Translator: Dreamscribe

As the storm of light that had covered the sky subsided, a brilliant golden emblem appeared. The Lord of Greed, upon seeing the emblem, released a thick wave of Erosion, revealing his displeasure. In contrast, the heroes looking up at the sky all smiled and cheered.

Because it was an emblem known to all beings of Arsilan.

“Wow!”

“That’s Ella-nim’s emblem!”

“Ella-nim...!”

Ella’s emblem.

The golden emblem symbolizing peace and prosperity shone like the sun, illuminating the Empire of Evil. The Lord of Greed extended his sharp tentacles to tear the emblem apart, but he could not.

Kwoooom!

A shockwave swept through, annihilating all the tentacles that covered the sky. With an overwhelming magic power beyond imagination, the emblem of the Archmage appeared, slicing through space.

The emblem seen at the Archmage’s Research Lab.

The emblem of the Archmage, embracing all the colors of the world, brought hope to all beings of Arsilan.

“Haha.”

“At last....”

“We’ll finally see real magic.”

The heroes standing beside others heroes laughed aloud as they looked at the Archmage’s emblem.

After long years of endless torture, only pain and anguish remained etched on their faces like tattoos. Though they had been freed from the Lord of Greed, the shadows on their faces had not disappeared. However, the moment the Archmage’s emblem appeared, the heroes were finally able to smile.

A wave of vibrant joy.

A wave of joy that melted their hardened hearts reached them.

Fwaaash!

As Ella’s emblem and the Archmage’s emblem merged, all the light of the world shone across the land.

The Lord of Greed could not properly face the light.

It wasn’t just a visual display. It was a miracle born of all the power Jinwoo had gathered and the authority of Ella who was lending him her strength.

Fwaaash!

The light that illuminated the entire world converged in one place and formed the shape of a person.

The heroes were mesmerized.

A being of pure white.

He was as beautiful as if he had been born from light itself. The pure white robe looked as if it existed solely for him.

Swoosh!

When he extended his hand, the body of the Lord of Greed shook violently and was pushed backward. Just by releasing magic power, an immense pressure poured down on the Lord of Greed.

Countless monsters that had been pouring out were unable to withstand the pressure of the magic power and burst apart as if they had been dropped into a deep ocean.

[You are....]

The Lord of Greed recognized him instantly.

The soul within that body was unforgettable.

The one who had dropped a fragment of the great moon and hindered his ascension. The only being who had stolen the power and authority he had gathered and made him feel the sensation of pain.

The Enemy of Erosion.

[Ella’s Archmage....]

At last, the Archmage had descended to the earth.

The heroes were swept up in ecstasy.

“This....”

“I’m crying.”

“It’s so moving.”

Just seeing the Archmage made their hearts swell. An indescribable emotion surged over them like a tidal wave.

Archmage Jinwoo looked down at the heroes and pulled back the hood of his robe. Along with his brilliant golden hair, pointed ears were revealed.

Holiness, nobility, sanctity.

No words were enough to describe his appearance.

-Wow...

-An elf?

-Doesn’t seem like just an elf?

-So damn cool!!

-This is what an Archmage should be!

The appearance of the beautiful Archmage made the chat window pause for a moment before it shot up rapidly.

“Archmage-nim, you’re so beautiful!”

“Please get rid of that asshole!”

“That bastard, seriously...!”

The heroes poured out all the sorrow, anger, and hatred they had felt toward Jinwoo. The cries of over twenty million heroes made Jinwoo’s ears ring.

The Lord of Greed, who had been pushed back, seemed annoyed by the noise and spread his massive wings, unleashing countless thorns toward the heroes.

Kwagagaga!

A barrage of thorns fell like a shadow covering the sky and poured down upon the heroes.

With a faint smile, Jinwoo snapped his fingers, and all the thorns stopped in mid-air.

“I haven’t even said hello yet, how impatient.”

Jinwoo said that and waved his hand. The thorns that had stopped mid-air turned and flew straight back toward the Lord of Greed. The Lord of Greed blocked them easily with his wings, covering his body.

