Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 119

The four men stood in front of a pile of rocks at the entrance to the underground.

 

“We’ll have to cut through it to get out.”

 

Aire reached for his greatsword.

 

“Wait.”

 

Cordelia stopped him. She gave Aire a questioning look.

 

“Don’t go back.”

 

“What?!”

 

“Huh?!”

 

Eileen, who had been listening from the side, turned to Cordelia, equally surprised. To everyone’s bewilderment, Cordelia continued, her expression unmoved.

 

“I told you the life of a hero is hard, you should run away.”

 

Aire’s hand dropped from the hilt of his sword at the unexpected words.

 

“But.”

 

“The three of us are the only ones who saw the duel with Urzar. We can tell them that the hero sacrificed himself in the final battle.”

 

Aire’s mouth opened, then closed with a snap as if he couldn’t find the words. He was hesitating. He wondered if it would be okay to leave everything behind, if it would cause trouble for the three of them.

 

“It’s a tempting offer, isn’t it?”

 

Eileen asked, and he couldn’t deny it. The normal life he would get after ending his life as a hero. It was what he had hoped for in his last life.

 

“Then go for it. You’ve lived your whole life for others.”

 

Aire’s eyes trembled. Eileen, realizing that the tremor was not of fear but of excitement and anticipation, smiled darkly.

 

“I’ve checked the grounds, and there are entrances and exits all over the place, and none of them are attended…”

 

She decided to go along with Aire’s complete crime.

 

 

***

 

 

After sneaking Aire out, she returned to the entrance to see a pile of rocks the size of a house being carefully cleared away. The battle outside had apparently been resolved, and the Templars were gathered and waiting for them.

 

“Eileen!”

 

As soon as the entrance was fully open, Lucian ran inside and hugged the three of them tightly.

 

“I’m so glad you’re safe.”

 

For the moment, Cordelia didn’t push Lucian away, but held him tightly.

 

Soon after, there was an emotional thank you from the crown prince and a reunion with the duke, but the news of the hero’s death in battle brought the mood back down.

 

“It can’t be, it can’t be!”

 

The knights barely stopped a priest named Gavil, who had always stood by Aire’s side, as he rushed into the dungeon with red eyes. The battle had been fought, and the temple was in danger of collapse.

 

Eileen watched in disbelief as Gavil and the rest of the temple cowered and wept, then turned their attention to Cordelia. Cordelia was sitting there, looking unperturbed and unconcerned.

 

“Bandages, do you have any more bandages?!”

 

She turned to look at the wounded. The plain was littered with people who had no bandages and were using their companions’ clothes to tourniquet their wounds, burying their foreheads in the dirt to fight off the pain.

 

Eileen watched, and then, as if she had an idea, she picked Star up in her arms. Then she whispered, just barely loud enough for Star’s ears.

 

“World Tree. You said you’d grant me a wish if I stopped the destruction, right?”

 

As soon as Eileen finished speaking, the world stopped. The bustle of people stopped, and the clouds in the sky stood still as if nails had been driven into them.

 

Eileen turned her head slightly, and beside her sat the World Tree, now in the form of Theresia, smiling broadly.

 

“So, my dear. Have you decided on your wish?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Eileen answered quickly, then glanced around.

 

“You said before that there are no restrictions, except for raising the dead, right?”

 

“Yes, because you have done something worthwhile.”

 

“Then heal all the wounded on this battlefield. Once and for all!”

 

At her words, the World Tree smiled brightly. A smile brighter and more pure than the dawn sun swept across the still world. Eileen closed her eyes against the radiance and opened them again to the sound of cheering.

 

“I’m back! My severed arm is back!”

 

“He’s alive! I’m alive!”

 

“I can see!”

 

“It’s a miracle of the goddess, thank you!”

 

The people who had been in a state of death just a few moments before were now smiling and crying tears of joy. They praised the goddess for the miracle that had happened so quickly, but Eileen didn’t bother to correct them. There was something more important right now.

 

“Felix.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Eileen, who had taken advantage of the commotion to sit close to Felix’s side, whispered in his ear.

 

“I like you too.”

 

There was a moment of silence between them. Felix’s face went blank for a moment, then flushed.

 

“Uh, uh, uh!”

 

Felix gently pinched his cheek. It hurt. It definitely hurt.

 

“Just once! Eileen, just one more time!”

 

“I must go to the Duke!”

 

Eileen scurried away, her ears burning red, and Felix followed, his face flushed. Cordelia, watching them from a short distance away, snorted.

 

“Good time.”

 

Then something occurred to her, too.

 

“The ocean. If you’ve been wanting to see it so badly, you should come with me.”

 

She couldn’t help but think of a white man smiling harmlessly. Cordelia decided to sneak up on him and see for herself.

 

 

***

 

 

The wounded were healed.

 

Flesh that had been torn off was regenerated and blood that had been spilled was filled. All but the dead received the miracle. Gray was no different.

 

“Ugh.”

 

“Gray, are you awake?!”

 

“Neumann?”

 

Neumann’s eyes filled with tears as he watched the boy struggle to open his eyes.

 

“You idiot!”

 

As the tears fell, Neumann punched Gray in the jaw.

 

“Did Neumann hit me? No, why am I here in the first place? I’m at the cottage…”

 

A headache flashed through Gray’s mind as he remembered the day he’d been tricked into drinking the poison that promised to give him special powers. Gray shuddered at the eerie memory of the time he’d spent bonded to the werewolf, losing his sense of self.

 

“Neumann saved me.”

 

He could still remember the look on Neumann’s face as he saved him. Gray hung his head in shame. He was ashamed that he had blamed Neumann, but Neumann hadn’t given up on him.

 

“Thank you,” Gray said, his voice choked with tears.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Bella stood at a distance, watching the children reconcile. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but the surroundings were not.

 

“I captured a demon alive, just in case, but…”

 

Some of the fused demons and humans had returned to human form, while others had died as monsters.

 

The ones that directly harmed people died.

 

If not for Neumann, Gray might have met the same fate. Bella breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Same time.

 

Albert looked from the miracle to Ian in his arms, silent.

 

Nothing had changed. He had already lost his life at the hands of Mongma, and he was no longer a candidate for this miracle. Albert held his friend’s cold body for a long moment.

 

 

***

 

 

After fleeing the plains of Chavil, he stopped at a nomadic village that had been deserted by the evacuation. He planned to change his clothes and simply disguise himself.

 

But there was a visitor waiting for him.

 

“High Priest Carlo.”

 

A gentle-looking old man handed him a cup of milk he’d heated over a campfire.

 

“Would you like some? It tastes very good.”

 

Aire drank the milk and sat down next to him. Carlo, who was putting more wood on the fire, said.

 

“Are you going?”

 

Aire nodded. He didn’t want to lie to Carlo.

 

“You’re not going to stop me?”

 

He asked cautiously, and Carlo laughed heartily.

 

“If a grown man wants to be independent, who am I to stop him?”

 

“I don’t plan on coming back.”

 

“If you don’t come back, that will be the goddess’s will, too.”

 

Putting away the heated milk, he looked back at Aire.

 

“You must be happy.”

 

“Yes.”

 

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Aire turned his head to see Carlo standing before him, holding out a huge bag. It was overwhelming, and Aire stared at it with trepidation.

 

“It’s a bag of money, clothes, disguise artifacts, first aid supplies, spare shoes, food for the immediate future, and syrupy candy. Consider it Carlo’s survival bag, and treat it as one!”

 

Aire looked puzzled, but soon burst out laughing. It was a cool, clean laugh, like a little boy’s.