125. The End of the Promise
125. The End of the Promise
"Hyosung, time to head out!"
"Yeah, just saying my goodbyes!"
About two weeks had passed since the fierce battle at the Dragon's Tomb came to an end.
I had been tasked with holding this position until the reinforcements freshly dispatched from the Empire arrived. With that duty finally fulfilled, I was getting ready to board the procession of wagons heading home.
Thankfully, no major issues had cropped up since the fighting ended.
Two of the Undead Legion's top executives had vanished, and this was the exact site where a real dragon had appeared and gone on a rampage. No demonic beasts or savage creatures would dare come anywhere near it.
So that was how this whole incident wrapped up.
We didn't get our hands on the dragon bones intact, but the official story became that mankind dealt with a calamity that threatened all humanity using mankind's own hands.
"Then this is goodbye for a while."
The person who came to see me off as I prepared to leave with a light heart was the paladin who carried a shovel slung over his shoulder as his emblem.
And next to him, a girl with light pink hair.
"Ja-seong hyung, I can understand. But... Ga-ram, you decided to stay here too?"
"Yeah, well... Unlike you, Oppa, I'm here on the recommendation of a noble patron. They told me to earn as much merit as possible and come back, so I'm following orders."
It was true—Ga-ram and I had been paired together, but unlike me, she was sponsored by a noble.
That patron hadn't cut her off even after she got branded a Failed Hero, so from Ga-ram's standpoint, she had no choice but to prioritize their instructions.
"I heard they're planning to set up a collection point here, even if it's just to sweep up the scattered bone dust. And my ability's pretty efficient for building defensive lines, you know?"
"That's right. With this little squirt and me working together, there's practically nothing we can't build!"
"I told you to stop calling me a squirt, old man!"
"Hey, you brat! Hyosung is 'Oppa,' so why do you keep calling me 'old man'?!"
Ja-seong and Ga-ram started bickering again.
But despite the sniping, their relationship didn't seem that bad.
Seeing how well they'd coordinated during the war, it looked like they'd gotten along fine in my absence... Well, they should be all right.
It's good for Ga-ram to have other friends besides me, and Ja-seong's the type to look after the younger ones anyway.
"Speaking of which, Hyosung's leaving, and that friend won't even come to say goodbye."
Just as I felt that relief, Ja-seong glanced off to the side.
Out in the middle of the construction site prepping the excavation grounds stood a man staring vacantly up at the sun hanging in the sky.
A ragged body, a single paper bag worn over his head.
The figure drawing every passerby's attention was Im Tae-yang—a Hero I'd once waited on hand and foot.
"......."
Oblivious to the stares around him, he kept his lips firmly shut and simply gazed up at the post-dawn sky.
Then, the moment sunlight crested the mountain and fully revealed itself, he spread both arms wide on the spot and began to bathe his body in the rays.
Exactly the same as when I followed him as his porter.
"...He does that every day."
"Ahaha, well... Can't really blame him."
Always silent, so you could never tell what he was thinking, but not entirely indifferent to the world either.
He too possessed a Hero's sense of justice and duty—I could feel that much just from how he silently opened the path for us in the final fight.
"All right, I'm off."
Deciding there was no point worrying about it further, I turned to leave. Ja-seong, seeing me off, casually tossed out a parting shot.
"Take care. Next time we meet, don't pretend you don't know us once you've made it big."
"...Huh? Made it big?"
"Come on, man. Aren't you the top contributor in this battle? The rule is, whoever lands the last hit takes the biggest share. Once you're back in the Empire, they're gonna shower you with all sorts of things."
"You're not planning to forget us after you get promoted, are you?"
Ah, right. I'd completely forgotten about that, what with being so busy defending the garrison and scouting afterward.
The fact that I was the one who took down the Red Knight is something every soldier on that battlefield can attest to.
It wasn't an achievement I made alone, but objectively speaking, nobody could deny I was the decisive factor in this war's victory.
So technically, I should be thinking about receiving a medal on behalf of the unit...
"...Haha, yeah. Next time we meet, I'll treat you guys to a meal."
Still, it didn't really feel real, so I kept my expression neutral and quietly prepared for the journey home.
Whatever happened next, I resolved to accept it openly as the path I had to walk.
"Hyosung, over here, here!"