[How dare you...!]

The Lord of Greed glared at Jinwoo with the countless eyes attached to his body and wings.

Jinwoo ignored the Lord of Greed lightly.

“Heroes, I have heard your stories.”

Jinwoo's voice reached every hero.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Jinwoo offered comfort to the heroes.

His voice was warm. It carried pride and admiration for the heroes.

Sincerity.

The quiet, sincere comfort of the Archmage reached the hearts of the heroes.

Some heroes shed tears.

Others clenched their fists and shouted.

Charrreuk!

The Lord of Greed spread his wings and released an enormous energy. The pus flowing from the many eyes on his wings turned into corrupting blades, writhing menacingly.

Each of those blades was as large as a small building. Compared to them, Jinwoo looked incredibly small. It felt as if a lantern were standing before the sun.

Jinwoo could feel the heroes' concern.

Through the Soul Gate, and through the shared history of Arsilan Saga up to this moment, he could feel it even without words.

“Do not worry.”

A deeper smile spread on Jinwoo’s lips.

“Do not be afraid. There’s no need to be angry or sad.”

Jinwoo rolled his shoulders, loosening his body.

“The strongest Archmage you summoned is here now. So...”

Jinwoo reached forward with his hand.

“Enjoy it. You’ve earned that right.”

A massive magic circle appeared in front of him. The blue light of the swirling circle was as large as the Lord of Greed himself. Jinwoo clenched his fist while looking at the Lord of Greed.

Something is coming.

The Lord of Greed felt himself trembling.

For the first time since being born of Erosion, his body trembled.

Sensing the danger, the Lord of Greed launched all of his Erosion blades at Jinwoo.

Countless blades.

They split like multiplication, branching out like veins spreading into the sky. They reached out to erase Jinwoo from existence by deleting the space itself. Even as the attack, enough to erase an entire mountain range in an instant, came right up to his face, Jinwoo remained calm.

“From this moment on, I will grant all that you have wished for.”

The power to grant wishes.

That is what magic is.

Jinwoo declared to the heroes and clenched his fist.

He struck the magic circle with his fist, pouring into it all the emotions the heroes had held up until now.

Clang! Kwaaaaah!

Cracks formed in the massive magic circle, and then it shattered explosively in an instant. Ultra-high temperature flames surged toward the Lord of Greed.

The blades of Erosion, which seemed capable of shredding and corrupting even the greatest souls, melted away like paper and vanished.

Grand Magic.

A Grand Magic that only an Archmage could unleash was cast effortlessly.

Groooowl!

Clouds were erased, and space began to melt.

The world that had been tainted by the power of Erosion began to burn.

A small sun revealed itself on the ground. The magic power compressed inside the small sun generated immense gravity, pulling in only the Lord of Greed and Erosion.

Burn! And be devoured!

[K-Kugh!]

The massive body that had once looked down arrogantly on all existence trembled violently. Dozens of wings that had been spread in pride folded all at once and were sucked into the small sun.

As the wings caught fire, the Lord of Greed severed them and desperately retreated with all his strength.

But it was already too late.

As Jinwoo brought his hands together, the small sun compressed into a single point and exploded.

Kwaaaaaaaah!

Like the explosion of a supernova, a wave of light and flame dyed the sky and swept over the Lord of Greed.

A distant mountain range was blown away like sand, and the swamp of Erosion evaporated. Engulfed in flame, the Lord of Greed writhed in pain and shot upward. He looked like a comet soaring into the sky with a long tail.

[How could I... be humiliated like this... by a mere mortal!]

Having barely escaped the blast zone, the Lord of Greed began to regenerate his body as he looked down at the ground.

Strong.

The Archmage had become far stronger than before.

No matter how powerful the magic, it could never surpass Erosion. At most, it had only managed to erect a paltry Magic Barrier.

Why was that?

Why did such a trivial magic of Arsilan hurt so much? What had changed? Countless eyes spun wildly, searching for the cause.

