Chapter 58
The battle between Kankun and Adora.
If it were purely a contest of strength, it was Adora’s overwhelming victory.
She had controlled and conquered death, placing herself above it.
She shattered the walls, transcended her limits, and rose to the highest realm.
From everything Park Chan-woo had witnessed, Adora now stood far beyond the height he had once reached at max level.
In other words—
‘She’s a Transcendent.’
The Witch of Death, Adora, had become a Transcendent.
What is a Transcendent?
It is a realm of the unknown, unreachable by humans.
No matter how madly one desires it, no matter how desperately one stretches their hand toward it.
Even if they contort themselves, scream, and struggle.
Even if they endlessly pray, hope, and dream forever—
…For humans, capped at Level 99, becoming a Transcendent was impossible.
That was the curse of being human.
Unless one gave up being human, they could never reach beyond.
Park Chan-woo was one of those who had tasted that despair.
So he knew better than anyone—
How immense a being a Transcendent truly was!
Kankun’s Heart Sword?
His triumph over fear and enhancement of his physical body?
None of that was enough to reach the state of Transcendence.
Their very tier was already different.
Having overcome death, Adora reached the 10th floor in an instant.
Meanwhile, Kankun arrived much later, well after Adora had.
Even from that difference in speed, it was clear who was stronger and who was weaker.
But there was a variable.
‘Adora’s feelings toward Kankun will be the biggest variable.’
Adora would not kill Kankun.
On the other hand, Kankun would do everything he could to kill Adora.
This difference in mindset could change the course of the battle.
There was still a chance, albeit slim, that Kankun might defeat Adora.
However—
Once the battle began, the outcome was disappointingly clear.
Kankun had fallen right into Adora’s trap.
‘Kankun has lost.’
Kankun’s attacks would not reach Adora.
Park Chan-woo was certain of it, and that certainty soon manifested as reality.
‘Nine shields. And the curse hidden within.’
It wasn’t just defense.
Adora had created nine shields and, simultaneously, set nine spells.
She had cleverly hidden them so they would activate only if all nine shields were destroyed.
Those nine shields were sacrifices prepared to trigger black magic.
The idea of sacrificing magic to unleash greater magic was new even to Park Chan-woo.
‘She set it up assuming Kankun would break all nine. If he hadn’t, the backlash would have severely injured her instead.’
Shiver—
Park Chan-woo trembled slightly.
It was intricate and masterful.
The process of deriving a singular result from countless equations—it was nothing short of art.
Adora wasn’t just adept at death; she was a genius in magical theory too.
He had never seen a witch wield black magic in such a way.
She had prepared powerful black magic under the condition that Kankun would destroy all nine shields.
Had Kankun failed, Adora herself would’ve become the sacrifice—she would’ve taken severe damage.
At the very least, she would’ve lost an arm.
The nine shields were designed and formed with precise judgment of Kankun’s power.
What a magnificently complex black magic ritual!
‘So what black magic did she cast?’
Park Chan-woo was completely absorbed in Adora’s art.
He couldn’t look away.
He had no clue what kind of magic required such an elaborate setup.
Then, Kankun’s body froze right in front of Adora.
But this wasn’t simple “immobilization.”
‘Ah!’
Park Chan-woo gasped in awe.
Black magic, in the end, was still a branch of magic.
While most mages pointed fingers at it for defying truth, they themselves also used mana, incantations, and rituals as sacrifices to cast spells. In that sense, black magic was merely a type of magic that relied on grander sacrifices.
Black magic simply simplified the complex nature of magic into a more direct and destructive form.
But when wielded by a Transcendent, magic became something else entirely.
The moment Park Chan-woo realized what kind of black magic Adora had used—
His eyes began to shine.
‘Wish! It’s a Wish!’
It wasn’t just black magic.
It was a spell known as a [Wish]—a spell that summoned phenomena.
Magic is categorized into three ‘Orders.’
Not by rank or level, but by process and complexity.
These are categorized as follows:
The first order is ordinary magic—what most mages use.
The second order transcends that to create phenomena—called a [Wish].
And the final order is the incomprehensible—[Absolute Magic].
Most mages—and even ancient dragons—end their lives in the first order.
Those who reach the [Wish] level are incredibly rare even across all worlds, and as far as Park Chan-woo knew, only the Transcendent Dragon Sephiro could wield [Absolute Magic].
But the magic Adora had just cast—was unmistakably a [Wish].
A spell that invoked a miracle!
Unlike ordinary spells that required the caster’s effort, a [Wish] interprets the caster’s will and manifests it automatically.
In other words, it’s nothing short of a miracle.
…The spell was activating on its own.
It was far beyond the realm of typical magic, entangling countless phenomena and linking Adora and Kankun together.
‘Beautiful.’
Park Chan-woo was overwhelmed by the sight.
Magic was casting magic.
Magic was interpreting Adora’s desire and adjusting accordingly.
Adora’s desire was simple.
To reconcile with Kankun.
And to realize that wish, the [Wish] spell had immobilized Kankun.
Beyond that—
It even sought to present a way for Kankun to calm his anger.
Even Park Chan-woo was curious—what method could possibly allow Kankun to reconcile with Adora?
How had [Wish] interpreted that?
At last, the result appeared.
Thud!
…Something pierced his chest.