After receiving those farewells, I headed toward the people who had been waiting to guard my return.
Among them, Marilyn was already sitting in an empty spot in the carriage, patting the seat beside her with a bright smile.
"Hehe, I saved a spot here in advance! Come on, this way!"
"...You never get tired, do you."
Glaring at her as if the sight was deeply unappealing was Airi.
But as always, Marilyn just kept up her trademark mischievous grin and kept provoking.
"I'm not backing down this time~ The first one here claims it!"
"Fine, do as you please. Unlike the trip here, there are plenty of seats this time, so I'll just sit somewhere else. Come on, Hyosung, let's leave Marilyn to herself and go sit over there."
"Aha~ Airi, are you running away because you think you'll lose to me?"
"R-Run away? And what exactly do you mean by that?"
As always, the two of them started snipping at each other.
But the sight didn't fluster me nearly as much as it used to.
Because I knew this friction only happened because they both considered me someone precious.
"Both of you, I understand how you feel, but please calm down. This time the carriage is pretty spacious, so there are plenty of places to sit together anyway..."
"Excuse me, is this seat free?"
My attempt to cool things down before they overheated was cut short.
I turned my head at the sudden presence approaching and realized a familiar-faced woman draped in a cloak was drawing near.
No—what was familiar was only her outer appearance.
That sharp edge she'd once carried was gone; her atmosphere was much softer now, and there was almost no strength left in her body.
Yet, unlike before, a sense of relief was clearly visible on her face.
"Unfortunately, I only managed to book a one-way carriage, so I haven't been able to find a decent seat. If it's all right, I'd like to borrow the spot next to you......"
At that woman's words, I took a moment to gauge the reactions of the two who had recognized her alongside me.
Tachia Piloi.
I was worried about how they'd react, seeing her now-weakened state when they both knew her true identity.
"......Marilyn. Over here."
In the midst of that tense exchange, the first to react was, unexpectedly, Airi.
Once she sorted out her thoughts, she tugged at Marilyn's sleeve and prompted her to free up the seat. Marilyn, even erasing her usual smile, began gauging Airi's intent.
"Airi, you know who that woman is too. But letting her approach Hyosung now..."
"It's all right. There won't be any problem."
In response to Marilyn's urgency, Airi spoke quietly.
There was coolness in those words, but the gaze she directed toward Tachia held a faint glimmer of pity.
"If anything, this is something that shouldn't be dragged out any longer."
"......."
Marilyn regarded her wordlessly.
In the end, after weighing her thoughts, she quietly moved to vacate the seat, following Airi's suggestion.
Inside the carriage, where only Tachia and I remained—as if the earlier commotion had never happened.
I climbed into the carriage first, then reached out to guide her.
"Tachia. This way......"
I spoke the name I knew her by.
"Tasian."
But the reply that came back taught me that our relationship could never return to what it was before.
"Call me that from now on. It's a name I no longer need to use."
Tasian Paleoi.......
Her true name, which I'd known even before hearing it from her.
"...Yes, Tasian."
No, it wasn't just the name I knew.
What kind of being she was, what deeds she had done.
All of it had been conveyed through the memories of that 'child' who became one with me.
****
Tachia Piloi.
Right now, my mind was in a state where the memories, and the very personality, of the woman with that name were intermixed.
Because to quickly seize power, I had needed to follow her path exactly.
But even if I succeeded in seizing control over the personality using my ability, it didn't mean her personality had completely vanished.
When I slept, nightmares of the battlefields she had trampled sometimes surfaced. In those moments, I could feel the heartache she'd experienced, and the feelings she'd held toward the one who caused it all.
"Please accept this."
The official whose carriage had stopped briefly and approached us came just as I was agonizing over how to handle those emotions.
Carrying a single urn, he was the man who had previously served as adjutant to Legion Commander Marcus.
And what he handed over was something neither of us had even remotely expected......
"This is an urn containing the Red Knight's remains."
"...What?"
My breath caught, and the moment I stared at him with rigid eyes,
his gaze was already fixed on Tasian, who had accepted the urn.
"You were listed as Tachia Piloi, the artisan who participated in this expedition, correct?"
Right. That's how she was publicly known.
The form she'd revealed on the day of that battle was when the dragon's form still remained. And now, she'd reverted to human shape using only a meager amount of power.
