Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 621

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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And it was a victory for us all.

The moment of triumph, finally achieved, was silent.
No one dared speak carelessly. We simply watched the yellow monstrosity collapse, consumed by flames.

Those who had raced across the City Wall.
Those who had wielded swords and spears beyond its gates.
Those who had prepared fresh volleys of ranged attacks.

Every soul absorbed the battlefield in reverent silence.
Through their minds flowed the moments that had passed, like scenes from a film.
Unlike a fleeting glimpse of one’s life, each memory that surfaced filled their hearts to bursting.

And as that fullness swelled and threatened to spill from their lips—

One voice broke through first.

“At last, the transcendent-rank monster has fallen, and we—”

It was Lee Sung-won.
He had barely remembered the commander’s order to record and document everything, and so he spoke even in this moment.

At last.
We have.

“We humans have achieved victory.”

And the moment those words were recorded—
The people finally unleashed the triumph that had filled their hearts, perhaps for the first time in ages, perhaps for the very first time.

Waaaaahhh—
Uuuaahhh—!

Cheers, cries, or perhaps tears of joy.
Each person released their emotions in their own way.

“…The fog is clearing.”
“…Yes.”

As if to celebrate that victory, the mist dissipated and the sun slowly revealed itself.
Though it was a chilly November afternoon, the sunlight gradually warmed everything it touched.

That warmth made me truly feel the reality of our situation.

Lee Jin-ju opened her mouth.
Her amplification ability spread across the vicinity of Seo-myeon Shelter.

{We have won.}

The joyous news spread in all directions.

{The unranked monster has been defeat-}

But she had to pause mid-sentence.

{Rok-!}

She hastily covered her mouth.
For a moment, she forgot that her voice was being broadcast everywhere, and barely managed to swallow the name she was about to call out.

“Hyung!”
“No!”

Kim Min-jun and Lee Sung-won jolted up in alarm.
And Park Jin-tae gripped the railing of the City Wall, unable to speak.
Their gazes turned toward one place.

The person standing before the massive yellow monster.
Kim Rok-soo.
He was slowly collapsing.

Lee Jin-ju finally opened her mouth.
She delivered the news to the people inside the shelter who were waiting for her announcement.

{The unranked monster has been defeated.}

And they did not report the news of the commander’s collapse.
The cheers from the battlefield fell silent.
Lee Jin-ju watched as someone caught the falling commander.

“Rok-soo!”

Lee Soo-hyuk called out urgently to Kale Heniatus, who was collapsing helplessly. Then he lifted his head and spoke again as he saw who was supporting Kale.

“Han.”

Choi Han held Kale steady, his pale face with eyes closed as he gazed down at him quietly.
Then he lifted his head.

Kim Min-ah, Bae Pureun, Jo Min-ye, and Je Ha-jeong were rushing toward them.
Before they arrived, Choi Han spoke to Lee Soo-hyuk.

“It seems the time to return will come soon.”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s eyes dimmed.
In his gaze were reflected Kim Rok-soo, pale and disheveled, and Choi Han, equally worn and battered.
They were the two who had suffered the most.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
“Yes.”

Choi Han tried to carry Kale on his back.

“I’ll move him.”

But the Dark Tiger, who had approached without warning, offered its back instead.
Choi Han transferred Kale onto it and entered the castle with Lee Soo-hyuk.

Alberu and Choi Han’s gazes met.
Both of them sensed it instinctively.

That Kale Heniatus was finally witnessing the end of the trial.

* * *

“So it’s here after all?”

I slowly surveyed the pitch-black space around me.
Naturally, there was nothing but darkness visible.
Soon my gaze turned forward.

-I seem to have underestimated you.

Crimson red eyes gleamed before me.
The Sealed God.

-There exist absolute laws between gods and humans.

I listened silently to the god’s words.
But I hesitated at what came next.

-Did you not hear this from the God of Death, the Sun God, or the God of War?

At my expression, the Sealed God let out a scoff.

-Do you think I’m unaware of the gods hovering around you?

My mouth opened.

“Once you’ve set the content and method of a trial, it’s impossible for you to alter it. Isn’t that right?”

Information the God of Death had conveyed through Choi Han.

