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Slap!
"Have you gone insane, Caleb!?"
Caleb looked back at Marie, his blue eyes resolute as he replied, "I have to do this. You know I have to."
Marie bit her lip and said, "I know. But you don't have to do it this way!"
Explorers were, in essence, seekers of truth. It was their obligation, their vow, to tell their findings to the world.
He shook his head, denying, "This is the fastest way to do it. We don't know for sure if there is any other chance to meet the Great Nine in person."
If he were too late to warn them, then who knows what the demoness on the throne would do.
Marie then tried to reason with him, "But what about the Blade? Isn't he tied to the imperial family?"
He once again denied, "No. If he were to hear about it, then it's more likely he'll chase the demoness all by himself."
He then added, "Besides, I'm not going to go alone. I'll be accompanied by the best sailors in the sea."
"Best sailors or not, the Sealed Monster Sea is still dangerous! Please, Caleb, don't go. I don't want to lose you too," pleaded the woman.
"I..." Caleb hesitated.
He then shook his head and spoke, "I promise you, Marie. I will come back. Believe in me."
Marie looked down, not replying to him. Her hands tightened into fists. After about a minute, she answered, "I'm pregnant."
The only thing he could say to that was, "Huh?"
"You're gonna be a father," she smiled, though it was forced, "We'll wait for you. My child needs their father, too."
She then hugged him and sobbed into his chest. Caleb was still frozen from the bomb that was just dropped.
After a few seconds, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "I'll return. I swear."
...
Captain Bask coughed and choked on his own blood. He looked at the stranger wearing all black, from his face mask to his shoes. He tried to speak, but couldn't.
Even with his blurring eyes, he could see the masked man holding something. It was the silver ring he'd gotten from the drifter.
In his dying breath, he cursed his parents for giving him shitty life lessons.
The masked man named Volgoa eyed the ring. He couldn't reach Rowlhart because of the mages sent to guard the town. So, he opted to find the trail before the town and found about the captain who brought her there.
The crew didn't know much. That meant the most important trail was this ring. He walked over the ship, ignoring the gore and bodies as he headed for the helm. There was no longer anything important here. He prepared to leave.
"Separate me from the heavens and the earth, [Golgota]!"
...
Capital of Arcanus Territory, Rabianigh
Mario Magna, the Archon of Magic, sat on the highest room in The Last Tower. He stroke his long white beard that fell to his velvet robes while looking at two sketches. On one was a sky blue haired woman with golden eyes, and the other a boy with black hair and dark eyes.
He then snapped his fingers. A minute later, a servant came and bowed.
He asked politely, "Yes, great archmage?"
The old man let go of the paper, which flew right in front of the servant.
"I want you to go to the head of security and tell them if they ever see these two in my city, ask them to come meet me. Tell them these people have done a great merit," requested the archmage.
"I shall do it right away," the servant took the sketches and walked out of the room.
The archmage then continued looking through his papers.
...
Urdan and his crew returned to the Gemerald Forest and went straight to the village.
They didn't even stop to greet the sentries and went straight to the elders.
"Elders, we have come to you to report on the success of the mission," he quickly mentioned.
"That is most excellent, you three. We knew we could count on you," one of the elders said.
They then continued, "...however, I see that you have come to bring more important news."
The three bowed and said, """With your permission, elders!"""
"Please, inform us of your findings," they complied.
Urdan immediately began, "We were able to determine the meaning of the clue."
Some of the elders leaned on the table in anticipation.
He continued, "It is about a human boy and woman. We found out that our interaction with the boy proved crucial for the completion of our mission."
An elder interrupted, "What does this have to do with what you are going to inform?"
He bowed respectfully, "It has everything to do with it, elder. I promise I will explain every detail. Forgive my rudeness, but please, let me finish my report first."
The elder reluctantly nodded, and he continued, "The reason it was crucial is because of the boy's connection to the woman."
He started, "The woman is the reason why the spirits had requested us this mission. To put it simply, she can speak in the ancient tongue."
Murmurs instantly broke out between the elders.
"Impossible, a human?"
"How?"
"Such lies!"
It continued until finally someone spoke up, "Silence!"
The eldest then cleared her throat before asking, "Are you sure of this, young Urdan?"
