The First Light forces a choice.
At the crossroads where choosing one means discarding another. Even if the one making the choice bears no guilt… the fact remains that they must select who to discard with their own hands.
Strategic value. The weight of life.
The relationships and emotions entangled with the subjects.
A multitude of factors always intertwine in a choice.
The moment one begins to retrace those factors and calculate, humanity is compelled to reflect on itself. It becomes clear how petty one truly is.
‘…Choice.’
In the face of proclaiming the weight of life as equal and declaring all lives precious… Chloe feels disgust as she finds herself weighing the most important moment.
“I, I…”
If it were Galahal.
If it were that person, it wouldn’t have been this way.
“…”
Finally, Chloe bit her tongue and lowered her head. Ultimately, making the choice is not her role. At this very moment, she is powerless, and the one executing the operation is not her.
Rania van Trias.
It is she who must make the choice.
The strongest force humanity possesses and the only one capable of finding a breakthrough in this situation. Chloe silently waited for the answer she would deliver.
“Chloe.”
Rania opened her mouth.
Her voice was slightly colder than usual. When Chloe lifted her gaze to look at Rania, she inadvertently realized upon meeting those azure eyes.
What stands before her is not a hero meant just for her. It’s not Professor Rania, who has graciously looked after her…
“I am.”
The overall commander of the Western Front.
A commander holding the greatest power.
A being that must judge and make choices with reason, not emotion. Objectively, more than anyone else on the battlefield, she must assess the situation.
The villain presents choices.
The sage agonizes over choices.
Those who proclaim ideals end up choosing nothing. Or they choose a path of self-sacrifice.
And the commander.
The one who must take responsibility is.
“I will go to Artiya.”
The act of choosing who to discard.
—
The black sky sways like a red moon and waves.
The sky looked grotesque when viewed from the depths of the Phantom Territory. Belnoa let out a long sigh and rose to his feet. The thick mana choked him, but that didn’t last long. The solid mana array remained unaffected by the mana.
“Phew…”
Exhaling deeply, Belnoa leaned his head against the stone. The goddess who had been perched above him had sat beside him without him noticing.
[It seems we are deep in the Phantom Territory.]
“It looks that way.”
[You’ve likely been caught up in a terrible spell.]
Belnoa smiled bitterly.
A terrible spell, indeed. He recalled the final moments. Just when victory seemed assured, the tide of the battle turned. The Braver that manifested using the necromancer’s corpse expanded the circuits prepared in advance…
The expanded circuit was a space-type spell.
Though he couldn’t know precisely what spell it was due to the ancient language it consisted of, the typical distortion of space-type spells occurred within the circuit. The moment Belnoa saw the circuit, he gave up on resisting and prioritized Chloe’s escape.
Without knowledge, there was no way to counter it.
Dispelling was also impossible.
Thus, this was the only option.
At that moment, all he could do was break the coordinates indicated by the spell as the circuit swallowed him. Looking around, it seemed that attempt was half successful and half unsuccessful…
“In any case, I survived.”
With half success, he was fine with that, Belnoa thought. To be honest, it was a crazy act. One misstep would have torn his body apart.
Why are space-type spells obsolete?
Because of their instability. While the Royal Capital has short-distance teleportation devices, they can only manage to teleport within the limited range of ‘inside the Royal Capital’ even with hundreds of safety mechanisms backing them up.
Connecting coordinates to coordinates.
Tearing through space, moving with the flow of mana.
In theory, it’s possible, but the factors to consider and the risks to exclude are far too many, making it an impractical spell in real life. Even the slightest deviation could turn the spell on the caster against them.
‘If space-type spells were practical, first-class knights and battle mages would be rolling in ’em.’
…Even without that, it seems like they’re rolling around. Still, anyway. Surviving after attempting to interfere with such a dangerous spell was a miracle.
[Hah.]
The goddess gave Belnoa a sidelong glance as if to say she was exasperated.
[Did you know you were doing something insane?]
