Ch.118Memory As It Was

# 1.

Territory of the Blood Clan.

A domain where a specific race exerts their maximum power, like a dragon’s lair or an elven forest.

Among such territories, the fortress of the Lord, which had never been breached before, was finally penetrated.

Casler gazed at the collapsed entrance of the castle gate and found himself smirking involuntarily.

“Yes, it definitely started like this.”

Recalling his first meeting with Ran, Casler recreated the exact situation from back then.

【Blood Clan Lord – <Casler(SS-)> activates <Red Rain(S+)>】

Sharp, eerie red spears filled the sky beyond the ceiling, covering the entire fortress with their ominous presence.

Upon seeing this, Ran looked at Casler and burst into laughter.

“Pfft…! Is this petty trick all you’ve got? Lord of the Blood Clan.”

Immediately after, she bent forward as if about to charge, but instead placed her holy sword on the ground and declared:

“Okay. I surrender.”

“Huh…? My Lord, she’s surrendering…”

“Hmm.”

Indeed, it was exactly as he remembered.

So Casler flicked his hand.

A downpour of blood-colored spears.

“WHAT?! W-wait! Surrender!! I said surrender!! Ack?! Aaaack!!!”

Thud! Thud!

The spears mercilessly pierced through her.

“…? My Lord? She surrendered though…”

“Hmm.”

This too was exactly as he remembered.

Casler looked at the pulverized Ran and jerked his chin toward Garendal.

“Dispose of her.”

“Pardon?”

“I said dispose of her.”

“Ah, yes…”

With a dazed expression, Garendal trudged out and transported Ran away using blood magic.

【<Germination> is in progress.】

And that was how his first encounter with Ran ended.

# 2.

Time passes to the next day.

After sleeping in the Lord’s quarters for the first time in a while, morning came and the meeting began.

“Some blood clan members have ventured outside our territory and caused problems, but as you instructed, my Lord, we’ve captured them and administered punishment.”

“Noted. Maintain current procedures. Next.”

“The next agenda concerns our population numbers.”

As Casler and Garendal were conducting the meeting with dozens of blood clan members,

CRASH!

The recently repaired door shattered as a neat-looking Ran barged in.

“I’ve come to avenge yesterday!!”

Unlike yesterday when she had requested a conversation, she immediately drew her holy sword and charged.

A body enhanced to its limits,

Eyes glowing blue,

A gleaming holy sword.

“My Lord, danger!!”

Even Garendal, Casler’s first lieutenant, would need to risk death to block such a powerful strike. Everyone rushed forward to protect Casler, but—

“Stand back.”

Casler gently pushed them aside and appeared before Ran.

Just like yesterday, he raised his hand to the sky and swung it toward Ran.

【Blood Clan Lord – <Casler(SS-)> activates <Red Rain(S+)>】

Thud!

A clean, direct hit to the heart.

“Gack…”

As Ran collapsed with a thud, the stunned blood clan members began to cheer.

“As expected of our Lord…!!”

“First Hero or whatever, against our Lord…!!”

“Long live the Lord!!”

Casler remained still for a moment, then nodded to Garendal.

“Dispose of her.”

“Ah… yes. Yes, I will do so.”

Though still stunned, Garendal removed the body more skillfully than yesterday.

And so, the hero’s attack that had worried the blood clan ended anticlimactically.

“Shouldn’t we have a celebration?”

“Indeed, since the First Hero appeared, we haven’t properly rested… My Lord, how about a feast?”

“Do as you wish.”

The elders, now relieved of tension, planned a party and began preparations from the morning after the meeting ended.

“…She’s coming back though.”

“Hmm? What did you just say, Garendal?”

“…Nothing at all.”

Despite Garendal’s concerns, by the next morning, a feast was laid out in the garden in front of the castle.

“Mmm…! I heard the blood clan increased in numbers and now eats food instead of just blood… Delici— Oh, is everyone here?”

“…?”

The elders found themselves face to face with Ran, who was eating at the Lord’s seat.

Of course, the outcome of this meeting was also:

【Blood Clan Lord – <Casler(SS-)> activates <Red Rain(S+)>】

Ending with Ran’s death and Garendal disposing of her.

“To-tomorrow… again…”

“…The Lord is one thing, but you’re quite something yourself.”

“Thanks for the compli— gack.”

“…Sigh.”

After that, Ran continued to visit the blood clan’s castle as if it were her own home every day, repeatedly meeting her end at Casler’s blood spears.

.

.

.

“Hey! Casler! Big sis is here!”

“Tch.”

This period lasted for an entire year.

They say a year is the cycle of life blooming and withering.

During this time of continued routine, Casler also experienced a change:

“…Do you like tea?”

“Huh?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a break. If you have time, would you like to have some tea?”

“Uh…? Oh, really?!”

Emotions that had been worn away during his long life began to revive somewhat.

Annoyance?

Irritation?

Disturbance?

Or perhaps… curiosity?

“The refreshments are ready, my Lord.”

“Let’s go.”

“Wow! Snacks!!”

To figure out what this emotion was, Casler initiated a conversation with Ran for the first time.

