Chapter 131

Chapter 131. Fight to the Death (1)

Saionji Keito stood in the middle of the ruined building, aiming his bow.

From what Kang Yujin had heard earlier, that was the Constellation Armament of the S-rank Constellation ‘Pure-White Hero.’

Its name was Gandiva.

Originally, it had been the bow of Shiva, the God of Destruction.

It was one of the greatest legendary bows ever spoken of, and in mythology, Arjuna had used it to defeat countless enemies.

If he’s been using it continuously this whole time... does that mean he has permission to use Maximum Manifestation?

A Constellation Armament grew stronger as the Bond Rank with its Constellation increased.

Only one Contractor, the one most cherished by that Constellation, could reach the level of ‘Maximum Manifestation,’ allowing them to wield the Armament freely without restrictions on time or ability.

In other words...

Keito was the ‘Pure-White Hero’s’ most favored Contractor in the world.

Even so...!

Kang Yujin bit his lip and advanced.

At that moment, another Brahmastra came flying toward him.

It’s weaker!

He had realized something.

Brahmastra possessed enough destructive power that Kang Yujin couldn’t block it without [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder].

However, to increase its firing rate, Keito had to reduce its power.

Right now, Keito was rapidly firing Brahmastras to stop Kang Yujin from approaching.

But in exchange...

each one was considerably weaker.

Then...!

Kang Yujin activated [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder].

Unlike before, however, he didn’t pour much internal energy into it.

That alone was enough to destroy the weakened Brahmastra.

“Keito!”

And finally...

he closed the distance enough to see Keito’s expression clearly.

“Yujin.”

Inside a building whose ceiling had collapsed open to the sky, Kang Yujin faced Keito.

Keito looked at him with the same cold expression as before.

There was almost no emotion on his face.

He seemed less like a person and more like an inorganic weapon...

a machine designed solely to defeat whatever stood in front of it.

“So you came back after all.”

“Were you waiting for me?”

“I wasn’t expecting it, but I had a feeling.”

As they spoke, Kang Yujin suddenly noticed someone collapsed in a corner.

Yuuki Hina?

A member of the Tenka Four Heavenly Kings.

The woman he had once fought on a rain-soaked street.

Yuuki Hina, wearing her black kimono, was unconscious with her back against the wall.

“What happened to her?”

“Yuuki joined us a little later. Unlike the other Four Heavenly Kings, her physical abilities are relatively poor. It seems getting through the flames to reach me wasn’t easy.”

There was no emotion in Keito’s voice.

“By the time she arrived, the rest of us had already reached an agreement.”

“You decided to defeat us here and swallow Korea?”

“Yes.”

Keito continued.

“But Yuuki objected.”

"..."

“She told me to stop fighting. She said that if I continued like this, I would reach a place I could never return from.”

Keito shook his head.

“She kept saying things I couldn’t understand.”

“So what did you do?”

“I intended to ignore her.”

Keito looked toward the unconscious Yuuki and spoke without the slightest emotion.

“Then she said she would stop me by force if necessary and attacked.”

"..."

“So this is what happened to her.”

Keito’s gaze remained cold.

“Truly foolish.”

Hearing that, Kang Yujin finally understood what had happened.

“The foolish one is you, Keito.”

“What did you say?”

“Do you really think Yuuki attacked you because she believed she could stop you by force?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yuuki knew from the beginning how this would end.”

Yuuki was certainly a skilled Contractor.

But she was no match for Keito.

There was no way she hadn’t known that.

“She attacked you intending to lose from the start.”

“I don’t understand. Why?”

“She probably hoped that seeing her fall because of you would make you feel something. Anything.”

Kang Yujin looked at him coldly.

“Seems like it didn’t work at all.”

He felt deeply irritated.

And remembering how he had rejected Yuuki’s request before only made that irritation worse.

“Yuuki was worried about you.”

