Chapter 454: Seriously, What Kind of Legend Is Director Kurono's Husband?
Desperados were a world-class secret.
Forget information about "Awakening"—very few people even knew how to reach and open the gate before that stage.
And information about the realm beyond Awakening was even rarer.
A fair number of people knew about Desperados, while certain nations and major organizations possessed some information about what came after "Awakening."
But once the subject reached "Transcendent Awakening," almost everything became rumor and hearsay.
At present, only four Desperados in the world were publicly confirmed to be capable of Transcendent Awakening.
The first was the League's current KOK world-ranked number one Mage-Knight and head of League Headquarters.
One of the world's Three Great Desperados—Whitebeard, Arthur Bright.
The second belonged to the U.S, the founding nation of the Union.
Commander of its Superpower Corps and another of the Three Great Desperados—The Hero, Abraham Carter.
The third was the leader of Rebellion.
The king of evil who had ruled the underworld for countless years and the last of the Three Great Desperados—The Tyrant.
And the fourth was the person who had told Luke all of this in the first place.
The woman standing at the summit of this world—Twin-Wings Edelweiss.
Besides those four, there were certainly other Desperados hiding in the shadows who could achieve Transcendent Awakening.
But publicly, only these four were known.
Information capable of influencing the balance of the entire world was naturally beyond what a nation like Japan could possess.
At most, they would know a few rumors or fragments of hearsay.
So Kurono's fear was understandable.
After all, what she had sensed was power belonging to beings at the absolute summit of the world, such as Edelweiss and the Three Great Desperados.
As for the feeling that such power could turn a person into a monster—That was not entirely wrong either.
Stella herself was proof.
Forcing that power beyond her limits had genuinely caused physical changes.
At its core, the Desperado realm and "Awakening" referred to the process of a Blazer breaking free from the restraints of fate and undergoing a qualitative transformation from mortal to transcendent.
And the thing undergoing transformation was not merely the body.
The mind—or rather, the soul—changed as well!
If one wielded inhuman power and even the soul itself underwent a qualitative transformation, then naturally the body, as the soul's vessel and part of the individual, would change with it.
So saying this power could turn a human into a monster was not necessarily wrong.
In fact, many legends of humanoid monsters scattered across the world—Demihumans, demons, oni, and countless other creatures—Might very well have originated from Blazers who reached Transcendent Awakening.
However…
"If a human becomes a monster, does that mean they stop being human?"
"Or rather, what exactly determines whether someone is 'human'?"
"Is it simply their appearance?"
"Wouldn't that be… incredibly shallow?"
Luke's words left Kurono stunned.
She had never considered the question from that angle.
Kurono had already married and built a career.
Whether judged by strength or professional success, she was unquestionably an accomplished woman.
But when it came to an extraordinarily rich variety of life experiences, hers were respectable, yet hardly exceptional.
For one thing, there was her age.
Despite being married and having a child, Kurono was still only in her twenties.
Strictly speaking, she was not even thirty.
At most, she was an older-sister type who might occasionally get called "auntie" by some bratty kid.
Due to special regulations surrounding Blazers, Kurono had married very young.
And because she also needed to care for her family, her broader life experience was honestly somewhat limited.
The other factor was simply the nature of this world.
This was a world where genuine mana existed.
A society of actual superhumans.
But precisely because Kurono was a Blazer—and a genius at that—why would she ever have enough idle time to seriously ponder questions like these?
Mana was a miracle.
But in a sense, it also restrained you.
On top of ordinary life, there was ability research, mana training, martial arts practice, specialized activities, and even related careers.
Personal time was compressed dramatically.
When life was already so rich and fulfilling, who had time to sit around pondering the meaning of existence?
Perhaps that was one of the few remaining advantages ordinary people had over the extraordinary.
Luke, however, was different.
His background had been complicated, but in the end, he had more or less been corrected onto a normal path.
Although something "abnormal" existed at his core, he had once been part of ordinary humanity.
And because of his unusual nature, Luke had actually thought about these questions far more than most people.
Still, Kurono was a world-class powerhouse.
Confusing her with a few clever sentences was obviously unrealistic.
She might appear hesitant whenever the subject of Desperados came up, but that did not mean her will was weak.
Quite the opposite.
As the only known person in the world to reach the gate of the Desperado realm and decisively turn away, Kurono possessed terrifying determination.
Even seeing Nene, her lifelong best friend, fall into stagnation because of that choice had not changed her decision.
And the same was true now.
Kurono had not come to Luke because she wanted someone to convince her to change.
She wanted an answer.
Something that could finally extinguish the lingering thought in her heart and allow her to genuinely abandon the Desperado realm.
After all, although Kurono had retired from active competition, she had never stopped working as an instructor except during her pregnancy.
And being a Blazer instructor was hardly a peaceful profession.
Her physical sharpness might have declined slightly from her peak, but increased experience and technique meant her actual combat strength had barely diminished.
Even against the current Nene, who remained ranked third in the League despite years of stagnation, Kurono was still capable of defeating her.
(Author's Note: This is based on evaluations from Ikki and Nene in the original work.)
Most importantly—Kurono had already reached the gate of the Desperado realm long ago.
And even now, it remained there.
If she wished, she could still push it open effortlessly at any time.
That fact troubled Kurono deeply.
It was also the main reason she had never truly been able to let go.
That was why she had sought out Luke.
Someone who had faced a similar situation—And made the exact opposite choice.
She wanted to obtain an answer from him and finally bring this lingering cause and effect to an end.
Kurono remained stunned for only a moment before recovering.
She took Luke's words seriously, thought about them, then pointed directly to the core issue.
"You're right."
"A change in the body shouldn't be used as the standard for deciding whether someone is 'human.'"
"But Desperados don't only undergo physical changes."
"The mind changes too… or perhaps I should say the soul."
"That was the main reason I chose to—"
"No."
"That was the main reason I was afraid to continue forward."
"If we had to establish a standard for what makes someone human, wouldn't the soul be the most appropriate one?"
"I really do find it difficult to give up becoming stronger…"
"And honestly, I deeply miss those days when Nene and I constantly competed against each other."
"But no matter what—"
"I refuse to lose my identity as a human just for the sake of becoming stronger!"
Luke looked at Kurono.
There was nostalgia and guilt in her expression, but her resolve remained unwavering.
He could not help feeling deeply impressed.
And then, almost unconsciously, he said,
"Why didn't you just get together with Nene-sensei back then?"
"If I ever get the chance, please introduce me to Shinguji-san."
"I'm genuinely curious what kind of legendary man could possibly steal you away from Nene-sensei under circumstances like these."
The instant Luke finished speaking—The atmosphere froze solid.
…
…
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