Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 113

Urzar had called for 700 men to fight, including Aire. In the run-up to the final showdown, the imperial court had chosen the best of the best to fight against Urzar.

 

“You.”

 

The Duke, who had returned to his mansion after a long absence, rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. The children had returned to the manor on the eve of the great battle, and he was not pleased to see them.

 

“I expected it, but…”

 

Eileen, Cordelia, Lucian, and Felix. The four of them held up a cloth with a blazing golden sun on it. It was a sign of honor, given only to those who would fight the final battle.

 

“It’s too late to back down.”

 

Understanding the Duke’s gaze, Eileen avoided his eyes and fiddled with her hair. As Eileen was publicly known as the Master of Divine Beast, she could not avoid participating in the war, and she had no intention of avoiding it in the first place.

 

‘I didn’t think we’d all be able to go, though.’

 

Cordelia was a rare and supreme water elemental, so Eileen had expected it to some extent, but Felix and Lucian were a surprise. They were strong enough to be in the top five in Verotanis, but they were still students, so she figured they might be left off the list.

 

Lucian shrugged and smiled.

 

“You must have looked pretty good to have escaped the carnage in the streets of Verotanis’ shopping district unscathed.”

 

Clearly, their stand against Mongma had meant a lot to the imperial family and the temple, as even Neumann was on the list.

 

Lucian spoke bluntly, but his heart was actually filled with relief.

 

“I’m glad I didn’t have to stay behind and watch, I promised to protect you.”

 

Felix echoed the sentiment.

 

“I promised I’d always be there.”

 

No matter what darkness came, Felix had no intention of leaving Eileen’s side.

 

The duke’s face hardened, then softened as he looked at the children, who showed no sign of backing down. The children stood on the battlefield. He should have been nervous, but he felt strangely calm.

 

“I can’t say anything to discourage you in the face of battle. I have faith in you.”

 

The Duke patted each of them on the back as if to reassure them. It wasn’t that he wasn’t worried about them. It was just that the children were now old enough to share the burden.

 

“Theresia, they’ve grown so much.”

 

He sat alone for a long time after they had all gone back to their rooms.

 

 

*** 

 

 

The Knights of the Dawn.

 

That was the name given to the seven hundred warriors who had gathered to drive back the inky darkness that had fallen upon the Empire.

 

“Quite the evacuation already, I see.”

 

“They’ve even opened the portals to the refugees from the Matriarchy.”

 

All Imperials living near the battleground plains of Chavil had begun to evacuate, and Eileen, who was heading toward Chavil against the flow, looked back at the people walking with their boat loads.

 

“Ah! Hehe.”

 

A child of about seven years old, holding his father’s hand, smiled and waved at Eileen. The father, who had spotted Eileen and her companions through the child’s actions, bowed his head. 

 

A faint smile crossed Eileen’s face at the sight of the Templars being honored as much as possible.

 

They reminded her of Gail and the children at the orphanage.

 

“Yes. It’s just as well, since Chavil and the orphanage are so far away.”

 

It had been decided that the powerful mages and priests who were not among the seven hundred would spread out across the Empire to prepare for any possible threats.

 

“You said Laquerta didn’t return to the Port?”

 

Cordelia asked, and Eileen nodded. When he learned that Eileen was headed to Chavil, Laquerta had immediately volunteered for a makeshift ward in the city closest to Chavil.

 

“It might be dangerous.”

 

“It doesn’t matter. The wounded from Chavil will be the first to be taken there. I’m strong enough to heal them.”

 

Eileen recalled Laquerta’s words afterward.

 

“I’m sad I can’t be with you, but I’ll stay and fight alongside you. I will heal and protect and wait, just as you protect the world, so please come back.”

 

“Please come back and we’ll eat together again.”

 

It was an honest response, just like Laquerta.

 

“Yes, I will come back.”

 

Five days until the final battle. The Knights of the Dawn gathered near the plains of Chavil.

 

 

***

 

 

“You wonder why I bothered?”

 

In Nox’s lair, hidden beneath the plains of Chavil, Mongma and Himes gathered. Unlike Himes, who was slapping the bruises with a sullen expression, Mongma, who was watching, spoke cautiously.

 

“Yes, I have no complaints, of course, but I do wonder why they were given the time and opportunity to think.”

 

At that, Urzar laughed, lifting his drink from the table.

