Chapter 39: Ludwig’s Legacy, Night Battlefield
TL: Potato-tan
Proofreader: Asianpotato
“Archers, forward!”
Thwack, thwack. Soldiers with bows and arrows lined up at the battlements and stood ready. They pulled back the strings with a great tug, aiming their arrowheads at the wall’s base.
“Fire!”
The air was filled with the whooshing of arrows, and screams erupted from below the city walls. Another command rang out.
“Second line! Ready! Wizard, prepare your fire spells!”
The night was murky and dim. A crescent moon hung in one corner of the sky, casting an ethereal blue light. The stars, like jewels scattered across a black velvet cloth, gazed down with curious eyes at the scene below.
“Gwaaaar!”
“Die! Die, you mongrel curs!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Screams and death marred the otherwise peaceful and tranquil night. The roar of a dragon sent monsters stampeding out of their lairs, caves, and forests.
Once upon a time, long before the rise of proper civilization, every creature was ruled by the colossal beings.
The races that later established their own civilizations had shaken off those memories, but the beasts and monsters of the caves and the underworld still harbored a deep-seated fear in their instincts.
Moreover, the dragon’s roar, which had risen from the depths of the underworld, carried with it an evil magic that inflamed the ferocity of the monsters. And Calisden was desperately holding out against the hordes of rampaging monsters.
As the monsters crawled up the city walls, soldiers and mercenaries fought haphazardly, slaying or dying.
The monsters were more visible under the white lights cast by the wizards into the sky, and the skin of those fighting against them was paler.
“Grooooowl!”
“. . .Damn it. What’s that now?”
All eyes turned toward the roar that shook the battlefield. In the dark night, a giant figure appeared, growing larger and larger. A monster that stood 15 or 20 feet tall, with a muscular body and a single eye in the middle of its forehead—a Cyclops—was approaching.
The one-eyed giant, holding a wooden club in one hand, walked leisurely. He reached down with his free hand to scoop up small monsters and stuff them into his mouth, spitting out the remains at Calisden.
Bang! The battlements and towers cracked and crumbled under the impact of the flying bodies, most of which were monster corpses with more than half of their bodies missing, but some of which were still alive.
Despite their broken and torn limbs, the monsters did not hesitate to bite at the humans directly in front of them, oblivious to the pain.
The soldiers, their fighting spirit dampened by the extreme ferocity that had all but extinguished even the most basic survival instincts, fell back. The light magic that had illuminated the sky and dispelled the darkness also lost its power. The darkness was on the verge of descending.
“The true light that illuminates all things will banish the darkness.”
A clear yet resounding voice echoed across the battlefield.
“You evil beings, your eyes are blinded.”
From somewhere on the city walls, a golden light shot up into the sky.
“Those who wish to fight under the light shall rise, and the wicked shall perish.”
The golden light that had shot up created a shape in the sky. Before its radiance, a few scattered clouds parted. To each of the faithful, it appeared differently.
Some saw a glowing cross, some a giant hammer, and others a shepherd’s staff.
“Oh, radiance, sing of valor.”
Flash.
A rod of light pierced the battlefield. The monsters’ flesh burst apart in the shockwave.
The people’s wounds healed. Fear receded, and courage surged.
Someone could not contain their exhilaration and let out a cheer from the depths of their chest, and soon everyone was shouting in unison.
The light rod soon subsided, but the valor it had instilled burned brightly.
Ooooorgh!
Startled by the light, the cyclops fell back and then charged forward with a roar. Its expression was fierce, and it held its club high, as if it would blow away the city walls at any moment.
The small monsters that were trampled under its giant feet burst open and died.
The soldiers and mercenaries, filled with fighting spirit, could only watch helplessly.
Then, from one side of the battlements, a lone figure wielding dual swords glanced at the one-eyed monster and picked up a bow and two arrows that had fallen to the ground.
Unlike other humans, she had upward-pointing ears.
