The Blacksmith of Salvation
The execution and the funeral proceeded as one. Layna ascended the platform, her appearance preserved exactly as it had been in life. Of course, this was physically impossible. She had already been dead for forty years, and her corpse had been so badly mutilated that identifying it had been nearly impossible.
She went through a lot. But with everyone’s combined efforts, they had succeeded in restoring her form. Through Elena’s various spells, they had reconstructed Layna’s damaged body, then used Isabella’s Corrupted Gluttony to carve a pure thought-form—stripped of all hatred and resentment—into the restored corpse.
“You three have sullied the noble sacrifice of the Border Defense Corps. You drove the families they risked their lives to protect straight into the jaws of death. Because of your ugly survival instincts that abandoned the spirit of knighthood, countless people were forced to meet humiliating deaths in the cold snowfields.”
As a result, what stood before them was not a rage-maddened evil spirit, but Layna as she had truly been. Everyone had pooled their strength to bring the dead back, if only for a moment.
It’s not perfect, though. Naturally, she had not truly been revived. The instant she finished taking revenge on the Kroto trio, her thought-form would scatter and vanish. The body Elena had restored would also revert to its original ruined state once the spell expired. In other words, her current appearance was nothing more than a fleeting illusion created solely for this single moment.
But that’s enough. Even if it lasted only a single instant, it was sufficient. If it could beautifully adorn the final moments of a woman who had died as a madwoman. If, instead of simply tearing the Kroto trio apart for personal vengeance, she could execute them on legitimate grounds as the representative of all the unjustly killed victims…
Things can change. The dwarves would finally be freed from the nightmare of forty years ago. The human female knight who had desperately loved one dwarf would become their eternal muse, allowing humans and dwarves to rebuild their relationship. And the bond between the two nations would become a crucial variable in preventing the coming catastrophe.
“Fuck… H-how is that bitch who died so long ago… standing here…”
At that moment, one of the Kroto trio—Arjie—opened his mouth. He looked around at the dwarves glaring at him and screamed as if in a frenzy.
“I-it’s a conspiracy!! I was a noble knight who protected your kingdom! I received the Empire’s respect—!”
In a single flash, Layna’s blade drew a trajectory through the air.
“Kheup!?”
With a wet spurt of red blood, Arjie’s tongue flew through the air.
“Kwaaaaaaaaah!!”
Arjie immediately clutched his mouth and screamed. Yet Layna simply stared at him with serene eyes and spoke.
“That three-inch tongue of yours plunged my husband’s homeland into darkness.”
“Kwaak! Kweaaaaaagh!”
“And—”
Another clean slash.
“Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“—that filthy arm cut down my husband’s comrade who had taken on a sacred duty.”
Layna flicked her blade once, scattering the blood clinging to it. It was not a signal to stop the execution. On the contrary, it was preparation for the real punishment to begin.
Slash.
“Krrgh— uheeeeee…”
“Those legs that should have stood firm on the defensive line ran away to save only your own hides, trampling over the weak.”
Stab.
“Huuuuurgh! Uuuuurgh… krruuuugh…”
“And those vile eyes simply watched in silence as my husband’s neighbors and comrades met their miserable ends.”
In the blink of an eye, Arjie had lost his tongue, arms, and legs, and was now blind. At the sight, both Kroto and Eguwa began to piss themselves. The once-respected knights of the Empire were now reduced to such a disgraceful state.
Guess it’s my turn now.
I had to step in at this point. If I let things continue, Layna would finish everything before we could even present the main event.
“Lady Layna. If I may, there is something I must tell everyone.”
I stepped onto the stage, held out the prepared magic orb, and spoke. Layna gave a single nod, then lowered the tip of her sword to the ground. Once I was on the platform, I activated the spell engraved on the orb and projected a large video onto the screen.
The face of the Imperial Princess appeared.
“We greet Her Highness the Princess.”
Our group knelt in unison, paying respects to the princess on the screen. Only the dwarves and the Kroto trio stood there in stunned silence at the sudden appearance of the princess.
