episode_0038

Leah felt the curse on her heart that had threatened her life disappear.

Also, there was a lot of life force that would not disappear even if you wasted it like crazy.

But I wasn’t happy at all.

Fragments of his memories have been mixed in a bit.

Aha, so this is how it feels.

It’s funny how I end up laughing even though I don’t feel like laughing at all.

This was a mockery. A mockery of oneself…

Lying on the floor, his hair was soaked in blood and disheveled, and he was laughing hysterically. To anyone who didn’t know, he looked like he was on drugs. I didn’t really care about that. Maybe this was part of the arrangement that the man had left behind.

After reading my memories, don’t be shaken or distressed by those warrior party years.

Don’t hesitate, stab me with your silver sword, and then laugh at me in return.

Maybe it was a leap of faith. His memory was so vast that the only memories he had were those after he became entangled with me, but when he tried to recall them properly rather than just glancing at the images that passed through his mind, he got a headache that felt like his brain was melting.

“…dream.”

The name of this silver sword would be Dream.

I made up my mind to take out the silver sword. Then, I held the silver sword in my hand, clean, as if El’s blood had either been consumed or disappeared.

I continued to lie down, holding the cool silver sword in my hand. The hot blood was soaking my back, but my hand was cool, so it didn’t feel so bad, as if my mind was clearing.

I wanted to lie like this a little longer.

Just until Galvein comes to get me.

There is this kind of memorial service in the world.

*****

If we talk about the story a little later, since Elle was dead, all the protective magic was broken, so Galvein found me right away.

According to Galvein, I was inside the ark. What I initially thought was a wooden cabin was actually a room inside the ark.

Of course, before saying that, he had been rambling for a full two hours about how it was so embarrassing and how much trouble he would have to go through just to wash his clothes if they were stained with blood like that, but I decided to think of it as Galvein’s own concerns and listened quietly.

Since I was a commoner in this life, I knew all too well that doing bloody laundry was difficult.

I ran down the road that had been breathless when I first walked in with a calm expression on my face, and I looked around the inside of the ruins for the last time from the entrance.

I took in the pure white walls and floors.

“Can you help me close the door?”

The ruins’ door was so huge that it would take a lot of time to close it alone. If it weren’t so big, Noah wouldn’t have been able to bring the ark in.

“Okay.”

Surprisingly, Galvein didn’t complain much and helped me with my work.

Kookookookookung…

The ruins’ door closed with a heavy thud. Now, there was no way it would open.

Before I could even indulge in that sentiment, a creepy sound like the scratching of a blackboard came from Galvein’s robe and struck my eardrums.

“Whaaah!!??? What, what is it!”

“It’s usually a notification sound from a communication tool.”

“Normal? What kind of notifications do I have to set to make this sound…?! Ugh… Creepy, damn…”

“The sound of scratching on a blackboard.”

Why on earth would they set that sound as a notification sound? I don’t understand it, but I think the reason why that sound was made is more important.

I really don’t understand it, but it’s personal preference…

-Kkiiinkkikkiiin!!

“Get it quickly!!”

“Just wait a minute. I have so many things stored in the subspace that it’s hard to find them.”

“Fuck…”

I ended up hiding in a corner, covering my ears and crouching. It was a kind of brainwave sound that came from magic power, so it didn’t have much effect, and it took the damned Lich three minutes before he took out his crystal ball and received it. Hira, you were right.

“Your Majesty, why have you contacted me?”

[Coolook, ugh. Ugh… Galvein. Return now. No, to the Empire…]

“Abel?! What’s going on!”

Abel’s voice, heard from beyond the crystal ball, sounded urgent, as if he might suffocate at any moment.

“No, it’s not that dangerous. What do you think the Demon King looks like?”

After that, the cries of the injured could be faintly heard through the crystal ball. It was clear that Abel was also quite badly injured.

“It’s not urgent. Are you not even listening to what I’m saying?”

[…Leah is there too. Let me tell you the situation first.]

Abel’s voice continued after briefly clearing his throat.

[We were attacking the empire smoothly. The goddess told us to instill as much fear as possible, so we were deliberately pressuring them slowly. …Although we didn’t know it was a trap.]

“You crazy bitch,” Abel muttered very quietly. I thought it was too quiet for me to hear, but unfortunately, thanks to the new heart, my body’s overall functions were enhanced, so I could hear it clearly.

[At some point during the invasion, attacks using divine powers came in. However, there were no problems up to that point. It was just a party of warriors coming.]

[The problem is, at some point, the divine attacks started increasing one by one. That crazy goddess bitch… just threw divine attacks. She even dragged all the angels with her. She really is going to go all out and kill them.]

[Since the demons won’t die anyway, I can just beat them up… but the problem was Mino. The priests came rushing in and attacked, so I couldn’t overcome the enemy and was seriously injured, so I temporarily retreated. The Four Heavenly Kings are real, so if I die here, I really die.]

