-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Soul Eater
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Soul Eater.
This monstrous creature, with its incredibly straightforward moniker, was one of the Moonlit Church's ultimate weapons, appearing in the final arc of the original story's second part. Which meant its first appearance was naturally in the final arc of the second part; it wasn't supposed to be here yet.
"...So why is it out already?"
The sky had suddenly darkened.
Listening to the wails from below, I stood on the building's rooftop, lost in thought.
This is strange... This guy isn't supposed to show up around now...
I hadn't realized it until now, having rushed here without a moment to think, but on second thought, it was odd. Why did the Moonlit Church release it so early, unlike in the original story?
After giving it some thought, I reached a conclusion.
"...Is it because of me?"
It feels like snatching the Moonlit Priestess, Eunwol, in the middle of their terror attack, and essentially NTRing them, might have been a bit much.
Considering the leader had the Moonlit Priestess carry out the attack to show everyone the Moonlit Church's fearsome power...
Hmm. Did they just get annoyed at being disrupted by me and decide to launch another one...?
Honestly, I didn't think the leader would care much about that, but it seems they got a little miffed. Seriously, for someone so old, why are they so petty? They could have just let it go, like a true magnanimous leader, honestly.
Anyway, watching the purple Soul Eater still roaring and wreaking havoc below, I clicked my tongue.
They only sent out one of them, so it looks like they haven't even gathered their full strength. Why push so hard?
"Sigh... that old geezer."
You only made *me* nervous.
For that Soul Eater to be a threat, one of three conditions had to be met: there had to be multiple entities, it had to have evolved by consuming enough souls, or they had to be unaware of its weakness to silver.
But right now, there's only one entity, its color is still purple, meaning it hasn't evolved, and I even brought a ton of silver because I thought multiple entities would appear.
Meaning, game over.
"...Now what do I do?"
Standing on the rooftop, I muttered, feeling the cold night air.
Honestly, one big silver bullet would finish it, so what's there to do? In the original story, they only struggled against it before they knew its weakness to silver. Once they knew, they just counterattacked and took them all down. In the final arc, there was *him*, who was a bigger problem than *it*.
Just as I was starting to feel a little hollow, I changed my mind.
Right. This is actually good.
"...As expected, she's losing ground."
Looking down, Stardus was indeed losing in a one-on-one fight. Even so, an ultimate weapon is an ultimate weapon, so she's clearly having a hard time.
Look at that thing, floating people around it again and sucking their souls. It's no wonder Stardus is losing ground when it's constantly regenerating its health like that.
However...
"...Right. This is actually good."
The fact that this Soul Eater is unilaterally stronger than Stardus right now means Stardus has more room to grow.
As someone who grows stronger through trials, it wouldn't be bad if she could grow even more from this opportunity.
And on top of that...
I fiddled with my gun barrel.
...Everyone's distracted right now anyway.
So, if I secretly shoot this when Stardus lands a decisive blow, wouldn't people think Stardus defeated it and praise her?
Plus, my identity won't be revealed, so it's hitting two birds with one stone.
Yes, this is it.
Having reached that conclusion, I aimed my gun and began to bide my time, waiting for the perfect moment.
...Directly observing Stardus getting unilaterally thrashed.
Ugh, I felt like crying, but I held it in. Can't risk a friendly-fire incident.
But watching Stardus fight so hard... Look at her, fighting with such hope even in a desperate situation. Right. For her sake, I'll aim for the absolute perfect timing.
Below me, where I had taken aim, a dreadful and desperate battle was unfolding.
***
'It's hopeless.'
That was Stardus's conclusion.
-
KIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Barely dodging another swing from the monster's arm, Stardus felt herself slowly reaching her limit.
*Crash*. *Crash*. Buildings crumbled, people screamed.
"Haa..."
*Crash*.
After narrowly dodging another one of its attacks, she managed to put some distance between them.
As she struggled to catch her breath, the monster roared again.
Kkikiaaaaaaak!!!! Kkiyaieaaak!!!
A chilling sound pierced her ears.
Against the backdrop of the dark, ruined city, with only the bright moon above illuminating the scene below, the purple monster let out a grotesque shriek, and in response, pale, translucent people were dragged from the air, circling around it.
And their screams. Their souls being extracted. People losing strength in their bodies and collapsing like puppets. Its eyes, burning crimson.
Under the dark sky and bright moon, the sight of it letting out horrifying roars and stealing people's souls was truly a surreal spectacle.
And then, it charged at Stardus again.
"Ugh..."
*CRASH!*
They clashed again, producing an enormous roar.
As expected, Stardus was barely managing to defend.
*Bang. Bang.*
Occasionally, Stardus would try to land an attack, but it was futile.
Facing the relentless attacks of the creature, which seemed unfazed, Stardus gradually grew exhausted.
"Hah, hah."
KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!
*CRASH!*
"Hngh..."
And then, Stardus was hit directly by one of its attacks.
She was sent flying from the immense impact, crashing into a building wall.
Just before she could fully regain her senses, a pink laser shot towards her.
Seeing the beam of light slice through the dark sky, she barely managed to throw herself aside and dodge.
