C845
"..."
Raon stared at Rimmer for a long time before raising his right hand. He used Glacier, spreading Silver Frost from his palm. The frost spread gently like fine snow, softly enveloping Rimmer's body as it spun. It was a measure to prevent the body from decaying while also protecting the skin from freezing.
- Enough.
Wrath waved his hand as if telling Raon to stop.
- That should be enough to prevent decomposition and freezing.
He nodded, acknowledging that Raon had controlled his power well.
"Is it done?"
Burren frowned as he looked at the frost surrounding Rimmer.
"Yes, it should be fine for a while."
Raon let out a short sigh. He had made sure it would hold even if he fell asleep, so there shouldn't be any problems during the journey to Azure Wind. However, having used cold energy while injured and completely exhausted, his head now throbbed with pain.
"Um, well..."
Burren scratched the back of his neck and looked at Raon as if he had something to say.
"What is it?"
—Ah, no, I didn't expect you to lament like that. I wanted to ask if you were alright...
He clicked his lips and said he didn't expect him to break down like that. His speech was clumsy, as if he were truly nervous.
"I'm sorry. It was inappropriate for a division leader, wasn't it?"
Raon lowered his head and wiped his tear-stained cheeks.
"I'm not trying to criticize you. I'm just worried, knowing your personality."
Burren shook his head and said he wasn't trying to be confrontational.
"If anything, it was good that you cried."
Martha approached and pointed to the Light Wind division. The swordsmen had let their emotions flow as freely as Raon had, and they were still sobbing and shedding tears.
“Thanks to you, they were able to openly express their pain.”
She murmured that it was fortunate, as suppressing those emotions could lead to illness.
"It seems you did the same."
Raon smiled slightly as he looked at Martha's red eyes and nose, as if she had been drinking.
"What? Do you have a problem with me crying? Did you think I was incapable of crying?"
Martha bit her lip, as if she were displeased.
"Miss Rakshasa cried as much as Raon..."
Runaan approached Martha and shook her head.
- Hey! You cried even louder...
"And me too..."
She was still pouting sadly, with tears streaming down her eyes.
"Haha..."
Martha looked at Runaan, who was sobbing, with her head down, sighed, and hugged her. It was the first time anyone had seen the two of them hugging so amicably.
-...
Wrath frowned as he looked at Rimmer, who seemed to be smiling slightly as if he were asleep.
'What are you thinking?'
Raon looked at Wrath and moved his hand.
- I was contemplating my own patheticness.
Wrath slowly looked up, frowning.
- I didn't expect to feel so powerless again, unable to do anything.
By his words, it seemed something similar had happened in the past.
- It's true I didn't like that lazy and carefree Pointy Ear, but I didn't want to let him die like that.
Wrath bit his lip as if he were frustrated. He usually cried easily, but the fact that he wasn't crying at all suggested he was truly angry.
'Thank you.'
Raon let out a short sigh and stroked Wrath's head.
"It would have been nice if you and the Master could have met..."
He had always wanted to see Wrath, who was always angry, and Rimmer, who paid no attention to him, arguing. Now that that could never happen, his heart ached. He felt like crying again.
"Um, Young Master..."
Yua looked at Rimmer with tearful eyes before grabbing Raon's sleeve.
"Z-Zieghart has many treasures, right? If there's something like an elixir that can revive the dead, couldn't we bring the Vice Leader back to life?"
Her eyes, which still retained the innocence of youth, were filled with hope.
—Ah, I'm sure Lord Dorian would want something like that!
Yua's hands trembled as if she were asking for something to be done. It seemed she had invoked Astral Energy when she stabbed Sif, but now she didn't seem to be thinking about those things at all.
"I'm sorry..."
Dorian shook his head as he knelt down, as if he had become a sinner.
"E-Then, in Zieghart..."
"That's not what she means."
Raon shook his head as he looked Yua in the eye.
"An elixir is something that can save someone on the verge of death, but it can't bring back someone who's already dead."
He didn't know if Zieghart had an elixir or a similar elixir, but even if such a treasure existed, it couldn't revive Rimmer who was already dead.
"I see..."
Yua's big eyes began to fill with tears again, as if sadness was overwhelming her once more.
"So we'll never see the Vice Leader again..."
She began to cry, letting out a whimper.
"I'm sorry."
Raon wiped away the tears that had started to fall again, then hugged Yua and patted her back. The girl sobbed even more sadly before collapsing as if she were fainting.
"I'll take her..."
Burren let out a long sigh, as if he couldn't bear to look any longer, and picked up Yua.
"By the way, you said you met the division leader in the mental world before, right?"
He lowered his chin slightly as he carried Yua on his back.
"What did he say?"
"I'm curious too..."
"Tell us..."
Not only Burren, Martha, and Runaan, but other swordsmen also approached Raon, apparently curious.
