One World, One Family (5)

"It must be about time for you to take out that headless thing."

"From the beginning... did you not even plan to kidnap and use her as a hostage?"

"She's the only one who can lead me to this space. That's why I got her help. She created this place and trapped herself in it."

"That child?"

"That child was too considerate. She even gave up her own future... to show us her affection."

"What the hell are you talking about? She's just a 9-year-old kid!"

As Reed shouted in disbelief, the hero glanced at him.

And then he turned his head away.

"I had a god to serve. I was the last of a religion that had lost its followers."

Reed had heard about that once before.

It was a story which Rosaria was told when she showed the religious symbol to Isel.

"That child was the god I worshiped."

"A god?"

"The little child who suddenly came to you, came in the form you most desired, and tried to help your unfortunate fate at the end."

Reed made an incomprehensible expression.

"Why would you try to make me unhappy?"

"Because that was the tragedy of the Adeleheights family and her last will. The remaining disasters, the debts of the future, all had to be carried and extinguished as her final love for this continent. Out of respect for her will... I had to become a disaster for her."

He got up and adjusted his sword.

"But in the end, I was just a person who only looked at the past."

The sword pointed downward, spinning around, and the tip of the sword pointed towards himself.

The hero was pointing it at himself.

"With this, I will seal myself for the last time. This is the last thing I can do for the continent as a hero."

The sword pointing at him went deep.

Very slowly, painfully, but the hero had a comfortable expression.

He spoke to Reed for the last time.

"Don't look at the past. Raising your head and looking at the future is the hope given to you."

At the same time, the space crumbled, and Reed was enveloped in a bright light.

When he opened his eyes again, he realized he had returned to reality.

He wondered if it was just a long dream, but the vivid memories and pain still remained.

'Damn...'

His arm hurt so much he felt like he was going to die, but Reed couldn't move.

His whole body ached, and he had lost too much blood.

He would die like this.

He didn't want anyone to see him in this state.

Reed hurriedly gathered his mana and tried to clumsily stop the bleeding.

That's when it happened.

Someone stood in front of Reed.

The small figure was about the size of Rosaria.

But if it had been Rosaria, she would have undoubtedly called out to her father in her childish voice.

Her voice was different.

"What are you doing, Reed?"

***

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Dream big tl dot com

***

The place the hero headed to after passing Phoebe, the watchdog of Silence Tower, was Rosaria's room.

It wasn't difficult to find.

There was undoubtedly a 9-year-old child's room, and the hero went inside.

The hero stood in the middle of the room and looked around.

It wasn't a search, but rather just looking around.

He already knew where Rosaria was hiding.

Inside the wall of the built-in closet.

He could feel Rosaria in there.

"Are you in there?"

There was no answer.

The hero spoke again.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Can you give me some time?"

There was still no answer.

The hero looked resigned and then opened his mouth with difficulty.

"I am a hero. I am the one who defeated the Demon King you know. In return, I bear the curse of being trapped in the flow of time. And all my descendants who inherit my blood will suffer from tragedy. That is the fate of your father, of the Edelweiss, no, the Adeleheights family."

The hero continued.

"But I want to end that tragedy now. And for that, I need your help."

Still, there was no answer.

Did he waste his efforts?

Just as he was thinking that, a voice came from beyond the closet.

-I know your voice, sir. It's the same as the man I saw in my dream! Right?

"...Yes."

-Did you come to hurt my dad?

"It was only for the sake of the world."

-It's good for the world. But my dad is also someone who works for the world. So why do you hurt him?

Rosaria questioned the hero with a cautious voice.

The hero took off his mask.

"I'm trying to do something for the world. For that, I need your power."

-What kind of work is it?

"It's sealing the power. The power I received is the power to turn back time. If I have that power, he will go back to the past many times and repeat this process. I want to seal that power."

-How?

"Just open the path that only the Holy Sword could reach. It's a space that no one can enter if they don't possess the qualifications."

-Holy Sword? Oh, that maze!

The hero raised his head at the sound of the squeaky wall opening.

Rosaria, who had been hiding inside, peeked out and looked up at the hero.

Silver hair and red eyes.

He, who had been calm in the face of anyone, trembled when he saw Rosaria's face.

"Is going there helping my dad?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Seeing her nod repeatedly, Rosaria opened the door wide and came out.

-Meow!

The elemental spirit, Meowmeow, growled and guarded against the hero.

"Meowmeowf, don't do that. He's a hero."

-Meow.

At Rosaria's words, Meowmeow immediately changed to innocent eyes.

Rosaria looked up at the hero and said,

"Let's go!"

Rosaria led the hero to the place where the sword was.

When they arrived in front of the storage room, they realized they had forgotten the most important fact.

"Now that I think about it, I didn't ask my dad for permission, so I can't go in..."

"It's okay. That much..."

The hero cut through the door and destroyed the obstacle blocking their way.

"Hero, you're so strong."

Rosaria admired him, and the hero followed her, seemingly indifferent to the compliment.

The two approached the Holy Sword.

The Holy Sword wasn't shining and was waiting in its place, covered in dust.

"But how do I open this?"

"Leave it to your instincts. Then, the path to this place will open."

"Instinct..."

Rosaria didn't like to use magic according to her instincts.

However, since it was for the sake of the continent, she decided to trust her instincts for once.

She waited for the ability within the Holy Sword to manifest, not knowing any formula or equation.

Pah-!

The entire Holy Sword began to emit light.

The hidden power of the Holy Sword was fully unleashed.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, thank you."

The hero reached out to pick up the sword.

