Ghost of the Past (9)
Freesia's excited voice suddenly went silent, but Reed had no time to think about that as he questioned her.
"What do you think will happen if you bring the head of a Lich to the Tower? Even if it's not dangerous, isn't it the head of Baal, who was once called the immortal ruler?"
"But why would that be crazy?"
"What if that suddenly wakes up and destroys this Tower? Don't we only have the weakest magicians in terms of magical power!"
His reason for getting angry was clear.
However, such a reason was not a problem for Freesia at all.
The fact that Reed was shocked by her gift and yelled at her made her unhappy.
"Aren't you ashamed to admit that you're weak?"
"I'm weak. But I'm not ashamed. That's why we're researching magic engineering, right? That's why I'm getting angry like this, isn't it? To protect my weak people."
"They're not babies, and you think I'll handle it poorly that it's dangerous?"
It was the ultimate insult for Freesia.
"It's a different issue. If I ordered a bomb, then it's natural for a bomb to come. But if you bring a bomb that I didn't order, wouldn't it be surprising? What if Rosaria saw this and got shocked?"
At that, Freesia yelled out, choking back tears.
"Is that kid more precious than me?"
As Reed looked at her as if asking what's the big deal, Freesia got angry again.
After a while, Freesia stood up from her seat.
"Fine, shit! I'll just leave!"
Freesia picked up the nicely wrapped head of Baal and went outside.
Bang!
A sound close to an explosion shook the entire Tower.
"What happened?"
-The door...
"…Get it repaired."
Freesia's anger had passed relatively cheaply.
Reed sighed and reconsidered his actions.
'There's a limit to jokes. This is crossing the line.'
He thought about it several times, but he believed his actions were justified.
***
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Dream big tl dot com
***
"My gift was rejected? How dare Reed?"
Reed might not know, but Freesia had shown sincerity in her own way.
If she showed him the head of a Lich that plunged the continent into chaos, he would undoubtedly be grateful as his worries would be reduced.
That's what she thought, but the reality was different. Instead, he screamed that she was crazy.
Even covering up for his own daughter.
Freesia looked down at Baal's head resting on her bracelet.
A beautiful and perfectly wrapped butterfly knot caught her eye.
What's the point of admiring it when the other person cursed at her, now it just seemed pathetic.
"What do you think, Ma-Gun?"
Ma-Gun, standing in front of her, answered with a troubled face.
Instead of pleasing her, he took Reed's side.
"Isn't it natural for him to react that way? We, the Black Sky Magicians, might not be surprised, but ordinary people would be."
"You guys would be grateful even if I threw a rock."
"That's why it's only us."
It was unbelievable.
It was even more annoying that Reed was just like the other boring people.
"What should I do with this? I feel so humiliated, should I kill him? Kill? Just kill him?"
"Why are you asking that?"
Freesia glared at Ma-Gun in response to his question.
Her red eyes were shining with anger.
"Why? Can't I ask? Ma-Gun, do you want to die too?"
"No. What I'm saying is, it's usually something you would have killed him for, so why haven't you killed him yet?"
"What do you know about me?"
She sulked and complained, but Freesia knew it too.
With her twisted personality, Reed should have already been a corpse.
The position of the Tower Master?
That doesn't matter.
The shadow lord and immortal empress, she was nothing short of a walking disaster.
The death of the insignificant Tower Master compared to her existence was not a problem.
She knew that everyone bowed to her because they knew her personality in the first place.
But Reed was different.
He became bold after getting what he wanted.
He didn't even faithfully fulfill his promises, let alone wordplay.
There was enough reason to kill him.
"Why can't I kill him?"
Why can't Freesia kill Reed?
As she tapped her lips and pondered, Ma-Gun hesitantly opened his mouth.
"I don't know everything about the Tower Master's intentions, but I can confidently say that I know you well because I've observed you for a long time while serving you."
"Alright, our perverted stalker Ma-Gun. Tell me what you know about me."
