Zion returned to his quarters without visiting the Order of Elders again.
If he had faced their grim expressions in his current state, it would surely have led to a serious incident.
K, sensing his harsh aura, had quietly settled in a corner of the room, taking on the appearance of a dark, slimy mass.
[The war is about to begin.] Frey spoke calmly.
In truth, the Lawkingdom had already declared war and launched a preemptive strike, but Zion and his group, who had been confined to the Labyrinth, had yet to receive the news.
“War…”
Zion repeated the word in a low voice.
He had never experienced war firsthand.
Illium had enjoyed a long period of peace except for the borderlands held by the Duke of the Frontier, where it touched the western Demonic Frontier.
Still, he was by no means ignorant of the horrors of war.
‘Mother hated war literature so much.’
Some of the literature and plays that had been popular in Illium tended to glorify or justify war.
Whenever Naia came across such works, her expression betrayed a deep disgust.
She had always told young Zion that war, no matter how it was framed, was a cruel disaster that killed countless innocent and powerless people, and the lives lost could never be justified by anything.
The only proper way to remember war was to learn from it so the same history would never be repeated.
[She grew up on modern Earth… so even if she lost her memories, her values remained. She must have had some bad experiences too.]
“We have to stop the war.” Zion lifted his head and carefully enunciated each word.
Frey let out a small sigh.
Ever since reading Soares’ report and becoming certain that war was coming, he had expected this.
[I’m against it.] Frey’s response had already been decided.
[War is too big and complicated a matter for you to handle alone. It’s on a different level from the incidents you’ve been involved in so far. Besides, this doesn’t even involve demons.]
Like Frey, Zion had anticipated this opposition.
Whenever Zion made up his mind, Frey would oppose him with logical or practical reasons, engage in a light debate, and then pretend to lose gracefully, ultimately respecting Zion’s wishes.
It was now a well-established routine.
Frey’s opposition was not genuine but a way to urge Zion to think more carefully, to express his opinion.
“But uncle, I…”
[I’m fine with this.]
[Crooks, don’t butt in. Can’t you see I’m talking to Zion right now?]
But this time, the tone was a bit different from usual.
[If the war can be stopped, then trying to stop it is morally right. You say Zion is just one person, but by Earth’s Awakened standards, he’s incredibly powerful. It goes without saying that in that other world, where Awakened are nonexistent and Monsters are rare, his power is even more extraordinary. Calling someone with such power just an individual is deceitful. Zion’s strength is enough to be effective in wars in worlds with medieval to early modern level civilizations, even considering the unique power of magicians.]
[So? You’re saying we should push that wet-behind-the-ears kid onto the battlefield?]
[But… if no one steps up to stop the war, countless people will suffer because of the greed of the powerful. Don’t you care about those people?]
[They’re complete strangers whose faces and names I don’t even know. If I don’t bother myself, it’s as if they don’t exist. Or what, do you expect me to drop everything and rush to stop a war on the other side of the world no matter how much work is piling up here?]
At the sarcastic rebuttal, Yumin stomped her foot in frustration.
Eventually, she looked around and asked Arcs for help.
[Ugh… slipping away like a loach, huh… Arcs, what do you think?]
[Huh? You come to me at a time like this? I’m sick of this kind of thing, so I’m just going to sit it out—figure it out yourselves.]
Arcs’ answer was cold and unfeeling.
Yumin trembled with a wounded expression, [Arcs, you traitor…!]
[Let’s stop this pointless argument. Whatever you say, I’m absolutely opposed.] Frey, looking exhausted, tried to end the dispute.
But Crooks had no intention of stopping, [They are real living people, even if they are strangers. With Zion’s personality, can he just pretend they don’t exist and ignore their sacrifices?]
[That’s just a passing emotion. You’ll get used to it over time. But what about the wounds that kid will suffer, having seen the horrors of war firsthand? There’s a world of difference between monsters dying and people dying.]
[I don’t think Zion is too weak to overcome those wounds. He’s not just anyone — he’s Naia’s son.]
[That’s right. If it were Naia, she would have tried to stop the war without hesitation.]
The mention of that name twisted Frey’s expression fiercely.
Crooks felt he might have gone too far, but he did not regret bringing up Naia.
It had been over ten years since they lost Naia.
Now that the four Awakened were gathered, it was time to properly sort out their feelings about her.
[Yes. Naia would have done that. So what? Is he Naia herself? Are you going to spout nonsense that just because Naia would act that way, her son must do the same?] Frey’s voice rose uncontrollably.
Yumin and Crooks did not back down either.
The argument grew more heated as Yumin appealed emotionally and Crooks countered with logic.
“Wait a moment. Uncle, Crooks, Yumin, everyone calm down.”
[What exactly do you expect from that kid? Are you mistaking him for Naia? Do you want him to act like her?]
[I think it’s you who are projecting Naia onto Zion. Aren’t you desperately opposing this because you’re afraid Zion will get hurt following the same path as your sister?]
[He’s a kid who wants to get involved in war without understanding anything. We have to stop him. Should we just watch?]
[You’ve forgotten the most important thing right now. You’re not considering Zion’s wishes at all!]
[You’re going to just let a kid run onto the train tracks, saying you respect his wishes? That’s no way to protect him!]
[So we have to step in and take proper care of him before he gets hurt…!]
“Enough, all of you!”
The heated atmosphere in Frey’s room was suddenly shattered by an unnatural cold silence.
Zion breathed heavily, exhausted, and looked wearily at the Awakened.
