180Th Chapter. The End (2) (End Of Part 1)
“Wh-······?”
The cold gradually subsided.
As if winter was passing and spring was coming.
The cold that had covered Elvengarde and frozen everything solid was gradually receding.
“Wow! It’s over! The disaster is over!”
Cheers erupted from here and there.
The elves, who had been evacuating, stood still and watched the ice melt away, expressing their joy.
They had survived.
All the disasters that had struck in the past few days had been averted.
The elves celebrated the fact and hugged each other.
“No······.”
However, there were those who could not rejoice at this.
The Frost Monarch, Yerina, was blankly caressing the collapsed dungeon entrance.
The stone that her hand touched was gradually warming up.
Her grudge against Eugene, which had been directed at him, had disappeared with the magic.
In other words, it meant that Eugene was gone.
“Eugene! Eugene! aaa······!”
Yerina’s body moved on its own.
Regardless of water or fire, Yerina began to dig through the pile of stones like a madwoman.
It didn’t matter how many stones were piled up in front of her.
It didn’t matter if her fingernails were torn off or her fingers were ripped off.
All that dominated Yerina’s mind was the thought that she had to reach Eugene.
“Frost Monarch! Calm down! Frost Monarch-“
“Arthura. No one can stop her now. We have no choice but to wait until she collapses.”
“······.”
Jill and Julia, who had followed her belatedly, stood still and watched Yerina, blocked by Transylvania’s restraint.
Yerina, who was standing on all fours, breaking and removing stones, was literally like a beast.
She was like a mad dog that had lost its mind.
“The person who was suppressing her madness is gone······. It can’t be helped······.”
Clack.
Jill’s teeth chattered and made a clear sound.
Jill also wanted to rush in right away.
However, Jill was still too sane for that.
And she didn’t have the strength to remove those heavy stones like Yerina.
“H-heavy equipment······. I’ll, I’ll get it right away······.”
“Yes. I’ll help you.”
The only thing they could do right now was to gather all the heavy equipment in the vicinity and dig up the dungeon.
Julia and Jill turned around with tears in their eyes and immediately went into action.
They felt like going crazy.
They wanted to lose their minds like the Frost Monarch, without any thoughts, and feel physical pain instead.
But they couldn’t.
They couldn’t do that.
Someone had to remain rational.
Someone had to keep their wits about them.
Julia and Jill dragged their bodies, which felt like they were about to collapse at any moment, and desperately moved forward.
To save Eugene, who might still be alive down there, even a little bit faster······.
***
Elvengarde was destroyed.
On that day, the cold that had covered Elvengarde disappeared.
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However, the land where all life had been extinguished as the cold swept through failed to recover.
And so did the World Tree.
The World Tree, more than half of its trunk eroded by the cold, continued to live for about a month, as if it were suffering.
In the end, it died completely.
The elven nation centered around the World Tree.
It was the moment when Elvengarde met its end.
However, that was not the ‘end’ of Elvengarde.
The death of the World Tree was heartbreaking, but the elves’ reaction was not so desperate, as if they had accepted it with a heavy heart.
The hundred thousand elven inhabitants began to march along a long road.
They reached the undeveloped land of Gallia, which they had purchased in advance.
The land was barren, the climate was harsh, and the terrain was rugged.
However, the elves began to cultivate the land without a word.
They had no time to wallow in sorrow.
For the future generations.
For the elves.
And for Elvengarde.All the elves devoted themselves to the reconstruction.
Thanks to their physical abilities that were far superior to humans, the new Elvengard quickly began to take on the appearance of a nation.
Although its former glory had somewhat faded.
Elvengard was now trying to emerge from its secluded countryside and become an international city.
“What are you slacking off for? Get the equipment running quickly!”
“My Lord Frost. The equipment needs to rest too. If we continue to work it while it’s overheated, it will put a lot of strain on the equipment.”
“I’ll compensate you for any damage, so hurry up and get to work! I’ll even double your wages!”
“Sigh······. I understand······.”
Meanwhile, in the old Elvengard.
Behind the dead World Tree, which was only left with its branches, the excavation work was in full swing.
Dozens of heavy equipment lined the work site, which had been going on for over a month, 24 hours a day without a break.
The workers hired by the Lord of Frost, the witch, and the saint took turns digging up the collapsed dungeon without rest.
The work speed was more than five times faster than usual.
But even so, it didn’t make any difference to their castle.
“How’s your body?”
“I think most of my broken bones have healed.”
“Get some rest······. It’s too hard to suffer both physically and mentally······.”
Yerina was dragged out after digging up the dungeon alone all day, suffering a major injury.
Yerina, who had fainted from exhaustion and then woken up, regained her senses.
It was only after seeing the heavy equipment gathering and working that she decided to stop digging with her hands.
“I’d rather suffer physically······. When I lose my mind, I can endure the pain in my body, so my mind is less troubled right now. That’s why I want to go crazy again······. I want to run around out of my mind······.”
“Th, that’s something Eugene wouldn’t want either······.”
