Clang, clang.
At some moment, the sound of metal scraping began to be heard.
His dazed mind was drawn towards the source of the noise, which sounded like a hammer striking an anvil.
And at the end of it, he encountered the figure of a craftsman hammering in a heat-filled room.
Clang, clang!
For some reason, the sight of the craftsman repeating this action seemed strangely familiar.
Even though the craftsman’s hair had turned as white as ash, and there was no life in the craftsman’s eyes as she looked down at the spear…
‘When you are completed.’
The emotion felt in that voice was quite alien.
He was sure it was the person he knew.Yet, the person who stood there was in a state he couldn’t have imagined seeing.
‘If the day comes when you stand before me again like that time… will I then understand what this feeling is?’
Was it because it was a dream?
Or was it because an unknown aspect of him was being reflected in the form of this dream?
Bzzz.
Following that, a faint vibration brought my mind into focus.
As if drawn by it, my gaze, as I got up from the bed, went straight to the spear leaning next to the bed.
Ego Weapon Pheloi.
A weapon harboring the soul of a child who closed her heart after that day’s friction.
“…Pheloi.”
I wondered if perhaps this child had moved, but even as I approached, the same vibrating sound did not occur.
It merely stayed silent, as if to teach me that what happened earlier was an illusion.
Was it too much to hope for recognition from this child with just my training so far?
“…No, it’s too early to be disappointed.”
Hadn’t I undergone intense training here for the past month?
With the explosive growth achieved during that time, it would be unreasonable to be disheartened now.
If there was a place to ascend to, I just had to keep climbing.
“Yes. It’s about time.”
Reaffirming my resolve, which I did every morning, I stroked Pheloi’s spear and prepared to head to the training ground.
I donned my armor, hastily ate preserved food for breakfast, and….
“Oh, Hyo-sung.”
As I was about to leave the lodging, a familiar face greeted me, just passing by the front of the lodging.
Merilyn Sutherland.
Like Airi, she was a woman I’d like to be with in the future, if permitted.
“Good morning. Are you off to training?”
“Yes, are you going to perform today as well, Ms. Merilyn?”
She, too, was faithful to her role as a minstrel, contributing in her own way to this garrison area.
Her performance invigorates people’s emotions and breathes life into their activities.
The unfortunate thing was that lately, I had been so focused on training that I had no time to listen to her performances.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Today, I’m making a gift for you, Hyo-sung, so I might not have time.”
As she said that, she gave me a meaningful smile, and I felt my interest growing.
“A gift for me?”
“Hehe, you can look forward to it.”
With those words, she hummed a tune and left.
It bothered me that she left without revealing more, but I eventually turned my attention away from her and continued preparing to head to the training ground.
Yes, if we were to meet later, there was no need to feel impatient now.
“Everything will be alright.”
It might have been an illusion, but I had felt a response from Pheloi and would soon receive encouragement from Merilyn.
Before going to bed yesterday, I hadn’t heard any ominous future from Airi either.
So, firmly believing that everything would go well today, I headed to the training ground without hesitation.
And then…
Creak, creak.
.
A chilling noise greeted me when I arrived at the cave designated as my training ground.
Since this place was where the faint light unique to dragon veins emanated, it wasn’t difficult to see what was happening inside.
“Grrr, chomp…”
Undead.
It was believed that they were all subdued a while ago, but just yesterday, it was revealed that the undead under the Corpse Lord’s control were targeting this place.
As a result, there was a possibility that the undead might reappear at the excavation site.
Even though it was a place managed by the imperial army, it couldn’t be said that there was no chance of them infiltrating and attacking people here.
“What on earth have they done…?”
Yes, maybe someone was waiting for me here.
“What the hell have you bastards done?!!!”
With my sanity slipping away, I swung my spear at the undead with all my might.
The waves of magic, intensified by my emotions, transferred from my armor to my spear, eventually extending forward and tearing apart the bodies of the undead.
By the time I reached Jang, I had already reduced the undead here to minced meat.
“Boss, Boss!”
But by then, his body was already in a terrible state.
