Eugene and Anise stood quietly in front of the Nur’s corpse for a few moments. Just why had the body been left in this state? The two had the same suspicion in their heads, but they couldn’t bear to voice their thoughts out loud.
Instead, they just took a few moments to sort out their emotions.
The crashing sound could still be heard intermittently.
Afraid to stick her head out of the cloak, Mer just curled up inside of the cloak. Under the usual circumstances, Eugene would have patted Mer on the head or held her hand so that she wouldn’t be so anxious, but right now, he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was feeling anxious himself, and he really didn’t have the attention to spare for comforting her.
After standing there absentmindedly for some time, Eugene clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Idiot,” he cursed. He didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t help it.
Eugene walked past the Nur’s corpse. Anise also let out a quiet sigh and followed behind him.
It was difficult to walk across the ground that rose and fell in waves as if flowing lava had seemingly hardened in place. Some places were hard enough to walk over, but other places were not as sturdy, and their feet would sink into the ground when they crossed those areas.
In addition, Lehainjar was a snowy mountain, and snow was naturally falling on its other side, but here, there was not even a trace of snow, much less a wintry landscape. Instead, everything here looked like a toddler’s haphazard finger painting. Bizarre shapes with no coherent patterns formed the landscape.
Eugene and Anise were very familiar with this kind of environment. At this point in time, Helmuth was considered one of the empires. It was a normal country that accepted immigrants from all over the continent, and had lost all traces of its former appearance from three hundred years ago. The Helmuth of the past, however, had been a terrible sight worthy of being called ‘Hell.’
“This reminds me of the old days,” Eugene muttered as he climbed up the curved slope.
“Do you miss those days?” Anise asked from behind him.
“To be honest, it would be a lie to say that I didn’t miss them,” Eugene admitted. “Back then, I was still alive and hadn’t died yet, and you were also alive at that time.”
Anise laughed wryly and nodded.
She glanced down at the lump of flesh by her feet. It was a fragment of a corpse that had been shredded to such minute bits that it was impossible to imagine what it originally looked like. Similar bits of flesh were scattered all across their field of view.
Someone had dragged the corpse here, randomly knocking it against whatever was in the way, then had torn it apart with grip strength alone before throwing the pieces away. While it was impossible to imagine the original appearance of the corpse, it was possible for them to picture why the corpse had become like this.
Eugene looked at the intestines hanging from a twisted tree.
Were they already rotten?
He couldn’t really tell. The smell was foul and the colors were odd, so they definitely seemed to be rotten… or perhaps it was that the Nur’s internal organs looked like that to begin with.
Eugene wondered if that was even important. This place was more like a garbage dump than a grave, so it was more accurate to say that the shredded corpses here had been thrown away like garbage instead of being ‘enshrined’ within a tomb.
Besides the lumps of flesh, guts, blood, and bones, there were several other traces visible. There were clear scratch marks on the cliffs and rocks — at least, it was clear that they had been intentionally made, though it was hard to tell if they were meant to be pictures or words.
Among all these traces, the ones that were most common and most prominent… were the traces of violence seemingly left by something thrashing about and randomly destroying whatever was around them.
Eugene and Anise walked past these traces, continuing to climb upward. The higher they got, the more violent, obvious, and frequent these traces grew. It was as if the one who left them behind wanted to make sure that no one would climb up this mountain. Or, perhaps, they didn’t want anything up there to come back down.
“Idiot.”
This time it was Anise, not Eugene, who muttered this word. She stepped forward herself and swung her flail to topple the rubble blocking them.
Boom, boom!
The sound was no longer coming from so far away. Eugene tucked the Moonlight Sword, which he had been holding in his hand, back into his cloak.
For a moment, he hesitated. Should he pull something else out and keep it at the ready? He thought about it for a second. Was there really a reason for why he needed to have a weapon in his hand? In the end, he decided not to worry about it. He didn’t pull out another weapon, and he didn’t even clench his fists.
Anise, who now followed behind him once more, also hung the flail that she was holding back at her waist. Instead, both of her hands reached up to clutch the rosary hanging around her neck. In a low voice, Anise began to recite a prayer.
Boom, boom!
The sound was now coming from right ahead of them.
A few moments later, Molon came into view.
He looked just like what they had imagined he would from the moment that they had entered this side of the Lehainjar and had first heard those thunderous blasts.
Molon was sitting on his knees, with both hands gripping the ground, and he was smashing his own head into the ground. Every time this happened, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
Inside the cloak, Mer swallowed back a gasp. Eugene and Anise didn’t show any immediate reaction. While they were climbing up here — no, from the moment Molon had revealed that there was something here that he didn’t want to show them… they had suspected that they might see something like this.
