Chapter 399: Those Who Seek Death Shall Live (4)
Brightness surrounded Keter. It was so bright that it was almost like darkness, a world where nothing could be seen at all. Every sense felt hazy, as if he were inside a dream.
Is this the afterlife?
Keter did not know, but there was one thing he could be sure of.
I am thinking. Therefore, I exist.
Having established his own existence, Keter looked around. It was a meaningless action. He could not even tell whether his eyes were open or closed, nor where the ground ended and the sky began. All he could feel was a strange, swollen sense of floating.
What is this?
It was a hopeless situation, yet Keter remained optimistic. Like a man adrift at sea, he drifted through the pale, luminous space.
Oh.
Drifting there without any sense of time, he eventually discovered another presence besides himself. It was a boy, seven years old at most, maybe nine. In this vast sea of light, the boy looked as though he were playing in the dirt.
“Hey. What are you doing?” Keter called out to him.
The boy jolted in surprise and turned around. It was a face Keter had never seen before, but somehow, Keter felt like he knew exactly who the boy was.
“Alkione.”
“K-Keter. You were alive.”
For some reason, the Godfather had become a boy. What had looked like playing in the dirt was, up close, actually the boy digging through the luminous space. In the space he had dug out, Keter could see a tiny crack. Beyond it was clearly the outside world.
Seeing that vivid, living world outside, Keter’s memory returned. He remembered the moment just before the explosion that filled the Godfather’s microcosm had swallowed the mortal world. Neither of them had simply stood and watched.
The Godfather had dragged his microcosm out. That did not erase the explosion’s aftermath, but at least it forced the blast upward, preventing the whole world from being blown apart with it. On top of that, Keter had wrapped the exploding microcosm with Three Thousand Worlds, the extradimensional space he had been carrying around.
The result was this place—a dimension outside reality, a place like the void fissure he had once fallen into while fighting Thanatos.
The Godfather had been trying to escape from here when he ran into Keter.
“Where do you think you’re going? You should stay and play with me.”
And Keter was not the kind of person to just watch that happen. His physical body, which had been vague and uncertain, began to reform as well. Unlike the Godfather, who had become a child, Keter looked the same as before.
“W-wait. I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
Now that the Godfather was younger, his emotions showed plainly on his face, and it was obvious he did not want to fight.
“You think that’ll work now?”
“No power works here, anyway. So don’t waste your strength…”
“Yeah. That does seem true.”
For some reason, no ability worked in this place—not Authority, not divine power, not even aura. But Keter reached up toward the sky. And soon, one wooden arrow appeared in his hand. It was Misteltein, the arrow that killed gods.
Just from holding it, the “color” began draining from Keter’s body. He understood immediately that he did not even have enough time left to threaten Alkione with it the way he had before.
“Let’s end this.”
There was no time left even for regret, so Keter walked toward Alkione. Panicking, Alkione began trying to persuade him.
“You idiot! If you kill me like this, you’re the one who loses! What do you think will happen to Sefira once it loses you? Prince Rakan is still alive. Do you really think he’ll just let Sefira, which he’s always seen as a thorn in his side, stay independent? And even if he does, did you already forget the kings who were there? They’re definitely thinking this is their chance to unify the world. But listen to me. If you spare me, I promise I won’t touch Sefira. I’ll protect it!”
The moment Alkione brought up Sefira, Keter stopped right in front of him. Alkione felt a flicker of relief, but then Misteltein pierced straight through Alkione’s chest.
“Sefira will manage just fine on its own.”
“Ah… ahh…”
Alkione’s body began collapsing from the feet upward. Sinking to his knees, he reached a hand toward the crack he himself had dug open.
“All I wanted… was just to be free… like you…”
Keter also sank to his knees. From the backlash of using Misteltein, he too was being erased, though more slowly than Alkione.
“Freedom comes with responsibility. You didn’t want to bear that responsibility, like a spoiled child.”
“So that’s… what it was…”
Shh…
Those were Alkione’s final words, full of regret, before he disappeared. Keter lowered his head. His lower body had already vanished completely. There was no pain.
“Well, at least this isn’t some pathetic death like in my previous life.”
He had masters who taught him their techniques without holding anything back. He had Daat, who had been no different from a real brother, and his family back in Sefira… Countless faces flickered before his eyes, but Keter closed them.
“It was fun.”
Without any resistance, Keter accepted his own annihilation.
* * *
“Keter.”
Who is it? I was sleeping so well. I don’t want to wake up. I just want to go back to sleep.
“Keter.”
I don’t care. I’m just going to sleep. Call me all you want. Like I’m going to wake up.
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry for waking me up? If you know that, then hurry up and leave. I’m going to lose my sleep.
