Chapter 309. Merak (4)

Byeok taught Emmanuel the way she did Chi-Woo. It was a 24-hour close-contact training. After requesting Chi-Hyun to open up his image representation space again, they trained all day outside of eating and sleeping. Three weeks passed like that. Considering that the passage of time could be manipulated inside the image representation space, it wasn’t a short training period.

Emmanuel pulled all-nighters repeating piercing and stabbing motions. Byeok sighed as she watched him. Over the past three weeks, she had tried twenty-seven different ways to revive Emmanuel’s Heavenly Drum ability, but there was no fool-proof training method. Some methods completely failed for some while succeeded for others. Knowing that there was a training method suitable for each individual, Byeok amassed all the knowledge she had to train Emmanuel, yet Emmanuel showed no progress. He was the same from the beginning even though he put in the maximum effort he could muster.

The fact that he couldn’t improve meant only one of two things. Either Byeok wasn’t a good enough teacher, or there was a problem with Emmanuel. But whatever the reason was, this meant that it was a waste of time to cling to him any longer. She would’ve already given up on him if not for Chi-Woo’s request. Continuing this training was something that wouldn’t do either party any good, so it was time to put an end to it.

“Dawn is coming.” Byeok looked up at the sky and got up from the porch. “I heard the tenth reinforcements were arriving today.” She glanced at Emmanuel, who was making stabbing motions with his body drenched in sweat.

“Since you are the head of an organization, shouldn’t you also be making preparations?”

Emmanuel stopped moving his sword around.

“Good work. You can go back and rest now.”

Even a fool would be able to tell what Byeok meant by that, yet instead of dropping his arm, Emmanuel continued to move like he hadn’t heard her. Byeok furrowed her eyebrows.

“Don’t be stubborn.” Still Emmanuel didn’t listen, so she said in a stern voice, “I told you to stop already. Stop before I really get mad.”

Emmanuel didn’t stop even after the stern warning. With his head lowered, his eyes were slightly covered by his bang. His dried, cracked lips parted a fraction, and he murmured something.

“…Is it?”

“What did you say?” Byeok squinted and asked.

“What is it I am lacking?” Emmanuel responded in a slightly louder voice.

“Is it effort or talent?” Emmanuel asked, seeing Byeok extend her arms.

“…It’s neither.” She licked her lips and crossed her arms. “In general, I suppose it’s talent. And you already know the answer about effort since you experienced it yourself over the past three weeks.”

“Then why…!” Emmanuel raised his head. His eyes were brimming with lament and sadness. He had worked his hardest with the thought that this was his last chance after hearing that he did have talent. Then why…!

“…Talent is speed,” Byeok said matter-of-factly, like she was telling him that one plus one equaled two. “It allows you to traverse the same path faster than others. But that’s it. It doesn’t put you in a place that you want to go to.” Byeok wondered if she should say the following words or not, and in the end, she clicked her tongue and went on. It didn’t seem like Emmanuel would easily give up, so she spilled the hard truth.

“At the end of the day, it means this is the extent of your potential.”

Emmanuel’s eyes lost their shine and became blank. He looked like a criminal who had received a death sentence.

“…Then I can increase my potential,” Emmanuel said in a daze and moved his arms mechanically. He couldn’t let go of his weapon yet. Seeing that Emmanuel wouldn’t stop even after all this, Byeok covered her forehead with a hand.

“That makes no sense…” Byeok said.

“How can you be sure of that without trying?” Emmanuel asked after raising his fleuret.

Byeok snorted. “Occasionally, I see people like you. Fools who won’t give up until they see things to the end.” She crossed her arms and put her pipe into her mouth. “Let me ask you something if you are that curious.”

Emmanuel didn’t reply. He simply kept making the same stabbing movements that he had been doing countless times throughout his life. He looked intent on never stopping whatever he heard.

“Can you surpass the legend?”

Yet this question made Emmanuel momentarily stop. The people he looked up to since his youth were his father and the elders who left great historical records in the Celestial Realm. As soon as he realized that he was the direct line of the Eustitia family, Emmanuel had sworn to be a great hero like them. On the other hand, Chi-Hyun—the legend—was a hero that even unreachable heroes like his father and other legends had to look up to. Furthermore, Chi-Hyun was considered an anomaly even in the Choi family, and was thought to be the strongest hero in all of the Celestial Realm. He was the hero among heroes.

Even Emmanuel knew that no matter how great he became, he wouldn’t be able to surpass the legend. He gritted his teeth, and before he could reply, Byeok spoke.

“I suppose you can say that no one knows what the future will entail even though you can’t do it right now. But when will that happen?” she asked. “A decade is too short, and even a century wouldn’t be enough.” Byeok gave Emmanuel a once-over and tilted her head.

“Then…what about a thousand years?”

