Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 361: Gate 20 END

Chapter 361: Gate 20 END

[ RAID OVER! ]

[ Congratulations! Main Objective complete! ]

[ Rewards to be distributed! ]

[ Grace period in session! ]

[ Rewards to be distributed! ]

[ No violence to be conducted for two minutes! ]

Kazi emerged from the left side of the shore, through the destroyed castle, the moat, and the land in between to stumble onto the other side of the island, where the once clashing armies had halted their battle. The sand was ruined, rocked from the quakes of the giant turtle.

’No one is fighting.’

Obviously. The raid was complete and the two minute grace period was active. They couldn’t fight even if they wanted to. Some of the players noticed him and began to whisper among themselves.

"Where did he come from?"

"No clue."

"Wait, wasn’t he the one that...? Yeah, has to be!"

No one knew what had happened to the monstrous turtle or even what it was. All they knew was that this divine man had been responsible for him. He fought his way through a whole army, broke into the castle, and fought Princess Otohime. But the princess couldn’t be the monster, right? So he ignored him. He let them think as they liked.

A group of fishermen, eyes wide with hope and desperation, ran up to Kazi. Their leader, Masanori, spoke for them. "Kazi, where is Princess Otohime? Did you kill her? A-and that monster, was that one of her servants?"

Kazi forced a big grin. "Yes. I killed them both."

"Really!? Haha, incredible! I knew you had it in you, Kazi Hossain! Finally! Finally! We have been avenged!"

That comment earned attention from the players. Everyone was beginning to creep up and listen. They were aware they were victorious judging by the amount of XP and points they received. The confirmation sealed the deal. The fishermen were particularly eager to celebrate, many of them laughing and shoving.

"Where’s the body? We need to parade it around, show everyone that the monster is finally dead!" Masanori exclaimed.

"There is nothing left." Kazi jabbed a thumb at himself, faking arrogance. "I obliterated the body."

"Agh! Truly?"

"Truly."

The fishermen seemed to accept his words, though there were murmurs of disappointment. The fishermen had wanted a tangible symbol of their triumph, but Kazi’s authority was enough to quell their immediate questions. He was their saviour and he killed Otohime. Lying had no qualm or reason.

Even though it was only a small portion of the truth. Otohime’s kimono had remained. Kazi had willingly kept it out of respect. He thought about cremating it like the Japanese did today. However, on the off-chance that the ancient gods did not like cremating, he decided to keep it. He decided to do his own burial when the time was right.

These men, however, would disgrace her. Who could blame them? The princess was responsible for killing so many. Even so....

Was it wrong to be sad?

Maybe, maybe not.

This was reality. When one person inflicted pain to another, sympathy could rarely be garnered by the victim. There was nothing wrong about it either. Absolutely nothing wrong about it. Some actions were too horrific to earn redemption and sympathy from.

[ Gate 20 : Attacking the Princess

Main Objective: Participate in the great battle and stay alive for 20:00 hours!

Prize Pool: Calculating... ]

[ SPECIAL OBJECTIVE COMPLETED! ]

[ SPECIAL OBJECTIVE COMPLETED! ]

[ Receive:

22,996,442 XP

1,222,999 PP ]

[ Level up! ]

[ Level up! ]

[ Level up! ]

The rewards finally kicked in. Many were disappointed. They didn’t get to do as much as they wanted. Mumbles and complaints of the turtle and the ensuing earthquake spread.

"Kazi!"

There they were. Kibiwott, Jackson, and Remmy, bloody and battered. Seeing him brought relief. Kazi already knew.

"You were correct," Kibiwott said. "The mermaids were prepared for a long-range ambush. We stopped them."

"...at the cost of the ship and everyone on there," Jackson added in a low tone. "Sorry, man."

"All of them?"

"All of them," Jackson answered.

Remmy was quiet. Without their normal weaponry, it must have been an uphill, tragic battle. Kazi faked any struggle and reached out to a shaky hand on Jackson’s shoulder. "You did well. I know you did."

"Lord Almighty!" Jackson gasped. "Your arm! Arms!"

"Ah." He sheepishly smiled. The Southern man was gesturing to his arms, the sleeves ripped to show arms coursing in equal amounts of black and red veins. Kazi could vaguely move his right hand. It was next to impossible, really, but needing to comfort Jackson, he forced it to move when it shouldn’t have.

"The battle must have been intense," Kibiwott stated.

How long did the battle last? Ten minutes? Twenty? Kazi didn’t know. He had put everything he had into that battle, forgetting the very concept of time to push himself.

Kazi didn’t respond immediately. He simply turned, his smile stretched across his face, and walked towards the shoreline, the waves lapping gently at his feet. His friends did not fully understand his intentions. He stepped onto the water, his feet supported by mana platforms, and began to walk further out into the sea.

Realization dawned on Jackson, Kibiwott, and Remmy as they watched him.

"Is he...?"

’She was all alone on that island with nothing but her guilt.’ Kazi stared at the sea. ’Is that really your way of punishing her? You couldn’t talk to her, you couldn’t tell her what she did was stupid and that she was dumb for it. You locked her up here for centuries, wallowing in her own guilt and fighting against the descendants of the man she loved.’

His nose smelled blood. His eyes could see through the darkness of the waters.

Yet he could not see enough. He could not pierce the veil between life and death. He wandered and walk the waters until he understood that there was no reason to.

"I can’t find them," Kazi told himself. "I can see so far and yet...when I can’t find them."

The corpses of the fishermen, the players, the Samebito, and the mermaids could not be found. It was too late. Such a tragedy, he thought, staying above the waters until the Heavenly Tower took him back to the White Abyss.

His smile never faded. It was a cursed thing.

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