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〈 Chapter 347 〉 Regret (1)

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Completing the mission wasn’t difficult.

There were no troops guarding the church, and Kyle’s figure, which had become a calamity, was nowhere to be seen. Remia fulfilled her task by placing the sleeping Raniel in the carriage.

“···Hoo.”

Leaning against the colorless tree, Remia let out a long sigh. The forest was the elves’ homeland. Whenever she entered the forest, Remia felt her heart at peace. However, not even here could she find such solace.

The colorless woods were devoid of color and scent.

Yet, standing in the hollow woods, Remia wiped her eyes. The great ancestor had said Kyle was in a state worse than death. Sara had also added that she was not normal either.

···What had she done while the two of them fell into such a state?

What could she do? She’d been just munching on meat in the North. Remia let out a hollow laugh.

For the past few years, everything had been taken from her. Her archery was exceptional, but not enough to compete with the superhumans wielding swords. Faced with those called calamities, Remia felt infinitely powerless.

Her pride as an archery master, her confidence as the greatest ranger among elves, and her arrogance due to having lived longer than humans had all crumbled away.

What remained was her birthright.

Just the innate characteristics of being an elf, which she had used to fill her shattered pride for years. Despite the great ancestor’s remarks, Remia did not change.

But.

At this very moment, she could not remain that way.

For the first time, Remia thought. She turned her gaze to the uncomfortable and complex topic she had been avoiding. Then she began to see things that made her groan.

“···What is this?”

Remia muttered.

“Humans, humans, those damn humans.”

Covering her face with her hands, she ground her teeth.

Humans, who lived brief lives.

Compared to elves, they lived incredibly insufficient times, which led Remia to deem them foolish. She felt pity for them. How could she not? They had no luxury. They lived as if they could die any day.

Yet because of that.

Paradoxically, they shone.

Remia was captivated by their light. She was enchanted by the Ashen Mage’s brilliance and overwhelmed by the Hero’s splendor. They shone brighter than she did. They were beings so radiant and noble they were incomparable.

“······.”

Remia fiddled with her ears.

Long ears. A symbol of elves.

What she had always considered a source of pride was now a source of embarrassment. Remia knew how to divert her gaze from the shame that arose within her.

Don’t think at all.

Just pursue pleasure and move.

All she had to do was act as she had done for the past few years, for the last few decades. She knew that doing so would bring her comfort. But, could it truly be…?

Just then.

“······!”

Remia shuddered.

The ground shook. The forest trembled. The trees swayed noisily. At the bizarre rumbling, Remia slowly raised her head.

“…Ah.”

She involuntarily sighed.

She saw it.

The moment when the earth and sky were turned upside down.

Kagagagagagagagak!

A mountain of dirt shot up into the sky.

Trees ripped from their roots soared high. A piece of the forest was entirely thrown into the air along with the dirt. Remia’s body froze before the incomprehensible scene her eyes beheld.

And then.

“Carriage, start the engine!”

From the overturned forest, Kalt rushed out.

Shouting with all his might as he carried Sara on his back, he called out. Cardi, who was in the carriage, hurriedly manipulated the magical tools, and the carriage began to move at a fast pace.

The forest was flipping.

Everything in sight was in reverse.

Leaving behind the reversed and toppled scenery, the carriage began to dash forward. Remia mounted the carriage first, and Kalt, who barely arrived shortly after, grabbed the carriage’s ornament and jumped on.

“Whew, huff···.”

As Kalt gasped for breath, Remia leaned out to look at the back of the carriage. In the center of the storm where the sky and earth’s boundaries vanished stood Kyle. The one who had been the hero.

The Sword of Yeocheon, Kyle Toven.

With vacant eyes, he gazed at the sky. Remia’s pupils shimmered as she looked at the calamity that had become Kyle. Her lips quivered.

“Ah, aah…”

Remia moaned.

Her face contorted in pain.

2.

“There’s nothing major.”

In the rumbling carriage, Cardi spoke up.

“Breathing and pulse are normal. There’s no physical issue. The problem lies with the soul.”

“…The soul?”

“Yes. This child, is she not a saint?”

