Chapter 103: Something Trying to Swallow Me Whole

“Leo. Your villagers aren’t dead yet.”

You told me that once before.

That sometimes a small misunderstanding can spiral into a massive fight.

That most of the time, once people actually talk, they realize it was over nothing.

That problems arise when conversation fails, and misunderstandings and distrust pile up.

…Still, what you went through was by no means a small matter.

However, it is not irreversible.

Spilled water cannot be gathered back into the glass.

…But a spilled glass can be used again.

In other words, it means it might be possible to turn things back.

“Isn’t that so?”

Kariel’s words were enough to hold Leo’s ankles.

Furthermore.

“Right now, your will to fulfill the contract was firm, but it became impossible because of me. Therefore, stepping back from this is by no means your fault.”

Approaching Mines, Kariel pushed those cryptic words as a forced justification to lead her away from the scene.

Above all.

The fact that he even knew about the contract provided a reason for her to be unable to act recklessly.

“Did you say your goodbyes to the children?”

“…….”

And those words effectively drove the final nail in.

Though he had made separate arrangements regarding the children’s safety.

In truth, she had been dragged here almost as if escaping.

And so, with Mines leaving the scene, the commotion was forcibly brought to a close.

Of course, the situation wasn’t fully resolved yet.

But having shaken off those who clung to him.

Kariel went straight to meet Ruslan, handed over his entire fortune, and delivered his requirements.

And Ruslan accepted the proposal.

Additionally.

“This is our sincerity.”

A blue piece of stationery was handed over from her hand.

“Was your regiment also interested in the sword?”

“Of course.”

There were more than a few people interested in the Sword of Grandeus.

Even excluding those influenced by the Order of Relief Knights and the prophecies they spread.

The Edenlevan Regiment’s decision to secure a branch here was, in a sense, intended to encompass all such interests.

And now, since that purpose had vanished, they were effectively freed from those constraints in a different way.

“Still, we plan to maintain this position. That way, we won’t draw suspicious looks. We can’t just give up the effort it took to settle in this region just because of one sword, can we?”

Leave the moment the sword is drawn and gone? Stop caring?

Wouldn’t that make their intentions too obvious?

Especially for the Demon Race, who were already widely disliked, there was no reason to voluntarily create an opening for others to find fault.

Therefore, they would likely use this opportunity as a pretext to further expand their business structure and scale.

The position isn’t great, but isn’t that all about how you handle it?

As Ruslan calmly explained her visions and thoughts, though not in great detail, Kariel said nothing in particular.

“So, where does Lord Kariel intend to go now?”

“…Somewhere quiet.”

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

“I’m not ready yet. Nothing is.”

…….

Unlike when he entered this place, he was alone upon leaving.

Though a guide was assigned to drive the carriage, that guide was not Luirin.

He had left that fellow to Leo for now, telling him to hang out with them for a while.

“…….”

Compared to Philbar’s magnificent carriage from before, this one was somewhat cramped, but it was that one that had been excessively luxurious.

This one alone was plenty wonderful.

Including the driver’s seat, it could hold up to six people.

If he followed the paved roads, the journey would be very comfortable.

Thanks to that, he could breathe a sigh of relief for the moment.

His physical condition was such that it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any second.

“Haa.”

His body was still spitting out dissonance.

He had gained much, but only a tiny fraction had been digested.

However, one thing was certain.

“…….”

Now, it would be impossible to enjoy a life like before.

In effect, I have died twice.

The first time was likely related to the World Tree or that damn Legion Commander or whatever during my childhood.

And the second death was today.

To be precise, it was when I encountered ‘that.’

A true after-death experience.

It is still vivid.

Vaster than the night sky, yet the starlight was brilliant and lush.

And yet, a giant darkness and the massive light enveloping it made even that seem meaningless.

It was a spectacle that transcended imagination.

In any case, Grandeus’s trial eventually boils down to a few things.

Can you be prepared for death?

Can you throw yourself into danger for others, even to the point of abandoning yourself?

Can you carry out your own will?

And.

…How desperate are you?

The sword that the blacksmith repaired and handed over.

However, it was still in an incomplete state.

The essence of the Golden Beast was the Earth Spirit.

That essence had secured all attributes and became the omnipotent Spirit King.

But even that had been abandoned, falling into the state of a Demon King.

Nevertheless, the essence did not change.

In terms of the concept of metal, the attribute and essence it possessed were likely unparalleled in the world.

That is why the symbolism and meaning of having beheaded it were so great.

In other words, this sword, received from my father and eventually through Patina.

In itself, while perhaps not a Holy Relic, it was a sword that held the potential to be an artifact or a treasure tool.

And that was exactly what Grandeus intended.

But that alone was not enough.

In the past, Grandeus replaced this function with a Holy Sword.

But that was only a half-measure.

He wanted to pass down a finished product, a complete work, to his descendants.

The inspiration he drew from that was.

The sword used and left behind by Saint Kariel.

For example, that very sword which is classified as an artifact, though not a Holy Relic.

At the time, it was nothing.

But it was everything.

Through that, Grandeus glimpsed the past and present of Saint Kariel.

If Holy Swords or Divine Swords are generally bestowed by heaven or something closely linked to it.

A Holy Relic is a kind of treasure written by myth and history.

For Grandeus, who had to live as a wild blade of grass, that heavenly appointment must have been very distasteful.

‘However, even that will fade one day, it will break, it will bend or shatter.’

Or there is a high chance it will be misused.

Because it was a tool.

Then what is the best way?

What should be done?

Of course, there is no such thing as absolute.

But.

One can design something to be as close to absolute as possible.

‘The realization came late, too.’

Because he didn’t know the essence of the power he used.

If he had known, he would have changed his method slightly.

-It is called Gravity. However, it would be hard to understand with just that.

The Demon King spoke calmly.

That there is something called the universe.

A place higher and further than the sky.

A place deeper, further, and infinitely more distant.

Something Kariel perceived as the sky above the sky.

He had a basic grasp of it through academic study or knowledge learned at the academy.

But that was the extent of the depth.

-I don’t know it well either. Based on what I heard from the Great Demon King, it is a supreme natural phenomenon that absorbs even light, and perhaps refracts and absorbs and devours even time and space. However, since it cannot be fit into the framework of “natural phenomenon,” he used the slightly exaggerated expression “Great Nature.”

One of the answers the Great Demon King gave to Grandeus.

-He said that if he wanted to kill me, there were a few ways. First, to bring a power equal to the power of that sun. Second, the power to swallow light. Third… an intense clash or explosion of power that cannot be replaced by those—a blooming. He gave these three as examples and said that if even one of them were implemented, the world would be destroyed instantly.

In other words, it meant this.

Unless it was a power capable of blowing away the entire world.

…Do not even dare.

-At that time, Grandeus asked what was closest to a method of defeating you while keeping the world intact. Then, the Great Demon King mentioned the second power.

The cause and the culprit of why Grandeus became obsessed and immersed in it.

-He found an answer in that regard. Nevertheless, it remained incomplete.

Above all, the absurdity of achieving something oneself yet not understanding it.

“In a way, you were just used. Don’t you feel it’s unfair?”

-If you put it that way, everything from being born, living, and existing is being used, isn’t it?

One must approach this with wisdom.

-I simply built a boat and set sail on the river or the sea. If I were to react with joy or sorrow every time I encountered a milestone, a lighthouse, or a reef during the journey, how would I live in this world?

“…….”

That way of thinking is actually scarier.

-Why must one empty themselves? The cause was clear. That fellow was also hollow; it couldn’t be helped.

The Demon King spoke.

The current you.

-You are very similar to that. Empty, but in a way, it was something on a different dimension from being empty.

Truly.

Something that remained even after swallowing everything in the world.

Yet, in a way, it is a path and a passage, and though it looks like an empty vessel, it is like a vessel with no entrance and no limit from the start.

…Contradictory. In many ways.

-By the way, do you intend to keep ignoring the ones following you?

“…….”

The people following the carriage at a certain distance.

Ases and the mercenary corps she leads? A private mercenary group?

Of course, they weren’t many.

“As long as they don’t touch me, I don’t need to worry about them.”

-There’s the Order of Relief Knights or whatever, and what about your father who is chasing you?

“…….”

That’s why I couldn’t even collapse or rest, and ended up in this state after handing over my entire fortune.

Normally, it wouldn’t be strange if I lost consciousness at any moment.

Perhaps because I had passed the crisis, my mind remained clear even though my body felt like it would buckle.

