NOVEL'S EXTRA: I Will Die at the Peak-Chapter 43: Growing Child

Asogi stood frozen. His muscles trembled, his breath quickened, but he couldn’t move an inch.

His eyes were still locked on Ravien, lying in the Entity’s arms. A storm of emotions clashed inside him—jealousy, rage, fear, and humiliation. All piled up, forming a knot in his throat.

But he didn’t attack.

He couldn’t.

If he took even a single step, the risk of endangering his father... It nailed his legs to the ground.

The Entity kept his gaze fixed on Asogi in complete silence. There was no expression on his face. No anger, no mockery, no compassion. Just a cold, unchanging stare.

"Ah... Is communication always this complicated?"

He didn’t want to argue with Asogi, didn’t care for verbal sparring. This moment was only about finishing his task.

His eyes shifted to the window. One of the tall panes, nearly three meters high, lined along the corridor wall. Spaced evenly, none of them had curtains, covers, or any sort of protection. The path was obvious.

"I suppose this way out will be easier."

He spread his wings. The motion was subtle—almost imperceptible—but the air around him rippled. He raised his right hand.

Ravien remained limp in his other arm. The Entity’s posture was perfectly balanced, not even the slightest tremor.

A dark light appeared at his fingertip. It started as a faint pulse, then thickened into a deep, dense black energy. Small, but heavy... dark at its core, its edges shimmering with unstable light.

In that instant, the atmosphere in the room shifted.

The pressure surged, and sounds were muffled.

Asogi’s focus snapped entirely to that point. His thoughts shattered. His teeth clenched.

His brows furrowed.

"No... Stop! What are you doing?!"

But the Entity didn’t answer.

He wasn’t planning to.

The dark energy at his fingertip suddenly intensified. Its edges vibrated, and the darkness at its center deepened. The air bent around it, pulled tight by a suffocating force.

And then—like a razor-thin blade—a streak of dark energy burst forth.

It was black, sharp, and almost solid in form. It moved in a straight line.

It reached the window in a blink.

The glass exploded outward.

Hundreds of shards shot into the air. Jagged fragments slammed into the walls. A sudden gust swept through the corridor. The cool air swallowed every remaining sound.

The Entity stepped toward the shattered window.

But Asogi had already moved.

His pupils shrank. His muscles tensed all at once—from his ankles to his shoulders—as if preparing to explode.

And he launched himself.

The stone floor cracked beneath his feet. A gust of wind trailed behind him.

"Don’t run! I’m not finished with you!"

The Entity opened his wings.

Membranes stretched wide, fine veins flickering in the sunlight. With a single flap, his body rose.

He slipped through the broken window.

Asogi’s outstretched hand grasped only empty air.

As he ascended into the sky, black fractures on his shoulders shimmered in the sun. His wings expanded and quivered, lifting his body in flawless balance. For a brief moment, his shadow fell across Asogi.

Asogi clenched his teeth.

"You... you bastard!"

His voice trembled with fury. His lips curled, his eyes narrowed.

But there was nothing more he could do.

In the sky, there was only a retreating black silhouette.

"Wait... I can do this too."

He stepped back. Drew a deep breath into his lungs.

RrrrIIIIIP.

Asogi’s back split open, a fine tear spreading across his shoulder blades. From beneath them, two fleshy masses pushed out.

They curled and stretched, veins rippling as they spread into an organic, muscular shape.

It resembled a pair of wings—but only in form. There were no feathers, no sleek membranes to catch the wind. It was raw, unrefined flesh transformed into something else entirely.

He furrowed his brows. Pushed his shoulders forward. The new limbs arched backward and trembled in a rhythmic pulse.

"I just have to try."

And he threw himself into the void.

For a moment, he hung in the air. His muscles tensed, and the raw tissue on his back shivered. He flapped his wings.

But...

Nothing happened.

He couldn’t fly.

They were just mass—two heavy, useless chunks of meat. The Entity’s wings had structure; they were laced with membranes, powered by circulating energy, bending the air around them.

Asogi’s body had none of that. His wings were a sealed, unfinished system.

He couldn’t glide.

He began to fall rapidly. Wind slammed against his face, his eyes still searching for the distant figure carrying Ravien. His fists clenched. His teeth ground together.

"No... Not yet!"

At that moment, thin, wet tendrils sprang from his back.

One shot outward, embedding into the outer wall of the castle. Then a second, and a third... Each pulling taut, slowing his fall. His body jolted, but he didn’t crash into the ground.

He hung there, clinging to the castle wall. His chest heaved, breath escaping his lips in broken rhythm. His eyes were still locked onto the sky.

