Ending Maker Chapter 90
Ending Maker Chapter 90
Chapter 31 - The Holy Land
The Wild Fairy Queen—Eonell—lifted her head.
Beautiful light poured down from the ceiling of colored glass.
The shattered sunlight scattered according to precise calculation, bestowing fantasy and mystery upon the beholder.
"Wow..."
A youthful voice slipped from Eonell's lips.
Startled by her own voice, Eonell blinked and looked herself over, and as she stared at her limbs, which were much shorter than usual, she realized.
She was not the Fairy Queen.
This was before she became queen.
A story from the time when her mother was still alive and well.
Eonell blinked, then smiled.
No longer a queen, she thought like a fairy.
Whether this was a dream or not, she should enjoy this moment.
"This is fun."
Instead of an elegant smile, Eonell laughed sweetly and looked around once more.
And soon she remembered where she was.
It was the greenhouse of the high elves, located deep within Endymion.
The high elves of the Magic Kingdom of Magellan had achieved tremendous results in many fields besides magic.
They had created an underground garden no different from one on the surface—no, far more beautiful—and the fairies, who loved pretty and cute things, often visited their garden with the high elves' permission.
"So pretty."
Colorful flowers filled her vision. There were so many varieties that if this had been a human garden, it would have been a mess of excess, but this was the high elves' garden.
Countless flowers and trees were intermingled, yet there was harmony among them.
Far from dizzying the eyes, they complemented one another to create supreme beauty.
"It smells nice."
Eonell closed her eyes and savored the fragrance. And then, a voice she missed so dearly reached her ears.
"Eonell."
"Mother!"
Eonell cried out reflexively, sprang to her feet, and turned around.
There stood her beautiful, gentle mother—the previous Fairy Queen—wearing an elegant smile.
"Mother!"
Eonell ran over like a child and clung to her mother's waist.
"You're still such a child."
"Yes, that's right. I'm a child. Hehehe."
How long had it been since she had acted this cute?
And how long had it been since she had spoken and behaved like an ordinary fairy?
The previous Fairy Queen looked at her daughter's face and smiled a little wistfully.
Because to her eyes, which transcended time and space, she could see the grown Eonell—her daughter, who had matured into a proper Fairy Queen.
Amid feelings that could only be described as proud yet regretful, tender and aching, the previous Fairy Queen caressed Eonell's cheek.
"Eonell, do you like this place?"
"Yes, I like it. It's very pretty."
"Yes. When the high elves of Magellan left Endymion... this was a place they especially asked us to take good care of."
By the time Eonell was born, the high elves had already left Endymion.
But the previous Fairy Queen remembered Endymion from the days when the high elves had dwelled there.
"Mother, you were friends with the high elves, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was. The high elves were friends to us Wild Fairies. They let us use the hot springs and the gardens as much as we liked."
"I like the hot springs too."
"Indeed, you are my daughter."
"Hehehe."
The previous Fairy Queen stroked Eonell's hair, and Eonell savored that touch.
It was a fleeting dream, but as a fairy, she did not bother to distinguish between dream and reality.
"Eonell."
"Yes, Mother."
"Please take good care of this place... of Endymion. So that someday... when the high elves return, you can hold your head high and boast... so that you can say that we fairies never neglected our friendship with the high elves."
Managing all of Endymion was too much.
The high elves would not expect that much.
Just the places where their friendship with the fairies had been shared—just the hot springs and the gardens—so that those could be well preserved.
"Yes, Mother. I will. I promise."
"Fufufu, how good of you."
"I promise you. I really will. I'll even pinky swear."
"All right, let's pinky swear on it."
"Yes, Mother."
Eonell smiled prettily, and the previous Fairy Queen pulled her into a tight embrace. Bathed in the sunlight that broke and scattered through the colored glass in the ceiling, they shared each other's warmth.
"Mother."
Eonell opened her eyes.
And she became aware of the fact that she was the Fairy Queen.
But for a moment, she lingered in the dream. Instead of facing reality, she chose a brief escape.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Before she knew it, she had crossed space and stepped out of her room, and she moved forward, dragging the hem of her dress along the floor.
She faced the sight before her.
"Haha... hahaha..."
Wasn't it said that people laughed when faced with something too absurd to comprehend?
The sight before her eyes did not change.
The scene from her dream now truly remained only in her dream.
Perfect ruin.
The site of a great collapse that could only be described as ruin.
The Fairy Queen struggled to keep her elegant smile.
A wave of dizziness washed over her again, but she stood firm. Still, she could not stop a weak voice from slipping out.
"So it... wasn't a dream."
If only it had been a dream.
If only it had been a dream.
If only it had just been a lie.
"Mother, I'm sorry."
Eonell couldn't keep her promise.
She was a bad child.
She had done wrong.
