Episode 702: Punishment, progress, and salvation (4)
Arkenis looked at Surna with a blank face.
At least this wasn’t the last time she remembered Surna.
“How on earth did this happen? Why was he so hurt, and more than that, here… … .”
Because it had been sealed for a long time, I felt even more confused by the difference between the distant past and the present.
Arkenis thought about the last sight she saw.
The sky splits, and fingers in the form of dried old trees fall through the cracks.
When she saw that the finger was about to hit Surna, she threw herself and saved Surna.
“that’s right. I am… … “It was sealed.”
“okay. And I released the seal.”
“How long has it been?”
“I didn’t count them properly. just… … “It’s been about a thousand years.”
The corners of Arkenis’ eyes fluttered.
A thousand years.
And even Surna, who was smiling while covered in wounds in front of her.
Arkenis sensed that a lot had happened while she was sealed.
Arkenis had no idea what to say.
Should I say goodbye after a long time? Otherwise, should I worry about my body first?
What is the era like now? Are religious denominations still ruling the world?
As if to dispel Arkenis’ worries, Surna spoke first.
“Do you remember that bet we made?”
“bet… … .”
Arkenis muttered that, but knew what Surna was talking about.
bet.
I remember it clearly.
Because it was Arkenis who brought up that story first.
“You told me. The given future cannot be changed. I told you. “Then I will try to change it.”
“Surna… … .”
“I didn’t know at the time, but I think I know now. Why did you make a bitter expression while saying that? Why did you say it as if there was no next chance? You knew that, right? “You will bear the wrath of Lumensis in my place and be sealed for a long time.”
“Surna I…” … .”
“Listen to my story to the end.”
The incontinence on Surna’s cheeks increased slightly compared to before.
Arkenis closed her mouth.
“You must have thought so. The future will continue, but it will not be an ideal future. In the end, humanity will be ruled by Lumensis, and with no development or progress, we will just live like a bird in a cage, or like a fish in a fishbowl. In the meantime, you probably thought you would remain in an eternal seal with no one to remember you.”
What Surna said was true.
From every moment of fighting Surna, Arkenis knew that she would meet this end.
Because I saw that future.
Because that future was inevitable.
And she was sealed, with no one to wake her up… … She was supposed to sleep forever.
I should have done that.
“look. I won. “Arcenis.”
“… … .”
“I won the bet with you. “I, who had been losing to you until now, has finally beaten you.”
Surna laughed.
It was an innocent smile, like a child receiving a birthday present for the first time.
Surna really wanted to say this to Arkenis when she met him.
I came this far after losing to you.
I finally won.
therefore.
“Now live comfortably.”
“… … .”
“Besides being a saint or something, I just live as an ordinary Arkenis. You were like that a long time ago. I want to live in a wonderful world. Honestly, I don’t know if the world is that cool right now. Because I have seen all the changes. “Maybe it’s worse than our time.”
Still, Surna continued.
“Surely in the future, this world will become more wonderful and better. “I think so.”
After finishing speaking, Surna passed by Arkenis with trembling steps.
“Surna? “Where are you going!”
“I still have work to do.”
“Why why? It’s all over. You are already covered in scars! “If you don’t rest, you’ll die.”
Surna stopped walking.
okay. It was just as Arkenis said.
While fighting against the curse of Lumensis, Surna’s body was destroyed.
In a situation where I was wondering whether or not I could concentrate on recovery right now, jumping back into the fight was an act of suicide.
still.
“But you still have to go.”
“why… … ?”
“I committed too many sins to get here. I don’t regret all the choices I’ve made, but I also don’t think they were entirely right. I have to pay the price. As the devil, as the Zero Order who brought chaos to the world.”
Surna laughed. Arkenis was unable to respond to those words.
Although she didn’t know what path Surna had taken, she knew that it wasn’t all clean and smooth.
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No matter how sad the story is, the crime he committed does not disappear.
“I don’t ask for forgiveness. Without even hoping for salvation. “I’m just satisfied that I saw your face before I went.”
okay. That’s enough.
As a devil myself, that was enough.
Arkenis was unable to catch Surna’s back as she walked away.
Because she was sealed and lacked much strength, just having a conversation like this was overwhelming.
At that time, someone approached Arkenis.
“Lord Arkenis!”
Cetadel fell to her knees with a voice and face mixed with joy and sorrow.
“I finally see you. “It’s been a really long time.”
“It’s Cetadel.”
Arkenis smiled sadly as she looked at Cetadel.
The fact that Cetadel, a human, faced himself across a thousand-year era must have been due to the use of his necromancer’s power.
The task of transferring the soul into the body.
If you make a mistake, your soul may wear out and disappear. The altered soul could become different from what it was before, and the person itself could change.
The fear of not being yourself.
There could be nothing more terrifying than that, and Cetadel willingly threw itself into that danger.
The sole reason was to meet again Arkenis, the master to whom he had pledged allegiance.
“You and Surna too. “A lot has happened.”
“sorry. But I… … .”
“okay. I understand.”
Kugugoogung.
The fortress shook and dust fell from the sky.
“I guess the current situation is not very good.”
“A holy war broke out. The Holy Emperor has led the armies of the continent using the power of brainwashing. Avoid it first. “I will guide you to a safe place.”
“okay. I should, but… … “Let’s go somewhere else first.”
“Somewhere else?”
“okay. “There is someone I must meet.”
* * *
Ludger walked slowly around the fortress.
The surrounding area was full of loud noises due to the aftermath of the fight.