The figure with the dual swords sheathed her weapons, stepped back to create some distance, and then kicked off the ground. The stone slabs groaned under the force.
She trampled on the head of a monster that had just crawled up the city walls and leaped into the night sky. As she fell, there was a screaming sound.
The figure paid no attention to it, holding one arrow in her mouth and nocking the other onto the string.
The crescent moon and the stars watched her with admiring eyes. She was a dark elf with white hair and lavender skin, bathed in the bluish light.
The bowstring was drawn taut. And when the dark elf’s leap reached its peak, the arrow shot down like a bolt of lightning. Its target was the cyclops’s forehead.
Pffft!
The Cyclops dropped his club in unexpected agony. With its hands, the one-eyed giant screamed and clawed at its head. But the arrow would not come out, and the shaft had snapped off cleanly, making it impossible to remove without assistance.
The Cyclops, in unbearable pain, glared up at the perpetrator of his torment. The dark elf was now falling back against the night sky’s backdrop.
As she fell, the one-eyed monster raised both hands and tried to catch her. When it caught her, it intended to crush her and tear her in half. Then it would put her in its mouth and gobble her up.
But the dark elf still had one more arrow left. The arrow pierced the air again, hitting the giant, bloodshot eye head-on.
“Kaaaaagh!”
The Cyclops, in pain beyond comparison, bent over, covering its eye with a hand. The dark elf exposed its back and drew her dual swords. The blades, etched with the symbol of the World Tree, gleamed white in the moonlight.
There was no cutting sound. The only sound was the thud of a giant head descending. Soon, the huge body collapsed, having lost what it had been carrying on its shoulders.
The dark elf wiped the remaining blood from her swords with an expressionless face. At that moment, a rope came flying from the city walls. A red-haired wizard shouted.
“Lexi! What if you just fall like that? Hurry up, grab it, and come up!”
Indeed, monsters were closing in on the dark elf known as Lexi. As Lexi reached for the rope, there was a loud yank from above the city walls.
Lexi didn’t wait for the rope to fully draw up. With the agility of an elf, she kicked the wall twice and was back on the battlements in two leaps. The soldiers, who had been holding the rope, stared at her with bewildered eyes. The red-haired wizard, who had previously spoken, approached her and exclaimed, “
“Who told you to run out there like that? You could have gotten yourself killed!”
Lexi chuckled.
“Why? It turned out well in the end, didn’t it? Oh, Russell should have seen that. I was so cool, wasn’t I?”
Evelyn sighed and nodded reluctantly.
“Yes, you were cool, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Lexi shrugged.
“I know.”
The two of them turned back to the battlefield. The battle was not over, and there were still many monsters. The night was just beginning to pass.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Thud.
Belatedly, the axe blade fell to the snowfield with a clang.
They remained in that position for a moment. Ludwig, with a sword in his chest, and Russell, with the sword thrust in.
A single line of blood flowed from Ludwig’s heart, past the blade, and into Russell’s hand. Plop, a drop of blood fell onto the white snowfield.
Ludwig looked down at it from his bent-over torso. He thought the blood stain resembled a period.
Ludwig smiled.
“Hahaha. . . .”
The period that had not been written three hundred years ago was finally written after a long wait.
Wooooosh, a buzzing sound spread out like tens of thousands of bees flapping their wings. They both disappeared from the snowfield.
Only a single drop of black blood remained on the white snowfield.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Julia opened her eyes wide.
“Ludwig-nim!”
She ran to the two people who had suddenly appeared. Russell didn’t remove the sword from Ludwig’s heart. He slowly supported Ludwig’s upper body with the sword still in it, then laid him down on the meadow.
Ludwig naturally laid down on the grass as Russell guided him.
The long-accumulating magic power, the warp and woof of the spell that created this space, was dismantling itself. It had disappeared. He could feel it.
Ludwig raised his trembling left hand and covered Russell’s hand, which was still holding the greatsword. His breath was labored, as if it would stop at any moment.
