Chapter 609: Hyunsoo vs. Valhalla (7)

“Crush.”

It was the word murmured by blood-soaked Valhalla as he gripped one of Hyunsoo’s wrists.

His long hair was matted with blood. The moment his eyes flashed—

CRAAAAACK—!!

A sickening sound rang out as Hyunsoo’s arm twisted and the bones inside shattered.

The distortion traveled all the way to his chest. Hyunsoo’s HP began to plummet, and the viewers thought it would finally end in Valhalla’s victory.

But—

“Blink.”

Hyunsoo’s eyes had not gone dark either as he gripped the Villain’s Dagger in his left hand.

Even as the bones along the right side of his body crumbled.

With the activation word Blink, he was enveloped in red light and succeeded in driving the Villain’s Dagger into Valhalla’s chest.

SHHHHK—!

Crush took roughly one second to shatter every bone in a body.

Blink was different.

It instantly drove tremendous damage into its target.

As the two men turned to ash and began to scatter, people across the world were thrown into confusion.

-Valhalla was half a step faster. The moment he used Crush, Hyunsoo’s HP was already approaching zero.

-No, Hyunsoo was faster. Even if Crush had begun breaking his entire body apart, Blink made the target’s HP plummet in an instant.

Commentators around the world clashed over their opinions as well.

-So who won?

-Obviously Valhalla, lol.

-That last move where he shattered his whole body with Crush was insane.

-What are you talking about? Hyunsoo used Kabel’s Blink at the end. You people have never been hit by Blink, have you?

-Neither have you.

The confusion only deepened.

Not only the viewers, but the people inside the stadium were split between those who believed Valhalla had won and those who believed Hyunsoo had.

In the end—

The judges from every participating country and Pureum CEO Lee Sejin gathered in one place.

“If we do not announce the result soon, it looks as though a riot may break out.”

Lee Sejin realized that something as simple as curiosity could make people this violent.

Then again, it was not merely a contest between two people.

The winner would determine the champion nation of the inaugural World Championship.

Even Lee Sejin, a citizen of Korea, could not help feeling tense.

Everyone gathered there carefully reviewed footage captured by the slow-motion camera.

And Lee Sejin was stunned by the result.

By 0.5 seconds?

By the narrowest of margins, Valhalla was the one who had scattered first.

Sejin could scarcely believe it.

User Hyunsoo won?

Everyone present wore similarly shocked expressions.

In truth, unlike the viewers, Pureum knew the clear difference between user Hyunsoo and Valhalla.

They knew their detailed stats, skills, and number of titles.

More than that, they knew who was stronger.

The branch heads from every country did as well.

American branch head John had hurried over to confirm the result.

“Right. Because of the Villain’s Dagger Kabel placed in user Hyunsoo’s hands, and the Mythic artifact, For the New King, forged together by the blacksmiths...”

As Branch Head John awkwardly rattled off excuses, he abruptly came to his senses.

“I do not know what I am doing right now.”

John, the branch head of America—the strongest nation in Ares.

Proud as he was, he gave a bitter smile and looked around.

Other national branch heads, curious about the result, had gathered there as well.

He could tell that they were about to say the same things he had.

“I have thought about it. The Villain’s Dagger—was that not user Hyunsoo’s strength in the end? A main weapon is called a user’s heart. Yet Kabel, one of the highest-ranking players, lent his to Hyunsoo. That was possible only because he was user Hyunsoo.”

Looking at the place where Hyunsoo had disappeared on the monitor, John gradually acknowledged it.

“The first Mythic armor, For the New King. That was not simply luck either. User Hyunsoo has taught and raised tens of thousands of blacksmiths in their craft. His apprentices put their heads together over a long time and created it with nothing but the hope that their king would win. That, too, is user Hyunsoo’s strength.”

The branch heads who had been about to say that Hyunsoo had merely been lucky closed their mouths.

“User Hyunsoo has won.”

As an adult, and as the American branch head—

John settled the matter.

