Vol 6 Chapter 1 (2/2)

”Wuu”

The feeling of an attack that felt like the sto

struck Riku

The radually blurred He was

feeling a sense of unbearable and strong sense of disgust for

so Ivan——was more of a

htful and considerate In

Riku's generation, there was no man just like Ivan

Nevertheless, it was love at first sight for his wife Even though

the e proposal was late, they were very intimate——

These

Riku himself, has already Used the past tense to narrate it

”RikuOi, Riku!”

Allei who still had tears in his eyes violently grabbed Riku's

shoulders ”Won't you collapse——with all that burden you are

carrying?!”

Riku however used soulless and dimly lit eyes to look at him—

— ”Until then, when someone else inherits my job”

Hearing those light words, Allei fell silent

Then, the two of theed that there was no enemy

after the

With the colony as the target, they walked The feeling of

heaviness was not just due to the accumulation of thick dust

The things left behind The things entrusted over The things

that have to be used to continue weaving——

”Hey, Riku This kind of eraWhen will it end”

Both of them didn't know It was the same question Ivan roared

out in the last few seconds of his life

Riku couldn't answer this question as he looked up at the red

sky filled with aquamarine dust

Suddenly, words that came from someone unknown flashed

past his mind—— [There will always be a tomorrow]

The debris floating in the air that exuded a faint aquamarine

glow quietly fell and started piling up

”Ahhh It will be soon”

If they didn't have this mindset, if they didn't believe, even

now

————this heavy feeling, would probably pressure their knees

The roundtrip would take four days

To reach the motive [Colony], they had to descend down the

aquamarine ash- filled wilderness into the depths of the forest

blocked by snow

At the foot of the tall and steep hill, there was a hidden cave

Fro to a

beast

But once inside, there would be a few degraded pillars and

nu lamps

Riku removed one of those lamps and lit it up with a flint

Relying on the di from the lamp, they headed deeper

into the cave

While paying attention to avoid any traps used to catch

wandering beasts, they continued to press onwards

Afterwards, they saw an outer wall s The

door was

through

Of course, if the intruder was someone of the [Other races],

such things were ineffective

Riku went close and knocked the door with a certain rhythmic

beat——he then waited

Squeaking noise then acco of the

door, and the face of teenage boy as donned in a fur coat

eed out

”Welco”

Riku and Allei gently nodded their heads before heading into

the door ”Where is Ivan-san?”

Silently, Riku shook his head

The guard held his breath, looking as if he was holding back

so He then said to Riku once more

”It h”

Going through the door, the place started beco spacious

Here and noas a secret hideout that hid close to 2000

people

Spring water that gushed out from the depths of the cave

solved the water problerown on the open

areas solved the other

There was also an estuary that was connected to the shore,

allowing salt and fish to be collected

Compared to the other humans outside that were killed due to

hold to live

in

The thick layer of rocks here could only sustain at most the

from the war

——of course, this was only a subjective thought Riku walked

along the wooden stairs into the colony

The residents working in the city square cast concerning eyes

over to theirl

ran over towards them

Although she was petite in stature, her blue eyes as well as

bright hair brought some life inside the cave

The girl who ran in front of Riku opened her mouth and called

out ”Toooo——slo! To what extent are you going to

worry your big sister!” ”We were trying our best”

Riku lightly round

”Coron, did anything changed while I'm away?”

”Can you callmust I emphasize before

you kno

——”

The girl known as Coron pursed her lips while nodding

vigorously

”Well, never important that needs

reporting——in any case, take off your dirty cloak and

rawhide A good wash is a must!”

Coron unceremoniously knocked Riku as covered with

dust and said ”Allei too Rest well!”

Coron said to Allei as behind Riku while re the

ure appeared

from the crowd

Before being questioned, Allei replied ”As for Ivan, he's

dead”

Coron was astonished, and at that moment——another voice

from the other end of the square came

”Daddy!”

Riku turned around and saw a young girl running over

unsteadily Seeing that figure, Allei gasped

The breathless young girl that ran over gave Riku a brilliant

s out

”Where's Daddy!?”

