READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 507
*
EP.507 The Conclusion of a Thousand Years (2)
*
“By the way, what happened?”
After the conclusion of the Braver extermination, as the extermination team hurriedly moved to clean up, Destel sat beside Belnoa.
“To be honest…”
Destel let out a long sigh.
“I half-resigned myself when I saw you transformed into a black dragon, thinking it was a sure sign that you wouldn’t come back. You had even stated that there was no returning once you reached that point.”
I was supposed to make sure you never reached that point, but I feel sorry for that. As he muttered this, Destel lowered his head. Belnoa shook his head quietly.
“Nobody expected this variable.”
And Belnoa spoke.
“This was also an unforeseen variable.”
He turned his gaze back.
Behind Belnoa lay the fallen remains of the black dragon. Looking at the remains, Belnoa smiled bitterly.
“Did you ask how this came to be?”
Destel nodded.
Belnoa briefly answered while observing the black dragon’s remains.
“I received help.”
Help he said.
“From a distant senior.”
“A senior…?”
“He was known as the Black Tempest. He was also the previous contractor of the Lord of Shadow Dragons.”
Destel’s eyes narrowed.
The Black Tempest—just until recently, that name referred to only one being. Belial the Black Dragon, the calamity that was hunted down during Kyle’s active years. Destel rubbed his chin, recalling the past.
“Come to think of it.”
He spread four fingers wide.
“The heretic, Gletus, was the First Saint.”
One.
“The Death’s Blade, Ganikalt van Galatrick, was the First Hero.”
Two.
“Skebal… no idea on that guy. Do you know anything?”
“I’m not sure either, but seeing that he approached divinity, he must have been something great in the past.”
Anyway, three.
Destel folded three fingers down and wiggled the remaining one, continuing.
“Everyone except Skebal among the four calamities has a backstory, so surely Belial the Black Dragon was something remarkable in his past as well. What kind of person was he?”
What kind of person is Belial?
Without hesitation, Belnoa answered that question.
“He was a hero.”
Right until the very end.
Belnoa recalled his conversation with Belial.
The resistance from Skebal was more intense than expected.
Victory and defeat were a hair’s breadth apart, and thus one had to bet their life to seize victory. The flames breathed by the black dragon didn’t just melt Skebal. They also burned the black dragon’s own flesh.
Scales fell off, and wings were torn apart.
No longer able to protect his body from the heat, the black dragon was consumed by his own flames. Even while he burned, the black dragon did not cease to exhale fire. To claim victory.
Bam!
When Skebal was completely melted, only then did the black dragon cease his flame. But by then, it was far too late. The black dragon, whose physique was mostly melted away, was also succumbing to death.
The recoil of overcoming.
The overloaded dragon body.
In an instant, the cost came rushing in, and the black dragon’s body crumbled. Belnoa felt the shadow space he inhabited slowly being engulfed in flames. The moment this place was fully consumed, everything would end.
“……”
It was the conclusion he already expected.
Thus, Belnoa smiled. It wasn’t the smile of someone resigned. It was the smile of a warrior who had seized victory at the cost of his life.
“We won.”
Despite the grim battlefield, victory had been claimed. Skebal was met with death, and the presence of the Braver felt distant and faded.
“I guess it wasn’t in vain.”
His sacrifice hadn’t been pointless.
With that realization, Belnoa felt satisfaction. Chloe had survived, and on this day, humanity had triumphed. It was an achievement worthy of reflection on his way to the afterlife, even if he wasn’t sure if an afterlife existed.
“Thank you, senior.”
Belnoa bowed his head to Belial, who stood beside him.
“Thanks to you, we were able to win.”
“Oh please, it was a victory you gained with your own hands.”
Belial chuckled heartily as he patted Belnoa’s shoulder. Each pat made Belnoa’s eyes sway.
“Kardi really picked a worthy successor. He has a discerning eye.”
“I’m honored you say that.”
Belnoa exhaled deeply.
“Then…”
Belnoa shifted his gaze.
There was an encroaching fire. Pointing at the flames, Belnoa smiled bitterly.
“I’m going to go.”
Fearful of the encroaching flames, rather than facing death with a trembling heart, he decided to meet death on his own terms. Just as Belnoa was about to step toward the flames.
Crack!
Belial grasped the nape of Belnoa’s neck.
“You’re heading in the wrong direction, kid.”
“…Huh?”
“That’s not where you need to go.”
Belial smirked.
