kscans

CHAPTER 8 PATARAPOZA – Episode 10 Spirit

1

Suddenly, Bard realized it was already night. He sat up. The pain and numbness in his body were gone. His frozen fingers and lips had regained sensation.

“I will kill you here now.”
“But I know no one as excellent as you.”
“If I had someone like you among my subordinates,”
“Everything might have been different.”
“Before I kill you,”
“If you have any last wishes,”
“I’ll listen.”

For a moment, Bard thought about whether he could tell someone about what happened here. But of course, the captain would never allow such a thing.

-I’m hungry.

“What?”

-I haven’t eaten anything all day. I’m hungry.

“Well, well,”
“You are something else.”
“Alright,”
“Wait a moment.”

After waiting for a while, a fish jumped out onto the shore and flopped around. Then suddenly it shook violently and stopped moving.

“Could you put that fish”
“On top of a rock?”

Bard did as he was told and placed the fish on a nearby rock. Then something strange happened. As if it had been heated over a fire, the fish started to sizzle and cook.

“I can’t tell when it’s done,”
“Let me know when it’s good.”

-A little more… Alright. This is good.

Bard ate the fish. He removed the skin with the scales still attached and ate the flesh. He took out a small bag of salt from his waist pouch, sprinkled it on, and ate. It was delicious.

“Grilled fish, huh?”
“Is it good?”

-Yes. It’s good.

“I’m glad.”
“By the way, would you tell me something?”

-Tell you? What?

“When I met the owner of the spirit sword,”
“I pondered long and hard”
“About what kind of deal to offer.”

-You must have had plenty of time.

“Indeed.”
“And I realized”
“That sincerity was the greatest weapon,”
“So I decided to negotiate”
“With the wielder of the spirit sword”
“Using only my sincerity.”
“Until now, I had not a shred of doubt”
“About my own sincerity.”

-I see.

“But you,”
“In a very short time,”
“Were able to accurately discern”
“My feelings that I myself was unaware of.”
“I find it puzzling.”
“How is this possible?”

-Your desires are too strong.

“Desires?”

-Those desires have blinded you.

“…I see.”
“Desires, huh?”
“Now that you mention it,”
“That may be true.”
“But in that case,”
“What about you?”
“Do you have no desires?”

-I do. I have desires too. Big desires. But those desires seem to be quite different in nature from yours.

“Tell me.”
“What kind of desires do you have?”

-My desire is to live as a Knight of The People, and to die as a Knight of The People.

“What?”
“…”
“Hmm.”
“I see.”
“So that is your desire.”

-Yes. Well, my stomach is full now. Thank you for the delicious fish at the end.

“Hehe,”
“You’re quite the glutton, aren’t you?”
“Still,”
“A meal, huh?”

-What’s wrong, Captain? Did you remember the taste of food?

“No,”
“I feel like I remember what taste is,”
“But I also feel like I never knew it in the first place.”
“I was thinking of something else.”

-Oh?

“Let me tell you, Bard Rowen.”
“The starship traveled for over a thousand years to find this place.”
“It was an incredibly long journey.”
“But neither I”
“Nor those who sent us out”
“Expected the journey to be that long.”

-Did some kind of accident happen?

“No, that’s not it.”
“The starship,”
“Once it traveled a certain distance from the mother planet,”
“Began searching for a suitable star to drop us off on.”

-The starship did?

“That’s right.”
“Just like the mechanical dolls,”
“The starship has the ability to think and act on its own.”
“Based on pre-programmed orders, of course.”

-I see.

“When I woke up,”
“So much time had passed that”
“I was shocked”
“And checked the records.”
“Before we arrived here,”
“There were over eight thousand planets”
“Where some form of life had developed.”
“About fifty of those had built civilizations,”
“So they were excluded as migration targets,”
“But still, there were over eight thousand”
“Planets teeming with life.”
“But the starship did not try to drop us off on any of those eight thousand planets.”
“Do you know why?”

-No, I don’t.

“Because we couldn’t eat them.”

-What?

“We couldn’t eat them.”
“The grass, trees, birds, and animals on those planets”
“Were unsuitable for humans to eat and nourish themselves.”
“Then this planet was found,”
“And the starship designated it as our arrival point.”
“Because tests showed that things here were edible.”

