Chapter 70
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Chapter 70
"Forget it?"
[Time has turned back. Everything you remember now never happened. It will never happen in the future either. So why burden yourself with it? It's a painful memory, isn't it?]
Just as Holy Sword Langiosa said, it was a painful memory. Every time I recalled it, my entire body felt as though it were freezing over. Memories I had tried to dismiss as nothing more than a dream and forget.
Had the Holy Sword awakened before the Military Academy entrance examination and spoken to me this way, I might have seriously considered forgetting. But I had seen her again. The emotions that had swept through me the moment I laid eyes on her still lingered within me.
Despite the tragic end that had befallen her, I found myself unable to forget about Echinacea Loaz. Especially the memories of watching over her—I had no desire to forget those. To abandon even those memories of her solitary struggle, those desperate hours that no one else would ever know about, felt like too much.
"...It's better to remember, if only to prevent such tragedy from happening again."
[I told you, those things won't happen anymore. You don't need to worry.]
"What do you mean by that?"
[The Demonic Sword Demon has disappeared, and she won't appear again. So you don't need to concern yourself with it. It's better to forget.]
The Holy Sword spoke with certainty. It was true—the Demon had not appeared. Echinacea Loaz, who had been the Demon, had become a Military Academy applicant with no connection to the Demonic Sword. But it was natural that the Holy Sword, which had been sleeping all this time, wouldn't know this fact. Yurien de Harden Kirie stared at the golden patterns with suspicion.
"How do you know that? It sounds like you know where the Demonic Sword is right now."
[....]
The Holy Sword fell silent. Yurien de Harden Kirie waited a moment, then spoke quietly.
"Langiosa. What are you trying to hide? What happened after I died?"
[....]
"Could it be... the one who gathered the Giosa and turned back time...?"
I stopped myself before finishing the thought. My fingertips tensed. My mouth went dry. I barely managed to pronounce that name.
"...Is it Echinacea Loaz?"
[You, where did you hear that woman's name? You didn't know her name.]
"She took the Military Academy entrance examination."
[Oh no....]
The Holy Sword let out a sigh. And with great reluctance, it spoke.
[To be honest, I wish you and she weren't entangled with each other. I am your sword, and you died because of her.]
"Don't speak of it that way. It wasn't her fault."
[Yes, it wasn't. But the result is still the same. It seems better for you to keep your distance from her. I'm not saying this because I dislike her. Rather....]
Holy Sword Langiosa paused as if recalling something, then continued with a deep sigh.
[I truly think she is a remarkable human. But separate from that, I worry about you as you come to know more about her. I have lived for a long time, seen many humans, and served many masters. Yet this is the first time I've encountered such a case, and I cannot predict how you will react.]
"Langiosa, I am not a child."
[It's precisely because you're not a child that I worry, my master.]
"What exactly are you worried about?"
[My masters throughout the generations have been upright. And precisely because they were upright, when they began to go astray, there was often no stopping them. I don't wish to see you become that way.]
Yurien de Harden Kirie furrowed his brow. He spoke in a warning tone.
"How is that different from treating me like a child? You are not my parent, and I am your master. Langiosa, do not attempt to restrict me."
[It's not that I'm trying to restrict you....]
"Selectively providing information and guiding me as you see fit—if that's not restricting me, then what is? Do you think that's fair?"
[...No, it isn't. I apologize.]
The Holy Sword apologized readily. Knowing that Langiosa acted out of affection for me, I said nothing more. I leaned back deeply into my chair and asked again.
"Then tell me the truth now. Was it she who turned back time?"
The Holy Sword did not answer immediately. After a moment had passed, it finally responded.
[That's right. Echinacea Loaz, the owner of Bardegiosa, turned back time.]
"How?"
Yurien recalled the last time he had seen her. The way she had wailed, bound by malice. And the radiant way she had shone like the sun yesterday. He had believed she would overcome it someday, but how? What had happened? How on earth had she performed such a miracle as turning back time?
[It's difficult to explain in words... I'll share my memories with you.]
"Share memories? Is such a thing even possible?"
[Our souls are connected. Just see for yourself.]
The Holy Sword spoke as if resigned. Simultaneously, the pattern on his palm began to glow. Golden mana surged forth, enveloping him. As he accepted it, his vision turned pitch black in an instant. He felt the sensation of being sucked into somewhere. And then darkness came.
It was not complete darkness.
Light seeped through a long, thin gap. In his original state, he could have made out his surroundings with this much light, but now he could not. He could not move his body either. Before long, Yurien realized he had become Holy Sword Langiosa. Or rather, he was experiencing Langiosa's memories.
