Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 281
Chapter Title: Constellation (2)
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The Hero of the Holy Spear, Garahal.
The most heroic of heroes.
The boy who dreamed of being a fairy-tale hero had charged forward, eyes fixed straight ahead. The boy grew into a young man and experienced much. In the end, he realized he could never become a hero.
The heroes of fairy tales shine brilliantly.
They remain beautiful and radiant until the very moment they draw their last breath. That's why they're called heroes, why countless children idolize them.
But such a life is impossible in reality.
Death is gruesome and cruel. Faced with the approaching end, humans inevitably grow ugly. Garahal is no different. He feels fear too.
Did my life have meaning?
Did I achieve what I truly desired?
Did I live a righteous life?
Unable to find answers, Garahal wrestled endlessly with these questions. As his remaining time dwindled, his heart grew sicker. Time slipped away without resolution.
"H-Hero! Garahal!"
One day, Garahal met a girl who dreamed of the same path. She called him a hero. In her eyes, he saw his own past.
Eyes dreaming of heroism.
A gaze of longing, aspiring to emulate someone admired. The fact that it was directed at him made Garahal burst into laughter.
"Isn't that enough?"
"You've already tried your best, and the whole world calls you a hero."
Is that so?
"Ease up a bit, young friend."
"No one can replace you. Your achievements are proof of that."
Was that it?
"I've already achieved my dream."
Garahal looked ahead.
Here, where statues of countless heroes who had guarded the kingdom for centuries stood, his own statue was placed. Engraved boldly upon it was a single line.
"The most heroic hero."
The hero Garahal had dreamed of becoming.
Facing those words, Garahal smiled.
"Without realizing it, I've become such a great figure."
For the first time, the hero who had always pressed forward turned to look back. The path laid out behind him was the road walked by one man named Garahal.
It wasn't perfect.
It was clumsy. Sometimes he wavered, sometimes he halted in despair. But it never broke. He rose again with difficulty and kept walking.
Just like a hero from a fairy tale.
Garahal looked down at his feet.
Before he knew it, he was walking toward the end of the road. The path ahead wasn't long. Perhaps just a fleeting moment.
It wouldn't be as glorious as the road behind. Accepting approaching death was terrifying; he might yet become ugly.
But that was fine.
Looking back on the path he'd walked, such things didn't matter. Reflecting on his life, Garahal murmured unconsciously.
"I've lived quite splendidly."
The path he'd walked.
To Garahal, it was beautiful.
More than anything else.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Garahal carved his signature in front of his statue.
Lania let out a short "Oh" of admiration upon seeing the elegantly scripted autograph.
"What? Your signature's really cool."
"I practiced. Quite a lot."
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"From the moment I became a hero, I secretly practiced signing. Embarrassing, really."
Garahal spoke lightly.
"I wondered if one day I'd leave my name in a place like this, so I pondered how to write it stylishly."
"...Really?"
"Yes, actually, there are quite a few variations? Like twisting the letters this way..."
With that, Garahal added a few more signatures.
As he flourished the letters, Garahal smiled—a smile more relaxed than ever, as if he'd laid down a long-held burden.
Glancing at his expression, Lania asked,
"Something's different about your vibe?"
"Is it?"
"Yeah. You look more at ease than usual, or something..."
"Maybe."
Garahal smiled.
"I feel like I've realized there's no need to overthink things. Have I been too focused on what's ahead all this time?"
It was like grasping at clouds.
As Lania blinked, unable to comprehend, Garahal turned his head. His gaze fell on her.
"Lania."
Garahal hesitated briefly before speaking.
"It's a secret, but my original dream was to be a writer."
"...A writer?"
"Yes. I admired heroic tales but lacked the strength to become a hero myself. So I thought of gathering stories of heroes and writing my own epic."
A childhood dream he'd never shared with anyone, long forgotten.
"So,"
Garahal looked delighted as he spoke of it.
Like a child again.
"I think I'll try writing now."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. With all I've experienced, I can write more vividly, don't you think? Like what you told me."
"Me?"
"That nothing conveys experience better than telling it."
Murmuring that, Garahal smiled.
"Who knows? Maybe someone dreaming of a life like mine will read my heroic tale."
Watching the joyful Garahal, Lania found herself smiling too. Dreams, huh. Recalling her own dream, now so distant, she nodded.
"Yeah, give it your all."
She poked Garahal's side firmly and said,
"Show it to me first when you're done."
"Of course. Your story will be in it too."
"Don't forget the word 'great'."
Garahal burst into laughter.
Lania laughed along.
In front of the statue of the most heroic hero, the two shared smiles for a while, gazing at each other.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
To undergo the trial to become a hero, Chloe boarded a carriage. It headed toward a forest hidden deep in the capital.
Her two mentors rode with her.
A place not revealed to outsiders—not even Chloe's guardian, the Lord of the Black Tower—could be accessed... but the two with Chloe had been granted special permission.
"It's been a while. I came here once."
"I've only heard rumors."
One was Garahal, the hero who had undergone the trial here; the other, Lania van Trias, called the successor to the Ashen Mage.
"Permission granted for Lania van Trias's entry."
Originally, permission wasn't intended for Lania, but a single command from the First Princess—practically the real power in the palace—changed that.
"I deem her trustworthy."
"Do you doubt my judgment?"
