Chapter 159 - End and beginning (3)

There were two men facing each other as the sunset poured in through the window.

It was a spacious and luxurious room, but there was only silence between them, and the only sound that could be heard was the metallic clinking of tea cups.

The first to break the heavy silence was an old man who seemed older than the sunset.

"...An emperor of 5 years and a collateral child whose whereabouts I didn't even know."

His old fingers holding the tea cup trembled, unable to bear the weight of time.

However, the look in his eyes remained sharp and harsh.

"This succession can never be recognized. Duke Sarnus."

The old man's face was wrinkled and horribly distorted with deep wrinkles.

There was a contained anger in him that could not be erased simply by the traces of time.

"What can we do when that child is the closest to Frausen among the remaining blood relatives?"

"It must have been done so that the child could be closer to him."

Time had taken away many things from the old man, but it had also left him with sharp insight.

Prince Armand.

He gave up his great surname in exchange for the title of duke, and he realized that the old dragon before him was the starting point of all this tragedy.

"Well, it must have been very frustrating to endure this for 400 years. Duke Sarnus."

"..."

The owner of the Dragon Slayer Knights who have protected the empire from the remaining dragons for 400 years.

The blue eyes, which finally revealed their true feelings after so long, widened.

The setting sun was gradually setting, casting dark shadows on Sarnus's face.

"I am still busy protecting the empire according to the oath I made with the founding king, Frausen. The reason we support this child is to maintain the empire."

"That child is not worthy of becoming emperor."

"What can I do even if he is not qualified? Are you at least going to sever the line of Frausen?"

"..."

Armand dared not respond to Sarnus's words.

If they were to break with the line of Frausen, it would be Sarnus whom they would prefer.

His loyalty, which lasted 400 years, was maintained through an oath to the founding king, Frausen.

In addition to the oath with the old dragon, the only person who could support all his wishes was the successor to the emperor's position.

"You cannot do that."

The old duke's eyebrows arched at the finality.

Indeed, the bloodline had been severed.

Then only the will remains.

"...The empire began with the tip of a single sword."

There was a man who shone brightly like a star even under the claws of the giant dragon.

Quijano Frausen.

People called him the sword owner, the sword master, as he wielded the fate of all races.

"If it is the will of the Sword Master. And as for the choice of the sword he wielded."

The Frausen surname he inherited from the imperial family, but the name Quijano would be linked to a particular sword.

Because the sword that man held pierced the most perfect dragon and marked the end of an era.

"If that's the case, it would be better than the poor blood you presume."

"...Armand. Do not do this."

Sarnus looked pitiful as he watched the elder chasing the faded legend.

The story of the founding king, which became legend because the end was not announced, has now become a fairy tale believed only by children.

"It is a sword I could not find even though I searched for it for hundreds of years..."

"No matter how ancient it is, it definitely exists somewhere."

Armand's voice as he spoke of the Sword Master's sword was clearly filled with a strange confidence.

"It's as if there is a dragon sitting in front of me right now."

"..."

There was a letter sent by a knight whose news had been severed.

It was clearly written in that brief letter written in secret codes.

Ausurin. The Sword of the Sword Master.

It has been drawn.

That was the last communication that the former commander of the imperial guard, August, sent.

***

The child born at the end of the dark alley loved the setting sun.

For those living on the main road beyond the alley, it was the end of the day, but for people like them, it marked the beginning of the year.

Vlad's longing for the stars in the night sky may have been since the moment he was born.

"Do you like the sound of the song?"

"...Yes, he does."

Vlad, who was looking out the window, closed his eyes in silence as Andreas spoke.

The sound of Cade's breathing as he lay on the bed.

And the sound of water splashing as he cleaned the blood and pus.

Among those sounds, the voice of the young deacon filtered into Vlad's ears, accompanying the fading twilight.

"In fact, as predicted by Mr. Joseph, if we had arrived even a little later, there would have been repercussions. You said this guy handles a bow?"

"Yes."

Andreas said that if they had arrived a little later, Cade might not have been able to function as a knight.

The war with Gaidar left many scars not only in Deirmar but also in Joseph's knights, and seeing Cade lying now was proof of that.

"Thank you. Bishop."

"There is nothing to thank as this is what I have been doing from the beginning. Originally, it was customary not to get involved in worldly affairs..."

Andreas's confused eyes watched the black flags hanging outside the window.

Flags announcing the emperor's death.

The faithful priest could no longer turn his back because he sensed the countless deaths those flags would bring.

"That's why I didn't want to take on something like a bishop."

Andreas, who now had to worry about the realm of politics, let out a small sigh and sank into the chair next to the bed.

