It was over. Guardian Angel Z357 was gone, and the Voidgod was exiled back into the Fractured Realm. Now, it was just Ar’elith and I standing here in the middle of the devastated mountain range illuminated by the orange light of dawn.
Or— his na was Arthur now. He was the Lich King once, but not anymore. He shook his head before bowing his head.
“Thank you,” he said softly as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. “For giving a chance to right my wrongs.”
I rolled my eyes as I took a step back. “Thank later. Let’s just get out of here first… I really hope Z isn’t going to quit on when I get back.”
“Right.” Arthur shuffled his feet, slightly confused, but not questioning .
“Co on, give your hand. I’ll carry you back to Wolfwater. Although… you’re pretty weak as you are right now, so I’ll take it slow.”
I proffered him a hand, and he took a step forward. I narrowed my eyes as he drew closer. And I stopped him, shaking my head.
“But before that—” I said as I gestured at him. “You need to put on so clothes.”
Arthur blinked. Then he looked down at himself, before his eyes went wide.
“Oh.”
He flushed, covering his crotch as he shifted back. I rolled my eyes as I pulled out an extra pair of pants from my Bag of Holding.
“Here, wear this.”
“S-sorry,” he said as he quickly moved to put on the pants. It was too tight for him, but it was better than nothing. “I didn’t even realize I was…”
“It’s fine,” I snorted. “Now let’s get going.”
—--
“There she is!” Noele exclaid as she saw the figure zipping through the sky.
Saros and Garron looked up and narrowed their eyes. The two adventurers got to their feet as Alia descended down into the forest. Noele had been standing the entire ti, waiting for her ntor to return.
She had seen Guardian Angel Z357 pass over the landscape about half an hour ago, so she already knew that Alia was on the way. But she didn’t expect to see her ntor arrive with a stranger in her arms.
“Alia— who’s that?” The blonde girl blinked.
She stared at the disheveled man. He was half-naked— all he wore was a pair of ripped pants. His skin was deathly pale, and his hair was dirty blond. He was probably ten to fifteen years older than Noele, but he had an oddly wizened visage. Like his brown eyes were black and hollow.
Saros frowned. “Where’d you pick this hobo up from?”
“Is it over?” Garron asked, shaking his head as he ignored the gno’s rude question. “Did you win?”
“Yeah, everything should be fine for now,” Alia said as she waved a hand dismissively. “Co on, let’s get back to Wolfwater.”
She took a step forward, urging the three adventurers forward as the disheveled blond man shifted back. He averted his gaze, and she proffered a hand expectantly. Saros and Garron shrugged and approached her.
But Noele narrowed her eyes. She saw the way her ntor avoided the question. She noticed the uncomfortable look on the stranger’s face. So she pressed the question.
“Wait, Alia… who is this? Where did he co from?”
Saros and Garron glanced back at the blonde girl. She looked past them, staring at Alia. It was a simple question. The brown-haired woman could have answered it with a single sentence. And yet, she hesitated.
She scratched the back of her head as she explained. “Oh, he’s, uh… his na is Arthur.”
“Arthur?” Noele peered at her ntor suspiciously. That didn’t explain anything.
And Alia clearly knew that. She apprehensively bit her lower lip, before sighing.
“Well, he’s called Arthur now. But you may know him as… Ar’elith the Lich King.”
The three adventurers froze. Noele’s eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped. She stared in shock at her ntor, before turning to face Arthur.
“...what?”
The Noble Spellsword couldn’t believe it. But by the expression he wore, it was evident that Alia wasn’t lying. It was the truth. Arthur was the Lich King.
“But… how? No—”
Noele shook her head. She gritted her teeth, turning to face her ntor.
“Why?”
Alia shrugged. “It’s complicated. But he’s weak now, and he’s not really Ar’elith anymore…”
“That doesn’t matter!” the blonde girl exclaid. She pointed accusingly at the forr Lich King. “He’s the one who nearly destroyed all of Laxo ten thousand years ago!”
Arthur winced at her words. Garron rubbed his chin, and Saros massaged his temples. The Gno Inventor shook his head as he sighed.
“This is insane… you’re insane, Alia. What in the Thrones makes you think that sparing the First Lich King is a good idea?”
“First of all, I didn’t think it was a great idea. I already killed him once before, rember? But look at him— he’s literally not the sa person he was before.” Alia gestured at Arthur. “Secondly, I’m not going to just let him wander around doing whatever he wants… he’s going to be my bartender.”
“That’s—” Saros opened his mouth. He stared at her as she held his gaze. And he threw his hands in the air exasperatedly, giving up as he drew back. “Whatever! I don’t care anymore! Do whatever you want!”
Noele watched as the gno stord off for a mont, before coming to a halt. He must have realized that there was nowhere for him to march off to, so he just milled about over there as he grumbled to himself. The blonde girl turned back to face her ntor.
“Alia…” she said with a serious look on her face.
“Look, I already had this argunt with Z. I really don’t want to rehash it again.” Alia shook her head. “Arthur is not Ar’elith—”
“But I am,” Arthur finally spoke up as he stepped forward. Alia blinked at him as he nodded at her. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he managed to muster up a weak smile. “Thank you for defending . But I don’t want you to make excuses for either.”
