Northern Closed Sector.
Beyond the Karun Mountains.
Two hundred elite warriors have arrived in one place to exterminate the monsters.
Everyone here is waiting for just one name.
“I will begin.”
Here, the curse of immortality possessed by the monsters in the closed area originates from the Winter Blizzard.
Of course, it is not a miracle achieved solely by the power of Winter Blizzard, but the fact that the core is the Winter Blizzard was revealed long ago.
Ern began to harness the Winter Blizzard and the Summer Sun.
The two essences fiercely resisted each other as if they disliked each other’s power, but the dragon’s energy, which existed in a higher state, held them apart.
As the Summer Sun filled the gaps left by the powers of the Winter Blizzard, Ern was able to establish ‘direction.’
The origin of the curse of immortality and the direction for its resolution.
The curse of immortality originated from a very powerful thought.
The curse was formed by the gathered desire of the monsters who did not want to die.
To break it, a concept of blessing that opposed the curse was necessary.
Instead of the dark and cold curse of winter, the bright and warm blessing of summer.
Before long, the Summer Sun began to take the place of the Winter Blizzard, which had become the focus.
The once gloomy and dreary closed area started to brighten as the sun rose, melting the cold curse.
As a little time passed.
The dark clouds that covered the green land cleared away, and the sun of the current world shone down.
When the task was completed, Ern exhaled and felt relieved.
“This works.”
He had only had a suspicion based on instinct and was not truly confident that it would succeed.
It was natural, as he had never tried it before, but there was an undeniable sense of anxiety.
After determining that the curse had been completely lifted, the elite soldiers of the empire, numbering around two hundred, began to descend the mountains, shouting.
1st Legion, Shadow Corps, Northern Warriors, Knights.
As mentioned repeatedly, the outline of the monster subjugation operation involves fighting alongside each respective legion.
They would steadily expand the territory that had been occupied by the monsters.
The area that had been occupied was not very large.
Even if it took time, with migration and abundant resources as a foundation, if they continued to push relentlessly, they could annihilate all the monsters whose immortality curse had been lifted.
As expected, the elite soldiers of the empire swept through the monsters without any danger.
Everyone there was a veteran who had survived over ten years of fighting, so they did not act recklessly and crushed the monsters according to their respective commanders’ orders.
Two days passed, and Duke Lemea shared his thoughts on what to establish based on the land they had expanded.
“This land was originally a place for raising quality warhorses. However, now the grass has all dried up. What would be good to build here?”
“Why are you asking me? You should know, Your Grace.”
“Aren’t you the chief of the personal guard who has supported many things beside the First Princess? What difficulty is there in giving such advice?”
“…”
Ern thought for a moment.
While he didn’t have a specific idea, he said.
“If it were the First Princess, she would have established a tourist site.”
“…A tourist site doesn’t seem quite right. Who would want to visit a land surrounded by these cold and massive mountains?”
“There is a tunnel that connects the roads, isn’t there?”
A tunnel that had been blocked when the Demon King arose about ten years ago.
“We can restore it.”
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s not destroyed; it’s just blocked. Wouldn’t it be possible if Your Grace exerted some effort?”
“Do you see me as a machine?”
“Whether machine or human, if there’s a way to utilize it, we should use it all. And the Demon King’s rise didn’t bring only bad things, did it?”
In the north, where the Demon King had risen, monsters had appeared, and due to that influence, a quality and abundant amount of mana seeped into the land.
It could be likened to the case of the Magician’s Lake in Much-Sector.
“Once we exterminate the monsters, the tainted energy in the mana in the atmosphere will gradually disappear and become clean. If we establish facilities for wizards there, won’t wizards from all over the continent rush to invest?”
Also, in the area where the Demon King once resided, there were overflowing magical stones.
They could excavate those to secure funding and establish facilities.
“Take this opportunity to promote the fact that the north is cold and barren. If we put up banners in the Much-Sector area, where relatively many people can see, there will be high demand.”
“Are you suggesting we promote the North?”
“Yes. Honestly, the north isn’t such a poor land, is it? It’s merely a rumor stemming from its unique isolation.”
Epherna had always felt regretful.
The North, called the land of extreme cold.
For it to be tagged with the alias of ‘land of extreme cold’ is entirely unwarranted, yet the subjects of the empire had accumulated misunderstandings over a very long time.
“The First Princess will surely help you with joy. This is an opportunity to truly make the long-neglected north a true subject of the empire.”
Of course, this was not my opinion, but rather what Epherna would have done.
