Chapter 222.1 – (Epilogue)
Thoughts lie in the mind.
Emotions lie in the heart.
Memories lie in everything that lives and breathes.
That is why the story will keep going.
Forever.
-Unknown Writer
In the Heavenly Realm…
The Goddess Sylphia, who had regained her brightly shining glory, was surrounded by her angels.
One specific angel stood out from the rest, as her wings had been tainted black and she sulked alone in a corner.
“Yuriel,” the goddess called out.
“Y-Yes, goddess-nim!” Yuriel replied with tears welling up in her eyes. She had turned into a fallen angel after taking innocent lives when she descended to the continent. Her guilt had slowly dissipated over time, but her wings were still dyed black.
Thus, the other angels rebuked her and despised her.
“Yuriel did the unspeakable!”
“I knew this would happen when she kept drinking in secret. You have to strip her of her rights as an angel and banish her from the heavenly realm!”
Sylphia’s light shone brightly as she said, “Silence.”
The angels immediately stopped talking at her command. Yuriel gulped nervously.
“Yuriel, I am aware that you did not kill those innocent creatures of your own will,” the goddess said.
“Goddess-nim…” Yuriel murmured, her eyes still filled with tears.
“However, I cannot simply reverse your corruption, as it is true that you have broken many rules as of late,” the goddess added.
“That means…” Yuriel nervously murmured.
“Go and work as a guardian angel until your wings turn white again,” the goddess commanded.
“Whose guardian angel should I work as…?” Yuriel asked.
Sylphia’s light dimmed as she said, “Who else could there be, aside from that man who used a god as his stepping stone to save the continent?”
Only after the goddess said those words did Yuriel finally smile brightly once again.
***
In the Desert of Death…
The Fire Trolls were on their guard as they looked nervously at the new race they had just come into contact with.
Their leader, Yanak, stepped forward as their representative and asked, “Who are you?”
The titan named Kaldo stepped forward and replied, “We are titans. We are a race that has lived deep underground since ancient times, and we just arrived on the surface recently.”
“Is that so? We are Fire Trolls! What business do you have here in the Desert of Death?” Yanak asked.
“We titans once lived alongside lava, and that is why this hot desert is the perfect place for us to inhabit. We wish to live in this place from now on,” Kaldo replied.
“Alright! We welcome you!” Yanak exclaimed.
The titans were in awe of the Fire Trolls’ benevolence.
“We were quite worried, but we cannot help but be touched that you accepted us so easily,” Kaldo said.
“Of course, I do not mean that we are letting you live in our territory for us! You will have to offer us a glass of water every week too!” Yanak added.
It was then that the Fire Trolls started to murmur among themselves.
“Yanak! That’s too cruel of a requirement to place on the titans!”
“It will be tough for them to adapt to a new environment! You’re being too much!”
However, Yanak maintained his composure and acted firm, as was required of a leader. He retorted, “Silence! We have a right to start receiving things from now on! We can demand this much from them! We can’t keep drawing the short end of the stick and live like a bunch of kind fools anymore!”
Kaldo smiled and replied, “A glass of water? We can offer you thirty barrels of water every week.”
“Heok!”?Yanak exclaimed in surprise, and his jaw dropped.
“We titans are very adept at working with the ground. We found quite a few underground wells in this desert. We can eventually turn this desert into arable land if we work hard,” Kaldo said.
“T-Thirty barrels is too much! Ten barrels will do! Give the rest to the elves!” Yanak exclaimed.
“We will do as you have told us to,” Kaldo replied respectfully.
“Just tell us if you need anything! We will bring it to you if we can!” Yanak exclaimed.
The leaders of the two races, Yanak and Kaldo, shook hands.
***
In the back garden of the royal palace…
Tommy, who was now eight years old, looked up at the knight captain, Helkin. He called out, “Grandpa.”
“What is it?” Helkin asked.
“What should I become when I grow up?” Tommy asked.
“What do you think of becoming a knight like your grandpa?” Helkin asked.
“I don’t like blood,” Tommy replied.
“A scholar is fine too,” Helkin added.
“I can’t read books,” Tommy replied.
“A tamer,” Helkin said.