Julia knelt down beside him and wept. Ludwig raised his right hand and placed it on Julia’s shoulder. He spoke in a weak voice.
“Thank you. Russell. You were truly. . . . . . My rest’s. . . . . . guide.”
Russell simply listened to his words. Ludwig’s breath grew thin and ragged.
He turned to Julia.
“Don’t. . . be sad, Julia. I’m. . . happy. I won’t. . . waste any more of that long, dark time.”
Julia nodded dumbly. Fat tears fell with each movement.
“Soon. . . I’ll meet. . . my wife. No matter what form she may be in, don’t be surprised. And to her, too. Give her. . . the same rest as. . . me.”
“I will.”
His gaze fell upon Russell’s eyes, which were no longer burning. Then he looked at Julia’s golden eyes, which were filled with tears.
“When this space collapses, each of you will receive a gift. Please use it well, according to your beliefs.”
Julia nodded vigorously. Ludwig smiled faintly. He turned his gaze away from both of them. His pupils were gradually blurring.
“. . .Ismen.”
Then Ludwig breathed his last. Julia buried her face in Ludwig’s chest. Quietly, Russell extracted the sword from his heart.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
A vibration began. The vibrations that had started on the horizon gradually tore down the earth. The collapse that had begun at the boundary of the space centered on them grew faster and faster. The sky also began to crack, and blue fragments fell like rain.
As the central axis came to an end, space disappeared. Ludwig’s body also slowly turned into light particles and scattered into the air.
Russell and Julia watched as the sparkling dust rose higher and higher into the sky. Soon, everything in sight turned into light.
. . . They opened their eyes to a wide cavity. They felt the musty air. The air had been stagnant for an extended period. They had returned to the underground labyrinth.
Julia, who had been kneeling, stood up with her head bowed. Then she wiped her eyes.
Russell looked around and noticed a glowing orb floating above their heads. Russell also noticed that there was something on the other side of the cavity.
“Julia. I think this is Ludwig’s gift.”
Julia looked up. She knew what to do as soon as she saw the glowing orb.
As she reached out her hand, the floating orb descended smoothly. It landed softly in Julia’s palm.
“. . .Just a moment. I think I know what to do.”
Julia stared at the glowing orb in her palm for a moment, then split it in two. And she handed one of them to Russell.
“Here you go. That’s what Ludwig-nim left behind.”
“What’s in it?”
“I don’t know that either. Ludwig-Nim left this thought unspoken. I just did what he told me to do, so you’ll probably have to absorb it yourself to find out.”
Russell silently received the glowing orb that Julia handed him. Then, without any action, his body absorbed the glowing orb. Russell realized in an instant what Ludwig had left behind.
“Ah.”
He looked back at Julia. She, too, had absorbed the glowing orb, and a faint glow spread over her entire body before fading away.
Julia closed her eyes and then opened them slowly. Her golden eyes sparkled with light.
“Hoooo.”
Russell realized that what Ludwig had left for Julia was a tightly packed mass of enormous magical power. One could consider it a form of inheritance. Julia’s magical power had now increased by at least two to three times compared to before.
Julia, who had not been able to fully digest the magical power of the inheritance but had left it deep inside her body, moved her arms and legs.
She felt that they were noticeably lighter than before. She felt good, with a great sense of fullness. Then she noticed that Russell was staring at her and cleared her throat.
“Ahem. What is this? What did you get, Russell? Was it magical power like me?”
“No.”
Russell took a few steps forward. Julia hesitated for a moment, then ran to keep up with his pace.
“Where are we going?”
“To accept the gifts bestowed upon me.”
“Huh? Didn’t you just receive it?”
“What I received was a method of use.”
“Method of use for what?”
“For what’s right in front of us.”
Soon, Julia realized what he meant. There were six steps at the end of the cavity, and at the top of them was a throne. And on the throne sat a single suit of dark armor without its owner.
