READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 518
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EP.518 The Last Battlefield (1)
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The festival was just a day away.
A festival to celebrate the heroes and commemorate humanity’s victory, a ceremony to announce that Cartedia has become an empire, and also the coronation of the Empress.
This festival would be unprecedented in scale throughout history.
The streets were adorned with flowers, stalls lined the roads, and stages of all sizes were set up in the plaza. Although the streets were quiet now in the late night hours, it would be bustling with activity from the morning when the festival begins.
Tap.
As the sun set, everyone preparing for the festival returned home, and the thick darkness settled in the late hours of the night.
Tap.
Footsteps echoed in the silent night as they crossed the streets and headed outside the Royal Capital. Normally, there would be guards stationed at the entrance, but not tonight.
Under a starry sky, Raniel van Trias left the kingdom.
In a deep forest not far from the Royal Capital.
In the tranquil woods, a small cabin stood. It was an old hut once used by lumberjacks, now abandoned and filled with dust.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…
But today was different.
Light spilled from the abandoned hut. Inside, the crackling of firewood could be heard. Someone was inside the hut.
…
In one corner of the hut, Destel, the Coward, reflected his weapon in the flickering flames of the fire. Originally a spear, it had been broken down into a sword form.
A fragment of the Star Lance.
A keepsake left by Galahal, the weapon the future self had wielded till the end. He had discovered this right after the battle against the traitor. For reasons unknown, the traitor had kept the weapon that had pierced his heart.
Without any processing.
Not even used as a material.
He had simply left the broken Star Lance deep in the temple. It was found by knights exploring the ruined temple and passed to Destel.
…I never thought I’d end up using this.
Destel had originally intended to hand it over to Chloe, but she had rejected the idea, insisting it would suit Destel better. He had contemplated donating it to the kingdom’s museum but ultimately didn’t.
He thought it was an item that should shine on the battlefield, not in a display case.
And ultimately, that’s what happened.
He had heard a few things from his future self and learned how to wield this weapon. The future Destel had said it was his main weapon.
Twirl.
Destel turned the broken Star Lance in his hand. The lance, having lost its platinum starlight, did not shine on its own, but it glimmered softly when reflecting the flames.
“Isn’t it quite strange, a weapon of star light that has lost its starlight?”
Destel mumbled to himself.
It wasn’t a soliloquy. Destel’s gaze shifted to the young man sitting in a corner of the hut. He was holding a long sword while gazing into the fire.
Once a Holy Sword, but now just a blade that no longer held starlight.
He answered while reflecting the blade in the flames.
“I’ve never thought of it that way.”
The strongest hero, Kyle Toven.
The ex-hero, known as the symbol of victory, shrugged his shoulders. He glanced at Destel and spoke.
“You seem more unfamiliar to me, Destel.”
“Is that so?”
“It feels like you’re quite different from the you I knew.”
“Who’s talking?”
Destel chuckled softly.
I’ve changed a lot too, but it’s not just you. At Destel’s mumbling, Kyle could only smile faintly. The two had met countless times on the battlefield.
One was the strongest hero, receiving everyone’s expectations.
The other was the cowardly hero, receiving disdain.
But in the end, the hero who remained till the end was Destel. Now that he was no longer a hero, dressed in simple clothes unlike Destel, who still wore the garb of a hero, Kyle commented casually.
“Isn’t the garb a bit too much for you?”
“Since you’ve retired too, I’m the only one from the previous generation left here, so I might as well wear the garb. Although there are more reasons for that… anyway.”
Destel exhaled deeply.
That was enough small talk. It was time to get to the point.
“You. You have something to say to me, right?”
He squinted at Kyle, giving him a sideways glance.
“The first apostle of the goddess, that would be you.”
The second apostle of the Goddess of Ashes gazed at the first. Kyle remained silent, affirming with his silence. Destel sighed and continued.
“At first, I thought I became the second apostle because the me from the future was the first… but that wasn’t the case. Looking back, it seems strange.”
The future self had disappeared.
Therefore, he had to be the first instead of the second. Yet, he was still the second, and the reason didn’t require digging far away.
“It already existed.”
In this time, there was someone who had received the goddess’s will before him. Someone who had already received the ashes from the Goddess of Ashes existed in this time.
“When was it?”
“When I defeated the Demon Lord and was devoured by him, I suppose.”
Kyle said matter-of-factly.
“At that time, I begged to be allowed to wield a sword, and that wish was granted by that fellow from the future. Perhaps that’s when it happened.”
He wished, and the Goddess of Ashes answered.
Just from that alone, Kyle became her apostle.
“Then, you must have seen it too.”
…
What it was, Kyle didn’t ask.
Instead of questioning, he nodded silently.
While he was asleep, he saw the events unfold in the now non-existent future. That day, he witnessed the nightmares as she kneeled before him, screaming.
