episode_0063

Breathing does not continue.

The body, completely exhausted, loses control and stumbles.

I absent-mindedly observed my body slowly kneeling, as if I was watching from behind.

Replaying what just happened in my head.

It felt like everything was connected.

Things I’ve Learned The ones I had. What I got

fence. Flesh. up.

The strike he swung cut the enemy to pieces with incredible force.

This is the realm of the master. Now I know for sure.

How should I fight?

How to use this power properly.

Even the vague power of killing seemed to know how to use it.

It may be difficult to control that ferocious power.

Still, with this, I finally gained the strength to go forward.

There was no joy.

Because there were so many dead people.

I was just a little relieved.

The fire was dying down.

Finally, this hell is coming to an end.

Did I do what I had to do properly?

There was an answer split in two before my eyes.

I took a long breath.

As if extinguishing fire in my heart, as if I was spitting out life.

A deep sigh that will never end.

That was it.

My fight is over. at las.

It was such a long night, it truly felt like an eternity.

There was no sound anymore.

There is no burning smell or taste of blood.

All sensation from the fingertips to the entire body disappears.

The exhausted consciousness moves away from the exhausted body.

Like mixed water and oil separating from each other. Clearly.

The sword fell from my weakened grasp and rolled on the floor.

I look down at the sword beyond my vision that is fading to black.

The golden glow had disappeared before we knew it. As if he had fulfilled his role.

It was time to sleep.

……

…Suddenly, a question crosses my mind.

A question that was so obvious that I couldn’t even suspect it. now.

Since when did it start?

Since when did you want to save people like this?

Obviously, it wasn’t like this in the beginning.

I thought it was pitiful. I thought I would save him if I could.

But was it really this desperate? To the extent of grinding my body to pieces to save people I’ve never seen?

Something has changed.

…Since when?

My thoughts don’t flow. Consciousness gradually faded.

Oh yeah.

I remember it with only the remains of my mind.

When I held that sword… From then on, I…!

The mind that was trying to think of something just sinks.

It became dark before my eyes.

—-

– You got it?

Someone whispers.

– Was it a little too fast? still. It’s still okay.

A pure white hand strokes my forehead. Charitably.

With a gesture full of warmth.

– Forget it, rest in peace for now.

and. Again.

—-

The morning sun rises.

After a long night, dawn finally comes to the islands.

Those who survived sat down blankly and stared into space.

A gray sky covered in ash and dust.

Institutional conflagration.

A large-scale terrorist act committed by the so-called Miliciya, a prisoner organization hiding in the islands, through contact with mixed-race slaves within the islands.

In the diversionary operation that took place while elite knights were heading north, many people lost their lives in vain.

30% of the city burned down in one night, and an estimated 20,000 civilians died.

An unprecedented catastrophe with over 8,000 injured.

Thanks to the academy’s quick response, they were able to manage the situation, but in return, more than 30 students were killed at the hands of the prisoners.

The whole world was in shock.

The traces of the claws that scratched the empire and disappeared became very vivid paintings.

People trembled in fear, shock, and anger.

Those who were not human watched closely.

An imperial order that lasted for hundreds of years. A clear crack was carved into that unwavering myth.

Quietly, very quietly.

But without taking your eyes off.

The world was changing.

Toward the past.

—-

I woke up in a hospital room that I had never seen before.

There were four hospital beds lined up in a row, and a cross sign hung on the pure white wall.

The air smelled of blood and disinfectant.

Students wrapped in bandages are lying on each hospital bed.

I turned my head with difficulty. Just that movement took close to a minute.

My body didn’t move well.

A familiar blond boy was asleep in the hospital bed on the left.

It was Damian.

His complexion was calm, as if the treatment had been completed to some extent.

And between Damien and my bed, a green-haired woman was dozing off in a chair.

“…Mil…Lia…?”

A cracked voice leaked out.

Millia heard my voice and slowly woke up.

He rubs his half-closed eyes and makes eye contact with me, blinking blankly as if he doesn’t believe it.

He blinked his eyes again and turned towards me.

“Hashall! Are you awake?! thank god! Really…!”

Millia cried and stretched out her hand, then hesitantly took it away.

It seemed like he wasn’t sure if he could touch it.

My condition must be that serious.

I couldn’t really tell because I couldn’t feel it.

“Okay…Milia, are you okay with your injuries..?”