””

Riku couldn't answer

shi+ning hair and blue eyes, similar to her father's——Ivan's

daughter ”Nona”

”Hey, Riku Where's Daddy?”

Nona tugged on Riku's shi+rt and asked

However, behind that cheerful face, she felt a little uneasy

”That, Nona””

Allei solemnly walked over and opened his mouth, but Riku

stopped him with his hand

At the saaze to stop Coron as

approaching Nona

————it's fine Stay

With a nonchalant tone, Riku said ”Ivan——your Dad, cannot

come back anymore”

————

As if not coirl

widened her eyes

Facing against Riku's silence, the girl left from Riku's side,

trying hard not to believe it

Big teardrops flowed down fro lips

opened ”———why———?”

””

”He said he would come back! Daddy asked me to wait for him

obediently at hoirl——she has

been keeping her promise!? Then why———on't Daddy

come back!?”

”Because he is dead” ”LIAR!!”

Nona's desperate cry echoed in the cave

”DaddySaid he would come back, we promised!” Riku

started thinking, froan

———he was un such a pained voice

”Ivan wanted to keep the promise too But on the e met

a Demonia, so he had to be bait”

”I don't care about those things! Why isn't Daddy come back!?”

——Nona was correct, Riku thought

Why protect, as the death for, this reason had nothing to

do with her She only knew, that her favourite Dad wouldn't

come back——this was a fact ”Daddy said it before, that

mankind would win!”

”Of course in Ivan fought just for this purpose To

protect us——for the victory of everybody”

Riku started thinking, froan

——he could calmly spout these emotionless words out Nona's

shtened

”That isn't victory! If that is victory——” ”——Nona!”

A sharp voice as well as an outstretched hand covered the

words the girl was about to utter out next

——[Wouldn't it be better if Riku died]——

No one knehen a skinny young woman——Nona's mother,

Ivan's wife appeared

She blocked her daughter's mouth with her hand and looked at

Riku's face

Her pair of eyes didn't contain any resentment or hate At that

moment, Riku—— touched his own chest

——it's alright, no problem ”Riku”

Meranda——Nona's mother, used a hoarse voice to call out his

name Sorry——Riku was about to say on reflex, but he

sed it back

”——Ivan became bait in order for us to escape, otherwise, the

three of us would die Because we believe that if the [Harvest]

this tiht back safety, Nona will definitely be

protected”

”Thank you, Riku”

Tears flowed down Meranda's face as she said that

Gently nodding, she carried her recently orphaned daughter

back into the depths of the cave

Until their figure has completely disappeared from their eyes,

Coron had been uttering our prayers for them

”Ivan He was a good person”

———yes, a great reat woman

No coined how she

believed someone like him

The daughter could see through things at once, it was obvious

she was very smart

Because the girl at that time, clearly revealed his true colours

as well as his intentions——

——[Liar] ”Riku!”

Without warning, Coron held Riku with a considerate amount

of strength, preventing hi down

”——welco that you are okay”

”Ahh yesI'm back”

Afterwards, Coron deliberately changed the subject with

exaggeration

”Oooo——okay okay! The bath should be heated up by now,

so go take a shower now!”

”Shower!”

Allei happily cheered out Riku frowned and said unhappily

”Isn't it enough to just wipe the body——waste of fuel”

”ONee-SaMa asks you to go for a bath! You really stink oh!”

Coron said as she s as well as the smell

travelling in the air Unable to resist anyhed and

started pacing

Walking across the square to the deeper parts of the colony, an

older man suddenly called out Riku

”Oh Riku! That useless thing can finally work!”

”Simon how could you!! Noe are exposed!? I even wanted

to surprise Riku!” ”It finally worksUnless, that telescope?”

Seeing Riku's widened eyes, Coron puffed her chest out

proudly and replied

”Fufu, as long as it's so I've taken apart before, the

theory behind it can be easily known!”

”Well, although Coron figured out the theoriesLike before,

she is still ignorant in the process ofit”

Under Sie

There was a dug out spacious workroom next to the cave——

in the center, there was an insignificant and cylindrical item

About a year ago——the item that was looted from the

Dwarves' chariot, was an ultra-long-range telescope

On its return journey back, it snapped into two It was

supposedly useless—— Riku asked

”Is it operable without Elemental particles?”

