Chapter 73
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Forgiveness and Courage
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“The dawn of a dark age through the fall of all suns and moons… so that was the Elite Sorcerer’s plan.”
After a long silence, Setsunen finally spoke, having listened to my detailed report of the battle with Luxeria Ludwick.
“And a First Administrator, you say?”
“Yes, that’s how she introduced herself. She also called herself Chalyuan.”
I still wished I could dismiss that absurd nightmare as some fragment of unreality.
Administrator… the very word sent a chill down my spine.
It felt less like a word and more like the trace of beings who governed the spiral of the world under the name of causality.
[First Administrator, Chalyuan. She is the goddess of sin and judgment, created from the dregs left after Yotiatos devoured the divinity of the Creator God, Geldharia. Along with Yotos, she was a key figure who orchestrated the game of the Outer Universe.]
“Lady Kaduel, are you saying she is a being on par with The Forgotten Kings?”
[That is correct. One of his closest confidants. Eliminating such a being is of great significance.]
First Administrator…
Kaisen furrowed his brow. The nauseating stench that had felt like it was boring into his brain was still vivid.
But even more vivid than that nightmare was the strange presence of the being he had annihilated in a single strike.
That power that had entered his soul… was it an illusion, or was it real?
[However, the being that is said to have slain Chalyuan cannot be found in the Library. Perhaps if I had seen it myself, I might have known.]
“It definitely said it had betrayed them.”
[The probability of an Administrator betraying Yotiatos converges to zero and requires my master’s review, but the name Yurvelmung is certainly registered in the Library.]
Kaisen briefly touched his chest, the spot where the sword had pierced him, before lifting his head.
“Yurvelmung, what kind of sword is it?”
[It is a sword forged by the Creator God, Yurvel, by detaching one hundred and eight of his authorities and shaping them into the form of a blade. It is said to be a divine sword, capable of extinguishing divinity, alongside Verkenzia.]
“Lady Kaduel, does that mean it doesn't require a seal?”
[That is correct.]
A flicker of sorrow passed through Setsunen’s eyes.
She was surely mourning her younger brother, who had sacrificed his body and soul to seal the king.
Kaduel answered.
[Based solely on the combat data registered in the Library, it far surpasses even Verkenzia, the divine sword of the Creator God, Geldharia.]
Verkenzia, the Blade of Light.
It was the name of the divine sword that the Creator God, Geldharia, had first given to The Ones Who Came.
The Great Abyssal War began with Tersia receiving that sword.
It was the sword used by Tersia, the leader of The Ones Who Came, and I had heard it was now wielded by a young elven hero named Liam.
“I don’t know why a sword like that came to me instead of Tarsiyo.”
[You overwhelmed the Apostle of Ryuniyen with inefficient weapons of only the 7th Rank. In terms of aptitude for swordsmanship alone, your value is higher than the Young Mistress’s.]
Tarsiyo gave a bitter smile.
“Why do you always try to devalue yourself?”
That smile was painful.
It reminded me of what Kaduel had told me about Tarsiyo.
- The Young Mistress’s aptitude score for the True Holy Sword Sharrilion is only 34%.
- What’s considered a stable range?
- 120% and above. Below 50%, one lacks the aptitude and shouldn't even be able to operate it, but…
I didn’t know what she had done to wield the True Holy Sword with such a low score, but it was clear she paid an enormous price each time she used it.
‘Just like a FakeWarrior, shaving away their lifespan to wield the Supreme Holy Sword…’
Must every Warrior fight only by chipping away at their own life?
“…She also said that Yotiatos would definitely reappear. But what exactly is Yotiatos?”
“Yotiatos, the Lord of the Abyss. He was a trusted servant of the Creator God, Geldharia. But out of a craving for power, he betrayed Lord Geldharia and devoured his divinity and authority.”
“Yotiatos… My father mentioned that name once. He said he was the master of The Forgotten Kings, the mastermind behind all of this…”
Setsunen said.
Kaduel replied.
[Originally, the Outer Universe and the World of Creation were separated by a line that could never be crossed. But when Yotiatos became corrupted, he connected the Outer Universe and the World of Creation, allowing sin to flow into the entire world.]
