Chapter 221: Memories of Galliant (1)

Kergo Autonomous District.

The room where Shirone’s group had stayed was perfectly tidy.

In a space filled with silent air, a black sphere was born. The sphere looked like a two-dimensional hole, and from there five people were expelled.

Amy, who rolled across the floor, crawled toward the portal and called out to Shirone. She could not believe that he did not return.

Tess and Arin held her back when she tried to enter the portal.

Amy even hated the two who were stopping her. They should not have left Shirone behind.

“Let me go! Get away from me! I’m going to save Shirone!”

“Amy! If you go in, you won’t be able to come back! Right now we have to wait!”

“Wait for what? You left Shirone in a life-threatening situation!”

“No! Peophe…!”

Arin stopped and looked at the portal. From the other side of space, Shirone came flying while spinning.

Amy’s eyes filled with tears.

She opened her arms and caught Shirone, and rolled across the floor due to the power of the spiral. She was so happy that she could not even feel the pain.

Arin watched as the Meta Gate portal disappeared and thought of the fairy who had remained in the sky.

‘Thank you, Peophe.’

The place where the portal opened was the room that the chief of Kergo had lent them.

The sky was far away, but since they had gone and returned through the Geppin Gate, no time relativity occurred. Calculating the difference in the solar calendar, about 3 days had passed.

“Rian… Rian…”

Tess’s tears fell onto Rian’s face. They had returned alive, but she could not feel happy. He, who always said he would be the greatest swordsman in the world, had lost an arm.

Rian’s right arm was reduced to bone. She tried to take the greatsword from him, but his fingers would not open.

Tess was speechless. He had no muscles, not even the tendons were intact, they were hanging how could he still be holding the sword?

At that moment, the door burst open and a Kergoan entered.

He stared in shock at the women hugging their companions with wary expressions, then ran toward the exit shouting.

“They’ve returned! They’ve returned!”

Arin sensed hostility in the Kergoan’s gaze. Amy, realizing that it was not the time to cry, asked.

“Arin, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. But I think it’s better to leave quickly. That was definitely not a friendly emotion.”

Amy’s group left the room carrying the injured. The structure of the tunnel was complex, but there was no one who did not remember the way out.

The problem was that it was one-way.

From the other side of the cave, footsteps began to be heard, and dozens of warriors blocked the exit.

“Where do you think you’re going, traitors?”

Arin interpreted the language through mental resonance.

“The crime of humiliating Kergo cannot be repaid even with death! We will skin you for 3 days and 3 nights and leave you to dry under the sun until you die!”

Even through translation, the message was terrifying.

Amy could not understand the situation. They had not completed Kadum’s request, but it had never been a contract from the beginning.

Among the warriors she saw a familiar old man. His face was full of wrinkles, and masses of muscles that had not completely withered still hung from him.

“You… could it be…?”

“You damned bastards!”

It was the voice of Kadum, the chief of Kergo.

Was it possible to age so much in just a few days? Perhaps, while they were in the sky, decades had passed.

“How dare you try to destroy Kergo! Give me back my lifespan!”

“We don’t know anything! What happened to you?”

“Lies! If you did nothing, then why was my life reduced! I could have lived at least 60 more years!”

Arin suddenly understood.

‘Canis…’

Even if all the men had the opportunity to adjust lifespan, the only one who would have made that decision was Canis.

She supported his decision. Compared to what Kadum had done to his tribe, it was even little.

But not even Canis would have imagined that the situation would end like this.

As the warriors advanced, releasing a powerful energy, Amy instinctively entered Spirit Zone.

She searched for Mahatu, but did not see him.

If the anti-angel faction had been purged, this place was enemy territory. There was no one to help them.

“Capture them alive! I will give them a horrible death!”

The warriors of Kergo advanced, pointing their weapons. Their individual strength was impressive, but their collective pressure was suffocating.

‘What do I do? Do I block the path with Fire Wall? But in a cave it’s dangerous.’

When five men prepared to charge with spears in front, a commotion was heard from the exit.

Kadum, terrified, turned his head and shouted.

“What’s happening? What is going on?!”

It seemed that, with the aging of his body, even his mind had weakened.

It did not take long before the warriors at the rear were thrown toward Amy’s group.

“Are you all right?”

Amy froze.

Mahatu, whom they thought had been captured, was there. But what was more surprising were the people he had brought.

Jis, whom they had parted with after the translation, was there escorted by the Loro Mercenary Company, along with Captain Marsha and Vice-Captain Freeman.

“Jis? Why are you here?”

“There’s no time! Come quickly!”

Before Jis could finish speaking, the warriors of Kergo charged.

From their point of view, they had to capture Shirone’s group at all costs.

The autonomous region of Kergo was already in the middle of a civil war.

The inhabitants had joined the anti-angel faction, and if this continued, the pro-angel faction would not be able to avoid its fall.

“Freeman! Go and bring the others!”

Marsha pushed Freeman with her foot.

Freeman, who had not followed the Reverse Technique branch, showed incredible speed.

The warriors’ spears and swords could not even touch him. It was the scheme of a gunner who sacrifices regeneration for speed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every time Freeman fired his weapon in the middle of the enemy ranks, the warriors were sent flying against the cave walls. In a short time, only he remained standing, while the smoke from the magic bullets filled the surroundings.

Amy wondered if that man was really the same one she had fought before. By changing his scheme, his combat style had completely changed.

“Let’s go. We won’t be able to hold out much longer.”

“Y-yes!”

Amy’s group followed the Loro Mercenary Company and left the place.

