NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 839: I’ve Made Up My Mind (2)
When Deneb made her decision, the elves quietly retreated.
They could neither help Yulien nor the dragons.
Unable to choose a side, they resigned themselves to everything and simply watched the situation unfold.
And when the sealing began, they thought it was over and decided to leave.
However, the sight of the Empire and the mercenaries fighting intertwined stopped Iraniel in her tracks.
“Save them…!”
There was no way she would be forgiven for helping now.
Still, she couldn’t turn a blind eye to the mercenaries bleeding and falling before her eyes. She
had always believed that sacrificing only one saint’s life was all that was needed. The dragons had told her so, and Iraniel believed it herself. She
knew it was an excuse and a contradiction, but… she never wished for the deaths of others.
The elven elders had intervened on her orders. Because of this, the Empire’s knights had no choice but to retreat.
The elves used the energy of nature to heal the mercenaries, but the mercenaries showed no gratitude.
‘We’ll see.’
“If you just get out of here… … .”
“I’ll make sure you guys shed more blood.”
The mercenaries didn’t rush in. They
simply suppressed their surging anger and silently received the elves’ medical attention.
Osval, who barely managed to survive, glared at the elves
with a grin. “Shit… … . You tough Osval, you’re too scared to stay still right now! If I get out, I’ll burn down the forest where the elves live. And I’ll enslave you all.”
Even Osval, who had loved the elves, had all his emotions twisted by the wounds of betrayal.
The elves could not have ignored the murderous intent and resentment in their eyes.
The elven elders gave Iraniel several
silent glances, suggesting that since it’s already been done, why not just kill them all here and then leave?
But Iraniel shook his head.
He couldn’t add another sin to the one he had already committed.
If the mercenaries survived, their sins would be revealed to the world.
They would face countless condemnations, but they would have to endure them. That was the fate of the guilty, she thought.
Iraniel spoke feebly to the mercenaries.
“We will leave now. You, too, had better move quickly.”
The dragons would assume the Empire and the dwarves had dealt with the mercenaries on their own.
The dragons didn’t care whether the truth was revealed, but the Empire and the dwarves couldn’t let this leak out.
So the mercenaries had to leave quickly before the others arrived.
The mercenaries knew this, so they supported their comrades and prepared to move.
Then, Iraniel and the elven elders simultaneously turned their heads.
They saw two figures approaching, embracing darkness and blood.
Iraniel’s eyes widened.
“How…”
She had seen the two men fighting the dragons. But they were both so exhausted that she assumed they would eventually die.
Even if they escaped the dragons, they would never survive if they encountered the Empire’s people.
Yet, he couldn’t believe they’d come this far.
Iraniel didn’t react until Giselle and Lionel approached. The elven elders, their faces tense, slowly lifted their spirits.
On the other hand, the mercenaries rose, overjoyed.
“Brothers!”
“You’re alive!”
“What happened to your sister and the captain?”
The mercenaries embraced the two bloodied figures and sobbed.
Giselle looked at them with a slightly moved expression.
“You…”
Many had died, but at least some had survived. That alone was something to be thankful for.
There was so much she wanted to say. But for now, they had to put the conversation on hold.
They exchanged glances and nodded. Even without speaking, their hearts knew each other.
Giselle soon approached Iraniel and said with a bittersweet smile,
“Why? Are you surprised that someone who should have died has appeared?”
“…You haven’t met the Pope?”
“Ah, I met you. I sent all of you, even the cardinals, to the goddess’ side. I crushed their heads and beheaded them so they wouldn’t crawl out like cockroaches.”
“…….”
“You brought too few to keep your mouth shut. What kind of plot would you hatch if you were so scared? You should have brought a lot to catch us.”
“…….”
“Oh, you didn’t know, but the dwarf king has gone to the goddess too. So now……”
Giselle’s eyes turned cold.
“Only the elves remain.”
Understood!
Giselle’s sword suddenly aimed for Iraniel’s neck.
The mercenaries also raised their weapons and aimed them at the elves.
The elven elders already waiting moved, but Iraniel reached out and stopped them.
Stop.
Giselle’s sword stopped for a moment.
Watching the blood flowing from Iraniel’s neck where her sword had touched, Giselle smiled ferociously.
“Do you think I can’t kill you?”
“…If you want, then kill me.”
“Where are you bluffing?”
“I’m serious. Regardless of the reason, I also agreed to the saint’s sacrifice, so any member of the Yulien Mercenary Corps has the right to kill me.”
Giselle gritted her teeth and raised her sword again.
Iraniel was Erenes’s spiritual leader. And the Yulien Mercenary Corps had also gained much from the Elven Forest.
The fact that the dwarves and dragons readily gave up the holy stone in the first place was largely due to Iraniel’s decision.
Moreover, everyone in the Yulien Mercenary Corps respected Iraniel’s character.
Even Giselle felt uneasy about killing Iraniel.
But… …
That’s why she felt even more betrayed.
Revenge wouldn’t bring back Yulien and Deneb. Giselle knew that well.
But if it was something that couldn’t be undone,
Giselle would choose retribution over forgiveness.
Just as Giselle was about to cut off Iraniel’s head, an elven elder shouted loudly.
“The Chieftain tried to save the saintess! He changed his mind at the last minute and tried to stop the seal, but was attacked by the Dragon Lord and failed!”
