Starlight flooded in.
The dazzling platinum starlight rising up was fundamentally different from the starlight given to humans by the stars in the sky. It wasn’t a bestowal from a higher existence to a lower one, but rather something paid in return for a transaction between equals.
Thus, what overflowed was starlight, yet it was not merely starlight.
It was the value of life held by a single human.
It was the very life of a man who wanted to remain a Hero until the end. Therefore, the brilliantly shining platinum flash was the light solely symbolizing him.
“…How?”
The light bursting forth caused the Betrayer to open her eyes wide.
There was no way she could forget such brilliant light. Someone’s voice echoed in the ears of the Betrayer. It was a dialogue shared with a certain Hero long ago.
“Never once.”
“I have never thought of the power given to me by the stars as a curse.”
A human who denied her words outright.
“Thanks to the blessing of the stars.”
“I was able to save many people.”
The Hero who provided an unexpected answer and proved her wrong.
“If this isn’t a blessing, then what is it?”
“Galahal…”
The Betrayer muttered absently.
One of the few names of the Hero she remembered. The name of a man who never lost his brilliance even in an age of lies. The Betrayer’s gaze wavered as she unintentionally uttered that name.
And, this was not much different for Raniel.
Crushed under the foot of a Giant God, Raniel looked at the same place as the Betrayer. She witnessed a scene similar to hers. What entered her vision was the overflowing starlight. The moment she gazed upon it, her gaze also shook greatly but…
“…Ha.”
In the end, Raniel shook off her trembling with a hollow laugh.
Crunch.
Raniel gritted her teeth and stood up.
With a loud thud, she stood up on her two feet. The Giant Gods could no longer keep Raniel bound in that spot.
Crack!
Raniel stood up, crushing the foot of the Giant God. She brushed aside her disheveled hair and exhaled slowly.
“You too.”
She took a step towards the Betrayer and spoke.
“And I should apologize too.”
Raniel smiled.
In the face of a variable she never dared to imagine, Raniel ended up laughing bitterly. She thought she had a good eye for people, but when it came to truly seeing people…
“Both you and I misjudged.”
At least regarding Destel, Raniel had to acknowledge she was entirely wrong. Normally, recognizing her own mistakes and faults was painful, but… at this moment, Raniel was happier than ever to admit her wrong.
Not servile.
“It means you will not yield.”
“That’s the name of the Hero you looked down upon.”
And, the name of the Hero I misjudged.
The brilliantly shining radiance.
Like a beacon lit by someone, Raniel took a step forward. She charged towards the Betrayer.
2.
At this moment, the Giant Gods could not move recklessly. They were wary of the small human before them. The radiant light ignited by humanity threatened to blind them.
…No longer could they ignore Destel.
As every gaze was focused on him, Destel looked at the spear he held. The most Hero-like Hero, the Hero Galahal’s weapon, he had never relinquished.
“…”
In the slowed time, Destel listened to the whispers of the stellar robe. The robe etched the lives and beliefs of the Heroes who had called upon it into Destel’s mind, allowing him to ‘understand’ and ‘mimic’ them.
Thus, what Destel faced at that moment was the life Galahal had lived. The beliefs he upheld. The Galahal he encountered now was far from the ‘Hero’ Galahal Destel knew. What stood before him was ‘human’ Galahal.
Galahal had been tormented.
He had spent his whole life questioning himself.
Why did he become a Hero? Why had this starlight rained down upon him instead of those who shone brilliantly? If it had been given to others, could they not have accomplished more?
…That question was not unfamiliar to Destel.
It was a question he also held.
Thus, through his trembling, Galahal walked.
Destel stopped in the midst of the tremor while Galahal continued to move forward. He shook, hesitated, and sometimes paused, but he kept walking.
In the end, Galahal grasped the answer.
The human who had found the answer looked back.
Destel felt as though Galahal, standing slightly ahead of him, was gazing at him. He said nothing, yet the phrases Galahal had often mumbled echoed in Destel’s ears.
“No matter the path, that is not wrong.”
“If you choose to move toward the light, then all is correct.”
“That means you and I are not different.”
Thinking of that phrase, Destel smiled bitterly.
“…Well then.”
Destel opened the eyes he realized he had been closing.
Time, which had been slow, regained its pace. In the gradually moving flow of time, Destel looked at the spear in his hand. The spear was shining brightly.
“Thank you for saying I resemble you.”
The spear, a part of Galahal that he had never let go of, affirmed Destel. It willingly lent Destel strength as he chose to move forward, just as his master had.
“Huff…”
Destel exhaled deeply.
What Galahal lent was only the spear. Unlike other Heroes, Galahal did not lend his courage, resolve, skills, or anything else.
Because that was what Destel hoped for.
Because Galahal believed it was right.
Galahal only lent the answer he had grasped in the end, the radiance he had held. He would lend strength, but as if to say the answer must be sought by oneself.
“Anyway.”
In this regard, it was a choice befitting stern Galahal.
“Mumbling about the same old guy,” Destel chuckled. Feeling the weight of the spear he held brought him unexpected satisfaction.
————————!
In the regained flow of time.
The Giant Gods roared and charged at Destel. From the ground, the sky, roots sprang forth from the gaps between the Giant Gods. Many things came at Destel.
He briefly averted his gaze from those things.
He turned to look back.
After a moment of hesitation, he uttered the line he had always wanted to say. Destel smiled and said,
“I’m going ahead.”
Destel took a step forward while looking ahead.
“Follow me.”
Thud, Destel stomped the ground.
Carrying fear, he drove forward. He raised his spear against the oncoming Giant Gods and charged.
3.
