Chapter 249

“…Phew.”

The space was completely severed by the golden crown.

As the magic circle drawn around her activated and darkness began to descend over the ashen sky, Rine suddenly recalled a memory from the past.

The beginning of that memory was always a small cabin.

When she walked into that small cabin, there was a warm family.

A mother cooking food.

A father sitting at the desk, chatting gently with the mother.

And three children chattering and running around nearby.

Even though more than ten years had passed, that memory had not faded.

No, in fact, each time it surfaced, it only became more vivid in her mind.

What rose next was a clear voice.

“Mom! Dad! A big sister told me that there's a secret only I can know! Do you know what it is?”

In front of Rine, a tiny girl who couldn’t even reach her waist laughed gleefully.

The little girl chattered happily, her small lips fluttering.

No—Rine in the past had delivered a strange woman’s words to her parents.

And with that, the memory once again displayed the scene Rine always saw in her dreams.

The corpse of a woman whose throat had been torn out.

A man murdered with his limbs twisted in every direction.

And the grotesque sight of three children who had lost all life, blood gushing from every hole in their bodies.

The sin she had committed herself.

The horrific scene created by her own ignorance became engraved before her eyes.

What rose next was the memory of “that time.”

When she received powers from the godfather, and unknowingly became a little arrogant.

That encounter.

The encounter with Emil that made her lose something precious to herself—

In the end, Rine couldn’t do anything during that encounter.

Even in that battle, she had only received help.

A being who couldn’t protect anything and only received help.

A being who could only lose everything if she failed to protect.

A being utterly useless.

Worthless.

That was the evaluation Rine gave herself.

And so, she was rather glad about this situation.

She, who had never once been able to protect someone, had finally protected something.

The one she cherished the most.

The one who called her family, even though she had trampled on everything due to her ignorance.

Someone precious.

Rine turned her gaze.

On the opposite side, she saw the figure of Agu, sealed together with her.

Not even a drop of reason remained.

But regardless of what anyone said, it possessed the clear power of greed.

The power to make anything its own using hundreds of years.

It was right there.

And that wasn’t all.

Rine had gained something truly precious.

She had gotten the chance to become “a precious existence” to someone she held dear.

Some might call her foolish.

They might think she was just being used and discarded.

But no matter what whispers came her way, the faint smile on Rine’s lips wouldn’t fade.

Because she knew the godfather well.

He was a gentle person.

He hated seeing others get hurt.

Even in situations where it would be natural to act selfishly, he simply couldn’t.

He might believe he was being selfish, but to anyone watching, he was someone who moved for others.

Because he was such a person, Rine was certain.

That when she escaped this space, she would become someone precious to Alon.

“…Seven hundred years.”

It had been a long time.

Truly, an incredibly long time.

And yet, she was okay.

Because it was time to gain the strength to protect someone dear.

Time to take a place in the godfather’s heart.

It hadn’t been such a long time after all.

Rine smiled and opened the books in her mental library.

There was still so much to do.

####

Alon—

No, to the elves, he was known as the “Primordial Elf” who revived the World Tree.

To other races, he was known as the “Celestial Being.”

It had been a month since he vanished.

Since he dealt with Baarma, which could be called the “Black Thing,”

The world had begun quickly returning to its original state.

The ashen sky that had stolen the sun from them was now bathed in warm sunlight, the darkened land now smelled fresh and earthy again, as if nothing had happened.

Everything was gradually returning to how it once was.

And in the center of the elven land of Greynifra, which regained its greenery fastest of all, at the World Tree—

“……”

Four men and women of different races knelt in silence before a tombstone under the tree.

Sniffle—

Someone was crying.

Someone remained silent.

“……”

Someone else wore a pained expression.

Though they each showed different emotions, they shared one thing in common.

Among them, the heterochromatic-eyed boy who had remained silent stood up and turned around.

“Where are you going?”

The girl—no, the dragonkin—who had been sniffing asked.