“…”
Giselle glanced at Iraniel.
Sure enough, her abdomen was torn, and there was a wound.
It seemed to have healed with the energy of nature, but even the marks couldn’t be hidden.
Seeing Giselle hesitate, the elven elder shouted again.
“We saved the mercenaries! We saved them from the Empire and healed them!”
“…”
“So… can’t you forgive us for this?”
“…”
Giselle glared at Iraniel for a long moment.
Her expression remained calm. It was as if she truly wanted to leave all decisions to Giselle.
In reality, if they fought in their current state, Giselle would never win. Nevertheless, the fact that she entrusted her life to him meant she was sincere.
Giselle slowly lowered her sword and spoke. His voice was as cold as the tip of a blade.
“I have no intention of forgiving you. I’m simply letting it slide for now because I know the elves will pay the price.”
“Are you saying there’s a price other than my life?”
In response to Iraniel’s question, Giselle looked around at the elves and said,
“I’ll make a prophecy. The empire will collapse, dragons will become extinct, and elves and dwarves will ultimately become slaves to humans.”
“…”
“Because that’s the predetermined future and the natural order of things.”
The elven elders frowned at Giselle’s words.
The elves had lived as an independent force until now. They had earned the respect of humanity, and their power was formidable.
He was strong enough to play a pivotal role in the fight against the Demonic Realm. But how could he possibly become a slave to humans?
It was absurd. They simply assumed Giselle was possessed by evil and spewing curses.
But Iraniel’s expression hardened more than anyone else’s.
‘… … I didn’t think about that.’ He only
thought about fighting the Demonic Realm for the sake of the world.
He didn’t think about what would happen after that. He simply believed that after the war, only peaceful days would fill the air.
Just like the saintess.
‘… … I didn’t think about the greed of humans.’
The war was won, and the Demonic Realm was sealed. That meant there was no enemy left to fight.
With the enemy gone, only the endless human desire remained. That desire would spread to other targets.
The elves and dwarves would undoubtedly be tempting prey to them.
‘If the trigger was the betrayal of the elves and dwarves… … .’
It was a perfect excuse. The forces that followed the warrior and the saintess had ample justification.
Fortunately, not right now.
With the Pope and the cardinals dead, the empire will be divided. For a while, the humans will be busy fighting among themselves.
There’s still time until that fight ends. The elves and dwarves must prepare for that time.
“…Let’s go back.”
Iraniel took a deep breath and quietly turned away.
There’s no point in killing the remaining members of the Yulien Mercenary Corps and burying this here.
That would only diminish one more justification, and ultimately wouldn’t quell the humans’ desires.
Giselle, watching the elves leave, slowly turned her head.
“Guu …
A dark, writhing figure appeared a short distance away.
Composed of pure energy, it was the remains of Yulien’s spirits.
Born from the deep sorrow and despair of spirits steeped in darkness
, it wandered, oblivious to everything, chasing the spirit scent emanating from the elves. As
the elves departed, it began to squirm again, following them from a distance. Even that must have been instinctive.
Giselle looked at it with slightly sad eyes and said,
“Let’s get out of here too.”
Breaking through the barrier seemed unnecessary. The elves would lead the way.
The two groups that had fought together against the demonic realm walked in silence,
knowing that they could no longer return to the way things were.
In the heavy atmosphere, Osval whispered to Giselle,
“Brother, I agree with you.”
“What?”
“Destroy the empire, wipe out all the dragons, enslave all the elves and dwarves… wouldn’t that be the ultimate, world-shattering revenge, a true revolution?”
Giselle pondered those words for a moment, then chuckled.
“Yes, we must revolutionize.”
It was no exaggeration to say that the empire had dominated the continent until now. If the empire were to fall, the continent would be thrown into chaos.
The truth is, she doesn’t know how the empire fell.
She doesn’t even know how its original history unfolded.
Furthermore, contrary to Giselle’s belief, Yulien didn’t leave behind a curse.
It was actually Giselle herself who uttered those words.
However, one thing was certain:
“Deneb could have escaped.”
Yulien had approached the altar at the precarious moment.
The fact that Deneb had made the sacrifice, despite all this, meant it had to be done.
Then, there was only one thing she had to do.
“Deneb… … It will be difficult, but wait.”
It was to create the future she desired.
* * *
[It was my arrogance to believe that having reached the 9th Circle, I could handle Giselle’s consciousness. However, Giselle’s immense power was still beyond my capacity.]
[After Jiselle had no choice but to escape the city, she immediately fell asleep within my consciousness. My body was disintegrating again. I wanted to ask how she got back, but my curiosity had to be put on hold.]
When we arrived at the Allied positions, chaos naturally erupted. Everyone asked what was happening, but we simply told them to wait and said nothing. We couldn’t trust anyone until our friends returned.
[The elves, following Iraniel’s orders, hastily left the Allied forces, as if fleeing. The people were still wondering what was happening. The dwarves kept coming to us, searching for their king. But we met no one and remained silent.]
A few days later, the friends who had set out on the chase finally returned. They arrived, triumphant and excited, carrying the Apostles’ heads. Fortunately, the dragons that had accompanied them were gone, seemingly gone.
[In front of my friends, who were so filled with joy… … I had to deliver the saddest and most miserable news.]