Destel kicked off the ground, spinning his spear as he turned. The spear tip skimmed the ground, sending dust flying. Amid the rising dust, woosh, the spear cutting through the air resonated heavily.
Whoosh!
Slamming the spear into the ground, Destel jumped.
He gazed at the feet and roots of the Giant Gods that were about to smash where he had just stood, narrowing his eyes.
His body was filled with energy. He felt light.
‘…So this is what that punk Kyle feels like.’
No, it might be even more than that.
The power of a single human who devoted his entire life to attain this strength. Having borrowed it, even if just for a moment, Destel held his breath while floating in the air.
And then, crack.
With both hands gripping the spear, he shifted to one hand.
He pulled the hand that was facing forward behind him. As he exhaled, Destel swung his arm.
Swish!
Throwing the spear.
A beam of light pierced the heart of the leading Giant God. It pierced the roots coming from behind the Giant God, instantly impaling the smaller deities. As he looked at the spear thrust into the ground, Destel twisted his body.
Whoosh.
Avoiding the punch thrown by the Giant God, Destel stepped onto the arm of the Giant God. As he ran along its arm, every step he took left a squeak, echoing against the Giant God’s skin.
Drawing in starlight, Destel dashed ahead.
Destel was faster than the movements of the Giant Gods, faster than the extending roots. As attacks that couldn’t keep up with Destel pierced through the air, he leaped over the body of the impaled Giant God and landed on the ground.
As he yanked the spear out of the ground, he stomped his feet down.
…Galahal had not taught Destel any techniques, but Destel knew how to handle a spear. Among the Heroes he had imitated, there had certainly been one who wielded a spear, and he knew their techniques.
The Hero that came to mind was Ganyr.
Ganyr of salvation.
The weapon he had carried shared a striking resemblance with Galahal’s spear. Thus, it would be apt to perform the same techniques.
‘Ganyr, the techniques of Ganyr…‘
To save even one more person, Ganyr had utilized spear techniques to confront countless enemies. He primarily used techniques that swept a wide area. The spear techniques he had accumulated, the techniques that remained in the recesses of his memory, Destel summoned them forth.
First Strike, Spin.
Without the help of the stellar robe, Destel mimicked the technique. Relying solely on his memory and physical abilities, he reproduced the technique of a certain Hero from centuries ago.
Whoosh!
With a large arc, the spear blade swung horizontally, scattering starlight. Originally, Ganyr of salvation had utilized the Spin to sweep away the minions of the Demon Lord’s Army, but… the technique Destel reproduced now swept away the legs of the Giant Gods and the roots of the ancient calamity.
Shraaaak!
The arc traced a circular path.
The legs of the Giant Gods that touched the spear blade were torn apart. As the Giant Gods fell, screaming and losing their balance, Destel clenched the spear tightly.
Second Strike, Pull.
Pulling the swung spear blade back, he raised it diagonally.
The pressure from the first strike surged back toward Destel along the spear blade. The rushing air pulled the Giant Gods closer.
Third Strike, Slash.
As the drawn Giant Gods were in reach, Destel swung the spear down. The blade swept in a crescent arc. The returning wind surged forward again toward the Giant Gods. The diagonal slash engulfed the Giant Gods.
Fwiiish.
The largest god was cleaved in half, blood bursting forth like a fountain, and Destel let out a long breath. Spinning the spear, he shook off the blood.
Thud, slamming the spear into the ground, Destel smiled.
Now it was Destel charging towards the Giant Gods. No longer hesitating, no longer looking back, he felt his body moving more fluidly than ever before. This was not merely because of the borrowed strength.
…The burden he had carried, the hesitation, the fear that always tightened his body, were all shed now. With all of that cast aside, Destel could fully express what he possessed.
‘Recall the movements of that guy.’
Gripping Galahal’s spear, Destel remembered Galahal’s movements as he swung the spear down, using the recoil to jump. That guy used to run really fast. In order to save even one more person, to arrive on the battlefield just a bit quicker…
So, like this.
Now, the Giant Gods that Destel saw were no longer obstacles blocking his path. They were the stepping stones that propelled him forward, the path he would take.
Thwack, shraaaak!
Climbing onto the toppled Giant God, Destel drove the spear into its body as he raced forward. The Giant God screamed and thrashed, but Destel did not stop. Blood sprayed along the path Destel traversed.
Thud.
Destel, drenched in the Giant God’s blood, set his foot down on the ground. As he swung the spear to wipe away the blood, he slowly lifted it. Seeing the spear point aimed at them, the Giant Gods hesitated and stepped back.
Now, the forgotten gods felt fear from humanity.
The beings they deemed lesser than insects were now biting at their necks. As the Giant Gods retreated… the enormous tree behind them stood steadfast.
【■■, ■■■■■■, ■■■■■■!】
Abaddon’s roots pierced through the Giant Gods.
As the pinned Giant Gods withered and crumbled away, Abaddon, having consumed the blood of the gods, began to change shape. It was taking form to devour the human before it.
The roots of the giant tree wrapped around itself.
The twisted giant tree took on a form resembling a Carapace Dragon. It opened a huge maw, tearing through the ground as it charged toward Destel.
Cra-kra-kra-kra-kra-kra!
A body several times larger than a Carapace Dragon.
Gazing at the calamity approaching him, Destel snickered quietly. This situation didn’t feel unfamiliar. Indeed. Destel exhaled deeply and prepared himself.
…Back then, he had fled from the guardian battle of late-night.
But now, he would not run.
He would no longer flee.
Gazing at the incoming massive calamity, Destel gripped the spear tightly. Thud, he stamped his foot down and pulled the spear back.
“Come.”
This time, he would not yield.