“It’s already rained three times······! What if there’s water down there? Eugene would definitely be alive! It must be cold······. Sob······.”
Julia silently sighed with concern as she hugged Yerina, who was crying with bandages and casts all over her body.
At one time, they had fought and held each other in check to outdo each other.
But now, they had become the only three people in the world who shared the same pain and worries.
It didn’t matter who came first anymore.
Because they could share it.
Because they didn’t have to be alone.
Now, all they could do was earnestly hope that Eugene would come back alive.
“We’re almost at the bottom······!”
The work continued day and night.
At the end of the dungeon, which was like an ant’s nest, the end was about to be revealed.
Until then, there had been no sound or sign of life from the inside.
But none of the three women had given up hope.
Eugene must be alive.
They believed it so strongly, and there was no doubt about it.
All that was left was the worry that he must be terribly hungry by now.
“Huh? It looks like there’s another dungeon under the floor.”
“Let’s go in a little further.”
It’s time to meet Eugene.
Eugene must have prepared for this situation.
He must be waiting shamelessly, surrounded by a strong barrier, munching on snacks, and saying, “Oh, you’re here?”
I felt like laughing when I imagined that.
With great anticipation at the thought of meeting Eugene.
The hidden dungeon under the dungeon, the double dungeon, was revealed.
And finally, the altar buried in the rubble was revealed.
“Huh······?”
And on top of it.
There was nothing.
Nothing.
The women’s expressions hardened.
“What is this?”
Yerina took off her cast and ran in, clearing away the remaining stones and rummaging around.
Even though she knew Eugene couldn’t be under it, she couldn’t stop clearing away the small stones one by one.
“Why, why······? Eu, Eugene······. Where did you go······?”
Thud.
Julia collapsed on the dirty floor, her legs giving out.Cleared the entire dungeon.
Eugene went inside.
He never came out.
In that case, it would be normal to remain inside.
There wasn’t even a trace of Eugene here.
To top it all off, Eugene’s remains were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, all that was found was a dried, ugly corpse.
Judging by the clothing, height, and hair color, it did not belong to Eugene.
“Ahhh······.”
After looking in all directions, Jill fell face down on the altar with her pupils dilated.
There was not a single hole in the outer wall of the dungeon.
This means that there was no way for Eugene to escape outside the dungeon.
So how did Eugene disappear like this?
Jill found the answer at this altar.
“No way… No way…”
Eugene spoke confidently.
He says there is a way to reliably catch Luna, the necromancer who wanders around in the form of a spirit body.
However, he was reluctant to explain the method in detail.
At the time, he thought it was simply because the situation was urgent and complicated to explain.
Now that I am here, the reason becomes clear.
It was stupid not to realize it at the time.
“Did he intend to die from the beginning?”
Eugene had no intention of living.
The price for exorcising Luna, a spirit, would be none other than Eugene’s life his.
Eugene used this altar to banish Luna and sacrificed himself to ‘someone.’
There was no other way to explain this situation.
“Ahahahaha. Are you kidding, saintess? There’s no way Eugene would do that. There’s no way that a cowardly man would make such a decision.”
“Y-If it’s Eugene… It wouldn’t be strange if he grabbed my shoulder right now from behind and started me…”
Even if you look back with a smile, there is nothing there.
All you can see is an endlessly high dungeon tunnel.
“Ah······.”
The three women’s pupils shook.
The sudden shock that caused me to lose consciousness for a moment came to an end.
Now is the time to accept reality.
The fact that Eugene is dead.
No, the fact that Eugene had ‘disappeared’ sat heavily in their hearts.
His heart collapsed under the unbearable weight.
“aaa…!”
The scream I had been holding in came out.
Screams and wailing erupted.
The three women, whose tears had dried up, held their hearts and cried and cried for a long time.
*
Cologne, the former capital of the Holy Kingdom.
Two letters arrived at Brigham Manor at the same time.
One was from Mia, a priestess of Elvengarde, and the other was from Jill Diner, a saint.
“What…?”
It was a letter that arrived from two people who seemed completely unrelated.
The content was the same.
Cornelia Brigham’s eyes fluttered as she read her message.
She hurriedly packed her bags and set off, arriving in two days at the site of the old Elven Gard, the land where the world tree died.
And there.
Cornelia encountered people she never expected.
“I’m sorry. “It was so sudden.”
“What’s going on… ?”
Women dressed in black.
Frostlord, witch, saint and priestess.
In addition, there are a rabbit beastman, a fox beastman, a young female and a dwarf female wearing uniforms, a white-haired old man, a paladin and his younger brother, and elves.
It was a rare sight where people of various races gathered together.
Cornelia was confused because she couldn’t understand her situation.
She found a shiny black coffin with the earth dug up just big enough to fit one of her coffins.
Cornelia’s lips were quivering as she read the words, her eyes already fixed on the tombstone stuck in the ground.
“Yu, Eugene…?”
She desperately hoped she was looking at it wrong.
It couldn’t be like this.
It couldn’t be like this.
No one could stop Cornelia from slowly approaching her and falling down in front of her coffin.