She could tell because the helmet, which should have been on its head, was resting on the armrest.
Julia’s eyes widened.
“That’s. . .!”
Wasn’t that the armor Ludwig had been wearing when she first met him in the space of memories? She stopped walking.
Russell continued walking and stopped a few steps in front of the throne. Reaching out, he whispered a spell into his mind.
Then the steps and throne trembled and crumbled into gray dust.
Even with the throne gone, the dark armor floated in the air, and soon it stood up on its own. And each of its parts separated and flew over to Russell, dressing him.
He stood still and watched as the armor was fitted onto him. Starting from his feet, then his shins, thighs, stomach, chest, shoulders, elbows, forearms, and hands. Without any gaps, the armor covered him.
Finally, the helmet flew over. It flew slowly, as if in no hurry, and landed in Russell’s hand.
The helmet featured four large horns, one rising from the brow, two rising from the temples and continuing along the sides, and one on the crown.
He put the frightening-looking helmet on his head. The helmet completely covered his eyes, but like Julia’s, magical measures prevented any hindrance to his vision. Fully worn, the helmet clicked into place.
As soon as he put on the full armor, his eyes suddenly flashed. Then, scale-like iron plates that protected his joints sprang out with a clatter. Iron plates also came out from under his neck, creating a faceplate that covered his jaw and face. A dark gray cloak fluttered behind him.
Julia exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow. It’s cool, but. . . it looks like a demon.”
As she said, Russell’s appearance was exactly like that of a demon king who had descended into the mortal world. It was completely different from when Ludwig had worn it.
Three claws protruded from the tips of his feet, and above them, the armor that protected his entire lower body had a rough surface.
Moving up, one could see the abdominal armor that revealed the shape of his abs, the chest armor with sharp spikes, the shoulder armor with jagged edges, and the gauntlets with fierce claws.
And then there was the helmet with four huge horns, as well as the faceplate that resembled a demon. Anyone who saw him at night would mistake him for a demon.
Russell chuckled and said,
“I guess that makes sense with this, too.”
When he stretched out his hand to the side, a black hole appeared. It was the same as the one Ludwig had created earlier. Russell grabbed the handle that protruded from the hole and pulled it out.
It was the white axe from before. It was a single-edged axe, capable of freezing even magical power with its icy frost.
With the axe blade facing down and his hand on top of the long shaft, Russell looked like the demon king himself.
“. . .Somehow, it feels like you got more than I did.”
“If you’re not satisfied, you should have fought and won. You already have armor, don’t you?”
“Whatever. At least say something nice. Or you won’t be popular with women, you know?”
“No, I won’t.”
Russell spoke without even pretending to listen, and proceeded to test the axe. It was an axe that boasted a strength that not even the claymore could scratch.
He swung it a few times as a test, and a flash of light accompanied the thud. It appeared that if he put in magical power, he could use frost-based attacks like before.
Julia looked at him enviously and asked,
“But that armor—won’t it be hard to take off later?”
“No.”
Russell whispered another spell. Then a faint light emanated from the black armor, and soon it shrank in size. Its appearance also changed gradually.
Bael’s black armor transformed into a coat. It was a beautiful black long coat with silver patterns on the border, shoulders, and back.
Russell chuckled at Julia, who had her mouth wide open, and put the axe he had been holding into the coat. Then the huge white axe disappeared into the coat, its size irrelevant.
He also put the broken greatsword inside and flicked his coat’s collar. It didn’t feel heavy at all. He was satisfied. His satisfaction reached its peak when he realized the potential his body possessed.
“I’ll use it well. Ludwig.”
“. . .Should I have fought instead?”
Russell flicked Julia’s forehead, who was muttering nonsense, and turned toward the back of where the throne had been, the hem of his coat fluttering. There was a path there.
Julia, who had been pouting and rubbing her forehead, hurriedly followed him.
“Wait for me!”
“Then hurry up.”
The two of them disappeared into the path. Nothing was left in the cavity.