Ch.178178. Became a Hero (1)

“Isha.”

Isha opened her eyes wide. Tears continued to flow from her bloodshot eyes. I lifted her light body to a sitting position. She looked completely different from the Isha I had seen in the mental space corridor. There were no wounds on her body. Her clothes were intact. But her face was contorted in pain, like someone who had been slashed with a knife.

“Isha.”

If I kept looking at her anguished face, even the forced smile I was maintaining would disappear, so I deliberately pulled up the corners of my mouth even more. Now I knew. How much this person before me had loved the world, had loved me.

“Don’t cry.”

I said irresponsibly as I wiped away the tears flowing from Isha’s eyes. Isha continued to stare at me in bewilderment before struggling to open her mouth.

“How do you… know that name?”

I smiled silently. I left the judgment to Isha. She would need time to think. But Isha, uncharacteristically unable to make a cold judgment, just swallowed her sobs. Since leaving her alone like this didn’t seem right, I sat down in front of her.

“The part of me that remained there… told you, didn’t it?”

I nodded. The corners of Isha’s mouth trembled as they turned upward. The only emotion I could sense from her appearance was not relief or joy, but guilt.

“I… and I couldn’t stop you.”

Isha’s tears wouldn’t stop. With trembling hands, she clutched my collar and began to cry even more bitterly. Since this wasn’t an entirely unexpected reaction, I embraced her.

“Ilroy of the first world.”

At the words from my mouth, Isha flinched and pulled away from me. I thought she couldn’t be more surprised, but apparently this was truly shocking to her.

“And the ‘me’ you created the second time.”

I smiled, pointing to myself. On Isha’s face, guilt was no longer visible. Only surprise and disbelief crossed her features. However, I had a way to prove it. I smiled awkwardly, remembering that moment.

“As long as you continue to fight here, I will continue to resent you.”

Stumbling, fumbling. Words formed in my mouth. Memories surfaced and scenes appeared.

“I will resent the one who created the void in my memory, and the one who made me fight. Even if I forget my memories, Isha, I will remember your existence like this.”

Isha’s eyes grew wider at my continuing words. Then, she began to cry again. This time, it was clearly a different kind of tears and expression.

“Did you… resent me?”

“I did. I must have resented you quite a bit.”

Hundreds of emotions crossed Isha’s face. And finally, the conclusion she reached was gratitude. Isha finally embraced me. Her hands on my back felt strong, warm, and desperately held onto me. As if she would hold onto my existence forever.

“I’ve heard your apology, so that’s enough.”

I said as I pulled away from Isha. Then, I turned my head to look at the pitch-black darkness. The grace period I had created by breaking through the hole was running out. The evil god’s grasp was slowly tearing through the void. I raised my sword.

“From now on, I will never let you fight alone.”

Why was it that the hordes of destruction, which had been so terrifying, didn’t feel like a major threat to me now? Is this how a woodcutter feels when facing a massive tree? I took a stance. What moved me now was time. The life of the ‘original’ Ilroy, Isha’s waiting, and my life as a hero.

“And I won’t try to fight alone either.”

I could shoulder it alone. I could struggle with the delusion of sending Isha away and saving the world. But I won’t do that. I won’t follow in Isha’s footsteps. Saving her means resolving her lingering attachments and clearing the burden we’ve forcibly taken on together.

“Let’s do this together.”

I turned to look at Isha with a grin. Isha was still quietly looking at me. She was no longer crying. Her gaze, too, had moved beyond grief and guilt and began to shine.

[■■■■]

An incomprehensible roar echoed. The evil gods, recognizing my existence, were gradually merging into one mass, becoming a giant shadow. They seemed to recognize that I might be quite a threat.

[This… will… happen…]

The unified evil god seemed to cry out in anguish. What appeared to be its ‘face’ was horribly distorted. I faced the evil god with a stern expression.

[Destruction cannot be avoided. Eternity does not exist…!]

A cry that seemed to spew anger echoed. The evil god completely shattered the barrier and revealed itself at the edge of the world. It was a hideous sight. Four arms, a melting jaw, an angular and massive upper body, and a lower body stretched out like a snake. Looking at the evil god that had finally taken form, I raised my sword.

[Do not resist…. Submit to the natural order….]

Kwaaang-!

The evil god attacked for the first time. Every time the evil god moved its arms, stars exploded. Star fragments clung to the path where the evil god’s arms had passed. Looking at the approaching arm, I raised my sword high.

“At least….”

I swung my sword to match the descending hand. The star fragments filling the void rearranged and split along my sword’s path. The tail of my sword’s path swirled and shone like a galaxy. My sword and the evil god’s hand collided in the middle. My sword couldn’t cut through the evil god’s hand, and the evil god’s hand couldn’t overwhelm my sword. Stars shattered again from the impact of the collision.

“I will not submit to you.”

Natural order? That’s not the natural order. Death and endings never come in such a form. If that were truly the end of everything, neither I, nor Isha, nor the first cycle’s Isha and Ilroy could have existed. I knew what the evil god worshippers believed in, and how misguided those thoughts were.

[Accept us-!]

“You won’t bring destruction to this world either.”

Against the approaching black arm, I responded by cutting through space. I swung my sword thinking of what I had left behind, what I needed to protect. I cut through flying stars and slashed at shadows protruding from the evil god’s body. Years, time, and the world were cut and collided. Fragments of the evil god, screaming eerily, fell from the shadows. They had quite familiar appearances.

