Ch.330109. I Have Never Abandoned You (2)

“This is impossible!”

Chaos descends from the man’s grasp.

Pitch-black darkness envelops the sky and earth completely, and the sight of it shaking everything…

It’s as if the embodiment of omnipotence itself.

What manner of being could wield such power?

“……”

In the center of the majestic Berk Imperial Palace, at the graveyard of swords where the divine blade slept embedded, he appeared.

Effortlessly defeating the guardian knights and soldiers who blocked his path, he stood there.

A majestic and holy sanctuary where pure white light cascades like a blessing.

Once, a hero wielded that sword to defeat the Demon King who was called Wisdom and Gold.

And his child wielded that sword to cut off the left arm of the one called the Devil King.

They even advanced into the demon realm and eradicated their territories.

He was the one who inherited the name of Berk and became the new emperor.

The Emperor of Light.

The Brendiar family merged with the Enzul family.

The union of the Clan of Light and Gold.

The divine sword that was even the symbol of the Enbrave house.

However, after Emperor Elimion’s death, that holy sword, that divine blade that no one could draw or even hold…

…was now being pulled out by a mere outsider.

“This… can’t be.”

The crown prince, a young man, watched the scene with wide eyes, unable to suppress his trembling at the sight of such despair.

A terribly despairing sense of frustration overwhelmed him, nearly crushing his spirit.

“Kugh!”

Golden eyes.

The young man with red hair eventually glared at the man who appeared a few years older than himself, as if ready to strike him down, and shouted:

“Who are you?! How dare you! How dare you violate that sacred relic with your vile hands?!”

“……”

Even the guardian knights and royal guards rushed forward as if to stop him immediately.

“Hmph.”

The young man, Aurezach, merely let out a sigh while suppressing a laugh.

“Is that really what matters?”

“What?!”

“You let such treasures rot away unused, yet you have the audacity to speak so proudly? What pathetic, foolish creatures.”

“You insolent—!”

One of the royal guards exploded with rage, gripping his sword and lunging forward.

“Hmph.”

Aurezach glanced at the knight who reached him with disinterested eyes.

“Ugh?!”

Somehow, the swung sword stops right before his face.

“What sorcery is this?!”

“Haa.”

Without a gesture or nod.

Without taking any action whatsoever.

“Kuhak!”

The knight’s body crumbles.

Then, as if kicked, the knight’s body is thrown back toward the crown prince.

“Below my expectations.”

“You dare… not only intrude into the imperial palace…”

Finally, even the crown prince drew his sword.

And that’s not all.

The knights guarding him, the royal guards who rushed in.

And even the guardian knights who had regrouped joined the scene.

Together, they formed a force capable of facing even ten thousand enemies if they were ordinary soldiers.

“…Futile.”

Aurezach showed not a hint of tension.

“Destruction is at your doorstep, yet you continue to repeat meaningless actions within your little well. So foolish, so ignorant…”

“Silence! How dare you speak so freely!”

“Enough.”

He never wanted or expected anything from the beginning.

Then.

In his left hand, the divine sword.

And in his right, metal fragments gathered to form a new blade.

It eventually takes the shape of a large cruciform sword, a straight sword.

As darkness settles upon it.

The divine sword’s vast holy light.

And the remnant shadows of chaos inherent in the darkness.

Holding both swords in his hands, he first swings the divine sword.

Then secondly, the sword of darkness.

In an instant, he cuts and tears through space and the surrounding area.

Slash!

Rumble!

Space splits open.

With the sound of shattering.

The entire area is cleanly divided in two.

Rumble!

“Take this as a lesson.”

Ugh?!

Wh-what?!

G-God almighty…

Despair arrives.

Despair, terror, and frustration that cannot be resisted take form and materialize.

They instantly devour their eyes, ears, and even the souls deeply engraved within them.

“I’ll use this and return it, so don’t fuss.”

As the tomb building collapses.

Suddenly, the crown prince realizes that his appearance is strangely familiar.

Like someone he had seen in a portrait somewhere…

‘…Could it be?’

Black hair.

And azure eyes.

Those deep blue eyes were also characteristic of the Enzul family.

