Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: A New Myth (4)
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Southwest of the Eastern Continent, far down toward the south from the Brnaun coastal village, lay a very small forest.
At the forest's entrance, if you sang a song, by the time it ended you would mysteriously find yourself on the other side. It was a mystical maze, guarded by tiny cotton sprites that flitted about like wisps of fluff.
Because of them, the forest was called the Cotton Sprites' Forest, or sometimes the Western Witch's Forest.
"Hello?"
Every time Nia walked through that forest, the cotton sprites trailed after her. It was as if they were welcoming her home.
"Will you take me to Grandmother?"
With the cotton sprites' blessings guiding her, Nia pressed straight through the woods without losing her way.
And there, at her destination, stood a tiny cottage straight out of a fairy tale for children.
It was the home of the witch who had spun the secret around Nia's hometown and origins, unraveled the secrets of the myths for Eden, corrupted the previous generation's Hero ten years ago, and
"For the Hero's sake."
crafted that curse of silence.
***
"The cotton sprites let me know you were coming, dear."
Burying herself in something like a raincloud woven from the sun's shadow, the witch worked her magic to serve Nia tea. She appeared only a little older than Nia, her long, curly black hair trailing even longer than her own shadow.
"Grandmother, I have something to say as a knight of the order."
"Then it's about that Hero again, isn't it."
Rising from her seat, her voluptuous figure wrapped in cloth as black and sticky as pitch, the witch twisted her body and grinned until her mouth seemed to split. To an ordinary person, it would have been utterly chilling, but Nia, accustomed to it, continued unfazed.
"Please open the final page of my book now."
"I can't do that. Didn't I tell you why the sword you drew is a magic tome? Your power isn't about manifesting the omens within it-it's because you can hold my spells in your book. All except the spell on the final page. That one's a spell that would kill you more surely than death itself. Why would I give the power to kill my beloved girl to her?"
The witch spoke while floating in the air before Nia's eyes, as if folding space itself.
"Dear, everything is the will of the noble El."
"I know, Grandmother. I even know the Princess isn't the real saintess. If you think about it, you're the true saintess. But I've done everything you've asked of me. I became a knight, I'met the Hero, and I delivered the scroll of silence to him so he could infiltrate the Princess. I believe everything you say-that it will all work out in the end. You can see the future, after all. But now, I want to truly help the Hero."
The witch stroked Nia's cheek with her beautiful yet perilous fingers and replied.
"Oh, dear, I don't see the future. I simply remember this story as if I've read it like a book from the past. We are beings who hide within stories, linking them together. Always becoming the necessary sentence in just the right place in this grand tale, you might say?"
"That's too hard to understand. I just want to help him by his side."
"A benevolent Demon King has been born, so the Hero slumbering in the abyss is inevitable. We must shake him even more. Then, when the time comes, our own story will begin within this one too. But in every tale I've seen, there's never been an ending where you and the Hero are together?"
"I don't care! I just want to help him..."
"Even if it means revealing your true identity to the world? The knight order would be screwed. Dear, do you love that naive, infant-like fool of a Hero?"
Nia hesitated for a moment, then bowed her head, her face flushing red.
"At last, a new chapter opens in our story too."
The witch sighed once, smiling in a mix of disappointment and anticipation, and stroked the book hanging at Nia's side.
"Dear, a Hero isn't just for show. That title carries the will of the world and the gods. So when your moment of choice arrives, you'll know the final spell on your own. And remember this."
"What is it?"
"In this new chapter of the Hero's story that's about to begin, many will die. Truly many. The Demon King returns. The primordial Demon King. Remember this. In the myths we know, he is the one who shattered the heavens, the unstoppable dance of evil, the one who always carries death with him. When you see him, choose wisely."
The witch's eyes turned black. Eyes that saw the future. Nia peered into them and asked.
"What? Choose? Is that when the final spell unlocks?"
"Sorrow will come, dear. To love, to the world, and to you yourself. Before wretched sin, you cannot protect them all. So until that time, I'must prepare my dear girl."
