Episode 146

A head of black hair and the gleam floating above it.

The moment Shiron saw Latera, he crashed to the floor on his knees. It was as if a tightly pulled string had snapped, and all the strength had drained from his body.

It was because the walk following the beam of light had been too long.

Despite his nature, which required him to see things through once he decided on them, he had thought several times about stopping while following the white beam of light.

‘I thought I was losing my mind.’

What if there was nothing there? Or, how should he react if something completely unexpected was there?

‘…This place really is hellish.’

Walking in a space where no sound could be heard and nothing existed felt like torture.

Seira, that damned woman. He wished she had regained her senses and at least kept him company.

“Sorry. I came too late.”

So, he murmured, not just in his thoughts. There was no way to close his eyes and check if he was being properly heard, but he just wanted to murmur.

“I should have come earlier.”

Shiron lifted his head from the floor. There, Latera was smiling broadly as if truly happy.

“It’s okay. You came earlier than I thought, hero.”

“…Really?”

“I really thought the hero wouldn’t come until he became a grandfather. So, I’m very happy.”

“Well, that’s good then.”

Shiron sighed deeply and sprawled out. Whether it was due to physical fatigue or mental fatigue, his whole body was so heavy that he felt the urge to just fall asleep then and there. As he closed his eyes for a moment, he felt the sensation of a small hand stroking his cheek.

“Are you really the hero?”

“Did you forget my face?”

“It’s not that… You just look younger than the last time I saw you.”

Latera continued, touching here and there on his face.

“It’s strange because you look the same, but somehow, you feel different. The scar under your eye is gone, and you seem a bit more… resilient?”

Shiron slowly got up to face Latera.

“Why do you think that is?”

“How should I know?”

Shiron grimaced, suppressing the fatigue that weighed down his body.

“I’m not even sure if this place is the same one I came to last time.”

“Hmm, this is indeed the hero’s abode. Why would you think that?”

“Last time I came here, there was no beam of light to be found.”

Shiron looked at Latera more closely. Then, he noticed wounds he hadn’t seen before.

“It’s not just that. The fact that I wasn’t naked when I fell here, and that I didn’t enter through a chant, is different. And you, who always greeted me first, weren’t here. I thought Seira teleported me to some weird space.”

“The beam of light is because this place is a holy land.”

“Brahham?”

Shiron made a motion asking for further explanation. Latera nodded and began to speak.

“Yes, hero. You always came from a distance far from Brahham to the hero’s home, right? The distance was too great, so you couldn’t see the beam of light. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet the hero.”

Latera put her hands behind her back to hide her wounds. Despite the time that had passed, they hadn’t healed perfectly and still throbbed with pain.

“…Then what the hell is this?”

Slap!

Noticing something off about Latera, Shiron slapped the cheek of the peacefully sleeping Seira. Whether he slapped her cheek or her face, she didn’t wake up.

“Considering the circumstances, it seems like Seira sent me here, but the culprit is sleeping soundly.”

“That’s exactly what it means to be the hero’s abode. Do you remember what I told you last time? Only those who are qualified can come to the hero’s abode.”

“Are you saying Seira is not qualified?”

Qualification.

Shiron understood it as the altruistic heart willing to sacrifice readily for others.

However, he couldn’t fully accept Latera’s words with just that. After all, Seira, despite her eccentric nature, was someone who could diligently work for others.

“Even after sealing the demon with Kyrie 500 years ago?”

“She lacks what it takes to be a hero. That’s why she can’t regain consciousness like this.”

“…She helped me without asking for anything in return.”

“Well, I think it’s a stretch to say there was no compensation.”

Latera smiled with her eyes and gently stroked Seira’s head.

“You might have given your heart and soul to the only one who remembers you, right?”

“…You speak as if you know everything.”

“Think about it. You’ve been alone for 500 years, and then suddenly, a hero on a white horse appears? Anyone would feel compelled to do something for them. I’m certain of it. Even now, I feel a tremendous affection for the hero I met after 500 years.”

Latera spoke with confidence, her chest puffed out, while Shiron turned his head away, feeling embarrassed. Yet, there were still aspects he couldn’t grasp.

Shiron understood what loneliness was.

Loneliness can drive a person to madness. Even performing a simple action like following a beam of light, he felt various negative emotions gnawing at his mind in real-time.

After organizing his tumultuous thoughts, Shiron quietly observed Latera. Perhaps because his confused heart had settled, his heightened emotions calmed down, and his perspective broadened.

“You must have had a tough time.”

“…No, not at all. I always believed that the hero would come someday.”

“But the past 500 years must have been hard on you.”

Shiron hugged Latera and patted her back. Her voice began to quiver, as if she was on the verge of tears.

“…I won’t cry.”

Latera gently pushed Shiron’s chest away. Her face was flushed, and it seemed like tears might fall from her eyes at any moment, but she bit her lip, trying hard not to cry.

“You can cry if you want to.”

“No, I won’t cry. Because I’m the hero’s guardian angel. The one who protects the hero from the sidelines cannot show weakness.”

Latera managed a smile and vigorously wiped her eyes.

“It’s not over yet.”

“…Right.”

Shiron stood up, resting his hands on his knees. He no longer felt like staying in this white space. Yet, there was something else that troubled him.

‘Brahham, the city, will probably dry up and die.’

This was the conversation he had with Asad before entering this place.

All he had to do was quietly take Latera and leave, but he couldn’t fathom why such a statement had been made.

Shiron stared intensely into the glass tube. Kyrie’s corpse, just as when he first saw it, was covered in wounds and had limbs charred black. Above it, a beam of light stretched into the sky.

“But what is this?”

Shiron pointed at the beam of light. From afar, it appeared to be merely a light stretching out, but being so close made it impossible to overlook.

Shiron felt a tremendous amount of divine power emanating from the beam of light.

“Perhaps what you’re thinking is correct.”

“…”

Shiron couldn’t believe what he was seeing. No matter how much he gripped the holy sword, the divine power Shiron could muster barely reached the ceiling of the Alhyeon Room. But divine power stretching endlessly into the sky… The diameter aside, the sheer volume of divine power being emitted was unimaginable, especially considering Kyrie’s divine power.

“But… it wasn’t like this from the start.”

While Shiron was marveling, Latera sighed and swept her hand over the tube.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no way this much divine power could be emanating from her. Think about it. She’s not even alive, so how could this much divine power continue to be released? Even a living person couldn’t emit this much divine power.”

Latera’s face shadowed as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Until a few hundred years ago, the beam of light wasn’t this thick.

Now it had a diameter as big as a house, but as far as she knew, a few hundred years ago, it barely had the thickness of a palm stretching into the sky.

But at some point, the amount of divine power pouring into the sky began to gradually increase. Initially, it went unnoticed, but when the width became as thick as a body, she finally realized and reacted.

Not only had the amount of divine power spewing upwards changed.

Kyrie’s corpse was more charred than before. It was as if the damaged parts of the corpse were expanding, burning itself like straw feeding its flames.

“Do you remember? I mentioned that there are people trying to enter this place.”

Latera sighed deeply, her head bowed.

“Yeah.”

Shiron looked at the back of Latera’s hand. The fresh bruise that had been bothering him made him increasingly concerned.

‘The city of Brahham will probably dry up and die.’

‘So, I hope you refrain from any inconvenient actions while you’re here.’

‘If you all remain silent, you can maintain tens of thousands of lives.’

Shiron thought about what he had to do before leaving.