Chapter 482

Luna responded to my call. Or rather, she had responded to my provocation.

The wind, which had been howling like mad, calmed down as she appeared.

Luna Artorius favored me with a calm expression, just like before. On this night of the full moon, I had finally found her. Or rather, she had found me.

“What are you trying to do, wandering around a place like this at a time like this?” Luna Artorius asked as she brushed her long black hair aside.

“I wanted to find you, Mother.” At my words, Luna let out a soft, short sigh.

“I asked you earlier why I have to hear you call me ‘Mother.’ Fine, let’s set that aside for now. So, what do you want to do now that you’ve found me?”

“I want to become stronger.”

“...”

She stared at me quietly after my bold and shameless request. It was as if I could read her thoughts clearly.

‘What kind of crazy maniac is this?’

Ellen’s mother was different from Ellen, but since Ellen had helped me grow stronger, I believed her mother could make me even stronger, which was why I had sought her out.

Even I thought I was a bit crazy.

“You don’t know what the families of Sunday and Monday are. But if you’re not a fool, you should know that the people in the family, including myself, uphold a principle not to interfere in worldly affairs. Didn’t you hear me say that clearly before?”

“I did.”

“Then you understand that I have no reason to help you.”

“Then why did you appear? You could have ignored me while I wandered here for days.”

In the end, hadn’t she appeared because she felt sorry for me or was concerned?

Luna Artorius continued to look at me.

‘Oh. Look at that, her lips are pouting slightly. She’s just like Ellen, isn’t she?’

She was just about to take a step forward. That was when I remembered that she had the ability to use some kind of strange spatial movement.

‘Is she really going to leave me here?’

“Wait a minute! Wait! Wait! I’m sorry!”

“...”

At my plea, she stopped herself from moving forward and disappearing through space.

“I was just going to ignore you because you said I could. You said it yourself,” Luna said.

“Mother, as you know, I have some trouble with my manners.”

“Yes, I see that you become polite only when you need something, which shows you did not have a very good upbringing.”

“Well, that can’t be helped, since I lost my parents when I was young...”

‘Come to think of it, isn’t this something we both shouldn’t be speaking about? My father and Luna’s son both perished together.’

I trailed off while Luna’s gaze continued to linger on me.

“...”

Whatever the case, she was the one who had brought up my upbringing first, so if there had been a slip of the tongue, it was on her.

“Hmm, um... I apologize. That was my mistake,” she murmured softly, covering her mouth with her hand as she cleared her throat.

“Anyway,” she continued, “the reason I came here is to let you know that no matter how much you wander around here, you won’t gain anything from me. So stop wasting your time. Consider this the only kindness I can offer you.”

Luna quietly watched me under the light of the full moon.

“Reinhart, don’t seek what cannot be obtained. This is the only thing I can tell you, the only words I can give you.”

It seemed clear that Luna had come to tell me to cease my meaningless efforts to find something that would not present itself.

She couldn’t help me.

Was her only message that it was better to spend my time doing something more valuable elsewhere? Was that really all?

“The Gate Incident is almost over,” I said.

“...”

“However, when it comes down to the last gate, a monster that no one can face will emerge.”

“I see. You know strange things, so if you say so, it must be true.”

“Do you know what happens when you draw out the true power of Alsbringer, Mother?”

“...”

She looked at me in silence, a silence which served as her answer.

“You do know,” I said.

“Yes. It allows the wielder to draw the power of the gods into their body.”

Luna knew about the true power of Alsbringer.

“But in return, the wielder will lose their life for daring to summon the power of the gods into their own mortal body. Beings of this world cannot withstand such power.”

Luna looked at me quietly.

“It seems you know that as well,” she said.

“If things continue like this, I will have to use Alsbringer in order to destroy the last warp gate,” I said.

In the original story, Ludwig used Alsbringer in the battle to destroy the last warp gate and perished.

“What exactly is supposed to appear at the end?”

“A dragon.”

“...”

“A dragon from another world will appear.”

