Chapter 382: Insufficient (7)

The situation was dire.

“Your Majesty!”

“What’s happening?! Why is the prince consort—?!”

Queen Tamahi shouted firmly at the approaching royalty and guards.

“Step back! Don’t come any closer!”

She had clearly heard Alberu’s words just moments before.

That guy is going to explode.

Hinpa Gong’s condition was critical.
The gray spear he had wielded just moments ago had vanished from his hand.

Grrr— Grrr—

Instead of words, a strange sound echoed.

A gray aura began to surge from Hinpa Gong’s body—
Rising out like smoke from a volcano on the verge of eruption.

The aura churned like molten lava, boiling violently.
Through the thick haze of gray, his face could barely be seen.

“Urgh!”

He was in pain.

“Ha—”

Queen Tamahi exhaled shakily, overcome by a rush of emotions all at once.

Hinpa Gong.
There had never been love between them.

No closeness.
They had never even held hands, except for official appearances.

And yet—

“Kuaaah!”

…It seems I cared for him.

Though she had always known—
That one day, she might have to kill him.
Because he was their enemy.

Even so, watching him suffer now…
A bitter taste rose in her mouth.

After all, she had spent time with him.
Seen him.

Fortunately, it wasn’t sadness that filled her heart.
Tamahi’s mind remained clear—cold.

“Everyone, evacuate the island!”

Her voice rang out, amplified by her inner energy.

“Prepare a magical seal outside the lake!”

Her words reached the martial artists stationed beyond the waters—
A queen’s command, delivered without hesitation.

“Charun!”

“Yes!”

The Sword Master immediately moved, guiding the royal family members away.

“Your Majesty, you must flee at once!”

The gray aura was deeply unsettling.
Charun instinctively felt that Queen Tamahi could not withstand whatever was coming—
And urged her to escape.

But—

“I’ll be the last to leave.”

She shook her head firmly.

At her words, Charun hesitated, then bowed with a resigned expression before turning to evacuate the others.

“Urgh!”

Meanwhile, Hinpa—the Guide—continued to scream in agony.

It’s not physical pain.

Tamahi realized it then.
She understood why she felt compassion for him.
Because the pain he was drowning in… came from somewhere deeper.

His mind is collapsing.

Hinpa.

It wasn’t just physical pain.

Hinpa was drowning in something deeper—
A despair that tore at the mind.

And they—

Tamahi’s gaze shifted to Cale and Alberu, who stood facing Hinpa.

“Urgh—”

Bright red blood spilled from Cale’s mouth once again.

“Should I pat your back?”

Cale turned to look at Alberu beside him.

Alberu met his gaze—expression serious.

“I’m not joking.”

Without another word, he supported Cale and lifted him up.

Grrr— Grrr— Grrr–––!

The strange, grinding sound around Hinpa grew louder—more unstable.
And through the thick gray aura engulfing his body, Alberu saw it.

A faint silhouette.
And within that—

Eyes.

Eyes that didn’t belong to Hinpa.

It was said…
When Choi Han had encountered the God of Chaos, those same eyes had appeared.

The moment they became clear—
Hinpa would die.
And then—

He’ll explode.

At this rate… just a few more minutes.

They were running out of time.

Alberu turned to Cale, urgency flickering behind his eyes.

“Magic works here.”

The island allows magic to be used. That means—

“I’ll block him. You don’t put in effort, escape. As far as you can.”

That meant that Alberu could do something.

He spoke to Cale without hesitation, then turned his gaze toward Queen Tamahi.

He was entrusting Cale to her care.

Let’s minimize the damage.

Completely stopping Hinpa was impossible.
But reducing the scale of destruction—
Evacuating the survivors—

That was still within reach.

Splash, splash—

The quiet sound of water echoed beneath their feet,
As the storm continued to build.

“Ah— Oh my god…!”

It was in that moment—

Alberu stopped.

Grrr— Grrr— Grrr––––

The sound intensified, converging at the very center of the gray aura.

