Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 114

Near the plains of Chavil.

 

Two days before the promised showdown, the men diligently prepared themselves.

 

“I know so many people.”

 

Eileen narrowed her eyes and scanned her surroundings. The constant meetings and repairs made it difficult to speak, but she recognized Aire and the Duke, Orgen and Rosalia. Neumann, the Duke’s lieutenant Derek, and the ice witch Razabel. Bella Kamar, the Herrero siblings and other transcendents, and the faculty of Verotanis, including Albert.

 

There were many other familiar faces.

 

“So, can’t you relax a little?”

 

Cordelia asked cheerfully as she warmed up, and Eileen nodded. The feeling of joining forces to protect the future with people she had shared her heart and time with was more uplifting than she could have imagined.

 

‘Aire, you’re looking too much this way…’

 

Eileen narrowed her eyes and scanned the barracks where the crown prince and Aire were meeting.

 

Every time they left the barracks, she could feel Aire’s gaze on Cordelia and Eileen all too clearly. If he hadn’t been wearing an eye patch, he would have been unable to move.

 

“Cordelia…”

 

“Pretend you don’t know. Pretend you don’t know.”

 

Eileen laughed softly at that. They hadn’t really interacted much since that day, aside from a few secret letters, but after seeing him in tears, she felt close to him.

 

‘This time, I’m not going to do it alone, but together.’

 

The fate of the world hinges on a single battle. Despite her fear, Eileen felt a strange sense of excitement, perhaps because she was in a room full of people she trusted.

 

“Does anyone need more water?”

 

Lucian and Felix walked toward them with canteens.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Me too.”

 

Declining the water, Eileen pulled out her hair tie and tied her long hair up in a high bun. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, revealing and concealing the white nape of her neck.

 

“Ah!”

 

Before she could tie the knot, the side of the braid popped open and fell to the floor. Eileen, still holding her hair, stared down at the broken braid with a frown.

 

“Well, it’s broken now.”

 

Felix, who had been staring at the scene sheepishly, moved toward her.

 

“Do you want me to tie it for you?”

 

“Do you have a hair tie?”

 

With a small smile, Felix held out his hand. In his hand was a familiar braid, a mixture of green and silver.

 

“Ah! That’s the bracelet we shared in Ronsen, isn’t it?”

 

The thread bracelet he bought in the night market in Ronsen before he went to the Academy. There was a memory of the winter day when he gave it to her, determined to move forward together.

 

“It’s almost the same!”

 

Felix asked Eileen, gazing fondly into her eyes, which were filled with delight.

 

“Do you mind if I tie it up?”

 

“Huh? Sure, sure.”

 

With that, a large white hand wrapped itself around Eileen’s hair and squeezed.

 

Eileen enjoyed the familiarity of the hand gently stroking her hair.

 

“This is the first time I’ve felt that since Ms. Theresia.”

 

Memories of the past and sensations of the present melded together, enveloping Eileen in a warm embrace.

 

‘I have many loved ones, more than I could have ever imagined in my previous life.’

 

His orange eyes sparkled with a gentle but determined glint.

 

‘No matter what happens, we’ll be okay.’

 

‘I was going to make sure of it.’

 

 

***

 

 

“Our steps today will go down in history as a crusade.”

 

Crown Prince Ferdinand, a serious-looking man, raised his sword above his head. On either side of him, heroes and other transcendents and sages of the empire stood like wings.

 

“With the Goddess watching over us, we need fear nothing. Glory to the Empire!”

 

“Glory to the Empire!!!”

 

The armaments moved in unison, emitting a sharp sound. The dawn of promise. The beginning of a life-or-death battle.

 

“There are demons ahead!”

 

Hundreds of demons appeared in front of the advancing Knights of Dawn across the plains. Orgen clicked his tongue in disgust as he watched the creatures weave in and out of the ground.

 

“I see they’re spatial creatures after all.”

 

The demon was a short-haired man who had fled with Mongma. He had suspected it, but it seemed to have spatial abilities after all.

 

The Duke stomped his foot and ran to stand in front of the knights.

 

It was only a matter of moments before the backs of the demonic horde at the head of the line split open with a roar.

 

“Derek.”

 

Derek nodded as the duke called out to him, not taking his eyes off the horde.

 

“I’ll make way.”