Swoosh!

Jinwoo appeared above the Lord of Greed.

He looked down coldly at the creature filled with confusion.

In that moment, the Lord of Greed trembled.

Hundreds of thousands of eyes widened as if they might pop out, staring at Jinwoo. In all those gazes, shock, denial, and confusion surged.

[No way..., that can’t be!]

The Lord of Greed roared in rage.

That fury stemmed from inferiority and jealousy.

In the place where once existed his somewhat presentable gray wings, grotesque clusters of tentacles erupted. As if responding to his agitated emotions, they trembled violently, releasing a thick wave of Erosion around them.

[Ascension... How, how could a mere mortal achieve ascension...!]

Jinwoo, calmly floating in the air, overlapped with the sky that the Lord of Greed had long yearned for over countless years. Watching the creature’s reaction, Jinwoo only tilted his head.

[Tell me! How did you ascend with a mortal body! How..., how could someone like you!]

Jinwoo didn’t quite understand what the creature meant.

The Lord of Greed was desperate for an answer.

Throwing away his pride, he begged for an answer from a mortal. And so, there was one thing Jinwoo could tell him.

Whatever this 'ascension' he longed for was, it held no value to Jinwoo.

The only thing Jinwoo sought was.

“Games.”

[Games? Wh-what is that.]

Games.

Arsilan Saga.

A smile appeared at the corners of Jinwoo’s lips.

Just thinking about games made him happy.

They always made his heart flutter with joy.

Playing games was fun.

Making games brought him indescribable happiness.

And showing the game to others and watching their reactions brought an unspeakably beautiful kind of joy. That’s why Jinwoo could say it with confidence.

He could answer that creature’s question clearly.

“My everything.”

A magic circle appeared beneath Jinwoo’s feet, engulfing the Lord of Greed. A boundless cold froze not only Erosion, but space and time as well.

Kwaaaaah!

A blizzard that could freeze all things swept across the sky.

The Lord of Greed’s body froze over, tilted sideways, and then crashed to the ground.

The Lord of Greed had sustained a massive wound. His body was shattered, exposing his inner flesh.

But more painful than the wound was his crushed pride.

When he had abandoned his ascension, and now again.

The Lord of Greed had tasted the humiliation of falling from the sky twice.

White snow fell.

“Kya!”

“W-Whoaaaaa!”

“He got totally wrecked!”

“Nice!”

-Is this even magic?

-This is insane....

-It’s on a whole other level.

Perhaps annoyed by the heroes’ cheers, the Lord of Greed immediately stood back up. He tightly gripped a golden shard within his body using his tentacles. His inner flesh swelled, rapidly regenerating.

Jinwoo descended before the Lord of Greed.

The creature still seemed desperate to ascend to the sky, forcibly using Ella’s authority to accumulate power.

A higher being of Erosion was immortal.

No matter how many wounds it sustained, it would quickly recover with time. Just like the Lords of Erosion before it, its soul had not disappeared.

And that made it all the better.

Because it meant he could torment it forever.

Jinwoo summoned his magic and began casting spells.

This time, he would speak on behalf of the heroes.

“This one’s for Mary!”

Kwaggagak!

From thousands of magic circles, Grand Magic rained down.

“This one’s for the Empress!”

Flames, lightning, ice, and storms swept through the surroundings. Though the Lord of Greed continued regenerating, Jinwoo’s magic continued relentlessly.

[Uuuurgh!]

So who were Mary and the Empress?

The Lord of Greed tried to scream that, but the barrage of magic left him no room to think.

‘Its regeneration is faster than I expected.’

It was a stalemate of destruction and recovery.

As expected, even Grand Magic alone couldn’t finish it. But Jinwoo felt no impatience at all.

Arsilan Saga.

All the heroes had worked together to bring Episode 3 to a happy ending.

[U-Uugh! It’s... useless! I am immortal....]

Fwaash!

The rapidly regenerating body suddenly stopped. Inside the creature, a fragment forged from Ella’s authority sparkled. At that moment, space split open, and someone appeared.

