Ch.239Report on the Downfall of Restraint (4)

A luminous trail was drawn behind the black butterfly. Like an artist’s brush, the butterflies added to their surroundings with delicacy and clarity, boldness without excess.

The dull, flat wasteland was a canvas upon which anything could be painted.

The ash tree standing straight in the center drew all eyes. The shadows gathering at the base of the tree soon appeared like a quiet but steady flowing stream.

Following the quietly flowing current, beasts-turned-trees could be seen standing in a row.

Leaves sprouted above the exposed skeletons. Moss and tiny roots covered the spaces between claws. Branches that grew from the five-pronged heads sheltered them from the intensifying snowstorm.

People don’t say trees are entangled in the earth. They say trees take root. They don’t say trees are forced to live when they want to die.

Instead, they say trees slowly give and take, matching the world’s unhurried pace. Just like them now.

The curse binding the vengeful spirits to the earth still remained. But they had transformed the curse into a contract, a promise.

Not that they couldn’t escape until their grudges were resolved, but that they could live quietly until what was knotted became untangled.

Inside the beasts remained the poison accumulated over countless years. It could not be denied or erased, nor should it be.

But the method of release had also changed. They no longer needed to inflict wounds or feel pain. They didn’t even need to wander the earth in agony. For here, they found peace.

They had taken root. They persistently dug into the rough, barren earth. At last, they found the warmth of sincerity and moisture of remorse hidden within.

The earth revealed what was its own, and the trees accepted it. They took only as much as they could accept and gave only as much as they could offer.

The sincerity of the beast that courageously reached out its hand and the earth that finally showed its hidden tears met at last.

Thus, the earth and the beasts learned a new way to live together.

Yet some things still remained.

* * * * *

Those who denied gathered around Kairos.

They refused to become light in the sky or trees living together. All they wanted was to wound and be wounded.

But they continued to come up empty-handed.

They couldn’t touch the trees that had already become one with the world.

They could make small scratches, but that was as meaningless as drawing a line in the dirt with a stick and boasting, “I stabbed the earth!”

They tried to catch and tear apart butterflies, but couldn’t even catch them. Instead, the butterflies circled gently above, trying to soothe them. In the end, even the butterflies turned away from the beasts.

They spotted prey that seemed easier.

Normally, Maria would have easily burned these creatures. But she had done too much, experienced too much. Moreover, she was now using her last strength to finish her mother’s work.

If Elisabet had transformed the beasts into trees, Maria was teaching them how to communicate.

About how to move in the light while resting in darkness—things the beasts knew when they were human but had forgotten.

‘That woman.’

The deniers rushed forward. If they could just cut her off, perhaps there might still be a way to turn the trees back into beasts.

They had no intention of venturing into the world themselves. They only wanted others to fight and die for them.

Again, only to claw at the world.

Steel blocked their path.

The staff interfered at every turn, and the sword cut, stabbed, and slashed them. Fierce and sharp, but the movements were noticeably slower.

Breathing became labored, legs stiffened. Strength failed to enter his grip. The loosely held staff wobbled, and the sword had been cutting too shallowly for some time.

The armor accumulated more scratches and dents. The armor of darkness remained sturdy, but the body inside was not.

“What do these creatures want?”

With bloodshot eyes, Kairos scanned his surroundings. But he couldn’t tell where the voice had come from.

Behind him, Maria still had her eyes closed, finishing Elisabet’s work.

A vine whip flew in, exploiting an opening. He extended his staff, and the vine wrapped around it.

But unlike before, he couldn’t pull it back. The staff slipped powerlessly and disappeared to the other side.

The only thing he could rely on was his dulled sword. Waiting for the right moment, he thrust it into the neck of an approaching creature.

“You’ve done enough, haven’t you?”

Kairos saw a figure standing quietly in the forest shadows.

“They’re trying to kill you just because you’re here. Look at these cowards. They can’t say a word to those who killed them, but they attack you because you seem easy. Do they think you’re a joke?”

It was the shadow. The very shadow that had persistently followed him.

Once it had stolen Beatrice’s appearance, and afterward remained as darkness, but now it had transformed into a human figure.

“They will eventually kill you and Maria. Everything Elisabet did will come to nothing.”

Kairos exhaled a rough breath.

“Look. Those beasts have gone mad. They can’t think of anything except killing you and Maria.”

The shadow reached out to one approaching beast, and a sharp spear pierced through its neck.

“But if they become even slightly rational, they’ll escape from here. They’ll go out to kill all sorts of innocent people in the world. One pebble can’t stop an overflowing lake.”

The beast fell and couldn’t rise again.

