“Leave this place. There are so many more, better things out there. Find someone there that is kinder, more beautiful, and more precious than me…… and cherish them.”

I was not able to cherish him.

“I want to love you so much that I would give up the world for you. My life is enough with your presence. I want to be sure of my love, without any doubts.”

I couldn’t convince him.

Nothing. Really, nothing. I had done nothing, achieved nothing, so I couldn’t die like this.

“It’s an order. Bring out the best in you and win, no matter what.”

He pressed on, arriving before the heart, but he could feel nothing. Not even the bitter cold that had plagued him all the way here. All weight was gone, and he felt light as a feather.

He knew that the moment this shallow consciousness ended would be the end of his life. Remaining still was the only way to prolong his life, but Lumen pushed himself to his feet.

‘Beyond what I can do.’

It was not the completion of an unfinished technique, nor was it a continuation of the existing technique.

Something he couldn’t do in his current form. Something he could only do by pushing himself to the limit. If it would save them all, Lumen would gladly set himself on fire.

‘Because it’s not a goddamn sacrifice.’

This was a struggle to protect the life he wanted, and a struggle to fulfill his promise to a precious person.

Even if his life burned down to a handful of ashes, there was one belief that he must hold on to in the end.

“I’m about to die…….”

He closed his eyes, unable to see. With his hand on the scabbard, Lumen assumed the stance of a swordsman about to execute his sword drawing technique. Amidst the mostly faded consciousness, only the fading pounding of his heart stood out. Naturally, he focused on that beat. He followed the faint stream of life.

To Elvie’s eyes, he looked like a frozen corpse. No movement, no momentum. As Elvie stared at the sculpted Lumen, his lips curled. He had seen the end.

“Are you dead―”

But the moment he thought Lumen was dead.

At Lumen’s feet, a circular energy rose around him. The blue energy began to spin at a rapid pace, like embers on the wind.

Elvie’s face crumpled at the sudden change. Like an animal instinctively sensing a threat to its life, his gaze snapped to Lumen.

“Are, are you still alive?”

Unsurprisingly, there was no answer. As time passed, the energy surrounding Lumen expanded more fiercely, and the winds it generated blew his black hair around.

And his blade slowly slipped out of its sheath.

“Huh……?”

A blade bathed in blue light. With its silent appearance, space began to distort.

Crack. Crack.

In the distorted space, Elvie’s heart began to bend, making an eerie sound. Elvie’s heart, which had not been left with a single scratch from any attack, was bent into a spiral and was sucked into it as if absorbed into an intangible point.

Elvie’s eyes widened in horror at the absurdity of it all.

“What, what is that, that thing……! No!”

Realizing the gravity of the situation in hindsight, Elvie rushed to Lumen’s side. As if in response to his urgent footsteps, Lumen’s tightly closed eyelids opened. The blue pupils that were exposed were as murky as a corpse’s, and not a single ray of light shone through them. All of his life force responded solely to his sword.

A blinding flash exploded from the half-extracted blade, and it swelled in size. A thin stream of breath leaked from Lumen’s tiny gaping mouth.

This was the price he paid for the lives he burned.

“Stop……!”

Moonlight Swift Sword – Annihilation of the Beginning of Existence.

The swirling motion of the heart stopped. The energy that enveloped Lumen vanished. In the stark silence that filled the air, Lumen gently sheathed his sword and slowly turned his head.

Behind him, standing with a very frightened face, was Elvie, who had an ice spear stuck in his abdomen. Lumen said while Elvie was staring at him in disbelief.

“It’s already over.”

At the same time, hundreds of cracks spread across the twisted, hardened heart. Elvie’s horrified gaze caught it late, but there was nothing he could do.

Elvie’s flesh shattered along with his shattering heart. Scattered shards spread through the air like embroidery. Finally, the tower began to vibrate.

Looking up at the precariously swaying ceiling of the tower, Lumen smiled weakly.

“It’s, over…….”

The faint spark in his eyes was extinguished, and his powerless body slowly collapsed.

* * *

[Congratulations! You have cleared the main quest ‘Tower of the Demon Realm’!]

[Attribute points have increased by 10.]

[Reputation has increased by 5.]

[A new title [Knight of the Collapsed Tower] has been acquired.]

[Rare items [Demon Bone Powder] and [Frozen Core] have been acquired.]

[Knight ‘Lumen Dominic’ Awakening Quest Complete!]

[Congratulations! Knight ‘Lumen Dominic’ has achieved the maximum grade.]

A series of system windows signaled the end of the quest, but neither the system’s cheerful beeps nor the collapsing tower’s vibrations drew his attention. Neither did they get Cadel’s attention.

“……Lumen.”

What Cadel set his eyes on was the system window that occupied the corner of his vision until just before the quest was cleared.

[Van Herdos: 59%]

[Lydon: 51%]

[Garuel Monzasi: 87%]

[Lumen Dominic: 0.4%]