Chapter 44: Academy Exchange Meet — Finale (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: Academy Exchange Meet — Finale (2)
The Catacomb. A palace of the dead that had once been branded with the stigma of being an undead dungeon.
It was where Abel’s father, Orion von Nibelung, and other past heroes rested in eternal peace. A memorial park of sorts.
It took just over an hour to get here from Parsi Academy, as the Catacomb was located in Geneva, right on the border between Lyon, France, and Switzerland.
Of course, the biggest credit went to Skoll and Hati running as if their paws were on fire. As it turned out, those sly little bastards had fully recovered by the second day and had just been lounging around in their chihuahua forms. When I flashed them a gentle smile, they instantly shed their chihuahua guise.
Hm? How did I know?
— Hey, you brat! Even a dog yields food to its mother! But you pick up your spoon before the master who gave you shelter, fed you, and raised you?! You ungrateful wretched dog—
“…….”
I drew my Heart Sword.
— You lower-than-a-dog brat!!
I am the God of Sword.
Episode. ■■■■■a
Abel’s hair fluttered in the breath of the Alps. Pulling her fluffy fur collar up to the tip of her nose, she muttered softly.
“It’s been a while…”
“Yeah, it really has.”
I adjusted the front of my black coat and stared straight ahead. Given the nature of a place like the Catacomb, the cold was unavoidable. Situated deep in the foothills of the Alps, surrounded by dense forest, it was dead silent.
Yet, I didn't feel that bleak, spine-chilling cold like the first time I came here. The front gates, which once looked like the threshold of Hell, were neatly maintained, giving off a quiet, tranquil atmosphere. The sight of memorial monuments lined up in a straight path to the gate was quite a magnificent view.
Glance.
I turned my eyes to her. Abel sniffled, scanning each memorial monument one by one. Her innocent gaze resembled stars fixed in the night sky.
‘I’m proud of you, Abel.’
This was the result of ten years of effort by Abel and her grandfather, the Sword Emperor. The two of them had assembled a research team and conducted a massive expedition of the Catacomb.
To repay the sacrifices of those who died for humanity, the members of the Nibelung family had strived to restore the fading glory to the heroes who were nearly forgotten in the shadows of history.
‘If Ryozo takes responsibility for the future of the hero realm as the Academy Principal…’
Then looking back at the path we traveled was Abel’s duty. I really have wives far better than I deserve.
Step up your game, Kang Geomma.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I rubbed beneath my nose for no reason.
“It’s been about three years.”
“Three years since we came together. My last time was two years ago.”
“Sorry. I should’ve come with you more often.”
Abel shook her head.
“It’s okay. Everyone knows how busy you’ve been with matters in the Demon Realm. I’m just grateful you came along when I asked on a whim like this.”
Grrrrrr…
It was quite an impressive sound. Skoll and Hati, who had carried us here, exhaled long plumes of steam as they caught their breath. Seeing it again, their chiseled, muscular frames looked damn cool.
Abel and I dismounted from the two beasts. I stroked their rough back fur. At that, their giant bodies gradually shrank back down until they turned into chihuahuas once again. They were really clinging to this gimmick, weren't they?
“Good job. I’ll indulge you guys just for today.”
“Pant, pant!”
I picked up the white dog, Skoll, who flopped onto his back to act cute, and perched him on my shoulder. Abel held the black dog, Hati, in her arms as gently as a sacred relic. With that, we started walking.
Crunch, crunch.
Snow tickled our ankles as we walked.
We stopped at the front gate. Placing our hands against the gate, we closed our eyes. Reading the room, Skoll and Hati joined in on the moment of silent prayer as well.
A moment later, we opened our eyes and pulled our hands away from the gate. That was enough for our tribute. No grandiose gestures were needed. Our sincerity would surely reach the departed heroes.
‘We’ll visit more often from now on.’
Abel suddenly asked me, “What did you pray for?”
“They say if you tell someone your wish, it won’t come true.”
“Am I just ‘someone’ to you?”
I got caught in a stun lock.
Three pairs of eyes intensely locked onto my flustered, wavering pupils. Hey, white dog, black dog, why are you two looking at me like that too?
‘Guess I have no choice.’
I replied awkwardly.
“…I prayed that if a great crisis strikes in the future… even if something happens to me, I hope the people around me stay safe. …Roughly something like that.”
“What kind of wish is that?”
Pouting her cheeks, Abel linked her arm with mine. I felt her warmth and Skoll’s warmth at the same time.
“No matter what happens, we’re together. Don’t ever say things like ‘even if something happens to me.’ Geomma, if anything happens to you, I’ll chase you to the ends of the Earth—no, to the ends of the universe. Even if I have to scour the entire galaxy.”
Spoken with the Milky Way reflected in her eyes, her words had an extraordinary emotional force. I smiled, and Abel smiled too.