"Well..."
"Well?"
As Ma-Gun hesitated for a while, Freesia snapped her fingers.
With a little more movement, his neck would have been cut off.
Fortunately, he answered before that.
"I think you have a lack of affection."
"I heard you, and I'll listen to your last words."
"…I love you."
"Ugh, shit. You're not even worth killing. Get out of here right now."
She made a gesture with her foot for him to back off, pretending to get goosebumps all over her body.
Ma-Gun calmly saluted and withdrew from his seat.
Freesia, left alone in the office, recalled what Ma-Gun had said.
'Lack of affection? Me?'
It was unbelievable.
She tried to forget it as nonsense, but the words kept ringing in her ears.
Freesia picked up Baal's head, which was resting on her bracelet.
'Why did I even want to give this to Reed in the first place?'
Freesia knew how awkward she was at bestowing kindness.
Giving gifts to someone was always someone else's job.
Her role was always to snatch things away.
That was the most comfortable thing for her in her distorted human relationships.
That's why she created the elegant character, Brosa, who was like a new personality, and pretended to be a fairy who granted wishes.
Though she said she was giving gifts, it was no good deed.
Most of it was about revealing other’s vile desires, and Freesia tested them to see if they could withstand her desires.
Everyone was broken by Freesia's magic.
It wasn't pleasant.
It was because Freesia, who tried to gain hope in life through it, saw hope being shattered.
"Ugh, shit."
She cursed softly once more and kicked Baal's head with her foot.
***
Isel stood up straight and raised her head.
Rachel, who had been ahead of her, turned her head when she heard Ishel's footsteps stop.
Isel, who had been standing still for a while, smiled.
"Did you just feel it?"
"…?"
"Ah, sorry. Only I could feel it. I didn't mean to tease you."
Ishel smiled and spoke to Rachel, who frowned.
"That's right, a single fate is faintly moving."
"…"
"I didn't expect the Black Sky Tower Master to move before the hero. Isn't that right, Rachel?"
"…"
"I'm too excited. Now is not the time for that."
Isel started walking again, and Rachel took the lead.
They were dressed as an ordinary nun and adventurer.
This was an unofficial matter unrelated to the order.
Hearing that a paladin bearing the name of a god was plunging the world into chaos, they were moving around while concealing the identity of the saintess.
The scent of grass and the energy of life were felt.
As they entered the forest, the light gradually intensified.
In an open space, a young man was sitting on a tree stump.
A huge circular light floated behind his back.
It was a halo that only high-ranking knights among the holy knights could see.
The holy knight, called a monster of divine power as famous as his name, was sitting there.
"Hmm, I feel the energy of my old friend."
"It's been a while, sir. No, the noble paladin, Arthur."
"Right. It was Aries, wasn't it?"
Arthur and Isel smiled at each other.
"I heard from the hero that your soul was split and became you two people. I didn't expect to meet you like this."
"You've also gotten much younger, Paladin. It seems even younger than when we left."
"I've gotten about 10 years younger. You must have heard it too, but I was called a hero born at the wrong time. If only that damned Demon King had come out a little earlier, I might have taken the hero's place now. By the way, why are you keeping your distance instead of calling me more intimately? I was happy to see you after a long time."
"You know."
The atmosphere that was once filled with shared memories and playful banter was only temporary.
The mood sank.
Arthur stood up from his seat.
His heavy armor clanked.
"The reason you came here is simple. You won't want to join me, so are you planning to fight?"
"You know that when a soldier belonging to the order is corrupted, they become the enemy of the order."
"Execute an immediate judgment on the spot."
With Isel's words, Rachel drew her sword.
"Is not revealing your name your last conscience?"
"One cannot harm brothers and sisters, even if they defy the will of God."
It was a contradictory statement.
Talking about harming brothers and sisters while causing chaos in the world...
"Just remember this one thing. The hero is still sane. I saw what he saw."
"I saw it too. It was later than the hero, though."
