Father and Son Reunion 2

“How do you feel about seeing your son after a hundred years?”

“…”

Vyuskr could not answer.

Doyun could sense so many emotions from that silence.

‘Is this the first time I’ve seen him like this?’

Throughout the repeating timelines, Doyun had seen Vyuskr’s various sides, but this was a Vyuskr he could only witness in this 19th round.

Doyun inadvertently raised one corner of his mouth as he spoke.

“You said it yourself before.”

He recalled the words he had heard from Vyuskr at least once in every round:

‘Enoch.’

‘Yeah.’

‘If I had known it would be like this, having a child might not have been so bad.’

‘Does raising a disciple taste that good?’

‘…I never expected another life beyond the path of the sword.’

No matter how many times he had heard the same story, never before had those words resonated as deeply as they did now.

Doyun spoke and let out a rueful laugh.

“Now I understand how it feels.”

“Are you referring to that dragonkin girl?”

Vyuskr stopped walking and looked back at the empty space. It was where Luna was hiding.

As expected, Vyuskr had sensed Luna’s presence.

“A shy niece, it seems.”

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious.”

The energy of that dragonkin girl that his senses could detect was remarkably similar to his friend’s.

“…Really?”

It would be no exaggeration to say that Vyuskr, who had cultivated his domain, possessed the sharpest senses in the continent after Enoch.

And he was now being told that Luna resembled himself. Doyun felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.

Vyuskr started walking again and spoke briefly:

“A hundred years is a long time.”

Doyun nodded. Indeed, it would not have been strange for Enoch to have had a child in that span if he had been alive.

The world, Ellora, and Brudhild had all undergone great changes during those hundred years.

The gap between the world and the two returning men was just as vast.

‘Wait. Come to think of it…’

Recalling something he had forgotten, Doyun asked:

“Hey. What about Brudhild’s lifespan?”

Brudhild is a pure human like Vyuskr and Enoch. His lifespan should be no more than a hundred years at most.

Yet the current Brudhild was well over 120 years old and did not appear elderly.

Didn’t Brudhild himself say he didn’t know the reason for that?

“Was it your doing?”

Doyun and Brudhild had simply concluded ‘his father must have taken care of it’ and moved on. And that person in question was right here now. It was time to resolve the mystery.

At Doyun’s question, Vyuskr nodded his skull.

“Among the enlightened souls I exchanged with, there was a Grand Warlock born as a goblin who lived for a thousand years. I asked a favor of him.”

“As expected.”

What he had said as a jest turned out to be true.

Even after death, Vyuskr had been looking after his son.

Vyuskr seemed a little embarrassed at having his actions revealed, averting his gaze by turning his skull slightly. Seeing this, Doyun resolved to tell Brudhild about it as well.

Soon, their steps reached Vyuskr’s childhood home.

“What a coincidence.”

Doyun stopped walking and spoke.

Not far away, only a few dozen meters from the entrance of the mansion, someone was entering.

Vyuskr’s steps also came to an abrupt halt.

It was a slightly different sight from his last memory.

A face with a few more wrinkles but also thicker features. Eyes that had become as calm and clear as a still lake. And an aura that had grown immensely, vastly different from a hundred years ago.

Brudhild.

His son, whom he had not seen for a hundred years due to the war, was right there.

“…”

Vyuskr could not take another step. With his empty eye sockets, he simply gazed at Brudhild from afar.

Left with no choice, Doyun approached Brudhild first as he was about to enter the mansion.

Sensing his presence, Brudhild turned to look at him while gripping the doorknob of the main entrance.

“Uncle.”

“Returning home after completing your mission?”

“Yes.”

Brudhild released the doorknob and bowed respectfully.

“What brings you here, Uncle?”

“Hmm.”

Doyun only let out a brief pause before silently scratching the hilt at his waist.

He could not find the right words to break the news, worried that it might disrupt their emotional reunion.

In the end, he simply turned his head back as his answer. Brudhild also looked over Doyun’s shoulder.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of feeble bones echoed. A skeleton wearing a tattered black robe was approaching with heavy steps, one at a time.

Its empty, black eye sockets were looking down at the ground near where Brudhild stood.

“Who is that person beside you…”

Brudhild, who had been about to ask Doyun, trailed off as an odd feeling washed over him.

Despite being a first-rate martial artist, he had forgotten to be wary of the other party, simply staring blankly at the skeleton. His body had already concluded that there was no need to be on guard.

“Umm… if you ask who it is…”

How should he answer this…?

After scratching his chin with his finger, Doyun finally opened his mouth.

“Your father.”

“Pardon?”

As Brudhild’s mind failed to register Doyun’s words, the skeleton raised its head.

And the moment Brudhild’s eyes met those empty eye sockets.

“…My son.”

A great wave rippled through his sea of enlightenment.

“……Huh?”

Brudhild felt an intense, bone-chilling thrill that left his mind in a daze.

The surroundings changed. It was the place where he had seen off the final expedition towards the Demon Lord’s Citadel a hundred years ago.

