86 – The Evolution of Pegasus!
“Fly! Fer! Fly!”
Pegasus fluttered its wings vigorously.
Behind them, a mass of light was relentlessly pursuing them.
Being shined upon by that light meant becoming a warrior.
“Hold tightly around your waist or you’ll fall off! Aileen!”
“Eh? Yes!”
Aileen, amidst her existential crisis about how she ended up in such a situation, heard Ascal’s words and reflexively gripped her waist tightly.
And upon realizing what she had done, her face turned red.
Regardless, Ascal continued to guide Pegasus by holding the reins.
“Heeheehee!”
Pegasus, who hadn’t had a proper flight due to the gazes of people until now, was thrilled at this rare opportunity.
Dodging the mass of light with an amazing drift, it took a sharp curve. It was an advanced autonomous driving that transcended time.
That’s when it happened.
“Wow! This is the most dynamic situation I’ve been in for five hundred years! As expected of the master I chose! “
Before they knew it, Lightbane was in Ascal’s scabbard. Like a cuckoo, it pushed the original sword outside of the nest and claimed the scabbard.
Ascal drew Lightbane.
Lightbane twinkled in golden light.
It was blinding.
To Ascal, the light felt like a needlessly flashy LED light coming from a cheap computer case.
And then as Ascal was about to drop the sword…
Fearful, Lightbane vibrated heavily.
“Wait, don’t do that! Give me a chance! I have many useful abilities!”
“First, turn off that light. Surely you have an off function, right?”
“No, I can be useful!” The golden light from Lightvein disappeared. “Apart from this glow, I posses the capability to grandly amplify my master’s voice to be heard even a hundred miles away! Isn’t it tempting?”
“What’s the difference between you and a karaoke microphone.”
“…Also, I have hundreds of famous phrases collected since ancient times stored within me to recite when needed.”
“Give me one example.”
“Even if my sword bends, my faith will never bend!”
Lightvein was dropped by Ascal…
“Hold on, wait a moment! Give me another chance! I can also play stirring music when my master is fighting!”
Ascal was about to drop Lightvein…
“Alert, alert! I can wake you up anytime you set!”
Ascal was about to drop Lightvein…
“Weak spots, weak spots! I know various monsters’ weaknesses! Like how to fight Ogres!”
“Hmm. Do you happen to know the weakness of a dragon? Like a large dragon.”
“Crazy, how can even a hero catch a large dragon, not to mention a young dragon…”
Ascal was about to drop Lightvein…
“Large dragons do have a weak point too! I know the location of their weak points! Give me a chance!”
“I’ll trust you. You can be useful.”
Ascal put Lightvein back into the sword sheath.
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Lightvein breathed a real sigh of relief.
If it were dropped into a lake by bad luck, it could have lost its light forever. Lightvein quietly muttered, hopefully not audible from within the scabbard.
“Do dragons even have weak points? I just blurted it out anyhow, not like we’re going to encounter a large dragon…”
“You made it through. Good job, Fer.”
“Hee hee!”
Fortunately, the light swarm seemed to have stopped chasing.
But there was still a problem.
After a while of flying, we found ourselves in a completely unfamiliar place. Pegasus began to descend slowly.
“Where are we?”
Aileen, dizzy from the rough flight, asked as she held her head.
“It seems like a remote island.”
Looking around as they descended, it resembled a small island in the sea. There were no signs of human habitation.
“Everyone seems tired, let’s rest a bit before heading back. It seems like the pursuit has ceased”
“Yes……”
In the flow of events, they ended up on Pegasus……
Aileen’s mind was in turmoil.
‘Why does Cal have Pegasus? And those lights, they feel sacred somehow, but also familiar. Why did we run away, then? Where is this island? Are we alone right now? I feel anxious. Everyone must be worried. And before, there was someone who looked like Sirius. I miss the children. So, what should I do now? I’m hungry. No, I shouldn’t give in. Fight against the hunger.’
Her stomach growled loudly.
“You seem hungry.”
“No, not at all……this is, well, a kind of hunger that I can endure! My body just reacted involuntarily because I was a bit flustered!”
Aileen hurriedly tried to excuse herself. But she couldn’t hide her reddening face.
“Are you perhaps thinking about that time?”
Ascal evoked the memory of when she visited the Haven Orphanage, or the Haven Academy, as it was known back then.
Back then, Aileen was……
“I might fall into the sea. Don’t stop me.”
“Calm down! The past is just the past! I’ve already forgotten it! Humans are creatures that grow!”
Aileen shouted out in denial, trying to suppress her memories of the past. The past was an anchor that she was desperately trying to cut loose, to let it sink into the depths where it belonged.
“Really?”
“Belly fat.”
Aescal could no longer tolerate it.
Quietly, Aileen walked toward the beach, embracing a large rock and began preparing to submerge.
Her determination was evident.
‘I have to stop her.’