No matter how strong he was, his body was weak and couldn’t withstand the passage of time.
The undead that attacked him without hesitation had mercilessly torn apart not just his exterior but everything inside, repeatedly shoving pieces into their mouths.
Even after going through such a vivid ordeal, his body showed no significant movement.
“…Boss.”
I quickly adapted to the reality.
Because I had seen countless people die.
But the shock that hit me like a blow to the back of my head at this moment was because, among those who died, there were only a few I had given my heart to.
In a world where death was commonplace, those with whom I shared bonds were rarer than gold.
“Why?”
I saw such a person lose their life overnight.
Just witnessing it brought an overwhelming pain, as if my flesh were being torn apart.
“Why did this happen…?”
If only I had been more vigilant.
Because I felt guilty that, if I had noticed what he hadn’t, I might have been able to prevent such an accident.
Rustle.
Just as such regret was welling up, I heard the sound of paper rustling.
I realized that a piece of paper, fluttering in the faint wind in the cave, had fallen from a rock and drifted in front of me.
A note left intentionally, without a doubt.
Considering the circumstances, it could only have been left by Jang. With trembling hands, I reached for the letter.
[Don’t feel guilty. It’s not your fault.]
The introduction addressed precisely what I was feeling at this moment.
The words that followed, calmly written, also indicated that he had anticipated this situation.
[In fact, it’s a miracle I lived this long. If you burden yourself with more power than you can handle, it’s only natural that using that power shortens your lifespan.]
“…Boss.”
Power that was too much to handle.
Was he referring to the strength he demonstrated while training me?
The power I believed he wielded more skillfully than I did, was he saying that showing it to me had damaged his body?
[However, I still have regrets about leaving this way. Although you have your own desires, my decision to train you began out of my own selfishness.]
Despite my doubts, I wanted to engrave the words written in the letter in my mind.
As I hadn’t prepared to lose my guide, I couldn’t help but cling more to the last traces he left.
[Yes, it all started from revenge. Not for any grand cause… just revenge for losing someone I admired.]
Of course, most of it was incomprehensible to me.
I hadn’t inquired closely about his circumstances, as I had been focused only on training for the past month.
Even if I had an unknown talent, why did he want to make me a hero, what were his feelings as he trained me, and what sentiments did he hold towards Tacchia, whom I would face later?
[Even now, as I write this letter, I’m not sure if giving up on revenge and choosing to observe my target instead was the right choice.]
But one thing was certain.
He who trained me occasionally showed glimpses of doubt about the time he had spent, and the more this became evident, the more zealously he pursued my training.
[This outcome is inevitable. Even a feeble insect might kill a human by biting a vital spot, but an insect that merely observes can never change a human.]
Realizing his own limits and grasping power capable of bringing about change had come too late in his old age.
He must have pinned more hopes on me to follow in his footsteps.
[But you might be different. To her, I may be a mere nuisance, but you, who have been cherished enough to be part of her life, hold a special place in her heart.]
Rustle.
I clenched the letter tighter.
Nevertheless, I continued to read.
[Though I don’t know what form that love takes, it is certain that she considers you more special than any other human.]
Even after his death, I needed to grasp what I must bear.
I wanted to comprehend what awaited me ahead.
[And the same goes for you. You also have special feelings towards her, so you must have felt conflicted at every moment, even while training with me.]
I needed strength.
To accept the fate that makes me kill those who gave me their hearts.
Or to go against such a fate.
[So don’t be afraid, and prepare your heart. When the decisive moment comes, devote yourself to cultivating the strength to choose what aligns with your will among the options provided.]
[Even if the world deems your choice wrong, if you possess the power to overturn such judgments, no one can challenge you.]
The letter concluded by encouraging me to embrace this duty.
Although it was filled with worries for me until the end, I still felt uncertain about the future.
“Boss, I…”
Even if I knew what to do, hadn’t the one guiding me disappeared?
Could I truly succeed without him?
This anxiety churned within me as I noticed writing on the back of the letter.
And then…
Grr, ugh.
