Youngest on Top - Chapter 287

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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 287

Saelika gazed quietly into those eyes.
Her lips parted of their own accord.

“Why?”

Kaishurit laughed.

“Because I’m desperate.”

It was strange.
It was the same reason as everyone else, yet Kaishurit’s “because I’m desperate” sounded entirely different.
No, it was different.

‘Those eyes—.’

“So go. I will….”

Kaishurit’s words trailed off.
Saelika’s hand pressed firmly against his chest.
The fabric of his collar rustled softly as it brushed.

Kaishurit’s eyes came into view, closer than before.

‘—A little closer.’

She wanted to see from closer still.
The heavy robe crumpled beneath her touch.
Golden hair cascaded down onto Kaishurit’s shoulder.
And then.

Their lips met.

It was the first time she had seen Kaishurit’s eyes from such an intimate distance.
Her entire field of vision filled with those mysterious starlit depths, and truly—

‘Beautiful.’

Kaishurit froze, unable to respond.
The warmth of his breath and the infinitely soft sensation stripped away all five of his senses.

The moment that tender warmth began to slip away.
Kaishurit grasped at it without thinking.

His large hand threaded through Saelika’s hair.
Fingers cradling her cheek.
Breath clashing desperately against breath.
The body in his arms trembled.

This innocent angel understood nothing of what this meant, what it signified.
But he would never let go.

Kaishurit held Saelika greedily close.
Until her hesitant, trembling hands finally wrapped around his back.

.
.

Saelika never left Kaishurit’s side.

Kaishurit, Ekkelan, and Noishurael.
An angel had walked alongside the three great heroes whose deeds would be recorded for generations to come.
It was a tale that would later be called humanity’s greatest myth.

* * *

Where there is meeting, parting must always follow.

Kiiieeeeeee—!
A chillingly heavy cry echoed across all directions.
People collapsed, unable to endure even a single cry.

‘Something is wrong.’

Saelika looked up at the enemy before her and thought.
It was so enormous that it didn’t even fit within her field of vision.

An abyssal body.
Thousands of eyes filling that entire form.
Massive wings of membrane obscured the sky.

‘A demon dragon of this caliber exists in the mortal realm?!’

The pact was ancient.
With the passage of time, cracks inevitably formed within it.
Thus the mortal realm grew turbid, and monsters ran rampant.

‘But the mortal realm cannot be the same as the demon realm.’

A demon dragon of this magnitude could not simply cross over.

‘Unless someone from the Heavenly Realm aided it….’

That was when it happened.

“Lika!”

At Noishurael’s cry, Saelika snapped back to awareness.
The demon dragon’s gaping maw was aimed directly at her.
Turbid energy gathered in the creature’s mouth, potent enough to obliterate space itself.

‘Breath attack!’

Saelika threw herself aside with a grimace.

“Come here, quickly!”

Eidan Ekellan gestured for Saelika to join him.
She hesitated as she entered the invisible magic field he had conjured.

The breath’s range was vast.
More importantly, she could not deceive the demon dragon’s eyes at this distance.
Not unless someone else became the target instead of her.

“…!”

Realization struck, and Sae turned her head.
Kaishurit stood before the Demon Dragon, blocking its path.
He intended to withstand the dragon’s breath alone!

“Stay here.”

Noishurael wrapped his arms tightly around Sae as she lunged forward.

“Let me go!”

Sae’s fierce cry caught in her throat.
Noishurael’s face, always expressionless, was now contorted with anguish.
Ekkelan’s jaw, perpetually smooth and cunning, was clenched rigid.
They too shared Sae’s despair, no less than she did.

In Sae’s vision, Kaishurit stood alone before the colossal Demon Dragon.
A breath of pure darkness eclipsed the world.
Sae’s pupils trembled violently.

‘No.’

Her soul reacted before her mind could comprehend.
Sae felt something within her surge and explode.
A power she had never known existed erupted from deep within.

“Lika?!”

Pristine white wings unfurled from Sae’s back.

