Chapter 426
Chapter 426
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 426
Chapter Title: Alkeia Extermination War
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A massive operation was underway, led by the Hero Lania van Trias, mobilizing every ounce of humanity's military might.
The Alkeia Extermination War.
The objective of this operation, so named, was the complete annihilation of everything within the vertical cave Alkeia, home to the apostates—and the subjugation of its master, the apostate himself.
It was humanity's fervent wish, their long-cherished dream.
How many had suffered at the hands of the apostates over the past centuries? How many had their pride trampled, their lives defiled? How many more had been denied even the peace of death, transformed into monsters and condemned to eternal life?
The apostate, Gletus.
The heretic who defied the teachings of the heavens.
Now, they would subjugate one of the calamities that had haunted humanity's history like a nightmare for ages untold. This was the first such calamity subjugation since the Bertha Gorge Extermination War, when the black dragon Belial fell.
"Leave nothing behind."
The traces of the calamity, the history it had lived.
"From this land."
Everything.
"We shall drive it all out."
The Hero, Lania van Trias, sent out the missive.
She penned the words without a moment's hesitation. No florid prose, no rousing slogans, no lengthy preambles were needed. She simply inscribed one line upon the page.
『Assemble.』
-Lania van Trias.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A single letter arrived.
『Assemble.』
Unfolding it revealed just that one short sentence. As always, she wasted no words. No explanation of why they must assemble, nor what they would do once gathered.
There was no need.
For those who had waited solely for this day, this moment, no elaboration was required. A brief command to assemble was enough. Though the letter held only one line, the vast white space it occupied was filled by the renown of Lania van Trias herself.
She had spoken through her life.
She had commanded them to gather in her name.
Kelrhalhm chuckled as he read the letter.
Having made his final visit to his old hometown, the academy city of Artia, he had sworn an oath before a gravestone. As he opened his eyes, rose, and began to walk, Kelrhalhm never looked back.
They assembled.
They gathered.
Those indebted to her, those saved by her, those who had achieved their desires thanks to her—countless souls converged upon the battlefield.
『Assemble.』
The Undying Kariot shouldered his cross-shaped sword and marched to the battlefield. To prove the god in his heart, to uphold his convictions, Kariot raised his cross.
The sword superman Kalt, inheritor of the title Sword Saint, buckled his master's blade to his waist and headed to war. To repay his senior's grace, to free his sullied master's pride, to affirm the path of the sword he had walked, Kalt drew his blade.
The Sword Demon Draka marched to the battlefield to place the final punctuation on his life. A twisted path. A broken existence. Yet he never denied his own life. Though pointed at and reviled, Draka strode toward his destination. To avenge himself upon the calamity that had stripped him of everything, Draka lifted his broken sword.
The Madman Kelrhalhm marched to the battlefield to keep his promise. A century of life resisting the encroaching madness. Through all those years, he never forgot the vow he had made. To honor that promise, to restore the pride of the children defiled that day, Kelrhalhm inscribed his circuits.
The Divine Archer Remia marched to the battlefield to stand tall before herself. No longer envying or resenting the shining ones, but to shine on her own—she drew her bowstring.
The self-deprecating Destel marched to the battlefield so he would regret nothing more. It terrified him. Utterly so. But with even his junior juniors standing on the field, he could flee no longer. To be a hero, just once, to harbor no regrets, Destel draped his Star Garb over his shoulders.
The supermen who had shouldered past generations, the Hero, the powerhouses—they gathered at the battlefield. They were those enlightened by loss, the pioneers who had led the way.
They stood here to prove.
That their lives had not been wrong, that the paths they had walked held meaning.
『Assemble.』
Following them were this era's heroes.
The Ashen Witch, Resti Eleanoa.
Annihilation, Rak van Grace.
The Saintess, Natida.
Dragon's Heir, Belnoa van Draconic.
Torrent, Chloe.
Some had overcome trials with others' aid, others by their own strength. Those who would lead this age stood beside their predecessors. Having grown and grown, they now shared the same stage, beholding the same vista—the children who had caught up.
And.
The eyes of the assembled turned to the platform above. Someone was ascending toward it. The click of footsteps. Ashen hair fluttering in the blowing wind.
Lania van Trias.
The Hero who had summoned them all here took the stage.
2.
All preparations were complete.
The time to reap the fruits of years of planning was nearly upon us. I exhaled a long breath. White mist formed in the frigid air.
Snow poured down relentlessly.
Standing at the highest point, I gazed below. They gathered one by one at the forefront. Those who had stood with me on the battlefield, fought back-to-back. In other words, my comrades, fellow dreamers sharing the same vision.
...