Emmanuel’s form began to shake at the cold assessment. Unlike his will, his grip was losing strength, and Emmanuel tried his hardest to continue on. He wasn’t even stabbing anymore. What he was doing was nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum.

“Do you think you would be able to accomplish something you can’t do now?” Byeok asked. Emmanuel wanted to disagree and reject her words.

“Or do you want to turn back time and start things from the very beginning?”

But Emmanuel couldn’t refute it. Even if he turned back time to when they were born as Byeok said, it would be meaningless. To make an analogy, there was no guarantee an ordinary human could enter an Ivy League school or become a country’s president simply because they regressed. There were definitely things one couldn’t achieve.

“…” In the end, Emmanuel stopped swinging his fleuret. He dropped his arm and stood still.

“That is the difference between…one’s potential,” Byeok said, seeing Emmanuel’s arms droop lower. “There are things that one can’t achieve no matter what.” Byeok told Emmanuel to acknowledge the truth.

She was about to turn around when Emmanuel asked, “Is there really no way?”

“Yes.”

“No way at all? Really?”

“No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will always be…” Byeok couldn’t finish because Emmanuel’s arm was completely slumping back now.

Then he yelled with all his might and swung his arm, “Are you really! Telling me that there’s absolutely no way!”

It was then Byeok clearly saw from the swing that Emmanuel made. He had done it unconsciously, but he swung his weapon like his body was one with it; it was the technique she emphasized while teaching Chi-Woo. It was fierce and destructive like a thunderbolt and disappeared in a flash like a fleeting cloud that suddenly emerged and vanished. Rumble! A great streak of lightning illuminated their surroundings. Clouds and air currents passionately crashed and generated sparks.

Emmanuel’s fleuret seemed to have become clouds as lightning sparks crackled along. And the sparks didn’t spill out everywhere, but concentrated to the one point that Emmanuel focused on. At least, that was what he managed to do momentarily.

“Ah…!” Emmanuel’s face stiffened as he felt what happened. Byeok’s eyes also widened in surprise.

“Focus—!” She shouted, but it was too late. Everything that happened around Emmanuel stopped in an instant, and like he had lost grip of a water hose, the electric current spilled in all directions and disappeared. Simultaneously, Emmanuel threw up blood and doubled over.

“Kugh—!” Blood didn’t just come out from his mouth, but every orifice of his body; and as if that wasn’t enough, parts of his skin ripped and gushed out blood.

“Ah…! Urgggh!” He writhed and struggled on the floor like a bug. Byeok clenched her eyes tightly. For a moment, she had hoped things would work out even while knowing it wouldn’t. It was all because she had seen an anomaly like Chi-Woo. Emmanuel had almost reached the next level; he just needed to take one more step, but in the end, he failed to do that. He ended up toppling over after getting halfway there. It was unfortunate, but that was the end for Emmanuel. It was already praiseworthy that he reached the level he did with his current condition, but it didn’t change anything.

Thus, Byeok said in a slightly trembling voice, “I…acknowledge your efforts..” Perhaps things would’ve been different if Emmanuel was in his original world, but Liber’s World was already gone. Thus, events that favored heroes didn’t just happen.

“…But didn’t I warn you that this was the end…?” She said while looking at Emmanuel, who was unwilling to let go of his sword even while puking blood with a despairing look on his face.

***

Emmanuel groaned loudly the moment he woke up. He opened his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling an enormous power circle inside him that he didn’t feel before. At the same time, he felt despair. Besides the pain he was in, he instinctively knew that he couldn’t control this power. The moment he tried to forcefully use it, his body would explode and die. That was what Chi-Woo and Byeok had warned him about. Even death was preferable to a state like this—to think that he was a completely useless hero who couldn’t fight in a place like Liber.

“Ha…” He lamented. All his efforts until now became a waste overnight. The sorrow he felt was indescribable, and in his despair, all Emmanuel did was stare up at the ceiling—at least before he heard:

“Congratulations. You did it.”

Emmanuel turned to his side and saw Chi-Woo smiling brightly at him. In a daze, Emmanuel said in a very hoarse voice, “…Thank you.”

“You don’t sound too happy though.”

For a moment, Emmanuel thought Chi-Woo was making fun of him, but in the end, he snorted. Who cared about all that at this point?

“Rather than being happy about it…with this, I became sure of one thing.” He rotated his head and crossed his arms in a X before pressing them to his face. “I suppose a defective product can’t be fixed no matter what…” Emmanuel didn’t finish his sentence and became silent. Chi-Woo took a seat and rested his face on the back of his hands.

“Do you regret it?”

