Chapter 454
Chapter Title: Sky-Blue Courage
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454.
From within his consciousness, sinking into an abyss, someone's cry echoed faintly.
‘Ar?’
That voice, filled with a faith so unwavering it was almost foolish, slowly brought his fading consciousness back to life.
With it, an old memory surfaced.
The Age of Calamity.
An era where countless orphans appeared, a time when that was considered perfectly natural.
He had never known the happiness of an ordinary family.
It was an age where misfortune was the norm.
Peace had vanished before he was even born, and the world was filled only with despair.
In that calamity, the weakest were the orphans, with nowhere to go and no one to rely on.
Days were spent merely trying to prolong their lives, one way or another.
A childhood where everyone he saw was miserable.
And among them, he was a child a bit more unfortunate than the rest.
“What’s wrong with him again?”
“I don’t know. He says the sky is scary.”
“What’s so scary about it? What a coward.”
The other orphans in the alley always looked at him with pity.
It was only natural.
He was always terrified.
The gray sky was frightening.
He couldn't even dare to lift his head.
“They say the sky used to be sky-blue.”
“What’s sky-blue?”
“They say it’s a light blue color.”
“What’s that? Weird!”
The orphans shared the food they had begged for during the day, filling their stomachs.
“Hey, Wolf Cub, have some of this.”
In those days, he was called the Wolf Cub.
He didn't have a name.
There were no parents to give him one.
They just called each other whatever was convenient for the group.
Fortunately, even as a child, he was blessed with good people around him.
In his group of orphans, there was a human girl who took good care of the other children.
She would always set aside a little food for him, the one who was always scared.
Then one day.
A wolf beastkin came to the orphans' street.
“Did you hear? They say it’s Agon, the Guardian of the Azure Sky!”
“I’ve heard of him! He’s someone amazing, right?”
“Why would someone that amazing come to a street like this?”
“He’s going to take care of us! They said we can eat without having to beg anymore!”
“Really?!”
Agon, the Guardian of the Azure Sky.
To the orphans, he was nothing short of a savior.
They couldn't eat their fill, but they no longer had to go hungry or struggle with begging.
The children cheered, proclaiming this to be true happiness.
And so, a great change came to the orphans' street.
But it must have been around that time.
That he became even more terrified.
From the day Agon arrived, he ran and hid from him.
‘He’s scary! So scary!’
The Wolf Cub was afraid of Agon.
In the cub’s eyes, Agon was far too immense.
He had once seen people on the main road setting out on an expedition to protect the city.
He had felt fear from them too, but Agon was on a different level.
Because Agon was always on the orphans' street, the Wolf Cub began to starve more often.
One day, so hungry that his stomach no longer even rumbled.
Agon appeared before the limp Wolf Cub.
“Don’t you even have the strength to run away now?”
“Eek—!”
The Wolf Cub, terrified, tried to crawl away.
But he didn't even have that little bit of strength left.
Agon silently placed a bowl of soup and a piece of bread in front of the Wolf Cub.
Then he sat down at a distance and watched him.
Starving, the Wolf Cub greedily devoured the soup and bread.
“Cough—! Cough—!”
He choked from eating too quickly.
But Agon kept his eyes closed, waiting for the Wolf Cub to finish his meal.
A moment later.
The Wolf Cub approached Agon.
*His guard must be down now that he’s eaten.*
An unexpected sight greeted Agon as he opened his eyes with that thought.
“Th-th-th-thank you.”
The Wolf Cub was still trembling with fear.
*What is it about me that frightens this child so much?*
While pondering this, Agon was also impressed by the Wolf Cub's courage to express his gratitude despite his great fear.
“The other children call you a coward. But unlike what I’ve heard, you seem to be a very brave child.”
“M-Me?”
Agon smiled gently at the trembling wolf boy, who looked completely baffled.
“Yes, little one. What is it about me that you find so frightening?”
