I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

144. End of the story (4)

“But it won’t be easy. In order to escape from the depths of consciousness, you have to rise to the surface with your own strength. “It will probably never be easy, and you will never see anything good.”

Consciousness is something formed based on an individual’s ego and experience.

Therefore, in order to get through that consciousness, I had no choice but to face my own memories.

However, just as we cannot always experience only good things in life, only good things cannot remain in Arcel’s memories.

Furthermore, most of the things that lie in the depths of ordinary consciousness are only things that can be called nightmares.

“If you make a mistake and your ego collapses, you may never wake up. I would have to spend eternity in deep, lightless darkness, not in this momentary fantasy. “Is there really any reason to take that gamble?”

“But it doesn’t matter. “I have to get out of this dream.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

Little Alfred reacted with satisfaction upon seeing Arcel.

“I can’t help you, no one can help you, I’m just a guest in your consciousness. Getting out of the depths is something you have to do yourself. “There is no one by your side who can help you anymore.”

“I understand.”

It’s okay.

I have received help from many people to get to this point.

So, at least stepping foot on the destination means wanting to do it yourself with your own strength.

It had to be that way.

Because there was no other way to repay those who walked the same path as him.

No matter how arduous and difficult the last step is, I will never give up.

That was the path Arcel walked.

“Then you will open your eyes again, you will be suffocated, but you will not need to breathe.”

Visibility slowly begins to darken.

“What looks like the sea is only the landscape of your consciousness. There you don’t have to breathe and you don’t die.”

The darkened vision leaves the garden, which God considers, and returns to the place where Arcel was originally located.

“Just don’t forget exactly what you were. But on the other hand, if you forget…”

And Arcel opened her eyes.

Little Alfred could no longer be heard except for one word.

“…Even if things go well, you won’t be able to smile. I’ll probably never be able to smile sincerely either. “That’s kind of sad.”

Arcel opened his eyes and looked around him.

Even though there was no light at all, I was able to instinctively know where this place was and where I was.

Where should we move forward?

There is no need to ask that.

It still feels like there is a chain tied to one of his legs and dragging him down to the floor, but that is just a shackle that Arcel himself put on himself.

I am a warrior.

Because he is a warrior, he must save the world.

To do that, you must follow the queen’s orders.

The influence of this childhood brainwashing took shape in the chains that bound Arcel.

‘Mistel.’

In his heart, Arcel summons the Holy Sword, which is already one with the warrior himself.

A small light appeared in the deep sea where there was only quiet darkness, and a sword made of light was held in Arcel’s hand.

I don’t know if this is really a holy sword, but it is at least the sword that appeared in Arcel’s Call.

Quang-!!!

Cut off the chains that bind you with your sword.

The chain, which seemed strong and unbreakable, suddenly shattered into fragments.

Surprisingly, the brainwashing itself was not difficult to break.

Instead, the real problem is the part that escapes to the surface from the depths where even this light cannot reach.

‘Once I realized that I didn’t need to breathe, I stopped being out of breath. Moreover, their bodies are light, so they can swim through the water without difficulty. But I think it will take too long at this rate.’

Just as the time between dreams and reality is different, the time in this world of consciousness and the world of reality will also be different.

I don’t know if it was fast or slow, but Arcel just wanted to return to reality as quickly as possible.

She is put to sleep by the queen and she does not know what she will do.

I think Alfred would still do something, but I couldn’t leave everything to him forever.

He was the one who walked this path in the first place.

No matter how warm and nice Alfred’s embrace was, he did not want to go to his destination without being held by him.

Maybe it would be better if I went without holding him.

“Where are you running away to?”

Then, something appeared to block Arcel’s path.

Arsel suddenly looked very surprised when he saw the person who blocked his path.

A giant swordsman wearing black armor.

How can I forget the owner of that appearance?

He is a being who fell into despair in the past when he thought he could not win no matter what he did and had promised himself that he would never give up no matter what.

Of course, in the end, victory was handed over to Arcel, but it was not a true victory.

‘The devil…!’

That’s probably not the real devil.

This is Arcel’s own consciousness.

Perhaps the memories of what he thought was his archenemy and the most powerful came to him.

“What do you think a brat like you can do if he gets out of here? “You are a failure who fell into despair without being able to save anything even though I gave you victory.”

That too is not what the devil says.

It was a voice similar to that of the Demon King, a voice that the Demon King would speak, but it was the same as the words that Arsel used to say in his subconscious, blaming himself and constantly reprimanding himself.

As long as I knew that, there was no need to be intimidated.

‘Yes, I know. I am a failure. Even though he lived with everyone and defeated the Demon King, he was a failure who could not save anything.’

As it was a question he was asking himself, he knew the answer to that question better than anyone else.

‘Then all you have to do is succeed. Clearly I failed. So this time, we head to the surface to succeed. So don’t get in my way. Devil.’

Arsel held the sword.

“It’s funny, you couldn’t even make a scratch when the sword touched me. How dare you warn me? “What if I’ve improved since then, when all I have is my trivial speaking skills?”

