TOFW 73

Chapter 73

“All of this—the fall of the sun and moon, ushering in an age of darkness—that was that child’s plan…”

At the report detailing the battle with Luxeria Ludwig, Setsunen broke the long silence.

“It wasn’t Luxeria. It was the soul of another world, possessing Luxeria’s dead body.”

Was that Tarshio’s sympathy for Nehyang? Yet after hearing Kadyuel’s explanation, much began to make sense.

[The invasion of another world proceeds through possession. Usually, it inhabits ordinary civilians, but in the case of apostles, it often occupies the bodies of prominent individuals.]

Kaisen felt his eyebrows lift involuntarily.

“What’s the reason?”

[It’s more convenient for them to wreak destruction on a world by leveraging influence. Luxeria Ludwig, after all, caused massive turmoil by using her promising lineage and family connections.]

Then Tarshio playfully nudged Kadyuel’s body with his finger.

“Kadyuel, you should say clearly that it’s an otherworlder possessing Luxeria Ludwig.”

[From now on, I will refer to such possessed individuals simply as apostles, without mentioning their original names, little master.]

Even Nehyang had struggled to show proper respect to Kadyuel, but seeing Tarshio treat him so casually no longer even provoked a bitter laugh.

“So that child… had already died long ago… At such a young age, their soul had already left their body.”

Was this fact hitting Nehyang as an even more devastating truth? The guilt of failing to protect the child, the young offspring nurtured with only love and kindness by Yonghyun, seemed to root deep into her soul. Tarshio shook his head, eyes filled with sorrow.

“According to the records left by my father, the administrators curse the targets of possession to death. So, Lady Nehyang, this is not your fault. It’s all merely the result of cosmic mischief called causality…”

Administrator… Kaisen thought. The very word sent chills.

It didn’t feel like language—it felt more like the trace of beings governing the spirals of the world-line in the name of causality.

“Kadyuel, that one who called themselves Sharyuan back then…”

He still wanted to dismiss that absurd nightmare encounter as unreal, but reality cannot be denied—it is reality.

[First-class Administrator, Sharyuan. Yothos Yole Yothiatos swallowed the divinity of the Creator God Geldharia, creating from the remnants a goddess of sin and judgment. They were a core force hosting the play of the Outer Universe alongside Yothos.]

“So you mean that being is on the same level as the <Forgotten Kings>?”

[Exactly. One of Yothos’ closest aides. Excluding such a being even before the Absolute Eclipse began was extremely significant.]

First-class Administrator…

Kaisen furrowed his brow. The disgusting stench that seemed to pierce his brain still lingered vividly.

But more vivid than that nightmare was the strange presence of the being he had annihilated in a single strike.

“The power that entered my soul…”

Was it a delusion?

Or the truth?

[However, the one who cut down Sharyuan cannot be verified in the Library. If I had seen it personally, perhaps I could have known.]

“They clearly said you betrayed us. I heard the words: How could you betray ‘us’?”

[It is virtually impossible for an administrator to betray Yothiatos, requiring your review, little master, but the name Yurbelmung is definitely registered in the Library.]

Kaisen briefly touched the spot on his chest where the sword had pressed, then lifted his head.

“Yurbelmung… Can you tell me exactly what kind of sword it is?”

[It is a sword forged from the 108 powers of the Creator God Yurbel, sculpted into blade form. It is said to be a divine sword capable of destroying divinity alongside Berkensia.]

“Lord Kadyuel, does that mean it doesn’t need sealing?”

[Correct.]

A flash of sadness passed through Setsunen’s eyes. Surely, he was mourning the sibling who had sacrificed their body and soul to seal the king. The meaning of the name “Setsunen” is sorrowful affection, a heart that laments deeply.

‘Is that why… their entire life seems filled only with longing and remembrance for someone…?’

Kadyuel answered.

[Judging solely by the combat data registered in the Library, it far surpasses even the divine sword Berkensia of the Creator God Geldharia.]

Berkensia—the Blade of Light.

The divine sword first given by Creator God Geldharia to the <Ones>.

‘When Tersia, the leader of the <Ones>, received that sword, the Great Abyssal War began.’

Currently, it was said that a young fairy hero named Liam wielded it.

“I don’t understand why such a sword came to me and not to Tarshio.”