“Y-You, Lord Agon… you’re too immense. The other children don’t seem to see it, but… it feels like you possess a power that is just too vast.”
At those words, Agon’s expression changed completely.
‘He saw through my power and was frightened?’
Agon was certain he had perfectly contained his power.
Startled, Agon suppressed even the aura he was unconsciously emitting.
The Wolf Cub’s eyes widened.
His pale complexion returned to its normal color.
Once the source of his fear was gone, the child’s face brightened.
After that, Agon and Ar-on talked for a long time.
“The sky is scary, you say… I see. You were born with a tremendous power.”
“I was?”
The Wolf Cub’s eyes went round.
“Yes. The reason you’re always frightened is that your instincts perceive things others cannot. Uncontrollable power can be something of a curse. It must have been difficult for you.”
At those words, the Wolf Cub’s face crumpled.
“Then I hate that power! It means I’m always scared because of it!”
The Wolf Cub had come to despise the power he was born with.
“No, there must be a reason why you were born with such an incredible power.”
“That’s hard to understand.”
“You’ll understand when you’re a little older. So do not fear your power. Accept it and make it your own. If you can do that, you might become someone who saves the world.”
Agon smiled brightly, having seen through the child's unimaginable potential.
“What does it mean to save the world?”
“Hmm. How can I make it easy to understand?”
Agon pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Right, saving the world means bringing back the clear, blue sky.”
“What’s a clear, blue sky?”
“A sky filled with this color.”
*Vwoom—!*
A sky-blue aura flowed from Agon’s hand.
“Long ago, the entire sky was this color.”
“Wow… it’s beautiful…”
His eyes were captivated by the beautiful color he had never seen before.
The Wolf Cub was deeply moved by the sight of that color.
Then, in an excited voice, he asked.
“What do I have to do to save the world!?”
“It is an incredibly difficult task.”
“I’ll do it even if it’s hard! I want to see a clear, blue sky!”
“Is that so? Then first, you must become strong.”
“Become strong?”
“Don’t worry about that part. I will train you. But before that, it would be good if you had a name.”
Agon thought for a moment and grinned.
“Ar-on would be a good name.”
“Ar-on?”
“Yes. In the ancient beastkin language, ‘Ar’ means courage, and ‘on’ means person. Together, it means ‘a person of courage’.”
“A person of courage… I don’t think that suits me very well.”
“No. It suits you perfectly. Ar-on. You saw the sky-blue color, and even knowing it would be a difficult task, you still wanted to save the world, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“That is what courage is.”
“Courage…”
“Yes. So when you feel anxious or afraid, remember the sky-blue color you saw today.”
Agon stroked Ar-on’s white hair.
“It will surely give you courage.”
*Awoooooooooooo—!*
The sudden sound of a howl completely awakened Ar-on’s consciousness.
‘Ar.’
Ar’s howl was giving him courage.
And in response to Ar’s howl, strength surged through Ar-on’s entire body.
*Fwoosh—!*
Powered by Ar’s howl, Ar-on transformed.
His fading body returned to its original form.
When he opened his eyes, he saw sky-blue hair.
And he saw the broken sword Chelsea was holding.
Brave.
The broken symbol of the Brave Hero.
Chelsea had mustered her courage and come to him to deliver this.
Ar-on looked at Chelsea’s hair and gripped the broken sword.
*Flaroar—!*
‘Dweno’s flame?’
A sudden golden flame erupted, becoming the blade of Brave.
Ar-on smiled, looking at Brave, now restored to its perfect form.
Ar’s howl reignites his extinguished courage.
The sky-blue hair before him shows him the way.
The sword Dweno created pushes him forward.
A golden glint flashed in Ar-on’s eyes.
*Fwoosh—!*
Brave sliced through the flames of calamity.
*Tsk—*
Having returned to the world once more, Ar-on gave a gentle smile and asked Chelsea, who was in his arms.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Chelsea. Thanks to you, I was able to find my courage.”