”Un, rest assured This is a modified version of what Riku

previously made If needed, it still can be combined with more

round glass Even the lens can be adjusted oh?”

”——I see Two of us died to retrieve this We had better

utilize it well” When retrieving this, Coron was also present

Coron who discovered it proposed it to be taken back, Riku

agreed as well

Then——theytwo

hu

However, Simon's hearty voice came back

”With this thing, the need to go out for investigation would be

reduced——this way, they can finally rest in peace right!”

”——ahh, yes”

——this was a lie

Riku knew Coron used a lot of effort to fix this telescope

But——this was a momentary consolation No matter how

carefully transferred this was, as long as those guys had the

brains to carry out an investigation, this place would

immediately be found

No, even at this moment, a stray bullet may even blow up this

entire place

——just like before, their [Birth place] as well as——the [Place

of growth]

But, Coron who understood Riku's worry said cheerily

”It can put soht

Having prior knowledge of the danger, escaping should be easy

♪ As for the route, just slowly think about it when the time

coo!”

The two of the in the direction of

his room in the area, Riku asked

”Those guys ere out investigating?”

”They safely came back Riku and your team went the furthest,

so basically everyone has already came back ♪”

”Ahhh, yes, so only ere the only ones faced with

proble self-depreciative

face, Coron hesitated

”BuBut! Since you are in this position, there must be some

harvest right?”

”In the fallen battleshi+p of the dwarves——we found the latest

harvest!”

Riku nodded his head in reply towards Coron's surprised voice

”Eneies written in Dwarven

language, led with some codes I'd like to interpret and

solve these es——can you leave this to me alone?”

Hearing this, Coron had a complex expression

”Un But first, take a niceee bath okay? Because you are

suuuu—pper smelly”

Seeing Coron pinch her nose close while saying those words

out, Riku sighed and agreed

——Riku walked into the narrow room and closed the door

It was originally dug out from the cave, that's why it was

narrow The accumulation of numerous books and items made

it even more narrow

There was a s

table was also present deeper into the roo next to a

pallet bed

Placing the hanging lamp onto the table, the items that were in

the pack were taken out and placed onto the table

Theitems were three——three

overlapping maps copied by three individuals with their hand

Using the light, Riku confir

nor were there any stains This meant that Ivan's death was not

in vain

Taking a deep breath, Riku surveyed his surroundings

nobody The distance between this room and another room

was considerably far, the door was also thick enough

Done with the [Routine checks], Riku inhaled deeply and

touched his chest——

——with a Kacha——the [Lock] opened

”——what do you mean by————NOT IN VAIN! YOU

bastard HYPOCRITE!!”

While eating, Riku waved his fist around, scolding himself

The neorld ram of the enemy forces The

Dwarf's strategies

Ahhh! Yes very i harvest This could very

well determine the entire fate of the colony!

It can be used to speculate the position of bases and resources

Further into some

other race's territories

And to get all these, dangerous [Investigation] activities had

been ongoing for more than five years

The earliest began froh map

of the world was plotted

The location of dangerous zones and resources The map had to

be constantly updated with newer information Only until

recently has it been extremely handy

And adding the intelligence brought back today, the credibility

of our reatly increase

——but, for this map, how many people have died? Riku knew

this answer——their looks, their names

It could be said that he even remembered when, where and how

they died 47 people——no, an increase, 48 people

——for every one of them, Riku had asked all of them to [Go and

die]

Riku didn't inform all of them directly, there were some who

indirectly understood his intention

But regardless of which, the person who gave the command of

[Death] was undoubtedly Riku

——sacrificing one person to save the others, sacrifice the

minority to save the majority

——if a situation where others would be harmed and suffer,

suicide would be the best

This rule was developed

In this desperate situation, even if it's little, conveying to

everyone of the final struggles——

Couldn't be anyone else except for Riku himself But—— ”—

—even if this continues, thenWhat can?”

