The great mage who transcends by regression, episode 278
The old man always regretted it.
select.
I have hated and regretted countless times the choice of that moment, which would not be strange even if I said that it was unfair.
But it doesn’t change.
Only regret deepens, and the ‘result’ of his wife and daughter facing a terrible end remains the same.
“…ah.”
He was standing in a familiar place.
It is a park. An amusement park full of rides for children that my daughter loved.
The wrinkles under the eyes trembled.
How can you not know?
This is the place where he saw off his wife and daughter on their first trip.
trembling fingertips.
In despair as if he was about to collapse at any moment, he struggled to support his legs.
Why is he, who decided to reunite with his family, in a place like this… ….
‘I am… ….’
As he said that, he went looking for his wife and daughter. I don’t know. I just wanted to hold them both.
don’t leave
don’t leave me alone
The footprints engraved on the ground increase as much as the years of regret.
and sooner or later
“ah.”
he saw
familiar, etc.
The moment he saw it, he just ran without a second thought.
What is the use of the Holy Knights?
What’s the point of the achievements I’ve made so far with the sword I’m holding?
Does not matter.
I just want to hold them both in my arms.
And I want to tell you a story that I couldn’t finish.
Even if it’s just a moment, I want to taste a moment like eternity.
Warak.
trembling shoulders.
The master and great paladin wept.
He only carefully hugged those two tiny bodies with his strong arms, lest they break.
I felt the warmth.
The warmth I’ve been looking for for a long time.
What should I say
I had thought about it hundreds of times in my head before it happened.
Even if it was just an unrealistic imagination, many times… ….
nice to see it like this
let’s never fall again
I won’t let go now… ….
I remembered those words.
but.
“I’m sorry….”
In the end, those were the words that came out through dry lips.
“Because I couldn’t protect you, my self…I should have! That day I somehow… …!”
The sobs grew louder.
It could even be called a scream.
Decades of regret erupted.
It was the years, resentment, sadness, and love that the old man had embraced until now.
I can’t hear your voice.
But I felt the warmth.
The two warmly warmed his chest and said it was okay.
Two slender hands wrapped around his shoulders.
The old man quietly accepted the hand with his eyes clouded with tears.
How have you been?
It must have been painful. I was hoping you wouldn’t and I’m sorry.
The warmth just wrapped around the old man as if to say that.
It was short, but it was enough time for the story I had endured to come and go.
I’m proud of my dad.
I think I will become a more proud father in the future.
Tears flowed at those words.
I will, the father said to the child.
He nodded his head incessantly, and the emptiness in his chest flowed into tears.
iced coffee.
I don’t want to go back.
I wanted to be here all my life.
However, the warm energy that embraced him shook his head, saying that it should not be just quiet.
…Know.
It won’t be long.
Sabbath ending soon. Not full yet.
I even had bad thoughts for a while.
Wouldn’t it be possible to make this scene last forever, even if it goes against the rules?
However, he soon shook his head.
In the end, what he chose was to feel the warmth of his family at this moment.
What does it mean?
Know.
No matter what I do, this warmth and fulfillment are only for this moment.
“…yes it is.”
regret will remain.
Perhaps someday, you may feel pain in the longing to return to this moment again.
but…Okay.
“I’m okay.”
Really?
“Yeah really. Because I won’t forget.”
Carefully brushing his daughter’s hair, the father just smiled.
The wife and daughter are smiling.
The only thing the two of them worry about is themselves left behind in reality.
So it’s okay.
One day he will come back here.
I will come back with many stories to tell.
Warmth told him.
I hope there will be many stories when I come back here someday.
I wish my dad would smile and tell me.
that I was proud
The heart understood it all.
yes no
I won’t forget. don’t let it endure
When I think of that, it feels like my heart is opening up.
Okay.
It may be a momentary warmth… …. Because
the warmth
will last forever.
* * *
People always subconsciously avoid ‘worst assumptions’.
The reason is simple.
Because I don’t want to be unhappy.
Because I don’t want to spend the day in anxiety over things that haven’t even happened.
…Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t have that kind of heart either.
In my case, thinking of this ‘worst case assumption’ has become a habit.
It was a habit he had developed while going through countless hell roads before returning.
The more prepared you are, the more people you have the chance to save.
And my intuition used to be right with a high probability.
Especially if it’s an ominous case.
And it was the same this time too.