At the top, the Entity turned his head one last time. The struggle below was far too trivial to hold his interest.

"So, I got rid of him..."

His voice was as faint and indifferent as a sigh.

"Whatever. Let’s head to the bedroom."

He spread his wings. They were light, elegant. As he melted into the sky, he didn’t leave a single trace behind.

Asogi remained clinging to the castle wall—his breathing uneven, his muscles trembling, and his eyes still fixed on the silhouette in the sky.

The splits in his back burned, and the tissues ached. But what hurt the most was the tightness in his chest: a feeling he couldn’t define, something that struck at his pride—deep, unshakable humiliation.

He couldn’t just watch.

"I can’t stay here... My father needs me."

He spoke only to himself, but even then, he wasn’t sure if the words were true.

Maybe it was just an excuse to move.

His fingertips dug into the stone surface. The wings on his back twitched. Suddenly, new tissues curled beneath his skin and began to stir.

Thin, wet, veiny tendrils started to emerge from his back. Between them, sharp fragments of bone appeared. Joints cracked. Each tendril curled in different directions, searching for a grip on the stone wall.

Asogi’s body had gone beyond the limits of a human form. He climbed like a spider—unbalanced, but relentless.

With every motion, the tendrils cracked, pierced into the stone, and pulled out again. His muscles burned with effort, and his gaze never left that receding silhouette.

After a short climb, he reached the upper levels of the castle—Ravien’s room.

The Entity didn’t even turn his head. He placed his fingertip against the glass.

A faint cracking noise—then the window burst inward. Dust and shards of glass filled the room for a brief moment.

Ravien lay motionless. Pale, exhausted, and almost lifeless. The Entity silently placed him onto the bed.

"So... this is it."

He murmured to himself. Then spread his wings and slipped out through the shattered window—leaving nothing behind.

Asogi had followed him.

Hundreds of tendrils, bony protrusions, and thin leg-like growths had carried him up the wall to the window. The structures erupting from beneath his skin tangled with each other, sticking to the stone.

As the Entity rose into the sky, he spoke without turning his head.

"You’re stubborn as hell... Fine. I’m leaving. I’ll glide through the sky until my father wakes up."

His voice faded as he opened his wings, disappearing with the wind.

Then, his lips moved. A vague melody spilled from his throat—a deep, wordless murmur that meant nothing, yet felt as if it did:

"Naa... muu... dai...

Ve... ra-ha... su..."

This time, Asogi didn’t respond. He didn’t shout, didn’t call after him. He just stared, watching the figure fade into the sky—until that dark shape melted into the light and was gone.

At last, he reached the window. The tendrils slowly pulled back from the wall. His body still ached. The splits in his back wouldn’t close. Wet, thin veins still dangled from the open wounds.

He stepped into the room. Moved closer to Ravien.

Asogi reached out to touch his father’s head. His fingers trembled, but he didn’t pull away. His eyes wandered across Ravien’s face. Pale skin, cracked lips, the stillness of eyelids that didn’t even twitch...

Asogi understood the truth.

The Entity had told the truth.

That energy radiating from him... it carried his father’s signature.

He was, most likely, something his father had created.

He tried to deny it.

But it was no longer just a possibility—it was almost certain.

Asogi felt crushed inside.

Why had his father done this?

Was it meant to replace him? Or was there another reason?

He didn’t know the answer.

All he knew was—he didn’t want this.

He couldn’t bear it.

The thought stuck in his throat.

He was furious at that creeping feeling of acceptance. Angry at himself, at his father, even at the Entity...

But he didn’t let any of it spill out.

He quietly turned toward the window. Outside, the sky was calm. No one was watching. His eyes searched for the shadow lost in the distance—but it was gone.

"I’ll stay here."

His voice was barely audible.

Who was he talking to? Maybe his father. Maybe the Entity.

Maybe just himself.

"If he comes back... I won’t let him go this time."

It wasn’t a threat. It sounded more like something he told himself—to hold back the helplessness.

Not outward, but inward.

But another voice echoed within him.

Quiet. Repressed. One he couldn’t silence.

’My father created someone else... because he felt the need to.’

’I wasn’t enough.’

That sentence...

was the heaviest of all.

And for the first time, he seriously considered it.

He silenced his rage, his jealousy, his denial—just for a moment—and accepted it.

Then he shoved the thought away.

Like recoiling from a wound the moment you touch it—

Fast, panicked, full of shame.

Asogi backed away from Ravien and sat in the corner of the room.

His shoulders slumped. Fingers pressed to the floor. Eyes staring into nothing.

His vigil had begun.

And outside, that silhouette...

Was still gliding across the sky.