‘The God of Death says that one of those absolute rules is that the Oath of Death must be fulfilled without fail. Similarly, this Sealed God can create trials as an absolute rule, but cannot manipulate the content of those trials.’

The Sealed God could not manipulate the trial’s content.
The trial’s content naturally contained the conditions to pass it or render it void.

Therefore, unable to touch the trial’s content, the Sealed God had tried to shake me from the outside by moving the White Star on that side instead of me on this side.
That attempt had come to nothing thanks to my companions.

-I cannot comprehend this.

True bewilderment resonated in the god’s voice.

—Why won’t you accept the opportunity a god has given you?
—A chance to grow stronger, to gain power?
—Especially you, Kale Heniatus. Looking at your condition, you need my strength even more, don’t you?

The Sealed God observed Kale intently.

—You’re exhausted, aren’t you?

Kale Heniatus, now wearing the body of a twenty-year-old Kim Rok-soo, hadn’t slept properly for a single day.

—Isn’t it difficult?

He hadn’t eaten his meals properly, carrying the weight of countless lives upon his shoulders.

—Isn’t it painful?

Through the White Star, the god had inflicted suffering upon Kale Heniatus.
That pain shook the very soul, transcending imagination in its agony.
Even the god himself could not fathom the extent of such torment.

Yet Kale Heniatus had endured it.
The god was genuinely curious.

Why.

—If you entrusted all of this to me, wouldn’t life become easier?

Why didn’t you do that?

“Ha!”

Laughter burst from Kale’s lips.

“Is my life yours to command?”

He shook his head firmly.

“I’m the kind of person who can only find peace living life on my own terms.”

And.

“What gives you the right to take charge of my life? Do you even have that qualification?”

What saved me wasn’t despair or some being who administered tests as trials—it was the people who existed in my memories and by my side.
And it was myself.

Hadn’t the God of Death said it?
That my destiny, my fate itself, had changed.

-Qualification, you say.

The Sealed God spoke as if exasperated.

-How amusing, to question a god’s qualifications.
-Isn’t struggling through life exhausting enough for you?

Kale Heniatus exhaled a sigh of pure exasperation.

“Why have I been so tired lately? Huh?”

The test was over, and I only needed to hear the results. I couldn’t fathom why it kept rambling on.
I was a busy person with much to do.

“Hey.”

If Alberu—or rather, Raon—had seen the expression that crossed Kale’s face, they would have called it not merely irreverent, but downright insolent.

“Look, you’re a god after all. I was trying to be respectful about this. But you’re the one who picked a fight with me while I was minding my own business, and now I’m dealing with the aftermath. That’s on you.”

Kale Heniatus stepped closer to those crimson eyes.
Standing face to face, he pointed his finger directly at the center of that gaze.

“You’re the cause of this. Are you going to keep playing dumb?”

Irritation surged through Kale Heniatus.

Struggling to survive?
Who does he think he is, speaking so carelessly?
Truly, a damned god.

‘And struggling? Exhausted?’

Yes.
I am weary and drained.
But not every moment has been like this—that much is certain.

After victory earned through fierce battle comes exhaustion.
Yet in those moments, peace arrives alongside it.
A peace that could be fleeting or enduring, but that tranquility was one of the forces that drove me forward.

Of course, there are times I lose, times I am defeated, times I suffer devastating losses.
I have felt deeply through memory that what has passed does not return.

Yet my memories hold more than just such moments.

The ability to record everything means capturing sorrow, frustration, defeat, and despair—but it also means etching small joys, brief moments of peace, and modest pleasures into one’s being.

“Hey.”
-…How truly irreverent. It is lamentable indeed.

Whether the god spouted nonsense or not, Kale paid it no mind.

“Just tell me the result.”

Arms crossed and weight shifted to one leg, Kale fixed his crimson eyes upon the god with a dull, piercing gaze.

-I have no desire to answer.
“How petty.”
-…You truly are an irreverent one.

This damned god.
Kale’s face twisted as he opened his mouth to say something to the hesitating god.
But he paused, his shoulders trembling.

Crack—
Fissures began spreading across the space where he had stood.

-Human, you have won.

The corners of Kale’s mouth lifted.
It was the inevitable outcome.
The fruit of everyone’s struggle.