As tears rolled down the Fairy Queen's cheeks, there were those secretly hiding and watching the scene.
"Y-Yuder. What do we do? I think she's crying."
"...Of course she'd cry."
Endymion had completely collapsed, after all.
As Yuder narrowed his eyes and spoke, Cordelia timidly tapped her two index fingers together and pursed her lips.
Seeing that, Yuder sighed again and continued.
"Haa... and besides... are you really a demon? How could you say something like that?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You said, 'Now that Endymion is gone, no demons will ever appear in Endymion again'... and that's why Satan is losing his job again today."
What a demonic line of thought.
No, even setting aside the thought itself, she had actually said it out loud. And with such an adorable face and expression, no less.
"Ugh."
At Yuder's point, Cordelia shrank even further, but whatever else, she had something to say about that particular remark.
"Y-you're the one who taught me that."
"Taught you what?"
"No, I mean... when we broke the bridge..."
Cordelia was talking about the time they had broken the bridge to catch Lacto.
The original source of that remark had not been Cordelia herself, but Yuder.
But at Cordelia's timid rebuttal, Yuder clicked his tongue—tsk, tsk, tsk—then narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"Is that the same as this? And isn't there a thing called time and place?"
He was right.
Cordelia shrank even further, and Yuder grabbed both of Cordelia's cheeks with his hands and pulled them wide.
"Uguuh."
Normally, Cordelia would have flown into a rage and resisted, but this time she did not.
She simply accepted the punishment with a dejected face.
But that moment did not last long.
"I know you're watching. Come out."
At the Fairy Queen's call, Yuder and Cordelia flinched at the same time, then cleared their throats and stepped forward.
"Yuder, Cordelia."
"Your Majesty."
Yuder answered quietly, and Cordelia bowed her head while watching the Fairy Queen's expression.
At that, the Fairy Queen wore an elegant smile.
"It's all right. You don't have to look so downcast. It was to protect Endymion... no, to save it... no, anyway, it was for the sake of the world, wasn't it?"
She had wavered a little in the middle, but the Fairy Queen still maintained her elegant smile to the end.
"It was to close the Hell Gate, wasn't it?"
"Yes. If the Hell Gate had been allowed to keep growing... a terrible catastrophe would have occurred. Cordelia may have gone a little too far, but at the time there was no other option. Thanks to Cordelia making the decision for everyone, I was able to save my life as well. If you intend to punish her, I will take it in her place."
When Yuder not only defended her but even offered to take the punishment himself, Cordelia blinked in surprise, and the Fairy Queen shook her head.
"No, punishment is out of the question. As you said, Cordelia saved everyone. And... I also think it was partly my fault for neglecting the management of places outside the designated areas. I didn't even know that the Hell Gate had opened."
The Fairy Queen knew well the danger of the Hell Gate.
As Yuder had said, if the Hell Gate had been allowed to grow, the fairies themselves would not have been safe.
"So Cordelia, hold your head high. Although Endymion is gone... the fact that you saved the world, and saved us fairies, is undeniable."
"Your Majesty..."
Cordelia's eyes began to glisten with emotion.
The Fairy Queen smiled softly at Cordelia's reaction and continued.
"I know the name Lena as well. Lena the Holy Angel, one of the five heroes who ended the tragedy of the Paragon Kingdom. But it seems she is now afflicted with Demon's Disease."
"Yes, that's right. We have to cure Lena."
Cordelia rushed to answer, and the Fairy Queen nodded as well.
"Yes, you're right. She is also our benefactor, so it is only proper that we help her."
"Your Majesty..."
Cordelia's eyes reddened again with emotion.
Yuder, too, inwardly marveled again and again.
'She really is a queen.'
Yuder could hardly believe that the benevolent woman before him was of the same race as the fairies he knew.
In any case, the truly elegant Fairy Queen turned around and continued speaking.
"Demon's Disease is an illness contracted when the energy of Hell accumulates in the body. So if you wash away the energy of Hell with holy energy, Demon's Disease can be cured."
It was sound reasoning.
In fact, even in the game, the fastest way to cure Demon's Disease was to go to a large temple, dump a huge donation, listen to the choir's hymns, and purify oneself with holy water.
"There is a holy land not far from here. It is a place where the Golden Dragon, the king of the Wild Gods, interacted with Solari, the Sun God, long ago."
"Oh..."
Yuder marveled without realizing it.
And with good reason—if what the Fairy Queen said was true, it was a land where two gods had stayed together.
It could truly be called a holy land among holy lands.
"I will tell you the location, so take Lena there and have her Demon's Disease cured."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Wow! Your Majesty, you're the best! Thank you so much!"
Cordelia looked ready to throw her arms around the Fairy Queen at any moment, but the absolute difference in height prevented such an action.
