Chapter 156

< 155. Victory Banquet >

*

Sweat-soaked and panting, Abel stood beside Fernandez, who was drawing a magical formation with the Keyblade reversed. The magical energy seeping from the powdered Magic Stone reacted with the bronze throne, conjuring spells in the air.

“How long will it take?”

“About five days.”

“That should be enough. I had already suggested a comfortable cruise for you. I feel bad that things turned out this way.”

Leia smiled as she looked at Fernandez. Fernandez, who was delicately adjusting the magical formation, glanced at Leia and smiled back.

“Is it certain this time?”

“Absolutely. Is there anywhere else you’d like to visit? Golden Harbor, Triangle Harbor, Shadepal Bay? All the famous landmarks are under our control now. Both the North and West Seas are now my domain.”

“That’s enviable.”

Fernandez chuckled and withdrew his hand from the magical formation. Green magical energy flowed along the blade of the Keyblade, drawing strange runes in the air.

It was a variation of the magic used by the two Elven Kings, Guimerin and Malerun. Extracting divine power and utilizing it in a different way. Using the divine power contained within the Keyblade…

“…The Goddess…”

“She is dead. All that remains are remnants and a corrupted, decaying body.”

“But didn’t you revive her from Melisildur’s heart?”

“This case is different. Guimerin tried to plant her soul into the remains of a dragon, so he took care to protect the soul. But Malerun twisted the Goddess’s remains to use as a magical heart.”

The massive heart hanging in Malerun’s Audience Hall. That rotting, twisted heart, which continuously pumped magical energy throughout the ship, was the remnant of the Goddess captured by Malerun.

It was impossible to use a spell to revive the Goddess in that corrupted heart, twisted by Malerun, as they had done in Infermur. It was an artificial divinity sustained by feeding on his own people for a thousand years.

When Malerun lost control of it, the divinity within it seeped into the Keyblade embedded in the heart. The most powerful relic of the Divine Warrior purified the heart’s poison, leaving only fragments of divinity.

Fernandez drew a magical formation to extract the Goddess’s divinity from the Keyblade and filter it so it could be implanted into a mortal body without harm. It was a measure to support Abel’s crumbling soul.

“Thank you, Queen Leia.”

“It’s done. What use do we have for the remnants of a god now?”

Leia looked at the Keyblade with a complicated expression, then shook her head. The three Goddesses of the Elven Temple of the Gods. Their byproducts and remains all belong to the Elves.

Handing them over to an Outsider, who had no connection to the Elves, was blasphemous. But Leia couldn’t ignore Fernandez’s request.

“We have gained something greater. Thanks to you, our clan now has a safe place to live on the seas again. This capital ship is, quite literally, our cradle.”

“The Malerun clan…”

“There is no longer a Malerun clan. The poor people who were exploited under him have now become my children, Queen Guimerin’s children.”

Leia laughed confidently. Fernandez nodded as he looked at her smile. She bore no resemblance to the previous king, standing tall as a righteous ruler.

“You must be tired. Go and rest. You haven’t slept for days.”

“I only need to sleep once every three days.”

“Is that even human?”

“…Not yet.”

“Haha!”

Leia laughed heartily and slapped Fernandez on the back.

“Don’t worry about Abel. Go in and rest. There are no enemies now, and my strongest knights will guard this place. You said it would take five days, right? There will be banquets every day during that time, so relax and enjoy!”

“I gratefully accept your kindness.”

Fernandez, sweating, glanced at Abel, who had closed her eyes, then turned and left the room. Leia watched him go for a moment before turning back to Abel.

She slowly knelt and bowed her head. As if she hadn’t smiled so brightly in a long time, her face was now filled with sorrow.

“Goddess, forgive me. I failed to save your sister. If only we had acted a little sooner…”

-It is not your fault.

Leia’s hair swayed slightly as she bowed her head. She raised her tear-filled eyes. In front of her, light shimmered around the firmly embedded Keyblade.

-It is the fault of your Goddess, who was unable to help you.

“How… Where… Did you…?”

-Your Goddess has always been by your side. I am sorry I could not reach out directly. Do you resent this incompetent Goddess?

“How could we? Goddess, we are your children.”

-My sister, daughter of twilight. Do you know this child’s name?

Leia hesitated at the Goddess’s words. A warm voice flowed from the shimmering light before her eyes.

-Twilight Goddess Talianar. The sunset that illuminated the buds of the World Tree. The most beautiful of my two sisters…





Now only traces remain. Once great, our lands and yours are now but remnants.