Fortunately, there has been no one blocking Ludger’s path so far.
But Ludger could feel it.
The reason I didn’t encounter anyone was simply because I chose a quiet path.
There is nothing you can do about people who come to you in person.
‘Like right now.’
Quang!
One side of the wall in front of me collapsed, scattering debris and stone dust.
Ludger, seeing the hazy dust, put the shining relic into his arms.
“You finally came.”
As the dust settled, the person inside emerged.
The brilliant blonde hair that did not lose its shine even in the dust softly teased the eyes.
Ludger quietly looked at the woman who was staring at him with unwavering gaze.
“Saint Catherine.”
“The devil Heathcliff.”
Catherine called Ludger’s name in a voice full of complex emotions.
A man who was once a friend, but at the same time a traitor who left him behind, a bloodline of the Holy Emperor, and who eventually ascended to the position of Demon King.
Ludger said to Catherine.
“You’ve grown a lot. “To the point where you don’t even know.”
“Because 20 years have passed.”
“okay. “The time we spent apart without hearing from each other was much longer than the time we knew each other.”
“that’s right. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if I forgot.”
But none of those who said that forgot about each other.
The only friend I could confide in in this hellish place was someone I never forgot no matter how much time passed.
“This is the end of our long-awaited reunion between friends. “Are you here to stop me?”
“I am a saint. “If I appeared before the Demon King, wouldn’t there be only one reason?”
The friends I was close with in the past are no longer there.
The only people standing here are the devil who is driving the world into chaos and the saint who is trying to stop it.
The two knew that very well.
This twisted relationship could not be ignored simply by ignoring it.
It was inevitable that one day we would collide.
That was right now.
“I offer one last suggestion. “If you pretend not to see me here and let me go, what I’m worried about won’t happen.”
“You know better than anyone that that can’t be done.”
“is it.”
“okay.”
Ludger muttered calmly.
“Going first gives way.”
It was an arrogant remark, but Catherine didn’t bother to refuse it.
Catherine, whose entire body was engulfed in golden divine power, rushed towards Ludger, waving her blond hair.
A powerful one-two straight punch delivered with a movement that doesn’t even show an afterimage.
Ludger avoided it by lightly shaking his head from side to side, then lifted his foot and rolled lightly on the ground.
Tooung!
As the magic wave spread, the shadow spread across the ground wandered.
Tentacles rose up from the shadows and tied Catherine’s whole body.
Catherine tore it apart with sheer force.
Catherine’s right hand swung.
A distance that cannot be reached with a fist. At that moment, Catherine’s divine power condensed in her hands and turned into a sword.
Ludger pulled out a sword stick with his trademark crow embossed on it from the shadows.
Blue magic overlaid on the sharp and elegant sword body, blocking Catherine’s golden sword.
Flash!
Gold and blue colors intertwined and shed beautiful light.
Light was the manifestation of destruction. The inner structure of the fortress that was exposed to light collapsed and crumbled into powder.
A scene of overwhelming and dense destruction caused by a clash of forces.
The only ones that were fine were Ludger and Catherine.
“You’re strong. After all, it’s not called the devil for nothing.”
“To be exact, it’s closer to what I told you to call me that.”
“haha. What was it like that? “I wondered if Salesin had been given an unusually fancy title.”
Catherine smiled bitterly.
“That makes me even more disappointed. If only you hadn’t left me that day. No, at least if you had taken me with you, I would have fought on your side.”
Ludger’s eyebrows trembled slightly at the words containing a bit of resentment.
How could you not know?
When Ludger left his home country, he felt neither a sense of liberation nor a sense of relief that he had survived.
All I have to worry about is what will happen to Catherine who is left behind.
However, Ludger was weak at the time, and could not ask his teacher Grander to take Catherine with him.
Because I was so stressed out both physically and mentally that it was difficult to say such things.
“I went out to that place every time without even knowing you were gone. “I waited for you to come, again and again, believing you would come back someday.”
“… … .”
“But later, when I heard that you were leaving your country, I realized how foolish I had been. That feeling of betrayal and despair that I felt back then. “Do you even know that?”
Catherine glared at Ludger with a fierce gaze.
“That’s why I held on. No matter how hard and painful it was, I gritted my teeth and endured it. When the saint’s power penetrated my body, it felt like her whole body was being torn apart, but I held back. Even though tears came out, I tried to swallow them. But I thought it didn’t matter. “As long as you’re alive somewhere in this world, that’s enough.”
Ludger felt what Catherine had for him.
It was anger.
“why!”
The cause of that anger was not a feeling of betrayal at having left him behind.
“Why on earth did you come back!”
Rather, it was anger at Ludger’s choice to become an enemy of this world as the Demon King.
“It’s okay if you leave! “You just have to forget everything and start a new life!”
Quang!
Catherine’s sword dyed the world gold.
Ludger countered by painting the world blue.
“I shouldn’t have come back to this horrible place!”
Quang! Quang!
Ludger was pushed back by Catherine’s momentum and slowly retreated.
“What am I for?”
“Saint Catherine.”
Ludger coldly scolded Catherine, who was almost in tears.
“Did you block my path just to relive such a short memory?”
“… … .”
“What is bygones is bygones. And the choice I make now is solely my own. Even if the same opportunity comes, I have no intention of reversing this choice. So get out of the way.”
“you… … .”
“If you don’t get out of the way, I’ll just knock you down and pass by.”
Catherine’s face distorted viciously at Ludger’s cold words.
With anger and sadness.
fantasy,
