

The dark blue aura cut Jude’s chest. And it was only at that time that the Lord Protector became fully aware of the surrounding situation.

He realized almost simultaneously of the fact that he had evaded Jude’s punch by twisting his upper body, and that Jude had likewise twisted his upper body to avoid the counterattack.

And black lightning burst again.

Black energy exploded from Jude’s body and filled the sight of the Lord Protector, and Jude’s beastly onslaught soon unfolded.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Black Sun in the middle of Jude’s heart let out an immense energy.

The Thunder God Invokes Lightning created lightning, and Jude’s fist was covered with black lightning as his Lightning Strike Fist tore the air apart.

It was fast and strong.

At the same time, it was extremely rough.

Because it was too much for him.

He didn’t have the time.

It had only been a month or so after he had opened the fifth door.

He had yet to fully adapt to it.

Moreover, he didn’t experience any massive growth at that time.

It was impossible for him to open the sixth door.

If his physical and spiritual body had not enlarged due to the metamorphosis, he would not have been able to open the sixth door without the variable that was the divine sword, Claíomh Solais.

A runaway.

A state in which normal functions were rendered impossible.

His heart was beating too fast and irregular. It felt like his heart, where the Black Sun was located, was about to burst.

The black lightning emitted from his whole body not only burned the air but also cut and tore Jude’s skin without stopping.

The attack was fast and strong enough, but it was too rough. There was no trace of the precision Jude usually showed.

Self-destruction.

His fate would be his destruction if he was overwhelmed by that destructive force.

A fated catastrophe that he brought on to himself.

He would be destroyed.

If he used his fist attack again.

If he pushed it a little further.

It would cause a runaway.

It would become completely uncontrollable.

The Black Sun’s energy would destroy Jude!

Bang!

Another thunder roared. Jude’s fist was filled with black lightning that exploded.

But Jude did not collapse.

His heart still pounded as if it was going to burst, and the raging lightning continued to add new wounds to Jude’s arms and legs, but he remained unbroken.

He managed to control the power he couldn’t handle.

Cheonmujiche.

The incarnation of martial arts from the heavens.

Add to that was Jude’s concentration and calculation skills that were beyond common sense. His whole body that was going berserk finally confined the power that he couldn’t control himself.

“Uooooo!”

Jude roared like a beast and struck the Lord Protector.

Instead of his usual way of calculating the attack direction, he entrusted himself to the berserk power. He literally became a beast and launched an onslaught.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Lord Protector could not completely avoid the attacks.

He couldn’t even attack Jude with his sword. He was in a hurry to protect himself from the wild beast.

But when Jude’s attacks reached the seventh number, the Lord Protector slightly adapted to Jude’s attacks. When the twelfth attack unfolded, he finally found a gap where he could counterattack.

“Uoooo!”

The Lord Protector clenched his teeth as Jude roared. He swung his sword at Jude despite the pain of his injured left shoulder.

His unmatched sword attack tried to bite the neck of Jude.

Baaaaang!

His sword was like the teeth of a beast.

A peculiar sword style that left very rough scars.

But he couldn’t reach it. At the time when the Lord Protector aimed for a counterattack, Princess Daphne and Prince Dion could only watch as they couldn’t even intervene in the fight.

And Cordelia did not remove her hand from the sword.

She released the life energy that she had forcibly converted from the enormous power of the divine sword, so the nerves of her entire body felt like it was burning, but she did not close her eyes despite the tremendous pain. She had watched the fight, so she was able to instinctively know what she should do at that moment.

‘.’

The magic spell Cordelia cast in the midst of pain.

A basic magic spell that was so basic that even beginners who had just began to learn magic could easily use it.

But that was why she could use it at the current situation now.

Moreover, Cordelia knew it better than anyone else.

Although she recognized herself as a fan of firepower, she did not forget one thing.

How a wizard fought.

The role of the wizard.

Someone who made miracles through the so-called magic.

He slipped.

At the moment when the Lord Protector tried to avoid Jude’s attack and launch a counterattack himself, her chance to turn the tide finally came.

The sudden slippery floor prevented the Lord Protector from properly stepping on it. He did not completely fall down, but his attack deviated. The attack itself was also delayed.

And Jude did not miss that gap.

Bang!

Lightning Strike Fist.

Jude’s fist struck the Lord Protector’s abdomen. For the first time since the start of the battle, he dealt a perfect blow to the Lord Protector.

“Kaaak!”

The Lord Protector coughed blood. His body slightly rose into the air, and Jude’s second attack aimed at the heart of the Lord Protector.

