Chapter 572: A Story Left Behind, A Dog Never Abandons a Person
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 572: A Story Left Behind, A Dog Never Abandons a Person
After the battle between the two absolutes ended, only silence remained in the forest. Not the chirp of an insect nor the song of a bird could be heard. In this hastily made forest, life had not yet had time to grow. Within the thicket, where the bushes and trees obscured everything beyond three meters, Rasch, revived by his immortal power, woke his partner sleeping in his arms.
“Callis. Callis. Are you with me?”
Callis didn't answer, only letting out a moan. Rasch’s face filled with worry as he felt her burning hot body.
Having consumed the remains of the Sacrificial Vessel, Callis had gained the power of immortality. The bleeding had already stopped, and the wounds on her body had vanished without a trace. Rasch knew instinctively that Callis had obtained the Sacrificial Vessel's power.
The problem, however, wasn't her body. It was her mind. What effect the Sacrificial Vessel's power would have on Callis... Unable to know, Rasch shook his head, trying to cast aside his worries. It wasn't a problem that could be solved by worrying.
“Teacher? Boy? Are you there?”
There was no answer. It seemed the two of them had vanished along with Nevida. He was slightly concerned for their safety, but that, too, was not a problem he could solve by worrying.
Instead, Rasch looked for his own kind.
“Hey, everyone! Snap out of it!”
Rasch tore through vines and ripped out roots with his bare hands, rescuing the other immortals. Their condition wasn't bad. Unlike the Piu, they were immortals. Even tangled in thorny vines and buried under tree roots, they were perfectly fine.
‘...The aftermath is bigger than I thought. This must have reached the Piu village.’
The battle between the two absolutes had defied all reason. Light had incinerated trees to create a storm, and the forest had inhaled the air to swell its own body. It was as if two great forces of nature had fought, leaving a scar upon the world.
Nevida was gone, but the green explosion was still writhing, devouring the world.
Only then did Rasch remember something he had forgotten.
‘Wait. The Piu? What about the Piu?’
Even the immortals had nearly died. So what about the Piu, who could die for the most trivial of reasons?
‘It couldn't be helped. I was too busy just trying to stay alive! But now that I have a moment to breathe, I should go check on the Piu!’
Besides, he couldn't just leave Callis in this strange, unknown forest. After making sure his kin were conscious, Rasch quickly tried to leave.
After walking for some time, Rasch soon felt that something was wrong. His pace was slow due to the dense bushes and trees, but even accounting for that, there was no end in sight. The terrain had been completely overwritten by the forest, making it impossible to get his bearings. Roughly pushing aside the undergrowth that swarmed his vision, Rasch walked on blindly, waiting for an end to appear.
In the middle of his trek, Rasch spotted something and stopped. An artificial decoration, out of place in the primeval forest, was visible beneath the vines. Rasch identified it and muttered to himself.
“This is the Piu village... or what's left of it?”
His ominous premonition had become reality. The explosion of trees had, in the end, reached the Piu village. Being on the outskirts, the density of the trees was sparser than at the epicenter, but if the Piu had been swept up in it, they would have died without a chance to resist.
“Hello! Is anyone there!”
Was there any chance someone was alive? Rasch shouted at the top of his lungs, but only the sound of his own voice, reflected by the trees, came booming back. Rasch headed for the nearest visible building. The vines had constricted and snapped the support beams, causing the structure to sag crookedly. Rasch ripped the rattling door off its hinges, only to immediately regret his action. The inside of the building was packed so tightly with grass and trees it looked ready to burst.
It would be difficult to even recover the bodies. Rasch scowled and threw the door aside. If the Piu had all been caught in this explosion and died...
“Woof!”
Rasch's head snapped around. He had forgotten for a moment, but it was a familiar bark. Rasch felt a faint glimmer of hope. It was different from the cries of other beasts—it was the sound of an animal full of goodwill toward humans.
Rasch ran toward the sound. It was easier to move than before. It wasn't just his imagination. Claw marks, signs of gnawed tree trunks, patches of dug-up earth, and more. The tracks of a powerful and ferocious beast had carved a path through the massive forest.
Readjusting his grip on Callis, Rasch ran along the path, and before long, he found the Piu sitting around a campfire.
The Piu, armed and equipped as a makeshift vigilante group, spotted Rasch and cried out.
“Mr. Rasch!”
“You're all alive!”
“No, we almost died! If it weren't for her, we would have been caught in it and killed for sure!”
As if on cue, the vigilantes pointed at Azzy. Azzy, who had been filling her belly with a piece of meat, barked in response to their attention.
Her once-sturdy claws were worn down and short. It seemed she hadn't stopped kicking even then, as dried scabs of blood and dirt caked her paws. Her fur and skin were a mess of twigs and leaves. She even had a scratch near one eye, causing her to squint uncomfortably.
If she had simply run away, she wouldn't have been injured at all. Those were the marks of a battle fought against the forest to save people.
“She woke us all up in the middle of the night and dragged us away!”
“Right after that, a light fell from the sky and the forest caught fire, and then the enraged forest came crashing down on us.”
“By the way, Mr. Rasch. What happened? Is it really true?”
“What's 'it'? I can't say if it's true until I know what 'it' is.”
