Ch.180EP.41 – Until the Heart Beats (7)

……It was a fierce battle until the end, without a moment to let down one’s guard.

BOOM!

CRACK-!

He was so relentless it was impossible to believe he was a dying man. His magic chilled their hearts dozens of times, and Ihan and Lac had to roll on the ground repeatedly to avoid it.

…Ironically, that monster was at his strongest only at the very end.

As if he had finally awakened.

Literally burning his soul, he came at them with tenacity.

However,

THUNK!

-They were the victors.

In Ihan’s hands were a broken sword and a snapped blade.

Though broken during the fierce battle, the snapped blade had pierced the monster’s heart, and the half-sword had skewered his neck.

There was still concern he might regenerate.

SQUELCH….

But he had no magical power left to cast spells.

This time he had truly expended everything, and his body was melting away.

WHOOSH.

It resembled how magical beasts turn to ashes when they die, and he was literally meeting the same end as a magical beast.

“Ah, what a shame…. If, if I had just a bit more magical power, I could have taken one of you as a companion. Then, then it wouldn’t have been so boring, hehe….”

“Bullshit.”

“What horrible things you’re saying.”

He was repulsive until the very end.

Not even human….

How could he still speak with his throat pierced?

While pondering this question—

“You, you know, Pendragon, no, you guys are probably after the ‘Magic Sword,’ right?”

“……”

…He suddenly brought up something that couldn’t be easily dismissed.

“I, I bet my disciple told you. That we were targeting Pendragon’s mysteries, hehe.”

“…What are you trying to say? Are you begging for forgiveness even now?”

Lac exuded a chilling aura.

A cold energy that made even the spring air retreat.

He seemed furious hearing the confession about targeting the Magic Sword, Galahad.

“Heh, heh, you, you’re a knight of Galahad….”

Tyr weakly laughed after gleaning information from Lac’s angry reaction.

He was in a dying state, and it wouldn’t be strange if he breathed his last at any moment.

“Kuh…!”

Yet Tyr chose to speak instead of resting.

“To, to be honest, we knew how absurd it was to try to obtain Galahad’s Magic Sword. The sword absorbs even magical power. The compatibility between a Magic Sword and a mage is the worst….”

“……”

Statements that showed he knew a lot about the Magic Sword.

But these weren’t things to be taken lightly.

“How do you creatures….”

Five mysteries are embedded in the Magic Sword.

However, the types of mysteries the sword possesses are all shrouded in secrecy.

Galahad itself has thoroughly worked to conceal the power of the Magic Sword, and only a handful of people know about the sword’s abilities.

So it was natural for Lac’s face to stiffen when Tyr started revealing top-secret information about the Magic Sword.

“Cu, curious? Ho, how we know about the information?”

Tyr mumbled.

It seemed even speaking was becoming difficult for him, and it would be easier for him not to speak anymore, but Tyr….

“Th, three years ago, so, some guys came and said, ‘If there’s a chance to steal Pendragon’s mysteries and even obtain the Magic Sword, what would you do?'”

He kept talking until the end.

“At, at first I thought it was nonsense, but ‘they’ had considerable power. I also liked how their organization was structured in cells, and they were pleasant fellows living like parasites, hehe.”

“……”

“I, I think the organization’s name was [Blood Crusaders]? Haha, th, they boasted that they could definitely obtain the Magic Sword. And they said they would give us ownership of the sword if we helped. So we mobilized children who had been expelled from the old Tower. Th, thanks to that, it was also easy to move the Sultanate, and we thought it wouldn’t be difficult for us to infiltrate Pendragon using this as a pretext… Well, looking at our current state, it seems it was the worst choice.”

He was cheerful.

Despite ending up like this because of his choice.

“In, in a way, we were just pieces on a chessboard. Pieces used to achieve their ‘purpose.’ Thinking about it now, it suddenly occurs to me. Well, we were also full of intentions to use them, so I guess we’re in no position to criticize them.”

…The knights focused on his words.

It was shocking enough that the name Blood Crusaders came up here too, but they hadn’t expected them to be involved in the Tower’s movements as well.

However, when the word [purpose] came up, their concentration heightened.

This might finally be a clue to eradicating those disgusting parasites.

As he continued mumbling…!

“-Hehe, but I won’t tell you any more.”

“……”

“I, I wanted to see that expression on your faces.”

“You son of a bitch…!”

They had wondered why he suddenly started spilling secrets so kindly, but now it was clear he had revealed information just to anger them.

He truly was irritating until the end, and Tyr….

“…Hah, I wanted to play a little more…”

CRUMBLE.

