Chapter 78: Volume 2, Chapter 23 – I Am Resolved

It wasn’t as if a wound of this magnitude was foreign to me. After all, Archbishop Taunes had done much the same to me mere months ago.

The ghost of a smile touched my lips as I recalled the now-distant moment of his pitch-black sword piercing through my forehead in an excruciatingly slow moment of time.

Although I wasn’t in exactly the same situation right now, a certain level of familiarity existed as I stared at the towering form of King Eurace. A morbid wave of nostalgia rushed over me even as the ice-cold hand of death crept around my heart.

As powerful as I was, I was still only human. The wound that the king had dealt to me certainly wasn’t fatal. At least, not if I closed it with [Devouring Healing]. That was obviously the optimal solution to all my problems right now.

Even through my hazy vision, I could tell that the king was on his last legs. That sudden surge of strength he’d exhibited moments ago was like the brilliant flash of explosive flames that would return to nothing more than mere embers.

King Eurace represented those embers beautifully. His form shook with every breath he took, and though his mighty blade remained by his side, its tip pierced nothing but the ground. Like a network of ghastly mountain springs, rivers of blood trickled down his impressive musculature and stained the precious little that was left of his once-resplendent armor.

Yet, those flames of determination never left his eyes. Though they had flickered and long died down, they still remained as embers, everlasting memories of the resolve he had displayed in the face of a dragon that possessed the strength to devour even the heavens. 

An unquenchable flame.

To heal myself with [Devouring Healing] would be nothing more than an insult to the incredible resilience and resolve that King Eurace showed me. It would be nothing more than a mockery of his efforts.

I started forward, my footsteps shaky and slick with blood. There would be time enough to heal myself later.

...King Eurace. You showed me your resolve, so it’s time to show you mine. The wounds you withstood, the pain you endured... Now, I understand what all of it was for. 

The king’s red-black eyes looked like twin heated coals as I stopped in front of him. His muscular arms strained to lift the sharpened mountain of steel that he held in his hands, but despite his unshakeable resolve, his body faltered.

To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. King Eurace’s body had broken long before his mind had. Though I respected his valiant efforts to stay conscious despite his condition, we both understood one fundamental fact as our eyes met: my next strike would finish this fight once and for all.

I extended my hand toward him, and he closed his eyes, nobly accepting his fate as if I were Death itself, here to collect him. Yet, such an action would be wasted.

His eyes snapped open in surprise as I grasped him by the shoulder instead of striking him. The strength in my own body waned precariously, but the message that King Eurace had sent to me was more than enough motivation for me to stave off the effects of my injuries.

I understood now. Everything that he had endured despite knowing that he had no chance against me was for this sole purpose.

The trepidation he’d sensed in my attacks. The uncertainty in my heart that drove my advance. He had seen it all even when I was trying to blind myself to it.

It wasn’t as if my resolve toward my goal was lacking. Not this time. My resolve was ample and fresh in that regard, but King Eurace had seen much deeper than that. It was the resolve in my very self that I was lacking.

On the surface, it might have seemed like I was attempting to resist the ever-growing Darkness in my soul, but it was clear that it’d only be a matter of time until I fell. I had tried to turn away from that bleak and frightening prospect, but the king wouldn’t let me.

And for that, I would be forever grateful.

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King Eurace’s resolve had helped me see another way to accomplish the unity that I sought. Reenacting the oppression that I so greatly despised wasn’t the only way.

“...I won’t let you fall, King Eurace Briach. This is my resolve.”

He held my gaze for several seconds, pitting the intensity of his cooling embers against my twin black flames. In the end, he simply nodded with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Then we shall follow you, Ryuuko of the Zaltsel clan.”

With those final words, both the king and I succumbed to our wounds and battle fatigue. Our eyes slid shut against our wills, and at last we descended into the warmth of darkness. Yet still, we stood.

It was the first real rest that I had ever since I started on this mad quest to speedrun the unification that I desired. I don’t know how long I was passed out for, but when I woke, I found myself on something soft and warm instead of the cold hard tiles that lined the floor of the Briach palace.

No, it wasn’t a lap pillow.

I blinked, clearing the fuzziness in my vision before sitting up. The ceiling was unfamiliar to me, as were my surroundings. However, sitting next to the bed that I was just laying on was a silver-haired girl of small stature.

“Priya.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and my chest ached. It wasn’t because of my wounds.

“Ryuuko!” She cried. “Y-You wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I called your name!”

I smiled gently and reached a hand out toward her, ruffling her hair. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Priya. Everything’s gonna be fine now. You were right after all, you know? Violence isn’t the only way to do this.”

“R-Really!? So are you gonna return their chieftain’s authorities?”

The chieftain’s authority. It was the term that the eastern tribes used to denote one’s right over a tribe or clan’s dungeon core. I had won these rights fairly through victory in combat, but my methods had been crude and violent. Even with control over their dungeon cores, the tribes and clans that I’d conquered wouldn’t follow me out of true loyalty.

“Yeah. At least, that’s the plan.” I nodded. “Before that though, where’s King Eurace?”

“I think he’s still recovering in his room. D-Do you wanna go visit him?” Priya asked, eyeing my battered body nervously.

I stood up and winced at the effort before quickly healing myself with [Devouring Healing]. It truly was a convenient and overpowered skill so long as there was enough mana in the air.

“Yeah. Let’s go, Priya. It’s time to make this dream a reality.” I grinned and offered my hand to her.

She took it, and together, we thrust open the doors that led toward the future.

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