Youngest on Top - Chapter 122

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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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Chapter 122

* * *

After Enrik’s confirmation, I accepted that this… peculiar angel was indeed Kailros.
For now, at least.

‘Kailros.’

Kailros: Yes, my beloved younger sibling.
Kailros: Hearing you call my name feels like a dream.
Kailros: Those days without our youngest were like a desert where not a single drop of rain falls…
Kailros: You are my blessing rain, my sunshine, my rainbow.

“…”

I really can’t get used to this.
I rubbed the goosebumps rising on my arms.

Enrik: Ugh…!

Enrik seemed to be experiencing nausea beyond mere goosebumps.
Honestly, I wanted to retch myself.

Kailros: Enrik, where are you retching so disgracefully?
Kailros: As Artemia’s angel, you should maintain proper dignity and composure befitting that station.

Seeing this, it did seem like Kailros was the real deal.

Kailros: To let such unpleasant sounds reach my beloved younger sibling’s delicate ears.
Enrik: That’s not sound—it’s being conveyed through text.
Kailros: Then I’ve cast filthy letters upon my beloved younger sibling’s pure and pristine eyes.
Kailros: My soul, my breath. Are you alright?
Kailros: I worry whether your tender and serene eyes have been harmed.

Scrub, scrub, scrub!
I rubbed my arms roughly.
How could a person change this much from a head injury?
Is this really Kailros?

Doubt still lingered, but there were more pressing and urgent matters now.
I had no time to waste on trivial concerns.

‘I need Kailros’s power.’

After speaking, I caught myself and added more.
Kailros wasn’t an angel who would share his abilities simply because I needed them.

‘This isn’t something I need out of personal greed—it’s for Artemia. Artemia’s sharpest blade is now at death’s door—.’

Kailros: There’s no need for such lengthy explanations.
Kailros: If my power is what you need, I shall gladly share it with you.
Kailros: What could I not do for you, who are my soul and heart?

I gazed quietly at that dialogue window before calling out to Enrik.

‘Enrik.’

Enrik: It’s really true.
Enrik: I can’t believe it either, but it’s really, truly real.

‘…I understand.’

To withstand Kailros’s power, I would need formidable divine essence.

Normally, the divine essence I possessed would resonate similarly with Kailros’s, making it easier… but.
Right now, even the slightest strain on my divine essence could shatter my Divine Heart.

I turned around and looked at the adults.

“Thank you all for lending me your strength.”
“It’s only natural.”
“Rather, I should be grateful. For relying on me like this.”

The adults smiled at me.
They had gathered their power to reach all the way to the Heavenly Realm itself.
With such a sudden drain of sacred power, they must have been exhausted too.

Yet there was no trace of fatigue in the faces looking at me.
Instead, they bore expressions of pride, fulfillment, and encouragement.

Seeing them like this, I could speak far more confidently than before.

“Lend me your power once more. So that I can save Kaiser.”
“As much as you need.”
“As our Sacred Maiden wishes.”
“Sae, do what you must. We will support you.”

The High Priest’s hand pressed firmly on the crown of my head.
It felt as though strength was flowing into me.

‘That’s right. I’ve already journeyed to the Heavenly Realm itself.’

I can do this.
I will save Kaiser without fail.

The moment I closed my eyes, I felt the sacred power my family was channeling into me.
Even after completing the 【Integration】 once, this power showed no weakness.
Using that strength as a solid foundation, I steadied myself within.

“Kailros.”

Speaking the name aloud made my will and vision clearer, more vivid.
This was no longer merely reading someone’s memories—this was saving a life.
Kaiser’s life.
I would employ every effort and method at my disposal and absolutely not fail.

“Fifth Messenger of Artemia. My brother, my guide, my protector.”

My voice resonated with profound depth as it spread outward.

A deep, resonant hum reverberated through the world—!
Brilliant light cascaded down upon my head, transforming into a halo of angels.
Brilliant light poured down over my head and transformed into a halo of angels.

“Give me your strength. Through my hands, I shall fulfill your will, and through my lips, I shall convey your words.”

Kailous: My power shall be manifested through my breath, my soul, and my heart that exist upon this earth—.

As my connection with Kailus deepened, his power poured into me.

