Chapter 185 – My Love, My Eternity (11)

I forgot an important fact.
It’s just that I didn’t bring any equipment.
The iron soldiers seemed to have finished construction and left, and the enchanted pickaxe and corrosive liquid that Kano had asked for were not left in the basement.

Can’t I do it?
I just started digging the remaining ground with my hands.
It was close to the stone floor, but since the shield was removed, it was enough to use bare hands without risking a little injury.
The ground is cracking apart.
Yeah, it’s better this way.

If you use a pickaxe, you might end up hitting the ground too hard.
I didn’t want to do that.

There was a dull taste of paper in my mouth.
Because Terra was chewing the note she left behind.
The cardboard being torn into pieces mixed with saliva reminded me of when I first arrived in this world a long time ago.

Of the five senses, the last to recover was taste.
The first thing to recover was hearing.

The first thing I heard when I was summoned to this continent was the sound of a woman crying.

Her name was Eris Prashuhra.
Her last name was given to her by her church, and it is said that they took her name from the back alley in the parish where she was born.
Caroline was a similar case, but the Holy Kingdom periodically brought in her orphans and used them as members of the order, and some of them were educated to become saints.
Eris was selected as a saint at a time when the tide of humanity was at its peak, and had the pitiful fate of having to throw her life away in the middle of the demon world along with a warrior who did not even know her name.

[Oh, you mean him? She is a saint who was raised in a religious order, so I guess she is a bit inferior. I kept crying from the moment I saw you.]

Likewise, I agreed with Terra when I first saw her.
At least for me, my first impression of Eris was that she was a woman who cried a lot, no, until the very end.

Unlike anyone else, without the help of the goddess, she was born with twelve sacred powers from the beginning, and unlike any other saint, even a small scratch on my body made her rush to me and cry.

When blood got on my sword, she was sad and cried.
When I picked the flowers with her bloody hands and handed them to her, I cried because I was sorry.

I may have been able to endure it because she was an extremely humane and sensitive person.
While I was constantly moving in the direction indicated by Nova in the Demon World, the belief I wanted to protect gradually became less about subjugating the Demon Lord.

That belief changed me into a warrior at the same time.
It allowed me, who had no intention of saving the world, to accept myself as a warrior.

Snapping.
Snapping.

As I was digging into the hard ground, sweat flowed like rain.
I felt a little dizzy, as if there was a lack of oxygen in the basement.
Your body will have fully recovered, so this must be a mental issue.
Anyway, I couldn’t stop my hands.

Most of the paper that was crushed between the molars went down the throat along with more saliva.
The stuffy feeling still remained, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
I was used to this, to this extent.
Feeling a numbing sense of taste.

Because this was the third time.

***

“Are you here?”

Terra was waiting for Liv, who arrived at the lighthouse of Horus through the dawn fog.
She pointed to the sofa where Darling and Erzsebet, who came first, were sitting.

“Everyone rushed over after hearing that Lewis had woken up.”
“…”
“You’ve already seen Reincarnation and the Saint, but you’ve seen Adela yet? “I think we might have to launch a telegraph line later.”
“…”
“He’s busy right now, so please wait here.”
“… “I thought about it.”

Liv ignored Terra’s advice and placed her hand on the empty part of her bookshelf.
This was where the book she had borrowed lay.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but… “I kept wondering.”
“Which one?”

The door closed with a clang sound.
Soon, Liv’s senses caught the sharp and eerie activation of magic.
It was a horrifyingly sophisticated magic that completely blocked all contact with the outside world.

“The boss has fallen unconscious.”
“Situation?”
“Yes. Clearly, Seongguk knew that if the trust was taken away, the boss would die. “Once you lose your faith, you no longer have the strength to be a warrior.”
“So you were lying down for a while. “Now I have woken up with the help of a saint.”
“No, I mean… “If that were the case, it means that the boss should really be dead.”

Yeah, that’s the part that stuck the most.
The first thing Lewis did after arriving in Parenzia was throw away his holy sword and shield.
Did the saint heal him by her side even then?
If not, where would she be now?

“If he had faith, he would not have fallen. If not, he would have died. But that kind of awkward situation was very strange. Like…”

As if Lewis’s beliefs were not yet extinguished, but were very unstable.

“I believe that the reason you disappeared after the war, the small war, and the boss’s oath are all related to the saint’s whereabouts.”

Liv came up with a theory about the saint’s whereabouts.
It was a hypothesis that could not be explained logically as there was no basis for it in any books.
Therefore, what I fumbled with was not a record, but a memory.
A memory from the distant past heard by none other than Liv Greenwood herself.

