I, the Final Boss of the Beta Server! Chapter 122 : Admiration is the Emotion Farthest from Unders

Chapter 122: Admiration is the Emotion Farthest from Understanding — Grey

In the pitch-black night sky, rain had begun to fall at so unknown point.

The rain turned the already rarely traveled mountain path into a muddy ss, blurring the girl's vision as well.

Grey ran along the winding path up the mountain, dirty rainwater saring her pale cheeks, yet it did not halt her steps in the slightest.

And deep within Grey’s soul, that once elusive and intangible force of fate...

At this very mont, manifested into a warning as clear as day.

She would die.

She would die.

She would die.

It was a warning seemingly written in blood, searing itself into the depths of Grey’s soul—a foreboding from fate itself.

Silent calamity, chaos, and conspiracy… were quietly converging in Paradise, within this royal city.

And at the end of this winding path, at the peak of this mountain, lay the very core of the storm, the origin of all conflict and disaster.

If one wished to preserve themselves to the greatest extent, to survive the coming storm—

Then now, what Grey should do was return imdiately to the side of Leader Sisel, and seek shelter under the protection of this legendary Shoreguard.

To find a stronghold to ensure her safety… that had always been Grey’s belief and principle of action.

In her eyes, human settlents scattered across the continent were like packs of wolves in the wilderness, while she was a lone cub wandering among them.

So wolf packs were weak, devoured by stronger beasts of the wild, and when that happened, she would be forced to wander again… while others were powerful, with the strongest alpha wolf at their lead—joining such a pack ant safety.

This was how Grey had viewed the world before she t Rast.

Back then, the reason she had wanted to join the Shoreguards was because, in her understanding, the Shoreguards were a strong wolf pack in the wilderness, led by the strongest alpha—Sisel… and that joining them would bring her safety.

But—

At this very mont.

The beliefs and principles she once held dear, along with the instinctive drive for survival emanating from the depths of her soul…

All were cast aside by Grey.

She staggered as she ran, feet stumbling, muddy boots stamping out murky puddles along the mountain path.

The heavy rain continued to pour.

From a drizzle like strands of ox hair, it turned into a torrential downpour.

She had no idea how much ti had passed...

The seemingly endless winding path finally ca to an end.

Using up the last of her strength, Grey climbed over one final slope.

And then, she saw the silhouette standing at the peak of the cliff... dressed in a black trench coat.

He stood at the edge of the steep cliff, gazing down at the dark sea below crashing against the rocks, his shadow blending into the cliff itself.

It was Big Brother Rast.

Although she couldn’t see his face clearly due to his back facing her, she instantly recognized him from the vague outline of his figure.

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness… she made it in ti.

The worst possibility she had imagined hadn’t co to pass.

Big Brother Rast was still safe and sound, nothing had happened to him.

It seed that the legendary Gravekeeper had been intimidated by Leader Sisel and had not co here after all.

The last remnants of her stamina were spent climbing that final slope, and Grey’s body gave out.

She stumbled and fell, landing in the muddy water.

Her silver-gray hair was soaked with dirty water, and her clothes were covered in gri from head to toe, making her look even more disheveled than a beggar...

But at this mont, Grey’s heart was filled only with relief.

Relief that Big Brother Rast was safe.

However, she and Big Brother Rast were still far from being truly safe.

Though she had confird Big Brother Rast’s safety, the premonition of doom from the depths of her soul had not dissipated—it lood like a shadow over her heart.

This place would soon beco the center of the storm...

Therefore, she had to take Big Brother Rast and leave here imdiately.

With that thought in mind, Grey forced herself to endure the pain of falling on the rocky ground, raised her head through the pouring rain, and looked at the distant figure, about to speak.

But in the next instant—

Grey’s gaze suddenly froze.

As if sensing her presence behind him, Rast turned sideways at the cliff’s edge, revealing his face.

In his left hand was a dagger that seed to be forged from pure light, its radiant golden blade stained with a sar of crimson.

The front of his black trench coat, along with his face, was splattered with blood, and even the torrential rain could not wash away the stains.

In his right hand, Rast held a chess piece that glowed with a translucent, dusk-colored radiance.

The mont that dusky chess piece appeared, Grey’s soul scread in agony, and the power of fate flared madly, desperately issuing an alarm.

That piece was the very core of the premonition, the source of all calamity.

It was the "Death God’s Relic"—the very object Grey had intended to steal from the royal palace based on Big Brother Rast’s intel, only to find a trap instead, leading to the death of Shadow Servant Onee-san who had tried to save her.

The words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

Cold raindrops struck Grey’s cheeks, her heart sinking with them into the mud.

Countless pieces of information that she had known all along, yet forcibly ignored and suppressed, now exploded within her, washing over her mind and leaving her in a blank daze.

Why, even though she had bypassed all the restrictions with the help of Shadow Servant Onee-san, was the Shoreguards' infiltration of the palace still discovered, and a trap laid in advance?

Why, although Big Brother Rast went up the mountain with Queen Helen, was he now the only one left on the peak? And what about that blood?

Why was the Death God’s Relic, which the intel said was in the royal vault, now in Big Brother Rast’s hand?

From beginning to end, Leader Sisel’s judgnt had never been wrong.

It was Big Brother Rast who had deliberately fed them false intel and leaked the Shoreguard team’s plan to the enemy in advance.

He had caused the entire Lost Paradise operation to fail and placed all the mbers in grave danger. If not for Leader Sisel’s tily arrival, the whole Shoreguard team would have been dood.

In truth, Grey should have realized it long ago.

She had simply been lying to herself, unwilling to accept the possibility.

