Chapter 347
Chapter 347
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 347
Chapter Title: Regret (1)
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Completing the mission wasn't difficult.
There were no forces guarding the church, and Kyle, who had become a disaster, was nowhere to be seen. Remia fulfilled her duty by loading the sleeping Raniel into the carriage.
"...Hoo."
Leaning against a colorless tree, Remia let out a long sigh. The forest was the elves' homeland. Whenever she entered one, her heart would calm. But not in this forest.
The colorless forest was devoid of color and scent.
Leaning against a tree in this utterly empty woodland, Remia wiped at her eyes. The great ancestor had said Kyle was in a state worse than death. Sara had added that she probably wasn't normal either.
...What had she been doing while those two fell into such ruin?
What had she been doing? Tearing into meat up north, that's what. Remia let out a hollow laugh.
Over the years of journeying, everything about Remia had been denied. Her archery was impressive, but not enough against superhumans wielding swords. Before these so-called disasters, she felt utterly powerless.
Her pride as the Divine Archer, her self-assurance as the finest ranger among elves, her arrogance that her longer lifespan made her wiser than humans—all of it shattered.
All that remained was her birth.
Just the racial traits of being an elf, blessed with more innate gifts than others. Remia had spent years masturbating her ego with that one fact, filling the void of her broken pride. Even after the great ancestor's rebuke, she hadn't changed.
But.
Not anymore, not in this moment.
For the first time, Remia truly thought. She turned her gaze to the complicated, uncomfortable truths she'd ignored. And as they came into view, she groaned.
"...What is this?"
Remia muttered.
"Humans, humans, those damn humans."
She ground her teeth, covering her face with both hands.
Humans, with their short lives.
Compared to elves, their time was pitifully brief. Remia had seen them as foolish. Pitied them. She had no choice. They had no leisure. They thrashed about pathetically, as if death loomed tomorrow.
But that's precisely why.
Paradoxically, that's why they shone.
Remia was captivated by their light. Drawn to the ashen mage's glow, submerged in the hero's brilliance. They outshone her. Incomparably radiant and noble.
"......"
Remia touched her ear.
Her long, pointed ear. The symbol of elves.
Something she'd been proud of her whole life, now filled her with shame. She knew a way to turn from this shame.
Think nothing.
Move only seeking pleasure, without thought.
As she had for years, for decades. She knew it would bring ease. But was that really...?
That was when it happened.
"......!"
Remia's body jerked briefly.
The ground shook. The forest trembled. Trees swayed violently. As that eerie rumble reached her, Remia slowly raised her head.
"...Ah."
Remia let out an involuntary sigh.
She saw it.
The moment heaven and earth flipped.
Kagagagagagagagagak!
A mound of earth erupted toward the sky.
Trees ripped up by the roots soared upward. An entire section of the forest was hurled into the air with the dirt. Before this unbelievable sight, Remia's body froze stiff.
And then.
"Carriage, start the carriage!"
From the inverting forest, Kalt burst out.
Carrying Sara on his back, he ran with all his might, shouting. Cardi, inside the carriage, hurriedly activated the magic tool, and the carriage began to move at high speed.
The forest was flipping.
Everything in view inverted.
Leaving the overturning, collapsing landscape behind, the carriage raced on. Remia climbed aboard first, and moments later, Kalt, who had barely arrived, grabbed the carriage's frame and pulled himself up.
"Hah, haaah..."
As Kalt gasped for breath, Remia leaned out to look behind. In the heart of the forest where sky and earth blurred, Kyle stood. The former hero stood there.
Reverse Heaven Sword, Kyle Toven.
Staring at the empty sky with hollow eyes. Remia's pupils trembled as she gazed at the disaster Kyle had become. Her lips quivered.
"Ah, aaah..."
Remia groaned.
Her face twisted in agony.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
"No major issues."
In the jostling carriage, Cardi spoke up.
"Breathing and pulse are normal. No physical damage. The problem's with the soul."
"...The soul?"
"Yes. Isn't this child the saintess?"
"Yes. Saintess Sara."
After examining Sara, Cardi stroked his chin.
"But I sense no divinity."
"...Pardon?"
"I know saintesses well. Vessels formed by the gods. But this one's empty of divinity. Like it's been hollowed out."
It was a first even for Cardi.
"Moreover, part of the soul is severed."
She'd lost part of her soul.
As if a piece had been cleanly cut and handed to someone. Feasibility aside, it bordered on madness.
"Likely memory issues. She may not wake easily."
"...I see."
"Whether she opens her eyes is uncertain. We'll have to wait and see."
Cardi shifted his gaze.
To Raniel, still asleep. Color had returned to her deathly face. Her broken body was healing rapidly. Not human recovery.
'...The contract's complete.'
Her soul's form had changed.
No longer a cracked, shattered vessel, but a perfect one capable of holding stars. Starlight brimmed within, overflowing.
"Is Senior... alright?"
Kalt asked.
After a brief silence, Cardi replied.
"She's fine."
He added nothing more.
Kalt asked no further. He already grasped the situation somewhat. Who Raniel had drunk from to recover—he knew.
"...If not."
Kalt muttered without a subject.
"What of Senior?"
"She'd be dead."
"No way to save her?"
"None. I couldn't find one."
Kyle Toven had saved Raniel van Trias.