"He didn't say anything special in the mental realm. He just pointed out my flaws."
Raon told them all what had happened with Rimmer.
"It seems the only message he left us was: 'Be happy'."
Rimmer hadn't made any requests or given any orders. He didn't repeat his usual insistence that Raon become the head of the Zieghart house, nor did he tell him to stay close to Glenn. He simply let the last words be to be happy. It was so different from how he had always been that Raon's heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
"It seemed like he didn't regret anything."
Martha chuckled and said it was just like Rimmer.
"That man is amazing until the end. How did he get into the division leader's mental image?"
Kerin blinked and said it was typical of Rimmer and, at the same time, surprising.
"It must have been thanks to the Blade of Requiem."
Raon stroked the Blade of Requiem he was carrying at his waist. Before he passed out, he had seen the sword glow an intense green, and it seemed that the souls remaining in it had guided Rimmer's soul to help him.
'Thank you.'
He didn't know if Rimmer's soul was still in the Blade of Requiem now, but he was grateful that it had allowed him to meet his master one last time.
"I'm sorry. Really..."
Dorian knelt down and began to bang his head against the ground.
"If I had been a little stronger, I could have protected everyone..."
He continued to bang his head until it bled, saying he had become a burden.
"You also heard the Master's last words."
Raon held Dorian's head, shaking his own.
"What he wanted was for everyone in the Light Wind division to be happy. He didn't have any resentment or remorse towards you."
As he said this, he grabbed Dorian's shoulders, just as Rimmer had done with him.
"Puaj..."
Dorian grabbed his head and shed tears once more.
"Most importantly, what did Sif tell you and the Vice Leader?"
Raon asked Dorian. He was curious about the conversation Sif had had, especially since Sif had mentioned at the end that he wasn't alone.
"Ah..."
Dorian wiped away the tears that were flowing like a faucet and let out a sigh.
"There are important things. First, Sif stole Lady Alice's power for the blood of Zieghart."
"Blood?"
"Yes. He said that angel blood flows through the veins of Zieghart. He used a curse engraved in the cavity to absorb the angel blood..."
He recounted all the conversations that Rimmer and Sif had, starting with the story of the Angels.
"Angels..."
Burren's eyes trembled as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. His pride in Zieghart seemed to further increase the surprise.
"No wonder! No matter how much we train, our Sword Domain wouldn't open!"
Martha accepted it more calmly than expected, frowning at the idea of a Sword Domain that only they could use.
"Yes. It's unfair..."
Runaan also pouted, as if she regretted the time spent training for a Sword Domain.
'Angels?'
- Angels?
Raon and Wrath looked at each other with their mouths open.
'Didn't you know?'
- Why should I know?!
- It's weird that you don't know! You said angels were your enemies, so why don't you know?
- How am I supposed to know if I haven't drunk your blood!
Wrath and Raon looked at each other with narrowed eyes, wondering why neither of them knew.
- I thought something was strange! There was a reason you could resist my power from the beginning! It was because of that damn angel blood!
Wrath gritted his teeth, saying he now understood Raon's evil. (N/E: 500 chapters of insulting Raon as an angel and then bam!)
'So, are you going to leave now?'
—Raon asked, touching Wrath's head.
'You said you couldn't associate with the Angels.'
- Leave you? I'll stay with you until the end and take your body! The idea of making a body with angel blood mine makes my mouth water!
Wrath gritted his teeth and said he couldn't back down now.
'Is that so.'
Raon smiled slightly as he looked at Wrath, who was growling. He would have felt truly empty if Wrath had left, but knowing he would stay made his heart feel a little warmer.
- Don't smile! It's not for you, it's for me!
- Okay. Thank you.
- Don't thank me!
Wrath shook his head vigorously, insisting that it wasn't for Raon's sake at all.
'But...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sif's shattered corpse.
'How did he plan to steal the grandfather's power?'
Roenn was always by Glenn's side, and even if he wasn't, it would be impossible for someone with Sif's ability to ambush Glenn. Even Alice's defeat today was due to her physical and mental strength being completely exhausted. It was hard to imagine how Sif planned to ambush and stab Glenn.
'Is there another way?'
He thought that Sif or Derus Robert might have had a way to stab Glenn.
'What a waste... No.'
Raon let out a soft sigh and shook his head.
«Killing him was absolutely the right thing to do».
It was better to kill Sif here, as he might have run away after spilling everything.
Still, it might be good to consider the possibilities.
Even though Sif didn't know it, if Derus was behind him, they might have thought of a way to steal Glenn's power. It seemed prudent to consider various possibilities.
- What should we do with this sword?
Kerin asked, pointing to the Cursed Black Sword that Sif had been holding.
"..."
Raon let out a deep sigh as he looked at the Cursed Black Sword and Alice, who was being carried on Kerin's back.
'Aunt will need that sword to regain her strength. However...'
