Chapter 21: I Will Never Let Go
“I ultimately couldn’t return to the Royal Capital.”
Eris managed to sit up from her futon, her voice strained. Orphelia’s gaze was stern as it fell upon her, yet there was a hint of concern in her eyes.
“Eris, it’s alright. Please let me speak until the end.”
“…Understood.”
“After confirming with Omi that my master had escaped from danger, I departed from this Town. Along the way, I joined forces with Orphelia, and we made our way toward the Royal Capital, switching between the flying dragon and the carriage. The journey went smoothly without any significant troubles. However—”
She paused, covering her mouth. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t hold back, and gastric fluid spilled through her fingers.
“Eris!!”
She gasped for breath. Yet, she persevered—
“I’m sorry… I showed you a disgraceful side of myself.”
With a pained expression, she continued to speak.
“About five days into the journey, I began to have dreams.”
“Dreams…?”
“Yes, dreams. But they were nightmares so unbearable that I couldn’t stand them.”
I understood all too well the torment of being plagued by disturbingly realistic nightmares. The more vivid and gruesome the dream, the more profound the mental anguish it inflicted.
“The content of the nightmares varied slightly each time. However, the underlying theme remained the same.”
Her throat trembled.
“In those dreams, I showed complete submission to that foolish Hero and wielded his power at his command, standing by his side.”
Eris’s expression tightened.
“In the dreams, I somehow knew. This was ‘the future that is to come’… I, who had answered the call from the kingdom, was destined to become the Hero’s possession once again, just as I had when I betrayed you.”
I couldn’t dismiss it as just a dream.
“I became afraid of the night. But no matter what, night would come. Sleepless nights continued. Yet, I couldn’t keep myself awake forever. Enduring the nightmares, I steadily approached the Royal Capital. But then I realized something.”
“What did you realize?”
Her face was now as pale as paper.
“The closer I got to the Royal Capital, the more real the dreams became. The nightmares grew clearer and more vivid. The future that awaited me—being confronted with the foolishness of my own self—was truly hell.”
I recalled the dream of Pul-san falling on the battlefield. Somehow, I understood that that disturbingly realistic dream was the future awaiting us.
“If I sleep, I will see that dream again.”
Eris covered her face with both hands, as if trying to suppress something.
“No matter what, I cannot defy the kingdom’s command, nor can I escape from the Hero. I will accept the summons, and I will inevitably reunite with the Hero there. Therefore, I… the only thing I can do is—”
“Eris!!”
Orphelia interrupted her words.
“It’s alright. I have no doubts.”
You fool, Orphelia muttered under her breath.
“I will confront him before I become a convenient puppet for the Hero at the summons from the kingdom, and I will reveal all our sins.”
But then Eris continued.
“I don’t know if I will succeed. If I fail to defeat the Hero and end up acting at his whim—Orphelia, please behead me.”
“What kind of daughter are you…!!”
Orphelia gritted her teeth.
“It’s alright. I was able to be a disciple of my master… There is no greater happiness than that.”
I couldn’t help but voice my thoughts.
“Eris.”
It was already—there were things I needed to say from the depths of my heart.
“Then why did you two come all the way back here?”
Eris momentarily lost her words, struggling to answer my question. Perhaps she didn’t fully understand herself.
“Hey, Orphelia, tell me. Why did you bring Eris back here?”
Orphelia, simple-minded as she was, seemed to have realized something in response to my question. Rather than being intimidated, she wore a defiant expression.
“I thought that if it were Ichiro, he would somehow manage to handle this completely bewildering situation.”
“You’re overestimating me… but I won’t say that. Thank you, Orphelia.”
There was something important to me.
“Eris.”
At my call, Eris flinched.
“Are you my disciple?”
“Of course, that’s obvious.”
“Then, as my disciple, you have to listen to what your master says, right?”
I was already fed up.
“Master, what are you saying—”
I was tired of all this talk about life and death, severing worldly ties, atonement, forgiveness, sins, punishments, and all that nonsense.
“Don’t say stupid things like you’d be fine dying!!”
For the first time, I raised my voice this high.
“You love wielding your Sword more than anything, and you think it’s acceptable for you, my disciple, to die like that!!”
And, and—
“Are you going to lie to me again? Where your master is, there is where the disciple is, and where the disciple is, there is where the master is, right? If you die, you won’t be able to be by my side!!”
“Then!!”
Eris shouted in response to my words.
“What am I supposed to do!! Those dreams I’ve seen over and over will surely become reality!!”
“Eris, you don’t understand anything!!”
“I do understand!! To prevent the dream from becoming reality, I must either defeat the Hero or end my own life—”
“What are you talking about! I’m here, aren’t I!! I—your master, I will do something about it!!”
That’s right. I’ve always done it that way.
“So, rely on me!!”
What else could this be called if not a cry from my soul?