The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 449:

"This... can't be."

Hercules looked down at the wound slashed across his chest and knelt on one knee.

Divine blood continued to flow endlessly from the gaping wound.

It was a wound close to death; if it had been an ordinary injury, he could have easily regenerated, but this one had been inflicted by an opponent who had mastered Quickfire, making even that impossible.

"Even I, who once threatened Hades, god of the underworld, and captured Cerberus alive... am I to die?"

He raised his head to look at the two who had inflicted the wound on him.

Choi Do-yoon and Romulaxis.

Their clothes were torn in places, and they were covered in wounds, barely able to stand.

The fight had clearly been in Hercules' favor; he had relentlessly pushed his attacks and cornered them with his overwhelming strength.

But in the end, the fight concluded with Hercules' defeat.

"How... how could this be...?"

Why did he lose? How had they won?

Hercules was about to ask, but then he seemed to realize something, giving a self-mocking smile.

"I see. I truly had forgotten. The difference between strength and victory."

Back when he was called a hero.

Indeed, as he underwent Hera's trials, he had defeated enemies with his naturally formidable strength.

But if asked whether he had solved everything solely with strength, he would shake his head.

Hercules, too, had faced real crises. There were times when his pure strength alone was insufficient against his enemies.

Yet, he still achieved victory.

It wasn't because he was stronger than his opponents.

Innate strength and winning in battle were, after all, different.

"To think I forgot something so important until now."

Since the Gigantomachy, after ascending to godhood, Hercules had become obsessed solely with growing stronger, intoxicated by his own power.

True strength meant breaking anyone, regardless of who they were—a narrow-minded perspective that led to his actions.

Reflecting on how this final result had come about, it could be seen as divine punishment for Hercules' arrogance all along.

"Congratulations. This is your victory."

As he watched his body slowly fade, Hercules sincerely praised Choi Do-yoon.

There was no bitterness over his defeat. There was only resignation, having done all he could, and self-reproach for failing to recall what mattered most. Rå₦ȪBÈs

Yet Choi Do-yoon seemed indifferent to having defeated Hercules.

"Our fight is not over yet. It’s too early to celebrate victory."

"You refuse to be complacent even after defeating me? It’s a rather pride-wounding sentiment, but it’s a fitting response for one who has come this far."

Then go ahead. See this through to the end.

These were the last words of Hercules, whose body dissolved into fragments of text.

After watching the formidable Hercules vanish, Choi Do-yoon lifted his gaze toward the shrine where Yu-hyun was headed.

"This fight is over on my end. Are you still going?"

* * *

Crunch!

Ra, the benevolent sun god, was bitten by a colossal dragon. He stared at the White Dragon King, who was killing him, with shock in his eyes.

"I... I'm losing..."

Crunch!

The White Dragon King crushed Ra’s head, as if it were no longer worth listening to his words.

Ra’s body, crushed, scattered divine blood in all directions, turning to dust.

The battle between the Great Army of Draconica and the Great Army of Hermopolis ended in Draconica’s victory.

"What are our losses?"

"The Red Dragon King, the Black Dragon King, and the Purple Dragon King are dead. And the Blue Dragon King and the Green Dragon King are critically injured."

"That leaves just you, the Yellow Dragon King, and me."

"Yes. Though we’ve defeated all of Hermopolis, the shrine still remains. The war isn’t over yet."

"We've achieved our primary objective. Let’s retreat temporarily to reorganize."

Supporting the other wounded dragon kings, the White Dragon King gave the Draconica divine spirits the command to retreat.

But the number of responses confirming her command was few.

Most had fallen on this battlefield.

"Our kin..."

The dragon corps that had filled the skies before the war began had now dwindled to a size visibly small enough to count.

And it wasn’t just limited to Draconica. The troops of other great armies had also been reduced, and most of the survivors were so exhausted they were barely hanging on.

There were no bodies. In a mixed world, even corpses didn’t remain.

Where did those who had died go, and where would they head next?

The eyes of White Dragon King Sharuriel, who soared through the sky, were directed toward the shrine.

The number of shrines had now increased to six, continuing to send Elohim down below.

"There’s no end. The situation isn’t improving."

Although the battles between the elite forces of each army concluded in victory for the allied forces, everything else had played out in Logos' favor.

The fierce battles had exhausted and depleted much of their power and forces, while the Elohim continued to multiply.

And even now, they could do little to change that—a grim reality that they couldn’t escape.

The key to ending this war rested solely in Kang Yu-hyun’s hands.

So please. End this battle soon.

Everyone in the allied forces, including Sharuriel, prayed in their hearts.

* * *

"What is this?"

Logos looked down upon Armageddon, wondering about the strange feeling gnawing at him.

"Why do I feel so uneasy?"

Uneasiness.

It wasn’t something he, the supreme being of the world, the creator of this universe, should ever feel, yet Logos examined his own state closely.