Noele’s brows snapped together. She stared at the forr Lich King as he took in a deep breath. He turned to her and held her gaze.
“Yes, I am the one who was called Ar’elith. And I am the one who was responsible for razing half of Laxo to the ground. I have committed an uncountable number of atrocities. I regret every single one of my past actions, but I also know that isn’t enough for to be forgiven…” He lowered his head as he hesitated. “And nothing I do will ever be enough. I can never be forgiven for what I have done.”
Arthur stared at the palm of his hand as it trembled. He clenched a fist, before exhaling heavily.
“I deserve your hatred. I deserve to be vilified for the things I did. But I have a chance to finally do so good— after so long, I can right so of my wrongs. I know I cannot fully rectify my past mistakes. That nothing I do will ever be enough. So I am not asking for you to trust . However, please let use this opportunity Alia has given to do what I can to make the world a better place.”
Noele’s gaze bore into him. She saw the way he hesitated— the way he seed to doubt himself. And it was clear in the look of disdain he had for himself that he was speaking from the heart. That he was not lying.
She pursed her lips as she turned to Alia. The brown-haired woman crossed her arms.
“There you have it,” she said simply. “If Arthur tries anything, I can easily stop him. But I doubt he’d even be able to hurt a fly at his current state. He lost his levels, and he reverted back to a human. I’m pretty sure even Harlan is stronger than him now.”
Noele didn’t respond. She just chewed her lower lip as she looked between Alia and Arthur. But a voice from behind drew her attention.
“I, for one, agree with Alia,” Garron said as he strode up to the blonde girl. She turned to face him as he looked towards the forr Lich King. “As he is right now, Arthur is harmless. He can’t hurt anyone. But he can help others. And that’s all that matters, right?”
“I…” Noele opened her mouth. But she stopped herself. She glanced between her ntor and the Steel Tank, before looking back towards Arthur.
The forr Lich King looked like he was about to avert his gaze, but he steeled himself at the last mont. He looked the blonde girl directly in the eyes and nodded. She lowered her head and sighed.
“I still think it’s a bad idea,” she finally said. “And I cannot agree with this. But… fine.”
Noele acquiesced as she closed her eyes. She rembered all the stories her sister had told her about the First Lich King as a child— it was horrible. And yet, it happened so long ago, it was hard for her to fully contextualize the true terror of his atrocities. Only he knew what he had done, and that was why he asked for this.
The blonde girl sighed as she glanced at Alia. “It’s not like I can do anything about it anyway…”
Arthur nodded as he took a step forward. He placed a hand on his chest, giving Noele a grateful look. “I understand how you feel. And I know that nothing I do will never be enough to make up for the atrocities I have committed. So thank you— for letting do this.”
“I’m not doing this for you,” Noele snorted as she turned away from him. “Let make it clear— I do not like you. I do not approve of this. So do not try and befriend . Because I will not reciprocate you.”
“...right.” Arthur backed up as he lowered his head. “I understand.”
And Alia clapped her hands together as she swept her gaze over the group. “Alright, now that that’s settled— let’s head back!”
She paused as she watched Noele, Garron, Saros, and Arthur approach her. She placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head.
“And rember: no screaming.”
“...no,” Noele said simply. “I will scream as much as I want after what you’ve done.”
Alia snorted, and the blonde girl chuckled. And with that, they took off, returning to Wolfwater.
—--
“Thank you, lissa. You are dismissed.”
Kallistus Kal waved a hand, and lissa swept back. She smiled as she bowed low.
“Of course, my liege. I will send scouts to investigate the Breve Mountain Range, then I will contact them imdiately.”
With that, she took her leave. He watched her go as the large double doors slamd shut behind her. The [Hero King] was left alone in the dimly lit throne room. He sat there as he closed his eyes.
And he tried to sense the source of power that had been so overwhelming just a few hours ago. But it was gone. It had surged to such an extre level for a brief mont— one that eclipsed anything he could comprehend— before vanishing in an instant.
There was still so traces of the Void’s essence left in the air. However, it was such a minute amount that it was practically nothing. Especially compared to the extremity it had reached seconds before it dissipated.
lissa hadn’t noticed it— none of the [High Mages] in his court detected it. Of course not. They weren’t touched by the Void. They could not possibly parse its power. But they had noticed a bright light shining from the Breve Mountain Range.
Kallistus knew that the fight was over. Nothing remained of that power. However, he still sent scouts to investigate it just in case he could find anything that would be useful to him. He especially wanted to know what it was there that dispelled the Void.
He had his suspicions. He believed that it was very likely to be the Guardian Angel. But he needed confirmation to be sure. Because if the angel was truly capable of overcoming such power…
The [Hero King] needed to make preparations. He needed to concoct a plan for his inevitable second eting with the Guardian Angel. And once that was settled, he’d finally be able to freely study the limits of the Void’s power.
And then with it, Kallistus Kal would seize its power to return back to his world.
But for now, he made his preparations. He sched. He readied a trap.
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