“I didn’t do anything…”
“The color of the sky gives me courage.”
Smiling softly, Ar-on gently set Chelsea down.
Seeing Ar-on, Erebos’s face twisted in a scowl.
—How did you return? Is this some miracle born from your stubborn attachment to the worthless title of Brave Hero?
Ar-on replied to Erebos’s rage-filled words.
“I have no attachment to the title of Brave Hero. I wonder if I returned because I stepped into the realm of the gods?”
—Such absurd nonsense.
“Such absurd nonsense.”
Erebos’s eyes twitched as Ar-on spoke the very words he was thinking.
—You… Don't tell me you can see the future…
“Yes, I can see it clearly.”
—You…
“So I understand now. The fact that the future can be changed at any time.”
It was very brief.
But his eyes had opened, allowing him to see a clear future beyond mere fragmented visions.
For just a moment.
He had succeeded in briefly stepping into the realm of the gods.
Thanks to that, he had managed to obtain a tiny fragment of divine power.
“It’s just a small piece… but it’s enough to finish you.”
*Flash—!*
Ar-on’s sword swung at an invisible speed.
*SQUELCH—!*
Erebos’s body was split in two from head to toe.
—A ghost of the long-dead past!
Erebos’s enraged voice echoed.
Ar-on laughed as he looked at him.
“We’re both in the same boat. Let’s not cling to this world.”
—Grwooooooooooar!
Erebos’s furious roar resounded.
Watching him, Ar-on swung his sword.
A golden flash erupted, and Erebos’s body disintegrated into thousands, tens of thousands of pieces.
*Splat—!*
“Amazing…!”
The moment Chelsea’s eyes widened.
*Flash—!*
Leo’s staff glowed, and a pure white light shot into Ar-on’s sword.
Ar-on’s eyes widened as he saw Leo cast a spell on his blade.
Leo gave Ar-on a throat-slitting gesture.
Understanding his meaning, Ar-on gripped the sword with both hands and raised it high.
And just before he swung.
He turned back as if he had just remembered something.
“Chelsea.”
“Yes!”
“Want me to tell you a secret?”
“A secret?”
“Yes. The truth is, Leo is…”
Ar-on whispered very softly.
“The Hero of the Beginning.”
Chelsea’s eyes shot open.
“Kyle has shouldered too many burdens. He’ll never try to share them. So please, as his younger brother… be a source of strength for Leo. Create a space where Leo can smile at ease.”
“Find what you want to do.”
Before entering the final battle.
The words Kyle had given him, not just as a friend but as an older brother.
‘After coming to this world, I thought I wanted to become a true Brave Hero… but that’s not what I want.’
He had never been interested in such things in the first place.
‘The only thing I want is one. For my family to be able to smile in a peaceful world, surrounded by good people. That is my wish for myself.’
It was a wish Leo would surely have been angry about had he heard it.
He would have scolded him for it being an altruistic wish in the end.
But Ar-on liked it.
Just thinking about it made him happy.
So he decided to keep this fact buried in his heart.
*Step— Step—*
Ar-on walked toward the reigniting Erebos, holding the sword imbued with pure white power.
“This is the end.”
*Shing—!*
Ar-on’s expression turned fierce as he readjusted his grip on the sword.
“Vanish, primordial evil.”
*Flash—!*
*Kuuuoooooooooooooo!*
The pieces of Erebos, sliced by the pure white light and golden aura, let out screams of agony.
*Kwwaaaaaaaa! Fwoosh—!*
Engulfed in the pure white light, Erebos vanished without a trace.
The crimson sky began to fade away.
The bloodthirsty monsters, too, were consumed by black flames and soon dissipated.
Erebos was gone.
The only proof that the primordial evil had ever existed were the scars of the fierce battlefield.
As everyone stood in silence, the dawn began to break.
Watching the scene, Ar-on shouted.
“We are victorious!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”