Everything still seemed hazy, as if shrouded in fog, but it was different from before.
The outline of events was beginning to take shape.
If Yurvelmung was truly engraved upon my soul…
‘If I can use it after I’m completed as this ‘vessel’ or whatever…’
If I could use the sword’s power to cut down Yotiatos and reclaim Geldharia’s divinity…
I swallowed thickly at the immense fate I had to accept.
Clenching and unclenching my fist, I spoke.
“To reach that end, what must I do now?”
[Emergency Measure MM-082 must be executed.]
“Emergency Measure MM-082?”
[It is the activation of all four divided Tarhye Rondels. The Tarhye Rondels are beacons of light. With that light, the world can be bound as one. Furthermore, the power of light will be strengthened, and the power of the Abyss will be weakened.]
Setsunen of Thunderous Fragrance spoke.
“My father’s records note the locations of three ‘Tarhye Rondel’ beacon towers. I have even been to one of them with him.”
[There are a total of four, though one has not been discovered. The ‘Vete Rondel,’ which is under my jurisdiction, has entered a standby state for activation with the Young Mistress’s approval.]
“What about the others?”
[The Alma (01) Rondel at the northern tip of the Akrad continent and the Myu (04) Rondel at the southern tip remain.]
Kaduel’s orange light projected a map of the continent into the air.
[The Del (03) Rondel in eastern Idea has been confirmed to have been shifted to standby by the successor of Verkenzia through Eldia Del Schurviel.]
Schurviel was the name of another of the five original AuthenticWarriors.
Like Isla, she was said to have been quite small in stature, and she was the master of the True Holy Sword Aizaiya, the prototype for the Supreme Holy Sword Gaumris.
It seemed she had become a mechanical device like Kaduel, guarding a facility. Kaisen nodded.
“The southern part of the continent is under the Abyss’s influence… so the only one we can deal with now is the one in the north.”
[We have received intelligence from a surrendered Player that the Apostle of the Sword, the Elite Knight, has already headed north.]
“Elite Knight…?”
A being blessed by the sword from the Outer Universe. I wondered what level of mastery his sword had reached.
[The Elite Knight is the Player with the most powerful faction and was considered a likely contender for victory. There is an 87% probability that he is targeting the Alma Rondel. We must hurry.]
If he was that strong, then perhaps, if the moment came, if I had to release the Dragon Spirit…
No, wait…
Amidst that vast torrent of information, there was one thing that couldn't cross the threshold of my mind.
“What did you just say? A surrendered Player?”
* * *
Echoes of Another World,
The True Face of Religious Innovation (8)
The Player was hanging from a tree, ‘exhibited’ in the center of the square.
There was no way Her Excellency of Thunderous Fragrance would have permitted this, so it must have been Blan Arhen’s doing alone.
Stones lay scattered everywhere, a testament to how many people had thrown them.
But the blood on the Player’s body had already dried.
This meant all his injuries were from the initial assault; a circular barrier was now protecting the area around him.
Those who had been venting their anger by throwing stones at the barrier saw Kaisen and retreated, shouting.
Perhaps they expected me to cut him down instead.
I parted the crowd and advanced into the square. The barrier protecting the Player shattered with a single punch.
A boy who had been sitting cross-legged in front of the Player scrambled to block my path.
‘Light purple hair…’
I remembered this hair.
The hair color of the Page family…
‘He’s the one who was captured in the control room with Eos back then.’
His name was Douglas Page.
He was the youngest brother Roveris Alter Scherpang had been sending her diary to in the form of letters.
Blood was trickling from his head as well, as if he had taken a few of the thrown stones himself.
“FakeWarrior, Lester is my friend. He may have the mark, but…”
“And you believed him?”
“Lester always helped me. Really! He’s different from the other marked ones. When I was preparing for my concert, he even warned me that the Elite Sorcerer was coming and told me to run…”
Right, you bastard…
Something hot rose from my stomach, up my throat, and swirled in my mouth.
I already knew from the reports.
Douglas was the conductor of a Magical Orchestra.
A Magical Orchestra was a form of art that used magic during an orchestral performance to satisfy both the eyes and ears.
