Chapter 314
Chapter 314
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Waves and Liberation, Penance.
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Blue blood soaked the sandbar. Abel's headless body slowly tilted. The moment he collapsed, the hilt slipped from Ronan's hand.
Thud. Lamancha, dropped from the tip first, plunged deep into the white sand. Abel did not rise again. Ronan, who had been repeatedly closing and opening his eyes, spat out a curse.
"Hoo... damn it..."
The accumulated fatigue from the battle came crashing down all at once. The curse was gone, but this was a separate issue.
He could instinctively feel that time was running out. Suddenly, Rin's voice echoed in his mind.
[Ronan. Pull yourself together.]
"Too late."
Ronan chuckled hoarsely. His condition was already so poor that his vision was badly blurred. In his foggy, swollen field of view, only the sound of red waves crashing reached him.
"...I'm beat."
Thud. Ronan, who had been staring at the horizon, plopped down where he stood. The sensation of gentle waves lapping at his legs wasn't half bad.
[Are you... going to die?]
"Probably."
[No... you can't.]
Ronan replied indifferently. Rin's voice, always so calm, was thick with moisture. Tch, acting like a weepy girl—holy sword or not, what's with the waterworks.
"Thanks, Rin. I made it this far because of you."
[Don't say that. There has to be some way...!]
"There isn't. You know that."
Ronan let out a short laugh. Of course he'd want to live if he could. He hated words like 'sacrifice' or 'honorable death' more than anyone. Better to be a coward who lives and goes home than a hero etched on a memorial.
But he hadn't expected this to happen to him. Dying heroically after saving the world—straight out of legend, and not the heroic kind.
"Man, talk about bad luck..."
Ronan grumbled. His mouth was smiling, even if his words weren't.
He would die here, but what he had protected would endure for a long time. As Ronan, unable to withstand the exhaustion, was about to lie down flat—
A familiar voice came from not far away.
『...I lose.』
"What the—!"
Goosebumps erupted in an instant. Ronan reflexively gripped the hilt and spun around. Abel's lone head was staring at him from where it lay.
"...You're still alive?"
This was dangerous. Ronan aimed the tip of his sword at Abel.
His arms, at their limit, trembled violently, but he had no choice. He had to finish him completely, whatever it took. Abel's mouth opened again.
『Stop. The moment you severed my neck, my connection to the Origin was cut. I will vanish soon.』
"How can I believe that?"
『Well, truth is, I'm already vanishing. Take a good look at me.』
Ronan narrowed his eyes at the words. Though blurry, he could see Abel's head slowly shrinking.
Like the giants stripped of their Origin, he was scattering into particles of light. Realizing Abel spoke the truth, Ronan lowered his sword.
"Hoo... damn it. Thought you were out cold."
His heart had nearly shattered to pieces. He'd struck a cool pose, but Ronan had no strength left to face a revived Abel.
『Hey. Let me ask one thing.』
"Huh?"
『If we had followed my brother's way instead of mine, would people have eventually stopped killing each other?』
Ronan furrowed his brow at the sudden question. With Abel dying anyway, it didn't seem like some scheme. Sitting back down, he shook his head.
"Who knows. But probably not much would have changed."
『Then why did you stop both of us? I saw the memories when I closed my brother's eyes. You opposed his plan too, not just mine.』
Abel asked in a tone full of doubt. Twisted as he was in pursuit of reason, he couldn't understand Ronan rejecting both the savior's and his own ideology.
Crack! Ronan suddenly extended his arm and smacked Abel's forehead with the flat of his blade.
『Guh! What the hell...!』
"Hey, is that a question? You and your brother are both nosy as hell."
『What?』
"People aren't idiots. Sure, there are plenty of morons, but there are way more decent ones. They would've figured it out without you wiping their asses for them."
Ronan said. It was the first time since Ahayute that he was conversing with someone whose head he'd just severed. Abel, face scrunched up, protested loudly.
『How can you say that after seeing the past memories! You saw the nuclear wars, the fallout shelters built to escape radiation, the battleship Dainhar built to destroy even other stars! You think beings who create such things have any chance of redemption?!』
"Jesus, you scared me. Shut it."
Crack! Ronan smacked his head again with the flat. With only a head left, Abel could do nothing but seethe.
『Kuh...!』
"Just shut up and trust me. You and your father should've been bystanders. Even if you wanted to advise, you should've stopped at words—instead of trying to control everything."
『Absurd indulgence. How can you hold such faith?』
Abel was genuinely shocked now. With the savior's blood, he should be capable of an immortal's perspective. Ronan, spitting up blood once, answered without hesitation.
"Because I've changed."
『What?』
"I used to be an idiot among idiots. But some trigger let me live life over, and I turned things around. Not to toot my own horn, but I've really changed a lot."
Recalling his past life, Ronan chuckled. Looking back, it was the epitome of a worm's existence. He continued.
"That's when I realized. People can change with the right trigger. Mine was unusual, but most have better hearts than me—they can snap out of it without some grand event."
