In the past, Molon had failed to come up with a solution to his concerns. As the sole survivor of the Hero's party, he had faced the difficult decision of whether to maintain the fragile peace they had achieved with Vermouth or take up the mission his fallen comrades had failed to achieve. During the time of his dilemma, Vermouth had appeared in Molon's dreams, providing the answer to his reality. With this revelation, Molon was able to find peace in his decision and no longer had to agonize over the choice he was faced with. Furthermore, his body, which had not aged for hundreds of years, was in the perfect condition to complete Vermouth’s request.
Had Vermouth's prediction of the End not come to fruition, Molon would not have had such unwavering trust in him. However, the End did indeed cross over from Raguyaran, just as Vermouth had warned. Molon's dream, which had occurred one hundred and fifty years prior, was no mere figment of his imagination but a forewarning of the impending doom that started a hundred years ago.
“After I had that dream, I lived in Lehainjar. I saw Raguyaran every single day,” Molon explained.
Lehainjar towered over the surrounding landscape with its rugged, imposing form, but to Molon, it was a place of comfort and familiarity. Every day, as the sun sank below the horizon, he did the arduous climb to the summit and gazed out at Raguyaran in the distance. And each morning, he descended the mountain.
“Each day was busy and fulfilling, and at that time, I was no longer the King of Ruhr. There was no one to complain even if I lived in Lehainjar,” continued Molon. But that didn’t mean Molon confined himself to Lehinajar. He would occasionally attend important events in Ruhr. This was before he retreated into seclusion. “Raguyaran was not even a little bit different from what I saw when I was young. Even so, I trusted Vermouth. He had warned me even after his death, and I knew he wasn’t a man to make pointless warnings and requests.”
"I agree," Eugene whispered softly, with Anise nodding in agreement beside him.
Vermouth Lionheart, they knew, was not one to rely on others for assistance or favors. He was a man who preferred to take on challenges himself, and if he deemed a task impossible, then it was unlikely that anyone else could accomplish it either.
Vermouth was similar in his approach to giving warnings. He preferred to avoid situations where he was forced to do so. If there was a warning that he felt compelled to give, it meant that the situation was unavoidable, and he had no other recourse. Such situations definitely warranted careful attention and vigilance.
Molon spoke with conviction, "As Vermouth had warned, the End did come. So, it could only mean that the person who appeared in my dream was indeed Vermouth. Thus, I believe all his requests and warnings hold true and should be taken seriously."
"What exactly do you mean by the End ?" asked Eugene, giving the bottle in his hand a little shake. "Do you mean the Nur?" he continued, recalling the giant horned monkey and the monster that emitted the same ominous energy as the Demon King of Destruction. Aman, the Beast King, had mentioned that the Nur he had seen had taken the form of a giant snake.
“In the language of the snowfield, the word Nur means the end and death. The End and the Nur don’t mean different things. The end of life is death, and this truth applies to everything,” responded Molon.
“The Nur I saw was just a large monkey. It didn’t really fit the definition of death and the end,” said Eugene.
“But Hamel, you said you felt something ominous from the Nur. Anise, you must have felt the same way as well,” said Molon. He turned his head and peered out the window, looking towards Lehainjar over the fluttering snow. “Three hundred years ago, we felt the end just by seeing that existence from a distance. More than anything else we saw in Helmuth, that existence made us realize the end.”
Molon was speaking of the Demon King of Destruction.
Molon clenched his fist as he spoke, "I don't know why the Nur emits the same ominous energy as the Demon King of Destruction. Vermouth never mentioned anything like that, either. But to me, it's not extremely important. The End comes no matter what we do. It comes from Raguyaran and crosses over Lehainjar at will. It must be stopped; it cannot be allowed to cross over. When I first saw the Nur a hundred years ago, those were the thoughts that came to my mind."
There had been no warning.
Molon ascended the peak of Lehainjar, a routine he had followed for decades. He gazed upon Raguyaran, a sight he had grown accustomed to over time. However, on this particular day, there was an absence of familiarity. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when or where the shift began, but he knew that everything was different.
