Academy’s Genius Swordsman

#288

“Let’s go quickly. If we do that, we can save the world while we’re at it.”

The savior who left those words began to walk briskly into the Dinehar. His steps without any hesitation were impressive. Ronan, who had been dumbfounded, followed him.

“Oh, let’s go together.”

“I don’t intend to delay, so hurry up. Hey, which way is the way to the bridge?”

“Huh, bridge? What’s that?”

Dreaming Thunder was taken aback by the sudden question. The Savior explained the place called 'bridge' step by step.

“It’s a very wide, flat space. It’s all white, and there are machines and… Oh, yeah. There’s this huge crystal.”

The Savior spread his arms and drew a circle. For a moment, a place flashed through Ronan and Thunder’s minds. If their memories weren’t distorted, they had definitely been there before. Thunder, who succeeded in his deduction, snapped his fingers.

It was the place where Ronan had fought against Terranil, the leader of Nebula Clazie. The shockwaves, the sparks that tore through the ground, and the smell of blood from the massacred natives were still vivid. The Savior muttered.

“The heart… Yes. That’s not wrong. Can you guide me there?”

“Ha, but that’s a sacred place. Only people from our tribe can enter···.”

Dreaming Thunder trailed off. And he looked at Ronan’s face restlessly. He was asking if the Savior was trustworthy.

Now that I think about it, it was a holy place or something. The road there was also a mess. Ronan, who had been thinking, nodded.

“You can trust him. I guarantee it.”

“Okay then. I’ll take you there!”

As soon as Ronan’s assurance fell, Thunder’s face brightened. He could see his trust in Ronan from the fact that he didn’t ask at all why he was going to the Holy Land. Thunder walked ahead.

Ronan and the Savior followed the thunder into Dainhar. Surrounded by rocky mountains, sand, and metallic rock formations, they had to look up at the sky to change their mood even a little.

The night air was still cold. The night sky was unusually beautiful, perhaps because it was a desert without any artificial light. Ronan was walking while looking at the nebula burning in a rainbow of colors.

“Where are you going at this hour? It’s thundering.”

“ok?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard from the front. The three of them turned their gazes at the same time. There was a large, bulky native man standing there. Thunder's eyes widened.

“Whoa, bro?!”

“you···.”

Ronan was also surprised. Like Thunder, he was the native who had formed a bond with Dainhar, the angry gust of wind. Ronan met his eyes and greeted him first.

“Ronan. Long time no see.”

“I know.”

A magnificent hat was placed on the head of the angry gust. As expected, he had ascended to the throne as the new chieftain. He strode over to Ronan and shook his hand.

“I was a little worried because I hadn’t heard from you in three years. I’m glad to see you’re healthy.”

“Is it as good as you?”

Ronan stuck out his tongue when he saw Gust's body. It was not human, but a statue carved from obsidian. He said that he noticed the presence the moment Ronan and the Savior entered Dynhar. Gust opened his mouth after finishing his greeting.

“I heard the story roughly. You’re going to Dainhar’s heart, right?”

“Yeah. Right.”

“Then I will guide you. Thunder is still immature and cannot go alone.”

The angry gust did not ask Ronan, like his brother, why he was heading to the Holy Land. The favors he had received from Ronan and Schlieffen in the past were engraved on his bones. Dreaming Thunder, who was beside him, jumped up from his spot.

“Brother! What are you talking about? I can do it properly too!”

“So you broke your arm or leg last time you went? If it weren’t for me, you would have been disabled.”

“Ugh, that···.”

“No, both of you go together.”

While the native brothers were arguing, the Savior suddenly intervened and tapped them on the shoulders. He turned to Ronan and continued speaking.

“If this guy passes out, I’ll need someone to move him or wake him up for me. He’s big, after all. And you, Angry Gust, are the chieftain, right?”

“Fainted? Moved? Well, that’s it for now. I’m the chieftain.”

“Then you should come with me. I’ll tell you the details when I get there, so let’s go for now.”

