Chapter 345: End of the Inter-Academy Tournament (3)

“It’s a warm scene.”

Michelan, standing beside me, was the one who said it.

He watched Abel and Orion von Nibelung with misty eyes.

The heroes surrounding them like escorts bore the same expression.

The wheel of fate, ever ironic, had only spun slightly off course.

All because of the invasion of mana that should not exist in the mortal world.

How ironic.

One single gear fails, and the whole universe creaks.

And still, humans find warmth and meaning amidst it all. It’s a scene that reminds you how imperfect we are.

But that’s precisely why, I think, humanity is beautiful. If we were perfect, whole, without flaws, we wouldn’t move forward.

We’d remain stuck in preservation, not in progress.

Even if it creaks, we keep advancing. That’s why I’m proud to be human.

And more so, I’m certain that perfection doesn’t exist in this universe.

That bunch of false gods thought they were perfect—yet didn’t I wipe them all out?

‘Getting this philosophical just because I’m seeing my wife reunite with her father…’

It must be the emotion in my chest.

The ripples spreading under my feet, like stairways, must have reached all the way into my inner world.

***

“It really is… warm.”

Michelan murmured the same thing again.

He had the face of when he was human.

Every strand of hair glowed with a halo of light, like a saint.

If someone saw him now, they’d think he was the god, not me.

“After hundreds of years in a cold body, in this frigid place, you start to feel even your soul freezing.”

Michelan spoke without turning his head.

“It’s like every soul has a weight tied to its ankles, slowly dragging it down. Someday you’ll sink… But to delay that day as much as possible, I had to become lighter. I told silly jokes, relived my memories from when I was human, clung to that.”

His eyes searched through the past. His entire gaze overflowed with life.

“If you review and review your memories, you start to understand things, Kang Geom-Ma.”

“You mean that rather than accumulating information, sometimes you need to look back?”

“From a cosmic perspective, humans don’t even exist for a blink. But in that blink, we experience and learn so much. Maybe because we’re greedy. That greed makes us human, but… I think keeping our humanity also means soaking in the past for a while. Kang Geom-Ma.”

“…”

Without a word, I turned my head to him. Michelan smiled warmly.

“You’ve figured out what I am, haven’t you…?”

“Between your time as undead and your current state as a ghost… there was a gap, wasn’t there? During that time, you experienced ‘the other world’, didn’t you?”

The other world. As expected, even Miracle Blessing M didn’t mention that concept.

I focused completely on Michelan. In the distance, Abel and Orion were talking affectionately, sitting side by side.

Their own conversation bloomed there, while ours bloomed here. It felt like the lake and moss breathed life into everything.

We stood in silence, taking it in. Then Michelan continued.

“That world, the one without a name, had a landscape quite similar to this.”

“…You’re saying the other world was a lake?”

Now that was something.

My inner world was also a lake.

Maybe there was a clue there—something that could help me better understand the concept of containment, or even the truth beyond.

“I say this with certainty.”

Michelan nodded, his eyes gleaming.

“The difference was, that lake wasn’t made of water. It was a mirror. A giant mirror. And thanks to that mirror, we could observe not only the mortal world but corners of the universe. In the middle of that… we saw your battle, Kang Geom-Ma. The one against those abyssal creatures.”

“……”

“It was amazing! How can a human do that? Orion wasn’t the only one moved, but he especially was overjoyed.”

“Ah.”

Without thinking, I looked away.

My eyes met Orion’s. My father-in-law smiled at me before resuming his talk with Abel.

I shouldn’t feel embarrassed.

I should feel proud. But being praised that openly makes you shy—especially when it’s your father-in-law.

I coughed, hiding it with my fist. I cleared my throat and, unintentionally, took an accusatory tone with Michelan.

“So you knew all this and played dumb, huh, sir?”

“Hahaha! Sorry. I didn’t mean to peek, but I must have hit a nerve.”

“…No. I overreacted. Sorry, sir. I was glad to see you again, and I appreciate the compliment. I just got a little defensive.”

“That stubborn side of you is probably what lets you keep being the Heavenly Sword. Maybe that’s the anchor that keeps Kang Geom-Ma human.”

“But at this rate, I’ll wear myself out.”

Michelan let out a hearty laugh.

“You can afford a little wear! That sharpness of yours is part of your charm, but accepting compliments can also lift others. Just a word of advice.”

“You’re right.”

I rubbed the back of my neck.

‘Michelan… This man always tried to see people as they were, even when he was undead.’

Rather than focus on faults, he highlighted virtues. In that sense, he felt like a true sage.

And strangely, talking with him made the lead around my ankles feel lighter.

“Digest the past well. Accept yourself as you are.”

I engraved those two teachings deep into my soul.

While I was briefly lost in thought, the colors of Michelan, Orion, and the other heroes began to fade.

“It seems the time has come.”

Michelan opened his palm to show it.

“There’s a time limit…?”

“Yes, it seems so. Maybe if I were alone, I could extend it, but keeping all of these here in the current world—mana isn’t exactly abundant. Besides, don’t you think there’s beauty in goodbyes, too?”

“…”

Michelan and the heroes became increasingly faint.

But in contrast, their smiles grew brighter.

Abel, lips trembling, could barely speak. Her hand reached out to Orion, shaking, and then closed tightly.

“Dad… I’ll come back.”

“Abel.”