And within it—
Only one thing remained visible.

Hinpa’s face, adrift in the storm of chaos.

Silent.
Almost no trace of humanity.

He was crying.

Gray tears streamed down his face—
And from within the aura, he screamed.

“Oh my god… why have you abandoned me?!”

It wasn’t death he feared.

What consumed him was something else entirely—

Resentment.

“Was my faith… not strong enough?”

“Why?! Why…?!”

His eyes—twisted with despair—turned toward Cale.

Cale stood, barely—
blood tracing lines down his face.

He had used it.
An aura that contained Chaos.

A powerful aura—
So powerful it had pressed down on Hinpa in an instant.

But it hadn’t come from the Saint.

And yet—
He could wield the very same power once used by the first saint.

All of it pointed to one conclusion.

One undeniable truth.

“Why… are you giving that person new Chaos?!”

The one standing before him—
That man.

The God of Chaos had granted him not only the power of the Saint…
But a new power—
A power born of Chaos itself.
A power the God had created anew.

And yet—

He, Hinpa Gong, who had served in a sacred position,
Who had dedicated his life—his very soul—to chaos,
Had never even glimpsed it.

Not once.

That power—
That impossible, divine power—

It had been given…
To him.
A stranger.
Someone Hinpa had never even seen before.

“Why?! Why?!”

His voice cracked—
Laced with disbelief.
Torn by despair.
Filled with fear and sorrow deeper than the fear of death itself.

Was I… abandoned by God?

He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

So instead—
He simply cried out,
Venting his grief into the chaos that swallowed him whole.

“Why—”

And in that moment…

“It must have been insufficient.”

A voice cut through the haze.
Indifferent.
Unmoved.

Hinpa, his vision clouded by gray tears, flinched as the words reached his ears.

“Ugh—”

It struck deeper than any blade.

The voice was weak, but firm—steady even as Cale coughed up blood. Through the haze of gray tears, Hinpa saw him clearly. The one who had shattered his faith. The one who had driven him into despair.

Cale—the cause of it all.

“Your faith, you know…”

Cale’s voice cut through the noise.

“It must have been insufficient.”

And then, despite the blood staining his face, despite barely being able to stand, Cale smiled. Just a little. The corner of his lips curled upward.

It wasn’t kindness. It was mockery.

Damn guys...

The Primordial Night.

While recording the path to the Sanctuary of Chaos in his mind, Cale saw fragments—scenes tied to that place.

One of them came from Hinpa’s memories.

The sanctuary.
The Primordial Night.

It wasn’t sacred. It wasn’t revered.

It was a cemetery.

A place without mourning.
No grief. No memory.

Simply… an execution ground created for chaos.

It resembled a battlefield more than a sanctuary—
Because too many lives had vanished there.

The Guide hadn’t merely led the faithful to the sanctuary.
Hinpa had sent them—countless people, countless lives—into that chaos.

Cale’s indifferent gaze fell upon Hinpa, the so-called Guide.

Then, he spoke.

He delivered the most devastating words one could say to someone who feared abandonment, yet clung to faith in the God of Chaos.

“Your faith was insufficient.”
It wasn’t just a rebuke—it was the truth. His faith had failed him.

“Ugh.”

Blood spilled from Cale’s mouth again. But strangely, he felt a little better.

It didn’t hurt that much.

Grrr–Grrr––––

“No! My faith wasn’t insufficient!”

Hinpa’s scream echoed, wild and desperate—
He stood at the center of it all.

Grrr— Grrr, Grrr— Grrr–––!

The gray aura around him trembled violently.
It was nearing the breaking point.

That’s going to explode soon.

Cale straightened his posture, barely managing it with Alberu’s support.

“No, no! It wasn’t like that…!!”

Hinpa’s voice cracked as he screamed, refusing to accept it.

But Cale… didn’t stop.

“Your faith was insufficient.”

He added, his voice calm—almost cruel.

“And I, even though I don’t believe, have obtained power.”