Right after reading all of its contents, I heard a groaning sound from behind.
I felt my breath catch in my throat as I turned my attention, on guard, towards the source of the sound.
[And one last thing, I beg of you despite my lack of shame.]
Just another undead.
No different from the ones I had slain before, merely an animated corpse.
Even if it had consciousness, it would only be reminiscing about its past.
[This letter is to resolve the lingering regrets of an old man about to leave this world. Should any regret remain after writing this, I hope you will help resolve it.]
I understood this in my mind.
But why?
“Ah, aah.”
From my mouth, facing that undead.
The reason for the exclamation, laden with deeper despair than ever before, was…
It was a life lived solely for revenge against his idol.
He accepted unpermitted power in his body, diligently honing his sword for revenge.
But why was the object of such revenge, the one who should have been avenged, crying that day?
Why make a weapon from a replica called a soul extracted from her daughter’s body, and show an emotion called sorrow while looking at such an existence?
‘Is it even conceivable for a disaster to feel sorrow? Is she truly a being that can be called a disaster?’
He could not fathom, nor understand, even after witnessing it.
He doubted whether she was indeed the target of his revenge and chose to observe her.
He was prepared to draw his sword if she ever showed signs of violence, but that time never came, and more than half a century passed.
And during that process, he always tried to understand.
Why she continued her life, making a contract she didn’t need to that day.
How a supreme being, living for an unimaginably long time for a human, continued to endure the agony of prolonging life while watching over humans.
‘Tacchia always cooked meals for me.’
Yes, he wouldn’t know.
The answer lay in the kindness shown to him—an answer beyond his comprehension, even if he devoted his entire life to it.
He had denied it, but the answer had been evident from the moment he saw her cry.
‘Even if she lived for ten thousand years, perhaps in the last hundred, she had a heart like a human.’
She had not realized it herself, and continued to deny it to avoid accepting what she had done.
When he realized this, his desire for vengeance gradually faded.
He understood that the punishment she endured for living alongside him was something he couldn’t bear.
Yes, vengeance was meaningless now. His anger had long since eroded with time.
Thus, he could accept his end without regret.
So he believed, but…
‘But, is it really okay to end it like this?’
At the end of that life.
In his heart, as he finished reminiscing and prepared for eternal rest, a worry he himself wasn’t aware of blossomed.
‘Is it really okay to just end it like this?’
Was his training meant to entrust his vengeance to someone else?
No, vengeance no longer mattered.
In its meaninglessness, everything he had pursued seemed futile.
The basis of declaring he would make a young man a hero stemmed from his own existential doubt.
‘This isn’t enough.’
He wanted to observe a bit longer.
‘If allowed, just a little longer…’
If he could no longer watch, at least he wanted to help the young man develop more strength for the future.
Crack.
In this moment, such lingering regrets combined with the sinister power that devoured his body, triggering an unforeseen phenomenon.
With his rapidly decaying body as the core.
The force merged with his unresolved regrets, turning them into a ‘tool.’
“Boss…”
“Raise your spear, young man.”
Using this opportunity, the risen undead spoke.
His eyes, now lifeless, gleamed as he squeezed out his voice to adhere to his lingering attachment.
“From now on, I will start… the final training.”
“Training…”
“The rule is simple. Use everything you’ve learned… to bring down… the undead in front of you.”
Until the very end.
Even beyond the last moment, if permitted, by becoming a trial that stands in his way.
“I believe you won’t back down now that you’ve come this far. If you are a hero, you wouldn’t leave such a monster unattended in the world.”
Believing that the world continued even after his death.
He aimed to instill his will deeply into his successor, making this a part of his legacy.
“So, raise your spear.”
The soul that existed in that body must have left the world with such a belief.
“Raise your spear, hero.”
Knowing that such a belief was the reason he rose.
The shell that lost its soul did not hesitate to continue its calling.
“If you truly are a hero, you should easily overcome such a fiend, shouldn’t you?”
Even after his life had reached its end.
He knew better than anyone that the stories of those who succeeded him would continue.
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