“If I fell where my opponent marked, I would die anyway. I just thought I might as well gamble.”
[That’s not wrong.]
“Well, I should consider myself fortunate that the caster’s skill was good. I don’t know how, but it seems they made it well-stabilized.”
[Are you claiming that you survived because of that?]
“That’s about right.”
Throwing in a half-joking remark, Belnoa raised his body.
“…”
Silently, Belnoa put his hand into his robe. Most of the magical tools he carried during the teleportation had shattered under the strain.
Only two potions remained.
A little bit of dried, withered rations.
Insufficient resources to survive in the heart of the Phantom Territory. With a sigh, Belnoa chewed on the dried piece of meat and loosened his body.
[What will you do now?]
“What to do?”
Belnoa turned to the goddess and smiled bitterly.
“I’ll just survive.”
In the final moment.
Before the encroaching circuit, Belnoa told Chloe to wait. That he would return.
“You also said it yourself, goddess.”
To survive.
If you truly want that child to be well, then you should stay by them, the goddess warned. While chewing on those words, Belnoa took a long, deep breath.
“So, I will survive and return.”
“Hey, Belnoa.”
“Don’t leave me behind.”
“That’s the promise we made.”
At dawn of a breaking day.
Belnoa did not forget Chloe’s gaze and her thin voice looking at him. He did not forget the goddess’s warning or the advice from Rania and Destel.
[What a good determination.]
The goddess also stood up.
Perched on Belnoa’s shoulder, she stretched out her arm. The arm pointed beyond the forest.
[It won’t be easy.]
“It looks that way.”
A presence was felt beyond the forest.
Moreover, the conversations they shared drifted into Belnoa’s ears. Though he could only grasp the rough context due to the distance, it was enough.
-…Find la!
-The prophet…
-…in this area…
They were searching for someone.
And that someone was him. Belnoa steadied his breath and erased all traces of his presence. Clearing his mind completely, he focused only on one theme.
First, survive.
To the best of one’s abilities.
—
“I am going to Artiya.”
Chloe understands what those words mean.
Going to Artiya means choosing Kelharlem, and choosing Kelharlem is tantamount to abandoning Belnoa.
…She understands in her head.
It’s a rational choice to head to Kelharlem, where the possibility of rescue is ‘certainly’ higher than that of Belnoa, who has completely vanished. Objectively, it is the right choice.
She understands that fact in her head but…
“Uh, um…”
One cannot always be rational.
With shaking eyes, Chloe glared at Rania. Facing those cold eyes, Chloe trembled and continued with a quivering voice.
“Then, what about Belnoa…”
Is she really wanting to hear the answer “I won’t rescue him” from her own mouth? It was not a question seeking an answer; it was closer to a mumble.
“…”
Looking at the wavering Chloe, Rania felt bitterness. It was no coincidence that the story she heard from her future self popped into her mind in this situation.
The Goddess of Ashes had said.
One of her disciples from the future became a calamity, and she had to kill that child with her own hands. When Rania, determined to ask the child’s name, finally got the answer, the Goddess of Ashes responded.
“It was Chloe.”
“When Belnoa dies, Chloe becomes the calamity.”
Belnoa’s death.
Chloe’s ensuing corruption due to it.
While the exact details weren’t shared, the Goddess of Ashes did mention that she used Belnoa as bait and discarded her. Though she had the chance to save her, she didn’t.
“Because it was a situation that had to be.”
What the unavoidable situation was remains unclear. She doesn’t know, but that future self likely thought it was the best choice to avoid the worst.
‘To avoid the worst, seeking the lesser evil.’
That was the way of the Goddess of Ashes.
‘But…’
That is not my way.
Rania exhaled deeply.
“Chloe.”
“Bel, no…”
“Chloe, look at me.”
She reached out and firmly grasped Chloe’s shoulders.
Gazing steadily into Chloe’s trembling eyes, Rania opened her mouth.
“Chloe, you are a hero.”
