Chapter 397. Dear Friend

After almost blowing away the last gate and even Chi-Woo, the Sernitas’ first attack resulted in nothing in the end. However, the enemy coalition remained unfazed. Though they hadn’t expected humanity and the Cassiubia League to counter the first attack, their current situation hadn’t changed significantly. Humanity and the Cassiubia League had managed to block only one single large blow, but it had minimal impact on the battlefield. It was because humanity and the Cassiubia League didn’t have more strength to do anything beyond that.

Nothing changed besides the fact that their enemy’s lifeline was extended by a tiny little bit. Even if humanity planned to respond to the second attack with the same method, it would be fine for the coalition. The Sernitas might fall for a trick once, but never twice. They would analyze what had gone wrong with the first attack and make appropriate adjustments when launching the second attack.

Knowing this trait about the Sernitas better than anybody else, the Demon Empire and the Abyss remained unconcerned. They continued to do what they’d been doing. The main camps only sent out their reserve forces with the great demons staying in the back and their legions making the charge. They planned to cut down their enemy’s numbers as much as possible while helping the Sernitas charge their energy for the second attack as fast as possible.

Perhaps the method was causing greater losses to the coalition, but Bael and the Abyss King were unbothered. The power gap between them and their enemies was so big that they could easily overlook their terrible exchange rate. But this made the situation all the more frustrating for humanity and the Cassiubia League. They were able to take a breather thanks to Alice’s great sacrifice and skills, but the only thing they gained was a momentary reprieve.

How much more time did they have left before the Sky Castle’s next attack? They wondered. Seven days? Ten days? They didn’t know exactly, but they needed to take some precautions during this grace period. Yet they were stumped. Even though they knew the method to tackle the problem, they didn’t know how to carry it out. The answer was simple, really—to destroy the Sky Castle. However, the reality of the situation was that they were too occupied with the enemies swarming toward them to focus on anything else.

They were holding on thanks to the heroes who had made progress in Shalyh and the spectacular feats they were now demonstrating, yet there was a limit to their power. Since the start of the war, the coalition army had been pouring in their soldiers relentlessly and chipping away at humanity and the Cassiubia League’s strength day by day. And every time the day brightened, humanity and the League’s already limited numbers looked noticeably smaller than before.

Though reinforcements from the Cassiubia League were coming in, that provided them little comfort. As long as the Sky Castle remained standing, it was hard to expect a significant change in the situation even if reinforcements came. Furthermore, that wasn’t their only concern.

“Shit!” On the second day, Yeriel finally let out a frustrated scream. She had made brilliant achievements even though it had only been two days. Whenever the Demon Empire tried to siege the gate, she focused her attacks on Glasya-Labolas so that he couldn’t properly showcase his powers, and she crushed many large-scale attacks such as the tower of the dead, the giant ballista, and more.

And with the numerous bullets she shot, she couldn’t even count the number of siege troops she had crushed with both hands. If it hadn’t been for Yeriel, humanity and the League would’ve suffered several times more damage. While all that was true, however, she had still only managed to push away the enemies for some time until they came back again. For instance, she would crush enemy soldiers on top of the siege tower, only for them to come back fully recovered, and the tower of the dead that started with three had expanded to six in a short matter of time. That was simply the result of killing enemies day and night nonstop.

It was simply baffling. Their allies’ deaths were becoming nutrients for the Sky Castle, while their enemy’s deaths were becoming the foundation for the tower of the dead. Meanwhile, their side was running low on soldiers and resources. It was as Ismile said. While they could put up a fight, there were so many problems for them to consider when fighting. It was a perfect checkmate.

“They really go all **ing out!” Yeriel shouted in exasperation, and the problems they had been expecting began to surface.

“Ahhhh!” Shrill screams and explosions rang from everywhere when one voice pierced through. It belonged to Apoline, who had been shooting fire balls at her enemies senselessly until now. She staggered backward and stumbled to the ground, pressing her hand into her shoulder instinctively and realizing that her hand was coated thickly with blood. She didn’t know where the attack had come from, but there was an arrow deep in her shoulder joint.

Apoline grimaced in pain. The AI Armor should’ve…ah. It was then she realized that her mana had depleted to the point that the AI Armor no longer activated. As someone who was born with an abnormally high amount of mana, this situation was new to her. Yet it was understandable considering how relentlessly she had been shooting down their enemies with mana. And if Apoline was in such a situation, it was apparent what was happening in other places.

An AI Armor was nothing but baggage without mana to support it. There were even some who took off their AI Armor before resuming fighting since they no longer had mana to use it. Then, the third day of war passed, and the fourth day came. Humanity and the Cassiubia League were becoming weaker and weaker, and a heavy foreboding feeling of defeat began to weigh them down at the last gate.