-I see. I should be grateful to the starship then.

“Indeed.”
“But that’s not what I’m trying to say.”
“It’s a miracle.”
“The very fact that something is edible is a miracle.”
“A one-in-eight-thousand miracle.”
“You live in a world overflowing with food.”
“Know before you die”
“What an incredible miracle that is.”

-I am grateful to the world. I am grateful for food. Captain. But that story is interesting. You’ve taught me something good. Thank you.

“…You are”
“Quite a man.”
“That’s right.”
“By the way, let me tell you something else.”
“Do you know that Jean Cruise was the only one to wake up first?”

-Yes. I heard he tried to wake the other crew members but couldn’t.

“Your source of information is strangely detailed.”
“But that’s correct.”
“It was due to the journey being too long.”
“As a safety measure,”
“There was a wake-up examination program”
“And a rest period set”
“Corresponding to the length of the journey.”
“But because the journey was so long,”
“The rest period also became abnormally long.”
“However,”
“Jean Cruise, who was the sole volunteer crew member”
“And a scholar,”
“Had the role of examining anomalies,”
“So his rest period was omitted.”
“As a result, the timing of Jean’s awakening”
“And ours became greatly offset.”

-Perhaps it was fate.

“Indeed.”
“Looking back now,”
“Maybe that was fate.”

The wind blowing in from the sea harshly ruffled Bard’s hair and beard. The ripples showed infinite variations, reflecting the stars in the sky and glittering. Looking up at the heavens, unusually, the older sister moon Sura was absent, while the younger sister moon Sarie sat in the middle of the sky, overlooking the sea. The stars filling the sky danced in the void, emitting red, yellow, and gold-silver light. How beautiful the world is. Bard pulled the ancient sword close and unsheathed it. He wanted to be with Stavros in his final moments.

“You’ve drawn the spirit sword.”
“Why don’t you try shooting me with it?”
“You could land a direct hit from there.”
“It might be interesting to struggle at the end of your life.”

Even unleashing the ancient sword’s full power wouldn’t work against the General of Greed. Much less against this monster. Bard had no will to fight.

“That’s right.”
“It wouldn’t work.”
“But it’s truly a shame.”
“To be so calm in the face of death,”
“To have the composure to admire the scenery.”

Ignoring the captain’s words, Bard looked up at the night sky for one last view of this world. Sarie’s beauty caught his eye.

“People like you are rare.”

Sarie. The younger sister moon. The one who came later. The one who has everything. The lady who rides the silver chariot. Skarlar’s lover. The beauty of the sky. The jilted woman. This beautiful moon goddess has many epithets.

“Well then, are you ready?”
“Have you said your goodbyes to this world?”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Why is Sarie called “the one who came later”? Almost as soon as the question arose in his mind, the answer was there.

Because at first, she wasn’t there.

As Bard found the answer, it was also conveyed to the captain. It was the answer to the question the captain had been seeking for so long. And now it was in Bard’s hands.

Bard pointed the ancient sword in his right hand straight at the “Captive Island.” Sensing Bard’s intention, the captain tried to kill him. It’s unclear exactly what method he tried to use to kill Bard. But the captain had the power to kill Bard directly, and he tried to use it. Bard, whose mind was connected to the captain’s, could clearly sense this. The captain could kill Bard in an instant.

However, the shock of finally obtaining the answer he had been seeking paralyzed the captain, and it took a brief moment for him to recover from that paralysis. Bard pointed the magic sword Stavros at the Captive Island and issued a command to Sarie in the sky.

“Starship! Strike that one with the Spear of Light!”

A massive pillar of light descended from Sarie to the Captive Island. It was the absolute power of destruction that the ancients called “Arrow of Corama’s Fury.” The pillar of light devoured the Captive Island and its surroundings, boring a hole in the sea. For an instant, all sound disappeared. The next moment, light and sound exploded.

The blast immediately reached Isteria as well, and Bard was blown off the beach. No, it’s unclear if it was really a blast. In any case, Bard was blown away. He was blown high, high into the night sky. The impact knocked Bard unconscious. In that brief period of unconsciousness, Bard had a dream. A dream of the distant, distant past.

2

“I will protect Lady Idora and Julelan from anything and everything. I will love you as family. Lady Idora, please become my wife.”