Hinpa’s screams halted.

“…What?”

This time, Hinpa’s voice trembled—not just with fear, but with chaos itself.

He couldn’t even form words.
Couldn’t repeat what he had just heard.

But Cale kept speaking.

“The God of Chaos—that madman. I truly hate him.”

“…!”

The expression on Hinpa’s face shifted.

It wasn’t despair.
It wasn’t fear.

It was the look of someone hearing something incomprehensible—
Something so far removed from his reality, he couldn’t even begin to process it.

Chaos.

True, complete chaos overtook him.

And the moment that chaos reached its peak—

Grrr— Grrr— Grrr–––!

The strange sound—

Stopped.

Those who had been fleeing came to a halt.

The sound—gone.
Something had changed.
For a brief moment, everyone stood still.

All eyes turned toward Hinpa, who now appeared calm.

Swoosh—

Only the soft sound of the lake remained.
Everything else was silent.

And then… they saw it.

An eye.

One eye—
Emerging from the dense gray smoke that had fully consumed Hinpa.

It wasn’t a person.
It wasn’t a creature.
It was simply an existence.

An eye that defied explanation—
And yet, it was clearly watching them.

Everyone who saw it thought the same thing.

It’s looking directly at me.

And in that instant—
They froze.

Blink.

The eye blinked once.

Though the moment was brief,
It felt like eternity.

Everyone stared—
As if trapped within that gaze.
As if time itself had slowed, pulling them into the eye's presence.

They couldn’t move.

This wasn’t like the chaos he had felt from Bishop Serisa.
This was something deeper.
Worse.

The aura of chaos hypnotized them—
Froze them where they stood.

Blink.

The eye blinked again.

And as it began to blink a third time—

“React!”

A voice shattered the stillness.

Alberu Crossman.

“Duck!”

The moment he shouted—

“!”

“…!”

People moved—almost unconsciously.

They didn’t know why.

They just… reacted.

Suddenly, a warmth spread through their bodies—
Soft and unfamiliar.

And only then did they realize how cold they had been.
How deeply that eye had frozen them.

It felt like a warm breath brushing the backs of their hands.
A subtle, comforting heat.

They felt warmth.

They didn’t know it was from the sun.
Not yet.

Even Alberu didn’t know.

“Duck!”

He shouted again, louder this time.

Blink—

The eye blinked a third time.

People broke free from the hypnosis.

Their minds cleared—just enough.

And they understood.

There’s no time to run.

Instinct took over.

They ducked down, arms thrown over their heads, shielding their faces.
They huddled together, drawing close—anything to lessen the impact.

In those final seconds, through fragmented glimpses—

They saw it.

Alberu.

The light in his hand—
A brilliant glow, pure and sharp, like sunlight forged into mana.

A magical shield, radiant and immense, forming around Hinpa’s exploding body.

And one more thing—

A shining silver line extended from Cale’s hand.

From the end of that line—
Wings bloomed.

Giant silver wings, unfurling with grace and power.
And with them, a shield—radiant and unshakable.

It was nothing like the sinister, suffocating chaos.

The silver light was warm—
Just looking at it made the heart feel lighter.
As if it carried a refreshing breeze, or the scent of something pure.

Something sacred.
Something that protected.

The two lights—sunlight and silver—
Came together in perfect harmony.

In the heart of chaos, they bloomed.

Twin radiances intertwined, not clashing, but complementing each other—
Finding their rightful place amid destruction.

And in that moment…
People saw more than magic.

They saw a sprout pushing through the mud.
They saw hope.

Their eyes were drawn to the lights—unable to look away.

Boom— Boom— BOOOOM––––!

A massive explosion erupted—so loud, so violent, it swallowed even Hinpa’s final scream.

People huddled closely, shielding themselves however they could.

“Hmm.”

Alberu let out a low sound.

He had mimicked Raon.
Layered shield upon shield, bracing for the blast.

Drizzle.

Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.

Ha.

