Episode 123. A long funeral
-Patter, patter.
The spirit gradually rises to the surface.
Tassian was able to immediately recognize that what he heard was the sound of his body collapsing.
I had always imagined that after everything was over, my body would collapse and only the insignificant particles would be buried inside.
The only irony is that it was not he who led the process.
‘Is it all over?’
From Noble mtl dot com
After realizing that she existed, she took the time to walk around the ashes and understand her situation.
I lost consciousness due to a surprise attack that came from behind, and I was manipulated against my will.
And all of that was stopped by the man he chose.
The ghost of the child who claimed to be the enemy of the dragon was finally broken by the hand of the man who inherited the child’s will.
‘Everything is over, but why…….’
Why does he still remain in this world?
No matter how long the contract is not completed, you will inevitably be bound to the world, but the conditions of the contract clearly determine whether you win or lose with the target.
As the standard is set by the traces left behind by one’s nemesis, the undead will not be an exception to that standard.
If the regret was also rooted in that child, then the person who was determined to accept it would have had to admit defeat and disappear the moment he was stabbed in the back.
“Ah, ahhh!!”
When I was wondering that question, a voice came from far away.
Tasian’s eyes, unable to overlook the voice, began to move quickly to the place where the sound came from.
Visibility was blurred by the ashes blowing in the wind, but there was no hesitation in moving forward.
Because I always tried not to forget.
For that, I used that child’s name and refined it endlessly with my own hands over half a century.
“It hurts, it hurts…” … !!!”
After chasing such familiarity, what I came across was the image of a dead man buried in ashes and crying.
But most of his body, including the top of his head, is gone, and all that remains is the upper part of his chest and a regenerated arm.
It would be impossible to live like that, let alone feel pain.
The voice I hear now is probably nothing more than a response to the remaining magic power and the lingering regrets I had left behind when I was alive.
“Mom, mommy. Where are you… …. “It hurts, it hurts so much!!!”
But how can we hear that sound?
If what came out of that mouth was the clearest regret of my life, it also means that it was something that actually happened in the past.
“I’m so scared. Everyone is trying to kill me. Mom, please save me…….”
No matter how noble the end of your life was, if your clearest memories are of being left alone as a child.
Everything I say now must mean that I repeated it back then.
“Please, teach me. Why do I have to go through this…. Please say just one word, just one word. Mom… ….”
Even as those terrible screams tore through her heart, Tashian tried to make her way through the ashes.
It is nothing more than a copy.
Even though I know that it is just a complaint of a dead person who has not even become a soul.
‘Is this an abandoned human child? Well, I’m a wandering body anyway, so I guess something like this would be okay.’
Just by looking at that figure.
Because the image of that child that was dormant in my memory was emerging.
‘Maeu.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘Ma, ma~ Ma, ma!’
‘hehehe, look at this, do you think I’m your mother?’
‘Mama!’
I didn’t know at the time.
That small beginning created the roots of the feelings I feel now.
‘Now, follow along. ‘Tassian Paloi.’
‘… Follow?’
‘Not Ta, but Tasian.’
‘Ta… …. ‘Tacha.’
‘No…’ ….’
‘Tatchiya pinyoi! ‘Dadjiya!’
‘… Come to think of it, didn’t I give you a name?’
Everything was awkward because it was the first time, and there were many things that were overlooked.
But looking back, even that can be called a memory.
She may have felt more comfortable with the relationship with that child because it was a relationship where she did not have to be perfect.
‘Mom, look at this!’
That was why she gave the child a gift that day.
I thought it was very nice to see him immersed in a fairy tale he happened to hear during his wandering life.
‘Do I look good on you?’
‘It suits you well.’
‘You really look like a hero!?’
Hero.
A word used by the humans who told the story at the time to refer to heroes who defeated evil beings.
The child was especially interested in that word, and would recite his admiration for heroes every day.
‘Well, shall we just say yes for now?’
‘Why is your answer like that? ‘Does Mom think I can’t be a warrior?’
‘That can’t be possible. ‘It’s because she thinks she can be anything.’
‘… Anything?’
‘You can do anything because you’re still young, and that means you have the potential to become everything you want.’
I meant what I said.
At that time, I had a sincere desire to spend the rest of my life with her and watch over her.
So, no matter which path the child takes, he decides to help…
‘Mom, I want to become a warrior when I grow up!’
No matter which path she took, she became the mother of this child.
I still clearly remember the decision I made to protect that path.
“Is it because I am a bad child?”
Somehow, the remains have now become the evil dragon itself.
Have I been judged by the hero I have always admired, and am I left lying there in misery?