[You overwhelmed the apostles of Lyuinien with inefficient weapons of only rank seven. Judging by sword aptitude alone, your value is higher than the little master’s.]

“Me? That’s… nonsense.”

Kaisen’s firm denial made Tarshio grin wryly.

“Why do you always try to belittle your own worth?”

The smile hurt. He remembered what Kadyuel had told him:

Little master’s aptitude for the True Sword Sharilyon is only 34%.
What is considered safe? From 120% and above. Below 50%, there is no aptitude, and it cannot be operated…

Whatever had been done to wield the True Sword at such a low aptitude exacted a tremendous toll each time it was used.

‘Like Feiquary swinging an extreme sword at the cost of his own lifespan…’

Must all warriors sacrifice their lives just to fight?

“…While engraving that sword into my soul, Yothiatos said they would appear at the very end. But what exactly is Yothiatos?”

“Yothiatos, Lord of the Abyss. Once an aide to the Creator God Geldharia. For unknown reasons, they betrayed Geldharia and swallowed their divinity and divine authority.”

“Yothiatos… my father once told me that name. The master of the <Forgotten Kings> and the mastermind behind all this…”

Setsunen murmured, and Kadyuel replied.

[Originally, the Outer Universe and the world of creation were separated by an impassable line, but Yothiatos’ corruption connected them, letting sin flow into all the world.]

Kaisen closed his eyes. The events still seemed shrouded in mist, faintly visible, but it was different from before. The outlines of the incident were beginning to appear. If Yurbelmung had truly been engraved into his soul…

‘If I can use it after becoming the vessel of Yurbelmung… if I can use that sword to strike down Yothiatos and restore Geldharia’s divinity… and thereby restore this world…’

He swallowed hard at the immense destiny he must accept—or rather, open with the sword.

‘Complete eradication of Yothos… if that is why I have survived countless deaths of my seniors and comrades… I will gladly accept it.’

Kaisen clenched and unclenched his fists, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“What must I do now to reach that end?”

[You must execute Emergency Plan MM-082.]

“Emergency Plan MM-082?”

[It involves activating all four Tarhye Rondels. The Tarhye Rondels are beacons of light that can unite the world. Light will be strengthened, and the Abyssal power weakened.]

Setsunen of Nehyang spoke.

“According to my father’s records, the locations of three ‘Tarhye Rondel’ beacons are recorded. I have visited one before.”

[There are actually four. My responsibility, the ‘Bete Rondel,’ is now in standby mode with little master’s approval.]

“What about the others?”

[The Alma (01) Rondel in the north of the Akrad Continent and the Myu (04) Rondel in the south remain.]

Kadyuel’s orange light projected a map of the continent in the air.

[The Del (03) Rondel in eastern Ideia has been switched to standby mode by Eldia del Shurviel, successor of Berkensia.]

Shurviel was another of the old five Ascensiquariers, a warrior like Isla. She was small in stature but the owner of the True Sword Isaiah, the prototype of the extreme sword Gaumris. Like Kadyuel, she had become a device guarding the facility. Kaisen nodded.

“The southern continent is under Abyssal influence… the only ones we can act on now are in the north.”

[We’ve received information that the Apostles of the Sword and the Apostles of Swordsmanship have already moved north from the surrendered Stigmatized.]

“Apostle of Swordsmanship…?”

He was curious about the level of that sword, blessed from the Outer Universe.

[The Apostle of Swordsmanship is the strongest force and likely winner. There’s an 87% probability he’s targeting the Alma Rondel. We must hurry.]

Kaisen touched the suppressor on his wrist, sensing its heavy weight. If he was that strong… then if he had to release the Dragon Spirit at that moment, his life’s span would end there.

‘Wait…’

Amid the torrent of information, one thing could not cross the threshold of his mind.

“What did you just say? The surrendered Stigmatized?”

Echoes of Another World — The True Face of Religious Reform (8)

The branded man hung from a tree, displayed in the center of the square.

Setsunen would never have allowed something like this, so it was obviously Blan Arphen’s unilateral decision.

People had hurled so many stones that rocks lay scattered around the square.

But the blood that had flowed from the branded man’s body had already dried.

It seemed the initial wounds were all he had taken—there was a circular barrier protecting that area.

Those who were throwing stones and venting their anger at the barrier stepped back and cheered when they saw Kaisen.

Perhaps they expected him to cut the man down.