 

“Because it’s rewarding.”

 

The blood-tinged liquor was sweet. As he watched the black liquid swirl from side to side, Urzar slowly drifted into the distant past.

 

Not all demons made demons. Most demons were discovered by humans and destroyed along with their eggs, so it would be a long time before a demon returned to the world.

 

It was an instinct that Urzar realized as soon as he opened his eyes, and he struggled day and night to raise a demon, but unfortunately for the world, he was no ordinary demon.

 

“This is what you humans call a mutation.”

 

As he scraped magic to feed the demon’s belly, Urzar suddenly felt a terrible boredom.

 

“Why did I start this and why do I have to keep doing it?”

 

The demon’s eggs, gaping greedily, were more hideous than awe-inspiring.

 

“Why does this insignificant thing that can’t do anything with its own hands need the grandiose name of “king”?”

 

As he questioned this, his vision widened and his brain developed rapidly, driven by a single mission. The more he pondered and contemplated the nature of life, the more his ego grew.

 

‘What could I be less than this?’

 

Despite the doubts that creeped in, Urzar continued to nurture the demon to the end. He believed that completing what he considered a mission would mean something, that it would make a difference.

 

But after raising the ultimate demon, Noctra, all that came back to him was a bottomless pit of emptiness and despair.

 

[!!!!]

 

He could not believe that it was the king of the demons, a monster that spoke no language and moved only for destruction.

 

“Boring and empty.”

 

Born according to the flow of the world, it creates demons. Call it fate, call it inevitability, but the price of following it was a terrible boredom.

 

‘Fleeting, fleeting. If the world were so uninteresting, I would rather not think about it.’

 

As he yawned in boredom at the sight of dying humans, it was an unlikely hero, Regia, who pulled him out of his doldrums.

 

“I wonder what that is.”

 

A glorious hero emerged from the throng of humans. She swung her sword, her appearance almost sublime.

 

“Funny, she’s running to the front and looking so scared.”

 

At first, it was mere amusement. Curious as to why this apostle of the gods was so unflinching as she charged, with pain in her eyes and fear etched into her bones.

 

Then it was willingness. He asked her if he was tired of living for God on a set path.

 

“I’m not fighting for the gods!”

 

The hero shouted. For Urzar, this was more refreshing than anything else. He had followed the path to nowhere, and Regia was on the path to nowhere, but she would not stop.

 

‘What makes us different. What makes the light shine in your eyes?’

 

Seven days and nights of battle, the hero was wounded to the point of death, but she never lost heart. The embers of the fire, extinguished and rekindled, burned brightly across Urzar’s face.

 

A glorious will to live and vigor, until the scream of a wounded Regia pulled him from the void.

 

“I wonder. I wonder what made you live. I wonder what made you face death.”

 

Even the words, shouted not for the gods, were exhilarating. The final blade that moved to cut both Noctra and Urzar at the same time finally touched Urzar’s waist.

 

This is death.

 

The crisis of annihilation that had come at the same time as the death of the Demon King had overtaken Urzar, but he did not die.

 

‘I can’t die,’ he thought, ‘not when I have my first curious being.’

 

He abandoned the demon he had created and hid from the inexorable death, driven only by the desire to see Regia’s eyes again. But when he finally emerged from his hiding place after a long recovery, Regia was gone.

 

“I wonder what color their eyes will be when they’ve been given the chance, when they’ve said goodbye to their loved ones, when they’ve left a note for their beloved homeland, when they’ve come to the end.”

 

Urzar threw the goblet he was holding to the floor, and the black droplets shattered into pieces.

 

Seven days of fighting against Regia. A hundred warriors a day. Would that be enough to bring back the look in her eyes in his memory. He wished he could give her the flesh and blood of his beloved companion, but it was too late.

 

“I will have you back.”

 

Urzar laughed ferociously, and Mongma and Himes exchanged glances. They owed their bodies and their freedom to him, but it had always been difficult to understand his mind.

 

‘But it doesn’t matter. I’ll follow you in any form as long as I can keep seeing quality nightmares.’

 

Mongma looked at Urzar’s maniacal grin and smiled cautiously at him. Himes had similar thoughts.

 

‘A stronger human would be even more delicious.’

 

He gulped.

 

The sound of saliva sliding down his throat echoed softly.