Fragments of the Past – 2

“Uh… uh…?”

Claudia was so flustered she couldn’t even properly utter a word, her lips kept flapping ceaselessly. Iris, Rije, and Erica, who had been watching the sparring match, were no exception.

No matter how much those three tried, they wouldn’t be able to do the same thing I had just done. If they carelessly attempted it, their upper body would be completely severed, let alone grabbing the greatsword.

I lightly pulled the greatsword stuck in the ground out with one hand and rotated it 90 degrees in the air. The hilt, which had been pointing towards the sky, lowered to face Claudia.

“Here, your greatsword.”

As I extended my arm, the hilt was pushed right in front of Claudia. Even just twirling the greatsword with one hand as if it were a staff was not an easy feat.

Knowing that fact better than anyone, Claudia couldn’t even think of grabbing the extended hilt and simply stood there blankly.

“I really don’t get surprised easily… but this… I’m speechless….”

Claudia looked alternately at the greatsword’s hilt, which was right in front of her, and me, who was holding it almost horizontally with just the strength of my fingers, and stammered.

“I told you before the sparring match started. That I’d surprise you.”

“…Th-no, this isn’t something you can just be surprised by, is it…?”

With a dumbfounded expression, Claudia, who had taken the hilt, swung it around wildly. Even though she was holding and swinging a greatsword of that size with one hand, the sound of wind could be heard.

“…The weight hasn’t changed, though.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about weight?”

“You’ve been hanging out with Scientia-nim a lot lately, haven’t you? I thought maybe you learned magic and used it.”

“As if that would happen.”

“I know, I know. I just couldn’t believe it, so I made a joke. If you had used magic, I would have noticed it a long time ago, wouldn’t I?”

While Claudia kept exclaiming in admiration, Iris, Rije, and Erica, who had been equally surprised from a distance, strode closer.

All three had expressions that couldn’t hide their surprise, but their detailed emotions were slightly different. Iris had doubt, Erica had shock, and Rije had excitement subtly mixed within their surprised expressions.

“What did you do, Delta?”

“What did I do, you ask? It’s just as you saw. I grabbed what Claudia was swinging with force, and ta-da!”

“Grabbed with force…? Wait a minute. Then was it true that Unnie was caught by Delta-ssi, and not just acting?”

“Didn’t you hear me before the sparring match started? I said I used quite a bit of force, even if it wasn’t my full power.”

“….”

Iris and Erica gaped. In contrast to these two, who were frozen in place from too much surprise, Rije, full of excitement, bounced and rushed towards me.

Rije wrapped her legs tightly around my waist and hung on, showering me with kisses as if she found me unbearably cute. The shower of kisses only ended after dozens of pecks.

“Amazing, Delta! What happened? What did you do to become this strong?”

“Well… it’s nothing special. My memories started coming back after I met the Goddess-nim.”

“…Really?”

Rije’s face, which had been full of smiles, instantly turned serious. Iris, Erica, and Claudia also had similar reactions.

Although it had become a thing of the distant past now, that’s what I had told them when I first met the Silver Dawn Knights.

That I had been afflicted by a witch’s curse, all my physical abilities had regressed to rock bottom, and I had even lost my memories. It was an excuse I had conveniently fitted into the ‘Abandoned One’s’ backstory, but somehow, it had all turned out to be true.

It was true that Nyx had cast a kind of curse on me, it was true that my physical abilities had regressed to rock bottom, and it was even true that I had lost my memories.

It was like a cow catching a mouse by stepping backward.

“They haven’t all returned yet, just some of them. But as my memories return, my abilities are also returning. That’s why what just happened was possible.”

Nyx had said that the concepts of levels and stats were a process for me to regain my former strength. In other words, if I just regained my strength, it meant I could use all the game systems from BraDk 1 to 3.

Because I had already experienced it in the past.

From BraDk 3 onwards, it improved a lot, but BraDk 1 and 2 were games that, to put it nicely, were unique, and to put it badly, were shoddily made. If one were to deliberately utilize them, there were quite a few things that could completely break the balance.

There were also cheat-like spells that could trivialize the entire game the moment they were acquired, and techniques that, like just now, would definitively restrain an opponent without question if it was an attack using a weapon.

Although I hadn’t played the games myself, since they were the predecessors to BraDk 4, I had looked up quite a bit of related information, so I couldn’t even count all the things that immediately came to mind on one hand.

‘If only my memories return, I’ll probably be able to use them.’

“…Delta. Then do you remember who you were in the past too?”

Rije, who had somehow come down to the ground, asked cautiously. I found it awkward to answer, so I just smiled.

The First Immortal. The One Who Inherited the Mission. The One Who Suppressed the Curse. All three of those were me, but I couldn’t just openly tell them that, could I?

While the Knight Captains grumbled, interpreting my smile in some way, someone landed in the training ground and instantly approached. There wasn’t even a sound of footsteps, let alone a speck of dust.

“Delta Knight Captain-nim.”

It was the maid who had always conveyed Caecilia’s orders.

“What is it?”

“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has issued an order to the Knight Captain-nim to immediately move to the designated location.”

“Understood. Where should I go?”

Emotionless eyes turned towards me.

“In front of the Imperial Palace’s treasury.”

‘The Imperial Palace treasury, huh? I got here faster than I thought.’

Originally, after receiving the golden key from Fetch, I planned to tell Minerva appropriately and then use the golden key to go in and come out.