 

It’s early days yet. Clearing a path for the transcendents and heroes to reach Urzar was a priority.

 

With a shout, demons and humans tangled together.

 

“So many!”

 

Rosalia, at her back, replied as Razavel advanced, freezing a rampaging demon into a barrel.

 

“I don’t think we’re done yet.”

 

Rosalia, looking unusually serious, tilted her head. Something wasn’t right.

 

“Why do I sense stellar energy from the demons?”

 

Demons formed from the condensation of magical energy and magical power did not have the life force that living creatures inevitably possessed. It was extremely strange to sense the energy of the stars, which resembled the flow of life, from a demon.

 

“Can it be…?”

 

At that moment, Rosalia felt a powerful chill run down her spine.

 

“Rosalia?”

 

Razavel looked at Rosalia curiously as she approached the demon as if mesmerized. Covering her apprentice and checking what she was doing, Razavel moved closer to grab her.

 

“I see.”

 

Rosalia, who had just split the half-dead creature’s hide, took a couple steps back.

 

Razavel’s face contorted as she followed.

 

“Demon and human?”

 

The dying human inside the demon’s hide groaned.

 

“It’s more than just being inside a demon. It’s fused, like one body.

 

Razavel examined the corpse of the demon she’d carved up with her ice magic. It was a mixture of human and non-human demons.

 

“You bastards!”

 

Razavel’s rage grew as he gazed upon the devastated beings that were neither human nor demon. Ice crystals fell from the air in a rage that seemed to freeze the earth.

 

“Neumann?”

 

Rosalia and Razavel weren’t the only ones to notice the situation. Bella, who had been slaughtering demons, noticed that Neumann had stopped walking and turned her head.

 

Her sister’s face was as blank as a blank slate. His parched lips moved painfully, and Neumann let out a groan.

 

“Gray…”

 

A black-furred creature that resembled a corrupted wolf. Upon closer inspection, its shoulders and thighs took on the form of a human. A familiar tattoo was visible on its shoulder, stained with black blood.

 

“What?”

 

Bella’s eyes widened. The familiar mana pulsed with taint. Neumann gasped as if he couldn’t breathe.

 

“Neumann!”

 

His childhood was all Gray, though it hadn’t ended well. The Gray of his childhood had always guided the introverted Neumann.

 

It was also why Neumann hadn’t pushed him away easily, even though he knew Gray had changed.

 

“I resented you, but I didn’t want you to be unhappy.”

 

The boy’s eyes flushed. It was hard to accept that this unintelligent, screaming monster was the same Gray who had laughed so confidently as he caught the cicada.

 

It was Bella who set him back on his feet as he teetered on the brink of collapse.

 

“Get your shit together if you don’t want to do something you’ll regret even more!”

 

Bella, who had always treated Neumann with a smile, turned serious and gripped his arm firmly.

 

“If this breaks you, it’ll take the man who put his back on you down with him. You were the one who said you’d be strong!”

 

The tingling pain in his arm brought Neumann’s eyes back into focus.

 

“Sister…”

 

“If you still consider Gray a friend, you’re the only one who can save him.”

 

Neumann gritted his teeth at the words. His entire body shook with rage. Neumann nodded weakly and straightened his posture.

 

“I will not let you kill anyone.”

 

He wondered if things would have been different if he hadn’t given up on Gray in Verotanis. He couldn’t rewind time, so it was an unanswerable question. But…

 

“I’m not going to run away like a coward, and this time I’m going to stop you.”

 

Neumann summoned his magic and leapt toward Gray.

 

Bella sighed heavily and turned her head away. There was no way she was going to be held back with this much damage.

 

With Flight magic, she lifted herself into the air, and with a quick burst of energy, the shadows beneath the creature turned into a net, binding its feet. Bella shouted out with her vocalization spell.

 

“I’ll stop this one, go on!”

 

Razavel said, trapping the creature with an ice wall as it approached from the other direction.

 

“I’ll help too!”

 

Bella, Razavel, Rosalia, and several other stronger players closed in fiercely, separating the demon from the Knights. The Crown Prince, looking at them with determination, nodded and turned around.

 

“We will not stop!!!”

 

Through the dust of battle, the knights rushed forward.

 

“Rosalia.”

 

Eileen bit her lip and shook her head, looking back worriedly for a moment. There was still a long way to go.