It was a clumsy but heartfelt proposal. When Idora was returned from the Gwendell family, Bard decided in his heart to take her as his wife. But thinking that Idora’s heart must be wounded too, he had been waiting for the right time. When he judged that the smile on Idora’s face was genuine, Bard knelt before her and proposed marriage. He never thought he would be refused. But for quite a long time, Idora didn’t answer. Finally, the words that came out were,

“What will happen to this child?”

“This child” referred to Julelan, who was sleeping peacefully nearby. “What will happen” meant what would be the child’s social status.

“Let’s say he’s my child,” Bard said. It was a bold statement typical of Bard.

Idora had married Caldos Gwendell, but Caldos had not held a wedding ceremony with Idora. This means that officially, the marriage was not established. However, Idora had given birth to a child named Julelan. This child’s status was ambiguous.

If they declared him to be Caldos’s child, his status would be confirmed, but he would have the lowest status for a noble as a child born to a woman who was not a wife, and it would give Caldos important decision-making rights regarding Julelan’s future. Another option would be to declare him illegitimate. Both options have pros and cons, but either way, the status would be confirmed. Without doing either of these, Idora, who has a child, cannot marry Bard. If they marry, Julelan would officially become a non-existent child. Men can have multiple wives, but wives cannot have multiple husbands. But Bard said he would make Julelan his own child. This means he would treat Julelan as his firstborn and give him inheritance rights, even if he had his own biological children in the future. Formally, Julelan would be considered a child born to Bard and Idora before their official marriage. Bard showed the utmost generosity. However, Idora’s response was,

“I’d like to keep this child’s status free for a while longer. So, although I’m very happy with your proposal, I cannot accept it.”

That was what she said. Bard was stunned. He never thought such a carefully worded proposal would be rejected. Was it his misunderstanding that Idora loved him too? No, that can’t be. It’s impossible. Then. Bard glared at the quietly sleeping Julelan.

Is it this child? This infant? Is this infant interfering with his happiness with Lady Idora? If only this child. If only this child weren’t here.

‘Should I strangle him to death?’

This tiny, tiny infant is preventing him and Idora from being together. If this child dies, the obstacle will be gone. With just a light twist of Bard’s fingertips, his neck would snap, and this child would die. Bard couldn’t suppress the madness welling up inside him. Idora quietly bathed in the murderous intent emanating from Bard. However, Julelan didn’t fare so well. Perhaps sensing the murderous intent aimed at him with the sensitivity unique to infants, he began to cry as if on he was on fire. Idora picked up Julelan and began to gently soothe him. Seeing this, Bard’s murderous intent also faded.

‘Even if I kill this child, I won’t gain Lady Idora’s love.’

He realized this. Bard left without even leaving parting words. And he suffered, and suffered, and suffered. He suffered to the point of thinking that if he split open his own belly and dragged out his entrails, tearing them to shreds, would his suffering end? Eventually, he came to a conclusion. It’s painful because he’s thinking about his own happiness. He should throw it away. He should abandon everything. He should dedicate everything to Idora. However, it took some time for this conclusion to sink deep into his body.

Even after resolving to abandon his own happiness and dedicate everything to Idora, there was still a problem that remained. It was Julelan. Julelan was a burden to Idora, an existence that prevented Idora from becoming happy. And he was the child of that Caldos Gwendell. The child of that hateful, hateful Caldos. Thinking that he was that man’s seed, even having Julelan in his sight was disgusting. A child who should not have been born, a child unnecessary in this world, a merely detestable infant. What should be done about Julelan?

No, he knows. He really knew all along. Idora loves Julelan. If so, Bard, who had decided to dedicate everything to Idora, must also love Julelan. Loving and supporting Julelan is what would make Idora happy, and it’s the best and only thing Bard can do for Idora.

Could he love Julelan? Could he suppress this disgust welling up from deep in his stomach and love him completely? But he must do it. Otherwise, Bard cannot become Idora’s knight.

And if he were to love and support Julelan, wishing for his success, Bard would have to walk a thorny path. It’s fine now. Hydra is alive and well, and Hydra cherishes his beloved daughter Idora and Idora’s child, Julelan. As long as Hydra keeps a watchful eye, the knights of Pakula probably won’t show their hostility towards Julelan. But Hydra is old and will eventually die. After his death, Julelan’s hell will begin. There is no knight in Pakula who doesn’t hate Caldos Gwendell’s cruelty and violence. Julelan, his illegitimate child, will also become an object of hatred.

