A hot flame surged up between my chest and stomach.
It was so hot that my bones and muscles, no, my entire body, felt like they would melt away.
The source of this hellfire-like heat was rage.
I was that angry.
Because of his disappointing actions, so different from what was known to the world?
No.
My anger was, above all, because of the 'end' he spoke of.
"I realized it through that last strike."
He told me.
"The only one who can kill me now... this guy... is you, my friend."
He was asking to be killed.
To put an end to his utterly miserable life by stopping his breath.
That was his plea.
I couldn't understand his words.
"Mr. Francis, is that right?"
He is a hero.
Regardless of how the Black Dragon appeared, or what his intentions were when he saved people, the fact remains that he saved tens, even hundreds of thousands of lives, and protected the world from countless threats.
Should he be condemned for donating to reduce his taxes?
Does the value of the lives he saved diminish because he saved them for repentance?
No.
Absolutely not.
Regardless of the motive, the outcome doesn't change.
Thanks to the donations he made to reduce his taxes, some people no longer starved and were able to attend school.
Those whose lives were saved by his sacrifices for repentance gained new lives.
That's all there is to it.
There's no need to add any unnecessary details; he is an undeniable hero.
A great figure who left the most significant mark in Hunter society.
And the end for such a hero is merely a miserable death?
"I cannot accept that."
Some say.
That a hero's life must end in tragedy to truly be remembered forever.
That the countless causes and effects accumulated during their journey forward lead their lives to tragedy.
I don't agree with that in the slightest.
No, I cannot agree.
"Hey, friend."
I averted my gaze from him, who called me with a bitter expression.
"Mr. Francis, please step aside for a moment."
"......"
"You, come out."
The aura emanating from his body and his expression shifted.
The remnants of Francis Meyer vanished, and the spirit of Chris Emir took hold.
"Spit it out."
"What do you mean?"
"What you want."
If he wanted to, he could have hidden that form at any time.
Even though he could have revealed Francis's existence at a more opportune moment to gain greater advantage, he brazenly showed me that form.
That meant.
"The fact that you didn't bother to hide that form means you want something from me."
In other words, he was a hostage.
By showing me his form, which could be annihilated at any moment, he must have been trying to gain something from me.
"So stop beating around the bush and tell me."
What he wanted in exchange for keeping Mr. Francis alive.
At his words, telling him to state what he wanted, Chris Emir couldn't suppress a laugh.
"I really do like you, Dojin. It's not easy to find someone I can converse with so well."
"Enough with the flattery."
Chris pouted at the firm reply that cut off his chatter.
"Well... since you've already figured it out, I'll be frank."
He lightly raised his hand, drawing forth an aura.
A surging gray aura on his palm.
"Chaos, was it?"
The aura of Chaos, created by clashing the Divine Authority of Humility and the Divine Authority of Pride.
Seeing this, Kim Dojin was inwardly astonished.
To be able to control such an ever-restless aura so freely within his grasp.
It seemed his ability to control auras already surpassed mine.
"After crossing quite a dangerous river to obtain this power, I became certain of something."
The aura vanished as soon as he clenched his fist.
However, Chris was just as shocked.
After mimicking the Saintess's body to harmonize the two Divine Authorities and obtain Chaos, he became certain.
"The one and only ratio where the two Divine Authorities can coexist... it's impossible to find it unless you have dozens, no, hundreds of lives."
"......"
"But you found it. And you don't have multiple lives, nor did you make any sacrifices."
Chris's gaze, fixed on Kim Dojin, deepened further.
The emotions contained within were curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.
While dozens of his hideouts crumbled at Kim Dojin's hands, Chris pondered deeply.
How exactly did Kim Dojin find this ratio?
Even he, with his profound insight and understanding, couldn't find the answer.
"So I thought."
He could only speculate.
"Perhaps a special ability, unknown to others, is hidden within you."
There were quite a few grounds for such a speculation.
Magic casting speed several times superior to others, immense control, delicate manipulation abilities, and so on.
He was exceptionally skilled at handling mana and other auras.
No, he was so perfect that 'skilled' couldn't even begin to describe it.
And that ability applied equally to handling Divine Authorities.
That outstanding dominance and control were clearly the primary contributors to discovering the aura of Chaos.
But what was it?
The essence that provided such tremendous dominance and control.
He was curious about that.
No, he wanted it.
"So, you want me to tell you that secret?"
Kim Dojin asked back with an unenthusiastic expression.
Chris shook his head.
"No."
In truth, he wanted it.
But he knew.
"Even if I asked you to tell me, you wouldn't, would you?"
That even holding Francis Meyer's life hostage, finding the answer from his opponent would be impossible.
Even if Kim Dojin were to tell him, simply learning it wouldn't be entirely satisfactory for Chris either.
Because, regardless of his desire to know the essence of that ability, true understanding isn't something heard from others; it's something that resonates deep in one's bones only when experienced firsthand.
He was certain.
That no ability existed in this world that he couldn't understand.
All he needed was time and the cooperative attitude of a test subject.
Based on that confidence, he made a proposal.
"Just one week."
He held up a single finger and continued.
"Be my experiment subject for just one week."
"......"
It was an utterly ominous yet difficult-to-refuse proposal.
While the world situation rapidly changed, Han Ju-hee remained still.
The Magic Tower she led was no different.
Even an institution like a sleepless castle, which had always dedicated itself to research day and night for change and innovation, stopped along with her.
It was because it had lost its driving force.
'I don't have to struggle anymore.'
It was all for him.
Maintaining a minute-by-minute schedule for years, a schedule difficult even for an S-rank Hunter to handle.
Researching magic day and night, and painstakingly developing items using magic.
Even joining hands with Hexagram and dabbling in things he so detested.
Even if it was something he didn't want, she believed it was the path for him to live.
A world where Hunters were no longer needed.
No, at least a world where Hunters could be treated with the respect they deserved for their dedication and enjoy a life of leisure.
Because she believed that in such a world, her husband wouldn't have to drag his injured body around, being pulled this way and that.
She had run solely towards that goal, but now it was no longer necessary.
He was no longer by her side.
He had left without her even knowing.
In a body much younger and healthier than before.
Normally, she would have researched how such a thing could have happened, but not now.
She just felt empty.
That she no longer had to live so desperately.
That all her efforts until now had been nothing but bubbles.
She felt utterly hollow.
At his absence from her side.
"So that's how it was."
She realized it belatedly.
Even without holding hands, without embracing and sharing the language of bodies.
"Just being by my side was a comfort to me, you were."
That just the fact of him being by her side had brought her immense comfort.
And that, separate from that comfort, he had been deeply despairing in a life where he could do nothing.
From that point, she was already disqualified.
Because while claiming to be for her husband, she had paid no mind to the pain and loneliness he was experiencing.
Even though those actions were merely for her own satisfaction, completely disregarding his will, they had been the foundation that governed her life.
Having lost that foundation entirely, she had no choice but to stop, powerless.
Beyond her powerlessly bowed head, two beings suddenly came to mind.
Son Seo-yeon and Han Juyeon.
The two who were with Kim Dojin, the man now inhabited by her husband, who had become a stranger.
A dizzying thought flashed through her mind.
Was it a coincidence that those two were with the man her husband now inhabited?
Or was it fate?
It was hard to tell, but she was more concerned about Han Juyeon than her own daughter, Son Seo-yeon.
The girl who had trusted and followed her husband more than anyone, like a girl in love.
Something felt suspicious.
Why had she decided to join a mere promising rookie, completely disregarding her husband's guild, which she had followed so devotedly?
"Perhaps...."
Perhaps she had known all along.
As her thoughts reached that point, she was already dialing Han Juyeon's number.
"-What's up, Unnie?"
A tired voice came through the receiver.
"I need to see you for a moment."
Leaving only those words, she hung up the call, immediately rose, and headed for Han Juyeon's house.
Click-clack.
Her retreating figure, as she walked, seemed somehow precarious.