Murim Login - Chapter 424

**Kwoooooosh!**

The whirlpool engulfed in blue flames devoured everything in its path.

The collapsed concrete, the skeletal steel beams revealed from the crumbling buildings, and even the scattered bodies of humans and monsters.

The extreme heat burned and melted countless things.

Except for one.

[Blink]

Everything but him.

*Beep.*

– You have used the skill, [One Strike (Ilsseom)]!

– All your [Energy] has been depleted!

– Everything comes at a price. You have overexerted yourself despite suffering severe injuries.

– You have entered the abnormal state, [Exhaustion]!

– Your [Strength], [Stamina], and [Agility] have temporarily decreased significantly!

I felt the strength drain from my entire body. The system notifications ringing in my ears and the Skeleton Warlord’s shouts from my inventory all sounded distant.

My body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and a single thought kept echoing in my frozen mind.

‘That was my last chance.’

Why didn’t I realize it? Why didn’t I anticipate it?

The Arch Lich had clearly said it. He’d been watching me through the familiars he planted all over the battlefield.

If that was the case, then I should have known he’d also have taken note of me using One Strike against the lich and the death knights earlier.

Even if I wasn’t certain, I should have at least been suspicious.

‘Idiot.’

A self-deprecating chuckle escaped my lips. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t let my guard down… but in the end, I made the biggest mistake at the most critical moment.

Saying I had no other choice is no excuse. The fight isn’t about the process, but the result. And this is the result of my carelessness.

*Clang!*

The iron bars slipped from my fingers and clattered to the ground. My legs gave out, and I collapsed.

As I knelt and hung my head, a dark shadow loomed over me.

– You, human. How does it feel to pay the price for your reckless arrogance?

Barely lifting my head, I met his blazing red eyes. A hoarse voice squeezed out between my cracked lips.

“Obviously, it feels like shit. You bastard.”

– It was a fearsome strike, that I’ll give you.

The Arch Lich’s voice was thick with triumph.

Though even his teleportation magic couldn’t completely evade my slash—his left arm was gone—the one standing as the victor now was him.

His red eyes, glowing with joy, looked down at me as I knelt like a condemned man.

– I waited until the end. Endured the humiliation of being bested by a human. And finally… victory is mine.

Clever, cunning bastard.

It was clear that from the start, he had been waiting for my One Strike.

Earlier, I had wiped out the lich and the death knights with One Strike and recovered my stamina through leveling up. But he hadn’t missed the moment when I had momentarily exhausted all my strength.

– Now, do you understand? This is your limit, the limit of humanity.

Limit.

That single word pierced deep into my heart.

The limit of being an F-rank, a boundary I couldn’t escape despite my efforts. Even after gaining the system, I had been breaking through limits day by day.

‘Is this really the end?’

I had fought tooth and nail. For myself, and for the people I loved. I had bitten through any danger that came my way. That’s how I had lived. Breaking through limits was everything I had done.

“It’s not… over yet.”

A voice, distant and unfamiliar even to me, barely escaped my lips.

I looked up at the Arch Lich with blurry eyes.

– What?

“I said… it’s not over yet.”

A life-or-death battle only ends when one of us falls. This fight is not over yet.

Only when someone finally dies, the one left standing is the victor.

I mumbled in my foggy consciousness.

‘Open inventory. Summon.’

One of the spears stored in my inventory appeared in my hand.

Or so I thought, but I dropped it as soon as I grasped it.

*Thud!*

Again, I realized. I no longer had the strength to even hold a spear, let alone swing it.

– Hah! Hahahaha!

The Arch Lich burst into laughter at the sight of me.

But I didn’t give up. I couldn’t give up.

‘Open inventory. Summon.’

I kept summoning weapons.

*Thud!*

Even though I kept dropping them.

‘Open inventory, summon.’

*Thud!*

– You foolish, ridiculous human!

Even as the Arch Lich mocked me, I never stopped.

The courage to accept death gracefully? If that’s what you call courage, I’d rather be a coward.

I… will survive, no matter what. That is the final respect I can give to the life I’ve fought so hard for, and it’s the right answer.

‘Open inventory, summon.’

It was at that moment.

*Ding!*

– [Endurance] has increased significantly.

– The attribute [Endurance] has transformed into [Willpower]!

– Those with strong willpower do not easily break and do not fall. They fight with all their might until the very end.

– Strong willpower sometimes displays the strength to surpass limits!

– The special effect, [Unyielding], has been activated. All stats have temporarily increased slightly, and fatigue has been reduced!

I felt warmth spreading from deep within my body.

Though compared to my original strength, it was pitifully small, it was warmer than anything else.

This was the system’s response to my desperation, my last chance.

With hands still trembling, I gripped the cold shaft of the spear tightly.

– You…

I wasn’t the only one who noticed the change.

The Arch Lich, who had been watching me like a zoo animal, widened his red eyes in surprise as I gathered all my strength and threw my body forward.

In a world that felt agonizingly slow, I extended the spear towards the towering lich.

*Swish!*

As the spear sliced through the air with a ripping sound, I saw it clearly. The crescent-shaped narrowing of the Arch Lich’s glowing eyes.

It was a sneer.

[Blood Explosion.]

*Boom!*

The sound of the explosion, followed by a shockwave that engulfed my entire body.

The spear that I had thrown with all my might froze mid-flight, and it slipped from my grasp, embedding itself into the ground at an angle.

I blinked, blood vessels bursting in my eyes. In the world stained crimson, something sticky and wet fell from the sky, splattering across my face.

*Drip, drip.*

‘…Blood.’

The blood that gushed from my body like a fountain rained down on the ground.

As I raised my trembling arm, I saw my skin shredded and my bones exposed.

Blood Explosion. The explosion of blood.