For two people, a person gets killed For four people, two

people get killed

This endless cycle has repeated until the final result, where 48

people died

Continuing to live under these sacrifices, the population of the

colony noas not more than 2000 people

——hey, Riku, answer this: When will this continue until?

It would end one day right——until the day where [For 1001

people, 999 gets killed] happens right?

Or ht?

”Ha——ha, hahahahahaha————!”

To tell a child who lost his father that [This is mankind's

victory] with such a vicious look!

Deceiving everyone with the guise that the sacrifice couldn't be

helped, then I began to rely on these lies, hanging a lock on my

heart to abandon these negative feelings

——voust for himself started to burn his

throat Aotten

about it?

Ho a to stoop until I am satisfied——you

bastard!!

”HaHa, ha”

When he realized it, the table was cracked

The fist he has been using to punch the as embedded in

the table, with blood starting to spill out

The gushi+ng blood that headed into his head started to cool

down Where did all those cold thoughts go——he asked his

heart

Satisfied?——ahhh, how can I be satisfied

Feel like crying?——ahh, how can crying change anything

Then is it enough——ahh, of course it's enough, asshole

I don't have the right to cry, if it must flow——then blood shall

fulfill its job

Bloodshed is co,

jerk, and a lying bastard like me

——coher level,

bloodstained hands were a better fit

Closing the eyes, the hand was brought unto the chest——

thoughts began to form

——kacha

Acco——this

completed the process

Like usual, the demands remained the same, the cold, calm and

thorough person was forged out

Never forget the person who gave everyone hope, the [Adult]

with the heart of steel——[Riku], is complete

Closing the heart, the mind cooled down and Riku slowly

opened his eyes

Then——looking at the horrifying scene of broken table and

scattered blood, Riku sighed

”Wood is obviously not a cheap resourceAh,

assholeWhat are you going to do”

Riku pulled out his hand stuck in the wood and wearily

cos were

also frozen

”There is no excuse for this——no, wait, turning it into

firewood can destroy the evidence while also adding the

resource count Two birds one stone Eating directly on the

floor should be fine——”

——outside the door

Backed up against the door and closely listening was Coron

This was customary The reason to allow him to be quiet

was for this reason alone

In order to allow Riku to adjust his heart, to allow Riku's heart

to accept the fact that Ivan was sacrificed——the necessary

procedure

It was important to that little brother of hers If notHe would

surely be broken

——or ht already be broken ””

Coron couldn't say anything, like this——aside fro,

she couldn't do anything else

Only 18 years old——it wouldn't be weird to call him a teen

But to place the lives of 2000 people in the colony under his

jurisdiction——no matter what, was too much to handle

However——there was no one capable of doing it except for

him

The guide of two thousand people who lost hope, the mentor

that makes the most appropriate choice when necessary

Carrying such power, as well as the will of the people He still

could ——

The only person who could steel his heart——in this world,

was Riku

If so

[Preys] waiting for death to come

——like this, they would becoless and useless

organisms——even Coron was sure of this point

——continue the [Endless] great war

This wasn't a e where no one

remembered

when it began

Hu cleared out

like weeds It was silly to even call that kind of thing history, it

was just too miserable It was casually written facts that was

handed down generations

The world where the stars are smothered, the earth is cracked

and the red sky that had no day nor night

The co of the

passage of time—— couldn't be understood

With the era stagnating, the sky filled with [Black ash(Death)],

turning the world to be more violent——but humans were

powerless against it

Taking one step out of the colony, the scythe frorim

reaper would've already reached their necks

Even facing against wild anied headfirst,

death would only await

Meeting against Gods and their dependents——the [Different

race], just by a glance, destruction would've already rained

upon

Just by co into contact with a stray bullet, the colony, the

city, the culture would get destroyed

No end No end, no end

No end no end no end no end no end——the repetition of death

and destruction in this world

If hell existed, it would be here, Coron thought——but even

so, mankind must live on

——nobody wanted to die without a reason

——because of one's own [Heart], nobody would accept dying

without a reason

In such a world, toas if it was normal—

—can it even be called normal in the first place

——five years ago

The colony took in Riku and Coron from their home because

the exchange between the Flügels and the Dragonias ended

Those ere previously the leaders all got struck with

despair and death, continuously sobbing until they found a new

cave

While all the adults were la on one side, the 13-yearold

child saw the cave and said

”Here, is a convenient habitat, it can be used for the colony”