A [Heart Sword]. The very sword Kankun had realized—and that Park Chan-woo had helped him realize—stabbed straight through his heart.
With a sharp pain, Park Chan-woo felt a strange emotion.
‘…Was I the condition?’
Kankun had channeled his hatred not into Adora—but into him.
It was as if he wanted Adora to feel the same emotion he had.
The sorrow of losing someone dear when his tribe was annihilated.
It seemed [Wish] had interpreted Kankun’s emotions as being resolved through Park Chan-woo’s death.
It had decided that *he* was Adora’s most precious one.
Strength left his body.
A sensation of collapsing.
Adora’s gaze fixed on him.
He looked back at her and spoke one last time.
“Beau… tiful…”
Not death.
But the sight of [Wish], and the witch who commanded it, was truly beautiful.
…Because he, too, had wanted it—desperately.
—
Adora stared blankly at the collapsing Park Chan-woo.
The magic she had used instinctively after conquering death—[Wish].
Following her will, the magic manifested itself.
Once [Wish] had immobilized Kankun, Adora hesitated for a moment.
Was it right to extend a hand now?
How could she make him understand that the annihilation of his tribe had not been her intent?
That fleeting hesitation produced an irreversible result.
“Feel the despair I felt… Witch!”
Kankun shouted.
Forcing his immobilized body to move caused blood to stream from his lips.
His head nearly exploded from the overload, but he had to speak.
Because he wanted her to experience the despair he had felt.
“……”
But Adora wasn’t looking at Kankun.
Her eyes were fixed on Park Chan-woo, brimming with confusion.
Why had this happened?
Because of that moment’s hesitation?
Or because she left everything to [Wish]?
“I must… save him…”
Adora muttered faintly.
He must be saved.
He cannot die in a place like this.
Adora turned her body.
Then approached Park Chan-woo.
But—she didn’t know how to save him.
Should she make him undead?
No. That wasn’t life.
She had mastered death—but knew nothing about life.
Adora slowly reached out her hand.
Park Chan-woo’s body was cooling quickly.
—Beau… tiful…
His final words echoed in her ears.
What was beautiful?
His death?
Or… her?
Adora didn’t think of herself as beautiful.
So it couldn’t have been that.
“What do I do…”
Everything was chaos.
Adora couldn’t compose herself.
As a result, her [Death] began to spread across the entire Tower.
Whooooosh!
“Urk!”
“Kehak!”
All who remained in the Tower entered her [Domain of Death].
Lim Chang-yeol, Kim Byung-han, and the remaining members of the Seoul Union—all of them.
Thump!
Thump!
They all collapsed unconscious.
Fortunately, none had died.
Because she now longed for life more than death.
The vast magic merely swept them into unconsciousness.
Kyu!
Then it happened.
Boksil sprang out from Park Chan-woo’s arms.
The appearance of the divine beast made Adora pause.
Then Boksil licked the wound in Park Chan-woo’s chest.
And then—
Fwoom!
A flower of light bloomed.
“The Flower of Life…?”
Kankun muttered the name in a daze.
The Flower of Life.
The miracle that had granted him his enlightenment—the very same miracle wielded by the human warrior.
The one he thought had vanished.
“Wait…”
Kankun realized something was wrong.
His body had become free.
Clang.
Kankun dropped his greatsword to the floor.
Step, step.
He slowly walked forward.
Then, once he was close, he removed Park Chan-woo’s helmet.
“……”
Kankun’s face hardened.
The face beneath the helmet was that of the human warrior he knew.
“…Warrior. Why are you…?”
Here?
Didn’t he leave the Tower?
Kankun’s mind became a whirlpool of confusion.
He never imagined that the one Adora cherished most could be the very warrior who had led him to enlightenment.
Let alone that he himself would be the one to kill him—with his own [Heart Sword].
“…My chest… it hurts. Is this what it means to feel…?”
“……”
When Adora asked, Kankun had no words.
Only now did he understand.
That even a witch could feel emotions.
And then—
“In that case… I shall discard my emotions again. So I won’t have to feel this pain.”
…That the witch was now ready to discard her emotions once more.
She intended to use her emotions as a sacrifice to save Park Chan-woo.
[Wish] read Adora’s desire.
If combined with the Flower of Life, perhaps [Wish] could perform a miracle that revived even the dead.
Besides, Park Chan-woo wasn’t fully dead yet.
He was merely on the path to certain death.
Shhhhhhhh!
[Wish] responded to Adora’s emotions.
To make her wish a reality—
[Wish] entered Park Chan-woo’s body.
It began a miracle to bring him back from death.
However—
The miracle did not happen.
Or rather—it *couldn’t*.
To revive Park Chan-woo, a mere miracle wasn’t enough.
[Wish] realized it needed something greater, more powerful, more overwhelming.
Adora understood the will of [Wish].
“…I will offer it.”
Adora offered up [Wish] itself as a sacrifice—for Park Chan-woo’s life.
It meant losing [Wish].
Adora would no longer be able to use it.
And yet, she resolved to bring Park Chan-woo back to life.
Soon, radiant light burst from Park Chan-woo’s entire body.
“T-This is…!”
Kankun stumbled backward in shock.
…Because something beyond a miracle had begun to unfold.
An inexplicable phenomenon was manifesting through Park Chan-woo’s body.
