Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 364

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 364 (End) (364/364)

The war was over.

Everyone felt the disappearance of the apocalypse.

And the world regained its light.

The sky, which had been obscured by the primordial monster, was now adorned with a brilliant sun, and the monsters, as if terrified, fled to their respective places.

The world was devastated.

Even if all the remnants of the apocalypse disappeared, the traces it left behind would not be restored.

Many people died, the earth was torn apart, and nations collapsed.

But as always, everyone moved on.

Towards their own lives.

Shining their own lights.

* * *

South Korea, central region.

There, a certain family existed.

A family of warriors who revered struggle and lived their lives to the fullest.

They had fallen several times with the changing times, but they always returned with brilliant glory, and the world called them by that name.

The Soongmoo Lee Clan.

“Hey, you! Clean that up quickly!”

“It’s chaotic! Forget the main gate construction and clean up the training grounds first! Even if it’s a reconstruction, does it make sense for a martial family to clean up other places first!”

The Soongmoo Lee Clan diligently restored the scars of the war one by one.

It was fortunate, if you could call it that.

The Soongmoo Lee Clan’s site was not as badly damaged as expected.

No, of course, it was devastated, but the land where the actual battle took place was not here, so it was in better condition than expected.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”

A woman with a body the size of a house muttered, displaying the amazing skill of lifting dozens of huge steel bars onto her shoulders and moving them at the same time.

Her name was Lee Jin-yoon.

A proud warrior of the Soongmoo Lee Clan who had earned the epithet ‘Immovable’ instead of ‘Martial Light’.

……Surely she was.

“Is it okay for the head of the family to treat his own sister like this? Jae-hak is inside playing with money, and the head of the family has suddenly left. What am I supposed to do? Damn it! Rot in hell! Damn it!”

The woman, who had achieved such great feats, threw the steel bars away, spewing vulgar curses.

“Aaaagh! Sister! What are you doing!”

“Hey, hey! It’s rolling! Catch it! Catch it!”

The fourth and fifth siblings, Lee Hyun-jae and Lee Hyun-chan, screamed and cleaned up after Lee Jin-yoon.

Meanwhile, a group of people watching the scene from afar chuckled softly.

“Indeed, it’s just like the Soongmoo Lee Clan. Elder Wonju.”

“Did the Chief Manager feel the same way?”

“Hehehe.”

“Hehehe…….”

Lee Tae-hong and Lee Dong-young sipped their tea and chatted quietly.

“Still, Jin-yoon is too violent. Seo-hyun is at least a bit more docile, isn’t she? She’s even received the title of ‘Holy Sword Master’ now…….”

Lee Tae-hong continued, his face filled with pride, when suddenly.

“Hey, you bastard! Where did Lee Chul, that punk, go! Is he making me clean? I’ll kill him! Head of the family or not, I’ll kill him! Where did that bastard go!”

A scream echoed from the main house.

Ah, Soongmoo Lee Clan.

Oh, glorious name of struggle.

Where is this family heading…….

“They’re out of their minds. Just a bunch of good-for-nothings who only know how to fight. There are so many holes in the reconstruction budget.”

Geumgeom [Golden Sword], Lee Jae-hak, said as he brought the approval documents to the two elders.

Lee Dong-young chuckled at his words, as he was now in charge of the main house’s finances.

“By the way, where did the head of the family go? He’s not even in good health…….”

“Haven’t you heard? He went with the eldest young master…….”

The Soongmoo Lee Clan was busy again today.

* * *

China, Kowloon Walled City.

Jang Han stared straight ahead with an absurd expression.

“So.”

Jang Han grimaced, sticking out his lips as if sneering, and grinding his teeth, flashing his unique sharp eyes.

“You’re saying, you want me to give up this position?”

“That’s right. You understood well. I never said I would hand over the position to you.”

“After wandering around during that fight and only coming back now! How can you ask me to give up the Chief position!”

“Hahaha!”

The former Chief of the Kowloon Walled City, Chul Wi-sung, was facing Jang Han.

“……Where the hell have you been?”

“I went to have some fun. I suffered a painful loss, though.”

Chul Wi-sung rubbed his chest.

As if there was some kind of wound, Jang Han felt that Chul Wi-sung’s magical energy flow had changed.

“Were you watching what was happening in the world?”

“Of course. It was fun to watch.”

You crazy bastard.

Jang Han struggled to swallow those words that had risen to his uvula.

