Chapter 54 – Among the Countless Stars (2)

At some point, I started seeing strange things.

“Fall down already! Just die, damn it!”
“What the hell kind of trick is this?!”
“That bastard’s a demon!”

They weren’t living up to their size.
Just a moment ago, they charged at me with reckless abandon.
Now, they were keeping their distance, hurling curses and insults instead.

They looked like they might rush at me any second.

…And yet, for some reason,
A small child was weaving through those cowards, toppling them as if performing an acrobatic feat.

I kept watching, unsure if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

That frail, much smaller body,
drifting through relentless attacks like a leaf caught in the wind,
slashing, piercing, grazing the enemy’s vital points.

The movements, the intent behind them—they reminded me of the instincts I had been following just moments ago.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

As if they were teaching me.
As if they were reminding me.

“Aaaargh!”

The illusion shattered.

A barbarian warrior swung a greatsword at me.

“…Like this.”

I blocked.

Tilting my blade diagonally, redirecting the force.

It wasn’t anything particularly grand.
But strangely, it sank deep into my core.

As if my body had always known this movement.

Using the redirected force, I countered with a slash.
Surprisingly, my counterattack was smoother than ever before.

“Keuhk!”

His chest split open.
My blade tore through flesh and shattered ribs, leaving his torso in ruins.

“……”

The illusion still danced like an acrobat.

Stepping on an enemy’s leg and chest to leap over their head.
Charging into the fray, moving unpredictably,
darting between enemies’ legs, running along their backs.

When a hand reached out to grab him, the child used his small frame to latch onto the fingers, twisting them at the joints.
Just like I had done.
And as if that weren’t enough, he capitalized on that fleeting moment when the enemy instinctively moved to protect themselves, disrupting their balance in an instant.

Some warriors scoffed, thinking such tricks were laughable.
Ignoring their bent fingers, their twisted joints, they roared and lunged at the child.

Yet, that moment of rigid, tensed shoulders, that split-second hesitation, became a weakness.

The child’s blade found its mark,
slicing into an eye,
grazing a throat.
Or, when the enemy dropped their guard for even a moment,
severing an ankle, carving into a thigh, drawing fatal blood.

He’s skilled.

And yet, there was a sense of unease.

How could someone so young—how could a child move like this?

Then, suddenly,

The illusion locked eyes with me.

Just as I had been watching him,
he had been watching me.

Faint yet vivid—golden.

Those eyes, gleaming like pure gold.
And in that moment,

I had an inexplicable realization.

Was it intuition?
Or simply the desperate desire to believe?

…I didn’t know.

But then,

A memory surfaced.

An old woman, clearing her throat as she spoke:

[Among the countless stars, one will come to you. I only tell what I see; the rest, you must decide for yourself.]

Among the countless stars…
What did that mean?

I didn’t know.
I didn’t have the strength to think.

Even this moment, clinging to life,
I could collapse at any second.

My consciousness had long since sunk into the depths.
Everything I saw was blurry.

Except,

Those golden eyes.

So clear.

So that’s it.

Luelde.

You survived.

You endured, again and again,
and made it here.

I didn’t know who that boy was.
But those eyes…
They were Luelde’s eyes.

“…I see.”

I looked up at the sky, exhaling.

“If this is how it ends… I suppose that’s fine too.”

Had I fulfilled my role?

I didn’t know.

…Only,

“……?”

Through his eyes,

I saw the world.

The small village had grown beyond recognition.
Inside the church, a stonemason was carving with great effort.

What was he working so hard on?

At last, the sculpture was complete.
And even to me,
it stirred something deep inside.

A man, kneeling,
his sword planted in the ground.

Unable to collapse,
he clung to the hilt, resting his forehead against it,
his body sagging in exhaustion.

Behind him,
countless figures.

Clinging to him.

Their faces were unfamiliar.
And yet,
strangely, they morphed into faces I once knew.

-Why must you leave like this?
-I’m sorry! If only we could have helped even a little…
-You have to get up! You can’t stay like this!
-Mister! Mister!
-…How can you leave us like this… Father.

“……”

A boy with black hair,
eyes like Luelde’s,
lifted his gaze to meet mine.

“Young one,
can you tell me your name?”

“……”

His golden, sulfur-colored eyes,
on the verge of closing,
yet still blazing bright.

He answered.

“My name is Cariel.”

“……”

A boy with Luelde’s eyes
spoke my name.

“I see.”

Among the countless stars,
was this what she meant?

And among all those stars,
you,
you have come before me.

A boy with Luelde’s eyes,
who wielded the sword and techniques that only my master and I knew.
Who faced the same trials,
and did not falter.

“…Thank you.”

The boy bowed his head.

“No.”

It’s the other way around.

“I should be the one thanking you.”

As my consciousness faded,

Before I realized it, a pure white radiance poured down from the sky.

A familiar voice called out.

-Cariel! How long do you plan to keep us waiting?!

Right after, another familiar voice—this time, a girl’s—spoke with puffed-up cheeks, sounding as if she were scolding him.

-I was so bored, I nearly died!

There they were.

As if entranced, the man stepped toward the light.

The heavy weight of his body, which had burdened him for so long, suddenly felt as light as a feather.

