16 – Dry Mirror (4)
The Demon King is amassing his forces.
Sia thought for a moment and answered.
“Does that mean… war is going to happen?”
Lucion nodded.
He had lost quite a few comrades while defending the borders for ten years.
He kept losing, over and over again.
When he lost Sia as well, it was enough to shatter Lucion, who had been waiting for the day they would meet again.
He could have easily fallen into the magic. He barely escaped with true faith. It was a severe ordeal. Despite wandering through adversity, he endured it, thinking only of the day he would meet Sia again.
He didn’t want to experience those days again.
“Of course, all the comrades who died are still alive.”
He wanted to do something for them before they returned to the battlefield. The demons would invade this land again, releasing their magic and turning it into a wasteland.
“Only five years left.”
Each day was precious.
“It’s still okay for now, they say. But I think differently.”
Whether it was about the Demon King launching an attack or preparing for war, such stories remained as distant tales until Lucion was appointed as a knight to the royal capital.
Even when warnings were raised to prepare for the Demon King, the responses from the kingdom’s officials residing there were only frustrating reactions.
– We don’t need to go out to defend our kingdom, even if it’s dangerous.
– Moreover, it’s something happening on the other side of the continent.
The prevailing sentiment was to observe.
In reality, the Kingdom of Oslant was located farthest from the emergence point of the Demon King. The demonic forces could only reach the Kingdom of Oslant after annihilating several countries.
Therefore, they adhered to the stance that there was no need to rush preparations. It was about preventing unnecessary consumption. If other countries could handle it, fine; if not, they would be doomed anyway.
From the perspective of governing a country, it seemed like a sound judgment to anyone. The only oversight was the fact that Oslant possessed the greatest power across the entire continent.
Other countries did not have as many geniuses as the Kingdom of Oslant.
In other words, Oslant was overflowing with geniuses.
“We need to prepare for war. Because we have the strength.”
Lucia remained calm, as if she had expected it at some point.
For Lucia, worries were becoming a reality.
It was nothing significant.
“I knew you would say that someday. That you’ll go to conquer the Demon King.”
Considering Lucion’s strength, whether it was his own will or someone else’s, he thought he would become an enemy of the Demon King.
“Our power. Are we talking about divine energy?”
“Yes.”
“I want to deny Lucion’s old saying now, ‘There’s hardly ever a time when worries become reality.'”
Countless worries were turning into reality.
“Just like we use divine energy, demons use magic.”
Lucion drove a wedge.
Tears welled up.
‘Ah. This is reality.’
The phrase ‘Just like we use divine energy’ sounded like a warning that we must block, as if it were an absolute necessity.
Lucia muttered with a thin face.
“Magic is…”
“It’s a slightly different concept from mana. It’s the opposite of divine energy.”
Lucia nodded her head.
She could only be restless with anxiety about losing Lucion.
hahahaha. For Lucia, forcing a smile is the best she can do.
However, Lucion couldn’t understand Lucia’s feelings.
“Sia must know the origin of divine energy. It’s created when new life is born, when the sun rises, when there’s a strong wish, and when someone sacrifices themselves purely for the sake of others.”
“It was written like that in the textbook.”
Not a single Korean character was wrong.
Lucia made a disgusted expression.
That’s right, Lucien will become a textbook editor later on. As an exam writer, he had memorized the contents of the textbook by heart.
“Magic is the complete opposite of divine power.”
“Yeah. That’s. Right. You. Are. Amazing. Lucien.”
Mechanical words and mechanical responses.
It was only then that Lucien felt something strange.
“Sia?”
“I’m fine. Keep talking. You want to…tell me something, right?”
Lucia casually looked up at Lucien.
It was hard to distinguish whether the figure in front of her was a person or a ‘teacher machine’ that looked like Lucien.
“Well.”
Lucien met Sia’s gaze at eye level.
Something was broken.
Does Lucia even know that this is what Lucien wanted?
It’s difficult if they get too close.
“So, I mean, divine power…”
“Yeah.”
Lucien says with a bitter smile.
“Divine power is…”
That long-awaited moment, or just listening, weakens Lucien’s heart. His breath is caught, and he can’t speak the next words. Only the desire to release Sia’s heart continues to grow.