Grey forced her head up and looked toward the cliff’s edge.

Under the black sky and violent rain, the tall silhouette of the young man now appeared utterly unfamiliar.

“Why?”

“Why did you send back false information?”

“Why did you leak the team’s operation?”

Grey’s anguished cries were lost in the storm, her voice so hoarse and cracked even she could barely recognize it.

“Why… did you betray the Shoreguards?”

“Answer , Big Brother Rast!”

“Tell it was all a misunderstanding caused by my own stupidity, just a coincidence, not your true intent!”

“Tell … you were forced by that legendary Gravekeeper, and had no choice!”

But facing the girl’s hoarse voice that sounded almost like pleading—

Rast did not give her the answer she longed for.

“Why… huh?”

The young man slowly lowered his gaze, staring at the dusky chess piece in his hand.

His handso yet indifferent face now bore an expression that felt utterly foreign to Grey: “Of course, it’s for the Death God’s Relic—the divine remains.”

“To transcenders, it’s the key to the path of legends, a treasure to ascend in one leap.”

“And to , it’s also the chance to beco a Gravekeeper…”

“To truly reach the divine domain, unbound by the end of the epoch, a stepping stone to eternity and immortality.”

CRACK—

Even though she had already sensed it in her heart...

Hearing those unfiltered words from Rast himself—

Amidst the chaotic rainfall, Grey clearly heard the sound of sothing breaking deep within her soul.

“All for… sothing like that?”

Beneath the dark sky and the raging storm, Grey lowered her head.

Her voice trembled slightly, as if holding back a volcanic surge of emotion.

“The path to legend… can’t it be reached by one’s own strength, without relying on external power?”

“To gain overwhelming power, beco a god, live eternally… are these things really so important?”

“So important that they’re worth betraying the trust of comrades, the life of Shadow Servant Onee-san who did everything for you?”

She suddenly raised her head, her gray hair soaked in rain, plastered to her cheeks, water dripping onto the rocks with a soft plop.

Her voice turned from sorrowful wailing into a furious roar.

Those erald eyes burned with fire, though that fire reflected a fragile admiration crumbling apart.

“If that’s your true wish…”

“Then what about the Big Brother Rast in my mory, the one who disregarded everything, even injured his own eyes, just to pull out of the endless illusion of Frostwater Town?”

“What about the Big Brother Rast who personally showed the true aning of being a Shoreguard… who planted in my heart the admiration for the Shoreguards?”

“My admiration for you, the desire to join the Shoreguards that you sparked in , all the effort and sweat I poured into that goal… all the pride and fulfillnt I felt after joining the Shoreguards.”

“Because of our reunion, I began to look forward to the next day… I began to yearn for returning to Watchtower Spire after this mission, to continue the life we once had…”

“All of this—what does it an to you?”

“In your eyes, , the Shoreguards, Shadow Servant Onee-san, those teammates who trusted and admired you… what do we count for?”

…

The girl’s cries pierced through the rain, echoing over the cliff.

But facing Grey’s furious questions, Rast’s expression remained unmoved.

He silently raised that illusory chess piece.

In the next mont, a flicker of blue light passed through Rast’s eyes.

And the aura around him suddenly changed.

The gentle and calm presence that once resembled a “tower” vanished… replaced by deathly gloom.

Cold, silent, pale… as if eternal nothingness.

Exactly like the forr Queen of the Underworld—Helen.

“The Fool’s Library” activated, and all his Original Texts were replaced, now drawn from the newly acquired “Death God: Akxia” card, inheriting the abilities of the Death God sequence.

Six Original Texts of the Death sequence were equipped simultaneously.

In an instant, the air around Rast shimred with a twilight hue.

Using “The Fool’s Library,” he temporarily transford himself into a transcender belonging to the high-rank “Death God” sequence.

After preparing, Rast grasped the Death God’s Holy Grail.

Then, he raised the crimson-gold blade and pressed it against his left chest.

Blood sprayed as the blade of light pierced through his sternum without resistance.

From the ruptured flesh and shattered bone… his crimson heart pulsed vividly.

For any normal person, even a common transcender… a wound like that would be instantly fatal.

But at this mont, Rast’s expression didn’t change.

【Death God: Pale Body (Unlocked)】

【As an apostle of death, you possess the ability to resist death temporarily】

【Your body has no "fatal weakness," and injuries are distributed across your entire body, rendering you immune to most common diseases】

This was the fifth-tier ability in the high-rank “Death God” sequence.

And now, the Pale Body granted Rast the ability to remain active even with his heart pierced, though his complexion had paled slightly.

Then, he pressed the illusory chess piece—the Death God’s Holy Grail—into his living heart.

Though the piece glowed with divine light, it lted into his body the mont it touched his heart without any resistance.

In the next instant, the wound on his chest began to twist.

The gash inflicted by the blade of light rapidly healed, returning to normal in re monts.

After finishing, he turned again.

Through the pouring rain and the gap of the cliff—

He looked down at the girl sitting in the mud, her fair face stained with filth, erald eyes filled with shattering, disillusionnt, and fury.

The crimson-gold blade sliced through the curtain of rain, spinning deftly at Rast’s fingertips.

Then, the dagger, stained with both his and Helen’s heart’s blood, was pressed against the silver wing insignia bearing the Shoreguards’ emblem.

“So, you still don’t understand… Grey.”

His indifferent words ca through the rain, accompanied by the screech of tal grinding.

The crimson-gold blade burned into the tal it touched, carving through the badge.

On the Shoreguards’ silver wing insignia, he left a deep and clear mark—symbolizing “betrayal.”

“Admiration is the emotion farthest from understanding.”