Chapter 773
Kururururung!
Kwaaaang–!
The roofs and debris of the ruins, which had soared high into the sky as if challenging gravity, were now falling one by one to the ground.
There were no towers left in this ancient city. All had been cut down flat, exposing their cross-sections.
Maelyn blankly stared at the ruins falling like rain. Then suddenly, she realized.
‘I am, in Lord Feon’s arms right now, aren’t I?’
At that thought, her face flushed red like the evening sky.
It was hard to believe, so she turned her head, and there was that terrifying skull helmet covering his entire face. At the same time, a shadow-like cloak wrapped his whole body.
A little frightening, yes, but not someone who seemed likely to harm her.
In the middle of her cascading delusions, another thought popped up—haven’t I been eating a bit too much lately? She fidgeted awkwardly with her arms, then slipped them around his neck.
He showed no reaction at all. He simply stood quietly on the hill.
“Th, thank you for saving me.”
Maelyn spoke, her face burning hot.
As she expected, no reply came back.
He was like a block of wood, not a man, yet the warmth when she wrapped her arms around him told her he was indeed someone with a beating heart.
“You came again, didn’t you. Back in Deathland, during the Saint incident, even at the Neutral Zone.”
[...]
Too often to be coincidence.
It could not be mere chance. To meet this frequently, there had to be some inevitability behind it.
“The new Seventh Legion Commander.”
As if defining Feon’s true identity, she spoke in a whisper.
“Who are you, really?”
Her slender white fingers had somehow touched the seam between his helmet and his neck.
The boundary between the helm and the nape.
If she were to remove it here, she could finally see his face.
Couldn’t she slip it off? His hands were occupied, in this position he couldn’t use them.
Just a little more, just a little more courage and…
Swiik–
Her fingertips lifted the helm slightly. A smooth, sharp jawline, an Adam’s apple, and a masculine neck came into view.
That alone made her upper lip sting, and she swallowed hard.
She wanted to see.
She wanted to see his face.
An irresistible temptation. Like Pandora’s box. If she saw his face, she felt that all the suffocating doubts and tangled knots inside her would be cleared away in an instant.
But.
‘…What right do I have.’
Always the one receiving help.
And the Traitor Legion's Commander went to such desperate lengths to hide his identity from the entire continent. Was it right to uncover it, even out of mere curiosity?
She knew the answer was no.
Maelyn withdrew her hand from the helm. The skull helmet slid back down, covering his jaw fully once more.
[I came to secure my undead.]
At last, the voice of the taciturn commander rang out.
So cold and eerie it made her shoulders flinch. She trembled inside, yet still managed a steadfast smile.
[Just as in Deathland, there was an Ancient Undead of the former legion here. That is all.]
“Ah.”
Her head snapped quickly to the side.
So the giant serpent they had fought earlier must have been a summon or familiar controlled by the Ancient Undead.
An Ancient Undead strong enough to capture Professor Hongpeng had been here on these grasslands, and Feon, newly risen as the Traitor Legion's Commander, had come precisely to secure that Ancient Undead.
It felt like the pieces of a complex puzzle had clicked into place.
[I have no further business here.]
Maelyn felt her altitude slowly lowering.
The commander had bent his knees to let her down. Her legs, suspended in midair, touched gently onto the ground.
[Return to your comrades.]
She did not want to.
She did not want to part from him.
In her heart, she wanted to cling to him, to stubbornly refuse like a child throwing a tantrum.
What if he simply whisked her away now, to some place no one in the world knew, where she could live together with him? The fantasy lit up in her mind.
But contrary to that unreasonable desire, her body came down quietly, standing properly on the ground. In front of him, she only wanted to show her best.
Flutter!
Feon turned his back after setting her down. His tattered cloak flared. Maelyn quickly spoke.
“Are you leaving?”
No answer came, but she could tell it was a silent affirmation.
She slowly leaned her body against Feon’s back.
“Don’t listen too much to people’s hurtful words.”
[...]
“I am always watching. Watching you fight the Saints of the Holy Federation, battle the Ancient Undead that throw the world into chaos, and stand against the world’s prejudice.”
Emotion colored her voice.
“I will cheer for you with all my heart, even if from afar. And…”
Finally, Maelyn smiled brightly and stepped back from Feon.
“I believe, soon enough, this world will recognize your effort and devotion.”
[...]
Feon said nothing.
He did not nod, nor give any sign of agreement or denial.
He simply stood there in silence, then bent his knees.
Whoooong!
With a single leap, his body shot into the air, vanishing across to the far end of the temple.
“Lord Feon.”
Blushing deeply, hands clasped together, Maelyn gazed at the direction where he had disappeared.
* * *
Meanwhile.
‘…I’m in big trouble!’
After showing an imposing and solemn face of the Legion Commander to Maelyn, Simon, now behind the temple, was running desperately across the ground.
‘What do I do now? Everyone must be looking for me, what should I say I was doing?’
Simon pushed Feer’s helmet up with his fingertip and drew in a deep breath. His face was burning hot.
[Kheheheheheh!]
Feer’s laughter echoed in his mind.
[How amusing. Were you embarrassed by that girl’s words, boy!]
‘Th, that’s not it!’
