The End, and the Beginning (7)
Soldiers from all sides hugged and shared the joy of victory.
At the center of the shouts and cheers, Ian stood tall and looked up into the air.
His right arm had long since been missing. He didn't have the strength to sharpen his sword, so he hung it down.
He's tired.
He couldn't move well. It is deafening. All the sounds were muffled as if they were submerged.
"..."
A lump of blood flowed back from the inside. Every breath vibrated with blood. He forced himself to swallow what was rising again and lowered his head.
'I have to go back. Millenia will be waiting for me...'
Instinctively, he felt that his life was short. Ian stared in the direction of the main camp.
He wants to go. He desperately wanted to end his life next to Millenia.
But if he dies in front of her, she will suffer even more.
Ian dropped his sword to the ground with all his remaining strength and knelt down.
He hopes she hurts a little. Even if it hurts, he hopes it doesn't last long.
He wants her to forget about it soon. He wants her to forget about him and live happier than anyone else.
And...
"I love you."
He really wanted to say it. Hr wanted to hug her delicate body and whisper love in he little ear thousands of times.
But he had to endure it. He couldn't achieve it anyway, but he thought that if he said that, it would make her feel even more heartbroken later.
So he only got sick inside.
"I love you, Millenia."
Ian's lips tightened. The last breath escaped from it.
His pupils dilate. His eyes were filled with pure white light. At the same time, all the pain disappeared, and his body became lighter
"Ian!"
The Marquis Astrod rushed to him. He grabbed Ian's bloodied face and examined him, and without hesitation, he wrapped it up.
Even as he stood up on his limp back, the Marquis Astrod did not waver in the slightest. His forearms, hardened by diligent training, swelled up as if to tear his sleeves.
"Hey, Commander?!"
"..."
Belatedly. Beorn rushed in. They were followed by the Knights of Eldern.
"Huh, Marquis? Woo, our commander, why are you doing this? Tell me something!"
"Get out of the way."
"Yes? I'll carry him."
"Even if you get out of the way!"
The Marquis Astrod began to run through the soldiers with Ian on his back.
He didn't even have time to go get a horse. Ian, who was leaning on his shoulder, couldn't feel his breath coming out of his mouth.
In fact, he knew Ian's face from the time hr saw it. That he doesn't breathe.
But he didn't want to admit it. No, he couldn't admit it.
There is a Rahon in the main camp. If he is a "saver," there must be a way.
The one who heals the limbs, even if they fall off, is the one who saves them.
Rahim will save Ian at all costs.
"I will never forgive you when you die."
Even though it was the middle of winter, he was dripping with sweat. The Marquis Astrod squeezed his eyes shut and brushed the sweat from his eyelids.
"Huh! Whoops!"
A heavy breath burst out of the mouth of the old knight, who was covered by a graying beard.
Even though he ran for a long time, the speed of the Marquis of Astrod did not slow down in the slightest. On the contrary, the closer he got to the main base, the faster it became.
Running with superhuman strength, his mind was filled with only one person.
Millennia. I have to save him for my daughter's sake.
A person came into his blurry vision because of the sweat. Rahon, who needed him the most, now magically appeared in front of the main base.
"Rahon!"
"Huh? Isn't that the Marquis?"
Rahon, who was waiting for the wounded soldiers, widened his eyes. Soon, he found Ian on the Marquis's back and rushed out with the medics.
"What? What's wrong with him?"
"Huh! Hurry up and get this guy, heh... hurry up."
The Marquis Astrod couldn't finish his speech properly and fell to his knees. It was because of the fatigue that he had forgotten came rushing in all at once.
Rahon quickly picked up Ian, who was leaning helplessly.
"Breathless..."
He didn't even need to check the pulse. Ian's breath was already gone. Rahon slumped to the floor
"Oh, you don't breathe..."
"No! He is not dead yet! Heal now! Do something!"
"This is already dead..."
The Marquis of Astrod grabbed Rahon's panicked cheek.
"No, he don't!"
It was then that Ian's condition was conveyed among the soldiers who knew nothing while sharing the joy of victory.
Soldiers surrounded him. Millenia approached the scene, where the cheers died down and there was only a desperate silence.
"What's going on? Have the wounded soldiers arrived already?"
"I don't know. It looks like the commander is seriously injured."
"...Who?"
"Commander."
Millenia, which had been frozen for a while, forced her way into the soldiers.
The scene that unfolded was something she had never imagined.
The expression disappeared from Millenia's face.
"...Ian?"
Slap!
The Marquis Astrod slapped Rahorn in the face.
"Wake up! I'm going to leave him like this!"
"Ugh!"
Rahon let out a deep breath. He shook his head roughly and placed his hand on Ian's heart.
"You bastard, you should give me a chance to heal... If you die like this, you're a real bastard!"
Suddenly, a light burst out of his hand. Rahon, who had been exerting his power for a long time, checked Ian's pulse.
Lack. He couldn't get a pulse.
Once again, light penetrated Ian's chest.
But nothing changed. Ian still wasn't breathing.
Rahon slammed his fist into Ian's chest.
"Wake up, you bastard! Wake up! Breathe!"
Ian's face shook from the reckless punch and then slid away.
A face that has lost its life. By all accounts, Ian is dead.
Any further effort would have been a waste of power. Considering the other wounded soldiers, they had to stop here.
Rahon slumped down and gasped. The Marquis Astrod also lowered his head in despair.
Kalit, who arrived late after hearing the news, turned away without seeing any more.
A heavy silence fell. Everyone was accepting Ian's death.
Millenia, who had been standing like a statue and watching this, slumped down helplessly.
"No..."
She crawled over to Ian.
She didn't know that her skirt was messed up on the muddy ground with snow, so she crawled to her knees and stretched out her arms.
Her trembling hands touched Ian's helpless hands.
"Where are you doing this... You promised not to get hurt... You promised me to come back safely!"
"Mi, Millenia?"
Rahon recognized Millenia and opened his eyes wide. Millenia knelt down and bowed her head to Rahon.
"Please help him... Please help him..."
"Millennia, Ian is already..."
"You can take my life. If I walk in the land of hell again, I will walk. Please send him back..."
Rahon was silent in pain. Millenia was pleading with God, not Rahon.
"Please. Save him. Please help me..."
Millenia's prayer continued. The soldiers began to shed tears at her desperate appearance as she knelt on the ground and begged.
The Marquis Astrod couldn't help her up. He raised his tear-filled eyes and looked up at the distant mountains.
While everyone was watching Millenia's suffering, Rahon moved. He held Millenia's hand tightly.
"Yes, Millenia. I promised. The one you love... I'll save him."
"Please help him... Please help him..."
Rahon hugged lan. Soon, a tremendous light erupted from his whole body.
It was such a huge light that the darkness that had fallen on him retreated all at once, and his surroundings became as bright as daylight.
At that moment, time stopped.
Rahon and Ian are buried in the light, Millenia kneeling beside them and staring straight at them, and people who can't stand the light cover their eyes with their hands.
Soldiers running from afar, their hair fluttering, and snow falling heavily.
In a world where everything had stopped, Ian was moving alone.
Embarrassed, Ian reached for Millenia's face. He smiled bitterly as he looked at the hand that passed through like a ghost.
Her world and his are divided.
At the same time as acknowledging death, numerous doors of different shapes, colors, and sizes appeared in the air
Choose one of them.
An Instinctive realization filled his mind.
Ian kissed Millenia's tear-soaked lips politely.
Don't cry, Millenia.
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