< 314. Waves, liberation, confession. >
#314
Blue blood soaked the sandbank. Abel’s headless body slowly tilted towards her. As he fell, the hilt of the sword fell from Ronan’s hand.
Deep. La Mancha, which fell from the tip, was deeply embedded in the white sand beach. Abel did not wake up again. Ronan, who was repeatedly closing and opening her eyes, let out a curse.
“Whoa… the plague…”
The fatigue that had accumulated so far was coming all at once. The curse was gone, but this was a separate issue.
Now I could instinctively feel that time was running out. Suddenly, Lin’s voice rang in my head.
[Ronan. Wake.]
“late.”
Ronan chuckled. His condition had already deteriorated to the point where he could not see clearly. In the hazy, hazy vision, the only sound was the sound of red waves crashing.
“···I’m exhausted.”
dump. Ronan, who had been staring at the horizon, collapsed in his seat. The feeling of gentle waves soaking my legs wasn’t too bad.
[Are you… going to die?]
“maybe.”
[No… that’s not possible.]
Ronan answered harshly. Lin’s voice, which was always calm, was filled with moisture. Girl, why bother talking about the Holy Sword?
“Thank you, Lin. “Thanks to you, I was able to come this far.”
[do not say that. There must be some way…!]
“doesn’t exist. You know that.”
Ronan laughed. If possible, hey, of course she wanted to live. Because he hated words like ‘sacrifice’ and ‘death in the line of duty’ more than anyone else. It was better for him to be a coward and die alive than to become a hero and have his name engraved on the memorial stone.
But I never expected something like this to happen to me. Isn’t this a hero from legends who completely saves and destroys the world?
“Anyway, it’s unlucky…”
Ronan grumbled. Of course, he only said that, but his mouth was smiling.
He would die here, but what he protected would survive for a long time. Ronan, unable to bear his fatigue, was about to lie down. A familiar voice came from not far away.
『···I lost.』
“what···!”
For a moment, I got goosebumps. Ronan reflexively grabbed the hilt of his sword and turned her body. Abel’s head, lying there, was looking at him.
“Are you dead yet?”
This was dangerous. Ronan aimed the tip of his sword at Abel.
My arms were shaking as they reached their limit, but I couldn’t help it. He had to kill it completely at all costs. Abel’s mouth opened again.
『Stop it. The moment your head was cut off, your connection to the source was already lost. I will soon disappear.』
“How can I believe that?”
『Well, actually, it is already disappearing. Look at me carefully.』
Ronan heard those words and narrowed his eyes. Although it was blurry, I could see Abel’s head slowly shrinking.
He was scattering like particles of light, like giants who had been robbed of their source. Ronan, realizing that Abel’s words were true, lowered his sword.
“Whoa…damn it. “I thought I passed out.”
I thought my liver was going to fall apart and fall into pieces. Although he was in great shape, Ronan did not have enough strength left to deal with the resurrected Abel.
“hey. Let me ask you one thing.』
“ok?”
『If you had done it your way instead of mine, would people have stopped killing each other one day?』
Ronan narrowed his eyes at the sudden question. Since everyone on that side was dying anyway, it didn’t seem like they were plotting some strange plan. He sat down again and shook his head.
“You don’t know that. But probably not much would have changed.”
『Then why did you stop us both? I saw a memory when my brother closed his eyes. You were against my brother’s plan, not mine.』
Abel asked with a questioning tone. As a crooked but utilitarian person, he could not understand Ronan, who did not sympathize with the ideology of either the savior or himself.
Perfect! Ronan suddenly stretched out her arm and hit Abel on the forehead with the back of her knife.
『Ugh! What did you do…』
“Yumma. Are you calling that a question? Anyway, your brother and your father are very mischievous.”
『What?』
“People are not idiots. Of course, there are a lot of dead bodies, but there are a lot more healthy people. “I’m sure you would have done it on your own even if you hadn’t cleaned up the poop one by one.”
Ronan said. It was the first time since Ahayute that I had a conversation with someone who had just cut off their hair. Abel crushed his face and shouted as if he were protesting.
『How can you say something like that even after looking at memories of the past? You have seen nuclear war, bomb shelters built to avoid fallout, and the battleship Dainhar built to destroy even other stars! Do you think there is any room for rehabilitation for the beings who create such things?!』
“Fuck, I’m surprised. “Why don’t you be quiet?”
Perfect! Ronan hit him on the head again with the back of his sword. Abel, who was left with only his head left, could do nothing but vent his anger.
『Ugh…!』
“Just shut up and trust me. Father and you should have been bystanders. “Even if I wanted to teach him, I should have just given him advice. The problem was that he tried to move the horse himself.”
『It is an outrageous indulgence. How on earth can you have that kind of faith?
Abel was now truly shocked. Since he received the blood of the savior, he should be able to think from the point of view of an immortal. Ronan, who had coughed up some blood, answered without hesitation.
“Because I have changed.”
『What?』
“I was originally the head of two heads. But somehow, I started living life one more time and changed my mind. “It’s hard for me to say this, but I’ve really changed a lot.”
Ronan, recalling memories of his past life, laughed. Looking back now, it was truly a life of extreme scum. He continued.
“I knew then. People can change if they have the opportunity. “I was a bit of an unusual case, but most people have a better mentality than me, so they will be able to come to their senses without such a big incident.”
『···Was that really the reason?』
“Don’t say it’s all you can do, man. “What do you think is the reason you lost to me right now?”
Abel kept his mouth shut at the sharp question. No matter what anyone said, the results were already out.
It’s not funny that it’s because I’ve changed. Abel, who was thinking about those words, laughed. There was an awkward silence for a long time.
