Chapter 257: Recall (9)
“……I will stop.”
Berenistella, who had been reaching out her hand toward Talia, suddenly murmured those words.
She lowered her hand and looked directly at Talia, who stood there defenseless with both arms spread open toward her.
“Why?”
Talia blinked twice and spoke as if pressing her.
“Why are you suddenly saying you’ll stop? Did you somehow grow attached to me in the meantime?”
“Since this is the end, I shall refrain from uttering unnecessarily sharp words.”
Berenistella nodded.
“First, to answer your question—yes.”
“……Huh?”
“Even if one faces an enemy one wishes to kill, if they continue to face each other for years, that relationship eventually becomes little different from that of close friends. Thus, it would not be incorrect to say that some attachment has formed between us.”
Berenistella muttered those words in a dry voice.
“However, even so, there exists a firm and unavoidable conflict of interests between us.”
The Eight Demon Lord and the member of the Wolpen Knights looked at each other.
“Therefore, it is neither difficult nor unpleasant for me to personally bury you and your companions with my own hands.”
“…….”
“And devouring the remnants that sustain you would rather be something I desire.”
And besides……
She carefully tightened the arm with which she held Lian.
“……At the moment this child became entangled in the matter, I had no choice but to move according to the will of that wicked Saintess. In the prophecy she saw, there must have been a scene where I personally bring about your end.”
“In that case……”
“Prophecy is truly a troublesome thing.”
Cutting off Talia’s words, Berenistella continued.
“It is irrational, self-fulfilling, coercive…… and rather than a fate that can be avoided, it is closer to a branded destiny. No matter what kind of being one may be, a prophecy bestowed upon oneself cannot be avoided. Not by you, not by me, not by anyone.”
“……Yes, that’s right.”
Talia nodded.
“I had forgotten for a moment. If anything, you were an expert when it came to prophecies.”
“I am merely a fortune teller who wanders from place to place.”
Berenistella shook her head.
“It is quite different in nature from prophecy. What I see is merely one branch among countless possible futures. And besides……”
She suddenly closed her mouth.
“……Enough. There is no time, and I nearly continued with a useless explanation.”
“I don’t mind. It was an interesting story.”
“I do mind.”
Letting out a small scoff toward Talia, she continued speaking.
“In short, the more one tries to twist a prophecy, the greater the distortion it brings. And in the process, it leads everyone involved to ruin.”
“…….”
Berenistella let out a small sigh.
“A man once received a prophecy that he would kill his own father by his own hand. To avoid it, he deliberately never returned home and lived far away. Years later, he heard news of his adoptive father’s death and returned to attend the funeral. On the road, he happened to quarrel with a stranger he met along the way—and killed him with his own hands. That stranger turned out to be his real father.”
It was an old tale even Lian knew well.
The man only learned the truth later, lamented his fate, and lived the rest of his life as a blind man.
“Another story is not so long ago. A king once heard a prophecy that a certain lineage would bring about the fall of his kingdom. Out of fear, he lured them into a trap and exterminated them—even though they had been nothing less than the shield of the kingdom. And the few survivors who remained later grew strong and destroyed that kingdom.”
“……Ah, I’ve heard that one. It was a story from Garusol, right?”
At Talia’s words, Berenistella nodded slightly.
“In other words, no matter what I do, I will ultimately be bound by that prophecy. I know this fact well—so well that it has seeped into my bones.”
Then she slowly extended her hand.
Not toward Talia, but toward Arpentia.
“Therefore, speak every detail. The prophecy you heard—tell it all here and now.”
“…….”
“……I do not wish to be manipulated again.”
She added in a voice heavy with fatigue.
“If it is a current that cannot be defied anyway, then it would be better for me to end it early with my own hands.”
“……Then is this really necessary?”
“Even if I have made a decision, that does not mean the unpleasantness disappears.”
Berenistella said calmly.
“As you said, the only one who can control me is myself. ……To be toyed with by another’s schemes—there is nothing more unpleasant than that.”
“…….”
“And besides, this is also for the sake of the future.”
“The future?”
“Yes. If I devour you all…… once that fact becomes known, what do you think that child will do?”
Talia could not answer.
“She will try to kill me. And my disciple will not be free from her clutches either. In that case, I would inevitably have to kill that young mermaid…… but surely you do not think that is part of the prophecy as well.”
“……Alright, I understand.”
In the end, Talia raised the white flag.
She nodded and subtly shifted her steps as if shielding Arpentia.
“Just as that child is precious to you, this child is precious to me. So please lower that hand, Berenistella. You wouldn’t feel comfortable if I raised my hand toward that child either, would you?”
“…….”
Berenistella silently lowered her hand.
Seeing that, Talia let out a small sigh of relief and continued speaking.
“……Honestly, there’s nothing much to hide. She said that you would appear before me and that you would have to deal with the Remnant of the Evil Dragon. But beyond that, she didn’t tell me anything specific.”
“……And?”
“She did add something that sounded strange at the time, but makes sense now.”
Talia nodded.