“It’s not good to weaken…but…”
Still, wouldn’t it be okay to show weakness just once?
Sia is only sixteen years old.
She has the right to be a little happier.
I believe she will have that right.
Even if she spends a little enjoyable time, she won’t be punished later for laziness.
So just this once, she can have a light accident.
From Noble mtl dot com
It’ll be fine.
I hope you find it cute.
“With divine power… yes… I see. I can do something like this too.”
Lucion had long been fascinated by Halo.
In this moment, Lucion surpassed himself once again.
Just in his heart,
– I want to relieve Sia’s mood. Please.
That was his only prayer.
It wasn’t for any particular purpose. Lucion’s wind, which had reached the true origin of divine power, led him to grow one step further.
Nature responds to Lucion’s purity.
It was only Tritan’s sympathy for Lucion.
Beyond the Glory rank, Lucion became a saint, known as the existence of divine power.
#
The lake shimmered.
The golden frame surrounded the sparse remaining leaves on Tritan.
The tree trunk shone white, and the Sharon birds perched on the branches flew up together, filling the sky.
Like scattered blossoms, white feathers fluttered in the sky.
It was a celebration of divine power.
Lucia didn’t care how she received it.
If she couldn’t find hope, she would force light into her eyes.
“How is it?”
As a Lucion, it seemed like a scene that had been used too much, like trash flying in the sky. But to Lucia, who was seeing such a beautiful sight for the first time, it was a breathtaking spectacle.
Light entered Sia’s dying pupils. Sia’s hunched shoulders spread wide as if to say, “When did this happen?”
“Uh? Wow. Amazing. No, no, absolutely amazing!”
She couldn’t think of any words cooler than that.
No matter what words she attached, they couldn’t be cooler compared to the magnificent sight in front of her.
She forgot when she was feeling down.
Now, she could only feel gratitude towards Lucion and Tritan for giving her this beautiful scenery.
Lucion treated Sia as if he were dealing with a child, even though Sia had just turned sixteen. Therefore, he only spoke at eye level.
“If we leave the Demon King as is, we might not be able to see scenes like this anymore.”
“Ah. Ah?”
She understood.
Beyond the perception that the Demon King was a dangerous existence, she had a desire to see this scene again. The faintly shining trees, the deer gathered around Lucia, and the monsters like Howard, Sharon birds, and rabbits, and even the trolls that she didn’t know why they were there.
They were all watching over Lucia.
Lucia began to think, sitting in this spot, that she might be the protagonist of the world.
#
The light had lasted quite a while.
The space felt surreal.
She stood by the lake, looking down at the water.
Not far away, Zion leaned against Triton, gazing up at the sky.
“hehehe.”
Lucia looked at the lake before her, pinched herself to make sure that everything she was experiencing was not a dream.
But indeed, it was reality.
She exclaimed in admiration, unable to believe that she had created this large and beautiful lake with her own hands.
It was overwhelming.
Lucia and the residents of Triton had connected the river she had found to Triton.
Now Triton wouldn’t have to be lonely anymore, right?
She had brought the winds of change, just as she had initially requested. Now all that was left was for the elves to return!
“hehehehe.”
Watching Sia, who even sang a little tune,
Lucia thought that this time, she had done well.
#
The lake was clear.
Inside the lake, it was filled with Triton’s shell and leaves.
As the sun slowly sank, the lake ceased to reflect its surface any longer. Instead, the flow of the water became quite evident, both visible and audible.
Once night fully enveloped the surroundings, the lake transformed into a mirror.
The light emitted by Tritan, the moon in the night sky, and the stars, constituted everything that was reflected in the lake.
Lucia closely examined her own face mirrored in the lake.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t really looked into a mirror since leaving the orphanage. There were no mirrors to be found, so she had been assessing her own condition through the reflection in the river.
Drying her hair was done as a sacred ritual, and maintaining cleanliness was a sacred duty. Nevertheless, the river was frequently visited.
It was the only way to see her own face.
In the mirror,
Um.
A quite cute, blue-eyed, blonde girl with a blank expression was staring back at her.