When fatigue accumulates and piles up, there are occasionally times like this.

Feeling like I could die of sleepiness and wanting to close my eyes and collapse immediately… yet for some reason, unable to sleep a wink.

It was likely due to these circumstances that I could listen to the Demon King’s rambling.

“Now, as you said, I just need to build my body?”

-Yes. Normally, that’s how you would survive without dying… but things have turned out coincidentally.

Does he know my condition?

It’s not that I’m a being of pure will with only consciousness remaining, like Grandeus.

For example, the life? The sense of vitality? That we took for granted.

But now, it felt completely irrelevant to me.

-That Holy Sword scrap mentioned something about four stars to you, right? Now it’s starting to make sense.

I didn’t know, but the Demon King seemed to have an inkling.

-Now there are six. One on the left wrist, one on the right arm joint, one on the forehead, one on the solar plexus, one on the right hip joint, and finally, one on the right ankle.

“……?”

-Roughly speaking, if all those stars are created, that makes a total of 14.

The Demon King spoke.

Wrist, joint, shoulder.

Six of those, left and right.

Ankle, knee, hip joint.

Six of those as well, divided left and right.

Then the solar plexus and the head.

-The structure is completely different from the method of operating by placing mana reservoirs in specific organs. Instead, seeing as it emphasizes circulation and linkage rather than storage… I can roughly guess where the capacity to exert such power originates.

“…Why do you know now when you didn’t before?”

-That’s because your senses were limited back then. I told you. Sharing a part of your senses was the fragment of the world that I could understand.

But it’s not like that now.

-Many restrictions have vanished. That means you… rather than being an object or a target… have begun to take on a quality closer to a sense of space.

“…….”

The words were difficult.

It was hard to understand.

I understood the context, but.

“In other words, rather than a living creature, I’ve become closer to nature and space? Something like that. Is that what you mean?”

-It’s a cheap expression, but yes. It wouldn’t be bad to understand it to that extent.

“…….”

You and I.

The world and I.

I had a growing awareness that these reference points were becoming blurred.

But I never imagined my very existence would change in such a way.

“Ah.”

Is that why I naturally came to understand the properties of trees, rocks, wind, and water without realizing it?

No, rather than understanding… perhaps I am simply becoming those things?

Still, I haven’t lost ‘me’ yet.

If I lost that, I would literally cease to be myself.

Only then would I be a natural object rather than a living being.

…Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad end.

If I am gone, then agony, worry, pain, and sadness would also vanish.

…….

-Haa.

As if his breath had truly stopped.

Looking at Kariel, who had fallen asleep with his eyes quietly closed, leaning to one side.

The Demon King was seized by an unknown emotion.

‘The questions have been mostly sorted out.’

Also, due to Grandeus’s arrangement, he came to one certainty.

‘Do you wish for him to be handed not only your things but mine as well? How greedy.’

Few in the world know.

That the Demon King of Wisdom did not have his own unique armament, a separate Magic Armor.

Nor did he leave behind any private legacy.

Thus, people only recall that the one who was wisdom and gold was feared for that alone.

In truth, no one knows.

Only a very few.

Because he possessed a single treasure that even the Great Demon King praised without reservation.

‘What an insolent comrade.’

Wielding it is strictly the share of the one who possesses it.

Whether the one who holds it is ignorant or aware is a problem for later.

He does not obsess over such things.

In the first place, if deficiency becomes prominent because of possession.

Doesn’t everything become simpler if one gives up ownership?

Nothing is infinite.

Nothing is permanent.

And yet, people suffer, agonize, feel pain, regret, and conflict because they try to possess what cannot be possessed….

Truly useless worries.

Since everything will be left behind after death anyway.

If you know it in your head, why not just apply it to your life?

That is why some slightly wise people struggle to engrave themselves and their traces in the memories, records, and history of others rather than themselves.

But eventually, they realize that even that is meaningless once they become truly wise.

Nevertheless, the slight process of succession and transmission must never stop.

It is truly contradictory.

But even that will be an incomparable grace to those left behind.

Good things should be shared equally.

Is that not the rightful logic?

-You.

The Golden Girl, sitting opposite with her legs crossed.

For a long time, she continued to gaze at the sleeping boy, as if she would never tire of it.