Chapter 182 - 182. Death, Those Left Behind (Complete)

Jetto, who was lying down with his eyes closed, didn't look at me anymore. He couldn't turn his head.

You probably won't wake up any more.

When I first heard the news, of course I denied it.

There's no way Jeto will die.

Yes, Zeto is strong.

However, after seeing Zeto's dead body with his own two eyes, he quickly recognized it.

Jeto is dead.

It's not strange when people die.

If there is life, there is also death.

Death is very far, yet very near.

I have seen countless people bleeding and breathing their last breath.

Each time is different, but human death is natural.

"Where are you going?"

A man's voice came from the road.

I look up and see a familiar face.

"..."

It was Class C's instructor, Kaliman.

Kaliman, sheltering from the rain in the shade of a tree, scratches his head before opening his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but going out is prohibited for the time being."

"No permission required."

"Going out without permission is even more prohibited."

In response to Kaliman's firm answer, I pulled out the sword from my waist.

"Please don't stop me."

"Your friend died, what are you going to do outside at this time?"

"...Not because of that."

Yes.

It has nothing to do with Zeto's death.

It just felt like the world was unfair.

There is too much trash in this world.

Zeto ended his life in such a futile way, it was just unacceptable for such scum to breathe and live one more day.

A hero who saves people dies painfully, and a villain who harms people lives without worry.

I didn't want Jetto to be unfair.

So, isn't it okay to reduce the number of garbage?

However, Kaliman also seemed to have no intention of backing down.

Only Kali, who has raised her stumped body, blocks my path.

"I'm sorry, but since I'm living on my salary... I have to work."

"..."

"At least as long as I'm holding this position, going outside is after defeating me."

"...I won't treat you as an instructor."

"Ha, I've been living and listening to such words from a young guy for a long time."

Only Kali, who clenched her fists, exhaled mana.

ㅡQuad Deuk!!!

The pressure of mana splits the area around the land mass he was standing on.

"..."

Tremendous pressure.

I heard that he was a war hero, but he was a much more ruthless monster than I thought.

Only Kali, who had been repeatedly opening and closing his hand, opened his mouth.

"Well, it's an instructor's job to take on the student's resentment..."

***

"..."

He looked at the crystal ball he was holding in his hand.

The crystal ball was still unresponsive.

Because I had an uneasy feeling, I kept sending signals, but Jeto didn't contact me.

At first, I thought I was busy.

However, as his silence continued, the anxiety in the corner of his mind inflated its size.

It's not like anything happened

Nothing should happen

Because I was nervous, I even asked for information about Zeto at the academy.

It was just that there was no contact for a while.

It was just something that could happen due to normal busyness or a mistake.

Nevertheless, the anxiety did not intend to subside at all.

This feeling was so strange.

Ecclin did.

What are you so worried about

I couldn't answer that question.

Maybe my answer will become reality.

I was that anxious.

No matter how well I put it, I was never in a normal state.

I hoped it was my excessive obsession.

I hoped it would be a side effect of getting closer to him.

I turned my head and looked out the window.

The rain was pouring down under the dark clouds.

Gloomy sky.

There was nothing different about me.

It was around the time I was watching the rain fall in a daze.

ㅡ Kikkiik.

Ecclin, who doesn't know when he arrived, opens the door and enters.

"...Saint."

Did he bring the news of Jeto?

"After all, nothing happened...?"

I asked with a bitter smile.

"..."

Ecclin's mouth shuts and she avoids my gaze.

"Ecclin...?"

Please don't make that face and give me an answer.

That nothing happened

Why did you hang yourself like that?

That my condition had been strange for a while.

Please rebuke me to get my senses out.

"..."

Even at my call, Ecclin couldn't open her mouth.

I went up to her and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Ecclin."

"..."

"Did nothing happen?"

Even as I asked, I felt it faintly.

I could tell just by looking at Ecklen's expression.

"Has he been seriously hurt? It's okay. I'll do the treatment."

"...Saint."

"Or maybe the curse has become serious. I can do Haeju. Even if I have to go against the order of the main god..."

"...Saint."

"..."

Please don't tell me.

Please don't open that mouth.

Please don't spread the news.

It's strange.

There was no news.

One morning he...

"Honorary Templar Jeto..."

...There's no way he died.

"...He is said to have died."

"...Is that a lie?"

At my question, Ecklen lowered her head.

"Ecclin, it can't be."

I was spitting out the truth.

I was sincerely in denial.

But that was only for a moment.

"..."

I couldn't speak any more.

That's right, it was because I was able to notice it with authority.

