Chapter 407
“...”
Se-Hoon turned to Jake at Aria’s words.
He’s basically... a hollow shell.
Jake’s body was drenched in darkness, looking as though it had been forged from shadows. He still had the form they remembered, but there was nothing left inside.
His consciousness had already been completely absorbed by the Sword of Destruction.
Crackle-
Yet even that was beginning to crumble, breaking apart from the edges...
Woong-
Sword of Destruction trembled faintly—almost as if in mockery.
“When I arrived, he was already like this. We were probably too late from the very beginning.”
His heart had already been destroyed, and the Essence of the Sword had taken control of his body. Even if Jake were at full strength, he wouldn’t have lasted long.
“If only I had been the one struck instead.... I would have lasted longer than him.”
Aria understood fully that there was no point in dwelling on what was already over, yet her mutters of regret never stopped. If they did, she feared she would be overwhelmed by the storm of emotions surging inside her.
Woong!
The space between the Sword of Destruction and Aria abruptly warped, melting open. Having finished absorbing Jake, the Sword of Destruction immediately turned to devour Aria next.
However, Se-Hoon activated Metamorphosing Dreams before it could.
Rumble-
Space solidified and snapped back into place, forcing the Sword of Destruction back once more. Having bought time, Se-Hoon moved to suppress it completely.
Slice-
Just then, though, a chilling sound rang in his ears as a dull pain spread from his chest. Frowning, Se-Hoon looked down at the fresh slash across his body.
Damn it.... This bastard is even more annoying inside here.
If they were out in the real world, Se-Hoon could have dodged by predicting the movement of the blade. Within its synesthetic mindscape, however, there were no preliminary actions that he could detect to dodge—because only the intent to cut was present.
Changing his plans, Se-Hoon prepared to counter the next set of attacks. But he never needed to.
“Stop.”
At Aria’s command, the glow emanating from the Sword of Destruction was snuffed out in an instant. Even the oppressive energy that had filled the area dissipated without a trace.
Surprised, Se-Hoon glanced at Aria. She was wielding the Sword of Destruction like her own weapon?
“Did you accept its power already?”
“Not all of it. Just a little.”
Aria lowered her right hand—the one she had just used to grasp the Sword of Destruction Blade—and let out a bitter sigh.
“I thought maybe I could separate Jake from it.”
If she could have at least separated Jake’s synesthetic mindscape from it, Se-Hoon could have handled the rest. The risk was high, yet the possibility had been there.
But she failed. The person “Jake Myers” no longer existed.
“There’s nothing more I can do now. And I assume... the same goes for you, too.”
“...”
“Still...” Despite acknowledging the futility of it all, Aria couldn’t help but ask. “Is there... is there still a way we can save Jake?”
And to the desperate hope clinging to her voice, Se-Hoon nodded without hesitation.
“It’s still possible.”
The current situation wasn’t the best-case scenario, but it wasn’t the worst either. Everything that had happened so far was still within the range of what he had expected since the very beginning, allowing him to answer Aria with absolute certainty.
“If we work together, we can overwhelm that thing and get Jake back.”
Aria held his gaze for a long moment.
Then, as hope slowly began returning to her eyes, she spoke once more.
“Tell me.”
Her voice was steadier now, clearer than before.
“First off, let me be clear: Jake isn’t dead yet. It’s more like he’s just unconscious and kidnapped.”
“What? But even his synesthetic mindscape was absorbed... how could...?”
Seeing Aria struggling to understand, Se-Hoon simply pointed upward.
“A lot of time has passed in here, but not even a second has gone by outside.”
“...Oh!”
She had forgotten. Inside one’s synesthetic mindscape, time could be manipulated. Se-Hoon had even done something similar before.
Also, before entering the synesthetic mindscape imbued within the Sword of Destruction, Se-Hoon had made sure the time distortion was amplified as much as possible to minimize external variables.
“His heart is destroyed and his synesthetic mindscape is indeed gone, but his body is still alive. This means that as long as we restore his heart and synesthetic mindscape, we can save him.”
Of course, restoring them was easier said than done. However, Se-Hoon wasn’t worried. After all, he had done both before.
I’ve had my heart destroyed multiple times already, both in this timeline and the last. As for restoring a synesthetic mindscape... I saw Frost Dog do it back when he fought Zayed.
Although the circumstances were different, he could just adapt as long as the core principles were the same.
“Fixing the heart is simple, so don’t worry about that. What we need to focus on is separating Jake’s synesthetic mindscape from the Sword of Destruction.”
