〈 Chapter 308 〉 What the Star Desires (1)
*
The pride of humanity has touched death.
Below where death left the snowy plains, the overwhelming pressure that had gripped the area vanished. Lac unconsciously exhaled the breath he had been holding. With each breath he released, his consciousness became fainter.
He had used a technique that didn’t suit his body.
Even if the Holy Sword had protected him, he was swept away by the aftermath of the blade wielded by death. His entire body creaked.
Maybe it was because of that, but his eyes kept wanting to close.
Even as exhaustion washed over him, Lac refused to close his eyes. With his head held high, he gazed at a single knight standing in the snowy expanse.
The strongest hero, Kyle Toven.
Lac watched the sword that Kyle wielded.
Gripping the blade that he had missed, he clearly observed the techniques that Kyle unleashed. The sword moved in the stopped time, and it was bizarre and mystical, yet also…
‘Beautiful.’
It was beautiful. So very beautiful.
The strike delivered by the knight, risking his life, was so stunning that it captivated an immature boy like him.
It was truly the strike of a hero.
Lac painted the image of the hero in his mind, who swung his sword against death, again and again. Chewing over that scene, Lac closed his eyes.
He would not forget.
He would engrave it in his mind.
So that one day, he too…
*
Raniel blinked in a daze.
Unable to believe her eyes even after seeing it, she repeatedly opened and closed her lips. After several seconds passed, Raniel slowly got up from her seat.
“…Ugh.”
Her broken finger throbbed.
Her whole body creaked, and blood poured from her gaping wounds. Leaving red spots in the snow, Raniel moved forward, staggering as she walked.
Thud, thud.
After a while, Raniel approached Kyle’s side. Kyle was kneeling, leaning against his sword. Watching his back, Raniel pondered what to say, then struggled to speak.
“You crazy bastard.”
Raniel muttered.
The corners of her mouth trembled as she tried to suppress the laughter threatening to escape.
“Seriously, you’re insane.”
She plopped down beside Kyle.
“You’re insane, right? Really a crazy bastard?”
“…My ears are ringing. It’s loud.”
“See? Didn’t I tell you?”
Raniel burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer.
“Really, it can’t be happening.”
She was half in doubt.
Raniel knew that Kyle could no longer wield his sword like he used to. For the past few years, he had been putting the sword aside. That’s why she hadn’t expected anything. From the beginning, she had prepared herself to gamble her life.
“Just do it, you bastard.”
But what was the result?
Raniel saw it.
She saw Kyle standing against death. She saw him making death bleed. It was not a dream. The blood-stained snowy plains testified that this was reality.
“You crazy bastard. You’re seriously amazing. Wow.”
She brushed her hair back, laughing.
After laughing for a while, she exhaled sharply and said,
“Good job, you jerk.”
Raniel smacked Kyle on the back.
Slap!
The loud sound echoed. Kyle rubbed his sore back and chuckled softly.
“Your mouth is still as rough as ever.”
“What?”
“It’s just that.”
Breathless, Kyle crumpled down to sit.
“Kyle, Raniel!”
A voice vaguely called from above the cliff.
Sara, embraced by Remia, climbed down the cliff. She rushed with such urgency that one might think she would trip.
“Are you okay? Your eyes, your eyes!”
“This much will heal quickly. More than me…”
Kyle pointed to Raniel.
“Check on her first. She’s in worse shape than I am.”
“…I’m fine.”
“Don’t show off. You’re gasping for breath after using all your mana, and you talk big.”
“Ugh!”
Kyle grabbed the back of Raniel’s neck and pushed her in front of Sara. Although Raniel grumbled, she reached out her hand, and Sara began to use healing magic to set Raniel’s bones.
“Pain relief, damn it, pain relief…!”
“Oh right.”
While Raniel screamed, Kyle looked up at the sky. What entered his view was the sky that had been split by Death’s Blade.
The torn sky was beginning to mend.
Gradually returning to their places, the stars stared at him, as if urging him to fulfill the contract.
2.
The stars began to shine down on Kyle.
The torn contract sought to return to its rightful place. When he raised his hand, starlight coalesced in his palm. It took on the shape of a sword.
Clenching it tight – the Holy Sword should appear.
Grasping the Holy Sword would heal his wounds in an instant, and with Sara’s help, even his lost sight could be restored. But Kyle did not do so. Instead, he rose from his place without taking the Holy Sword.
Stumbling, Kyle stood on the snow stained black.
Then he reached out and scooped a handful of snow tainted with death’s blood. He shoved it into his burst eye socket. As if to obstruct the healing.
“Kyle…!”
“Hey, what are you…!”
Raniel and Sara shouted as they rushed to Kyle. Kyle extended his arm to stop them and slowly opened his mouth.
“One eye is enough. I don’t need an eye made of starlight.”
“What does that mean…?”
“Ganikalt van Galatrick faced the Demon Lord with one eye. I’m just following that example. The remaining eye must be wholly mine.”
Sara couldn’t grasp the statement.
However, Raniel understood. Her eyes shook. Kyle smirked at Raniel’s reaction.
“So you saw it.”
“…How did you know that?”
“Who knows. That ancient elf probably made a mistake.”
All of it came rushing back.
Why he had been able to make a contract with the star.
Even choosing this method, everything.
‘Subconsciously following the remaining memories, I guess.’
The contract made by the Grand Magus.
Kyle had mimicked it. He requested the same contract from the star, and the star imposed trials upon Kyle. Remembering the trials, Kyle couldn’t help but smile.
‘…I’ve merely reached the starting point.’
He was now able to mimic the hero’s strike.
Gathering starlight that would pave the road.
