Book 20 Chapter 18
Enemy of the mission, and also a pioneer,
Holy Knight Order of Shincheon Kadetpol (18)
When the Yongcheonryujingyeol was sealed by the Jidongmyeongjeon, Sarandis’s offensive was already refocused on Riista.
‘Riista brought 15 Dragon Blood Serum injectors. That’s three to four times the usual amount!’
Kies thought it best to support Riista so she wouldn't be overwhelmed in that offensive that stopped and then resumed time.
‘She made him use all of that by himself, and against all three of us simultaneously?’
He kept drawing the bowstring, even as the calluses on his fingertips split and blood welled up.
‘So, in a normal situation, Riista would have suffered a fatal injury and died 15 times already?’
He had vaguely considered it. That he would be an incredibly powerful foe.
He had considered it, but!
Was he not a monster to the extent that the heroic deeds recorded in the archives might have actually been understated? Sarandis Altar Naisemon!
“Protect the world, care for the weak, embrace justice and fight evil… Anyone who can say such things has simply not witnessed reality (現實)!”
Sarandis bellowed, knocking Surphen far away.
“You are still merely blinded by a pure ideal!”
Even after dropping her sword, Riista showed no sign of bewilderment, instead shifting her stance to hand-to-hand combat.
‘The blind spot of a greatsword is not long-range, but close-range.’
She gripped Sarandis’s hands, which were about to strike down with his sword, with her own two hands, thus changing the situation to a close-quarters confrontation.
“You simply haven’t seen the fundamental distortions at the bottom (底邊) of this world!”
Sarandis gradually overwhelmed Riista’s grip and strength, starting to push her down.
Her spine would have snapped then and there.
Had it not been for Surphen, who flew in, scattering dazzling sword light, just before that!
“It would be fine to die together like this! I’m ready, Senior, are you?”
Since his hands were held, Sarandis chose to disrupt the world’s second hand one more time rather than knock him away.
‘1 second, I can stop time for a maximum of 1 second.’
To avoid being pushed to the limit, the most I can do is escape from the grasp of this fellow who is ready for mutual destruction. There's no time to deliver a decisive blow.
“Ugh…”
Sarandis, who had kicked Riista away and retreated in the ‘stopped time,’ vomited blood.
At the same time.
Memories of those distant days, days that can now only be recalled with a feeling of nostalgia… are sucked into the stopped time and vanish.
- Then, please introduce yourselves.
The era Sarandis was born into was still an era when the afterglow of <The Ones Who Came> lingered deeply across the land.
- From the Rivendell School, I’m Jullach, a professor at the Magic University <Delighten>.
Of course, as strong as the light was, so was the darkness deep.
The war of the mythical age was planned as a blitzkrieg (電擊戰) to seal all of <The Forgotten Kings> within 30 days, so from the perspective of <The Ones Who Came>, the handling of demons and monsters, who were mere minnows, was not completed.
Demons still occupied half of the Adrion continent, and each was secretly plotting the continent's recovery and the restoration of <The Forgotten Kings>, proclaiming holy wars.
- Oh, you're the direct disciple of the famous Third Great Archmage these days? I'm Reynolds, from the main church of the Sacred Dragon Orthodox Church Papal State. My most hated thing is morning prayer, and my favorite thing is expensive jewelry.
- Good heavens, what kind of trashy priest is that?
- Hey, mage. Thinking a priest is human is the same as everyone else. I just pretend it's not. You could say my honesty is my charm? By the way, lying is forbidden in the Bible.
At that time, the Three Divine Dragons were also zealous about the terrestrial commands left by <The Ones Who Came>, and extermination campaigns were planned in centuries.
That was the war recorded in later generations as the ‘Great Demon Conquest.’
And in that era, I was the first subject and first success of the so-called ‘Hero Training Project,’ which instilled the power of a dragon into a human body.
- I'm Shildriel. I was originally a scholar from Ganrundel.
- This dark elf lady has incredibly long ears?
