138. Titanomachia (4)
“That’s interesting. I never thought he would think of weakening his power by destroying the holy sword. But is that okay? “You are a warrior by name, but you destroy the holy sword that is like the souls of your ancestors.”
The queen laughed as she looked at Arcel from above the giant’s head.
The fact that she was chosen by her holy sword to become a hero and then destroy her holy sword was a funny story.
“If a soul is going to be exploited for some reason, it is better to liberate it. Even if they are used for good, it is wrong to use them for hundreds or thousands of years.”
“Still, I think we gave the warrior the best treatment while he was alive.”
However, Arcel was not swayed by the queen’s words and answered back with her confident eyes.
“So you turned them into demon lords? As a villain who directly destroys the world he was trying to protect?”
“I’ve said it many times, but I had no choice but to do it to protect the world, and I know that was wrong, so I’m trying to change it.”
“No, you are just saying things like the devil’s twisted thoughts. “Why don’t you know that it is wrong to try to eliminate demons, elves, and other races so that only we humans can survive?”
At Arcel’s answer, the queen frowns her eyes.
“How long will you continue to show such hypocrisy? Elves have looked down on humans for a long time, kidnapping them and using them as experiment material or using them as slaves? “The reason they ended up like that is because their karma has been cleared.”
“Then this is also your karma for slaughtering innocent elves. Humans and elves were already fighting together in an alliance to counter the demon king. But… didn’t you break it with your own hands?”
“Anyway, it was just a temporary alliance to counter the Demon Lord. “It was not a strange relationship even if we were to backstab each other at any time.”
“Why wasn’t there any effort to improve that relationship? Besides, we humans would also do the same if we used elves as slaves or materials.”
“There are degrees of hypocrisy. People cannot always live good lives. “In some cases, you may have to get blood on your hands.”
One side is hypocritical and the other side is selfish.
Arcel also knew that she was bordering on hypocrisy.
“But it is up to her how she will wash the blood from her own hands. But you don’t even want to wash the blood away. “On the contrary, they are trying to bury more blood.”
Still, she thought that it was better for her to move towards the right path, even if it meant being a hypocrite, than to be selfish.
There is no such thing as a perfect choice.
Just make a slightly better choice.
What Arcel wanted to do was a better choice.
“So I will stop this madness even if it means giving everything I have! We will no longer allow the mistakes of the past to be repeated! “Because that’s the path I chose!”
The light of the holy sword shines brightly and sublimely.
Chaaa!!
Arsel cut off the giant’s right chest in an instant, and found a particularly dark purple spot there as well.
Of course, there is no way the giant will just leave it alone.
Boom!
“Ugh…! Are you not even tired…!”
The giant pushes Clen away and points her hand towards Arcel as if trying to catch her bug.
“No, I’m the only one who can touch him.”
Alfred stepped in and prevented it.
A wall of protection created when particles crystallize.
The protective wall surrounding Arcel could not be broken down even by the might of a giant that could crush mountains.
Rather, the giant falls backward due to his own strength.
‘Now is the time.’
Without missing the opportunity, grab the holy sword and stab it towards the light.
Kwasik!
Once again, the sound of the holy sword being scattered into fragments can be heard.
Purple magical energy is absorbed into Arcel’s holy sword from the remains of the broken holy sword, and a new illusion begins to appear before your eyes, just as when you first absorbed the magical energy.
-There are less than a hundred survivors left, and there are thousands of civilians to take care of here.-
The one-armed woman with her holy sword at her waist closed her eyes as she looked at the hopeless situation.
The hero was isolated by the devil’s army.
They set out to protect the people of a small city living on the border from where the devil’s army was advancing, but ended up falling into a trap and being surrounded by the city.
We are desperately trying to hold on and defend the city, but now we are running out of food and winter has arrived.
Furthermore, all other regions were devastated by the Demon King’s army, so no external reinforcements could be expected.
If we continue like this, we will eventually be wiped out.
Not only the warriors, but also her knights who followed her and the civilians remaining in her city all fall prey to the monster.
-I’m sorry, but I can’t help it.-
Of course, it wasn’t that there was no hope at all.
Fortunately, there was a weak point in the Demon King’s army’s siege that could be broken through if they fought desperately, and if they aimed for that area, they would be able to break through the siege and escape together with the city’s civilians.
However, someone had to sacrifice themselves to attract the attention of the Demon King’s army to prevent reinforcements from coming.
To do that, a fairly large number of victims were needed, and it was probably only possible by using all the remaining knights as bait.
-Someone will have to use bait to attract the Demon King’s attention. Rather than dying here together in peace, isn’t it better for someone to sacrifice themselves and survive a little bit?
The warrior smiled bitterly at her and told her story about her sacrifice.
-…I understand, warrior. We will do our best to attract the attention of the Demon Lord. So, hero, please escape with the citizens of this city. The warrior is our only hope.-
The knights who were with him wanted to protect the warrior and the citizens even if they had to take it upon themselves to do so.
-Huh? What are you all talking about? I’m going to do the bait? You take the rest and escape.-
However, the warrior actually laughed and said that he would use himself as bait.
The knights all looked at the hero with surprised expressions.
I couldn’t understand why the most important warrior would sacrifice himself in a situation where everyone had to sacrifice themselves.
-No, warrior! The hero is our only hope against the devil! If someone like that took the bait…-
-Hope is ruined, if I were really a warrior who could defeat the Demon King, I wouldn’t have encountered this situation. I can’t defeat the demon lord. The enemy demon lord is strong, and this is what happened when I briefly touched my arm with my sword. –
The warrior smiles bitterly as he remembers his lost arm.
