〈 Chapter 357 〉 Now Moving Forward (5）

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Blessed by the Star, the Hero.

They are born with the soul form optimized to hold starlight. However, even they cannot handle starlight right away. Just like a child learning to walk… Heroes are no different.

They must first get used to starlight, understand how to harness it, and master its use before they can properly utilize it.

No Hero has ever existed who knew how to handle starlight from the beginning. It has been so for centuries. But now, an exception has appeared right here.

Raniel van Trias.

Just a few days ago she awakened as a Hero, yet she effortlessly manipulates starlight. It’s as if she has owned it for a very long time, utilizing its characteristics with ease.

This should be impossible.

But she has experience. The life she has lived and the experiences she has amassed make the impossible possible.

“I offer.”

“The power to stop that.”

Despite not being blessed by the stars, and without a soul suited for handling starlight, she already has experience in wielding it. She has etched countless amounts of starlight into her soul.

But that’s not all.

“I’m going ahead, Raniel.”

“I’ll leave the back to you.”

She has seen it. For years.

She has watched the so-called strongest Hero harness starlight, racing while igniting it multiple times.

Experience and example.

Even though she has just become a Hero, her experience rivals that of most Heroes. Her understanding of the stars is also unparalleled. Everything she has accumulated has bloomed the starlight bestowed upon her.

Chiiiiiing!

With each step she took, the ground burned away. Crack! Sizzle! The dirt splattered from the cracked earth, boiling with intense heat. Bubbling mud splashed like blood.

Acceleration.

Running like Kyle Toven cloaked in starlight.

Just like that guy who leaped into the oncoming horde, Raniel charged. She chose to break through the endless tide of beasts head-on.

One point break-through.

Staring firmly ahead, Raniel sprinted.

Each step transformed the landscape in an instant. The beasts approaching and blocking her path were all reduced to ashes as they scattered, and amidst it all, Raniel felt a gaze upon her.

A distant gaze.

A stare filled with a visceral malice. So immense that it’s impossible to conceal its presence. There was no need to question whose it was. Hearing the echo of a twisted deity’s voice in her ears, Raniel smiled.

“…Yeah, you bastard.”

Smirking bitterly, Raniel muttered.

“I’ll be there soon.”

Just wait.

I’ll grab you by the collar and toss you around.

2.

Peeing, the bowstring trembled.

Remia continued to pour down moonlight without rest. Moonlight rained down like a shower from the punctured clouds. Countless beasts burned away in the deluge of moonlight, yet… the number showed no signs of diminishing.

Truly, they seemed to emerge endlessly.

Both Remia and Destel fired rain upon them, but the beasts stubbornly stepped over the arrows’ net.

Kiieeeek!

Screaming one by one, the beasts charged toward the rampart. Waiting for them were knights bracing their sharp spears from behind the barricade.

Fixate, block!

With the resounding shout, the clanging of armor echoed loudly across the battlefield. Firmly fixing their spear tips diagonally into the ground, the knights buried their feet deep into the land.

Poo, krack, crunch!

With a loud sound, the charging beasts were pierced by the barricade and the knights’ spears. Kicking away the limp beasts, the knights swiftly returned to their original post.

“…”

As she nocked an arrow on her bowstring, Remia suddenly turned her head to overlook the knights. From the tower, the lined-up knights came into full view.

It was something she had never seen before.

It was something she hadn’t wanted to see; she squinted her eyes to catch a glimpse of the knights’ determination concealed behind the crevices of their helmets. Seeing their resolute gazes made Remia involuntarily swallow.

As she exhaled that swallowed breath…

Remia stopped looking down at the knights. Keeping her focus in the same direction, she pulled back the bowstring until her fingertips went numb. Peeing, the bowstring hummed melodically as it shook.

Moonlight swept across the battlefield.

Meteor swarms pierced through the clouds, cascading down.

The beasts that managed to break through the arrow’s net and reach the barricade were pierced by the knights’ spears. From behind, spell-casting mages unleashed their incantations, sweeping through the invading beasts.

Some were fulfilling their minimal duties.

Some were there to provide help.

And some were there to prove themselves.

Even as some suffered wounds from the clawing and biting of beasts that crossed the barricade, the knights endured. Standing firm, they would never retreat. As if it were a pride they had to uphold.

Splattering blood.

Beastly cries.

The desperate screams of knights.

…Naturally, they couldn’t make a significant impact on the battlefield. All they could do was block the incoming beasts. All they could do was attract the beasts’ attention.

But that doesn’t mean it was meaningless.

Far away, Raniel, who was burning beasts while charging, felt the tide of beasts shift at some point. No longer did they obstruct her path. They began to avoid her, heading elsewhere.

Then, where to?

Toward the front line the knights were holding.

A path was slowly opening up. This meant some leisure had been regained. Raniel paused for a moment, slowly catching her breath. The hot air escaped between her lips.

“…Hoo.”

A moment of respite, a single breath.

After exhaling long, Raniel resumed her steps. The path was gradually clearing.

3.

Kyle ■ ■■ opened his eyes.

A presence was approaching.

The being he had yearned for was coming toward him. Slowly, very slowly, he began to rise.

His head still felt dull.

Lost beliefs. Colliding, shattering values were wearing him down. While one called out to taint the human lands, another had shouted that it shouldn’t be so. The conflicting cries muddled his mind.

It was dizzying. Confusing. Noisy.

Everything was vague and unclear, but one thing remained vividly clear among it all. Kyle ■ chewed on that single clarity.

【Kill the Ashen.】

The sword he had stabbed through his heart as if to sheath.