Bang!

The Lord Protector flew and roughly hit the wall. Jude rushed towards him, and the Lord Protector swung his sword at that moment. As a man who had wielded a sword for most of his life, his body had reacted to the impending attack.

But it was different from before. Jude could see the sword clearly. So he swung his fist towards the sword covered in dark blue aura.

Black Dragon Cross Strike.

His attack aimed at the surface of the sword and not the bladed part, which was normally a reckless attack.

But his Cheonmujiche made it possible. Black lightning and the dark blue sword collided, and the sword of the Lord Protector exploded with a loud sound.

Baaaang!

The blade shattered. It broke into pieces and cut the bodies of Jude and the Lord Protector. Then Jude turned his body around using his right fist. His downward roundhouse kick filled with the energy of the black dragon shot down diagonally like a lightning bolt.

Baaaang!

Lightning burst again. But the Lord Protector did not collapse. He defended Jude’s attack with his left arm. He somehow endured and exploded his dark blue aura.

Shwaaaaa-!

It blinded Jude’s eyes. He somehow used that opportunity to attack and strike a blow into Jude’s chest just before he run away.

He no longer had a sword. It had broken and was unusable.

But something like this frequently happened on the battlefield. The Lord Protector concentrated his dark blue aura on his clenched fist.

“Uoooo!”

The Lord Protector sent his fist. But Jude was not fooled. Even in the midst of the Black Sun going out of control, he read the aura of the Lord Protector with his sharpened senses. He launched his fist at the exact direction of the fist heading towards him.

Bang!

Their fists collided.

The black lightning and dark blue aura canceled each other out with a roar, and the fists of Jude and the Lord Protector broke at the same time.

But there was a stark difference between the two.

The Sphere of Life.

Jude’s regeneration ability amplified by the energy of the Black Sun.

“Uoooooo!”

The Lord Protector had lost both his left arm and right fist. But it wasn’t for Jude. He poured out a one-sided onslaught towards the Lord Protector.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He destroyed the dark blue aura. He broke the body of the Lord Protector!

Baaaang!

The Black Dragon Cross Strike struck the chest of the Lord Protector. He threw up blood and was greatly pushed back while Jude who was about to deal the last blow also coughed blood.

It was his limit.

Doing one more attack was impossible.

If he continued using the Black Sun, his heart would really burst.

That was why Jude withdrew his energy.

He did that despite knowing that he still had some strength to spare.

Because Jude did not forget.

That there was one more person.

That there was a woman who instead of being satisfied and collapsing after her decisive support, she had clenched her teeth and waited for the chance to deal the last hit.

“Finish him.”

Jude said, and Cordelia responded. She leant on the divine sword as if hanging from it, and greatly spread out a white light.

It wasn’t only Jude who absorbed the power of the divine sword.

In the midst of converting and releasing the life energy, she literally covered herself with Solari’s divine power. Thus, a new power was added to her wings.

Her rank as an angel rose.

Therefore, her divine power became stronger!

“Aaaaaaah!”

Cordelia screamed as she shut her eyes. She once again accepted the power of the divine sword and released a divine lightning despite the pain.

Baaaaaang!

A white lightning that was the exact opposite of Jude’ black lightning.

The divine power that came from the divine sword struck the heart of the Lord Protector. It destroyed the source of his dark blue aura, and all that remained of it.

And the collapse that followed.

The Lord Protector fell to his knees. He couldn’t stand any longer and collapsed.

“Haa… haa…”

Jude panted as he roughly breathed, and he plopped down on the floor. And so did Cordelia who was leaning on the divine sword. Her hands didn’t slide down along the sword, as she fell to the floor with a thud.

But until the end, Cordelia did not let go of her consciousness.

She wanted to faint right away, but she held on by gritting her teeth.

The white rings had yet to appear. Because the Lord Protector was still breathing.

They knew that it was impossible for him stand up any more even if he was a great swordmaster, but they couldn’t say that the fight was over until his life was really over.

With her blue eyes, Cordelia looked at the Lord Protector.

As he shallowly breathed, Henry II approached him.

***

The Lord Protector breathed slowly.

It was painful.

He felt like his thin breath would stop at any moment.

His eyesight blurred.

It got darker and darker.

And the Lord Protector realized.

I’m dying.

This is my end.

Like how that tall guy reached his end.

I want to struggle.

I want to scream and resist.

But I can’t.

My breath is getting thinner and my body is losing its strength.

It’s scary.

It’s frightening.

I don’t want to die.

Tears fell from his eyes. And his blurred vision became more blurred.