Eugene and Anise were all too familiar with Molon. From three hundred years ago until now, Molon had always been a brave warrior who would never back down from a challenge. Someone else instead would have entertained the thought of just collapsing and giving in to despair when faced with such a duty, but they couldn’t even imagine the sight of Molon quitting like that.
Molon had always stood at the forefront of the battlefield. He took that as his duty, and everyone entrusted the vanguard to Molon as if it was only natural. And truly, in those days, it was the natural thing to do. Because Molon was brave and he never backed down; he was a true warrior who was strong and would never falter.
“Hey,” Eugene called out to Molon in a quiet voice.
Eugene hadn’t directly experienced the three hundred years that had passed since they had last met. The same went for Anise. Anise had died and become an angel, but following her death, she had spent most of that time asleep. Thus, the two had never experienced what a long and terrible period of time three hundred years could be for a human being.
However, it was different for Molon. He had lived for those whole three hundred years. Apart from himself, all of his comrades had died, and after they had disappeared, he had endured all that time alone. He had the opportunity to choose to die in peace and happiness, with everyone’s blessings for all that he had done.
Yet, Molon hadn’t made that choice.
It was not that he was unwilling to die. No, Molon wanted to die, but he wanted a warrior’s death. In his view, all of his friends had died as warriors, and he desired the same for himself.
Then, Vermouth had entrusted this mission to Molon just as the latter was caught in this distress. Naturally, Molon had happily accepted the mission.
For over a hundred years, he alone had blocked the appearance of this race of ominous monsters whose origin was impossible to confirm. He had issued an edict to prevent anyone from crossing the Great Hamer Canyon and climbing to the peak of the snowy mountain. This was out of concern that people would encounter the Nur, as it was practically impossible to predict when and where they would reappear. Thus, Molon had to keep permanent watch over this barren wasteland at the end of the world.
Molon was strong. He was brave. He never backed down, and he never despaired. He would never collapse.
But he could still be worn down.
The weight of his hundreds of years had ground away at Molon’s mental strength. His body was still as strong as ever, but there were hundreds and thousands of corpses piled up in this place and all of the corpses were emitting poisonous aura. In addition, having to watch from the side as all of his beloved and dependable comrades, as well as his descendants, left this world, leaving him all alone, had gnawed away at Molon from the inside.
Now, his deceased comrades had reappeared in front of Molon. Their appearances were different from what they had looked like hundreds of years before, but Molon was still able to recognize them.
Eugene didn’t know if Molon still personally thought of himself as the same ‘Brave Molon’ that he had been three hundred years before. However, now that he was able to reunite with his deceased comrades, Molon had probably decided that he wanted everyone to be able to address him the same as they had back in the day, and see him as the same great figure that they remembered rather than as a pitiful, ruined version of himself.
The Molon that Eugene remembered was just that type of fool. An idiot who didn’t know how to use tricks and complicated things like that, and could only think in a barbaric and simple way.
As such, Eugene couldn’t help but call Molon a fool once more.
“Hey, idiot.”
The booming noises suddenly stopped. The figure of Molon, who had been pounding his head against the ground like a machine, froze in place.
Molon raised his head from the deep crater that it had ugh. He didn’t turn to look behind him immediately. Instead, he stayed like that for a few moments, then slowly turned his head.
“I didn’t want to show you this side of me,” Molon said as he stood up.
His back was still turned toward them. Eugene stared at the bulging muscles that lined Molon’s back — his skin was flawless, with not a single scar.
Molon’s back, so tall and broad usually, looked strangely small now.
“So what,” Eugene scoffed. “It was only a question of sooner or later. Eventually, we would have found you like this. Have you forgotten about it? You agreed to show us this place once the Knight March was over.”
Molon argued back. “What I promised to show you was this place, not me acting like this.”
“Have you forgotten what I said?” Anise spoke up, her voice trembling slightly at first. However, she soon caught hold of her emotions and forced out her usual smile.
“Molon, didn’t I say that if there's something that you definitely didn't want to show me, that would only make me want to see it all the more, no matter what the cost may be? From the time that I was born to the time that I died, I haven’t had many wishes that came true, but thanks to you, I’ve been able to enjoy such a rare experience.”
It wasn’t that Anise couldn’t imagine Molon being in such a state. As the Saint, she had healed and saved countless people. In the process, she had seen countless people die in front of her without being able to do anything, and right at the very end, she hadn’t even been able to save herself.
Thus, Anise was well aware of how people could break down and collapse. She had faced the option of giving in to despair and running away from everything. But in the end, she had been unable to run away. Things like her beliefs and her duty had held her back like a curse at her very last moment.
Anise didn’t regret dying like that, however. In the end, she had been able to choose death rather than being forced into it.
