Chapter 70
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 70
Translation: godsn
"Told me to forget?"
[Time has reversed. The events you remember have now become things that never happened. They will never happen again, those events. So why cling to them? They're painful memories, aren't they?]
As Langiosa said, they were indeed painful memories. Each recollection made my entire body feel frozen solid. Memories I'd tried to dismiss as dreams and forget.
Had the Holy Sword awakened before the officer cadet selection exam and spoken these words, I might have seriously considered forgetting. But I'd already met her again. The emotions that had surged through me the moment I saw her still remained within me.
Despite the horrific ending, the thought of forgetting about 'Echinacea Roaz' repulsed me. Particularly, I didn't want to forget the memories of watching over her. Wasn't it too cruel to forget even those desperate struggles of hers, those harrowing moments that no one else would ever know?
"...Even just to prevent such tragedies from recurring, it's better to remember."
[I told you, those events won't happen again. You needn't worry.]
"What do you mean by that?"
[The Demon of the Magic Sword has disappeared and won't appear again. So you needn't concern yourself. You'd do better to forget.]
The Holy Sword spoke decisively. Indeed, the demon hadn't appeared—after all, Echinacea Roaz, who had been the demon, was now just an ordinary military academy applicant with no connection to the magic sword. But of course, the Holy Sword that had remained dormant wouldn't know this. Yurien stared suspiciously at the golden patterns.
"How would you know that? You speak as if you know where the magic sword is now."
[...]
The Holy Sword fell silent. Yurien waited briefly before speaking quietly.
"Langiosa. What are you trying to hide? What happened after I died?"
[...]
"Could it be...the one who gathered the Giosa to reverse time was..."
He stopped before finishing his sentence. His fingers tensed. His mouth went completely dry. With great effort, he forced out the name.
"...Echinacea Roaz?"
[You...where did you hear that woman's name? You didn't know her name before.]
"She applied for the military academy selection exam."
[Oh dear...]
The Holy Sword sighed. Then it continued in an extremely reluctant tone.
[To be honest, I'd prefer if you weren't entangled with her. You're my master, and you died because of her.]
"Don't say it like that. It wasn't her fault."
[No, it wasn't. But that's how it turned out in the end. You'd do better to keep your distance from her. It's not that I dislike her. Rather...]
Langiosa paused briefly as if recalling something, then continued with a deep sigh.
[I truly think she's an extraordinary human being. But regardless, I worry about what you'll come to know about her. I've lived for ages, seen countless humans, and served many masters. Yet this is the first case like this—I can't predict how you'll react.]
"Lang, I'm not a child."
[It's precisely because you're not a child that I worry, Master.]
"What exactly are you worried about?"
[All my masters throughout history have been upright. And the more upright they were, the more unstoppable they became once they started going astray. I don't want to see that happen to you.]
Yurien frowned. His voice took on a warning tone.
"How is that any different from treating me like a child? You're not my parent, and I'm your master. Langiosa, don't try to restrict me."
["It's not that I'm trying to restrict you......"]
"Then what do you call selectively feeding me information while steering me the way you want? Do you consider that fair?"
[......No, you're right. I apologize.]
The Holy Sword readily apologized. Though Yurien understood Langiosa was acting out of concern for him, he chose not to press further. Leaning back deeply into his chair, he asked again:
"Then tell me the truth now. Was she the one who turned back time?"
The Holy Sword didn't answer immediately. After a brief pause, it responded:
[Yes. Echinacea Roaz, owner of Valdergiosa, reversed time.]
"How?"
Yurien recalled the last time he'd seen her - consumed by malice, howling in anguish. And then yesterday, radiant as the sun. He'd always believed she would eventually overcome, but how? What had happened? How had she performed the miracle of reversing time?
[It's difficult...... to put into words. I'll share my memory with you.]
"Share your memory? Is that even possible?"
[Our souls are connected. Just see for yourself.]
The Holy Sword spoke as if giving up. Simultaneously, the pattern on his palm began to glow. Golden mana rose and enveloped him. As he accepted it, his vision was instantly dyed black. He felt as though he were being sucked into somewhere. Then darkness came.
Not complete darkness.
Light seeped in through a long, narrow crack. Normally, he could discern his surroundings with this much light, but now he couldn't make anything out. He couldn't move his body either. Before long, Yurien realized he had become the Holy Sword Langiosa. Or more precisely, he was experiencing Langiosa's memory.
