271st Chapter
『Kuhwaaaack—!!』
Gamigin was emitting poison like a waterfall.
His form started to blur.
His body, darker than ink and smelly like smoke, began to disperse, revealing the background of Academia through the gaps.
『Gulemashia…! Gulemashia…!』
Gamigin shouted in a fit of rage.
For thousands of years, Gamigin had soaked his eyes and mouth with the blood of people, and now he opened his mouth wide to call the name of Gulemashia.
With both hands lost, Gulemashia struggled on the ground to rise.
A body nearing its lifespan end.
His body, already past its limit, was straining its skinny legs, thinner than dry twigs, to face that monster in mutual destruction.
Desperately, he fought against his drooping eyelids.
『Gulemashia……!!』
Now, poison was erupting from Gamigin’s eyes as well.
Even if he tried to separate the mana of Gulemashia from within him, it was no longer possible.
This was because the finger of Gulemashia embedded in his heart obstructed that.
With nearly no form left except for his heart and the black roots around it, Gamigin stood there.
A faint breeze whisked away all the poison that remained.
In the end, he poured his anger, cursing the name of Gulemashia, but it was all in vain.
Splash—.
As Gamigin’s body completely vanished, the heart and roots fell apart.
The heart still pulsed.
However, whether it was because of Gulemashia’s finger lodged deep inside or simply because the body had disappeared, the heartbeat gradually weakened.
“…….”
With his fading vision, Gulemashia looked at that bright red heart.
In place of his severed hand, he began to crawl on his elbow.
That was Altife.
A monster among monsters who had also become a Cardinal.
He had to crush the heart.
He had to remove the core.
The already spent shell of his body was tethering onto his soul because of his obsession that he had not yet fulfilled his calling.
“Ggghhh….”
Gulemashia crawled on the ground.
He had forgotten how to fly in the sky.
Walking on land was impossible due to the deadly poison enveloping him.
The only way he could approach was by crawling on the floor.
A very slow action coupled with extreme pain.
Skin tightly stretched. Twisted, withered muscles. Bursting veins. Trembling arms and legs.
Unable to hold on any longer, the cracking skin revealed bones within.
The bones looked as if they had been scorched white.
“Cough…!”
Even though there shouldn’t be any blood left to squeeze out, dark red blood burst forth from all over Gulemashia.
A vision soaked in blood.
The retina, unable to form a proper image, was dimming.
His body just wanted to rest.
An eternal rest.
“……”
In the end, Gulemashia’s body came to a halt.
His will, as firmly established as the great tree Yggdrasil, crumbled with his memories.
Poison gnawed at him, the phenomenon of forgetting continued.
It took everything away until the moment he died.
Gulemashia, with his cheek pressed against the floor as if it were a bed. His pupils no longer expanded or contracted.
No matter how much light came in, he remained unchanged, just as he was at the end.
The world around him darkened.
The world reflected in his eyes was a fading past.
When he sat in the Chancellor’s office gazing at the expansive scenery of Academia.
When he taught numerous students in the classroom.
When he fought alongside his comrades to defeat Altife as a Hero.
When his beloved granddaughter enrolled in Academia.
When his daughter’s family was murdered.
When his daughter gave birth and introduced him as a grandfather.
“…Paula…”
Even though Gulemashia’s burst lips couldn’t form a proper word, he called out.
His throat, utterly exhausted, desperately tried to produce a sound as it released a faint breath.
“Pa…ula….”
But even that couldn’t be repeated more than a few times before it came to a stop.
So, Gulemashia called her name, not with his mouth, but with his heart.
Consciousness fading away, he didn’t even know what meaning it held for himself.
Yet, he called that name over and over again.
Whispering, knowing it would not return.
Paula. Paula.
Paula…….
…….
Paula.
For some reason, it was a name that warmed his heart.
* * *
“It was a fitting end for someone of the Hero’s name. Gulemashia.”
In the main building of Academia.
Barghan and Erica appeared in front of him.
Barghan murmured as he faced the dead and the dying.
“If it weren’t for you, many Heroes would have met a pitiful death without ever spreading their wings. Forgetting family, comrades, everything they had achieved up until then.”
So Barghan decided to use Gulemashia.
Gulemashia, who could engage in battle on equal grounds with Gamigin.
Knowing the regrets and lingering feelings he would have, he intended to thoroughly utilize him.
Gulemashia complied with Barghan’s intentions and even felt grateful to him.
Even if it meant sacrificing his own life, Barghan had provided him the opportunity to fulfill his mission.
“……”
Barghan bent down and approached the grotesquely distorted corpse that was barely recognizable.
Still hovering, the eyelids weren’t fully closed.
He covered them.
“Now, let’s let you rest.”
“Let’s rest.”
After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Vargan soon stood up and surveyed his surroundings.
The Academia was in ruins.
The destruction was so thorough that it was hard to believe it was once a building, and the ground was cratered like the moon.