“Worried? Why would Yuuki, who is much weaker than me, need to worry about me?”

“That way of thinking is exactly why she was worried about you, you idiot.”

Back then, Yuuki had told him.

Fight.

Grow stronger.

Fight.

Grow stronger.

That had been Keito’s entire life.

She had asked Kang Yujin for help because she feared that if things continued like that...

Keito would eventually go somewhere he could never return from.

“People tell me I’m reckless all the time too.”

Kang Yujin stared straight at him.

“But you’re worse than I am.”

"..."

And then...

Kang Yujin finally realized something.

So that was it.

He had never particularly wanted to become close to Keito.

Even so, whenever Keito kept approaching and provoking him...

Kang Yujin had simply let him.

He had never felt like coldly pushing him away.

Now he understood why.

This bastard really is... another version of me.

With that thought, Kang Yujin slowly tightened his grip on the flail.

Seeing that, Keito raised Gandiva.

Their weapons were completely different.

And yet...

Kang Yujin somehow felt as though he were staring into a mirror.

“Keito.”

“What?”

“In this fight...”

Kang Yujin hardened his resolve.

“I’ll show you the decisive difference between you and me.”

Then he kicked off the ground.

At last, the real battle began.

Keito used Gandiva to keep Kang Yujin from approaching.

Kang Yujin drew on as much internal energy as possible and tried to break through the relentless barrage.

Watching the battle on the enormous screen, I slowly spoke.

“Pure-White Hero, I respect your way of thinking.”

"..."

Arjuna silently looked at me.

Feeling his gaze, I continued.

“Keito is certainly an excellent warrior. The way he coldly defeats every enemy and continues to struggle could be called the image of a warrior representing this era.”

“Yes. That is how I see him.”

“You seem to find something noble in a person like that.”

I looked directly at him.

“Am I wrong?”

“No, Nameless King. You are correct.”

“But, Pure-White Hero.”

I addressed him by his Constellation name.

“I believe Keito is walking the wrong path.”

“What did you just say?”

For the first time, Arjuna looked genuinely dumbfounded.

“The wrong path? Are you saying a warrior recognized by me, Arjuna, is wrong?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Then I used even harsher words.

“He is utterly misguided.”

“Hah.”

For the first time, Arjuna’s endlessly calm expression twisted.

One corner of his mouth lifted in disbelief.

“This is absurd. It seems everything I said until now was wasted.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Enough. I’m disappointed.”

“Then answer me this, Pure-White Hero.”

Arjuna was probably expecting me to say something like,

Even so, Keito isn’t a righteous person.

Instead, I asked him clearly,

“Do you think Keito has been happy while fighting all this time?”

“What?”

“Forget happiness, then.”

I continued.

“Do you think he has even felt fulfilled?”

"..."

For the first time, Arjuna looked caught off guard.

“Keito has defeated countless enemies throughout his life.”

I stared at Keito’s face on the giant screen.

“Did he look like he found any meaning in those victories?”

“That...”

“I’ve watched Keito for a while.”

My voice remained calm.

“And I realized something surprising.”

Keito’s face filled part of the enormous screen.

“He has always lived an empty life.”

"..."

“He never looked even slightly happy.”

That was the truth.

Even now, Keito’s face showed no emotion whatsoever.

He looked so lifeless that calling him a machine wearing human skin wouldn’t have felt strange.

“Keito doesn’t even have a favorite food.”

Arjuna remained silent.

“When he chooses something at a restaurant, he simply picks whatever catches his eye first. For example, the item at the top of the menu.”

I had once watched Keito eat an American breakfast at the hotel in Jongno.

At the time, I had simply thought he was comfortable eating Western food.

Only after observing him more carefully later had I realized the truth.

Keito had simply ordered the first available breakfast option listed in room service.

“If someone pours him alcohol, he drinks it. But he never thinks, I want a drink.”

I continued.