With a creaking sound, light suddenly poured in from above. It seemed he'd been inside some sort of box. The lid had opened. The light was so dazzling he couldn't see anything momentarily.
"Ah. Found it."
A thin, clear woman's voice. A breathless murmur carrying exhausted pants and overwhelming excitement. It must have been Echinacea Roaz's voice. This was the first time he'd heard her speak. He focused all his attention on that voice.
"Here you were. Finally......"
Her voice grew increasingly wet with emotion. Then a teardrop fell with a plop. As his eyes adjusted to the light, his vision gradually cleared. Yurien saw her reaching hand.
Her bare face was dirty with sweat and dust, wearing worn leather clothes. And covering it all - blood, as if poured from a bucket. Whether it was her blood or others', he couldn't tell. Scars were visible on her outstretched hand and arm. Numerous wounds covered every exposed part - burns, pressed marks, bruises, slashes.
That hand touched Langiosa. No, it didn't quite touch. Something sparked like static electricity, and Echinacea flinched back. She tried several more times to grasp the holy sword but ultimately couldn't make contact.
Her expression went blank. Then gradually contorted. As if realizing why she couldn't hold Langiosa. Yurien watched tears well up in her eyes until they finally overflowed.
Clutching the box, she collapsed to her knees, weeping with ragged breaths. Her shoulders shook with sobs. Her grip on the box turned her fingertips white from the force. Blood staining her cheeks was washed away by tears. Her lips trembled. Between them escaped suppressed wails.
That sight—strangely, achingly—resonated deep in his chest. Yurien couldn't tear his eyes away from her. He forgot to breathe, didn't even blink, and simply stared at her as she wept.
When she finally managed to stifle her sobs, she unwrapped the scarf-like cloth covering her head. Beneath it, disheveled short pink hair spilled free. She used the fabric to wrap her hand before gripping Langiosa. She wound the cloth tightly around the hilt and lifted it.
Only then did Yurien see beyond the box. They were in a torch-lit cave. Something resembling an altar stood in the distance, strewn with dismembered human corpses. Figures dressed in priestly robes and armed men lay dead all around.
The moment he took in the scene, he roughly understood where they were—likely a sacrificial temple of some heretical cult. How had Langiosa ended up in such a place? The question flickered briefly before the answer came to him.
The Demon of the Magic Sword had been obsessed with killing Giosa Owners, but she wouldn't have cared about the abandoned Giosa themselves. Judging by her past actions, she would have left the masterless swords behind and simply moved on to hunt more humans.
Agenka had no nation to claim it, so countless scavengers must have picked through its ruins. The Giosa had likely been scattered far and wide. With no Azure Sky Knights left to guard them, the swords would have drifted aimlessly among those who coveted their power.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Echinacea laid Langiosa flat and lifted it. Her tear-streaked face stared vacantly at the white blade. Her eyes were hollow, as if all thought had drained from her. Her expression looked brittle enough to crumble and scatter in the wind. From between her cracked, parched lips, a whisper escaped.
"Yurien."
His name. A call he never expected to hear here, in this moment. A shudder ran through him like a lightning strike.
Her fingertips traced the blade—not quite touching it, hovering just above the steel as if afraid to make contact. Tears welled up again in her barely composed eyes. Head bowed, she murmured softly,
"The choice you made... to believe in me... wasn't wrong."
She didn't break down this time. Only silent tears surged forth, dripping heavily onto the blade. Though she couldn't touch it, her tears could. They rolled down Langiosa's edge, tracing its length.
"I'll prove it... no matter what... I'll prove it..."
Yurien watched as the light slowly returned to her eyes, which had seemed so empty before. The blurred violet irises sharpened, her gaze growing clearer, fiercer. Those eyes began to burn like her very soul was igniting.
"So..."
The rest of her words dissolved into an indistinct mumble.
She wrapped Langiosa in the cloth and cradled it against her chest. Then she stood. The fragile, shattered expression was gone—replaced by a terrifying clarity in her eyes as she looked ahead. She took a step forward.
Yurien saw and heard it all.
Even without using True Sight, he could almost see the illusion of her soul blazing. Though this was only Langiosa's memory—where he had no need to breathe, no body to speak of—his breath caught, goosebumps rising. Something swelled inside him, overwhelming and unbearably aching. His nonexistent heart began to pound as if it might burst.