“But…… I’ve made a lot of preparations. The Soongmoo Lee Clan. Shouldn’t we overcome them now?”

Chul Wi-sung said in a snake-like voice.

Jang Han, who flinched, looked into the distance with narrow eyes.

“Doesn’t that family have that guy?”

“That guy shouldn’t be a problem anymore, right? Where the hell is he now?”

“……Probably.”

Jang Han looked far to the east.

* * *

The Holy State, the Vatican.

There, a grand canonization ceremony was being held.

“……Therefore, in the name of the Lord, I declare Serena Cannata, the descendant of the Cannata family who protected the world, to be canonized and elevated to the position of Saintess.”

Cardinal Francis, the new Pope, proclaimed before the priests and visitors.

Before him was Serena Cannata, kneeling on one knee, reverently bowing her head as if in prayer.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

It was the moment when a new Sword of Christ was born.

She had ascended to the position of eternally serving the Lord and spreading the blessed word throughout the world as written in the Bible.

After the canonization ceremony, a banquet was held.

It was a memorial service, a festival, and a mass of thanksgiving and atonement to God.

A grand festive night to cover up the post-war gloom.

Saintess Christina approached Saintess Serena, who could be said to be the protagonist of the festival.

“He didn’t come.”

“He must be busy. No matter what anyone says, he’s the hero who saved the world, isn’t he?”

“Are you alright?”

At Saintess Christina’s sudden question, Serena simply smiled brightly.

“Yes, I’ve already sorted out my feelings. I want to be his good friend.”

“……I see.”

Serena, who gave a bright smile to Saintess Christina, greeted the approaching friend.

“Saintess Serena. It is an honor to meet you. Although I believe in a different denomination, I congratulate you on becoming a Saintess…….”

“……Ron, you seem to be using more and more cheesy words as the days go by. Weren’t we friends? Are you being formal with me?”

“Ahem! Is that so?”

“And I should be the one greeting you. His Highness, Grand Duke Russell.”

Saintess Serena gave a beautiful smile.

A Grand Duke had appeared in England, none other than Ron Russell of the Eastgrowe Duchy, one of the heroes who saved the world.

He simply gave a clear smile.

“What are you talking about? Lee Chul was scolding me for arriving late because I was dawdling.”

“I heard that first-class monsters popped out in the Mediterranean. You were busy protecting the citizens on the front lines that the Holy State had abandoned.”

“Yes, well…… but it’s still true that I was late.”

“Anyway, it’s an honor that the Grand Duke’s first external official event is my Saintess appointment ceremony.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, Serena didn’t come to my appointment ceremony…….”

Ron muttered with a slightly sulky expression.

After a brief conversation, the two quietly watched the banquet hall.

It was Ron who opened his mouth first in the silence.

“We’ll need the power of those gathered here. To restore our world.”

“……It will be very difficult. But we can do it. As always.”

The real difficult work might be from now on.

But they thought they could overcome this difficulty as well.

Anyone who had seen the light that one man had shown would have felt that way.

Almost as if they had made a promise, they looked far to the east.

* * *

A port city in northeastern South Korea.

It was once a place with numerous ships and port facilities, but now, a group of people were moving on the land that had become ruins.

It had become an unexplored zone due to the tens of thousands of monster corpses strewn about. Therefore, civilian control was being carried out by the military, but those people were passing through without any restrictions.

Well, there was no way they could control them.

No less than the hero who saved the world.

The current head of the Soongmoo Lee Clan, Lee Chul.

The savior of mankind and the pinnacle of all martial artists in the world.

“Hoo.”

I stood on that beach and looked beyond the distant horizon.

“Are you alright?”

The eldest brother, who had been following beside me, reached out to me as I gasped for breath.

“Yes, I’m fine. I can’t whine about this much.”

I smiled and took my eldest brother’s hand and jumped over the collapsed traces of destruction.

“Then, have a good trip. My dear.”

At that moment, Anastasia, who was standing behind me, smiled and saw me off.

“Wait. My dear? What are you saying now……?”

Anastasia only gave another seductive smile and waved her hand.

I chuckled and followed my eldest brother, leaving her behind.

“You ended up with her after all?”

“Ah, yes, that’s how it happened.”

“You look good together.”

“Thank you.”

I walked with my eldest brother through the ruins under the clear sky.

There were countless.

Truly endless numbers of monster corpses were spread out.

It was the trace of battle.

