Chapter 78
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Chapter 78
6. Vivian Roushweed
Dias Hessen's plan was flawless.
Today, in this place, he intended to kill the Emperor who had driven his wife to her death, then flee to the Demon Realm.
And he planned to die beside the wife he loved.
Just as she had sacrificed her life to create the barrier of the Demon Realm, he would become an offering for the world she had sought to protect.
Even if that barrier could not endure forever, it would at least persist until Vivian reached his age.
Once the Emperor fell and that much time had passed... by then, the world in which that child would live would surely be transformed.
...And so, holding onto that final hope.
Death held no terror for me.
Having lost my mother in childhood—a time I scarcely remembered—death seemed merely the process of reuniting with her.
As I grew older, there was nothing I feared.
As the heir to a prestigious noble house and blessed with innate swordsmanship, there was scarcely anyone who could overcome me.
And after losing my wife... death became something I welcomed.
But.
"Father...?"
The moment I heard that voice, for the first time, I feared my own death.
I mocked myself for not turning back when I discovered Vivian being attacked by the demon beast, but I soon abandoned that thought.
'Even if I returned to that moment, I would make the same choice again.'
Even knowing the spirits would save you, I....
Would not gamble on even the slimmest possibility of you being harmed.
For now, this world exists for you alone.
So for the sake of the world in which Vivian will live, I had to turn away from that child and continue forward. I had to complete my plan.
Dias Hessen pressed onward, ignoring the voice calling to me.
Then I heard pursuing footsteps.
But those steps stumbled over a tree root before taking more than a few paces.
My feet stopped instinctively.
The desperate voice that followed seized my steps.
"Don't go, Father!"
"...."
"Don't leave me alone...."
The child wept bitterly.
Since losing her mother, she had rarely cried over her own troubles.
Unable to either bring the weeping child into my hell or leave her alone,
I finally stopped walking.
* * *
"Haah...."
Hildegard gritted her teeth as she watched the endless stream of demon beasts, maintaining her protective magic.
Despite considerable time having passed since Vivian's departure, reinforcements had not arrived.
'Has something happened to Vivian?'
Guilt for pushing my subordinates into danger, combined with the creeping despair as hope gradually faded, made my mind reel for a moment.
I too was slowly reaching my limits.
In that instant, a demon beast seized the opening and lunged forward to attack me.
"Ugh...!"
"Imperial Princess!"
Hildegard quickly deployed a protective spell again, but the demon beast had already raked its claws across her arm.
Despair settled over the faces of the noblewomen and noble ladies as they watched blood drip steadily from Hildegard's arm.
The knights fighting alongside us were visibly shaken as well.
Hildegard bit her lip.
'If the commander falls, it's over.'
And the commander of this place, though no one had formally appointed me, was myself.
People instinctively relied on whoever possessed the greatest strength among them.
Therefore, those with power had no choice but to bear that responsibility.
"...I'm fine. It's just a scratch."
Hildegard tried to appear unbothered, but she could sense it herself.
'At this rate, I'll reach my limit soon too.'
So before that happened, I had to find a way to break through this situation.
Hildegard's gaze turned toward the path leading out of the Hunting Ground.
Demon beasts still swarmed there, but the only option left to try was...
To break through, accepting casualties—whether few or many.
'I'm not sure if everyone will follow my orders...'
Just as Hildegard finally made her decision and was about to speak.
*Crack—*
The demon beasts that had been rushing at Hildegard and her group suddenly froze solid.
Beneath them lay a vast magical circle.
'This is... area magic?'
Area magic was something only high-ranking mages could cast.
'Who on earth...?'
As Hildegard traced the origin of the spell with her eyes, a familiar face emerged between the frozen demon beasts, striding forward.
"...Lahedis?"
That face, which had been oddly critical at the Guard Post, was never more welcome than in this moment.
The instant Lahedis reached Hildegard's position.
*Shatter—*
The frozen demon beasts shattered to pieces.
Witnessing this, Hildegard's brow furrowed.
'I suspected as much, but he's far more dangerous than I imagined...'
Even as relief flooded through her, facing Lahedis's true magical prowess for the first time, Hildegard felt fear.
It was an instinctive emotion—the shrinking before a superior force.
"Why are you only arriving now, you escort knight—"
But Lahedis, ignoring Hildegard's words entirely, quickly scanned the group of survivors.
Only then did his gaze upon Hildegard grow cold and sharp.
"Where is Vivian?"
At Lahedis's question, Hildegard's expression contorted as though struck by an invisible blow.
"Vivian went to request reinforcements."
As Hildegard spoke, her eyes remained fixed on the Forest where monsters had been swarming just moments before.
"So you sent her alone? Into that Forest teeming with monsters?"
Under Lahedis's reproach, Hildegard bit her lip hard.
Sending Vivian had been her decision, and she regretted it—but.
Should the same situation arise again, she would make the same choice.
She refused to make excuses.
That was what it meant to be a commander.
Lahedis, watching her, clenched his teeth and turned away.
Blaming Hildegard here would change nothing.
'...Vivian.'
The repairs to the Demon Realm's barrier over these past days felt hollow and meaningless.
I should have been beside her instead of restoring such things.
Without you, everything is worthless.
My heart feels as though it will burst from self-recrimination and the terror of losing you. Even breathing has become unbearable.
But just as he was about to enter the Forest, a fresh surge of monsters descended, encircling Lahedis and his companions.
In his eyes, a quiet, lethal intent rippled like still water disturbed.
As though ready to devour everything before him.
The monsters lunged at them.
In that same instant, a massive magical circle inscribed itself upon the ground, and shards of ice materialized, striking down the monsters in unison.
The overwhelming force of it made even the monsters hesitate, as did the Imperial Palace knights and Hildegard who bore witness.
'What manner of monster is this...?'
Having swiftly cleared the obstacles blocking his path, Lahedis took his first step toward the Forest.
Then footsteps approached from behind.
A familiar presence. A familiar gait.
And.
"Is everyone all right?"
That voice—unforgettable, desperately sought after. That face.
Behind Vivian, the guards she had brought back were dimly visible, but such details barely registered.
"...Vivian."
Vivian was a ridiculous sight—leaves clinging to her, her once-beautiful dress torn in places and soiled with dirt.
Yet the moment he saw her, his world, which had been nothing but ash-gray, suddenly regained its color and began to shimmer.
Lahedis's eyes twisted in pain at the sight, before a relieved, breathless laugh escaped him.
Only then did Vivian, catching sight of him, widen her golden eyes in surprise.
"Lord Lahedis?"
At the sound of her voice calling his name, his body moved of its own accord in response.
He closed the distance between them and pulled Vivian into a tight embrace.
Even the startled catch of breath, even the trembling warmth that made my throat ache—all of it was so achingly dear.
"You...."
My life.
My world.
You, who had become my everything.
"...What am I to do with you, Vivian?"
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