Chapter 326:
Lean rose from his seat, leaving Frechen's corpse behind.
"We were supposed to have a drink."
That promise could no longer be kept.
However, seeing Frechen's peaceful face, Lean couldn't blame or reproach him.
Holding someone accountable for their actions when they passed away so peacefully would tarnish their honor.
So, let him go.
Let’s carry on his will.
"Georon."
Lean drew his sword. Georon, kneeling on one knee, was glaring at him from the front.
The wound on Georon's ankle was so severe that he could no longer walk.
The wound Frechen left at the end. It brought another glimmer of hope in this desperate situation.
"I’m sick of seeing people die."
A golden aura erupted from his sword.
* * *
“Oh, what do we do! At this rate, Yu-hyun will die!”
Watching the situation unfold in exile with Celine's help, Kang Hye-rim stomped her feet anxiously. Kwon Jia bit her lip as she watched the scene on the screen.
“The situation is too desperate.”
Two thousand Gardians had gone to war, but they were crumbling rapidly before they could properly showcase what they had prepared.
Thanks to the runestones they had brought in advance, they managed to delay the collapse as much as possible, but once Georon stepped in, even that was over.
Georon's strike.
It literally split the earth and sky.
And even Emperor Frechen, who was the biggest pillar of their forces, had died.
What in the world could they do now?
“Can’t we show this scene to the other divine spirits?”
“What?”
“If we immediately show this scene in a visual story, won't the divine spirits from Yu-hyun’s library flock here? If we somehow secure support and become stronger, we might have a chance to turn the tables.”
Yoo Young-min’s idea sounded plausible at first glance.
Everyone turned to Celine with hopeful eyes, wondering if it was possible.
Celine shook her head.
“We don't even know how we're able to watch this now, but it's because we're receiving and watching what's happening to our senior through a detour to his library. Even if we open our senior’s library, we can’t be sure if we could show it to the viewers there…”
Even if they could show it, there was a problem. Even if the divine spirits support Yu-hyun, the points would go to Yu-hyun’s library, which means they would go to Celine.
There was no way for Celine to transfer those points to the current Yu-hyun.
“We can only watch. The fact that we can observe like this means that the story that had been paused until now is moving in that world.”
The divine spirits watching that scene might pity Yu-hyun and decide to support him.
Considering the divine spirits’ personalities, that likelihood was extremely low, but the current situation was so desperate that they had no choice but to cling to such implausible possibilities.
“In senior’s current state…”
“No, there might be a way.”
At that moment, everyone turned to Seo Sumin at her confident words.
Seo Sumin was still staring at the screen, which showed Yu-hyun struggling with the Frost Giant, holding a sword.
“Even if all stories were taken from him, what he possesses isn’t just simple stories.”
Seven Demons Black Sky Divine Skill.
If Yu-hyun could unleash the skill she had taught him, the situation might change.
That skill wasn’t a story but something Yu-hyun had realized and mastered on his own.
So please come back alive.
Everyone prayed earnestly.
* * *
See, didn’t I warn you?
Fjolda, the youngest of the Great Five Sisters, muttered to herself as she watched the war unfold beyond the mountains.
She had opposed this war from the beginning. This wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply by gathering the Gardians.
It required someone qualified. Without someone chosen by this grand fate, it was an impossible task from the start.
‘But still, they struggle till the end.'
Fjolda didn’t even show regret as she watched the fallen Frechen.
Frechen's final attack was intense enough to make even her momentarily admire it. A mere human had left a significant wound on Georon's ankle.
That was an accomplishment that neither she, her sisters, nor the four candidates could achieve 32 years ago.
‘But it’s not enough. The man called Frechen was ultimately not the qualified one.’
His flame was dazzling but temporary.
It didn’t suit someone with qualifications. The qualified one always burns brightly with a scorching flame.
In the meantime, people continued to die.
Those who lost their loved ones wept, clutching their bodies.
A warrior, enraged by the death of a dear comrade, charged recklessly at the Frost Giant and died.
Fjolda silently watched all these scenes and deaths.
Perhaps.
If she had given the Key Sword to Lean, those people might not have died.
‘Get a grip, Fjolda. Are you going to let all grand ambitions fall apart just because of fleeting sentiments?’
Fjolda reproached herself.
She felt sorry for the dead, but she didn’t think her choice was wrong.
She judged the qualifications for the Key Sword with cold calculation and rational judgment, not personal feelings.
Lean still didn’t qualify to wield the Key Sword.
Even if the Key Sword was placed in his hand, he couldn’t defeat Georon.
In the end, her choice wasn’t wrong.
Still, Fjolda sometimes thought.
If only her choice had been wrong, if Lean had truly possessed great potential.
How wonderful that would have been.
Even after losing her eldest sister, Fjolda hadn’t been idle, watching him for 32 years.
She had hoped that her eldest sister’s choice wasn’t wrong. That the man named Lean would show proper qualifications.
For 32 years.
She waited and waited again.
This moment was the end of it.
‘In the end, my expectations were so futile.’
The war couldn’t be stopped. This fight would end in the defeat of the Gardians.
