abcnovels
Chapter 240
Chapter 240
———
Chapter 240: Tragedy (3)
The space of Cyan shrouded in thick mist.
Outside, what was happening, what had happened to Cyan,
None of those who were pushed here unexpectedly knew any of it.
Brian with a complicated heart, swinging back and forth.
Schurz silently guarding Luna who was asleep.
And even Hastia, only staring endlessly at the Soul Stone.
None of them could be comfortable.
‘Cyan….’
Certainly, Hastia was the most restless.
With trembling hands, she tightly held the Soul Stone, praying desperately for Cyan’s safety.
‘Why? What on earth?’
Since the moment the knight in golden armor appeared from the sky, she had felt something strange.
It was unfamiliar on the surface, but the energy she felt was not.
As an elf under divine protection, it was a very familiar energy that could never be ignored.
Knowing the identity of that energy, as Hastia,
‘You must be safe, Cyan’
There was nothing she could do but wish for Cyan’s safety.
Meanwhile, Schurz was guarding Luna’s side in one corner of the space.
Having witnessed the whole situation, he was filled with complex and subtle emotions.
For what reason did he help them and fight against the imperal knights?
For Luna?
Or for himself?
Was it even justifiable that he risked his life for something he couldn’t explain?
It was a remarkably pathetic situation even for himself.
“Please wake up safely, Luna.”
Schurz wished she would wake up soon and provide him with an answer to his pathetic self.
Even as Luna lay still with her eyes closed,
“….!”
Schurz’ gaze soon turned to the black book nestled in her arms.
For some reason feeling a strange sensation, he stared at the book for a while, then instinctively reached out his hand.
“Stop moving.”
He halted his action at once upon hearing a strange voice from somewhere.
“Curiosity can bring about sin. It’s better not to touch things that have an owner for no reason.”
It wasn’t just Schurz who heard the voice.
Brian and Hastia also turned their heads immediately upon hearing the voice.
“W-who are you?”
“Me? Well, you can just see me as the guardian of the lady who’s sleeping here.”
The unfamiliar man who hadn’t been in this space just a few seconds ago seemed to find the reactions of those looking at him quite amusing, as he chuckled.
“Hmm….”
Then, an uncomfortable groan escaped Luna’s lips as she started to stir.
She began to move her body here and there, even more than expected.
“Oh my. It would be troublesome if she wakes up already.”
Contrary to expectations that she might continue sleeping for at least another hour, Luna was preparing to wake up gradually.
Everyone rushed to her side to check on her condition.
“W-where’s… senior?”
However, the person who desperately wanted her to wake up wasn’t here yet when she did.
-Whooom
At that moment, the mist of the Soul Stone held by Hastia began to spread vividly.
‘The Soul Stone?’
-Thud, thud
Simultaneously, a gate opened in one corner of the space, and soon the footsteps of someone could be heard.
After a while, a familiar man appeared from beyond the gate.
It was Cyan, who had promised to return.
Brian was the first to rush to greet him.
“M-My lord! Are you safe…!”
However, due to a somehow changed atmosphere, Brian couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.
Without any reaction or response, Cyan walked forward unsteadily, and when he reached Luna, he collapsed to his knees.
The atmosphere grew suddenly heavy with the unexpected unfamiliar sight.
Whether to say something or not, Cyan quietly waited for Luna to wake up.
Finally, as Luna’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened,
“Wow….”
A small gasp escaped from Luna’s lips.
She blinked her eyes as if she couldn’t believe the current situation.
“Not a dream, right?”
“No.”
“Why are you here?”
“You said I had to be the first one you see when you wake up, didn’t you?”
“Well, I did say that….”
Whether she didn’t expect him to actually be there, she stared at Cyan for a moment with a vacant expression before suddenly reaching out both hands to him.
“What are you doing?”
“….?”
“You’re not going to help me up?”
She blatantly instructed him to hug her.
Cyan, who would have sighed in exasperation under normal circumstances, accepted her touch without a word this time.
-Swoosh
At that moment, Luna seized the opportunity and immediately hugged Cyan.
Cyan didn’t resist.
“Normally, you’d be ecstatic, your heart pounding as if it would burst with joy. Why aren’t you like that? I can’t help but wonder.”
“….”
“Did something bad happen, senior?”
Cyan didn’t answer.
But the faint tremor felt throughout his body spoke for him.
“I see.”
Luna hugged him tighter, patting his back gently.
“Then shouldn’t you be going to deal with that? Is it okay for you to stay here?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
Luna, now gently holding his face in her hands, said,
“How can I not worry? You’re making such a sad face.”
“….”
“Did you come to me instead of dealing with that problem? Wow, did I finally succeed?”
Luna was genuinely happy, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile brightly.
“You can leave. I’m fine now.”
“….”
“There’s no need to delay with me. Go where you need to go.”
But contrary to his words, a single tear rolled down Luna’s cheek in an instant.
Cyan, unable to rise easily, stared at her face intently.