I'm not sure if she'll be able to stand. Alice was ambushed by her son and collapsed, and she saw her son kill Rimmer. On top of that, her son was finally killed by her nephew. Even if she wakes up, she won't be in her right mind. No matter how strong Alice's will is, it seemed inevitable that she would collapse.
"...We should probably take it with us."
"I'll take it."
Martha nodded and grabbed Sif's Cursed Black Sword with an aura-infused hand.
"Then let's go back."
Raon looked at the collapsed dungeon and the pool of blood that Sif had left behind before turning around. Carrying Rimmer on his back, he walked through the dense forest leading to the port.
- The truth is, I still don't understand it.
Martha bit her lip as she looked at Rimmer.
"Why were his last words 'be happy'?"
She bit her lip, wondering if he couldn't have said something else.
"Probably that was all he wanted to tell everyone in the Light Wind division. The Vice Leader was surprisingly considerate."
Burren shook his head as he walked carefully, trying not to wake Yua.
"I once saw the Vice Leader's notebook during our apprentice days. He had written down all our strengths and weaknesses in detail."
Raon smiled slightly as he spoke of the first time he saw Rimmer again.
"Of course, even then he spent half his day lounging on the podium."
"I thought he was some kind of crazy person. It was annoying to see him sitting there, fiddling with his fingers."
Kerin snorted, saying he really was a strange master.
- That's why I didn't like him either! A leader should lead by example!
Wrath also complained as if he could communicate with everyone.
"Remember when the Owen Kingdom delegation came? He made us fight the Owen Knight candidates, and when we won, he got really mad and cried because Duke Tartan ran away without buying drinks."
Burren clicked his tongue and said he couldn't have been more pathetic.
"I can't forget the image of him being kicked out of the gambling den like a beggar, yelling for money to buy food."
Martha shook her head and said it was the first time she had seen someone so pathetic.
"He often suggested team dinners and then charged the bill to Raon..."
Runaan sighed and said it was unpleasant behavior.
"But during the Blood Demon incident, he couldn't have been more reliable."
Raon smiled slightly, feeling Rimmer's remaining warmth.
"That's right. When he knocked down that ogre with a single blow, it was honestly pretty cool."
Burren nodded as if he were impressed.
"When Eden kidnapped you, he didn't sleep and kept moving."
Martha smiled softly, saying that when his disciples were in danger, he transformed into the wisest and bravest master.
"He always seemed cool when he felt the wind..."
Runaan clasped her hands in front of her chest and said that when Rimmer was serious, she was as amazing as Raon.
"The Vice Leader's teachings only show their effects later. Now that I think about it, I could never thank him..."
Dorian bit his lip hard, as if he were regretful.
"Let's not talk about depressing things. Let's talk about the trouble he caused. I remember when he came to the big training ground and demanded that we pay for his bar tab."
"I remember seeing him eating roots in the mountains because he didn't have money for food."
The Light Wind division laughed as they recalled their times with Rimmer. Although it took quite a while to reach the port, the conversation never stopped and continued until the end. It was as if everyone was entertaining Rimmer so he wouldn't get bored. When Raon and the Light Wind division arrived at the port, it was already evening.
"No, how could this..."
Lawaine couldn't continue speaking at the unexpected sight; his jaw trembled.
"Later..."
Raon exhaled a sigh tinged with the smell of blood as he handed Rimmer over.
"I'll explain it to you later."
Perhaps because he thought it was finally over, his vision blurred and the world split in two.
* * *
Rimmer appears. As always, he had a refreshing wind around him and a mischievous boy's smile. Wrath flew beside Rimmer in the form of cotton candy, his hair standing on end. He seemed angry, as if something displeased him.
Rimmer yawned and spoke calmly, while Wrath turned into red cotton candy and flailed his arms.
Sheryl and Alice approached as if they couldn't bear to look, trying to stop the two. Glenn and Roenn chuckled at the sight. Sia had somehow woken up and was enjoying a delicious meal, while Edgar was trapped right next to her, chattering non-stop. Sylvia patted Edgar on the back, telling him to leave the child alone.
This is a dream. Not the mental world, but his own desire. The reality he desired but couldn't see had become a dream unfolding before him. Crack! When he realized it was a dream, the lively world shattered as if it had been struck by a spatial sword, and everything turned black.
"Ah..."
When he opened his eyes, he saw the cabin door, as if he had been sleeping on his side. Feeling the stillness without wind, an unbearable sadness washed over him.
'But...'
Had the pillow always been so soft? He thought it was strange, reached out, but instead of fabric, he felt the touch of human skin. When he turned his gaze, he saw Merlin, without a mask, looking at him.
"It's okay to cry if you're sad."
Unlike what was usual for her, Merlin nodded with eyes that reflected his own, as if she were looking at herself in a mirror.
-
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