How many people would die because of this?
However, the Gardians would survive. There were still over 500 survivors.
As they continued to have children and live, someday someone would emerge qualified to obtain the Key Sword.
With the absence of Gondulborg, who maintained the magic circle and was the eldest sister's disciple, the expected duration of the magic circle would be shortened. Still, this place sustained by the Key Sword’s power would last at least another 50 years.
So, she just had to wait.
‘I must wait.’
Fjolda stayed here alone for that reason.
From her second to fourth sister.
The reason they left her with all their strength, even at the cost of their lives.
They had to wait. They couldn’t each last more than 20 years.
So her sisters passed all their remaining life force to Fjolda.
They apologized for leaving her alone in this horrible world.
But someone had to do this, and they hoped that she, the youngest, would survive and see the world regain its light.
‘Sisters. Sometimes I hate you.’
Why did you leave me alone?
Why did you make me spend all those long years in this horrible world without any hope?
What tormented Fjolda even more was the despair of not being able to abandon this mission.
It became a kind of shackle, holding her tightly.
This world was forsaken.
Since the moment Georon was corrupted and they failed to stop him.
In the end, there was no hope.
As Fjolda momentarily considered giving up, she was startled by an unexpected situation.
‘What is this?’
A star, previously hidden by clouds, began to shine.
Fjolda’s gaze shifted from the battlefield upwards, beyond the snow-laden dark clouds.
‘The starlight… divine spirits…’
Divine spirits began to look down on this forsaken world one by one.
Though the light was faint and their numbers few, it was proof that this world was still running as a story.
[Where am I?]
[I came because a new library opened suddenly.]
One by one.
Divine spirits began to visit the frozen world.
They were puzzled by the newly opened mysterious library and were further astonished by the unfolding war as soon as they entered.
On the frozen ground that made one’s skin shiver just by looking, Frost Giants and Northern Tribes were fiercely fighting.
[Wait. Isn’t this Georon’s land? Why did it suddenly become like this?]
[What’s this war about?]
The divine spirits, unaware of the backstory, were puzzled by the war and the giant Frost Giants.
However, they couldn’t miss this rare spectacle, so they stayed and watched.
Some even called other divine spirits, saying there was something worth watching.
The frozen gears began to move.
The heart of the story, thought to have stopped completely, began to beat slowly.
Fjolda watched the astonishing sight.
‘This has never happened before. How?’
It hadn’t been like this in the past. This was the first time in 32 years.
The only difference now was the war. The despicable mortal who orchestrated it, bearing the likeness of her eldest sister.
Her.
She brought change to this world.
At first, Fjolda thought she had come to deceive her. But her earnest plea proved she wasn’t just any mortal.
Even though Fjolda didn’t trust her, she was still fighting in that battlefield.
‘A mortal bearing my eldest sister’s likeness.’
Her eldest sister, Keira.
Yu-hyun’s brave figure now overlapped with her memory of her admired eldest sister.
‘Why don’t you give up?’
Seeing her wielding a sword with her black hair flowing, Fjolda involuntarily recalled her past with Keira.
Yes.
When the sisters gathered candidates and taught them.
Back then, Fjolda once approached Keira late
at night and questioned her indignantly.
She thought Lean’s existence was unfair.
-Eldest sister, why did you give that weak human the qualification! I don’t understand!
Even though they were sisters, the eldest sister was the leader of the Great Five Sisters.
In such a clear hierarchy, Fjolda’s behavior was rude enough to incur her wrath.
Even Fjolda felt she had gone too far, but it was too late.
If her eldest sister rebuked her, she would accept it. But Fjolda didn’t think her words were wrong.
Keira smiled gently at Fjolda.
-Lean is not weak.
-No, he is weak. Both physically and mentally. I still don’t understand why you cling to such a half-wit.
-Fjolda. You don’t understand yet. There’s nothing certain in this world. Even the weakest person can change if given the opportunity.
-Then when will that opportunity come! Do you wait for it, knowing when it will arrive? That’s not how reality works!
-Yes. Reality doesn’t work that way. But I want to believe in that possibility.
Keira gently patted Fjolda’s shoulder with a faint smile.
-Fjolda. You’re right. Humans are weak. But each weakness has its own beauty.
-Failure has no beauty, sister.
-But rising again after failure is more valuable than anything.
-……
-Someday, you’ll understand. The dignity of humans who rise from their failures with brilliance. How dazzling it is.
Why did her eldest sister speak to her with such confidence?
At that time, Fjolda didn’t understand those words. She thought her sister was just making excuses.
But now, she thought she understood a little.
‘Sisters.’
Her eldest sister asked her to believe in Lean.
Her second, third, and fourth sisters asked her to believe in new possibilities.
At this moment, Fjolda had no choice but to make a decision.
To follow the teachings her eldest sister had given her with a smile.
‘I must send the Key Sword.’
And, there were still people in Guardian who could move.
Among them, she found someone who was a coward but had the strongest heart, and spoke.
[If you can hear my voice, come here.]
If you’ve decided, you must act.
Now, time was of the essence.
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