Volume 4, Chapter 5 – The Heavenly Emperor And The Ice Emperor, Part 6
Volume 4, Chapter 5 – The Heavenly Emperor And The Ice Emperor, Part 6
“It’s my victory.”
“The Ice Emperor” hits Hiro as if to crush him. It made a loud explosion sound and created a large cloud of dust. Hiro was blown away in the aftermath of the impact and collided with the ice block in which Liz was trapped, instantly becoming entangled in the dust and disappearing from sight.
――The awakening was instantaneous.
Hiro let out a heavy, leaden breath due to the intense pain that surged from his side.
“Agh, guahh…”
His eyes, which had been cloudy earlier, rapidly cleared, and he felt the darkness that had been dominating his mind dissipate. Leaning his body against the thick wall behind him, Hiro looked down at his side. A tremendous amount of blood was pouring out. It was as if a faucet had been twisted all the way open and fresh blood was gushing out.
“…It’s been a while since I’ve bled.”
It’s probably a punishment for being so dominated by anger that he neglected to adjust. But thanks to that, he woke up.
If anything, the cool feeling on his back took the heat out of his burning body. He felt as if someone was trying to tell him to calm down.
He looked over his shoulder and saw Liz trapped in an ice cage.
“…..Thank you. You brought me back to my senses.”
Hiro’s eyes twisted with sadness, and he stood up.
Already ― the gaping wound in his side has been closed. Hiro felt vaguely uneasy at the sight of his tremendous healing power.
“I’ve… really turned into a monster, haven’t I?”
He wondered where he had taken a wrong turn, where he had left his emotions behind. The question of whether he was really human flashed through his mind.
“…You’re still alive after receiving my full force?”
He heard a voice that sounded terribly surprised.
When Hiro turned his eyes in that direction, he saw that the dust had been dredged up by the cold wind and had cleared away.
Skaaha looked at Hiro suspiciously, and in her eyes, there was astonishment that she could not hide.
“Why are you still alive? Are you really a human being? It’s as if you’re…”
“You don’t have to say anything else. I’m just a little more durable than others, that’s all.”
Hiro silenced Skaaha and approached her with a leisurely gait. In his hand was a silver and white Heavenly Emperor.
Skaaha made a quick decision and raised the “Ice Emperor” above her head.
The next thing she knew, a shock hit her. The ground shattered loudly, and Skaaha was buried up to his ankles.
“Now, here’s the real show.”
Hiro raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the surrounding space begins to distort. A crack appeared, and as a signal, cracks began to form in the space one after another. What emerges from the cracks are spirit weapons.
The spirit weapons that floated in the night sky filled the ground like stars. In front of the magical scene, Skaaha was dumbfounded as if fascinated by it.
It is as if the heavens and the earth have been reversed, and the gentle light is very warm.
“I see… you are a strange man.”
Skaaha held up the Ice Emperor.
“Let’s give it our all.”
Hiro, on the other hand, held up the Heavenly Emperor.
“Yeah, I don’t have a lot of power left. So I shall use this one attack.”
Skaaha leaped backward and held the Ice Emperor at her back. Her supremacy swelled, and she made a sound as if the air were being torn apart.
The Ice Emperor’s “blessing” ― “Special Attack.”
The water around Skaaha froze, and a large number of ice spears appeared. All of them were aimed at one particular young man, Hiro.
“…..”
Hiro, on the other hand, was simply standing there in his natural state. There was no self-consciousness; there was only nothingness. However, the supremacy that radiated from his body was extraordinary.
When Hiro took a step forward, the ground erupted, unable to withstand the enormous power.
The Heavenly Blessing of the “Heavenly Emperor” ― “Divine Speed.”
The spirit weapons summoned around him emitted a violent, bright light. They were all aimed at one particular woman ― Skaaha.
And then ― the world shook.
The victory or defeat was instantaneous ― in a matter of seconds. But Hugin, who was witnessing it, felt that it was almost an eternity.
Hundreds, tens of thousands, and hundreds of millions of battles unfolded in front of her eyes.
The supremacy and supremacy created by the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword ― the aftermath of the impact created by the collision of the two would reverberate throughout three thousand worlds. The only way to capture it is with your senses. It was not a speed that could be tracked with the eyes.
It was an absolute realm that no ordinary person could reach. This is the battle between the holders of the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword.
Hugin didn’t even know who had the advantage or the disadvantage. When Hugin realized, the winner had been decided.
“…I lose?”
Skaaha was lying on her back. The sky had returned to its normal starry state.
“There are no fatal wounds…?”
There are cuts all over her body, but none of them are fatal.
Then I can still fight, she said, gritting her teeth and trying to stand up.
“I have things to accomplish. I can’t just collapse here yet…”
But then she fell to the ground face first. She had no strength in her limbs. She began to cry out in frustration and slammed her head into the ground.