Abel turned her back to Orion. As she walked toward me, Sköll and Hati trotted behind her.

Only then did Michelan also begin to walk, silently smiling. They crossed paths in the center.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Thank you, miss.”

The living to the world of the living, the dead to the world of the dead. Each returned to their place.

At that invisible boundary between us, the heroes gave a deep bow.

Now that I knew what Michelan had told me, I understood why they were so respectful. They knew I had the recognition of the God of the Sword.

“It was an honor, even if only for a short time.”

But still…

To my eyes, the heroes looked much greater than I did. Even if we stood at the same height, they felt like giants.

I remembered what the president once quoted as if it were a famous saying:

— If you can see further than others, it’s because you’re standing on the shoulders of giants.

Those giants were the ones who paved the way before. Even if they saw me as transcendent, to me, they were sacred figures.

“…I may not have the right, but… please, keep watching over me.”

I said it without thinking. Orion and the others smiled and nodded.

“We will always be with you.”

The giants would keep protecting me. Protecting this world.

Fwoooosh—

A fierce wind fell from the ceiling.

A frigid gust forced us to close our eyes.

When we opened them, the merciless cold had brought us back to reality.

Beneath our feet, there was no lake. Just a snowfield.

As if nothing had happened, we stood silently before the gate, heads bowed.

“…That was insane.”

Just as we began to come to, Sköll and Hati bit the hems of our pants.

As if to say it was time to wake up from the dream.

I burst out laughing.

“Shall we go?”

Abel and I looked at the two playful animals tugging at us. Then we exchanged a glance.

She smiled softly.

I smiled too and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

The moment I spoke, Sköll and Hati grew in an instant.

Mounted on the wolves, we dashed through the snowfield as if bending space itself.

The cold burned our cheeks—but our hearts were warm.

***

A day had passed.

Which meant there was only one left before the final trial.

At that point, even I was starting to get nervous. The fate of each academy would be decided in this last event.

Some would celebrate in joy. Others would fall into ruin.

If, for some reason—no matter how small—we were to lose-

After what I said at the conference, the defeat would hurt far more than if Parsy were the one to suffer it.

And that wasn’t all. Since it was the final, numerous prominent figures from all over the world had been invited.

Not just the former heroes of the Seven Stars, but also major American hero agencies were present.

Even Parsy’s massive Coliseum might not be enough to hold them all.

So… what would the final trial be, the one to close this historic first inter-academy gathering?

I had no idea.

‘I wanted to provoke Speedweapon, but…’

It seemed the Association president shut that down quickly. He locked Speedweapon away somewhere.

Damn, that old man moved faster than me.

‘Disqualified: the sashimi faster than words.’

Well… in a way, he’s right to keep an eye on me, since I don’t exactly plan to play fair.

I’m not a clean-cut image of an ideal hero like Leon. I can’t help it.

Michelan himself said it—

Accept who you are and stick to your identity.

— But he didn’t mean it like that!

I drowned out his sudden voice echoing in my head.

‘We don’t know what the final trial is.’

Maybe because I’ve lived my life ahead of the curve thanks to my possessed ability, this uncertainty was making me anxious.

I trust Victoria.

‘It’s Chaerina I can’t trust!’

Chaerina, with whom I had a few incidents. She made me uneasy.

Yes, this was a competition between academies, but… what if she was planning something more?

Still, I couldn’t just stab her out of nowhere. Too many eyes were watching us, and I couldn’t forget what Yu Sein had said.

She didn’t consider Chaerina an enemy.

If she said that, she had her reasons.

Even if she was a game addict, Yu Sein was a saint. A refined version of a medium.

‘For now, I’ll stay silent about Chaerina.’

But other things were bothering me—like a thorn stuck in my throat.

For instance, the spies hidden all over Parsy Academy.

Even if they lose to Joaquin, they’ll find a way to benefit. And if they win, they’ll do everything to humiliate us.

If they win fair and square, I won’t complain.

…Well, maybe just a little.

‘Because the rotten never win cleanly.’

Me and corrupt nobles are natural enemies. And that’s not just for narrative’s sake—we’re on completely opposite poles.

“If only I could do some cleaning beforehand…”

If I could just set everything straight before the final because if the ending leaves a bad taste, it ruins the entire purpose of this gathering.

Leaning against the railing, I remained lost in thought.

And then, a sharp presence—Auditore-style—pierced my mental web.

“…Knox.”

I sighed and called out to the presence.

“The door’s open. Why do you always come through the balcony like a thief?”

From the darkest corner of the balcony, a shadow stirred and stood up confidently.

“It’s basic assassin etiquette.”

“You’re so inflexible.”

“Heavenly Sword, you’re not exactly the epitome of flexibility yourself.”

“Wow, not holding back even with your hyung now.”

“…Technically, I’m a year older than you.”

Ah, right.

I smoothly ignored Knox’s final comment.

“So, what’s this about?”

“We got the list of Parsy’s parasites.”

My ears perked up.

“…Parasites?”

My heart rumbled strongly.

“The names of those who were planning to cheat in the final trial. Chloe got the list. They call themselves ‘shareholders’ among themselves. I can’t explain how we got it right now…”

“Guide Me.”

“What?”

I stepped onto the balcony edge and rose to my feet.

“I’m going to have a conversation with those parasites no, with the so-called shareholders.”

There’s no better cure for a foul mood than a clean slice with a blade.