Chapter 125 – Until the Very Last Breath
“Push back the deadline? Why on earth?”
A hint of bewilderment appeared on Team Leader Song Mi-hyeon’s face.
Comic artist David — Kang Min-hyuk.
He was an artist who had never once been late or missed a deadline. Aside from his skill, his sincerity was something she could truly trust.
The final chapter manuscript was supposed to arrive by 3 o’clock today, and the entire editorial department, the printing house, and all subsequent promotion plans had been scheduled accordingly.
She had spoken with Kang Min-hyuk many times, so she knew.
Even though he was only a first-year high school student, he was more mature than most……
And there was no way he didn’t understand the situation on their end.
“He said he finished the manuscript, but he’s not satisfied with it. He sent the scanned version by email and asked us to read it.”
“Haa… Open it quickly.”
Gwang-jin immediately returned to his seat and unzipped the compressed file that had arrived.
There was one manuscript file and a short document explaining how he wanted to revise it.
First, the two of them read through the manuscript.
“It’s perfect?”
“He wants to… revise this?”
Even as they read, they felt it was a manuscript so perfect it made their hearts tremble.
How on earth had he created something with this level of pacing, dialogue, and directing in time?
The fact that a first-year high school student had produced this felt almost impossible.
That was why the natural question followed.
‘Why and how does he want to revise something like this?’
Song Mi-hyeon said,
“Hurry up and open the document.”
“Yes.”
As soon as the two read the document……
Their eyes widened at the same time.
“Ah……”
A sigh escaped from both of them almost simultaneously.
‘If we do it this way, we can definitely fix it.’
‘…He really is disgustingly amazing.’
At the same time, they felt a sense of awe toward Kang Min-hyuk, who wanted to revise further a manuscript they had thought was already close to perfect.
Gwang-jin scratched his head vigorously and asked,
“What do you think, Team Leader?”
“Haa… What else can we do? Did you already forget what I said? What did I say an editor is?”
“The person who does their best to support the work so it can come out with the highest possible quality?”
“Yes. This is exactly that moment, you idiot.”
Team Leader Song Mi-hyeon answered with a face full of conviction, and a bitter smile appeared on Gwang-jin’s face.
Then, with a sigh, he said,
“So I should start calling the printing house and everyone else, right?”
“Yeah. Tell them we’re really sorry. We’ll cover all the extra costs, so please wait until tomorrow. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Yeees…”
Right before the final finish line of the Bucheon Comic Awards.
The editors’ war was also racing toward its climax.
***
December, second week, on the streets.
“Whew…”
The buzz-cut boy, Ha Byeong-man, was walking through the night streets.
After leaving the academy where he was intensely preparing for the Animation High entrance exam, the place he was heading to was……
The neighborhood bookstore.
Ding-a-ling!
As the boy walked into the bookstore,
“Byeong-man, you’re here.”
The gray-haired owner greeted him warmly.
“Yes. Did New Chance and Jump Comics arrive?”
“Yeah, they’re over there.”
Ha Byeong-man stood in front of the display with a reverent heart.
[Crow King, the long-awaited finale! 40P!]
[Brave King, the long-awaited finale! 38P!]
The two magazines representing Korea’s two major comic publications were decorating their covers with announcements that the two flagship works had ended.
The quality was insane, as if they had poured their souls into it.
Moreover, seeing “40P” and “38P” written there……
It was clear that both sides had poured out two full chapters’ worth for the finale.
This meant both sides had risked their lives to complete it.
And to anyone looking, the message these two works were sending was clear.
‘At the Bucheon Comic Awards, I will take the grand prize.’ That was the declaration.
Gulp!
Even though Ha Byeong-man was an ardent fan of comic artist David, he couldn’t confidently predict victory.
As Crow King approached its finale, the artist’s form had continued to rise……
And in the communities, public opinion was almost dead even.
[Who do you think will win this King Battle? Recommend if you support Brave King, downvote if you support Crow King]
[Recommend: 668 / Downvote: 649]
[Kuuu, if they win this, doesn’t that mean they’ll get the Presidential Award at the Bucheon Comic Awards?]
[I heard the winner might even come out to receive it in person.]
[Winning here would make them a true white-horse hero of the Korean comic industry.]
No wonder people started calling it the “King Battle.”
Byeong-man took a deep breath, picked up both magazines, and headed to the counter.
“I’ll take these two, please.”
“7,000 won. Here, these are the bonuses.”
A poster and an acrylic stand.
For 3,500 won magazines, the bonuses were almost excessively grand.
It was clear proof that both magazines were going all-out.
Byeong-man, holding the plastic bag, asked,
“Uncle.”
“Yeah?”
“In your opinion, which of the two comics do you think will win the award?”
“Hmm… To me, both are on a similar level. I guess it’ll depend on how the judges feel that day.”
“Whew… Okay.”
Byeong-man left the bookstore.
He then headed straight to a bench in a nearby empty lot and sat down.
With a reverent heart, he placed one magazine on each knee and took a deep breath.
‘Which one should I read first?’
While he was pondering for a moment,
“Hey!”
“Uwaaack!”
Someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind, startling him so badly that he dropped the magazines.
“What, what is it?!”
It was Kim Mi-na, who sat next to him at the same academy.