“Watching you fight Alkione… I finally realized why, even after turning back time tens of thousands of times, I could never erase the gods.”
That woke Keter right up. He still couldn’t move, but his eyes opened. Slowly, Akrah’s face came into view. It seemed that he was lying with his head resting on her lap.
“Gods are perfect existences that humans made. Battles among perfect existences do not come to an end. I don’t know why I just realized that now.”
“…But you really are acting like a parent at the very end, even dying with me and all.”
Akrah, whom he thought had disappeared after being absorbed by Alkione, was alive.
Keter had definitely resented her, cursed her, and decided she was the root of evil that had to be stopped. However, now, at the moment of death, facing her like this, somehow all of it just felt like… whatever.
“Keter, you asked me once if humanity had truly gone extinct. It hadn’t. Even when they fought the gods, humans always survived. No matter what hardships came, humans always rose again. Still, I thought there was no hope, so I kept turning back time. Now I know that wasn’t true. Maybe… no, maybe it was my twisted love that brought humanity to ruin.”
“You should’ve figured that out a little earlier. Now there’s no way to turn anything back.”
“That’s right. Time can’t be turned back. But…”
Slowly, Akrah’s hand covered his forehead. Then she gently stroked it.
“Even if the water has already spilled, I’m going to try to gather it back up. That is the love I can still give this world… and my son, Keter.”
“What does that even…”
Keter felt the touch of her lips against his forehead. It was warm, with a softness and a sense of relief he had never felt before in his life. It also carried sadness.
“Be happy.”
Keter reached out, but he couldn’t reach her. Akrah was moving farther away, and his consciousness drifted farther and farther into the dark.
* * *
The Godfather Alkione and the Divine Bow Keter suddenly disappeared from the battlefield. Because the universe had been frozen, ordinary humans had no idea what had happened, but the kings of each nation did. Keter had saved them—gods had been saved by a human.
However, the gods were not moved by Keter’s sacrifice. They acted immediately. All of them widened the distance between themselves. That became the signal, and the armies they had brought turned their weapons on the allies they had been fighting beside just moments before.
If they could suppress everyone gathered here—the kings of nations and their elite soldiers—they could seize dominion over the world. There was no reason not to fight. However, the Samael Empire’s preparation far surpassed that of the other nations.
Kaboom!!!
Something fired from the ground by cannon exploded in the sky. A blue flash covered the heavens. It was not an attack in itself, but it had an extraordinary effect.
“Wha?!”
“M-my body feels heavy. Is this magic?”
“It’s not our bodies that got heavier. O-our armor got heavier!”
It was the empire’s new weapon, the Energy Extinction Shell. When it exploded in the sky, everyone who possessed energy, such as aura or mana, was rendered powerless. Knights’ armor was tremendously heavy, and the only reason they could move around in it was because of aura.
The loss of energy did not distinguish friend from foe, so it affected the imperial army as well, but they had already prepared for this situation. The weapons and armor worn by the imperial soldiers were ordinary standard-issue equipment with no magic embedded in them. They had been made light enough for normal humans to handle.
“Surround them!”
On top of that, all of the empire’s weapons were crossbows. Not the kind that fired once and were done, but new models capable of firing at least ten shots in succession. In a fight between ordinary humans, ranged weapons had a clear advantage. Compared to bows, crossbows were much easier to use and required far less skill.
Of course, the armies of the other kingdoms also had archers and crossbowmen, but there was a massive difference in equipment. The empire’s crossbowmen wore heavy armor. They were heavily armored crossbow infantry, while the crossbowmen of other nations were dressed far more lightly.
“Kneel and throw down your weapons!” roared the imperial commander.
However, the royal armies had no intention of obeying.
“What nonsense!”
One royal crossbowman fired first, but the bolt he shot could not penetrate the imperial soldier’s armor. Meanwhile, the bolts fired by the empire easily pierced through the tough leather armor of the royal troops.
“If you do not throw down your weapons, you will be killed!”
The empire was not threatening them with words alone. They immediately attacked everyone still holding a weapon. The empire’s crossbows had far superior range as well, so the royal armies could not even properly resist.
For this war, the empire had mobilized ten thousand troops, while each kingdom had sent twenty to thirty thousand. If the kingdoms joined forces, their numbers far exceeded the empire’s. However, numbers meant nothing. One imperial soldier could control a hundred royal soldiers.
Just when it seemed the imperial army was about to completely subdue the royal armies…
“Ghk!”
“W-what was that?”
“Where did that arrow come from?!”
Arrows began flying in from outside the encirclement.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the source. It was Sefira. The archers of Sefira, half-dead and trembling all over, still had bows and arrows in hand and aimed them at the imperial troops.