“Why… are you crying?”
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s tears of joy.”
Luna hastily wiped away her tears and helped Cyan up.
“Go on. In case I change my mind, it’ll be a big problem.”
“The situation is over. Even if I don’t open the gate, you can…”
Cyan’s gaze shifted momentarily to Remiharam, who was standing behind her.
“Can you leave on your own?”
“Yes.”
Luna showed no sign of trouble.
Cyan gently patted her head.
“I’m going.”
With a brief farewell, Cyan, who was about to open the gate, then turned his head towards where Brian and Hastia were.
Then, without a word, he approached Brian and handed him something.
Brian couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“M-My lord! This is!?”
What Cyan handed him was none other than a sword.
And it wasn’t just any sword; it was his beloved sword, Kaeram, the only one of its kind in the world.
“Don’t be so surprised. Just hold onto it for a while.”
“Yes. Understood….”
Still in a daze, Brian carefully placed the sword on the ground.
-Swish, swish
Then, mist emanated from the end of the sword, and soon the soul of Kaeram was revealed.
[Ha….]
Kaeram heaved a deep sigh as soon as ahe appeared.
“Are you going to live forever? How could you show such discomfort to poor Kaeram, who’s second to none in wickedness?”
Remiharam chuckled as he observed the scene.
[Shut your mouth. If you don’t want to be torn apart…]
All that returned was rough swearing.
Remiharam spat out a dry cough and turned his head away.
Fueled by anger, Kaeram grabbed his head and muttered under his breath.
[You’re just an annoying woman until the end!]
* * *
Somewhere in the Ushif Empire, in the midst of an uninhabited plain atop a hill.
Bathed in the golden glow of a splendid evening sunset, Lumendel was displaying its majestic presence.
Sitting there with a serene expression, Lumendel was caressing something with his hands.
It was none other than the Holy Sword Durandal.
The Holy Sword, meeting its master, emitted a brighter light than ever before.
“Is there a reason you suddenly changed your mind?”
“There’s no grand reason. It’s just my trivial whim.”
“Will you regret it?”
“Whether I regret it or not depends not on me, but on you.”
Lumendel plunged the caressed body of the Holy Sword into the ground.
“Ha….”
Receiving the divine energy, Durandal involuntarily let out a sigh of ecstasy.
“No matter how the beginning and middle went, that’s not important. What matters is who’s at the end. Ultimately, the one who first turns despair into the motivation for growth will claim that end.”
With those words, Lumendel began to disintegrate into dust, gradually fading away.
“I hope it’s you.”
Durandal watched him with reverent eyes until Lumendel completely disappeared.
“Everything will proceed as it should.”
Then, for the remaining tasks, he slowly turned around.
“W-Where am I?”
Aschel, the owner of the Holy Sword who had lost consciousness and collapsed, finally opened his eyes and stood up.
“How long are you going to stay like that?”
In response to the resolute tone of the Holy Sword, Aschel quickly straightened himself.
“Y-Your Holiness! What is this situation exactly?”
“Do I need to explain? You lost to the wielder of the Demonic Sword. And quite embarrassingly at that. If it weren’t for his mercy, your body would have been torn to thousands of pieces by now, and you wouldn’t even know who you are.”
“D-D-Did I lose?”
Aschel couldn’t accept the truth, and he couldn’t control the emotions bursting forth.
Following the emotions came a rush of shame and disgrace from defeat.
He kept bursting into nervous laughter for no apparent reason.
“Seven years ago, you said the same to me. You said you’d defeat the Heir of the Mist no matter what, using any means necessary… ”
For Aschel, it was an embarrassing question he couldn’t bring himself to answer.
“I didn’t like your methods. I didn’t like the idea of sharing my power with other humans, or teaming up with the wielder of the Holy Scripture to create an existence identical to the Heir of the Mist. So, I didn’t think you would succeed. And that intuition proved to be right.”
“Your Holiness! If you give me another chance!”
“Another chance?”
Durandal immediately questioned him as if to say it was pitiful.
“I don’t give chances. It’s given by Him.”
Durandal glared fiercely at Aschel, as if ready to kill him at any moment.
“Just once.”
“….!”
“Whether there’s a change of heart or not, He has given you another chance.”
Durandal handed Aschel his own body, which was lying in front of him, again.
Accepting the Holy Sword, Aschel was so overwhelmed with ecstasy that he couldn’t say anything.
“He bestowed his own power directly.”
A tremendous amount of mana, incomparable to before.
Ashel struggled to contain the rising ecstasy as he sheathed the holy sword.
“I once had a conversation with Boris like this.”
Durandal raised his chin as if to say, “Go ahead and talk about it.”
“If we can’t stop the Heir of the Mist with our human power, what should we do? He suggested using the power of other races instead of humans for the answer.”
“Other races?”
“Yes. For example…”
With a meaningful smile, Aschel slowly continued.
“I mean the inhabitants of the Demon Realm who live far across the canyon, including their king.”
————