Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 361

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 361

Lee Cheol nonchalantly escorted Lee Myung-jung back to the tent where he had been resting.

Numerous people, eager to ask Lee Cheol questions and request favors, could only stare in silence as he walked away.

“What… what’s happening right now?”

The first to speak was Jang Han.

Everyone present knew Lee Cheol well, but Jang Han understood him as a warrior perhaps better than anyone.

‘That guy… something… something has changed.’

Jang Han hesitantly recalled the moment he faced Lee Cheol.

The moment he stood face to face with Lee Cheol, Jang Han felt… a sense of boundlessness.

A feeling of facing something not entirely human.

Especially his eyes.

Jang Han was speechless, confronted with eyes that seemed to gaze into some distant realm.

Indeed, everyone present felt the same way.

Clearly, Lee Cheol had been defeated, severely injured, and collapsed, but when he rose, he seemed like a completely different person.

“Just what…”

Everyone’s gaze turned to a single tent.

Inside, Lee Cheol was sitting face to face with Lee Myung-jung.

* * *

Inside the small tent, Lee Cheol looked at his eldest brother.

He could sense no strength from Lee Myung-jung, who had once been so powerful.

Neither magic nor vigor, nothing at all.

And that wasn’t all. The once-proud Lee Myung-jung now resembled a crazed beggar.

The black hair, which he always neatly combed back like silk, had turned white and disheveled, and his face was covered with dark spots like heat rash and fine wrinkles.

Amidst all this, Lee Myung-jung was clutching an old sword as if it were his lifeline.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry… my youngest…”

Lee Myung-jung repeated his apologies like a madman.

Even when Lee Cheol reached out to take the sword he was holding, he trembled and clutched it even tighter, heedless of whether it drew blood or tore his flesh.

“Eldest brother.”

“No. This, this must be passed on to the youngest… to the youngest… to the youngest…”

Lee Cheol slowly reached out to his muttering brother.

Thwack!

Lee Myung-jung slapped the hand away, but soon the hand gently landed on his shoulder.

Instantly.

Lee Myung-jung flinched and froze.

“It’s alright, eldest brother. You’ve lost your strength. Did you even use your life force to get here?”

Life force, a forbidden power also called innate true energy [a powerful energy source within a person].

Lee Myung-jung had sacrificed all the foundations and strength he had cultivated to travel all the way here.

“It’s alright now. Put your mind at ease. I am here.”

A clear energy flowed from Lee Cheol’s hand and entered Lee Myung-jung.

Lee Myung-jung felt his hazy mind clear and a strong life force surging within his body.

“What, what did I do? No, more than that, youngest. Just what are you…”

“Before that… will you give it to me now?”

“…….”

The eyes of his eldest brother wavered.

At his words, his eldest brother handed him the sword with trembling hands.

It was an old, worn-out longsword.

The blade was full of cracks, as if it would break even if touched lightly, and the handle was so worn from being gripped tightly that it seemed like it would crumble.

At first glance, it looked like a common, mass-produced iron sword.

But Lee Cheol knew.

That this sword was no ordinary, shoddy thing.

“Father’s… sword. Father left this to you. I… to pass this on to you…”

Lee Myung-jung said in a trembling voice.

Whoosh!

And the moment the sword was in his hand, it let out a soft cry.

-My son.

Was it just his imagination, or did he feel his father’s voice beyond that resonance?

A feeling that a soul was dwelling in the sword.

He ran his hand over the old, worn-out blade.

Crack, crackle!

At that moment, Lee Myung-jung witnessed a miracle.

Every time Lee Cheol’s hand brushed against it, the sword, which seemed cracked and about to crumble, was restored to its original state as if time were being reversed.

And soon, Lee Cheol’s hand slowly moved away.

“You’ve worked hard, eldest brother. I have received Father’s sword. So now, leave it to me and rest.”

At those words, Lee Myung-jung felt the inner demons filling his mind disappear like fog.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Lee Myung-jung couldn’t speak, meeting Lee Cheol’s deep and clear eyes.

“This way, young master.”

The nanny, who was outside the tent, supported Lee Myung-jung and guided him outside.

Lee Myung-jung looked back with trembling eyes.

Lee Cheol was simply smiling and seeing him off.

* * *

Lee Cheol gripped his father’s sword.

Whoosh!

At that moment, an aura like the dawn flowed out from within his body.

