Ch.7272. In Memory (1)

I changed into torn clothes and met Aryen in an awkward appearance. Though I hadn’t slept all night, I didn’t feel tired yet. Aryen was sitting on a chair in the church’s backyard, dressed the same as when we went to catch the evil god worshippers, waiting for me. The sun was rising, cutting through the dawn sky.

“What did you want to talk about?”

I asked Aryen directly. We weren’t close enough for casual conversation anyway.

“You saved them.”

Aryen said without context. I frowned and scratched my head. I didn’t want to pick a fight by asking him to explain himself.

“Well, I could save them, so I did.”

“You weren’t the type to speak so simply and intuitively.”

Aryen looked at me. That guy always used to frown or glance sideways when looking at me, but now he was facing me directly.

“I don’t know if you’ve changed.”

“Maybe I have. How could I say that about myself?”

I answered curtly. Aryen seemed uninterested in my tone and lowered his head toward the garden lawn. His messy black hair fluttered in the wind blowing from the hill.

“I had a few questions.”

“Ask away.”

Had he been organizing his questions while glaring at me internally? I sat on a bench separate from Aryen’s. From a distance, we would look like two men sitting far apart, looking elsewhere while talking.

“How did you stop them?”

“Stop what?”

Is it his habit to cut off context and then add explanations? Aryen raised his head again to look at me. Those eyes seemed to be saying, “You should understand what I mean.” Well, the Ilroy before I possessed him was one thing, but Aryen also needs to work on his communication style.

“The doomsday cultists. How did you stop all those people by yourself?”

Aryen’s voice carried a certain chill. Disbelief and confusion. His eyes caught mine through his hair. I wasn’t sure if he was seeking answers or trying to trap me. I wondered if I should tell him what really happened.

“…The villagers were more interested in the hero than I expected.”

What would you have done? I narrowed my eyes at Aryen. What would have happened to this village if the child had died? Even the child’s father, who had been in his right mind, would have gone mad. The fact that an outsider killed someone from the village would have created an unbridgeable gap between us and the locals. Of course, with his abilities, Aryen could have easily caught the evil god worshippers even then, but sacrifices would have been inevitable.

And in the end, the outcome would have been worse than attempting to heal the child.

“Interested in the hero? Did you step forward to draw people’s attention?”

“You can think of it that way. It wasn’t something to brag about. I don’t want to go into details.”

Aryen turned away from me and stared into space for a while.

“They may have resentment. But I don’t think the hero’s party deserved that resentment back then. The aftermath was the kingdom’s responsibility, but the kingdom had suffered greatly from the Kraken War.”

Aryen’s toe dug into the grass.

“They needed to conserve their strength for Evernode to prepare for the next calamity. In that sense, the kingdom did its best. Reconstruction is still progressing bit by bit.”

His voice was cold as he spoke.

“We have no obligation to accept their resentment. It was their choice to embrace doomsday worship rather than relocate.”

It was a mechanical, rational statement that was almost pitiful. But I wasn’t angry at his words. I knew the story of Aryen the mercenary. I understood why he was like this. But not being angry didn’t mean I agreed with him.

“If accepting their resentment is the way to save these people, I’ll gladly do it. Well, it wasn’t me who saved them, but Isis.”

I deliberately minimized my involvement in this matter. I didn’t know how people would react if I showed up, and meddling might have only caused backlash. All I could do was absorb their resentment.

“You could have directed their resentment toward me.”

“As if I’d do something so childish.”

I answered Aryen’s words in a grumbling voice.

“Salvation is too sweet a word.”

Aryen said in a bitter, hollow voice.

“You think it’s a way out of darkness, but when you realize it’s an illusion, you fall into despair instantly. And then you understand that such convenient words don’t exist.”

“Until that time comes, I’ll keep saving people. Even if I know such a time will come. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Aryen put his hand on his head and looked down at the ground. I looked up at the sky, watching the clouds drift by. Clouds floated like fragments in the high sky.

“…I really don’t get along with you.”

“Is that so.”

There was no anger in Aryen’s voice. I gradually lowered my gaze from the sky to look at Aryen with his head bowed.

“All that matters to me are my people. Most people are content with protecting their own world. The villagers here fell into doomsday worship and pray to evil gods waiting for the world to end because their world already ended.”

Aryen turned his head to look at the church, the downhill path beyond it, and the village that would be at the end of that path.

“If Isis had gotten hurt in the process, I would have drawn my sword. And I would have swept away the group that hurt her. Just as Bishop Andre said. Just as they resented losing their world, I would resent and hate them.”