It seems my magical ability really is inferior… even to Raon. Even to Rosalyn.

Alberu’s insides churned each time a shield shattered.

“Ugh—”

A groan escaped him—he couldn’t help it.

But still, he endured.

He formed another shield.
And when that one broke—he created another.
And another.

Over and over.
He had lost count of how many times.

Crack.

Even as several high-grade magic crystals broken in his hands, Alberu didn’t stop.

Because part of him…
Wanted to know his limit.

And—

That madman!

Cale Henituse.

That guy—
Even with blood covering his face—
Was still standing.

He was withstanding the aftermath of the explosion.
A force stronger than anything Alberu himself could endure.

Alberu’s own shields had shattered easily.

Because of that, Cale’s outer shield had taken on even more of the impact.

When did he become so strong?

Alberu remembered.
He had been there the first time Cale deployed a shield.

Back then—

I’m crazy.

Compared to then, Cale had grown.

Not just a little.
He had grown several times stronger—

stronger even than when he had defeated the White Star.

“Hmm.”

But Alberu didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.

Because he didn’t have time.

How much time has passed?

Not even a few minutes would have passed.

Drizzle.

The blood running from the corner of Alberu’s lips had turned a vivid red—
Fresh, bright, and far too much.

“Haah—”

He let out a deep sigh.

“…….”

He looked away to the side.

Cale was holding his tired shoulder.

And Cale Henituse’s shield was still shining.

“Huu–”

Alberu let out a deep sigh.

His insides wobbled, as if his mana had been drained, due to the sudden overuse.

If it were me—

I couldn’t face Hinpa.

But Cale Henituse had done it. Without hesitation. Sure, he’d vomited blood—but he still stood his ground.

After all… he’s the guy trying to defy the God of Chaos.

It made sense, in a way. For someone who wasn’t a saint, nor a bishop, it was only natural that he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by someone like Hinpa.

Alberu understood that.

Then what about me?

The thought lingered.

“Hmm.”

But he couldn’t think any further. A wave of dizziness hit him—like motion sickness, even though he hadn’t moved. He stayed upright, composed, pretending everything was fine.

Even this, can’t be hidden from Cale Henituse—

That’s why he’s looking at me with that impious gaze—

…!

Alberu couldn’t continue thinking.

What’s going on?

He felt it—a strange, inexplicable sensation.
His entire body warmed.

Without realizing it, he raised his head, instinctively drawn to the source of that warmth.

…The sun.

The light shining down on him.

He had never felt sunlight like this before.
As a dark elf, he had spent more time ignoring the sun than acknowledging it.
To him, it had always been something to endure—never something to seek.

And yet now, as he looked up at it directly…
The warmth felt real.

It’s strange.

It was a truly strange sensation.

“……”

And the churning inside him—his drained mana, the dizziness—calmed.

Rumble—

The ground trembled beneath him, still reeling from the explosion’s aftermath.

But the sunlight, gently pouring over him, didn’t waver.

It stayed the same.

Because the sun… had always been the same.

Something—

He felt like he could almost touch something.

But Alberu also knew—
It wasn’t time yet.

He turned his gaze away from the sun.

Swoosh—

Only the gentle sound of water remained.

There was no trace of gray smoke.
No remnants of Hinpa.

Only the silver wings and shield remained, shining where he had once stood.

Alberu suddenly remembered the first time he had seen that shield.

And he thought—

The one thing that hasn’t changed since the moment we met… is Cale Henituse.

“It’s worth trying.”

And that impious, arrogant expression…
Still exactly the same.

“Ha, haha—”

Alberu let out a quiet laugh.
He couldn’t help it.

Swoosh—

A quiet laugh rippled across the Lake of Tranquility.

“……”

“……”

The people of the Kingdom of Lan, still frozen in place, turned their eyes toward Alberu and Cale.

And they were stunned.

 ---------

P/R Thought:

Hinpa Gong collapsed, but Cale didn’t even flinch—terrifying contrast. 🩸🌑

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]