“…No.” Emmanuel covered his face with both arms and shook his head. “I don’t regret it. I feel relieved instead.” He had learned the lesson better than he could ever do. “Now, I know that my father, the elders, and my siblings have all been right about me…”

Chi-Woo saw Emmanuel close his mouth again and let out a deep sigh. He looked intently at Emmanuel and asked while leaning in, “Is that really true?”

Because Emmanuel didn’t answer, he asked once more. “Do you really think that’s true?”

“…”

He finally got a response then. The arms Emmanuel covered his face with trembled slightly. Even though he was pressing his arms tightly to his face, a trail of tears flowed down his cheeks and dropped to the bed mattress. He had no lingering regrets now.

“Why—!” He burst out. He felt angry and distressed.

“Why only me—” He coughed out and said in a shaky voice, “I thought a miracle would come to me at least once.”

“…”

There was a saying that the heavens would bless those who worked hard. Hard work would never betray you, and one could hope to reap the benefits of their efforts in the end. Nevertheless, it seemed the small amount of fortune that everyone seemed to experience at least once throughout their life didn’t come to him a single time. No, perhaps he had grasped it momentarily, but it slipped his fingers as soon as he caught it.

Chi-Woo stared quietly at Emmanuel. He waited until Emmanuel’s crying subsided before saying in a low voice, “Do you want a miracle? I can give it to you if you wish it.”

Emmanuel flinched. This was what he had hoped and desired for all his life. Sometime later, he dropped his arms to his sides and stared at Chi-Woo with watery eyes. Since it was a member of the Choi family speaking to him, Emmanuel didn’t think Chi-Woo was lying. Still, it made him wonder.

“But why…?”

Chi-Woo looked around the room and said, “I’ve officially registered our group now. Its name is Seven Stars.”

“…”

“Do you know the meaning behind Seven Stars?”

Emmanuel weakly shook his head.

“It’s the number of stars needed to save Liber.”

Emmanuel blinked hard.

“Stars…?”

“Yes, it can’t just be any hero. We need a shining light who can shine in the night sky and bring light to Liber, which is enveloped in darkness. I need at least seven heroes like that. That is the minimum condition that I have to meet to save Liber,” Chi-Woo said and smiled. He continued, “But…although it has been a while since I came to Liber, I’ve only found one hero like that.”

Emmanuel could guess who that one hero was, and he also had an idea what Chi-Woo was trying to tell him.

“There hasn’t been any good candidate despite the effort I put in…but I think I found my second star.”

Emmanuel couldn’t hide his surprise. “Me…?”

“Yes, you, Mr. Emmanuel. I’m sure of it,” Chi-Woo said with a smile. “My intuition is quite good.”

Emmanuel was filled with a feeling that he couldn’t put into words at that moment. After having been treated like a useless, defective product all his life, his heart swelled with emotions upon hearing that someone needed him. It felt as if someone was pulling him out of the dark pit. He had no reason to refuse, and this was what he had wished for. Chi-Woo said he would let him use his power properly and be part of the cause to save Liber.

‘No, there’s no way.’ Emmanuel had truly understood his condition through this experience. There was no way such luck would be bestowed on him now. Even if Chi-Woo was speaking the truth, he would have to pay the fitting price for it. Emmanuel’s Adam’s apple jerked slightly.

“Are you telling me to…serve the Choi family…?” Even if he had to do that, he would be fine with it. If he could rise again after despairing for so long, he was willing to sell his soul to clutch onto this thread of hope.

“No,” Chi-Woo said. “What I want isn’t servitude, but trust. And it’s not the Choi family who you should put your trust in.” Chi-Woo pointed at himself and said, “It’s me, Choi Chi-Woo.”

Emmanuel looked dazed. He heard things he hadn’t expected at all. Chi-Woo wasn’t telling him to swear allegiance to the Choi family, nor did he want the Eustitia family name. He simply wanted Emmanuel as a person.

“How?”

“…”

“Rather than a fake friend, do you have any intention of becoming a real friend with me?” Chi-Woo asked. Emmanuel pushed himself up. His whole body screamed in pain, but he staggered out of the bed, collapsing to his knees and looking up at Chi-Woo. He said in a wistful voice and expression, “I want to.”

That was all Chi-Woo needed to hear. An alarm sound rang, and a deep smile formed on Chi-Woo’s lips. “Thank you.” Chi-Woo raised the chain in his grasp, and Emmanuel closed his eyes tightly. Chi-Woo was hit with a strange feeling right before he used The Power to Rule the World. Though this was what he had wanted, it felt strange. It was then he saw the uninvited onlookers in the corner of the room. The baby fenrir cub was gesturing to him that he was evil, while Steam Bun was raising two of its fingers to mimic horns growing out of its head. They seemed to be saying he was more like a demon lord than a hero, and Chi-Woo made a bitter smile. For some reason, he did feel like a demon lord corrupting and manipulating a pure, just hero.