Book 1 Chapter 688
“To summarize, you guys didn't come to the past, but we came to the future?”
“Yes.”
“And this place here is the boundary between the present and the past?”
“You understood perfectly.”
Ennha nodded at Chelsea’s words.
“Wow. That’s possible. As expected, it's a divine artifact.”
Ennha exclaimed in admiration.
Chelsea, who had been watching Ennha with anxious eyes, looked at Kal.
Kal was also watching Ennha with tense eyes.
In the hero's world, a character whose true nature is revealed will have their ego collapse and go berserk.
As far as Kal remembers, there have only been two instances where a character from the hero's world maintained their sanity despite realizing the existence of a conqueror.
‘Dwenno-nim and Rodia-nim.’
Among them, Rodia maintained her sanity by destroying her own ego just before it collapsed.
This was only possible for someone like Rodia, known as the Dragon of Genesis.
‘Rian-nim said that Dwenno-nim could maintain his reason because he was the owner of the Hero Record and simultaneously recognized the existence of the conqueror?’
Kal recalled the story told by the fake Rian he met in Lumern's world and looked at Ennha.
‘Then what about Ennha-nim? Is it because it's the world of legions?’
“I thought something was strange. Suddenly regaining the night sky. Gods are truly amazing. Performing miracles that transcend time and space.”
For Ennha, who lived in the age of gods, the miracles of gods were amazing but within a familiar scope.
Watching Ennha, Kal formulated a hypothesis.
‘There is no Hero Record in this era. So, are they fine because they think of us as people from the future, not conquerors?’
For someone living in the era after Genesis, it would be natural to think of those who appear from the future as conquerors.
But if they are simply thought of as visitors from the future?
‘Are they not experiencing ego collapse because they don’t think of themselves as fakes?’
While Kal was contemplating various hypotheses.
Ennha said, “What can I say. I feel a surge of motivation! In the future, you eventually defeat Erebus, right? And Dwenno becomes one of the five heroes who defeat Erebus.”
At that remark, Chelsea's expression turned bitter.
“We didn't completely defeat him.”
“That much is amazing! How far into the future are you from?”
“5000 years later.”
“Oh! That’s amazing? What is the future like? Is there a lot of beautiful stuff? How is the art scene?”
Ennha poured out innocent questions.
Chelsea and Kal answered each question.
“I can’t even imagine such a world.”
Ennha looked up at the sky.
“Let’s put aside the story of the future for now. What I understood first, is that right? The entrance is a passage connecting the past and the future, and if it's connected, Tartarus of the Age of Cataclysm is planning to invade the future, right?”
“Yes.”
“If we destroy that, they go back to their original timeline?”
Ennha understood all the explanations, which explained the Hero Record's abilities as time travel.
Chelsea nodded cautiously.
“It's simple.”
“Ennha-nim, if that happens, then you, and the people of Ivaldi…”
“I know. We also go back to the past.”
“……”
“In history, Ivaldi was destroyed, wasn't it?”
“Probably.”
“Probably means… they didn't even leave a name in later generations.”
“Th-that’s because the demons erased all records of the past! If it weren't for that, records would surely have remained…”
“It’s okay. All the people of Ivaldi knew what kind of end we would face.”
Ennha got up, brushing off his clothes.
“It's something everyone was prepared for. There was only a sense of unease. Whether our sacrifice would be in vain.”
Ennha put his hands on his hips and smiled.
“But in the end, it had meaning. That’s enough.”
“Don’t you feel wronged?”
To Chelsea's tearful question, Ennha, who had been silent, carefully opened his mouth.
“If I said I don't feel wronged… that would be a lie.”
“Then let’s find a way! Surely Leo-oppa and Dwenno-nim will find a way…”
“Chelsea, you are a good child.”
Ennha gently stroked Chelsea's head and smiled.
But then he said resolutely, “However, that cannot be.”
Seeing Ennha's stern expression, Chelsea gasped.
“The warriors of Ivaldi, including myself… the reason the people of Ivaldi, knowing our end, decided to resist until the end without breaking was not for the honor of leaving their names in history, nor because they believed there was hope.”
“Then… why?”
“It was because Dwenno's unyielding back led us.”
“Bu-but… Dwenno-nim certainly fought for hope…”
“That dwarf constantly said there was no hope.”
Ennha laughed bitterly.
“I thought it was strange that he didn't say that after coming here… It seems he saw hope in the future. That's why he said things like he'd take us to the future.”
“Then… why did Dwenno-nim fight?”
“In any desperate era, it must have been the desire to let even a few of his people survive.”
“Is that the reason?”
“That reason would have been enough. That dwarf was an outcast from birth.”
“From birth?”
“Yes. He was known as a cursed dwarf. Dwenno's golden flames turned everything around him into ashes.”
And then, after meeting Ennha, Dwenno's life changed.
“He thought it was enough if he could fight for his people.”
Being unyielding and not giving up are different.
If the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, fought without giving up to find unseen hope.
Dwenno, the divine blacksmith, fought hoping that the time for the people he cherished and loved would last even a little longer.
From the beginning of the Age of Cataclysm.
Until the very moment of their end.
“He must have fought dreaming of a world where his loved ones share beautiful moments in a beautiful world… If there's a fool like that, how can we break?”
Ennha sighed deeply and gritted his teeth.