“…It’s so frustrating.”
Seeing Skaaha starting to sob, Hiro quietly approached her. When Skaaha heard the sound of the ground being trampled, she looked up and gave Hiro a look.
“Do you want to kill me?”
“…..”
Without saying a word, Hiro pointed the tip of the Heavenly Emperor at Skaaha.
“I want you to tell Booze, the Felzen Governor, and the First Prince Stobel.”
“What do you want me to tell them?”
“That I will kill them even if it costs me my life.”
The hatred that sent chills down his spine made Hiro curious.
“Can I ask what’s going on?”
“It’s not pleasant.”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. We all have parts of our lives that we don’t want to hear about.”
Skaaha stared at Hiro for a moment, then lowered her eyes sadly and began to speak.
“I was studying abroad, so I escaped danger…”
Skaaha, who was studying in the Six Kingdoms, escaped the disaster, but what awaited her on her return was the ruined royal capital. The surviving people were overrun by Grantz soldiers, who treated them like slaves, and her brothers were all beheaded. Her sisters had been humiliated and taken away by Stobel, and their heads had been salted and sent to her at a later date.
“See, there’s nothing pleasant about that, is there?”
“That’s certainly… true.”
“Well then, that’s enough of that. You can have my head.”
Skaaha offered her head. It’s a very graceful thing to do.
“You have such a strong desire for revenge, yet you choose to die so easily.”
“You must have your own reasons for wanting to kill me.”
Skaaha looked at the frozen Liz. Hiro also looked in the same direction but quickly returned his eyes to their original position.
“Yes. If she had died, I would have killed you.”
But Liz is alive, no doubt about it. If Skaaha had really intended to kill her, there was no need to put her on ice. It would be too ineffective as an example.
People are not disgusted by beautiful things but tend to look away from ugly things. In other words, seeing her with all her body parts intact would not convey cruelty.
Anger cannot be sustained in a situation where there is no confirmation of life or death. If she wanted to incite anger, if she wanted to build up resentment, the most effective way would be to cut off Liz’s head and send her back.
“But you didn’t do that. Why?”
“…I have no interest in killing women or children. I have nothing against her, to begin with. Therefore, it would be unacceptable for me to take her life as a member of the Felzen royal family.”
“Are you saying it’s a matter of self-esteem?”
Skaaha nodded at Hiro’s words.
“As the last surviving member of the Felzen royal family, I must uphold the pride of being a member of the royal family.”
And above all ― she said, turning her sincere eyes to Hiro.
“The pride left by my parents will not be tarnished by anything.”
Hiro couldn’t help but smile when he heard those words. He felt that she was just like her.
The way she tried to protect what was left behind by those closest to her, the way she was vengeful but still clumsy with a sweet side ― she really was just like her.
“What’s so funny?”
“No, I’m sorry. It just brought back a few fond memories…”
Hiro apologized and then put on a serious face.
“I’ll let you live.”
“What?”
Hiro shrugged his shoulders as Skaaha looked at him with a surprised expression.
It’s not that he wanted to keep her alive out of pity or that he chose to help her out of respect for her feelings. It was just that it wasn’t funny ― it seemed truly ridiculous to take her life because of the Emperor’s and Stobel’s intentions.
He just couldn’t stand the fact that the people who were responsible for this were living happily and still smiling. He just couldn’t forgive the situation.
“I don’t understand. Why do you forgive me? I’m the one who put the sixth princess through all of this. Not only that, I’ve hurt countless of your soldiers with my hands. I’ve brought so many people into misery. Are you really going to forgive me for that…?”
Skaaha was blatantly flustered.
It’s not that she’s happy that her life has been saved, but a kind of wishful thinking is evident in her voice.
“I see… you are…”
Hiro realized that she wanted to die. She had lost her parents; she had lost her siblings. She had no home to go back to and no place to belong.
She must have gathered her former comrades and kept her ego intact, thinking only of revenge. In order to punish herself for not being able to save her relatives and to atone for the crime of involving soldiers and people in her revenge, she is seeking a place to die.
If that’s the case, then…
“We all live at some cost. If you want to atone for it, then you can choose death. But it’s an escape, nothing more than self-satisfaction.”
Hiro then approached her and put his mouth close to her ear.
“If you still wish to die, then I will take your life with me. From now on, you will continue to work as my hands and feet.”
These were words that bordered on arrogance. Skaaha exclaimed in disbelief. However, if he didn’t say so, she would choose death ― she would choose suicide.
Therefore, he also gave her hope.
“When the time comes…”
The following words were cut short by the cheers of the Grantz soldiers as they shouted in triumph.
However, they must have reached the ears of the wide-eyed girl. As time went by, her mind began to understand, and her eyes regained their brightness, and she nodded vigorously.