<Aaron Side Story Episode 7>
2. A sword waiting to be drawn (1)
* * *
Aaron closed the book.
The madness of the goddess echoed in his head.
“How is it?”
“… … .”
“Aaron, how do you see the story in this book? Who is good and who is evil?”
whose fault
Is it Ikar who couldn’t give up Moebius?
Is it Tell who threw all dimensions into disaster for the sake of his younger sister?
Is it Lecadis who plotted these things behind the scenes?
If that’s not the case, is it the law that sentenced Mobius to destruction?
“I do not know.”
“I do not know. are you okay. That is an answer.”
Yurnet laughed.
Aaron said bluntly.
“Anyway, it’s over in the end.”
Currently, all three gods who planned the Pick Me Up project have disappeared.
I no longer believed in them at any level.
It’s a fair karma return.
“And whatever the circumstances, the goddess’s actions are not forgivable.”
How many heroes and monsters had to suffer because of that goddess.
Tell had to die.
He had to die for the peace and future of Mobius.
“I think so. Many Moebius beings, including us, suffered. But what about. The Goddess has done a good job of proving her own innocence.”
“Did you prove it?”
“We are here. Because Mobius has been revived.”
“Just because the results are good, I can’t tolerate the process.”
“That makes sense.”
Yurnet’s mouth opened.
“To that goddess… … If only I had a little mercy. We might not have hated the goddess of innocence this much.”
“mercy… … you mean?”
Tell used everything to achieve his goal of reviving Mobius.
The lives of Mobius, the gods and spirits, the people of Earth, and even oneself.
There was no mercy whatsoever.
Even if Tell threw everyone else into hell, it didn’t matter if he could continue with that innocent goal.
In the process, the suffering of others was not taken into account in the slightest.
‘If there was mercy in the innocence of the goddess.’
Would the shape have changed?
Could the suffering of the heroes and monsters have been slightly alleviated?
Aaron doesn’t know.
Since he wasn’t a god, he couldn’t guess Tell’s intentions.
But assertions were possible.
“It is impossible.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because the mercy of that goddess has already died.”
“Whoops, that’s a fair statement.”
Therefore, the course and ending of the story were pre-determined.
The moment the goddess of mercy threw herself away and died, the goddess of innocence could no longer harbor mercy.
“You know? About the innocence and mercy of the Goddess Church.”
“I have only heard it a few times from believers in my hometown. I don’t know.”
“Purity and mercy. mercy and purity. The two logics go hand in hand and are said to give life the strength to live.”
Yunet’s explanation continued.
“Two to one. one and two. According to the doctrine of the Goddess Church, when innocence and compassion fall apart, disasters will befall the world.”
“Why?”
“Because mercy without innocence decides nothing, and innocence without mercy drives all things to ruin.”
Squeak.
Yurnet poured tea into a teacup.
Aaron muttered.
“Mercy without innocence decides nothing.”
“I consider everything and agonize, and I can’t move forward, so I just stagnate endlessly.”
“Purity without mercy drives all things to ruin.”
“Going only for himself, greedily devouring the universe.”
So, it has to be mixed properly.
The Goddess Church called the state in which innocence and compassion were completely combined as ‘harmony’.
“how is it? Isn’t it attractive to know?”
“that… … I don’t know.”
“In times of peace, people of the world followed mercy, and in times of turmoil, ancient kings followed innocence. Because pure… … .”
“Is it because it gives you strength to fight against adversity?”
“oh. You have learned well.”
Yurnet laughed.
“That’s right, Aaron. Purity is courage. Perseverance and perseverance. Because true innocence means a will that does not back down in the face of any hardship or adversity.”
“… … .”
“With a little mercy mixed in, the ancient kings accomplished feats that go down in history.”
Aaron frowned.
Mix mercy with innocence.
Isn’t it strange?
“Did you just think? It’s strange to mix innocence with mercy.”
“Yes, wait.”
“Right, a contradiction. Innocence and mercy are in fact and logically incompatible. But it’s possible. Contradiction is human nature. On Earth, these human attributes are referred to as ‘naeronambul’.”
“Naero Nambul?”
“Oh my, maybe my choice of terminology was a bit wrong? Anyway, it just needs to make sense.”
Yurnet tilted her head.
Then, they cheered up the atmosphere with applause.
“Now, let’s end the difficult story here. Let’s move on.”
“So, are you ready?”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Aaron, there is very little left in the process.”
Yurnet laughed softly.
Aaron thought for a second to see if she was doing that on purpose, but then shook his head.
“If you only see this… … It will really end.”
Yurnet gestured.
The Book of the Forgotten Gods went into the bookshelf, and this time another book came with it on the table.
A rough gray cover.