Clearly different from ordinary blue eyes, though difficult to distinguish at a glance…

And that black hair.

That’s…

‘Holy Mother, Ermina?’

It is said that Emperor Elimion once had a brother.

One of the imperial secrets.

More precisely, a secret that occurred right after the establishment of the Brendiar family.

And that brother of Emperor Elimion, his older brother…

Was said to strongly resemble Ermina’s appearance.

…Long ago, the friendly king who led Dabas’s golden age called him his sworn brother.

Someone who rarely appeared throughout actual history.

…But the crown prince had once learned from elven envoys that when the Demon King appeared on the continent and invaded, targeting the World Tree of the fairy folk, it was he who stopped it.

‘Could it be?’

The few words that man uttered to him before disappearing through that pitch-black void after splitting space:

-Are we not of the same blood? In a way, I too am an Enbrave.

“……”

If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for the holy sword to respond to him.

But even so…

“How am I supposed to…”

Explain this?

How on earth can I explain this situation…

****

“Cough!”

Aurezach dropped the divine sword.

At the same time, as he released the darkness, the cruciform sword that had been formed by gathered metal fragments was destroyed again, scattering into countless metal pieces.

“…Master.”

A woman greeted him with worried eyes as he returned to the master’s chamber.

“…It refuses to obey.”

Aurezach glared at the discarded divine sword with hatred.

“……”

Moreover.

Unknown memories seeped into him after grasping it.

…It was gold.

Or perhaps mercury.

A monster flashing mercury color, wielding dozens of tails like whips.

Someone swinging a sword at it gets hit in the waist and is thrown away.

At that moment, the sword slides before him.

Yes, it was the divine sword.

-R—na!!!

At some cry, he suddenly grasped the sword.

Though it was agonizingly painful, as if his hand was burning.

Then, a voice came from the sword.

-I permit you to wield me, just this once.

And holding the sword, he swung it with unfamiliar movements.

The sky split open, dawn receded.

As if bringing about the recreation of heaven and earth, light arrived and cut through the mercury-colored monster in one stroke, eradicating it.

“……”

What was this memory?

It was clearly something connected to him.

Then.

Suddenly his eyes flashed, and he found himself in a sea of stars.

“……”

There, that person, the Ancestor, merely stared at him intently with indifferent face and golden eyes.

But this time too, he said nothing.

“…Master?”

“It’s nothing.”

A momentary occurrence.

Aurezach kicked the divine sword and grasped it in his hand.

Though there was no need to do so, he deliberately did it.

“Now that I have it, I will do what needs to be done.”

“…Are you truly going?”

“I must.”

If he hadn’t known, it would be different.

But now that he knows, he cannot ignore it.

“Purge and conquest.”

Small evils, medium evils, and even great evils.

“…None shall escape my gaze.”

Much less my sword strike, my malice, my hostility.

“Yes. The freedom to do good, the freedom to do evil, all are aspects of freedom.”

And within that, maintaining the center, keeping one’s place, fulfilling duty and completing mission.

Not being swayed by temptation, not being swept away by desire, not being corrupted by wickedness. Straightness. Uprightness. Purity. Innocence.

“Even so, someone must walk this path.”

How can one clean filth, wipe away sand and dust, sweep and clear, if one fears getting one’s hands dirty?

“I will come with you.”

“Serha. You stay here.”

“No. I must fulfill my mission to protect you. That is the meaning and purpose of my life.”

“…Haa.”

A woman with white hair and blue eyes.

At her words, Aurezach nodded.

“Fine. Do as you please. Sister.”

The woman smiled gently at this.

“Gladly.”

Even if this body burns in hellfire, melts and freezes in hell’s ice, becoming hopelessly insignificant.

“I will never leave your side.”

Because that was the promise.

“Promise?”

“……”

She remained silent with her eyes closed.

“Whatever.”

It’s not like this is the first time.

“I will enter the demon realm and take that one’s head.”

That cursed being who has manipulated the world so.

“…Tamiel.”

Suddenly.

He feels that one’s gaze.

Despite not being in the same place.

Despite feeling several spatial barriers and an immense distance.

From far away… he can see that one seemingly laughing mockingly.