Urdan exclaimed, "I swear on my soul."
The table quieted down. To break a swear to your soul would be like breaking your soul itself. That was what the elves believed. Those who have broken their souls could never be reborn in the next life.
The eldest then continued, "Urdan, Poedan, and Ledwen. All of you three are the most talented and most loyal to our people. If you truly believe so, then I shall put my trust in you."
The other elders then talked among themselves before nodding one by one.
He then asked, "May I continue?"
"Please do."
He resumed, "As I have said, the woman could speak ancient. We met her when we and the boy were surrounded by Devilhorn Wasps. She saved us from them with an uncanny skill with the sword."
"Calling it uncanny is an understatement," he thought to himself.
He let that thought slide. Her skill wasn't what was important.
He continued, "When we reached her, the spirits accompanying us manifested into the translucent form of a man. We don't know who he was, but we do know who came next."
He readied himself before saying, "The spirits then reformed into the form of the spirit queen."
The crowd grew wild once more. And once again, the eldest calmed them down.
The eldest asked, "Ledwen, what say you about this?"
To which she replied, "I was the one who informed my teammates it was her. Her image suits the descriptions from our history books. I believe it is not physically her, but rather, a projection of her. To add weight to my words, I also swear on my soul."
Poedan, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke, "I also swear on my soul that these two would never dare lie to the elders."
The eldest nodded and said, "It seems that we've encountered something big. I believe it is a sign given to us by the spirits that a great change is about to happen, and that we must prepare."
The elders talked among themselves. Some agreeing, some unbelieving.
"You still remember their descriptions, correct? Then please go tell the artists to sketch both their appearances," ordered the eldest.
The three readily agreed.
"Yes, big things are definitely going to happen," Urdan thought.
...
The sun shined down on Rimuru as he enjoyed his cup of tea. He could feel the wind blowing, hear the leaves shaking, and see children playing on the field near the wooden stump he sat on.
He eyed the children one by one as they ran around the field, passing a ball from one to another. He thought about his mortal life.
When he came back to life on Earth, he never ended up with any children. Though he promised to be more 'active,' in the end he never settled with anyone. It wasn't because Ciel didn't let him.
He had found out the true reason Ciel didn't give him his tool back. In actuality, she was just looking out for him in her own way. She deterred all his pursuers because she knew he didn't love any of them that way, and that if he was forced enough, he would've relented to their unending requests. In other words, she thought of him as a pushover. Rimuru wanted to deny it, but couldn't. He knew was he a total pushover when it came to his precious people.
Ciel had allowed Rimuru to satisfy himself in his mortal body because there weren't any of his pursuers to bother him on Earth. But he decided not to. Finding about her reason had awakened something deep within his nonexistent heart.
He didn't know it back then, but looking back Rimuru could tell that it was the start of him gaining his feelings for her. He eventually realized his feelings for her after some time and confronted her about it. Her answer shocked and saddened him.
While she did love him and cared for him, she didn't want to change their relationship. She wanted their relationship to stay the same as it were. Rimuru had never heard her sound more resolute before and after that.
It was at that moment he, the most powerful being in existence, realized that not even he could get everything he wanted. He would never force her into a relationship; he'd sooner tear down his own soul. So, he complied. No matter how much it hurt, he accepted that fact.
Oh, how the tables had turned.
After all these years, his love for her never faded; in fact, it had grown stronger.
If he were asked about the two things he wished for the most, then the first would be having Ciel's hand in marriage. The second was...
He saw the ball from earlier get stuck on the branches of a tree. The kids weren't tall enough to get it back down. One of the kids saw him and ran over to him.
The child spoke shyly, "U-um, excuse me auntie. C-could you please help us, um, help us get the ball? I-it's fine if you don't want to!"
Rimuru smiled at the child and said, "My, how polite you are. Your parents must be proud to have you."
The child blushed and answered, "T-thank you very much!"
He chuckled and stood. Rimuru walked over to the tree and dislodged the ball.
The kids then thanked him in unison, """Thank you, auntie!"""
His smile widened and he replied, "You're welcome."
He walked back to his stump and enjoyed his tea once more.
He sighed. It really was peaceful right now.
...
{Notice: Individual Jack has left this dimension.}
"...what?"