He was feeling... uneasy.

This made no sense. In a world where everything proceeded under his control, there was no reason for him to experience anxiety.

But still—

"What is this? The situation is clearly unfolding as I intended. Every one of those rebels down there will meet their end right here."

There was no reason they would ever defy his will. So what was the cause of this inexplicable uneasiness?

"When this universe ends and I create the next one, I’ll have to handle things differently."

This universe had been far too unpredictable. Logos, who pursued perfection, disliked unpredictability in itself.

He had included such an element only because it was necessary for the story.

He stood motionless, as if entranced by something.

The books surged around him.

"The ultimate story you sought so desperately... comes from the very imperfection you despised."

[...]

Logos looked down at his hands, which were slowly disappearing.

The existence that could not be broken by anything was now crumbling to dust.

[... This is... utterly absurd.]

The deepest part of himself, which had pursued nothing but pure whiteness and perfection, was now infiltrated by an error.

Like a virus, it consumed and eradicated his form.

His twisted essence gradually faded.

[The perfection I sought was here, within this imperfection.]

What he pursued as perfection was actually far from it, and it was the very thing he had wanted to erase.

How ironic.

Logos thought of the name of the mask that Yu-hyun used with the Fragment’s power.

Aporia.

A word signifying all dilemmas and contradictions.

It was the poison that killed him (Logos), and at the same time, it was the final clue that answered all his wishes.

[In the end, dying like this is just my due consequence. So, you shall continue the story. I pass all my rights to you.]

With those words, Logos vanished entirely.

It is not a creature of equal size that kills a colossal being.

Something small.

Something so minute and faint—a single drop of poison.

That is the ultimate weapon capable of killing a predator.

To Logos, who pursued perfection, all contradictions and errors of the world were extreme poisons that he couldn’t bear to accept.

"This was always my plan from the beginning."

Now this battle was over.

Yu-hyun stretched out his arm, moving every book that floated in the air.

* * *

"Hold your ground! Fight to the death!"

"Maintain the defensive line! Our mission is to hold them back!"

Commanders shouted until their voices gave out. Though countless lives were lost under the bombardments from Elohim descending from the shrines and the relentless barrages from the shrines themselves...

The allied forces were still fighting without giving up.

Blood spilled, vanishing into text, and bodies covered in sand and sweat held fast.

They did not lose hope.

Fighting to the point of exhaustion were Kang Hye-rim, Kwon Jia, Seo Sumin, and Yoo Young-min.

"Hang in there!"

Kwon Jia supported Kang Hye-rim, who was staggering.

From behind, Yoo Young-min’s gun intercepted an Elohim trying to ambush them.

Seo Sumin deflected a red spear aimed at Yoo Young-min.

They fought, moving as one.

It had been so long since they had fought together like this, it was hard to remember. If not for Yu-hyun, even gathering like this would have been impossible.

"Oh, oh! Look over there!"

As the war intensified, someone spotted something unusual happening at the shrine.

"The shrine... it stopped?"

"It’s not just the shrine. All of the Elohim have stopped too."

The Elohim, who had been unleashing endless attacks, halted abruptly as if their energy had run out.

Rustle.

In an instant, the Elohim transformed into letters and disappeared.

Everyone in the allied forces stared blankly at the scene.

The Elohim, the shrines, and even the judges—all had vanished.

The shadow cast by the shrines dissipated, and even the sand that formed Armageddon’s desert began to vanish.

White letters drifted around like petals in the air.

The blackened clouds in the sky parted, and warm light began to descend.

As if celebrating their victory.

"W-we won!"

Someone shouted that.

The sound spread through the wind, then through the words.

"We won? Really?"

"Damn it! We’re alive! We survived!"

"We did it! The Savior did it!"

Waaaahhh!

An uproar of celebration followed as cheers for victory echoed.

Tears of joy spread, and everyone embraced each other in celebration.

Though there had been many sacrifices, and countless comrades had fallen, at least in this moment, everyone came together in celebration.

"Yu-hyun... Yu-hyun really did it."

Everyone at White Flower Management looked up at the light descending from the sky with smiles.

At last, this long, bitter battle was over.

Miraculously, they had all survived without losing anyone.

"We did it! We really did it!"

Kwon Jia also felt it. The curse of the Bookmark within her had vanished. It meant that Logos, the owner of the Bookmark, was gone.

The liberation she had longed for. Tears streamed down Kwon Jia’s cheeks.

Now, she could simply celebrate their victory.

Everyone had gathered once again.

"Where is Yu-hyun?"

No one answered Kang Hye-rim’s question. Everyone was searching for Kang Yu-hyun, but he did not appear.

On the day the war ended.

The day the mythic grand war, an independence struggle against the Creator, concluded in victory.

On that day, Yu-hyun did not return.