Chapter 405
Time pa.s.sed by. Some people forgot, some people didn't.
It was a memory of the day when a meteorite had fallen from the sky.
A night sky had enveloped the whole world, and it had seemed like all life would end. From dragons to daylight, everything had been equal before the falling red meteorite.
Doomsday—as soon as the myth became reality, n.o.body had been able to resist it and had to accept fate. On that day, infants and adults were equal, a farmer and a sword master were the same, and a human and dragon were no different. Before absolute destruction, all living things had lowered their eyes, afraid to even look at the sky.
A sword master's aura blade? A great magician's 7th circle magic? The abilities which the talented humans had trained all their lives had become no better than trash. It was like how the differences between a rabbit, a bear, and a tiger were all meaningless in front of a pouring landslide.
Only one magician had flown against the ruin. It was just like how long ago, Icarus had challenged the sun and crossed the sky. This magician struggled to prevent the destruction that had yet to arrive, making his living body move beyond the boundary of the planet.
Then the old G.o.d-sword broke, and his five viscera burst.
Nevertheless, he had fought without stopping. He had fought alone without telling anyone. Had it been like an egg hitting against a rock? The magician had continued to knock against it despite knowing what the results would. Finally, he was exhausted and defeated. Then he was revived at the end. Like a phoenix reborn from ashes, he had eventually beat the destruction.
Very few people knew about it. The vast majority of people didn't.
One magician had saved the world. Tomorrow shouldn't have come.
The skeptics, those who had intuition, and those who understood were silent—the people who had looked up at the red sky and trembled from an uneasy feeling soon forgot about this day. Thus, life went on. Just like yesterday, somebody died today while somebody else was born in this world.
Six months had pa.s.sed since the day the meteorite fell.
* * *
New days constantly arrived in the world, as if the end hadn't been one step away. The struggle between Theodore and the Seven Sins led to a transformation of the times. Just as yesterday and today were different, today and tomorrow were different.
First, let's look at the happenings of the West Continent. Due to the empty land of Lairon in the center, a war of nerves began. It was difficult to occupy the land immediately after Lairon's fall due to the undead that remained in the territory. However, after Jerem's death, the land was ownerless.
-I will get payback for the persecution of our people! The nomadic people crossed the western border of Lairon.
However, the people of Austen and Soldun, who lacked agricultural land due to a long drought, also started acting. After all, one of the largest and most fertile lands in the central region was abandoned with an owner. Any nation's leader would covet it. It had been a few years since the end of the drought. After regaining its national strength, Austen made claimed without any fear, -We should take at least one third!
Meanwhile, King Elsid of Soldun scoffed at their request. It was ridiculous from his point of view. -Don't make me laugh. It was our elites who got rid of the undead remaining in Lairon. If you covet the land, I will give you a chance to use the same bed as the zombies.
It was a declaration which left no room for compromise. Wasn't it the same as Elsid saying Soldun would kill them? On the surface, Soldun was threatening a war. As such, Austen became very angry and soon called the army to show the majesty of the Sultan.
As the clouds of combat spread across the central part of the continent, Meltor was aghast and informed both countries, -We are the ones who killed the warlock who destroyed Lairon. Why are you guys fighting over the land?
The central countries were dumbfounded by the absurd remark. They could push forward with force, but the present Meltor Kingdom was the greatest power that had reached its peak. The Meltor Kingdom had the 7th circle Blue Tower Master and White Tower Master, as well as the 8th circle magician Red Tower Master who had the lineage of a dragon. Above all, Meltor had the top magician and Chief Tower Master, Theodore Miller. It was doubtful that the other countries would last for several days if Meltor wanted to immediately unify the West Continent.
Consequently, the war was canceled just before it began. However, there was no break as things started happening in the East Continent. It was the aftermath of the devastation caused by l.u.s.t, the so-called l.u.s.t's Apocalypse. The empire was bordered by all countries, and the land was so wide that it was hard to compare to Lairon. Furthermore, it was difficult for Meltor to reach out its strength.