***

As the moon rose when the sun set, the night visited them again like any other day. Chi-Woo lowered his head while leaning against the castle walls. He was resting in the short period when his enemy had slightly backed off. The coalition army had been pouring in without rest the last two days, and Chi-Woo couldn’t eat or sleep a wink. But rather than taking a nap, he stood in the spot wide awake, looking at the floor smeared with spots of red and black through his half-lidded eyes. He wanted to sleep for even ten minutes, but he couldn’t.

It was because of what Ismile had told him to do some time ago, which was to find a way to take care of the Sky Castle. His head was in a mess thinking about it. He even agonized over the problem while fighting, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a viable method. He thought he had one thing to fall back to: Asha—who used to be Steam Bun—and their Deterrence ability. He thought if he used this ability, perhaps he could do something with the Sky Castle. Thus, he asked them hopefully, wishing for a miracle, but Asha’s response doused his hope.

Asha simply shook their head as if nothing could be done. Chi-Woo had nowhere enough Blessed Luck to overturn the situation. Chi-Woo’s heart sank, but he couldn’t deny that he had known the answer all along. During his time on Liber, Chi-Woo had gone to the past and to the future and gotten his hands on powers like the World’s Milestone, the Power to Rule the World, Deterrence, and so on. And all those helped turn the impossible possible and brought about unbelievable changes.

Nevertheless, even those powers weren’t omnipotent. That was what Chi-Woo realized after rolling the die a couple of times, and his realization was supported by all the incidents that had happened until now. When he rolled a failing number with the World’s Milestone, an event that directly influenced the present occurred. On the contrary, when he rolled a successful number, very few events that directly influenced the present occurred. It wasn’t like there was none, but most were limited to the individual and their decisions, and they only indirectly influenced the situation so that things became a bit more favorable to the user.

Like how The Power to Rule the World could only affect an individual at a time, Deterrence was the same. In other words, Chi-Woo couldn’t surpass the laws in place on Liber. It wasn’t difficult to guess why. He knew this before he even arrived here that the World’s will had a very faint presence on Liber right now. Thus, the influence that he could have on the Liber’s flow was also small. Of course, there were probably other reasons at play too, since there would be no reason for heroes to exist if one could simply wish, ‘Please destroy the Sky Castle,’ and it happened.

Yes, there was nothing he could do about something that couldn’t be changed.

“Haaa…” Chi-Woo let out a deep sigh. He was wondering what he should do from now on when he heard someone approach and sit beside him. Chi-Woo glanced to his side with his head arched and saw a flutter of long silver hair. It was Hawa. She was still alive. Now that he thought about it, Chi-Woo realized that he hadn’t even checked up on the well-being of his group. Chi-Woo made a bitter smile in realization and saw a water bottle pushed into his narrow vision. It seemed Hawa was telling to at least drink water since he couldn’t eat properly. Though Chi-Woo was thankful for this gesture, he didn’t move. He simply pretended to sleep with his head lowered. He didn’t want to do anything right now.

Some more minutes passed just like that. But instead of getting embarrassed and taking back the water bottle, Hawa showed no intention of moving her hand. Thus, in the end, Chi-Woo said, “I’m sleeping.”

“Stop joking around.”

“…”

“I just heard you sigh,” Hawa said coldly, and Chi-Woo forcefully took the water bottle. He craned his head backward and drank the water sip by sip. All the while, he could sense Hawa’s strong gaze on him. Hawa looked at him like he was so pathetic she couldn’t bear it.

“…Ms. Hawa,” Chi-Woo took his mouth off the water bottle and said in a weak voice. “Please tell me the way to deal with the Sky Castle.”

“I don’t know things like that,” Hawa answered his pleading with an obvious response.

“We’ll all die if we don’t solve the problem.”

“I’m sure we will.”

After a pause, Chi-Woo asked, “…Will we be able to win?”

Unlike him, Hawa replied without any hesitation, “No.” It was short and clear without any feelings. Chi-Woo laughed soundlessly. He should’ve expected her answer. There was no point to his question. And after letting out empty laughter, he suddenly became curious about what Hawa thought of him right now. There was really no need to ask her since the answer for this question seemed obvious too. She would naturally be disappointed. Chi-Woo had led everyone to the battlefield and encouraged them to fight only to show how incapable he was.

But foremost, Chi-Woo was disappointed in himself. He thought he had firmly resolved himself, but now that he was really in the thick of things, he couldn’t bear it and was only looking for his brother. It was no surprise that Hawa would think he was pathetic. Like this, in the end—

“…Ms. Hawa…” Chi-Woo said in a resigned tone, “Do you want to live?” He didn’t hear an immediate answer this time. With her sharp senses, Hawa realized the underlying intentions behind Chi-Woo’s question; he was thinking about giving up and retreating.

“Not really,” Hawa replied. “I don’t really know.”

Her response was quite unexpected. And she continued to ask an equally unexpected question.

“Do you know when the happiest moment in my life was?”

Chi-Woo tilted his head in confusion, but craned his ears to listen to her.

