No Regression for the Victor - Chapter 48

Once Mikhail could no longer even struggle, the mass of monsters fully engulfed his body as if to swallow him whole. Deeper and deeper. Mikhail, limp as if unconscious, was drawn steadily into the quagmire.

Just as the monsters brought him ever closer to their core to absorb him as an energy source, for some reason, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

‘Then, when will you be coming next?’

‘……’

I came here today to see you. I came all this way to protect you.

As Mikhail’s consciousness drifted farther and farther away, it snapped back in an instant.

If it was to protect that person, Mikhail could become a monster even worse than these monsters. He hadn’t yet confirmed that the one he cared for was safe. He couldn’t possibly close his eyes and die so pathetically here.

Mikhail summoned the last of his strength and swung his sword from within the monster’s mass. The moment the spherical core was shattered into pieces, the mass of monsters convulsed in agony and vomited Mikhail out, accompanied by an ear-splitting death cry.

“Kegh, kuhuk… kuh…”

As the monster’s cries died away, the lair’s core seemed to have exhausted its power, and the thick mist that had been creeping down the mountain range began to dissipate.

Barely able to breathe, Mikhail coughed, inhaling the now-cleared air, and saw the sacred beast, also freed from the monsters, collapse weakly onto the bushes.

“A-Are you okay…?!”

Leaning on his sword like a cane, Mikhail staggered over to the sacred beast, which opened its beak with great effort, as if trying to reassure Mikhail not to be afraid.

“Stay still! I’ll go and bring someone to help…!”

But Mikhail had no strength left to move another step. Just making it out alive and returning to the palace would be a miracle. Still, since Marcel knew where he was headed, if he collapsed and died here, at least his remains would be brought back to the palace.

“You did well, you really, really did well…”

With his barely moving hand, Mikhail stroked the giant bird, which seemed dozens of times larger than himself. As strong and brave as the sacred beast was, Mikhail saw only its loneliness even more clearly—just like that person.

“It’s okay now. It’s all over…”

The moment Mikhail hugged the sacred beast with all his strength, his heavy eyelids finally closed.

Meanwhile, in the Transis mansion at the place of exile on the Ice Lake, the duke had collapsed on the floor, covering his mouth.

“Kegh, ugh…”

Even though he desperately tried to stifle it with his hand, he could not stop the black-red blood that gushed forth with each cough.

Ever since he’d been seized by the monster’s tendrils and thrown down, his vision had vanished completely. Soon, even his hearing and smell faded away, leaving nothing but endless pain.

Even so, it was all right. At least, in Hyun’s last sight, Misha did not seem to be in danger, so he could feel at ease.

It’s all over now. Now… Hyun comforted himself as he slumped to the floor.

After sending the caretaker couple to safety, Hyun returned once more to the duke’s secret vault. After a long search, what he finally found was the black gem that had lain at the duke’s feet on the day he was first summoned.

The Heart of Cardina. If the Heart of Emil, stored in Osbrandt, was actually Emil’s physical organ—the ‘heart’—then the Heart of Cardina was Cardina’s will, crystallized into a magic stone.

Long ago, after Emil took his own life due to Osbrandt’s betrayal, Cardina too fell ill and wasted away. So Cardina, hoping that one day Osbrandt would atone for its sins and Emil would be reborn, fell into a long slumber.

Before doing so, she gave the descendants of Transis the ‘heart’, a gem that could summon her avatar, so they could seek the sacred beast’s help in times of crisis.