Chapter 19: The Place Where I Expected Hayes to Be
Spilvena had marked the spot with her claw—the farthest place from Rimhold. Even though we'd re-entered the Shadow Forest quite a while ago, we still hadn't reached the first rendezvous point. Of course, we weren't moving at top speed. Monsters and magical beasts kept popping out along the way, costing us time, but that wasn't a big deal.
Still, it was taking way too long just to get to the first rendezvous. The Shadow Forest was too damn vast. Even as the remnants of the Great Forest after it burned, it was this huge? Something felt off, no matter how I sliced it.
"Evan-nim... when are we gonna get there...?"
Rapi was dragging her feet after all the walking, her body sagging like a deflated balloon. She was poking her unique-grade staff into the ground with every step. It might even outperform the famous sword Amon had repaired, but Rapi didn't seem to care. Did she even know the full potential of the staff the archmage had lent her?
"At this pace, we should make it by sundown."
I pulled out the map from the bear and calculated our position. After 50 years, the world was full of amazing artifacts. This map was one of them. From what I'd heard, it stored the previous user's records and reverse-calculated your current location using mana. Sure, you had to be the first to record on it, but it was still damn convenient.
"Eeeek...? Isn't it midday right now...? It's been like three days since we got here... No way...!"
Rapi whined, her limp body now practically crawling on the ground. And yet, her pace didn't slow a bit. This kid had talent in the weirdest places, more than in magic. The more I watched, the more fascinating she got. Honestly, her lightning magic impressed me less than this stamina.
Sometimes I wondered if the archmage had taken her in not for the lightning, but because she was just that intriguing.
"...Evan-nim, you're thinking something rude!"
How the hell did she know? She had sharp instincts.
"Nah."
"Liaaaar...! The future archmage's eyes can see right through your lies!!"
Bonk!
"Eek—! It huuuurts...!"
A solid knuckle rap shut her up. She complained about the pain, but her face didn't change. Had her head gotten tougher, or was she just used to it now? Scary kid, Rapi.
"Ugh... Still, it's so boooring... I wish a monster would show up."
"You were terrified at first. Guess you're used to it now."
Any monsters we'd run into while moving, Rapi charged in close and fried them with lightning. It felt like just yesterday she was sobbing and refusing, but look at her now. My teaching methods were spot on.
"I was scared, but... with Evan-nim right there, it was kinda okay!"
"Then next time, stay far away so you can handle it without me."
Rapi shot up from her slump and overtook me, planting herself in front.
"No no no!! Take it back, take it back!! Battle mage fighting style is super scary!!"
She shook her head furiously in denial.
"Ugh... Take it back! No monsters, please!"
"How about you stop whining and just walk quietly?"
"Eeeh... Then time drags even more!"
"Want another one?"
"..."
Finally, silence. We pushed through the underbrush in quiet. I glanced sideways—Rapi was pouting hard. Clearly sulking. High-maintenance little gremlin.
"We've got time. Wanna chat?"
"Yes!"
Her face lit up like a firework. Must've been bored out of her mind. I'd started it, but nothing came to mind. Better to let her lead.
"Got any stories you wanna hear?"
"Hmm... I've got tons of questions about you, Evan-nim!! Like why you're hiding Aura Blade skills while pretending to be Red-rank... Oh! Are you the type who hides power and then schools people?"
What the hell kind of type was that? She had some weird image of me.
"I'm Red-rank right now. Aura Blade's just a cheat I force out."
"Whaaat?? You can use that as a cheat? No way!"
"Cut the nonsense. Got anything else? I'll answer one."
"Wait a sec!"
Rapi propped her chin, mumbling to herself in thought.
"Oh! I got it!"
She clapped her hands while I waited.
"Hayes-nim? You said you're friends with the Dark Lord... Tell me about her! And some stories too, hehe."
I'd said one question, and she asked two. I stared at her. She stuck out her tongue, eyes darting away, hands up like bunny ears to block a knuckle rap. Pathetic defense.
"Eeeeek—! Evan-nim... My cheeks are streeetching...!"
I grabbed her defenseless cheeks instead of her head and yanked. This would do.
Snap! They bounced back with elastic force.
"Stories about Hayes, huh..."
Rapi rubbed her cheeks, whining, but her eyes sparkled at Hayes' name.
"That girl's got a lot in common with you, Rapi."
"...Huh? With me?"
She pointed at herself in disbelief.
"She's quieter than you, not a chatterbox... but a lot of similarities. Crybaby, timid, kinda dumb in spots."
"The Dark Lord's a... crybaby? And dumb...? Hey, I'm not dumb!"
Rapi balled her fists and flailed them up and down. She looked wronged, but yeah, you are dumb, Rapi. And high-maintenance in the same sneaky way. Maybe because she was born with the Death Eye, drawing all that negative resentment. She had a habit of getting lost in her own thoughts. Dumbly misunderstanding alone and bursting into tears out of nowhere. Most of it was baseless delusion anyway.
'She better not be overthinking something weird again...'
I'd left a letter and items before heading to Earth for vacation. Hopefully no needless misunderstandings. But time had passed not five days, but 50 years—I had no idea the situation.
