Vol 4 Chapter 27

"Anyway, my Holy Transfer skill didn't get to show its effect in the end. What a waste, such a waste..."

"What was that, by the way?"

"Hehehe. That... It's something that shows its true value only when you're in danger! Isn't it awesome? Isn't it great? Isn't it cool?"

"..."

At that time... Kapros hadn't imagined at all that it was this kind of skill. It was clear that the Holy Transfer skill was a sacrificial type skill where Kran would take damage instead when Kapros, the target it was cast on, was injured. He really couldn't have imagined it would be like this.

"You stupid idiot...!"

"But you're still badly hurt too. High schooler. Near Kap's shoulder..."

At Kran's call, Un-o approached Kapros and examined him, frowning slightly as he saw the wounds caused by the broken blade fragments here and there, and carefully removed a small blade fragment that was embedded near his shoulder. Kapros couldn't find words to say to the guy who was asking if he was okay while he himself was on the verge of death.

Kran took a moment to catch his breath, seeming to check his own body, then took out a mana recovery potion from his pocket and drank it.

"Cure... Force."

As Kran used the magic on his own chest while lying down, entrusting his body to Kapros, a white light much weaker than what he had used on Kapros earlier began to seep into the wound.

Fwoosh...

But it ended in a really short moment.

"Why aren't you using more?"

Un-o asked with a dark expression.

"What I just drank was a mana potion... but this is the limit even with that. Ah... the ultimate weapon is indeed difficult to activate."

Kran said quietly, smiling as if joking, but Kapros felt a shock as if his head had been hit with a stone.

What was the reason Kran's mana had run out? It was because he had healed Kapros's arm earlier, because he had cast that damn Holy Transfer skill on Kapros, and because he had used too much sword energy while fighting Caesar after returning here despite Kran's objections. Wasn't it all because of Kapros...!

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

As Kapros bowed his head deeply and pressed his forehead against Kran's shoulder, the guy rather flustered, made a sound of "Huh?"

"No, what's this. You don't need to apologize at all. Rather, if it were you, you should hit me..."

Kapros felt like doing just that. If Kran died instead of him, what on earth was he supposed to do? He didn't even know who to be angry at. Himself? Kran? Or Caesar?

"Anyway, I'm really okay now... Phew..."

After taking a few more breaths, Kran looked around.

"Where... did Caesar go?"

"..."

At those words, as they looked around, Caesar, who had taken the biggest hit of all their attacks so far from the golden light of Holy Transfer that Kran had triggered, was nowhere to be seen.

It had been so unreal how easily he had been wrecked, making his previous strong appearance seem ridiculous, but it seemed that he had judged further combat impossible and had taken the opportunity to disappear while they were rushing to Kran.

"He's gone..."

Only then could they relax their shoulders. All three of them looked so battered that they could only laugh hollowly. However, Kran's condition was really not good. Even after pouring several high-grade potions and using Cure magic, the blood he had already lost formed a pool, and blood was still continuously seeping out.

"Kran... are you really okay?"

When Kapros called out to Kran with a slightly trembling voice, Kran smiled a bit awkwardly.

"Ah... the place where I was stabbed wasn't good. Even if you treat the head and heart area immediately, there's a high chance of death. Really... if you had been stabbed, you would have died instantly."

It was even more frustrating that he explained this as if analyzing it like usual. After saying that, Kran closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily as he thought, and after a long while, he carefully opened his mouth.

"...Kap."

"..."

"I have a favor to ask."

"Okay."

Nodding his head, wondering if he had perhaps found a way to recover, Kran opened his eyelids and gripped Kapros's hand tightly with a stern expression.

"I need you to kill me."

"What...?"

As Kapros asked back, wondering what he had just heard, Kran put all his strength into the hand holding Kapros's.

"To die in one hit, it seems only you can do it."

"You can't mean..."

Unlike Kapros, who had forgotten how to respond, Un-o, who had been listening to Kran's words seriously for a moment, stood up abruptly.

"I see. You still have half your health left, right?"

"The potion effect was very good. But it's still dropping terrifyingly fast, so I'm in a bit of a hurry..."

"Ah... Then indeed, there's no other way."