Large holes were drilled into the walls.
This was the evidence of the fierce battle between Gulemashia and Gamigin.
“…Is this Gamigin’s heart?”
Among the wreckage, Vargan spotted an exceptionally crimson object.
It was still pulsing, gradually spreading its black roots.
The heart appeared to be poisoned by its own toxin; however, surprisingly, the Cardinal’s vitality was still detoxifying it.
Even though mana and authority were no longer manifesting.
“How tenacious. If left alone, it might have really revived.”
Swoosh—
Vargan moved through the shadows concealed in the darkness, lifting the heart closer to him.
A consumer of memories, Cardinal Gamigin.
It was indeed the heart of a Cardinal. Everything was proceeding as planned.
Just a little longer… just a bit more…
The moment he had been waiting for was approaching…
“…Erica, what are you doing?”
“……”
As Vargan moved closer to Gamigin’s heart, Erica used Warp Magic to intercept it.
Holding the heart frozen, Erica positioned herself as if to hide it within her embrace.
Seeing this, Vargan smirked slightly.
“With that heart in front of you, are you perhaps yearning for the Judgment Artifact now?”
“……”
“Why not say something? You played a big role in getting us here. I naturally intended to pay a rightful reward.”
After warping the Academia.
Vargan activated a Unique Spell, bringing down 20,000 black Altifes to the ground.
As planned, he warped with the help of the 300th ranked hero, Tom.
Of course, the location was completely different from the Church’s plans.
Vargan and Erica moved to the Academia, and soon Gulemashia set up a barrier to repel intrusions from within and outside.
Then they waited for the two beings’ fight to conclude.
Gamulgin probably realized we were at the Academia, but his real objective was Gulemashia from the start.
Similar to Gulemashia, there was a partnership with Erica.
No. It was a relationship much deeper and richer than just mere profit.
Yet, Erica was confronting him, deviating from Vargan’s intentions.
Vargan continued in a persuasive tone.
“…But, Erica. Unfortunately, the core of that heart must not be destroyed. Didn’t I tell you? It will function as the Judgment Artifact itself.”
“…I don’t want the Judgment Artifact.”
“Then what are you after?”
“……”
Erica, keeping her lips tightly sealed.
Her blue eyes, seemingly desperate, swayed while capturing Vargan’s gaze.
“Do you plan to keep quiet forever?”
“…Vargan. Please tell me honestly.”
“What about?”
“What do you plan to do with this?”
“Are you planning something?”
Erica opened her mouth to ask.
Unable to hold back any longer, she persisted, pointing things out.
“Why did you create this situation?”
“……”
“Why lie to the Church… Why did you bring me here?”
“You have a lot of questions.”
“Just answer me! What the hell are you trying to do?”
After the Seiman Dungeon, Erica had only trusted and followed Vargan.
It had been a long time since she raised her voice in front of Vargan.
Erica’s sudden outburst, after quietly following along until now, made Vargan exhale deeply with his eyes closed before he spoke.
“Are you worried that the Academia will collapse now?”
Before entering the Seiman Dungeon, Vargan had mentioned to Cardinal Beled that he would showcase the future.
The collapse of the Academia.
Vargan intended to prove his abilities by crashing the enormous floating city into the ground, while also gaining Beled’s trust.
To steadily progress with his plans.
Naturally, Erica was unaware of this fact. No matter how much Vargan was her priority, it would be hard for her to bear such a huge sin of the Academia’s collapse.
“No…! That’s not it!”
However, surprisingly, what Erica was worried about wasn’t the Academia.
The devout young lady of the Portlet Family shot a glare, asking why she was continuing to play dumb.
Erica’s eyes trembled.
The small hand clutching Gamigin’s heart was no different.
Despite being terrified, she was also saddened, trying to maintain a menacing glare as she said.
“You… Vargan, you…”
Her sharp gaze, which kept on softening, was a familiar expression she had held for years since growing distant from Vargan, but it was crumbling again.
Her mouth spoke.
“You’re making me worry….”
“……”
“Vargan… Are you showing me hallucinations right now? Are you using a Unique Spell on me?”
Erica grasped Vargan’s current condition.
Today was April 28th. The day Vargan’s incurable disease worsened.
“I’m not a fool, Vargan. No matter how… no matter how much I think about it….”
“……”
“After moving such a vast amount of mana, you can’t be okay….”
“……”
“You’re pushing yourself this hard… Did you think I would just stand by and watch? Did you think I would obediently follow just because you wanted me to?”
“Erica, first….”
“No! I won’t listen!”
Erica shouted, releasing a chill.
Transparent ice flowers bloomed around her.
In her hand, where blue mana rippled, she was gripping an ice dagger. She pressed it against Gamigin’s heart, saying.
“Right now, cancel the Unique Spell you’ve cast on me and show your true self. Otherwise, I’ll crush the Core.”
The sinister young lady Erica.
She threatened Vargan, regaining her past self after a long time.
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