The Savior who said so grabbed the angry Gust's wrist. Gust had one more head than him, but he was helplessly dragged by the Savior and led the way.

“her.”

Ronan laughed incredulously. Even shamelessness at that level was amazing. Suddenly, Thunder, who was looking back and forth between Ronan and the Savior, clapped his hands.

“Oh, looking closely, that guy looks just like Ronan. Except for the hair color, he’s exactly the same!”

“Well, he’s my father.”

“Father? Did Ronan have a father too?! Then does he have a mother too?”

Dreaming Thunder asked with his eyes wide open. Even if I were a woman, I would be less surprised than that. Ronan asked with his eyes wide open.

“Mommy. What does that mean? My face looks like an orphan’s?”

“Oh, don’t be angry. Ronan, you’re so strong, honestly I thought you were a monster. I’m glad you’re human like us.”

“Just kidding. But I don’t have either.”

Dreaming Thunder said in confusion. Of course, it was a joke, so Ronan reassured him with a moderate chuckle. However, the fact that he was a human like us was a little bothersome.

'Am I really human?'

Ronan twisted his lips as he recalled the moment when he drank the giant's blood. He thought that maybe he would live a life close to eternity like the Savior or Abel. He groaned as he fell into self-reflective contemplation.

“Umm… I don’t like that.”

“Oh, you’re angry after all.”

Thunder shrugged. Anyway, the four headed toward the heart of Dainhar. There were more natives they wanted to greet, but given the circumstances, they decided to put it off until later.

“Be careful. If you fall into the red water, you won’t even find your bones.”

“That’s why they call it lava, you idiot.”

The four of them climbed the cliff, crossed the lava river on stepping stones, and finally reached the long corridor leading to the heart. Clap! The savior, who had been looking down the dim corridor, clapped his hands.

“Yeah. Now I remember. Just past here, the bridge appears.”

“You remembered that so quickly.”

Ronan laughed in vain. Anyway, it was fortunate that it was the same place. There were no dangerous elements like traps here, so he could walk comfortably. Ronan crouched down and winked at his savior.

“Okay, then let’s get up quickly. We have to hurry.”

Of course, there was no time to enjoy leisure. The savior naturally placed his body on his son's back. At the same time, Ronan's figure shot forward. Boom! The sound of the ground being kicked echoed, and the native brothers' bewildered cries rang out.

“Ro, Ronan! Let’s go together!”

“wait!”

The gap widened quickly. Ronan kept running, whether he wanted to or not. The problem was that the passage itself was so long that even if he increased his speed, he would not reach the end.

Despite the darkness and silence that encouraged conversation, no conversation took place between the two men. Only the regular sound of footsteps echoed from far apart.

Suddenly, a question flashed through Ronan's mind. It was a question he had intended to ask the Savior, originally planned to ask later when he had more time. It came back to him because of the question Thunder had asked earlier.

'Why am I like this?'

Ronan furrowed his eyebrows. For some reason, he felt that if he didn't ask now, the opportunity would never come. Ronan, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

“Hey.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“What kind of person was that… mother?”

“Oh. You’re asking that now. I guess you were curious, weren’t you?”

The Savior was delighted. Judging from the way he answered as if he had been waiting, it seemed that he had been anticipating when he would be asked. Ronan, who felt his face flush for no reason, became irritated.

“Damn, wouldn’t you be curious? You’re the one who gave birth to me.”

“You must be curious. Of course you must be curious. If you ask what kind of person she is… Hmm. She was truly a woman like the sun. Your mother, that is.”

The Savior spoke. Ronan listened to him silently, although he felt a little sick.

“Kasha was a girl who had always lived in Nimbunton. She had really beautiful hair as black as the universe. I was sad that Iril couldn’t take her hair, but you don’t know how lucky I am that you inherited it.”

The Savior who said so began to play with Ronan's hair. The color that resembled the night sky was definitely his wife's. Ronan frowned.

“Can you please stop touching me?”

