Chapter 321
Translator: yun
Upon hearing those words, Amor’s gaze changed. The hands that knew how to restrain themselves thus far pulled on my waists. The hands that used to look sickly were now desperate and hasty. I stroked his cheek without pushing him away.
Flutter. The cold wind tickled my back as my clothes were peeled off my skin before falling to the ground. But before the cold could settle, his warm skin enveloped mine. No, it would be more accurate to say that it weighed down on me, assaulting me.
“Does it hurt?”
HIs azure-blue hair tickled my cheek. When I opened my eyes, the moon was dangling past his shoulders. For some reason, I thought the sky looked beautiful.
“No.”
I stretched my arm out long before caressing him and he leaned his cheek into my palm as if he had been waiting.
“If this day ends up as my last, I’d face it happily.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
His sweat dripped down my forehead. I swept my hand once across his firm chest before finding a warm spot and burying myself into it.
“You will never get to meet a sad ending. I’ll make sure of it.”
A kiss atop my fingertips turned the dull pain into pure ecstasy.
“A world in which I thought I had lost everything…”
I took a deep breath before letting out a breath as warm as a sunny day.
“All the people I’ve met have filled it up once again.”
“Are you happy now?”
I recalled the sunny day. Could I start to love that sky once more? Forgetting the blood and the screams, could I find peace and tranquillity in those white clouds? I wondered what the eyes that had removed the shadows covering them would see?
Focusing on my heavy breaths, I forgot to answer. Trapped in his large comfortable embrace, I forgot about my duties for a moment before sinking into a cosy rest.
When I opened my eyes again, I would once again be facing the war with my final battle waiting for me.
***
Anyone had the right to look at the sky.
The man stared at the round moon as he slowly closed his eyes before opening them again. He had the hobby of appreciating the sky in silence.
‘No one would be able to guess this was my pastime.’
Could it be because it did not suit his life filled with blood? His aides, his guardian and his close friends would always smile like the wind as they watched the man stare blankly at the sky.
No one knew but the day the man had lost was a beautiful day where stars poured down from the sky. No, it had been a sunny day like any other. The man had lost so many days, he could barely count them and left them all back in the past.
“Castor.”
His life had been harsh and he had become as barren as a wasteland without a single blade of grass. Still, he was undeserving of sympathy. Rather, he would kick anyone who was willing to pity him before decapitating them and tossing their head away. Because his life had also been that barbaric.
“How are you feeling?”
Castor slowly turned towards the smiling woman.
“Not bad.”
“Oh my, you’re so easy to see through.”
Though not a single gust of wind was blowing in the tent, her golden hair fluttered. Rusbella’s eyes that looked as if they were made of pure melted gold did not look too different from his.
“They look the same but is it because they’re on different people?”
“That’s what I want to know.”
He had no intention of falling for Rusbella’s blatant flirtations.
“Why do you look like that?”
Rusbella paused.
“… It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what I look like.”
With a smile hanging on her lips, she reacted defensively.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you don’t answer that, just answer me this. Which one of you is real?”
“Ha, ‘real’?”
Castor leaned his head towards Rusbella languidly as though he was really curious while her eyes darkened.
“This is what I really look like.”
Atop herself, ‘Ashley Rosé’ replaced her appearance before it disappeared again like sand in the wind.
“This is who I am.”
After taking on that appearance on purpose, she twisted her lips and sneered, shattering her image of herself.
“Just stay alert.”
“What am I supposed to be wary of?”
“I have restored you but your fate is still tethering.”
The future would follow the will of the most powerful. Here, power was synonymous with fate.
“In the future both of us are familiar with, Dane Lowell, the 6th Prince, had never loved Ashley Rosé. Hernandez hadn’t trusted his love for her enough to betray you and follow another master.”
Small cracks in the wall would sometimes cause the entire house to collapse in the event of a disaster. They were the ones who bore witness to the very consequences.