“I’m scared of rabbits,” Tommy replied with a shudder.
“Then why not forge your own path? That’s what choosing a career is all about,” Helkin said.
Tommy looked around at his surroundings for a while, then up at the sun shining brightly above him. Afterward, he said something that made no sense at all. “Then I can become a god. That way, I can do everything I want.”
“Your grandpa has cut down a god before,” Helkin replied proudly.
“Wow! Really? What was it like?” Tommy asked excitedly.
“It was a sensation like no other, but I failed to kill him. I couldn’t tear his guts apart,” Helkin said.
Tommy’s face turned ghastly pale before he screamed, “I want to go home!”
Helkin suddenly got the urge to cut off his own tongue once again.
It was then that Lenox suddenly came running toward him. He wiped his sweat before asking with a smile, “Were you talking with Tommy just now?”
“That’s the only joy in life I have now. Did something happen?” Helkin asked.
The smile on Lenox’s face disappeared as he said, “There have been numerous suspicious activities across the empire ever since the throne became vacant. All sorts of crimes are on the rise, as criminals are taking advantage of the reduction in security. However, one specific clan has been standing out among all of those criminals, and their crimes are on a whole different level.”
Lenox passed a thick envelope, which had the image of a black tiger on one of the files, to the knight captain. He said, “The investigators are requesting the cooperation of the Imperial Knights.”
Helkin glanced through the files, then replied with a nod, “So it’s the unit with that infamous female investigator… I guess things are going to become very busy from now on.”
The two knights entered the royal palace.
Lenox suddenly asked, “Why did you not say anything about that man, though?”
“Who are you talking about?” Helkin asked in response.
“That expressionless man,” Lenox replied.
When the dead Imperial Knights had initially been found, there were signs indicating they had been murdered. In spite of that, Helkin had ruled that their deaths were an accident and given out compensation to the families of the deceased. The only survivor among them, the captain of the Fifth Order of the Imperial Knights, Sorden, had refused to provide testimony before he retired.
“Our mission at that time had a lot of problems with it. We had to kill someone innocent just because we were required to listen to orders from above as knights,” Helkin said while rubbing the hilt of his sword. He added, “However, the throne is now vacant.”
Lenox understood what Helkin meant. Their mission in the Kervas Mountains had been no different from slaughtering the innocent, and there was a high probability that the fifth order had died due to their target acting in self-defense.
Helkin cared for each and every one of the knights under him, but he did not dwell on their deaths, as all knights were prepared to lay down their lives while in the line of duty. Additionally, the knights were currently at a loss due to the vacancy on the throne of the Reorkan Empire.
“A knight must serve the king, after all,” Lenox said.
“That’s right. We, the Imperial Knights, now have to search for a new master to serve from now on,” Helkin said.
The old knight walked forward firmly, without a hint of hesitation in his steps.
***
On the 200th underground floor…
A tiny fairy fluttered its wings while shouting, “Giant-nim! Giant-nim!”
“It’s you again. What do you want this time?” the colossus replied.
“Hmph! Quishow is disappointed in you. I came all the way here and that is how you talk to me?” Quishow said, looking away.
The Blacksmith of Fire ignored the fairy and continued hammering away.
The blacksmith’s ghostly assistant smiled at the fairy before speaking.
[I will apologize on his behalf, Quishow. What brings you here today?]
“Quishow will tell you, since ghost-nim is nice. Human-nim came down not long ago and met with Quishow. Human-nim asked me to pass this thing along, so Quishow brought this heavy thing all the way down here,” Quishow said.
The ghostly assistant asked a question in response.
[Human-nim? Who are you talking about?]
“I’m talking about that expressionless evil human-nim!” Quishow exclaimed.
The assistant immediately understood who the fairy was talking about, and promptly replied.
[Ah, so you were referring to him. What did he want to pass along?]
“This ring,” Quishow replied, handing over the black ring it was wearing around its arm. Then, the fairy proudly stuck out its chest and said, “Quishow wanted to steal it because it was a very beautiful ring, but Quishow suppressed those desires and brought it to you!”
It was at that moment that a thunderous roar reverberated all throughout the underground. “What is that ring!”
