Chapter 176

The fifth flame pulsed with difficulty.

There was nothing left to draw out.

And yet, I had to wring it out.

Shion’s soul had already lost its luster.

Having lost even the strength to surrender to rage, just being dragged about was overwhelming and exhausting.

No matter how many times I gasped for breath, a single respiration was so arduous.

Shion Pollinglight’s fifth secret,

‘He burned it all away’.

Oh, ohh,

you hearts that have not just melted but turned to smoke.

Now there is nothing left to hide.

I have simply become a pile of ashes.

I offered my all as firewood, and all that remained was a mere flame.

But it is fine.

This is enough.

Let’s set them on fire.

Let’s spew this piercing conflagration upon their heads.

That is now enough for me.

The fifth Ars, shimmering blue,

‘Soul Fire’.

***

It looked as if two mountains had risen from the sea.

One was a whale like a mountain.

The other was a giant of blue flames.

“—”

Blue flames were spewed from the Hunchback’s throat.

The same from its eye sockets.

The fifth Ars, ‘Soul Fire’.

A viscous flame that simply swallowed everything in its blue hue.

Fire ignited upon the Hunchback.

There was nothing the flames could not swallow.

They burned the sea, burned the air, and even burned the Hunchback itself, making it scream.

But since even the screams were burning, only a soundless outcry raged.

“——!!!”

The giant clad in flames rushed at the whale.

The whale met it with its enormous body.

It was so large and so powerful that there was no need for complex techniques.

In place of Shion and Niko, there were the Hunchback and the White Whale.

The two monsters, having already forgotten their own names, simply clung to each other and wailed.

When the White Whale moved, the entire sea churned.

Dozens of house-sized waves rose, shaking the ships and striking the shore.

When it charged with its mountain-like body, even the Hunchback could not help but fall.

But the Hunchback never failed to rise again.

No matter the wound, it would rise with a cry and spew flames.

It was steadily melting the White Whale’s tough hide.

Hot.

‘Soul Fire’ shimmered with a blue light that did not exist in the world.

Due to the rising heat, the White Whale felt its blowhole constricting.

The whale opened its massive maw and bit the Hunchback.

The inside of its mouth began to melt, but it paid no mind.

The Hunchback lost its balance from the shock.

It was plunged headfirst into the sea.

This was the shallow sea.

Thus, it only came up to the Hunchback’s waist.

The White Whale knew of deeper seas.

The whale twisted its tail.

And then it sank deep into the sea.

With the Hunchback still in its mouth.

The Hunchback, suddenly starting to sink into the sea, struggled, but the White Whale’s jaws did not budge.

“—! —!”

Even underwater, ‘Soul Fire’ remained potent.

However, it could not emit as much heat as it did outside.

Naturally, the one accustomed to the sea’s depths was not the Hunchback, but the White Whale.

Thus, the whale sank deeper and deeper, holding the Hunchback.

To the center of the great sea where it was born, to a depth where even the Hunchback would have no choice but to suffocate.

It had no interest in its own body melting away.

What was important was that the Hunchback was suffering.

Submerged, the Hunchback flailed its limbs about.

“—Ugh—!”

As the flames subsided, the screams resounded vividly again.

As the Hunchback’s strength waned, Shion’s consciousness naturally grew stronger.

For a moment, a blue light flashed within the eye sockets that had lost reason and only shed flames.

Shion screamed with all his might toward his soul, toward the ‘Hunchback’.

[Drag it out.]

The Hunchback struggled again.

The mountain-like whale was stronger than the Hunchback.

It would soon lose its life from being covered in ‘Soul Fire’, but the Hunchback would suffocate too.

With what could it drag out this powerful whale?

[Drag it out!]

Parts of the Hunchback’s body began to come undone. Hundreds of strands of chains were released.

It was ‘The Heated Iron Bloodline’.

The Hunchback grasped them and wrapped them tightly around the whale.

The whale stopped.

The iron bloodlines had already bound the White Whale tightly.

Even bound, the whale struggled with insane guts.

But the Hunchback had also already planted its feet on the seabed.

Regardless of the struggle, it slowly began to take a step.

[Drag out the Whale of Hobel Bay-!]

“—Ugh—!!!”