“They’d have to do everything they can to reverse the end before everything is destroyed.”
However, for some reason, Rusbella looked uncomfortable. It was so obvious, it was as if she was showing it on purpose. But it was only for a moment. As she looked up again, she looked ready for battle.
“Dane Lowell’s performance delayed the end. But it would only get more dangerous. Hurry and break through the west.
Since she was the one who treated him, Rusbella was more aware of Castor’s condition than anyone else.
‘Ha. No matter how many times I’ve met him now, he’s still hard to deal with.’
Sighing, she swept her hair back roughly. They were currently working together because they had the same goals but that didn’t mean Rusbella and Castor were on good terms.
‘He’s my companion aboard the freight train running towards hell.’
Dawn soon arrived in the tent. Red light illuminated the vast wilderness equally. Castor, who had surpassed his human limits a long time ago, did not feel a shred of exhaustion despite having been up the past few nights since he barely did anything.
“One more thing… I don’t know why you didn’t continue wearing that appearance but you did well.”
Castor turned his head from the window. His dark hair shook from the wind blowing at dawn.
“If you continued with that appearance, I would have gotten rid of you instantly.”
It was obvious what he meant by ‘that appearance’. When she realised that she was referring to ‘Ashley Rosé’s’ appearance, she burst out laughing.
“Why?”
“There is no need for two people to carry her face.”
It was then. The fabric flap was pushed upwards before a man entered. Castor listlessly looked up at the man.
“I’m sure you whisper sweet nothings to that man with that face.”
That man was Rusbella’s lover, Slon. Castor curled his eyes gently.
“But I won’t allow it.”
Madness seemed to seep deep within his golden eyes.
“There can only be one of my Ashley.”
HIs languid gaze turned to face Slon.
“I’ve killed so many people I’ve lost count. It wouldn’t matter if I kill one or two more. Mind your step.”
Sensing the unusual tension in the air, Slon quickly held Rusbella’s shoulders and hid her behind him. Rusbella pushed his shoulders away.
“Hahahaha. Because we have the same face even though I’m not really her? You won’t even let me tell people I love them with his face?”
From her arrogantly tilted head to her eyes that curled like a snake, she tried to read for his affirmation. She might be smiling but the aura she emitted which was colder than frost spread from her heart.
“You’ve gone mad. You really have. Your love really was love. Hahaha. Love… That darned love.”
Rusbella held his wrist so tightly, no blood could flow through. But she forgot that the wrist she was holding was Slon’s, not hers. But Slon didn’t care about his pale wrist or the pain, he was unsettled because of Rusbella’s expression.
As if just realising what she did, Rusbella stared at Slon with pity and sorrow as well as love and hatred. Soon, she gave up.
“Slon.”
Her voice turned gentle before asking.
“When will the battle begin?”
“Once the sun rises completely… More importantly, Rusbella, your expression.”
“You hear that? Your appearance is scheduled four hours from now.”
After speaking, she gently grabbed Slon’s arm before turning around. But she quickly turned back around as if she was suddenly reminded of something. Red light illuminated her back.
“Pfft, you really are like me.”
With her back against the light, her smile was barely visible.
“A horrid monster.”
***
—The 10th Day of the Month of Habermia in the Year 826. 10 in the morning.
The final battle between the Kaltanias Empire and the Kingdom of Walter began.
An hour after the beginning of battle, Castor Dje, the former Crown Prince, had appeared in the middle of the battlefield where soldiers for both countries were putting down their lives.
“I-It’s the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince is here!”
And the tide was turned in an instant.
It was a nightmare for the Empire. The battle which did not favour either side till that moment ended. The Imperial Army was one-sidedly massacred.
From the moment he appeared, a fifth of the army were slain by his sword, making it close to a slaughter. Hope died as despair sank in. But two men stood up against the Crown Prince.
***
“This way.”
A colourful necklace hung over a single piece of clothing as a blessed ring was donned around my finger. Most of the accessories I was wearing including my bracelets had been blessed.
