-350.
“It’s all over.”
“………”
“So what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know.”
“You can’t say you don’t know.”
“You…”
“I won’t say you should take responsibility. I also won’t say you can do anything because you’re capable of anything.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Just make a request.”
He smiled bitterly.
“Be it becoming a god, a demon lord, or a star…”
He lifted the broken spear.
A broken and rusted spear. With dried blood clinging to it, no longer shining, he aimed it at his temple. Though it had lost its light, it seemed to retain its sharpness, and blood trickled from where the spearhead met his temple.
“Please, just become something.”
The coward, the last survivor, spoke.
“Prove that whatever it is, the lives of those who died, my life that survived thanks to them, the ten years of struggling you and I went through, and the long agonizing time spent in hell had meaning.”
What he recalled were countless deaths.
To reach this place, countless sacrifices were required. Having piled innumerable deaths to arrive at this destination, he let out a long sigh as he gazed at it.
“How am I supposed to show this scenery to them?”
Before him lay a world in ruin.
Black eyes fell from the sky.
Magical energy trembled in the ground.
The demon lord cursed and hated this land until the very end. The curse he left was leading the world to ruin.
“…Last time I asked you.”
About the existence of parallel worlds or regression.
“And you answered that parallel worlds can never exist. The only possibility is regression, you said.”
While having that conversation, they had both sensed it.
This world was already too broken to recover, and there was no paradise at the destination they would reach. Even knowing that, they had come this far. For what purpose?
“Regress. Then at least all of this might have value.”
“…That’s an irresponsible thing to say. Do you think it’s that easy?”
“Impossible for humans, yes.”
The coward laughed.
He looked at the witch with a smile.
“I think you could do it.”
There was a being already far removed from humanity.
A human who had become half a god.
It wouldn’t be hard to become a god if one truly wished to. What he needed now was to hammer that idea into the half-divine being’s mind. How could he solidify the will of that demigod?
It was cruel, but there was one way.
The coward uttered the name of that being, as essential as the reverse scale of a demigod. A name that could not be ignored.
“Kyle said…”
“………”
“He regarded you as a being like a god. He said he believed in you, who could do anything and become anything. So now…”
The coward laughed.
“What do you say about trying to become a god?”
The witch fell silent.
The coward exhaled deeply.
“Just as you said, if there is only one world, and if you can become a god and regress…”
Then, just then.
“All of this will become ‘nothing.’ It means the past will fade away. A past that no one can remember.”
Yes, said the coward.
“That would be enough.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Even if we disappear, even if we are forgotten, the time we lived will pile up beneath that ground. It will become the foundation to build a new world. That would be enough.”
At the very least, it would have meaning.
“That’s the only salvation.”
“………”
“To have come all this way just to convey this message is quite the absurd joke.”
The coward, Destel, tightened his grip around the spear.
The broken spearhead pierced into Destel’s temple. The heavy spear that felt so burdensome to struggle to live now felt lighter than ever as he relinquished his life.
“Destel.”
“Are you trying to stop me?”
“I won’t stop you.”
“Then what is it?”
“If…”
Raniel spoke.
“If I become a god, and if, as you said, I truly regress to the past…”
She smiled sadly.
“Can you help me one more time?”
A Balance appeared before Destel.
A balance made not of starlight or shadow, but of ash.
The moment he read the contents of the contract imprinted in his mind, Destel burst into laughter. He was about to ask if she was out of her mind, but stopped himself. After coming this far, one could hardly be sane.
…Do you plan to deny me peace even after death?
Of course, such a comfortable death wouldn’t suit him. Having tried to escape into death, that witch was now telling him not to escape at least at the end. With a bitter smile, Destel retorted.
“You’re not sane.”
“When have I ever been sane?”
“Yeah. It’s clear both you and I are insane. But still, add just a few more lines here.”
“What should I add?”
“Before the contract, ‘I’ will question myself.”
“What will you ask?”
A contract with additional requirements.
Destel pledged to that contract.
“Just out of curiosity.”
The coward muttered, having lived a lifetime filled with regrets.
“In the changed future, will I be able to live without regrets?”
The coward groaned.
“And also, will I be able to become a hero?”
1.
“…Did you say ash particles scattered?”
Cardi blinked.
“Are you saying you drew starlight and ash particles appeared? Not your own, but the Goddess of Ashes’?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“That can’t be. The Goddess of Ashes was completely annihilated that day. She couldn’t have intervened in this world at all.”
I let out a long sigh.
“Of course, the scattering of ash particles was momentary, and they didn’t appear when I consciously tried to draw them. Destel looked puzzled, not understanding how it happened either.”
Destel had drawn the ash particles for just a moment.
After that, ash didn’t mix with Destel’s starlight. However, I clearly saw the ash particles that flared up for that fleeting moment. It undeniably belonged to the Goddess of Ashes.
“Did you hear anything else?”
“I didn’t engage in a long conversation with her. While I didn’t hear stories related to this…”
Cardi stroked his chin.
“I’ve seen ash particles scatter before.”
“…You’ve seen them?”
“On the day she vanished, when you boarded the carriage to stop Kyle, ash particles, not snow, were drifting in the alley where my shop is located.”
After pondering for a long time, Cardi finally spoke up.