The hero in reality trembles against the devil.

The human body and instincts could not help but be swallowed up by fear and fear in the face of a victory that was no different from a defeat in the past and the overwhelming force he showed.

‘Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cut you down if you stand in my way.’

But the human spirit is capable of overcoming even such instincts.

“Good. It is said to be a fake made from fragments of this memory. Let’s see if you can truly put an end to your false destiny…!”

Unlike other animals, humans did not just act based on instinct, but were able to make wise decisions and choose actions with reason.

The noble spirit of this person who walked steadily forward without giving up, no matter how difficult the path was, was not something that could be suppressed by the instincts of living things.

Arsel grabbed his sword and clashed with the Demon King.

Light begins to appear in the sea where only darkness has settled.

†††

“Is everything you have shown us true?”

“That’s right. Poor sheep who followed this foolish shepherd. Even though it looks like this, he is almost ruined now, but he is still the greatest elder of the elves. Besides, there’s no reason to lie to you, is there?”

“There are many reasons, aren’t there? It is true that we ‘hunted’ elves in the Kingdom of Hermod. “If you are trying to divide our kingdom…”

“…Do you really think there is more division left here?”

In response to Karkal’s question, Sion pointed around and said.

“Hmm, that’s certainly true, but it’s still true that I can’t believe it.”

Karkal cleared his throat and corrected his words.

The capital of the Kingdom of Hermod had not only fallen, but had become completely ruined.

Honestly, if it were any other kingdom, it could be said to have been completely destroyed.

Of course, the Kingdom of Hermod has many cities other than this one, and there is more than enough work to be done to rebuild the capital.

The power of the kingdom, which confronted the Demon King’s army head-on for over hundreds of years, can be considered the greatest among human nations.

But even the kingdom of Hermod cannot easily stand up without a leader.

“…Even if they suddenly tell us that the queen is the culprit of all these disasters and that even the terrible things that happened in the past were all touched by the queen, it is still difficult to believe.”

“I guess that’s right. Please understand that things that are more absurd than dreams often happen in reality. So, have you reached a conclusion?”

“What conclusion are you talking about? “Elven elder.”

Shion moved his fingers and made sprouts grow from the roots.

Soon the sprout grew and bore small fruit, which took the shape of a pure white crow.

“I heard that you humans learn to think and judge for yourself from an early age. “For the sake of social order, common sense is limited, but do you really feel that all of these things are normal within that common sense?”

When Karkal heard Sion’s words, he remained silent for a moment.

Still, the silence did not last long.

He closes his eyes as if lost in thought for a moment, then opens them again and reacts as if he has completely organized his thoughts.

“Of course not. Still, I will see it with my own eyes and judge for myself. Even if everything you showed me was true, I swore that I would only judge what I saw and heard.”

In fact, at some point, Karkal was vaguely aware that what happened five years ago was not the hero’s act.

“I knew it wasn’t the hero’s doing, but I couldn’t judge it carelessly because I hadn’t seen or heard anything.”

However, all the evidence, including the queen, proved that the disaster was caused by a hero, and since I could not think of anyone other than the hero who could have done such a thing, I had no choice but to conclude that the hero was the culprit.

But I never would have guessed that an even crueler truth was hidden.

It was certainly true that the hero committed such a disaster.

“And now I realize that was the wrong choice. So, I plan to check with my own eyes to avoid making the same mistakes as the past.”

However, the warrior had no choice but to commit something more terrible than death, with tears in his eyes.

Even though she endured more pain than cutting herself with a sword, and was stigmatized as a witch, taking on everyone’s sins, she continued to strive to become a warrior until the end.

At one time, he was called a warrior and a hero of mankind.

From that day on, she was called a witch and a traitor to humanity.

From the perspective of a knight who values honor, he thought it would be better to choose death himself.

“I see, you are a wise child, rare for a human being. So follow this bird, and it will guide you so that you can see and hear for yourself.”

“Thank you. I will never forget this grace that helps me see the truth. And…”

Carkal bowed his head and expressed his sincere apology.

“Nothing will change if I say this, but on behalf of Hermod, I will apologize for everything I have done to the elves. If possible, we at Hermod will spare no effort in providing support for the remaining survivors.”

“Yes, thank you for your words.”

Shion looked at Karkal with a happy smile.

If there had been a child among the elves who was like a warrior, or at least a child with similar thoughts to the knight in front of them, would their fate have been slightly different?

I knew it was a useless thought, but I couldn’t help but feel regretful and look back on the past.

‘Anyway, what the elves did to humans wasn’t easy.’

Zion thought that everything that happened to the elves was past karma.

That was also the result of the choices the elves made, and if he was going to blame this, he should blame the elders like himself who made those choices in the past, not the humans.

“…It was a life I never intended to live that long, but I somehow ended up living this tough and tough life.”

Now Zion stared endlessly at the sky.

I had a rough idea of what would be at the end of the sky and what would be looking down on this world.

What is the person watching everything from beyond thinking?

That was Zion’s only curiosity.