As Molon climbed up the mountain, his feelings of unease continued to intensify. He pushed his body forward, struggling to reach the summit, where he could finally lay eyes on Raguyaran. However, once he reached the top, there was nothing to see but a barren wasteland devoid of any signs of life.
After seeing the dead land, he turned his head at a sudden, unknown sense of fear. The Nur had been standing behind Molon.
“Do you remember when we saw the Demon King of Destruction?” asked Molon.
“How could I ever forget?” said Eugene.
“I will never forget the sense of urgency and the emotions I felt, no matter how many times I die,” said Anise.
The mere presence of the Demon King of Destruction had instilled a deep sense of hopelessness, causing a strong impulse to end one's life, regardless of their past, present, or future. It had evoked an overwhelming feeling of terror, a fear so intense that it could not be faced without resorting to self-harm. No one had even entertained the thought of fighting against it. Rather, their only thought was to never approach the fearsome existence.
“The Demon King suddenly appeared in a place where we could see it. We know how many people the Demon King of Destruction killed in that place, but we do not know why and how such an existence appeared there,” said Molon.
The Demon King of Destruction was such an existence. It was a living, moving disaster beyond human comprehension. Although Ravesta was the territory of the Demon King of Destruction, it had wandered through Helmuth three hundred years ago.
It was impossible to even guess where the Demon King of Destruction would appear at any given time. Three hundred years ago, it had suddenly appeared without any prior warnings or signs. It brought along destruction with its presence.
It had been the same then. When they looked up, they saw the Demon King of Destruction beyond the mountain. It had been impossible to make out its exact appearance. The Demon King of Destruction had appeared like a giant inexplicable phenomenon, a mixture or a mass of color. That was what they had seen.
“It brings me painful humiliation to say this, but we ran at that time. I was and still am a brave warrior, but I wanted to never face that existence. I knew that I would face unconditional death if I fought it. I felt that my existence would disappear,” continued Molon.
Molon wasn't the only one who had felt that way. Hamel had also felt the same sense of fear and urgency, and ultimately, everyone there had turned to flee. It was Vermouth who had taken the lead, shouting that they needed to run.
“We ran far, but that existence was simply too big. We could see it with our eyes no matter how far we ran,” said Molon.
“Right,” agreed Eugene after a moment.
They had only stopped fleeing when they no longer saw the Demon King of Destruction. To be precise, the Demon King of Destruction had disappeared.
“The Nur is incomparably weaker than the Demon King of Destruction, but they are similar to the Demon King of Destruction,” continued Molon. They suddenly appeared before one’s eyes and exuded an unpleasant, ominous energy. They spread death and brought the end, as their name suggested. “The first day I saw the Nur, I killed the Nur. Then I declared seclusion to the royal family.”
Things had changed from before, and since then, Molon never came down from Lehainjar. There were no patterns in the emergence of the Nur. They appeared during the day one day and during the night another. There were times when dozens would appear on the same day and times when none appeared for days.
“On the first day I saw the Nur, Vermouth appeared in my dream again. He apologized in my dream, but what was there to be sorry about? Rather, I felt sorry for Vermouth. I felt joy, sadness, and even gratitude for his words. I knew Vermouth would not have wanted to ask me for this favor, but there must have been no one else. He asked me because it was something he could not do.” So Molon had told him, “I will continue to stay on this mountain and kill the Nur. It doesn’t matter to me what the Nur is. But no one will want the End to cross over, and I don’t want it either.”
“What did Vermouth say after hearing your words?” asked Eugene a beat later.
“He said nothing. Vermouth took on an expression that was unbecoming for him. Then he disappeared. Although that was the last day I dreamt of Vermouth, I felt the power he gave me,” said Molon.
“Power?” asked Eugene.
“My eyes became very bright. Wherever the Nur appears in the wide Lehainjar, I can spot it right away. I can see how those evil creatures are born and how they move. I can see Kristina Rogeris inside Anise right now,” responded Molon. He continued while staring outside at Lehainjar, “The Nur is an ominous existence that terrifies people even without them having to see it in person. And it is big. The corpse of the Nur exhales and bleeds poison even after dying. The blood of the Nur stains the snow and deprives the mountain of life.”
