Crossing the Desert (8)
The Loner.
The girl had always believed she belonged in that category. After all, she had never received any love in her life, wandering endlessly along lonely paths, drifting without a destination. Perhaps she was simply a vessel meant to hold sorrow.
—Don’t call me mom.
—It gives me the creeps.
—You ruined my life…!
—Get lost! Stop getting in my way!!
Her mother would always cry as she abused her. Every time she was cornered in a narrow space and kicked, Legia began to understand her world a little more. From the very beginning, there had never been a home for her.
—I-I’m sorry… Mom.
—It’s my fault.
—P-please don’t cry…
Was it because of her pure nature from birth? The girl could never hate others. Even as she watched her mother shed tears, she could only repeat apologies as if she were the sinner.
The protagonist of this world grew up steeped in such a wretched environment.
As time passed, Legia grew smaller. She lost her once-innocent self and became a mute who struggled even with basic communication. It was the result created by ugly adults.
—Why on earth.
When she had grown somewhat older, the girl’s mother died in an accident. Drunk, she had stumbled into the street and been struck by a carriage. It was a hollow, meaningless death. Since there had never been a father to begin with, the girl became an orphan in an instant.
Legia had to leave the slums to survive.
—W-where should I go…?
She simply walked. Perhaps because of the trauma from her childhood, the girl had come to fear people. As a result, even while traveling across the continent, she lived by wandering through the most desolate places possible. She ran and ran, terrified of breaking out of her shell.
To her, loneliness was an unbreakable absolute truth.
Whenever she walked beneath the cold night sky, tears would fall. It felt as if she were living as an eternal outsider. In those moments, she would think to herself that perhaps her mother had been right.
—A worthless girl like you… should never have been born in the first place.
Those words still tightened around her heart. After all, the very person who had brought her into existence had denied her any right to be alive.
The protagonist’s melancholy deepened. Repeated sorrow, doubt, and loneliness. She tried to close her heart to the world, but someone’s umbrella caught her sleeve.
It was a kindly ringing voice.
Narrow eyes and deep golden hair. Someone had finally stepped into her lonely world.
After that, the serpent continued to stay by the girl’s side. When she was sad, he patted her back. When she was happy, he clapped along with her. When she was tired, he stroked her head. It was endlessly warm.
The boy asked nothing of Legia. He simply helped her again and again. It was truly blind devotion.
Little by little, the girl’s winter began to melt.
Just what was the reason? Why would someone as incredible as him cherish someone as insignificant as her? Why did he always smile at her with such affectionate eyes?
No matter how she asked, the only answer that came back was a mischievous smile. That response made her chest feel tight, yet at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking that it was just like him.
‘…I want to be helpful too.’
She wanted to protect him. She wanted to repay that unconditional devotion, that trust, that expectation. She didn’t want to lose the first light she had ever found.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump—
Her heart beat rapidly. The fresh, budding pulse gently colored the girl.
She opened her closed eyes.
"……."
A quiet dawn. Before her eyes, tens of thousands of scorpions bared their fangs. It was a horrifying sight.
Kiiiiik—!
Kyarruk!
Kuaaaaak!!
The monsters seemed close enough to reach out and touch. Normally, Legia would have burst into tears at such a scene, but this time her eyes shone with calm clarity.
Beyond her transparent pupils, a new star twinkled.
‘My body feels strange.’
The world flowed slowly. As if time itself had stopped. At the same time, a tingling sensation spread through her. A faint light lingered at her fingertips. A hot heat rose slowly from her chest.
What melted the fear-frozen interior of her heart was none other than the emotion called courage.
For the first time, her body did not tremble.
A gentle voice brushed past her ear. When she looked down, she saw the boy’s hand truly wrapped around hers. An intense sense of fulfillment washed over her.
‘I think I can do it.’
The girl focused her mind. The massive wall in her heart—the obstacle that had brought her despair again and again—now felt like something she could overcome.
Legia squeezed the hand she held.
