I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

94. The road to the future

It was a distant past that is now difficult to recall.

“What are you saying I can do?”

Zion asked, crying.

What can you do when you have already ruined everything?

How can we bear the results achieved by thinking selfishly alone?

The answer that came back was extremely cold.

“If you can’t do anything, that’s it.”

An answer from someone who is neither human nor god.

“If we stop here, that’s the end.”

That was a statement that pointed out reality to a cruel degree.

However.

“But, if you don’t give up and don’t stop, you can move forward.”

At the same time, it was also a song of hope.

“If you stop here, the other elves will die, the ones who stayed with you. Those you loved. Even your child will die.”

When Shion heard those words, she felt a shock as if she had been hit in the back of the head.

After returning to the land of the elves, I continued to feel an inexplicable discomfort.

It was about the child I had forgotten.

At first, I thought about seeing my child again, but I was so busy with work that I didn’t have time or even space in my head.

“Besides, there is something more important than that.”

The girl said, closing her eyes.

“If you give up moving forward, you will be the first to die.”

“…!”

“And when you die, you won’t even have any regrets, so keep moving forward until the end. “No matter how hard and difficult the road is, as long as your two legs move, you will go to the end.”

It is unknown whether those were the words of a girl, or the words of a being called God disguised as a girl.

But Zion realized something important.

Because of that, I got up without saying a word and quickly ran somewhere, and where I ran to was the laboratory that the stem elder used.

“I’m sure I found it somewhere here.”

What Zion found was a book that described how to call God.

This is something that the stem elder had previously given to him.

Although she had been swearing all sorts of harsh words in her head when she read this book, calling her a cult, it reminded her of the only way to resolve this situation.

‘There is no way we can defeat such a monster head-on. Then you have to find another way.’

The opponent is an unknown monster with unidentified power.

There is nothing in the world more ignorant than fighting such a monster head-on.

So, Shion looked through the book given by the stem elder several times, and was eventually able to find a way.

The elder of the stem has accumulated a lot of magical energy over the years in order to call the gods, and has also prepared a ritual to offer sacrifices to the gods.

If you use that, you have a chance of winning even against such a monster.

Perhaps she left the stem elder behind because she thought he was the branch elder, but when Zion saw it, he was no longer the branch elder.

Zion thought that dealing with that monster was the last mission given to him as an elder.

I probably won’t be able to stay on this land any longer.

I wanted to solve the mistakes I made myself.

†††

A magic circle of unbelievable scale unfolds in the sky.

It was so enormous that it could envelop the entire city, and it was like the touch of stars covering the veil of night.

Even Arcel saw such a huge magic circle for the first time in his life.

Even when Alfred blew up a city, he did not use magic of this magnitude, and even his past colleagues, who were excellent wizards in their own right, would never be able to reach this level.

It is truly a tower built by an elf who dedicated his life to it.

It could be said to be the result of the efforts of an inexperienced girl who did not give up and went all the way to the end.

Magic circles spread out throughout the Elven lands like the roots of the World Tree. It was similar to the magic that Alfred used to lift the curse of Arcel.

However, although the direction is the same, the purpose is different.

“…It was a really long and short time. “I have prepared only one magic for my entire life, just for this moment.”

Zion was located where the World Tree was.

Standing high in the sky with his back to the moon, Zion thought for a moment of the scenery of his hometown.

Although it is now nothing more than ruins, this was once a world full of brilliant elven civilization and peace.

However, that peace was also poisonous to the elves. Due to too much peace, the elves became conceited and did not feel the need to move forward.

“In the past, I had no choice but to turn away and run away due to lack of strength, but I will end this here.”

The result of this is the present.

Just as water that does not flow stagnates and becomes rotten, this was the end faced by those who gave up on moving forward.

-How dare the bugs again…!-

Voices filled with resentment and hatred are directed towards Zion.

Then countless spears of shadow were shot out to pierce Zion.

Quang-!!!

But everything was pierced.

The spears that flew to pierce Zion’s small and delicate body were destroyed by the light emitted from the magic circle.

It didn’t even end there.

The light fired in a straight line soon began to spread out like the roots of a tree, and then penetrated the hearts of the elves who were encroached upon by the shadows.

This is a magic circle that uses a ritual to summon a god that was studied by a stem elder in the past.

So, originally, those lights were a ritual that was passed down to sacrifices to be offered to God, but Zion modified that ritual so that it was no longer offered as a sacrifice to God.

“Trees are growing?”

Arsel felt puzzled when he saw that.

In the distance, where the elves were, a tree suddenly began to grow.

Furthermore, when the tree grew, the shadow giant that was there was instantly destroyed, and this began to happen all over the elf land.

“It’s unfortunate, but there is no turning back. As long as the soul is corrupted, death awaits even if the curse is removed. “At the very least, I can only bring you rest.”

In Stella’s case, treatment was possible shortly after being engulfed by the curse, but for the other elves, several years had already passed.

It was a pity, but it was impossible to save everyone.

-Shut up, bug! Why are you ruining my plan again! If this ritual is successful, the elves will be able to find a way forward…!-

When the waves of shadows turned into a dense forest, the largest shadow screamed and rushed towards Zion.

Perhaps that is the new body.

Arcel pulled out the Holy Sword, which was as large as its main body, but Alfred stopped him and shook his head.

-Why on earth…!-

“…It is up to you to decide your own path. “It’s not like asking someone else, like God or anything.”

When the shadow came right in front of her, Shion stretched out her hand.

The last voice I heard was as calm as the morning sunlight.

-Such nonsense…-

Phew!

The clearest and purest branch of light passes through the shadow.

The shape of the shadow began to collapse.

“So, just close your eyes. Elder of the stem. “Elder of the Branch.”