- Shildriel is of High Priest lineage. She is a direct descendant of the High Priest from the top twelve branches recorded in elven history and genealogy.
It would have been good to organize a force solely with heroes, like the Holy Eldia Knights, but since I was the only successful one, there was a lack of talent.
The Sacred Dragon Haradeli instructed to gather talents like <The Ones Who Came>, as there was no need to specifically create an organization of only heroes.
Based on that summons, I recruited three companions who were considered the best talents of the time. It was the beginning of the hero party.
- Once you set out, you can never quit. Not until we plant the flag of humanity at the ends of that continent. Only those prepared for that should remain.
- Ha, if I wasn't going to, I wouldn't have come this far.
Jullach was excessively taciturn, Reynolds was seriously noisy, and Shildriel was terribly conservative, but in the chemical reaction of the three, my party was incomparably strong… and joyful.
They won.
They drove the demon forces from the central continent to the central-south, and from the central-south to the south, and kept winning. They always stood at the forefront of any dangerous battle line.
‘I gladly accepted that mission. Because I believed it was the duty of a hero.’
My companions respected it and considered it a natural right rather than an obligation.
‘I believed that if it continued like this, no matter how arduous, difficult, and painful, this war would surely end, and our mission could be completed…’
He believed.
Foolishly, in the creature called human.
‘As the war became protracted, the supply of military personnel showed a sharp decline.’
The elves always sent armies selected from the best of the best, led by paladins, and the beastfolk also dispatched units equipped with the best technology every quarter.
But humans.
The human army, whose numbers were the largest among the three races, scattered more widely than garbage across the continent… did not come, except for a very small number of volunteers.
- The momentum of the demons has already been broken, and the world is livable, so there's no need to fight further. Instead, they call us crazy warmongers for continuing the war.
Exterminating all demons was a task left by <The Ones Who Came>.
Winning decisively in this preliminary battle (緖戰) would increase the chances of victory in the great war of future generations when all of <The Forgotten Kings> awakened.
I immediately confronted the Three Divine Dragons about this, but the Three Divine Dragons, who respected humanity's free will (自由意志), were skeptical about forced conscription and requisition.
- Humanity must grow on its own. <The Ones Who Came> said so. Coercive measures only cause rebellion, and true growth does not occur. It's the same principle as not being able to leave a newborn baby out when a harsh winter is approaching.
Such a remark.
Such sophistry.
It was the answer given by Yeliserika, the Water Dragon and leader of the Three Divine Dragons.
- Then what are we? What about our fight? What about the comrades who died in that fight? What about the subordinates who disappeared without a trace, leaving no bodies or even remains? Was it all just meaningless death?
In that war, Reynolds was the first of the party members to die.
The reason Reynolds liked to collect jewelry was that he could secretly give it to the poor.
Reynolds seemed to do all sorts of corrupt things, but his love and care for the poor and weak were unmatched.
- If it was going to be like this, why did we fight at all! If this was how it was going to turn out, why, why on earth! Why did you make us lead the fight!
Shildriel died after that.
She, who was well-versed in the noble traditions and culture of the elves, would often express disgust at how barbaric humans were, but she did not despise them.
Instead, she taught many things and would engage in serious discussions with Reynolds at night about the teachings of <The Ones Who Came>.
She was a nature that would be horrified by a single drop of blood, yet she accepted the hero party's journey as her mission and never once complained.
- The pure white dream does not clearly illuminate all futures. It merely presents a few outcomes, which can only barely be inferred. But I clearly saw in my dream a future where light triumphs. It’s just that now is not that time.
Sarandis buried the bodies of his comrades, friends, and subordinates not in the ground, but in his heart.
Burying them in the ground is irresponsible.
Because their unfulfilled wishes, the hopes they wished to achieve even as they died, that tearful mission, I must not lay them down in the earth, but bear them all myself and move forward.
- We will go. Forward.
