[Aaron Side Story Episode 7]
2. A sword waiting to be pulled out (1)
* * *
Aaron closed the book.
The madness of the goddess echoed in his head.
“How is it?”
“….”
“Aaron, how do you see the story in this book? Who is good and who is evil?”
whose fault is it
Is it Ikar who couldn’t give up Moebius?
Is it Tell who threw all dimensions into disaster for the sake of his younger sister?
Is it Lecadis who plotted these things behind the scenes?
If not, is it the law that sentenced Mobius to destruction?
“I do not know.”
“I do not know. are you okay. That is an answer.”
Yurnet laughed.
Aaron said bluntly.
“Anyway, it’s over in the end.”
Currently, all three gods who planned the Pick Me Up project have disappeared.
I no longer believed in them at any level.
It’s a fair karma return.
“And no matter what the circumstances, what the goddess did is not forgivable.”
How many heroes and monsters had to suffer because of that goddess.
Tell had to die.
He had to die for the peace and future of Mobius.
“I think so. Many Mobius beings, including us, suffered. But what about. The goddess did a great job of proving her innocence.”
“Did you prove it?”
“We are here. Because Mobius has been revived.”
“I can’t tolerate the process just because the results are good.”
“That makes sense.”
Yurnet’s mouth opened.
“If only the goddess… had a little mercy. We might not have hated the goddess of innocence this much.”
“Mercy… you mean.”
Tell used everything to achieve his goal of reviving Mobius.
The lives of Moebius, the gods and spirits, the people of Earth, and even oneself.
There was no mercy whatsoever.
Tell wouldn’t mind throwing everyone else into hell, as long as he could continue with that innocent goal.
In the process, the suffering of others was not taken into account in the slightest.
‘If there was mercy in the innocence of the goddess.’
Would the shape have changed?
Could the suffering of the heroes and monsters have been slightly alleviated?
Aaron doesn’t know.
Because he wasn’t a god, he couldn’t guess Tell’s intentions.
But assertions were possible.
“It is impossible.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because the mercy of that goddess has already died.”
“It’s a fair word.”
Therefore, the course and ending of the story were pre-determined.
The moment the goddess of mercy threw herself away and died, the goddess of innocence could no longer bear mercy.
“You know? About the innocence and mercy of the Goddess Church.”
“I have only heard it a few times from believers in my hometown. I don’t know.”
“Purity and mercy. mercy and purity. They say that these two principles go hand in hand and give life the strength to live.”
Yunet’s explanation continued.
“Two to one. one and two. According to the doctrine of the Goddess Church, when innocence and compassion fall apart, disasters will befall the world.”
“Why?”
“Because mercy without innocence decides nothing, and innocence without mercy drives all things to ruin.”
Squeak.
Yurnet poured tea into a teacup.
Aaron muttered.
“Mercy without innocence decides nothing.”
“Considering everything, agonizing, unable to move forward, it remains endlessly stagnant.”
“Purity without mercy drives all things to ruin.”
“Going only for himself, greedily devouring the universe.”
So, it has to be mixed properly.
The Goddess Church called the state in which innocence and compassion were completely combined as ‘harmony’.
“how is it? Isn’t it attractive to know?”
“That… I don’t know.”
“In times of peace, people of the world followed mercy, and in times of chaos, ancient kings followed purity. Because innocence…”
“Is it because it gives you the strength to fight against adversity?”
“oh. You have learned well.”
Yurnet laughed.
“That’s right, Aaron. Purity is courage. Perseverance and perseverance. Because true innocence means a will that does not back down in the face of any hardship or adversity.”
“…”
“Mixed with a little mercy here, the ancient kings accomplished feats that remain in history.”
Aaron frowned.
Mix mercy with innocence.
Isn’t it strange?
“Did you just think? It’s strange to mix innocence with mercy.”
“Yes wait.”
“Right, a contradiction. Innocence and mercy are in fact logically incompatible. But it’s possible. Contradiction is human nature. On Earth, these human attributes are referred to as ‘naeronambul’.”
“Naero Nambul?”
“Oh my, maybe my choice of terminology was a bit wrong? Anyway, it’s just as long as it makes sense.”
Yurnet tilted her head.
Then, a pair of applause refreshed the atmosphere.
“Now, let’s end the difficult story here. Let’s move on.”
“So are you ready?”
“Unfortunately, there are very few courses left for Aaron.”
Yurnet laughed softly.
Aaron thought for a second to see if she was doing that on purpose, but then shook his head.
“If you just look at this… it will really be over.”
Yurnet gestured.
The Book of Forgotten Gods went into the bookshelf, and another book came out on the table this time.
A rough gray cover.