However, Molon was different. He wasn’t able to choose death. No one else could help him, nor could they save him.
“If your head… was injured even a little, then I could at least heal you. But your head is so damn tough, Molon. I know you don’t even have a scratch. Well, it’s kinda nice not having anything to do.”
Anise sympathized with Molon. Her heart ached for him, and it felt like she might even cry. However, she definitely couldn’t allow herself to reveal these feelings. She felt like Molon wouldn’t want to see her like that, and Anise herself didn’t want to behave like that.
“...You two,” Molon said as he chuckled.
After staring blankly up at the sky for a few moments, Molon slowly turned around, and they were finally able to see his face.
It was just as Anise had said. Even though he had slammed his face into the ground hard enough that the very mountain itself had been shaken by the force, Molon’s forehead bore not a single scratch, let alone any injury or blood.
While he was physically intact, however, his expression said something completely different about his mental state. The impression that Molon had given off when they had seen him just a few days before was that he was the same Molon that they had known in the old days, but the man they were seeing in front of their eyes…
This man was the same as he had been when they had first reunited in the Great Hammer Canyon. His eyes were cold, without any trace of emotion. Eyes that seemed to have been hollowed out by the years. Just like the eyes of Vermouth in the Darkroom — tired, cloudy, dull.
“You… you haven’t changed. You’re just like you were in the old days,” Molon muttered at Eugene and Anise, looking at them with those lifeless eyes.
At these words, Eugene snorted and shook his head. “It’s because we’ve both died once. That goes for me especially, since I died the earliest. It’s only natural that I haven’t changed.”
“That goes for me as well,” Anise agreed. “My life was also quite tragic, but I was still able to take my life after doing all the things that I wanted to do and drinking to my heart’s content.”
“I…,” Molon trailed off with a light. “I tried my best not to change. I thought that I couldn’t allow myself to do so. However, against my own will, I couldn’t help but to change slowly.”
Eugene pointed out, “Three hundred years is a long time for a human being.”
“I know,” Molon sighed. “Three hundred years is a really long time. However, I still didn’t want to change. I told myself that I couldn’t, and I believed that I would only be able to fulfill my mission by maintaining a clear state of self.
A few days ago….
—Is it because of Vermouth’s request that you are unable to die?
When Eugene had asked that question, Molon had replied with a smile.
—I won’t die because I don’t want to.
—As a warrior, I need to live a worthy life. While following the request of an old friend, I am protecting the snowy mountains and the snowfield that I love, the country that I created with my own hand, and even the whole world.
—I don’t want to die an unsightly death from old age. I want to die as a warrior, as a hero. Currently, death seems like a distant thing to me, but if I eventually lose strength and end up dying….
“I must not fall,” Molon stated.
—The corpses of the Nur that I have piled up until this point will act as proof of my life as a warrior and a hero.
Molon proudly declared, “This is the mission that Vermouth entrusted to me. As the only one of us left alive, I accepted his request.”
Vermouth had made the request, and Molon had chosen to accept it. Because this was what Molon wanted.
Molon did not resent Vermouth. Vermouth hadn’t given him any explanation. He hadn’t said what the Nur were, nor why they kept reappearing. He hadn’t even explained why he was asking for this favor.
Yet, Molon still didn’t resent Vermouth. It was because he knew full well that the only one Vermouth could trust with this sort of task was the Brave Molon.
“...I’m fine,” Molon said after a vigorous shake of his head. “I’m just a little dizzy. As you may have already sensed, the Nur’s miasma is hellish. It’s impossible to get used to it. Especially for me, since I’ve killed so many of them over such a long period of time. As such, there are times when I can’t control all of the things inside me.”
“So what? Since you can’t control yourself, you’re trying to solve your problems like that?” Eugene asked sarcastically.
“I know that it's embarrassing and ugly. I’m all too aware that such behavior does not befit a warrior, so I didn’t want to show you this. The more I thought about it, the angrier I grew with myself. That’s why I was smashing my own head into the ground,” Moon shamefacedly confessed.
“Idiot. Do you really think that you can let go of your anger by smashing your head into the ground,” Eugene muttered as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
At these words, Molon could only grin.
“Hamel, Anise,” Molon spoke up after a short silence. Like his weary eyes, his voice sounded just as worn out as he continued, “Isn’t it enough now?”
“What do you mean?” Eugene demanded.
“Hamel, you said that you wanted to see this place. Anise, you also said that you wanted to see the thing that I didn’t want to show anyone. In the end, you’ve seen all that you wanted to see,” Molon reminded them.
Eugene noticed that Molon’s fingertips were trembling slightly.
Molon attempted to persuade them. “I don’t know how you got in here. Even if I make you leave, you might be able to come back in. But please, don’t. I still…need some time to calm down properly. I don’t want you to see me in that state any longer.”