Of course, if Theodore acted properly, he could destroy all invaders and rebuild the middle empire. However, if he did that, he would be no different from a dictator.
'I need to combine the remnants of the empire with the youkai led by Shuten-doji in order to form an
It was diplomatic of a country to be weak in front of the strong and strong in front of the weak. If they showed that they had the power to resist, the momentum of the other countries would be reduced. If they pretended that they couldn't occupy the outskirts which were now difficult to defend, the predators' greed would somehow be filled.
Theodore's plan went well. The New Central Kingdom, based around the Fairy Dance Lee family, kept close to half its territory. It was unlike the Western Xia and the Bukhae Kingdom, which had moved without the help of others.
'The situation of the East Continent isn't stable yet but...'
Theodore was forced to leave without seeing the results. There was something more serious than the restoration of the world, which had been damaged by the Seven Sins. He moved across the sea to the other continent with one s.p.a.ce movement. Theodore couldn't waste even one minute or one second. He walked down a familiar corridor with a stiff expression.
Step, step.
As the sound of his footsteps echoed, someone on the other side of the hall heard it and raised their head. Then they looked at the approaching person with a look of bitter grief.
"You are late, my soul. You took more than an hour?" She tapped Theodore on the shoulder before lightly kissing his cheek. Her hair shone brightly today. It was Veronica, the second strongest person in this magic tower and master of the red tower. Her mood was softer than before as she whispered, "I guess there was a lot of work in the East Continent? Otherwise, you wouldn't be late."
Theodore kissed her and smiled wryly. "Well, that and I had one place to go first."
"Is it a big deal?"
"You don't have to worry."
"You said the same thing about fighting that meteorite. You should specify if you are suddenly going to die like last time."
"I understand, Becky."
Theodore had nothing to say about this topic. His soul had shattered when he entered the Akas.h.i.+c Records to fight against the falling Wrath. The problem was that Veronica was linked to his soul. As soon as Theodore fell into the Akas.h.i.+c Records, her heart had stopped before restarting. Even the contract of a Seven Sins contract had been cut off, so her soul had gotten damaged. Back when Theodore's soul shattered and entered a dimension that was several levels higher, it had broken all of his contracts.
'It is lucky I recovered the connection along with Gluttony or I would've regretted it.'
Thinking about it now, it was shocking. If it hadn't been for the vitality of Veronica's bloodline and Theodore's quick perception, Veronica would've died. How stupid would it have been to save the world while losing a lover? Her body temperature which he felt belatedly was now even more precious.
After hugging her for a few seconds, Theodore asked, "Am I late?"
"By my standards." Veronica smiled and patted his head. "If that old man was still alive, he would be trying to break your head right now."
"...There are still others. How is Sylvia?"
"She's fine. She has a slight fever but that is normal."
"I see..." Theodore sighed with relief and flopped down onto the chair. It was an expression that he hadn't shown when he dealt with a dragon, a demon, or even Wrath.
Veronica saw his expression and teased him, "Control your face. You look like you are possessed by an evil spirit. Won't people misunderstand?"
"Sigh... I know but I can't control it." This was different from the trials Theodore had faced so far. "It is hard for me."
It was hard to believe that every parent had gone through this once or several times. Having a clear enemy was much easier. Theodore couldn't even imagine the trial that was going on beyond the shabby door. It wasn't even close to how he'd felt when he fought Pride. When he fought Wrath, he had been desperate but hadn't given up. This was the first time he had such a feeling of helplessness.
At that moment...
Creak. The door of the room containing Sylvia opened.
"Ah!"
The medical magician saw the two tower masters when he exited and bowed. However, Theodore stopped him and asked desperately, "Sylvia, how is her body? Is there anything wrong?"