“I meant you should widen your field of vision and look around a bit. So heartless, really.”
To the opposite of the direction Belnoa was heading.
That place was where Chloe was seen rushing toward them, panting and staggering as she ran toward the black dragon.
“……”
Belnoa fell silent.
In the end, he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to her. The only conclusion given to him was death. As he gazed with a complex expression at Chloe rushing toward him, Belial’s voice resonated.
“You said thank you to me, but perhaps it’s me who should be thanking you.”
“…Huh?”
Belial said.
“Thank you. To you. Thank you, to your comrades over there. Thank you, thank you so much. To the successor who was bound for the other side of the continent, and to the hero who ended me.”
He smiled faintly.
It wasn’t the same hearty laughter as always.
“We should have ended it in our time, but we failed and passed that task to our descendants… I’m grateful you finally brought it to a close. I owe you a lot.”
The ancient hero spoke.
“Moreover, you didn’t just put an end to it.”
Having seen the world through Belnoa’s eyes, Belial smiled bitterly. Raniel van Trias, the successor of the contract. He knew well what she had done.
“For a disaster that we should have crushed, you provided us with the best outcome. I saw the stage you prepared for Gleria. I witnessed your plans.”
He smiled.
“In the final moment, Gleria surely went away satisfied. For she would have been able to reunite with Kardi.”
Both Gleria and Kardi must have been saved.
And though he was not entirely sure, Belial speculated that Ganikalt too would meet a somewhat satisfactory conclusion.
“It must have been a difficult task.”
Belial understood how challenging that all was. He knew well that since it was an unrealizable dream, they too must have given up and resigned themselves. Thus, Belial was simply thankful to everyone who helped them rekindle the dreams they had given up.
“Thank you for considering my comrades. Thank you for carrying on my will. Belnoa.”
The ancient hero bowed his head to the current hero. Not knowing how to respond, Belnoa felt Belial bursting into hearty laughter.
“Does it feel burdensome to receive thanks from a senior?”
“Yes, a bit…”
“It was just a gesture of respect. I don’t plan to pay that debt with gratitude.”
Before Belnoa could ask what he meant, Belial let out a long breath.
“Lady Goddess, can you hear me?”
【I can hear you.】
“Then you know what I’m about to do.”
【Unfortunately, yes.】
Belnoa blinked.
With a thud, Belial slapped Belnoa’s back, pushing him in the opposite direction of the flames… toward the direction where Chloe was running.
“…Belial?”
Belnoa looked at Belial.
Belial shrugged his shoulders.
“You have a place to go back to, don’t you? Go there. Why would you try to go ahead of a senior?”
“What do you mean…?”
“I had fun, Belnoa.”
Belial grinned wide.
“You’ve built a legacy of sorcery, and as sad as it is, you have to leave it here. Once you get out of here, rebuild it from scratch with your strength. The Goddess will help you a lot.”
In his hand was the Balance.
What he offered as a price were the fragments of his soul contained in the Holy Grail… and the lineage of sorcery that Belnoa had cultivated.
The lineage of shadow sorcery.
Within it lay Belial’s will. Filled with mechanisms he had arranged for his successor. The moment those mechanisms intertwined with the fragments of Belial’s soul contained in the Holy Grail, they began to emit light.
【I never expected you to leave something like this behind. Anyhow, you’re a clever one.】
The Goddess smiled bitterly in realization of Belial’s intentions.
【Are you asking me to lose you twice?】
“Technically, not twice, Lady Goddess.”
Belial spoke playfully.
“I’m just sending the remaining fragments that I couldn’t send to you that day.”
【You speak well.】
The Goddess looked at Belial with a complex expression.
She knew. What stood before her now was not Belial, but merely a fragment of him. But the Goddess also understood.
The soul contained within the lineage of sorcery, which had traveled the same journey as Belnoa, was… not a mere fragment but another entity of a soul.
In a sense, it was Belial’s second life. Though the lineage contained fragments of his soul, as the sorcery grew, the fragment had sprouted from a seed into a whole tree.
Hence, providence recognized it as a ‘single soul.’
【You…】
And Belial was declaring he would forsake even his second life for others. Noticing the Goddess’s complex gaze upon him, Belial added.
“This was prepared from the beginning for this purpose. So please, don’t say too much.”
【Belial.】
“I’m listening.”
【I will not forget you. Not for as long as I live.】
Belial smiled faintly.