At that moment, the princess with her expressionless face and glowing red Evil Eye asked the question. I remained on one knee, only slightly raising my head to answer.
“Yes. We have arrested the criminals Kroto, Eguwa, and Arjie and completed preparations to carry out their sentences.”
“Yes.”
I stood up and lifted the magic orb so that the dwarf king’s face would be visible. The princess then gracefully lowered her knees and head in a slight bow toward the dwarf king.
Sephelia, the Emperor’s only daughter and the strongest bloodline to inherit the Evil Eye. When she introduced herself through the screen, the previously frozen expression of the dwarf king finally relaxed. He had roughly grasped the situation.
“Nice to meet you, Princess Sephelia. I am Magrian Azaghal, King of the Dwarf Allied Kingdom.”
Magrian introduced himself and demanded an explanation of the current events. The princess smiled faintly and began recounting everything that had led to this moment.
To summarize the sequence of events: Roughly three weeks ago, after uncovering the secret of the demonic sword, I had informed the princess through Elena. In response, the princess had used the Imperial ‘Shadow’ unit to thoroughly dig up every last piece of corruption involving the three counts. She had secured all their crimes and physical evidence in advance. It was all to thoroughly punish those who had ruined diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Dwarf Kingdom.
The scale of their corruption and embezzlement was staggering. Their children had followed perfectly in their parents’ footsteps, leaving behind traces of every kind of wrongdoing. From the beginning, they had been closer to con artists than knights. They possessed an exceptional talent for deception and manipulation, and through every dirty trick in the book, they had amassed an enormous fortune.
The princess then detailed the punishments that would be given to the counts’ descendants. Those who had committed the gravest offenses would be tortured for a month, have their mana completely sealed, and be demoted to slave status. While the exact punishment varied slightly depending on the severity of their crimes, being reduced to slavery was the common penalty for those who had inherited status from corrupt parents.
With those final words, the princess ended the transmission. The dwarves who had listened to everything now looked at the Kroto trio with considerably calmer eyes. Since everything those three had built over their lifetimes had been completely destroyed, some of their rage had subsided.
“Uwaaaaaah… aaaaaah… aaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”
The Kroto trio were now beating their chests and wailing. Just like Layna had once wept over the loss of her beloved husband forty years ago, they too were crying with faces drenched in tears.
“…That is the sin you committed against me, and the sin you committed against my husband’s neighbors and friends. Your vile actions tore apart the hearts of thousands—tens of thousands.”
“Aaaaaah… this can’t be real… aaaaaah… aaah…”
In that subdued atmosphere, Layna stood before Kroto and Eguwa. Arjie, who had lost his arms, legs, tongue, and sight, was being treated by Elena just enough to keep him from dying.
“M-my son… please, at least spare my son… that boy, he…”
“I was wrong! I beg you, just once! Please forgive me just once…!”
The two men groveled pathetically, clutching at Layna’s steel boots with both hands. Layna gave a faint, bitter smile.
“Isn’t it despairing? To watch the person you love die and be unable to do anything but look on.”
“Huuuaaaaaah… aaaaaaaaah…”
“Now you will feel the same. Die in despair, repeating the names of those you failed to protect.”
With those words, Layna sliced off the arms of Kroto and Eguwa, who were still clinging to her boots. She then severed their legs as well, completely dismembering them.
“Feel the slow death of desiccation.”
She hung their writhing torsos on wooden planks, then fixed the planks above a high-temperature preservation spell so they would slowly burn alive.
“Kwaaaaaaaaaah!!! Huaaaaaah!!!”
Their agonized screams continued for a long time. Even as they screamed, the magic orb in front of them played footage of their children being tortured. They were being punished for the corruption they had passed down to the next generation.
“Krrgh… krrruuuuuh… urgh…”
And so, the Kroto trio met their miserable ends. Layna and all the dwarves watched the entire process with heavy, sunken eyes. It was the moment when forty years of accumulated resentment finally began to melt away.
Thud!