“It’s not like it’s worn out, so what’s the big deal? Anyway, Kasha was a really good woman. She wasn’t perfect, but that made her even more lovable. She was a person who could truly be kind to others.”

The Savior's tone of voice had become brighter than I could recognize. It was questionable how he had been able to hold back on this topic for so long. Without taking a deep breath, he continued to list his wife's virtues.

“She was good at making potato stew, she was strong for a woman, and although she made a lot of mistakes, she never gave up. But there was another reason why I fell in love with Kasha. Do you know what it is?”

“Is it a face?”

“You know a lot.”

Ronan answered without any hesitation. He remembered his mother's face from his past travels through the imaginary world.

Mom looked just like her older sister, to the point where you could say she only had different hair and eye colors. The savior nodded solemnly.

“Yes. Kasha was more beautiful than anyone else. I’ve seen many women over the years, but none of them could compare to her. The promise that I would never leave my bloodline behind no matter what happened turned into nothing more than a slur with just one glance at her.”

“···It’s good that you’re honest.”

The Savior said that he originally did not intend to date women or have children, because if this terrible ability he possessed were to be inherited, something terrible could happen.

In fact, the special organization of Nebula Clazie, Lycoforce, was created when his deteriorated version, Abel, planted seeds and became obsessed with cloning technology.

But Kasha was too beautiful for him to make a rational judgment. He was intoxicated by the love between two people, the first he had ever experienced in his long life.

The fact that the wounds from Abel's stabbing had not healed over the years was truly the power of love. The Savior, who had been saying a few more words, closed his eyes.

“Ah, that ecstatic night is still vivid enough to be touched. Exactly ten months after that, Iril was born. Your mother said the star-filled river was beautiful and grabbed my wrist. And then···”

“Fuck, if you go any further than that, they’ll just abandon you.”

Ronan cut off the savior's words. He didn't want to know such information. If things continued like this, his sister would tell him the story of the moment he first appeared in the world. Ronan, who had been silent for a moment, smiled brightly.

“Well, thanks anyway.”

“hmm?”

“Anyway, I heard that your mother was an incredibly good person. I was curious because I don’t remember seeing her face properly.”

Ronan said. In fact, he had no memory of his mother. Every year, he and his sister laid flowers on her grave in a sunny spot in Nimberton.

If I hadn't traveled through the imaginary world in the Secret Room in the past, I would never have known his face in my entire life. The Savior wrapped his hair around his index finger.

“···One of the regrets of my life is that I was not able to be present at your mother’s death. After putting a curse on you and Iril, she immediately left for the Sea of ​​Ghosts. I have never been so cursed.”

“I had no choice. I had to survive right now.”

“Thank you for saying so. It’s the same with leaving you behind. Iril had a time that could be called a memory, but she didn’t do anything for you, Ronan.”

His voice was hoarse. I could sense regret in the pitch and volume of his voice. He continued.

“That’s why I gave you the blood-soaked acupuncture needle. I asked you to give it to me on your birthday when you become an adult. I also thought that I could help you, but…”

“But it was big?”

“The truth is, I just wanted to see my grown son. Selfish thoughts.”

The Savior laughed self-deprecatingly. Ronan said nothing. He thought it was understandable, even if it was annoying.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that running away from home early in his previous life had really messed up a lot of things. If he had just held out until he became an adult, he might have found a way to control the giants during his remaining time. Of course, it was a pointless story now.

“There is a saying that only blood can wash away. Just like that, I believe that there are wounds that only love can wash away. Kasha and you siblings helped me forget the despair of being betrayed by Abel that seemed like it would never go away.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Thank you so much. I’m finally saying it now.”

The Savior concluded his speech with these last words. There was no further conversation.

“···That’s true.”

Ronan twisted his lips. It wasn't that he was keeping silent on purpose, but he couldn't think of a suitable answer.

It was at this moment, after jumping exactly three more times, that he turned the corner. Suddenly, his vision brightened and a familiar space opened up before his eyes.

“First of all, I arrived.”