Kaisen pushed through the crowd and walked into the square.

The barrier protecting the branded broke with a single punch from him.

Then a boy who had been sitting cross-legged in front of the branded scrambled up and hurriedly stepped forward to block the way.

“Lilac-colored hair….”

He recognized that hair.

The Page family’s hair color….

“That’s the one who was caught with Eos in the control room back then.”

The name was Douglas Page.

He was the youngest brother of the one who’d said Roberis Alter Shurpain was sending her diary as letters.

Had he taken a few stones meant for someone else? Blood still trickled from his head.

“Feiquory, Lester is my friend. He has the brand, but….”

“You believed that, huh?”

“Lester always helped me. Really! He warned me when the Apostle of Magic came to my concert and told me to run….”

Right—this bastard….

A hot sensation rose from Kaisen’s chest, crawled up his throat, and hovered at his mouth.

‘I already knew from the report.’

Douglas was the conductor of the magic orchestra.

Magic orchestral music was an art that used magic inside orchestral performance to fill both sight and sound with beauty.

Using that magic was the conductor’s job; only someone well-versed in both music and magic could perform such a high art.

‘That doesn’t matter.’

The real problem was that this idiot had planned to hold a concert on the border between the eastern and central regions.

Luxeria Ludwick captured Douglas while he was preparing that, and even took Eos prisoner.

“If you knew that, why didn’t you run? Didn’t you know that if you were taken hostage, Eos would be captured too?”

“Well….”

“Look at the sky. There’s only one sun left now. Do you know how many people died trying to stop all of them from falling?”

“That is… I’m truly sorry. But it wasn’t an ordinary concert! It was an opportunity to bind east and central, bind their hearts together without war! But, but, Luxeria…!”

“A concert, my foot! Do you think war is a joke? Do you think a war can be solved by song? Don’t be ridiculous. If that were possible, Senior Roberis would have… Damn it, while you were doing this stupid crap…!”

Even knowing his ire was misplaced, he could not stop being angry.

That anger was certainly directed inward.

Seeing this face so eerily like Roberis—who had been trampled to death—his anger was toward himself for surviving.

As he had earlier turned his rage at himself toward Uruk, he now poured it into this man.

‘Have I not grown at all since then?’

Kaisen shoved Douglas aside and walked toward the branded.

“Ah—no! Feiquory!”

The branded barely raised his head; his lips trembled.

“So, it’s you…. The one who kept Luxeria awake at night… I only saw you once but I know why….”

“Why did you surrender?”

“I….”

“When I ask, answer within three seconds.”

“You may not believe me, but… I didn’t know originally. I really didn’t know. I didn’t know whether causality could be altered….”

If only those people hadn’t been there….

How many times had he seen his mother in dreams, bleeding from the shoulder and dying?

‘If the empire’s reinforcements had been there…’

Even if his mother’s death had been an irreversible fate, his master would not have had to die that way….

—Kaisen, you must live.

He remembered his teacher’s smile—the first and last smile he showed before dying in the pouring rain.

There was the sensation of drawing, though he hadn’t felt it; Aradamantel had already leapt out of its sheath and bathed the air in crimson.

‘This must be killed too….’

He knew that death could not be replaced with death, but he had to offer the hot stench of blood as incense for those who had died before him….

“Feiquory, please.”

At that moment Douglas grabbed his arm.

“Please save Lester. If it weren’t for Lester, I’d already be dead. Please.”

“Move aside. Want to die together?”

“Lord Kaisen.”

Then Julius Page stepped in front of the branded. Before everyone watching, the grand noble forgot his dignity and knelt.

“I know it’s an unreasonable plea, but I beg you, please protect my younger brother.”

“…Move. Originally this brat was not meant to be struck.”

“I mean not his body, but his heart.”

For an instant, a strange scene overlapped their faces.

His mother hanging from that tree; Kaisen himself being hanged by an executioner, screaming and crying; his father kneeling like that….

He remembered the story that his mother, who should have been executed as a deserter, had not died only because of Oju Yoshuhar’s earnest entreaty.

‘Why this hallucination…?’

Could he really cut it down….?

Must he cut it down….?

Could he push away the past himself, his past father, and cut his past mother….?

Cut….

Don’t cut….

I must kill….

I mustn’t….

Let him live….

Mustn’t let him live….

