Chapter 394

It had been about two hours since I’d parted ways with Navardozze.
I was scrambling up the hypotenuse of a cliff larger than any mountain.
The cliffs from side to side are dizzying.
The sound of the waves at my feet gave me a sense of the height I would be working at.
Indeed, it was the highest land in all of Heiran and the Sea of Wraiths.
After walking for a while, I jumped over a large boulder.
“What, we’re here already?”
My vision was clear and the horizon stretched out before me.
The deep blue sea churned in the afternoon sun.
In contrast to the cloudless sky, there were thousands of large and small drift ice floes floating on the water.
It looked like a magnolia had been shredded and sprinkled.
It’s upbeat to see it ripple with the waves.
“The ocean is blue after all.”
The nasty red color was no longer visible.
The sky, which was once as white as rice porridge, has regained its blue color.
The cleanup was successful.
The nearby roots had been destroyed, and the area that had absorbed Ceniel’s life force was returning to its original colors, like the landscape I was looking at now.
“Hoooooooooo—.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in.
Cold air fills your lungs.
The salt wind ruffles my hair, making it heavy.
I hold it in for a moment, spit it out, and chuckle.
It was indeed the ocean I knew.
“Utscha.”
I slowly walked to the edge of the cliff.
Adeshan would have fainted if he saw it, but the view was worth it.
When I realized there was nowhere to go, I stumbled to a halt.
The cliffs jutted out into the ocean, so I couldn’t see land when I looked down.
“What do you think, is it okay here?”
I asked, but no answer came back.
Whether you do or not,” I said.
“The natives call it the Horn of Winter, and you can tell by the way it juts out into the ocean that it’s a pretty good name. A couple of my punishment classmates used to call it Winter’s Cock—which it actually looks a little more like.”
The way it curved upward was particularly odd.
I chuckled and put the cigarette in my mouth.
Obviously, alcohol and cigarettes taste better with a view.
I put the jar I was holding at my side down between my knees.
“You’re reticent. Or are you too cool for words?”
Again, no answer came back.
It was a no-brainer.
In nature, finely ground bone meal cannot speak.
On the surface of the whitish jar were the two letters “Cain”.
“I was going to go to Nimburton, but it was so badly smashed up, I blame the bald fuckers, but it’s a nice place, so you’ll have to forgive me.”
I tapped the jar and it rang with a loud, clear sound.
It’s the funeral you’ve been putting off that has gotten you this far.
To be precise, it was for the bones.
I could have done it in less than five minutes if I wanted to, but I deliberately took it slow.
“That’s a nice touch, by the way. Your sister must have liked him, too.”
Cain’s name was burning like fire.
It was clear that there was less Navardose.
When I looked closer, I realized that there was a small sentence below the name.
“What the hell is this?”
I didn’t notice it until now.
It was someone else’s handwriting, delicate and fluid.
I squinted and read along the sentence.
“Thanks for everything—damn.”
It was a note from Elsia.
I realized that it looked familiar, and it was the same as the seed vault manual.
Roughly swept my bangs.
“In good conscience, at least one of them should have been alive.”
It’s a shitty thing to miss the boat.
The only downside to the spare time was being reminded of what I had lost and forgotten.
The lid of the jar was lifted, revealing a fine powder of bone meal.
“It’s a strange feeling–sprinkling your own bones.”
I muttered, spitting out smoke.
Technically, the Cain of this world was not my father.
He died a lonely death, never having seen me, never having met me.
So when someone asks me why I go to all this trouble, all I can say is that I just do.
It was just something I wanted to do.
“It will come back to normal at some point.”
I grabbed a handful of bone meal.
“As long as there are fire mothers and Xeniel–that’s the way the world was designed in the first place.”
Stretch your arms out straight and open your hands.
“I was dragged to a strange place, and it honestly kind of sucked at first—.”
The powder spilled out.
The sea breeze that blew in just in time carried him away.
I said to myself as the bones faded from view.
“I think this is okay, in its own way.”
I meant it.
Lately, I keep thinking that it’s not all bad that I’m here.
The sky and ocean are back in color.
People who are finally able to cry and laugh because they have time to care about things other than survival.
Seeing a world come to life after being on its deathbed gives me indescribable emotions.
“Oh, that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay here forever, I have a life of my own. I wish I could have seen my grandchildren.”
It’s not that I didn’t miss the original world.
I miss Adeshan right now.
I haven’t seen him in over a month.
What are they doing right now?
Are they looking for me when I suddenly disappear?
Or are they off traveling somewhere, doing whatever they’re doing?
That’s not unreasonable.
You’ve been too selfish.
“But don’t worry, I’ll do what I can and leave.”
Once I got involved, I wasn’t going to let go.
I squeezed the bone once again.
I’m sure it will be useful in the future.
Having killed and destroyed quite a bit, it was going to be hard to pull a baldy from this side of the world.
The car was trying to let go just in time to catch the wind.