[What happens if Lewis’s oath is broken?]

“You guys knew what the boss’s oath was.”

[The good news is that Lewis also knows that fact.]

“And the boss also knew that if it broke, the continent would be in danger.”

[This shouldn’t have happened… Damn it, it’s too late.]

“But that oath can no longer be maintained. Therefore… “Right after defeating the Demon King.”

[Lewis must keep his oath.]

“So… You guys. No, you and the boss chose it.”

Faith, one of the warrior’s sacred powers.
In a situation where the oath that supports that belief has been broken, how to clumsily graft it on.

“He disappeared. I didn’t even boast about my feat. “The royal family erased all traces of the saint and completely blocked any mention of her.”

Just ten years like that.
The heroes who conquered the demon world within ten years were quickly forgotten.
Not to mention the case of Eris and Louise, who couldn’t even be sure if they were alive or dead.

“I was trying to hide the truth from the world and keep my oath.”

The oath was not a single intention to take the Demon King’s life.
You can’t hide the fact that the Demon King is dead, and you can’t brainwash yourself into believing that he’s alive.

Liv took out the note with Louis’ oath from his pocket and held it out in front of him.
The reason she didn’t say it directly was because, like Terra, she also learned about the saint’s whereabouts.

“You’re smart.”

Terra burned her paper and smiled bitterly.

“Do you know what the saint’s twelfth sacred commandment is?”

She said, staring into her side room where an exhausted Caroline was sleeping.

“It’s 〈 resuscitation 〉. “Resurrecting the dead, a miracle not permitted to humans.”

Terra, Hublet, and Nova could not climb to the top floor of the Demon King’s Castle.
Blocked by the four worst living beings, it was best to deal with them.
When they finally arrived in Daejeon, where the Demon King was, everything was already over.

“If the mystery of creating something from nothing is called magic, it cannot be called magic.”

That’s why there is no such thing as magic that can save people.

“Eris went on a trip like that.”

There are two people lying down.
But there was only one person alive.

***

[We’re almost there, Eris. It’s all over now. Don’t worry. Terra and Nova will soon join Hubblet.]

Sweat flowed like rain.
I rubbed my eyes several times to wipe away the sweat that kept rolling down my bangs.

[Isn’t it difficult? Hmm… I do not know. I don’t really know much about that. I’ve even forgotten my original name now.]

The body of the sword was already almost exposed, and it seemed like if I dug a little more, I would be able to grab the handle and pull out the holy sword.

[Huh? Come on, don’t cry suddenly! What’s the matter? Oh, right. Let’s talk after killing the guy beyond that door. You said you wanted to go on a trip, right?]

So I wiped my eyes once more and cleaned up the remaining dirt to avoid cutting my hands.
Then he grabbed the handle of the cold sword and carefully pulled it out.

[Did you say Seongguk’s bastards chase you around all the time? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no one finds it. So that you can go anywhere on the continent as you like.]

Slurp.
As if a well-polished iron sword was being pulled out as it grazed its sheath.
The holy sword came out so smoothly.
Old memories that had gathered dust along with the sword began to come back to life little by little.
Must not be forgotten.
And the most important, unforgettable memory was also clear.

[I will make that my pledge and belief.]

I pulled out the holy sword and threw it next to the shield.
It was the power of a warrior and a holy relic that could shake off divine inaction, but it was useless.
What was more important to me was the deep dirt mound where it was stuck.
Kneel down very carefully.
They began to remove the dirt around the holy sword.

〈 refractive phase 〉.

The note I received from Terra had only one word written on it.
It was the name of a magic that broke the dimension so that it could never be interfered with.
No matter how much I scream or cry here, it will never leak out.
Here, I can bring out the truth that my colleagues and I have all been hiding.

Only then was I able to let this non-stop sweat flow to the floor.
Along with the sadness that washed over me like a wave, the memories that the goddess showed me emerged one after another from the past.

***

The hero’s beliefs originally had to point out the devil.
It was the empire’s intention to prevent the demon king from being able to keep the imperial power in check by disappearing naturally when he died.
But I swore to protect her, and I failed her in her final moments.
Therefore, in order not to break her oath, she had to deceive two things.

The world and myself.

Thanks to the choices of our colleagues who abandoned us.
No one was there to witness her death, thanks to Terra, Wivlet, and Nova hiding her tracks and keeping her mouth shut after the war.