Snake, swarm of locusts, kraken, giant.

“-So that’s how you want to play it.”

Not one, but thousands of calamities fell. The giant stood at the forefront, followed by the swarm of locusts. In my absence, not even one of them could be allowed outside. I gritted my teeth and readjusted my stance. I had to hold on. No, I had to cut down all of them.

“You’re putting too much strength into your stance.”

And then,

“Relax more and pull your sword back.”

A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. Though her voice was hoarse from crying, it was steady, having found composure. Isha came to my side and corrected my sword stance. In her left hand was the Holy Sword, shining like new.

“The essence of your sword is not cutting, but protecting. Gather your momentum. Don’t rush forward aggressively, but wait for the surge. Did you plan to forget everything I taught you?”

Isha’s eyes, already red, had turned completely red even in the whites after crying so much. Her bossing me around in that state was honestly a bit funny.

“What’s that smile for?”

“It’s the kind of smile that I really wish I could show you with a mirror.”

Isha hastily raised the Holy Sword. Her face turned slightly red as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Having never seen this kind of emotional expression from her before, I smiled again at the refreshing sight.

“…Focus. It will be a very long battle. This is an entity I’ve fought for nearly an eternity. 100 years, 200 years won’t be enough; it might take until the world you left behind completely disappears and is recreated again.”

I gripped my sword more firmly. Isha placed her hand on my cheek and asked.

“Are you really okay with not going back? Won’t you regret it?”

“I’ve already decided that.”

“Even if you decide to go back now, I won’t stop you. I won’t resent you either. I’ve already been saved by you.”

“You didn’t ask that because you really thought I would go back, did you?”

Isha smiled bitterly.

“To be honest, part of me wants you to go back, but another part wants you to stay. You can curse and resent me for being selfish.”

“That selfishness proves you’re a living being. Not a god or a sword.”

Isha opened her eyes wide and pressed her lips tightly together.

“…I.”

And then, as if she couldn’t help it, she smiled.

“I see. In your world, there is no being that cannot be saved.”

Isha turned forward and raised her sword.

“You’ve won, Ilroy. In the end, your thinking has saved me.”

I stood beside Isha. My sword trembled as if resonating with the Holy Sword’s blade. The calamity’s avatars approached, but somehow I wasn’t too worried. Isha raised her sword first. A fierce light shone in the smile that appeared on her face.

“Try to keep up.”

“Gladly.”

And Isha’s sword cut through the calamities.

==

“…The weather is nice today.”

A month had passed since Ilroy disappeared. In that room, Ilroy had turned into a mass of light and vanished. The people who had been watching Ilroy with him were startled, but soon recalled Ilroy’s words and kept the room where he had stayed open. It meant he could return anytime. People decided to wait for Ilroy. Daffodils, procured from somewhere, were placed one by one in front of his statue erected in the north.

Daphne and Marianne were still staying in the north. Since they couldn’t continue being treated as guests, Daphne became a magic consultant for the northern army, and Marianne stayed at the church, handling consecrations and baptisms. Occasionally, they also educated Karin, the daughter of Grand Duke Quenore.

“Shall we go out for a short walk?”

Daphne and Karin had become quite close during this time. Karin nodded with a bright expression at Daphne’s words. Karin had grown quite tall in the past half year. Her sword skills had also developed to the point of surprising Marianne.

“Shall we buy flowers again today?”

“…Yes.”

And sometimes, Karin’s smile showed a maturity that surprised Daphne. Karin missed the suddenly disappeared Ilroy, but she didn’t try to show it. She seemed to believe that just as Ilroy had kept his promise to return before, he would keep this promise too.

As soon as the two left the mansion, they headed to the flower shop. There was only one flower shop open in winter. Even with the development of magical technology, bringing flowers to this cold land wasn’t easy. It was the place where they had bought flower crowns during the summer festival.

“I’ve prepared them.”

The flower shop owner immediately brought out two daffodils. For a month, the two had visited the flower shop once a week to buy flowers and place them at Ilroy’s statue.

“Putting flowers like this makes it seem like someone died.”

“It means we won’t forget.”

Daphne laughed at the flower shop owner’s joke. Karin carefully held the yellow daffodils to her chest and began to walk away from the flower shop with small steps.

Daphne exhaled as she looked at Ilroy’s statue. Karin placed the flowers at the foot of the statue and stepped back.

“…Still, please come back soon.”

Words that were probably not just her wish alone drifted through the northern sky on the wind.

==

Years.

Time that couldn’t be dismissed as mere years had passed. Tens of thousands of years? Hundreds of millions of years? Perhaps more than billions of years had passed. And even then, some immense physical interval that couldn’t be measured by time had flowed. It was a long and heavy interval, enough for a universe to die and be reborn.

The evil god was dead. That shadow darker than darkness had been dismantled and disappeared under our swords. We couldn’t say anything despite our victory. After even the fragments of stars gradually scattered and disappeared, the world where the evil god had resided was completely empty.

I forgot how to speak. Perhaps I would never be able to speak again. Isha and I no longer communicated with words. Just by feeling each other’s eyes and presence, we could understand everything the other wanted to say.

And a very long time had passed since we defeated the evil god. Since the exit from this world had closed, we could only wait.

And then, a ‘door’ opened before us.