Since she'd used her status as an artisan when she came here, it must not have been difficult to blend back in once the situation was resolved.
"...I'd heard the Legion Commander mention that name a few times. Most likely, a name referring to someone other than yourself."
But the man in front of me undoubtedly had his suspicions.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to deliver the Red Knight's remains to someone sharing her name.
And yet.......
"And now that he's passed away, no one will ever know the true nature of the person who bore that name."
Despite that, he was intent on letting the details behind that name go unlearned.
"Digging too deeply into the inner circumstances might, in fact, only hinder humanity's future."
No matter how much the man he'd followed was fixated on that name, as long as he knew the one who used that name was a calamity that had already vanished, it would only be an obsession detrimental to humanity.
Even if the one using that being's name had once threatened humanity, in the end—at this juncture—she had also saved humanity once.
"...Is that really enough for you?"
At my question, the official smiled bitterly.
Afterward, he glanced briefly at Tasian, then quietly turned to leave.
"The funeral for all the victims of this incident is scheduled to conclude with scattering the ashes on the journey home."
Given the massive death toll, it wasn't just the bodies—they weren't even in a position to take back the cremated ashes.
So, the plan was to finish the funeral by scattering the bone dust once they found a suitable riverbank or cliff along the way home.
To console their deaths, even in such inadequate circumstances.
"So, please accept this. Only you are the ones who can offer consolation to her—whom they cannot consider a 'victim.'"
And that this final funeral was a right that even someone who was once humanity's enemy deserved to receive, however modestly.
Having quietly conveyed only that intent to us, he gave a light salute and departed to rejoin the main force.
He walked among the processions of wagons ahead carrying ash-urns, getting ready to honor his comrades and those he respected.
"...A funeral."
Watching that scene with a bitter expression, Tasian handed the urn to me and spoke quietly.
"This child's funeral... Can I ask you to do it?"
"......."
Without a word, I accepted the urn from her and moved to find a suitable nearby cliff.
This direction was the exact opposite of where the soldiers' funerals were being held.
Even if it wasn't by my will, they would certainly remember it that way.
"Fleeting... this thing called life."
As I scattered the ashes from the cliff, Tasian—who had been watching the scene beside me—spoke in a lonely voice.
"No matter how fiercely you've lived, no matter what acts you've committed... In the end, once you're burned, you become no different from dust."
Her delicate fingers clutched tightly at her own cloak.
Was it just my imagination, or did it look like an attempt to wrap up a body that seemed ready to scatter at any moment?
"Perhaps this is for the better. Compared to a body clinging to an unfulfilled mission, forced to gather even its own ashes."
No, it was no illusion.
Having already burned away all the firewood left in her body, she was in a state no different from the smoke made as the ashes scattered.
A body that would be no stranger to scattering—if there were no chain binding that smoke together.
"Tasian. I......"
"I've had plenty of time to realize it."
I opened my mouth, having recognized what that chain was, but her gaze was still fixed below the cliff.
Though not a trace remained, it was as if she could still clearly see the form.
"I simply didn't want to admit it, so I dragged things all the way here. Because the past never comes back. Because if I admitted that, I'd have to accept everything I'd done."
Eventually even averting her gaze from that illusion, her head now turned toward where I stood.
Toward the one who projected the existence she'd failed to realize her love for—and ultimately destroyed with her own hands.
And yet, the existence she'd absolutely believed would challenge her if she were still alive.
"Tachia."
I know.
I know that she sees her daughter in me now.
That she believed if her daughter were alive, she would challenge her again—would even overcome the last embers she herself had lit.
"As you are now... you can satisfy the conditions of the contract, can't you?"
That belief having borne fruit, this outcome is only natural.
"...Tasian."
"Kill me."
In a wretched form, having even lost her status as a dragon.
Meeting death at the hands of one who embodied the being she'd loved must have been the ideal picture of atoning for her sins.
"Don't forgive me for defiling your life."
Yes, she was in love.
With me, who in this moment—unable to shake off this feeling toward her—ultimately drew my spear.
"For my foolish obstinacy.... For even desecrating your death, do not forgive me."
Having her heart pierced by that unfilial child's spear—
that was how she wished her love would finally be completed.