Book 21 Chapter 15
To the land of decisive battle!
The city of beginning and end,
The Decisive Battle of Laptas (10)
“Friede, it’ll be fine. Trust Lord Pyrus!”
Rista firmly gripped Friede’s shoulder, who was staring blankly at the collapsing aqueduct.
“No, of course I trust him. That’s not it. It’s a demon. A high-ranking demon! Doesn’t it seem strange no matter how you look at it that *that* appeared?”
“Huh?”
“When that Jelly brat was controlling the king’s power, Mauna Loa also emerged as his avatar. But now those demons… they were the Lizard Lord’s demons.”
What was Friede trying to say now?
Rista felt for the first time then that his head could shake with bewilderment and nausea could well up.
“And this high fever, no matter how you look at it, it’s abnormal. Even when Jelly awakened back then, the temperature in that vicinity wasn’t like this.”
“Could that possibly…?”
“We’ll have to see the situation to know, but no, I don’t want to think that Jelly brat was defeated so easily, but perhaps our opponent is…!”
It was around that time that the stone walls of the yellow city, <Laptas>, finally revealed their majestic presence in front of the train.
Military stronghold, <Laptas>.
The Republic's Seven Great Cities generally grew into sanctuaries or commercial centers, but only <Laptas> was built for military purposes.
“That’s not <Laptas>… No, it’s ceasing to be <Laptas>.”
Friede said blankly.
It was just as he said.
From that south where ash storms raged, the city's landscape was transforming into the royal palace of the king who had ruled this land with wickedness (悖惡) before the common era.
“Demon sighted ahead! It’s the third high-ranking one!”
There was no time to think.
Paladin Riven, who assisted Simian the wandering priest, shouted.
“It’s trying to block the city’s entrance with its body! Cover us! We have to break through that!”
Kies immediately leaped onto the engine room.
He reached out a hand to Rin, who was struggling and couldn’t climb up, grabbed his golden staff, and pulled him up.
What Rin witnessed after climbing onto the engine room was… a volcano blocking the train’s path.
“Osarius-style beast-man, 5-star.”
How should one react upon suddenly hearing that a ‘volcano blocking the path’ must be eliminated?
Rin could only do one thing.
It was simply to unleash the most powerful magic he possessed. Kies also seemed to feel similarly, judging by his expression.
“First bolt.”
“Second bolt.”
“Third bolt.”
One, two, three times… He snapped his fingers, but there was no sense of satisfaction as usual.
‘What on earth is that…?’
There was no tremor of magical power whatsoever, which inevitably occurs when a spell directly hits an opponent.
‘In short, it means nothing was directly hit.’
Around the time he cast the fifth lightning bolt, Friede’s urgent shout could be heard through the gaps in his hearing, which was dulled by the roar.
“Both of you, fall back! It’s going to collide soon!”
Fall back?
Fall back, he says.
Don't we have to eliminate that thing?
“That’s what it’s aiming for! We have to extend the barrier as much as possible! Xuan! Sasa!”
His head was buzzing, so the shouts didn’t register well.
“Collision in 3 seconds!”
Rista landed in front of them in an instant, grabbed Kies and Rin by the scruffs of their necks, and dragged them to carriage no. 1.
“1 second! Here it comes!”
That was it.
The moment it collided with the train, the demon's body exploded into lava… and immense high heat raged…
The city's horizon, which had drawn near, spun wildly and rose… became the horizon… then became the land horizon again… and soon vanished.
The train, overturned, slid sideways, demolishing dozens of structures in the <Laptas> urban area…
Broken, crushed, shattered… fragments of stone, iron, and fairy soldiers were chaotically entangled… dust and fresh blood splattered everywhere.
“Are you okay, Rin…?”
What Rin witnessed when he opened his eyes amidst that great chaos was Rista Altar Shirping.
“Ah, thank goodness…”
The blood-soaked hero (勇士), embracing the boy, with rebar and bone fragments having broken through his armor and clothes and torn into him.
“Rista, you…!”
Rista spat out dark, discolored blood.
The rebar, driven deep while breaking his ribs, must have damaged his internal organs.
Rista nonchalantly pulled out such rebar and fragments, then injected the dragon blood serum syringe, which he had stored inside his armor, into his neck.
“I’m fine. Ever since the battle with the kin earlier… I haven't been feeling anything, as if my sense of pain itself is numb.”
“Even so…!”
“Kyuuuuing…!”
“Right, Sval was safe inside Rin too… That’s a relief. My injuries were worth it. The only problem is I brought a lot of serum syringes, but now they’re all broken and only one is left.”
At that moment, Rin cursed his own personality, which couldn't be honest even then. He wanted to shout like this:
‘Never die. Never give up.’
Until this battle ends, until my Joo-yeo-so-gye-dae-ban is complete and I can give it to you as a gift.
“Keep what I just said a secret from everyone. They’ll just worry unnecessarily.”
“…”
“Can you stand up? Let’s go, Rin. It seems our journey has reached its final stage!”
Even in such a moment of despair…
Your appearance, Rista, who must have been more distressed and in pain than anyone, yet smiled more brightly than anyone…
Whenever I look back and think about it, tears just stream down… Perhaps it was thanks to those tears that I found the courage to say these words at that very moment.
“A journey…”
“Huh?”
“When the journey is all over, we all promised… to travel to a world where the battlefield is gone. You haven’t forgotten that promise, have you?”
But then, you didn’t give me an answer right away… just a sad smile, as if you might break at any moment.
And then, in my last moment…
Just before everything sank into the chill of oblivion, you gave me an answer…
‘Was that perhaps your plan… to make me yearn for life?’