Chapter 245 - Burned Church (2)

Upon opening my eyes, it felt as though they were still closed.

Because all I could see now was total darkness.

Joseph, who had awakened in a small, unfamiliar room, sighed as he took in the space devoid of even a single drop of light.

"…Still, I'm glad Jager managed to escape."

Even though he should have been accustomed to the darkness, Joseph still felt like a blind man within it.

His loyal knight, who had always extended his hand to help him, was no longer by his side in the coffin-like darkness. Instead, he was likely in a forest full of green light.

Creaaak-

Even though Joseph remained in the dark.

Relieved that Jager wasn't with him, Joseph dressed with trembling hands and left the room.

'No matter how many times I see it, it's still strange.'

The hallway Joseph walked through after leaving the room was as dark and gloomy as it had been the first time he saw it.

However, despite the darkness, he had no trouble moving, likely thanks to the magic of that woman named Ramashthu.

"…"

Joseph, walking alone down the long corridor, began to lower his head each time a sorcerer appeared in front of him.

He tried his best not to draw attention to himself.

Carefully sidling up to the wall, Joseph could overhear their conversation as though nothing had happened.

"I heard the Northern Union Army is coming this way now."

"They couldn't just let the Dragon Blood continue marching north without acting."

"If this keeps up, won't you bring us trouble for no reason?"

They were shadowy figures, the kind normally impossible to encounter.

But at that moment, there were so many gathered that Joseph felt a chill run down his spine.

'…I can't believe there are this many.'

As a nobleman, Joseph knew well how much of his father's budget had been spent searching for these dark entities.

Still, despite all the efforts, those hiding in the shadows were numerous, and the endeavors of Bayezid had been in vain, like a captain steering his ship in the wrong direction.

"If things get difficult, we'll just spread more gold."

"Baron Salonta is a proud man. If we stoke his hatred toward the North like before, he'll support us without issue."

"Indeed, sometimes humans are consumed by their own hatred, not realizing they're destroying themselves."

"…"

With those words, the signs of the dark mages gradually disappeared in the distance.

Once Joseph confirmed they had gone, he finally raised his deeply bowed head.

'So that's how it was.'

Biting his lip slightly in anger.

Joseph struggled to contain the rage igniting inside him as he realized all his efforts had been futile.

'That's why we couldn't find them.'

Dark mages hiding in the shadows.

They were beings I thought impossible to find because they were buried deep, but Joseph, who had walked into the darkness alone, now realized why they couldn't be located.

There were people laughing on the sidelines.

Because the ground we walk on is different, the skin color we are born with is different, and the gods we believe in are different, a divide between worlds is inevitable.

Those who had constantly fueled hatred and discrimination within that gap were now raising black fingers like wolves' mouths, telling each other to kill.

"…I can't allow this to continue."

When I was outside, I didn't know. But now that I had touched the darkness, Joseph could see.

In the cracks of the world, skillfully widened by these beings, the insidious poison continued to seep in.

Those hiding in the shadows still laughed as they watched the hatred and discrimination they themselves had manipulated.

"Now, it's just me."

With those words, Joseph moved forward once more.

Now, the only person standing where they should be in the darkness, with no one around, was himself.

Though he couldn't swear it to anyone, Joseph ventured deeper into the darkness to do what he needed to do.

***

"We of Ausurin will never forget your help."

The old Geronimo, who had aged even more, smiled at Vlad.

But the vigorous handshake that accompanied his gesture conveyed a vitality that belied his appearance.

"Thank you for accepting the Ruga tribe, Great Elder."

Now that he knew where he needed to go, it was time to leave.

Vlad, shaking Geronimo's hand in farewell, glanced at the Great Mother of the Ruga tribe standing beside him.

"The children love it here. I suppose they prefer the green forest to dirty alleyways."

The Great Mother of the Ruga tribe nodded as she caught Vlad's gaze.

"At first, I thought you were a bad connection, but now I see you're a benefactor. Sometimes, blessings come disguised."

They were wandering people, unwelcome by anyone, but the elves' forest was vast, and the young World Tree welcomed them.

It was only then that Vlad felt a weight lift from his heart as he watched the small Ruga children, who had walked together along the tunnel opened by the shining mole, wave at him.

"Wait a moment."

"Hmm?"

At that moment, a small figure squeezed through the gap between the elders.

With a small mole on her head, the priestess, her fingers wrapped in bandages, approached Vlad.

"…It's the first time I've done something like this. Does it look strange?"

The priestess's eyes, staring at Vlad as if embarrassed or regretful, were somehow full of moisture.

But Vlad was more focused on the small banner she held in her hands than on her embarrassment.

"No."

From Bayezid in the North to Arnstein in the center.