The power of Soongjung Choi’s family. The power of purification.

The power of purification, which had been drained of black energy and regained its original color, wrapped around the sword.

He had been robbed of all black energy, and now he had nothing.

But perhaps it was because he had been one with black energy for so long.

Or perhaps it was simply because he could now do ‘this much’.

He realized that he could read the memories contained in this sword.

He closed his eyes and placed his hand on the blade.

The cool sensation of the blade washed over his fingertips.

And he saw his father’s last fight.

It was a desperate fight, and also a great, magnificent, and equally sad struggle.

Father was strong.

Beyond words, the sword energy extending from Father’s hand was truly worthy of the expression ‘divine sword’.

But standing before him was Lee Hyul-hyun, boasting a destructive power.

Father’s arm was cut off, and his leg was severed.

A knife was embedded in his heart, and his entrails were shattered and flowed out.

It was a mystery in itself. Although Lee Hyul-hyun had been in a superior position from beginning to end, Father did not fall.

The fight, which was expected to end quickly, soon exceeded fifty exchanges, exceeded a hundred exchanges, and astonishment began to settle on Lee Hyul-hyun’s face.

At that moment, Father’s sword repelled Lee Hyul-hyun’s hand.

It made blood splatter, stepped forward, and swung.

Eventually, Lee Hyul-hyun, who had taken over the body of his eldest brother, unleashed his ultimate power.

Instantly, all the shapes of the world collapsed.

All things, ideas, rules, and providence were intertwined.

The ground soared into the sky, and the sky slumped to the ground.

Space was twisted, and time was distorted.

A realm beyond the realm of the divine sword.

A realm that he had reached, and Father had reached, but Lee Hyul-hyun had already reached thousands of years ago.

So the result was clear, obvious.

Even a three-year-old child could predict who would win.

However.

-Cheol, look.

Father’s sword soared into the sky.

He looked at his father.

As if knowing that he would see this sight, Father’s eyes were looking straight at him.

He did not avoid those eyes.

And he only looked at Father’s sword.

-This is my sword.

Instantly, the form of the sword disappeared from Father’s hand.

Now it was not even a sword.

It was the life of a man.

It was the world itself.

Brilliant light spread out and dyed the world.

-Kuaaaaaaak!

With that one blow, all of Lee Hyul-hyun’s power melted away like snow.

An unidentified gray phantom spewed out from his eldest brother’s body.

-How, how!

A voice filled with astonishment burst out.

Lee Hyul-hyun’s spirit.

It had separated Lee Hyul-hyun from his eldest brother’s body.

-No. It can’t end like this!

Lee Hyul-hyun ran away.

Father could not chase Lee Hyul-hyun and just stared silently at his eldest brother.

The memory ended there.

He closed his eyes and took a long breath.

‘Father… you did it.’

The moment he saw it, he realized that his father had accomplished what he had declared.

He had saved him and saved his eldest brother.

In that moment of creating a miracle.

The soul and spirit of his eldest brother, which would have originally disappeared, had returned to their place.

He quietly placed his hand on the sword and closed his eyes.

Thud, thud!

At that moment, the one sword blurred and began to be sucked into him.

The process was slower and more insufficient than ever before.

As if prepared only for this one time, his power could only absorb this one sword.

That was enough.

And he slowly drew a sword lying next to him.

Black Night.

Grasping the black longsword, his eyes gleamed.

Whoosh!

Instantly, a strange wind spewed out from the back of Black Night’s blade.

The last letter.

The one seal that he had not been able to break until now was being released.

Clang!

With a sound like a breaking window, all of Black Night’s power was unleashed.

Unlike when he had to visit Soongmoo Mountain and perform a ritual, the power of the seal on the sword was released solely by Lee Cheol’s will.

“Now, the preparation is complete.”

Looking at Black Night, he recalled his father’s blow that had penetrated his mind.

He fell into his mental landscape again.

Father’s path.

His path.

And engraving the long journey that would continue ahead into his body.

* * *

During the time that Lee Cheol was unconscious, which was not exactly a month, but close to it.

‘It’ with power looked at the distant land.

It felt the intense power of fate rising there.

It finally felt that the destined end was approaching.

After numerous processes, the fate of the world was moving towards the final punctuation mark.

It.

No, the primordial monster realized that it could no longer arbitrarily reverse this time with its own will.