The sharpness that would cut you if you touched it came out of the book.
Aaron immediately noticed the owner of this book.
“No, this book is fine!”
Aaron jumped up and waved his hand.
“Why is that?”
“This book… is not his book!”
“Are you talking about Ridigion?”
Lydigion.
The eyes of the man nicknamed the best warrior in Valhalla were enough to make Aaron’s body hard.
Aaron’s body would stiffen like a rabbit in front of a tiger just by meeting its eyes.
The man usually spoke very little.
However, if even a little emotion arises, an uncontrollable killing spews out.
Aaron, sensitive to the atmosphere, found it difficult to endure that life.
That’s why I tried not to run into him unless we were fighting together. To be honest…
‘It’s scary.’
He himself has crossed numerous lines of fire and battlefields, but there is no way to develop these feelings.
Aaron was fascinated by the members of the 1st party who treated such a man like a beast.
“As expected, inviting Aaron here was the correct answer.”
“yes?”
“You two don’t get along. Can we call this a colleague? It may have adverse effects in battle.”
“That is true.”
“You don’t have to worry. Lidigion also gave permission to read it.”
did you allow it?
is that guy?
“If you really don’t like it, there are other ways.”
Yurnet smiled.
“How about a special feature about getting close? I paired up with Ridigion-nim for a month, all day…”
“I will read it!”
Aaron sat down immediately.
“Unfortunately. Lidigion-sama must be sad.”
Aaron started to see the woman in front of him as a demon.
“You are misunderstanding. Even though he looks blunt on the outside, he is kind and warm-hearted.”
Aaron remembered his first meeting with Lidigion.
And I remembered my first conversation with that man.
[You’re that man’s successor?]
[Yes…]
[Do you want to die?]
Some say that he is kind.
Cold sweat broke out on the nape of Aaron’s neck.
“Let’s read it. The method is the same as in the first book. Unfold it and focus your mind, and the story will begin.”
“…All right.”
It looks like you’ve fallen into a trap.
I had no choice but to be determined.
Let’s rather enjoy it.
the man’s story.
It wasn’t because I wasn’t curious.
He was the best swordsman in Valhalla, the strongest spearman, and the invincible divine archer.
Sword, spear, sword, bow, mace, whip, sickle, and winding each.
In all weapons, he was unmatched.
Anything that could be caught in the man’s hand became a weapon to kill the enemy.
Even naked.
Countless strong men gathered in Valhalla, and although they polished their martial arts for decades or hundreds of years, they were inevitably frustrated in front of that man.
It was a set rule.
like fate.
The man was a genius.
He was a genius among geniuses, and he was a genius who stood above the sky among geniuses who overwhelm such geniuses.
Therefore,
the man existed as a symbol related to martial arts among the numerous strong men in Valhalla.
Someone admired him,
someone was jealous of him, and
someone tried to surpass him…
but the man gave no place to anyone in his realm.
‘It was the same for me.’
Aaron was one of them.
The man had what Aaron had always dreamed of.
Overwhelming talent for nothing.
Still, never arrogant.
He came out early in the morning and practiced until late.
‘I would like to know.’
What would his life be like, the complete opposite of himself, who had no talent for combat?
Suddenly, the fear was forgotten.
Only pure curiosity filled Aaron’s heart.
Aaron opened the book.
It was the beginning of a new story.
* * *
“Wow!”
Cheers rang out.
A cry for someone’s blood.
He grabbed the hilt of his sword.
Blood on the blade splattered onto the sand.
“This… Profit!”
somewhere not far.
A muscular man charged with an axe.
‘Left vertical cut. Next, cut upwards in an oblique line to the right.’
Before the man even swings the axe.
The action he was going to take was drawn in the man’s mind.
“Hey!”
The man screamed like a beast.
At the same time, the ax aimed at the shoulder was swung.
He dodged the attack like water.
“Search!”
The next guy’s upward slash.
“Hehe…!”
An evil smile crept across the man’s mouth.
Because it had a taste.
Just like that.
Blood was flowing from the man’s left shoulder.
“Wow! Kill! Kill!”
The more blood spurts, the more swords collide with each other and the more sparks fly, the more
the spectators cheer.
They didn’t want a crushing match.
The more bloody they became, the more fierce the match, the more they cheered and threw money into the stadium.
What they really want is a flame that burns as two lives violently rub against each other.
That’s why single-knife fights don’t fit the nature of the arena.
The man knew that better than anyone else.
“Die… die… die!”
The muscular man swung the two-handed ax randomly.
A series of attacks like a typhoon.
Sand on the floor splashed in all directions.
“…”
Kang! Kaga River!
Fatal attacks are dodged or deflected.