The dragon, a being not of this world, was the final enemy I had to face, and the final boss in the original story.

***

“It will be impossible to face that monster without using Alsbringer,” I said.

Luna listened to my words calmly, then tilted her head slightly.

“But even if you become a little stronger here, wouldn’t you still only have a slim chance of facing that dragon from another world or whatever it is?” she asked.

“That’s true.”

I didn’t know if I could face that final monster even if I attained Master class. Honestly, unless I became strong enough that I could withstand summoning the war god Alse into my body, it would be difficult for me to defeat it.

“But I can’t just wait for a future to arrive in which my death would be required to achieve victory.”

“You speak as if you must do it if it comes to that.”

“...”

“Why must you?” Luna asked quietly. “Why do you think you must save the world, even at the cost of your own life? Why do you think that way?

“The affairs of the world are the affairs of the world. The affairs of the world are everyone’s affairs. Because they are everyone’s affairs, not one single person is responsible for all of them.

“Why do you live as if the affairs of the world are your own responsibility? Why do you live as if everything will end for you if you don’t save the world? Is it your fault if you turn away from it? Why do you live with the obsession that you must take all the responsibility?

“This dragon from another world, I don’t know what it is, but as long as it is a living creature and a monster, it cannot destroy the entire world.

“I don’t know what that monster is, but it can only destroy whatever is within its sight. Therefore, just as that monster’s sight cannot encompass the entire world, there will be a place in the world that is safe from that monster.

“The world is vast. So isn’t living your own life while avoiding that monster also a way forward? Why do you take it for granted that you must die for the world? Why do you live as if that is the only way?

“Why is it that you, the son of the Demon King—who died alongside my son—are now speaking of having to die for something, with the same eyes my son had back then? Why have you come to find me and remind me of him in this way?”

That was when I saw it—a tear falling from Luna’s eye.

***

Ellen had told me that it had been a rainy day.

Ellen had cursed her brother, which led to her being slapped by her father. That was the last image Ellen had of her brother, or so I’d heard.

Ellen once told me that she had come to dislike rainy days because of that. For Ellen’s parents, that day must have held different memories. It was the day they heard their son’s resolve to kill the Demon King for the sake of humanity.

I didn’t know whether Ellen’s parents opposed it or not. In any case, Ragan Artorius still left. Perhaps not for the sake of the whole world, but for humanity.

Ragan Artorius must have believed that killing the Demon King was the right thing to do. In fact, the aim of the previous Demon King, Baalier, had been to use Akasha to create another world, a world without humans.

War had broken out because neither side knew the other’s circumstances. Ultimately, the Great War against the Demon Realm had been a war born out of mutual fear and a lack of willingness to understand each other.

Regardless of who attacked first, it was a fact that Ragan Artorius died in the battle against the Demon King. Therefore, regardless of right or wrong, Luna would see me as the son of an enemy.

Luna had watched quietly as I spoke the same exact words as her son had before, the son who had gone to his death after. She shed a single tear, but showed no more emotion. She continued to look at me without even thinking to wipe away that single fallen tear.

Her son was dead, but the son of the Demon King had come to her and said the same words as her son. However, they held a slightly different meaning this time.

Why did someone have to die for the world? Responsibility? Duty? I no longer knew.

“Honestly, I don’t know anymore. I don’t know why I have to go this far either.”

“Yes, if that’s the case—”

“There are people out there who can turn away, surely,” I interrupted her. “But I just can’t do that. I just can’t. That’s all there is to it.”

I had a sense of responsibility. It felt like my duty. But if you asked me why I really had to do it, there was only one thing I could say: I couldn’t turn away from this broken world.

I had the option to turn away, but I just couldn’t. But as the moment of the world’s salvation—which could only be reached through my death—approached, I had come to this place seeking another possibility because I did not want to die yet.

Ragan Artorius would have said he was willing to die for humanity. But I wanted to find even the slightest possibility of something different, so that my story would not continue to develop down that path, and I would not have to die for humanity and the world.