‘I’ll desperately need blessings to do what I need to do today.’
I wore my clothes before heading to the cavity with Rebecca. Amor, who had already arrived, alongside the Templars of Vulcanus and Dike, had been waiting in front of the crystal.
“Rebecca, head upstairs and carry out my work with Julian.”
Rebecca nodded her head stiffly. I held her hands. Before my eyes landed on the sword around her waist.
“Are you planning on learning swordsmanship?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“This sword… Is a sword of Vulcanus.”
She blinked resolutely before smiling.
“My sword is within me. It is a sword that would neither break nor bend.”
After taking a step back calmly, she gave a deep bow. After greeting me more elegantly than she ever had before, she turned around.
“I shall prepare your favourite snack, Your Majesty.”
I laughed and nodded at how she tried to wish me the bestest of luck.
As Rebecca returned, I stood in front of the crystal. While everyone bowed to greet me, Dike, the Head Templar of Wisdom, approached me.
“Is this the completed sigil?”
“Yes, it is the sigil for the barrier.”
Dike, who had barely managed to complete it with all his efforts, looked beyond tired compared to when I last saw him yesterday.
“What about the invocation?”
“You can muster your divinity in the middle of the sigil. We have already written the commands within the sigil itself, so you would not need to invoke anything personally. I will be the one to initiate the process myself.”
He reiterated that all we needed was a lot of divinity.
“Please keep in mind. The reason why the barrier the gods made for us was perfect was because it took a lot of divinity. Now that we have no gods to help us, you would have to use all you have, Your Majesty.”
Fortunately, since the crystal had not been completely broken, the barrier would not be made out of nothing like how it was made when the gods first did it. We were merely reinstating what already existed.
“We are extremely fortunate.”
I knew that. I murmured under my breath before heading to the centre of the sigil. Meanwhile, I made eye contact with Amor who was leaning his back against the wall. He nodded.
‘You’ll do fine.’
He was in charge of managing the flow of my divinity and supporting the cavity so that it wouldn’t collapse in case my divinity leaked or an explosion occurred.
“Your Majesty, please remove the Crown of the Emperor and the Ring of the Lord and place it down in the small circle in front of you.”
I immediately placed the laurel crown and ring down in front of me as per Dike’s instructions.
“The three artefacts will need to be arranged triangularly. We need one more artefact…”
“One more?”
“Your Majesty has been wearing artefacts to boost your divinity. Please remove one of them and place it in front of you.”
Upon hearing his words, I scoured the accessories on my body. They were all excellent artefacts.
‘If I had to choose one…’
I removed one without hesitation.
“I’ll remove this.”
I took the diary out of my arms.
“What’s that?”
“An artefact.”
Dike stared at the diary I was placing down with a strange expression but he shook his head as if to show his concurrence.
“Then, let’s get this started. I’ll be watching over the flow of divinity from the edge of the sigil. Please focus on my voice.”
“Alright.”
I closed my eyes. The moment I called out my divinity, purple butterflies appeared before me. The swarm of butterflies circled around my body before sinking into the sigil according to my will. Just as I noticed the symbols on the sigil were getting darker one by one as if they were filling up with liquid, the symbols quickly emitted light.
[O’Dear God, sing of your wrath.]
Dike’s voice, which was field with vitality, announced the initiation of the process.
[O’Dear God, hear our plea. Hear the wish of the wisest and most sagacious man upon the sacred land you had poured so much love to build.]
Just then, a dazzling light blinded me, forcing my eyes shut to the brightest shadow.
‘What’s this?’
I could hear something coming from somewhere. If I wasn’t wrong, it definitely sounded like someone was talking to me.
“Your Majesty, Y–… danger… Please!”
Amidst my roaring surroundings, Dike’s voice sounded like he was getting further away as my vision shook. The last thing I saw was the Crown of the Emperor turning red and the diary that had flipped open on its own.
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