Murim Login - Chapter 425

*Thud!*

The White Flame (Baekyeom) fell to the ground, having lost its target.

“Ah…”

The Arch Lich flicked his fingers at me, who was frozen in place like a statue. A pair of black hands materialized in the air, wrapping around my entire body, constricting me.

He no longer even needed incantations for magic.

*Step, step.*

Each time the Arch Lich took a step, mist-like parts of his body seeped into the surroundings.

The left arm, which had been obliterated by the One Strike (Ilsseom), slowly regenerated, and the broken and cracked bones returned, now darker and more solid than before.

As the completion of the gate drew near, he was also growing stronger.

– I thought I smelled the scent of death on you for a reason. Friendship between a human and a monster… how touching.

The sound of bones cracking filled the air, but I blankly stared past the Arch Lich’s shoulder.

More precisely, I stared at the sword lodged in the ground and the hand that had never let go of the hilt until the very end.

‘Skeleton Warlord.’

Monsters and humans were destined enemies, decreed by the gods.

The Skeleton Warlord and I were no different. That was how it started, at least.

But… now I understand. At some point, the Skeleton Warlord was no longer just a monster to me.

‘If I still thought of him as a monster, I would have ended him myself.’

If I had personally finished the Skeleton Warlord, I might have leveled up and gained a final chance.

But I hesitated and, in the end, I gave up.

Not because he saved my life, but because, deep in my heart, I had already accepted him as a friend.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

‘Damn it. I shouldn’t have gotten attached.’

The Arch Lich’s red eyes narrowed as he watched me.

– Laughing? In this situation?

“My mom used to say that if you smile, good things will come your way.”

– You’ve lost your mind.

“Why are you so bothered by me laughing? Are you my supervisor?”

I spat at the Arch Lich’s face. The thick liquid that ran down his forehead could’ve been blood or phlegm—I couldn’t tell.

At the same time, the red glow where his eyes should’ve been flared up violently.

– I heard your answer well.

“Go eat shit.”

It would be a lie to say I had no regrets about my life, but regrets are useless. Regret always comes too late, and I’ve struggled to the very end, so I’ve done enough.

As I let go of my worries, everything started to feel like a fleeting dream. My face reflected in the Arch Lich’s red glow was calmly smiling.

– I already told you. Your body will be torn apart, and your soul will wander the River of Death forever.

I nodded calmly in agreement.

“Probably. Just like your master, that damned Demon King.”

“If I meet him, I’ll pass on your regards. Give me his address.”

– …Let’s see how long you can keep spouting nonsense.

At the Arch Lich’s gesture, the giant magical hands that were constricting me tightened their grip on my limbs and began pulling my body in opposite directions with immense force.

Slowly, bit by bit.

*Crack, crack.*

With small popping sounds, the pain I had temporarily forgotten resurfaced.

I thought I had no strength left to scream, but a scream escaped from my lips before I could stop it.

“Gah… aaaargh!”

– Sounds much better now.

My vision turned white with pain. I let out the scream I had been holding back, waiting for death to come.

But instead of death, what greeted me was a system notification.

*Ding!*

– You have used a [Superior Potion]!

– The amount of potion used is too small. Injuries have been slightly healed!

– Your injuries are too severe. You require more healing, of a higher quality!

…What?

As I felt a cool sensation mixed with the returning pain, I opened my eyes wide to see the Arch Lich sneering at me, holding a small glass bottle.

‘That’s…’

It was one of the potions from Lee Jung-ryong’s subspace pocket, stolen by the Arch Lich long ago.

And now, he was using a healing potion, meant to restore life, as a tool to prolong my suffering.

Just enough to stop me from dying. Just enough to feel the maximum amount of pain.

– Foolish human. Did you think I would grant you an easy and peaceful death?

– Continue to wail. Cry like a coward, writhe in agony, and only after you realize your foolishness will you be allowed to cross the River of Death.

The Arch Lich shook the glass bottle with a mocking smile.

Less than a tenth of the potion had been used. The remaining portion was an indicator of how much more pain awaited me.

And that time would drag on endlessly, feeling like an eternity.

With the weak healing and the pain surging through my entire body, my breath grew short. I forced a smile and asked the Arch Lich.

“If I shout three cheers for the Demon King, will you end this quickly?”

– Hmm, maybe. If you put your heart into it, I’ll consider it.

“Screw you.”

– It’s fine. There’s plenty of time. You can take your time to think about it…

*Slash!*

The Arch Lich’s glowing red eyes flickered in shock. I wasn’t much different.

It was something none of us had expected.

– …What is this?

The Arch Lich, with a voice full of confusion, looked down at his chest.

A light. A brilliant light that pierced through his chest, bright enough to illuminate the entire world.

No, it wasn’t just light.

I stared at it in disbelief. It was a sword, radiating a light more brilliant than ever before.

I knew that sword.

‘The Hero’s Soul.’