Our eyes met again. I opened my mouth.

“And I probably would have stopped both of you. I would have tried to stop you no matter what.”

“Kindness to the world comes from what’s left after protecting my own world. That’s how everyone lives.”

Aryen said in a resolute voice.

“When even what’s in my hands is uncertain, do you think someone trying to protect others’ worlds can properly protect what they’re holding? Even if that person is a hero?”

Aryen shook his head.

“They can’t. I can state that definitively. This answer won’t change even if you put a knife to my throat. And Ilroy, the way I see your approach was that precarious.”

Aryen continued. Gradually, his emotions were seeping into his words.

“I think if we had followed your advice then, we might have been able to stop the Kraken. I can’t deny that. But surely, someone in our party would have had to die.”

Aryen clenched his fist.

“…I couldn’t allow that. I’m not virtuous. That’s why I clearly distinguish between what’s mine and what belongs to others, and I protect what’s mine. And I always think that goodness isn’t always the answer.”

Aryen was drawing a line between himself and the world.

“I think the moment you deny the possibility of salvation is the moment of destruction. Someone has to believe in it, someone has to act on it if we’re not to be consumed by the end. Someone has to foolishly want to protect everything.”

I looked straight into Aryen’s eyes.

“There are people in this world who can’t even protect their own world that you mentioned.”

“That’s just foolish thinking.”

CLANG-!!

Our swords collided simultaneously. I looked at Aryen’s face through the sparks.

“In the end, I don’t think I can help you.”

“I’m the one who drove you away. I’m the one who doesn’t want your help.”

Crack. Aryen raised his eyebrows in surprise at my improved skills, then furrowed them in distortion. Frustration, confusion. I read those emotions in Aryen’s eyes. We faced each other with swords drawn for a while, and Aryen spoke first.

“So it wasn’t for nothing that you defeated the fourth calamity.”

“I welcome a sparring match anytime.”

Aryen rushed at me again. Aryen’s sword was incredibly fast, precise, and cunning. It was heavy to block, and dodging would mean losing the initiative. I matched my sword tip to his and crushed his attacks.

“…!”

Clack.

The swords tangled like snakes, emitting sharp cries. My face was expressionless, while Aryen’s mouth was slightly distorted. I gripped the Holy Sword’s hilt with both hands and slashed downward. Aryen didn’t resist the strike but let his sword slide down along my blade, then aimed for my head with the pommel.

Whoosh.

Ducking would create a large opening. I turned my body to the opposite side to avoid Aryen’s attack. Aryen’s body was exposed, but his widely swung arm was ready to be recovered at any moment. I thrust my shoulder forward to disrupt his balance and prevent him from swinging his arm.

“Not yet.”

Thud.

A dull pain in my arm. Aryen raised his knee and struck my body. But,

“-!”

My body seemed sturdier than Aryen had expected.

Clang.

Aryen staggered backward. I swung both arms upward from below, which I had tilted to the right. Even with his balance disrupted, Aryen perfectly defended against my attack. And so continued a pure battle of sword against sword, without using aura or mana.

I’m losing ground.

When it comes to slicing monsters, I might stand a chance, but in a fight against a person, I could never beat him. Skill, experience, split-second judgment. Except for raw strength, I was being overwhelmed by Aryen in every aspect. The initial momentum where we fought equally was gradually giving way to impending defeat.

CLASH-!!

Aryen’s sword and mine collided in mid-air and stopped. A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. The distortion on Aryen’s face hadn’t disappeared. After checking my expression, Aryen suddenly released the tension in his arm and lowered his sword.

“…?”

I questioned with my eyes, but Aryen ignored my gaze as he sheathed his sword.

“I just realized how contradictory it is to be fighting you.”

Aryen spat out those words and began walking toward the church. I watched his retreating figure and sighed. I had a feeling that we would clash again someday, if not now.

“[Don’t take his words too much to heart, Ilroy.]”

The Holy Sword comforted me as I stood there dazed.

“[You are not alone.]”

I nodded heavily at the Holy Sword’s words. Right, I have you. I smiled faintly and stroked the sword hilt.

“[…Even if it’s not just me.]”

The Holy Sword spoke in a mumbling voice, and I smiled bitterly as I sat back down on the bench in the backyard. The people’s resentment, Isis’s situation. Too many different things had happened in the past two days compared to Evernode. I closed my eyes, opened them again, and looked up at the sky. The drifting cloud fragments were nowhere to be seen now, only a clear sky remained.

I had a feeling that today’s conversation with Aryen wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon.