77 – Farewell (3)

“…”

The black magician did not add any additional words. She responded to Damian by silently advancing the ghoul.

A group of ghouls and races move slowly, narrowing the encirclement.

Even though he faced a number close to the corps alone, Damian did not step back.

Rather, he moved forward.

As Damian approached the warlock, the ghouls spurred on. They were muscular, probably thanks to the Griffon Potion, and the black veins on their flesh stood out to the point of being hideous.

He attacked Damian in the blink of an eye at terrifying speed, but he spawned dozens of ghouls in five or six strokes, then swung his sword in the air and fired sword waves at the warlock.

She watched him blankly, without a hint of avoidance.

And the ghouls in the front row built a wall with their bodies to block the sword wave. With a roar, bones and flesh exploded and soared into the sky.

Through the gaps in the ghoul’s flesh pouring down like rain, I could see the undisturbed appearance of the warlock. For a while, the ghouls like bees swarmed, and Damian no longer caught sight of him.

***

The wind band plays magnificent music.

Following the introduction with rhetoric, the awarding ceremony began, in which plaques and rings were presented to the students with the highest grades.

Then, the moderator on the podium called the names of the representatives of each department.

Iris, Cecil, Lilith, and even Rupert. Representatives of each faculty appear splendidly, stepping on the glittering golden carpet.

The applause of the crowd continued incessantly.

Shion, who hadn’t been called yet, looked at the crowd from behind.

Sincere congratulations and admiration. On the other hand, there was a look of envy and jealousy mixed with envy for the talent he did not have. Even that would be a source of narcissism for the students who stood on the podium.

Subsequently, Zion’s name was called with the unfamiliar modifier of the best talent.

The attendants stood up slowly and looked at the carpet leading to the podium. Shion slowly got up from his seat and walked in front of him. And a long applause for her followed.

Perhaps thanks to the heavy label of being a disciple of a sword master, the frivolous chanting of the crowd has disappeared.

As if they were at the coronation ceremony, the audience expressed their sincere admiration and respect for the continent’s best talent, and because of that, unlike those in the forefront, there was a sense of weight.

Shion, who went up to the podium, was confused.

She clearly remembered. The best talent was not hers and this place belonged to someone else. This applause should be passed on to the man.

where is that man Why did you turn your back on everything and disappear?

Those questions haunted her all along.

***

A hill was being made of corpses and flesh. Damian piled the ghouls under his feet and climbed up. The ghouls continued to slash and slash.

Then Damian groaned and staggered. Something penetrated Damian’s thigh. The ghoul, who thought he had been cut in half, attacked him with only his upper body.

Damian cut off the ghoul’s head, leaving the spine that had pierced his thigh intact.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha.”

The wounds were piling up one by one on his body. His clothes were completely wet, as if soaked in blood, torn in places, and blood flowed from large and small wounds all over his body.

The races hadn’t even joined yet. Like vultures preying on a corpse, they peered out of the air for an opportunity.

***

Faculty representatives with the best scores received rings and plaques and walked down the podium.

And Zion remained on the podium to decorate the end. As previously notified, someone comes up and hands her a scroll.

This is a passage from the scriptures that the first principal read to the first 10 or so students who founded Eternia.

The reading ceremony continued like a custom and became a tradition in Eternia after hundreds of years.

And today, all the top students on the podium deliver passages from the scriptures to the incoming students instead of taking the oath of admission.

Shion, who opened the scroll and read the prayer, held her breath for a moment.

Unlike today, when the first principal read that passage, the world was full of evil. The audience lived in a different era, so this message wouldn’t have touched them.

How many people will truly understand and accept the true meaning of these verses? To them, it would be just a boring dogma.

The entrance ceremony hall was quiet, not a single cough. Everyone was waiting for her reading.

Shion looked around for a moment at the silent audience and finally opened his mouth.

“If you really want to seek God’s will, don’t get drunk on fame and fame. It will only blind you. Don’t chase after gold and silver. It only corrupts your soul and weighs down your body.”

After Iris came down from the stage, she went straight to where her family was waiting. The family who had been waiting for her hugged Iris silently without making a fuss because the entrance ceremony had not yet ended.

And a man came up to them and bowed his head to Iris. A man wearing imperial attire held out an invitation with the seal of the imperial family. Seeing this, Iris was surprised at the unexpected luxury and covered her mouth with both hands.

“Do not seek God’s will in scriptures and laws. Just as starlight cannot be captured on parchment, God’s will is not contained in text. If you truly want to find God’s will, go your own way.”

The brilliance from Damian’s sword gradually faded. Although his body was so damaged that a normal human could never stand upright, Damian stood firm and fought to the death.

Even after passing the length of time he could keep the sword, he was still fighting.

The number of ghouls gradually decreased, but with the limit approaching, they had to face dozens of races.

As the brilliance of the sword gradually faded, the race gradually narrowed the gap.

And the warlock, who had been hiding in the fog all along, had appeared and was climbing the hill of corpses.

“Go on, even if your body is thrown into bone-crunching pain, and sometimes fate robs you of loved ones. Even if no one recognizes your karma, even if the world ridicules you, go on.”

Wraiths were swimming in the air and touching Damian as if provoking them.

He fired a sword wave at the race that came close to it, completely tearing it apart, but his consciousness was clouded by the pouring of his power.

Damian’s sword slowly flickered and he staggered.

And another race, looking for an opportunity, swooped down on him from behind.

The sound of flesh piercing spread.

Damian let go of his hand and dropped his sword to the floor.

“Kuhhh…!”

Something hot rose up his throat. He vomited up a bagful of blood, and the blood flowed like a waterfall through the cracks in his mask.

Damian lowered his gaze.

Lace’s hand had pierced his stomach.

Wraith lifted him into the air and Damian fell helplessly to the ground.

The warlock who climbed to the top of the hill of corpses raised his head and looked up at Damian.

The hood of the robe came off, revealing the warlock’s face.

Pale face, long white hair. It reminded me of Trisha.

“Your souls will be reborn through trials, and God’s will will be revealed in the way you advance.”

Damian stood still, clinging to Wraith’s fingers as if he were to be burned at the stake.

He lost the will to resist and looked down at the warlock drooping as if waiting for death.

she said to Damian.

“…You won’t die. Come with me.”

“…”

“Like your old senior, Kaedwen, and your classmate, Luna, you will become a good fortune.”

The warlock turned and walked. And Wraith followed, hanging Damian.

And Damian glared at her and opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…You said it, didn’t you?”

She stopped and looked back at Damian.

“I’m going to have to kill you.”

Damian’s hand once again glowed, and the sword returned to his hand.

With all his remaining strength, he slashed Reyes’ hand and fell.

And as he fell, he plunged his sword into the warlock’s chest. The pure white light penetrated her body and then disappeared again.

Damian couldn’t control his body and immediately attacked the warlock. Then, the two entangled themselves and tumbled down the corpse mound.

***

Shion and Lilith had known for a long time that they were looking for someone like him, but he didn’t tell them where he was. The reason was simple. They are not blood-mixed families, long-time lovers, or deep love. Because there was no reason to help.

Feeling someone’s gaze, Cecile paused and looked back.

People were flowing like a wave for the celebration that followed the entrance ceremony, but Lilith stood still against the flow.

From a few steps away, Lilith gazed at Cecil.

The eyes are like frozen lakes.

No passion was shown on the surface, but a feeling of discomfort and embarrassment remained as if something dark was hidden deep inside.

Soon, Cecil brushed off her gaze and moved forward.

It was none of Cecil’s business how Lilith felt.

It didn’t matter if Cecile’s attitude caused trouble. I thought that after a couple of fights, if I realized that I was no match for myself, I would break away on my own.

Then I will find another suitable man. Lilith must have been a human who lived like that originally.

Cecil liked to play. The relationship with Candy was also a kind of play. And that man was the best partner for stimulating Cecile’s curiosity and desire, and she did not want to give it up to anyone else.

The game of hide-and-seek is just getting started, and the tempo will get messed up if someone gets in. One tagger was enough for the game.

***

“hahahaha.”

Damian stood up again. Her black robes were strewn at her feet, but the warlock’s body had evaporated.

I didn’t even see the race.

There was blood in the robe, but I couldn’t tell if it was Damian’s blood or the warlock’s blood.

I didn’t know if it was over or if there were enemies left. He couldn’t fight any longer.

He stood firmly on his two legs, but his body was so broken that being alive was close to a miracle.

Damian had a thread of consciousness left, barely holding on.

It was hazy like a dream.

All of this is a terrible nightmare, and I thought that I was struggling in the world of the unconscious.

Damian pulled out a compass. The windshield of the compass was drenched in blood.

He wiped the glass with his thumb, but it was newly covered with drops of blood, making it impossible to see the needle.

Eventually, I dropped the compass and looked up at the sky again. Thanks to the thick fog, the road ahead was blurry, and I couldn’t look back on which way I had walked.

Then, with his back to the field of corpses, he walked forward.

After advancing for a long time, he suddenly thought that the labyrinth, which seemed almost invisible, was like his own life.

The cries of reason, saying that without a compass, you can only turn the wheel and get stuck in a labyrinth, have long since disappeared. He didn’t know where he was going, but he was driven by an unconscious desire to get out of here.

That was the only thing Damian could do.

Memories of my childhood flashed through me. It was a time when I was poor and weak, but happy. And now, the scars are so stained that I can’t remember them happily.

The nightmare gradually faded, and the vision gradually became darker, as if falling into a deep sleep.

And at the end of the dream, only one person came to mind.

“Teacher….”

I missed the warmth. The memory of being with Silverin, the person who had truly warmed him, flashed by. It would be great if I could enjoy a picnic in front of Wiesel’s Lake again with her.

He subconsciously reached into his pocket and pulled out the stitch. Then, as he lifted it into the air, Stitch spread his wings and flew up.

“Ahh….”

And Damian belatedly stretched out his arms in the air to catch Stitch. But Stitch had long since moved away.

“no….”

Stitch couldn’t get out of the labyrinth because the steering function didn’t work, but Damian forgot that fact and struggled with his hands.

“No… Sensei, Sensei…”

body became increasingly stiff.

“If you know… you can’t…”

Damian lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

After smelling the blood, the remnants of the group of ghouls and black figures hid in the fog and followed Damian.

***

The fog of the labyrinth was slowly clearing around Damian.

The air suddenly became chilly, as if freezing, and the fog condensed and covered the labyrinth, which had become pure white snow.

The feet of the ghouls roaming around, aiming for his flesh, froze to white with a squeak. The ghouls instinctively shook their bodies violently, but their legs on the ground did not come off at all.

The white frost climbed up the legs and all over the body and eventually froze everything.

And a girl with silver hair walked out from the other side. Her white clothes were stained with blood, as if she had gone through a fierce battle.

As she beckoned, the frozen ghoul cracked open and immediately disintegrated into ice powder and was blown away by the wind.

And the black figure hiding behind the fog disappeared as if running away when he saw the girl.

The girl left everything behind and approached him.

And seeing Damian collapsed in the middle of the labyrinth, her heart ached as if pierced by a thorn.

My arms trembled and my stomach burned with passion.

It was a long wait.

The girl sat down next to Damian, turned his body in the right direction and caressed his cheek. And looked down at him with unfocused eyes.

“……hi.”

It was a long-awaited reunion, but Damian didn’t hug her as always, nor did he sweetly whisper love to her.

Instead, he was dying in front of Liza. Just like the prophecy she had seen long ago.

This was the curse placed on Liza.