The sharpness that would cut you if you touched it came out of the book.
Aaron immediately noticed the owner of this book.
“No, this book is fine!”
Aaron jumped up and waved his hand.
“Why is that?”
“This book… … I mean, isn’t that his book!”
“Are you talking about Ridigion?”
Lydigion.
The eyes of the man nicknamed the best warrior in Valhalla were enough to make Aaron’s body hard.
Aaron’s body would stiffen like a rabbit in front of a tiger just by meeting its eyes.
The man usually spoke very little.
However, if even a little emotion arises, an uncontrollable killing spews out.
Aaron, sensitive to the atmosphere, found it difficult to endure that life.
That’s why, unless we were fighting together, I tried to avoid running into each other. To be honest… … .
‘scared.’
He himself has crossed numerous lines of fire and battlefields, but there is no way to develop these feelings.
Aaron was fascinated by the members of the 1st party who treated such a man like a beast.
“As expected, inviting Aaron here was the correct answer.”
“yes?”
“You two don’t get along. Can we call this a colleague? It may have adverse effects in battle.”
“That’s right, but.”
“You don’t have to worry. Lidigion also gave permission to read it.”
did you allow it?
is that guy?
“If you really don’t like it, there are other ways.”
Yurnet smiled.
“How about a special feature on getting close? I paired up with Ridigion for a month, all day… … .”
“I will read it!”
Aaron sat down immediately.
“Unfortunately. Lidigion-sama must be sad.”
Aaron started to see the woman in front of him as a demon.
“You are misunderstanding. Even though he looks blunt on the outside, is his heart kind and warm?”
Aaron remembered his first meeting with Lidigion.
And I remembered my first conversation with that man.
<You’re the man’s successor?>
<Yes… … .>
<Do you want to die?>
Where are you proud of?
Cold sweat broke out on the nape of Aaron’s neck.
“Now, let’s read it. The method is the same as in the first book. Just open it and focus your mind, and the story will begin.”
“… … All right.”
As you can see, I seem to have fallen into a trap.
I had no choice but to be determined.
Let’s rather enjoy it.
the man’s story.
It wasn’t because I wasn’t curious.
He was the best swordsman in Valhalla, the strongest spearman, and the invincible divine archer.
Sword, spear, sword, bow, mace, whip, sickle, winding, each.
In all weapons, he was unmatched.
Anything that could be caught in the man’s hand became a weapon to kill the enemy.
Even naked.
Countless strong men gather in Valhalla, and they have honed their martial arts for decades or hundreds of years, but inevitably they are frustrated in front of that man.
It was a set rule.
like fate.
The man was a genius.
He was a genius among geniuses, and he was a genius who stood above the sky among geniuses who overwhelm such geniuses.
thus,
The man existed as a symbol related to martial arts among the numerous strong men in Valhalla.
someone admires him
some are jealous of him
Someone tried to jump him… … .
The man gave no place to anyone in his realm.
‘It was the same for me.’
Aaron was one of them.
The man had what Aaron had always dreamed of.
Overwhelming talent for nothing.
Still, never arrogant.
He came out early in the morning and practiced until late.
‘I would like to know.’
What would his life be like, the complete opposite of his own, who lacked even the slightest talent for combat?
Suddenly, the fear was forgotten.
Only pure curiosity filled Aaron’s heart.
Aaron opened the book.
It was the beginning of a new story.
* * *
“Wow!”
Cheers rang out.
A cry for someone’s blood.
He grabbed the hilt of his sword.
Blood on the blade splattered onto the sand.
“this… … profit!”
somewhere not far.
A muscular man charged with an axe.
‘Left vertical cut. Next, cut upwards in an oblique line to the right.’
Before the man even swings the axe.
The action he was going to take was drawn in the man’s mind.
“Hey!”
The man screamed like a beast.
At the same time, the ax aimed at the shoulder was swung.
He dodged the attack like water.
“Search!”
The next guy’s upward slash.
“Heh… … !”
An evil smile crept across the man’s mouth.
Because it had a taste.
Just like that.
Blood was flowing from the man’s left shoulder.
“Wow! Kill! Kill!”
The more blood spurts, the more swords collide with sparks,
The crowd cheers.
They didn’t want a crushing match.
The bloodied each other, the fiercer the match, the more cheers, and they willingly threw money into the arena.
What they really want is a flame that burns as two lives violently rub against each other.
That’s why single-knife fights don’t fit the nature of the arena.
The man knew that better than anyone else.
“die… … die… … die!”
The muscular man swung the two-handed ax randomly.
A series of attacks like a typhoon.
Sand on the floor splashed in all directions.
“… … .”
Kang! Kaga River!
Fatal attacks are dodged or deflected.