What should he do? How can he love, cherish, and give happiness to Julelan?

He must train him. He must thoroughly train Julelan and raise him to be a knight whom everyone respects and admires. A knight so great that the fact that he was Caldos’s son would be erased from every knight’s memory. And also, if he is to be Julelan’s protector, Bard himself must establish an unshakeable position. The goal is the position of the head knight of the House of Tercia. Can he do it? Can Bard, a son of a country warrior, grasp that position? But unless he climbs to that position, he cannot protect Julelan.

He will do it. He will become the strongest, the best, and the finest knight in Pakula. And he will train and train and thoroughly train Julelan. That is what it means to love Julelan and to dedicate oneself to Idora.

And finally, having sorted out his feelings, Bard went to the sunny garden and offered his sword to Idora and Julelan. Idora accepted the sword and said that Julelan was worthy of having a sword offered to him. Ah. Ah. Now he understands the meaning. Julelan was the one who inherited the blood of the Wendelland king and was destined to lead the people of the Central Plains to a place of the light. That’s why Idora couldn’t accept Bard’s marriage proposal. Idora probably didn’t know whether the marriage with the Wendelland king was valid or not. She must not have known whether that marriage would be approved in the future. Nevertheless, to keep Julelan’s lineage as the son of the Wendelland king untainted, to leave no stain on his origin when the path to kingship might open for Julelan someday, Idora rejected Bard’s proposal. What a lonely and proud rejection it was. Hydra, Vola, and even Julelan must have wondered. Why doesn’t Bard propose to Idora? He did. Bard did propose to Idora. But he was rejected. This became a secret known only to Idora, Bard, and the gods. This is the final secret. Bard never told this secret to Julelan. If he told him, Julelan would know that it was he himself who prevented Bard and Idora from being together. So Bard thought there was no need to tell him. Probably Idora thought the same and kept silent.

And. And after that. Yes, after saying that Julelan was worthy of receiving Bard’s sword. What did Idora say? That’s right. Idora said this.

“But, Lord Bard. Your sword has already been offered. To the people. Not to the people of any particular country, but to all people. What a noble intention. What a grand oath. Please keep it, Lord Bard. Please keep that oath. Please offer your martial prowess and your sense of justice to the people. You are the one who can do this.”

Yes, that moment. That instant. The vow to dedicate his loyalty to the people, born out of desperation, became the ideal that Bard would pursue for life. It became the formless crest of House Rowen. Bard had taken pride in these words of Idora and strived to be a knight of the people.

Ah! Ah! Lady Idora. Have I… Have I been able to live out my life without betraying our vow? Can I hold my head high? To proclaim that I am Idora’s knight, the Knight of The People!

3

Bard awoke from his dream with a huff. Though he had awakened, he found himself in a strange place. It was dark. A true darkness where no light could be seen. Deep within that darkness, there was something. It was a darkness deeper than darkness itself. That which stirred in the depths of darkness was an immensely powerful and enormous presence. This mighty being spoke to Bard.

“By your deeds”
“The distortion has been corrected”
“The impurity has been cleansed”
“This I convey to you”

What was this being, darker than darkness itself? What was this unbelievably strong and vast presence? Surely not. It cannot be. Could it be? But instinctively, without logic, he sensed it was so. Patarapoza. The God of Darkness Patarapoza. This was Patarapoza. The god who embraces darkness within darkness. Bard was now face to face with the true god, not an imitation, the great god who rules over all darkness. But what did it mean by distortion and impurity being corrected and cleansed?

“I shall grant a reward”
“Speak your wish”

A wish. Patarapoza was telling him to speak his wish. What Bard desired. That’s it. It was that.

A peaceful death filled with joy and pride.

“Your wish has been heard”
“However”
“That shall come a little later”

As the God of Darkness’s words ended, Bard found himself flying through the night sky. A strong wind suddenly blew, disheveling Bard’s snow-white hair and beard. Was that truly a dialogue with a god? Or was it a dream he had while unconscious? The sky that had been clear was now covered with black clouds.

‘I must float the soi bamboo grass.’