“He has no hobbies. He doesn’t pursue women. He doesn’t seem to take pleasure in anything.”

"..."

“Who made him into a human being like that?”

I looked directly at Arjuna.

“Was it his father, the cult leader?”

“Or Ha Mina?”

“Who should bear responsibility?”

“That is...”

“No.”

I cut Arjuna off before he could answer.

“They are merely villains.”

“Madmen.”

“You can’t expect responsibility from people like that in the first place.”

Then I raised a finger toward Arjuna.

“The one who bears responsibility is you, Pure-White Hero.”

“You’re saying I’m responsible?”

“Yes.”

Arjuna looked genuinely surprised.

I spoke without hesitation.

“You watched him.”

“But you never guided him.”

"...!"

Arjuna’s eyes widened.

“Of course, a Constellation does not have to guide every human being.”

I thought of something Wen Zhong had once said and continued.

“It would be arrogant to assume that guiding humans is a Constellation’s duty.”

“But someone like Keito needed guidance.”

I looked at the screen again.

“A lonely child, sacrificed by every adult around him and then thrown into the world alone.”

“He needed a star to become his guide.”

“And there was only one being in the entire universe capable of fulfilling that role.”

Arjuna said nothing.

“Pure-White Hero.”

“No.”

“Arjuna.”

“When you were lost in anguish, there was a wise man named Krishna who taught you and guided you.”

I looked him straight in the eyes.

“But who did Keito have?”

"..."

“If no human could become that person for him, then you should have.”

I spoke firmly.

“Because...”

“Of every person Saionji Keito has ever encountered in his cursed life, the kindest and most righteous being was you, Arjuna.”

The longer I spoke, the darker Arjuna’s expression became.

Objectively speaking, Arjuna hadn’t committed some enormous sin.

Most Constellations didn’t personally care for each of their Contractors.

But I was certain my words were hurting him.

“Arjuna, you pitied Keito when you contracted with him, didn’t you?”

“Why do you believe that?”

“Because nothing else explains how someone like Keito could have contracted with a Constellation as great as you.”

Keito’s father had wanted him to contract with someone like Arjuna.

He had gathered information from everywhere and spent enormous resources preparing a ritual to call Arjuna.

“Normally, no matter how much wealth someone invests, they cannot contract with whichever Constellation they want.”

“That is correct.”

“Such rituals are meaningless.”

Arjuna nodded slightly.

“But if a human starts calling a particular Constellation’s name while creating an enormous commotion...”

I continued.

“Then perhaps the Constellation themselves might grow curious enough to look down.”

"..."

“And when you looked down...”

“You saw Saionji Keito.”

“A lonely soul being used and abused by adults.”

That was why Saionji Keito had been able to contract with Arjuna.

Arjuna had not answered the call of a cult leader and chosen his son.

He had simply seen a child who had spent his life being used...

and felt pity.

So he had extended his hand.

“Arjuna, you gave Keito the power to survive in a brutal world.”

“That was your mercy.”

Keito himself probably never realized it.

He likely had no idea that his contract with an S-rank Constellation like Arjuna had begun as a hand extended in compassion.

“But that was where you stopped.”

I looked at him.

“You only watched.”

“You never guided him.”

Unlike most Constellations, this accusation would cut Arjuna deeply.

Because Arjuna hadn’t casually chosen some Contractor he found interesting.

He had reached out because he wanted to save a wounded soul.

That was why my accusation had to hurt.

And I...

was the only person in the universe qualified to say it.

“Arjuna.”

“I am different.”

"..."

“I want to be the kind of Constellation who can reach out to someone struggling at the very bottom of the world.”

“To a lonely soul.”

This wasn’t empty rhetoric.

I had acted that way ever since contracting with Kang Yujin.

When I contracted with Seok Taejun, he had been dying after being attacked by Cheon Muhyeok, the man he admired.

When I contracted with Lee Jukheon, he had just lost to Kang Yujin and then been betrayed by his own allies.