“It’s when I became La Hawa.” In other words, it was when she freed herself from under Shahnaz’s shadows. “I was sick of living in obedience where somebody else gave meaning to my life. I didn’t want to continue leading a life like that.”

Chi-Woo was no fool, and he soon realized what she was saying. Thus, he asked, “Does it even matter? If the result is the same, who cares what we do now?” In short, if they were all going to die in the end whether they continued to fight or escape, wouldn’t it be better to lengthen their life for a bit and taste a dose of fake hope for a moment?

“It’s different,” Hawa disagreed. “If we retreat now, we will be accepting death in exchange for a short postponement. Then we’ll die by our enemies’ decision.” In other words, they would be doing what their enemies wanted. “But if we continue to fight here, we will be rejecting our enemies’ conditions and showing our enduring will to fight them.” Hawa said in a clear, flat, and low voice, “Thus, if you ask me to choose a side, I will choose to stay in this place. That way, I won’t be playing into my enemy’s hands and instead be acting on my own decision.”

There was no sanctuary to run to. If they ran away from Shalyh right now, they would all die in the end. Not long after that, humanity and the Cassiubia League would be hunted down and cornered until meeting their end on Liber. Considering that, it was better for them to choose to die here. Even if they died futilely, Hawa thought there would be more meaning and purpose to that.

“Of course…” Then, Hawa looked up at the night sky and turned back to Chi-Woo. “It would be better if we didn’t die and continued to live.” Chi-Woo blinked hard and looked slightly dazed. He didn’t know since when, but the mess in his head had cleared up somewhat. The boiling whirl of emotions in his heart seemed to settle then. He didn’t know what had suddenly happened. Hawa never gave him any words of encouragement, telling him he could do it or so on. She had simply spoken what was in her heart, but strangely, he felt comforted by her words.

‘I see, so this is what Hawa thinks.’ Chi-Woo’s head gradually rose. Then, he asked in a slightly hoarse voice. “If we survive here…what do you want to do, Ms. Hawa?”

“Who knows? There’s nothing I want to do in this instance.” Hawa shrugged. “But there’s one thing I want to do at least once before I die.”

“What?”

“If we both survive in this war…” Hawa hesitated for a moment and smirked. “Can you fulfill one request of mine?”

A request? Chi-Woo stared intently at Hawa for some time. She was smiling. Even in such a despairing time in war, she knew how to smile. It was the smile he saw from time to time while they lived together in the cave. After staring for some time, Chi-Woo felt his throat become dry, and so he put the water bottle to his mouth. He didn’t drink sip by sip like last time, but downed the whole bottle at once. Cool liquid poured down his dry throat and moistened it. It felt as if the fury of emotions he had been feeling was cooling, and Chi-Woo’s mouth no longer felt dry. Then, he said, “No.”

Hawa looked a bit taken aback. It had seemed like Chi-Woo would grant her request considering the atmosphere.

“How can I just make promises without knowing what it’s about? I’m not saying I would never grant your request, but if I must, I want you to grant mine too. That’ll be only fair.”

“What’s the request?”

“Are you going to grant it if I tell you now?”

“No, we haven’t even won the war yet.”

“Then, why don’t I receive the payment in advance, and you grant my request first? Like right now?”

“What kind of thing are you planning to ask me—” Hawa stopped. She recalled the silly phrases he used to make her say after losing their bets and was about to tell him to piss off.

“Pray,” Chi-Woo said while getting up.

“What…suddenly?” Hawa looked up with a slightly surprised expression.

“Yes, pray while looking at me, and very sincerely too.”

Hawa eyed Chi-Woo suspiciously, but she did consider his request. It was easy enough to fulfill, and moreover, there was suddenly something different about Chi-Woo.

“…Alright.” Hawa got swept by the flow of things and fixed her posture. Then, she kneeled, gathered her hands together, and bowed. Chi-Woo stretched his neck by moving his head in one big circle and looked satisfied. In addition to his physical state, Chi-Woo felt his broken-down mentality creep back upwards. It wasn’t as if he had done nothing. He had done everything in his ability for this very moment, so he needed to have faith, at least for the World, who was probably watching this war eagerly. He had endured and gone through so much to reach this point.

Chi-Woo inhaled deeply. It was fine if it was nothing grand or something menial as long as he could reach his goal. If only the situation could change a little bit for the better…! Chi-Woo placed his hand inside his pocket.

“What!”

Hawa flinched in the middle of praying when Chi-Woo screamed. All she had heard was a small stone piece rolling on the ground. What had made him scream so hard? Chi-Woo soon calmed down, and Hawa felt her vein pop in her forehead. She wondered how long she had to wait for Chi-Woo to finish what he was doing. She opened her eyes when she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“With this…” Chi-Woo was saying. He no longer looked pathetic and hopeless like she had seen him be.

“I would at least have one chance…” he said. It was the expression she had seen on him many times, right before he overturned everything and did what everyone thought to have been impossible.