All the black energy in this world had been extinguished in the final battle with the primordial monster, but the monsters had not disappeared, and of course, the corpses remained.

The monsters seemed to be a part of this world, just like the mystical species.

The danger was still there, but humanity would eventually overcome the monsters.

‘The warriors of the main house…… I won’t be able to find them, will I.’

I frowned, feeling the terrible stench.

There were many deaths here as well.

Their deaths made our lives continue.

Woo-oong!

At that moment, my eldest brother spread magical energy around me.

I felt that it was a little easier to breathe as the stench was blocked. I smiled and looked at my eldest brother.

“……Are you alright.”

My eldest brother asked.

I nodded casually.

“Yes, of course I’m alright.”

“Everything you’ve achieved has disappeared, are you really alright?”

“…….”

Even at my eldest brother’s words, I just kept walking.

It was as my eldest brother said.

I lost all my power in the final battle.

That strike that cut down the primordial monster was unleashed at the cost of all the miraculous power I had achieved.

It was a strike that reversed the providence and structure of the world, the primordial monster.

It would be absurd if there was no price to pay.

“Still, I’m alright. I just have to get back what I’ve lost. Maybe…… it won’t take long.”

It’s not difficult to shape the vessel, it’s not difficult to fill it.

I was rather looking forward to it.

Step, step!

The footsteps of the two brothers crossed the ruins.

My eldest brother was a little slower to keep up with my pace, as I had lost my magical power and strength.

Nevertheless, we walked without stopping.

And we finally reached a certain land.

“Father.”

The place where my father had his last moments.

On that great battlefield.

* * *

There, my father was.

He was sitting on the floor in a peaceful posture, basking in the sunlight.

He was missing one arm and one leg.

There was no part of his body that was intact.

Nevertheless, my father was sitting there with his eyes closed peacefully.

Hoo-woo-oong…….

And the wind blew.

As if waiting, the wind that blew from behind my father passed us two brothers and flowed away.

-Welcome.

It was as if I heard that indifferent and emotionless voice as always.

“Yes, Father, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Thank you. And, I’m sorry.”

My eldest brother and I said at the same time.

Then we stared at each other with wide eyes.

We smiled for a moment and sat respectfully in front of our father.

“My youngest.”

“Yes.”

We paid our respects.

We offered wine, offered swords, and slowly bowed.

We bowed once.

We bowed again.

When I closed my eyes tightly and stood up again.

“……!”

The scene in front of my eyes had changed.

A fantasy unfolded.

It was the sight of Lee Hyul-hyun displaying absolute force, and my father blocking his path.

“My youngest?”

I came to my senses at the voice I heard from the side.

When I turned my gaze again, the world was as it was.

“It’s nothing…… it’s nothing.”

I chuckled and looked at my father, who was making a peaceful expression.

‘……I see.’

And, I think about Lee Hyul-hyun, whom my father faced in his last moments.

Lee Hyul-hyun had harbored poison and built up obsessions for thousands of years that should never have been achieved, and that humans should never have done.

How many lives of the warriors of the main house who were sacrificed to his wishes, and the lives that were swept away by the tyranny of the main house?

Father.

The man named Lee Tae-shin had the mission to remove that evil with his own hands.

My father had the mission to end Lee Hyul-hyun with his own hands before the primordial monster.

That was the reason for his frequent travels.

Destiny.

My father’s destiny was in Lee Hyul-hyun.

And.

‘Was that thousands of years of obsession blocked by the wish of a father to save his children?’

I realize the reason why my father blocked Lee Hyul-hyun at the last moment.

It was not as the head of the Soongmoo Lee Clan, nor as a martial artist’s desire to win, nor for the sake of the greater good.

As the father of me and my eldest brother.

Lee Hyul-hyun’s plan, who had dreamed of such a great thing and walked the path of heresy, was blocked by the wish of just one father.

‘And…….’

I turn around and look at the distant sky.

Lee Hyul-hyun, who clung to only obsession and rushed in as a spirit.

And what he faced was Lee Kyung-hwa.

It was my aunt’s love for her family that cut off his last breath.

How tragic is this.

No, maybe it’s natural.

Humanity was such a thing.

Whether it was Lee Hyul-hyun’s thousands of years of obsession, the primordial monster, or anything else.

It was blocked by the emotions that humans naturally have.

‘……From now on.’

I said to my father carefully in my heart.

‘I will raise this Soongmoo Lee Clan to a glorious position again.’