As he fondled the hilt of the sword once called the Holy Sword, Kyle ■ planted his feet firmly on the ground.

The Ashen was approaching.

He could sense it.

The only sharp clarity. Even amidst the confusion, he could strongly feel his purpose. The reason he had to wield the sword.

When he thought of the Ashen, he could be himself.

The knight who had lost himself thirsted for the Ashen. He instinctively felt he could realize something when facing it. Gripping the hilt, Kyle ■ started to walk aimlessly.

As he walked, the beasts came into view.

Countless beasts surrounded him, intent on protecting him. They followed behind him. Staring at them with empty eyes, Kyle ■ thought. They were a hindrance.

Unnecessary beings.

Kyle ■ lightly waved his hand.

That was the end of it. The bodies of the beasts swarming around Kyle were shredded. Transforming into minced meat, they fell as they bowed their heads toward him until the very end.

A bloodstorm surged.

With each step he took, the bloodstorm thickened. As he walked through the bloodstorm, he eventually stopped in front of a building. It was a church that had been abandoned and worn down over the centuries.

For some reason, he felt like it had to be here.

Though he didn’t know why, that thought arose.

Kyle ■ placed his hand on the church’s door and lightly pushed. Just before stepping inside with a groan, he turned back to look.

Ashen dust was swirling in the wind.

It was a different kind of ash than what he yearned for. It seemed like ash that wouldn’t reignite even if it caught fire. The ash scattered by the wind settled upon the hilt shoved into Kyle’s heart.

“…,…”

He thought he heard someone’s voice.

The hollowed gaze of Kyle ■ narrowed.

Furrowing his brow, he gripped the hilt tightly and drew the sword from his heart. The ash clinging to the blade bothered him. The voice echoing in his ears was the same.

He swung the drawn sword.

The ash that stuck to the tip scattered away.

The belatedly launched sword wave swallowed the ash without leaving a trace. As the forest shook, Kyle ■ looked at the sword he held in his hand.

No ash remained on the sword.

But in Kyle’s eyes, the ash was visible. He saw the illusion of ash enveloping the sword. The illusion lasted but a moment. Upon closing and opening his eyes, the sword was just a sword, and the darkened blade remained unchanged.

Kyle ■ returned the sword to its place.

*

In the twisted Phantom Territory, it was hard to find direction.

In the landscape severely damaged by shadows, it was not even easy to discern which way was front or back. The steady steps of Raniel began to slow down gradually. They slowed to a halt.

The broken and warped terrain.

The fetid stench blown through by the swarming beasts.

The cries of beasts echoed from all around.

In the midst of all this, the Phantom Territory truly resembled hell. Her head spun. Slowly regaining her breath, Raniel searched her surroundings. In the confusion, she fumbled for direction.

Finding direction in the tangled magic was not easy. The feeling of a gaze was no different.

How many steps had she taken like that?

Scrape, a strange noise rang in her eardrum. It was a serene cutting sound. Delayed, Raniel felt the tremor shaking the Phantom Territory.

Chaaahhh!

The sound came from behind.

Raniel halted her steps and turned around. Something swept through the area. She belatedly understood it was a sword wave shot from afar.

It was undoubtedly the sword wave shot by Kyle.

But no matter how long she waited, a second sword wave didn’t come. Raniel silently glared at the place where the sword wave had passed.

“……”

A landscape split in half.

And a long line etched into the ground. Following that line with her gaze, she noticed it extended far into the distance. To Raniel, it felt like a single path.

A path toward Kyle.

Following the trace left by the sword wave, Raniel dashed onward. How long did she run like this? She realized she had completely escaped the once exceedingly complex Phantom Territory. Looking around, she found herself in a vast wasteland.

There were no beasts in the wasteland.

Only a thick fog of blood lingered.

Waving her hand, Raniel brushed away the blood fog. Only then did the surroundings come into view. Fragments of broken and shattered castles lay everywhere. That scenery felt familiar to Raniel.

‘…The remains of the Kingdom of Selef.’

The place where she confronted the Demon Lord in the past.

Swallowing a dry gulp, Raniel began to walk once more. However, those steps wouldn’t last long. She could no longer see the path marked by the sword wave.

Raniel looked down at the ground.

On the desolate wasteland were countless sword marks etched into it. The marks mixed with the traces of the sword wave made it impossible to discern their origins. Though it was incomprehensible, it didn’t matter much.

The sword marks had become a new landmark.

Raniel stood precisely at the place where the sword marks began. Or rather, perhaps it was the place where they had broken off. Looking up from where she stood revealed a massive gash that sliced through the air. Gazing at the cut, Raniel smiled.

She couldn’t help but laugh.

…Raniel knew nothing about swords. She was ignorant of the heights of swordsmanship. Just as knights fail to understand mages, mages too fail to grasp knights. Yet, extremes connect in a way.

The long tear in space had yet to heal.

It remained enshrined as if it were a landscape.

Understanding how much value this strike held, and what it must have severed was not challenging.

‘Here it is.’

Raniel let out a hollow laugh.

‘Here, you cut down the Demon Lord.’

Just like Ganikalt van Galatrick did.

You managed to recreate this absurd strike. You truly severed the Demon Lord. Back then, you ran away, but this time you managed to…

Managed to.

With a firm grip, Raniel clenched her fist.

And then she stepped forward again.

From the end of the sword marks to the starting point, Raniel walked. The haphazardly stamped sword marks were soon Kyle’s footsteps. Backtracking along the path Kyle had previously taken, Raniel walked toward where he last reached, where he first stepped.

From the end to the beginning.

To stand at the beginning once more.

Now, to move forward.

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