She was bound in chains, her head lowered.

“Huh?”

“Is that...?”

“Ella-nim?”

-Isn’t that Ella-nim?

-She was holding back the Erosion!

-Aaaah! O Goddess!

It was Ella, the goddess who brought light to Arsilan.

Though she was injured and bowed under chains, a faint smile could still be seen on her face.

‘Arsilan Saga....’

The voice of the goddess was heard.

It was filled with joy. In that moment, every hero felt a shiver run down their spine.

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Ella-nim!”

As the cheers and cries of the heroes reached her, Ella’s hand moved slightly.

Twitch!

The chains binding Ella began to tremble. The Lord of Greed let out a scream and forced his body to regenerate. Immediately after, space closed again and Ella’s figure vanished.

Something felt off.

[U-Uuuuurgh!]

The Lord of Greed became unstable.

His body swelled and burst repeatedly, while masses of tentacles spewed forth, vomiting out the monsters he had consumed over time. He tried to resist by releasing waves of Erosion, but it was futile.

Jinwoo descended in front of the heroes and the heroes of Arsilan.

He was no longer alone.

By his side stood countless heroes and heroes burning with vengeance. All of them wanted to take revenge with their own hands.

The heroes raised their weapons.

The Legion of Vengeance joined them as well.

“Heroes! Now you know what to do, don’t you?”

When Jinwoo asked, the heroes looked at the torrent of monsters and the Lord of Greed and smiled.

The atmosphere among the heroes shifted.

“So this is Phase 3?”

“Thanks for skipping Phase 2!”

“Now this feels more balanced.”

-Keugh!

-Let’s go!

-Phase 3 has begun!

The heroes’ expressions turned fierce.

The madness they had always held inside was now tempered and controlled.

Were they truly heading toward a happy ending?

They had to guide this newly discovered route to its happy ending. The heroes steeled their resolve.

“I’ll clear the path.”

As Jinwoo reached out his hand, the Soul Gate pierced through the Erosion-drenched sky and revealed itself. Responding to his will, it radiated a brilliant light and lent him strength.

The Soul Gate was the power of the heroes.

The traces left behind by heroes who had crossed between both worlds would forever be recorded in myth as the Arsilan Saga.

“Never stop.”

And I will never let it stop.

KWAHHHH!

A massive path leading to the Lord of Greed opened before the heroes. It was wide enough for every hero here to ascend together. Though most of his magic power had been consumed, Jinwoo had no worries.

[The Archmage has opened a path toward the Lord of Greed.]

*Movement speed increased by 4x.

*Attack power increased by 3x.

*Defense power increased by 3x.

The moment the heroes stepped onto the path created by Jinwoo, they felt power surge within them. Like a drawn bowstring, tension reached its peak.

“Go!”

As Jinwoo’s voice echoed, the heroes inhaled in unison, then shouted as if on cue.

“For Arsilan!”

“For Arsilan!”

They would create a happy ending for Arsilan no matter what!

The heroes began charging forward as one. The heroes raced alongside them down the pure white path.

Monsters flowed from the Lord of Greed and defiled the path.

Swoosh!

The moment those monsters set foot on the white path, magic surged from the ground and bound them.

KWA-DU-DU-DUK!

When the charge born from overwhelming speed reached the bound monsters, they were crushed far too easily, almost pathetically.

-Keep running!

-This is insane!

-If only I were a few levels higher!!

A thrilling pleasure shook the heroes’ entire bodies. But they didn’t get carried away. They didn’t waver. They only pushed forward, accelerating even more toward the Lord of Greed.

[Uuugh! You filthy insects...!]

Sensing the crisis, the Lord of Greed created massive tentacles and hurled them toward the heroes.

But nothing could stop them. Jinwoo appeared in front of the massive tentacles and summoned a magic circle. As space distorted, the enormous tentacles were drawn into the circle.

GrrrRRRRGH!

Like blades spinning in a blender, they were shredded from within, and the remains spewed out behind.

