Evidence
by Afuhfuihgs
Even those who hadn’t left their homes where they’d lived their entire lives despite the Emperor’s evacuation order, or those who had nowhere to go, or those with financial problems, or those who doubted the Emperor’s orders, realized they’d made the wrong choice the moment they saw the gigantic bug that had burst from the earth and seemed to reach the sky.
―――!
Its mere appearance erased the city. The capital’s streets, once bustling with people, were easily crushed by the bug’s small movements. People sank with their homes, people floated into the sky with the streets only to fall back down, and among those desperately seeking God….
Roel could only watch as the Bug of Chaos destroyed the capital.
Killing the Bug of Chaos was something Roel had done countless times. If he were to just swing his Holy Sword right now, he could prevent the capital’s destruction, but Roel didn’t move.
He figured if he had to step up just to deal with a Bug of Chaos, he should have fought the Cult Leader from the start. He didn’t get the feeling Nelson had mentioned, that this was the moment he had to fight. Not yet. If he stepped up now, nothing would be different from before.
So, the utilitarian hero….
To save countless worlds.
Waited for the moment for everyone.
***
Luna arrived at the Frax family’s residence. Unlike the chaotic capital, Luna felt a sense of calm in the quiet northern city as usual. Luna headed to the drawing-room with Eunice and had some simple tea and desserts.
“Is this your first time in Frax City? Relax today, and tomorrow let’s go sightseeing―”
Thud-
“Eunice! All the portal connections to the capital have been cut off! The capital has been completely destroyed….”
The person who suddenly opened the drawing-room door was Navier. Navier, who hadn’t seen Luna sitting across from Eunice, blurted out the words quickly, then trailed off, belatedly realizing Luna was there thanks to Eunice’s urgent gestures.
“What are you talking about…?”
At Luna’s question, Navier bit her lip, blaming her own rashness. Eunice scratched her nose and eventually gave a wry smile with a deep sigh.
“…Actually, a big fight is happening in the capital. Probably the final battle that will determine the fate of the world. We ran away to the north to avoid getting caught up in that fight.”
“A fight…? Does Ross happen to be participating in that fight?”
For a moment, Eunice’s eyes wavered slightly. It was a mistake that was revealed because Eunice wasn’t used to lying to anyone. Luna didn’t miss it.
“Tell me. Is Ross… really okay?”
Even at Luna’s desperate question, Eunice hesitated to answer, biting her lip. Then, Navier, who had quietly closed the door, came to Eunice and gently pressed her shoulder. When Eunice turned to her, Navier smiled slightly and said.
“Let’s tell her. Luna has the right to know what Ross did and how much he loved her.”
“But the plan….”
“How hard it is to live only according to a plan without emotions… Shall I tell you about my life once again? Ross loves Luna. And Luna must love Ross just as much.”
As Navier said that and turned to look at her, Luna nodded right away. Loving Ross. That was an obvious truth.
While working together as temporary members of the Messiah Club, Navier and Eunice had become close friends. So, she knew that Navier, who had lived as Raelan’s child, had lived a life repeated like a machine in Raelan’s upbringing plan to be a great child.
“….”
Looking at Luna, Eunice hesitated for a long time. She was trying to judge whether this confession would affect the situation, but she couldn’t figure it out as easily as usual. If she made the wrong choice, this huge game that everyone had sacrificed themselves to build could fail.
In the end, Eunice decided to act rationally. If she could keep Luna here for just one day with a lie, everything would be over. Let’s just lie for one day. It would be okay to reveal the truth after that.
However, a strange feeling suddenly took hold in Eunice’s mind. That feeling was telling her to tell Luna everything honestly. It felt like someone was pushing her back. Eunice, who had lived her whole life using her ability to read the situation, couldn’t ignore the feeling that suddenly came to her, like a hunch. Along with Luna’s gaze, looking at her with desperate eyes.
“…Here, I’ll give this back to you. Raelan entrusted it to me to give back to you when everything was over.”
Eunice took something out of her pocket and handed it to Luna. What was on Eunice’s palm was a compass. It was a broken compass that she had obtained from a person named Roque in the City of Pleasures with Ross someday.
‘The compass the cult was after….’
She didn’t know why Eunice had the compass she had, but Luna took the compass for now. Strangely enough, although it was just a compass with an old design, Luna could feel the comfortable and pleasant feeling she had felt since she first got it.
It was as if it had returned to its rightful owner after a long time. Luna, who turned the compass over, looked at the acorn shape carved on the back.
‘…Ross.’
Even if this was an illusion, Luna didn’t want to leave Ross’s side even for a moment. Luna, who raised her head, looked at Eunice to hear the explanation. Eunice, who was organizing her thoughts, finally opened her mouth.
“If things go according to our plan, the Cult Leader can be defeated and we can win. And according to the plan….”
Eunice slightly lowered her gaze as if she couldn’t look Luna in the eye anymore.
“Ross is sure to die.”
***
It wasn’t the first time I had seen the Academy collapse. Fortunately, everyone had evacuated in advance, so there were no students inside the Academy, and I couldn’t hear any groans or screams. The only thing that reached my ears was the earth’s roar.
“Haha, even so, the hero for everyone doesn’t appear. Countless people are losing their homes and dying, but they’re hiding their faces because they’re afraid of the power of chaos. That’s our protagonist Roel’s true nature.”
I was clearing away the wreckage of the collapsed closet and let out a dumbfounded laugh.
“Are you cursing Roel, who can’t even be seen, for not stopping what you did?”
I was about to add the words ‘mental victory’, but the Cult Leader just shrugged his shoulders with a relaxed face.
“Tell me, is Roel really the Roel we knew? Roel is the one who throws himself into action for justice without thinking. Pure justice without calculation. That was the protagonist we admired and liked. But what about the current Roel, who has experienced countless worlds?”
“….”
“He even gave up on one world. He just watched the world perish. He even stared blankly at the screams, and even ended the world himself.”
I looked at the Cult Leader… no, another me. The face was full of clear satisfaction. This guy is satisfied with Roel’s change. He thinks his actions are okay because Roel has changed more than himself, who betrayed everyone and joined hands with the God of Chaos.
I smiled bitterly at that paltry thought. He must know it himself. That’s a lie to deceive himself. He knows better than anyone that it’s wrong, but we, Jinshian, are liars who even deceive ourselves.
So, I was angry for no reason. It was like putting the past self in front of me, covering up a big mistake with a lie.
“Is the process denying the result? If it weren’t for you, Roel wouldn’t have changed.”
Before the Cult Leader, who twisted his lips, could say anything, I quietly added.
“And Roel hasn’t changed. Even if his heart is worn down and worn out… it’s still the most precious thing to Roel.”
“….”
“We have dreamed of a protagonist who acts without hesitation for everyone, doing things that selfish and calculating us would never do. You know what I mean, right? A hero. Someone who will willingly sacrifice even their own happiness to save the world without any compensation.”
A gust of wind swept past me through the collapsed Academy building.
“The fact that you, who destroyed countless worlds, met me. That’s proof that Roel hasn’t changed.”
“So.”
The Cult Leader opened his mouth with a face that didn’t reveal any emotion.
“What can you, the younger brother of such a hero, do?”
Instead of answering, I materialized a shadow spear. The Cult Leader and the God of Chaos shouldn’t realize what my real role is and what kind of plan we have until the very end.
“I don’t know.”
God asked me a question,
And I realized the answer to the question only after losing Ellie.
And the time has come to put that realization into action to protect Luna.
“Still, I have to try for a happy ending.”
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