It was a pledge to myself and a pledge to my father.

My father removed the evil that had been cast over the family through his struggle.

That’s just normalization.

Then it must prosper and continue in the future.

That role must be done by the descendants.

Me, the head of the family.

“Let’s clean up.”

At that time, I heard the voice of my eldest brother, who had finished his silent prayer, clearing my thoughts.

“Yes, eldest brother.”

I nodded and moved my body.

This was something that only me and my eldest brother had to do.

I took out the towel I had brought, and my eldest brother took out the coffin to enshrine the body.

And we slowly placed our hands on our father’s body.

At that moment.

Hoo-woo-oong…….

The wind that was blowing touched my father’s body.

“Ah…….”

It was just a breeze, but my father’s body turned to dust and flew towards the clear sky.

“Maybe…… he wanted us to relieve our burdens.”

“That’s why he’s been holding on until now.”

I looked up at the sky with my eldest brother.

“This…… really. Is he finally free?”

My eldest brother’s faint laughter flowed between us.

It’s a clear sky.

It was a perfect day for my father’s free journey.

* * *

In the car on the way back.

I looked at the scenery passing by outside the car window.

And I think about the future.

Hope is blooming again on the devastated and broken world.

Everywhere, people were finding their own things to do and cultivating their lives again.

‘Maybe this is the beginning.’

The apocalypse has disappeared, and the war has disappeared, but many wounds remain in the world.

As I said to the primordial monster, from now on, all life on this planet will have to struggle fiercely and bloom their own lives.

As it has always been, and forever in the future.

‘But it won’t be difficult.’

Humans have always continued their lives like that.

Prospering to the ends of the earth, and longing for the high heavens.

Past people for the sake of future generations.

Will is connected to will, and life is connected to life.

Perhaps all these stories I’ve experienced will become a passage in an old history book in the distant future.

‘Whether it is or not, we will just fill it.’

Just as I have lost all my magical power but am trying to fill it with new things, the world will also fill the empty vessel with a new world.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The countless stories that will follow.

The brilliant lights of life that will begin now.

But.

“What are you looking forward to again? Lee Chul? Please, just stay by my side and don’t wander around!”

Did I unknowingly mutter my thoughts?

Anastasia, who shouted angrily, grabbed my hand tightly as if she wouldn’t let go.

“I’m already next to you right now?”

“That’s right. Lee Chul is no different from an ordinary person now.”

“……It’s not that much.”

Even at this moment, I was quickly regaining my former martial prowess.

Besides, my trained body was still the same.

“Ha, then you’re going to wander around again when you get stronger. But you can’t. Don’t go anywhere because I’m not alone anymore.”

“Of course, I will protect Anastasia…….”

Wait.

What did I hear?

“Heok!”

“Cough!”

Lee Young-sung, the Iron Blood Squad leader who was driving the car as a bodyguard.

My eldest brother sitting in the front seat.

And even me.

The three of us gasped at the same time.

“W-wait a minute. Anastasia. What are you saying now…….”

Anastasia only gave a meaningful smile as if she was cute at my flustered appearance.

Then she brought my hand to her stomach.

“I have a child. Lee Chul’s and my child.”

I opened my eyes wide and looked at the back of my hand.

And I burst out laughing without realizing it.

‘So, is this how it continues?’

And suddenly, a question arose.

The blood of the Soongjung Choi family.

The blood of the Soongmoo Lee Clan.

And even the blood of the spirits that Anastasia has.

What kind of child will the child be born?

My child. What kind of life will you live?

“W-we’ve arrived. Head of the family, Mother, Eldest Young Master.”

Lee Young-sung said in a trembling voice and got out of the car and disappeared almost as if he was running away.

It was then.

“H-Head of the family!”

“Head of the family! You’re back! You were alive!”

A group of people rushed to me, my eldest brother, and Anastasia, who came out of the car.

I shook my head at the commotion and noise.

“Nanny. Nanny, tell me. What are you saying? Who was alive?”

“I’m saying you’ve come back alive!”

“So who the hell…….”

At that moment.

I looked at that distant place with surprised eyes.

There, a person was standing.

A friend of mine.

My teacher.

A person who is my family.

“Baby!”

That person ran over.

Feeling the touch of being hugged tightly, I lift my eyes and look ahead.

There, the full view of the Soongmoo Lee Clan was spread out.

(Weapon-Devouring Bastard End.)