Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 119
EP.119 Holy Sword
Betica, who had been hanging limply like a dangling cat, seemed to have no strength left to resist. She remained in Shin Si-ah’s arms, quickly falling into a deep sleep, snoring softly.
Shin Si-ah, looking down at Betica in disbelief, let out a heavy sigh before turning to Jeong-hyeon.
“…Let’s take a break before continuing with the details. First, though, there’s an important piece of news.”
“What is it?”
“The schedule has been set.”
Jeong-hyeon immediately understood that this meant they had a chance to strike at the demon forces who would be left vulnerable, likely with the intent to break the cult. He quickly asked,
“Really? When?”
“Three days from now.”
Three days wasn’t too short of a time. Jeong-hyeon nodded in approval.
Noticing his reaction, Shin Si-ah casually threw Betica onto Reltra and extended her hand toward him.
“I honestly want to smack her, but I’m too tired, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Thanks.”
“Hah.”
Shin Si-ah grabbed his hand and helped him rise to his feet. Once he stood, she clasped his hand tightly with both of hers and asked,
“So, where did we leave off?”
“… What do you mean?”
“Earlier, I saw you two all over each other…” Shin Si-ah’s voice trailed off as her expression hardened. “If you’ve done that much…”
Noticing the sudden change in Shin Si-ah’s demeanor, Jeong-hyeon quickly responded,
“I didn’t do anything like that.”
“Well, that’s a relief… but I’m a little jealous now.”
Her words, though sounding innocent, had a chilling undertone. Instead of the expected cuteness, Jeong-hyeon found her expression unnerving.
He glanced towards Reltra for help, but Reltra avoided his gaze, turning her head away.
‘… Useless.’
Jeong-hyeon sighed, realizing that asking for help wouldn’t work.
‘At this point, calming her down immediately seems impossible.’
Deciding to deal with it slowly, he was about to head back to the castle when Shin Si-ah suddenly looked at his hand.
“… You’re hurt.”
It was just a small scratch, hardly enough to be considered an injury. There was a slight amount of blood, but it wasn’t significant. Yet, Shin Si-ah stared at it with concern, her gaze intense.
She then gently bit his finger, mumbling as she did so,
“Oh, ugh, ugh, ugh.”
With a playful smile, she looked up at him, licking his finger with her tongue.
“…”
After a while, Shin Si-ah seemed satisfied, releasing his finger and wiping her mouth as she spoke.
“Next time, you won’t get off so easily… so be prepared, Jeong-hyeon.”
Emphasizing her older sister status, she added the informal speech at the end before flashing a slightly softer expression and humming a tune as she walked away.
Reltra, watching the interaction, blushed and muttered softly,
“Y-You’re being too bold.”
At that, Jeong-hyeon felt an odd sense of his innocence being tarnished. He could only nod in agreement.
***
The Pope looked on with satisfaction at the new generation’s Paladin, who no longer shed tears of blood.
“…Isn’t it beautiful? While perhaps not as remarkable as you, this person could certainly be called a hero of the new generation.”
“Indeed,” Filothes, the Duke, nodded in agreement, continuing his praise. “I thought, at best, it would be a success if they didn’t fail, but now that I see them in person, those concerns have vanished.”
“Yes, they’re quite impressive.”
The Duke’s response made the Pope smile subtly as she turned her gaze back toward the Paladin.
‘As the Guardian of Balance and the last Black Dragon, Filothes recognizes them, so their strength is bound to be formidable.’
Although the Paladin hadn’t yet undergone a battle to confirm their strength, experiments had shown that they were at least as powerful as the legendary heroes of the past. This was enough to suggest they could replace the current reckless generation of heroes.
‘I look forward to the accomplishments this new Paladin will achieve.’
As the Pope thought about this, she noticed Filothes observing the Paladin, who was making strange sounds.
“By the way, how do you intend to carry out the performance?”
The Pope turned to face him, thinking for a moment.
“As always, preparation is key. We’ll conduct preparations in a place that can best demonstrate the need for such a performance.”
“Preparation?”
“Yes. Most believers have only heard of wars through the news or rumors; they haven’t experienced it firsthand, so they don’t fully grasp how terrifying the demons are.”
To make the believers understand, the plan was to show them the cruelty of the demons by using a sacrificial region.
“We’ll start by showing them a small territory where many of the faithful live. We’ll allow it to fall to the demons and then have the holy knights and Paladin save the day in a climactic battle.”
Hearing this plan, Filothes frowned and looked at the Pope.
“Are you really going to sacrifice believers just for a performance?”
“From an efficiency standpoint, it seems like a fair exchange. Is there a problem?”
Filothes looked at the Pope in silence for a moment before turning his gaze away.
“No… Don’t mind me. As long as what you’re doing doesn’t harm the kingdom, I have no right to stop you.”
“Ah, thank you for your understanding.”
“…So, which territory are you planning to sacrifice?”
“It’s quite simple. It’s a region close to the church, where many devout individuals lived, and though it’s known far and wide, it lacks the strength to defend itself.”
The Pope smiled, drawing a line through the air with her finger.
“As you might expect, we’ll use the region where the former Paladin’s family lived as the sacrificial lamb.”
Filothes stared at the Pope in silence before turning his head away, his expression filled with reluctance.
Not wanting to continue the conversation, he avoided the Pope’s gaze and looked down at the Paladin, his eyes cold as he spoke.