It’s a process that everyone here has gone through at least once.She just bit her lips.
I also tried hard to suppress my desire to collapse and cry with her.
“You said you would come back······? You said you would make a future with me······? Is this a lie? Is it?”
“······.”
“Look! There’s no body in the coffin! If he’s dead, where’s the body?”
“······.”
“If there’s no body, then he’s not dead yet! What are you guys doing right now?! Why are you holding a funeral for someone who’s not even dead?! You’re so unlucky! Why are you making people’s hearts sink like this!”
“······.”
Cornelia’s anger, having lost its target, was scattered everywhere.
This was also a process that everyone had gone through.
In this state, no matter how much you try to explain, they won’t be able to accept it.
Even if they understand it with their heads, their hearts are already boiling over, so there’s no way they can contain anything.
The only thing that could solve this was time.
“Eugene······ Eugene, bravely faced his end. He saved Elvengard and a hundred thousand lives and defeated the immortal enemy······ gloriously······.”
“What’s so glorious about it?! What good is glory after you’re dead?”
“Hey! Stop whining! Do you think everyone else is just sitting still because they’re not angry?!”
“······.”
“I’m angry and resentful too! Everyone’s the same! But I’m holding back······! I’m not going to blame or criticize the people here! No one here deserves to hear that!”
“Then······ then······ whose fault is it······. Who should I blame······.”
Cornelia collapsed on the coffin and sobbed.
Emotions spread one by one, and eventually a sea of tears unfolded.
It was a flow that could not be stopped.
Some had received favors from Eugene.
Some had exchanged emotions with Eugene.
And there were many who had been saved by Eugene.
Virtually everyone gathered here knew Eugene’s name.
And only a few knew of the existence of the enemy he had fought against.
The fact that Eugene had saved the world by sacrificing his life would never be known to the world.
Eugene’s journey had come to an end.
His name and story would only remain in the hearts of those gathered here.
Eugene would be forgotten without being recorded in history.
But that didn’t mean that what Eugene had done was meaningless.
“Eugene’s will must continue.”
After holding each other and comforting each other for a long time.
They gathered in one place and came to a decision.
The fight was not over yet.
The immediate enemy that had threatened the present world had been defeated.
But there was still the escaped Great Demon.
There were also the remnants of the undead army that had escaped from the collapsed dungeon.
And there was also the enemy called ‘He’ who was much stronger than them.
Eugene was certainly strong.
But his martial power itself was not that great.
Eugene’s true ability was his power to gather people.
Although Eugene was gone.
The people he had gathered were still here.
And his will was also being passed on to the people.
“I would like to launch an organization to fight against the Otherworld. I don’t know the exact deadline, but according to Eugene, the enemy will definitely invade to destroy the present world. We will destroy the Otherworld before that. It may seem far-fetched and impossible, but it’s not. There are many legacies that Eugene left behind······.”
The hope that Eugene left behind.
It was precarious, but it continued.
Like a strong ember that would never go out, even if it was scattered by the wind.
“So, let’s join forces.”
The Saintess swallowed her tears and made up her mind.
Although Eugene would be forgotten.
She would make sure that his will would continue forever.
***
After the funeral that lasted for a whole week.
Only one tombstone remained in the abandoned land of Elvengard.
The tombstone, which was planted in front of the coffin that was buried without a body, stood tall in the vast meadow, showing off its presence.
Time passed.As the sun rose and set, the tombstone alternated between light and dark.
It was drenched and dried as the wind and rain beat down on it.
It was buried in pure white snow.
Time passed.
Storms passed, and migratory birds came and went.
Moss grew on the tombstone, and it was washed away countless times by someone.
Countless storms passed, but the tombstone did not budge from its place.
It may have been slightly chipped and its surface worn, but it did not waver.
“······.”
How much time had passed?
In front of the tombstone, which stood alone in a desolate land that was hard to believe had once been a dense green forest.
In front of it, a man and a girl stood silently, their heads covered with large handkerchiefs.
“Huh······.”
The man, who laughed in vain without speaking, approached the tombstone.
Then, the man grabbed the tombstone and pulled it out of the ground, roots and all.
For a moment, it seemed as if he was caressing the tombstone.
Then, the man slammed the tombstone down with his bare hands.
The tombstone, which had not moved for years, cracked in half with that one blow.
Thud!
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The tombstone, which had been split in half, opened.
A long, black sword was revealed in the cross-section.
It was a sword with no handle, only a blade.
As if familiar with it, the man picked up the sword and immediately sheathed it in a wooden scabbard.
It was a scabbard that fit the size of the sword perfectly.
“Why did it take so long? hehehe. There’s a lot of backstory······. I’ll explain it slowly.”
“······.”
“Oh, but I heard that the undead legion is causing trouble right now. Should we go and take care of them right away?”
“······.”
“Ugh. That sounds like it’s going to be tough. I have a lot to do as soon as I get back.”
“······.”
Caressing the blade, the man muttered to himself in the void.
Leaving the broken tombstone behind.
The man and the girl slowly left the grave.