In situations like this, one must remain calm.
In persuading someone to give up life, the subject matter needs to change.
For instance, clichés such as ‘life is more beautiful than you think’ or ‘if you die like this, people around you will be saddened’ will only amplify negative thoughts.
The right approach is to stimulate a person’s desires.
“There seem to be a lot of clams on the beach. Wouldn’t it be delicious if we roasted them over a fire? Open the well-baked clams and sprinkle a little bit of lemon…”
“Do you have lemons?”
“Fortunately, I found a few lemon trees.”
It’s working.
Aescal decided to push a bit further.
“Do you like grilled fish? If we roast a freshly caught fish directly on the skewers until the skin becomes crispy… the flesh inside will be very chewy.”
Aileen had been living like a hermit for a long time.
She didn’t even allow food cooked over a fire to touch her lips, surviving solely on a bit of grain and fruits. It was both penance and trauma.
But now, Aescal’s descriptions stirred Aileen’s appetite. A desire that had been hidden for a long time poked its head.
“Can I eat that, someone like me. Such delicious things.”
Aescal summoned strength from her core and solemnly spoke.
“I permit you.”
“I shall forgive your sins.”
“……Thank you, my lord. I will never waste this second chance you’ve given me.”
Eileen clasped her hands and prayed, looking up at the sky.
Was this even something worth praying for?
But like her often nickname suggested, the sight of Eileen praying seemed as pure as a saint. The aura around her even shimmered in a golden light…
“Hold on! Stop praying!”
A prayer from someone with divine power attracts the gods.
In this case, it was as if she was dancing with a lightning rod under the stormy sky to get the attention of the lightning.
The sky darkened.
‘Figures…’
-Found you.
It seemed like he could hear the laughter of the light.
Askel decided to give up and close his eyes.
However, at that moment.
Fer sensed his master was in danger and began to run at full speed.
-Calm down and become a warrior! Wait, what does this mean!
A golden lightning bolt fell from the sky.
Fer jumped into the air.
“Fer!”
Fer, having taken the lightning strike for his master, twitched before his body began to glow golden.
「No way! That’s the Pegasus from the ancient myths! It’s not the Golden Pegasus, is it!」
Lightvein, who had sprung from his sheath, couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Hee…heee…”
Fer collapsed on the ground with a weak voice. Askel rushed over. Whether it was the Golden Pegasus or not, Fer’s state was more important.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.
Only his fur, eyes, and especially, his wings had turned into a dazzling gold.
Askel took a carrot out of his backpack and fed it to Fer.
As Fer ate the carrot happily, he licked Askel’s cheek with his tongue.
“I’m ticklish. Damn it. But thanks anyway.”
Aascal was puzzled.
But what would happen then?
-…Congratulations on becoming a Hero. Now that I’m done, I’ll go.
His voice was drained of energy.
And the sky got bright again.
Aileen, who had been devoutly praying, opened her eyes.
Her eyes were shining gold as well.
She was officially chosen by the gods to become a saint.
“The God of Light has bestowed me with a heavy task. To serve the Hero and make this world peaceful.”
“So it finally happened…”
“Karl, you were the Hero after all. There’s a strong correlation, I can feel it.”
Aileen came toward him with a smile.
Her golden eyes looked at Ascal, then began to blink as if something was odd.
“Huh?”
“So, it turns out like this. Fehr. Come here.”
“Heeing!”
Seeing Fehr turned into a golden pegasus, Aileen’s eyes widened.
“So, that horse is…?”
“Yes. From now on, Fehr will be a brave horse. Truly, it was an emotional sacrifice.”
Ascal stroked Fehr’s head.
Fehr growled happily.
“So I’m not riding Fehr, but me and the saint should ride Fehr together?”
Eileen was thrown into disarray.
But she overcame it.
“No, Karl, you are the hero. The sword isn’t guilty of bending its rival. As you are the owner of the horse, you are the hero.”
“But the sword is just a tool. Don’t you think that sword, Fer, has intelligence?”
“You are the hero.”
Things have gotten serious.
Askel started to sweat profusely.
It didn’t seem like they would be able to carry on a conversation. Believers can be frightening.
“In the end, this was our fate. Everything goes as fate leads… Karl, thank you for being the person I am bound to. hahahahaha.”
It seemed like she even awakened in some strange direction.
Another candidate for escape has been added.
“Let’s first quench our hunger and then return to the monastery.”
Askel headed for the seaside to catch clams and fish. And showed an unbelievable sight.
Something was visible beyond the horizon.
People.
People were swimming.
A hundred people or so were crossing the sea with their bare bodies.
It was madness.
And there were very few groups that could do such madness.
‘The Lion Tribe!’
Yes.
The Lion Tribe followed their god and broke through this great distance like ironmen.
Even smiles were flowing on their faces.
“Mazar! We have finally come as promised! Your loyal followers!”