“Arjuna, look at Kang Yujin.”

"..."

At my words, Arjuna looked toward Kang Yujin on the screen.

Kang Yujin was breaking through Keito’s barrage with powerful determination in his eyes.

“Kang Yujin always fights with a sense of purpose.”

"..."

“He’s just like Keito in one way.”

“He’s an idiot who only knows how to fight.”

“He doesn’t have much talent besides defeating enemies.”

I smiled faintly.

“But look at his face.”

Even Arjuna couldn’t deny it.

Compared to Keito’s lifeless expression, devoid of any emotion...

Kang Yujin looked unmistakably alive.

Human.

“I never ordered Kang Yujin to live in a particular way.”

“I only sent him a few indirect messages.”

"..."

“That alone was enough.”

“Kang Yujin found his own path.”

“He fights with the conviction that he is walking the right road.”

I looked back at Arjuna.

“Keito could have become like that too.”

Arjuna said nothing.

I continued.

“Arjuna, Keito may indeed be a magnificent warrior.”

“Perhaps fighting without attachment and giving everything until the final moment really is his path toward enlightenment.”

"..."

“But I will say this without hesitation.”

“He is walking the wrong road.”

As I said that, I glanced toward the Count.

He was leaning back in his chair with his fingers interlaced.

He wasn’t even looking at the battle on the screen.

His entire attention seemed focused on how I handled Arjuna.

“Arjuna.”

I looked directly at him again.

“As you requested, I will not interfere in this battle either.”

"..."

“But even if Keito defeats Kang Yujin here...”

I spoke slowly.

“That victory will never make him happy.”

Arjuna couldn’t answer.

He stared at me with a pained expression, biting his lip.

Looking at him, I could tell once again that this Constellation truly possessed a kind heart.

And because of that...

I showed him no mercy.

“That is why I hope Kang Yujin wins.”

Arjuna’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Because I believe that outcome would be more likely to save Saionji Keito as a human being.”

Kang Yujin thought while breaking through Keito’s varied attacks one by one.

If I had walked even a slightly different path, I might have become like this bastard.

Even if Kang Yujin had never escaped the Church’s research facility, Ha Mina would probably have released him eventually.

Just like Keito, she would have wanted him to accumulate combat experience and grow stronger.

If that had happened...

Kang Yujin might have developed the same kind of humanity as Keito.

Without any ideal or goal of his own.

Simply living according to his instincts for battle, defeating everyone who stood in his way.

Even if it were a woman he had known for years...

if she obstructed his path, he might have eliminated her without hesitation.

The reason Kang Yujin hadn’t become that kind of person was obvious.

Because He reached out to me.

The guardian of everyone struggling at the bottom of this world.

The Nameless King had saved Kang Yujin.

That miracle had taught him that good truly existed in this world.

As long as I can believe that... I can keep fighting.

That was why Kang Yujin had to win.

He needed to prove that there was a decisive difference between himself and Keito.

“Yujin...!”

Keito’s attacks kept pouring down.

Kang Yujin had already lost his flail.

Even [Protective Aura] couldn’t perfectly defend him anymore, and wounds covered his body.

But eventually...

he succeeded in closing the distance.

He had reached a range where Kang Yujin could leap forward and throw a punch faster than Keito could draw Gandiva and attack.

At last...

he had escaped the distance that favored Keito.

“Clench your teeth, Keito.”

For some reason, no Blessing from his Constellation had descended even during this fierce battle.

Kang Yujin didn’t care.

He simply decided on his own that the Nameless King probably wanted him to settle things with Keito in a pure one-on-one battle.

“From this distance onward, I have the advantage.”

Keito probably believed this was now an equal distance.

When they fought in Seoul before, they had been evenly matched in close combat.

But now...

that was no longer true.

Kang Yujin’s fist struck.

A fist filled with internal energy.

And something beyond even that.