“I told you to face trials, not to interfere with me like this. Is this also karma? How mischievous. Mischievous indeed. Uha. Haha, uhehehehe!”

Tamiel laughs heartily.

Satan snickers.

Samael guffaws.

And.

4 demons.

55 evil spirits.

666 beasts.

7777 malevolent spirits.

88888… insects.

999999 specks of dust with something upon them.

They watch me.

They have been watching me.

All of them, with one will.

Malice.

Malice.

Containing only that.

“Hmph.”

Aurezach snorted.

“I will annihilate you completely, beyond death.”

How dare they bring such petty evil.

“Like worthless things that cannot even be repurposed.”

As he shoots a glare, those wills all subside, sink, and plummet.

“Hehehe.”

Only one.

Only that which has its origin point in the 4 demons continues to snicker at his declaration.

“Enjoy yourself righteously. Though with that, it will be… woefully insufficient, but I’ll cheer you on.”

The ragged man.

The large-bodied horned man.

The fatally beautiful woman.

And.

Someone who is nothing yet contains and nurtures everything, with holy light within.

Now, on the deepest, darkest, and most base land of extreme cold and heat.

He, bound in chains all over his body, finally flashes his golden eyes and ignites the heat, flames, and karmic fire trapped within.

“Come. Come here… you will submit to me and willingly become my most faithful servant.”

Come here.

Come quickly…

“Become my vanguard.”

Enormous eyes flash.

And looking into those eyes.

“…You talk too much.”

Aurezach snorted and threw a rotten sneer.

“Don’t be impatient. Even if you don’t like it…”

I will soon.

“…permanently end your breath.”

Like a dream, everything scatters in an instant.

Back in the master’s chamber, he took a deep breath and composed himself.

“Truly, what an irritating fate.”

The order of the world has collapsed.

Truly crumbled, everything has become wretched.

Ah, aah! What a cursed, damnable fate indeed.

To be reborn even after dying and suffering such agony, all to shatter and crush everything.

“……”

But I won’t refuse.

If that is the only destiny, the only fate to escape this cursed shackle.

‘Cause and effect? Karma?’

I don’t know what cursed connection binds you and me, to have come to this state.

…Tamiel.

Truly, an evil enemy I wish to kill.

****

“Endlessly futile.”

Yet still struggling like this.

“Is this also your scheme, Kariel?”

To the pale man in a hood’s question, Kariel merely remained silent with closed eyes.

“God never abandons anyone. Moreover, He doesn’t even show disappointment to those He favors… giving infinite chances, never forgetting the merits they’ve established.”

Even so.

“That doesn’t always translate to mercy and consideration. Tsk tsk…”

“……”

“Apart from Him, I am the most holy, great, and magnificent being in heaven and earth. For a worm to challenge me, what a pathetic farce.”

“……”

Kariel said nothing.

Only.

“……”

He merely shook his head as if there was no need to associate with him.

“If you keep treating me like this, it’s problematic. If the foundation you’ve built collapses, you won’t be safe either due to the karma binding you. Why not abandon them now and ascend?”

“……”

And.

“One step is lacking.”

“Hmm?”

“To reach her, one step is still lacking.”

“Hmm….”

The hooded man with a pale face wore an ominous smile.

But through that smile, a flash of irritation was evident.

“Damn you. You still have no intention of looking at me. Do you think you’re Irenis or something?”

“……”

“Aish! Damn you.”

After ranting like that for a while, he finally left the sea of stars.

“……”

Nevertheless.

“For all things that come and go, there is a time.”

Like waiting for a ferryman.

Wanting to cross that distant river, but unable to swim across with bare body.

Waiting for the ferryman who will someday arrive.

It’s just a river, but if there’s no bridge to cross.

“……”

Even that might be another contingency plan.

The same goes for those two.

And beyond those two, the countless connections, neither visible nor forgotten.

All the innumerable bonds tied to Kariel.

I have never forgotten any of them.

I only hope.

That you can save and redeem yourselves.

I earnestly wish.

Even if it means you must step over my body, my corpse.

If that… brings you blessing.

I will gladly remain here for a while.

Even that, for me, is one step back to take two steps forward.