Chapter 138: The end of a long journey [2]

"Cough...! Cough!"

My chest ached.

Holding onto my mouth, blood dripped down from the gaps of my fingers.

Every part of me ached.

".....It's so beautiful."

"The scenery. It has changed so much."

I could hear the voices of the members of the first subjugation squad beside me. They were staring at the scenery with brilliant gazes.

"Was that tree there before?"

"No, it wasn't."

"And what about that rock?"

"How would I know?"

"This waterfall?"

"It was."

They just wouldn't stop talking.

I stared at them while holding onto my chest.

"Cough...!"

The fight had been a hard one. We didn't manage to kill the Hellhounds, but that had never been our goal to begin with.

We just wanted to get out of there.

To...

Get back home.

"Onward to Ellnor...! Hahaha."

Tud, Tud—!

The ground shook slightly. Turning around, I stared at the army of zombies following us from behind.

"You couldn't send them back...?"

"No."

Aurelia shook her head.

"I don't have enough mana."

".....That's fair."

She had been one of the most active in the last battle. It wasn't easy to hold back the Terror Ranked Hellhound. It was in fact a miracle for her to have been able to hold on after the last spell.

"What are you going to do once we go back?"

"....."

Aurelia didn't answer immediately.

In that brief moment of silence, I noticed that everyone was looking at her.

Eventually, the words did leave her mouth.

"I don't know. I never really thought about it."

"You didn't...?"

"I thought I'd be stuck here forever."

Strangely, Aurelia's steps seemed light as she walked.

".....I do have a little brother though. I wonder how he's doing. I remember telling him to keep count of the amount of time I would be gone for. Is he still keeping count?"

"Pftt, as if. He probably stopped counting a week in."

Daphne placed her hand over Aurelia's.

"You're such an adorable little thing. Even after so much time passed, you're still the same."

"Stop."

Aurelia brushed Daphne's hand away.

"Hehe, look at this cutie~"

Daphne ended up hugging Aurelia tightly as she struggled under her embrace.

"Ugh...!"

"Hahaha! Let me join!"

"No!"

"Akh!"

"Hur. Hur."

I stood to watch the scene with a smile. They looked like a family. A happy family of four.

"What about you...?"

And then, their attention turned to me.

"What are you going to do?"

".....What am I going to do?"

I wonder about that.

"Probably go back to the Academy."

Everyone besides Leon probably thought I was dead. But would they even care if I was dead...? I could still recall the faces of a few, but to what extent did they care?

"Haha."

I really didn't know.

"I also want to go back home."

"Oh, right. You're quite young yourself. I didn't really take note of it considering our situation."

Liam walked around me, closely patting my body in the process.

"Wow, what muscles."

"Did you say muscles...?"

"Crap! Stop him! He's going to—"

It was too late. Shoving Liam aside, Gork started patting my body all over.

"Wow! They're some developed muscles! I couldn't tell before, but you have some talent."

Smack—!

His thick hand smacked against my back, and I winced in pain.

"Ukh!"

"Hur! Hur! When you come to visit me, I'll make sure to teach you how to develop your muscles further."

"Stop it! Can't you see he's injured?"

"Cough...!"

Coughing, I glared at Gork who awkwardly turned his head.

"Uh, yeah."

"Anyways~"

Daphne turned to look at me.

"You're welcome to visit us anytime."

"Haha, yeah. Come visit us. Our journey is about to end, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't see each other again."

"There's no need to be so reserved. We still haven't taught you a thing. Only Aurelia had that pleasure."

Seeing them look at me like that, I could only shake my head.

"....Fine."

I was planning on visiting regardless.

"Come now! Our journey is almost over!"

"Let's go back...!"

Punching the air, Gork and the rest rushed ahead.

I stared at their back for a moment before shaking my head.

These guys...

They were such children.

Our journey continued.

The scenery continued to change.

Sometimes we'd stop to observe it. I had seen the scenery before, but it had been with different people.

"That's another new thing."

It was nice to see them enjoying the journey.

".....I wish this journey lasts longer."

Aurelia smiled beneath the hood as she spoke.

"It's so pretty..."

The wind blew, and her hood fluttered.

"Julien."

My gaze met with hers.

In that moment, I could see a change in her.

For once, her cold facade seemed to melt ever so slightly.

"It had been so long since I'd seen the outside world. I used to take it for granted, but..."

The wind blew again.

Her hood fluttered further.

".....I didn't know it was so pretty."

Right.

I turned my head to stare in the direction of where she was looking at.

'It's pretty indeed.'

