Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Academy Assault Battle (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The warrior had a truly tragic past.
His younger brother had sacrificed himself for him, his family had been wiped out, and his beloved fiancée had died a pitiful death.
However, all those memories, which he thought would never fade, had eventually become the past as he lived on.
And today as well.
He hoped they would remain as memories of the past, something he could reminisce about.
The warrior wished for that.
It was a village of the Setima tribespeople, who bore the name Setima. They were kind to outsiders, disliked harming others, and absolutely rejected killing, so they had no proper defense force—just a gentle-hearted clan.
The warrior, too, had naturally melted into their kindness and spent a long time living with them.
Unfortunately, even Setima faced a crisis.
The army of the Griffin Kingdom, steadily expanding its territory, had begun invading Setima's lands.
Moreover, they branded the goddess worshipped by Setima as a heretic and aimed for the complete extermination of the tribe.
Pushed back and fleeing, they had arrived here.
It was a densely forested land in Setima called the "Tent."
The entrance was blocked by piles of rocks all around, leaving only one actual way in.
There, the warrior stood with arms crossed, feeling the wind as he waited for the people.
"Grandma! I want candy!"
A child's voice rang out. The warrior, who had been sitting with eyes closed, opened them.
"You brat, you need to hold out a little."
He pretended to be scary toward the child clinging to his grandma and begging for candy, but the child just giggled.
"Hehe! Uncle's pretending to be scary, but it's not scary at all!"
"Huh."
The warrior scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression. The grandma looked at him and bowed deeply in gratitude.
"You're suffering so much because of us. Thank you."
"No, it's something I have to do."
The warrior smiled and guided the grandma and her grandchild inside.
"Grandma! Really no candy? You gave me one every day!"
"Oh dear, you rascal. Wait and see. Let me check once."
The grandma rummaged through her bosom, unable to refuse, and entered with her grandchild.
As he turned his gaze back along the path, starting with them, the Setima villagers began arriving in earnest.
"Bro, really sorry about this."
"Please take care of it."
His drinking buddy and his wife bowed their heads.
"Kids, gather here. Goodness! Don't let go of your friend's hand. Come here! Come on!"
The orphanage director who looked fierce but was actually kind-hearted, in charge of Setima's orphans.
"You bounce like this, see? Like this!"
"No, my legs hurt!"
Children jumping in place, laughing that it was fun.
"Please take care of us."
Even Setima's priest, bowing deeply as he passed.
The warrior exchanged greetings with everyone, arms still crossed. If they just held out a little longer, reinforcements would come from the other villages he'd lived with.
He just needed to block this entrance for that short time.
"Uncle!"
"Hm?"
Then, a bright-smiling girl approached at his feet. She was the priest's daughter, whom the warrior had often played with.
"What's up? You should go to your dad."
"Look at this! I made it!"
What the girl held out was a doll. It wasn't made particularly well, but it was full of sincerity.
"What'd you make? A general?"
"Yes?!"
He'd guessed, but wrong—the girl pouted and shouted.
"It's an angel! An angel! They'll protect us all!"
"Oh, oh! Right! An angel!"
"Yes! When it's all over, they'll make us all laugh and be happy together!"
The girl shouted confidently with a big smile. Thanks to her, the warrior's tension eased a bit, and he patted her head.
Then the girl proudly held out the doll and explained.
"Look at this. I cut my hair and stuck it on, and now it looks real, right?"
He'd thought it was a beard, but it was hair. Looking at the black hair on the doll, the warrior smiled.
"Yeah, the angel will surely see your sincerity and protect us."
"Right?! Right! Ehehe! Don't worry, Uncle! The angel will take care of everything!"
Saying that, the girl went inside. Watching her back, the warrior smirked sarcastically.
"Yeah, the angel will protect us."
The ground rumbled.
It was a sign of how many warhorses were charging.
"Already here?"
Slowly loosening his stiff body, the warrior placed his hand on the sword at his waist.
He easily foresaw a long and grueling battle.
* * *
"Hah! Hah!"
Sticky blood soaked his entire body, making it heavy. His eyes wouldn't open properly, so he tried wiping them with his hand, but it only smeared more blood from his hand.
In front of a pool of blood under a blood-red crescent moon, the warrior knelt, catching his breath.
The enemy army had already retreated.
They'd probably come again tomorrow, but he'd held out today.
Despite many wounds making even a single step hard, the warrior lifted the corners of his mouth heavily.
"Held out."
Tomorrow, reinforcements would come from the nearby tribal villages. Then they could launch a major counterattack.
It was regrettable that he, who should lead the vanguard, was exhausted, but the warrior was confident they could win.
He glanced back.
From the dark passage behind, not a single voice from the villagers was heard, but since no kingdom soldiers had passed, they should be safe.
"I'm hungry."
He wanted to go in and fill his starving stomach, but his legs wouldn't move. Hoping someone would bring food from inside, he waited a moment.
The sun rose.
The kingdom army came surging just like yesterday.
This time too, the warrior held them off.
It was a truly astonishing feat.
Even though he lost a hand midway, even though his stomach was so empty, he gritted his teeth, endured, and won again.
"My stomach... is so empty."
The hunger after the fierce battle was more brutal than pain or wounds.