With a chilling voice, the witch darted through the air this way and that, laughing as if it were all great fun.
"Twisting this predictable, boring tale-that will be your role alone. My beloved dear."
"Grandmother's words are always so hard. What on earth is the final spell..."
Closing her eyes, now returned to normal, the witch flew between the bookshelves, grinning more slyly than all the tales combined, and said.
"It'summons the future. But you must be very careful whose future you summon. Among the kids playing Hero-everyone except you-a betrayer of the goddess will emerge soon."
***
"Gil, betrayal? What kind of talk is this to make me uneasy?"
"Shh, keep it down, Rondnel."
The two sturdy senior knights of the 2nd Knight Order climbed the massive, lengthy stairs inside the walls while talking.
Peeking out now and then through the windows connected to the outer walls, they looked much the same in appearance, but the scars on their enormous swords and shields told the story of five years of hardship.
"Five years ago, during the Brnaun citizen protests. Do you know how much pain that caused Graveheim? He hasn't touched a drop of that fine liquor he loved ever since."
"That's because of that sinner we shouldn't even remember, but still. Our captain, who always steadfastly guards these walls, requesting a transfer? It's absurd."
Rumors said that 2nd Knight Order Captain Graveheim had demanded a transfer to another post from Central Command. After Rondnel declared it firmly, the steadfast Gil's eyes grew sad. He paused on the stairs and continued.
"I know. The captain is the true knight who embodies justice for all. But he's blaming himself for everything. That's why I'm going to ask him directly. He is my sword. And yours too! No, he's the justice of our entire 2nd Knight Order, isn't he? So let's go confirm it together."
"Fine. Before we head to Sional, we have to protect our justice."
Rondnel nodded, eyes filled with resolve, and had no choice but to head toward Graveheim's office. He knew well how, over the past five years, Graveheim had tormented himself with guilt, sinking into despair and training relentlessly.
"Senior Knight Gil, here on business for Captain Graveheim!"
"Senior Knight Rondnel, here on business for Captain Graveheim!"
A heavy voice echoed from inside the massive door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and in the office-a bit cramped for three knights of the 2nd Knight Order-Graveheim welcomed Gil and Rondnel and had them sit. With a gloomy expression, he asked.
"What is it? If it's the routine report, the paperwork clerk... No, what is it?"
"It's that vicious rumors are circulating around the Sonain walls."
"Rumors?"
"Yes! It's that you're leaving us behind and going somewhere else..."
Rondnel had expected the old Graveheim to laugh heartily or slam the desk in denial, so he trailed off, gauging the reaction.
But Graveheim, who had long lost that hearty laugh, replied wearily, as if utterly exhausted.
"I'm tired. I've been falling into the abyss ever since that day, young knights."
Graveheim neither denied nor affirmed it outright, but Rondnel and Gil could tell. The old black lion's fangs had finally broken.
"Captain! I, Gil of Ennaun, followed you here! You showed me yourself what is right and taught me justice! And now this?!"
"Exactly! You, Captain, told this half-breed who couldn't even join the order to not worry, that with hard work alone anyone could become a strong shield to protect others. Our justice and efforts inherit the edge of your sword."
Graveheim smiled bitterly, glancing at the portrait on his desk of his young son back in Ennaun. Then, to the two frustrated knights, he said.
"Rest easy. Even if I fall into the abyss, I won't be consumed by its flames."
Every human has an abyss within, but not all are doomed to stay down forever. And even if he lost his way and wandered far, even if he plunged into the bottomless pit and lost all light of the world, he had a guiding signpost-a shining conviction that would show him the path and bring him back.
That was the knight. The Hero.
Because he was human.
"I vowed never to swear oaths again, but I'll say it one last time. The rumors are just rumors. I swear on my son's smile: I will forever be the sword of this empire, captain of the 2nd Knight Order, and guardian of these walls. I'm merely sharpening my blade for a time."
At Graveheim's words, the two young knights realized their justice and efforts had not been wrong.