Ray, who was already too late to realize what was going on and only returned after receiving the message from Alex, reached the battlefield that had been completely destroyed.
The city was completely razed to the ground. The soldiers were fighting against the demons bravely, but they were pushed back.
These buildings that remained as rubbles carried a lot of memories for him, Alex, and Margaretha. When he saw this scene, he could only close his eyes. The anger started to build up, wanting to kill all the demons.
However, what happened to the terrain was completely beyond something he could imagine.
There was supposed to be a mountain range in this place, but that area had turned into something completely different. One of them was cut straight in the middle, turning it into a canyon. The other one had been flattened to the ground.
But the biggest mountain among them was destroyed right in the middle, turning the top into that of a crater.
The vegetation had been reduced to ashes, and the ground was charred black.
The fight seemed to have stopped as there was no Demon King insight, so Ray tried to find his sister and Alex.
It didn't take too long for them to reunite, but the sight was simply unforgettable.
Alex's body was full of wounds that a single touch might be able to knock him down. Yet, he firmly stood and carried the woman he loved so much. It felt like he used all the remaining he had to ensure that she wouldn't feel anything.
However, Margaretha wasn't moving. Her legs were hanging lifelessly and her arms were resting over her stomach. Her head leaned on Alex's shoulder, but there was no sign of movement.
Ray's heart sank as if realizing what had happened.
He rushed to them and confirmed her sister's condition, which caused him to fall to her knees. The only thing Alex said at that time was, "I should have been smarter," and those words struck his heart far deeper than anything he could imagine.
There were a lot of words Ray wanted to say, but he knew that Alex didn't make any mistakes. He wanted to say to his brother-in-law that everything was going to be alright, but he was unable to do it. All the words stuck in his throat because his beloved sister had just died.
That tragedy didn't end there. Due to this incident, the demons went on a rampage. Now that he lost the reason to fight, Alex succumbed to his depression, unable to wield his sword anymore.
The demons continued forward and pushed the kingdoms back, eventually splitting the four Kingdoms with the demihuman city.
If Noel was here, he would be able to see the future of the mountain range. Yes, the valley he crossed to reach Old Ru's house was actually the canyon Alex created with his sword. The dome where Old Ru built his house was the mountain that Alex crushed with his fire, and the path leading to it was where the original Ardagan Family resided.
Unfortunately, there was no record. And Alex was never the same again after losing his wife.
Humanity was pushed back and got separated from the demihuman city.
The Sword Saint tried his best to fight for the sake of his sister and brother-in-law, but losing Alex was too much. He was a great leader as well as humanity's strongest fighter.
Ray continued to grow after a lot of battles and finally halted the demon invasions. But the history had been lost, and no one remembered it.
When watching Alex losing hope in his life, Ray only had one thought that he poured into a book.
He used the remaining lifespan to create his own journal from the time the pair of brother and sister met Alex to the end of the greatest general in history.
In the last part of his journal, Ray wrote, "I have four requests that I wish that all Ardagan's descendants would have. First, don't restrain the Ardagan because with the restraints, the talent of the Ardagans will be buried.
"Secondly, this journal is made to honor Alexander Ardagan and Margaretha Ardagan. The Ardagan Family has lost its ancestral land, but it never lost its inheritance. Ardagan is made to protect the world. Once it wakes up from its slumber, it's the sign that the calamity is approaching.
"Thirdly, the descendants of Ardagan can only bear a single child for their entire life. That's why to choose the person you love and treat them far better than yourself, just like your ancestor treasured his wife. Sacrifice yourself for your wife, and that's why you should choose the person you won't regret.
"Last but not least, teach the descendants of Ardagan that they have to be strong and smart. In the future, I hope that the descendants don't fall for anyone's tricks but instead, using their brain to trick them. I sincerely wish that this tragedy won't ever happen again."
"Signed: Ray Greenwood."
The book was closed, but the person who read it was none other than Luke Ardagan. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh as if this story had not only connected all the history but also the reason for his responsibility.
After knowing that the Ardagan had woken up, it was clear that his son would be the one who brought salvation.
If he didn't disappear from his life, Noel wouldn't be able to grow. And the tragedy might happen again. There was one thing for sure. The awakening of Ardagan wasn't the mark of the incoming demon king. Instead, it was due to the presence of the demon king that Ardagan woke up from his slumber.
…
Leysha had finished the story, which included the warning about the presence of the demon king.
"That's all I can tell you and I hope that you pass this story to him. As much as I want to meet both of you, I have to leave." Leysha ended the story with a sigh.