Rocky peaks jutted into the sky, casting long shadows over the landscape. Besides us, a small stream flowed gracefully, its clear waters winding through the valley.

Trees flourished, their leaves rustling in the breeze.

"....."

Without a sound.

I imprinted the sight into my mind.

And then...

Several figures appeared in the distance.

They stared at me for a moment before rushing towards me.

"J-Julien...?"

The first one to come was Professor Hollowe. He seemed startled by my appearance. He probably didn't think I was still alive.

"Julien? Isn't that the name of the cadet that died?"

Another figure appeared.

I didn't know who he was, but I could more or less guess.

"You didn't die?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

My lips were parched.

How long had it been since I had last drunk something?

Before I could even say anything, a figure rushed from behind.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

I recognized him in an instant.

It was Captain Travis.

"You...!"

His eyes seemed to be fixed on Aurelia. There seemed to be a deep seethed hatred in his eyes as he looked at her.

That was when I finally found my voice again.

"W-wait."

All attention fell on me.

Before I could say anything else, the wind blew again.

Swoosh—

Aurelia's hood fluttered again, finally falling back to reveal her features.

".....Ah!"

Captain Travis's face underwent a dramatic change in that moment.

"S-sister...! H-how...!?"

I could tell he had recognized her.

I felt my head ache.

Just as I was about to explain, he rushed towards me and grabbed me by the collar.

"What happened?!"

His voice was hoarse as he spat to my face.

"Y-you, it's you isn't it?"

His grip on my clothes tightened.

"You're the fucking necromancer, aren't you? The one fucker who has been screwing with us for so long...! It-it's you...!"

"....."

I didn't reply.

Logically speaking, his accusations made no sense.

I was still young. The necromancer had been haunting the town for thirty years. It was a stupid assumption to begin with.

Even so...

I couldn't find the words to reply.

And as if he knew too, his grip on my clothes wakened.

".....W-why is she here? Y-you disappeared and then came back. E-veryone thought you were dead, but explain to me this..."

He pointed at Aurelia and the others.

"Why are they all dead?!"

"....."

I took a moment to stare at him and the people behind him.

They were all looking at me with the same skeptical gaze as he was.

I couldn't blame them.

Turning my head slightly, I fixed my gaze on the four other people who stood by my side. Without their hoods, I could see them clearly.

Their faces were pale, and their eyes were closed.

There was no trace of breath in them.

They were dead.

They had long been dead.

"...."

Overwhelmed, my chest trembled as I took in the sight. The memories of my time with them flashed for a moment and I reached out, placing my hand atop the captain's before finally finding my voice again.

"My name is Julien Dacre Evenus."

In the silence, I spoke. Not to Travis, but to the unfamiliar man that I presumed was from the Empire.

"I've come back with them to relay important information to the members of the Empire."

"....."

"These people over here are the members of the first subjugation squad."

I introduced each member one by one.

"Aurelia Blackwood, Gork Staten, Liam Markken, and Daphne Richards."

I spoke slowly.

"They, the first subjugation squad, had been wiped out during their expedition with the exception of Aurelia Blackwood who became the sole survivor. A Rock Dragon was found at the entrance of the Mirror Crack."

"W-what...?"

Captain Travis's voice cracked as his grip on my clothes further loosened.

I turned to look at him.

"For thirty years, she kept the Dragon sealed. For thirty years, she..."

I pursed my lips and looked behind me.

"....Tried to bring the dead back to their families."

"A-ah..."

"And for thirty years, she had been scorned for it."

The grip finally completely loosened.

I kept my gaze fixed on the Captain.

"I-I ask you a favor."

I clenched my teeth.

It was starting to get hard for me to speak.

A familiar pain washed over me. It wasn't a physical one. Pursing my lips, I finally forced the words out.

"...Please welcome them back home. Their journey. I wish for it to finally end."

.

.

.

The cold pierced my skin.

A familiar road met my sight. We were close to the town walls.

"For how long did you know for?"

Aurelia's voice reached my ears.

"About what?"

"That we were dead."

"...."

How long had I known...?

"From the start."

".....Is that so?"

"Wow~ That's so unfair."

"Hur. Hur. Look at this guy. He's been happily talking to himself the entire time."

"....."

Everyone's voice continued to reach my ears.

But the only one that I could focus on was Aurelia's.

".....I'm sure everyone will be disgusted by what I did."

Her voice.

It was so clear.

"I've been thinking."

On the day that the raid failed, she knew the Rock Dragon would eventually attack the town.

Too weak to seal it, she used her life force.

That day,

She died.

