novelraw Chapter 171
Chapter 171
Ch.171 There, Auros Stood
“What a difficult thing to pretend to be fine…”
As Hans and Edward crossed the Gates of Hell, Icira spoke with a pained voice.
“Are you alright, Lady Icira?”
Cecilia asked back in an urgent voice.
“You know well yourself, don’t you? That I can’t last much longer.”
Looking at Icira spitting black blood, Cecilia asked with a sorrowful expression.
“Why… why such lies…!”
When Hans had asked about Icira’s condition, Icira had squeezed out all her strength to use magic and desperately pleaded with Cecilia.
To tell everyone she was fine.
Icira’s condition was extremely serious, but Cecilia thought of it as her last wish before death, and played along.
Thanks to that, Hans was able to move forward without crumbling.
‘If I were in danger, Hans wouldn’t be able to leave this place.’
She didn’t want to burden Hans, whose duty as the opposing force was already heavy enough.
“Lady Icira…”
Cecilia looked at her with a worried expression.
“Unfortunately, the human heart is terribly weak.”
“It’s too early to give up…”
Even as Cecilia said this, she had faintly realized Icira’s true condition.
“You should stop it too… My Dragon Heart is shattered.”
The Dragon Heart, the heart of dragons, was severely destroyed.
It was a miracle in itself that she had used magic to convey her final wishes to Cecilia before death.
“You must live! You can’t give up!”
“Haha, are you as foolish as Hans too?”
Dragons are born with enormous magic.
They store that magic in their Dragon Hearts to live, but when death comes, the vast amount of magic naturally returns to nature.
“I have no hope left now. Save your strength and rescue your companions.”
Icira pushed away Cecilia’s hand with a weak gesture.
At that moment…
A single tear flowed from the Saint’s eye.
“Ah… I’m sorry…”
As Icira spoke dispiritedly, Cecilia blamed herself for her lack of skill.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. This is all the fate decreed by the great God. When I die… make sure my body cannot resurrect.”
Seeing her silently speaking her final words, Cecilia wiped away her tears and nodded.
‘Aria… I love you so much.’
Icira’s complexion grew pale.
“I… miss Aria.”
“Aaah…!”
Cecilia immediately realized these were her final words.
Soon after, Icira closed her eyes.
“Lady Icira…”
Cecilia struggled to raise her powerless body.
She knew better than anyone about Icira’s devotion up until now.
A woman who seemed cold but was actually gentler than anyone else.
Cecilia wiped away her flowing tears again.
Just as she was about to join the battle, wanting to vent her current frustration…
“Icira… has died after all?”
A sudden old man’s voice made Cecilia turn her head.
“Lord Auros…”
Looking where her gaze turned, Dragon Lord Auros stood there, clicking his tongue.
“Tsk tsk, foolish one… What will you do with little Aria?”
Auros stood before Icira’s corpse with a pitiful expression.
He lowered his body and gently caressed Icira’s face.
“For one so much younger than me to leave first…”
Deep sadness filled his voice.
“It feels like you were born just yesterday, yet you’re leaving already. What was so urgent?”
Seeing Auros gently stroking her peaceful face, Cecilia’s tears flowed again.
“The Gates of Hell have opened.”
Feeling deeply apologetic at the Lord’s voice, she was full of remorse.
“Yes… I tried to stop it, but…”
“It’s fine. Since Roy isn’t here, let’s focus on defeating the enemy first.”
Auros gazed at the battle ahead.
Slowly rising toward the sky, the Lord.
—Heroes and Guardians! Everyone evacuate from here.
Everyone turned their heads at Auros’s voice.
—Otherwise, you will all die.
At his deadly warning, everyone began to retreat from the front lines.
Seeing the allies evacuate, Auros.
He loudly chanted a great spell.
—Gravity!
—Crack!
As soon as his trigger word ended, the ground caved in deeply as if hit by a heavy meteorite.
An enormous crater.
The King’s soldiers and undead inside were crushed.
As if pressed under an immense weight.
Blood flowing from the enemies’ bodies.
The large crater turned into a reservoir of red blood.
After a while, Hans’s party approached Cecilia.
“Cecilia, what about Lady Icira?”
Leah, most familiar with magic.
Feeling the magic seeping from Icira’s body, she sensed something was seriously wrong and asked the Saint, but…
“That… she has passed away.”
At her words, Leah’s face hardened.
“What?! You said she was fine just now?!”
Surprised by the unexpected words, Scarlet glared at Cecilia.
“Why did you tell such a lie! Cecilia! What if Hans knows?!”
At that moment, Mia stepped forward and grabbed Scarlet’s shoulder.
“Stop, Scarlet.”
“Mia! Is this something to stop?!”
Mia calmed down the angry Scarlet.
“Perhaps Lady Icira asked Cecilia to lie… I sensed it intuitively when Icira was attacked. When her abdomen was pierced… enormous magic burst out.”
“Then…?”