For the last time, Belial bowed respectfully before the Goddess and walked forward. What he offered were the lineage of sorcery and his own soul. As he walked toward the approaching flames, Belial waved his hand backward.
The wind that blew past brushed against Belnoa.
Belnoa turned to where the wind was heading. The shadows parted with the breeze, forming a path. It was the way out of here. The path where Chloe was dashing toward, opposite to where Belnoa intended to go.
“Go on, Belnoa.”
Belnoa looked back.
There was Belial walking along the path he originally intended to take. He turned back and smiled.
“It’d be nice if you could convey my thanks to Raniel, the successor of the contract. Oh, and also send my regards to Kardi. That should be enough.”
Belnoa fell silent.
About to say something but realizing that those words were meaningless, Belnoa asked differently.
“Is there anything else you would like to request?”
“Nothing specific comes to mind… Ah, perhaps there might be one. There’s an unfulfilled wish.”
What is that?
Belnoa asked, and Belial responded.
“It would be nice to establish an orphanage. A really big one.”
“An orphanage?”
“Yes. A place to embrace children who have lost their parents. The name of the orphanage… let’s go with Katran and Karrian.”
“Is there a specific meaning behind those names?”
“There is.”
Belial gazed far into the distance with a nostalgic look.
“They were the names of my son and wife.”
Names of those he couldn’t protect.
As he recalled the past when he vowed before them, Belial smiled. It felt as if he would finally be able to join them after a thousand years had passed.
“Go now. They’re anxiously looking for you.”
Chloe’s voice was heard.
Belial waved his hand and turned his head.
Turning his back on Belnoa, he walked toward the flames. Watching his retreating figure, Belnoa bowed his head with the utmost respect.
Then, Belnoa turned and headed in the opposite direction of Belial.
“…What an amazing person.”
After hearing the gist of the situation, Destel let out a long ahh as he sighed. He thought he might need to create a memorial stone when they returned to the Royal Capital and smiled bitterly.
“Well, I’m just glad you survived.”
He couldn’t face Chloe with his own face, after all.
Muttering that, Destel glanced at the direction where Chloe stood. She was glancing over at him repeatedly while tidying up after the extermination.
“By the way, Belnoa.”
Destel patted Belnoa’s shoulder lightly.
“Have you finally decided to date her?”
“……”
“When were you going to start dating?”
“Not yet…”
“What do you mean not yet? If you keep dragging this out, everyone watching will be at their wits’ end! Rumor has it that you two have been dating for years among the knights.”
Belnoa subtly shifted his gaze.
The moment his eyes met Chloe’s, she quickly turned away. Seeing her ears flushed red, the Goddess whispered in Belnoa’s ear.
[That girl is quite something. I never imagined she’d be so bold, impressive indeed.]
‘Goddess, please stop…’
The Goddess whistled.
[How does it feel? Tell me in detail. Nothing excites this Goddess more than the love story of a young man, so hurry up and offer me some sweet tales.]
Belnoa shut his eyes tightly. The extermination may have concluded, but it felt as if another war was about to begin.
*
“I finally found it.”
Ayla stopped deep in the tower at its edge.
The place where she stopped with the extermination team was before a throne. On the throne lay the corpse of a being that was left with only its upper body.
Ayla knew whose corpse it was.
Acriel Clen Arcadia, the first and last queen of Arcadia. The body of the queen, who became the vessel for the Demon Lord, lay there. An empty vessel, perhaps used by the Braver to lure the Demon Lord.
Swish.
Ayla reached out toward the corpse.
Shimmering starlight wrapped around the corpse. The blooming starlight began to crumble the corpse. As if mourning their long-lost owner, the starlight gently unfurled its petals.
Rustle.
In the place where the corpse had crumbled away, only platinum-colored petals remained. The queen’s body was liberated. What remained was only the queen’s soul, located at the opposite end of the continent.
『There should be a device at the end of the tower that the Braver used to summon the Demon Lord. I don’t know what it is, but breaking it will surely affect the Demon Lord’s movements.』
『That will be the signal flare.』
『If there is a change in the Demon Lord’s actions, I will assume you have succeeded. And then, I will put an end to this long war.』
By liberating the queen’s body, Ayla sent out the signal. Taking a long, deep breath, she recalled Raniel, who would be at the continent’s edge.
“I’m counting on you, Hero.”
Their stage had come to a close.
Now, it was time to fulfill humanity’s long-cherished wish.
To slay the Demon Lord, the Master of Demons.