Ending Maker Chapter 104
Ending Maker Chapter 104
Chapter 37 - Conclusion
The explosion was over.
Eoduksini's self-destruction had been stopped, and the agonized screams of the wild god no longer rang out.
But it wasn't all over.
"Hey! Yuder! Hey!"
Cordelia thrashed in Yuder's arms and shouted. Eoduksini had vanished, but the monsters that had appeared with him were still very much present.
"Yuder! Hey! I said they're getting up!"
Cordelia's last words were buried under roars and battle cries. The monsters and warriors had resumed their fight.
"Ugh... did he pass out?"
Cordelia herself was one thing, but Yuder had expended an enormous amount of ki. On top of that, he'd been hit with mana drain, so he must have had no reserves left.
Of course, he wasn't lying face down—he was flat on his back, holding Cordelia in his arms. To be precise, passing out while holding her with just enough strength that she couldn't escape was close to impossible, but instead of thinking deeply about it, Cordelia immediately took action.
"Mana drain."
"Aagh?!"
"Oh, you're awake."
"How could I not wake up?!"
The moment Cordelia activated mana drain, Yuder let out a pained groan and snapped his eyes open.
"Seriously, you use mana drain on someone who passed out from exhaustion?"
His HP was already at zero, and she was going to drain even more from him?
"Hey, you won't die, you won't die."
"Is that the issue here?"
"Anyway, you're awake, so that's a relief. Let me just drain a bit more of your mana first."
"What? Hey, wait— ugh."
Cordelia, who had raised herself up on Yuder's torso, activated mana drain while still seated, then pulled her ringed hand to her chest and cast a spell.
"Shield."
The defensive magic bound to Count Chase’s ring.
Since Yuder and Cordelia were pressed close together, an enhanced shield spread out, and only then did Cordelia relax her shoulders as if relieved.
"Whew, I didn't even have the mana to cast a shield."
She'd thrown everything she had into pushing Eoduksini back.
"Lucky I had a battery right next to me."
Cordelia grinned and patted Yuder's chest, and Yuder, looking up at her, made a sulky face.
"You're really too much."
"You're one to talk."
Cordelia giggled again and looked outside from within the shield.
Perhaps because this was the center of the explosion, there were no monsters nearby—but that was literally only nearby. Less than ten meters away in every direction, monsters and warriors were locked in fierce combat.
"We should help. Do you have any potions?"
"I only have HP potions."
Potions whose supply had been cut off since they'd come to the Wild Lands.
The mana potion she'd fed Cordelia earlier had been the last one.
"Hmm, so you do have HP potions?"
Cordelia smiled brightly and rummaged around Yuder's waist, and Yuder squirmed.
"Hey, hey, don't tell me you're planning some demonic scheme to feed me an HP potion, heal me up, and then use mana drain?"
When Yuder spoke urgently, Cordelia's eyes went wide, and then she clapped her hands with a sharp sound and said,
"Oh my, there was a method like that? You're a genius?"
"Ugh... your acting has improved."
Just look at that sly expression.
'But why does even that look pretty?'
Yuder found himself wondering just how badly love had blinded him.
Cordelia, who had shifted her bottom from Yuder's torso to the ground, handed him the HP potion she'd already grabbed and said,
"Don't you think just staying here quietly is helping?"
"Probably."
The two of them had no reserves left, after all.
And the warriors of the Wild Lands were not weak.
As elites of their respective tribes, they didn't give an inch against the monsters.
And then there were two people.
Among the many warriors, there were those who stood out especially.
"They fight well."
"Right? My sister fights well, doesn't she?"
Cordelia said proudly and turned toward where Adelia was.
'Indeed, a battle mage.'
The Royal Guard Magic Corps was, as the name "corps" suggested, a group of mages who fought.
Adelia was one of the seven commanders of that Royal Guard Magic Corps, so there was no doubt about her combat prowess.