Now that our business was done, it was time to go home.
Just as we were about to turn around, leaving our lingering thoughts behind alongside the footprints in the snow, I caught the sign first.
“Huh?”
A breeze brushed past my cheek. Its source wasn't the mountain range, but the exact opposite direction. It smelled stale, like stagnant water.
Rumble…
The gate of the Catacomb opened. Beyond the gap, torches mounted on the walls began to ignite one by one. Because of that, the blowing wind felt warm and muggy.
“…What is this?”
Are we shooting a ghost story in the middle of the night?
Come to think of it, back in my school days, my classmates and I filmed a killer horror movie in the annex. Now I was suddenly about to film the sequel.
“Geomma.”
Abel’s hand tugged at my hem. I held her hand tightly.
“Let’s go inside.”
The signs were too unusual to ignore and walk away. Besides, I figured it was better to check it out rather than have it haunt my dreams.
“…Okay.”
We stepped inside.
In the next instant, the gate closed silently behind us.
* * *
We walked down a corridor shrouded in shallow darkness.
The torches illuminated our view. It felt like moving through a cozy abyss.
Had the interior always been this tranquil? The terrible memories seemed to dilute in the warm glow of the flames.
“Grrrrr.”
Skoll and Hati furrowed their brows deeply.
“W-Why are they suddenly acting like this?”
“Hold on, Abel.”
I pulled Abel behind me. Protecting the Sword Princess—anyone hearing that would laugh at the absurdity, but I stayed faithful to my duty as a husband.
“…Do you feel something?”
“No.”
“Then… why…?”
“Because I don’t feel anything.”
That made it even more suspicious. No presence at all, yet Skoll and Hati raised their huffs? Their wild instincts were warning us of something.
I reached my right hand inside my coat. If worst came to worst, I was prepared to collapse the pillars supporting the ceiling in a single slash with my Sashimi.
‘Sorry to Abel, but…’
Isn't it better to tear it down and rebuild than to leave behind lingering danger?
Right then.
Fsssh!
A presence. I drew and threw Murasame. People didn't call me the ‘Sashimi Faster Than Words’ for nothing. I was a guy who lacked patience and needed to swing my blade to feel satisfied.
Thwack! Thwwweeeeeeack!
Shot like an arrow released from a bowstring, Murasame was connected to my hand by a twine. Along with a clunking sensation, the twine vibrated finely in a wave pattern.
Got a big one.
“AAAAAAAH—!”
Soon, an ear-splitting scream echoed. I yanked Murasame back. At a terrifying speed, the Sashimi and the figure skewered on it drew closer.
It might look a bit rough, but it was fine. I possessed the Divine Blessing of Transfer and the True Blessing of Healing. I could heal them in an instant.
‘I did the same thing to that old guy I met here back then…’
At a distance where the figure's identity could just be made out, Abel poked her head out from behind me.
“……!”
She gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Just as a question mark formed over my head—
“GAAAH!”
The figure snagged by the Sashimi collapsed at my feet. As I tilted my head, Abel pointed a finger at the back of the dragged man's head.
“M-Mister…”
“Mister?”
“It… it’s Mister Mikellan!”
“Huh?”
At that name buried in a corner of my memory, I quickly looked down. Even after ten years, it was definitely a familiar back of a head.
“Ugh, save the undead! Ah… wait, I’m not undead anymore…!”
Muttering an old joke, the man stumbled to his feet. It was just as Abel said.
“You’ve grown up so much.”
He smiled. Through the gap where a front tooth was missing, I could see the Catacomb's corridor—though it was semi-transparent, as if covered by a grayish-white veil.
“I truly wanted to see you.”
Mikellan, who used to be undead, had appeared as a ghost.
* * *
Back when the Catacomb was an undead dungeon, Mikellan was the undead guide for Abel, Shail, and me.
He had wished to be freed from Draugr's curse through us. He had also shared small pieces of truth about seven hundred years ago. Because of the clues he left behind, I was able to acquire 'Memory Fragments'. In the end, using the collected fragments, I awakened the 'Blessing of the Sword God' and managed to defeat the demons.
My time with Mikellan was brief.
However, it was an undeniable fact that it had a profound impact on my path.
“To meet like this! I suppose if you stay around long enough, you see everything!”
Having been an undead who lived for hundreds of years in the past, Mikellan’s jokes had a unique vibe. Abel spoke up.
“…Mister, how are you…?”
“I know, right?”
Mikellan scratched his cheek. In such a serious situation, I almost burst out laughing. His fingers and face were both translucent, so his finger literally sank right into his cheek!
“…I thought I had entered eternal sleep as well…, but at some point, I realized I was in this form. Not just me…”
He trailed off.
“Hm, well, this isn’t really something to talk about right now. At any rate! I am so thrilled to meet you both!”