Eugene was astounded by Molon's dedication to blocking the path of the Nur for a hundred years. He couldn't even begin to imagine the number of Nur that Molon must have killed during that time. If what Molon said was true and the Nur emitted a poisonous aura, then the poison from the Nur he had slain over the years would have spread throughout Lehainjar, covering the mountain in a deadly haze.
However, although Lehainjar was a hell of a mountain with endless snow, it wasn’t covered with an ominous energy powerful enough to cause suicidal thoughts.
Eugene remembered the incident in the Great Hammer Canyon vividly. Molon had fought fiercely with the giant Nur, killed it, and in the end, both he and the Nur had disappeared in an instant. Eugene had climbed up the cliff to investigate, but there was no trace of Molon or the Nur left behind, not even a drop of blood. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
Eugene also remembered the Lionheart family’s treasure room and the Dark Room deep in the basement. It had utilized magic that was unlike any other magic he had seen. If it had to be classified, it could be called spatial magic, but it had been impossible for Eugene to comprehend the magic even using Akasha.
“Vermouth did not explain to me about the ability, but I knew how to use it. Kill the Nur and toss it in. It’s an excellent ability,” explained Molon.
The idea was not difficult to fathom. On the other side of Lehainjar, there must have been an unseen world, even beyond the reach of archwizards. Molon had likely stored the Nur's corpses in that realm, building a mountain of the monstrous creatures that bled black blood so as not to defile his beloved mountain.
“Molon, you…” Eugene couldn’t help but speak. “Are you living on because of Vermouth’s request?”
He had to ask.
“I’m not dying because I want to,” responded Molon with a smile. “I am living a valuable life as a warrior. By following the request of an old friend, I am protecting my beloved snow mountain, the snow field, the nation I raised with my own hands, and the world.”
“…For a hundred years,” Eugene finished Molon’s unsaid words.
“Didn’t I tell you, Hamel? This is a worthy life as a warrior. I do not want to die ugly of old age. I want to die a warrior, die a Hero. Although death is a long way off for me now, if I die because I lack power, then the bodies of the Nur will prove the life I lived as a warrior and a hero,” continued Molon.
Eugene didn’t have anything to say to this.
“And the descendants who continue my legacy will stop the Nur on my behalf. This is only natural for a warrior of Bayar and the King of Ruhr.”
“Don’t you resent Vermouth? He explained nothing to you. He didn’t say why the Nur suddenly appeared or why he had to ask you to do this,” said Eugene.
“Hamel. Do you really think such things are important?” asked Molon.
Eugene couldn’t find any response. Molon continued with a chuckle upon seeing Eugene hesitate. “I was the only person Vermouth could rely on. Three hundred years ago, if I had died instead of you, and Vermouth had to ask someone else the same favor, he would have asked you. Then, Hamel, would you have refused Vermouth’s request?”
“I….”
“Would not have refused. It’s not just you and me, either. Even if it were Sienna and Anise, they would have never refused. Hamel, Anise, what did you two first feel when you first saw the Nur?” asked Molon.
They had to kill it — that was the first thought that came to mind. An existence that exuded the same ominous energy as the Demon King of Destruction could not be allowed to exist, so they had to kill it.
“I thought the same. Even if Vermouth had not asked, I would have killed the Nur if I had seen it. Even if Vermouth did not ask me to, I would have made it my mission to live in Lehainjar to block and kill the Nur,” said Molon.
“Of course, you would have,” said Anise with a chuckle. She buried herself deeper into the sofa and rested her chin on her hand. “We made… various excuses, but we were all sincere about saving the world. Even if we weren’t all like that from the beginning, after fighting together for decades, all of us eventually accepted the mission to save the world. That was our desire.”
Heroes.
“The war is over, and the world has become peaceful. We know how desperately the world needed this and how desperate we were. Although what we achieved was different from our ideal world, we dedicated everything for this peace…. If any existence threatened this peace, we would have killed it regardless of whether Sir Vermouth asked for it or not. If that existence continued to appear, I would have devoted the rest of my life to exterminating it without hesitation,” continued Anise.
