Rania and Lac engaged in casual conversation for a while. How had he been for three years? She had heard news sporadically. Not much of it was very meaningful.
“They call you the Guardian of the North, huh? I see your name pop up in the papers now and then.”
More like ‘every day,’ but Rania didn’t want to share her secret hobby with her disciple, so she pretended to be uninterested.
And Lac, having grown older and more perceptive, could somewhat see through her charade and bitterly thought, You’re still the same.
“······.”
As they continued chatting, Rania exhaled sharply. Erasing the light smile from her face, she took a breath and spoke.
“I’ve heard about the incidents in the North.”
The emergence of the King of Beasts.
That was the main point. Lac’s expression became stiff.
“There are things we need to discuss about that matter.”
Rania had already attended the funeral to express her condolences. She hadn’t brought up the deaths of the warriors out of consideration, sensing Lac’s reluctance to mention them.
“I’m sorry.”
Rania slowly bowed her head.
To Lac, and to the North.
“It was my mistake.”
Rania van Trias didn’t have to bow her head in front of anyone, not even the king of the country. Yet, she bowed before Lac.
“I’m the one who failed to catch the King of Beasts, the one who failed to track him down, the one who misread the route. It’s all my mistake. Because of my misjudgment, the King of Beasts reached the North and…”
Caused an incident.
Left irreversible damage.
“…Someone had to be sacrificed. It should have never come to this.”
Feel free to resent me.
Lac could only smile bitterly at the look on Rania’s face as she seemed to suggest that.
“Please don’t say that, Master.”
Lac spoke in a bitter voice.
“It’s not something you need to apologize for, and it’s not your responsibility either. Truly.”
Rania lifted her head and met Lac’s gaze.
Her crimson eyes, always shining as before, held no blame or anger.
“Rather, I should be the one held responsible.”
Lac sighed deeply.
“…You mentioned once that a turning point would come.”
Three years ago, on the day Rania left Apuria.
She had planted a seed in Lac’s heart, saying that a turning point would eventually come. Although she hadn’t wished for that turning point to arrive ‘like this,’ for Lac, this incident was indeed a clear turning point.
A chance to reflect on himself.
A motivation to strengthen his resolve.
Having experienced defeat after facing the King of Beasts, Lac realized how complacent he had been.
“I realized something at this turning point. Just how much I had relied on you, Master. How carelessly I was living.”
Rania fell silent.
And Lac continued.
“I thought I was somewhat strong. Not as strong as you, nor able to stand beside you, but I arrogantly believed I had enough strength to protect what I had.”
“You are strong. Regarding this incident…”
“No.”
Lac shook his head.
“That strength only exists because of you. Because you’re there to stop the disaster, because you’re looking out for me, because you would help me anytime I wanted.”
All the trials Lac thought he had overcome in his life were merely half. The other half was always filled in by the presence of Rania van Trias, a true powerhouse.
“That’s how that strength came to be.”
Lac looked at his hands.
Hands that had lost their sword.
Hands that could grasp neither pride nor honor.
“I’m weak. Incredibly.”
Because he was weak, he couldn’t protect what mattered. Because he was weak, he couldn’t take revenge on the beast that had defiled his brothers. Lac didn’t want to blame anyone else for problems stemming from his weakness.
Problems and answers should always be sought within oneself. That’s what he learned from the warriors.
“So, I think I need to move forward.”
People change from loss.
Lac was no exception.
“There’s a reason I need to become stronger. I must challenge that beast again. It’s my duty to restore the honor of the warriors who were insulted.”
“…So?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Rania silently watched Lac.
As they headed North, she felt a twinge of worry.
Concerned that Lac might choose the wrong path after the deaths of the warriors. Rania had seen too many people broken by loss. She worried that Lac wouldn’t be any different…
‘…Such unnecessary worry.’
The moment she looked into Lac’s eyes, she understood.
They were neither the eyes of a vengeful spirit, nor the eyes of a madman, nor even the eyes of a person who had lost something. They were the eyes of a man who had a clear goal and was searching for his own path.
“You’ve grown up so much, really.”
Unconsciously, Rania muttered that.
She relaxed her shoulders and smiled.
The boy sitting in front of her was no longer the one who needed her help like in his academy days. The boy had become a young man and chosen his own path.
‘The schedule moved up sooner than I thought…but…’
Rania opened her mouth.
“Lac.”
“Yes, Master.”
“For now, I plan to concentrate our forces in the North for a while. While we can’t completely fill the void left by the North’s warriors, I’ll send some of my capable knights to the North.”
And then, Rania said,
“You’re planning to step outside of the North, aren’t you?”
“…How did you know?”
“I can tell just by looking at your eyes.”
Because they were similar to Kyle’s.
A bigger battlefield, a bigger stage.
Those who decide to move forward don’t stand still. Yet, there was hesitation in his gaze, the consideration of whether it was alright for him to leave the North in the current situation.
“Lac.”
Rania wanted to resolve that hesitation.
“You’ve reached the realm of the superhuman, haven’t you?”
She had already heard through Natida.
Lac had inflicted wounds on the King of Beasts after an intense battle. And that the King of Beasts had awakened.
‘…This just got complicated.’
However, this was not something to hold against Lac.
