Chapter 49 – Fallen God

Gordon got off his wagon.

It was incomprehensible. He knew that Chesswood was a beautiful village.

“What is all this…?”

The settlers he picked up also looked around in bewilderment. This wasn’t the Chesswood that they had decided to move to. The area was burned to the ground and in ruins. There were bodies all over the place. The father covered his children’s eyes and sent them back to the luggage compartment with his wife.

“Oh my god. What is going on…?”

“It is like it seems.”

The father’s attitude had become cautious ever since he witnessed Gordon killing the attackers. He asked, “I’m sorry but… Can you take us a little further?”

They had decided to settle on Dandelion Village, but they had relatives living in the other villages of Chesswood. However, there were ruins everywhere. It was so confusing that they didn’t even know how to respond. First, they had to go to the other villages in Chesswood to figure out what was going on.

“What the hell is going on…?”

“Wait a bit.”

Gordon’s ears heard something, his keen senses picking up the noise of a battlefield in the distance. His eyes were cold. It was in the direction of Edelweiss Village in the center of Chesswood. Gordon placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

“……?”

The father became nervous about Gordon’s sword. Gordon raised both hands and laughed.

“Haha. Please wait here. I will go ahead and see what is going on. If there is an incident…”

“Yes…”

“Don’t worry. I will just go and see the situation.” Gordon untied one of the four horses pulling the wagon. After putting on a saddle, he got on the horse. “Rest in the wagon. I’ll be back quickly.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Gordon moved. First of all, he headed to an inn located on the outskirts of Azalea Village. It was where Rachel was, but her inn had already been razed into the ground. Among the broken buildings, unidentified bodies were scattered.

“……”

She wasn’t his lover. They were closer than friends, but it wasn’t an intimate relationship. However, he couldn’t see that bright smile anymore.

Gordon continued onwards. His keen hearing continued to grasp the noise of the distant battlefield. He kicked the horse and started running again. He passed Chrysanthemum Village beyond Dandelion Village. It was also in ruins.

Beyond Chrysanthemum Village was Myrtle Village. All ruins.

Then he witnessed the fighting of the army that was trying to penetrate Edelweiss. War. It was a mess of death and killing. Gordon saw the white stars on the foreheads of the invaders and was able to understand everything.

Gordon’s finger stroked the handle of his sword. They didn’t know anything. He got off his horse and tied it up in a safe place. The horse was scared by the noise from the battlefield. He swept the horse’s man away and placed his forehead against its brow.

“Wait here quietly. I’ll be back.”

The horse looked at Gordon, who in turn tapped its cheek.

“Don’t worry.”

Then he headed to the front lines. The residents of Elder Lord were fleeing from the users. Gordon approached a user and stabbed him in the neck. No one noticed Gordon’s presence. The user gradually changed into white particles.

“But I’ve realized. I had already found the things I was looking for…”

He suddenly heard a song. Gordon raised his head. He discovered a man holding a spear. The man was bloody all over as he blocked the users. He smiled when he saw the residents running away. As if he was the patron saint of this place, he stopped the enemies.

The man continued singing. Gordon realized that the man was determined to die. He had the eyes of a person who had abandoned life. A lot of things must’ve happened in order for a human to neglect living. Nobody could judge the stories that must be woven around that man.

The invaders here wouldn’t have consideration for such things. Gordon cut down users as he walked over to the man. He noticed the enemy behind him. Gordon’s blade pierced the user’s neck.

“Keooo…”

“You can’t see it…”

Gordon’s blade was like light itself. However, there was still a thick line between him and the man with the spear. Despite Gordon’s efforts, the man was stabbed in the abdomen.

The song that he was singing stopped. What were the lyrics was he trying to sing?

Another life experienced an irreversible death. It was a sad day. Gordon looked up at the sky.

If a child pulled the trigger, it wasn’t the fault of the child, but the fault of the adult. The adult who placed the gun in the child’s hand, without explaining anything. He could understand it in his head.

But what about the child’s punishment? The bullet fired from the gun had taken someone’s life.

[Your assimilation rate has risen.]

[Assimilation rate has reached the limit set.]

[Current assimilation rate: 89%]

Gordon wielded his sword. A dazzling darkness covered the battlefield.

“……!”

The front line was broken. The surrounding area had been cut in the shape of a fan.

A massacre committed by a cold soldier. The battlefield became quiet. Gordon walked steadily. Now all eyes on the battlefield were looking at Gordon. Their faces were shocked, like they didn’t understand what had happened.

Some strong players blocked Gordon. They were breathing nervously and seemed tense as they spoke to each other.

“Appearing suddenly like this. What is your name and class?”