It was far too icy to be called healing power, devoid of any warmth whatsoever.
Yet simultaneously, it was an infinitely crystalline force that would permit no intrusion.
But at the same time, it was an infinitely clear and pure energy that allowed no intrusion whatsoever.

I did not reject that power—I accepted it entirely.
It was far too overwhelming for me to bear—.
It was a power far too strong for me to handle—.

“That’s it.”

My family supported me.

Massive wings sprouted from my back.
Six pristine white wings.
Kailros’s wings.
It was Kylus’s wings.

The power of Kailus has perfectly descended upon me.

“Kaiser…”

Bowing my head toward his pallid face, drained of all color.
She bowed her head toward his pale face, drained of all color.

Please wake up.

A blessing’s kiss.
Kailros’s blessing and authority settled upon Kaiser’s brow.
The blessings and power of Kailus descended upon Kaiser’s forehead.

“…Please save our father, Kailros.”

* * *

Kaiser wandered through a murky darkness.
A viscous death clung to him, refusing to release its grip.

‘So it’s come to this after all.’

Kaiser thought with indifference.
I had always known it would end this way.

Wandering endlessly through battlefields against demons, there inevitably comes a day when their blood clings to your ankles.
To the point where movement becomes impossible.
If you cannot advance on the battlefield, only death remains.

‘Even if it ends like this, it doesn’t matter.’

I harbored no lingering attachment to life.
Born with talent in sacred power, raised in the Temple, awakened, and distinguished myself as a Holy Knight.
Life simply flowed past—there was never any grand sense of mission to speak of.

Kaiser, the great Holy Knight who saves people and protects peace.
That was how people praised me—.

‘Nonsense.’

All of it was meaningless to me.
No, beyond meaningless—I was simply tired of it all now.

Kaiser did not resist the death clinging to him, standing motionless instead.
Like sinking into a swamp, my feet were slowly pulled downward.

‘The fact that I can think so blankly even now must be the demons’ doing.’

They had clearly severed certain parts of my consciousness.
So I wouldn’t remember and resist death.

Even knowing this, Kaiser simply remained still.
After all, there was nothing in this world so important and precious to him that he couldn’t close his eyes in death.

‘Hm?’

Suddenly, Kaiser realized he was holding something other than a sword in his hand.
He gripped something small and solid as if he could never afford to lose it.

‘…What is this?’

When he opened his hand, a jewel gleamed brilliantly even in this oppressive darkness.
From its ornate design, it was a Crepundia.
A protective charm that Trainee Priests crafted for the adults they admired when the new year arrived.

Of course, Kaiser had never received such a thing before.

‘But why am I holding this as if it’s precious?’

The blue-glowing jewel resembled a cloudless, crystalline sky.
At the same time, it seemed like the clearest sea in the world rippling gently.

‘…This light, I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before….’

He couldn’t quite remember.
Kaiser moved to take a step forward but stopped abruptly.

Something was clinging to his leg.
Not the cold, clammy touch of death, but a warmth that was gentle and soft.

Slowly, Kaiser’s gaze lowered.
He saw a child clinging to his leg, curled up in a small ball.
Even the thick darkness couldn’t diminish the child’s radiant golden hair.

“You….”

Who is this child?
Even as he thought he should push the child away since they were unrelated, Kaiser couldn’t bring himself to do it.

At that moment, the child lifted his head.
Kaiser noticed that the light of Krepundia resembled the child’s pupils perfectly.

“Kazamin, tae gichana?”

Words that seemed familiar, as if I’d heard them before.
But the child was not in my memory.

“…Don’t stay here. Go back.”

The child blinked, then clung even tighter to my legs.

“If you stay here, you’ll die. Go back, even if I tell you to.”
“Tae yogi isseo yo!”
“Let go, I said!”
“Kazamin-irang issu kkeoya!”

Kaiser hesitated.
This was definitely the first time I’d seen this child.

But Kaiser had exchanged these words before.
With this child.

Kaiser spoke the words that existed in my memory.

“Then why.”
“Tae Kazamin joeunikka!”

The child spoke brightly.
A face in memory, a voice in memory, a conversation in memory.