“I think she requested this from Cecilia so Hans could chase Roy.”
At Mia’s words, Cecilia nodded slightly.
“She asked me not to reveal her condition…”
“Even so…”
Seeing Scarlet unable to finish her words with a hollow voice, Cecilia burst into tears.
That was when…
Icira’s body stirred…
“Aaah…”
As Icira’s hand, clearly without breath, slowly moved, Cecilia turned her head and cast a holy spell.
“Aaah… Holy Spirit Descent.”
Pure golden light emanated from her hand, and the corrupt energy eroding Icira’s body vanished.
Now she finally obtained eternal rest.
“Now… what do we do?”
But the Hero party and Nekhuf couldn’t recover from the shock of her death.
***
Immediately after entering hell, they chased the King of the Dead.
Following the direction of the blood spilled on the ground.
“Edward! Cast the Fly spell on me!”
“Yes! Fly!”
Edward and I had our bodies floating in mid-air.
“Follow that blood!”
But where was the place where the God of Death was sealed?
I had been to hell in the game several times, but it wasn’t this vast structure.
“Hans? Over there!”
Far away, black wyverns were flying toward us…
—Bang bang!
I gave them a taste of Equality’s submachine gun.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
Just as I was following the blood trail…
“Huh… the blood trail has stopped?”
The blood trail stopped at the lava where hot heat flowed out.
Surely… she didn’t go into the lava… Is she moving along the lava with Fly?
“Damn… Edward, do you know where in hell the God of Death is sealed?”
At my words, he scratched his skull bones.
“I don’t know well? I only learned that the God of Death was sealed in hell recently.”
“Really? Is there someone who might know?”
Edward wore a thoughtful expression.
“Hmm… wouldn’t the Demon King know?”
“The Demon King?”
“Yes, didn’t the gods create hell to punish the Demon King? So the Demon King existed longer than hell, so maybe he knows.”
At the guy’s words, I nodded.
“Good, let’s go to the Demon King.”
“Eek?! Hans! The Demon King is incredibly strong in hell! He definitely won’t let us live!”
At Edward’s trembling words, I nodded.
“I know. Don’t worry. Even if the Demon King is immortal, it takes time to resurrect.”
The epic bosses here are instant death to Equality.
Of course, the concept is that whenever the protagonist appears in hell or heaven, the boss happens to have resurrected at that moment…
But it doesn’t resurrect immediately.
“But if we kill the Demon King and it takes time to resurrect… how will we ask where the God of Death is sealed?”
“That’s…”
Come to think of it, that was the problem.
Killing was easy, but not being able to get information until after killing and resurrection…
“Seems like I’ll have to use this.”
I looked at the Sword Saint’s Blade and Levi’s Dagger.
***
The Hero party and Nekhuf collected Icira’s body.
They decided to move Icira’s body to Pisa.
“I’ll move it. You all go to hell and finish Roy.”
Auros lifted Icira’s body into the air.
“What about Aria?”
Everyone here was close to Aria.
Unlike her mother, she had no hesitation in expressing emotions and loved people, so she was a hatchling with a pure heart.
Thinking that she would be greatly shocked, everyone became solemn.
“I’ll tell her well. Though young, dragons are independent, so there won’t be any problems.”
Looking around, he said.
“I’ll go now. Teleport.”
His body emitted blue light and disappeared.
“Shall we… go too?”
At Scarlet’s lifeless voice, everyone nodded.
***
Aria was picking flowers in the glass garden.
She wanted to give them as flower gifts to her mother and siblings if they came.
The girl liked this place very much.
Her mother’s lair was a desolate and heartless place.
Though Aria had no doubt that her mother loved her, Ice Dragon was someone who had difficulty expressing it.
Aria was seeking affection from humans.
The girl picked a white flower and smelled it.
“Hmm~ This one smells too good.”
“Aria, this flower isn’t good for gifts.”
Elise, who had become close to Aria while playing cards, approached the girl.
“Huh? It smells so good though?”
Aria didn’t understand Elise’s words.
Elise squatted down beside her and said.
“The flower meaning isn’t very good.”
“Hmm? Really?”
Aria couldn’t understand the concept of flower meanings set by humans.
“Hehe, then what kind of flower is good?”
“How about this?”
Elise carefully cut a rose next to her with garden scissors.
She removed the thorns from the rose and handed it to the girl.
“How’s this?”
The girl smelled the rose and smiled bashfully.
“Hmm~ This one smells good too.”
“I want to make a wreath with this and that flower!”
Recently, she had gone on an outing with Elise and the mansion’s cook Bella.
They had given the cute Aria a wreath made of flowers as a gift, and Aria had been thinking of giving it to her mother and siblings.
‘Judging by how late they’re taking, they must be having a hard time.’
Though young, Aria knew that her mother and siblings were doing important work.
When she had finished picking flowers and weaving stems to make a pretty wreath, blue light emitted nearby.
“Hehe, mother, I think.”
The girl turned her head, and there stood Auros.
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