Everyone who lost everything a couple of hours before,

naturally said [Next] The sound of a roar resounded

——what could that do

——that way, those guys would deem us as inexistent

Facing against this theory produced from the despair and

lamentation, the teen boy frowned and answered——

”Yes, we do not exist——we are not the same as those who

[Don't exist], we literally [Become inexistent]

Afterwards, the teenage boy said out the methods to achieve

that

”We do not exist, we cannot exist, so we cannot be perceived—

—we shall become [Dead]”

His eyes were even darker than the depths of the deep cave

”Using all kinds of possible means to escape and hide our

presence—— because someday, someone will see it——the

end of the war”

Since if nobody could do anything, at least inherit the powers

Since if nobody could do anything, at least do it for the

successors

”Swear upon the commands, and for all those ould

follow me——follow me!”

——thirteen-years-old

The words of the child whose hometoas destroyed twice,

heavily echoed in the cave

With his soulless and truthful eyes However, he gave the

people who lost their reason of existence their reason of

existence——as well as theof death

It has been five years since the thirteen-year-old Riku was

appointed as the leader of over a thousand lives

The number of deaths in the five-year period was——48

people Coron's feelings——were incredible small

But Riku didn't understand Even if he did, it would still be

crushed due to his responsibility of co people to

their death

The death of 48 people——was all due to the [Expeditions]

If the colony increased to more than 2000, because of the lack

of food, Infanticide(killing newborn babies) would occur,

leading to the increment of the number of deaths

Moreover, if they were discovered by other different races,

hundreds or thousands of people et killed off like foam

The fact that only 48 people died in the last five years, was no

doubt due to Riku's achievements

——so, everyone believed in Riku

——so, everyone would entrust their lives on his shoulders

But——soot about this Then when they

remembered it

they would feel re

Riku And now, he said it out because he remembered all of

this

——Riku was the sarim reaper was

pointed at his neck And on that neck——an addition of 2000

people was also hung

——

Riku came out of his room Coron tried her best to pretend that

she didn't notice the injury on his fist

”Riku sure is a Nee-san can

guarantee” ”————save the co words I'll be

heading to the bath”

Looking at Riku's lightless eyes——Coron who couldn't hold

back hugged him

The li a

nor the existence of two

thousand people that was like a bonfire—— was impossible

At this rate, little brother, Riku, would definitely break!!

”Hey——Coron”

”Didn't I ask you to call htWhat?”

”When will it end——this era”

In the past, someone said that there will never be [Rain that

doesn't stop] and [Dawn that never coht]——

How long would they have to wait before a human would see

the day aqua down?

How long before the sun could be seen?

Yes, it would end one day——it's not perpetual, that was

supposedly the case But

In a human's perspective, this warit feels as if it will cease to

end

”So they then asked When will——it, ah, Awhoaaaaaa!?

Whaaaaaaaat's wrongggg?!”

Tet as playing the ga at the distance

and saying the story frantically shouted

”Too, too cunning, despurposely said such a story, sobs,

ame, des”

”Soooo, sorry! That topic was a bit too dark!!”

Tet apologized to Izuna who had huge tears tu down her

face and thought

To have the personality of crying after hearing that kind of

story——as expected, this child is extremely precious

In fact, when this story was told in the past to other different

races, they would simply say that [This was natural] and

prevaricate

That was because even though 6000 years had passed, different

races still heldover one another

The young girl who said this story was too much and

saddening——is truly a [Normal child]

”I'm sorry But, this is all trueThis was the time period of the

world in the [Great War]”

”Ivan, died, des”

”Yes, dead Humans——if touched by any Demonia before the

[Ten Oaths]—— no”

”If bitten by any Werebeast, they are simply deadThis is the

world's weakest creature oh”

”——!! Izuna would never do that kind——————”

Seeing how Izuna was about to say how————she