“Worry about your body rather than mine! If it weren’t for senior Lacey, I would have really died!”

“Lacey. Candidate for sainthood…?”

Was she nearby? ah. So, was the white flash that covered the city at that time cast by Lacey?

Luckily, I was also within the range of the blessing, so I was able to fight.

“Yes. Damian, who had regained his energy, found you in a state of complete disrepair, picked you up and took you to senior Lacey. If it weren’t for my senior’s treatment, I would have died…”

Did Damien come back? It was a good thing we became friends.

Thanks to you, my life was saved.

I realized my karma and used that power to kill Natalia, but I also lost consciousness immediately after running out of stamina.

He collapsed right away… right?

…..was it like that?

There’s something a little subtle.

It feels strangely different. I don’t know.

I feel like I forgot something.

ah,

okay.

“My sword…?”

Yeah, that’s it. Since he fainted, he must have lost the sword.

Surely you wouldn’t have lost it?

my sword I had to find the sword.

If it was such a famous sword, someone might have stolen it.

“Oh, if that’s the case, it’s over hereㅡ”

Millia pointed to the corner of the bed.

Aimella’s sword was leaning against it, wrapped in its scabbard.

My pulse relaxed.

thank god. Damian took care of this too.

I’ll have to thank you all later.

Only then did my mind calm down a little.

“So, how much time has passed now? ……What happened to the people?”

“Sunday. Hashal, you barely opened your eyes after a week. Even though I used healing spells every day… I heard that I used up too much energy.”

Is that why I had no strength in my entire body?

Is it a week? In that amount of time, the situation would have been resolved to some extent.

……It’s a fix.

“I think it would be better to talk about people later. For now, it’s better to take a break…”

“I want to hear it.”

I should have kept it. I am.

Milia, who was hesitant, carefully told the story of what had happened.

It is said that the riot was suppressed shortly after I fell.

In a situation where about 30% of the mob had already been cut down by my sword, the paladins who were advancing from the opposite direction literally pulverized the beasts.

It is said that around that time, the disturbance in the imperial palace was suppressed and the knights rushed out to the islands again.

Every prisoner who participated in the riot was exterminated.

Among the masterminds who attacked the imperial palace, except for three who were taken prisoner.

One grizzly bear and one female lion. One female fox.

Every torture imaginable was inflicted on those three.

Afterwards, it is said that the limbs were cut off and displayed in the square.

They say he was able to survive for five days thanks to the beastman’s vitality.

Considering what he had done, it wasn’t a particularly sympathetic story.

“So, what about other people…?”

The answer that followed with hesitation was cruel.

Twenty thousand people, maybe thirty?

Because in the original, fifty people died. okay. Twenty more people survived.

At the expense of one thousand civilians for every student.

It was a crazy equation.

I’m losing my mind again.

No, come to your senses.

Because I can’t collapse here.

Because we can’t stop now. After killing 20,000 people.

So you have to endure it.

A sense of duty presses on my mind.

“……What is the current situation with the system?”

“The dead people were gathered together and cremated over a period of four days. If we leave it alone, an epidemic will spread… After that, we are rebuilding the burned down buildings.”

Four days. Is that fast or slow? It was difficult for me to understand.

At least, it probably wasn’t enough time for the sadness to subside.

“If you’re asking about people’s mood… it’s not good. Everyone is sad, everyone is angry. So much so that there is talk of advancing to the northern snowfields.”

“…That would be difficult.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Advancing an army into the northern snowfields is crazy.

Half of it will be lost as it crosses the Sky Mountains, and the other half will be lost in the cold of the snowy field.

It was a land that no one could yet conquer.

It was a harsh land where only animals with fur could survive.

So, it is said that the anger that had built up with nowhere to go was eventually directed at the remaining prisoners.

Prisoner slaves who did not follow Milicia’s instigation and remained on their master’s side.

Was it out of loyalty, or was it an intention to take care of one’s own safety? I couldn’t tell anymore.

It is said that they were all dragged out and slaughtered.

In a way that is too horrible to even put into words. Over three days.

Minus the ears and tail, it looked just like a human, but that made its death even more horrifying.

Perhaps remembering that scene, Milia felt a little disgusted.

Is the ending of betraying one’s own people in order to survive actually a more terrible end than that of one’s own people?

It was such an ironic thing.