Ch.185Chapter 185. Pandora’s Box

“Well, young man.”

I thought that would be the last time.

“The time has come now. Would you kindly adorn this old man’s end with your own hands?”

His rationality remained only for a moment.

The distortion consuming his body was eating away at him even then, urging him to transform back into his previous monstrous form.

“…Mr. Virgil.”

“It’s a simple task—pierce the heart and burn it. If you watch until nothing remains but ashes, the hideous monster before you will vanish from this world forever.”

And if he broke again, he would never return as before.

Knowing this better than I did, he urged me to bring about his death.

“Is that really okay with you? To end so emptily like this…”

“We all have our time to go eventually.”

How could he maintain such composure when facing his own end?

Even having lived for so long, his end was approaching.

And not even a proper death, but a painful one buried in the darkness of this wretched world.

“Am I not better off? In a world where so many cannot even choose their final moments… if a young man like you gives me my end, that would be enough.”

Virgil trembled violently, seemingly at his limit holding onto his rationality.

Just watching him caused me indirect pain, yet I still couldn’t bring myself to thrust my spear into him.

“…Why.”

Even though I understood intellectually that I should.

There were still too many unanswered questions about him.

“Why are you helping me to this extent?”

If I killed him here, I would never have another chance to resolve my questions about him.

“…Does one need a reason to help others?”

“If you were a good person equally kind to everyone, then yes.”

But the man before me was certainly not someone who could be called good.

From our first meeting, he had shown himself capable of killing people like me without hesitation, so how could I consider it normal that he made only me an exception?

“I don’t understand… why you would consider me even in a moment like this.”

“…Perhaps because you particularly remained in my memory.”

To this question, he answered with a strained voice.

“Remained in your memory?”

“Yes, though I’ve lived a long time, only you particularly remained in my memory…”

The ability to be forgotten by no one applied to him as well.

And that was the reason he showed me consideration.

“Do you know? Even before people like you entered this world, how much chaos this world was engulfed in.”

He tried to give me a more detailed explanation.

With desperate struggle in his final moments, he stretched his limit to the absolute edge to satisfy my curiosity.

“People from different origins, living in different environments, leading different lives… Because conflicts arising from these differences never cease, this world has always been filled with chaos regardless of the era.”

The fights between humans before the calamity arrived, and the wars between races that happened before that…

He was someone who had secretly observed all those eras.

He was trying to convey the wisdom he had gained from that to me in this moment.

“Some deny such chaos and believe that unifying everything into a single path is the only way to benefit this world. They pursue purity by denying differences, believing that those closer to purity are noble and deserving of respect…”

That worshipping what others consider impure is one way to survive in this chaotic world.

“But if you cannot resist chaos… wouldn’t accepting it be a method too?”

Regardless of origin, environment, or life experience…

Simply embracing those whose hearts align with yours was the method he had chosen to survive in this harsh world.

“And to accept that, what’s needed is certainly something that could be called a focal point.”

“A focal point…?”

“Be it a nation, religion, ideology, or race… or even an individual like a hero. Anything with the power to lead others can become a focal point.”

At the end of this assertion, his finger extended.

Pointing at me with a deep smile, he concluded his words.

“Do you know? For someone like me who has been searching for such a focal point, how brilliantly someone like you appeared.”

Just being remembered by others is all…

This ability, deemed useless as soon as I entered this world, he claimed had irreplaceable value.

“You have the quality… the talent to bind together those who would inevitably be divided in this chaotic world…”

“Do you really think so?”

The quality to lead many people in this harsh and treacherous world.

Perhaps what I need to pursue the “savior’s mission” that my beloved spoke of exists within me now.

“You may have lost confidence. But isn’t it because you’ve overcome such doubts many times that you’ve been able to come this far?”

To such anxious words, he answered.

“You’re doing well.”

Perhaps because he was facing his end, his encouragement felt all the more sincere.

And his belief.

“If you continue on that path, you will surely be able to lead all those you love, and all those who love you.”

“…”

“…Is this old man’s last will enough to end here?”

As his body began to swell rapidly again, his original form soon disappeared without a trace.

Yet the grotesque mass still directed its gaze steadily at me, as if maintaining consciousness…

“…Young man.”

No, not yet.

The voice coming from those lips showed that reason remained within him despite his transformation into a monster.

“You too…”

Standing before me with my spear pointed at him, yet not attacking.

How could I consider him merely a distorted monster when he showed such consideration by ignoring his instincts?

“You too… can I include you in that?”

“…You.”

“You came back. As soon as you saw me, you returned.”

I know. That a being who has fallen into monstrosity cannot return.

How foolish it would be to leave him be, expecting another miracle like when he regained himself upon recognizing me underground.

“If I don’t end it here, maybe someday, you might be able to return again.”

But isn’t it not yet time?