What mattered now was that Lac had become a superhuman. He had become a significant variable on the battlefield, a power that Rania could operate even at her level.
“If you want, I can hand over the battlefield Draka was in charge of to you. And I’ll position Draka near the North to be on standby for emergencies.”
The Sword Demon, Draka.
While he had become a mere puppet with dulled skills, he was still a true superhuman. Rania was saying she would hand over that battlefield if Lac wished for it.
“If you’re prepared for that…”
“I will.”
Lac answered immediately.
“I think I need to discuss it with my father, but…if possible, I’d like to do that.”
If he could head to the same stage as her.
He would be able to face the beast again.
He could become stronger.
“It won’t be an easy path.”
“I know.”
“You will see many unpleasant sights.”
“I know that too.”
“Still, will you go?”
“Still, I now have a reason to go.”
It was the appearance of someone who had made up their mind.
Rania let out a long sigh and smiled sadly. She had anticipated this. What Lac needed, now that he had chosen his own path, was not a guide to show the way.
“What you need now…”
What he needed was a companion to walk the path together.
There was someone she had in mind as that companion.
“I’ll attach a companion for you.”
Though a bit unique, that is.
2.
After briefly conversing with the Duke of the North, Rania immediately returned to her battlefield. A few days later, Lac received a summons from the Duke and headed somewhere.
Creek.
As he entered, it was an armory.
In that place, where various weapons were hanging, Eryhal von Grace was perched. The Duke of the North and Lac’s father slowly opened his mouth.
“Lac.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I heard about the hero who visited recently. You expressed a desire to head to the battlefield, correct?”
Lac nodded silently.
“You are my son and the one who will become the master of the North. Are you aware of this?”
“I am.”
“Common sense dictates that no father would send his son to the battlefield. If a power holder sends their only heir to war…well, they’d be called crazy.”
All true.
Yet, Eryhal looked at his son standing before him. A son who had become a fine warrior. His eyes showed no wavering. Those were the eyes of someone who had already made their choice.
“But that’s societal common sense.”
Eryhal slowly rose from his seat.
Old and frail, yet he was still a warrior. While he hadn’t become a superhuman, he was an ever-closer presence to one. His body, tempered in countless battles, hadn’t waned despite the passage of time.
“The master of the North must live a more proactive and intense life than anyone else. They must become a symbol of the warriors and can’t afford to rest on their laurels. I’ve always told you that.”
Eryhal reached out.
“So, live a splendid life.”
His rough, calloused hand grasped an axe hung on the wall. It was a pair of axes, rare metals found only in the North, colored like the night sky, full of mystery.
“I originally intended to give you this on the day you succeeded me as the master of the North, but it seems you need it now.”
Eryhal personally tied the axe around Lac’s waist. Then, he patted Lac on the shoulder.
“You’ve grown well.”
The greeting was brief. As always.
As Eryhal brushed past Lac, he spoke briefly.
“Your mother is quite worried. Make sure to show your face before you depart.”
“Yes, understood.”
As he watched his father’s retreating back, Lac nodded slightly. Then he moved forward again.
*
Time passed, and the day of departure arrived.
Lac began his journey, accompanied by the farewells of the warriors. Many people from the North blessed his path, praying for his great achievements.
Clack.
As he stepped out through the gate, accompanied by the warriors’ salute, a carriage awaited him.
And there she was.
“Whew…”
Leaning against the carriage, a woman was smoking a cigarette. The smoke she exhaled didn’t carry the acrid, suffocating scent typical of tobacco. Instead, her cigarette emitted an artificial scent akin to that of a calming potion.
“You’ve come.”
Saint Natida.
As she crushed the cigarette underfoot, she smiled at Lac and extended her hand. It was the second request for a handshake. In the first, she had introduced herself as “Hero, Rania van Trias’s aide.”
And this time,
“I’m Natida.”
Not as a saint or an aide, but by her own name.
Revealing her name, she calmly stated.
“Please take good care of me, Hero.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“Isn’t that close enough?”
The drug-dealing saint and the warrior with the Holy Sword.
The two stepped into the carriage headed to battle.
3.
“Star.”
I muttered, resting my chin on my hand.
The reason I called upon the Star was singular, and she promptly showed me what I desired. A contract made hundreds of years ago by the Grand Magus, now passed into my hands.
Alongside the contract lay a map and a clock.
On the vast map, three shining points were marked. And one point that had already dimmed. I knew the name attached to the extinguished point.
‘Berta Canyon.’
The black storm, the nest of Belial the Black Dragon.
Where we defeated the black dragon.
I shifted my gaze to the remaining three points. Places where humanity had not reached even once in hundreds of years. Therefore, they weren’t recorded in any history book.
Yet, I knew the names attached to those locations.
I learned as I inherited the entirety of the contract. Pointing at each with my finger, I reflected on the names.
‘Where all foul creatures venture.’
The land for the unfaithful, Alkeia.
‘Where the torn sky points to.’
The place where death remains silent, Gehete.
‘The end of the world.’
The Temple of Shadows, ■■■.
…Until recently, these were the only three points. However, a new point had appeared. A point that emerged near Alkeia. I didn’t know the name attached to this point.
But I knew what resided there.
The King of Beasts, Barta.
I clicked my tongue at the emergence of a new disaster.
