Chapter 271. Armageddon (3)
Even after taking Kang Yujin’s strongest technique, [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder: Infinity], Christina did not fall.
Her face twisted in pain as she shifted back to her original fighting style.
She created a greatsword with magic and began attacking mainly through swordsmanship, just as she had when she fought with Balmung.
Kang Yujin actually preferred it that way.
RUMBLE!
The ground shook.
Violent winds howled.
Sharing the Lucifer power filling the surrounding area, Kang Yujin and Christina exchanged attacks so fierce they resembled natural disasters.
CRAAACK!
Christina’s attack struck Kang Yujin’s shoulder.
But by then...
Kang Yujin’s fist had already caught her squarely on the jaw.
BOOOOM!
With a thunderous blast, Christina’s body smashed into the ground.
Kang Yujin leaped toward her.
Before she could get back up, he unleashed [Nameless Great Art: Heaven-Shaking Tyrant Dragon] with everything he had.
The ground collapsed.
Christina coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"..."
After landing, Kang Yujin breathed heavily.
Even though he held the advantage...
this was the fiercest battle he had ever experienced.
A single opening could mean death.
His body was exhausted.
So was his mind.
“Ghk...”
Christina slowly pushed herself upright.
Watching her...
Kang Yujin felt a kind of awe.
Her body was already beyond the point where she should have been able to keep fighting.
And yet...
she stood again.
Purely through willpower.
Watching her pant as she tried to clench her fists...
Kang Yujin slowly spoke.
“Christina.”
He called her name.
“You said you wanted to become a hero.”
“Y-Yeah...”
She answered between breaths.
“I’m going to become... the greatest hero in the Material Realm...”
“and then... a Constellation.”
“But I don’t think you can become a hero.”
“What...?”
Recently, Kang Yujin had been given several opportunities to think about heroes.
He had heard about them from Heracles.
And from Siegfried.
“Christina, you definitely possess extraordinary power.”
“If I judged only you as an individual, I could call you heroic.”
“Exactly. I possess heroic power...”
“But you’re only a hero by yourself.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re trying to become a self-righteous judge.”
“That means you don’t need anyone else.”
Christina looked as though he had struck somewhere unexpected.
“Siegfried once told me something.”
“Siegfried?”
“He said heroes embody the furthest limits of the human spirit.”
“And that’s why people become fascinated by them.”
Mentioning Christina’s former Constellation, Kang Yujin looked directly at her.
“But you don’t need people to admire you.”
“I don’t understand what you mean...”
“Then...”
Kang Yujin ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
“Listen to that man.”
"...!"
A man was walking toward them through the darkness.
“Nameless King...!”
Christina’s eyes widened when she saw me.
But she couldn’t attack.
She had already reached her limit.
“Christina.”
“Tell me!”
“What exactly makes me not a hero?!”
Christina pressed a hand against her chest and shouted.
“I gained incredible power!”
“I wiped out the demons that invaded this land!”
“Isn’t that enough to make me a hero?!”
“From one perspective, maybe.”
“But from another, no.”
“Why?!”
“Christina.”
I called her name again.
“You based your thinking on the Book of Revelation.”
“You decided that those who gain power through people’s support are false...”
“and that only a solitary judge standing above everyone can truly act as God’s representative.”
“Y-Yes.”
“I’m different from people like you.”
“You deceive others and gather them around you.”
“I, on the other hand, will simply act according to absolute justice...”
“That’s only one interpretation.”
“The Bible doesn’t explicitly say that’s the only correct reading.”
The Book of Revelation was prophecy.
And prophecy was always open to interpretation.
“Who do you think is the greatest hero in the Bible?”
“That’s...”
“Obviously the Son of God.”
“Jesus Christ.”
"...!"
Christina looked caught off guard.
“One Western thinker once called Jesus Christ the greatest hero in all of history.”
“And the reason was that he created countless ‘small heroes’ who followed him.”
“Small... heroes?”
“A hero’s greatness only exists because there are followers capable of recognizing that greatness.”
“Someone without nobility in their own heart can’t recognize nobility in another.”
“So a true hero can only exist within a society of people who themselves possess heroic qualities.”
“Without such people, heroes aren’t revered.”
“They’re forgotten.”
A hero could only remain a hero because those ‘small heroes’ supported and recognized them.
“Even within a Christian worldview, being an absolute judge isn’t necessarily the answer.”
“Jesus Christ himself inspired tens of billions, hundreds of billions of people to admire and carry forward his heroic qualities.”
"..."
“But you don’t need any of that.”
“You don’t care what humans or Constellations think about you.”
“You believe all you need to do is stand alone at the summit.”
Siegfried had once said that heroes were revered because they represented the highest form of human spirit.
But Christina did not need that reverence.
“So no matter how strong you become...”
“you can’t be a hero.”
“You don’t need small heroes beside you.”
“So no matter how great the achievements you accomplish...”
“you’re nothing more than a natural disaster.”
“I...”
“Look at Kang Yujin, Christina.”
I raised a hand and pointed toward him.
“The path Kang Yujin walked inspired a lot of people.”
“That’s why Kang Yujin is a hero.”
Seok Taejun.
Lee Jukheon.
Joo Minha.
All of them had been drawn to Kang Yujin and joined his heroic path.
They had become small heroes themselves.
“Even Lucifer was a hero who inspired other demons.”
“So if you think about it that way...”
“you aren’t even worthy to call yourself Lucifer’s successor.”
"..."
“You’re only a natural disaster.”
“Whether you possess justice or ideology doesn’t matter.”
The light vanished from Christina’s eyes.
The fierce hostility that had filled them...