"Yet you still won't change your mind?"
There was no need to think, so she answered immediately.
"If you believe, you must be prepared to jump into a thorny path."
"Hmm, you're truly faithful like a saint."
"Aren't you faithful too?"
"I'm faithful. Althea's light is still with me in my heart."
The paladin tapped his large armor, and a thumping sound echoed.
Isel held the holy staff, and Rachel manifested her sword.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that nonsense."
That was the last mercy for a comrade who had been together in the despair of life.
The paladin no longer tried to persuade them.
He held a huge sword in one hand and tilted a shield large enough to completely cover his body.
The place where the merciful Althea Order's mark had been had worn away to a watermark, but its prestige couldn't be concealed.
"Let's get started."
***
- They're all being pushed back.
A dark voice threw words at the hero, showing displeasure, but he calmly nodded his head.
"That's right."
- I entrusted everything to you. Aren't you ashamed of messing up the job?
"Aren't there still those half-dragon beings you proudly consider left?"
-Those are just mediocre beings who can't become dragons. What I want is a real dragon.
"You're after that black dragon."
-That's the real one... But that talentless guy intercepted it?
The dark voice sighed with hatred and regret.
"Since she's destined to die anyway, why do you hold onto such attachment?"
-Attachment? Yes, this is attachment. But seeing you fail, I can't help but think that it might be better to intercept that half-dragon!
The dark voice replied with an agitated tone.
"Don't worry. I will live my life in complete submission to my fate."
- That's right. I entrusted everything to you for that reason.
Feeling the dark voice disappear, the hero leaned against the backrest.
He spoke to the Garncia King, who was guarding his side.
"Soon, we will enter a full-scale war. Garncia will fall."
"Yes."
"Do you resent me?"
"Didn't you already tell me everything? I have no regrets."
His only wish was to take revenge on his son, who was blinded by the throne.
The affection for his family had long disappeared, and only the vengeful soul remained with him.
"Bring all the heroes to Garncia. The siege will begin."
"I understand."
The king bowed his head respectfully and withdrew.
'Baal is dead, and Arthur is dead too.'
The two most significant forces were gone.
Baal's death didn't have much impact, but the death of his comrade Arthur was significant.
'I'm sorry, Arthur. And Aries.'
However, he didn't fall into self-loathing and guilt beyond that.
She made a choice, and the hero made a choice as well.
He was tired. He hadn't slept for days and watched, so his eyelids were heavy.
He couldn't fall asleep.
Knowing that, he couldn't resist this drowsiness.
His blurred mind cleared up in an instant.
The hero knew that he had already entered the dream.
- I will give you two restrictions.
Despite the long time that had passed, he remembered that voice clearly.
'Goddess...'
It was the voice of the god he believed in.
He unconsciously brought his hand to his chest.
There was nothing where the necklace should have been.
'I threw it away.'
It had been a long time since he threw it away.
Even though he had caused it himself, he couldn't help but resent her.
His faith was crumbling, and he was inevitably becoming the last believer.
'Is it a memory of the past?'
The power of the holy sword is to draw out the power of God.
To do that, one must go through trials.
Those who don't believe in themselves can't see ahead, and if they can't overcome their inner fear, a powerful obstacle blocks their way.
At first glance, one might think that anyone with strong self-love could break through, but it wasn't easy.
The hero, who had not trembled in fear even before the Demon King, barely reached the end.
His body was battered when he arrived at the central hall and met the goddess, and he almost burst into tears.
Her light was so considerate and warm that it made him forget even the fact that he was fighting the Demon King.
'If only I could see her face again...'
Would she show the way to his powerless self?
With a weak thought, he covered his face with his right hand.
That's when it happened.
Someone stood in front of him.
The hero quickly raised his head.
He thought it might be the goddess, but it wasn't her face.
It was smaller, even more innocent, and looked down at him with beautiful eyes.
The ruby eyes blinked and then asked in a naive voice.
"Who are you, mister?"