‘I’m not scared.’
She murmured to herself like a spell. The warm body heat she felt on the back of her hand—she quietly savored it. If she could safely survive this pitch-black dawn, she wanted to feel that hand stroke her head once more.
With that silly wish in mind, her lips moved.
"Lend me your strength."
She was calling out. To the summon that had always waited for the protagonist’s awakening, sharpening its claws for this very moment.
Legia calmly recited the name.
"Ephri."
Immediately after—
A pure white flash covered the entire area. Flames that lit up the pitch-black night sky. The brilliant silhouette illuminating its surroundings was none other than magnificent, fluttering wings.
A powerful roar rang out.
Kuoooooo—!!
Ephri soared majestically across the sky. Only after seeing that scene could Legia finally release the tears she had been holding back for so long. She burst into heavy sobs.
"Lady Legia."
Someone caught her collapsing body. As she blinked with difficulty, the golden-haired boy came into view, just as expected. A wave of relief washed over her.
The girl caught her breath and murmured.
"D-dear… I did it."
She had finally overcome the wall.
No one had expected the protagonist’s awakening. After the wyvern appeared, the tide of battle flipped in an instant.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!
With a single breath, an entire area was annihilated. The scorpions that had covered the golden desert in black were helplessly swept away by the raging flames. It was an utterly overwhelming sight.
The dawn that had been covered in pitch darkness. The pure white flash swept away every trace of shadow covering the world. As if it would leave behind not even a speck of despair, massive flames poured endlessly from its gaping maw. The wave of monsters crumbled into nothing but ash.
Even so, not a single spark flew toward our side. It was proof that the summon possessed not only overwhelming firepower capable of covering the entire ground, but also incredibly precise control.
As expected, it was worthy of being called the strongest summon without question.
"Incredible."
A quiet exclamation escaped me. I stared blankly at the brilliantly shining light.
So a summon could be this powerful. I had vaguely guessed it, but seeing it with my own eyes left me in awe. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. While we caught our breath, the creature had massacred every last scorpion crawling across the desert. It felt like a drill tearing through an anthill.
Well, every living thing had its own rank. And among them, Legia’s summon, Ephri, far surpassed ordinary levels. Even the original Judah had described those flames as dangerous.
‘Of course, he made them disappear with a single snap of his fingers.’
I shook off the random thoughts rising one by one. As I remained silent, Legia, who had been nestled in my arms, stirred.
"Y-young master… how is it going?"
Her green eyes were unfocused. Only her consciousness remained. The girl leaned her head against my chest, clinging to me as if entrusting her entire body to me. Her once-rough breathing had finally stabilized.
"I… I did it… It was s-scary, but I overcame it."
"You worked so hard, Lady Legia."
"I wanted to be of help to you, even if only once."
"Thanks to you, we all survived."
"Hehe… please stroke my head a little more."
Pat, pat.
Legia melted under the gentle touch. A pure smile dripped from her lips, as if the current moment brought her happiness. It seemed her hazy consciousness had loosened her up.
"Hehe."
As I enjoyed the protagonist’s rare state, someone approached with exhausted steps. It was the old man holding a broken crossbow.
"Young ones."
"Elder."
"Heh heh… I never thought I’d live to see your faces again."
"It truly is a miracle."
"I thought it was really over this time."
The old man smiled faintly. His aged eyes fell silent for a moment before gazing toward the horizon where dawn was breaking. Morning had finally arrived in the desert.
"I thought I wouldn’t see the sun today… Life really is unpredictable."
The desert gradually brightened. The fierce final assault was slowly coming to an end. Ephri trampled the last remaining scorpions and leisurely approached us. It seemed to be checking on its master’s condition.
Just when everything seemed to be wrapping up—
"Cough, cough…!"
Suddenly, the old man standing beside us coughed. He clutched his chest in pain, and soon dark red blood poured onto the ground. I had seen it several times before, but this time his condition looked particularly bad.
"Are you alright?"