Even at the end, he showed no solemnity, regret, or guilt, and his head simply crumbled like sand.

It was an anticlimactic end for a great mage who had lived for 400 years.

And those who had killed the great mage expressed their frustration with distorted faces.

“He was repulsive until the end.”

“This is why I don’t deal with trash like him, damn it!”

They shook their heads, saying it had been a mistake to have a conversation with a madman from the start.

* * *

“Instructor…?”

Having heard their conversation from the middle, the three young people couldn’t bring themselves to step outside due to the serious atmosphere.

At one point, Irene gathered her courage and called out to him in a murmur.

Wondering if there might be a big problem.

And in response to this call.

“…Ah, you’re here? Good job. Really.”

He welcomed them with a bright smile.

As if he had never been serious.

“Hehe!”

[Our simple Arin. She smiles right away when someone smiles at her.]

When he complimented them and gestured for them to come over, Irene ran to him like a retriever that loves people too much.

“You know what! It was really hard! When we went to the place you mentioned, there were so many mages, dozens of them, and golems with artifacts-!”

The girl poured out what had happened to them, as if seeking praise.

“Is that so? You’ve been through a lot. I’m sorry for involving you in such a dangerous situation.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…!”

“I’m sorry. If there’s anything you want later, just tell me. I’ll grant most requests.”

“Come to think of it, it was a bit dangerous.”

The instructor listened to all of Irene’s complaints.

The atmosphere was incredibly gentle, not at all like someone who had just exuded a murderous aura toward a mage.

…But unlike Irene, the two boys couldn’t bring themselves to say they had struggled.

“…This looks like there was a war or something…”

“Even a battlefield wouldn’t be this chaotic.”

Though the area around the Sky Castle was covered in flower beds due to the spring fairy’s mystery, it couldn’t deceive the eyes of those with special senses like them.

What their eyes saw wasn’t a flower bed blooming with spring energy, but the aftermath of a fierce battle and the image of two knights fighting intensely on a frozen field.

The two boys shook their heads as they imagined the battle process, which flashed through their minds like an optical illusion.

It was dizzying and even chilling.

Even indirectly sensing the duel between the great mage and the knights made the two boys feel dizzy.

But in the midst of this…

EMBRACE.

“You guys did well too. Like I told the chick, if you have any requests for me later, just say so. I’ll grant most of them.”

“Um, Instructor. I’m not a child, you know?”

“I know.”

“……”

…They forcibly forgot the dizziness.

Because of the instructor’s hands patting their backs as he hugged each of them, praising them for a job well done.

It was embarrassing and awkward.

They were adults too.

However.

“Even if it’s embarrassing and awkward, you should be praised for doing well. Whether you’re a child or an adult.”

“……”

“Thank you, sincerely.”

“……”

“…Um, was that too cheesy?”

“…Yes, extremely.”

“Looking at your appearance, you should be brazenly saying ‘a man needs to experience life-or-death battles’ with a hearty laugh…”

“…Aren’t you talking about your uncle?”

“You’re the same kind.”

“…Blackie, have you heard of muscle destruction techniques?”

“…I don’t want to know.”

“No, I’ll teach you.”

Roen tried to run away, but was quickly caught by Ihan.

Although Roen wasn’t physically weak, the difference in their build seemed impossible to overcome.

“Puahaha!”

Watching this scene like a sitcom, Derrick burst into laughter.

Just a moment ago, the atmosphere had been quite serious and nice, but now…

‘No, it’s better because it’s cheerful.’

Derrick had always preferred sitcoms depicting everyday life over comedy movies.

That’s because.

‘It’s like stories about families and friends.’

For Derrick, who had never experienced such things, these were stories he envied and aspired to.

And now.

‘I’m in it.’

He was a boy who was infinitely happy to be part of that sitcom.

[-Kyah!]

“…Huh?”

Just as he was about to teach the cheeky blackie a lesson about life, Ihan blinked at the tiny aurora hovering around him.

Emitting warm spring energy-.

[-Thank you for saving ‘us’.]

“……”

[Hihi, why are you so surprised?]

“…You, you can speak?”

[That’s what surprises you? Hihi, you really are an interesting knight. Well, Pendragon knights have always been interesting people.]

“……”

The spring fairy…

A beautiful fairy in female form circled around him, greeting him cheerfully, and Ihan pinched his cheek.

…The situation felt so unreal that he thought it might be a dream.

However, his cheek didn’t hurt.

It must be a dream after all…

[Hey!]

“…That hurts.”

Since his cheek was too firm to feel pain, the fairy pinched it strongly for him, and Ihan felt the pain.

It hurt.

…Very much.