My Students Regret It After I Retired

59 – Belin Meets Leos Again, and His Old Students

Defeat, to one who always wins, brings a fundamental despair.

Humans feel extreme stress when they deviate from what’s familiar. And when that stress reaches its peak, they begin to feel severe frustration and helplessness. Ferratone was now in such a state.

He was always the winner, the dominator. He had beaten and killed others, but being on the receiving end was extremely rare.

‘It’s fundamentally different. It’s not just that he’s good at fighting. Literally, he’s a human weapon born to kill someone.’

Everyone is born with talent. Those born with top-tier talent are called geniuses. And when effort is added to that talent, a monster is born that is difficult to even envy. And when that monster evolves one step further, you start to feel awe.

An unreachable, distant realm. With every repetition of the conviction that no matter how many thousands or tens of thousands of fights he has, he would never be able to win, the thought clawed through Feratone’s mind, and he kept repeating to himself:

‘I am of the Heavenly Assembly…I am a member of the Heavenly Assembly…’

[You? You’re a piece of shit even the Heavenly Assembly treats like trash.]

The fact that he was facing Leos, the fact that he would never be able to win, caused Feratone to hallucinate from the extreme stress. What he saw was an illusion of Artan.

Artan’s illusion laughed at Feratone and spoke to him.

[Feratone. I told you, it’s a sin for ambiguous guys like you to join our Heavenly Assembly. If the Great One hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed trash like you a long time ago.]

“Artan… Don’t…talk nonsense…”

[Nonsense? Does it seem like nonsense? Look, you haven’t even managed to put a scratch on Leos’s body.]

“You too… You got the Blood Siphon Sword taken from you… If you hadn’t lost your sword…!”

[Do you really think so? That you lost because of the sword? You couldn’t even properly block the toy he used to wrap his sword with the chains, let alone the Blood Siphon Sword? Feratone, remember this. We members of the Heavenly Assembly don’t recognize you as a half-baked thing. You’re one of the trash without qualifications I always talk about. Even if your martial prowess is exceptional, you are not qualified to be a member of the Heavenly Assembly since you can’t even properly utilize your ability. Your value is lower than Drezar’s.]

-Grrrind…

Feratone bit his tongue hard. The bitter taste of blood began to swirl in his mouth, and he began to regain his senses.

“Abilities… Abilities… that damn ability, damn it…”

Abilities that transcend humans. Originally, humans could only use magic or special abilities with artifacts, but most members of the Heavenly Assembly possessed such abilities.

A prime example of someone with an ability was Drezar.

His outstanding senses not only allowed him to predict natural disasters in advance, but he even possessed the ability to foresee his own destiny to some extent. And he could sense the aura and fate of people, without relying on the power of artifacts.

If he didn’t have such an ability, Drezar’s martial prowess alone would never have allowed him to join the Heavenly Assembly. Conversely, even though Feratone had superior martial prowess, he was always overshadowed by other members who possessed both abilities and martial prowess.

Moreover, the limitations of Feratone, who was merely skilled in martial arts, were clear. The moment he met someone stronger than him, his worth was lost.

Drezar’s sensory abilities were useful regardless of an opponent’s strength. But Feraton was evaluated as nothing more than trash before an overwhelming powerhouse.

‘I’m not trash. Celestial Assembly… I’m a member of the Celestial Assembly…’

That’s what the members of the Celestial Assembly would say. They always called Feraton a failure. Even Drezar assessed Feraton’s fate as [one dragged by fate].

“This time, the upper-left.”

As soon as Feraton heard Leos’s words, he raised his arm, pointing his sword at him. But immediately after, a fishy smell of blood and bloody marks spread everywhere.

Leos shook off the blood on his chain-sword, then prepared for his final attack.

“Forehead, this time I attack directly.”

“Haha…”

A hollow laugh burst from Feraton’s mouth. Even with the attack route and method declared in advance, he couldn’t block it. Like a person tied tight in front of a tank, there was no other way but to wait for his body to be ripped to shreds by the overwhelming difference in power.

Escape? Impossible. Fight? He was no match. Defend? If he tried to block, it would be pierced; if he tried to dodge, it would follow and stab him with the sword.

Feraton, covered in blood, looked at Drezar. And spoke to him.

“Drezar, one last question. You said I’m one dragged by fate. The one who created the Celestial Assembly, you said he’s the ruler of fate. Then Leos…what the hell is that monster over there?”

Drezar was silent for a moment, then said with a fearful expression.

“The end.”

“…”

“The terminator of fate. The one who ends all things. That’s how he looks to me.”

“Your sticking with Leos, is it because you think he can defeat him?”

“I don’t know. But one thing is certain, no fate that this one cannot end, can be ended by anyone.”

“That’s fucked up.”

Ferraton lunged at Leos without another word. He put every ounce of his strength into raising his sword, then brought it crashing down. The blade sliced through the air, the force of it bearing down. Ferraton’s strike, aimed straight at Leos without any attempt at defense, never connected.

Instead, Ferraton was struck by Leos’s chain blade and fell heavily to the earth.

*Thud.* The man’s corpse vanished in an instant, leaving behind only scattered clothing and a broken sword.

