Chapter 459

“According to the information we’ve gathered so far, Leviathan won’t die unless we destroy the core in its head that serves as both its brain and heart. The problem, though, is getting through its hard exoskeleton and body in the first place.... And that’s where your swordsmanship comes in, Ms. Ha-Rin.”

Standing in front of a whiteboard, she passionately explained the operation to Kwang-Soo and Ha-Rin while Ludwig just remained silent by her side.

What the hell is going on...?

Looking at the four gathered in the meeting room, Se-Hoon wore a strange expression.

Anyone could tell the cold and stern-looking swordsman was Ludwig. But the lively mage?

She

was supposed to be Doppelganger? The stark difference made him wonder if Kwang-Soo’s memory had been affected by his inner demons. On second thought, however, everything seemed far too natural for that to be the case.

Considering Ludwig’s face is perfectly portrayed...

The only reason Se-Hoon hadn’t immediately recognized him was Ludwig’s youthful appearance and expressionless face. If he imagined the expressionless Ludwig smiling, then the resemblance became unmistakable: just the current Chairman Ludwig he knew but without wrinkles.

What on earth happened to turn someone so cold into such a gentle old man?

Had he simply changed with age, or had some major event transformed his entire disposition? Wanting to know, Se-Hoon observed Ludwig for a bit before turning to the Kwang-Soo at his side, who was staring at Sophia.

“Professor. Was the Chairman also originally a swordsman?”

“What? Ludwig didn’t tell you?”

“I don’t think so?”

All Se-Hoon remembered hearing was that Ludwig had been weaker than Kwang-Soo before becoming a Perfect One.

“

Hmm...

Well, now that I think about it, that makes sense. If you knew and attempted to copy his swordsmanship, it might’ve done you more harm than good.”

“Harm?”

“Back then, Ludwig perceived space simply as ‘something to cut.’ It’s also why he first held the sword.”

Unlike the present Ludwig, who could manipulate space through various methods—like linking, compressing, and distorting—his past self couldn’t control space unless he actually cut it. It was an extremely rigid perception, limiting his methods and throttling his efficiency.

“To put it simply, he was trapped in the mindset that space had to be cut to be manipulated. It might have helped him to get used to handling the concept of space at first, but it isn’t a good approach long term.”

“Now that you mention it, I can sort of see why that is.”

Space was a conceptual force, meaning that just being bound by the act of cutting would limit growth and create unnecessary constraints.

With that question about Ludwig answered, Se-Hoon shifted his gaze to Sophia.

“So then... she’s in a similar state that Ludwig was in back then?”

“...You could say that.”

Gaining confirmation, Se-Hoon carefully observed Sophia continue her briefing.

Whoosh!

Documents and magnets flew to the whiteboard, arranging themselves. An eraser wiped off previous writing, and a marker floated up to write fresh notes. It was as if they were guided by an invisible hand, which moved the objects in sync with her gaze.

Recognizing it, Se-Hoon fell into thought.

Telekinesis.

The ability to move objects with intangible force was typically ranked based on how many objects of various kinds one could control simultaneously. And from what he just saw, even by modern standards, Sophia could be ranked pretty high.

“For awakened individuals who don’t have the ability to fly, I’ll be supporting you from the rear. If you have any specific movements that you want to execute—jumps, accelerations, sudden stops—just let me know. I can handle most of them.”

She had dynamic eyesight that could track and assist dozens of combatants simultaneously, and on top of that, she also planned to control the weapons that would suppress the Leviathan: an all-rounder by all accounts.

For such a person to be relegated to support, despite all that output...

Studying Sophia’s telekinesis closely, Se-Hoon spoke up. “Her mana penetration must be quite low.”

“That’s right. By today’s standards, even C-rank heroes can resist her spells.”

For abilities like telekinesis, their effectiveness hinged on whether they could pierce the opponent’s resistance to mana.

“No offense, but... compared to you, Professor, she’s got quite a number of flaws.”

“She was perfectly normal for the time. It was us... no, my master, who was ahead of the era.”

In contrast to Ludwig and Sophia, who had honed their powers through raw instinct without a proper foundation, Ha-Rin had built up a complete foundation from scratch and even created the Celestial Infinity Blade technique.

She was someone who, with no guidance, made even the Perfect Ones and the Ten Evils look like fireflies under the sun—a realization that dropped Se-Hoon’s jaw once again.

Hahaha... At this point, she might’ve already been aware of what power she could gain by conquering the Tower of Heroes.

If someone like Ha-Rin fought with everything she had in that era... what would happen? As if to answer that silent question, the meeting room changed to an endless sea.

HrrrroooOOOooo!