Just like now, Vyuskr and Brudhild had stood facing each other then. Enoch had watched from a step behind.

The pouring rain drowned out their shouts.

For the first time in his life, Brudhild had raised his voice against his master. It was because his master had suddenly opposed Brudhild’s participation in the expedition on a whim.

And for the first time that day, Brudhild heard his master’s feeble voice.

‘Stay behind.’

‘It is too dangerous a journey.’

‘Forgive my selfishness.’

‘If I return, I wish to see you married… and have children… and grow old.’

‘Please, I beg of you. Stay behind. And… live long. That is this master’s final wish.’

‘My beloved son.’

It had been their final conversation.

Again, the scene changed back to the entrance of the mansion.

Had he momentarily lost consciousness while standing there? The skeleton was now right before him.

The skeleton raised its hand. Its arm bones were distressingly thin and pale. They looked as frail as his father’s had on that day a hundred years ago.

The slightly trembling fingertips touched Brudhild’s arm. Then, both bony hands gripped and caressed Brudhild’s arms.

The skeleton’s jawbone moved, and a grating voice, as if scraping against bone, was heard.

“Thank you for living.”

“…”

Despite being the sound of dry bones, that voice was drenched in emotion.

Brudhild, in a daze, muttered:

“Father…?”

“…”

Vyuskr could not answer. His voice would not come out.

He simply rested his forehead on his son’s shoulder in silence, tightly gripping his son’s arms, unwilling to let go of the warmth he felt for the first time in a hundred years.

“Ah…”

Accompanied by a voice whose owner was unclear, tears streamed down Brudhild’s cheeks.

+++

“My Demon Lord.”

Satan, the Demon Lord’s highest-ranking staff officer and the one who had served the Demon Lord the longest as a Vanguard Commander, knelt on one knee to pay his respects.

He had kept his head bowed since entering. In the current situation, he did not have the face to look upon the Demon Lord’s draconic countenance.

Satan reported with a strained voice:

“The frontlines have retreated greatly, and the enemy forces have completed the construction of fortresses at a point one-third of the total distance from Muspelheim to the Demon Lord’s Citadel!”

The circumstances were unavoidable. Currently, none of the Vanguard Commanders could leave the Demon Lord’s Citadel due to their ‘preparations.’

The Demon Lord’s forces had high expectations for the new Vanguard Commanders that would be born.

Monsters imbued with the Demon Lord’s own power, different from the existing Vanguard Commanders.

‘When they awaken, the counterattack will begin anew. This is merely the birth pangs!’

Satan inwardly fueled his desire for revenge against Razvolnic.

However, regardless of any circumstances, it was undoubtedly a report too shameful to present to the Demon Lord as her staff officer.

Yet the Demon Lord showed no reaction. To Satan, her lack of response was even more distressing.

Unaware that the Demon Lord was scrutinizing him intently with her murky, ink-black eyes, he simply kept his head bowed and chewed on his lips.

After some time had passed.

[Satan.]

“Yes.”

The Demon Lord, whose face showed no emotion whatsoever, spoke.

[It seems you alone are the suitable candidate.]

“…I do not understand your meaning.”

The Demon Lord’s following command came as a great shock to him.

[You shall undergo ‘Concentrated Leveling Up’ once more.]

Satan’s body trembled.

“M-My Demon Lord. That is…”

Concentrated Leveling Up.

The current Demon Lord had constructed a simulated system using the power of the previous generation, allowing her to enhance the strength of the Vanguard Commanders and officers.

However, unlike the real system that allowed for self-growth through causality, this simulated system had the limitation of merely dividing and granting a portion of the Demon Lord’s own power.

Of course, she could not distribute her power indefinitely. If that were possible, she would have already created several powerful Vanguard Commanders on par with the Celestials long ago.

The reason for this impossibility was simple: Mortals have limits.

Just as Doyun had created a second Heart to overcome the body’s limit in accepting mana, the same applied to the dragonkin.

Then what would happen if power exceeding those limits was forcibly imbued?

Satan stuttered, for he knew the consequence.

“M-My Demon Lord. If that happens, this one’s life will…”

He had already undergone Concentrated Leveling Up before, for the purpose of conquering Muspelheim. The sea of imps before the city walls was a result of that, and he had already reached his limit.

But if he received even more power here?

Instead of gaining immense strength, he would soon self-destruct, unable to withstand it.

No matter that she was the Demon Lord, having lived for an unfathomably long time, the command to sacrifice his life was terrifying to Satan.

Anticipating Satan’s reaction, the Demon Lord impassively continued:

[Raise your head.]

She commanded, and Satan raised his trembling gaze born of fear.

And soon, he could only widen his eyes in shock.

“…!”

His eyes were not focused on the Demon Lord’s small form.

Rather, it was the something undulating behind and enveloping the Demon Lord.

Having served the Great Demon Lord for so long, he immediately realized what it was.

“Ah…!”

The Great Demon Lord.

Unbelievably, the almighty Great Demon Lord had manifested there.