The Player's POV-Chapter 183: War [44]
Kael walked towards Alaric, then sat down beside him.
"How long until you die?"
That was his first question.
Although it sounded disrespectful, Kael didn’t care.
The King was about to die anyway.
There was no reason to be polite when talking to each other.
That would probably make Alaric feel even more uncomfortable.
"Not much... Probably about 1 to 2 minutes."
The King replied, his voice tired.
As expected, Kael had guessed correctly.
"It’s fortunate that I was able to make it in time."
"...How is the situation... in other places?"
Although he knew that he didn’t have much time left to live, The King still worried about humanity.
That was his best point.
Receiving that question, Kael smiled slightly.
"I defeated Commander Amon. And all the others have also completed their missions excellently."
"Is that so...?"
The corners of Alaric’s lips curved slightly.
"That’s good."
His voice was calm.
As if there were no more worries.
His eyes faded.
Slowly becoming dull, lifeless.
"..."
"..."
In the next moment, no one spoke.
Kael didn’t know what to talk to The King about.
They had talked a lot recently, but it was all because they had the same goal and were on the same side.
They were partners.
They were not friends.
"...To be honest... I wonder what would have happened if that day... I hadn’t chosen the Dicathen side but the Voidveil side."
Alaric’s voice rang out, breaking the awkward silence.
"..."
Kael only glanced at him, not answering.
If that day, The King hadn’t chosen the Dicathen side, then perhaps... everything would have still gone according to Kael’s plan.
But, perhaps everything would have become a little more difficult.
Alaric wouldn’t have known that Erza was Kaelus.
So, he wouldn’t have been able to read that letter, and wouldn’t have been able to escape that past.
"I wonder if that day... I had chosen differently, would I have been able to live?"
"Do you regret it?"
Kael asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Regret it?"
The King was momentarily stunned by his question.
But very quickly, a faint but sincere smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
"Never."
For Alaric, this was already the best outcome.
"...It was really fun to be with everyone."
He still remembered very clearly the time they spent together.
The trials, the hardships, the meals, the sleep they had gone through together.
It was a long journey.
"But it was great."
The King turned to Kael.
Now, he could no longer open his eyes.
"Thank you... And sorry."
"About what?"
"I want to thank you, Kael... for giving me the chance to fight the demon king..."
"..."
"And I also want to apologize for taking your spot as MVP of this floor..."
At first, when the war broke out, Alaric had begged Kael to let him fight the demon king.
He knew this request was too much.
Because Kael needed to become MVP from the 22nd to the 30th floors.
After all, it was a bet he had made with the four guildmasters of the four largest guilds in the Tower.
The King had thought that he would be rejected.
But surprisingly, Kael nodded to his request.
He smiled slightly.
"I told you not to worry."
To be honest, Kael had hesitated at first.
But when he saw Alaric’s determined gaze, he nodded without hesitation.
For Kael, losing the MVP position of the 29th floor was no big deal.
Becoming the MVP of the 20th floor all the way up to the 28th floor...
That was an achievement that no one had ever achieved.
But Kael could do it.
That was enough to prove his worth.
"Moreover, you promised to give me a lot of things."
To get that opportunity, The King was willing to give him half of the assets he held.
And if he died, all of his assets would belong to Kael.
"To be honest, this exchange was only profitable for me, not a loss."
After the 29th floor ended, all of Alaric’s assets would belong to Kael.
The Azure Crown Guild.
The houses, mansions.
The artifacts.
The weapons.
Manpower.
Money.
And so much more.
It would all be his.
"...You... seem happy to know I’m going to die?"
The King said, his voice devoid of any reproach.
Kael replied, shrugging slightly:
"It would be a lie to say no. But honestly, I still wish you could live."
That was impossible.
Alaric’s death was certain.
He had lost his heart twice.
Not only that, he had suffered many internal and external wounds.
Now, not even the Tower could hold him back.
The King knew that.
But he was not sad.
"Goodbye... everyone..."
"..."
"Goodbye... humanity..."
"..."
"And goodbye... world..."
"..."
"Thank you for giving me a second chance..."
Those were the last words that came out of Alaric’s mouth.
Because the next moment, his eyes closed, and his breathing stopped forever.
"Goodbye... Alaric."
Kael looked away.
He carefully wiped away the tears that were gathering in the corners of his eyes.
"Men don’t cry."
Not long after The King’s death, everyone received the announcement that the 29th floor was over.
[The 29th floor’s time has ended!]
[It’s time for everyone to leave.]
[Calculating the 3 people with the greatest contributions...]
[Completed!]
[Top 3: The Unforsaken Hero.]
[Top 2: The Masochist.]
[Top 1: The King.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained 300 Experiences!]
Name: [Kael Draven]
Rank: [Ascender]
Experience: [1519/2000]
Ability: [Authority of Gluttony], [Death King]
Artifact: None
Title: [The Masochist]
"This feeling... is hard to describe..."
This feeling... was also familiar...
Kael had experienced this feeling before.
"Ah, right..."
He felt that way when he witnessed Caster’s death.
***
Name: [Hans Varun]
Rank: [Ascender]
Experience: [1114/2000]
Ability: [Night Eye], [Authority of Envy], [Sword Saint]
Artifact: None
Title: [The Unforsaken Hero]
Switching off his system panel, Hans glanced up at the sky.
His eyes didn’t contain too many layers of emotions.
No one could guess what was going on in the protagonist’s head.
"The weather is gloomy today."
And it seemed like it was about to rain.
Hans didn’t like it.
"Today is a special day."
The day the demon king was defeated.
And also the day Alaric Valthor left forever.
"So the weather has to be nice."
Gripping the sword in his hand, the protagonist swung it up into the sky.
[Sword Saint.]
Whoosh!
The light exploded, covering the entire space.
And the moment it disappeared was also the moment the sunlight could warm everything once again.
"Better now."