The many family crests that Vlad had collected to prove his identity were placed in the palm of the young priestess.

Looking at the numerous inscriptions before him, Vlad couldn't help but think about his own journey up to this point.

"This is much better than the drawings you've made before."

"Eh?"

And at the end of that banner, the young priestess had embroidered a tree.

It was her first time using a needle. The emblem somewhat resembled the young World Tree that could be seen from above.

"It's full of emblems. I bet half the Empire is represented on this banner."

Baradis placed a hand on the priestess's head, her eyes wide as if she couldn't understand what was being said.

"Thank you for everything, Baradis."

The leader of the rangers, who had endured hardships together regardless of age or race.

He continued speaking, clasping Vlad's hand firmly without hesitation.

"Among us, the concept of giving and receiving doesn't mean much. So, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to call me."

When they first met, there had been an unbridgeable distance between them, but now, there was only connection, with no chasm left to cross.

Vlad, aware of this fact, simply turned the reins of Noir as if there was no need for awkward farewells.

"Don't forget what I told you."

Behind Vlad, who was preparing to leave, the Great Mother of the Ruga tribe softly delivered a final warning.

Don't harm the world of others too deeply. Because if you do, you will hurt your own.

"…I understand."

Clop, clop, clop-

After hearing the words of the Great Mother, who had cared for him until the end, a small path began to open in the forest.

The trees, firmly rooted, moved aside to create a direct path to the village Vlad was seeking.

[It seems they're saying goodbye.]

"Indeed, it seems so."

Vlad chuckled quietly as he gazed at the forest path, now wider than the one made by humans.

He felt as though he could still hear the young tree's voice because he had once held it.

"Let's go."

Neigh-

When Vlad said it was time to leave, Noir glanced back, as if feeling regret.

A familiar scene, for they shared the same spirit.

When Noir looked back, his eyes filled with the image of the World Tree waving its branches toward him, with young spirits sitting atop them.

***

What was visible above the total darkness was not the sky but the surface of the water.

No, more precisely, it was the surface of a mass of bubbles.

"…What is that?"

Joseph, who had finally managed to enter the heart of the dark sorcerers' domain thanks to a small amount of trust, could now see the large courtyard that awaited him there.

And in the middle of that vast courtyard, there was a large tree that filled the entire space.

"That's the tree where it has taken root."

"…!"

Joseph was startled when he suddenly heard a man's voice and quickly turned around.

Without Jager by his side, the only company he expected to find here were the dark sorcerers.

"But it's still incomplete. It seems that the core of the Spirit Tree isn't enough to complete the magic of creation."

However, the person behind Joseph was not one of the sorcerers he had just seen but a man whose colors had completely faded.

Leaning against the railing, Frausen stared fixedly at the tree outside, without even glancing at Joseph.

"…Sir."

How should I explain why I came here secretly?

Joseph was trying to remain as composed as possible upon seeing Frausen right beside him, but his voice trembled despite his efforts.

"Are you Joseph of Bayezid?"

"What? Yes, that's right."

Even in the midst of the current tension, it was Frausen who spoke first.

Frausen merely opened his mouth without turning his head, as if he had no interest in Joseph's presence, standing there where he shouldn't be.

"Yes. I've always wanted to call your name someday."

"…"

Though these were the same words he had said the day before, something about them felt different.

Joseph slowly began to lift his stiffened head, feeling an odd sense of unease.

"Do you have something to ask me, Your Majesty?"

But was it the pressure surrounding me, or the strange sight of the tree I had never seen before?

Though he tried to respond as politely as possible, Joseph realized he had just made a terrible mistake.

He had momentarily forgotten Frausen's words from the day before, when he had told him not to call him "Your Majesty."

"…Don't call me Your Majesty."

As if those words had truly been a mistake, the energy emanating from Frausen began to turn hostile.

However, instead of feeling overwhelmed by his power, Joseph was simply perplexed by the voice that followed.

"I was told you were the one who first hired that Vlad, right?"

"…!"

And the doubt Joseph had just felt turned into certainty.

Joseph finally raised his head and let out a silent expression of astonishment at the man before him.

"If you give me an honest answer about that man, I'll overlook today's disrespect."

The man standing before him was not the same one he had spoken to the day before.

A man who barely even remembered the conversation they'd had yesterday.

The man Joseph was facing now was like a shattered glass bottle.

Do not harm the world of another too deeply, or you will end up hurting yourself as well.

In a world that seemed like an overinflated bubble, Joseph was now face to face with a man completely broken.

A man who was still slowly losing himself.

The man, whose memories were leaking through the cracks, simply looked at Joseph standing before him, as if he hadn't forgotten Vlad's name.