Without proper sustenance, he no longer had the strength to even grip his sword.
So.
The warrior approached one of the scattered corpses and picked up a severed enemy arm, shoving it into his mouth.
His teeth, sharp as a blade, chewed the flesh as if forcing it in. Blood filled his mouth like meat juice, but his mouth was already full of the stench of blood.
He knew how evil it was to eat human flesh.
Even Setima's goddess might click her tongue at him and leave.
But to protect them, he had to become an evil ghost.
Crunch. Crunch.
For the many Setima villagers believing in him and praying inside.
Crunch. Crunch.
For those who had turned his broken self, shattered in tragedy where he'd lost everything, back into a human.
Crunch. Crunch.
The warrior merely forced the lump of meat into his stomach to regain strength.
Like that, he endured one day.
Another day.
Still, no voices from the villagers inside, and no shadows of the tribal folk from other villages who promised reinforcements.
Yet the warrior never showed his back.
Unfortunately, that end came as a blade piercing through his back.
Stab!
Seeing the kingdom soldier's sword protruding from his chest, the warrior let out a ragged breath.
He could feel nothing in his mouth but the aftertaste of blood anymore.
Thick blood from his own body gurgled up his throat and spewed out like vomit.
"Kuhak!"
How could someone come from inside when he hadn't let even one intruder through?
Amid that doubt, the man who stabbed him from behind laughed and answered.
"Most of the people inside died on the first day. You didn't know they could move underground with magic?"
"......!"
"The reinforcements from the tribes? All dead. You should've seen them charging in like idiots to die."
The man, face unseen, snickered.
"But thanks. Thanks to you, a lot of the rival family's forces got depleted, and I get the credit."
Thud.
The warrior's knees, unbent through any trial, buckled.
"Cut down the enemy leader! The Zeronia family's eldest son! Ger----!"
Now his vision blurred, sounds faint.
The warrior realized this was the end of his life, lived in desperate struggle.
Like everyone, he had imagined his own end.
He thought it would be a perfect period.
A clean finish, leaving no regrets.
He thought he'd rejoice at escaping this tragedy.
He thought he'd feel detached, deeming his life empty and meaningless.
But when it came, the end was not a period but smeared ink like childish scrawl.
'So... frustrating.'
At being so powerless, toyed with.
At being foolishly played by the enemy.
At failing to protect the villagers.
Frustrating.
'If there were gods...'
The warrior didn't believe in Setima's goddess. So he resented and thought.
'You should have... protected them.'
....
.............
...................
"Yes, this is your past."
Snap!
Regaining his senses, the warrior swung his sword fiercely. He pushed away the necromancer who had placed a hand on his heart.
He hadn't protected them.
But whether a gift from god or demon's prank, he was given one more chance.
So this time.
[Graaaaaah!]
He would protect them.
* * *
"What did you just do?!"
Pinden A, who had cleared the path for me, asked in surprise.
Thanks to the joint attack from Pinden A and Gideon creating an opening, I absorbed mana near his heart and tasted fragments of memory.
"I woke him."
I couldn't explain the situation in detail, so I kept it brief.
"He should have his senses back now."
It was as I said.
The warrior, swinging his sword with torrent-like momentum, paused as if catching his breath, head drooping, then looked our way.
[How... did you awaken me?]
The warrior, until moments ago gripped by madness and grudges, had finally opened his eyes.
"Because I need you."
Naturally, Pinden A and Gideon stepped aside, leaving me and the warrior facing each other directly.
But just because we could talk didn't mean he'd turned friendly.
[Bullshit. Kingdom dogs. Tonight, I'll take your heads to appease the vengeful spirits of the children who died.]
"Impossible."
I flatly denied his heavy declaration.
"No matter how cruelly you kill us, it won't resolve their grudges."
[What do you know?!]
"I know."
Fwoosh!
Blue flames wrapped my right hand. The same as what I'd shown Emily.
The necromancer's flame for dealing with souls.
"While you lost your mind and lingered here."
[......]
"I comforted them."
Instantly, not just the warrior but others' gazes turned to me.
But as always, I simply conversed with the soul.
"Warrior, answer me."
I took one step toward him.
The warrior's flaming eyes wavered, signaling anxiety and unease.
"From whom are you protecting them?"
[I...]
"Warrior, answer me."
Another step forward, and this time the warrior retreated a step as if fleeing.
"What did the Setima villagers truly desire?"
[......]
"In front of the kingdom army charging with spears, swords, and warhorses, what did the Setima villagers do?"
[......]
"What was the wish of the girl who proudly showed you her doll with a smile?"
The tip of the warrior's raised sword traced a parabola and calmly settled to the ground.
"Now. Under the pretext of speaking for them, who are the ones acting as they please?"
Nameless evil spirits had gathered in this academy where the boundary of life and death crumbled, filling their desires with flowery words of avenging Setima.
"Warrior."
Reaching the dazed warrior staring at me, I slowly extended my hand.
Blue flames began spreading across his entire body.
"Warrior who became a fiend on the battlefield, never sheathing your sword for others, for your benefactors."
[Ah......]
"You deserve to see the end of this tale."
The warrior's form distorted as it melted into the flames.
Then, he became a worn, abyss-black sword in my hand.
"Come with me. Let us see off these pitiful souls."