No one dared oppose those chilling eyes. Thus, the carriage carrying the three headed deep into the forest.
"......"
As the trial site neared, Chloe remained silent. Head bowed, she stared at her trembling fingertips.
After the trial, she would become an apprentice hero.
Her status as a hero would be announced to the world, and she might be called to the battlefield. She wasn't afraid of that. What terrified Chloe now was her own aptitude.
Can I do it?
She'd lived busier than ever these past months.
Relentless training had yielded astonishing growth compared to months ago. Now was the time to prove it.
The question was whether it was enough.
As Chloe pondered, Garahal, seated across from her, spoke.
"Chloe."
At his voice, she raised her head.
Meeting her eyes, Garahal smiled gently. He nodded and said,
"Have confidence."
A short phrase.
"You have more than enough qualification. You'll pass the trial with ease."
"Yeah. From what I've seen, you're more than ready."
Lania nodded along with Garahal.
Having watched Chloe closely, they were certain. She could pass the trial effortlessly.
"......"
Chloe nodded silently.
Before long, the carriage arrived. Clutching her fists, Chloe stepped down.
"This way."
Astrologers who read the stars guided Chloe and the two into the forest depths. After a long walk, they reached a clearing dominated by a massive tree.
Before the sun rose, as dawn approached.
Not as dark as midnight forest. Stars shining in the night sky illuminated it.
"Here."
Under the astrologer's guidance, Chloe stood directly beneath the tree. Platinum starlight poured down through the branches onto her position.
Thus, Chloe became the center.
Starlight gathered where she stood, forming a single point. That single point. Then, constellations in the night sky began to glow one by one.
Starlight filtered through the branches.
One, two, three, five, then six.
Six points marked around Chloe. Points connected into lines, lines into a pattern. Chloe stood at its center.
Sarah.
The platinum point beneath Chloe's feet hadn't yet gained full brilliance. It only glowed faintly. Toward this incomplete point, lines extended from the six others.
Point met line.
There, a vast well of light appeared.
The well of light reflected the constellations overhead. The reflected ones resonated with those above.
To complete the imperfect six into a perfect seven.
The stars impose trials on their chosen human. A door appeared above the platinum well. Engraved with constellations, it opened, revealing the path to the trial.
Nod.
Chloe nodded to Garahal and Lania, a few steps away. Steel resolve firm, she stepped toward the glowing passage—
Creak.
Something twisted.
The six points etched into the ground shook. The radiant platinum constellation flickered, its color inverting to black. Filthy sludge-black.
And then, crack.
"Huh?"
Something swallowed the star passage.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Staring at the six marked points on the map, Destel let out a long sigh. No matter how he looked, no answers emerged. He'd scoured countless books but found no matching pattern.
"Hoo..."
Sighing, Destel stepped out of the tent.
The sun had long set. Walking the darkened plains, he suddenly looked up at the sky.
Stars shone brilliantly.
Destel, who didn't care much for stars. No hobby of stargazing constellations, yet for some reason, he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"......"
Destel narrowed his eyes.
Something felt familiar.
He rushed back into the tent, grabbed the map, and returned. The six points on the map overlaid perfectly with the glowing constellation overhead.
As Destel's eyes widened, the ground rumbled—boom. Knights rose one by one as someone ran up shouting.
"D-Destel!"
The knight cried to him.
"An anomaly! Anomalies have occurred!"
He named the locations.
Cateron Fortress.
Deltaon Fortress.
Karmat Gorge.
Hatel Plains.
Onpelshtein Temporary Base.
Kimelt Outpost.
Immediately, Destel leaped to the highest point. A holy relic draped his shoulders. Enhancing his vision with starlight, he gazed toward distant Cateron Fortress.
The knight had said.
Blood had gushed from below ground to the sky.
The surging blood veiled the heavens.
That bizarre sight was visible even here, far away. Above Cateron Fortress floated a disk of dark crimson blood.
Like a mirror.
The mirror reflected the stars above.
Destel stared blankly at the sky.
The stars were turning black.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The surging filth swallowed the passage.
It wasn't a shadow. Something shadow-like. As this ominous thing devoured the passage, Raniel kicked off the ground toward Chloe.
But it was already too late.
"Chloe!"
From beyond the blackened passage, a hand reached out. A pale woman's hand. It seized Chloe's arm and dragged her into the dark passage.
A being emerged from beyond.
Raniel's eyes shook at its presence. She knew this aura well. Impossible not to.
Viscous demonic energy crushing the area.
The astrologers collapsed vomiting blood, unable to endure. Garahal's eyes bulged, veins reddening.
And then.
"Ahaha."
Laughter echoed from beyond.
"We meet again, Ashen."
A sweet whisper, like calling a lover.
Madness laced the voice.
Raniel spat the name like venom.
"Heretic."
The Apostate, Gletus.
The named calamity smiled.
"Long time no see, but sorry—my business today isn't with you. It's this child."
From beyond, the Apostate stroked the girl's face resembling her own. Like handling the most precious material, slender fingers caressed Chloe's cheek.
"Wait just a bit, Ashen?"
The Apostate smiled.
"I'll come to you soon, in a new body."
You too.
And the first Ashen as well.
To the Apostate's eyes, they were merely humans diseased by the world, begging for salvation.
"I'll save you soon."
The first saintess sought salvation.
For humanity's sake, Saintess Gloria Bell Armias would spare no means.