Hyunsoo and Korea had won.

*****

Breaking news flooded the entire world.

-Breaking News: Throne Match victor Hyunsoo reportedly wins by 0.5 seconds.

-Breaking News: The tower has fallen.

-Breaking News: Ares’s most influential individual is confirmed to be Hyunsoo rather than Valhalla again this year.

The victory gave both the nation of Hyun and Hyunsoo things beyond imagination.

-Brand Hyun subscriptions rise by 50 million the moment victory is confirmed.

-Migration applications for the nation of Hyun exceed 500,000. The nation of Hyun announces that it will not accept migrants for the time being.

-Politicians around the world express their desire to meet champion Hyunsoo.

-Advertising offers from around the globe pour in for user Hyunsoo.

-The President of Korea strongly expresses a desire to meet user Hyunsoo...

-Enormous crowds expected at user Hyunsoo’s residence in Gyeongju...

-The birth of a new hero, following the 2002 World Cup.

-The National Museum expects a surge in foreign tourists hoping to see the Seven-Branched Sword restored by user Hyunsoo...

-Hyunsoo’s country, Korea. Plane tickets around the world sell out immediately after the victory is confirmed.

All of that happened within mere minutes of the victory being declared.

That was how immense the impact of winning the World Championship was.

And then—

As Hyunsoo walked toward the stage, commentators around the world spoke excitedly.

-Fortune led the Pet Mascot Event to victory.

-In the Endurance Event, Hyunsoo was more brilliant than anyone else.

-In the Naval Battle Event, he produced the strongest master of the sea, Lee Chunha. And in the Dungeon Breakthrough Event, he performed a miracle by taking Korea, which had been in last place, all the way to victory.

-And we cannot forget that he defeated Smith in the Master Blacksmith Event. When the world-renowned Appraiser William saw the King’s Sword Hyunsoo forged, Jeoneodo, he declared Hyunsoo the greatest Master Blacksmith of the present age.

-He even succeeded in toppling the strongest tower, one that had never fallen in the more than four years since Ares launched.

As his accomplishments were listed one after another, even those who had denied him fell silent.

At last, when he stepped onto the stage, Lee Sejin, who would present the final awards, spoke.

“Overall champions: Korea. MVP: User Hyunsoo.”

The reason the commentators had listed all of Hyunsoo’s accomplishments became clear.

There was nothing lacking in his selection as MVP.

And he had proven that nothing was lacking in him as captain of Team Korea.

[Republic of Korea: 6 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 0 bronze medals.]

[Republic of Korea wins the World Championship overall.]

[MVP: Hyunsoo.]

It was the World Championship awards ceremony.

Lee Sejin, one of the world’s greatest tycoons, spoke as a fellow Korean.

“I am proud of you.”

“...”

The meaning contained in those words reached the Korean people.

One day, people had begun hearing the story of a blacksmith.

He had crafted Lamas’s Bell and saved a territory.

He had won the Super Rookie Tournament.

He had made a sword for Sword King Barad.

He had brought a ring-pommel sword into the world and awakened Bella.

In the Continental War between China and Korea, he had created the first Twin Dragon Sword and become the first Legend.

He had led the Great Atlas War to victory.

Together with Yi Sun-sin, he had fought at sea and driven back the Parion Empire Army.

The entire nation took pride in him.

In the man who had risen from the lowest place to stand at the highest.

“Me too.”

And from the stage beside him, Valhalla, who had fallen behind the victor, acknowledged his defeat with quiet applause.

When everything ended, the entire world looked forward to interviews with Valhalla and Hyunsoo.

But Valhalla did not appear.

An interview was not an official obligation, and he had already left for his flight back to America.

-He could at least give us an interview.

-What a jerk...

-We have been waiting forever for an interview!

But when the public saw the thousands of reporters waiting for him, they had no choice but to change their minds.

-He probably would have gotten trampled if he did an interview there...

-True...

-Someone tell the reporters to calm down...