Bard thought. Soi bamboo grass was a raw material for bamboo paper, and in ancient times, soi bamboo grass itself was used as paper. It was the paper Idora favored. Bard’s journey was essentially for Idora. As Idora’s body weakened, Bard thought to travel the world in her place, writing letters to tell her about the unusual sights and delicious foods. But Idora died soon after Bard set out on his journey, before he could even write his first letter. So after thwarting the ambitions of House Gwendell, he debated whether to return to Pakula or continue his journey. In the end, Bard chose to journey on. He reasoned that if Idora was dead, he could send letters to the deceased Idora. All rivers return to Ova. And the great Ova flows into the embrace of Yug, the God of The Underworld. So letters floated down the river would reach Idora’s hands via Yug. Thinking this, he floated bamboo grass down the rivers as he traveled. When he encountered unusual events or delicious food, he would float them. Imbuing the soi bamboo grass with his own emotions. This would be the final letter. A letter containing memories of the most extraordinary adventure. Even Idora would be astounded to hear that he had commanded the moon goddess Sarie to release the Arrow of Corama’s Fury and vanquished a monster called a god. It was truly the ultimate report. Fitting for the final letter. Bard smiled and tried to take out the soi bamboo grass from his chest pocket. As he tried to take it out, he realized he was gripping the ancient sword in his right hand. He would need to transfer it to his left hand first. He needed to transfer it, but he couldn’t. Both his arms were stiff and wouldn’t move. At that moment, Bard suddenly realized.

‘Why am I still alive?’

Bard, who had no power to fly, should have died crashing into the rocky mountains of Isteria. But that hadn’t happened. Bard’s body wasn’t falling but floating and moving forward in midair. Orbs of light in red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and every other conceivable color were supporting and carrying Bard’s body. Looking closer, the sea gouged by the spear of light was now exploding. From that place of raging waters, countless orbs of light were flying out, reaching Bard one after another. And one after another, they entered beneath Bard’s body, supporting him so he wouldn’t fall.

The orbs of light had wings. They had feet, hands, and faces. Spirits! They were a swarm of spirits.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

The spirits whispered to Bard’s heart as they desperately lifted his body. The semi-transparent spirits, half-merged with Bard’s body, were carrying it with all their might. Towards the direction of the continent.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

Isteria had become quite distant. That Isteria was being engulfed by an overwhelming mass of water, crumbling pitifully and sinking into the sea. The dragonoids there must have been annihilated. However, the wise chieftain Popolbarpopo might have evacuated the dragonoids.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

The captain must have perished instantly, pierced by the spear of light shot from the starship. Even a monster that had lived for three thousand years dies unceremoniously when its time has comes. Bard felt he might have heard a sad death cry, or perhaps he hadn’t heard anything at all. From the place where the captain perished, spirits were being born one after another and coming to Bard. That’s right. The captain had devoured countless spirits. With the captain’s death, the spirits he had absorbed were liberated. No, they were being liberated right now.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

The spirits’ words of gratitude, their thoughts, filled the surrounding space. But the spirits supporting Bard were disappearing one after another. Spirits whose host has died vanish from this world and return to the spirit world. They return once and then are reborn again.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

The spirits clung to Bard, supporting and carrying his body. But it was impossible. As soon as they supported him, they vanished. Either way, he would eventually fall. If he fell into this great Yug, he couldn’t possibly survive.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

And yet, they kept coming, kept coming. The spirits overflowing from the sea seemed endless. Just how many tens or hundreds of thousands of spirits had been absorbed? Was it millions upon millions?

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

He was being carried at considerable speed. But the number of spirits catching up was visibly decreasing. Soon Bard’s body would fall into Yug. If he fell, he would die. That was unavoidable. Bard would die embraced by the ancient god Yug. Still, he was touched by the feelings of the spirits desperately trying to carry him.

“Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you” “Thank you”

Suddenly, Bard twisted his body to look ahead to where he was being carried. Something was approaching from the distant sky. It grew larger and larger until it reached Bard. It was a group of spirits! Perhaps thirty or forty of them. Compared to the great swarm of spirits liberated from the captain, it was truly a small number. But why were spirits coming from the west?

“Human Bard”
“We’ve come to get you!”

That voice was familiar. Sui! That means they had flown from the Misty Valley, bringing their spirit companions.