『···I will tell you how to survive.』
“what?”
Ronan, who had been dozing off, raised his head. She wondered what kind of nonsense this was. Abel, who had lost about 30% of her hair before she knew it, spoke to her.
『My personality will soon disappear, but my original power is still alive and well. Tear my chest and take my heart. Then you will become like me and enjoy strength and eternity.』
Abel rolled his eyes and pointed at his scattered body. Ronan raised his eyebrows.
“Have you developed a late senility? ‘Why are you suddenly telling me that?’
『Well, I wonder why…』
Abel trailed off. She couldn’t think of a suitable answer. He turned his gaze back to the sea and laughed.
『Like you said, he must have become senile.』
“It’s amazing.”
It didn’t seem like he was lying. Ronan staggered to his feet. For some reason, I kept feeling like people around me were popular.
‘They must be souls trapped in the source.’
If what Abel said was true, his heart would contain all the souls that the giants had collected so far. It wasn’t enough to save his life, but to have all of that power was something that would never happen again.
“···This is the heart.”
Ronan finally reached the corpse and stopped. He didn’t have to worry anymore. He thought of the faces of his loved ones and swung his sword.
Sigh! The tip of her knife pierced Abel’s chest. However, it was not a movement to cut, but to stab and explode. Abel, sensing that her blade had pierced the source, burst into her light.
『Yes, you…! What are you doing now!』
If this continues, the source will be destroyed. Instead of answering, Ronan twisted his sword. At the same time that the source was completely destroyed, Abel’s body oxidized into light.
Quaaaaa! At the same time, lumps of light that looked like will-o’-the-wisps poured out from his heart. There seemed to be billions of them, but I couldn’t even count them. Ronan whistled in admiration.
“It’s spectacular.”
“why···!”
Abel was embarrassed. The liberated souls were flying toward the star-filled night sky. I’m not sure what will happen, but they’ll probably go to their paradise. Somewhere in a distant universe.
For some reason, it seemed like cheering could be heard. There were as many souls as there were visible stars, so it seemed like there wouldn’t be enough time to see them all disappear. Now only the lower part of her nose was left, Abel opened her mouth.
『Foolish thing… you can’t survive anymore. You’re kicking away your only chance.』
“doesn’t care. Because something like that shouldn’t exist in the world…”
Slurp. Suddenly, Ronan, who was looking up at the sky, fell down. A familiar sensation was taking over her body. The darkness is falling, the five senses are blocked one by one. Death was about to kiss him.
“···Damn, you’re just acting like a brat.”
If I was going to die, I wanted to die while looking at the sky. Ronan mustered the last of his strength and turned his body over. Unlike her previous life, a distant sea of stars stretched out before her eyes.
This was the world he protected. I could no longer feel the wind or waves. The vision focused on the bluish motherhood was slowly darkening.
“Still… it was fun.”
Ronan muttered. Just like in his first life, there were still many things he could not accomplish, but strangely, he had no regrets.
Soon silence fell. Abel, feeling puzzled, called him.
『Hey, Ronan.』
But no answer came back. Although the snow had long since disappeared, it was not difficult to guess the situation. He kept his mouth open and smiled bitterly.
『···You really look a lot like your older brother.』
It was truly a heroic end. Now it was his turn to leave. Perhaps because it was the last time, something similar to Zuma Light was passing through my mind. What came to mind most strongly was, of course, Cain’s face.
“older brother···.”
Abel opened his mouth. In his fading consciousness, he was walking with Cain on the cold ground of his hometown.
『I knew it. I was… not your younger brother… or anything…』
The belated confession mingled with the sound of the waves. Abel knew long ago that she was not Cain’s biological sister. Looking back, it seemed like it was from then on that he began to harbor resentment toward his older brother.
『Still, you always held my hand…』
But Cain always took Abel’s side. She encouraged her only sister, saying that even if the world pointed at her cruel actions, things could change.
Abel knew. She realized that if she had not betrayed her, the two would have remained good, friendly brothers forever. Now she felt like she knew what she had to protect, but the end was already near.
“brother···.”
Abel gritted his teeth. It was just sad that there were no more eyes to shed tears. Lips disintegrating into light muttered the last words.
“I’m sorry.”
That was the end. The last remaining particles of light disappeared beyond the night sky. Before we knew it, the sea had reached a high tide and had erased all traces of the two people.
****
“Ugh…”
Ronan opened his eyes. Her head felt dizzy, as if she had just woken up from a long sleep. The star-filled night sky disappeared everywhere, leaving a completely white space.
“I see… am I finally dead?”
It wasn’t difficult to guess the situation. Because my battered body, which could never get better, was completely healed.
Even the sword was still there. He, who was lying down, got up and touched his forehead.
“Eh?”
Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling in my pants pocket. He put his hand in and out and tilted his head. A small, round sphere of unknown material was sandwiched between the index finger and thumb.
“···What is this, Al?”
It was an item I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t tell when it came into my pocket. That was the moment Ronan put her orb back in her pocket. Someone’s footsteps were heard not far away.
“What, there were people besides me…”
Ronan turned his head without thinking. And he froze in place. He was standing behind him, Ade Shan wearing the uniform of a general.
“It was a lot of hard work. “Corporal.”
“General? Wait a minute, you next to me…”
But what really puzzled him was the man next to Adeshan. There was a face there that he had only seen once a long time ago, but could never forget.
A believer I met in the Baidian Mountains. The elf man with long ears had clearly been turned to stone in the aftermath of the fight. Ronan, who made eye contact with her man, barely opened his mouth.
“···Sarante?”