“...There's a rumor that the Sacrificial Vessel is furious because the forest was burned. People are in an uproar, saying we have to offer up those who argued for setting the fire as a sacrifice. We've managed to hold them back for now, but...”
It wasn't true at all. But Rasch lacked the talent for explaining things, and the events that had just transpired were a catastrophe far too difficult to put into words.
Rasch scratched his chin, looking troubled. The people, interpreting the gesture as a confirmation, shouted violently.
“I knew it! They dared to burn the forest, and now Mother Earth is angry!”
“The World Tree burned its own body, so this is its revenge!”
“Make a sacrifice! That woman who set the fire, too!”
As the crowd's fury turned to Callis, Rasch's expression hardened.
“Don't be ridiculous. That's not it.”
“Then! Tell us why the world was torn apart and the forest flew into a rage!”
“How should I know?”
“It is the will of the Sacrificial Vessel! You're just trying to cover for your wife because she's the one who sinned!”
No. The Sacrificial Vessel was a pathetic god who was killed by an ill omen and became a tree. Callis, who ate its fruit, is the Sacrificial Vessel now.
But how could he explain all this? Even Rasch, who had witnessed it all firsthand, didn't fully understand it yet. While Rasch searched for the right words, a few of the Piu, having found a target for their blame, began to jeer.
“They're all the same, those people from beyond the plains! I knew it when she set that fire out of her own greed. For a woman who was sold!”
“...What did you say?”
Immortals are generous and kind because they cannot be harmed. But when their honor is attacked instead of their bodies, the safety of the attacker cannot be guaranteed.
Callis was his partner, and also a priestess who held a god he must serve. At the slander against her, something in Rasch snapped. Normally, he might have endured it a few more times, but after cheating death so many times, he too was on edge.
“A-wooo.”
Just then, Azzy let out a long bark. She walked in front of the people who were about to fight and barked in displeasure.
“The Sacrificial Vessel isn't angry!”
In the savage lands, far from law and morality, loyalty is held in the highest regard. The act of saving another is not taken for granted, and is therefore all the more precious. The Piu, respecting Azzy as their savior, listened intently to her words.
“You're the ones who are angry! That's why you want to lash out! But you can't be angry!”
It wasn't a god who was enraged. It was the humans who had almost died. Agitated by fear and confusion, they were simply searching for an outlet for their emotions.
Azzy, having seen right through their feelings, barked as if to scold them.
“I saved you! No one was lost! There's nothing to be angry about!”
As the one who had saved them all, Azzy had the right to say this. The Piu lowered their heads, a sudden wave of shame washing over them.
And so did Rasch.
For a single moment, Rasch had thought them ungrateful. He felt they dared to insult him after he had allowed them to settle in the village out of goodwill. Yet in truth, Rasch had done nothing for them, but had taken their respect for granted.
Immortal he may be, but he was still human. Rasch, too, had just wanted to vent his confusion and fear. Just like the Piu.
‘We're all the same. Me, the Piu, and even the Sacrificial Vessel.’
Rasch gave a hollow laugh and took a deep breath. Was there any reason to hold his tongue just because it was hard to explain? He had to tell them, no matter how poor his words were.
It was then that a halo materialized above Azzy's head, and at the same time, a figure made of light appeared.
She was a girl, slender yet radiating dignity. She was as beautiful as a painting, with an ethereal appearance. Her eyes were closed as if she were sleepy, but she was looking directly at Azzy, a serene smile on her face.
[This dream... No matter when I have it, it is always so happy and warm....]
The Saintess of the Sky's appearance was sudden, but she was too beautiful and divine to inspire fear. The Piu could only stare in astonishment at her sudden arrival.
But Rasch, who had already encountered this being once, couldn't help but feel afraid.
“You're—!”
[Hm? Have we met before?]
The Saintess of the Sky tilted her head, then covered her mouth for a moment and murmured.
[It seems possibilities have crossed. For me to be observed twice in a single branch of the future... Even if it is not my wish, is the flow of the future destined to converge here? I wonder what happened.]
Rasch tried to say something, but no voice came out. In his panic, he felt his own throat. His vocal cords were vibrating without issue, but no sound escaped.
The Saintess of the Sky's voice echoed in his bewildered ears.
[I'm sorry, but I've sealed your voice. Since I have appeared at two points in time, I cannot observe too much information about this particular point. The more precisely I hear about the time and events, the greater the deviation in my existence becomes. Please, allow me to deduce it all on my own.]
‘What does she mean? Didn't that mass of light just fight Nevida a moment ago? Why is she acting like it never happened?’
Suddenly, Rasch realized that the Saintess of the Sky looked younger than she had before. Being made of light, it was hard to tell by how much, but she now seemed more pure and vibrant.
[-Even so. In the end, I was defeated in this land.]
The Saintess of the Sky offered a faint smile and approached Azzy. Azzy simply stared at the mysterious being before her.
[Still. It is a truly joyous thing that there is always a good friend who looks out for humanity. This child is kind, powerful, and diligent. Ah. If only humans were half as good as she is....]
The Saintess of the Sky's words grew fainter toward the end, becoming difficult to hear. What worries weighed so heavily on her mind? Azzy, who had no way of knowing and no need to, simply barked happily at the sight of the figure.
“Woof! I'm a friend!”