After exchanging glances, Frey was the first to slump his shoulders and collapse onto the bed.
[…We weren’t very mature, were we.]
Even Crooks, who usually wore a smile, had a rare gloomy expression.
Yumin looked sulky like a child.
[I’m sorry, Zion. We said we would respect your wishes, but we were the ones who failed the most.]
The mood sank uncontrollably.
Zion remained silent at the table before weakly heading to the bed and collapsing onto it.
He knew well that the Awakened were not fighting or neglecting him out of malice or selfishness.
Even if their directions differed, their hearts were all rooted in concern for him.
But frankly, Zion was sick of everything right now.
It wasn’t just the Awakened’s quarrels.
The Jewel Tower, which had conducted inhuman experiments and then shamelessly denied everything.
The Lawkingdom, which turned out to be no better than beasts, almost the same as the Jewel Tower.
The war waged by those equally despicable villains, and the innocent villagers who would suffer because of it.
“I’m sorry for yelling earlier. It’s just… a bit…”
[…Don’t apologize when you’re not at fault. We’re the ones who should be sorry.]
“I… I just… right now… I don’t know anything. I don’t want to think about anything.” Zion buried his face in the pillow and tightly closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’ll rest a little.”
With a voice barely above a whisper, Zion’s consciousness sank into endless darkness.
***
Late at night.
Suddenly waking up, Zion felt refreshingly new, as if reborn.
The headache and dizziness caused by excessive stress just before falling asleep had vanished completely.
[You’re awake? It’s still early morning.]
At Frey’s voice, Zion focused on the image of Earth projected in his mind.
The spacious room held no one else but Frey, who was lying on the bed.
Zion smiled wryly at his awkward figure.
“Where did the others go?”
[They just… stepped aside for a bit. Said they’d give you and me some time to talk.]
“What talk… oh.”
The memory of falling asleep like fainting quickly came back.
Frey had definitely acted strangely earlier.
Normally, he wouldn’t oppose so persistently or reveal such intense emotions.
Even when he first heard about Naia’s death, he had simply suppressed his feelings with a wry smile.
[Sorry, Zion. I wasn’t very mature.]
“What does ‘mature’ mean?”
[Huh?]
“Is fighting emotionally because you’re worried your only family might get hurt immature? Is suppressing your feelings and only showing respect to others the mature thing to do?”
[Well… I don’t know.]
“I don’t think so. Earlier, I was tired and spoke bluntly, but… I’m always grateful that you oppose me for my sake, giving me a chance to think things over. You’ve done that since the beginning.”
That feeling had never changed.
From the day they first met, when he yelled at Zion for why only he was saved while everyone else died, to crossing the border, to trying to save the Slash-and-burn Village that Frey didn’t care about, to risking his life fighting formidable foes like the Cocatrice.
[Ha. You talk well. You’ve never actually done what I said, have you?]
“Have I never? I have. When we snuck into Wecos, I even dressed as a woman and fooled the border guards just as you told me to. Do you know how embarrassed I was?”
[Ah… uh… damn. Now that you mention it.]
Slowly sitting up on the bed, Zion placed his hand over his chest.
He felt the rough texture of the pendant in his palm.
Closing his eyes, he reflected on his past judgments and spoke resolutely.
“I will stop the war. No matter how much you oppose it, my heart won’t change. I promised myself I wouldn’t lie to my own feelings.”
[I know.] Frey answered weakly, like a sigh.
At Zion’s figure, Naia suddenly came to mind.
When she was a young hero, Naia had been dispatched to a civil war in the Middle East.
There was an international rule that Awakened must not be mobilized for war, but humanitarian support was an exception.
Naia had jumped into the war zone with pure intentions to save suffering civilians and had witnessed firsthand how terrible it was when people formed armies and killed each other.
[She acted like it was no big deal on the surface… Hmph, as if she could fool me with such a poor act. Because of that one deployment, Naia suffered from PTSD for several years. Thanks to who she was, she recovered in a few years, but for ordinary people, it’s not strange to be haunted by nightmares and mental illness for life after war.]
“But Mother, in a situation like this, would surely have tried to stop the war without hesitation.”
At the accurate prediction, Frey smiled wryly.
[Yeah. She would have, for sure. No matter how much I begged, she wouldn’t listen.”]
“If, by any chance, Mother were alive and opposed me stopping the war because of those memories, if she warned me not to get involved and cause sacrifices… I’d definitely get very angry at her. And I’d go stop the war alone.”
[…Yeah, I know.]
There was a time when Zion admired Naia and tried to act just like her blindly.
But just as a child who once couldn’t crawl begins to walk alone, Zion too had learned to walk on his own, guided only by the voice of his own heart.
‘To continue projecting Naia onto Zion now might be an insult to this boy.’
Sighing deeply, Frey gave one last piece of advice.
[It’s going to be very hard. Much harder than you imagine now.]
“It’s okay. Well, maybe it won’t be okay… but I will never break or give up. No matter how deep the wounds.”
[Then I will thoroughly protect you so you never get hurt.]
“Ha ha. That’s reassuring. I’ll rely on you, uncle.”
Zion took it lightly, but Frey, shading his face with his hand, wore an expression of terrifying seriousness.
For the nephew born as Naia’s son, who had grown up splendidly even compared to Naia herself.
If Zion wanted, or even if he didn’t, Frey would put everything on the line.
‘If giving everything still isn’t enough…’
Then he would give his life if necessary.
[Zion, you can rest assured and walk the path you believe in.]
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.