"Huff, huff… Don’t worry about me."
The old man waved his hand dismissively. He wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled brightly as he spoke. His voice didn’t tremble in the slightest.
"Our destination is finally right in front of us."
"……."
"Let’s rest for a bit, recover some strength, and then move right away."
The old man looked calmer than ever.
The battle that had ended in the morning. It was only after half a day had passed that we could resume our journey. It was because of the final wave that had continued all night long.
We walked with the red-tinted sunset at our backs.
Crunch, crunch.
Footprints were etched into the sand behind us. The serpent, the summoner, and the old man—the three of us walked the final path toward our destination.
Even so, the coughing never stopped.
"Cough, cough…!"
"E-elder!"
The old man’s symptoms grew worse with each passing moment. He kept vomiting bright red blood. But there was nothing we could do for him. We could only support his staggering legs and keep moving.
Even though he looked like a corpse, the old man smiled brightly as if something made him very happy. It was as if he were waiting for the reunion that would soon come.
"When I was young, I used to climb the hill and play with Rosalind…"
The old man occasionally told us stories from the past. Most of them were about the girl. Even though he had lived for sixty-five years, the only thing he spoke of was the fifteen years he had spent with her in their hometown.
We listened quietly.
"Whenever we cooked together, the kitchen would always end up a mess."
Fresh, youthful stories. Sometimes we read books together with the two people in those memories, learned clumsy magic, and watched them run around in the forest. We lay side by side on the highest hill in the village and counted the stars in the night sky one by one.
That was the entirety of the life the old man had loved.
"My parents always said whenever they saw us…"
Thanks to that, there was never a dull moment. The desert grew deeper little by little. As we approached our destination, the surrounding scenery began to change in a strange way. It took us some time to notice.
"This is…?"
"Hmm."
At first, it was just strange fragments scattered across the ground. As Legia had mentioned before, pieces of what looked like building debris were half-buried in the sand. But that scenery gradually became more blatant.
A church cross jutting out from the ground. Windmills standing half-destroyed. Buildings that looked as though people had once lived in them.
"……."
Before we knew it, we were no longer in the desert. We were simply walking through the middle of a horribly collapsed city. As we crossed the ruins swallowed by sand, Legia, who had been glancing around nervously, asked a question.
"Y-young master… are we going the right way?"
"The elder knows the path."
"No matter how you look at it, this doesn’t seem like a normal desert. It looks like a city where people used to live."
"It certainly is strange. How could it have ended up in such a terrible state?"
"…It’s a little scary."
Our quiet conversation continued. The old man had stopped speaking a while ago. He simply led the way in silence. Occasionally he would glance around and flinch, but even that lasted only a moment. We followed him with questions in our hearts.
Before we knew it, night had fallen. Starlight flowed gently toward dawn. As we rubbed our tired eyes and took one step after another through the dark streets, the old man finally stopped.
"……."
We seemed to have arrived. We stood on a sand-covered hill a little ways from the village. Legia, who was beside me, asked.
"Elder?"
"……."
"Are you feeling ill again? If so, we should rest for a while."
"……."
"E-elder…?"
No answer came. The girl tilted her head with a question mark floating above it. After a meaningful silence, the old man’s mouth finally opened.
"…We’ve arrived."
"P-pardon?"
Legia tilted her head at the sudden remark. However, even then, the old man simply gestured calmly toward something standing before him.
There, a single tombstone lay humbly. An old, weathered stone covered in the traces of time. Part of it was buried in sand, but fortunately it showed no signs of damage.
We blankly read the letters engraved on the tombstone.
And then—
Rosalind Meryard
Here she rests.
We discovered the shocking sentence. Frozen in shock, we soon turned our gaze back to the old man.
"You all look surprised."
The old man wore a bitter smile. As if he had known from the beginning, he slowly ran his hand over the tombstone before him. His aged voice spoke.
"I’ll explain. What exactly happened in this desert."
His transparent pupils shone quietly.