Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Cut Through the Iron Bars (4)
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"It's all loaded. Not even ashes left behind."
"........"
Ubowo could not respond to Heavenly Spirit's words. Sitting in his chair, he didn't move a finger for a long while. Heavenly Spirit asked in a quiet voice.
"Didn't you know it would come to this?"
"I knew."
Ubowo leaned on the desk and cradled his forehead with both hands.
"But I didn't."
"......Knowing is always like that."
Heavenly Spirit offered no comfort. Just knowing the secret had forced him to bear the same weight as Ubowo all this time. They had long ceased to be in a position to comfort each other.
"Heavenly Spirit. I only wanted to save the world, so when did I end up on the scale of evil?"
"Saving the world means fighting the world. You know it's not something you can win with mere goodness."
"Can he do it?"
Heavenly Spirit knew whom he meant. Heavenly Spirit gave no answer. Unlike Ubowo, he wasn't so weak as to blindly believe in fate. It wasn't a difference in vessel, but rather in the burdens they carried. There was a considerable distance between the leader of the Revolutionary Corps and his shadow.
Even so, Heavenly Spirit could understand Ubowo's faith. All who pursued revolution leaned on Ubowo's back. But then, on whom must Ubowo lean? In this world where the traces of gods had vanished long ago, whom must he seek?
Ubowo's belief in balance was laughable, but the man named Ubowo was never laughable. He could not be. That was why Heavenly Spirit remained by his side even now.
"......We have to believe. In him.
Why is it that this small revolution sparked within the prison of revolution feels more noble than all the ones they've ignited until now?
Only when you stop chasing revolution can you truly grasp it.
What an incomprehensible world."
§
"......How can you all just decide this among yourselves!"
"I'm sorry, brother. But there was no other choice."
"How do you plan to handle this...... No, do you think this is some easy situation? We might...... really end up burying our bones here......!"
Kizl's voice trembled with anger. It had to. He couldn't say Anya's actions were wrong, but the price was far too steep. Anya would now have to stay here indefinitely with the Revolutionary Corps.
The ways her service could end were few. Either the lighthouse launches a full-scale war and storms this place, or the kingdom falls under the banner of revolution. Neither was likely to happen anytime soon.
"......Do you think we could leave you behind and go back on our own?"
"That's how it has to be."
"Anya!"
"Brother, no, Nahar Kizl."
Anya looked straight at Kizl. Burning her family wasn't something that sat easy with her heart, but she couldn't keep trembling in fear forever. The water was spilled; now she had to mop it up more earnestly than ever.
"Even if we can't see it, we live atop the sacrifices of others. This time, it's just more visible. So......"
"And people can't turn away from wounds they can see with their own eyes."
Kizl stared at Anya with resolute eyes.
"I'm not leaving you."
"......You're so stubborn."
Anya smiled sadly. Seeing her like that only fueled Kizl's anger further, and he snapped.
"Where's Ban? The one who filled your head with these foolish notions—where the hell did he go?"
"Ban is where he needs to be. Just like me."
"Where you need to be is the lighthouse."
"'In the beginning, Nahar lit the fire, and darkness retreated as order was etched into a world without rules. Thereafter, Nahar devoted their lives to driving out the darkness, and the people called them lighthouse keepers......' We are lighthouse keepers, brother. If there are those seeking light in the darkness, shouldn't we light the flame for them?"
"Are you saying we must care for those who threw themselves into the darkness?"
"We're in the realm of night just the same right now. The reasons may differ between them and us, but everyone steps into the shadows at times."
"......That's sophistry, Anya."
"Sophistry isn't always wrong."
Anya spoke with a composure surpassing even Kizl's. For someone thrusting herself into the most dangerous situation, her demeanor was far too calm. What faith made her so steadfast? Kizl asked, then groaned as realization dawned.
"......You think Ban will come save you. What makes you believe in that man so much? No, why does this Revolutionary Corps treat him with such favor......?"
"There are many reasons."
It was then that Ban's voice came. Kizl scowled the moment he saw him. White Flame surged up his back with a roar. He spoke in a fierce tone.
"It had better be good reasons. Those reasons."
"They say I'm the master of the prophecy they're seeking. The Seonwoo Guardian. That with that sword...... he'll lead the lost souls of this world to paradise."
"Seonwoo's...... what?"
Kizl could hardly believe his ears. What had Ban just called himself? Seonwoo Guardian?
Seonwoo Guardian.
"......Damn it."
Even as he spat curses with a face gone pale, Ban remained calm. Rather, Hwan and Anya beside him looked more flustered. They hadn't expected him to declare it so boldly to Kizl.
But for Ban, this brought a sense of relief. Even if the kingdom learned of it, it no longer mattered. From the moment Anya resolved to become the sun of this prison, Ban had to bring an end to the world's protracted strife. Having resolved to fight the world, any conflict his identity might provoke was now trivial.
'It was just that I liked the sword.'
The guards beating down villains who tormented villagers had looked so cool.
