I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 146

15 years ago.

“You forgot your name?”

Jupiter looked down at the girl in front of her, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

She was in the process of identifying the orphans she had taken in. This particular girl, with burns marring the left side of her body, couldn’t remember her name.

Was it the shock from that day that had caused it?

She couldn’t recall her name, nor any part of her past. Jupiter worried that the trauma might have caused amnesia.

“You still need a name. That way, I can call you.”

Trying to offer a reassuring smile, Jupiter crouched down to meet the girl’s gaze. The girl quietly looked back at Jupiter.

“What should I call you?”

“……”

After a moment of hesitation, the girl raised a small finger and pointed directly at Jupiter.

Jupiter blinked her one eye, then pointed at herself.

“Me? No, my name?”

The girl nodded.

“My name is Jupiter… Do you want to have this name too?”

The girl nodded again, more emphatically this time.

Seeing the girl nodding so eagerly, Jupiter burst into laughter.

“Great, great! My name will be passed down, nothing could be better than this!”

Jupiter gently stroked the girl’s head.

“Then, from today, you are Jupiter Junior. I’ll call you Junior from now on.”

The girl nodded, seemingly pleased.

Seeing the girl nod as if she liked it, Jupiter suddenly became curious.

“But… why did you want to have my name?”

Without answering, the girl smiled faintly.

*It’s because I want to be like you,* the girl thought, but didn’t say.

*I want to become a great mage like you.*

*And more than anything, I want to be a responsible adult like you.*

*I want to be like you, who doesn’t run away even when making mistakes, who doesn’t regret carrying the burden of sin, and who lives steadfastly.*

The girl kept her thoughts to herself.

She simply inherited that person’s name and quietly followed behind.

***

Present.

Kugwagwagwang!

Hundreds of blood bullets and lightning collided, creating a deafening explosion.

Jupiter’s lightning, unleashed with all her might, vaporized most of the blood bullets.

However, she couldn’t block the last few, and they pierced through.

Jupiter didn’t dodge.

Behind her stood the child who had inherited her name.

Thud! Thud…!

The blood bullets slammed into Jupiter’s body with dull, sickening thuds.

Even as she staggered from the impact, Jupiter smiled.

Looking at Junior, who was staring at her with wide, surprised eyes, Jupiter shouted cheerfully.

“Blow them away, Junior-!”

“……!”

Junior’s left hand, clenched tightly, began to glow with a white light.

And the magic was complete.

Flash!

Jupiter Junior’s ultimate skill, [Elemental Disassembly], was activated.

A halo, like an angel’s ring, appeared above Selendion’s head, shining with an intense white light that poured down on the area.

Clang-!

The air cracked as if a mirror was shattering.

Shatter-!

It broke into countless pieces.

At the same time, all the magical elements surrounding Selendion’s body were ‘disassembled’ at once.

《This… can’t be…》

Selendion uttered a hollow voice, feeling his magic vanish without a trace.

《I… I’m being defeated… by the secret technique I created…?》

Now, Selendion was completely immobilized.

Magic and skills were useless while [Elemental Disassembly] was in effect, and his body was still impaled by the silver stake.

A vampire who had both blood magic and physical enhancements sealed away…

Could only be defeated by a human.

Thud. Thud.

The surviving humans gathered around Selendion, one by one.

They were all injured, but their eyes burned with fierce determination. Some were even grinning.

《Ugh… Kugh!》

Selendion swallowed hard, a dry, involuntary gulp.

He had been defeated before. He had died before. He had even been annihilated before.

But this was the first time he had been in such a helpless situation.

“Okay. We have to kill this bastard roughly over 150 times.”

Ash, standing in the center, looked around at everyone and asked.

“Who wants to go first?”

Swish!

The entire party raised their hands.

Ash shrugged.

“Well, there are enough lives for everyone to share.”

As soon as those words were spoken, all the humans raised their weapons.

The silver weapons, stained with blood, gleamed with a menacing light.

Selendion’s face turned pale.

“It’s time to repay the lives you borrowed. You damn pain-in-the-ass customer.”

Ash muttered ominously, twirling his staff in his hand.

“Give back the lives of my subordinates.”

***

Jupiter was cradled in Junior’s arms, blood gushing from the center of her chest.

Each place where the blood bullets had struck was a fatal wound, but the chest area was the worst.

The blood bullets had decisively ravaged Jupiter’s magic core, which had already been damaged by the magic surge.

Soon, the remaining magic in her body would burn everything inside, following the path of Jupiter’s broken magic core.

Margherita rushed over, but Jupiter waved her hand weakly. It was not an injury that could be healed.

Jupiter grabbed Junior’s hand and muttered calmly.

“It’s okay, Junior. It’s okay…”

“Ah… Aah…”

Hugging Jupiter tightly, Junior was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

She knew. This was a fatal wound. It was an injury that no mage could survive. Jupiter would die soon.

So—what should she say?

She didn’t know what words to utter. No, she didn’t even know what to call this person anymore.

– *I’ve never thought of that person as my grandmother.*

That was right.