If the attack is shallow, hit it.
Blood flowed from all over the man’s body.
“Huh! Hahaha!”
The man with the ax sensed victory.
Although he managed to avoid critical hits, the difference in weight class and strength was obvious to anyone.
‘That’s right!’
The strange feeling of incongruity I felt when I first encountered Hap.
The feeling of hitting an inexplicable wall was completely gone.
The man in front of me is weak.
And it’s boring.
‘It was decided that I would win from the beginning.’
Everything from weapons to strength training is different.
The weapon the man is holding is a giant ax forged from the finest steel. It was airlifted from a high-ranking nobleman who secretly sponsored a man.
On the other hand, what that man was holding was an old iron sword.
The blade is badly damaged.
If you hit it right once, it will break right away.
I managed to block it, but it’s just an act of luck.
“Don’t look funny.
muttered the man with the axe.
The two were gladiators belonging to the same arena.
I knew very well how he was doing on a regular basis.
Compared to veteran fighters working tirelessly in training, that guy is living a lazy life.
So did the man.
He did not neglect his strength training even for a day.
His sweat never dried on the handle of the practice axe.
But what about that guy?
I just sit idly by and pass the time.
There was no sense of urgency to win the next match.
He seems to have been lucky enough to have survived, but since he met himself, that was over.
‘Efforts do not betray!’
thud!
The heavy ax blade dug deep into the sand.
It was a weight that no man could lift properly.
Through countless trainings, he has reached the point where he can freely handle this axe.
Men weren’t strong from the start either.
In the first real match, I could only say that I won because I was lucky.
However, in order to survive, I tried and tried again and again to get to where I am today.
A high-ranking gladiator.
An honorable title given to those who survive 10 or more battles.
The man was the owner of that title.
The man honored himself.
So that guy was unlucky.
That son of a bitch is at the same level as you.
But I wasn’t careless.
Before entering the match, I thoroughly analyzed Nome’s fighting style.
‘The opponents are just trivial things.’
Arena matches are usually selected by lottery.
So, if you’re very lucky, even a weakling can be appointed as a high-ranking gladiator on very rare occasions.
That guy did it.
There are no flashy techniques.
It is not very strong, and its body is not particularly agile.
He has never been able to overwhelmingly overpower an opponent.
It was just a small coincidence that I barely got over it.
“I won’t kill you!”
The man pointed at the man.
Then, with the thumb of his left hand, he pretended to slit his throat.
“Wow!”
“Yes, Lars! kill it! I bet money on you!”
“Don’t lose to that trash! kill me!”
cheers of the crowd.
The muscular man had quite a few devoted fans.
From an exciting and rushing fighting style to a cool special move.
The man called Lars grinned.
“Where would you like to see it once!”
Cheers grew.
The shout, ‘Where should I see it once,’ was a special line that the man uttered before cutting the enemy into pieces with a special move.
A kind of showmanship.
Sensing the results of the splashing of blood and flesh, the white aristocratic audience heated up.
thud!
The man pulled out an ax stuck in the sand and threw it over his shoulder.
The distance to him is about 5 meters.
He declared a special move, but his face didn’t waver at all. Just stand there with your sword hanging down.
‘what.’
Are you okay?
Did I declare to kill you?
Did you turn your head away from fear?
‘It doesn’t matter.’
It is a showdown between high-ranking gladiators.
It was clear that the reward would be generous.
You’ll be able to eat delicious food and get a good rest after a long time.
“Hehehe!”
Tendons sprouted from the man’s muscles.
The body, trained to the limit, retained elasticity.
“Get lost!”
phut!
sand was scattered
The body of the man who ran away in an instant arrived in front of him.
It’s not slow because it’s a muscular giant.
Few enemies could react to this speed.
’17 consecutive hits!’
tight!
A storm-like attack using the strength and weight of the whole body.
The first blow struck the man’s head as if splitting it open.
The guy dodged the blow by stepping sideways.
‘As expected! It’s no fun if I die right away!’
Lars’ smile deepened.
“one!”
The 17th consecutive attack is the trademark of the high-ranking gladiator Lars.
The audience shouted after each attack.
“two!”
From a down hit to a horizontal slash.
Originally, it was a movement that could not be connected, but the muscular strength of a bear-like man made it possible.
‘Where to stop it!’
It’s like being torn apart.
The man’s steel ax cut through the bodies of countless victims along with the weapon.
It is impossible to block that blow with all the soul.
Even the guy is holding an old sword.
That kind of trash will break like a can of sorghum as soon as it hits a steel axe.
The man raised the blade of his sword.
Action to block the ax blade.
A light of joy passed through Lars’ eyes.
“porridge…!”
Kang!
“…?”