Tearing through the surface with a cry like a whale dragged across stone, the massive body of the colossal beast rose. Clad in a pale white exoskeleton like a suit of armor, the monster—Leviathan—looked nothing like the version Sophia had briefed earlier.

What originally resembled a whale had evolved into something draconian—more feral, more suited for battle.

“What the...!” gasped Sophia, the commander of the subjugation operation.

She had expected some degree of mutation... but not to the extent that it would look like a completely different creature!

“A trap... it’s a trap! That thing knew we were coming!”

Although Leviathan wasn’t as intelligent as Vermilion Bird, it still possessed a certain degree of it. Having sensed the hostility gathering toward it, it had hidden beneath the surface and focused its strength to evolve.

“H-How are we supposed to fight that...?”

“N-No one said it’d be this strong...!”

The morale of the awakened strike force shattered, almost all of them stumbling back in panic. Leviathan’s deception had left their entire plan in ruin.

Understanding that, Sophia bit her lip hard. Even if it meant risking everything... Sophia opened her mouth to order a retreat—

“Master.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Kwang-Soo and Ha-Rin walked forward.

“Wait—!”

Panicking, Sophia tried to stop them, but Kwang-Soo’s voice cut off hers.

“Ludwig. Sophia. Clear the path from the rear. Master and I will kill the Leviathan.”

They were up against an enemy so powerful they couldn’t even guarantee victory with everyone combined. Yet he was saying just the two of them would handle it?

Flabbergasted, Sophia was speechless. Meanwhile, Ludwig bluntly asked, “Can you two really kill that thing?”

“That—”

RUMBLE!!

Before Kwang-Soo could reply, the earth trembled as the sea began swirling toward Leviathan. An immense twister of water shot into the air, then plunged straight down and exploded into a massive tidal wave that swept in all directions.

“?!”

In the face of that wave, even teleporting away might not be fast enough to escape. The raw power of the Leviathan left everyone in awe of the raw power that no human could possibly defy, too stunned to even run away—

Celestial Infinity Blade: Blue Chime

Woong-

With a pure, ringing resonance, dozens of azure sword auras fused into one and slashed at the tidal wave to split it into two.

Crash!

All eyes immediately turned toward the one who had cleaved it: Ha-Rin.

“Phew...”

Even after slicing through the tidal wave—essentially cutting the sea itself—Ha-Rin only let out a single disrupted breath.

“Is that a good enough answer for you?” asked Kwang-Soo, turning to Ludwig. Out of them all, he was the only one who accepted the surreal sight as natural.

“...More than enough.”

With the corners of his mouth faintly raised, Ludwig stepped forward. And upon seeing him, Sophia flinched. Was it really right for her, someone who couldn’t even fight properly, to get involved in such a dangerous situation?

While she hesitated, Ha-Rin turned and looked at her.

“Sophia. Will you help us?”

Ha-Rin wasn’t just asking for headcount—she truly needed her strength.

Feeling the sincerity in her words, Sophia gripped her metal staff tightly and gave a firm nod.

“Yes!”

Among the dozens of heroes gathered from across the world, only four rushed forward. Their battle against the beast, one reaching the realm of legend, unfolded over the boundless ocean. And by the time that battle’s aftermath had wrecked the coasts of nearby continents with tsunamis...

Slash!

Ha-Rin’s blade finally sliced through Leviathan’s head, core and all, ending the fight.

“...That’s incredible.”

Although Se-Hoon was witnessing it through Kwang-Soo’s memories and it wasn’t perfectly accurate, Leviathan’s power had clearly reached S-rank—perhaps even that of the Planet Devourers.

And yet they had subdued it in their tumultuous era without a single casualty. Ha-Rin’s feat was so monumental that one may even suspect her of returning from the future, similar to Se-Hoon.

“It really was amazing...” the current Kwang-Soo murmured, reminiscing.

With the battle over, Kwang-Soo swam with all his might back to shore as he clung to Ha-Rin and Sophia, who lay exhausted. And all the while, Ludwig just calmly observed, as if it were none of his business.

Watching it all once again, a scene which had existed only faintly in his mind, Kwang-Soo was overwhelmed with indescribable emotions.

Yeah... I remember there were times like this...

Even after defeating Leviathan, the chaos of the world didn’t end. Despite their efforts, humanity continued to inch toward the edge of the cliff. And yet, back then, Kwang-Soo had always been optimistic: things

would

eventually change for the better.

Because the person by his side was the one person who could make that happen.

“...So that’s where it came from.” With that bitter mutter, Kwang-Soo, at long last, discovered the source of his inner demons.

“...”

Although Se-Hoon noticed, he refrained from asking questions. He had a vague idea already, and it was better not to agitate Kwang-Soo until the rest of the memories were shown.

What comes next... looks more ordinary.