“Kyaaaahk!”?Quishow screamed in fright. The fairy trembled as it said, “T-The human-nim told me to give it to you! Quishow did nothing wrong!”
“That crazy bastard!” the Blacksmith of Fire shouted before raising his hammer up high, seemingly intending to smash it down on the ring.
However, his assistant suddenly interjected.
[Wait a minute.]
The ghost carefully inspected the ring.
[This… This is the Ring of Life Suppression.]
The ring shook as soon as she touched it, and a pitch-black soul emerged from it. That soul was a certain black-haired man.
The ghost assistant stared at the man for a while before muttering something.
[You are…]
The soul asked a question with a sad smile.
[Do you remember me?]
It was none other than Sirian.
The Blacksmith of Fire could not believe his eyes for a moment. Afterward, he snapped out of it and shouted angrily, “King of All Things! How dare you show your face here!”
Sirian’s soul raised both of his hands as he replied.
[I’m already dead, and I no longer have any reason to do bad things. It went against my expectations, but my goal has been fulfilled.]
The Demon Lord was dead, and the continent had not been destroyed, as its entire destiny had been changed. Sirian had no regrets… except for one thing.
[The memories I lost are slowly coming back to me… after coming in contact with your soul…]
The ghostly assistant spoke, looking at Sirian for a long time before her eyes suddenly gained newfound clarity. She murmured the black soul’s name.
[Sirian?]
[That’s right, Sephia. It’s me.]
Sirian replied with a bitter smile. However, he could not look straight into her eyes as he continued.
[I wanted to apologize to you.]
The Infinite Dimension Wizard, Sephia, replied to him.
[You do not deserve to be forgiven.]
Sephia continued.
[You were the one who summoned the demons that day, and we died because of your betrayal. I turned into a wandering ghost and even lost my memories because of that.]
Sirian could not say anything to refute any of the things Sephia said.
[Of course, I am certain that there was a reason for your actions, since that is the kind of person you are, but you should have explained it to us at the very least. You did not trust us in the end.]
As Sephia spoke, she looked him directly in the face and continued.
[There is no excuse that can justify the evil you have done, Sirian.]
Sirian could not raise his head, and silence fell.
It was then that Sephia suddenly hugged Sirian.
Sirian murmured softly.
[Sephia…?]
Sephia replied to him.
[Go. Go and repent for what you did, and receive your punishment for it.]
Tears started flowing down Sirian’s cheeks. The tears he cried were warm even though he had become a cold evil spirit. Sephia hugged him even more tightly as she continued.
[Come back once you have paid for your sins, not only to me, but to everyone else. If not, you will miss your chance to see them for eternity.]
Sirian nodded while crying, murmuring a response.
[I’m sorry… I really am…]
The white soul continued to hug the black soul, and they both started to dissipate. Sephia smiled and looked back at the Blacksmith of Fire before speaking.
[Ah, you have gotten older too. Thank you for staying by my side all this time, my disciple.]
“Just go on your way, teacher,” the Blacksmith of Fire grumbled.
Then, the two souls disappeared completely, heading to where they truly belonged.
The Blacksmith of Fire stared silently at the place where the souls had just been for quite a while.
Quishow tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What happened just now? Quishow couldn’t understand anything.”
The Blacksmith of Fire did not respond as he put down his gigantic hammer and stood up.
The fairy jumped in surprise and asked, “Giant-nim, where are you doing?”
“I’ve fulfilled my obligations as a disciple. I no longer have a reason to stay underground,” the blacksmith said as he gripped his hammer tightly.
Quishow flew over to the Blacksmith of Fire and asked, “Then do you want smart Quishow to show you the way? Giant-nim doesn’t know how to go to the surface, right?”
“There’s no need for that,” the Blacksmith of Fire replied before swinging his gigantic hammer.
Then, a rift that served as a passageway to another dimension appeared in midair.
Quishow’s jaw dropped in surprise as it asked, “What is that place?”
“A world that’s entirely different from this one,” the Blacksmith of Fire replied. He slung his hammer onto his back and said, “I guess it’s time for me to go on another adventure after a very long time.”
The blacksmith then hopped into the rift.
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