Raniel had escaped death in a way she never wanted. They both knew how she'd take it.
"...Won't be easy."
Raniel loathed sacrifices for her sake. To answer those who died for her, she'd shouldered excessive burdens.
Now the hero's life was laid upon her.
Revived by Kyle Toven's sacrifice—her closest friend. And Kyle Toven became a disaster. As if in payment.
'Not easy at all.'
Kalt rubbed his brow and changed the subject.
"...About Kyle Toven. Is it really incomplete?"
"Yes."
"Terrifying."
He'd flipped the forest with one sword stroke.
Even seeing the strike that erased heaven and earth's boundary, Kalt couldn't comprehend it. Facing it meant death.
'...Sword of Death, Ganikalt.'
He recalled the most feared disaster.
It might not compare to Ganikalt yet, but the elf before him said it wasn't complete. It would grow stronger.
A disaster rivaling the Sword of Death.
And once a hero.
"...Really."
Kalt let out a hollow laugh.
He'd fought on battlefields for years. Thrown his life away for humanity countless times. Yet a new disaster brought him futility.
"At this point, it feels like the whole world is performing rituals for humanity's extinction. What are we supposed to do...?"
No end in sight.
Countless died inflicting wounds on disasters. In their final moments, they achieved feats. But their fates?
Sword superhuman, Kuntel, became a heretic's familiar.
Hero, Gallaal, left no corpse.
Hero, Kyle, became a disaster.
Dreadful ends.
Thinking of them brought only emptiness. Kalt stared at his palm with hollow eyes. Even as a superhuman, he could do nothing.
As he sighed.
He glanced at Remia beside him. Saw her expression. He held back his breath.
"......"
Both Kalt and Cardi fell silent.
The carriage moved on in silence.
No one spoke until they reached the capital. Remia just stared blankly out the window.
Thus the mission ended.
A day later, Raniel opened her eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
I had a long dream.
In the dream, I'd somehow returned to the past. Before my fallout with Kyle. Back to when I truly pushed him hard. I had him by the collar.
What did I yell then?
Probably urged him to pick up his sword.
Screamed there was no time to rest. Got annoyed that he, who could do it, wouldn't. Looking back, I was desperate then.
Because my lifespan was running out.
Now, having burned it away, terrified I'd die without achieving my goal.
That fear was right.
It happened. I'd die accomplishing nothing. I knew that now. So in this past return, I acted differently. Maybe because I'd already accepted it.
"Well, fine."
I released Kyle's collar.
"...It happens."
You have your own struggles.
Truth be told, I was scared too.
Damn, how do you even deal with that?
"See my hand, you punk?"
It's shaking.
Standing is hard right now.
I just want to rest. Why do they all rely only on us? I get it, but... can't we rest a bit? After all this?
"Just a little."
Us.
"Shall we rest a little, us?"
A little should be fine.
I know it's not, really.
But we're so tired... just a little rest?
I muttered that, patting Kyle's shoulder. Joked around, rambled about old times, how much had changed.
Talking not as hero and sage, but as childhood friends.
"Yeah, damn, back then..."
"Fix that mouth of yours, Raniel."
"Doesn't suit you either, that tone?"
"...It's the hero's way of speaking."
"Bullshit. Don't put on airs, idiot."
I knew it was a dream.
Opening my eyes meant facing death again. Still, dreaming, I thought: Contact Kyle when I wake.
'Yeah, too unfinished to end like this...'
At least no regrets.
What to say? What to tell him? I already knew the answer. That guy was surely agonizing over nonsense again.
I closed and opened my eyes.
Time passed; I lay in bed, Kyle visiting, looking at me. Practicing in the dream? Chuckling, I reached for the Kyle before me, like offering a handshake.
"Hey, Kyle."
Kyle said nothing.
To the silent, staring Kyle, I said,
"You're still my friend, right?"
He smirked.
Grabbed my hand. Pulled hard, as if to make me stand. My body wasn't fit for it, yet suddenly I stood on both feet.
"...Huh?"
I turned, eyes wide.
And.
Kyle was gone.
Blink.
I opened my eyes.
Warm sunlight flooded in.
Slowly, I sat up. A body that couldn't twitch a finger now rose effortlessly.
I got out of bed, feet on the floor, standing.
Took a breath—no usual choking. No vomiting blood. Vision clear, no chest ache.
My body was perfectly fine.
"...Whoa, what?"
Sighing unconsciously, I rotated my arm. Stiff and creaky, but that's all. Power surged more than ever.
...Is this possible?
Tilting my head, a smile crept on anyway. Thought I'd die bedridden; now I could move. Joy inevitable.
'...Gotta thank Cardi.'
Still waiting outside?
Dunno how long I slept, but if he's there, bow immediately. Hand on the doorknob with that thought.
"......"
I froze.
"What."
Slowly raised my hand.
Placed it on my heart.
The foul sludge tormenting me for years was gone. The circuits etched in my chest inactive. Instead, something pulsed in my heart.
Slowly.
Very slowly, I lifted my head.
Close and open eyes: platinum particles rose around me. I knew what they were. Impossible not to.
Starlight.
Starlight I'd seen so much of.
"What is this..."
This was Kyle Toven's starlight.
⭐ STAR VOICE ⭐ 【Raniel van Trias.】 【Blessings to the new Hero.】 ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