And the Lord Protector saw.

As his eyes lost its light, it reflected a person’s face for the last time.

“Lord Protector.”

It was the third king.

He couldn’t see it properly, but he could see it. He could immediately recall the tearful face of that man.

“I-it’s my fault. Because I was too incompetent… Because I was too… incompetent…”

Otherwise, the Lord Protector would not have betrayed him.

He couldn’t even imagine why the hero who saved the country in its crisis would point his sword towards the Sälen Kingdom.

The Lord Protector smiled.

He smiled without knowing or even realizing it.

It wasn’t because of Henry II’s stupidity.

It wasn’t because he was stunned by the other’s foolish beliefs that blindly trusted him.

He couldn’t see any more.

Even the sobbing of Henry II was no longer audible. His senses were gradually getting dull.

And the Lord Protector opened his mouth and said.

“That’s…not true.”

It’s not your fault.

It’s just my greed.

I didn’t want to die, I didn’t want to get old, I wanted to regain my strength.

For that, I betrayed you, I betrayed the country, and I killed the royal family.

It was only for me.

It was just for my own self.

I never considered someone like you in the first place.

I didn’t even care.

I just moved for myself.

He could no longer hear.

So he could no longer tell what the other was properly saying.

‘Why?’

In my last moments, why?

Why am I leaving such words at the time of my last breaths?

I should be pouring out curses.

If Henry II didn’t appear, it might have ended differently.

Why, why am I pouring out words like this instead of curses?

“Lord Protector…”

You’re a stupid guy.

You always smiled like a fool, and now you’re just crying.

He could no longer see or hear.

It had now become impossible for him to even connect his thoughts.

Death.

The fated end.

At that last moment, the Lord Protector opened his mouth and let out his breath.

The last thought in his mind disappeared.

And the Lord Protector ceased breathing.

Darkness took away his consciousness.

***

Henry II fell on the body of the Lord Protector and swallowed his tears.

Princess Daphne collapsed on the spot and roughly breathed while Prince Dion recovered Princess Daphne’s hand that had fallen on the floor.

And Jude saw.

The white rings of light appeared around the chest of the wriggling Cordelia who had collapsed.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

On Jude’s chest, there were only four rings, one less than her.

It was over now.

They finally defeated the Lord Protector and prevented the royal family from being annihilated.

He felt sorry for the crying Henry II, and there were still many things they had to sort out, but it was finally over.

Therefore, Jude moved his body with the last bit of his strength. He halfway crawled as he approached Cordelia.

“Kaak…urk…”

He somehow turned Cordelia, whose face was buried in the blood she threw up, and settled down next to her as he collapsed.

Cordelia harshly breathed.

So did Jude, and he soon felt it.

Cordelia’s approaching hand as she groped the floor, her small hand that was cold and even trembling.

Jude reflexively grabbed Cordelia’s hand. He clasped her twitching hands, and Cordelia turned her face to the side to see Jude. She didn’t even have the energy to open her mouth, so she just spoke with her eyes.

‘Jude, Jude.’

‘Why, Cordelia.’

‘We won.’

At Cordelia’s gaze, Jude smiled and then vomited blood.

And it was the same for Cordelia. Like him, she threw up blood and panted.

They were a complete mess.

Jude was completely covered in blood. He didn’t have any wounds due to his regenerative ability, but it was not an exaggeration to say that he was bathed in blood.

On the other hand, Cordelia looked fine.

No, she actually wasn’t.

Her whole body was covered with shining sweat, and her cheeks and lips were full of blood. Her hair was soaked in blood and sweat as it stuck to her face and the floor, so she was not in good shape too.

And her insides were in a more serious condition.

Her limbs kept shaking. Her body temperature continued to drop, and even though she held Jude’s hands, her senses became dull so she couldn’t feel Jude’s warmth.

But Cordelia laughed.

And so did Jude.

Although both of them felt pain from laughing and looked like they were about to die, they exchanged glances again.

‘You’re completely nuts.’

I can’t believe you absorbed the divine power of the divine sword and passed it to me in that way.

That wasn’t even a gamble. You were like a successful suicide bomber who miraculously survived.

At Jude’s gaze, Cordelia responded with moist eyes.

‘So… do you hate it?’

Jude laughed again at hearing the words he had always spoken. He felt like his heart was being torn because of his laughing, but he did not look away from Cordelia.

‘I completely like it.’

‘Me too.’

Cordelia giggled and sent him a last glance before she closed her eyes, and Jude followed her.

The two fell into a deep sleep while next to each other.