"Any fun stories with Hayes-nim?"
"Fun? Mostly suffering... Want the one where we smashed an Abyss bastard?"
"Ooooh!!! Yes!"
Rapi clapped, her face beaming with anticipation.
"Remember that Abyss creep we saw with Anna? The toothy one? This is the story of fighting its true form."
"Ooooh!!! As expected of Evan-nim... Beating an Abyss entity? Amazing!!"
She was gilding my face. Nice to have someone appreciate it.
"The Swallower. Used Swallower's Power—guy was such a motormouth, total chatter-snake."
Naturally, memories of that time flooded back. The Swallower was a named Abyss boss we'd encountered shortly after recruiting Hayes. That damn talkative snake had devoured so much, we nearly got swallowed instead of wiping out the Abyss.
"Its Swallower's Power let it devour anything and hurl it back as its own power. Magic barely worked—total cheat ability."
Our spellcasters got one-shot by the magic it puked up. If that was it, we'd have been lucky, but life ain't easy.
"Devoured so many knights, my Aura Blade-wrapped sword bounced right off its scales."
The bastard even mocked us, coating its fangs and scales in Aura Blade. I thought I was gonna lose it.
"W-Wait...? That's too monstrous... How'd you take it down?"
The Swallower was a monster. I thought we'd fail to save the world right there. But Hayes saved our asses.
"When the Dark Lord—Hayes—unleashed her real power, its ability started crumbling. I didn't kill it; her power did."
In the crisis, Hayes awakened her death mana. Mastering the Death Eye, she saw the Swallower. Its scale Aura Blades vanished; the magic it spewed died mid-cast. Truly lived up to Dark Lord. That elf who'd been mute and watching my cues finally flexed, earning her title as Death's ruler.
"Whoa... Dark Lord-nim's power is insane... Uh... But wait... Didn't you say you killed it? The Abyss we met..."
"..."
As Rapi said, the Swallower died under Hayes' gaze—death imposed instantly. We didn't miss the chance; I hacked it to pieces with everything I had. And with the Abyss's tenacity, I double-checked kills multiple times. It was definitely dead.
"My guess? It ate chunks of the corpse I sliced up for power. Not sure, though."
We'd chopped and burned it, but it was huge—fragments might've lingered. The Abyss maggot probably munched those for strength.
"Like resurrection into an apostle...?"
"Not that fancy. Its power was leagues beyond what the maggot used."
"Hmm... But Evan-nim, what if the Swallower really revives...?"
Rapi shivered, worried. Her imagination was running wild again.
"Don't sweat it. We killed that motormouth ages ago."
We got stronger after. Hayes mastered death mana. Now, at least 50 years later.
"Even if it somehow revived, Hayes would be way stronger. No issue."
Drip—! Black blood trickled from my mouth. My guts twisted—not figuratively. Actually twisting.
"Cough—!"
I hacked up the dead blood pooling inside. Felt a bit better. Vision blurry. Eyes failing now too. In the encroaching darkness, I groped around. Barely felt anything. But something was there. I'd successfully returned from the underworld to Adenia.
Hayes forced her limp body upright.
"...?"
I thought I was walking. But I was collapsed. When? Senses too dull to notice. My condition was way worse than expected. My dying body had used power in Rimhold—bad move. No more opening the underworld like this. Flesh senses fading—proof it was drifting toward the underworld, not Adenia.
"...Not yet... fine..."
Memories held strong. Precious times with him not yet shrouded in death. It hurt. Agonized. When would I see him? If he'd truly abandoned us... At least come punish me at the end. So I could leave seeing my mate's face.
—My lord... Multiple intruders nearby. I'll handle them.
The unwanted death entity spoke and vanished. With the filth gone, I felt a tad better. Hayes leaned against a tree, catching her breath. Forced Shadow Forest life mana into her dying body.
"...Ugh... hurts..."
Even pain sense was dying. Slight recovery from life mana brought gut-wrenching agony crashing down. She endured, suppressing it. Not full recovery, but enough to prolong the inevitable. Something emerged in her hazy, blind vision. Massive bones. Skeleton snake shape.
"Snake..."
One being came to mind. Not some forest-claiming monster snake, but an Abyss entity. Apex of snake forms, Abyss nightmare, toothy snake. Motormouth—all epithets for one: the Swallower. The first Abyss nightmare we'd felled together.
Fighting the Swallower with its devouring power was razor-thin. Impossible after it endlessly ate knights and mages. Magic didn't work—instead, it regurgitated ours. Nine-tenths of our anti-Swallower force died and got eaten by its backlash spells. First terror since starting the journey with him. Countless lives wasted. Crushed by helplessness and defeat. Even her tormenting death entities silenced by its Abyss mana.
Then, he raised his sword brimming with starry night sky. Before the hope-devouring snake, he charged laughing. In the end, his starlit blade... symbolized hope as it slew the snake of despair.
Drip... drip... Tears fell. Happiness just remembering him. Agony knowing I couldn't see him.
"Not much... left..."
At life's end, his smile... See the starry sky with him again. She wished.