Leos slowly approached the remains, staring down at them as Drejar beside him explained,

“All members of the Celestial Assembly are bound by a curse that causes their bodies to vanish upon death. That curse was placed upon us by the one who governs us. He said, ‘Those who fail to steer their destiny are unworthy of even leaving the faintest trace.’”

“Who is this ‘he’ you speak of?”

“He is the founder of the Celestial Assembly, and we dare not speak his name. We always refer to him as ‘he.’ Another title for him is the Celestial Overseer.”

“I thought you were the Empire’s Knight Commander, why are you talking about this Celestial Assembly now? Where exactly do you belong?”

“I have been operating under the Celestial Assembly for more than 15 years. The Celestial Overseer ordered me to infiltrate the Empire. I started as a practice knight, then a knight, and after continuing to climb, I reached the position of Imperial Knight Commander. The Celestial Assembly is my true affiliation. Knight Commander is merely my disguise.”

“So everything the Imperial Knight Commander Drejar has ever shown was a lie?”

Drejar’s face twisted briefly before he slowly replied,

“Not all of it…not all of it was a lie. Unlike the Celestial Overseer, I truly wished to make the Empire a better place.”

“The same as that scum following Vermon?”

“Perhaps you are unaware, but Emperor Vermon was not always a tyrant. He was a benevolent ruler, whose heart was filled with concern and care for his people. He was the shining future of the Empire, the Empire itself. He was the one who woke me from my delusions within the Celestial Assembly.”

“That piece of garbage who sacrifices his knights to protect his artifacts and treasures? That’s a joke.”

“…Of course, he has fallen very far after many incidents. But I believed. I believed he might return to his former self. But…it is not true. The sovereign who shared that bright past… Emperor Vermon is dead, and the current Emperor Vermon is a completely different person. It took over five years to accept this fact. But now… I will not stand idly by any longer. For the sake of the Empire…”

Leos grabbed Drejar by the throat, slamming him into a tree.

The violent force of the impact made Drejar cough up blood, hacking and wheezing. Leos pressed down on his neck and whispered,

“I despise every single one of you who claims to act ‘for the Empire.’ You should know the depths of depravity that Keltazar of the Empire’s Shadow Corps and his underlings have sunk to, hiding behind that same excuse. Tell me, imprisoning the innocent, or killing or maiming anyone who refuses to become a tool of the Emperor, is that also for the Empire? Does ‘serving the Empire’ justify every single one of those atrocities?”

“N-no… Of…of course…not…”

As Leos’s handprint began to press clearly into Drezar’s neck, Rakart, who was beside him, restrained Leos, saying,

“Leos, if this b*stard dies, there’s no way to learn about the Cheonsang Society. Calm down for now.”

“Get your hand off me.”

Leos glared at Rakart, his eyes bloodshot, but he didn’t back down and spoke again.

“Be rational, Leos. The Cheonsang Society b*stards knew all your comrades’ names. Keep that in mind. Killing him is easy. You could crush him with your hand right now and he’d die. But after you kill him? What will you do then? We just learned the name of the Cheonsang Society Lord now, what can we do?”

“…”

Leos took a deep breath, as if understanding, and nodded.

“Thanks. Now get out of the way, I’ll take care of it.”

Only then did Rakart step back, joining Paron.

“Let’s get out of here for now. I’ll calm down while we’re on the move. Drezar. You’d better think about what you’re going to tell me on the way, if you value your life.”

“My life is not precious. But I will tell you everything. For the empire…not for the Emperor…but for the true future of our Feren Empire.”

“…”

Leos glared, but Drezar looked back with eyes filled with conviction.

“Let’s move out.”

Leos said this and began to gather the surrounding baggage, one by one.

Then.

Paron, who was guarding the perimeter, grimaced and whispered to Leos,

“Leos-nim, enemies are closing in from the rear.”

“I felt them already.”

With the death of Ferraton, a member of the Cheonsang Society, the sound and energy blocking artifact he deployed had also vanished due to the interruption of mana supply. As a result, the imperial forces had detected Leos’s group’s energy and were approaching.

Leos slowly lowered his sword, watching what was approaching. And not long after…

“…!”

Over hundreds of knights, they appeared, wielding tremendously huge artifacts and countless pieces of equipment. It was presumed they came to eliminate what they believed to be a monster, not a human, that had reappeared.

Leos met eyes with Velin at the center of the knights, and his former disciples.

Velin, staring at the blood-soaked Leos, muttered unconsciously,

“Le… Leos-nim…?”

Sirna, her hand covering her mouth, could only stare blankly at Leos.

And lastly, Enas.

Enas, as if possessed, slowly began to walk forward.

“Le… Leos-nim… it’s really Leos-nim, right…?”

At that moment, a knight at the back shouted,

“Don’t move! Form ranks! The target is Leos, for whom a nationwide arrest warrant has been issued. Emperor’s orders are to kill him if capture isn’t possible. Current situation indicates there are other forces besides Leos, making capture difficult. He will be killed on the spot.”

Dozens of long-range bombardment artifacts exploded simultaneously, surging towards Leos.

“You know, Leos-nim, you said before if we ever needed help, to tell you anything…”

Velin, as if hypnotized, started a conversation with Leos. Leos, looking directly at her, whispered,

“Velin. I clearly said.”

Leos, gripping his blood-soaked sword instead of his chain sword, took a step forward.

“If we meet again, we would be enemies.”