“There’s no way it just broke through, and they must have done something with it in the meantime….”
It can be said that the ‘wall’ that protected humanity from demons was pierced.
Hekau seems to have restored it belatedly, but that’s only a matter of time.
Once it’s pierced, that’s the start.
Being pierced means that the demon’s influence has become strong enough to make a hole in the wall Hekau made.
【Yes, something must have come in.】
“I’m not sure.”
【Unfortunately, the existence of a demon god is not a type that I can see through.】
“…hmm.”
However, in a situation where the demon’s intervention is certain, Hekau’s power also has a limit.
If she had been strong enough to suppress the Demon God in the first place, the same disaster as before the return wouldn’t have happened.
“That means we don’t know exactly what ‘what’ came through that gap….”
[It could be the demon himself, or it could be the great devil who serves him.]
Hekau continued with a dark expression.
【…Of course, it’s never a good situation either way.]
“I guess so. In this situation, if it is the great devil who dares to break through the gap, he must be the monarch who embraces ‘sin’ after all… ….”
not just a monarch
crime.
Among them, those who have been harassing mankind for the longest time and are in the highest position among ‘lords’.
“…Satan Lucifer.”
The lord of wrath and arrogance.
If the Demon God had not descended this time, the two most likely candidates would have descended.
‘In the first place, there are no easy guys among the guys who are holding each other and waiting next to the demon… ….’
Of course, it is different from before the return.
Even if I get to the 9th circle, it will be different from the ‘9th circle’ before the regression.
In the first place, now I am in a situation where I can demonstrate more than 9th circle fighting power against the devil.
Is existence itself a natural enemy?
Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re easy.
[In the end, he will come to retrieve it. Even if it’s a right, it’s a subject that has been soiled by itself… ….】
“I don’t intend to let things go the way the Demon God wants. There are a lot of things prepared for now.”
Of course I know.
If the Demon God descends ‘completely’ like right before the return, all my efforts will be meaningless.
The primordial god that existed from the moment this world began.
How can we, who are mere creatures, stop him? Even if I have reached a half-god, it is of no use to the real God.
Therefore, everything had to be finished before it completely descended.
Kill the demon and everything… ….
“Hekau.”
【Hmm?】
A question that suddenly pops up.
“If I kill a demon, will all problems really be solved?”
kill god
That’s arrogant. In fact, Solomon had endured that long time just for that.
But apart from that, there would be no problem with ‘God’ dying.
The scale is different from simply eradicating evil.
“For example, if the demon god has something to do with the birth of the current human race, then in a way it would be like the creature killing the creator.”
【That’s right.】
“It’s almost impossible to kill a demon god, but even if you kill it, will everything be completed perfectly? It’s hard to be sure of that.”
Of course, even if you don’t kill the demon, that’s a problem.
In the end, the great demons will come back and the same tragedy will repeat… ….
Truly an alternative to hell.
Neither of them are even low difficulty.
And to my words, Hekau replied with a solemn atmosphere.
【I don’t know.】
“….”
【No, what do you do when you don’t know how to look at me like that? I really don’t know.]
No shit.
This is called God.
【Still, since I’m there, it won’t go to pieces, but you can’t guarantee that there won’t be any problems, right?】
“No, hey.”
[But what can I do?]
The Hekau laughed bitterly.
【It’s quite common to choose the lesser evil rather than the best.】
“….”
Even if things go as I planned in the future, there is a possibility that there will be another problem to deal with.
But then Hekau said.
【It’s okay though. Because he prepared arrangements for such a situation in the first place.]
“…So, what is that arrangement?”
【I don’t know.】
“Hey, this dog….”
what the hell do you know
What the hell do you know about God? Wouldn’t it be quiet until the church is encroached on by demons?
Also, the connection with the believers is cut off, so they are incapacitated for a while.
Slightly, Hekau averted his gaze.
【…To put it bluntly, I was also in a position that was unilaterally handed over to him.]
“….”
【Did you know that I would be hooked like that. After that, somehow he also selected a hero so that he couldn’t step foot in this world… ….]
“….”
【Besides, you know from the fact that I can’t read your thoughts. I don’t know if it’s human, but it’s the same as me… …Or maybe even
predicting the destruction of a superior existence is almost impossible.
If Hekau was at the same level as the Demon God, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
“…yes damn I don’t know. It’s just that the great Asar couldn’t have gone without thinking like that.”