He let go of his sword, which he had been holding instinctively.
As if laying down not just his weapon, but also the weight of duty and responsibility he had carried for so long,
he slowly walked toward them.

Before he knew it, he had become a young boy again.

With a bright smile, he ran toward the boy and girl.

The two figures stood against the light.

Behind them,

A man who looked exactly like his former self.

And beside him, leaning against him with a radiant smile,
a woman, gazing toward the running boy with warmth in her eyes.

For a moment,

The boy hesitated, pausing his steps.

“……”

A boy, now taller than him, stood there.

He looked toward the child who bore his own name.

And then, Cariel raised his arm and waved broadly.

A clear horn sound echoed through the heavens.

And at last, the world

was enveloped in pure white.

====

In that fading light, a lone black-haired boy stood still, his eyes closed, his breath held.

“……”

The world was crumbling.

But in the midst of it all, the massive warriors burst into hearty laughter.

“Khahaha! So, it has finally ended!”
“See? What did I tell you?”
“A man of that caliber? Ha! Even the gods would covet him!”
“Truly, it was a life filled with hardship.”
“And yet, had we not witnessed his final moments, how could we have found peace in our own deaths?”

When Cariel opened his eyes, the warriors had already become hazy silhouettes once more.

Upon seeing him, their expressions shifted into something unreadable.

“You… Didn’t you all resent him?”

“Of course we did!”
“We resented him deeply!”
“But he was never the true object of our resentment. It was our tribe, our brothers, our families—those who abandoned us, the ones who left us behind.”

“Warriors are fools, shackled by empty notions of honor. Do you know what we truly accomplished?”
“Ah, well, at least we got to flex our strength and act tough.”
“And that’s why we deserved what we got!”

…Their attitude was completely different from before.

“Yes, we drifted here, consumed by resentment. But after witnessing his life, his unwavering will, we changed.”

They should have turned into wraiths, into vengeful spirits.
And yet, even in death, that man had held onto his convictions.

“He even moved us.”

His life held not a single blemish of shame.

“And as for us, overwhelmed by our own disgrace, we found ourselves envying him.”

And so, they had safeguarded what he had sought to protect.

“The ones who remain will continue on, but our time is over.”
“We no longer have the strength to stay.”

“……”

Even in death, they had defended this land as spirits.

…Was that what this was?

Just how incredible was that man?

A hollow laugh escaped him.

For some reason, sorrow swelled in his chest.

A life filled with hardship.

Though it seemed he had found peace in the end,
he had endured, for so long, trapped between life and death,
silently holding on until the very end.

Cariel couldn’t help but ask,

“Was I… too late?”

“Not at all!”

The warriors answered without hesitation.

“Everything happens in its own time, boy.”

“……”

The white sky fractured, scattering into countless fragments.

Like golden and silver snowflakes, drifting down.

Beautiful, radiant,
sacred, yet fleeting.

Like petals in full bloom, fluttering on a spring day.

And suddenly,

A strong scent of lavender filled the air.

Ah, right.

This place had always smelled of lavender.

Even more so during the festival season.

During the festival, people would scatter flower petals,
as a blessing.
With sincerity.

To wish for someone’s well-being.
To pray for good fortune.
With joy,
with love.

This was the village,
the village he had risked his life to protect.

“……”

And just like that, the world before him

scattered like a fleeting dream.

All that remained

was the sacred longsword of Saint Cariel, faintly glowing.

At that moment,

Crack!

The fractured blade split in two.

As if, at last, it too had fulfilled its duty.

As if, at last, it could lay down its burden.

====

-So, it is decided.

The Demon King could no longer deny it.

That man, he was no hero, no champion.

No, perhaps once, he had been.

But at this moment,

He had become something else entirely.

Something utterly beyond such titles.

…A Saint.

A Holy Child.

Or perhaps,

A Divine Being.

The Demon King, watching Saint Cariel’s ascension, was now completely certain.

-So that’s why those old geezers protected him so fervently.

She had been more than halfway convinced already—no, ninety percent sure.
But she had waited.

Because imperfection meant uncertainty.

Until absolute certainty was reached, she had held back.

But now,

Now, it was undeniable.

-That little Pope always had good instincts.

At first, she had thought he was merely riding the wave of a good reputation, skillfully using his fame.

Even when he was elevated to the Papacy thanks to Ermina, she hadn’t seen him as a threat.

But now…

…Even the Demon King herself had not realized that everything had been a mere mask—a deception meant to mislead the world.

Perhaps he had received a revelation from the gods.

A divine command to never reveal his true self.

-And yet, that very man, on the brink of death, chose to douse the flames with oil and baptize him?

How extraordinary.

Maybe he, too, had received a revelation.

Or perhaps he possessed a gift,
a sight beyond what others could perceive.
A knowledge that others could never attain.

-But why now, of all times?

Truly.

Truly.

Truly…

-There will never be a dull moment.

Gold smiled.

Not like a flower in full bloom,
but like a withering flower, squeezing out the last of its life in its final moments.

That smile twisted viciously across her face.

It was not envy.
Nor jealousy.
Not inferiority, nor despair.

The emotion lingering beneath it…

…Regret.

Or irritation.

Or perhaps,

Rage.