The light that formed Delia’s body dispersed.
The dazzling light that shone brighter than anything else lost its power and faded away.
Behind the light that was completely extinguishing, were her pure white arms and legs, sacrificed for the cost of excessive power.
Her eyes regained their clarity, her organs, her body.
Even the faint essence that had been burning dimly was now perfectly restored.
Not to mention her limbs, within her, she felt a deeper essence than before.
Delia’s face contorted as she realized it.
Logically speaking.
No, even if one were to consider miracles, it was absolutely impossible.
It was power that had been released once.
Life force that had scattered through usage.
An essence that could never return, no matter what.
Yet, it had come back.
“No… it hasn’t returned…”
It had come over.
From somewhere else into Delia’s body.
Delia’s trembling eyes saw the man standing in front of her.
Flapping sleeves.
A limping leg.
A back filled with wounds.
“Heinzel… what the hell did you do…?”
He did not answer.
No matter how many times she called, he just stood there quietly staring ahead.
Eventually, Delia, unsteadily rising from her place, moved towards the motionless Heinzel.
At that moment,
“KHAHAHAHAHA! I am stronger!”
He laughed.
As if he didn’t hear Delia’s words at all, he laughed heartily and raised his hands towards the sky.
From a glance, it seemed he had gone insane before a powerful foe.
But there was no madness in his smile.
No despair, no fear, no frustration, no regrets.
All that was contained in that laughter was.
Joy, happiness.
Ease.
Yearning.
The heavy burden of lingering attachments had vanished.
It was the laugh of someone whose long-desired wish had come true.
Because of that, Delia had no choice but to stop in her tracks. She had to pull back her outstretched hand.
She had to tightly close her lips.
As she did so for a moment, Heinzel’s laughter ceased.
A deep fear etched on Leviathan’s face.
Numerous legs stomped on the ground.
Its enormous body writhed. Its opened mouth twisted as if it would tear apart. Razor-sharp teeth flailed wildly. The hell that seeped from its mouth let out a horrific roar.
Before such devastation stood a mortal.
Heinzel.
He clenched his fists and walked.
Though one leg had vanished, supported only by dim magical power, his steps were light.
The fist gripped in his unsteady, flapping sleeve was strong.
His back, unbending before any violence, stood straight.
Thus, the path forward was clear.
SHWAA- SHWAAAAA-
The hell that seeped from the mouth of Leviathan unfurled its body. Death that had barely a chance of enduring even when everything was sacrificed by the challengers poured forth.
As if to shake off the fear he felt, he exhaled heavily.
However, Heinzel’s steps did not stop.
He did not falter. He did not waver.
He raised his arms.
And Delia saw.
He saw the legs that would not fall.
He saw the back that vowed to never bend.
He saw not the faint eyes looking into the distance but clear eyes looking straight ahead.
He saw the wishes that resided in his body.
He saw the fist that bore the weight of the future.
[KKKAAAAAAAAAAAAA―――!]
Hell poured forth. The inferno of hell painted the pitch-black night sky as it touched the ground.
The power of Leviathan, delivering death to all life, even swallowing gods, blocked Heinzel’s path.
In that space, the mortal swung his fist. Recklessly, frivolously, ignorantly.
A fist devoid of plans, thoughts, or any intentions.
A flailing, desperate attempt to shake off the past’s mistakes, regrets, sorrows, frustrations, and fears.
The fist fully accepting a past marked by regret burst forth with brilliant light from within hell.
Thus, hell split apart.
A path was opened.
The future blossomed.
Into that space, Heinzel walked.
THUD-
He heard the laughter of children joyfully playing inside a sturdy fence.
THUD-
He smelled the sharp sunset and warm evening fragrance.
THUD-
He saw the residents peacefully sleeping among gentle beasts.
THUD-
He strolled through a flower garden blooming beautifully and scattering its petals.
THUD-
He felt the warmth of the front door adorned with his daughter’s scribbles, and the charming wreath and exquisite bouquet.
He reached out.
He grabbed the doorknob.
He caught his breath.
He closed his eyes.
He opened the door.
DOOT-DOOT- The sound of little feet running across the creaky old wooden floor came rushing in.
PAT- PAT- The sound of slippers made from rabbit skin being dragged along filled the air.
“DAD!!”
“Didn’t I say not to run in the house?”
He heard a voice.
“DAD!!!”
“Hey!!”
The courageous voice of a daughter who wanted to be a princess.
The gentle voice of a wife declaring she would take care of him for life.
In response, the quiet boy.
The confident young man.
The happy parents.
The despairing adventurer.
Heinzel.
He opened his eyes.
*
There was not a horrific battlefield.
Instead, there was his infinitely peaceful and cozy home.
And.
He saw carefully braided hair and a mischievous smile that did not match it.
He saw her missing front tooth from falling over the other day, making her even cuter.
He saw the slender bones and round eyes inherited from her parents.
He saw the image of his daughter, embracing him with a loving voice filled with trust.
Through the tightness in his throat, he called out his daughter’s name. A name he could never forget, one he had held in his heart for a lifetime.
A name he hadn’t been able to utter since losing his daughter.
“Laura.”
“DAD!!!”
The tiny body dove into his arms.
Pushing away the prickly hair and beard, she burrowed deep into his chest.
Her slender arms fidgeted as she beamed with joy.