With the experience of defeating Leviathan, the four of them continued working together from time to time to eliminate powerful monsters and demonkind. Simultaneously, changes in both Ludwig and Sophia began to show.

“After seeing the sword your master swung, I realized mine was meaningless. That’s why I just discarded it.”

“

Hmm...

The telekinesis I’m using... don’t you think it’s a bit different from everyone else’s?”

Ludwig gained insight from Ha-Rin’s Celestial Infinity Blade technique and expanded on his spatial abilities.

Sophia drew inspiration and began exploring her own powers more deeply—which allowed her to discover an entirely new aptitude in the process, one she never expected.

Woong!

An intangible sword aura took form beside Sophia, leaving her eyes wide in shock. Taking Ha-Rin’s advice, she tried it and within a few days successfully made progress in the Celestial Infinity Blade.

“What...!”

“I expected this would happen, but still.... I’ve always thought your power felt purer than typical telekinesis. Turns out you’ve been manipulating your synesthetic mindscape directly.”

Sophia’s true unique talent was the exceptionally rare ability to manifest her own synesthetic mindscape freely. However, because she had misunderstood it as telekinesis, she had been using it extremely inefficiently.

“

Hm.

Sophia.”

“What is it?”

Ha-Rin smiled at Sophia, who was staring blankly at the sword she had created.

“Would you like to learn swordsmanship from me?”

“Of course!”

Sophia did not hesitate to accept Ha-Rin’s offer. She had been feeling stuck in her growth, and after the Leviathan subjugation, she had admired Ha-Rin deeply.

“Have you ever used a sword before, though?”

“Does a kitchen knife count?”

“No.”

“Then nope!”

“...I hope I haven’t made a bad choice.”

Like that, she joined the pair.

Kwang-Soo taught her the basics of swordsmanship, while Ha-Rin passed down the ins and outs of the Celestial Infinity Blade technique and how to manipulate her synesthetic mindscape more efficiently. On top of that, she learned the mana refinement technique alongside the two, which they obtained from the mad Russian researcher who created it.

They all fueled her growth, turning Sophia into a skilled swordswoman in just three years.

“I think I might be stronger than you now.”

“Don’t get too cocky now.”

Sophia had reached the realm of manipulating her sword aura as if it were part of herself. And Kwang-Soo’s sword aura had changed, becoming a colorful barrage of hues that he learned to wield.

Though they learned from the same master, the same Celestial Infinity Blade technique adapted differently to each person’s synesthetic mindscape. It allowed the two to learn what they lacked from the other, spurring them to train together daily.

Naturally, they grew closer and began opening up about things they couldn’t tell others.

“Kwang-Soo.”

“What is it?”

“If I ever turn into a demon in the future... can you do me a favor and end my life for me with your own hands?” Sophia casually asked, staring into the campfire during a night out.

Hearing the question out of the blue, Kwang-Soo glanced at her. “Why me?”

“I don’t think I could ask the Master.”

“I see. Alright.”

He didn’t even think, making Sophia turn and stare at him.

“I appreciate the answer, but... wasn’t that a little

too

quick?”

She was his only training buddy, and she’d just brought up something terrifying. The least he could do was ask why.

“If you’re bringing something like that up, I’m sure there’s a good reason.” That was Kwang-Soo’s reason.

Whether she feared what might happen if demons captured her or even herself, if she trusted him enough to make such a request, that was the only answer he could give.

“That’s why I’ll do it. You’re my fellow disciple, too.”

“...”

Sophia stared blankly at him in silence, then gave him a gentle smile.

“Promise me.”

Watching the memory shared by just the two of them—without Ha-Rin at all—Se-Hoon understood why Kwang-Soo was so sensitive about promises.

Because he failed to keep this one... he became obsessed with promises.

But then, if that were true, why hadn’t he killed Sophia after she became Doppelganger? Although Se-Hoon could find out by asking Kwang-Soo now, he didn’t. He’d find out soon anyway, and more than anything, Kwang-Soo looked so bitter as he watched the memory that Se-Hoon didn’t want to press him further.

We’re entering the final part now... it should come up soon.

The memories, which had begun during the early days of the emergence of the Tower of Heroes, had now spanned fifteen years. According to the records, Ludwig had ascended the Tower eighteen years after the emergence. In other words, the events surrounding Ha-Rin’s death would be starting soon.

Whoosh-

Just then, the memory changed again, shifting the scene to a vast field of blooming flowers under the moonlight. Walking into the field, the past Kwang-Soo looked at Ha-Rin, who was gazing up at the sky.

“Master. Why did you call me here?”

She hadn’t said anything yet, but just the setting and mood made it clear there was something serious going on.

Tensing up in wait, Kwang-Soo watched as Ha-Rin turned to him.

“I think I’ve reached the final floor of the Tower.”