Anise had been given another option at the end. She could have chosen to disregard the future of the world. She could have abandoned what had shackled her for her whole life, the Holy Empire and her faith. She could have taken her life quietly in a place with no one without benefiting the Holy Empire.
However, she had not chosen to do so. She had suddenly changed her mind in the desert where Hamel’s tomb was located. She found herself unable to abandon the world.
She remembered the stupid man whom she loved, the man who fought until his body was broken and moved no more. So she gave the body of the Imitation Incarnation to the Holy Empire. She chose not to ascend to heaven but to remain behind in this world. She watched as her body was made into sacred relics and future generations of Saints were created. She hoped for her successors to save the world.
Eugene closed his eyes. He couldn’t say anything. Molon was an idiot, and that was an undeniable fact. But it wasn’t just Molon. Everyone was an idiot. Although it wasn’t exactly what they had wished for, didn’t they save the world in the end? Had they not achieved peace, even if it were temporary?
Then, they could have lived happily for the rest of their lives, just as much as they had suffered. All they had to do was to live out their lives before dying before ascending to heaven. But no one had chosen to do so.
This applied to Hamel as well. He died, then reincarnated. Who cared if it was what Vermouth had intended? Hamel had been given a choice. He could have lived his second life in peace, but he had never considered it an option in the first place. He made the decision to see through the incomplete mission from his past life as if it were the most natural thing. He decided to devote his life to the mission of killing all the Demon Kings.
It was just as Anise said. This was simply who they were.
“Show it to me next time,” grumbled Eugene, pulling the cork from a new bottle. “I’m talking about how many Nur you killed in the past hundred years, Molon. Where you stacked all of them.”
“I do not want to show you. If I wanted to, I could have shown you the last time,” responded Molon.
“Why not?” asked Eugene.
“Because the poison is too strong. I am used to it, but Hamel, your mind might break if you go there. You might become sick,” answered Molon.
Was that why Molon had told him to go back down?
Eugene snorted at the idiotic kindness. “Do you think I’m some kind of a fucking pushover? I won’t go weird, no matter how many bodies there are. I won’t get sick.”
Eugene held himself back from asking a question. He remembered how Molon’s eyes had been. They had been similar to how Vermouth’s had been in the Dark Room — different, cold, emotionless, tired, and muddy.
“Promise me,” said Eugene. He couldn’t bear to leave Molon alone. “Promise me that you will take me there after the Knight March. Show me what you have seen in the last hundred years.”
“Are you planning on leaving me behind?” asked Anise with a smile. “If Hamel goes, I am going as well. I have to stand where you two stand.”
“Anise, you…” muttered Molon.
“Molon. You have absolutely no talent for lying. You are worried about us? That’s a lie, is it not? The only truth from what you’ve said is that you don’t want to show us. ” Anise wasn’t considerate of Molon like Eugene. She was a malicious woman with a talent for hurting people’s feelings since three hundred years ago. “What you do not want to show us… it’s not simply the bodies of monsters.”
Molon couldn’t refute Anise.
“And whatever it is that you do not want us to see, I want to see it no matter what,” said Anise.
After a moment of dazed blinking, Molon burst into laughter, his booming chuckles echoing off the walls. He then nodded to himself and gave his own head a light tap before speaking. "You two haven't changed a bit," he said with a grin.
“Have you changed?” asked Anise.
“I tried not to,” answered Molon.
“That’s enough. Now that we’ve roughly understood your situation, let’s enjoy our drinks,” said Anise before bringing her liquor to her lips. That alone changed the mood.
Eugene parted his lips while patting Mer’s wiggling head. “By the way, Molon, is it fine for you to be here now?”
“Didn’t I say it earlier? I can see Lehainjar from here as well. The Nur has not appeared yet. If it comes out, I will go and kill it,” responded Molon.
He had remained in Lehainjar for a hundred years when he could do such a thing.
“Idiot,” murmured Eugene while sipping his own bottle.
“I do not like that word, but I don’t hate it when you call me an idiot,” said Molon with a smile, tipping his own bottle as well.