*KWA-A-A-A-ANG!*
The spot where Stardus had been moments ago was utterly demolished.
And when she staggered back into the air, the monster was already using its telekinesis to drag people who were fleeing far away back towards it, sucking their souls.
"Huff... huff...."
Stardus rubbed her blurry eyes with one hand, trying desperately to clear her head.
She couldn't collapse like this, if she collapsed...
And then the purple monster charged at her again.
Gritting her teeth, she clenched her fist and began to fight it once more.
But it was still not enough.
She, who had been unilaterally beaten with barely any hits landed, eventually thought to herself.
...Right.
She looked at the creature charging at her again.
Behind it, the ruined city, the dark sky.
The grotesque purple mass drawing closer again.
They say life is but a fleeting moment.
It's true, the end can come so suddenly.
"Ugh."
She tried to block the punch it threw again, but it was still not enough.
Staggering from the impact that resonated through her head, she let out ragged breaths.
...She had no idea where this thing had suddenly appeared from.
Just yesterday, it had been just another ordinary day.
And she had thought these ordinary days would continue.
But in an instant, it was all over.
Dodging its attacks more slowly, barely, she looked at the dark night sky again.
Stardus thought.
...How long had she been fighting?
It must have been quite a while.
During the battle, she managed to glance sideways.
Shadow Walker was probably still evacuating people somewhere over there.
Meanwhile, she had to hold it back and stop it. If this thing left the city and went somewhere else, it would become an even greater disaster.
However.
'...I can't win.'
She instinctively felt it.
She could never defeat this thing here.
Her body was exhausted from the continuous onslaught, and her eyes were trembling uncontrollably.
While she was on the verge of collapse, that thing was still perfectly fine.
If she kept fighting like this, she would die.
She realized it.
But what could she do, knowing that? Should she just run away by herself?
"....."
Leaving those fallen people, abandoning them here?
Could she call herself a hero, doing that?
No.
Even if she collapsed here, she would fight to the very end.
To save even one more person.
That is what a hero does.
Despite reaffirming her resolve, "Ugh..."
The continuous attacks were too much, and she was almost losing consciousness.
Her body was losing strength, yet the offensive intensified—a worst-case scenario.
Nevertheless, she continued to fight back, breathing heavily.
"Huff... huff..."
"Ugh."
Somehow.
"Haa, haa... Damn it, haa..."
She continued to fight, blocking and resisting.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
After blocking and resisting for quite some time, she finally felt it instinctively.
'This... is my limit.'
It was getting too hard to move her body.
It felt like... this was the end.
The monster continued to roar and charge at her, and she could no longer move her body to dodge.
Just as she felt her end drawing near, Stardus, like a revolving lantern, felt her past memories suddenly flash before her eyes.
Memories of losing her parents in childhood, of meeting Lee Seol-ah for the first time, of being recognized as a hero by the Hero Association, of defeating a villain for the first time, of receiving thanks from the citizens she saved, of getting back up after falling.
And.
'Hello, Stardus. My name is Egoistic.'
"...Ha."
She let out a wry chuckle without realizing it.
To think that Egoistic's face would be the last thing to appear in her mind.
KIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
"Guh..."
She was sent flying again by a huge impact.
Barely keeping her staggering body afloat, Shin Haru found herself recalling the memories that kept surfacing.
Egoistic, who tried to blow up a ship.
Egoistic, who encouraged her to save a plane.
Egoistic, who destroyed a bridge.
Egoistic, who took an attack for her.
Egoistic, who held hostages and threatened them.
Egoistic, who stroked her head after she fell, then headed into the storm.
"Ha..."
She let out a sigh without realizing it.
Dodging the surging purple monster that lunged at her again, she quietly pondered.
She realized that whenever she was in despair or cornered, Egoistic had always been there, somehow.
If only this time...
Ha. What was she thinking? Knowing it was impossible.
...More than that.
In the end, she would go like this, without ever unraveling Egoistic's secret.
Resigned to everything, thinking such thoughts, she suddenly felt a surge of anger.
...To go like this, without ever learning anything about him, all because of this useless monster.
"..."
...No.
It's unfair.
That's impossible.
Right, she couldn't end it like this.
The massive purple monster charged at her again.
Watching it, she gritted her teeth.
Her body had long since been a wreck. She was on the verge of collapsing.
"Even if I go, I'll make sure to take you down first!"
And so, raising her battered body, she flew towards it at maximum speed.
Squeezing out every last bit of strength, she clenched her fist and took a stance to strike it.
Even if it was her final blow.
She'd make sure to land one hit on it before she went.
KIIIIYEEEEAAAAAAK!!!
"Hngh.....!"
And so, her fist, launched with gritted teeth, began to emit a bright light that illuminated the dark night sky.
It was glowing yellow.
***
A yellow light, shining from the center of Stardus's fist.
"...Now."
I, who had been watching the battle with a stern face, saw that light and immediately pulled the trigger of the gun I had aimed.
-*Bang.*
And so, a blindingly large flash of light erupted in the night sky.
Only a small gunshot echoed quietly, unheard by anyone else.