'If she could use wide-area spells, she'd have cleaned this up already.'
Because enemies and allies were mixed together in this chaotic melee, she couldn't use large-scale magic no matter what.
But Adelia was indeed a seasoned battle mage.
She didn't simply cast offensive magic—she used Fire Wall and Earth Wall in combination to divide the battlefield into sections and isolate the monsters, influencing the entire battlefield.
'Indeed, a commander.'
Not just a single artillery piece, but someone in a position to command an army.
"Red Wind looks okay too."
Cordelia pointed to the far edge of the battlefield. The Blade Song tribe members were gathered there, and among them was Sun Song, carefully holding Red Wind.
"Gale is strong too."
"He is."
Even while they were chatting like this, the situation on the battlefield was rapidly improving.
It was thanks to Adelia and Gale fighting brilliantly in the south and north respectively.
"Chivalry."
The magic of knights.
Gale, who had strengthened himself with chivalry, rampaged across the battlefield, cutting down monsters left and right.
As a martial artist of the Bayel household who aimed for the 'wind,' his momentum was like a storm, and the trajectory of his sword was free.
"Hmm, I guess we really can rest."
"Right?"
Cordelia grinned and reached out her hand to Yuder. Yuder grabbed it and raised his upper body, then sat down beside Cordelia.
And that was the very moment.
[......Guardians.]
A low voice flowed into Yuder and Cordelia's minds.
There was a fair amount of static mixed in, but the two didn't show any aversion. They could guess whose voice it was.
[I am...... Eoduksini.......]
The wild god who had been forcibly corrupted by the Devil's Eye.
His soul, which had lost its body, had regained its freedom, but the defiled spirit had not been completely cleansed.
[Soon...... I will disappear...... Before that...... a final...... farewell.......]
At the voice that kept breaking off, Cordelia wore a gloomy expression.
He was someone she'd met for the first time today and hadn't even been able to share any real connection with, but her heart ached because of what had happened to Eoduksini.
[Thank you...... for stopping me. Thanks to you...... I was able...... to not harm.......]
Rough Avalanche and Gentle Snow Breeze.
The children of the Wild Lands.
[Farewell...... Guardians...... This is my...... final...... repayment.......]
A fragment of memory entered Yuder and Cordelia's minds.
It was part of what Eoduksini had seen, heard, and felt—information about the west.
[Farewell.......]
Eoduksini's voice completely faded.
Cordelia turned her head with a tearful face, and Yuder could see Gentle Snow Breeze bursting into loud sobs in the distance, and Rough Avalanche wiping away tears.
It seemed the farewell had been delivered to the two wild gods as well.
"Farewell......."
Yuder offered a silent prayer for Eoduksini, and Cordelia also clasped her hands together and prayed.
They comforted Eoduksini's soul.
* * *
The battle was over.
Since tending to the casualties took priority, each tribe focused on clearing the battlefield instead of discussing Karaval.
And the next morning.
Under Gentle Snow Breeze's supervision, a memorial service was held for the dead and for Eoduksini.
Rough Avalanche lit a great fire for the cremation, and Gentle Snow Breeze raised a wind to send their ashes and souls high into the sky.
"The wicked demons of the west."
Gentle Snow Breeze was usually gentle, but right now she openly displayed her fury.
After glaring sharply toward the west, she turned her gaze back to Red Gale and Nine Blades.
It was to discuss the matter of Karaval.
The first to speak was Nine Blades.
"Wild gods who watch over the Wild Lands, if you permit it, I would speak."
When Nine Blades spoke respectfully, Gentle Snow Breeze and Rough Avalanche nodded to grant him permission to speak.
Nine Blades, who had been kneeling to show respect, rose from his spot and walked to the center, looking around at everyone. He shouted in a loud voice.
"An unforeseen incident occurred, and Karaval could not proceed normally! But you all know it as well! The rules of Karaval!"