『...That was it?』
"Don't say 'just that,' man. What do you think is the reason you lost to me?"
At the sharp question, Abel fell silent. Whatever anyone said, the result was clear.
Because I changed? Ridiculous. Mulling it over, Abel let out a hollow laugh. An awkward silence lingered for a while.
『...I'll tell you how to survive.』
"What?"
Ronan, who had been dozing off with his head nodding, looked up. What nonsense is this? Abel, now missing about a third of his head, continued.
『My ego will vanish soon, but the Origin's power remains intact. Rip open my chest and take my heart. Then you'll become like me—enjoying power and eternity.』
Abel rolled his eyes toward his sprawled body. Ronan raised an eyebrow.
"Gone senile? Why tell me that now?"
『Who knows... why indeed.』
Abel trailed off. No good answer came to mind. Turning back to the sea, he chuckled.
『Guess you're right. Senility it is.』
"Unbelievable."
He didn't seem to be lying. Ronan staggered to his feet. He'd been sensing presences around him constantly.
'The souls trapped in the Origin.'
If Abel was telling the truth, his heart contained all the souls the giants had collected. Not just surviving, but gaining that power—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"...The heart, huh."
Reaching the corpse, Ronan stopped. No need to hesitate anymore. Picturing his loved ones' faces, he thrust his sword.
Stab! The blade pierced Abel's chest. But not to slash—to pierce and burst. Sensing the blade through the Origin, Abel cried out in shock.
『Y-You bastard...! What are you doing?!』
This would destroy the Origin. Instead of answering, Ronan twisted the sword. As the Origin shattered completely, Abel's body oxidized into light.
Rooooar! At the same time, masses of light like will-o'-the-wisps poured from his heart. Billions of them, impossible to count. Ronan whistled in admiration.
"Spectacular."
『Why...!』
Abel wailed in dismay. The liberated souls flew toward the star-filled night sky. He didn't know exactly what awaited, but probably their heavens, somewhere in the distant universe.
He could almost hear cheers. There were as many souls as visible stars—it would take too long to watch them all vanish. Now only Abel's mouth remained as he spoke.
『Fool... now you can't survive. You kicked away your only chance.』
"Doesn't matter. Things like that shouldn't exist in the world..."
Thud. Ronan, gazing up at the sky, suddenly toppled over. A familiar sensation overtook him. Descending darkness, senses shutting down one by one. Death was leaning in for a kiss.
"...Damn, leaving as a total sucker."
If he was going to die, he wanted to see the sky. Ronan mustered his last strength to flip over. Unlike his first life, a sea of distant stars stretched before him.
The world he had protected. No more wind or waves. His vision, focused on the bluish galaxy, slowly darkened.
"Still... it was fun."
Ronan murmured. Like his first life, much was left undone, but strangely, no regrets lingered.
Soon, silence fell. Sensing something odd, Abel called out.
『Hey, Ronan.』
No reply came. His eyes had vanished long ago, but it wasn't hard to guess. With only his mouth left, Abel wore a bitter smile.
『...You really take after my brother.』
A truly heroic end. Now it was his turn to go. Perhaps because it was the last, memories flashed like a panorama. The strongest was Cain's face.
『Brother...』
Abel spoke. In his fading consciousness, he walked the frigid homeland plains with Cain.
『I knew. I was never... your brother... or anything...』
His belated confession mixed with the waves. Abel had long known he wasn't Cain's blood brother. Looking back, his resentment toward his brother started then.
『Yet you... always held my hand...』
But Cain always took his side. Even as the world pointed fingers at his cruelty, he encouraged his one brother, saying things could change.
Abel knew. Had he not betrayed, they could have remained close forever. Now he understood what he should have protected, but the end was near.
『Brother...』
Abel gritted his teeth. It was sad that his eyes were gone, unable to cry. His lips, disintegrating into light, murmured last words.
『I'm sorry.』
That was the end. The final particle of light vanished beyond the night sky. The incoming tide was washing away all traces of the two.
"Ugh..."
Ronan opened his eyes. His head spun as if waking from a long sleep. The star-filled night sky was gone, replaced by an endless white expanse.
"I see... so I'm finally dead."
It wasn't hard to infer. His body, a total wreck that should never recover, was perfectly healed.
Even his sword was there. Rising while pressing his forehead, he paused.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, he felt something odd in his pants pocket. Pulling his hand out, he tilted his head. A small, round sphere of unknown material was pinched between his index and thumb.
"...What's this, a pill?"
He had no memory of it. No idea when it got in there. The moment Ronan put the sphere back in his pocket—
Footsteps approached from nearby.
"What, someone else here too..."
Ronan turned casually. And froze. Adeshan stood there in her Grand General's uniform, hands behind her back.
"Good work, soldier."
"Grand General? Wait, and who's next to you..."
But what truly shocked him was the man beside her. A face he'd seen only once long ago, but unforgettable.
The apostle from the Baidian Mountains. The long-eared elf man had surely turned to stone in the battle's aftermath. Meeting the man's eyes, Ronan barely managed to speak.
"...Sarante?"