Chapter 332 - We Meet Again
Chapter 332 – We Meet Again
After leaving the portal Ren was transported back to the mountain top where he and Alphonso did battle. As he was about to leave, Ren heard Alphonso’s voice through the portal.
“Oh right here’s a map of the current world and another one from the time you were a demon lord. I can pretty much guess who you want to meet so this should help you.”
Ren looked at the two maps and saw that each map was extremely detailed. With these maps at hand, he could go around the continent without getting lost.
“Thanks, you really are a great help, Alphonso. I seem to be owing you more and more now.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Alphonso didn’t bother to hear Ren’s reply and closed the portal. Once he had closed the portal Alphonso sighed. “It is I who owes you more than you can imagine.”
…
Ren saw the portal close and shrugged his shoulders. Ren then looked at the map of the current world. It was clearly marked where the mountains he was standing on was at. It looked like Alphonso marked it before passing it to him.
Ren then looked at the old map from when he was demon lord Kretos. These mountains where rather near to the place where he wanted to go. After looking at the map a couple of times, Ren placed the two maps into his shadow and started running.
…
With his current strength alongside the use of his Spirit Aura Ren was able to traverse a hundred miles within a few minutes. It took Ren only half an hour to reach the area he wanted to go to. Once he reached the place the weather changed. A moment ago it was sunny but as he neared the area it started snowing.
Snowflakes came down and caressed Ren’s face. It was cold, but Ren who was enveloped by his Spirit Aura was unaffected by the cold.
‘It’s been so long since I’ve been here.’ Ren closed his eyes and remembered the time he met her in this place. There meeting started with a misunderstanding, and it ended with heartache.
After reminiscing for a bit ren continued walking and saw the mountain range that used to be the base of the Overlord of the Sky Jiro. The shape of the mountains changed a bit over the years, and at the base, Ren noticed that there was now a human village.
Back then he couldn’t even imagine any human living in these lands where demons roam, yet now they were everywhere. He was once again reminded that the age of demons has ended and it was now the age of humans.
Ren passed through the village, due to it snowing heavily none of the villagers were outside. As he continued to walk by, Ren suddenly heard someone singing in a place that was most probably a tavern.
“In a cold starless night, on top of the mountain high. Where the sun can’t reach and the moon can’t find, lays the maiden whose beauty may blind. She awaits in her paradise, forever sitting in her throne of ice. Fair maiden o fair maiden, heroes fall and still you wait, in thy throne of ice.”
Hearing parts of the song Ren could pretty much guess that it’s about Leila. It would seem that some of the humans were able to get past the old barrier he placed on the mountain.
‘So you’re still up there waiting.’ As Ren was about to continue to his journey someone spoke to him.
“Sir, are you going up as well? Are you another adventurer who wants to see the maiden on the throne of ice?” Ren turned around and answered the villager.
“I guess I am here to see the maiden.” When the villager heard Ren’s answer he scratched his head before responding.
“I can tell that you’re pretty strong sir since you’re walking in this snow wearing such light clothes. But it’s a fool’s errand to try and find the maiden. Many adventurers have gone up never to return. Besides the maiden is just a folk tale past down here in our village. The story goes that a drunk hero went up the mountain top and found a maiden on a throne of ice. When he returned to the village he told everyone what he saw, but no one believed him. So to prove that he wasn’t lying the hero went up the mountain after he was no longer intoxicated, but when he reached the peak he didn’t see the maiden. There were other accounts of people seeing the maiden but most of them were drunk or sick. So they might have just hallucinated seeing a maiden on a throne of ice.” 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹．𝐨𝐫𝗴
“Thanks for the warning but I still want to try my luck.” Ren didn’t bother to hear the villager’s response as he walked away.
…
While he climbing the mountain Ren felt a wave of nostalgia. The mountain had changed, and the circumstances were different, but as he climbed while it was snowing Ren couldn’t help but remember that rainy day.
On that rainy day, they talked in that cave, that was the first time he had ever shared his thoughts and feeling with another person.
…
Ren was nearing the top and he could sense the barrier he created was close. Ren pointed his open palm forward and clenched it. “BREAK!” The sound of shattering glass echoed in Ren’s ears, the barrier he placed was no more. After breaking the barrier Ren continued climbing to the top.
As he got closer to the top, Ren saw the flowers he had planted all those years ago. They were unaffected by the snow and continued to bloom beautifully. The scenery on the top of the mountain as snow continued to fall on the beautiful flowers was an enchanting sight.
In the middle of the field of flowers was a maiden encased in ice. Even after tens of millennia, she stayed there unaffected by nature nor time. Ren approached the ice coffin that he himself made and touched it.
“We meet once again… Leila…” Images of the past flooded Ren’s mind. He didn’t know her for long, but she was the first person that made him feel things that went beyond the scope of battle.
“I’m sorry that it took so long to see you again… I was weak at the time, both in mind and heart. I couldn’t handle the thoughts of loss, especially of something that felt so important… But now I’ve grown and had lost many things that I can never regain.”
Ren’s whose hand was on the ice coffin used his finger to gently tap on the ice. The ice which encased Leila for ten thousand years started to crack. The cracks started to look like a spider’s web and after a while, the coffin of ice shattered. Ren was quick to act and caught the falling Leila.
Leila’s body which had been trapped in ice, whose time had stopped moving forward, had its clock ticking again. The injuries she got were once again opening up and blood was about to gush out. Ren immediately stopped the bleeding and injected his own mana into Leila. Once he was done blocking the blood from flowing out, Ren used a healing spell he learned from one of his past incarnations.
The holes in Leila’s body started closing up and were healing at a rapid pace. Leila’s pale complexion was becoming better as time went by. Ren looked at the sleeping Leila and sighed in relief. He was finally able to do it, he was finally able to save her.
…
Leila had a very long dream where she was waiting for someone on a field of flowers. Many had come to see her, but none of them were the ones she wanted to see. She continued to wait patiently for the person to come but he never did. There was also that one time when she was accompanied by a golden-haired kitsune, but at some point, she disappeared.
Time went by and the one she waited for never came. The people that visited her were becoming fewer and fewer. The Golden fox that stayed with her never returned. As she was starting to think that the person she was waiting for would never come, as she started to think that she would stay here on this lonely mountain top for eternity, another person came.
This person looked different from the person she was waiting for, but he felt similar to him. She couldn’t understand it but she felt sad when he looked at his expression. The man then apologized to her and freed her from her prison.
…
Leila who was slowly waking up felt her body feeling extremely heavy. She was finding it difficult to move even a single finger. Her mind was also a bit foggy as she felt light-headed. She tried opening her eyes but they were heavy as well. As she was wondering what was happening to her, she remembered something.
‘Wasn’t I bleeding and dying? Am I perhaps already dead? Is that why I can’t move nor feel anything?’ As she was growing confused, Leila heard a gentle voice whisper in her ear.
“It’s time to wake up.” The voice was so gentle, warm and somewhat familiar… She could feel her eyelids were becoming a bit lighter and she slowly opened her eyes.