“Where did this guy…”

The strongest person among them spoke, “Pincer attack. Do it slowly.”

“Yes Brother.”

“Brother is a ranker as well. We can win.”

The fiver users, including the ranker, surrounded Gordon. Every one of them seemed to have a high level. Gordon laughed. Then he wielded his sword again.

The world stopped. His blade moved slowly, but the opponents failed to avoid it. This moment seemed to last forever to the enemy. Gordon’s sword broke the laws of the world and swept over the enemies. It was a sword that cut the space and converged on the enemy.

Slowly. Carefully. The blade met skin. Five heads simultaneously flew through the air.

“……!”

The moment the fifth head was completely separated from the body, the world returned to its original state. Fountains of blood rose from five necks at the same time.

Everyone was shocked. The ranker and powerhouses that they were so proud of had fallen at the same time. They couldn’t even see what had happened. The bodies turned into white particles. Gordon went forward. The enemies retreated.

The brand on their forehead was stinging. The brand whispered to him.

……

……

That desolate voice. Gordon smiled as he killed another person.

It was unfair. They didn’t know anything about the curse of the stars as they casually went around committing terrible sins. He would stab their ignorant selves with this sword.

***

Crockta ran towards the northeast front. It was Blackmore’s battlefield.

In the other battlefields, armed forces had appeared like a miracle and created victory. However, Blackmore’s battlefield was the only one where they received news that the residents were retreating. Crockta achieved the first victory and headed to the northeast front.

“……!”

But the only thing visible was bodies. Both allies and enemies were dead. There was only one person standing.

“…You?”

Crockta approached him. The man had his head bowed while covered in blood and flesh. Crockta’s heart pounded. He felt an unknown feeling without knowing why. It felt like he was familiar with this person.

The man raised his head.

“……”

The man met Crockta’s gaze.

“You?” Crockta asked. The man’s eyes widened slightly and he scrutinized Crockta. He stopped at the bandana covering Crockta’s forehead.

The man asked a question instead of answering, “What is your name?”

Crockta realized that this man was the one who killed all the enemies here. He was able to tell just by meeting the man’s eyes.

“Crockta.”

“Crockta…”

The man looked at the sky again. He seemed to be thinking about something. Then he laughed. “I can never know this world.”

“What?”

“How long has it been since you started Elder Lord?”

“……”

This was the first time that Crockta realized that the man was a user. Crockta watched him with wide eyes. The man was still smiling. “Around three months…”

“What about this place?”

“Not even five days.”

“Did you…”

Suddenly, Crockta saw a familiar face behind the man. Blackmore, now a cold body lying in the middle of the battlefield. Crockta rushed over.

“Blackmore…!”

His abdomen was pierced, but his face looked serene. There was an unknown smile on his face.

“Blackmore…”

His heart was pained. No matter what he used to be, Crockta thought of him as a man who loved both his songs and his hometown. He was a minstrel who admired Crockta’s song and recorded his inspiration.

“You are sad because he is dead,” the man said from behind. “Even though he is a NPC?”

Crockta turned to him. The man wasn’t laughing or ridiculing him. He had a lonely smile on his face. Crockta replied, “Any death on the battlefield is sad.”

“……”

Crockta was well aware of this. Whether they were an enemy or ally, all deaths caused sadness in someone.

He saw the residents and orcs running over in the distance. The battle seemed to be completely finished. Ingram and Jeremy’s face also appeared. All of them had won. Only Blackmore remained here as a cold body.

It would have been nice if he had lived to the end. Together, they could sing and celebrate the victory. It was also possible to create new songs together. Crockta suppressed his sorrow and got up.

The man said, “Crockta, listen.”

“……?”

“There is the Temple of the Fallen God in the north.”

What was he saying? Crockta looked at the man. The man still had an unknown smile on his face.

“If all these deaths are truly sad…” He turned around. “Go to the Temple of the Fallen God.”

“What…”

Crockta tried to grab him but he was already walking away.

“……!”

The space seemed to fold and he suddenly appeared in a distant place. Crockta gazed grimly after him. He didn’t even know the man’s name.

“Temple of the Fallen God…?” Crockta muttered. But there was no time to think about it any further. Jeremy and Ingram were running towards Crockta.

“Brother! You’re safe!” Jeremy stood beside Crockta and fell silent as he discovered Blackmore’s body.

“……”

Ingram walked up to Blackmore. He kneeled down and stroked Blackmore’s cheeks with wet eyes. His hands rose to cover his eyes. Blackmore and countless other residents had died. Everybody grabbed the body of someone they knew and sobbed uncontrollably. The battlefield, Chesswood was filled with grief.

It was a sad war. They had won the war, but the sorrow was all theirs.