Ch. 7 – Rise and Fall
Through my teary eyes I see Iseul take a fighting stance infront me, I shut my eyes tightly while biting my lips, the taste of iron entering my mouth. Amidst the roar and crackling sound of fire I can hear him speak to me.
"Aish You little idiot. You know how much I've grown attached to you right? So I can't just let you die like this. You should survive longer than me, survive this dammed world for me alright?"
He wipes my tears away as he picks up my sword. "Wh— what? Ahjussi— what are you talking about? Wh– why are you grabbing my sword?" I reacted too late as the tears in my eyes blur out my vision. I desperately wipe them away as i try to grab his hand, an Icy aura is emitting from him as I realize that he activated his stigma.
Before I could do anything, he clanged both swords together attracting the attention of the bear. The Magma Bear roars loudly and charges his claw out to Iseul.
》.....《
With both swords in either hands he charges at the bear with a battle cry.
Isuel charges at it slicing through the bears skin, his stigma overtaking his entire body, as the bear falls back at the continous strikes from Iseul, he climbs on the bears body and deals a final blow to its chest, chanelling all his mana through both swords and driving it to the bears chest.
》...《
From where I stand I could swear I saw him look back at me, As he deals the final blow he finally lets up and looks down at me, he looks exhausted but he still flashed me a tired smile.
I look up at him and wipe my face using my hand, I see him climb down from the bears body and walk towards me, But before I could react, The Gigantum's paw lifted up in a final attemp of fighting and dropped. Crushing Lee Iseul with it.
I stand there stunned as the glow of the bear gradually darkens until it's no more, signifying the last of its life force leaving it. My breath turns shaky and suddenly my knees can't support my body anymore.
[Congratulations! You have completed the Bounty Scenario]
[You have received 5000 coins]
[Lee Iseul has left you all his belongings]
[Lee Iseul has given you 20,000 coins]
[You have obtained 'Bag of Giganta Horder']
My eyes fill with tears and My chest tightens. I grip my blouse tightly as I try to process everything. My mind races and flashes of the image with all my classmates dead bodies laying around me, my hands covered in blood, and Iseul's final moment before being crushed.
I try to breathe but it seems every single time I do my lungs give out, I don't for how long I was on the cold ground, crying, wishing I was just back in my own world. Wishing that I was just with my family.
I finally stand up and shakily walk towards the bear's cold body. After spending 600 coins to level my strength up, I was able to push the paw off and what greeted me was the corpse of Iseul. I dropped to my knees and shook his body, tears dropping on his body.
"Ahjussi. You did it. You cleared the scenario. Ahjussi. Please– just– Ahjussi– wake up–" I try to choke out words but they wouldn't come out. As I dropped my head onto his chest, feeling nothing but the fading warmth of his body, I lay there for a while, listening to the silence of his heart.
[The constellation 'Child Who Challenged Heaven' is gazing down at you with closed eyes]
[The constellation 'General of Men' is gazing down at you]
[The constellation 'Demon Like Fire of Judgement' is looking at you with sad eyes]
[You have been sponsored 500 coins]
When I saw the familiar name I gazed up and smiled even with tears in my eyes it was hard to ignore my favorite character. I thought to myself a while before wiping away my tears.
"Hes just a character. You can't cry over this. Remember what you have to do." I took a deep breathe in and long exhale.
With my bare jands I climb onto the chest of the bear and stared at the swords still impaled into the bears heart, as I pull them out, I use the swords to slice its chest open and reveal its core.
I grab the two swords and drop them into the core of the Magma Bear, the swords quickly melt into the core gets absorbed in. A bright light is being emitted by the core and I use my hand to offset the glare. After a few seconds, the core has transformed into a spear, it floats mid air glowing aggressively.
"Why are these things always so cheesy?" I grumble to myself grabbing the double edged spear from mid-air, the spear is still hot to the touch but it doesn't burn anymore.
[You have obtained 'Bear Mystical Spear Magma']
The notification chimed infront of me. I looked at the still corpse of Iseul and place the spear on my back, I lift his corpse up and drag him back up to the station.
It took a while for me to dig using a spear but soon enough I got a deep enough hole and placed his body inside and cover him up with soil again. I kowtow to his grave in thanks and walk onwards towards Guemho station.
'I have to follow through'