“I wonder if it’s remnants of her.”
“…Remnants?”
“Yeah. The remains of gods that fell by the ancient dragon’s hand thousands of years ago still reside in Alkeia, right? Although the Goddess of Ashes was annihilated, it’s not impossible her remnants still linger in this world.”
Cardi’s words made sense.
However, considering the influence of the remnants of the Goddess of Ashes, it was far too much to dismiss it merely as remnants. Furrowing my brow, I long sighed again.
“…Well, in any case, it’s probably a good thing.”
“You sound quite confident.”
“No matter how she intervenes, at least it won’t hinder me.”
Whatever other tricks she may have up her sleeve, it wouldn’t harm me. So I concluded it was unnecessary to worry.
“…Let’s think about that later, for now, we have to deal with this.”
I slightly walked out of the barracks and looked around.
I saw the prepared platform and the crowd of knights gathered eagerly before it. All of them awaited the news I would deliver. The news of our victory had spread already, but they were waiting to hear it from my own lips.
“Phew…”
I let out a long breath.
I steadied my breathing, adjusting my robe and brushing my hair back. I tied my hair into a single strand and tidied my attire in front of the mirror.
“It looks cumbersome. Do you really need to fuss over your appearance that much?”
“It’s necessary.”
I said.
“Because what’s visible is everything. Every word I utter, every breath, every minor action is recorded here. So I have to be perfect.”
I turned to Cardi.
“I must show that despite defeating the calamity, I remain unharmed. I must demonstrate that even after achieving great feats, I’m not arrogant. I need to say it as if it’s not something extraordinary, just something I did because I had to. I must.”
“Do you really have to go that far?”
“It must be done. It must be perfect.”
I smiled lightly.
“That’s my role.”
Responding to their expectations.
Remaining a perfect hero.
“That’s the image of myself I wish for.”
That is the dream Kyle entrusted to me.
Managing my expression, regulating my voice, and after taking a final breath, I stepped out of the barracks. The eyes of the knights were fixed upon me. With their attention concentrated, I walked up onto the platform.
One step, another step.
Thud, my steps echoed as I ascended the platform.
Once on the platform, I scanned the gathered crowd. There were numerous knights, those who had stood on the battlefield alongside me, or those who had guarded my back, and I released a light breath.
There were no amplifying magic devices prepared on the platform to enhance my voice. That wasn’t necessary.
I wrapped my voice in mana.
Even using an amplification device, the volume of my voice would change depending on the distance. The speed at which it reached them would be the same. However, the voice wrapped in mana would reach their ears with the same volume and speed. Though it was cumbersome, it was a bearable task.
“Aah.”
I opened my mouth.
As I did, I thought that this would be the second time announcing the news of vanquishing a calamity. When I announced the suppression of the black dragon, humanity rejoiced. Then, what kind of reaction would they show when I announced the defeat of the betrayer?
With a little anticipation, I began to speak.
“Throughout the history of humanity, the betrayer has symbolized terror. Humanity had to tremble not just at the betrayer but also at the appearance of the demons it commanded.”
Centuries of time.
“But from this day onward…”
I smiled.
“The betrayer will no longer be regarded as a symbol of terror in human history.”
I shouted while smiling.
“The betrayer has been suppressed. Not a single demon that the betrayer commanded remains. On this day, feel free to rejoice. You may even lower your weapons.”
My voice and laughter were drowned out by the cheers of the knights. Those who had lost companions to the betrayer, those who had felt helpless, raised their voices even louder. Amidst the echoing voices, I shouted.
“The black storm, Belial the Black Dragon has been beheaded and suppressed by the sword of the hero Kyle.”
The suppression of the black storm, the black dragon.
“The betrayer, Gletus has been suppressed by the hero and superhumans. The calamity met its end, having denied everything.”
The suppression of the betrayer, Gletus.
“What remains of the calamity? The Ancient Lich Skebal?”
I chuckled.
“Surely there is no one who doesn’t know that I currently possess forty-seven skulls of that terrifying calamity. Is Skebal still a calamity? Well, I don’t think so.”
I spoke amidst the laughter of the knights.
“There is but one calamity left.”
The most feared calamity.
“The Death’s Blade, Ganikalt.”
The strongest calamity.
“There is just one step to achieving the wishes of humanity. One step to fulfill the dreams that everyone laughed at as fantasies and delusions.”
I raised my arm. Extended my finger.
Pointing to the horizon, to where we must go next. Toward the place where death dwindles, I said.
“With you all, I will march forward.”
Next.
“Again, next.”
2.
『With you all, I will march forward.』
『Again, next.』
The speech of Rania van Trias, the hero, spread everywhere. Victorious news flowed to all places, both high and low.
“Honestly.”
Reading Rania’s speech, she smiled.
“The Master remains ever the same.”
She slowly rose from her seat.
“Habel.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Prepare, please.”
“What shall I prepare?”
“What do you think?”
Despite being a nation that could be called the final bastion of humanity, or the largest empire, this country stubbornly remained as a kingdom. It was the country that inherited the will of the Ancient Kingdom of Arcadia.
“It’s time to begin.”
Ayla Clen Cartedia, the Queen of Cartedia, smiled.
“Let the hunt for the Braver commence.”