Sui and her companions began to support and carry Bard’s body, replacing the disappearing spirits. Towards the continent. These spirits were the last normal spirits remaining on the continent. They were the spirits protected by Maura and others who had become those who has “taken root in the earth” in the Misty Valley, the dwelling place of Lujura-Tiant. For these spirits to all leave their hiding place at once was no ordinary matter. However, it seemed difficult for this number of spirits to fully support Bard. Their speed had decreased, and their altitude had lowered. They were not far from the sea surface.

“Human Bard”
“We have news”

No. This voice. It was Sui’s voice, yet not Sui’s voice. This. This thought. This manner of speaking. It was Maura! Maura was speaking through the spirit Sui.

“Human Bard”
“The spirits you liberated”
“Are being reborn”
“They remain normal”
“The curse is broken!”
“The reborn spirits”
“No longer go mad!”

‘I see!’

The God of Darkness Patarapoza had said that the distortion has been corrected, the impurity has been cleansed. That’s what it meant. Probably the captain was indeed the source. The captain had forced his way into the world of spirits. The captain’s existence, the hatred he spread, his despair, was the poison for the spirits. The captain himself was unaware, but he was the one driving the spirits mad. Spirits are probably beings based not on physical bodies or matter, but on mind or invisible forces. They are, so to speak, masses of thought. In the world where these masses of thought lived, the captain spread his grudge. The captain’s thoughts were strengthened by absorbing spirits, and with these strengthened thoughts, he spread feelings of hatred, resentment, and despair. Probably the spirits, being masses of thought, went mad when bathed in this grudge. At first, perhaps only a very small number of spirits went mad. But the captain kept devouring more and more spirits, and his thoughts grew stronger. Eventually, it became a poison so potent that all spirits returning to the spirit world could not avoid being infected. The maddened spirits possessed beasts, but they did not forget their hatred for those who had driven them mad. That was humans. After all, the captain was, in his mind, entirely human. That’s why the demon beasts went berserk when they saw humans. Isn’t that how it was?

No, maybe it wasn’t like that. Perhaps instead, the demon beasts’ hatred for humans was the captain’s grudge itself. In the captain’s heart lurked a terrible hatred for the humans living in this land. Since the “sailors” became spirit-possessed and couldn’t leave descendants, the humans of this land were, except for the descendants of King Jean, the progeny of the “sleeping people.” To the captain, they were accursed sinners, and if not for them, he wouldn’t have had to come to this place of exile. The more he cursed his own fate, the more he hated the humans who were flourishing and enjoying prosperity in this land. Perhaps that hatred infected the maddened spirits and dominated the hearts of the demon beasts. If so, the heart of the demon beasts hating humans was none other than the captain’s heart hating humans. In other words, the true identity of the demon beasts was the captain himself.

In any case, now that the captain has vanished and disappeared from the spirit world as well, the poison that had been infecting the spirits has disappeared, and the spirits being reborn will no longer go mad. This means spirits will never go mad again. In other words, demon beasts will never be born again. Ah!

Come to think of it, the captain was also a pitiful man. He said revenge was his only hope. He had convinced himself of that. But wasn’t what truly lay in the captain’s heart homesickness? Wasn’t that demonic-like being driven by an unshakeable longing for his homeland?

The starship had never been hidden. It had been flying above the captain’s head from the beginning. But the captain, convinced it was hidden, ordered the dragonoids to search for it. So the dragonoids searched for a hidden, enormous mass of iron. Not even noticing the starship above their heads. If only the captain hadn’t lost his eyesight, he would have known immediately.

King Jean didn’t feel the need to hide the starship. He probably thought the captain’s lifespan would be about the same as his own, and since only those with the ancient sword could give the first command, he rather placed it in an easy-to-find location. So that when a wielder of the ancient sword appeared, the command could reach the starship from anywhere.

When Bard issued the command earlier, he felt his thoughts reached the ship directly. Probably it wouldn’t work like that in the populous continent. It would be hindered by various thoughts. That’s why King Jean placed relay devices in various locations.