But then, he hesitated with a sudden doubt in his mind and turned to look at Rosaria.

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Why did you come out of there?"

She must have been warned to not come out when she was hiding. But he couldn't understand why she came out just because the hero called her.

"You're a hero."

"So?"

"Heroes don't do cowardly things."

At Rosaria's words, the hero silently looked down at her.

The undeniable purity.

He wanted to say that there is no one to trust in this sinister world but swallowed the words, feeling like it would be a useless remark.

It was time to part ways according to the original plan, but the hero couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Would you like to come in with me?"

"Yes!"

Though the question was blunt, Rosaria answered with a bright smile.

He wanted to talk a little more.

He wanted to take in the pure days of the goddess he had loved a little more.

Monsters appeared in the maze and attacked them, but the hero already remembered all their patterns.

Overcoming fear was no longer a problem, and they reached the center of the maze with unstoppable momentum.

Worried that Rosaria might be scared, he glanced at her, but she didn't seem frightened at all.

Rather, she seemed to be savoring the joy of being the hero's companion, even if only for a short time.

"Hero."

Rosaria asked.

"Were you special from the moment you were born?"

"Is that what my records say?"

"Yes!"

It's hard to read one's own records.

He used to enjoy his ever-changing story up until 200 years ago, but now he couldn't tell how it had changed.

Wondering how to tell her, the hero decided to share the truth.

"I wasn't special. I was just a human who would become stronger if I trained, that's all."

"But you defeated the Demon King! You were chosen by the Holy Sword!"

"I didn't completely eliminate him. I just sent him to the future, with your ability."

Rosaria blinked a few times as if she had misheard, then raised both her hands and spoke.

"Did I do that? Rosaria doesn't know anything."

"That's right. It might not exist now. He can use the past. And you have the ability to go to the future."

"An ability to go to the future?"

"Postponing tasks."

"Gasp! Dolores unni always tells me that."

She asked with wide eyes, wondering how he knew.

Seeing her like that, the hero unconsciously stroked her head lightly.

"Those who see the past have regrets, and those who see the future have hope. That's why they were called the gods of hope."

You didn't like that.

The hero swallowed those words.

Talking more would only create lingering feelings.

"I... I regret what I've done."

Not creating something based on regret, but completely eradicating regret.

That's why regret accumulates in places that cannot be seen.

It consumes oneself, and faith hardens.

What had consumed the hero was the sin of using and abandoning his family and descendants.

Rosaria didn't know the hero's complicated situation.

All she knew were the heroic tales of the hero.

"I want to be a hero like you. I want to defeat evil and plant hope in people!"

What could he say to this girl who took him as a role model?

He wanted to tell her not to become like him, but he couldn't say that.

"You must always remember that. The fact that anyone can be a hero."

"Why? Why can anyone become a hero?"

"It's not because you're special that you become a hero... Remembering that anyone can become special is the key to becoming a true hero."

"I don't understand the difference."

"It's to plant hope in everyone. Saving the continent isn't done alone. If I think I'm special, it will lead to arrogant results. In order to save the continent, hope is needed for everyone. Not simply relying on someone, but the courage to break through the darkness. Praise that courage and lead people."

Hearing that, Rosaria nodded her head with a touched expression.

It was too difficult a conversation, but still, she felt what he intended to say in her heart.

"Yes!"

The hero smiled.

It was a very faint smile, but it was a face that had gained a little hope.

There would be no more things for him to regret.

"You must save everyone."

The sin of following a foolish belief.

Repayment is not through penance with a humble prayer.

Only death.

The hero waited.

For someone to go through this long maze and come in to save a daughter, not a goddess.

***

"Reed, what are you doing?"

She wouldn't dare to call her father's name rudely.

Reed raised his head.

A gothic girl with a large parasol on her shoulder was looking down at him.

The Tower Master of Black Sky, Freesia.

She was looking down at him with her eyes filled with a red glow.

He wanted to think that she wouldn't know it because the room was dark, but the situation was too crude to deceive her eyes.

Freesia didn't speak for a while after saying that.

She wasn't waiting for an answer.

For her, the answer was not the problem.

She just couldn't accept this scene and stood there.

"Reed, what did I say I hated the most?"

"......"

"That's right. Your body recklessly rolling around, thinking it's yours. That's what I hated the most."

She didn't answer, but Freesia nodded and murmured.

Her shadowy hand reached out and lifted Reed's body.

"Gasp!"

Reed gasped for breath as if vomiting.

The consciousness he barely held onto blurred.

Freesia looked up at him, engulfed in cold madness.

"You think you can die comfortably after bewitching me with all sorts of sweet words? There's no way."

Freesia stretched out her arm.

She shoved her hand into the place where Reed's right arm had been.

It wasn't even a random rummaging.

Like a black magician who studied pain, she knew which parts hurt the most and saw through them all.

"Argh!! Aaaah!!"

Reed's scream echoed in the storage room.

Her voice, filled with ecstasy, cried out as if mingling with his.

"That's right! Reed! Scream like that! Wail like a newborn baby! Wail because it's painful!! Feel that you're still alive!"

After tormenting his nerves for a while, Freesia withdrew her hand.

It was impossible to tell whether it was pure joy or twisted madness.

Cold sweat ran down his entire body, and he couldn't breathe.

Freesia grabbed Reed's neck with her small hand.

"You... can't die. As long as I'm alive. Because I'll watch you suffer."

Squeeze!

The sound of flesh collapsing resonated inside Freesia's mouth.

Her mouth, which didn't bleed a single drop even when she stabbed the Holy Sword into her chest, started to turn bright red and began to overflow.