“Kazamin… tae beorimen angdae… chakan ai hal teknikka…”
“…”
“Taega jasmothhan go da gochilge yo.”
“…”
“Da gochi ssu isseo yo. Tae chakan eorini hakkeyo.”

Something I could never forget, something I cannot forget—.

“I like Kazamin, Sae.”

“…Saelika.”

That’s right. This child existed.
The reason I couldn’t close my eyes even in death.

“Kazamin, please become Sae’s father. Take good care of this child.”

My daughter.
How could I have thought of leaving you behind?

Kaiser clenched his fists tightly.
The crystalline sacred power of Crepundia awakened his spirit.

‘I made a promise.’

Never to leave her alone.
Never to create a child without a father.

“…You’ve saved me once again.”

I nearly fell into the demon race’s scheme and surrendered to death willingly.

“That will never happen.”

In Kaiser’s eyes, which had been indifferent even before death, determination began to kindle.

“I can’t even trust Randel with my daughter.”

Above all—

“For the first time, *sob*, I finally have a father, and *sniff*, I want to be with Dad….”

She cried because I was gone.
Asking me to stay by her side, saying she hates it without her father.

‘I have to go comfort her.’

She must still be crying even now.
Kaiser tore away the clinging death that clung to him.
No matter how many times he stripped it away, death kept adhering to him anew, yet he refused to surrender.

How much time had passed?
The space at the boundary between life and death twisted and warped, time itself stagnating and circling endlessly.

Within an eternity that felt like eons.
At some point, even Saelika’s phantom that had been holding him vanished.

As the aura of death suffocated his breath and melted his heart, Kaiser fought on alone in silent determination.
Even as his soul was lacerated and pierced through, he did not retreat.
Instead, he pressed forward all the more.

Because he had to return.
He had to go back and tell that child.

That I never abandoned you.
That I overcame even death for my daughter.
That I will be with you for all my life.
So—.

“Do not cry, my daughter.”

Kaiser moved his parched lips, which barely responded to his will, to comfort his daughter.
Sensation had long since fled from his limbs.
He had even forgotten how to take a step.

Yet Kaiser pressed forward still.
Beyond the limits any human could endure.
Driven by nothing but an intense will.

“…Father…”

A voice smaller than a whisper.
One he could have easily mistaken for illusion.

Yet Kaiser recognized that voice instantly.
This was no mistake.
It couldn’t possibly be a mistake.

How could he not be certain, no matter how faint the voice was?
It was his daughter’s voice.

“Don’t cry.”

Kaiser whispered.
He wanted to speak louder, but his voice cracked and wouldn’t come out properly.

“Dad’s here. So don’t cry.”

That was the moment.

“Dad… Dad, Dad—!!”

Saelika’s voice rang out clearer and more vivid than ever before.

The instant Kaiser lifted his head toward that voice, an intense force washed over him like a tidal wave.
It was a power as piercing and merciless as death itself.

Yet within it, Kaiser felt the warmth of his daughter.
So infinitely precious, so tender, and yet boundlessly strong—.

Kaiser felt his soul—pierced, torn, cut, and melting away—being healed.
Just as that child had purified him long ago when he was tainted by demons.

At that distant and longing memory, Kaiser smiled.
People tell me I must protect you.

‘But you’ve always been protecting me.’

My daughter, stronger than anyone else.
I will always return to your side.

It was the will of a soul stronger than any other, one that had endured the weight of life and death across eons of time.
Kaiser crossed the boundary of death, guided by his daughter.

* * *

Inside Kaiser’s Room.
Kaiser’s eyes, which had remained firmly shut and showed no sign of opening, twitched.

“…!”

The moment Kaiser’s eyes opened wide, his daughter’s face came into view.
It was a face ravaged by tears.
He smiled.

“…I always knew my daughter was as strong as an angel, but I never thought she’d actually become one.”

Kaiser spoke upon seeing Saelika, whose wings and halo gleamed brilliantly from the use of her divine power.
Saelika tried to smile, but her face kept contorting, and she failed.

“Hic, sob….”
“I told you not to cry.”
“Waaaaahhh, Dad—!!”

Saelika threw herself into those broad, welcoming arms.
Her father’s embrace.

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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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