The blue eyes reflected Chloe’s green ones.
“You are also in a position where you must make a choice and judge for yourself. A hero must be such a being.”
The commander. The one responsible. The one who drinks the blood of others.
“Do not delegate someone’s choice to others. Do not try to justify a choice made. See what it is you want to choose.”
While maintaining eye contact, Rania posed a question.
“What do you really want?”
“I…”
Chloe spoke in a trembling voice.
“I want to save Belnoa.”
“Good.”
“But…”
“No need for the follow-up.”
Rania released Chloe’s shoulders.
Then, she took out an artifact from within her robe and placed it on Chloe’s palm. There were two artifacts she handed over, pointing at one of them as Rania spoke.
“Belnoa possesses the Original God’s blessing. This means she has a different divine power, and this artifact is to track that divinity.”
Chloe observed what was in her hand.
An artifact that only indicated direction.
A hazy dot disappeared and reappeared repeatedly.
“Belnoa is still alive. She seems to have fallen into the heart of the Phantom Territory, but I don’t know her exact location. We can only discern direction… and due to the dense mana, sensing her is difficult.”
Still, we can figure out her approximate direction.
Muttering this, Rania looked at Chloe.
“I’ll assign you some skilled knights and a few mage knights from the special forces. Form a search party. Enter the Phantom Territory and move in the direction indicated by the transmitter.”
It won’t be easy.
It will definitely be dangerous.
“If you want to find her, do your utmost.”
Even doing your best doesn’t guarantee success at all times. Many things cannot be resolved solely through effort.
“If you’ve done your best and have arrived near Belnoa…”
Even if you did your best, there may be shortcomings.
Some things that cannot be changed.
“Wherever that may be. Whether it’s the heart of the Phantom Territory, the realm of calamity, or a nest teeming with beasts, it doesn’t matter.”
That part should be filled with miracles.
A miracle relying on luck. While one may say that it’s fundamentally a deity’s role to create miracles, the gods have turned their eyes away from everything and remain indifferent.
“Activate the second artifact.”
Thus, someone must take on that role instead.
Evoking miracles and filling in the missing pieces.
That is the hero’s role as the agent of the gods.
“Then I will settle it.”
Chloe’s eyes shook.
The function of the second artifact. An artifact devoid of any semblance of safety and Rania. Chloe looked back and forth between them. Then, Chloe opened her mouth.
“But, this…”
“That’s not something you should worry about or bear. It is my burden to bear.”
Rania smiled bitterly.
With that bitter smile, she gently patted Chloe’s head.
“For now, just focus on finding Belnoa. Don’t give up before time and do everything you can.”
Isn’t that right?
With Rania saying that, Chloe lowered her head. With relief, self-loathing, and a multitude of mixed emotions, Chloe exhaled a suppressed breath. Watching the trembling corners of her lips and the droplets falling on her robe, Rania let out a short sigh.
“…Chloe.”
She spoke.
“Before being a commander or a responsible figure, I am a hero.”
The commander who chooses who to discard.
Before being a commander, Rania was a hero. Rania, or rather Raniel, had made a long-ago promise. It was a promise made before her oldest friend, and it was something that had to be kept without fail.
Not a contract, but a promise.
Without compulsion from providence, and there would be no consequences for breaking it; and thus, it was a promise that couldn’t be broken even more.
“You wished for a hero.”
“You wished for the most perfect hero.”
“I will try to be that.”
A light-hearted comment carried a weight heavier than anything else. Before Kyle Toven, Raniel had promised to become the most perfect hero.
“Being a hero means having to perform miracles.”
A sage agonizes.
An idealist sacrifices themselves.
A commander chooses to discard others.
And a hero performs miracles.
In situations where one must discard someone, a person who invokes miracles to save everyone is called a hero by the world. Raniel van Trias had to become that hero.
“Because I promised.”
So, Raniel said.
“Do your best.”
And for the remaining parts…
“I will bear what is left.”
That was the choice she made.