If the attack is shallow, hit it.
Blood flowed from all over the man’s body.
“Huh! Hahaha!”
The man with the ax sensed victory.
Although he managed to avoid critical hits, the difference in weight class and strength was obvious to anyone.
‘That’s right!’
The first few times, I felt a strange sense of incongruity when I faced Hap.
The feeling of hitting an inexplicable wall was completely gone.
The man in front of me is weak.
And it’s boring.
‘It was decided that I would win from the beginning.’
From weapons to strength and training, everything is different.
The weapon the man is holding is a giant ax forged from the finest steel. It was airlifted from a high-ranking nobleman who secretly sponsored a man.
On the other hand, what that man was holding was an old iron sword.
The blade is badly damaged.
If you hit it right once, it will break right away.
It manages to block it, but it’s just an act of luck.
“우습게 보지 말라고, 개새끼가.”
muttered the man with the axe.
The two were gladiators belonging to the same arena.
I knew very well how he was doing on a regular basis.
Compared to veteran fighters working tirelessly in training, that guy leads a lazy life.
So did the man.
He did not neglect his strength training even for a day.
His sweat never dried on the handle of the practice axe.
But what about that guy?
I just sit idly by and pass the time.
There was no sense of urgency to win the next match.
He seems to have been lucky enough to have survived, but since he met himself, that was over.
‘Efforts do not betray!’
thud!
The heavy ax blade dug deep into the sand.
It was a weight that no man could lift properly.
Through countless trainings, he has reached a level where he can freely handle this axe.
Men weren’t strong from the start either.
In the first real match, I could only say that I won because I was lucky.
However, in order to live and survive, I tried and tried again and again and reached the current position.
A high-ranking gladiator.
An honorable title given to those who survive 10 or more battles.
The man was the owner of that title.
The man honored himself.
So that guy was unlucky.
That son of a bitch is at the same level as you.
But I wasn’t careless.
Before entering the match, I thoroughly analyzed Nome’s fighting style.
‘The opponents are just trivial things.’
Arena matches are usually selected by lottery.
So, if you’re very lucky, even a weakling can be appointed as a high-ranking gladiator on very rare occasions.
That guy did it.
There are no flashy techniques.
It is not very strong, and its body is not particularly agile.
He has never been able to overwhelmingly overpower an opponent.
It’s just a small coincidence, I just barely got over it.
“I won’t kill you!”
The man pointed at the man.
Then, with the thumb of his left hand, he pretended to slit his throat.
“Wow!”
“Yes, Lars! kill it! I bet money on you!”
“Don’t lose to that trash! kill me!”
cheers of the crowd.
The muscular man had quite a few devoted fans.
From an exciting and rushing fighting style to a cool special move.
The man called Lars grinned.
“Where would you like to finally see it!”
Cheers grew.
The shout, ‘Will you see it once, at the end’ was a special line that the man uttered before cutting the enemy into pieces with a special move.
A kind of showmanship.
Sensing the results of the splashing of blood and flesh, the white aristocratic audience heated up.
thud!
The man pulled out an ax stuck in the sand and threw it over his shoulder.
The distance to him is about 5 meters.
He declared a special move, but his face didn’t waver at all. just standing there with his sword drooping.
‘what.’
Are you okay?
Did I declare to kill you?
Did you turn your head away from fear?
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
It is a showdown between high-ranking gladiators.
It was clear that the reward would be generous.
You will be able to eat delicious food and have a good rest after a long time.
“Hehehe!”
Tendons sprouted from the man’s muscles.
The body, trained to the limit, retained elasticity.
“Get lost!”
phut!
sand was scattered
The body of the man who ran away in an instant arrived in front of him.
It’s not slow because it’s a muscular giant.
Few enemies could react to this speed.
’17 consecutive hits!’
tight!
A storm-like attack using the strength and weight of the whole body.
The first blow struck the man’s head as if splitting it open.
The guy dodged the blow by stepping sideways.
‘also! It’s no fun if you die right away!’
Lars’ smile deepened.
“one!”
The 17th consecutive attack is the trademark of the high-ranking gladiator Lars.
The audience shouted after each attack.
“two!”
From a down hit to a horizontal slash.
Originally, it was a motion that could not be connected, but the muscular strength of a bear-like man made it possible.
‘Where, stop it!’
It’s like being torn apart.
The man’s steel ax cut through the bodies of countless victims along with the weapon.
It is impossible to block that blow with all the soul.
Even the guy is holding an old sword.
That kind of trash will break like a can of sorghum as soon as it hits a steel axe.
The man raised his sword blade.
Action to block the ax blade.
A light of joy passed through Lars’ eyes.
“porridge… … !”
Kang!
“… … ?”