But at that moment, Layna staggered and fell to her knees. Having fulfilled the purpose of her thought-form—revenge—she no longer had any reason to exist. Her memories and emotions were beginning to scatter.
“Layna.”
Magrian, the current king of the Dwarf Allied Kingdom and Dagran’s older brother, approached and supported her. Layna looked at him with half-lidded eyes and spoke in a voice that sounded as if her breath might stop at any moment.
“…I’m sorry… I… couldn’t protect… Dagran…”
Magrian looked at her with reddened eyes. He shook his head.
“No. You did everything you could. Your heart… has reached us.”
“……”
Layna gave a small nod. With great effort, she lifted her head once more and continued.
“Then… please bury me beside my husband… The world without him… was too… cold…”
A single tear slid down Magrian’s cheek. He nodded, promising that it would be done. Layna smiled brightly and whispered her final words.
“Dagran… at last… I’m coming to your side…”
And with that, she collapsed. The thought-form that had completed its purpose scattered completely.
Swish.
Dagran gently lifted the fallen Layna. He turned to face the dwarves watching him and spoke.
“We will hold a state funeral. Dagran… says he wants to see his wife soon…”
Afterward, a national-scale funeral was held. Countless dwarves poured into the streets and paid silent tribute to Layna’s coffin as it was carried past. The woman who had been branded a madwoman for massacring her own people could finally receive official respect and be mourned properly.
Yet the dwarves were not simply grieving. Their faces showed that they had finally shed all the pent-up resentment of the past and reclaimed their pride and convictions. Not the coward Dagran, but the noble Dagran. Not the madwoman Layna, but Layna, master of the Holy Sword. The couple of the century whom they had loved most had finally regained their true meaning.
“…It suddenly occurs to me. Who is the one who planned all of this and helped us regain our self-respect? Was it the princess?”
After Layna had been laid to rest beside Dagran, Magrian asked while looking at her tombstone. Elena, standing beside him, also kept her gaze on the stone as she answered.
“…It was Edga Fix. Turning the demonic sword into a holy sword, restoring Layna to her living appearance, eradicating the criminals’ entire families—every single part of this came from that child’s mind.”
“……”
Magrian nodded calmly at the answer. He fell into deep thought for a moment, then looked up and spoke.
“About this exhibition.”
“……?”
“In truth, the ‘Returned Honor’ that Edga Fix submitted does not meet the judging criteria. After all, that holy sword is a weapon created by my younger brother, Dagran.”
Why was he suddenly bringing up the exhibition? Elena was inwardly startled by the dwarf king’s intentions, but she calmly nodded and replied.
“…Yes, I am aware. It was never submitted with the intention of winning an award. So, is it disqualified?”
“It is.”
“……”
Elena raised her eyebrows slightly in mild disappointment and clicked her tongue. As she gave a half-hearted nod and turned her gaze back to the tombstone, the king continued.
“However…”
“……?”
“All the drama and narrative that Edga Fix presented on that stage… could it not be considered a single work of art in itself?”
“……”
“Therefore, by my authority, I wish to award him a special prize and title. Just as the surname attached to his name suggests, the stage he showed us has mended our broken hearts.”
The dwarf king looked at Elena as he spoke. Seeing the infinite goodwill in his eyes, Elena smiled faintly and nodded. The dwarf king then revealed the title he would bestow upon Ed.
“Salvation. Since the work he submitted was not about judging the superiority of objects, but rather about saving our hearts, I shall grant him the title of the Blacksmith of Salvation.”
“The Blacksmith of Salvation… I like it. It suits Ed perfectly.”
“Does it? I’m glad.”
The dwarf king gave a faint smile. However, what he intended to give Ed was not merely a title.
“Of course, every title comes with appropriate respect and privileges. Since the title of Salvation is being granted for the first time, I intend to bestow the following benefits upon Edga Fix.”
The dwarf king began listing the benefits Ed would receive. With each one he named, Elena’s eyes grew wider and wider. If these privileges were truly granted, Ed would essentially be treated as a state guest.