Chapter 196
At that moment.
In the Sky Island, in front of the Spirit Device.
The Spirit Device becomes Lucius.
Correction.
Lucius possesses the ‘power’ of the Spirit Device.
“Even if I leave the Spirit Device here for now, shouldn’t we at least obtain the power of the Spirit Device?”
“Is there a way?”
“Of course.”
I pointed above the Spirit Device.
“First, let’s start by breaking the seal. Lucius, approach the Spirit Device. And then say ‘that thing.'”
“If it’s that thing…”
“You know it without me saying, right?”
If I speak here, the Spirit Device will recognize me as its owner.
The activation phrase must be spoken by Lucius.
If the relationship between Master and Sub-Master gets tangled, it would be very troublesome, so the true wielder of the Holy Sword, Lucius, has to make the Spirit Device move.
“…Just a moment.”
Lucius stood before the Spirit Device and stretched his hands forward.
“O wind—!”
With Lucius’s activation phrase, the Holy Sword—
Did not appear.
Normally, the Holy Sword should shine and appear in Lucius’s hand, but the Holy Sword showed no response.
Instead.
Gugugugugu.
The enormous golden statue, the Spirit Device, began to move.
The faded outer color was tinged with dazzling gold, and a blue light shone in the sharp eyes hidden beneath the helmet.
‘Pretty impressive.’
Like other Spirit Devices, the Spirit Device was said to be heavily influenced by the tastes of the ancient gods who created the Holy Sword and the Spirit Devices back then.
The god who created the Earth Spirit Device embellished it like a dragon.
Perhaps he was the god who made the dragon.
Unexpectedly, even the name of the Earth Spirit Device ‘Bahamut’ might also be that god’s name.
“Um, Master. What should I do now?”
“You shouldn’t ask me. I won’t know from now on either. After all, I haven’t ridden the Wind Spirit Device myself.”
The Wind Spirit Device is also my first encounter.
In fact, it was my first time seeing it like this, and I hadn’t realized it looked so flashy.
“Hmm…”
“Do you perhaps know how to ride it?”
“Ah! I got it.”
Lucius’s eyes sparkled as he turned to me for help.
It seemed he was genuinely flustered that the Holy Sword wasn’t appearing in his hand, and the Spirit Device not reacting was also quite bewildering.
“That’s pure gold.”
“Eh?!”
“That whole thing… is pure gold?”
“Yeah.”
Although Lucius didn’t know how to ride the Spirit Device, he had realized the reason for its golden color.
“This Sky Island is an incredibly important place. And the Spirit Device serves as a storage space for this island. In other words, as long as the Spirit Device is safe, the atmosphere of this world is safe. But what happens if the Spirit Device decays?”
“Decay…?”
“Yes. No matter how strong steel is, it inevitably rusts or wears over time. But what if it was made of gold?”
Gold doesn’t corrode easily.
Unless it’s a specially concocted aqua regia through alchemy, gold cannot be melted.
‘There’s no way they’d bring aqua regia to a place like this.’
Those who can come to the Sky Island are very limited.
If we hadn’t had the help of the Bride Ship, Lucius would have had to make the journey alone, and we currently have nothing that could melt gold.
“A Spirit Device made of gold. That’s impressive. I thought it was just gold-plated or something.”
“Master, doesn’t this remind you of something?”
“No! Want me to tell you about the trials of other Spirit Devices?”
“…Yes.”
In the end, Lucius couldn’t arrive at an answer.
I wasn’t sure either, so it felt awkward to provide information, but thinking back on the trials of the other Spirit Devices might yield some answers.
“I can’t say for sure, but most of them commonly include ‘fighting something.'”
“Fighting…?”
“Yes. Whether it’s against oneself, a future self, an inner alter ego, or a formidable strong person you can imagine. Well, that’s the mindset of the Spirit Device’s creator… the ancient god.”
Lucius will surely handle the trials of the Spirit Device well.
“First, try to break the seal of the Spirit Device. You can try riding it here once, and when the seal is broken, you should be able to channel its power.”
“…Master. You seem to be a bit excited?”
“Exploring new knowledge is an enjoyable thing.”
What I’m interested in is whether I can ‘ride’ that Spirit Device.
‘I want to ride!’
Movement should be possible within the Sky Island.
This huge hall alone is spacious enough for the Spirit Device to move freely.
Perhaps.
I could ride that Spirit Device, soar through the dark and deep night sky, and head to a small palace!