- It's dangerous, Sarandis. An evil aura (惡氣) that cannot be seen even in dreams is squirming in the land beyond. We must retreat here.
He cut and cut again.
The Dragon Legions accommodated Sarandis's stubbornness, but the numerical disadvantage was ultimately insurmountable.
And the Dragonfolk were brutally slaughtered before an unknown entity that the Water Dragon had seen in a dream.
‘Is this how it ends?’
What on earth had my life been?
What meaning did it hold?
The humans who had revered me as a returning hero now called me a warmonger.
‘Why? Why should I protect such things?’
How could I embrace such weak, dirty, and ungrateful beings and end this endless war?
- You are right. You can never win the war against the abyss by embracing the weak.
Even in death, a ray of light shone upon all the doubts, suspicions, and despair swirling in his soul, unable to go anywhere in the heavens beyond due to this accumulated resentment.
- The weak are ugly not only in body but also in character. They must all be excised. Only when the world is built by those who are truly valuable can true victory be grasped. That is the mission we must accomplish.
The identity of that light was a member of the Holy Eldia Knights, a comrade of Eldia Kata (05), whom Sarandis had yearned for without end. In short, he was a true hero.
- This is the Human Purification Project, so to speak.
The dream of the true hero soon became the dream of Sarandis, who had been a fake hero.
- There's a saying that everyone who lives in the world is a soldier chosen by fate. But this world is full of those who are not chosen by fate, and those who do not strive to be chosen.
Thus, Sarandis was freed from the shackles of being a fake.
- We must purify them. Only truly excellent humans, excellent soldiers, will remain. Eugenics will be the key to leading the war to victory.
He was entrusted with the true mission of ending this false world and starting anew.
“You’re wrong, Senior.”
He must fulfill that mission.
“Such a world isn’t made by suddenly overturning it all with racial improvement or eugenics!”
Why did my ‘past’ appear before my eyes, embodying the distinct reality of ‘Riista Altar Surphen’?
And why does she keep reminding me of ‘us’ from those distant days…
…who bore the mission of light together and advanced to the ends of the earth?
“It’s built bit by bit, step by step… That’s what I believe! And the Great Abyssal War hasn’t been lost! We’re winning, one step at a time!”
I have no regrets.
I will not give up.
I must carry this belief entrusted by my fallen comrades to the very end, to that marker.
“And the one who laid each of those cornerstones… was you, Senior.”
This fellow doesn't know. That only despair awaits at the end of that belief now.
I need to tell her.
I need to tell her before that pure expression collapses into despair in the face of the world's reality… She and my past self have it, but my current self doesn't.
‘Back then, a thousand years ago…’
The scent of comrades who shared a belief and accompanied me to the ends of the earth.
“Stop it, Riista! If she were going to be persuaded, she would have been long ago! Let's end this now! We have to finish it while Rin is holding back Jullach! If those two combine forces again, we’ll definitely lose!”
In that solitude that echoed hollowly in his heart, Sarandis steadfastly put strength into each finger holding the sword hilt.
Even alone, there is no problem.
Even alone, there is no despair.
Not being by my side means they died, and dying means they passed the burden of that mission on to me.
“We are all soldiers chosen by fate!”
I will not give up. No matter how tired and difficult it gets, I will carry this burden entrusted by my fallen comrades to the end of the marker, and then I will fall.
“Those not chosen by fate as soldiers, does that not mean they are unnecessary existences within the confines of fate? Does it not mean they deserve to be eliminated!”
I must…
Betting my ‘current conviction’…
Riista Altar Surphen, I must deny ‘my past conviction’ that this junior has now carved into the tip of her sword…!
“They’re coming… Everyone, prepare───!”
The holy sword’s slash, inscribing commands with providence as its boundary.
The dragon's flames forged by sorcery.
And all the arrows that secretly grazed the blind spots of perception and rushed in from behind, all halted (停止) before Naisemon’s light.
‘Even if it means exceeding my limits, I will definitely win.’