“Then what happens? Everything here becomes meaningless. Everything starts rolling again. All this effort you’ve made will remain futile. Maria. Elisabet. Laios and Ismene, all of them.”

Emboldened beasts leaped forward. One as large as a bear lunged at Kairos. Though a sword was embedded in its body, it paid no attention and pushed against Kairos.

“I can help you! I can help you achieve what you want!”

Hideous creatures rushed forward. They targeted Maria and lunged at her. But she was watching them with wide-open eyes.

She raised her fingers as if about to snap them. The beasts lowered their bodies. But Maria didn’t conjure fire. Instead, she pulled out a dagger hidden in her sleeve and threw it.

She aimed for the eyes of the closest one. Waiting for the beast behind to leap, she threw two more at its legs, and as it stumbled, she quickly retreated.

She threw her last dagger at a human with bird legs who was flying toward her with raised claws.

But there were too many beasts.

Snap!

A wave of purification spread out. It was too weak. A candle, and even that a flickering one.

A beast’s claws scraped Maria’s shoulder. She barely avoided it but staggered from the impact.

In Kairos’s eyes, he saw Beatrice with her neck pierced, Liliana falling after being hit by a bolt from a crossbow, and Maria collapsing under a beast’s front paws.

“Knight of Temperance, useless Knight of Temperance, will you truly just watch?”

Maria closed her eyes and quietly waited for what was to come.

She had done everything she needed to do. Now the forest would take firm root, and the butterflies would remain here forever. But she and Kairos would rest here.

Those who remained would take care of what was left.

Thinking this, she felt regret.

But no matter how long she waited, it didn’t come. She just wanted to sleep deeply, but she forced herself to open her eyes.

“No.”

And she saw Kairos enveloped in black darkness.

* * * * *

The world was blurry. It was because of the fog. But the approaching demons were clear.

Strength returned to his arms and legs, and his breathing steadied. He even felt refreshed, as if he had just woken up from sleep.

The Imperial Sword was sharpened again. That eerily sharp blade cut through the beasts incomparably better than before.

He had to protect them. Kairos believed this. He had to kill all these creatures. He had to kill all these demons so that no one would suffer anymore.

He pierced throats and inserted his gauntlet to crush bones. He threw his sword to knock them down and grabbed raw flesh to tear it in half.

He faced the beasts that approached with joyful frenzy with an equally relieved heart.

Hearing a faint scream, Kairos hesitated momentarily. He couldn’t hear clearly. He only knew it meant danger.

If so, he needed to fight even more fiercely.

* * * * *

“No, Kain!”

The dregs of hatred were gathering around Kairos. That which had hidden its cards until the very end was trying to overturn everything with a single move.

To make Temperance lose its self-control.

The more blood he was covered in, the faster and stronger he became. The more rough and cruel he became.

Maria tried to stand up. It was too much. Even kneeling was difficult now.

The swarm of butterflies split into two groups. One went to Maria, the other to Kairos. They circled around as if trying to protect and embrace them.

Small black wings surrounded Maria. A beast that came close missed her and passed by.

But the butterflies couldn’t reach Kairos. They couldn’t keep up with him as he moved faster than a hungry wolf.

Maria snapped her fingers. But her skin was worn and raw. She couldn’t even properly create a spark.

Coughing blood, Maria reached out her hand.

Then a beast came flying.

With a terrible scream, it flew from right to left and crashed into a tree, its body crushed. A shining metal dart was embedded in its body.

The sound of a horn was heard.

Though it was still night, and the gray sky was pouring heavy snow, the horizon brightened as if the sun were rising.

But it was not the sun. It was sacred light illuminated by human faith and belief.

Countless flags appeared on the horizon. Some were large and grand, shining brighter than any others because they were legion banners.

On the left flag was depicted a monk. He held a silver cup in his hand. It was a plain cup, but it contained golden water. It was the legion banner of the Holy Grail Knights.

The flag on the right was entirely red, but it had a white cross drawn on it. It was wide on the outside and narrowed toward the center. Simple, but easily recognizable from a distance—it was the flag of the Mercy Knights.

The flag in the center was different.

A two-headed eagle was drawn on the fluttering cloth. But it was slightly different from the Empire’s ordinary two-headed eagle.

This was due to the depiction of crimson blood vessels spreading like a spider web in all directions from its body. But seen differently, it also looked like withered thorns.

The left head was alive, but the right one was dead and rotting, with skull and flesh exposed.

But both heads roared with open mouths, as if desperate to break free from the flag.

A sword was placed on the eagle’s body. A sword placed diagonally from upper left to lower right. A drop of white blood formed at the tip of the sword.

It was the legion banner of the White Blood Knights.