“Sefira!”
“How are those half-dead bastards still moving?!”
Sefira could not completely avoid the effects of the Energy Extinction Shell either. However, Sefira had never been a family that relied on aura or magic in the first place. They relied on pure physical strength, concentration, endurance, and skill. And when it came to bows, their technique rivaled even that of the empire.
And now, Sefira was advancing. The Crusaders, led by Taragon, took the lead, with the archers advancing behind them. The imperial soldiers retreated step by step. No matter how long a crossbow’s range was, it could never outmatch the range of a bow.
And so, in the blink of an eye, Sefira rescued the royal armies. With Sefira’s archers at their backs, the royal soldiers began radiating murderous intent.
“Wipe out the imperial army!”
The knights threw off their heavy armor and bared their hostility.
But at that moment, Hissop shouted in a loud voice. “Let’s stop this now!”
That booming, desperate cry did not come from a safe place. In the middle of the battlefield, within range of the imperial army’s arrows, where he could be killed at any moment, Hissop stood and looked back and forth between the two sides.
Even in that explosive, on-the-edge-of-war moment, everyone focused on Hissop. It was natural, as though he was already severely wounded, he had run out to stop the fighting. The wounds that had only just been stitched shut had torn open again, leaving his whole body soaked in blood.
Surrounded by soldiers gripping weapons and drunk on killing intent, Hissop spoke.
“Life is precious.”
At those words, the soldiers’ eyes wavered. Hissop raised his voice even more.
“We are all heroes who saved the world. Then why are we trying to fight each other? The monsters are still alive, and that cursed fog still covers the world. Even if we joined forces, we would still have our hands full! Look beside you. Your comrades are wounded. Look behind you! Your brothers-in-arms are dying. Think of your homes. If we are not there, then who will protect them…?!”
At Hissop’s speech, which stabbed straight into their hearts, some soldiers began to cry. The will to fight that had filled the battlefield began to fade.
Hissop set his own weapon down first and said, “Let’s go home.”
People said malice spreads in an instant, but the same was true of goodwill.
The royal armies slowly lowered their weapons, one after another, joining in the refusal to keep fighting. However, the imperial side still hesitated. That was when it happened.
“Do as he says.”
Crown Princess Vina, supreme commander of the imperial army, sided with Hissop.
Seeing this, Emperor Samael, who had been watching, shouted, “Vina! What do you think you’re doing?!”
It was the emperor himself rebuking her.
“If the imperial army does not withdraw here, the unification of the continent will never happen,” Vina answered calmly.
“If we kill them all, then the continent will be unified.”
“That’s impossible. Sefira was never part of our plan.”
“Ughhh…!”
Samael looked thoroughly displeased as he stared at Vina, then at the royal armies. The gods of the kingdoms, as if they had already come to an agreement, all turned their attention toward the emperor alone.
Belferio raised his rapier and said, “Well then, shall we settle it among ourselves at least?”
Originally, the emperor had intended to face all the other kings alone, but that had only been under the assumption that they would be weakened by the Godfather. Things had not gone according to plan. The Godfather had been subdued far more easily than expected. And after unexpectedly absorbing Akrah, even the emperor himself had nearly been annihilated, and only because Keter acted had he remained safe.
“…You were lucky.”
In the end, Samael turned his back. He had no choice but to admit it. Everything had gone wrong, and all because of a single person.
Just before leaving, the emperor muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Keter, and Sefira, was it? I’ll remember that name.”
* * *
On the outskirts of Sefira, in a sunlit cemetery, Hissop, one eye covered with an eyepatch, greeted each person entering at the gate one by one.
At that moment, Besil placed a hand on his shoulder from behind.
“Hissop, go on inside. I’ll stand here.”
“No. As head of the family, I should be the one standing here.”
“And precisely because you’re the head of the family, you shouldn’t be here.”
As Besil and Hissop bickered, a third person cut in.
“By that logic, shouldn’t I be the one standing here, as the elder?”
It was Elder Endymion. The Godfather had clearly said he killed him, yet Endymion was alive. Not only him, but most of Sefira’s retainers were alive as well, bustling around the funeral grounds.
The Godfather had lied, and Keter had been wrong. Sefira had survived, and that was because of the Authority Besil had acquired. Besil’s Authority was a defensive one, similar to Endymion’s. It had created a synergy with Endymion’s Authority, allowing them to withstand the Godfather’s attack.
“Hurry and go inside. Everyone’s waiting.”
Endymion forcibly pushed Hissop and Besil inward. Soon, Hissop and Besil stood together in front of a certain grave. At that very moment, a cardinal dispatched from the Order of the Sun was delivering the opening words.
“We will now begin Keter’s funeral mass.”