"How could anyone accept us in the state that we are?"

In the last moments before her death, she used [Corpse Control] on herself.

With that, she was able to remain faintly conscious.

"Had I been stronger, would all of this have been avoided?"

That day,

She lost her voice.

"Would I have been able to warn them?"

The Hellhounds never attacked her for a simple reason.

They only attacked the living.

But without her voice, she couldn't stop the subjugation squads from coming.

In the end, everyone who came died.

".....Would things have been different then?"

From the moment someone dies, their life force depletes.

To keep the Dragon sealed, she used their life force.

And with time, her strength increased.

So did the number of people that died.

"Would I have been able to send them all back to their families?"

The attacks...

They had never really been attacks.

It had just been her attempt at trying to send the dead back to their family.

"Hey, Julien."

Aurelia's voice grew faint.

"Thank you."

"....."

"Talking to you. For the past few days, I felt like I was alive again. Even if I'm just a creation through of memories that you've seen."

"....."

"You didn't hate me for being cold, right?"

I shook my head.

"No."

"That's good. I'm tired of being hated."

".....I will never hate you."

A familiar set of walls appeared in the distance.

They were tall, and grand.

"It's been so long..."

Aurelia muttered faintly.

"....Home."

In the silence,

We stepped through the gates.

Thousands of eyes stopped on us as we entered. All of us.

Standing on each side, they looked at us.

The citizens of Ellnor.

It was a scene that was reminiscent of one from a memory I had buried deep in my mind. The memory of the time when the first subjugation squad had been sent out.

But in contrast to the warm atmosphere from back then, this one felt cold.

At least, until...

Clap—

Someone clapped.

Clap, Clap—

What followed the first clap was a second, and before I knew it, the entire town had started to clap.

Clap, Clap, Clap—

Amidst the welcome of the crowd, the cold that pierced the world seemed to have shattered.

What replaced it was a comfortable warmth.

But our journey wasn't over yet.

There was still one last step.

"Stop."

Adorned in brand new clothes, Captain Travis stood in front of us. That was when we all stopped.

"..."

The clapping stopped, and silence took over the place.

Without a sound, Captain Travis stared at Aurelia.

Fiddling with the pocket watch in his hand, he took a deep breath.

"15.598,467 minutes."

His voice echoed loudly throughout the entire town.

"That's how long it took for you to come back. Not a day has passed where I didn't count each minute. Like I promised, I didn't leave. I stayed here to wait for your return..."

Despite his best attempts, his voice eventually cracked.

"....I-I stubbornly waited each day. Even as the years passed for your return. Despite everyone telling me that you had died, I knew you would return. I... I..."

Drip. Drip.

Tears started to fall down the side of his face.

"M-my sister promised me. O-f course she'd return."

Keeping his face straight, he tried his best to stop the tears from spilling.

But that proved to be an impossible task.

"I-t must've been so painful. To hold on for so long despite everyone hating you. A lot of time has passed, and we thought we had somewhat moved on, but..."

Lifting his head, he looked around.

He took in the expressions of the citizens as they looked at the familiar faces of the undead.

"S-seeing everyone return, you've finally given all of us closure. A-and for that, thank you. As the town's captain, I..."

Forcing a smile, the Captain brought his arm to his forehead in a salute.

Drip...! Drip.

As his tears stained the ground, he stared at Aurelia.

"S-sister no... Aurelia Blackwood. As the Captain in charge of Ellnor, I welcome you, and all the members of the subjugation squads back to Ellnor."

Drip.

"You can rest now. You've done your job."

"....."

In the silence that took over shortly after, I met gazes with Aurelia.

Despite knowing that she was dead, for a brief moment, I thought I saw a smile on her face.

Not just hers, but Gork's, Daphne's, and Liam's.

I didn't say anything to them and just nodded my head.

'Go.'

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The zombies at the back were the first ones to fall.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Gork, Daphne, and Liam followed shortly after that.

And lastly...

Thump!

Aurelia fell to her knees.

Without a sound, she stared into the distance.

"I can rest now...?"

Her voice yet again reached my ears.

"You can."

I replied with a smile.

"Hehe, it's a pity."

"What is...?"

"I-I wanted to enjoy the scenery for a bit longer, but..."

She looked at her brother and all the citizens of the town.

"....This is good too."

The cold returned.

It pierced at my skin.

Aurelia took one last look at the town before finally falling over.

Thump!

That day.

All members of the 255 subjugation squads returned.

At the helm of it all was Aurelia who brought them all back.

This was...

The end of a long journey.

Her journey.