“Lucius. I believe in you! You’ll surely be able to find the trials and enter!”
“…Huh, even if it’s a trial, there has to be some way—”
The moment Lucius placed his hand on the leg of the Spirit Device.
Thud.
Lucius collapsed, and I stopped the comrades who were rushing towards Lucius.
“It’s a trial. Don’t touch him. If you’re not careful, you could end up in trouble.”
“B-but…”
“…Isn’t that position a bit inappropriate?”
“…….”
Lucius was sprawled across the top of the Spirit Device’s foot.
“……Let’s keep this a secret among us.”
*
The world tinged with sunset colors.
There, Lucius opened his eyes.
“……Is this the trial?”
Lucius was bewildered.
The story he heard from his Master was truly nothing like this.
Battling against oneself.
Fighting against another self within.
Engaging in battle against the formidable enemies faced thus far.
Winning a one-on-one showdown against the sealed beast within the Holy Sword.
Having to fight against the legendary hero.
All those scenarios didn’t unfold.
What appeared was nothing but a forest.
An utterly unremarkable ordinary forest, and a red sky stained with the glow of sunset as the sun began to set.
As the sun in the sky faded, night approached—darkness began to settle over the world.
If this forest was the trial of the Holy Sword, Lucius could only be deeply perplexed.
“What did you say? Be fully prepared and fight….”
What kind of enemy could possibly arise here?
No matter how you think about it, a remarkably strong enemy should appear, one that he couldn’t defeat in his current state, and one that he can only overcome by awakening ‘the power of the Holy Sword’ as his Master has suggested.
Yet, no matter how he looked around, all he could see was the forest.
Lucius couldn’t make any conjecture about where this place might be.
The only thing in his view was—
“…..!!”
Lucius rushed forward.
Something was visible in the distance, and a voice carried on the wind was distinctly familiar.
“Master—”
“Farewell.”
At the edge of the cliff.
His Master stood, clad in clothes he had never seen before.
With red hair blowing in the wind and a coat that seemed about to be whisked away by the breeze, he faced someone with a bitter expression.
“That is….”
“Master.”
The man was.
Lucius.
It would not be an exaggeration to say he was in tatters, but the blond youth in front of his Master was undoubtedly Lucius—himself.
“I still have so much to learn. But how can you leave like this?”
“I’ve already taught you enough. You’re already capable of taking care of yourself. There are people around you too.”
His Master firmly shook his head.
“It’s time for me to leave. It seems I overexerted myself in the final moments. Ugh, still, I managed to do everything I needed before leaving! I’m glad I can depart seamlessly.”
His Master seemed far too relieved.
If there was even a hint of regret on his face, Lucius wished there could be, but his Master looked overwhelmingly eager to leave.
“Lucius. Take care. You’ll do fine moving forward.”
If there were any lingering feelings,
It was probably nothing more than encouragement for his disciple, Lucius.
“It seems like you have something to say. What is it? Time is short, so make it quick.”
“Master.”
Lucius stepped forward.
In that moment, Lucius wanted to shout ‘No’, but he knew.
That face of Lucius.
Those eyes of his own.
Stop—
No one could interrupt.
“Master. I love you.”
“…….”
“I love you as a woman. Please don’t leave me.”
Lucius confessed to his Master.
With a face more confident than ever and a sincerity unmatched before.
“…Hah.”
But his Master only smiled bitterly.
“The feelings you have are an illusion, Lucius.”
“Master!”
“You do not love me. You’re grateful to me for making you a hero and doing everything for you. That’s not love.”
“But!”
“Don’t be mistaken.”
His Master was exceedingly firm.
“Love isn’t such an emotion. If you think that someone loves you just because they treated you well or devoted themselves to you, that’s an illusion and selfishness. Do you realize that your declaration of love could become a tremendous wound and pain for me?”
“Th-that’s…!”
“I cannot accept your love. Because….”
His Master closed his eyes for a moment and paused.
“…No. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Saaaah.
His Master’s arm began to fade like light.
As if disappearing into the sunset along with the glow of dusk, his Master appeared to vanish towards the distant place enveloped in light.
“Find a good person to be with. There are many women around you who love you. Live together, share love with them, and be happy. True love is love where both think of each other.”
“Master…!”
“Goodbye, Lucius. Thanks to you, I was able to achieve my goals. So….”
His Master extended his fist forward.
“Be happy, and find a beautiful love.”