Junior had never once thought of Jupiter as her grandmother.

This person had annihilated her village.

Killed her biological parents.

Left a scar on half of her body that would never heal.

Prevented her dream of becoming a mage.

And—

Raised her.

Applied ointment to her burns.

Made dinner together, side by side.

Read her fairy tales and fell asleep together.

After rescuing her from the burning village, she cried with her, carrying her wounds.

So, because of that.

Junior had never once thought of Jupiter as her grandmother.

The person she hated and resented, but loved and wanted to be like,

Finally gathering her courage, Junior called out.

“Mommy…”

“……”

Jupiter’s eyes widened as she looked up at Junior, who was sobbing.

“What… what did you say?”

“You’re my mom, what else…”

Junior, wiping away her tears, asked carefully.

“Is it… is it okay if I call you Mom?”

“……”

“I’ve always, always… wanted to call you Mom.”

Even though she was dying.

Without realizing it, Jupiter was happy and smiled brightly.

“Is it okay for me to be your mom? I haven’t done anything for you… I’ve only taken from you…”

“Do you know that’s what I should be saying?”

Junior, wiping her tear-stained face with the back of her hand, laughed as if she was dumbfounded.

“Is it okay for me to be your daughter? I haven’t done anything for you, Mom, I’ve only taken from you.”

“No, Junior.”

Jupiter reached out her trembling hand and held Junior’s hand tightly.

“All the joy in my life combined was less than the happiness I felt after meeting you, after meeting you all.”

“You’ve only suffered since you took us in, it’s absurd…”

The two looked at each other in silence for a while.

Sometimes, there are moments when a look is enough, not words. This was such a moment for the two of them.

The two, mother and daughter, cried and laughed, quietly looking at each other’s faces.

“Can you help me up?”

Jupiter muttered in a fading voice.

“I want to face my end like a mage.”

“…Yes, Mom.”

Junior carefully hugged and lifted Jupiter.

“Do everything you want to do.”

“Thank you, my daughter.”

As she stood up, blood poured from her chest. Jupiter straightened her body, even while coughing up blood several times.

Then, she shouted towards the party surrounding Selendion.

“Your Highness!”

Jupiter smiled at Ash, who turned around.

“May I strike the first blow?”

Ash readily nodded.

“Of course, Sir Jupiter.”

The party members all stepped away from Selendion. Jupiter slowly raised her right hand into the air.

Kureung, Kureureung…!

A faint rumble of thunder echoed in the sky.

Jupiter, gathering the last of her magic, winked at Junior.

“Daughter? Light my cigarette.”

“You’re a chain smoker until the end, Mom.”

Junior grumbled, but found a cigarette in Jupiter’s pocket, put it in her mouth, and lit it.

Following that, Junior placed her hand on Jupiter’s shoulder and helped Jupiter cast her last spell.

“Hoo-……”

Taking a long drag, Jupiter savored the last smoke of her life.

Immediately after, she glared with her one eye.

The old soldier’s piercing eyes were shining so brightly that it was hard to believe they belonged to someone facing death.

“Hey, Vampire King! Be honored!”

Shouting cheerfully, Jupiter forcefully thrust her right fist forward.

“This is the last lightning strike of Jupiter’s life-!”

Flash-!

Kugwagwang!

A small, sharp lightning bolt that split the sky struck Selendion’s crown directly.

It wasn’t the usual bright yellow or deep blue lightning. It was a pure white lightning.

Its power was less than 1/10th of her usual output, but Selendion’s magic defense was currently reduced to the negative.

《Aaaaaaack?!》

True damage plus additional damage.

A magic attack received in a situation where magic defense was reduced to the negative was accompanied by tremendous pain.

A pathetic scream burst from the mouth of the mighty Vampire King.

Clang-!

The sight of Selendion’s core shattering into pieces was visible.

Jupiter’s lightning had certainly killed Selendion once.

“Haha… That was, refreshing.”

Jupiter, who was laughing, collapsed.

Junior quickly hugged Jupiter and laid her on the ground.

Lying still, Jupiter looked up at Junior with her now blurry eyes.

“Live happily for a long, long time, Junior.”

“……”

“That’s… that’s my only wish.”

Junior held Jupiter’s hand tightly.

“I’ll live like you, Mom. That’s my dream.”

“You rascal… You shouldn’t live like me…”

Immediately after, a smile appeared on Jupiter’s lips.

“Or maybe… having such a wonderful daughter, it might have been pretty good…”

The sky is blue.

Just like the color of the sea they had seen together that day.

A breeze blew from somewhere. There was a faint smell of the sea. The sound of children laughing could be heard.

Jupiter slowly closed her eyes.

“I’m a little, sleepy…”

“Sleep well, Mom.”

Junior stroked her mother’s head and whispered softly in her ear.

“Today, you won’t have nightmares… you’ll have good dreams.”

As she said, Jupiter breathed her last peacefully, as if falling asleep.

20 years as a soldier. 15 years as a mercenary.

It was the peaceful end of the lightning fire who had lived a tumultuous life.