The power of some mighty being was blocking it.

[Come.]

The primordial monster opened its mouth.

And all the monsters stopped moving.

As if waiting, its gaze looked at the distant horizon.

* * *

Lee Cheol woke up.

And as if by agreement, the primordial monster stopped advancing.

Accordingly, all the monsters also ceased their actions.

How long has it been since peace, how long has it been since rest.

All the humans on the front lines enjoyed a long-awaited rest.

And.

The Allied Forces conference hall.

Those who could not just sit comfortably in the time of peace that had come were gathered.

The leaders of each organization were sitting quietly, maintaining silence.

‘What is going on with the youngest….’

Lee Jin-yoon sat on one side, staring blankly at Lee Cheol.

How should he express this?

Presence? Overwhelm? Or experience… no. It wasn’t that kind of feeling.

The feeling when seeing a huge mountain.

The feeling when seeing a vast sea of clouds or an ocean stretching to the end of the earth, the mystery of nature that cannot be achieved by human power.

Lee Cheol was exuding that kind of feeling.

‘Are you really the you I know?’

That was why everyone present could not easily open their mouths first.

Naturally, they turned their gazes to Lee Cheol.

A proper meeting had not even started yet.

And.

“Why are you all so nervous?”

Lee Cheol’s first words were exactly that.

A very ordinary statement, in contrast to the feeling he exuded.

“Let’s get started soon. The sooner the meeting ends, the sooner everyone can rest.”

Just looking at the words he uttered… it was like seeing Lee Cheol as usual.

Lee Cheol’s voice was so calm that it was hard to believe that he was carrying a heavy burden and had shared life and death with the primordial monster.

“Oh… well, shall we?”

“Yes, let’s get started soon. I think there will be a lot to hear since I was lying down for a long time.”

At Lee Cheol’s simple words, the meeting could begin in earnest.

The situation of each unit.

The enemy’s current situation.

And… the meeting flowed smoothly, even with the story of the monsters’ forces that had suddenly stopped advancing.

‘Strange. Clearly, until yesterday, the atmosphere of this meeting was only despair and frustration.’

Jang Han narrowed his eyes.

The atmosphere even felt almost warm.

Just with Lee Cheol’s appearance, the atmosphere in the room had changed.

“By the way, what happened? Why did that monster stop?”

Lee Seo-hyun blurted out those words.

“Arrogantly. It seems like it’s telling me to come.”

Lee Cheol answered the question.

Lee Seo-hyun frowned slightly.

“What does that mean? Are you saying that monster said something to you?”

“I don’t know either.”

Lee Cheol smiled meaningfully, brushing off Lee Seo-hyun’s provocation.

Faced with that, Lee Seo-hyun could only shut her mouth and shake her head.

“……So.”

Meanwhile, Jang Han, who had been quietly watching Lee Cheol’s profile, opened his mouth.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I should rest for now. The troops are exhausted too.”

At Lee Cheol’s words, Jang Han clicked his tongue.

“Does resting bring some kind of answer? That’s not what I’m asking right now. Can you do it? That’s what I’m asking.”

Having lost the source called black energy, how can you deal with the primordial monster?

That was the meaning contained in Jang Han’s words.

Everyone’s gaze was focused on Lee Cheol.

Saint Christina, Serena.

Anastasia.

Lee Jin-yoon and Lee Seo-hyun.

Even the leaders of each country’s armies.

“I don’t know.”

However, the words that came out of Lee Cheol’s mouth were just such ambiguous things.

“You don’t know? This guy…”

“I’ll know when I meet it. That’s all I can say.”

He says he doesn’t need to fight to know, he doesn’t need to do something to know, but he needs to meet it to know.

A moment of silence hung over the subtle difference in nuance.

Soon, breaking the silence, Anastasia suddenly asked.

“Then, Lee Cheol. Why did you say we should rest?”

“Since it gave us time before the fight, we need to prepare. This is the final battle. We can’t face the rushing monsters like this.”

Lee Cheol was mentioning the final battle.

The final battle.

There is no behind, and there is no ahead.

“Then, until when?”

“Until its patience runs out.”

Lee Cheol’s eyes scanned the air.

No one could guess what he was seeing.

‘Okay, I’ll be going soon.’

He thought quietly to himself.

Answering the call of that monstrous beast echoing from the depths of the abyss.

There is not much time left.

His destiny was calling him.