In other words, they needed to focus on what Aria had attempted earlier—and failed. To her, her attempt had been meaningless. But it truly wasn’t.
“The Sword of Destruction isn’t just one entity. It’s a collective.”
It was a mass of souls, all fixated on a singular goal: become the perfect blade. And whether it was by coincidence or design, its structure resembled the equipment Offering created through their sacrificial rituals.
“That’s why we can’t destroy the blade outright. If we do, the souls are so deeply connected that Jake’s synesthetic mindscape could be erased alongside the rest.”
“Then... we have to break their connection first?”
“Exactly.”
Aria’s expression darkened. Theoretically, it made sense. But practically?
Infiltrating and manipulating a Harbinger of Destruction’s synesthetic mindscape...
She was dubious. Just moments ago, she had briefly experienced the power of one firsthand when she allowed some of the Sword of Destruction’s synesthetic mindscape to corrupt hers.
What she had found out was that while the power of Perfect Ones were bound by the world’s laws, the powers of the Harbingers of Destruction were destruction itself—things capable of destroying anything that came their way.
In a contest of synesthetic mindscape, even the Perfect Ones could not stand against Harbingers of Destruction.
“Of course, it won’t be easy,” Se-Hoon admitted. “That’s why you are the key to this plan.”
“Me?”
Did she really still have a role to play?
As Aria looked at him, confused, Se-Hoon gestured toward the Sword of Destruction.
“I need you to become a Harbinger of Destruction.”
Instantly, her eyes shot wide open. Then, a beat later, she let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“You... you really are insane.”
If it was impossible to manipulate a Harbinger of Destruction’s synesthetic mindscape once it was complete, they just needed to introduce a new Harbinger of Destruction to shake things up.
Such an idea... the feasibility was obviously questionable. However, just once before he regressed, Se-Hoon had seen it happen.
When Aria awakens as the Destroyer of Light, the connections between the souls inside the Sword of Destruction should weaken. That’ll be the chance to destroy the Harbinger Shard and pull Jake’s soul free.
Of course, while it presented him a chance at saving Jake, it meant that he would have to fight Aria—transformed into a Harbinger of Destruction—head-on. And judging by how strong the Destroyer of Light was before he regressed, that was essentially suicide.
“Well...”—Se-Hoon grinned, despite the thought—“it’s not completely impossible, is it?”
If they didn’t need to save Jake, he could afford to weigh the risks. Since he was determined to save Jake no matter what, though, that didn’t even matter—all that did was whether it was possible.
“...”
Aria met Se-Hoon’s unwavering gaze in silence.
“...Did you see the other Harbingers of Destruction on your way here?” she finally asked, a long pause later.
“...”
“There was one which rained down golden light upon the surface, wielding both a golden sword and a grotesquely twisted black blade.... It was truly terrifying.”
The Harbinger of Destruction she had seen had slaughtered an uncountable number of people before his regression. As she watched it rain down destruction, Aria, for the first time, felt disgusted—at herself.
“And yet, a part of me envied its strength.”
Not the dying people. Not the carnage. It was the blade that cut them down. She had desired it. And that realization was absolutely unbearable to her.
“I knew I shouldn’t have... but I couldn’t suppress it. Just like when I accepted the power of the Sword of Destruction.”
While she had done it to save Jake, that wasn’t the full truth. The other part was she simply wanted it. If she took on this power, could she become as strong as that Harbinger of Destruction? That single, fleeting thought had driven her to grasp the blade.
However, when she saw Jake’s body crumbling into dust, she finally let go—though it was far too late.
“If Jake had already been completely absorbed... I might have already chosen to become a Harbinger of Destruction by the time you arrived.”
“...”
“Out there, I didn’t fail to dodge the Sword of Destruction because of its power. I probably... wanted it to reach me.”
At that moment back then, she had thought she was frozen due to the blade taking control of her Essence of the Sword. When she accepted its power, however, she understood the truth.
The Sword of Destruction actually didn’t have the ability to control the Essence of the Sword of others. Desiring its power, she had rationalized her inaction—in other words, she had allowed it to happen.
“I’m sorry,” Aria muttered bitterly, looking at Se-Hoon with a self-deprecating smile. “I... I don’t trust myself anymore.”
For Jake’s sake, could she truly resist her desire for power? Could she stop herself from killing Se-Hoon?
No matter how much she vowed to do so, she didn’t believe she could do either. Because of that, she couldn’t accept Se-Hoon’s plan.