“Yes. Saint Sara is indeed correct.”

Cardi examined Sara and stroked his chin.

“Yet there’s no divine presence.”

“…What?”

“I’m well-acquainted with saints. They are vessels created by the gods. There should be a divine presence contained within that vessel, but it feels completely empty… as if it were hollow.”

This was a first for Cardi.

“Moreover, part of the soul has been severed.”

She had lost a part of her soul.

Just like someone had carelessly cut a piece off and handed it over. Setting aside whether that could even happen, this was close to madness.

“I believe her memory might be affected. She may find it difficult to open her eyes.”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s uncertain whether she will open her eyes. We will have to wait and see.”

Cardi shifted his gaze.

That gaze fell upon the still-sleeping Raniel. Life was returning to her face, which had been near death. Her broken body was recovering at an astonishing pace. It wasn’t a human recovery.

‘…It seems the contract has been fulfilled.’

The form of her soul had changed.

Rather than being a vessel cracked and splintered, it had become a complete vessel capable of holding stars. The vessel brimmed with starlight, spilling over.

“Are you okay, senior?”

Kalt asked.

After a moment of silence, Cardi opened his mouth.

“I’m fine.”

He didn’t add anything else.

Kalt did not ask any more questions. He had already understood the situation to a degree. Kalt knew whose blood his friend had consumed for Raniel to be unharmed.

“…If it weren’t for that.”

Without naming who he meant, Kalt muttered.

“What happened to the senior?”

“He must be dead.”

“Was there no way to save him?”

“No. I couldn’t find one either.”

Kyle Toven had saved Raniel van Trias.

Raniel had pulled away from death in a way she never desired. Both understood well how she would come to accept this reality.

“…It won’t be easy.”

Raniel hated someone’s sacrifice terribly. She had shouldered an excessively heavy burden to answer those who had died for her.

And on her were placed the life of the hero.

With the sacrifice of the only friend she had, Kyle Toven, Raniel was reborn. And Kyle Toven became a calamity, as if it were the price to pay.

‘This is going to be hard, truly.’

Kalt pinched his brow and changed the topic.

“…About Kyle Toven. Is it really incomplete?”

“Yes.”

“How horrific.”

With a single slash, he had turned the forest upside down.

Despite seeing with his own eyes the strike that tore down the boundary between sky and earth, Kalt still could not comprehend it. In that moment, he felt death.

‘…Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.’

What came to mind was the most feared calamity.

Of course, perhaps at the moment it could not compare to Ganikalt, but the elf before him had said. That it wasn’t in its completed state. It would grow even stronger.

A calamity comparable to the Death’s Blade.

Moreover, someone who had once been a hero had turned into a calamity.

“…It truly is ironic.”

Kalt let out a hollow laugh.

Having fought on the battlefield for years, Kalt had thrown his life away repeatedly for humanity. Now, he felt emptiness at the emergence of a new calamity.

“At this point, it’s as if the whole world is holding a ceremony for humanity’s extinction. What exactly are they trying to achieve…?”

There was no end.

Countless had perished while inflicting wounds upon the calamity. In their last moments, they had achieved great deeds. Yet, what did their words amount to?

The Sword Master, Kuntel, had become the fallen’s servant.

Hero Galahal could not leave behind even a corpse.

Hero Kyle had turned into a calamity.

It was a gruesome statement.

When recalling their end, all that flooded in was emptiness. Kalt gazed at his palm with vacant eyes. Even as a superhuman, he found himself unable to do anything.

Just as he prepared to exhale a sigh.

Suddenly, Kalt glanced over at Remia beside him. He looked at her expression. In that moment, he had to hold back the breath he was about to let out.

“······.”

Kalt and Cardi both fell silent.

In the stillness, the carriage moved.

So, until they reached the Royal Capital, none of them spoke. Remia merely stared blankly out the window.

Thus, the mission concluded.

A day later, Raniel opened her eyes.

3.

I had a long dream.

For some reason, I was returned to the past. To the time before things soured with Kyle. I found myself in the moment when I was pushing Kyle hard. I was grabbing him by the collar.