Using the magic was the conductor’s job, a high form of art that only those who had mastered both music and magic could perform.
None of that mattered.
The problem was that this idiot had tried to hold a concert on the border between the eastern and central regions.
Luxeria Ludwick had captured Douglas while he was preparing for it, which led to Eos being captured as well.
“If you knew that, why didn’t you run? Didn’t you realize that if you were taken hostage, Lord Eos would be captured too?”
“That’s…”
“Look at the sky. There’s only one sun left now. Do you know how many people died trying to keep them from falling?”
“That… I’m truly sorry about that. But it wasn’t an ordinary concert! It was a chance to unite the east and the center, to bring people’s hearts together without war! But then, Luxeria…!”
“To hell with your concert! You think war is a joke? That it can be solved with a song? Don’t make me laugh. If that were possible, Senior Roveris would have… Dammit, while you were pulling this crap, she was…!”
I knew my anger was misdirected, but I couldn’t stop it.
It was, surely, anger directed at myself.
Seeing that face, so much like Roveris’s, it must have been anger at myself for surviving by trampling on her death.
Just as I had once redirected my self-loathing toward Uruk, I was now pouring that fury onto this boy.
Have I not grown at all since then?
“Move.”
I pushed Douglas aside and walked toward the Player. The Player managed to lift his head, his lips trembling.
“So, it’s you… the one who gave the Elite Sorcerer sleepless nights… I only had to see you once to understand why…”
“Why did you surrender?”
“I…”
“When I ask a question, you have three seconds to answer.”
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but… I didn’t know. I really didn’t. That this was a real world…”
If only these bastards hadn’t existed…
How many times had I seen my mother in my dreams, dying with blood pouring from her shoulder?
If the Empire’s reinforcements had been there, even if my mother’s death had been an irreversible fate, my master would not have died like that…
- Kaisen, you must live.
The memory of my master’s smile on that rainy day, the first and last he ever showed me as he died, surfaced.
*Shing…*
I had no sensation of drawing it, but Aradamanthel was already out of its sheath, staining the air crimson.
This one must also be killed…
I know that death cannot be undone by more death, but I must offer up the hot scent of this blood as incense to those who have fallen…
“FakeWarrior, please.”
At that moment, Douglas clung to my arm.
“Please spare Lester. If it wasn’t for him, I would already be dead. Please.”
“Get out of my way. Do you want to die with him?”
“Sir Kaisen.”
Just then, Yulius Page stepped in front of the Player. In full view of everyone, he abandoned his dignity as a high noble and knelt.
“I know this is an absurd request, but I implore you to protect my brother.”
“…Move aside. I had no intention of cutting down this brat in the first place.”
“Not his body. I speak of his heart.”
In that instant, a strange scene superimposed itself over their faces.
My mother, hanging from that tree. Me, clinging to the executioner’s hand, crying and screaming. My father, kneeling just like that…
The story came to mind of how my mother, who was supposed to be executed as a deserter, was spared because of the earnest plea of the Fifth Lord, Yoshar.
‘Why this damn hallucination…?’
Can I really cut him down…?
Must I really cut him down…?
Pushing aside the me of the past, the father of the past, can I cut down the mother of the past…?
Cut him down…
Don’t cut him down…
He must die…
He must not die…
Let him live…
He must not be allowed to live…
Painful echoes rose in my mind, branching out, weeping and fighting amongst themselves.
“Kaisen, do not hesitate. Cut him down. If you have never once in your life received forgiveness.”
A voice like the midday sun, a brilliant light, shone through and instantly quelled the chaos.
“Lord Eos…?”
One of The Ones Who Came, son of the Crimson Sun, Shrigan.
At his radiance, everyone who had been watching the spectacle spontaneously knelt in awe.
Eos was truly a being of miracles.
He had traveled throughout the war-torn Empire, healing the sick and feeding the hungry.
No one knew Eos was the son of one of The Ones Who Came, but people were moved by his miracles and his character, and they followed him.
It was surely a miracle performed by this same Eos that restored Douglas’s severed arm.