Perhaps... if I can sacrifice myself instead...
Now that was a path she believed she could take. Just as she was about to voice the suggestion, though...
“Well, of course you wouldn’t be able to.”
He was completely nonchalant.
“If people could change like that overnight, life would be a whole lot easier. I know three guys who were like you, so I get it.”
“But I’m...”
“You’re different from them?” Se-Hoon scoffed. “Your situation looks the same to me.”
It was natural that everyone wanted to change at some point. However, they only realized just how difficult that actually was when despair set in. How one could overcome that ensuing despair solely depended on their personality and their circumstances.
Yet, despite everyone’s differences, there was just one thing that remained the same.
“Just try not to give up.”
If Aria had truly given up on herself, she would have fallen long ago—either becoming a demon or a Harbinger of Destruction.
But she hadn’t. Even before he regressed, she had fought under the name “Holy Swordsman” to protect humanity to the bitter end. Granted, her ending hadn’t been great.
“If you do, I’ll handle the rest.”
No matter what, he wouldn’t let her turn out the same.
Thunk-
Not waiting any longer, Se-Hoon drove his palm into Aria’s solar plexus, piercing into her synesthetic mindscape.
Soul Honing: Demonic Blood Art
Woong!
A brilliant golden sword emerged. It was nearly perfect, crafted using a fragment of Aria’s soul.
However, in the end, it was just nearly perfect. Realizing that her soul alone wouldn’t be enough to complete the sword, Se-Hoon added another piece.
Woong-
A deep blue light surged from his heart, wrapping around the golden blade. The bond he extracted from Jake compressed the sword further, refining it.
Then, not long after, a blade forged from Aria and Jake’s visions of their perfect swords materialized in Se-Hoon’s hand.
“...”
Seeing the radiant blue sword, shimmering like a sky full of golden stars, Aria froze. It was as if... as if her childhood dream was suddenly being fulfilled.
All she could do was gape at Se-Hoon in shock.
“Let’s finish this and leave this place.”
Like before, Se-Hoon’s voice carried absolute confidence—in his eyes, the outcome had already been decided.
And upon realizing that, Aria couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah... let’s.”
Whoosh!
Grasping the Sword of Destruction before her, a torrent of overwhelming power surged through her as she visualized a blinding light and a sword that could cut through anything.
“So this... is it?” Aria muttered inadvertently.
Even though the Sword of Destruction seemed to be stronger, she had to admit that the sword she had been dreaming of since she was a child was just... so much more captivating.
Woong-
A faint response cried out from within the crumbling Sword of Destruction, like it was answering her doubts.
Hearing it, Aria chuckled.
Sword of Destruction Manifestation: Sacred Demonic Blade
Soul Weapon: Stellar Radiance Blade
The two swords clashed.
***
A flood of memories raced through Jake’s mind. His sister’s shock and Se-Hoon’s arrival, then their desperate struggle to save him.
Even as he drifted toward death, the thought of them warmed his heart.
Yeah.... This is good enough.
It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t afraid of death. Thankfully, though, seeing that sword at the end had taken away all his remaining regrets. And if he was lucky, he could even get a chance at revival in the Netherworld.
Sorry, but... I’ll have to leave my sister in your hands...
Hoping that his final thought would be received by Se-Hoon, Jake allowed himself to sink into darkness—
“Who do you think you are?”
SMACK!
A fiery pain exploded across his face.
“Ugh!?”
Jake’s eyes flew open. His vision, once pitch-black, returned to normal. The first thing he saw was Aria standing over him, lowering her hand after slapping him.
Beside her was Se-Hoon, watching with a deadpan expression.
“Uh... huh...? What... happened...?” Jake blinked in confusion.
He was sure that his heart had exploded. Shouldn’t he be dead?
Jake instinctively rubbed his solar plexus, checking for injuries. And at that moment...
Thud!
Aria threw her arms around him. Her face pressed against his shoulder, muffling her quiet sobs.
Completely thrown off, Jake stammered. “Uh... um...”
Bewildered, he hesitated before gently patting her back. And as he did so, he finally turned to Se-Hoon.
“What... actually happened?”
Se-Hoon shrugged.
“What do you mean, ‘what happened’?” Then, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, Se-Hoon replied, “People don’t just die when their heart explodes.”
“...”
Blanking out, Jake just stared before bursting into a chuckle.
“Nah. That’s definitely just a you thing.”
Sigh: I will admit, I like the whole “yea you’re fucked up, but that’s ok cuz I’ll fix you” thing these two have going on.