The boy opened his mouth, with a maturity that didn’t match his age.

“To get stronger.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll take revenge.”

“…On who?”

“That white one.”

With eyes burning in deep fury, the boy said—

“I know Brother could’ve survived back then. I saw it with my own eyes, at the bottom of that underground place. If that white one hadn’t suddenly appeared out of nowhere…”

He gritted his teeth.

“That’s why, I’ll find that bastard who disappeared to who-knows-where, and kill him with my sister. I’ll avenge Brother who saved me… no matter how long it takes.”

And with that resolve, Nangwon—

“Even if I have to break the promise Brother made me keep.”

He turned and walked toward the place where his sister waited.

After Nangwon completely vanished from sight, the remaining ones began to rise, one by one.

“…The god said, if someone named Eliban ever asks for help, to be good to him. That means I need to get stronger. And when that time comes…”

Ria muttered as she left.

“I’m uuh~”

The black dragon, who kept sobbing, had eyes filled with tears, but eventually walked away weakly.

And the last one left—

“……”

Was Ryanga.

In the now-silent place where everyone else had gone.

However, Ryanga did not move a single step from in front of the World Tree and simply stared at the tombstone.

And then.

“…I don’t believe it.”

She muttered.

Very quietly.

So faintly that no one could hear it.

But—

“Chief isn’t dead.”

In a voice filled with certainty.

Even if the others hadn’t seen it, she had.

In that final moment.

Chief hadn’t been consumed by the abyss that devoured all of Baarma.

Purple.

With something purple, he hadn’t died but disappeared.

Others hadn’t believed it, but Ryanga believed what she saw.

That’s why—

Ryanga recalled the final words Alon had spoken.

The voice that suddenly echoed in her mind as he fell.

‘Live righteously.’

Ryanga clenched her fists tightly.

From now on, that would be the goal of her life.

It would become her justification.

Because—

Chief was alive.

He would return to her someday.

So for that time—

“……”

To be acknowledged by Chief, to be told she had lived righteously.

…To see that face once more.

She would keep on living.

……The noble-kin who devoured her own kind left Greynifra in the late hours of dawn.

And at that moment—

“………”

In the kingdom of Greynifra.

Now the only remaining high elf, an elf untainted by any curse, Magrina stared blankly at the ring placed beneath her desk.

A ring of such a simple design, without any special patterns.

And yet, the reason Magrina kept staring at it endlessly— was because she knew it was the ring worn by Alon—no, her older brother.

‘Why is this…’

Magrina dazedly recalled what happened earlier.

The moment the ring suddenly bounced into the carriage as she returned to the capital.

‘A man with blue eyes.’

When she hurriedly looked outside the carriage, the crowd was so large it was overwhelming.

Even so, among the crowd, Magrina immediately recognized him.

The one who placed the ring inside the carriage.

……Who in the world was he?

Though his entire body was thoroughly concealed, she saw it clearly.

Those vivid blue eyes stared straight at her before vanishing.

Who could it be?

No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find an answer.

Because she couldn’t recall anyone with such deep blue eyes.

Magrina quietly lifted the ring.

No matter how many times she checked, it was indeed the ring her brother had worn.

‘Could Brother still be alive…?’

A hope that rose in her without her realizing it.

But soon, she buried that hope deep within her.

Because she had seen it.

The Primordial Elf— her older brother, deep within the underground, saving the allied forces and meeting his end.

With a somber expression, Magrina grasped the ring on her desk and recalled the last words her brother had spoken.

[You’ll be able to lead the elves well.]

Words meant for her, even in his final moments.

Recalling that voice, Magrina made a quiet vow.

To follow his words.

To follow them and lead the elves.

To become a queen.

The resolve she had engraved in her heart countless times, she engraved once more.

And at that very moment—

Beside the shattered World Tree where Baarma had met his end, a lone figure silently stared at the place where Baarma’s corpse had once been.

With jet-black, pitch-dark eyes, the figure stared into the massive hole where Baarma had perished.