Eris went on a trip-. Even Seongguk could not refute this fact.
They were unable to produce any evidence to prove that her saint had died, and the brigade’s informants who constantly infiltrated Fenheim witnessed only the empty royal library.

And to keep your oath.
To protect the continent she loved and on which she longed to walk on two legs.
When I woke up in the middle of the demon world, there was only one choice I had to make.

Numquam Obliviscatur Votum.

It was just a matter of belief.
I haven’t forgotten my oath.
Eris didn’t die, she just went on a journey.

This was something that was so easily possible for me right after defeating the Demon King.
So I went with her on her long journey home.

[Go back to Thessalon and tell the story to the guards. If these two come to visit, never let them in. I’m definitely going to just go back.]

I could not answer the guard on the wall who asked my name and the identity of the person who had broken in.
If even one of them witnesses the saint’s death, the world will know the truth, and the oath will be immediately broken.

[You have arrived, stranger from outside the world.]

The three Moirai sisters were smart.
Only the blindfolded one greeted me, and I kept silent about the one I was carrying until I left for Parencia.
I already knew when I visited with Lehel again that they would never refuse my next visit.
Because there was nothing left for me.

[Ah, father! Stranger! A monster has invaded!! Come on, you have to avoid it! Oh, don’t come! Hi! How dare you do this in front of anyone, huff! Are you rolling your eyes… !]

When we arrived in Parencia and went to buy land from the lord, Darling’s reaction was spectacular.
The head of the Ruhilen family also looked very surprised when he saw what I was doing, but he welcomed the stranger warmly.
So I settled here and built a house,
I buried Shingi and my beliefs in the basement.
So that the Seongguk bastards never find it.

A few years later, he became a cafeteria manager at the academy.

[Oh, no… ! Boss, what should I do… Ah!]
[I want to go out, right now!]

When you defeat the dragon in Greenwood Forest.
〈 The last thing I wanted as my soul began to be torn away as I freed myself from the chain of intoxication 〉 was one thing.
I want to meet Eris again.
Because this wasn’t reality.
It felt like if I threw her body into the blue Grand Canal, I would reach where she was.

[There is no such thing, you idiot.]
[Whether it is a warlock who sold his soul to a demon or a priest of a religious order who studied all kinds of sacred magic, they have never created the magic you are looking for… !]

What I wanted to find in Skandal was not the manufacturing technique for microwave ovens.

[Not even necromancer Baragall’s necromancy, hymn band Hylaronian’s Holy Descent, the Saint’s Twelfth Holy Spirit, or the famous Terra Ernesten’s great magic can revive the dead! Wouldn’t you know it when you see things like this lying around in the second-grade library!? These were all failed attempts from the beginning!]

Caroline may not have known, but I knew that one of them had succeeded.
So I put my hopes up, but in the end I couldn’t find a way to bring the dead back to life.

[I don’t know what you’re talking about.]

Even in the midst of all my attempts, I

[I was looking for a way to make a microwave oven.]

He never once broke his oath.

[Then, there must have been some colleagues who fought with you, right?]

Even in front of loved ones.

[What is Eris Frasukh?]

Even in front of the goddess.

.
.
.

Widely!
My hand was digging in the soft dirt beneath the thick concrete when something hard caught on it.
Beneath where the shield and sword were buried, the corner of a large wooden board emerged from the darkness.
As if it was worthwhile to ask Kano for a corrosive solution with the weakest performance, there was no melting or puncture anywhere.

Thank god.
That’s enough.
After finishing checking, I stood up.

“…”

I silently covered it with dirt again.
Sweat continued to flow.
The work was slow because the view kept being blocked, but I couldn’t hear the rooster crowing outside.
I wiped the area around the tombstone, thanking Terra for her gift, and finally picked up my sword and shield again.

“Ah…”

The footsteps did not fall easily.
Even a hoarse sound could not come out from the blocked throat.
But once I leave here, I won’t even be able to remember her properly for her vows.
I knew very well that I couldn’t even say a quiet goodbye to commemorate her last days.

“Uh, wow… !”

You shouldn’t cry.
A hero has to save the world.
Eris did all the crying for me.
I have to laugh for her until her end.

“Eris…”

I managed to control my emotions and put the name that I had missed endlessly into her mouth.
After trying several times, I finally managed to take two breaths.

“Eris…”

It’s so sad that my heart melts.
It contains ‘my’ sincerity.

“I will be back.”

Eris.
Eris Prashhra.

My love, my eternity.