“That's why I'm furious right now. In the end, we became a burden.”
Ennha punched his palm.
“Don't make me laugh. The dice have probably been rolled. Our fate is sealed. Is he weighing the peace he risked his life to regain against our future, which ended long ago? That damn dwarf! I feel like going to him right now and saying something!”
Ennha, fuming, said resolutely to Chelsea and Kal, “Anyone in Ivaldi would think the same as me. Even the children in the orphanage!”
Chelsea and Kal were dumbfounded by his unwavering, steel-like resolve.
“I refuse to be a burden! And you two too.”
“Huh?”
“You two don't want to be a burden to Leo, the surviving hero, do you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then, when he wavers, even if you have to hit him, make him come to his senses! You have to prevent him from making the wrong choice. That's why you two were worried, wasn't it?”
No one is perfect.
Even the great hero who saved the world has moments of wavering.
That's why there are comrades.
At Ennha's words, Chelsea and Kal's eyes changed.
Seeing that, Ennha smiled.
“You have good expressions now. Now, find the entrance.”
“The entrance has distortions. If it were in a conspicuous place, Ennha-nim would have known. Is there any place that wouldn't be noticed by people?”
To Kal's question, Ennha replied, “This fortress has a basement. So, there are two suspicious places.”
“Where are they?”
“The underground labyrinth in the center of the first fortress. The secret space beneath the moat of the second fortress wall.”
“The reason?”
“Both places were explored by Dwenno alone when he first came here. And no one has been there since.”
It is certainly suspicious if no one but Dwenno has been there.
“Considering the complex structure of the labyrinth, it would be better for someone fast to go.”
Kal said to Chelsea.
“Chelsea, explore the labyrinth with Ennha-nim. Even though it's a labyrinth, it's probably just a simple maze without magic. I'll explore the underground space beneath the moat.”
“Leave it to me.”
Chelsea said, patting her chest.
“The moat side will be heavily guarded. Are you confident you won’t be caught?”
If Dwenno hid the existence of the entrance, he might stop Chelsea and Kal, who were showing suspicious movements looking for something within the fortress.
“Don't worry. I'm confident I won't be caught.”
***
After parting ways with the two, Kal approached the bushes around the fortress wall.
And he took off his upper garment.
‘It will be difficult to move if my clothes get wet.’
He knew some kind of diving magic, but the guards manning the fortress walls were seasoned veterans from the battlefield.
‘If I carelessly used magic, I’d be caught for sure.’
Kal, having removed his upper garment, wore a smug expression.
“Heh. As expected, I am well-prepared.”
He took out a swimsuit from a corner of his subspace.
It wasn't just any swimsuit.
It was a special swimsuit made by Kal through alchemy, designed not to be hindered by water flow.
Just as Kal was changing into the swimsuit.
“Who is it?”
A sharp voice was heard.
Startled, Kal held his breath.
“It's no use pretending not to be here. I can smell it! I can smell it!”
Emerging from beyond the bushes was Kanea, a cat-like beastman.
He seemed to be on patrol.
Kanea, who was scanning his surroundings with a sharp expression, had his tail perk up.
Then he lunged towards the bushes where Kal was hiding.
“Caught you! Suspicious… Huh? Kal? What are you doing completely naked?”
Kanea, who had pinned Kal down, tilted his head.
“Completely naked. Anyone would think you're a pervert.”
“Yeah. You’re only wearing underwear at night. You look like a suspicious pervert to anyone.”
“This is a swimsuit.”
“What’s a swimsuit?”
‘Is it an item that doesn't exist in the Age of Cataclysm? No. Even in my era, a man walking around at night in a swimsuit would look like a pervert.’
Kal was contemplating how to explain the situation.
“Beep beep. Is this really where Kal went?”
Qu.
Eliza, who had shrunk her summoned Wind Wyvern to the size of her palm, was walking towards them.
She was worried because Chelsea and Kal hadn't returned late and came looking for them.
Eliza, who had arrived at the deserted fortress wall, found Kal lying on the ground in just a swimsuit in the bushes, with Kanea on top of him, and her usual bored expression appeared.
“Eliza, what are you doing here?”
“I was taking a walk, Kal Thomas. It seems I've interrupted your pleasant time.”
“Why is your tone suddenly like that? Anyway, it's good. We can do it together, the three of us.”
At those words, Eliza's face turned cold.
“You get too comfortable when I'm nice to you. Are you making such vulgar requests to me right now…”
“We’re about to go search for the entrance… What are you talking about?”
Kal looked bewildered, and Eliza fell silent.
“It seems there was a strange misunderstanding.”
Kanea shrugged and stood up.
“I was just on patrol. I just apprehended Kal because he was doing something suspicious in a perverted outfit.”
“I told you it’s a swimsuit. By the way, Eliza, I wouldn’t… to you…”
“Shut up. If you say anything more, I’ll kill you.”
Eliza said in a chilling voice.
Watching her, Kanea exclaimed.
“I heard that humans were the most numerous race before the Age of Cataclysm. Hmm. Indeed. That's why.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, let’s put aside the embarrassing story. It seems certain that the entrance is within this fortress.”
At those words, Eliza and Kanea's eyes widened.
“So, I'd appreciate your cooperation, ladies.”
Kal smiled and reached into his subspace, pulling out two women's swimsuits.
“Let’s move right away.”