Chapter 58. Her Death.
Chapter 58. Her Death.
I had bought a necklace for Adela—who had kept me company all this time—and was making my way back into the forest. As I drew near the entrance, the sounds of cold steel clashing and shouts reached my ears. Elves were under attack there, and I could hear the intruders' low, crude conversation.
"Whew, my mouth is watering just looking at them..."
"Hey, watch your mouth. Did you not hear the order? We are to capture them carefully. No touching."
"There are so many. Can't we at least have a taste of a few?"
"Watch it. The guys who killed an elf in the fighting are already shaking in their boots. You'll lose your head too. The ones not worth selling, they'll toss us as a reward. Hang in a little longer."
Rage surged up inside me in an instant, but I forced it down. I couldn't let blind fury ruin this. Still, listening to this filth talk, at least I knew the elves were safe for now. I put power into my legs and leaped, crashing down among the intruders.
ㅡ Kwaaaaaang!!!
Where I landed, nothing remained but a pulped mound of meat that had once been a man. My sudden appearance silenced the commotion in an instant. Then a bastard sitting stiff-necked on a horse rode forward.
"You insane fool! We are carrying out a mission under the orders of His Majesty, the King of Haira!!"
"Oooh, the Marquis is dealing with him personally!"
"The Marquis, a Sword Master himself...!"
"You're finished now!"
"Why did you invade this place? What crime have these people committed against your kingdom?"
The bastard answered with a dark, leering smile.
"Heh heh... Because elves are worth money! His Majesty will commend my great achievement in capturing the queen and princess alive, and will grant me at least one of them. Perhaps I'll even be awarded a ducal title..."
"Haira... The Haira Kingdom, you said..."
As I muttered to myself, he rushed forward and swung a mana-charged blade. I simply met the incoming sword with my fist.
ㅡ Crash!!
A numbing, impossible sound cracked through the air—his sword scattered into a spray of splinters. That was the Chaos Swordsmanship. Back then, it didn't even have a name. I swung just once.
ㅡ Pfft, pfft, pfft!
With that single swing, every soldier except the Marquis was torn apart and killed. I grabbed the Marquis by the scruff of his neck and asked.
"Where are the queen and princess?"
"Ugh... uugh... Those bitches were already sent to the kingdom with the other elves...! If you spare my life, their lives...!"
I ignored the worthless words, severed all four of his limbs, then grabbed him by the nape of the neck and ran toward the Haira Kingdom. Just before setting off, I spoke to Dana, who had been wounded in the fighting.
"No matter what happens, I'll bring them back. You handle things here."
The kingdom wasn't even that far away to begin with. Along the way, the bastard kept babbling about being a marquis, offering money, and all sorts of goddamn bullshit, so I smashed his teeth and jaw to shut him up.
'That shut him the fuck up.'
I tore through the kingdom at tremendous speed and reached the gates of the royal palace. An enormous number of guards were stationed there. Not caring in the slightest, I pooled mana into my free hand and threw a punch straight at the gate.
ㅡ Kwaaaaaaang!!!
The colossal gate shattered and flew backward, crushing the guards as it went. I then began tearing down the structures surrounding the area where the king resided. Hearing the commotion, a number of people started scrambling out.
'That outfit makes it obvious who the king is...'
A few people crowded near the king. I tossed the Marquis toward them like a sack of trash. He seemed to have died by the time he reached them.
"I found some garbage on the way. Figured it was polite to return it to its rightful place."
"You, you scoundrel! Such insolence before His Majesty...!"
"Ugh! Duke, we must cut off that bastard's head and hang it in the square!"
The one addressed as Duke assumed a horseman's stance before me and spoke.
"Tsk. Though showing you this swordsmanship is a waste..."
I cut his head off before I ever found out what point he was trying to make. Only then did the others erupt into chaos, as if the situation had finally sunk in.
"Cough... Duke Balen, Duke Franssen, both high-level Sword Masters, and they were cut down without being able to do anything...! We must attack together!"
"Understood!"
"Then we shall coordinate our assault."
Perhaps because it was a kingdom of decent size, there were four Sword Masters remaining, not counting the one already dead. But their actions held little meaning to me.
"What a meaningless struggle..."
The bastards charged in, each swinging their swords. I didn't bother taking a single step. I parried and struck back from where I stood. The exchange lasted a few minutes, and they were the ones to run out of mana first.
"Huff, huff...!"
"Huff..."
"Now, is the little show over?"
Sensing that things were unfolding far from what he'd expected, the king hastily made an offer.
"L-listen here, good man...! I shall bestow upon you a ducal title...!"
"Where are the elves you captured?"
"Th-those... they are in the underground dungeon...! We haven't laid a hand on them, we only imprisoned them...!!!"
ㅡ Slash! Slash! Slash!