When the Elite Players began hunting for him with fire in their eyes, he had vanished for a time, but…
“You are strong. And you are perfect. That is why, without realizing it, you look down on the weak.”
“…I am neither strong nor perfect. And I do not look down on the weak.”
“Yes, not on those who, though weak in body, have the resolve to fight on the battlefield—those who are strong of heart.”
As if shadows and darkness were incinerated by the heat when standing under the sun…
The shadows of my heart…
The deep darkness within my soul…
I could hear them screaming in agony before these words that held the sun’s own heat.
“Kaisen, you are strong. Who else, at such a young age, could lose their parents and resolve to fight the enemy? Most people would run. They would run and hide in their sorrow for the rest of their lives.”
“…”
“That is why, in your eyes, others—those who do not fight—are incomprehensible and seem only wicked… even Douglas, who tried to connect people without using a sword.”
“I…”
“Kaisen, most people are not wicked. They are weak. Because they are weak, they cannot uphold righteousness; they can only turn away and flee.”
“…”
“They know this themselves. They know their own weakness. They only become cowardly to hide that weakness…”
Eos was a handsome young man with red hair and a slender build.
His hair was red like Akirea’s, but there was a different kind of dignity to it. It was the difference between natural beauty and cosmic grace.
If Akirea’s hair was fire itself, Eos’s was the red light of the sun.
“So, instead of rebuking that weakness, can you not pity and forgive it? Just as the courageous souls who came before us did.”
“Are you telling me to forgive this outworlder… now?”
“Forgiveness and courage are one and the same. Therefore, learning to forgive is also a way to become like them. The very path you have been seeking. This outworlder has repented his wrongs and atoned. And he has offered his help. He has built a good deed upon a wicked one.”
The light faded from the blade of the holy sword that had been weeping crimson above my head. The light that had resonated with its proxy’s killing intent was extinguished.
My sword hand fell limp.
The tremor of killing intent that flowed through my fingers was great and sorrowful, but it was swallowed by the sound of the waves of reason that suppressed it.
“I will say the same to all of you gathered here. If there is anyone among you who has never once received forgiveness, and who will not receive it, step forward now and cut down this being from another world. This is an order.”
Not a single person dared to step forward.
The sea of people that had filled the square instantly began to disperse, muttering excuses like “it’s almost lunchtime” or “I had an appointment.”
In the empty space they left behind, only the stones they had held in their hands remained.
“M-Master…!”
“Give your thanks not to me, but to Kaisen. For the courageous step he had to take to arrive at this forgiveness. If he had not forgiven first, no one would have forgiven Lester.”
Douglas bowed his head deeply again and again, expressing his gratitude. Yulius approached and spoke.
“My sister Roveris often mentioned your name in the letters she sent to our estate.”
“Senior Roveris did…?”
“She said she was no longer worried about the future now that she had a dependable junior. As her brother, I admit I was secretly jealous, but having watched you, I find myself thinking I would have said the same.”
Roveris…
Her very name had been a wall of sorrow that stood between our hearts, yet it felt as if that wall had crumbled just a little.
Scherpang, slung on my back, wept mournfully in its longing and sorrow for its former proxy.
“She was always generous with her praise…”
“My sister, generous with praise? I think you know as well as I do that’s not true.”
I didn’t have the courage to continue this topic.
With a single swing of Aradamanthel, I shattered the shackles and the tree that had bound Lester.
As Lester sagged, supported by Douglas, I cast a shadow over him and spoke.
“Lester, was it? How many Elite Players are left now?”
“…If the Elite Sorcerer wasn’t lying, three. Since you killed that one, there should be two left now. One is on the Idea peninsula. Their character is an elf.”
“How strong is the Elite Knight?”
“The Elite Sorcerer always avoided a direct confrontation with him. He tried to maintain an alliance and fight him at the very end… He’s probably about twice as strong.”
“Twice as strong?”
“What, why are you just leaving? Don’t you want to hear more? You should listen. It might not be exact, but I know quite a bit!”
That’s enough.
There’s no need or value in knowing more.
Sheathing Aradamanthel, I turned away.
“No need to listen. You said twice as strong. That means he’s nothing special.”