The Hunchback clenched its teeth.

It swallowed its bursting scream and made it its own strength.

The whale tried to break free, but the Hunchback did not allow it.

Clad in blue flames even in the depths of the sea, it slowly dragged the whale up.

The entire sea was red.

It was because blood poured ceaselessly from the White Whale enmeshed in the iron bloodlines, and from the Hunchback that gripped them.

But they were so used to bleeding it was tiresome.

The two monsters had realized that life was a matter of shedding blood day by day.

A power struggle ensued over the iron bloodlines.

Though the White Whale was stronger, it was the one being dragged.

The Hunchback, trembling in agony, was steadily and clearly dragging the whale out.

But the agony did not disappear, and the screams continued.

“Cor, disss…!!!”

***

Niko was on the seashore.

It was a familiar beach.

He wondered where it was, and it turned out to be the place he always played as a child.

No, that sounded strange. He was still a child, so how could he have a childhood?

Thinking that, he looked down at his palms; they were small and white.

They really looked like a child’s.

Niko suddenly realized.

A familiar beach, a familiar wind, a familiar time… If so, then they too…….

‘Niko.’

‘Niko!’

As he thought of them, their voices became clearer.

Two kids came running.

They looked to be about twelve.

One was a boy, the other a girl.

The boy looked mischievous, and the girl was quite cute.

‘Niko! Come out!’

‘Hurry up! We promised to go catch fish!’

Niko knew their names.

The boy was Oros Aretion.

The girl was Almine Avinta.

They were kids now, but in time, those two would marry.

Yes, while Niko was spending his school days in the capital, Lutilium, they got married just like that.

How much he had cried at the news that Almine Avinta had become Almine Aretion.

And yet, there was joy.

He had let go of the girl he liked, but because it was Oros, he could bless them.

Oros and Almine would become husband and wife and the masters of Arete Island.

They would acquire a dignity unimaginable from their current childish forms.

And then, war breaks out, Arete Island is cornered, Oros and Almine try to protect the islanders, but because of the Cordis Empire’s schemes, in the end…….

“Yes, I suppose so…….”

Niko’s face contorted.

He wanted to cry, but there were no tears left to shed.

“If you two are here…….”

Seeing Oros and Almine, he couldn’t help but realize.

Because he was so achingly glad to see them, he remembered that he was not a child.

“It must be a dream…….”

Niko looked down at his own hands.

They were neither white nor small.

They were huge and calloused.

There were even clear bloodstains here and there.

They were the hands of an old man, imprinted with the years he had lived.

He slowly reached out his hand.

He wanted to grasp his dear, missed old friends, Oros and Almine.

But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t even catch them in his dream.

It was because they had suffered a terrible fate at the hands of the Empire, while Niko had been a soldier more loyal to the Empire than anyone.

With no tears to shed, blood seeped from his tear ducts instead.

Niko, Niko!

Oros and Almine giggled.

They ran towards him but grew farther away.

Niko struggled to approach them, but they moved even farther.

That laughter, that beach, that nostalgic childhood, all became endlessly distant.

He still remained back then, wanting to stay in that childhood, to be a child……. But because he had grown old enough to realize that day would never come again…….

In a sorrow that made his heart ache,

Niko realized his defeat.

***

There was no White Whale, no Hunchback.

Niko and Shion remained.

Niko was half-melted.

Shion had withdrawn ‘Soul Fire’, but he had already sustained several irreversible wounds.

On top of that, the price for using the Ancient Weapon came due.

Even for the Whale of Hobel Bay, he had to lay down his life.

However, he was prepared, so there was no fear.

The old man slowly opened his mouth.

He couldn’t even turn his head, so all he could see was the sky.

“Kid Shion…….”

“It went as you thought.”

Shion stood beside him.

He wasn’t without wounds, but none were severe.

To anyone watching, it was Shion’s victory, just as Niko had predicted.

Shion looked around at the beach and the ships.

Despite tens of thousands of strong men, it was maddeningly quiet.

“The way they’re all scared is quite funny. Half of them look like they won’t be able to hold a weapon for the rest of their lives, not just for a few months.”

“…That’s a relief, at least…….”

Niko Nereyades smiled.

Better to be a coward than to stab each other and bleed.