“Thanks for your hard work today, darling.”
He looked up.
Like Sain, her brown hair was neatly braided.
A warm smile. The apron and dress she made with her own hands.
Tall, and round-eyed.
“…Sein.”
Sein slowly approached and held Laura in his arms, smiling bitterly.
“Did you finish all your work?”
“Mm? But Dad hasn’t finished yet?”
Heinzel couldn’t answer.
Sein playfully poked Heinzel’s forehead.
“Finish it up and come.”
The finger that poked his forehead moved towards his unruly hair. It brushed through his beard. It caressed his eyes.
“Do what you want. As you desire. Or just as you’ve always done.”
A bright smile spread across Sein’s face.
It contained boundless trust.
Heavy love seeped through.
“You haven’t done anything wrong. So, it’s okay. Just finish it up and come back, Heinzel.”
“Did Dad mess up? Huh… Did he come back slacking off?! Why?!”
“Dad, I think he did it because he missed Laura so much. So, Laura, shall we give Dad a kiss to cheer him up?”
“But Dad’s beard is prickly… Um… But since you said you missed me! Dad! Kiss!”
Laura’s small hands tugged at the hesitant fingers of Heinzel.
And as Heinzel leaned down, Laura’s slightly warm lips touched his cheek.
A tiny sound resonated.
Afterwards, a pouty sigh complained that her lips felt prickly.
Then, a soft peck echoed as Sein’s kiss landed on his forehead.
“I’ll be waiting.”
As slowly as possible.
Without leaving behind regrets.
After fully shaking it off.
“Win and come back.”
Sein’s hand lifted Heinzel up.
He raised his knee from the ground.
He straightened his bent back.
He lifted his lowered head.
Through the slightly opened door, warm sunset light seeped in.
He turned away from the sunset.
He reached out and grabbed the doorknob.
He gazed at a past he would never forget.
He held tight to the nightmares he could not erase.
“Take care, Dad!!”
Laura’s voice lent strength to Heinzel’s arms. It stopped him from bending. It made him clench his fists once more.
It made him move forward.
CRREEK- The door opened.
Before him lay hell.
A horrific pain, battles with no known outcomes awaited him.
A battlefield where not even an inch ahead was certain loomed.
However.
So what?
The life of a boy who knew nothing of this world.
The life of a young man who excelled above all.
The life of a man who lived as a parent.
The life of an adventurer, Heinzel.
All of it had been like that.
Yet, he had survived until now.
“I’m going.”
Thus, without hesitation.
As it had always been. Out of habit.
As he had lived.
He opened the door.
*
Because he was a boy who did not know the world, his courage instilled fear in beasts.
The skills of a young man utilizing his extraordinary talents effortlessly knocked the monsters’ jaws off.
The sense of responsibility of a father who fought to protect his family endured the beasts’ onslaught.
The hearty laughter of an adventurer, who changed everything and walked a new path, elicited the beasts’ cries.
Every time he swung his fist, the beast’s scream surged forth. Its vicious teeth crumbled helplessly. Its arrogant gaze twisted. The mouth that had opened fearlessly closed. The proud head was crushed.
On the contrary, Heinzel remained calm.
Thorough. Calculated. Cautious.
He deflected the calamity spewing from the beast’s maw and severed its neck. He extracted teeth, shoved rusted metal into the ground. The rusty sword in his hand became a machete slicing through tiger hide. Stones became arrows aimed at eagles. His fists became hammers crushing turtle shells.
He did not break. He did not fall. He did not let go. To sever the beast’s breath, he fiercely and meticulously clung on.
It was undoubtedly hunting.
The hunting of a boy, a youth, a father, a man.
That was the essence of Heinzel.
He dismembered the beast’s hide.
Sliced through muscles, shattered bones.
Removed the innards, drained the blood.
There was no hesitation in that act.
No doubts, worries, or blockades existed.
Skillfully, like flowing water, the sequence of acts gradually quieted the beast’s breath.
However, the beast did not stay still.
Though its breath diminished, its ferocity only intensified. The fierce roar made the earth scream. The magical energy of the atmosphere fled. The sky turned its gaze away.
Only the black sun ruling the battlefield watched it all.
The beast’s last struggles began.
Everything of the beast was contained within its torn throat. The air shifted. The land flipped. The sea engulfed.
The pungent aroma of the sea. The sound of raging waves. The terrible roar of tsunamis. The heavy darkness of the deep sea.
A disaster akin to relocating the sea’s essence swirled around the beast.
Yet, Heinzel laughed.
Louder. Rougher. More heartily.
He clenched his fists.
Stronger, more powerfully, and heavier.
He recalled his friends.
With an old sword, he remembered the spring it had evoked.
He remembered the moments when he cut through the world.
He recalled the times when he sliced through the sky and the sun.
But for him, he did not need a sword.
A weapon was a luxury.
He raised his fists.
Against the towering waves.
Against the terrifying abyss.
Against nature’s disasters, which humanity could not resist.
He thrust his fists forward.
THWACK-
The space where his fists landed became the starting point.
Countless cracks grazed the world.
Thus, the cracks carved.
Into the reddened sky.
Into the black sun.
Into this world filled with distortion and misfortune.
A tremendous distortion was created.
New futures, hope, victory.
An eternal scar that could never heal.
Was inscribed.