“Goddess, this is our fault. We will surely make it right.”

-Save my remaining sisters. This is not an order, but a request from your goddess.

“Just command us. We will serve you.”

Leia spoke thus and bowed her head. Fingers slipped through her hair, briefly tousling it. In an instant, the goddess’s presence vanished as if washed away.

Leia closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. A fierce will burned in her gaze. She would never give up, not until her last breath. The gods had returned, and there was still a path to salvation for her people.

*

Malerun’s flagship is a massive city. Centered around the King’s Audience Hall and the inner sanctum, streets of complex structures sprawled like spiderwebs, with high-rise furniture occasionally lining the interior cabins or the deck above.

Fernandez walked through a corridor beneath the inner sanctum, gazing down at the streets where people cheered, chattered, drank, and ran about.

The Malerun clan rejoiced in their newfound freedom and safety, while the Guimerin clan celebrated their new home. Everyone laughed, sang, and enjoyed the festivities.

It was sunset. The evening glow cast long shadows between buildings and people. Festive music overflowed and melted into every street.

“This is the sight Your Excellency has achieved.”

“This is a sight created by everyone here.”

Fernandez turned his eyes from the window and looked at Kirhas approaching. Kirhas smiled softly and stood beside him.

“Had it not been for Your Excellency, half of them would still be living as slaves, and the other half would have been sunk beneath the sea, turned into vampires or vampire fodder.”

“Had it not been for me, these two clans would never have clashed at sea.”

“Had it not been for Your Excellency, neither I, nor they, nor this world would exist.”

Kirhas slowly reached out and caressed Fernandez’s cheek. Fernandez did not avoid her touch. Her blue eyes shimmered warmly.

“I do not know what the world was like before Your Excellency returned. But that no longer matters. Your atonement is but a meaningless expenditure of emotion. Your achievements are not for past atonement or future preparation. They are, in themselves, salvation for them and for me.”

“You flatter me too much, Kirhas. I do not need comfort.”

“Then what does the hero need?”

“Hero…?”

Fernandez chuckled, looking into Kirhas’s playful eyes. To hear such words from the true hero, the Shield of the Great Wilderness, the Chieftain of the Western Federation of Nobles.

It was excessive favor to show to a mere demon follower, a dark mage to be torn apart. Fernandez knew her favor was intentional. This was a feeling he had crafted.

The dark mages who had imprisoned her would have eventually been overcome by her own power. The Western Federation of Nobles would have bowed to her power someday. Kirhas was the seed of a hero.

He had harvested her, shaped her as he intended, and pruned her to his taste. Thus, the favor Kirhas showed him was not a feeling she owed him. Even if she hated, resented, or loathed him, Fernandez had no excuse.

Nor did he intend to make one. Fernandez slowly removed her fingers from his cheek. He stroked her hair once, then turned away.

“Enjoy the festival among them, Kirhas.”

“Is that an order?”

“If not, what would you do?”

“Like this.”

Fernandez’s body momentarily lost balance as he turned. Given his sense of balance, it was surprising. Kirhas, with a precise and cunning touch, unraveled the tension and pulled Fernandez back.

Fernandez’s body instinctively regained balance. When he turned his head in surprise, black hair cascaded like a curtain.

Hot breath and tearful eyes were right before him. Kirhas stopped just before reaching his lips and looked into his eyes.

“I am sincere.”

“Kirhas Hearttaker.”

“I am sincere, Your Excellency. More than you think. I know why you avoid me. But do not equate me with the ‘Kirhas’ of your past life. I am a different being. My life is my own, not that of the cat-woman in your memories.”

Fernandez looked into Kirhas’s trembling eyes. Her eyes awaited comfort, an embrace, or any warm words from him.

The old mage, who had lived at least four times longer than this young cat-woman in her twenties, could read her heart all too easily.

She must resent him. A cold lord who never showed her proper favor, who granted her freedom, power, and strength, yet asked for nothing in return.

Sometimes, giving is more joyful than receiving. But she had no time or opportunity to give anything to Fernandez. That saddened her.

-Saruk.

Fernandez felt the hot breath lingering before him and took another step forward. A moist, salty taste lingered on his lips. Kirhas looked at him with momentarily bewildered eyes.

-Oh, bad man.

‘Shut up.’

-Haha, foolish one. Adding regret to life.

‘…Shut up.’

Faijashi chuckled and whispered. Fernandez clicked his tongue and turned away. Kirhas, dazed, touched her lips and watched his retreating figure.