That Ecklen wasn't lying.

Soon she opens her mouth and lets out her words.

I had to cover my ears.

Didn't want to hear

I wanted to deny the truth.

Hoped it was a lie

I wished I had gone crazy for a moment.

But that wasn't it.

The basis for the anxiety I felt within me was formed.

There is no firmer basis than this, the power of God.

I stopped plugging my ears.

Because I realized that it meant nothing.

Denying it doesn't change the truth.

"...I'm sorry to have to tell you this news, saintess."

Echlin, with her head down, drops her tears.

I lifted her staggering body and hugged her.

She stroked her back.

"It's okay... Echlin did nothing wrong."

Because I was the guilty one

Anything could stop him.

I could do anything to alleviate his pain.

However, he could not disobey the Lord's command.

It's because I thought there must be a meaning.

In the end, the saintess is only an apostle of the main god.

She is just trying to lead the world according to the Lord's will.

Only..

...It's just that I didn't have my happiness at the end.

Not all saints and saints can live a happy life just because they are loved by the main god.

Everyone living in the world lives with their own destiny.

That fate cannot be reversed.

Zeto's death was also due to his fate.

It was also by fate that I lost him.

But... On the one hand, I felt that way.

I feel very resentful of God who led me to such a harsh fate.

For the first time in my life

Resent God

***

"Haha..."

It felt like my body was about to break.

Grandpa was right.

I'm rusty.

Even though my skills were rusty, I didn't think that I would ever be able to defeat that 'fierce tiger' in front of me.

An experienced martial artist who has passed through countless battlefields.

I could never catch up with him in terms of experience.

Either way I was weak. Was incompetent

The strength of his body was draining from the weakness he felt so painfully.

Soon, Kaliman's voice is heard in the forest where the rain was pouring hard.

"...I'll stop at this point, though."

"More... You can..."

"I understand your feelings... But this is the wrong way."

"Ha ha... Ha... What do you mean the instructor understands..."

"Yeah... I lost it too..."

Only Kali pauses his words and raises his head to look at the sky.

War hero.

Because I went through the war... I must have lost friends and colleagues.

But Jetto was not just an ordinary friend to me.

Jetto shone.

He was kind and kind.

Was my hero

But how could he...

"...A lover."

After that, Kaliman approaches me.

...It was the first time I'd heard of the loss of a lover.

"It was Castile. Her name was... A charming woman with green eyes like jewels. Her friends were in a frenzy. How could you get along with Castile... The answer to that question is still there. I don't know."

As her body lost strength, only Kali in front hugged me.

"I was even engaged. But... As you know, the war broke out just in time. I had no intention of participating in it.

"..."

I cradled Kaliman in his arms and listened to his voice.

"But Castile asked me to go with him. Shouldn't we protect the land we're going to share love with our own hands... It couldn't be helped... That's why we went to war. Many died. Friends and comrades... Even soldiers whose names I didn't know. I accepted it as if it were natural. Because that's how war is supposed to be."

"Eww..."

Kaliman's blunt voice conveyed his pain.

"...One day. It was a day when it was raining like now. The smell of wet rain and the blood of demons... It was a very pleasant day. After finishing the operation like that and returning to the base, Reina approached me with a serious face and said, He said. I laughed. What are you talking about?"

"Huh... Uhhh..."

Finally, the tears I had been holding back burst out.

She shook her head vigorously.

Didn't want to hear

Because I think I know all too well what the end will be like.

"There have been many deaths so far, but I couldn't accept her death. It was unfair and resentful. I couldn't understand why she had to die."

Only Kali strokes my hair.

"I'm sure you... You must have..."

His hands felt cold through the raindrops.

"I was furious. I wanted to wipe out the demons at random. Nevertheless, there was only one reason I was able to survive until now. Then. Shouldn't you survive? Shouldn't you also survive and remember her..."

"Aaaaa..."

I didn't want to cry, I didn't want to be sad, but the tears wouldn't stop.

"That's why I had to stop you. I wondered if you would have to survive and remember him too... Now that I've lived, I've come to understand that those left behind have things they have to do..."

Soon Kaliman asks me.

"Did you tell me? Your heart..."

Caught in his arms, I shook my head.

Couldn't tell

I couldn't confess my feelings.

I thought I could barely hold onto it now.

I thought I would finally have the courage to speak.

It was no longer possible.

Soon, a hot drop of water, not a cold raindrop, falls between the hands of Kaliman who was stroking my hair.

"...Then you must be in a lot more pain than me..."

There was a slight tremor in Kaliman's voice as he spoke those words.