From the very beginning, the girl was loved by everyone.
Father, mother. And even her childhood friends and neighbors. She was loved by all, and the girl loved them all in return. However, that love left no trace and turned into ashes.
The people she loved no longer told her they loved her. They didn’t open their warm arms to hug her. They simply turned to ashes and scattered into the sky.
At first, she couldn’t accept the truth. No, it can’t be. Everyone is just playing a prank. It’s just a little lapse in attention. When I go home now, everyone will greet me warmly.
Eating the cake made by her mother and the roasted turkey. Receiving the sculpture carved by her father as a gift. Yeah, right. I’ll have fun playing with my friends. I believed that would happen.
Until she saw the house that had burned to ashes. On that day, the girl’s world shattered. In times of chaos, orphans are a burden. Ignoring them pricked at the conscience.
However, it would also be burdensome and difficult to take them in directly. Thanks to the ambiguous concern and sympathy that provided a little food and supplies, the girl somehow managed to survive.
“Why did it end up like this?”
The girl, who had lost everything, kept thinking and thinking. Why did it happen? Was it because I was picky about food? Or was it because I threw a tantrum? Was that why I was punished?
“Yeah, it’s because I was a bad girl.”
Let’s try to be a good girl. I’ll unconditionally follow the words of adults, and I’ll be a girl who always smiles. Then at least the meager things I have now won’t disappear. It was the girl’s defense mechanism.
Turning everything into her own fault. A desperate act to protect the little tenderness she had left. But that couldn’t last long. Monsters attacked the village.
And they took away even the little kindness in the girl’s hands, burning it all again. It was then that the girl realized. This was not her fault, but the fault of those garbage beings. That quickly turned into hatred.
That was the original history.
[Should I just die?]
[You can’t die!!]
[Whoa! You scared me.]
Until he appeared.
The girl’s good actions were merely a mask. She felt that if she couldn’t remain a good girl, she would lose everything again. She smiled through any situation, believing she wouldn’t lose that way.
[That doesn’t seem like something you should do to a kid.]
But the false mask strangely brought someone who would embrace her completely. For the first time, the girl felt greed. I want to be with this person. I want them to look only at me.
But reality wasn’t that easy. People around her said she had to consider the other person’s feelings. That she couldn’t do whatever she wanted. She was taught, but the girl didn’t fully understand.
Why should it be that way?
Is it wrong to be honest about my feelings?
Why do they say I’m in the wrong?
What the girl outwardly accepted was because her beloved teacher taught her so. It didn’t matter about others. She didn’t want to be hated by her teacher.
But she only accepted it outwardly. Twisted feelings remained and piled up like a mountain. She even suppressed jealousy and murderous intent. Everything was for her teacher. But in the end, that incident happened.
The outrageous rumor spread that her teacher had been slain by a Blood Demon. Of course, the girl was shocked at the time. But soon she collected herself and began to act confidently.
“So that when the teacher returns, I won’t be flustered.”
The girl returned to her hometown, the Human Kingdom. And she started to practice the teachings she received alongside her teacher. She cut down monsters from the front lines and saved people.
“Surely, the teacher will come back.”
Belief naturally erodes over time. However, in the girl’s heart, the flame of belief didn’t extinguish but began to burn even brighter. Yet, at the same time, it was a flame mixed with loneliness.
Obsession began to stack up. Every single action was stressful. Nevertheless, Helia gritted her teeth and endured it. All for her teacher. But then she thought.
What if the teacher returned? What should I do then? At first, it was merely about determining a direction. From now on, I should serve better. No, I should protect them, right?
Yeah, that’s right.
In a place no one could reach. Just the two of us, together forever.
*
Three years.
A short time, yet depending on how it was spent, what one gained would differ. For instance, Hans defeated the Dragon Heart and finally obtained its power.
And of course, Cluna and Clara, who had fought desperately against the demons, as well as the other members, had all become much stronger than before. So what about Helia? She was similar.
The only difference was that Helia possessed a talent surpassing even the gods. Hans barely responded to the all-angle slashes raining down on him and swung the Divine Sword to deflect them. The pressure was immense.
Damn…!!!
The hand gripping the Divine Sword felt like it would shatter from the impact. If Hans’s body had been ordinary flesh and blood, and if he hadn’t subdued the Dragon Heart, he would’ve easily shattered by now.
This meant Helia’s physical abilities matched or exceeded that of a Dragon. That level could never be reached merely through training. Humans certainly had their limits.
But Helia’s abilities were not just about talent. They were fanaticism beyond fanaticism. A terrifying delusion mixed with the belief that she would return and that she could not disappoint her teacher.
Time Acceleration.
In this situation, the only reason Hans could endure was that he used the enhanced physical abilities from the Dragon Heart and the power of time. The penalties had weakened, allowing him to use it freely.
“Just as I thought, it’s definitely the teacher!!!”
Crazy, how can she keep up with this?!
Time Acceleration was a power that allowed one to spend time faster than others. In other words, while opponents moved for one second, one could move for a whole ten seconds, achieving the ultimate acceleration.
Yet Helia was catching up solely with her physical abilities. How is this possible? The answer lay in Helia’s fanaticism. She wanted to keep up with her teacher, to walk together.
The fiery desire that burst from within her combined with her fanaticism to create a miracle. Bang! Crash! The pressure from the sword shattered everything around them. An unparalleled battle that could not be interrupted.
From the viewpoint of those watching from behind, the aura rising from Helia’s entire body devoured the surroundings like a greedy serpent. They couldn’t comprehend what sort of power that was.
“We should help the Commander.”
“Yeah, we should.”
“I’m joining the fight.”
Of course, they weren’t the type to just watch this battle. They had always known of Helia’s love, but even so, they didn’t want to see their comrade and loved one fight.
“There are those who wish to interfere with us.”
“….”
Even without Helia saying it, Hans, whose senses were enhanced by the Dragon Heart, already knew that fact. However, he kept quiet. Because he desperately needed assistance.
I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s go with the ultimate move of gang up!
Since ancient times, ganging up has been the ultimate go-to strategy for protagonist parties. After all, if they are risking their lives to fight, how could it be wrong to get help from allies? So Hans didn’t refuse help.
Thus, the unpleasantness of this situation belonged only to Helia. However, surprisingly, Helia did not express her anger. Nor did she try to subdue or exclude them first.
Instead, the emotion glimmering in her eyes was superiority. Just when Hans was momentarily thrown off by the pompous expression, Helia slowly raised her hand like a flag.
“I have no doubts about the promise to stand together.”
The mist flowing from all over Helia’s body rapidly spread like a sunset. That which eroded the ground at light speed eventually took on a physical form, proudly revealing itself before everyone.
“I swear that I will not bend to any false trials.”
These were thick iron chains. But not just one or two. Hundreds or thousands of chains intertwined to form a massive castle wall. What was left was just the two of them.
“Even if all of me burns away, my heart will not change.”
A massive castle made of red iron chains. The decorations inside resembled a royal castle, but the unease stemming from the chains birthed fear. What they represented was unchanging obsession.
“I will be with you forever.”
The red chain extending from Helia’s left hand, resting on her chest, connected to Hans’s fourth finger. Unlike her obsession to never let go, Helia blushed like a shy maiden.
“I swear this here.”
From now on, she would no longer care about others’ gazes. She would march on honestly in her heart. And this was the culmination of love manifesting. A bound paradise that no one could interrupt.
Das Schloss der Zurückhaltung
The Castle of Silence and Restraint
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