If he completely turned into a monster, I might reluctantly deal with him, but not yet…

In the presence of someone who still showed me kindness, there was no way I could execute him with my own hands.

“You’re making an unreasonable request.”

To me, who pointed my spear while disguising my weakness-born frustration as vain hope, he answered in a quiet voice.

As if knowing I couldn’t deal with him because he was suppressing his transformation, he even relaxed his neck.

“But if such feelings are also necessary qualities, I should respect them.”

His voice somehow felt more comfortable than before.

With that, he turned his back to me and prepared to step into the darkness.

“Go now. If too much time passes, you might miss your chance.”

With the last thread of his reason, he buried himself in the underground darkness and saw me off toward the surface.

Thus, abandoning even his last chance to die as the individual known as “Virgil Huntress.”

***

Yes, that was the last image I remembered of him.

Though he maintained his old self until the end, it wouldn’t last long.

So in preparation for meeting him again someday, I should be resolved to deal with him by my own hands once he completely transforms into a monster.

With such determination, I ascended to the surface, and after dealing with Phobia by my own hands, I firmly strengthened that resolve, but…

“KAAACK! KAOAAAAAACK!!”

Why is he, who should have fallen into an irrational monster, appearing before me again as if keeping his promise that was merely an excuse?

Is it because he truly regained his reason?

Or is that just an illusion, and he’s simply pursuing instincts that take priority over hunger, like Phobia?

“Ugh, aaaah…! Damn, beast, the likes of youuuuu!!!”

But whatever the case, the monster was drawn to him, and its attention had long since turned away from us who were now leaving the sanctuary.

After crossing the drawbridge and leaving the scene, what met our eyes was the increasingly fierce snowstorm that intensified the moment we left that place.

The hideous mass of flesh, unable to resist the cold, quickly froze, and its movement was halted in just a moment.

When even such a mass of flesh froze, I could immediately sense what had become of the immortal monsters inside without having to see it directly.

“We somehow survived… but what on earth was that monstrosity we saw at the end?”

Yes, as long as that cold doesn’t thaw, those monsters won’t come out.

With such certainty, I quietly turned my back on the scene and whispered what came to mind in response to the question.

“…Hope.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

Burying that thought in my heart, I simply gripped the reins of my horse tightly.

There was no hesitation in doing so.

Although it might be unreasonable to hope that the cold filling that land would last forever, even if there’s a possibility that the frozen monsters might return to the world someday.

Because among those who would awaken with them, there might also be beings who haven’t lost their hearts.

‘Love.’

Recalling the last words of the one who represented that possibility, I quietly gripped the reins and spurred my horse to gallop.

‘Remember that being faithful to the beating of your heart is the only way to survive in this harsh world.’

Engraving his final teaching in my heart.

Reminding myself that the beating I feel at this moment should become the path I must pursue from now on.

****

“Hero! This way!”

After finally escaping the sanctuary and traveling for quite some time, I arrived at a temporary camp set up on a hill far from the sanctuary.

Waiting in front of it were the expedition members, including Sanson.

As soon as I saw them, I immediately carried Flan’s damaged body and brought her to the healer among them.

“Can you treat Flan first?”

“I’m sorry, but Miss Flan’s body is too different from ours, so God’s miracle probably won’t work on her.”

There was no surprise at the doll’s body, probably because they had already figured it out when I acted impulsively.

But having apparently accepted this fact, the expedition members surrounding Flan all had worried expressions on their faces.

“Um, everyone, it’s okay, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine even if left like this…”

“We can’t do that! Miss Flan is our comrade too!”

“Come to think of it, isn’t there a carpenter’s son here? Take a look at her condition!”

Even though she’s not human, they exchange opinions and try to find a way to treat her…

Feeling relieved that Flan had completely integrated into the expedition team, I shifted my gaze to the tent set up beside the expedition.

“I’m glad you’re safe, but what exactly happened in the sanctuary?”

“I’ll explain that gradually later, but first there’s something I’d like you to answer…”

Gathered around the campfire in front of the tent were shabbily dressed men, women, and children sitting hunched over…

They clearly weren’t part of the expedition, nor did they look like they were engaged in rough work like adventurers.

To make a comparison… yes, they looked like they had just been rescued from a disaster site.

“Who are those people?”

“They’re refugees who fled from the capital to the sanctuary. We encountered them on the way and have been protecting them temporarily.”

That guess was correct, but I couldn’t view the answer positively.

The capital is the Empire’s seat of power. Among the only remaining human settlements in this world, it’s supposed to be the safest place.

“What on earth happened in the Empire that made them flee all the way here?”

Seemingly feeling the same gravity about the situation, Sanson soon summarized the current situation with a hardened voice.

“Ahead of His Majesty’s upcoming succession ceremony, riots have broken out throughout the Empire.”

What we experienced in the sanctuary might just be the tip of the iceberg.

A crisis where the only remaining “human settlement” in this world might collapse.