A high wave touched his left foot. There was little distance left to the water surface. Soon, Yug’s breath would envelop Bard. And, ah. The impact of the starship shattering the island of imprisonment had created a massive tidal wave, which was approaching. Before long, that incredibly large and strong wave rushing towards him would engulf Bard. Sui and the others had done well. But it was impossible after all. This number of spirits couldn’t support Bard’s body. Soon Bard would be embraced by Yug and meet his death.

But he had no regrets. Because he had been able to liberate the spirits. Because he had been able to clear King Jean’s regrets. Never again would new demon beasts be born. The spirits would never go mad again. How wonderful that was. The obsession that had distorted the principles of this world had been removed, and a pure world would be reborn. Of course, this achievement would be known to no one. But that didn’t matter at all. Ah. Ah. He could die with peace in his heart. With gratitude.

‘Yug, God Of The Underworld, Yug, the great ocean, embrace me.’

“A little more!”
“A little more!”
“Just a little more!”

What was a little more? He glanced at the western sky. What’s that?

It was a bridge. A bridge of light. A single bridge stretching across the dark void was extending towards him. A bridge of light was stretching straight towards Bard from the direction of the continent.

It was spirits. An astonishing number of spirits were connected like a belt, coming towards him.

‘I see!’

The red stones that were once given to Manuno and then taken away were transported somewhere outside the Great Barrier by the captain’s order. It wasn’t all of the red stones, but it was likely the vast majority. The captain had intended to launch multiple large-scale invasions of demon beasts. So he must have had the red stones transported somewhere outside the Great Barrier, not to himself. If they were placed inside the Great Barrier, demon beasts would keep emerging from there, so humans might notice their existence and take the red stones away. That’s why he must have had them transported somewhere outside the Great Barrier. The spirits absorbed by the captain were liberated with his death. They were liberated, came to carry Bard’s body once, then vanished and returned to the spirit world. The spirits that returned to the spirit world were immediately reborn into this world and were drawn to those red stones. And from that place, they flew straight to Bard.

Just as Bard’s body was about to fall to the water surface, the bridge of light reached Bard, skimming the water surface. With a whoosh, Bard’s body soared upward. Higher and higher Bard’s body soared. The wind blew, clearing away the clouds. The massive tidal wave passed beneath Bard. Under a sky full of stars, the spirits carried Bard, laughing and chattering. Sarie, looking down, was smiling. The waves of Yug were singing a song of joy. How many spirits had gathered! It was like the Milky Way.

Moreover, their numbers continued to increase without limit. Bard flew through the night sky, carried on a carpet of light created by the spirits.

As he was transported by the spirits, Bard remembered Idora’s letter. It was a letter Idora had written to Bard after he left the Tercia household. That letter had been stolen by Jurchaga from Julelan and passed into the hands of Caldos Gwendell. Bard had reclaimed that letter at Gwendell’s castle. In that letter, there was a passage that read like this.

“You remember that small table in our modest garden, don’t you?”
“You, me, and Julelan.”
“Ah!”
“It was truly wonderful.”
“Did we look like a family as we chatted away in that sunny garden?”

Every time Bard returned from a mission, he would visit the sunny garden and enjoy pleasant conversations with Idora and Julelan. Would that scene have appeared as a family to an onlooker? If so, then that’s what it was. Idora, Julelan, and Bard were a family. That’s what Bard had desperately longed for. Idora had wished for it too. But to protect Julelan’s status, she couldn’t accept Bard’s proposal. Still, Idora wanted them to be like a real family. Wasn’t that feeling conveyed in that passage? Even if they weren’t bound by marriage, Idora, Bard, and Julelan were indeed a family.

Yes. Bard had long ago obtained what he truly desired.

Just because he decided to love Julelan, it wasn’t something his heart could immediately adapt to. Bard suppressed his hatred and gradually nurtured his affection for Julelan. When exactly was it? When did he become able to love Julelan from the bottom of his heart?

Memories of Julelan flooded Bard’s mind one after another. As a small child. As a boy. As a young man. As an adult. Bard had always protected and guided Julelan, and he and Idora had shared smiles at Julelan’s growth. That was happiness, that was joy, that was the entirety of what it meant to live. How… Oh, how… What a joyous life it had been.

As dawn was about to break, a cloud of light descended upon Fyuzarion. Those who witnessed this phenomenon said to one another that it was a sign of Fyuzarion’s prosperity.

(End of Chapter 8 “Patarapoza”)