It was a truth so obvious it wasn’t worth debating, yet he only realized it at this age.

“Just one question…….”

“What is it?”

“…Where is this Niko lying right now?”

“A piece of your oar.”

“No wonder… the smell of wood felt familiar…….”

Shion chuckled.

There was no way it could smell.

Right after the fight, the reek of blood and burning was overwhelming.

“Joking, unlike you.”

“…I always liked to joke.”

Niko smiled faintly.

“I quit when I learned that a Ten Great General’s joke is… close to violence…….”

“That’s true.”

Shion plopped down next to Niko.

Strangely, it wasn’t awkward.

Niko felt death approaching vividly.

Yet his heart was very much at peace.

He even opened his lips to speak naturally.

“Kid Shion…….”

“What now?”

“…I am sorry.”

Shion frowned.

“I didn’t think you were the type to say sorry so easily.”

“…Didn’t we make a bet, that if I won, you’d tell me your real name…….”

“……”

“…Even though I lost, I’ve realized your real name……. I should be sorry…….”

The regressed prince sealed his lips.

He looked somewhat sulky.

Niko felt Shion was truly like a boy and gave a benevolent smile.

The old man whispered very softly, as if worried his words would spread on the sea breeze.

“…You are His Highness, Zionis…….”

“…Are you going to use your last dying breath to reveal my identity?”

“I don’t even have the strength for that…….”

I’ve squeezed it all out. Niko chuckled.

Every time he laughed, his chest hurt like crazy.

His ribs must have all been broken.

But what did it matter?

Whether all his ribs were broken, or that Prince Zionis, thought to be dead, was alive, he couldn’t care less.

“To an old man about to die, it doesn’t matter at all……. In fact, it’s for the best. His Majesty, Ferbias, needs a good scolding…….”

“Hmph, that’s true.”

“…Please, do give him a scolding…….”

It was already noon.

The sunlight was harsh.

It was hot enough to burn as the sunbeams shattered on the waves, but Niko’s life was steadily fading.

“…Are you going to war?”

“I suppose it will come to that.”

“It can’t be helped…….”

“It can’t be helped.”

Niko carefully raised his hand.

Now that he looked, half of his palm had melted away.

No wonder it hurts.

He grumbled and placed his half-remaining hand on Shion’s shoulder.

“Try not to… shed too much blood…….”

The old man’s words were filled with sincerity.

“It will hurt… life will become very, very heavy…….”

“It already is.”

“I suppose so. At that age, already… how pitiful…….”

He let out a sigh filled with pity.

Niko was dying.

It meant he could finally lay down his burden.

But Shion was still young and alive, so he would have to endure much pain and suffering.

“You had several Ars… if so… I see, you were already living with it……. A scream, a secret, that even I could never imagine…….”

“……”

“It is pitiful… Your Highness, Zionis…….”

The hand gripping Shion’s shoulder slowly lowered.

It was partly due to his strength failing, and partly due to a sudden desire to lighten even the slightest weight from Shion’s shoulders.

“Old Niko feels… sorry for you…….”

Shion saw it.

The old man’s eyes clouded over, beginning to grope for somewhere other than here.

It meant the end was near.

“And, my pitiful, General Nana… my, my, my granddaughter… my poor child…….”

“……”

“…Ah, Your Highness, please, to that child… have mercy on Nana…….”

“I will do so.”

“Oh…….”

Niko wanted to express his thanks, but he had no strength.

Shion understood.

He placed Niko’s arm on his chest so he wouldn’t have to move anymore.

Niko felt his breathing ease, if only a little.

“Oh, ooh…….”

The old man let out a gasp.

He reached out his hand.

He had no strength to reach out his hand.

He couldn’t even move his hand.

Yet he clearly reached out his hand.

Even though he hadn’t moved at all, it was certain that he had reached out his hand.

“Almine… Oros…….”

He saw his old body.

Grown large, hardened, and scarred from long years of storms and battles.

It was even lying on the sea, half-melted.

If my body is over there, what am I, he thought, but before he could finish, two kids came running over.

Niko realized anew that he too was a kid.

“That’s right… we were supposed to catch fish… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I made you wait a long time… Yes, truly, a long, time, to, wait… I… made… you…….”

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