Molon could feel Eugene’s gaze. He cupped his trembling hands together to hide the shaking and turned back around.
“Go back to Fort Lehain. There’s a chance that the Nur might reappear once more. I… I will return in two days,” Molon promised.
“And what if the Nur doesn’t reappear during those two days,” Eugene retorted. “Will you keep banging your head on the floor like you were before?”
Molon defended himself, “It’s not like it’s really all that painful for me to do so.”
“I suppose so,” Eugene agreed sarcastically.” Your body is uselessly tough, and if your body breaks down because of excessive self-injury, then you won’t be able to continue fulfilling Vermouth’s request.”
“I’m not just doing this because of Vermouth’s request, Hamel. Like I said before, any one of us would do the same thing that I am,” Molon argued back.
“I know. There’s no way that you can just leave a monster like the Nur or whatever to its own devices, so even if it were me in your place, I would have lived here in order to keep killing the Nur. Then, when I finally thought that I couldn’t continue doing this any longer, I would have killed myself,” Eugene stated without any hesitation.
“That wouldn’t have happened, Hamel. You weren’t such a weak warrior. None of us would have ever committed suicide without fulfilling our mission.”
“Then I would just gone crazy and broken down,” Eugene muttered as he stared at Molon. “Just like you have.”
“...I’m not crazy,” Molon denied it. “I’m not broken either. I’m just having trouble keeping calm.”
“I hope that is the case. For you, it must have been a very long time ago, but the battlefield that we fought on…,” Eugene smirked as he kicked something in front of him.
Pow!
A crumpled Nur’s head was sent flying by Eugene’s kick.
“...It was full of monsters that were much worse than this one. If you were caught up with dealing with a guy like this for over a hundred years, then someone like you, who’s barbaric by nature and overflowing with strength, would never be satisfied with just that. It might get your blood boiling, but it wouldn’t be enough to calm you back down.”
Anise attempted to intervene, “Hamel, Molon is—”
“Be quiet, Anise,” Eugene cut her off.
In the face of Eugene’s sharp gaze, Anise just sighed and took a few steps back.
“Idiots,” Anise muttered.
“Don’t include me in that,” Eugene replied with a laugh.
Eugene put his right hand inside of his cloak and raised his gaze to look up the mountain. There was still some more distance that they could climb.
“Hey, Molon, I want to take a look at the peak of this mountain,” Eugene suggested.
“There’s nothing there,” Molon informed him. “The view isn’t worth much either.”
“That’s for me to judge.”
“Hamel.”
Eugene changed the subject. “Come to think of it, your descendant told me quite an interesting story.”
Back in Hamelon, the capital of Ruhr, Aman Ruhr had dropped them in front of the statue of Hamel and Molon, then said something to Eugene with a smirk.
Recalling that moment, Eugene said, “I’ve heard that you said it yourself. That three hundred years ago, you were the strongest of Vermouth’s comrades. In other words, you were saying that you were stronger than me.”
“Hamel,” Molon called out calmly.
Eugene continued unimpeded, “Come to think of it, I’m also very curious. While traveling around with Vermouth, I faced him a few times, but I’ve never had a proper match with you .”
Molon turned his head around once more to look at Eugene.
“Also, Anise showed me something interesting,” Eugene added.
He was talking about the dream that he had been shown through the Holy Sword in the Samar Rainforest.
“You, you said something while weeping on my grave, didn’t you? You said that you wanted to fight with me someday. You wanted to know, between you and me, who was the greater warrior, right?” Eugene pressed Molon.
Molon hesitantly tried to defuse the situation. “...I, I don’t need to fight with you, Hamel. I know you very well. I recognize your ability. You’re greater, braver, and stronger—”
“Do you really think that?” Eugene asked while tilting his head to the side.
Unable to reply, Molon just glared at Eugene. Seeing this gaze, Eugene smiled and nodded.
“Your eyes tell me that you don’t really think that,” Eugene observed as his hand inside of his cloak grabbed onto Akasha.
Molon warned him, “Don’t do anything foolish, Hamel.”
“He would have thought that such words would ever come from your lips,” Eugene sarcastically marveled as his White Flame Formula emitted sparks of purple flames.
As Molon saw this appearance, he clenched his fists.
Eugene saw a faint light beginning to flicker within Molon’s eyes. He promised, “I won’t use any weapons, because you’re a friend, after all.”
“Hamel!” Molon shouted in alarm.
“However, I will use magic. Since your skills aren’t the same as they were in my past life, it should be fine for me to use the magic that I wasn’t able to use back then,” Eugene justified himself.
With Akasha, Eugene began to prepare his Signature.
Anise, who had already backed off into the distance, shook her head.
“Idiots.”