It wasn’t specifically the will of the Goddess of Ashes. Rather, the remnants of memories left in her fragments simply shown him those landscapes.
From that memory, Kyle saw his completed self. In the timeline experienced by the Goddess of Ashes, he existed as a god who had been completed. A calamity that could not be stopped by anything, sweeping the world.
“It was horrifying.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Destel smirked.
“So I can’t take this outfit off, I just can’t.”
Laughing, he fiddled with the hero’s garb.
The war was over. Knights removed their helmets and armor. Mages set down their staffs. As everyone returned to their daily lives, having shed what they wore on the battlefield, Destel still wore the garb of a hero. He still held onto the broken Star Lance.
That was only natural.
Even though all wars had ended, Destel didn’t forget that he still had a battlefield to cross.
That was not just Destel’s story.
“You’re also not putting down your sword, right?”
“Pretty much.”
Kyle Toven was the same.
Though it wasn’t a hero’s garb, he too was still donned in gear for battle. He clutched his sword tightly.
“Being the apostle of the Goddess of Ashes isn’t all that great.”
Destel let out a breath.
“The goddess we serve has already crumbled and met her end, and she hasn’t had the power to bestow any special abilities to her apostles. She merely left behind evidence of her existence.”
What evidence?
“The proof that she existed.”
Those whom she changed, the world that had been altered, the story that flowed towards a better direction.
“Thus, there’s only one thing that the Apostle of the Goddess of Ashes must do.”
To gather what she left behind.
To reach where she could not. That was all the duty of an apostle of the goddess. The two knew what needed to be done to achieve that task.
“Did you hear the explanation? From that fellow.”
“I did.”
“He was thinking something unreasonable.”
“Not entirely unreasonable, though.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s the kind of thing he would do.”
Kyle exhaled deeply.
Sheathing his sword, he stood up.
“It’s about time.”
Kyle gestured outside the hut.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew closer. Destel stood up, gripping the Star Lance in his hand. After extinguishing the fire, the two stepped outside the hut.
Under the starry night sky.
Raniel van Trias was coming towards them. She too was donned in the hero’s garb. Finally, she stopped in front of the hut and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
She pointed to the sky.
“It’s time to drop the stars.”
In the deep night, the three of them began to walk.
The first apostle of the Goddess of Ashes, Kyle Toven.
The second apostle of the Goddess of Ashes, Destel.
And the one who carries forth her will, Raniel van Trias.
They had received help from the Goddess of Ashes and had experienced change through her. They knew of the failed future. They understood the broken world, and they were aware of the screams someone had shouted from a perished time.
Knowing this, they walked.
In this moment, where everyone dreams of a new future, so their dreams may last eternally. Now, so they could move forward unshackled by anything, Raniel sincerely hoped they could do that.
An elf who could finally sleep after a thousand years, an old knight who decided to retire without regret, a knight who talks about tomorrow amidst strangeness, countless ordinary people preparing for the festival.
Now, she wished that they would not be bound by anything.
“The stars have long held the world captive.”
Raniel said.
“They must have been necessary in the primordial age. Yes, back then, humans were beings who couldn’t even stand up. They needed someone to hold their hand and lift them up, someone to support them.”
As she spoke, she continued walking.
“But not anymore.”
She exhaled deeply.
“Humanity moves forward with its own strength. No longer dependent on anyone. It’s time to become independent.”
Therefore.
“I have to let them know. To the being who is the mother, or perhaps the father of humanity. That we no longer need their help. Now, we need them to let us go.”
She spoke with a light breath.
“Just, going to tell her that.”
“That sounds quite fierce for just that.”
“Oh, I guess she’s not one to listen to mere words.”
Raniel chuckled and loosened her wrists.
Kyle had a sword hilt strapped to his back, and Destel draped the broken Star Lance across his shoulder as they walked along the darkened path. They didn’t need to find their way. They just needed to look up, for the path was there.
The shining constellations pointed to their destination.
Where the starry sky flowed was the city closest to the heavens. The ancient capital, the city of the Ancient Dragon. They walked toward the place where Yormun van Dragonik, the Ancient Dragon Mage, was supposed to be.
…Someone says.
The hero is a messenger of the stars but is closer to being the representative of humanity. The hero stands at the forefront on behalf of humanity. So someone… the First Hero, Ganikalt van Galatrick said.
And now there were four heroes present here.
Hero, Raniel van Trias.
Hero, Kyle Toven.
Hero, Destel.
Hero, Galahal.
They are not heroes because they possess starlight.
They are even less so heroes for acting on behalf of the stars. They were heroes because they stood at the forefront on behalf of humanity.
The four heroes walk.
The sun has yet to rise.
The night is still deep.
The festival has not yet begun, and humanity has yet to move forward, and they are still entangled in something. Therefore, humanity’s war has not yet ended.
They head toward the last battlefield where humanity must stand.