And the hand clutching the hilt, visible beyond the Arch Lich’s skeletal chest, belonged to…

…

It felt as though time had stopped.

In this slowed-down world, I watched as hundreds, maybe thousands, of bone fragments began to gather.

The fragments, no longer just remnants, were being drawn together, forming a shape of their own.

*Crack, snap!*

The bones fused.

First, two arms and two legs formed, followed by the chest and abdomen.

The once blackened bones were washed clean by the light from the Hero’s Soul, taking on a subtle golden hue, becoming longer and more solid.

‘Ah.’

It was an awe-inspiring sight.

The way countless bone fragments came together to form a body seemed to reverse time, and the light emanating from the sword dispelling the darkness within the bones felt like the birth of something new.

And when a skull finally settled atop the completed body…

*Flash!*

Golden light burst from the once empty eye sockets. It was both familiar and strangely new.

In the next moment, as a voice echoed, time resumed its flow.

– You asked, ‘Why,’ didn’t you?

My body trembled as if struck by lightning. A memory, no more than an hour old, flashed through my mind like a spark.

‘Why…?’

Yes, back then, I had certainly asked. Why had he saved me? Why had he thrown himself in harm’s way, even at the cost of his own destruction?

At the time, he had said he didn’t know. He didn’t know why he had done it, maybe he had been bewitched by the sword.

But now, the answer I hadn’t heard then was whispered into my ear.

– You’re cunning, but you’re also a pretty decent human being. That was all.

A decent guy.

A phrase I had once said to someone else.

I stared at him in disbelief. His entire body, now larger and stronger than before, glowed with a subtle golden light. The unknown silver markings on the forehead of his skull resembled a crown.

No, it wasn’t just a resemblance—it was definitely a crown.

[Lv.160 Skeleton King]

Seeing the system window hovering above his head, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“You’ve grown a lot, haven’t you, old bones?”

– My body had been itching for a while now.

The once small, black Skeleton Warlord had finally shed his shell and spread his wings.

The crescent-shaped glow in the Skeleton King’s eyes showed that he was smiling. We both were.

And there was only one being who wasn’t laughing.

– Kraaah! Krrrraaahhhh!

The Arch Lich.

The unprecedented named monster, who commanded an army of hundreds of thousands of undead and wielded boundless power, was writhing in agony.

The sword that had pierced directly through his chest.

The golden light flowing from the Hero’s Soul was consuming his magic, melting his body.

Perhaps even his soul.

– Human.

At the Skeleton King’s quiet call, I realized what I had to do.

‘Now… let’s finish this.’

*Ding!*

– The Hero’s Soul has bestowed the light of healing upon you!

– All status abnormalities have been removed!

– All injuries and stats have been restored!

– Someone who is not present smiles upon you.

*Fwoooosh!*

A pillar of light burst from the Hero’s Soul, enveloping my body.

With the warm energy flowing through me, my shattered bones mended, and my wounds healed. My damaged organs and blood vessels were restored, and a searing heat, like molten lava, surged within me.

‘I can do this.’

It was a certainty so firm that it even surprised me, and it was true.

With strength, there’s nothing you can’t do.

‘Come.’

*Swish!*

At the same time I summoned the White Flame (Baekyeom) from where it lay on the ground, I kicked off into the air.

*Whoosh!*

I felt myself float briefly, soaring through the air, my feet reaching out.

At the end of my leap stood the Arch Lich, writhing in agony as immense magical energy spilled from him.

– What kind of magic… have you cast!

The Arch Lich shrieked in a fit of rage as he spotted me.

The red light in his eyes flickered incessantly, growing in size.

That alone told me how much pain he was in.

– You cursed human! Damn you, damn you!

Instead of responding, I slowly raised the White Flame (Baekyeom).

I aimed its transparent blade at the massive gate behind the Arch Lich, where darkness swirled violently.

*Fwoosh!*

A fire dragon, born from my core, surged through my meridians and soared into the air, flowing to my fingertips and igniting the White Flame (Baekyeom) in brilliant blue flames.

– No! What do you think you’re doing!

The Arch Lich flailed, but the magic he unleashed evaporated as soon as it touched the wall of heat surrounding me.

But unlike the weakened Arch Lich, the darkness surrounding the gate grew stronger.

And at last, I realized.

‘Now!’

With the rotation flowing from my legs to my waist, shoulders, and wrists, the White Flame (Baekyeom) trembled.

The unparalleled energy I had gathered ignited a fire stronger than ever before.

Yes, this is it. Right now.

*Whoosh!*

With a single step, all the space between the Arch Lich and me disappeared, and time slowed.

Before the Arch Lich could finish the incantation forming on his trembling lips, I unleashed everything in a single strike.

– Blin…

One Strike (Ilsseom).

There were no mistakes this time. The blue fire dragon burst forth from the spear’s blade, consuming both the Arch Lich and the gate.

*Kwooooooosh!*