“…Hearing your words, I think the north needs to change a little.”
“The war has changed many things. The time has come for the era to change as well. We must ride that wave well.”
“Hahaha. It’s a bit amusing to hear you say that. You’re saying this while trying to drown before the wave even arrives.”
“What can I do if my heart tells me so?”
Isn’t that how the human heart works?
Desperately yearning for life anytime, anywhere, yet sometimes possessing a heart that is not afraid of death.
“I will take my leave now.”
Ern bowed lightly.
To a comrade with whom he had once risked his life.
“Thank you for everything, and let’s not meet again.”
It would mean that everything succeeded smoothly only if he did not return.
It was a farewell he would never take back.
“Ern Astra.”
“Yes?”
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard your real name yet.”
“My name?”
“I’ve heard that the names of the members belonging to the Shadow Corps are a combination of the code names and nicknames given by the empire. I would like to hear your real name, one given by your parents.”
Thinking back, he realized that he still didn’t know his true name.
Epherna had particularly cared about his secret.
In the end, she had not learned it until the very end.
Well, it didn’t matter.
“I don’t have one.”
And then.
“I wonder what’s important at this point.”
*****
The cathedral that Evergreen used as a base had already disappeared.
It was only natural since the religion of Evergreen itself had become ‘nonexistent’.
However, this raises a question.
Why had the curse of immortality spread by Evergreen not disappeared?
I pondered over this question many times to find the answer, but I couldn’t know.
To uncover the answer, I had come to this place.
The place where I sensed ‘it’ was a cave.
Just a month ago, it had been near the location of a large cathedral.
As Ern entered the cave, he remained vigilant and moved deeper into the cavern.
It didn’t take long to find ‘him’.
An old man who, aside from the power of immortality, didn’t even reach the level of an ordinary person.
He was none other than the leader of Evergreen.
Moments later, Ern saw him.
“What a shabby old man.”
With well-groomed gray hair and a long beard that reached down to his chest.
His gray eyes, infused with the wisdom of many years.
Though his appearance might suggest a sage, knowing what was inside, I could not possibly make such an evaluation.
As if he had been waiting all along, the old man stood up with a groan and said,
“It’s my first time seeing you face to face like this.”
“Do you know me?”
“Of course. Even if your religion, which took you a hundred years to build, has disappeared, the memories etched into my soul do not fade away.”
What could that mean?
It seems certain that he possesses memories from before Evergreen was considered nonexistent, but how could that be?
Just as I was about to ask.
“Do you even question the answers of the past?”
The old man spoke incomprehensibly.
I nodded in agreement.
“I don’t know what you mean, but yes. There’s no need to know.”
He must have a thousand worms in his belly, just like Elius, utilizing magic or some other means.
The old man raised his hand.
A hazy mist rose between his fingers, but it wasn’t magic.
Was it the last resistance? But then the old man suddenly spoke.
“When you live long, you naturally acquire various skills. I had no talent for swords or magic, but that didn’t matter.”
“If you need strength, you can borrow it; if you need skills, you can borrow them.”
“What was needed was merely willpower.”
The time that has passed since the end of the mythical era is about 10,000 years.
The legends and mysteries the old man has witnessed over all that time are countless.
Ancient magic. Black magic. Eastern sorcery.
Even if it was impossible to strengthen his own power, there were countless ways to secure various means.
“Did you scatter the Curse of Immortality like that?”
“It wasn’t a difficult task. The world has accumulated a lot of techniques over 10,000 years of history. It’s probably hundreds or thousands of times more than what you think.”
Before the Grandeum Empire was established, numerous nations thrived and accumulated techniques and skills.
The old man, lacking the talent to master them, memorized ways to ‘use’ them.
“Well, let’s move past such trivial matters.”
The old man continued.
“I have lost.”
Ern looked at him with disbelief.
“Who would have thought the primordial dragon still existed? And of all people, it chose to inhabit you. What does that make of the preparations I made with such sincerity?”
“The primordial dragon never showed itself to me. My ancestors said they had vanished forever, so I didn’t consider it. I never imagined that would turn out to be a misstep.”
He accepted it surprisingly easily.
But since it was the truth, Ern could not let his guard down.
“Why? Do you think it’s suspicious? That I’m giving up so easily?”
“…”
“There’s no need to think like that. Really, I have lost. There are no more means available to me. All the subordinates I painstakingly gathered have become as if they never existed, and even my own power is at a pathetic level. I’ve simply accepted reality quickly. Or perhaps I’m just too old and tired for that.”