-Not because you defeated a monster beyond rank.
-Not because the outcome differed from the past you knew.

…What?
My eyebrows rose slightly.
So that wasn’t the true test?
Then what was the reason for my victory?
What did I truly overcome?

Then, the voice of the Sealed God was heard.

-You did not deny the despair that was to come.

In that final moment.
The words I had spoken to the god.

‘The despair of this world is only beginning.’

-You knew that trials and despair would arrive, and you harbored anxiety about them.

‘This place will draw a future different from my past. I am certain of it.’

-But you believed—no, you were certain—that things would improve from this moment forward.

The god spoke.

-Your heart defeated me.
-You have overcome this trial.

Crack, crack!
The darkness of this space shattered at an ever-accelerating pace.

The end.
The true conclusion of this trial was approaching.

“…It’s over.”

A calm voice escaped from my lips.
The crimson eyes observed this quietly before speaking again.

-I shall grant you a gesture of goodwill.

Goodwill?
My face contorted.
It was an expression that said I had no need for such a thing, that I found it distasteful.

-There’s no need to make such a face.

The god’s eyes curved slightly with what seemed like amusement.
Then, with a light tone, the god spoke.

-When you open your eyes, it will still be November 8th. The world of the twenty-year-old Kim Rok-soo.

My shoulders flinched slightly.
The world of Kim Rok-soo?
Not returning as Kale Heniatus?

-The moment November 9th strikes midnight, you will return to your original world.
-So you will have sufficient time to bid your farewells.

The crimson eyes, which had been observing my expression, continued as if they understood my inner thoughts.

-Why grant such goodwill, you ask?

Crack, crack-
This space crumbling rapidly. Within this darkness.
The crimson eyes still revealed their vivid scarlet light clearly.

-Don’t think my test ends here.

What?
Kale Heniatus’s brow furrowed.

-I will be watching you at any time.

The crimson eyes curved, and soon a low chuckle filled the space.
It was the kind of laughter that made Kale Heniatus’s skin crawl in that instant.

The god whispered within his laughter.

-The moment of despair that will come.

As if foreseeing the future.

-The moment your heart breaks or wavers.

As if such a moment would surely arrive.

-I will come find you.

A chilling statement that sent shivers across my entire body—no, a warning.
I slowly raised my hand and wiped my face.
When the crimson eyes held laughter at that gesture.

“Sigh.”

In the crumbling darkness, I exhaled a long breath.
And with an exasperated expression, I spoke bluntly.

“Will you support me as a jobless man?”
-…What?

A moment of hesitation could be heard in the god’s voice, but Kale Heniatus continued with what he had to say.

“My dream, my goal is to be a jobless man with peace of mind, a warm back, and a full belly.”

It truly is a wonderful dream and goal.
As a bonus, I even added a small bit of farming to that objective.

Kale spoke his desires aloud.

“After choosing your power, could I just roll around in bed, walk around all day within the confines of my bedroom, eat three meals a day, sleep, wake up to snacks, and live like that until I die?”

A brief silence fell.
Only the sound of shattering echoed.

That was when it happened.

A soft laugh.
The Sealed God’s deflating laughter reached my ears.

-Nonsense, trying to disturb my thoughts.
-Cute nonsense. I heard it well. Human, we shall meet again later.

Kale thought to himself.

‘It’s the truth.’

It wasn’t nonsense.
I wanted to open my mouth and refute it.
But I could not.

Crack—!
The darkness that had been slowly splitting apart shattered like breaking glass with a piercing sound.
At the same time, brilliant light engulfed Kale, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

And then slowly, I opened my eyes.
The darkness was gone.
The crimson eyes were nowhere to be seen.

“…Rok-soo hyung.”

Choi Han’s voice reached me.

Flicker, flicker.
My vision gradually came into focus.

“Rok-soo.”

I heard Lee Soo-hyuk’s voice as well.
My eyes slowly turned toward the wall of the bedroom.
A clock came into view.

The god had said he would grant me time to say farewell.

Tick, tick.
The silence was so profound I could hear the sound of the clock hands moving.
The direction the clock hands pointed entered my vision.

November 8th, 11:50 PM.
Ten minutes remained until November 9th.

“That damned bastard.”

He certainly gave me quite a bit of time.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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