Academy’s Genius Swordmaster

[ 314. Waves and Liberation, Confession. ]

#314

Blue blood soaked the sand bar. Abel’s headless body tilted slowly. As he fell, the hilt fell from Ronan’s hand.

hooked La Mancha, which fell from the tip, was deeply embedded in the sandy beach. Abel did not rise again. Ronan, who repeatedly closed and opened his eyes, spat out a curse.

“Whoa… the plague…”

The accumulated fatigue was coming at once. The curse was gone, but that was another issue.

Now I could instinctively feel that time was running out. Suddenly, Rin’s voice resounded in my head.

[Ronan. Wake up.]

“It’s late.”

Ronan giggled. His condition had already deteriorated to the point where he could not see well. In the foggy vision, only the sound of the red waves lapping could be heard.

“…tired.”

dump. Ronan, who was staring at the horizon, sat down. The feeling of the gentle waves wet my legs was not too bad.

[Are you… dying?]

“Perhaps.”

[No… that can’t be done,]

Ronan replied plaintively. Rin’s voice, which was always calm, was full of water. What’s the point of procrastinating on the subject of a girl’s sex sword?

“Thank you Lynn. I was able to come this far thanks to you.”

[do not say that. There must be some way…!]

“No. You know that.”

Ronan smiled. If possible, of course, I wanted to live. Because he hated words like ‘sacrifice’ or ‘death to duty’ more than anyone else. It was better to be a coward who died alive than to become a hero and have his name engraved on a memorial stone.

But I never expected that something like this would happen to me. Isn’t this a hero from a legend who completely saves and oxidizes the world?

“Anyway, it’s just bad luck…”

Ronan grumbled. Of course, he only said that, but his mouth was smiling.

He himself would die here, but the things he protected would survive for a long time. It was the car that Ronan, who could not bear the fatigue, was about to lie down on. A familiar voice came from not far away.

“…I lost.”

“What…!”

For an instant, I got goosebumps. Reflexively holding the hilt, Ronan turned around. Abel’s head, which was lying in a lump, was looking at him.

“…are you not dead yet?”

It was dangerous. Ronan pointed the tip of his sword at Abel.

The arm that had reached its limit was trembling, but it could not be helped. It had to be completely dealt with at all costs. Abel’s mouth fell open again.

『Stop it. The moment your head was cut off, the connection with the source was already severed. I will soon perish.”

“How can I believe that?”

『Well, actually, it is already disappearing. Take a good look at me.”

Hearing those words, Ronan narrowed his eyes. It was blurry, but I could see Abel’s head slowly shrinking.

He was scattering as particles of light like giants whose source had been robbed. Realizing that Abel’s words were true, Ronan lowered his sword.

“Whoa… damn it. I thought you were passing out.”

I thought my liver would fall apart and fall into pieces. Although he was in great shape, the current Ronan did not have the strength to face the resurrected Abel.

“hey. Let’s ask one thing.』

“Huh?”

『If I had done it the way my brother did, would someday people stop killing each other?』

Ronan narrowed his eyes at the sudden question. It didn’t seem like they were plotting something strange anyway, when everyone else was dying. He sat down again and shook his head.

“That’s something you don’t know. But maybe not much has changed.”

“Then why did you stop both of us? I saw the memory when I closed my brother’s eyes. You were against my brother’s plan, not mine.”

Abel asked with a questioning tone. As a crooked but utilitarian seeker, he couldn’t understand Ronan, who was not sympathetic to the ideas of either the Savior or himself.

right! Suddenly, Ronan stretched out his arm and struck Abel on the forehead with the back of his sword.

『Ugh! What are you doing…”

“Yumma. Are you calling that a question? Anyway, your father and your siblings are too far-fetched.”

『What is it?』

“People are not coddled. Of course, there are many assholes, but there are far more normal people. Even if you guys didn’t wipe the poop one by one, you would have done well on your own.”

said Ronan. It was the first time since Ahayute that he had a conversation with the man he had just cut off. Abel, who crumpled his face, shouted in protest.

『How can you say that even after looking at the memories of the past! You saw the battleship Dynhar, which was built to destroy even other stars in the air defense shelters prepared to avoid the fallout of nuclear war! Do you think there is room for rebirth for the beings who create such things?!

Aren’t you quiet?”

right! Ronan struck him in the head with the back of his sword again. Abel, who was left with only his head, could do nothing but vent his anger.

『Keuug…!』

“Shut up and just trust me. Dad and you should have taken the attitude of a bystander. Even if I wanted to give advice, I should have just given advice. It was a problem because I was trying to move the horse myself.”

“It is absurd self-indulgence. How on earth can you have such faith?”

Abel was now genuinely shocked. Since I received the blood of a savior, I should be able to think from the point of view of an immortal. Ronan, who vomited blood once, answered without hesitation.

“Because I have changed.”

『What is it?』

“I was originally a two-headed man. But somehow, I was able to live my life once more and changed my mind. I hate to say this with my own mouth, but I really have changed a lot.”

Recalling the memories of his previous life, Ronan chuckled. Looking back now, it was truly a life of vermin. he continued.

“I knew then. People can change if they have a chance. I was a bit of an odd case, but most of them have a better mindset than I do, so you should be able to come to your senses without such a grandiose incident.”

『…was that the only reason?

』 What do you think is the reason you lost to me right now?”

Abel fell silent at the sharp question. Whatever anyone said, the results were already out.

It’s not even funny because I’ve changed. Abel smirked as he pondered those words. It was in the middle of an awkward silence for a long time.