Seeing Mikellan so happy, soft smiles spread across our faces as well.
We owed Mikellan a huge emotional debt in many ways. I felt genuinely sorry for recklessly launching my Sashimi at him like that, so I apologized repeatedly.
“It’s quite alright! It brought back old memories!”
“Sounds like there's a bit of a bite behind those words.”
“How could there be? I’m a ghost now, so I don't even have bones to bite with! Hahaha!”
Yeah, he was definitely sulking a bit.
After our brief reunion, we shared various stories with Mikellan—everything from humanity’s victory in the 2nd Human-Demon War to the news of our marriage.
Mikellan listened silently to the former, but at the latter, he practically jumped for joy. He floated up into the air and did somersaults. Skoll and Hati just rolled their eyes at him like he was a buzzing gnat.
Laughter blossomed in the palace of the dead. The torches flickered as if the heroic spirits wandering nearby were joining in our joy. We had caught him up on most of what had happened.
“From undead to a ghost. How fascinating.”
“I was utterly shocked when I first opened my eyes in this body as well! From undead to ghost! I even had the arrogant thought that perhaps I had become a reaper who transcended death!”
Mikellan was thoroughly excited.
“After becoming a ghost, I could take walks around the vicinity of the Catacomb, though I couldn't go as far as crowded cities. Ah! You don't need to look at me so pityingly! Me remaining as a ghost is entirely by my own choice. If I want to enter eternal rest, I can go at any time.”
“Before that, do you have any idea why you were revived in ghost form?”
“Ideas… well. If there's one thing, it seems magic power is flowing into the Human Realm. After becoming a ghost, how should I put it… I began to see the flow of magic power. At any rate, my personal opinion is that it's likely due to that influence.”
Mikellan’s assertion aligned with my own deduction.
‘Mikellan became a ghost.’
The encroachment of magic power had surfaced as empirical evidence.
As I sank into deep thought, Mikellan gazed at me intently. He slowly nodded his head and spoke once more.
“Would the two of you follow me for a moment?”
“We can, but… where are we going?”
When Abel asked, Mikellan gave a warm smile.
“Let us head down to the basement together.”
“…….”
Abel seemed hesitant.
And understandably so. In the Catacomb’s basement, Orion von Nibelung had dissolved into dust. Naturally, she would feel reluctant to go there.
However, my competitive wife, Abel, seemed to ultimately resolve to muster her courage.
“Let’s go.”
Abel courageously walked past Mikellan. Mikellan looked back and forth between her back and me, gave a smiling glance, and quickened his steps.
I followed silently behind them.
Step, step.
After descending the spiral staircase for quite a while, the basement floor finally opened up before us. The air changed. The bleak, desolate atmosphere of the past had been washed away, replaced by a profoundly mystical ambience.
The melted frost splashed softly underfoot with every step. Moss glowed with a faint yet living vitality, and through the collapsed ceiling, moonlight literally poured inside.
Mikellan strode ahead and stood tall under the moonlight.
“Truthfully, I knew the two of you would come here someday.”
Standing like that, Mikellan looked almost like a sage. All the more so because the moon casting down upon him sculpted a halo of luminous light.
“As I mentioned earlier, I have become a free body, albeit conditionally. The memorial monuments outside the Catacomb—that was the work of you two, was it not?”
“It wasn’t me. Abel did it all.”
“N-No, it wasn’t—! Grandfather helped too…, and…”
Abel pinched my coat sleeve.
“If it weren’t for Geomma, we couldn’t have even honored the souls of the departed heroes. Thanks to him, the hero realm was transformed.”
“Hahaha. It is truly wonderful to see you passing credit to each other. You really are a picture-perfect married couple.”
Mikellan’s outline began to glow radiantly.
It wasn't a figure of speech or exaggeration; particles of light were actually gathering in clusters around him. Like fireflies assembling on either side in this mysterious realm.
“I—no, we—did not enter eternal rest without waiting to say this.”
In the blink of an eye, the scenery transformed.
We were standing in a shin-deep lake bathed in brilliant sunlight. A landscape strikingly similar to my mindscape, the 'Lake of Swords'.
I looked around. They—the souls draped in specks of light—formed a circular formation.
“Thank you.”
The departed heroes bowed to us.
“We will always be by your side.”
As a transcendent being, I had experienced all manner of cosmic mysteries. Even so, an indescribable emotion surged within me.
Someone raised their head on their behalf. Ah... A quiet sigh escaped my lips. A stinging sensation welled in the back of my nose. My chest throbbed with ache.
Abel’s reaction was far more intense than mine. She struggled to breathe. Her trembling lips moved with all her strength.
“Dad…”
Abel rushed forward and threw herself into Orion’s arms. Skoll and Hati leaned their faces against her legs, seeking affection as well.