Even in the game, if you handed over more than 3 ancient scrolls, you wouldn’t become hostile with the Empire even if you entered and exited the Imperial Palace treasury as you pleased. The lore was that the Eternal Mage had persuaded the Emperor.

‘Even if it’s not that anymore, it seems like Caecilia would open it for me if I just asked her….’

Since returning from hell, my relationship with Caecilia had rapidly grown much closer. If this was the case, I would have to reconsider the use of the golden key.

“Delta! Over here!”

In front of the treasury, Caecilia and Aurora were waiting for me. Seeing the two of them standing side by side, I realized just how incredibly powerful Caecilia’s mother’s genes must have been.

Except for the fact that one looked a little younger, it was to the point where one would believe they were twin sisters, not aunt and niece.

In the past, I thought that was the result of reusing models, but the truth was, it was simply due to the power of genetics.

“For what purpose have you called me, Your Majesty.”

“What reason would I have to specifically summon you all the way here?”

“I do not know.”

“Hah, so you intend to make me say it myself in the end. You sly one.”

Even though she clearly knew my intention, at my attitude of feigning ignorance, Caecilia frowned deeply, but there was not a hint of the killing intent she used to have.

If the old Caecilia felt like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment, ready to truly lop off a head if things went wrong, the current Caecilia was completely different.

No matter how much she tried to act domineering and assert her pride, it only felt like a playful tantrum.

“I heard the explanation from Auntie-nim. Are you okay, Delta?”

Aurora looked at me with a gaze full of concern. I nodded.

“Yes, I’m fine. The Goddess-nim personally healed me.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried about what might happen if something went wrong. Oh, and I heard you caused quite a stir in the Holy Nation? Well, I suppose you’d have to be that capable to meet the Goddess-nim directly.”

“Where did you hear that from?”

“Did you forget who I’ve been with all this time? After hearing that His Holiness the Pope came all the way to the Imperial Palace following you, Auntie immediately summoned His Holiness the Popes.”

“….”

I, who had anticipated what those two must have said, made a disgusted face. Caecilia snorted at me.

“You foolish one. The Holy Nation is a country made up of fanatics who would gladly cut off their own limbs and offer them if it were for the sake of God. Knowing what might happen, how dare you descend into the very heart of the Holy Nation without fear?”

“…I truly did not intend to.”

“Whether you intended it or not, from now on, not only your every word, but also your every action and even your every glance will become the object of worship and praise by those fanatics. That is an inevitable outcome.”

The fact that not a single bit of exaggeration was mixed into that statement, and having personally experienced it until recently, made her words sound even more terrifying. Caecilia, unfazed by my disgusted reaction, calmly added.

“If you dislike that, there is also a way to reside in the Imperial Palace for life and never leave my side, so think carefully.”

“….”

While I was conflicted by this hellish dilemma, Caecilia placed her hand on a door that was smaller than the main hall’s entrance but several times more magnificent.

It was entirely made of gold, and just by detaching and selling the jewels on its surface, one could probably live comfortably for a lifetime.

About 3 seconds after her hand was placed, the door opened to both sides. Caecilia entered without hesitation. Aurora was second, and I was last.

The door closed by itself as soon as I entered.

“Woah….”

Aurora, seeing the appearance of the stairs, let out an exclamation of awe.

Everywhere the eye could see was gold, and there were so many types and numbers of jewels that one would have to give up counting them. It was to the extent that jewel fragments would be kicked with every step.

Sensing Aurora’s cautious steps, trying her best not to step on the jewels, Caecilia casually offered advice.

“The entire treasury is protected by Minerva’s magic, Aurora. No matter how much you trample on it with your strength, it won’t even get a scratch, so walk normally.”

Aurora, hearing those words, looked back at me with an embarrassed expression and then started walking normally.

How far down the stairs did we go? Another door appeared. Its appearance was no less magnificent than the one outside, perhaps even more so.

Caecilia stood in front of it. The magic circle on the floor glowed and a blue rectangular pillar appeared in the air. Caecilia placed her hand on it.

‘…I wonder if I wouldn’t have been able to open this with the golden key?’

At this point, it’s practically no different from fingerprint recognition, isn’t it?

The door opened shortly after. Through the gap, the interior scenery was revealed. As soon as Aurora followed behind Caecilia and entered, she froze in place.

Inside, there was literally a mountain of gold.

It looked to be at least tens of meters high, and there were dozens of such mountains of gold. The feast of jewels half-covering the mountains and all sorts of weapons stuck in between were a bonus.

In the game, everything was just decoration except for a few items placed to be picked up.

Since it was a scene I had seen in graphics, unlike me, who was merely moderately surprised, Aurora, who had stiffened up, showed no signs of moving. I had no choice but to push her back and move forward.

Caecilia passed through the gold and entered the center without hesitation, stopping only after moving for quite some time.

“Do you know what this rune is, Knight Captain of the Pitch-Black Holy Night?”

At the spot where she stopped, there was a rune monument.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I intend to give this to you.”

“Are you speaking of… that rune?”

“That is correct.”

Caecilia nodded.

This was originally a rune given as a final reward only if one pledged loyalty to the Emperor until the end of the game. True to its acquisition method, its effect was also incredibly groundbreaking.

‘Yes, it’s a good effect if it activates. If only it activates….’

“Auntie-nim, what is that rune?”

While I inwardly swallowed a bitter smile at the rune’s activation conditions, Aurora asked. Instead of answering immediately, Caecilia stared at me intently, and only after a long moment did she open her mouth.

“It allows one to revive from death.”