“Where are your wounds?”

The voice came out so coldly that I was surprised. Galvein and Abel next to me also flinched as if they had noticed something.

[Oh, Leah. It’s, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it…]

“Tell me.”

[…Haa. It was the work of the Magic Tower. When I was retreating, I was stabbed in the back with a magic circle that combined divine power and magic. To be exact, it was aimed at Mino, but in that situation, it would have been really dangerous to be hit, so I took the hit instead. It wasn’t a serious wound.]

As if it wasn’t an empty promise, Abel’s coughing gradually stopped and his voice began to become clearer.

[And, Galvein. On your way here, go to the Demon King’s Castle and find some information related to the gold. As soon as we left the empire, a large-scale barrier was activated.]

“What kind of barrier is it…”

[…Only humans are allowed entry. Normally, I would have broken it with force, but the goddess helped me out… Damn, did I miss the medicine I was supposed to take or did I take the medicine I wasn’t supposed to take? You’re suddenly going all out? She was already crazy, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t think about strategy.]

I had a guess.

My heart.

Abel was anxious because the only chain that had been binding him suddenly disappeared.

I wanted to kill him while he let his guard down, so that something like ‘El’ wouldn’t happen again.

…what does it matter why?

The result was that the Goddess of Libra tried to kill Abel. That’s all.

Not only did you ruin my life, you even dared to touch Abel.

[…So. Never bring Leah with you. From what I saw while escaping, it looks like the ritual of the Goddess of Scales is in progress inside. It looks like the guys who were so opposed to the Holy Nation are about to die, so they’ve turned their attention away. In any case, if this succeeds, the one in the most danger is Leah.]

“Okay.”

[…I think I should save my magic. Come as quickly as possible. And Leah, …don’t worry, I’ll protect you.]

Dduk.

Communication was lost.

It may have been around that time that Leah’s patience snapped.

“Galvein, tell me honestly. Can you break the barrier before the goddess’s descent?”

“It depends on the situation, but it’s impossible. The Magic Tower Master is particularly good at defensive magic. If the power of the Goddess is combined with that, it means that I have to solve the collaboration between the Goddess and the Magic Tower Master by myself.”

He quietly stroked the blade of the Eunjangdo. The tip of the blade was so sharp that it couldn’t possibly be, but it felt like it was thirsting for blood.

Under normal circumstances, the chances of Abel defeating the summoned goddess are quite high.

However, the goddess would have continued to build up her divinity during that time. Especially in a state of war, the belief in the goddess is strong, and fighting in an empire that has completely become a sacred field is no different from fighting on the enemy’s home ground.

No matter how well I hit them, it will be mutual destruction. I can’t watch Abel die.

The Joker card exists to be used, so I gripped the handle of the silver sword tightly. Every second counts, so it was time to persuade Galvein with a somewhat harsher approach.

“What are you doing? Didn’t you hear what the Demon King said? Stay still. I’ll be back as soon as I can-”

“…Spy.”

“What? …No, what the hell are you talking about.”

“The spy Abel has been keeping a close eye on, isn’t that you? Or should I tell you this name so you’ll admit it?”

Lucy.

As soon as that name left my mouth, I had the illusion that Galvein’s non-existent pupils were shaking.

“I wonder how you knew?”

“Yeah, no. How on earth did you hide that so perfectly…”

“Isn’t that what’s important right now? Teleport, you know how to use it, right?”

“…Of course.”

“Move me to the empire. Don’t tell Abel.”

In order to enforce the rule, threats were necessary.

Of course, in Galvein’s chain of command, Abel would be higher than me, and if Abel found out that I was going to enter the barrier alone, then it would be dangerous for him to try to tear the barrier by force.

“Right now.”

“Kuhehe… Your hair has gotten a lot thicker. I see. But really, how-”

“If you’re curious, 500 won.”

“This dog―”

Phishing!

After leaving those words, my body was transported to the vicinity of the empire.

Sorry, Galvein. Actually, I just stole the scene from Elle’s memories where you and Lucy entered the ruins together and gambled.

*****

Before my eyes, I saw the empire’s high stone walls.

Aha, I never thought the day would come when I would become an enemy of these walls.

Hehe, I couldn’t help but laugh as the experience was refreshing.

Of course, I didn’t really feel like laughing, it was more of a mocking laughter filled with the sadness I had felt all along.

“Okay, by the way, what should I do with this…”

I scratched my head for no reason with the handle of the silver sword.

It was good that I came here out of curiosity, but I couldn’t go in through the main gate because Abel was there, and the height of the wall was much higher than I thought.

“If you go to the back door and ask them to open it, they’ll stick a mace in your head, right?”

It was such an obvious thing.