A clattering sound rang out, and suddenly light poured down from above. It seemed he had been inside something like a box. The lid opened. His eyes stung, and for a moment he could see nothing.
"Ah. Found it."
A thin, clear woman's voice. Breathing heavily as if exhausted, the murmur spilled forth tinged with overwhelming excitement. It must be Echinacea Loaz's voice. It was the first time he had heard her voice. He focused all his attention on listening to it.
"So you were here. Finally...."
The more she spoke, the more moisture clung to her words. And a droplet fell with a soft patter. As his eyes adjusted to the light, his vision gradually became clearer. Yurien saw her reaching out her hand.
Her bare face was filthy with sweat and dust, her worn leather clothes tattered. Above them, blood covered her as if poured from a bucket. Whether it was her blood or another's, he could not tell. He could see scars on her extended hand and arm. There were many wounds visible on the exposed parts of her body. Burns, pressed marks, bruises, cuts.
Her hand touched Langiosa. Or rather, it did not. Something crackled like static electricity, and Echinacea withdrew her hand. She tried to grasp the Holy Sword several more times, but ultimately could not touch it.
Her expression went blank. And gradually contorted. As if she had realized why she could not grasp Langiosa. Yurien watched as tears welled up in her eyes and finally overflowed.
She collapsed, gripping the box, and wept with ragged breaths. Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed. The tips of her fingers gripping the box turned white from the force. The blood smeared on her cheeks was washed away by her tears. Her lips trembled. Suppressed sobs leaked between those lips.
That sight, strangely enough, made his chest resonate with a tingling ache. Yurien could not tear his eyes away from her. He watched her weeping, forgetting even to breathe, his eyes unblinking.
Finally ceasing her tears, she unwound something like a headscarf she had been wearing. Beneath it, her short pink hair tumbled free, having been hidden. She wrapped her hand with that cloth and grasped Langiosa. She wound the handle round and round with the cloth and lifted it.
Yurien finally saw beyond the box. It was a cave illuminated by torches. An altar-like structure was visible, and upon it lay the dismembered corpses of humans. Figures dressed like priests and armed men lay dead all around.
The moment he saw that sight, he could roughly guess what kind of place it was. It resembled a chapel of a heretical cult that performed human sacrifice. He wondered how Langiosa had ended up in such a place. Confusion gave way to understanding.
The Demonic Sword Demon had been interested in killing the Giosa Owners, but she would have had no interest in the remaining Giosa. Judging from her previous actions, it seemed she had simply abandoned the ownerless Giosa and left to find the humans she wanted to kill.
Since Agenka had no affiliated nation, there would have been many who discovered the ruined Agenka and plundered it. As a result, the Giosa would likely have been scattered far and wide. With the Changtian Knights gone to protect them, the Giosa would have drifted about freely among those who coveted them.
While thinking such thoughts, Echinacea lifted Langiosa and held her horizontally. With a face drenched in tears, she gazed blankly at the white blade. Her eyes were hollow, as if lost in thought. Her expression was so weakened it seemed it would crumble and scatter on the wind. A small murmur leaked between her parched, cracked lips.
"Yurien."
It was his name. A call he had never expected to hear in this moment, in this place. Yurien trembled as if struck by lightning.
She traced the blade's edge with her fingertips. Unable to touch it, she swept just above the blade. Fresh tears welled in her face, which had barely calmed. She bowed her head and spoke quietly.
"That your choice to believe in me was not wrong."
She did not sob as before. Tears rose silently and fell patter-patter onto the blade. She could not touch it, but her tears could reach the Holy Sword. Her tears flowed along Langiosa's edge.
"I will prove it, no matter what... I will...."
Yurien watched as light gradually kindled in her eyes, which had seemed hollowly empty. Her hazy violet eyes came into focus, and her gaze became increasingly distinct. Those eyes began to burn like her very soul.
"So that...."
The rest was mumbled inaudibly.
She wrapped Langiosa in cloth and held her to her chest. Then she rose to her feet. Standing, she completely erased the expression that had seemed so fragile it might shatter, and gazed ahead with eyes that had become terrifyingly clear. She took a step forward.
Yurien saw and heard it all.
Though he could not open his eyes, he saw a vision of her soul burning. Within Langiosa's memories, there was no need to breathe, no body to speak of, yet his breath caught and his skin prickled. Something welled up overwhelmingly while simultaneously aching with poignancy. His nonexistent heart began to pound as if it would burst.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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