> It had taken so long to reach this moment.
The calamity was an overwhelming existence, untouchable, its end invisible even when one craned their neck. Deviating from all common sense, no weapon humanity wielded could so much as scratch it.
Thus, for centuries, the calamity had been regarded as a disaster incarnate. Humanity had grown so卑屈 that they dared not even imagine subjugating it. They knelt and bowed their heads before it.
"The Bertha Gorge Extermination War."
But.
"Do you remember that day when the evil dragon that had reigned for centuries lost its head?"
There was no need for that anymore.
"The day the Hero severed the black dragon's neck, humanity rejoiced. From that day, we dreamed one dream. The dream of toppling all calamities and pressing our blade to the Demon King's throat."
I declared.
"Some called it a pipe dream. An impossible fancy. But what of it?"
Not only exceptional powerhouses gathered here. There were also knights who possessed no special strength, no divine techniques, no star-born blessings... yet had endured day by day.
"The black dragon died with its head severed. The apostate fled to his forge with a pierced heart. Did not even that blade of death draw blood? Was the Demon King not rent by the Hero's sword?"
Even those not present, far away, would hear my voice. Some would read my every word in the papers. Soldiers would receive it via telegraph.
"Calamities are no longer untouchable. They are no longer disasters. They, too, bleed and wound like us. They meet death as well."
To those who would listen.
To those who had bled for me.
To those watching me, I said.
"Behold. We have arrived here. Standing firm on the heart of the demon realm, we gaze upon the calamity's nest."
My finger pointed to the abyss's end.
Where Gletus awaited.
"Behold. Am I still a dreamer? Still chasing the impossible? Can you say humanity's blades still cannot reach the calamity?"
"Never."
"I shall prove it is no mere dream."
I clenched the fist pointing at Alkeia. Starlight leaked from my gripped fingers.
"Countless deaths paved the way here. Centuries of history. We must reclaim their insulted lives, their shattered existences, their lost legacy. That is the role of we who tread the blood-soaked path..."
Platinum starlight, brilliantly shining, pierced the gloom shrouding the demon realm. The sun had not risen, yet a radiance more splendid than dawn illuminated us.
"And the role of I, the Hero."
Drawing the starlight, I proclaimed.
"Today, we subjugate the calamity."
The Alkeia Extermination War.
"We shall annihilate everything of the apostate Gletus without remnant. We shall burn away even the traces of his existence. It shall be our tribute to the fallen... and humanity's vengeance upon the calamity."
I took one step forward.
A resounding thud.
"The Alkeia Extermination War will be the first step to ending the war that has raged for centuries."
I looked upon those gathered in my name.
Meeting their eyes, I smiled.
"Let's go."
There was only one place we must go.
"To our battlefield."
3.
Under the Hero's speech, the knights roared in cheers. The ground trembled at their thudding steps. They would not join the Alkeia Extermination War, but they would hold the battlefield until the heroes returned.
Heroes are not special, lofty beings.
They are merely voices for humanity.
Under the knights' salutes, the heroes advanced into the demon realm's heart. Toward the sink of all filth. Toward Alkeia, the land for the faithless—the heroes marched.
Sword Saint, Kalt.
Undying, Kariot.
Sword Demon, Draka.
Madman, Kelrhalhm.
Supermen of past and present generations.
Hero, Destel.
Divine Archer, Remia.
From previous eras to now, Heroes and comrades who had stood on battlefields across long years.
Annihilation, Rak van Grace.
Saintess, Natida.
Dragon's Heir, Belnoa van Draconic.
Torrent, Chloe.
Ashen Witch, Resti Eleanoa.
The new heroes leading the current age.
Hero, Lania van Trias.
The pinnacle of humanity's might, who had assembled them all, advanced toward the abyss. Watching their backs, the knights bowed in reverence. They harbored no doubt of their victory.
...
> Yet what is seen is not all.
Beyond the knights' gaze, another walked among them. Raniel, leading at the fore, quietly spoke.
"Ready?"
Someone answered.
"Of course."
The figure beside Lania shed their robe. Beneath the disguise was ash-gray hair fluttering—not her usual silver, but deep ash. The elf let slip a faint smile.
"I've waited centuries for this day, this moment. As if I wouldn't be ready."
The hero forgotten by all.
The ancient hero erased from history.
"As you say."
The Great Sage, Cardi van Armiel.
"Today, I'll prove it too."
The hero of the old generation, resolved to walk once more, smiled.
"That the dream I dreamed was no mere fancy."
Standing level with Lania van Trias, he advanced. At the same pace, eyes fixed on the same point. All present beheld the same sight.
The abyss's end.
Where the calamity lay.