The Fairy Queen smiled softly at Cordelia hesitating as she tried to embrace her, then turned to Yuder and spoke.
"Yuder."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I know I may be worrying needlessly, but..."
The Fairy Queen trailed off, then suddenly cleared her throat and glanced away as she spoke.
"You must not destroy that place."
The holy land.
Not the holy land.
"Of course. I will do everything I can to prevent the worst."
As Yuder spoke with a resolute face, as if swearing an oath, Cordelia's face instantly turned red.
Flustered, she stammered for a moment, then spoke to the Fairy Queen in an urgent tone.
"I-I promise! I'll be on my best behavior! Really!"
"Yes, I believe you. Truly. Really. Please. Please..."
Her elegant smile remained unchanged, but by the end, desperation had crept into the Fairy Queen's voice.
Because the holy land, of all places, must not be destroyed.
Because the holy land, of all places, had to be protected.
The holy land, of all places!
"I-I promise. For real..."
As Cordelia shrank back and promised with her shoulders hunched, Yuder stepped forward again.
"Your Majesty, I will take responsibility and protect the holy land from Cordelia."
"Yes, I believe you."
"I'm not a demon..."
Right after the Fairy Queen's affectionate gaze, Yuder's resolute oath, and Cordelia's timid muttering all mingled together.
The Fairy Queen turned back to Cordelia and continued.
"I'm sorry. I discouraged you too much. As I said earlier, it is true that you saved us, so hold your head high. You may be proud. You're a hero who made a difficult decision."
"Sniff sniff, Your Majesty."
You wound me and then heal me. So mean.
At Cordelia's face, which plainly revealed her inner thoughts, the Fairy Queen smiled a little playfully, and Yuder smiled as well.
* * *
"Ah, what a relief. That we found a way to cure Lena."
"Right."
The fairies' dwelling, where both time and space differed from the ordinary surface, was not a particularly good place to get proper rest.
Because of that, Lena and Kaplan were currently staying at a hot spring in the outskirts near the ruins of Endymion, which had fortunately not collapsed.
"Woo-hoo, I'm excited. Once we get to the holy land, Lena will be cured of Demon's Disease, and then Lena will regain her angelic power, and then we can get Lena's blood too, right?"
Cordelia, who had been walking briskly toward the hot spring while laughing the whole way, even started singing.
"Le~na's blood~ doo rooroo rooroo~ holy~ doo rooroo rooroo~ angel's~ doo rooroo rooroo~ Lena's blood~"
The song and gestures were cute and lovable enough, but Yuder quietly put some distance between them, and Cordelia, catching sight of that, glared at him.
"Why?"
"You really have to ask? Take a look at yourself."
A pretty girl beaming brightly while going on about blood.
"Hmm..."
"Weird, right?"
"Hmph. It's not weird."
But judging by how red her face turned, she was embarrassed after all.
Yuder chuckled softly and continued.
"Anyway, it worked out well. We saved Lena, and if things go like this, we'll be able to get our hands on angel's blood too."
"Yeah, yeah, and once we do Ancestral Regression... then we'll be able to activate this too!"
As she shouted, Cordelia whipped out the 'Heavenly Judgment' she had kept strapped to her back throughout the journey.
It was one of the hundred swords personally forged by the Archangel Auriel, and a powerful magical device capable of using 'Judgment Day.'
Currently, it was sealed, so it was closer to a club than a sword, but once she obtained the power of an angel, the seal could be released, just as Cordelia said.
"This is a happy occasion. A happy occasion."
"Yeah, yeah. Saving Lena is especially good."
Because the image of Lena dying alone with such a pained expression in the cinematic was still vivid in her mind.
They had saved Lena.
They had saved a hero of Hero Legend 1, who would have met her death otherwise.
'This is significant.'
Among the five protagonists of Hero Legend 1, the only one who remained active after the second game was the Sword Demon Kamael.
If that had not been the case.
If all five protagonists had survived and joined the fight to stop Armageddon.
'I have to make that "if" a reality.'
It wasn't just Lena.
Even though the exact cause of his death was still unknown, he was determined to save Landius the Iron Man somehow.
'And the other two as well.'
The necromancer Velkian and the druid Fran, too.
And further beyond that, the heroes of Hero Legend 2 as well.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Good thoughts."
"You're saying weird stuff again."
Yuder snickered at Cordelia's scolding and turned the conversation back toward the holy land.
"Anyway, let's hope there's no Dragon Vein where we're going this time."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No, just saying."
Yuder answered smoothly and played dumb. Cordelia pouted, but only for a moment.
"Let's hurry. I want to tell Lena the good news."
"Yeah."
The two walked side by side, then both began to quicken their pace.
And beneath the feet of those two.
Deep underground.
The successive rampages of the Dragon Veins were causing an anomaly.