When it came to blocking attacks, he had absolute confidence.

Because it was what he had done all his life.

Jinwoo blocked every attack the Lord of Greed unleashed.

“We’re almost there!”

“Damn, it’s huge!”

“Finally feels like we’re hunting something worth it!”

The great Archmage is protecting us!

So don’t slow down!

Keep running!

The Lord of Greed spewed out unspeakable horrors and forcibly used Ella’s authority. With his mangled wings barely extended, he tried to rise into the air again.

Fsssh!

In that moment, an Invasion Stone sliced through space beside Jinwoo and bound the Lord of Greed in chains.

Jinwoo had absorbed the Gate of Invasion during the Great War, and he had already deciphered the creature’s will and authority.

[What...!]

As Jinwoo pulled the chains with all his remaining strength, the massive body collapsed to the ground. The heroes and heroes had already reached the Lord of Greed.

They latched onto the shattered body and began to unleash a flurry of attacks.

The Lord of Greed tried to regenerate, but there were simply too many heroes. Before he could heal, his body burst open again and again.

These were the heroes of Arsilan.

The heroes were more powerful than any Grand Magic Jinwoo could cast.

“A beautiful sight.”

Could there be anything more glorious?

The Lord of Greed thrashed in panic.

A being that once dreamed of ascension had fallen to the earth, his body torn apart piece by piece.

“Mary... for Mary’s vengeance...!”

“Die, bastard!”

“Uwoooooh!”

"How dare you do that to the Empress nim...!"

The heroes tore into the creature’s body, releasing all their rage and madness.

“Die! Just die already!”

Haebyul fired arrow after arrow of light like a madwoman, drawing her bow with frenzied intensity.

“Feels good in the hand.”

LifeHunter ripped open the cracks in the creature’s shadowy body and launched a relentless assault.

“Valhalla!”

NorthernGrandDuke’s Two-Handed Axe glowed with red aura and split the body wide open.

“It’s about to blow!”

HandGenius shoved bombs into the broken body and detonated them. The massive explosion sent the Lord of Greed into unbearable pain.

Unable to speak for fear of friendly fire, RomanticBard swung his instrument wildly, venting fury and frustration. SocksThief burst into laughter watching him go wild.

Kwagagagak!

From above, the airship of the Helby Lovers Group rained down magic spells and bombs.

-Ooh! His regeneration’s slowing down?

-ㅋㅋ Looks like he’s worn out.

-Now this is what being a hero is all about!

Kwaduk!

The body split clean in two, and the Authority of Ella hidden inside was revealed. The Lord of Greed tried to snatch it again with his tentacles, but

“Everyone jump!”

“Leap!”

“Let’s go!”

“For Arsilan!”

“Aah, screw it, I’m going in!”

Toward the radiant golden light of Ella’s Authority, countless heroes leapt at once.

The heroes blocked the tentacles stretching in from all directions with their own bodies as they plunged downward.

This was the heroes' way.

Ella’s Authority approached the heroes’ reach.

‘Welcome, heroes.’

Brilliant light burst forth, erasing all traces of Erosion in the surroundings.

‘I’ve always been watching over your Arsilan Saga.’

The voice wrapped in light was delivered directly to the heroes’ souls.

‘A story full of joy, your story.’

Laughter echoed softly.

‘And at times... I cried from sadness too.’

The warm, gentle voice softly caressed the heroes.

‘Joy, sorrow, pain, and resentment... All those countless experiences have taken root in you and blossomed into radiant light.’

Reach it!

Beyond our story, beyond our journey, the heroes' hands reached out to Ella. The chains that had bound her crumbled away, and her hand, too, reached toward the heroes.

‘You are the great heroes who brought a miracle to Arsilan.’

The heroes reached Ella.

The miraculous power that had saved Arsilan was passed on to her.

‘You are beings capable of holding all the light of the world.’

And so.

‘Heroes, you are Arsilan itself.’

Fwaaaash!

Let there be light upon us!