These agonizing echoes rose up in his head and began to fight and cry among themselves.

“Kaisen—don’t hesitate. Cut him down. If you have never once received forgiveness in your life.”

A dazzling light, like the midday sun, overwhelmed and immediately quieted that confusion.

“Eos—sir…?”

One of the “Ones who came,” the son of the blood-red sun Shurigan.

At that radiance, everyone who had been watching the fight knelt down of their own accord in reverence.

Eos truly was a miraculous presence.

He went throughout the war-torn empire, healing the sick and feeding the hungry.

No one knew Eos was a son of the “Ones who came,” but people followed him in admiration of his miracles and his character.

‘It was surely Eos who restored Douglas’s severed arm.’

When the apostles set their eyes on Eos to seize him, he had briefly disappeared….

“You are strong. And not perfect. So—without realizing it—you despise the weak.”

“…I’m not strong nor perfect. I do not despise the weak.”

“Yes. But only those whose bodies are weak yet who are prepared to fight on the battlefield—those whose minds are strong.”

Standing under the sun, as if shadows and darkness were burned away by that heat….

The shadow of the heart….

The deep darkness within the heart….

Voices of painful cries rose up under words that carried the sun’s heat.

“Kaisen—you are strong. Who, after losing their parents at such a young age, could decide to stand and fight the enemy? Most people would run. They would flee and hide in their sorrow for the rest of their lives.”

“….”

“So to your eyes, others who do not fight seem incomprehensible and simply bad… like Douglas who tried to link people without using the sword.”

“I….”

“Kaisen, most people are not evil. They are weak. Because they are weak they cannot keep their righteousness; they turn away and can only flee.”

“….”

“They know it themselves. They know their own weakness. They only become cowardly to hide that weakness….”

Eos was a slender young man with red hair.

His hair was the same red as Achirea’s but somehow possessed a different dignity. Perhaps the difference between natural beauty and cosmic dignity.

If Achirea’s hair was a living flame, Eos’s hair was the red of the sun.

“So don’t scold their weakness. Can you not pity them and forgive them? As the ancestors of courage did.”

“Are you telling me to forgive this otherworlder now…?”

“Forgiveness and courage are one and the same. So learning to forgive is also a way of emulating them. It is exactly the path you sought. This otherworlder repented and regretted his wrongdoing. And he helped. He stacked good deeds atop his evil acts.”

The light that had been streaming down from the red-weeping holy sword above them dimmed. The light that had resonated with the agent’s murderous intent went out.

The hand clutching the sword sagged.

The trembling of murderous intent that ran along the fingers was large and mournful, but the waves of reason that suppressed it swallowed it up.

“I will say the same thing to all gathered here. If there is anyone who has never once received forgiveness in their life, and who will not receive it, come forward now and cut down this being of another world. That is an order.”

Daringly, no one came forward.

The throng that had filled the square dispersed in an instant, offering excuses—lunch, appointments, and the like.

Only the stones that had been clenched in their hands were left where they had been dropped.

“Ma—master…!”

“Don’t thank me. Thank Kaisen. It was his courageous step to reach forgiveness. If he had not forgiven first, no one would have forgiven Lester.”

Douglas repeatedly bowed deeply in gratitude. Julius approached and spoke.

“In the letters Sister Roberis sent to the mansion, your name appeared often.”

“Sister said that….”

“She said a dependable junior had appeared and she no longer worried about things behind her back. As his younger brother, I admit I was secretly jealous, but watching you all this time makes me think she would indeed have said that.”

Roberis….

Even that name, which had been a wall of sorrow between hearts, seemed to have crumbled a bit.

The Shurpain attached to Kaisen’s back cried mournfully in nostalgia and grief for the former agent.

“He was free with his praise….”

“You say she praised freely? You know well she didn’t, don’t you?”

There was no courage to carry the topic further.

He gave Aradamantel a single swing, shattering the shackles and the tree that had bound Lester.

As Lester sagged, supported by Douglas, Kaisen cast a shadow over him and said,

“Lester, was it? How many apostles are left?”

“…If Luxeria didn’t lie, three. Since you killed that one, there should be two left. One is on the Idea peninsula. He’s possessed a fairy.”

“How strong is the apostle of swordsmanship?”

“Luxeria always avoided outright confrontation with him. She tried to keep alliances and fight at the last. He’s probably about twice as strong.”