Anna couldn't help but gasp, never thinking that the story had this kind of meaning.
"So, the inheritance of the Ardagan Family…"
"Yes. It's only the sword as well as the three journals from our ancestors." Leysha confirmed it without hesitation. "Noel's uncle, Laufey, had stolen the journal created by the War Maiden. What we have is the journal of the Sword Saint. And Noel had the sword as well as the direct journal from Alexander Ardagan."
Hiss!
Anna realized that this story was much more important than anything else. It was clear that the reason why the Greenwood Kingdom had runes or the downgraded version of them was the present Alexander gave for Margaretha's hands in marriage.
It also showed the creation of the four kingdoms as well as the world's situation.
She never thought that everything was related if not for that journal. In that dark period, there was another tragedy that erased most of the records.
"I understand. I will definitely pass your message to Noel." Anna nodded with a solemn expression.
"In that case, it's time for me to leave." Leysha took a glance to the side for a moment as if she were staring at the city that Noel had built. There was a trace of sadness and longing reflected in her eyes.
It wasn't that she didn't want to meet him. She simply couldn't.
Anna could only remain silent and watch Leysha leave the area.
It didn't take too long for Howard and a few others to come to this area, finding Anna standing in the middle of the field.
After seeing the destruction in the area, it was clear that Anna had used a lot of her power, but because there was no corpse around, the enemies must have gone away.
Howard was a bit curious as to why Anna's expression was serene or even a bit sad.
"Miss… The enemies…"
"I have driven them away. Unfortunately, we have to stop the exploration for today since I'm afraid that they are still roaming elsewhere. We'll have to scout the area again to ensure that no enemies are hiding nearby." Anna explained.
"That's… understandable." Howard nodded in agreement. "But are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm not injured, but the enemies are tougher than I originally thought. I'm afraid that we have to get even stronger than we are now if we want to repel their next attack. Let's go back, we don't have a lot of time to waste."
"Y-yes." Howard hurriedly turned around, commanding his subordinates. He also returned to the group to handle the problem personally.
Meanwhile, Anna stood there for a moment and couldn't help but recall the story.
Margaretha looked a lot like her. However, Margaretha learned everything by herself and could do anything from the start. On the other hand, Anna could only mess around in her previous life.
Only when she gained this rebirth did she actually manage to stand up on her own. She had the skill like Margaretha, but she might be lacking in everything other than fighting.
"Love her more than anything else in the world, huh…" Anna muttered, remembering the scene where Noel swore in front of Ardagan. She finally understood the depth of that promise.
Anna suddenly fell silent as if coming to a realization.
"Hmm… Did Noel know all this and that was why he chose to let me regress in our previous life? Was he trying to create something similar or was it because it could never be a single person?" Anna fell into deep thought.
If Noel was already aware of the real inheritance and the story, wouldn't it mean that he borrowed Old Ru's ability to make that prophecy true? Then again, it still didn't change the fact that he should use it on himself.
With that kind of brain and power, Noel would be able to reach the Spirit King Level in no time. In fact, he should have become a Spirit Transcendence by now.
Yet, he dropped that chance and just gave it to her. It made her unable to discern his true reason.
Even if he knew about the truth of what truly happened, Noel wouldn't even think of falling in love with her. After all, she was that awful in the past. So, love wasn't an answer.
'Why did he give me all this?' Anna was bothered by the fact that Noel was still mysterious to her. Even the current Noel couldn't understand his behavior.
'If I think about it, we were only a Spirit Grandmaster in the past… And it was a few years from now. With our current pace, we should be able to reach Spirit Transcendence in one year and possibly the Spirit King sooner or later.
'Is it because we didn't have enough time back then? But if that was the answer, he should have persuaded me and told me everything instead of calling me naive or ignorant.'
Anna shook her head helplessly. 'In any case, I should tell Noel about this story. I don't know what Alexander Ardagan poured into that book, but the Sword Saint's book contained his journey. So, the other book… if she was like what I thought she was, then she must have written her training logs. It's probably the reason why Laufey was targeting Noel. He must think that Noel had the secret to become a Spirit King.'
If they planned it carefully, they might be able to lure the Supreme Devil Organization. However, Anna couldn't help but wonder if the Supreme Devil Organization was tied to the demon king.
Still, if the demon king had been here, the kingdom would have been destroyed. So, the demon king shouldn't be here yet or something happened to the demon king, Anna thought.
"It will be too much for me to think about. I guess I should ask Noel a few questions regarding this information." Anna made her decision.
She assembled the group and left the remaining tasks to Howard while she returned to Noel so that they could think about it together.