When the two stopped talking, a faint singing was heard.

A sound that calmed a woman shedding black tears. It was a hymn.

"...Originally, even if there was no conflict with the Vatican, I was planning to send that guy to the Tramash Choir. I wanted to make you feel the footprints of the woman who claimed to be the voice of God, but it ended up being very unfortunate."

"Is that so."

Though he did not say it aloud, Vlad truly sympathized with Andreas's pain.

Young beings who could expand their world in any field were precious.

However, the current young deacon did not have a proper mentor to help him expand his world.

Andreas was certainly a good priest, but he did not have the personality of the young deacon.

"Even so, it's great. I have never heard of people being healed through songs."

"Haha. Now my only solace is you and that boy singing right now."

The manifestation of ability may depend on each individual's personality, but the healing properties contained in the song must be thanks to Andreas's guidance.

The song may resonate today because there was someone who guided the child.

"Does my existence also bring solace to the bishop?"

"...Of course."

Andreas turned his head as he heard Vlad's voice, which seemed depressed without knowing why.

Before he realized it, the twilight deeply covered Vlad's face.

"Vlad of Soara, you are definitely my solace and pride. I'm sure all the knights who taught you think that way."

"Is that so?"

Vlad's face, which remained in the shadow of dusk, was smiling.

Even if you stop for a moment and look back, you may not be sure of the path you took, but if those ahead of you nod, you will not be afraid to walk in the darkness of the night.

"If so."

The night sky filled with darkness as the young deacon sang a hymn. Vlad's smile, colored in the night sky, shone brightly when he heard that his name had now become someone's pride.

I thought it would be good if people thought of the voice in the same way.

***

Somewhere under a dark night where not a single light shines.

On a night when not even the light of the stars in the sky could penetrate the clouds, there was a group of people running along a forest path that no one knew.

It was clearly a procession of horses and carriages, but strangely, no sound was heard around them.

"Here it is."

"…"

Since there was no light, all that could be seen was total darkness, but the woman who stepped down from the carriage wore an even darker veil.

As if she wanted to hide her face from everyone.

"As you ordered, I found it while searching for the core of the spirits."

The knight in armor placed a shining orb in her hand and pointed with his finger at the tree in front of him.

As the clouds passed for a moment, the moonlight shining through illuminated the knight.

He was speaking clearly, but there was nothing hanging from his neck that should have been there.

"Please guide me."

"Yes."

Unlike the strange appearance of the flock, the woman's voice was like that of a single bird.

A voice so bright that it made you want to immediately remove the veil and check her face.

The knights who followed the order given by that voice and entered the forest soon discovered an extensive grassy forest, unlike the dense forest of trees that had been there until now.

"…"

And what awaited them there was a rotten tree.

The sight of the great trunk lying there looked like a corpse abandoned by something huge.

"It's inside."

Following the lead of the headless knight to the base of the tree, what they saw was the hollow interior of the tree.

It was so large it seemed like a vast empty space. Inside, there was a beam of starlight shining through the thick clouds.

"He's dead."

Although the clouds were dark, the body of an unknown man lay there under the starlight as if pierced by a needle.

The body of a man propped against a small rock as if exhausted.

The woman who identified the corpse removed the black veil she wore out of intrigue and approached slowly.

Slowly. Immensely.

Without even putting a foot on the ground.

"He's been dead for a long time..."

Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the roots of the already dead tree were supporting the man's body.

The woman could tell that the corpse lying there had an unusual history, as it seemed as if it had been turned into a coffin.

"The body hasn't rotted."

The body was not rotten, but the accumulated dust was thick, showing that a long time had passed, and the clothes it wore were turning to dust and blowing away at a touch.

What could be seen on the clothing gradually disintegrating from the cold fingertips of the woman was a very old imperial emblem no longer in use.

"And the sword he's holding…"

Although it was a corpse with a mysterious appearance, the sword it held was anything but ordinary.

However, the woman pursed her lips when she saw the more intense traces of her fingertips than the sword held by the corpse.

"Dragon's blood...?"

The woman, who checked the man's story through the fingertips of the corpse, seemed very surprised, even though her heart was not beating.

It was as if she had grabbed the heart of a dragon and burst it open. On her fingertips, there were strong traces of a dragon that could not be ignored.

"Who is this person… No, who the hell are you...?"

At the end of the empire, where no one looks, in a dense forest.

There was a corpse that was carefully preserved by the giant tree where the spirit resided.

The corpse, which collapsed as if exhausted, clearly had traces of a strong dragon that she had never felt before on the tips of her fingers.

It was a dark trace that you wouldn't have even if you killed all the dragons in the world.

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