“She said that if you didn’t come, the opportunity would only arrive several centuries later. But if it did come, we would meet exactly like this. At first I wondered what kind of prophecy that was…… but thinking about it now, she must have even accounted for the fact that you would come after reversing time.”
“…….”
At her words, Lian could not help but shudder.
A prophecy that even accounted for someone returning after reversing time.
Was something like that truly possible?
‘……Can such a prophecy really be defied?’
An indescribable emotion clenched Lian’s chest.
Perhaps it was because of his memories from his previous life—when a single word from someone else had plunged his life into ruin.
After finally turning back time, now something like a prophecy from 300 years ago—something called destiny—was trying to seize control of his life.
Lian bit his lip slightly.
“……Certainly, before now there would have been no reason for us to come here. Neither for me nor for my disciple.”
“But now we’ve met, haven’t we? From my perspective, that’s enough. ……Of course, I know that’s not pleasant to hear from your side.”
Talia shrugged.
“And about the Evil Dragon…… that child, that child…… well, it’s true she’s being targeted, but it’s more like a fisherman casting a net and waiting?”
“What?”
“Sorry, I’m just repeating the expression she used…… Anyway, she said the dragon isn’t specifically targeting her. It’s just that she happened to fall within the target by coincidence.”
Then she nodded and muttered.
“She also said there was another reason besides the Brand, but she didn’t tell me that part.”
“…….”
“Don’t glare at me like that. I was frustrated too.”
“So you’re saying my disciple became the target of that beast simply because she was unlucky?”
“Something like that.”
Talia said with a helpless tone.
“But you know how the world works, right? Things usually flow through a mix of coincidence and inevitability.”
“…….”
“Lian Gwendil, you must make a choice.”
Suddenly, Talia said that while looking at Lian.
Berenistella’s brows furrowed slightly.
“Not me?”
“Berenistella, you have already made your choice.”
Talia raised three fingers.
“Three times, in fact. Now it’s that child’s turn to choose.”
“…….”
At that moment, Lian felt the gazes of both women focus on him.
He quietly let out a sigh.
“……For now.”
I don’t know.
So at least for now, let’s start with what I can do.
“First…… I think we should deal with this chaos.”
At Lian’s words, the expressions of the two women shifted slightly.
Talia’s eyes softened gently, while Berenistella looked as though she had never cared in the first place.
“The Academy will probably be handled somehow by Windy May…… I mean, my Master in this life. So we should head upward.”
As he spoke, he glanced at the two of them.
“My companions are struggling there right now. If we don’t help them, they probably won’t last long.”
His voice was extremely serious.
“The Man without a Head has fallen, but his sorcery hasn’t been undone. ……Even now, chaos is breaking out across the Capital. We should deal with that first.”
“……Excellent.”
Clap, clap.
A small sound of applause echoed.
It was Talia Poas.
She was applauding him not with sarcasm, but with genuine praise.
“A Seed of a Hero.”
“……You flatter me. Then would you help me?”
“Of course I’d like to. Honestly, I’d even like the three of us to go to the front lines together.”
Talia smiled bitterly, looking apologetic.
“But we can’t.”
“Pardon?”
“Unfortunately, neither those two nor I can move even a single step from this place.”
“……Why?”
“Because the Room of Memories has been destroyed.”
Talia said that and let out a small sigh.
“We are beings who could barely manifest in this world through the Room of Memories and the Remnant of the Eight Demon Lords. But now that one of the foundations—the Room of Memories—has been destroyed…… we cannot leave this place. To be precise, we cannot even leave Arpentia’s side. If we tried to force ourselves to move, we would probably disappear.”
Then Talia spoke again.
“Why don’t the two of you go instead?”
“……Pardon?”
“Honestly, even if she went alone, the current situation would be more than manageable.”
“…….”
Lian fell into thought for a moment at Talia’s words.
She wasn’t wrong.
But heading toward the Capital alone with Berenistella in this situation……
That was uncomfortable for many reasons.
“Don’t worry.”
As if reading Lian’s mind, Talia spoke gently.
“That woman won’t do anything to harm you. In fact, she’ll probably try to protect you more than anyone.”
“…….”
Berenistella frowned in displeasure at her words but did not refute them.
“And she’ll be a far greater help than you think.”
Talia said that and gestured toward Berenistella.
Berenistella met her gaze for a moment, then let out a small sigh as if she had no choice.
“…….”
Without saying anything, she took something out from her robes and handed it to Lian.
It was none other than Airos’ Sword—the one Lian had returned at the entrance before entering the Auction House.
“Why does Master have this……?”
“I prepared it in advance before entering the Auction House.”
Berenistella answered bluntly.
Her voice still sounded irritated.
“……It is better than having nothing.”
Lian fell silent for a moment at her words.
“……Will you come with me?”
“What nonsense.”
She replied bluntly to Lian’s question.
“What kind of master would simply watch after sending her incompetent disciple into a place of death?”
“……Thank you.”
“……Stop saying such pointless things.”
At Lian’s gratitude, Berenistella scoffed and turned her head away.
However, Lian did not miss the faint redness that had appeared at the tips of her ears.