What had I shouted back then?

I think I urged him to wield a sword.

There was no place for breaks, and I yelled. I complained about why he wasn’t doing something he could so easily handle. Looking back now, I seem to have been quite frantic at that moment.

Because there was not much of my lifespan left.

Having traded my lifespan, I felt the horror that I might die without achieving my purpose.

That fear had proven correct.

It had come to pass. I was about to die without accomplishing anything. I now understood that. Thus, returning to the past, I acted a little differently. Perhaps I could behave that way because I had already resigned myself.

“Well, sure.”

I released Kyle’s collar.

“…I guess that’s acceptable.”

You must have your own problems too.

To be honest, I was scared too.

Damn, how do I grab that?

“Can you see my hands? You bastard?”

They were shaking.

In fact, even standing here was tough.

I just wanted to rest too. Why the hell does everyone rely on us? No, I know why… can’t we take a break? Just a little?

“A little.”

“We, shall we rest just a bit?”

A little should be okay.

Although I knew I shouldn’t.

Because I was too exhausted… perhaps we could take a break.

I mumbled those words and gently patted Kyle’s shoulder. Telling jokes and mumbling about old times, I chatted as many things had changed since then.

Not as a hero and a sage, but as friends who had known each other since childhood.

“Yeah damn, back then…”

“Could you please tone down that mouth of yours, Raniel?”

“Aren’t you using that speech a bit improperly?”

“…It’s the way of a hero.”

“Bullshit. Don’t be so pretentious, you fool.”

I know this is a dream.

I know that when I wake up, I will have to face death again. Yet, dreaming, I thought. I should contact Kyle when I wake up.

‘Right, it’s a shame to wrap it up like this…’

At the very least, I shouldn’t leave behind regrets.

If that were the case, what should I say to him? What should I convey? In truth, I already knew the answer. Kyle would surely be engaging in some pointless worry.

I closed my eyes and opened them.

Time passed, and I was lying in a sickbed, with Kyle looking at me.

Was that a hint to practice for whatever was to come? I let out a laugh and reached out to Kyle, as if asking for a handshake.

“Hey, Kyle.”

Kyle stayed silent.

As he silently gazed at me, I said.

“You’re still my friend, right?”

At those words, Kyle let out a faint laugh.

He took my hand, and then he pulled me up firmly. As if to tell me to get on my feet. I should not have been in a state to get up, yet I found myself standing on my own two feet.

“…Huh?”

I opened my eyes wide and turned around.

And there, Kyle was gone.

Blink.

I opened my eyes.

Warm sunlight flooded in.

Slowly, I lifted my body. I had been unable to move a finger, yet for some reason, it was incredibly easy now.

I stood up.

I got off the bed and stood firmly on the ground. I took a breath, slowly, but unlike usual, I didn’t feel as if my breath was being choked. I didn’t cough up blood. My vision wasn’t blurry, and the sharp pain in my chest was absent.

My body felt perfectly fine.

“…Wow, what’s this?”

Letting out a sigh casually, I swung my arms around. Although my body creaked and stiffened, that was all. I was bursting with energy like never before.

···Is this possible?

Tilting my head in confusion, a smile spread across my face. I thought I would die curled up in bed, but now I could at least move. It was nothing short of joy.

‘…I should be thankful to Cardi.’

I wondered if he was still waiting outside the door.

I didn’t know how long I had been asleep, but if he was still there, perhaps I should bow before him right away. Just as I was about to place my hand on the doorknob.

“······.”

I stopped.

“What is it?”

Slowly, I raised my hand.

I placed it on my heart.

The grimness that had tormented me for years no longer resonated. The circuit inscribed on my chest had also ceased its activity. Instead, something else was pulsating within my heart.

Slowly.

Very slowly, I lifted my gaze.

As I closed and opened my eyes, platinum particles were swirling around me. I knew what those particles were. I could not be unaware.

It was starlight.

A considerable amount of it.

“What is this…?”

This was Kyle Toven’s starlight.

【Raniel van Trias.】

At that moment.

【Blessings to the new hero.】

The voice of the stars echoed in my ears.

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