I cleanly severed the right arms of the three bastards and destroyed their dantians. Then I grabbed the king by the throat and said.
"Where is the underground dungeon?"
"Keuk... kkeuk... Beneath the royal palace...!"
Before going, I glanced down at the collapsed dukes still writhing on the ground, then made for the underground dungeon. I knocked the king unconscious in front of the entrance, tossed him roughly into a corner, and stepped inside.
Inside were not only elves but beastkin, dwarves, fairies, and various other races, all bound with iron collars that suppressed their magic power. I swiftly went to where I sensed their presence, wrenched the iron bars apart, and stepped inside. Adela, who had been hugging her knees with her head bowed, raised her head. The moment she recognized my face, she spoke.
"Mister!!!"
She rushed forward, clung to me, and immediately began sobbing. I said nothing, just stroked her hair. Having heard Adela's voice, Arwen also raised her head, saw my face, and smiled faintly.
"Sihu, you came to rescue us... I'm sorry..."
"No..."
Once the situation had calmed somewhat, I smashed the bars of every other cell and helped every imprisoned race inside, including Arwen and Adela, escape. After confirming that everyone had gotten out of the prison, I grabbed the unconscious king slumped in a corner by the scruff of his neck and dragged him outside.
"This is the king and the dukes who abducted you all. Do with them as you see fit."
The king, still in more or less one piece, trembled and begged for mercy, but the captives punished him without hesitation. They stomped on him and beat him with their fists and feet. Some women, exhausted from hitting him, even tore out his flesh with their teeth. Once they had vented their anger, their faces looked considerably relieved. Then, those who appeared to be representatives of the beastkin, dwarves, and fairies approached me.
"Benefactor, how could we ever repay this debt..."
"Brother, we were bound to be sold as slaves without any hope. Thank you..."
"Thank you so much! We're alive because of you."
They were beside themselves with gratitude. Afterward, they hesitantly asked if it would be all right for them to follow me. They said their entire tribes had been dragged here and they had nowhere left to return to. Knowing the queen's opinion was what mattered most, I looked at her.
"We have no objection. If different races can unite and become one, it will set a fine example for others in time."
With everything thus settled, we returned to the Great Forest. And it must have been around that time that I became known by word of mouth under the epithet "the Disaster." I had single-handedly struck down a large kingdom, not some mere backwater. And with the king and all its dukes dead, the Haira Kingdom would now fall to ruin.
That day, I went to find Adela. I had something to give her, after all. I knocked on the door of her house, confirmed I heard a voice from inside, and walked in.
"Mister, what brings you here?"
"Adela, I came because I have a gift for you."
Seeming surprised that I'd called her by name, she looked at me with round eyes. I took a necklace out from my chest pocket and placed it around her neck.
"It's pretty... Thank you."
Her name was carved into the front of the pendant, and the back was engraved with "Elegance." She beamed as she touched and played with the necklace. Then, hesitating as though she had something to say to me, her ears turned red, and she spoke.
"Ah, Mister, later... on the day when fruit blooms on the World Tree... would you watch the full moon with me...?"
"The full moon...? Sure."
I agreed to her sudden suggestion to watch the full moon. When I did, Adela's face bloomed with a bright, radiant smile.
It wasn't until much later that I found out what Adela's words had truly meant...
* * * * * * * *
Just like that, several more years flew by. And then, once again, a summons came from the queen.
"Sihu, I feel Yggdrasil calling to me, little by little."
"..."
"Heh heh, don't make that face. I have lived a very long life, you know. And... ever since you came to this place, I've been so very happy."
A few days later, all the elves and the other races gathered before Yggdrasil. The gathering was so quiet and solemn, it was hard to believe so many had assembled. Arwen, wearing a flower crown of beautiful blossoms, sat beside Yggdrasil and gestured to me.
I sat down facing her. She rose slightly and gave me a gentle hug.
"Thank you. And... I was grateful then, and I'll remain grateful in the time to come."
After an embrace that felt neither long nor short, she settled back, leaning against Yggdrasil. Starting from her toes, she began to dissolve into particles of light, and then she was gone. All that remained where she had been was the flower crown, so carefully woven from individual blossoms.
A heavy numbness flooded all the way to the top of my head. It was an emotion I had never felt before. Had I loved her as a woman? That... probably wasn't it.
This feeling was probably...
The feeling of losing a mother.
Not the loss I had felt so very long ago, as a child, but the loss I felt now—as a grown man, an adult—mourning a parent's death.
I gently picked up the fallen flower crown. Just then, a breeze blew, and the petals trembled softly. In that instant, I felt her touch in the petals as they brushed against my hand. For a while, the petals kept stroking me.
It felt like she was comforting me. As if to say that she was all right.
As the wind blew, tears, unbidden, streamed from my eyes. They were the first tears I had shed on Titan, and also the last.