“Your name?”

“Ran! I’m an orphan, so I don’t have a family name!”

“Same here.”

A formal introduction that took a year.

“…Ran.”

As he savored her name, she cheerfully asked in return:

“And you?”

“You already know, don’t you?”

“Come on! I still want to hear it directly.”

“…It’s Casler.”

“Yes! Nice to meet you, Casler!”

A small hand extended toward him.

Casler grasped her hand, which had more scars than he expected, feeling its warmth as he shook it.

Afterward, they engaged in casual conversation.

“Hmm… So I’m from the Hero Training Institute? All my peers are dead? Oh, the Emperor does order me to do this and that, but I ignore him! He told me to exterminate non-human races like you?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah! He said anything other than humans shouldn’t exist or something. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

“Not really.”

“No, but—”

It was closer to Ran unilaterally pouring out words rather than a conversation, but the two talked until their teacups were empty.

As Garendal refilled their cups for the second time, Casler asked her:

“Why do you keep coming here?”

A truly bizarre behavior.

Even knowing that visiting this place would result in pain close to death, if not death itself, Ran visited the blood clan’s fortress without missing a single day.

365 visits,

365 instances of near-death agony.

This was an impossible feat even for blood clan members with their strong mental fortitude and recovery abilities.

‘…So the emotion I felt back then was curiosity after all?’

As Casler pondered his feelings, Ran answered with a bright expression:

“I told you. I was ordered to exterminate non-human races.”

Still maintaining her cheerful expression, Casler briefly considered before asking:

“Then you came to exterminate us?”

“Nah, I also told you that the Emperor ordered me to do various things, but I ignore them. That’s just how I am. I don’t make hasty judgments until I see and decide for myself.”

As Casler’s brow slightly furrowed at her ambiguous answer, she put down her teacup with a clink and added:

“That’s why I’ve been visiting for a year. I wanted to know if we could communicate.”

Casler blinked.

Not because he didn’t understand Ran’s words, but simply because it was naturally the timing to do so.

However, in that brief moment, a holy sword was pointed at Casler’s heart.

A wave of holy power vastly surpassing anything Ran had shown before, overwhelmingly exceeding even Casler’s double S-rank.

“…You were hiding your strength?”

“Pretty much.”

As Ran answered with a grin, Garendal, who had been pouring tea, lunged at her.

“How dare you threaten the Lord—!!”

“Oh right. You’re here too.”

CRACK!

“Guhk—!!”

“Sorry. I’ll finish quickly, so wait.”

Despite being the only other double S-rank among the blood clan besides Casler, Garendal was easily caught by Ran’s outstretched hand.

With Garendal in her left hand and her right hand aiming at Casler’s heart, she pondered briefly before speaking:

“The blood clan I’ve observed is evil.”

【First Hero <Ran(Ex+)> borrows the goddess’s power to dominate the territory.】

【<Holy Festival(Ex+)> begins.】

The view outside the window darkened as she finished speaking.

“Though you’ve weakened as your race has grown, you’re still a race that feeds on human blood.”

Whoosh…

The holy power Ran released grew larger, absorbing all surrounding light.

“Occasionally, escaped blood clan members harm humans, and some blood clan members buy and sell humans like food. The number of victims is not small.”

Light disappeared from the blood clan’s territory, and despite it being daytime, the sky turned pitch black.

Ran raised the hand holding Garendal toward the window, and the sky split open as light poured down.

Brilliant golden light,

Fluttering white feathers,

The distant hem of the goddess’s robe.

Upon seeing this, Ran’s blue eyes flashed as she spoke to Casler:

“Today was your last chance, Casler. If you had killed me until today, I would have given up on your race and destroyed you.”

Casler nodded.

If the power Ran just displayed struck their territory, the blood clan would be annihilated.

He didn’t feel particularly wronged.

‘As Ran said, we are… no, I was born inherently evil.’

After his emotions had faded, he had even considered breeding and raising humans.

So Casler raised both hands.

“It’s been long enough. I have no attachment to life. Do as you please.”

“My… Lord!!!”

“Don’t worry, Garendal. If I die, you will become the Lord. Maintain current procedures.”

“Ngh, ungh…!!! I can’t… do that…!!! You are… our king…!!”

As Garendal, recognizing the gravity of the situation, reached out toward Casler to cast blood magic—

Flutter.

The ominous atmosphere returned to normal, and the ordinary daylight returned.

Casler and Garendal stared at Ran with dumbfounded expressions.

“?”

“Huh?”

They wondered why she had withdrawn her power when she could have killed them at any moment.

Noticing their confusion, Ran smiled and plopped back into her seat.

“I won’t destroy you, so don’t worry. I said ‘if you had killed me until today,’ right? Since we’re talking now, I won’t destroy you. And… honestly, I can’t give up.”

To her grinning face, Casler asked while suppressing a smile, though he already knew the answer:

“Why not?”

Slurp…

Hiding her face behind her teacup, Ran revealed her blue eyes and answered:

“Casler, you… you’re exactly my type.”

“Hmm.”

This too was exactly as he remembered.