“What I wanted to hide from my mother, she revealed without thinking…” ….”
I know.
No matter what the process was or what the intention was, the current result came from the fight he started.
“Tachia.”
I was afraid that even such awareness would be forgotten as time passes, so I tried to use it as another name to refer to myself so as not to forget.
Maybe he is the only one in this world who remembers himself.
In order not to forget and endlessly reminisce about the images of the child while he was still alive.
“…Do you remember my voice?”
“Um, ma… ….”
The moment I uttered a name with such meaning, the screams stopped.
Soon, the dead man’s only half arm began to extend towards him.
“… Mom mom.”
Most of the body is destroyed, and all that is left is the mouth and one arm that can crawl up.
The mother had already accepted that even such a piece of rotten meat was her daughter.
Whatever comes out of his mouth.
She must take this moment to accept the punishment for her sins, which she had ignored until now.
“hehehe, hehehe.”
Ironically, what was heard in the ears of the mother, who was hugging her with such determination, was not a scream or resentment like before, but a faint sound of laughter.
It’s not a laugh that comes from a loss, but a laugh that feels as innocent as a memory of that day.
“Mom, look at me…….”
The dead person was so engrossed in such emotions that she even lost the awareness that she had become a disaster.
She was whispering to herself, projecting her memories from when she was a girl.
“I became a hero… ….”
Connecting her accomplishments at the end of her life with her own memories.
Even though it is such a tattered memory, it is as if I am trying to relieve my regrets through the presence of my mother wrapping around my body at this moment.
“My colleagues also look good. Other than my mother, there are people I can depend on……. “There are a lot of people who need me.”
Why does it feel painful to see my daughter so happy?
“Now, I… …. Are you a full-fledged adult?”
This is enough.
I just knew that hugging me like this was enough.
“When I grow up, will I be able to go see her mother?”
“… Tacia.”
“I wanted to ask…. Just one thing, for mom……. I want to ask you something…….”
She was unable to give any answer to the helpless questions.
I just hold her in my arms, pat the piece of meat that doesn’t even have a back left, and listen to the words coming from my ears.
“… Mom.”
Her daughter whispers to such a heartless and foolish mother.
Maybe in the past.
If she had reached out to a little girl who would have been left alone, she might have said the same thing.
“Do you love me?”
-Patter.
It is raining.
The moisture still remaining in the dark clouds evaporated by the heat.
A temporary shower created by combining each other.
“…… Huh.”
In the scene where the shower washes away the dust blowing in the wind.
Tasian quietly conveyed the words that had been buried within her to the remains of her daughter.
Perhaps one word is needed right now.
“I love you. Always… ….”
What this child from the past needed was this one word.
As if that thought had come to fruition, her arms, which had been flailed all the time, lost strength and soon they fell limp to the floor.
I’m not running out of magic power. Rather, if she had any remaining magical energy, this child would have instinctively released that magical energy and chosen her own end.
The dead are beings who live with regrets, and when those regrets are resolved, attaining Buddhahood can be said to be a natural process.
“… Tasian.”
Still, behind Tasian, who could not leave her surroundings, someone began to reveal her presence.
Although he is immature, he is a being who can be called a demigod who is much higher than himself.
After everything she had done, I could immediately guess why she came here.
“Don’t worry. “Because I can’t do anything anymore.”
I used up all of my remaining strength, and the vessel that could contain the strength was completely broken as a result of my previous overexertion.
Now, as long as the conditions of the contract are met, the body can disappear at any time.
Tasian, who realized that there was one step left to reach that condition, quietly looked back at her daughter’s body.
“What about that guy?”
“The surviving priests are watching.”
“…I’m glad.”
The evil dragon was defeated by the hand of the warrior, and humans were victorious in the war against the dead.
In such a result, all the survivors have to do is collect the injured and corpses. It would not be difficult to distinguish among those who died.
Until before, corpses were moving around actively, so those who had exhausted their strength and collapsed automatically gathered around them.
“… To humans.”
So the funeral will be held soon.
No matter how cruel and pitiful the fight was, it is one of human habits to make the end honorable.
“I can’t entrust this child’s funeral to today’s humanity.”
But can I really include my daughter in that?
Her kingdom, which was supposed to spread the story of the warrior who stood against the dragon, was destroyed by a plague, and her companions who joined her on her journey and survived were pushed to death by the harshness of the world.
Since all the people who came into contact with her life have died, the woman named Tacia Philo will inevitably be remembered as a catastrophe rather than a warrior to modern mankind.
“…No, that’s enough. Now it’s like a funeral.”
“That’s not true. Tasian. As you know, her last days were… ….”