“Just don’t cause trouble. The King is watching everything.”
“I always finish things on my own terms, so there’s no need to worry this time either.”
“I see.”
With that, Filothes turned and walked away.
The Pope watched him go, thinking that nothing had changed with him, as usual. She waved to the Duke before turning her attention back to her plans, ready to begin implementing the next phase of the plan.
The Pope believed that if this matter could be concluded properly, the Church would surely regain its former glory. Unable to hold back her growing smile, she let it bloom freely.
***
Jeong-hyeon glanced at the Duke Betica, who was lying nearby, and let out a hollow laugh.
‘Her behavior is just like Hana’s.’
As the thought crossed his mind, Jeong-hyeon found himself wondering how Hana was doing. A sigh escaped his lips.
‘I miss her.’
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he realized just how much he’d grown attached to her without even noticing.
‘I’ll have to treat her well when I get back.’
With the end of this mission, there wouldn’t be any need for extended expeditions for a while. Deciding to stay by her side, he leaned on one hand, deep in thought, when an idea struck him.
‘I bet Hana would love to get a gift.’
The problem, of course, was finding a way to send it to her.
After mulling it over, Jeong-hyeon approached Shin Si-ah and asked if teleportation magic could be used for such a purpose. Her answer—“It’s possible.”—brought his worries to an end.
‘A letter and a doll should do.’
He decided to send a letter to let her know it was from him, along with a doll she might like. Turning to Reltra, who was nearby, he asked her to find stationery and a suitable doll.
“A gift for a child? I’ve never been asked for something like this before. I’m not sure if I’ll choose well, but… I’ll do my best.”
It was true; no one would think to ask a demon duke for such a favor. Jeong-hyeon offered his thanks before turning his attention back to Duke Betica.
‘Now then…’
Jeong-hyeon was here for a more pressing reason: obtaining the final shard of the holy sword. He walked over to Betica and shook her awake.
“…Ugh.”
Betica groaned, her face twisted like someone enduring a terrible hangover, and blearily opened her eyes to look at Jeong-hyeon. Her disheveled state made him chuckle. He extended a hand and got straight to the point.
“Hand over the shard of the holy sword.”
At his request, Betica waved her hand lazily in the air, conjuring the shard before passing it to him.
“Mmmph…”
For a moment, Jeong-hyeon wondered if she really had been drinking instead of battling. Betica’s sluggish movements and dazed expression made him question whether their clash had been a drinking contest instead.
He handed her a water bottle. Betica took it, muttering a soft “Thanksss…” as she lapped at the water like a cat.
Watching her behavior, Jeong-hyeon pinched the bridge of his nose.
‘I fought this person for five straight days…?’
He sighed, recalling the overwhelming power she had displayed at the start. That commanding presence was now nowhere to be seen; only a stray cat-like demeanor remained.
“Try to understand,” Shin Si-ah said lightly. “Duke Betica has always been a bit cat-like.”
“…Wasn’t she supposed to be the strongest in the Demon Realm?”
“She is the strongest. Her personality is just like this.”
It reminded Jeong-hyeon of how even renowned heroes often turned out to have strange quirks. Apparently, Betica was no exception.
He sighed again, watching as the demon duke sprawled out lazily, lapping at the water bottle.
‘Ignore it. Just ignore it.’
There was no point in letting it bother him, so he forced himself to focus on what truly mattered.
He retrieved all the shards of the holy sword he had stored in his subspace pouch, carefully gathering them in one place. As the pieces came together, a distinct sound echoed through the air.
– Ding!
[Congratulations! You have gathered all the shards of the Holy Sword!]
[The shards converge, and the Holy Sword reveals its true form!]
With this message, a radiant white light engulfed the surroundings, accompanied by an immense surge of divine power.
As this divine power was lethal to demons, Shin Si-ah reacted instantly. She scooped up the sprawled Duke Betica and dashed outside at lightning speed.
‘What a mess.’
Jeong-hyeon observed the situation, relieved that Shin Si-ah’s quick thinking had seemingly prevented any casualties. His gaze returned to the still-glowing Holy Sword, and he smiled with satisfaction.
‘Well, one way or another, it’s finally complete.’
The Holy Sword—the symbol of a hero and the source of their greatest strength—was now in his hands. With its power, Jeong-hyeon felt confident that he could grow far stronger than before.
He grasped the Holy Sword, anticipation bubbling inside him as he wondered how he would evolve from here. Just then, another message appeared before him:
[Warning! – The Holy Sword has not yet acknowledged you as its rightful wielder!]
[Pass two trials to gain the Holy Sword’s recognition!]
[First Trial – Prove your strength!]
Jeong-hyeon stared at the notification in disbelief.
‘I’d heard there would be trials, but I didn’t expect them to start immediately after obtaining it.’
He let out a dry laugh and reread the message.
‘Prove my strength? What does that even mean?’
In the past, Jeong-hyeon had demonstrated his strength to others in two main ways:
‘Stabbing their shoulder with a sword.’
‘Stabbing their thigh with a sword.’
Since those methods were all he’d ever used, he found himself unsure of what to do. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to stick with what he knew.
‘If I just keep hitting it, it’ll acknowledge me eventually.’
Whether or not hitting the Holy Sword had anything to do with proving strength, Jeong-hyeon didn’t dwell on it. After all, brute force tended to win over most challenges.
With that in mind, he unsheathed his sword and prepared to swing.
‘Let’s see if this works.’