The medical magician was a bit surprised at Theodore's desperate appearance. It was the att.i.tude of a father that could be seen everywhere. He had thought the Chief Tower Master would have more composure, but his prediction was wrong. It was different from what had thought, which caused the medical magician to smile. So what if Theodore Miller was the strongest magician? He was also a father.
"Don't worry. She is a bit tired, but she is fine. And... you should hear this from the Blue Tower Master."
"T-That's right." Theodore reddened as he glimpsed his own behavior with the benefit of hindsight. "Thank you for your hard work. Then... Becky?"
"I will wait a bit. The two of you should spend some time together."
"...Becky, thank you."
Thanks to Veronica stepping back, Theodore crossed the room to where Sylvia was. It was only a few steps but it felt like the other side of the universe. He barely maintained his steady pace.
"Theo, you came." Sylvia sat on a wide bed, holding a white blanket.
"Sylvia."
"Yes."
His mouth didn't open well. Theodore silently took one step and then two steps toward her. The caregiver stepped back like she knew the thoughts in his heart. Now there were only two people at the bed. Theodore stood still and waited for Sylvia's words. Her face was a bit more worn than usual, but she was a few times brighter.
"Theo." Sylvia showed him the fabric that was moving slightly. "Look, it is our child."
"...Ah."
Objectively speaking, it was hard to say that the child was beautiful. After all, as a newborn baby, it was wrinkled and red. However, Theodore's vision blurred. Tears that he didn't know had formed were spilling, dripping like melting ice. No words emerged as he embraced his child with trembling hands.
'Ahh...'
He thought that he had been born for this moment, the birth of the child who inherited Theodore's and Sylvia's blood. Theodore had been afraid of this moment. There were more people he had to protect at the risk of his life. He had hesitated for a bit because the burden on his shoulders had gotten heavier.
However, at this moment, Theodore forgot all his regrets.
"...Caregiver," Theodore whispered so that the sleeping child wouldn't wake up, "Give this leaf to Sylvia in a tea."
"C-Chief Tower Master. Excuse me, but this leaf...?"
Even if Theodore was the Chief Tower Master, the caregiver couldn't feed anything to a new mother when she didn't know what effect it would have. Theodore smiled at the careful caregiver. "A bud of the world tree."
"Heok!"
"Hurry. The strength weakens quickly away from Elvenheim."
"U-Understood!"
The caregiver moved busily while Theodore looked down lovingly at his child. There was a faint breathing sound. The tiny body seemed like it would break when he touched it. Theodore barely suppressed the urge to hug the child as tightly as possible.
'Open.' Theodore placed an index finger to the child's lips.
He wouldn't have been late if he had come directly from the East Continent. However, the reason he was perceived as late had been to get 'this.' A clear drop of liquid flowed from the s.p.a.ce connected to his fingertips. There were only a few drops, but that was a huge amount from an elf's perspective. It hadn't been easy for them to extract sap from the barely recovering world tree because they thought of the world tree as their ancestor.
Theodore once again glanced over the baby's face. If a baby was fed this sap, they would grow up with the love of all the elementals and spirits. Indeed, it seemed as if the baby's color improved.
"Theo." Sylvia watched him from the side and held out both of her hands.
Theodore suppressed his regret and placed the baby back in her arms. Sylvia kissed the sleeping child's forehead and looked at him with a profound gaze in her eyes. It was more loving than pa.s.sionate. These were definitely the eyes of a 'mother.'
"If you have a name that you've thought about, can you tell me?"
"Um..."
He had one. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that this person had contributed to Theodore's victory—a pleasant old man who had always laughed energetically for his age. If possible, Theodore had wanted to end their wedding with getting the old man's beating. No, the old man might've laughed and cried. He was the person characterized by a white beard and a large staff.
The name Theodore had in mind drew inspiration from Blundell Adruncus. "Adellia."
The meaning of the name was obvious to Sylvia as soon as she heard it. Her eyes widened like she was surprised. Then she smiled brightly. "It is a good name."