Reflecting on the contract made with the star, Kyle exhaled sharply. Even realizing he had been walking the wrong path, ultimately, the things he must do remained unchanged.
Only the process to reach the outcome had slightly shifted.
“Sarah.”
Kyle called out to Sara.
Sara slowly nodded. She noticed that Kyle’s aura was different from usual. Recognizing this, she squinted and looked at Kyle.
“Thank you. You’ve helped.”
“…Huh?”
“Is my expression of gratitude too late? Well, I’m sorry.”
“Ah, no. All of a sudden?”
“I feel like I should do it now.”
Kyle awkwardly smiled.
It had been far too long since Sara witnessed that smile, which left her flustered. Blinkingly, Sara approached Kyle and began to check his condition here and there.
“Kyle, are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m feeling normal, actually. More than ever.”
Ignoring Sara as she checked his arm, Kyle looked at Raniel. Despite her appearance having changed significantly, her sharp blue eyes remained unchanged.
“…”
Chilling and eerie, her gaze seemed to pierce through him. Raniel, who had been silently staring at Kyle, slowly opened her mouth.
“Kyle, you.”
She looked straight at Kyle.
“Have you made a subordinate contract or something?”
“The hero is not bound by all mental spells. You’re not oblivious to that, are you?”
“Stop beating around the bush, you bastard.”
Raniel glared at Kyle.
“Tell me, is there something that can force such a thing?”
She pointed to the sky.
“Did you make a contract with the star? A subordinate contract.”
It was indeed hard to evade this.
Given the display before her, it was only natural for her to figure it out. Kyle bitterly smiled at his old friend, who was overly perceptive when needed.
“And if I did?”
“Since when… no, never mind.”
Raniel ruffled her hair irritably and snapped at Kyle.
“What were you trying to gain?”
She hit the crucial point directly.
“By putting even the control over your body and soul on the scales, what were you trying to achieve? You bastard, you’re not getting played by the star, are you?”
Kyle offered no response.
He simply smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky.
Before he knew it, the star had found its place. Kyle’s hands moved uncontrollably, grabbing at the air. The Holy Sword manifested, and Kyle’s body began to heal.
“Well… I guess I’m not getting played after all.”
However, his vacant eyes still hadn’t filled up. Kyle slowly closed and opened his eyes. The star enveloped his body, but his mind wasn’t as clouded as before. The world seen through one eye remained clear.
Kyle Toven had become superhuman.
The star could no longer fully dominate Kyle’s mind. The will of the human who had reached the superhuman realm resisted it. Resisting, Kyle continued his words.
“Because what I hoped for can still be achieved.”
Muttering that, Kyle gazed at the girl.
The girl he had never thought was Raniel.
Raniel hasn’t changed. There’s no fragile part within Raniel. She is always perfect. Thus, he thought that the girl couldn’t possibly be Raniel.
‘But…’
It was an illusion of his own.
She too, as a human, had changed.
The one he had believed in had changed as well. Everything changes. Nothing remains immutable. Thus, humanity struggles through life.
Kyle gazed upon the flawed Raniel van Trias.
It made him see the broken old friend through his own eyes.
Kyle’s heart remained unchanged.
He has to take responsibility in some direction. Kyle smiled bitterly. Now, he too regretted not realizing it a bit sooner.
Just as he thought that,
【Fulfill the contract.】
Starlight tore through the air.
With the contract not being honored correctly, the star moved its most powerful apostle. To force the contract’s execution.
Snap!
The space cracked.
Just as Death’s Blade once had.
The split space took on the shape of a door. As the door opened, the executor stepped onto the snowy plains.
“Really, what a bother.”
His platinum robe fluttered.
The robe was embroidered with dragon patterns. Everyone present recognized this being’s identity. Raniel gasped, wide-eyed.
“…The Mage of Ancient Dragons?”
Yormun van Dragonik.
The Mage of Ancient Dragons appeared in the snowy plains.
“Indeed, it’s been a while. Raniel van Trias.”
And Yormun said,
“And the dreadful contractor as well.”
He tapped his staff against the snow.
Raniel’s already exhausted circuits, which should not have activated once more, began to trigger on their own. Rising chains bound Kyle’s body, forcing him to his knees.
“Providence exists to be upheld, and contracts exist to be fulfilled. That was the condition, and you accepted it, did you not? Kyle Toven.”
He approached kneeling Kyle.
Aiming his staff at Kyle’s forehead.
“Fulfill the contract. Otherwise, I will take action.”
The Mage of Ancient Dragons remained expressionless.
His playful demeanor was nowhere to be found.
Standing here was the representative of the star, a being that had descended as a complete god (?) in this world.
And,
“Fuck this.”
If he was a god (?), then this annoying mage wouldn’t turn a blind eye to the whims of the divine. Bam! Raniel grabbed the staff aimed at Kyle.
“Come back after it’s all over, and what? Complete the contract?”
Raniel chuckled.
“Trying to play the fool, huh, you bastard?”
3.
All ten fingers had already been sacrificed.
He had lost his arms, and he was willing to sacrifice his legs as well.
Yet he couldn’t stop it.
“…Ah.”
Belenoa sat on the ground in a daze, surveying the area. It was chaos. Hell had unfolded before her. The corpses of knights lay scattered on the ground. Ghouls, devouring the knights’ flesh, were all around her.
Looking up, the cursed dragon flapped its wings in the sky.
Belenoa sighed deeply.
Before her lay Chloe, bleeding and collapsed. Blood flowed endlessly from Chloe’s body. Holding Chloe close, Belenoa screamed.
It was hell.
Hell had unfolded.
*