* * *

Brilliant light pressed down upon the pitch-black breath, consuming it in radiance.
A force overwhelmingly fierce and savage.
Yet that light simultaneously enveloped Kaishurit with gentleness.

In that radiant light, Kaishurit perceived it.
His own limitations—that he was a being who transcended humanity.
He saw more clearly, heard more acutely, felt more deeply.
In every aspect, it was so.
And in this moment, his eyes truly ‘saw’.

Who Sae was.
Even memories from her earliest childhood that she herself could not recall.
And most importantly—

“….”

—the very presence watching from above with that unpleasant gaze, spying down upon them!

Kaishurit gripped his sword tightly.
What he perceived was not limited to that alone.

What he could accomplish.
And what the consequences of those actions would be.
He saw it all.

Despite perceiving all of it, Kaishurit unleashed his blade without hesitation.

* * *

“Krraaaaaaagh!”

Parmanase clutched at his eyes.

‘A human’s blade reaching me…?!’

It was absurd.
Even if he had twisted spacetime to spy upon the mortal realm, how could someone exploit that very distortion to strike with such precision?
And for that attack to actually wound him?!

“P-Parmanase, my lord…!”

The angel attending to Parmanase rushed forward in panic.

“How dare you! Divine punishment must be delivered at once!”
“Silence!”

Parmanace roared fiercely.
Striking that man with divine punishment was impossible.

“If I unleash divine punishment, it would be advertising what I’ve done!”

Since I couldn’t say it was impossible, I made up a different excuse.
The angel bowed his head, saying, “I-I apologize.”

‘Was that power just now not from Sae, but from that man?’

A dazzling light erupted, reaching even the Heavenly Realm.
I thought Sae had revealed the power that had been sealed within her….

‘That wasn’t it.’

I lowered my hand that had covered my eyes.
Eyes stained with blood were revealed.

‘Our eyes met.’

That man had definitely seen me.

The trials I had orchestrated to torment Sae.
All those trials had tempered that man’s soul fiercely, forging it and pushing him beyond his limits.
That man’s very existence had become legend!

‘A human who has gained divinity…is it?’

Truly a unique existence.
All gods were created as divine beings by the Creator.
A human gaining divinity and becoming a god through their own power—it was unprecedented.

The birth of such a magnificent being could never please Parmanace.

‘But it matters no longer.’

With such tremendous power used to attack the Heavenly Realm, there would be no path to godhood.
There would be no opportunity to rebuild such standing again.

‘A being who saw beyond the world’s boundaries and perceived my very existence—he couldn’t possibly be ignorant of this.’

He must have foreseen the consequences of his own actions.
Yet still, he attacked me.

‘A fool. Abandoning godhood itself.’

* * *

Kaishurit’s blade cleaved through the abyss.
The Demon Dragon fell.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

The people erupted in cheers.
Kaishurit’s name echoed across the clearing.
Among the excited masses, peculiar whispers began to spread.

“You might think I’m mad, but I swear I saw an angel! There was definitely one!”
“Really?! I saw one too?!”

Noishurael pulled the robe covering Saelika’s form tighter.
Ekkelan concealed Saelika’s appearance through an invisibility spell.

“Is the angel standing beside our Emperor Kaishurit?”
“Blessings upon the great hero’s future!”

Despite the invisibility magic cast upon her, Kaishurit walked directly toward Saelika.
Ekkelan was not surprised.
Kaishurit had always seen everything.

Kaishurit took Saelika from Noishurael’s arms and held her close.
While everyone around them bustled with excitement and joy, Kaishurit remained silent.
Ekkelan and Noishurael observed him quietly.

“Everyone, step back.”

The two of them couldn’t bring themselves to stop Kaishurit.
Soon, only Kaishurit and Saelika remained where the Demon Dragon had fallen.

* * *

Kaishurit gazed down at Saelika cradled in his arms.
She looked endearing, sleeping peacefully.

He sat upon a solid stone slab while holding Saelika close.
The slab, which resembled an altar in appearance, was actually a byproduct of the Demon Dragon.

After staring for a while, Saelika’s eyes opened.
Her gaze was still hazy with sleep.

“Mmm… Shuri?”