【For now.】
Okay, let’s think about it.
Anyway, nothing different from what I’ve done so far. For now, the goal is to kill the Demon God.
But in the process, I’m also doing some research on arrangements.
…Nothing difficult.
It could be seen that she is doing her part enough just to block the entry of the Demon God.
“…what good So let’s end the complicated story here. I have one more favor to ask of you.”
【Yes, tell me.】
“I want to improve the stigma that was engraved on me in the past.”
【improvement? It’s complete on its own, so I’ll add something else… ….】
“God kill.”
【…!]
Hekau opened his eyes wide.
As a rookie in the first place, you must have understood what I was trying to say.
The power to kill God.
It’s not perfect.
However, like the demon god’s ‘power’ or Hekau’s ‘stigma’, it’s a good match with the power directly connected to the gods.
“To deal with the gods, the body itself must eventually evolve. I was thinking of doing preliminary work.”
【Hmm, wouldn’t it be easy? In the end, that means artificially distorting the stigma I gave….】
“The process might be painful enough to die?”
【That’s right.】
Hekau looked at me with a complicated expression.
【In the first place, if it’s about stigmata, it’s a relief if it ends up being painful, right? If you do something wrong, there is a possibility that your soul will disintegrate.】
“No, shit. I’m a newcomer, but I have to finish that level with zero defects.”
【Killing God in the first place doesn’t mean you can kill me in the end? It’s something like that, but no matter how easy it is for me.】
“…hmm.”
that’s it again
It’s so logical that there’s nothing to refute.
“What good. then let’s do that The timing… …There’s no need to delay, so let’s do it tomorrow.”
【Why is it tomorrow?】
Instead of answering, I turned my gaze to Sir Richard.
“…Today, I have to start with that person first.”
At my words, Hekau’s gaze also turned to Sir Richard.
For an instant, compassion shines in her eyes.
【…It’s probably like that.]
A gaze that felt even cramped.
【I can’t say I’m not responsible for the pain that child went through.】
“There couldn’t have been anything you could have done anyway? God can’t even intervene in such matters.”
The moment God intervenes in the affairs of the world, the balance of this world is broken.
If God, guided by emotion, intervened in the affairs of the world, how much confusion would befall the world.
If nothing else, it was obviously wise for the Hecau to minimize their involvement in the world.
【It’s not that kind of problem. That child… …Because he is a child who follows me.]
“….”
【In the end, the reason I can exert my strength and exist meaningfully is because I have the faith of such children.】 I
received a lot.
But she said that she couldn’t properly give to the children who believed in her… ….
Hekau says so.
she’s keeping the line
That is definitely the right thing.
Even if that side, being too inflexible, gave the crap before the return… ….
In any case, it is true that the line created the order so far.
Ironically, however, that ‘line’ sometimes made her a bystander.
“…Okay.”
I spoke slowly to the bitter Hekau.
“To make everyone happy…I think it’s very arrogant.”
【….]
“I don’t know if my advice will be helpful because I’ve lived as a god for a long time.”
I saw Sir Richard.
There were no empty words to say that the terrible misfortune he had suffered was necessary.
It’s such a cruel story to accept such a past for granted in the first place.
but.
“I don’t particularly think that you simply stood by.”
【that….】
“On the other hand, I wonder if mankind persevered so that they could carve their own path.”
【Sophistry.】
I laughed at those words.
“But it’s necessary sophistry.”
Of course, there is no way that the existence of God can simply end with my words like this.
She may go through this situation countless times in the future and repeat regrets and realizations.
No, I must have been repeating it.
continue until now.
If so, what I have to do is to affirm her move in an appropriate line, as others have done so far.
【Exploration… ….]
Hekau smiled.
【You’re saying the same thing as him. Ironically.]
“I’m not great, but I mean.”
Whatever.
You can’t get rid of the source of Sir Richard’s ‘misfortune’. You can’t turn back time and make the tragedy a thing of the past.
Therefore, the best I can do as a warrior is to end the result with ‘second best’.
even if not perfect.
As far as you can.
“Look, God.”
I pointed to Richard.
“You are smiling.”
He was smiling with a completely different expression than before.
just happy
It may be true that her necessary indifference has created unwanted sadness, but… ….
“This too is the result of your creation.”
The end of overcoming it and moving on is also the result you made.
I laughed as I said that.