Un-o, who seemed to have finished assessing the situation coolly, looked at Kapros with a hardened expression.

"He's right. There really seems to be no other way than this."

"If more than half is left, isn't that still a level where he can survive?"

As Kapros asked back, feeling as if his usually well-functioning mind had completely stopped, Un-o shook his head.

"Have you forgotten? Death due to quest antagonism breaks the quest. In his case, because his heart was stabbed, no matter how it's treated, it only delays time, and he will eventually die. In such a situation, the only breakthrough is for one of us to kill him in one hit while his health is recovered to more than half through potions."

That's right.

Kapros had forgotten, but he had also thought Yu-wan’s quest was broken because of that at one point...! If Kran died like this now, in a situation where he couldn't miraculously survive like Yu-wan, there was no other way but for the quest to be forcibly terminated. The reason he specifically said 'one hit' was then...

"Because of the killer recognition."

"Yes."

Killer recognition was exactly the same as who receives the experience points when killing monsters, and when hunting monsters, the person who inflicts the most damage on the monster is recognized as having killed it and receives the experience points. Of course, when hunting in a party, everyone received experience points regardless of such things, but it was an excellent method to prevent people from cowardly snatching and killing monsters that others were hunting.

And this was similarly applied in PK, where the person who killed someone by dealing more than half of their health in damage was recognized as having committed PK. Currently, fortunately, thanks to the potions, Kran's health had barely recovered to just over half. But luck only went this far, and in a situation where he couldn't survive no matter what else was done, Kran had made such a request to Kapros to prevent the quest from being broken.

Kapros could barely manage to nod to Kran, who was looking at him with apologetic eyes.

"...Alright."

Originally, Kapros should have died and the quest should have been broken, but he had survived thanks to Kran. How could he refuse Kran's request with that in mind?

"It won't be a problem that we're doing the same quest, right?"

As Kapros asked one last time, Un-o nodded darkly.

"As long as we're not in an antagonistic relationship, it's fine."

"...Alright."

After confirming, Kapros carefully laid down Kran's upper body, which he had been holding tightly, and stood up. At that moment, he saw Kran grinning with a strange expression.

"Haha... Ah... I thought I'd finally get to enjoy some luxury... I guess happiness gained suddenly doesn't last long after all."

"..."

This guy, even at a time like this...

Kapros bit his lower lip until he tasted blood, and slowly raised his hand. With the mana he had left, he couldn't use 6th circle magic, let alone 5th circle, but he thought he could use 4th circle. The magic that could send Kran off painlessly in one hit with this mana was...

"Kap. It's okay. Don't hesitate. Whatever you do, I'm used to getting hit often, so it won't bother me at all."

Kran made a joke, trying to lighten the mood until the end, even though his face was slightly stiff. At that moment, Kapros was finally able to decide what magic to use.

"...I'm starting."

Here, Kapros absolutely could not turn his eyes away. Everything had started because of him, and now, here where it was about to end.

As he raised his hand and imagined in his mind, he wished for something far different from usual. He felt the magic responding to his call condensing at his fingertips.

Crackle...!

"...That's..."

Kapros heard Un-o's murmur but pretended not to hear. He watched the magic condensing and condensing again, expanding as if about to burst, and when he thought it had accumulated power that could rival the power of a 4th circle spell beyond its original 3rd circle power, he lowered his hand without hesitation.

The name of this magic was...

"Ice Spear!"

Crack!

The moment the Ice Spear, which had transformed into an ice pillar that would freeze anything it touched rather than a spear as Kapros had wished, made contact, Kran was trapped in the ice without a sound. Kapros watched this scene to the end with his eyes wide open. In the last moment, Kran was smiling as usual and speaking to Kapros with his eyes.

'Thank you.'

And Un-o drew his bowstring one last time towards that ice block that was so densely packed it was barely visible. With a cracking sound, as the ice shattered and disappeared without a trace, Kapros stood blankly watching. After a moment, Un-o approached Kapros but stopped hesitantly.

"...Hyung."

"..."

As Kapros looked at Un-o, he opened his mouth for a moment but then closed it tightly and looked at Kapros. The next words came out only after a long while.

"Your eyes..."

"..."

"...No, it's nothing."

They left the collapsed colosseum behind them.