The tale of the swordsman who cleaved mountains, told by a storyteller long ago, had stirred his heart.
The silver curve of the blade had been so beautiful.
Yet that feeling had led him here. Was it truly as Ubowo said, that he was born to this fate? If so, what did the one who gave him this fate hope he would reach at its end? What had they set him to reach?
"I'm sorry, Sir Kizl. But Anya won't be here long."
"......Do you know what that implies when you say it?"
"Yes."
Ban answered calmly.
"I know full well."
"I thought you were a good man. Pure, clear, yet manly."
"......."
"But to be this ruthless."
Kizl's White Flame subsided. Seeing the resolve of the two lovers made debating reality with them feel futile. Kizl swallowed a sigh and turned away.
"We'll talk later. ......Not that it will change anything, but at least I'm not ready for this conversation yet."
Kizl trudged away. Ban and Anya exchanged glances, then shared a smile that defied words. It wasn't a happy smile, nor purely sad. After long years of missing each other, they had finally come to understand one another. The situation was dire, but now they could look ahead more clearly than ever.
"......What now?"
"We have to go to the Kalsmori Library. The previous guardian is there."
"Once we meet him there, what changes?"
"I'll be able to cut more things."
And if he kept gaining things he could cut, the chains binding Anya's feet here would...... someday be within his reach too.
Ban belonged to neither the Revolutionary Corps, the kingdom, nor even Seonwoo. He simply cut what needed cutting, what no one else could. And when there was nothing left to cut, he would...... live with his loved ones. Maybe farm. Apples might be nice.
"Kizl will go to the lighthouse. With Sir Tambi."
"......Am I going too?"
"If we temporarily lift the 'domain,' everyone can return to the lighthouse. Kizl may sulk now, but he'll do what must be done. Hands that wield White Flame...... are each precious in their own right."
"You come too, miss."
"I can't."
Anya looked out the window.
"As I said, this place needs light."
For those who would return, at least.
Anya turned to Ban.
"So, Ban. Hurry and go."
"......Is it okay to leave so soon?"
"Better to leave quickly. I'll handle convincing Kizl. You go."
The longer she waited, the more she'd want to hold him back. Anya forced a bright smile.
"Get strong and come back. Strong enough to cut the world. So this world can shine without lighthouse keepers. So I can leave the lighthouse. So we can live lazily."
Ban silently gazed at the lazy lighthouse keeper before him. The one who, for some time now, had never once been lazy.
He had much to say. So he said nothing. Ban stepped forward. Hwan quietly followed, then asked.
"Are you okay, brother?"
"......No."
Not okay.
Not okay at all.
§
"......That's too fine a justification to repay with mere prisoner releases."
Ubowo said with a bitter expression. Someone might ask what had changed. Even without Anya, Pendel was a city that could secure ample White Flame.
But a city sustained by wringing lives dry was worlds apart from one producing pure White Flame. The roots of revolution had grown just a finger's breadth cleaner.
"Even without your Nahar, the Revolutionary Corps must be riddled with countless rotten roots."
"......I won't deny it."
"I'll find a sword that can cut all those roots away. If you don't like that, you should stop me now."
Ban stared at Ubowo as he spoke. Seeing eyes no longer filled with pity or respect, but dry resignation...... Ubowo felt at ease. At last, he was receiving the fitting gaze.
"If you're willing, I'll assign warriors to guide you."
No grander words passed between them. Ban left Pendel under the escort of the Wraith Legion, with Hwan. Feeling the markedly chillier atmosphere than when they first entered the night domain, Hwan glanced at Ban.
'......You've changed.'
It was inevitable. How could leaving his beloved in such a prison feel anything but torment? Ban's eyes held straight blades unlike ever before. The resolve of one determined to cut the world emanated as sharp intent from his every gesture.
— Get strong and come back. Strong enough to cut the world.
Anya's voice echoed in Ban's ears. Amid the Wraith Legion, Ban walked in silence for a long while. After thousands of steps, his feet stopped.
[ A fire-breathing snake. ]
The white-haired Balrog spoke, eyeing the serpent blocking their path.
[ Brush those flames, and you'll turn into wraiths like us. We should go around...... ]
"I'm tired of going around."
Ban replied quietly. Hiding his abilities for fear of misunderstanding, concealing his family to avoid hatred, suppressing his feelings to not distance his dreams...... it was time to stop.
He had hidden too long, evaded too long.
He gripped Kishin. Demonic energy writhed, spreading like flames. The serpent, each scale vast as a man, turned its head and flicked its tongue with a hiss.
Ban could now unleash Heavenly Spirit's technique without even holding the sword.
Then what of when he did hold it?
"What the......"
Hwan groaned. It was that kind of power. Kishin, long suppressed, cried out in glee. Cut! Give me the blood of all wicked beings! Ban answered.
Yes. I will.
He glared at the serpent. At the earth and sky behind it. With the momentum, the resolve to tear it all asunder.
The swordsman slashed the heavens.