Simon shook his head violently in denial and hurried into a nearby collapsed temple. He looked around for a spot where he could plausibly pretend to have fainted.
“The situation is over, so people will be coming to look for me soon. Feer, do you want to enter subspace?”
[No, I still have work to do!]
Shwaaaak!
Feer detached from Simon’s body. The tall skeleton chuckled, hefting a greatsword onto his shoulder.
[I will continue to pursue Myurr.]
“Will you be all right on your own?”
[Enough!]
Simon nodded, telling him not to overdo it. Feer detached a “clone” of himself and handed it to Simon.
Simon pinned it to his clothes like a badge, and Feer walked out of the temple.
‘Then, where would be a good place for me to… ah!’
Just then, he spotted a small gap where the ceiling had collapsed. Simon forced his body inside.
He planned to say he had been luring monsters and fighting, when suddenly the temple collapsed, and he fainted.
–Simon! Where are you!
–Please answer us! Simon!
From outside the temple, he heard the voices of Dick and Kamibarez calling for him. In his panic, Simon shoved himself deeper into the wreckage.
[Kheheh! I don’t think you need to go this far!]
Feer’s clone commented after seeing the situation.
“I have to. I’ve been absent for this entire battle.”
Simon tapped on the ceiling to check that the collapsed debris was firmly set, then continued speaking.
“If we don’t want the connection between the Legion Commander and Simon exposed, I think I need to do at least this much, even if it’s a little dangerous.”
[Kheheh!]
Now, all that was left was to faint.
Should he smash his head against the ceiling?
Or should he scream for help, pretending he had just woken up? But he thought that might lack realism.
As Simon racked his brain—
Kkak!
Something.
The sound of a stone slipping out from between rocks.
‘Huh?’
Moments later.
Dick and Kamibarez, hearing Simon’s loud scream, rushed in urgently.
* * *
Simon opened his eyes the next afternoon.
‘Ah.’
He was inside Hongpeng’s house. His leg was tightly bandaged and fixed in place.
According to Kamibarez, when he was found, part of the collapsed ceiling had tilted, pinning his leg slightly.
It was a relief it ended only like this. Why did he even do that? No matter how urgent it got, Simon swore to himself several times never again to try something so reckless.
–Simon! We’re so sorry, you were trying to save us and…!
–I told you not to push yourself! You’ll be the death of me, really!
He had worried he might be criticized for not participating in the battle, but when everyone saw his injury, all they said was to recover quickly, be strong, and most often, that they were sorry.
Anyway, the situation wrapped up well.
The Eildar Hydra had been completely destroyed. Simon, when he cut the head, had strongly sensed he was severing the last one, and it turned out to be true.
With Hongpeng, the Magical Combat students, and the first-year Trio working together, they cut off the ninth Hydra head, and with Simon severing the last one, Myurr’s carefully prepared trump card, the Eildar Hydra, vanished entirely from the world.
Myurr too, after the Hydra’s annihilation, disappeared from the grasslands.
The villagers Myurr had captured returned safely as well. They had been cursed and placed inside a test chamber for use in the next ritual, but were discovered by the Magical Combat group during their escape. The villagers embraced one another, rejoicing in freedom.
Thus, after Simon woke, he spent his time in Hongpeng’s house.
On the bed across from him lay Hongpeng. Compared to Simon’s injury and exhaustion, her condition was far worse.
It was only natural. She had fought without eating or drinking for over a month. Yet as soon as she regained her senses, she devoured all the food nearby.
‘…An elephant, really.’
Watching from the side, Simon was dumbfounded. She consumed food for fifty people in one sitting. Then, through bouts of meditation, deep breaths, and various methods of digestion, her body gradually regained flesh, returning to her former state.
The word “superhuman” truly described Hongpeng.
That day, everyone was too busy to think straight, but by the next evening, the Marlat tribe held a grand feast in gratitude for their safe return.
They piled wood together into a massive campfire, danced their traditional dances, and drank.
The student council members, the first-year trio including Sasha, and the Magical Combat students mingled freely with them. Thanks to Hongpeng’s efforts in education, many young tribesmen could speak the continental tongue.
Everyone danced with the villagers, clinked glasses, and enjoyed themselves.
“Ungh.”
Simon, still with bandaged feet, half-reclined and watched them. He had to remain on strict bedrest, couldn’t drink, couldn’t even eat properly, and could barely move.
As he quietly observed Dick regaling the Marlat tribesmen with tales of their battle against the Hydra—
“How’s your leg?”
Maelyn approached, smiling brightly.
“Ah, Maelyn.”
“Can I sit next to you?”
“Of course.”
Maelyn plopped down at his side.
Simon stiffened in tension.
–I am always watching. Watching you fight the Saints of the Holy Federation, battle the Ancient Undead that throw the world into chaos, and stand against the world’s prejudice.
–I believe, soon enough, this world will recognize your effort and devotion.
Since hearing those words, Simon hadn’t been able to look properly at Maelyn’s face.
His own face kept burning.
“Hey, Simon.”
“Yeah.”
“I have something to tell you.”
She looked straight into his face.
“Yesterday, I met Lord Feon.”
Simon swallowed hard.
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