No—

The man who had once been a disciple of Baarma.

Grinned—

Unconsciously, he let out a chuckle.

Even though the god he had believed in, the one with overwhelming power, was now dead.

Even though countless believers had fallen into despair.

He did not.

No—there was no need to despair.

Because someone even more worthy of his faith than Baarma had appeared.

The man recalled— the god who had turned the world into ice and painted the Milky Way across the ashen sky.

The god who, for someone like him who worshipped strength— was worth devoting his faith to.

The great god who had made him forsake his faith in Baarma— he slowly raised his head.

“...Worship.”

He worshipped quietly.

Soon, the half-remaining black horn faintly revealed its form against the night sky.

####

“I think… it’s finally complete now…”

“Hoo…”

To Penia’s oddly hesitant voice, Alon, who had collapsed powerlessly, looked out at the violet world.

That world was recreated exactly the same as it had been before Alon fell long ago.

“Should we go out right away?”

“No, since it’s properly stabilized now, it won’t shake as long as we don’t interfere with it.”

“...Then let’s rest a little.”

Alon let out a deep sigh.

His head grew complicated, and he roughly scratched at his scalp.

It was because of Rine.

Alon recalled what he had seen before in Greynifra.

When he discovered the Mother of Greed, who should not have been there, and felt something was off.

‘...So that was why.’

Thinking to take a short rest, Alon soon stood back up.

Because he had to undo Rine’s seal.

Then, he suddenly made a strange face.

The reason was—

…Where did the ring go?

The oath ring that should have been on his finger had vanished.

‘I’m sure I never took it off…’

But for now, getting out of here came first.

Alon turned his gaze to Penia.

“Let’s go for now.”

“Ah, yes!”

Perhaps sensing Alon’s foul mood, Penia quickly responded.

As Alon began moving with her out the door, he calmly recalled the final moments.

The moment when he blocked the children who tried to save him,

And left his final words with magic.

‘I hope the message got through…’

As he remembered each of the children’s faces, he thought of Ria.

He hadn’t recognized her at first, but as they spent more time together, he came to know her name was Historia.

And so, he realized her identity immediately,

And left a message for her too.

Recalling the final moment lasted only briefly.

Then Alon turned to Penia and asked, “When we were flung away, did we return to that point in time?”

“Mm—if my calculations are correct, yes.”

Eventually, as they stepped outside, what came into view was—

“…Seriously, you didn’t say a single proper goodbye, and now you leave like this… What does that make me?”

It was Evan’s very familiar back.

Wearing black armor.

Standing before a very antique coffin, radiating deep sorrow.

Surrounding him were many others, mourning silently.

The Duke of Altia and Count Zenonia, along with other nobles, were lined up and quietly paying their respects.

Even right beside the coffin, Yuman was murmuring a prayer while radiating divine power in all directions.

“……”

Somehow, it felt like an atmosphere too solemn to disturb.

Because of that, Alon froze where he stood.

Penia, who followed after, also quickly grasped the situation and merely rolled her eyes.

And then—

“…Still, I must live on. It was a pleasure, Marquis… The money you left me… I’ll use it well.”

As Evan said that with a sorrowful smile, referring to money Alon never actually left to him, the moment he turned around— Alon met his eyes.

“???”

Evan’s pupils instantly dilated.

But before he could react—

“…Penia. She was a rude bastard, but she was still a good friend.”

“She was really rude… but yeah, a good friend…”

“Right.”

“…A good… friend… me?”

As they talked, looking at the other coffin placed next to Alon’s.

“What the hell did you just say?”

Penia suddenly muttered as she rolled her eyes and let out a hard ‘crack’ sound.

And in an instant, all eyes turned in one direction.

““???””

The heavy, solemn, sorrowful atmosphere— was suddenly filled with—

“?????”

Utter confusion and stunned silence.

Alon, for the first time, truly felt what a suffocating atmosphere was.