Pureum actually relayed that, for safety reasons, they should submit another formal request later.

Reporters around the world immediately began protesting.

“Why did you not prepare a press conference venue?”

“This is clearly Pureum’s fault!”

“You should have prepared properly!”

Pureum answered.

“We did prepare one. But four times more reporters arrived than we anticipated.”

“...”

“...”

That was proof of how fiercely contested the World Championship had been.

Even the reporters themselves realized that their numbers had grown excessive.

They began to leave, promising to wait for the next opportunity.

And on the evening after the World Championship ended—

“Hyunsoo, you have to take off your shoes before getting on a plane.”

“...Oh!? Thank you for telling me.”

A group boarded a flight bound for America.

One man took off his shoes before stepping onto the plane.

*****

For the first time, Valhalla had lost.

Countless people sought Hyunsoo instead of him.

They cheered more fiercely for Hyunsoo.

There were many emotions Valhalla had experienced for the first time in his life.

Bitterness.

Emptiness.

The regret that things might have changed if he had only been a little faster.

And—

Could I win next time?

The thought came to Valhalla.

After returning to America on his flight, Valhalla bought flowers as he always did and headed to Sophia’s grave.

“What is a reason to live, Sophia?”

Valhalla asked.

Were these feelings his reason to live?

Was the thought that he might win if he challenged Hyunsoo again his reason?

Should he make Hyunsoo his goal and live for that from now on?

Was that his reason to live?

He did not know.

Only—

FWOOSH—

As the wind blew against him, Valhalla simply felt at peace.

He no longer had to stand in the place everyone had praised him for occupying.

He no longer had to endure simply to hold on to that place.

All that remained was to live so that he could rise again from where he had fallen.

At the very least—

It seemed better for something to make his heart burn than to remain in that place and feel empty.

Was that a reason to live...?

As he smiled faintly—

A butterfly flew toward Valhalla, who stood in the empty expanse of the vast cemetery, dressed in a black suit and holding a bouquet.

Valhalla watched silently as the butterfly landed on a flower.

He thought he had found a reason to live, yet loneliness soon returned.

I am lonely.

As he felt that solitude, Valhalla finally understood the true meaning of the reason to live Sophia had spoken of.

Its meaning.

The wish she had made even as she was dying.

Her hope.

Her desire.

-Do not be lonely, Valhalla. Do not be alone...

That must have been what a reason to live meant.

It was the final farewell of a lover telling him not to be lonely even without her.

Sophia, the only person he had ever had, had wanted him not to become lonely after she was gone.

Only now did Valhalla understand.

He smiled sadly.

“Sophia...”

But he was like a solitary wolf.

He had never been affectionate toward anyone.

He had never shared a meal with anyone.

In the end, he was alone.

He had made himself that way.

After Sophia left, he had hunted and grown like [N O V E L I G H T] a madman, deliberately becoming that kind of person.

Had that not been his own choice?

In the end, he had failed to grant Sophia’s wish.

He would live alone forever.

Everything had already become too late because of his own choices.

That was what he thought.

“Valhalla.”

“...?”

Was he hearing things?

It was a familiar voice.

He looked around, but no one was there.

Then—

THUD. THUD.

Hyunsoo, dressed in a suit and holding a bouquet, appeared on the long staircase leading up to the graves.

Beside him was Yoonchan, also dressed in black and carrying flowers.

And around them—

Musashi, Mio, Lund, Hyuksoo, Hyeji, Taehoon—

Along with hundreds of others who had passed through Valhalla’s life, who had crossed paths with him even briefly, all wore black suits and carried bouquets as they approached.

“...”

Without a word, they stood beside Valhalla and placed their bouquets at Sophia’s grave.

For the first time, hundreds of bouquets covered Sophia’s grave and formed a field of flowers.

They silently stood behind Valhalla, who stood at the very front.

Only then did Valhalla smile brightly.

“Let me introduce you, Sophia.”

Would Sophia be watching?

“They are my friends.”

My reason to live.