『…I will tell you how to survive.』

“What?”

Ronan, who had been dozing off, raised his head. I wondered what nonsense this was. Abel, who had lost about 30% of his head before he knew it, continued.

『My personality will soon disappear, but the power of the source is still strong. Rip my chest and take my heart If so, you will become like me and enjoy strength and eternity.”

Abel rolled his eyes and pointed to his own body. Ronan raised his eyebrows.

“Did you get late senility? Why are you suddenly saying that?’

“Well, why is it…”

Abel dragged his horse. I couldn’t think of a suitable answer. He turned his gaze back to the sea and smiled.

『I must have gone senile, just like you said.

』

It didn’t seem like he was lying. Ronan stumbled and stood up. For some reason, I felt like I kept feeling popular around me.

‘It must be the souls trapped in the source.’

If Abel’s words were true, his heart would contain all the souls the giants had collected so far. It was not enough to save his life, and it was a chance that he would never have it again to have all that power.

“…it’s the heart.”

Ronan, who had reached the corpse before he knew it, stopped in place. There was nothing more to worry about. He recalled the faces of the people he loved and thrust out his sword.

hooked! The tip of the knife pierced Abel’s chest. However, it was not for cutting, but for stabbing and bursting. Sensing that the blade had penetrated the source, Abel burst out in amazement.

“Yes, you bastard…! What are you doing now!]

At this rate, the source will be destroyed. Instead of answering, Ronan twisted his sword. As soon as the source was completely destroyed, Abel’s body oxidized with light.

Quaaaaaa! At the same time, chunks of light that looked like wisps of fire poured out of his heart. What seemed to be billions of them could not be counted. Ronan whistled in admiration.

“Major.”

“Why…!”

Abel let out a bewildered look. Liberated souls were flying towards the starry night sky. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but they’re probably going to their own paradise. somewhere far away in space.

Somehow, it seemed that cheers were heard. The number of souls was as numerous as the stars visible, and it seemed that time would not be enough to see them all disappear. Now only the lower part of his nose remained, Abel opened his mouth.

『Foolish thing…You can’t survive anymore. To kick away the only opportunity yourself.”

“It doesn’t matter. Because something like that should n’t exist in the world…”

Suddenly, Ronan, who was looking up at the sky, collapsed. A familiar sensation took over her body. The five senses are blocked one by one in the falling darkness. Death was about to kiss him.

“…Damn it, you’re just going away.”

If I was going to die, I wanted to die while looking at the sky. Ronan squeezed out the last of his strength and turned over. Unlike in his previous life, the distant sea of stars spread out in front of him.

It was the world he protected. I no longer felt the wind and the waves. Her vision, which had been focused on bluish motherhood, was slowly darkening.

“Still…it was fun.”

Ronan muttered. Like the first life, there were still a lot of unfulfilled things, but strangely, there were no regrets left.

Soon silence fell. Feeling puzzled, Abel called him.

『Hey Ronan.』

But no answer came back. The snow had long since disappeared, but it was not difficult to guess the situation. He kept a bitter smile on his lips.

『…You really resemble my older brother a lot.』

It was truly a heroic end. Now it was his turn to leave. It was the last time, so something similar to a kaleidoscope flashed through my mind. The thing that came to mind most strongly was, of course, Cain’s face.

“Brother…”

Abel opened his mouth. In his fading consciousness, he was walking with Cain on the cold land of his hometown.

“You knew. I wasn’t… your brother’s brother… or anything…]

The belated confession was mixed with the sound of the waves. Abel already knew that he was not Cain’s brother. Looking back, it seems that it was at that time that I started harboring resentment toward my older brother.

『But you… always held my hand…』

However, Cain always took Abel’s side. He encouraged his one and only younger brother, saying that even if the world pointed a finger at his cruel actions, he could change.

Abel knew. The fact that if he hadn’t betrayed them, the two of them would have remained good brothers forever. It seemed that he now knew what he had to protect, but the end was already near.

[Brother…]

Abel gritted his teeth. It was just sad that the eyes to shed tears were gone. Lips that were disintegrating into the light uttered the last words.

『I’m sorry.』

That was the end. The last remaining particles of light disappeared across the night sky. The rising tide was erasing the traces of the two people.

****

“Ugh…”

Ronan opened his eyes. My head was dizzy as if I had just woken up from a long sleep. The star-filled night sky had completely disappeared, revealing a pure white space.

“I see… I am finally dead.”

It was not difficult to infer the situation. Because my body, which had become a wreck that could never be healed, was completely healed.

Even the sword was still there. He, who was lying down, raised his body by touching his forehead.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling in my pants pocket. He put his hand in and removed it, tilting his head. A small, round sphere of unknown material was sandwiched between the index finger and thumb.

“…what is this, Al?”

It was an unforgettable thing. I couldn’t tell when it was in my pocket. It was the moment Ronan put the sphere back into his pocket. I heard someone’s footsteps not far away.

“What, there were other people besides me…”

Ronan thoughtlessly turned his head away. And it hardened in place. Adeshan, wearing the general’s uniform, stood with his hands behind his back.

“It was a lot of hard work. corporal.”

“Captain? Wait, you next to me…”

But what really puzzled him was the man next to Adeshan. There was a face I had only seen once a long time ago, but never to be forgotten.

A believer I met in the Baidian Mountains. The long-eared elf man must have turned to stone in the aftermath of the fight. Ronan, who met eyes with the man, barely opened his mouth.

“…Sarante?”