A furrow formed between Red Gale's brows, and Rough Avalanche and Gentle Snow Breeze also wore displeased expressions.
They too knew the rules of Karaval.
"Karaval ends when one side declares defeat or becomes unable to fight. In other words! The one standing until the very end is the victor of Karaval!"
What Nine Blades was trying to say.
The argument he was trying to make.
"You all saw it as well! Yesterday, the one standing until the very end was Sun Song!"
Red Wind had fallen. She had not been able to stand.
On the other hand, Sun Song had protected the injured Red Wind and remained standing until the very end of the battle.
"Tha, tha, that rot— mmph mmph!"
Yuder hurriedly clamped his hand over Cordelia's mouth as she tried to burst out in fury, and narrowed his eyes. He held down the thrashing Cordelia and waited for what came next.
'I don't have as good instincts as Cordelia, but.'
It didn't seem like it would end like this.
He didn't know about Nine Blades, but Sun Song—
"Mmph mmph!"
Yuder stopped Cordelia's struggling by holding her tight, then looked at Sun Song.
Sun Song, who had been standing with a stiff face, took a step forward. He kicked the ground, producing a booming sound.
Boom!
Everyone startled and turned toward the source of the sound, and Sun Song faced all those gazes with a calm expression.
Nine Blades also looked at Sun Song. Instead of saying anything, he simply stepped aside as if making way, and Sun Song continued forward.
He passed Nine Blades and stood before Red Wind, who stood beside Red Gale with a haggard face.
"Mmphb?"
Cordelia, who had suddenly gone still, made some kind of sound, and Yuder understood perfectly.
"Yeah, probably that."
It was a bit cringeworthy, but a development he liked.
A development possible only because Sun Song was a true warrior with a warrior's soul, not a corrupted Demonic Human like in the original.
"The rules of Karaval are as such. But there is a rule that precedes them."
That was why he had deliberately brought up the rules.
The absolute rule of Karaval.
Deciding the victor and the defeated was solely the prerogative of the two warriors who had entered Karaval.
"I lost."
Sun Song said it plainly.
Others might not know, but he did.
Red Wind had saved him. She had preserved his life.
"The victory is yours, Red Wind."
Sun Song grinned and placed his hand over his chest as he declared it, and Red Wind smiled softly.
Because they had crossed swords directly and faced each other, she too knew.
The fact that Sun Song was a true warrior.
"Aren't you going to get scolded by your father?"
When Red Wind asked a bit teasingly, Sun Song shrugged.
"It's fine. It's better than becoming a shameless person who betrays his benefactor. And I already got scolded a lot yesterday. So I won't get scolded more."
At Sun Song's unexpected answer, Red Wind laughed again.
Red Gale looked at Nine Blades, and Nine Blades let out a snort, but the corners of his lips lifted slightly. He too was a warrior who knew honor.
"The victor of Karaval is you. Since I have declared defeat, declare your victory."
The most ideal conclusion to Karaval.
The victor and the defeated acknowledging each other and declaring the end of Karaval together.
Red Wind nodded. She placed her fist over her chest and declared in a loud voice.
"I accept the declaration of the true warrior Sun Song. I, Red Wind, am the victor of this Karaval!"
Cheers erupted at her confident declaration.
Rough Avalanche and Gentle Snow Breeze smiled with satisfaction and declared the conclusion of Karaval, and the victor of this Karaval officially became Red Wind.
"Mmphb mmphb."
"Yeah, it went well."
"Mmphb."
"Yeah."
Yuder casually ignored Cordelia's eyes that were now asking him to let go, and simply smiled with satisfaction.
'It starts now.'
Now that Karaval was over, the Eastern Alliance would be formed.
A head-on confrontation between east and west.
The start of a war that would affect the Wild Lands—and beyond that, the Saelun Kingdom and all of Pleiades.
"Mmphb mmphb."
"Yeah, it went well......."