“When you die, it’s all over.”
And the one who made that end dishonorable was none other than himself.
If even just by chance, he gave up his head in that day’s fight.
If she hadn’t made a promise or something and had kept her life until then……. If she had erased her existence by cremating the body, she would not have encountered the child’s remains and awakened into a catastrophe.
“No matter how grand the funeral is, in the end it will only be a consolation for the living. No matter what that person’s life was like and what the end was like, in the end, it’s just something that the remaining people processed and interpreted as they liked.”
Even if a soul is ultimately nothing more than a believable extract of the records left in a corpse, it is improved to have an ego without a body.
I am the one who gave meaning to such a being and dragged out that child’s death.
How can you interpret the words of a person who reflects the child’s harshest times in a way that suits you?
“It’s already too late. “Undoing what I did.”
You have to admit what you have to admit.
That child was abandoned by his own foolish impulse, and that pain was all that the corpse that appeared in front of me showed.
Even though he felt such pain, he made himself forgive himself at the last moment.
“…Still, did you accept it?”
The tragedy caused by different lifespans, and the era when mankind was most tainted by madness.
And the distortion created by the successive disasters that even they could not do anything about…….
Even if nothing went according to their will, what happened happened.
As a mother, she was immature and foolish and killed the child she had given her heart to, a fact that she herself had to admit the most.
“Yes, because I can’t hold on to it any longer.”
But now it’s not easy to correct anything.
The best he could do would be to fully accept that child’s death without continuing his lingering regret.
“I guess I should finish it now. “This long funeral.”
Don’t let your regrets taint that child’s death anymore.
Holding the sins I committed in my heart, I prepared to carry them to the grave where they would soon be revealed.
****
Same time. A plain area located in the center of the continent.
Amid a fierce battle between the Demon King’s army and the Undead army over the expansion of its power, the Blue Knight who was fighting the enemy general at the forefront stopped swinging his sword.
Because he detected an abnormality in the signal sent by his master, the Corpse Lord, who commanded the army in the main unit.
From Noble mtl dot com
“… “Why do you stop fighting?”
The other person seems to be bothered by this and stands still, alert.
Until now, he had been involved in a fierce battle, but from the moment he noticed something wrong, he felt his killing intent towards him gradually dulling.
He looks very cool-headed for an official of the highly aggressive Demon King’s Army.
That, without fail, applied to my evaluation of the person in front of me.
“The direction you are facing is where the ruler of the force you belong to is located… …. “Has something gone wrong?”
There is no sign of a direct invasion by the Demon King’s army.
Rather, the army on the other side of the place where he is fighting is in a state of confusion because the officer leading them was attacked by another 4 knights.
“…No, let’s continue.”
So, if you think about it calmly, it would be right to maintain this position and provide an opportunity to solidify the victory that occurred on the other front.
It’s just that something happened that made her emotionally shaken.
They say something is wrong, but they have not requested a retreat, so driving out the enemies should be the priority now.
“Is serving my master more honorable than risking his life in a duel?”
In front of the Blue Knight, who made that judgment and raised his weapon, the other person gradually relaxed his stance and asked back in a cool voice.
“…What do you mean?”
“If it is more honorable to serve the master, I will not stop you from leaving this place.”
As soon as he hears an answer, an executive of the Demon King’s Army puts the blunt weapon in his hand down on the floor.
The Blue Knight found his resolute attitude surprising and looked at him blankly, but his attitude showed no sign of hostility towards him at all.
“… “Are you serious?”
“Unlike the other guys, you didn’t laugh at me and took the duel seriously.”
It’s not a lie.
The demons in the Demon King’s army are all arrogant, but what they value more than that is the desire they pursue.
It is natural that the clearer the desire, the stronger the power and the higher the status.
“If you respect my honor, it would be natural for me to provide you with the opportunity to pursue honor as well.”
Above all, if you are someone who pursues fame, there will never be lies in the words that accompany honor.
The Blue Knight, who had sensed from the previous battle that this was sincere, hesitated for a moment, then retrieved his sword and prepared to turn his back on his position.
No matter how important it is to win the war, the Corpse Lord is the one who forms the center of the army.
If a problem arises with her, even if she wins this fight, her future goals may be greatly hindered.
“… “Hey, what’s your name?”
When a lull was reached, the blue knight stopped walking towards his lord for a moment and looked back at his opponent.
The executive of the Demon King’s Army, who had already turned his back on the question, answered quietly.
“Hell Cry.”
Born as an orc, not a demon.
The strongest warrior in the Demon King’s Army who ascended to the position of the newly established Four Heavenly Kings.