Kadum’s warriors chased them, but they were not a large threat.

The dictator who had ruled Kergo for hundreds of years had lost all his power along with the aging of his body.

“No! Don’t go! I don’t want to die like this! Please give me back my life!”

Kadum’s desperate scream echoed throughout the cave.

***

As they left Mount Toa, Shirone’s group was able to hear from Mahatu everything that had happened.

When Kadum’s body aged, the priests declared martial law and imprisoned the anti-angel faction.

The one who rescued them was Jis.

Upon arriving at the autonomous region to repay Falcoa’s debt, he sensed an unsettling atmosphere and began investigating.

Then he discovered that Mahatu had been imprisoned and reached that place leading the Parrot mercenary band.

“Thank you, Jis. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have survived.”

At Amy’s praise, Jis’s face turned red.

“It’s nothing. Compared to what you did for me, this is nothing. By the way, are you okay? Why did only the men end up like that?”

Amy checked Shirone’s condition. He still showed no signs of waking up.

“This is how things ended up. Can we find a doctor on the island? Or should we go to the mage guild?”

Marsha observed the injured. Although Shirone and Canis had only lost consciousness, Rian’s condition was severe.

The flesh of his right arm had been completely torn away. With a wound like that, it would normally be expected to die from blood loss, but for some reason he was not bleeding.

“What happened to Rian? No, more importantly, how was he treated? Is it really okay to leave him like this?”

Tess spoke between sobs.

“I don’t know. He ate a giant’s arm, so it might be because of that. For now, as long as he’s alive, I’ll do whatever it takes to heal him.”

“Giant? Eating an arm? What are you talking about?”

Tess only shook her head.

When they reached the entrance of Mount Toa, the carriage of the Parrot mercenary band was waiting.

Mahatu bowed his head, showing his guilt.

“Due to the immorality of the chief, we put the messenger of God in danger. Please forgive us.”

The anti-angel faction was a group created to oppose those who used the name of God to satisfy their own desires.

From the perspective of the sky, they were heretics and an ideology capable of provoking the final war, but Amy could not blame Mahatu.

“It seems one of our companions had issues with Kadum. Rather, we are the ones who should apologize. It’s a relief that everything turned out well, but there were almost many casualties.”

“It was something that had to happen at least once. If Kadum had remained strong, there would have been many more victims to overthrow the system. Thank you.”

Amy waited for Mahatu to say something more.

But he did not ask anything of someone who had gone to the sky. He had chosen self-reliance.

Amy got into the carriage. Just as for Mahatu the happiness of his people came first, for her the safety of her friends did as well.

Mahatu did not move until Amy’s group disappeared beyond the horizon.

***

“Hurry! Hurry!”

A doctor and four recovery mages that Marsha had found while traveling across Galliant Island entered Jis’s house.

The doctor was horrified when he saw Rian’s condition.

He prayed that this boy had not suffered such torture while conscious.

“T-this…”

Tess clung to him, crying.

“Doctor! Heal him! You can heal him, right?”

The doctor closed his mouth like a mute. What was he supposed to do? Healing meant restoring something damaged. One could not recreate something that had completely disappeared.

“There is no other option. I am not a great doctor, but anyone would be the same. If it is not amputated, he could die.”

“Amputate? This boy is a swordsman! He said he would become the greatest swordsman in the world!”

“It must be cut below the shoulder. Unless you want him to become the strongest corpse in the world.”

Tess collapsed to her knees without strength. The doctor was right. No one would be in their right mind upon waking and seeing that only bones remained in their arm. Even though it was not bleeding now, there was no way of knowing when it might start again.

“Ugh… this… is not a joke.”

The recovery mages worked in pairs, applying healing magic to Shirone and Canis.

They cast Healing to increase biological capabilities and Purify to clear the mind, but it felt like pouring water into a bottomless barrel.

“What the hell happened? Who are these boys? In my entire life, this is the first time someone hasn’t woken up after so long under treatment.”

Amy said.

“They are students from the magic academy, so it will be more difficult than with a normal person.”

“Ugh… If I maintain it for more than 10 minutes, I need to rest for an hour. We’ve already exceeded the limit!”

“Please, hold on just 10 more minutes! I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

“At my age I’m no longer interested in money, better go out with me once. From what I see, you look a lot like my first love.”

Amy opened her eyes and then quickly nodded.

“Huh? Okay! I’ll do it, so please try a little harder.”

“…Don’t make an old man’s joke look so pathetic. Anyway, it seems he is someone important to you. I’ll do everything I can.”

“Thank you! Thank you very much!”

While Amy repeatedly thanked him, the mage casting Purify clicked his tongue and scolded his companion.

“You shouldn’t make such heavy jokes.”

“Who would have thought she’d react like that?”

“No, it’s just that I clearly remember your first love was the ugliest among the ugly.”

The two old men chuckled. Although they had spent their entire lives as unremarkable ninth-rank uncertified mages, they felt their blood boiling again.

“Shall we go all out for the first time in a while?”

As they amplified the recovery magic, Shirone’s body shone brightly.

The mage on Canis’s side, feeling competitive, increased his magic even more so as not to fall behind.

The doctor, who had already finished preparing the surgery, gave instructions to Tess.

“Alright, lay him here. He’s going to bleed a lot, so prepare enough towels.”

Tess, crying uncontrollably, moved Rian’s body to the center of the bed.

Then the doctor took out from his bag a long saw that sent chills down the spine.

Anesthesia was not necessary, since he was unconscious. And even if he were awake, it was not a pain that could be endured with local anesthesia.