"Mmphb!"
It meant something different. So Yuder hurriedly turned his gaze toward Red Wind and Sun Song, and he thought he understood why Cordelia had shouted.
"No way."
"Mmph mmph."
That "no way."
Yuder took his hand away from Cordelia’s mouth and saw it.
Sun Song kicking the ground once more.
After gathering everyone's attention with the booming sound, he showed his respect before Red Wind.
His face stiffened with a different meaning than before, and he let out a dry cough. After swallowing hard, he spoke in a tense voice.
"Red Wind, to you who are a true warrior, I will convey my sincerity. Marry me."
The thing they'd thought "no way" about.
And then the declaration came.
* * *
"No, seriously, even for a cliché, isn't this too much?"
Sun Song's second declaration caused a great shock.
And no wonder—it was Blade Song and Great Storm.
Two tribes that each carried the blood of ancient orcs and ancient elves.
Moreover, the two were the eldest son and eldest daughter of their respective chieftains.
"Seemed like a unilateral decision, right?"
When Yuder said it to no one in particular, Gale nodded.
"Probably. The Blade Song tribe members looked very surprised too."
In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that everyone except Sun Song had been shocked.
"What about Red Wind?"
When Yuder asked, Cordelia, who had been grumbling about clichés, answered.
"She was really flustered. But how should I put it... she seemed a bit happy."
"Huh... no way, does Red Wind also like Sun Song...?"
"No, more than that, I think she’s just enjoying the fact that someone proposed to her. She’s still a kid, you know."
At Cordelia's words, Yuder and everyone else momentarily narrowed their eyes.
And no wonder—Red Wind and Cordelia were only one year apart in age.
"What, what, what. Did I say something wrong?"
Cordelia was speaking quite shamelessly, but her face had turned red from embarrassment.
"I'll apologize on her behalf, Lord Gale. The child is still young......."
"It's fine. It was a slightly rude remark, but...... Lady Cordelia is truly adorable."
As Adelia and Gale exchanged warm words, Cordelia's face grew even redder, and Yuder had to clench his teeth to hold back his laughter.
"In any case."
Yuder, who spoke up again for Cordelia's sake, shrugged and said,
"Setting aside Sun Song and Red Wind's individual feelings...... it's a realistically difficult match."
Sun Song and Red Wind were not mere warriors.
They were the next chieftains who would one day lead their respective tribes.
"It would be difficult unless the tribes merged."
It was as Gale said.
The union of the two was impossible even for political reasons.
"Sun Song must have known that too...... I wonder if he just wanted to at least say the words?"
"Probably."
As Adelia and Gale exchanged warm words again, Cordelia muttered under her breath.
"No, even if it were possible, it's not happening."
Sun Song and Red Wind together? Even if Red Gale allowed it, Cordelia herself couldn't allow it. How dare he set his sights on her?
But Gale and Adelia had little interest in Cordelia's thoughts.
In fact, they had little interest in Red Wind and Sun Song either.
"It's fortunate that Edward exists."
Gale suddenly said in passing, and Adelia blinked. Then, as if to hide her flushed cheeks, she subtly turned her head to the side.
Gale and Adelia were also the eldest son and eldest daughter.
But House Chase already had an eldest son, Edward Chase—the heir to the county.
"Ahem. Y-yes, that's right. I'm fortunate that my brother exists."
Adelia spoke very quietly, and Gale smiled with satisfaction.
And Yuder and Cordelia, watching the two of them.
And Rough Avalanche, watching Yuder and Cordelia in turn while squatting in a corner.
"Now you know how I usually feel, right?"
You two look the same when seen from a third party's perspective, you know?
And why did they call me over this time too, seriously.
Rough Avalanche grumbled, rose from his seat, and looked at the two equally obvious couples. Clicking his tongue, he left.
And the next morning.
The Eastern Alliance was formed, with the Great Storm tribe as its head.