“——!!!”
Suddenly, goosebumps ran down my spine.
You lose the bone meal you were holding.
I scrambled to my feet and tugged on the hilt of my sword.
“What is it?”
The jar didn’t fall by a hair’s breadth.
I stifled a pounding heart and looked around.
It was only for a moment, but I definitely felt it.
Something was looking at me.
“Hmmm—hmmm—hmmm.”
It was a sensation I’d never felt before.
He was nothing like the Bald Emperor or Abel, who had absorbed the power of the Source.
The hilt of the sword clinging to his hand, the blade shaped as if it would cut him just by looking at it, told Rin that he was nervous.
I waited with my sword pointed at the horizon, but he was nowhere to be seen.
‘Fuck. What is it?
It was like having a short but intense nightmare.
My back was already drenched in a cold sweat.
The soles of my feet were hard to move, like they were rooted.
“Lean. Are you okay?”
“——Creepy. What was that?”
“I don’t know.”
I took a slow, deep breath.
First, we had to get a handle on the situation.
Luckily, after a while, the stiffness loosened up a bit.
It was a car that was in a hurry (if I may use that phrase) to get the job done and get home.
“That’s a good hunch. How did you know that?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind me.
I was surprised, but not surprised or nervous.
If anything, it’s comforting.
I slowly turned my head.
About twenty paces away, a man with white hair looked up at me.
“Abel?”
“This is a good place for a hanging. There’s no point in begging now. You didn’t dare expect to live after humiliating me like that.”
Abel smirked.
Clad only in pants, his right hand clutched a sword of unknown origin.
Judging by the lack of blood on it, it didn’t look like he had killed and robbed anyone.
How did this guy do it, anyway?
Your limbs have grown back.
“That’s cheesy. How did you crawl out of there?”
“I am the master of the Nebula Order. If you think you can trap me with that junk, you’re in trouble.”
“You’ve had a big stool.”
They didn’t seem to care to explain.
Still, it wasn’t hard to figure out what he was up to.
Abel’s mouth was smeared with blue liquid.
“Aha.”
Judging by the color and viscosity, it was unmistakably the blood of a giant.
As if to prove it, Abel’s shoulders glowed with a shimmering mana that was dozens of times more intense than the one he’d seen a few hours earlier.
In an instant, the puzzle came together.
I’m pretty sure that’s the one that sprouted limbs.
“You must have set aside some of the blood. You could have survived drinking it. You’re not going to be able to move your limbs, but if you ingested it, did you keep it in your mouth?”
“—You’re surprisingly clever. I was going to use it once my wounds were healed, but I was foolish enough to let you guys restore me, and you did a great job of it.”
Abel snorted.
It was a strategy that the world had never seen before.
It seemed to be an accomplishment for him to do his research without me interrupting him.
“Yes–you weren’t even related to your father, come to think of it. Your wounds were so severe I thought you’d die, but maybe you’ve developed some resistance to the giant’s attacks.”
“That’s a lot of intelligence. What a waste.”
“Admit it. It’s my fault. I didn’t expect it to get better that way.”
I was genuinely impressed.
This was weeks ahead of the expected exit time.
Is a shark still a shark if its fins are cut off?
The car was meant to reward subjects who exceeded expectations.
“Well, now die.”
Suddenly, Abel’s form disappeared.
It was unbelievable for someone who had just come out of combat.
A sharp stab rushed toward my brow.
“That’s true.”
Abel was smiling.
Judging by his confident expression, he believes that the bald heads he showed earlier were fake.
Or they think it was someone other than me.
I’m not sure I’d believe a kid who came out of nowhere and said he killed a giant.
“I can’t help it.
The tip of the sword was about to touch flesh.
I grabbed Abel’s wrist and twisted him backward.
A crushing sound rang out.
The sword he missed fell to the floor.
“What—!”
“Wow. That’s not a bad skill to have.”
Your appetite is satisfied.
Abel’s swordsmanship was certainly impressive.
Even taking into account the unusual conditions, it’s in the top five of any test I’ve ever competed against.
If I had been completely off guard, I might have gotten a knife in the back.
“What was that–what was that?
Still, the reason for the lack of tension was self-evident.
That fleeting glance still lingers in my marrow, sending chills down my spine.
Abel struggled.
“Damn it, let go!”
“Do you think so?”
I did what I wanted.
When I let go, Abel bounced back as if he’d been hit by something.
The giant’s blood was tinged with a bitter taste, and his broken wrist was quickly healed.
[I will kill you, I will kill you, I will kill you].
Abel growled.
A white blur of light rose above his sword.
It was a technology we saw in the last war.
I sighed inwardly.
“I never thought I’d beat up my uncle in front of my father.”
In fact, it took a beating to wake him up.
The prediction that interrogation using futuristic technology would not work turned out to be accurate.
For advisors, let’s go classic.
I spun the sword around and pointed it at Abel.
“Twice.”