Beyond my fading consciousness, I could hear the Skeleton Warlord’s cry.

– …Human!

When had he started screaming?

I wanted to reply, but what flowed from my lips wasn’t words—it was blood, mixed with pieces of my organs.

“Cough…”

My vision blurred.

I reached out toward the hazy figure of the Arch Lich, but my hand couldn’t reach him.

And maybe it never will.

– Get a hold of yourself! You have to survive!

Is that even a question?

Of course, I have to. I must survive, defeat him, and return to where I belong.

But…

‘Can I really do it?’

At that moment, the world began to tilt.

No, the world remained the same. It was I who was falling. My body, unable to withstand the continuous blood loss and injuries, was collapsing.

‘No. If I fall, it’s all over.’

I braced myself with my broken ankle.

The faint pain, like being pricked by thorns, was proof that I was still alive. The distant, noisy cries of the Skeleton Warlord were proof that I hadn’t died yet.

– …Human! Do it now!

Do what?

– Summon me…!

But my burst eardrums and fading consciousness couldn’t fully comprehend his words.

Even if I had clearly heard what he said, I wouldn’t have been able to stop what the Arch Lich did next.

– You… You have quite the amusing artifact.

In the Arch Lich’s hand, a familiar object was now held.

My cherished weapon, Baekyeom (White Flame), which had accompanied me through countless battles, was now blazing with fire in the hands of a stranger. But even as his bony fingers burned, the Arch Lich only laughed.

– Since I’ve been given such a generous gift, I suppose it’s time to return it to its owner.

The Arch Lich pulled back his arm, and the powerful magic that had subdued the flames of Baekyeom surged toward the spear.

– Farewell, new adversary… or perhaps the one who might have been my adversary, foolish human.

*Swish!*

The trajectory of the spear was brief, but the moment felt eternal.

I silently watched the blinding light of Baekyeom as it shot toward me. A thousand scenarios flashed through my mind before I finally reached a conclusion.

‘I can’t dodge it.’

That left only one outcome for me—death.

In all the battles I’ve fought over the past seven years, death had never felt as close as it did now.

There was nothing I could do but watch death as it approached.

‘So, this is the end.’

I murmured calmly.

*Crash!*

Baekyeom’s spearhead shattered bone as it pierced through the center of my chest, and I froze, eyes wide open in shock.

It wasn’t the pain that froze me—it was the disbelief.

“…You.”

– What?

I couldn’t find the words. I just stared at the flickering blue flames in front of me.

From the soccer ball-sized skull, which had now transformed into a towering two-meter-tall frame, the Skeleton Warlord spoke in a blunt tone.

– Don’t ask how I managed to come out on my own. I don’t know the reason myself.

“Then, why…?”

I asked, still staring at him.

The spear that had pierced through his chest, stopping just one hand’s length away from me, should have killed me. He had thrown himself in front of it, saving my life.

Without hesitation, he had sacrificed himself.

– …I don’t know that either. Damn it all. Maybe I’ve been bewitched by this sword.

Only then did I notice the weapon clutched in the Skeleton Warlord’s hand.

“The Hero’s Soul…” (TL Note : I think Hero’s Soul sounds a lot better than Spirit of the Hero. What do you think?)

It was the only relic left by Lei Fei, and a sword that could not be wielded by anyone unworthy of being a hero.

Yet there it was, held by a named monster, a Skeleton Warlord.

– The Hero’s Soul, huh? For something named by humans, it’s not a bad name. Actually, to be honest, it’s rather cool. Though it’s a shame I couldn’t properly wield it before it was too late…

The Skeleton Warlord’s voice began to fade. The usually clear blue light in his eyes was dimming.

I knew what this meant.

Annihilation.

Without a doubt, the Arch Lich’s magic imbued in Baekyeom was eating away at the Skeleton Warlord even as we spoke.

“You…”

– Don’t say anything more. I’m already regretting this as it is.

I didn’t believe his words. Despite his rough tone, I could hear the low sound of laughter that didn’t match his usual demeanor.

– Human. I have a question.

The Arch Lich was approaching from behind the slowly crumbling Skeleton Warlord, but I simply nodded silently.

“Ask anything.”

The Warlord hesitated for a moment before asking in a small voice.

– That thing you said last time… were you serious?

“Last time? What do you mean… Oh.”

Suddenly, it all came back to me. Right after Lei Fei’s death, when the Skeleton Warlord was pondering his forgotten past.

I had thrown out a casual comment, something I hadn’t given much thought to at the time.

‘Well, I don’t know for sure, but I think you were probably a pretty decent guy.’

– …Huh? Was that something you said to me?

‘No, just talking to myself.’

– Ah, right. Yeah.

That was it. That was why.

For the Skeleton Warlord, who had awoken as a powerful spirit after losing all his memories, I was probably his only companion.

That one small, seemingly insignificant comment I made had rippled through the pond of his heart.

‘What a fool.’

Why did he have to go this far? Over something so trivial?

I was momentarily at a loss for words. Something hot welled up inside me, but I held it back. Barely managing to open my mouth, I answered.

“Of course I meant it.”

– I see. That’s good to know.

As the last flicker of blue light in his eyes traced a crescent-shaped arc, a cold voice resonated, bringing everything to an end.

– Have you finished your goodbyes?

“…”

– Bone Explosion.

*Boom!*

I instinctively crossed my arms to shield my face as I was thrown back by the impact that swept over me.

Barely managing to get back on my feet, I saw skull fragments flying into the air and bones shattering into pieces.

And… that was it.

There was no trace of the Skeleton Warlord left.

*Thunk.*

The sword, *Hero’s Soul*, fell from the sky and lodged itself deep into the ground. It was still clutched in the skeletal hand of its last wielder.

(TL Note: Damn. Let’s all press F for Skelly.)