She smiled brightly the moment she saw him.
Kaishurit loved this smile.
He whispered.

“Tell me one last thing.”
“One last thing?”
“Your name. Tell me your name.”

Saelika blinked.
How had he known that ‘Lika’ wasn’t her real name?

“Saelika.”
“…”
“I am Saelika, Shuri.”

A sudden thought crossed Kaishurit’s mind, and he smiled.

Saelika had always called him ‘Shuri’.
Even after learning it wasn’t his true name.
Even though everyone else called him Kaishurit.
Saelika always called him by the name he had taught her.

“Saelika.”

Meanwhile, everyone called Saelika by the name “Lika”—the name she had taught them, not her true name.
Only he called her by her real name.

“Saelika.”

Only he would ever call her by that true name.
And that would remain true in the days to come.
He would never reveal it to anyone else.

Saelika blinked her eyes several times before lifting her head sharply.

Smack.
With an adorable sound, their lips met and parted.
In an instant, Saelika stole a kiss from Kaishurit’s lips and laughed.

“Call me again.”
“Saelika.”

Smack.

“Saelika.”

Smack.
With their lips pressed together, Saelika giggled softly.

After something seemed to explode within me, my memories shattered.
My body ached as though it had been battered, and my mind felt dull, yet my heart soared with joy.
Being with Kaishurit like this always filled me with such happiness.
It was miraculous.

Kaishurit brushed back Saelika’s hair as he spoke.

“I will build the Imperial Palace here.”

Kaishurit was already being called the Emperor.

“Where your power remains.”
“My power…?”

Kaishurit placed his hand silently on Saelika’s chest.
A crystalline, warm energy seeped deeply into her body.

“I’m so sleepy….”
“Sleep a little longer.”

A familiar fragrance.
A familiar embrace.
A familiar voice.
Saelika closed her eyes in comfort.

Kaishurit smiled as he watched her.
Yet the eyes that had always marveled at Saelika’s beauty were now twisted mercilessly.

“Saelika.”

The call resembled a parched cry.

Uuuuuuung—!
The stone altar resonated in response to his power.
Lines and curves began spreading outward from the altar.
Soon, a massive Rift that filled the entire clearing was complete.

Kaishurit felt all remaining divine essence drain from his body.
Yet he felt no regret whatsoever.
He exhausted every last grain of his divine essence to seal Saelika’s power.
Along with her memories.

Now, with this, he could never become an absolute god.
He had never harbored the desire to become one in the first place.
So the ache piercing his chest was not because of that.

‘Only.’

Kaishurit lowered his head.

‘The time I could have spent with you—that is what disappears.’

Only that pierced his chest.

‘But you’ll be safe.’

That was enough.

Kaishurit pressed his lips against Sae’s, which were fading away bit by bit.
Until she disappeared completely.

* * *

Gasp!
I drew in a sharp breath.
So many events and emotions and memories swirled together, overflowing within me all at once.

‘That’s why, that’s why it was…!’

It felt like every puzzle piece was clicking into place.
I had no memory of descending to the mortal realm and meeting Shuri.

Only a memory of fleeing from the Brothers and accidentally hitting my head hard, which left me bedridden.
Parmanase had come to check on me personally back then, and I thought it strange at the time….

‘He must have come to verify if I had any power.’

He was meticulous.
But Parmanase sensed nothing from me.
So he must have abandoned his suspicions.

‘Shuri saved me.’

Then, and now.

I clenched my fists tight.
Shuri wasn’t merely descended from legend.
Shuri himself was legend.
And.

‘…I’ve never been anything but a burden to Shuri, then or now—.’

“Sae.”

My thoughts scattered at the sound of that voice calling my name.
I reflexively lifted my head.
Artemia was gazing down at me.

Ah.

My mouth opened, but no sound emerged.
The moment I met those tender, compassionate blue eyes.
My body instinctively shrank back.

Shuri lost his divinity because of me.
And Artemia, because of me—.

“I….”

My voice trembled.

“Someone like me….”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak the rest, too ashamed of my own sacrilege.
Artemia’s expression crumbled.

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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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