The old man finished speaking.
“Still, the thought of being able to die brings me some comfort. Living long isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
There was a desire that only ended with death.
The old man could not suppress that desire, unable to die.
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you? Still, I would appreciate it if you could answer one question.”
“If your questions are done, then it’s my turn to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Both of them, at this moment, were at the end.
There was no reason not to ask questions.
“I cannot understand your choice. That is why I am asking.”
From the mist the old man conjured, a scene unfolded like a vision created with a crystal sphere.
It was all the sins I had committed against Epherna.
“Why did you inflict such a deep wound on the woman who loves you?”
*****
“Of course, I don’t mean to say I don’t understand your situation. If we exclude your life, it would have been the best way to normalize everything.”
To uproot the tumor of the empire known as Evergreen, restore Epherna’s dwindling lifespan, and taken the life of the leader of Evergreen himself, a man who wants to restore the landscape of the Mythical Era.
It was the best way to obtain everything except his own life.
However, there was still one thing that puzzled him.
“Did you not consider that girl’s feelings?”
Why did he think so lightly of the heart of someone who loves him?
“Did you think it would be okay over time? Did you believe that the sorrow of losing a loved one would wear away with the tides of time?”
He could not comprehend that thought. The old man claimed he could not die without hearing the answer.
“I could not bear the separation from my parents, who left me behind. Even after thousands and ten thousand years, I cannot forget their faces!”
The old man recalled the memory of that day when he was a young child.
Before he grew old and turned gray, in the past that was as pure as a blank canvas.
The divine kings who were his parents, friends, older brothers, and sisters left only the words to remember them and vanished.
How sorrowful and piercing that farewell had been.
He still could not forget the pain of that day and was even planning to resurrect them.
“For those in love, even if their remaining days are few, or even if they become immortal, there are things they absolutely do not want to let go.”
“Then why, why did you, who claims to prioritize her, leave the greatest wound!”
“Why? Why!”
Hearing the old man’s cries, Ern suddenly closed his eyes.
Regardless of his identity as the leader of Evergreen.
Regardless of being the instigator of all this.
The old man’s words were painfully true.
Though he had ignored it, Ern had always felt an unsettling feeling.
Ern could not know how sad she would be when he disappeared.
He did not understand the depth of Epherna’s affection for him.
But he realized it along with the old man’s words.
It was merely a trivial excuse.
So.
Ern thought, even though he was an old man about to die. He would answer this question honestly.
“There’s no reason. I just wanted to do it.”
“…What?”
“I’ll say this first: I’m not answering lightly.”
Ern spoke calmly.
“Humans are inherently selfish. Doesn’t the ancestor of humanity know that?”
He simply did it because he wanted to.
He chose to leave a deep wound in her heart rather than prioritize her life.
There was no greater or lesser meaning than that.
“Of course, I cherish Epherna. I know she likes me, and if I want her to be happy, I shouldn’t have committed such acts.”
But if that were the case, Epherna would have died young.
The child who spent half of her life alone in a dilapidated, dark mansion would have left for the heavens without even experiencing the joys of the decades that remained.
I could not allow that to happen.
“…Hehehe. Are you trying to say that my ancestors and the divine kings were selfish?”
A deep irritation flashed across the old man’s face.
It wasn’t just a little discomfort; it was clear anger.
Despite being an ordinary person without any power, one could feel the murderous intent.
“If there are sentient beings, that can’t be helped. I’ve learned today that even gods aren’t completely sentient.”
“Shut up! They are perfect! They wouldn’t have bestowed a cursed immortal body knowing that I would suffer!”
“…Our ancestors still haven’t shed their adolescence.”
A child who believes their words are infallible.
He was corrected with a switch, even though he had lived for over ten thousand years.
To him, who had no adult to correct his twisted mindset, Ern spoke softly.
“If you cannot understand this, I have nothing more to say. Now, I will kill you.”
Ern drew up the energies of winter, summer, and the dragon simultaneously.
Around his heart, the three primary colors spun, summoning forth a particular energy.
Having experienced it once before, Ern recalled that memory and began to mix the energies.
The absence of spring leaves and autumn winds was filled by the dragon’s energy and spirit.
By consuming the dragon spirit inherited from the Dragon King, he achieved a power akin to a ‘wish’.
Thus, the miracle of pure white light gathered in his hand.
“I hope you grow into a more mature adult in your next life.”
It brightly illuminated the dark interior of the cave.