“I don’t know what this dragon from another world is,” said Luna, “but you know that it will be difficult to defeat it even if you become stronger.”

“That’s true.”

“Nevertheless, you say that you’ve been crossing these mountains for days, seeking even the smallest possibility.”

“Yes.”

“...”

Luna remained silent for a long time, quietly watching me.

I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of being she was, but it was obvious that Luna was not intervening in this situation in any way.

Could she help me? And if she decided to help, what kind of assistance could I receive?

Whatever it was, at least she didn’t seem to harbor any ill feelings toward me for being the son of the Demon King.

“I don’t know if I should really be doing this,” she said. “But you won’t be forbidden from stepping into Rijaiera.”

Her eyes met mine.

“Reinhart.”

“... Yes?”

“Close your eyes.”

Following her words, I closed my eyes. I felt her cold hand gently rest on my shoulder.

“It’s done. Now open your eyes.”

I had only closed my eyes for a brief moment.

“...?”

But now, I could see a small village spread out below the mountainside.

***

What was the source of the power Luna used? It didn’t seem like magic, supernatural power, or Divine Power. The power that she used seemed cloaked in mystery, surpassing any physical abilities. It didn’t fit into the category of Master-class powers.

In a small basin located somewhere in the rugged Sren Mountains was a very small village with at most fifty households. The wooden houses did not look too old, but they weren’t extravagantly luxurious either. It was the kind of rural village that could be found anywhere.

Perhaps because it was nighttime, there were no people walking around.

‘Is this Rijaiera?’

“How is this place kept safe, exactly...?” I asked.

“It’s complicated to explain, and even if you understood it, it wouldn’t mean much to you. But no one can find Rijaiera now.”

It seemed clear that some special means had been used to protect Rijaiera because of the Gate Incident. In the past, anyone could have found Rijaiera. Now, though, nobody would be able to find Rijaiera unless someone from the village, like her, brought them to it directly.

She quietly looked up at the sky, where the full moon was shining. She gestured with her hands carefully toward the sky, as if manipulating something. I quietly watched her slow yet graceful movements.

“What did you do?” I asked.

Luna shook her head slightly. “You’ll find out later.”

She did not say any more than was necessary.

“Follow me. You look like you need some rest.”

She quietly took the lead.

Only then did I notice her attire. She wore a dress that a typical rural woman might wear, not too worn out but frayed in places, which was rather striking. It was most likely what she wore everyday.

If she was the head of the families of Sunday and Monday, she would be the leader of Rijaiera. However, she did not seem that much different from an ordinary member of the village.

She led me to a two-storey wooden house located on one side of the village. It dawned on me that this was the house where Ellen had lived in since she had been a child. She had been born in this place, and had spent her childhood here. That thought stirred something peculiar within me.

However, Ellen and I were no longer in a relationship in which we could call each other friends, and here I was, coming to a friend’s house without that friend being present. Regardless of the reasons, the situation itself was quite absurd.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”

“Oh, yes.”

At Luna’s urging, I entered Ellen’s house while Luna held the door open for me.

“Honey, we have a guest. Come out and see.”

Hearing Luna call her husband in a drastically different voice sent shivers down my spine. Her tone was so gentle and affectionate, completely different from the cold and indifferent tone she had used with me thus far.

‘Is this how Ellen would speak if she ever got married? Hmm...’

A man soon appeared from inside, responding to Luna’s call.

“... You must be Reinhart,” he said.

He spoke as if he had known I would come to Rijaiera.

He was a handsome man who resembled Ellen, but to be precise, had a slightly softer and more pleasant demeanor about him.

I remembered seeing a portrait of Ragan Artorius once. Naturally, he gave me a very similar impression.

The man approached me slowly, and Luna stepped away from me.

It seemed Luna didn’t harbor any animosity toward me for being the son of the Demon King, but Ellen’s father might have had different thoughts.

However, to my surprise, he extended his hand to me with a faint smile.

“I’m Ronan Artorius.”

Unlike Ellen’s mother, his hand was large, thick, and firm.

He chuckled as he looked at me.