It was clearly a situation where the warrior’s words had to be denied, but no one could deny her words.
This is because the Demon King was that strong and no matter how hard the warrior tried, it was not thought that he could win.
-Is that what you think? So, give up false hopes like mine and find new hope. Fortunately, it looks like a new hero is appearing again. –
In the end, the bait was left to the hero alone.
-Don’t lose hope. One day, a hero strong enough to defeat the Demon King alone will appear. –
The knights fled the city together with the citizens, holding back their tears, while the warrior remained alone in the city and fought alone against the endless waves of the demon king’s army.
-Welcome! I am the warrior. So, leave the others aside and kill me first.
Although my stamina is already depleted, I keep fighting.
In order for them to escape, they had to gain as much time as possible.
Now I can barely see in both eyes, and my remaining arm was torn off, but I didn’t give up and fought.
Fortunately, her holy sword was relatively light, so she could use it while holding it in her mouth.
-…-
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Even if we break through the siege, we will be chased right away.
For this reason, we had to hold on to the Demon King’s army until they could safely evacuate to a safe place.
-…Ah, you are the devil?-
That is how the warrior came to an end.
In a situation where it was difficult to even stand anymore, the devil appeared and grabbed her by the neck.
-Amazing, I never would have thought that a hero would sacrifice himself to save such trash.-
-hehehe… Seeing the devil himself say that, I guess he survived. Okay then, now do as you wish…-
No one knows what happened to her after that.
It is not known whether the Demon King killed the warrior or caused him to suffer something more terrible than his death.
The only remains left in the ruined city were countless corpses of demons and a holy sword that had lost its owner.
But one thing is certain: the warrior did not lose hope until the end.
He held in his heart the hope that even if he failed, another hero would appear and save the world.
The name of the holy sword she used was ‘Esperanto’.
The power of her holy sword was hope.
“…Is this the only memory left in the Holy Sword?”
Arsel closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the warrior who tried to save people even at the cost of sacrificing himself.
Being chosen as a warrior in itself means being forced to sacrifice and losing one’s life, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to take on the task of throwing away one’s life alone.
Arcel was also so afraid of dying that hesitation always remained in the back of her mind.
But she wasn’t even afraid of her death.
With her hopes in her heart, she firmly believed that a better future would come.
‘Please, close your eyes in peace now.’
Arcel decided to imitate her attitude.
The queen said that by continuing the legend of the hero and the demon king, she had no choice but to continue even an imperfect peace, but she believed that there was still hope left in this world.
Even if it doesn’t have to be such a wrong approach, there must be a way for this world to move forward peacefully for a long time.
Even if a disaster worse than the war with the Demon King’s army occurs in the end…
At that time, I decided to hope that someone would appear who would save the world, even if it was not necessarily a hero.
“What happened?”
“This holy sword was also not responsible for the regeneration of giants.”
“No again? “The 20% chance is low, but it’s not so bad that you can’t get hit… I’m worried that if you keep doing this, you’ll end up finding the holy sword you want.”
Alfred, who came running after confirming that the Holy Sword was destroyed, seemed disappointed that it was not the case this time.
“It doesn’t matter. All remaining holy swords must be destroyed anyway. “There is just a difference in the order.”
“That’s right. Did you do anything different this time? The giant has definitely had his output reduced.”
“I don’t think anything has changed.”
“For that matter, your expression doesn’t look very good, does it?”
Arsel’s expression was not very bright.
This is because the hero of the holy sword that was destroyed the first time, as well as the hero of the holy sword that was dealt with this time, did not have a good ending.
“It’s just a pity that even after hundreds of years, they still hoped for the salvation of the world within the Holy Sword, and that they tried to use them to the end…”
But I put those feelings aside for a moment, focused on the present, and fixed the holy sword.
“Alfred, where is the remaining holy sword?”
“It’s similar to before, the left breast, both legs, and the head are left, but since the one on the head was used by your fake, it has less priority.”
Arsel focused on the places Alfred mentioned.
As expected, the four remaining holy swords were also shining their own light.
Previously invisible magical powers began to appear, and it seemed that things that had been obscured by disposing of the two holy swords were also visible.
“I will go to the conclusion quickly. I ask you to defend yourself like you do now. “I want to focus only on handling the Holy Sword as much as possible.”
“Okay, then I’ll do as I always do, my warrior. “It seems like Grandma Clen is already reaching her limits.”
Alfred, as if he had made up his mind, climbed high into the sky and took a stance as if he were grabbing the air with both hands.
Boom!
“It’s like running a full marathon instead of just taking a light walk! “I’ll try my best!”
Huge golden chains that appear like that.
It was the same as the chains that bound Arcel, who had first visited the castle, but instead, it appeared to be large enough to fit a giant.
Golden chains appeared piercing the ground and space and began to bind the giant’s body.
The giant struggled, but the chains that were tightly bound did not seem to be easily loosened.
“Oh, wait a minute, this guy is a lot stronger than I thought?! I think I know why Grandma Clen swore like that! Do something quickly! “Otherwise I feel like my hand will fall off!”
But of course, it was not easy to restrain the giant.
Clen had already been pushed down a little while ago and her current movements have stopped.
If Alfred runs out of stamina, the situation will become even more difficult.
Arsel didn’t say anything more and headed straight to where the other holy sword was.