-…You idiot.-

“Don’t you already know that I’m stupid?”

Zion closed her eyes as if praying.

Rest to those who have left, and blessings to those who are moving on.

With that, the last shadow disappeared, and the land of the elves, which had once looked like hell, suddenly took on the appearance of a dense forest.

Sunlight begins to shine in the sky that was once filled with dark clouds.

Just like when the ancestors of the elves first found this land.

†††

“It was probably a kind of residual thought, given the nature of the World Tree, which absorbs the magic of this land and provides nutrients again. “It must be a will created by the will and resentment of someone who came to this earth.”

“So, does that mean he is not a person who existed during his lifetime?”

“It cannot be said that this is necessarily so, because in the end, there must have been a foundational consciousness. However, his personality may have changed a little.”

“It’s a shame, I never thought that using the roots of the world tree to survive would turn out to be poisonous…”

“In the end, it is also a result of choice, and sometimes it is right to quickly let go of regrets about hopeless things.”

Alfred finished his explanation with a chuckle.

After the magic circle of Zion disappeared, the land of the elves, which was almost like a ruin, regained its appearance from the distant past.

It refers to the primitive era before the elves came to this land and before the tree called the World Tree was created.

“Anyway, I kind of want that magic. If you improve it well, you can turn the opponent into a bomb instead of a tree and explode the bombs in succession, giving you more power-“

Kang!

At that time, someone hit Alfred on the head with a book.

A dull sound was heard, as if a hammer was hitting metal.

“This goby. “It’s not enough to just steal someone else’s diary, are you going to use the magic I’ve spent half my life creating to do fireworks like that?”

That was Zion, who had already come down to earth.

In Shion’s hand was the diary that Alfred had, and according to his own words, it seems that he came here with the intention of recovering the stolen diary.

Of course, everyone here knew that that was not the original purpose.

“I think it’ll be okay, right?”

“…He’s my grandson after all. Actually, I think so too.”

At the sight of those two people, Arcel said that the tragedy of the elves was finally over and put away the holy sword.

I hoped that there would be no need to remove the Holy Sword from this land in the future.

Of course, if the time comes to use the holy sword, I will not hesitate to take it.

Then, he turned his gaze to an elf who was far away alone.

“Stella, do you think it’s okay to go?”

“…How could I do that?”

That was Stella, who had no shame in seeing Shion.

He deserves it too.

He denounced Zion as a murderer and resented him without even knowing the truth.

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However, the truth that was revealed was that it was Sion who suffered more than anyone else, and as she could not bear to see other elves, she had no choice but to leave her hometown alone.

And then, alone and lonely, he prepared for the threat of returning one day, and once again gave hope to this hell-like land of the elves.

In the land of the elves where everything had burned down, a dense forest had grown again.

“Why do you care about such things? I spread that rumor anyway and left.”

“Yes? Uh, why…”

Is that why? As if he had no choice, Zion approached Stella first.

“One day, all the elders disappeared overnight, and the tomb, which was like a sacred place for the elves, was sealed off to prevent entry. “The elves of that time would probably have had internal divisions and not even been able to maintain their village.”

“Ah…”

After hearing it, it seemed like that.

If the elves were fighting, blaming each other for the cause, they would have ended up destroying themselves.

By putting all the blame on one person, the elves were able to continue until now without being divided.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t even know that…”

“It’s okay. Seeing you cry like that reminds me of my childhood. Well, my body seems a bit weak.”

While comforting Stella, who was crying, Shion secretly says something similar to Alfred.

It was a part where we could see where Alfred’s tendencies were largely derived from.

“Ugh…”

Stella blushed and pulled away, saying that all the emotion she had felt was gone.

It may be because Shion groped her as a joke.

“Then go quickly. You must be tired from staying here all night, so go and rest. “The way back is through an old well.”

“Ah, but if my hometown returned to its original state, I would bring the remaining compatriots here…”

But Stella shook her head, thinking of her compatriots who would remain in her nymph’s forest.

Already, there are unnecessarily proud elves living in the nymph forest.

It would also be a nuisance to the nymphs, and if they had regained their hometown, it was important to rebuild it quickly.

“I’ll take care of that, so just leave. “In the first place, such work should not be done by a young person like you, but by an elder.”

“…Ah!”

Stella realized what those words meant.

Maybe the reconstruction of my hometown will happen faster than I thought.

If only she, not anyone else, would help.

“That being said, let’s just go. We won’t forget you for helping us. “In particular, I received great grace from the root elder.”

Arcel said goodbye and expressed his gratitude.

It was thanks to Shion’s help that she was able to lift her own curse.

“Yes, baby, you are having a hard time taking care of my goby grandson.”

Shion answered with a kind smile.

“Baby, no matter what awaits you in the future, don’t give up and move on. A warrior is not someone who simply brings peace. “He is a hero who opens up a future for people.”

“I understand. “I will never forget those words.”

Arcel repeated Zion’s words in her mind.

As Zion has lived for a long time and has seen many warriors, those words are probably not just for comfort.

“Then let’s go back! We’re all tired of being covered in dust. Ah, for the time being, I think I’ll be embarrassed just by looking at your face. So, would you like to use this?”

“Kek, what are you doing all of a sudden?! “Aren’t you standing there?!”

Alfred suddenly throws a paper bag at Stella.

Of course, Stella chases after Alfred with a bow, and Alfred runs away as if Stella is ridiculous.

“…There’s nothing we can do about those two.”

Arsel smiled happily as he looked at the two people.

The future, which was once bleak, is now starting to see light.

If, as Zion said, the warrior is truly the one who opens the way to the future, then it was time for him to move toward the future once again.

No matter what awaits in the future.

We will definitely not give up and move forward.