“You just ran out without telling the teacher? Teacher Min-su was really angry.”
“Whew…… I told him I had something important to do.”
“And that important thing is buying comic books?”
When Mi-na narrowed her eyes, Byeong-man replied almost in a panic,
“Of course it’s important! The Korean comic industry is at a crossroads right now. How can I just sit there preparing for the entrance exam?!”
“…Don’t you want to go to Animation High?”
“I do, but isn’t it okay to skip for a little while?!”
Mi-na chuckled and said,
“Then read. Read quickly and then go back.”
“Y-Yeah.”
Thanks to Mi-na reducing his choices (?), Byeong-man opened Jump Comics.
The final two chapters of Crow King.
The flow continued very cleanly.
‘So he’s sacrificing himself to kill Infra Black.’
The protagonist Zero, who inherited the will of all the crows.
In the final moment, to kill the final boss Infra Black, he burned his own body and charged forward.
[No, stop! Stop, I said stop!]
Infra Black, who had shown overwhelming power and presence until now, struggled desperately to survive in the final moment.
[I don’t want to… you bastard! I have so much riding on this!]
Zero, who had been in the position of the weak, instead burned with fighting spirit and pressed in.
The atmosphere that had been built up until now completely reversed.
Infra Black displayed his abilities, but each time Zero countered using the powers of past comrades or enemies he had absorbed.
[Th-That ability is!]
[I told you. Right now, I’m not alone!]
Every time, bewilderment appeared on Infra Black’s face.
A surge of pleasure filled Byeong-man.
The sight of the protagonist pushing back a villain who had seemed absolutely insurmountable.
This was maximized by Shin Yo-seop’s signature rough touch and the effects drawn with brush pen.
The sparkling added with white and screentone over the powerfully drawn brush-pen effects.
It perfectly expressed that the fuel Zero used in battle was his own life itself.
It was cool.
Insanely cool, and the pleasure was intense.
Byeong-man wondered if he had ever felt this way while reading Korean comics before.
And when the battle reached its final moments.
[Are we… going together? You too.]
[Sorry, but you and I… are heading to different places after death.]
Thwack!
Zero grinned, raising the corners of his mouth, and cut off Infra Black’s head with his original technique, ‘Black Slash’.
It was a simple, understated finish using the very first technique the character Zero had learned in the story — in contrast to all the flashy scenes shown before.
That was what gave it such a strange resonance.
[Whew… That was fucking hard.]
With that, the battle ended and Zero collapsed to the ground.
Cracks spread across his body, and a bizarre glow leaked out.
His expression showed he had sensed that his life was over.
At that moment, familiar faces appeared in Zero’s fading vision.
[Why the long face, you idiot?]
[Since when do you get to use other people’s techniques however you want?]
They were the Crows.
The comrades he had cried and laughed with while fighting countless enemies together.
Now in the form of souls, they reached out to Zero and chattered away.
In front of Zero’s losing focus,
Memories with them and the conversations they had shared flashed before him.
[I’ll… be there soon.]
With that, Zero collapsed limply to the ground.
Whoosh!
Sparkling dust burst from his body and scattered in all directions across the sky.
Time then flowed rapidly.
The ruined space where Zero and Infra Black had fought was shown in a time-lapse: buildings rose again, and people began living there once more.
Then,
[Caw! Caw!]
A crow with a scar under its eye — just like the protagonist Zero — sat on top of a building and looked down at the scene.
A moment later……
[Caw! Caaaaaw!]
Dozens more crows flew in and settled around it, filling the surroundings.
[- Crow King Complete -]
[Thank you to all the readers who loved Crow King until the end!]
And with that, Crow King ended.
“Hoooooo…”
The moment he turned the final page, Ha Byeong-man’s mouth refused to close.
‘Insane.’
They finished it like this?
He had known that Shin Yo-seop’s form was rising as the finale approached.
Honestly, after entering the final battle, Crow King’s quality had reached a completely different level — it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was on another plane compared to what came before.
But no matter how high the quality was, he hadn’t expected it to be this high.
From the scene where Zero countered Infra Black’s attacks using the fighting styles of the comrades who had died for him……
To the way the final blow connected back to the very first highlight of the series.
It was the pinnacle of refinement, and it felt like the artist had poured out everything he could as himself.
Especially the very last part.
‘That scene of the crow looking down at the newly rebuilt city was crazy.’
Instead of showing a long epilogue,
The metaphor of the Crows returning to their true nature and observing the restored world gave such intense pleasure……
That goosebumps ran down his spine.
“…I’m losing my mind.”
Byeong-man’s heart grew complicated.
He had thought David would naturally win, and he had hoped for it……
But Crow King’s final punch had landed with twice, no, five times the force he had expected.
He wasn’t sure if there could even be an ending that could beat this right now.
While he was still savoring the aftertaste,
“Sniff… Hic… Hoo…”
Hearing the sudden sobbing beside him, Byeong-man turned his head.
“Huh?”
An unexpected sight made his eyes widen.
“Waaaaah!”
Kim Mi-na, who had been reading New Chance, had started crying.
And not just quietly — she was bawling like a child.
‘Suddenly… what the hell?’
**************
TL Note:
Want to read ahead?
Join the Premium Tier on Patreon and access 71 advance chapters and all 6 translated novels.
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Comic Artist”
**************