1 second elapsed! The time needed to cut off Riista's hands holding Surphen in the stopped time is just 1 second!
‘I don’t need to deliver a decisive blow.’
Her hands are already severed, and she has no Dragon Blood Serum now. Even if she did, she has no hands to inject it with. Now she’s no different from a mere cripple.
2 seconds elapsed!
Sarandis, who had lunged in front of Friede in an instant with a mighty stride, plunged his holy sword into the heart of the priestess, who was frozen in the act of reciting a psalm.
‘──No, my body?’
However, that action could not be completed because the overload on his body intensified as the Abyssal erosion accelerated.
‘This sensation of the [King's Flesh] devouring most of my internal organs and trying to completely transform them into its own…’
At the very moment Sarandis froze, in the exact posture of pulling Naisemon fully behind his shoulder for the thrust, at that fleeting instant when time stopped and 3 seconds elapsed!
‘No…?’
Before Sarandis stopped time, Riista, who had already applied super-acceleration to her body through Surphen, had entered that ‘stopped time’!
‘How could this fellow…?’
Her severed hands, along with Surphen, lay where they originally were, but her two feet could be used freely.
‘If she thought she could defeat me with mere feet…!’
However, Riista did not aim for Sarandis. She threw herself forward, covering Friede, who was frozen in stopped time, and simply tumbled far away with her.
‘What is she aiming for? Even if she escapes the tip of this sword now, the tide of battle won’t change with your hands severed.’
As the light emitted by Naisemon faded, and the world’s second hand was restored under the guidance of providence… what Sarandis witnessed was light.
No, a blade of thunder.
Tearing through the sandstorm-covered sky with dazzling golden light, stealing all color from this world… a light of violent radiance.
“Seventh Thunder (第七雷)!”
What is this?
Surely not, it can’t be…
Did that brat surpass Jullach?
‘The Archmage of the hero party?’
Did she defeat Jullach, recorded as the strongest Archmage in history, in a one-on-one battle?
‘It's large enough to cover the entire Grand Plaza and then some. Both evasion and defense are impossible…!’
At the moment of facing that crisis, the Abyss’s grasp reached into his brain, deep into his soul.
Stop time, it commanded.
Violate providence, it commanded.
Then it would make all of this happen, allowing him to sever the necks of those impudent successors in less than a second.
「Now… only one… fragment of humanity… is needed… for you… to be reborn… as a ‘Vessel’… Come now, come to me…」
Yothos, you cunning bastard…
Was causing an overload in my body just before I grasped victory meant to entice me like this?
‘To completely turn me into a servant of the Abyss… was this crisis orchestrated for that?’
He could immediately see what memory he would have to sacrifice as the price for that power.
Because.
Only one memory remained in Sarandis’s soul.
- Let's go, Sarandis.
One, just one.
Unable to let go, unwilling to let go…
A memory cherished deep within his soul.
- Alright, is it the Bloodline as an opponent this time? I’m already looking forward to what luxuries I can get from them.
It was one of the everyday scents he shared with his comrades a thousand years ago.
- It's my prayer time, just wait a moment. That's why those samigol! The elves said you have to pray three times a day at set times.
Just recalling it filled his soul with a faint joy that warmed him, one of those memories.
Hmph… Sarandis gave a mournful laugh.
Willfully releasing the supreme holy sword Naisemon, which wailed sadly, resonating with the sorrow of its proxy, he let out a wry sigh and hung his head low.
‘How pathetic I am, even in this second life…’
He said he’d do anything to fulfill his unfinished mission, and he was behind almost every tragedy… but he couldn’t give up that one memory himself?
‘Just, merely, that one measly fragment of a memory.’
Why on earth…
Even after being reborn…
Does it feel more precious and valuable than the mission he desperately sought to accomplish?
‘I am disqualified as a hero (勇士). No… I was a fake hero to begin with, so I never had the qualifications.’
With that final thought, a magnificent light enveloped the body of the first Feiquarier and spread further, even into his soul.