The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns

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Chapter 497

“This! This!”

Watching Elpiria, her eyes sparkling as she diligently solved the puzzle, I looked troubled.

This little one.

She had become more interested in someone holding her hand and solving it for her than in solving it herself.

On top of that, since a child’s unique sense of repetition was different from an adult’s standards, the moment it was completed, she immediately wanted to do it again.

“Still, think of it positively. It’s better than her enjoying extreme sports.”

That wasn’t wrong either.

It was true that this was quiet.

As a result, we had achieved a very great success in diverting Elpiria’s interest.

After playing for a long while, I laid Elpiria down once she had fallen fast asleep, then stepped outside, only to see a boy I had never seen before waiting for me.

“And who are you now?”

The boy, who had a handsome appearance that did not seem human, looked at me, smiled gently, and bowed his head in greeting.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. Martial God, no, Lord Leon Cascadia. I am Gabriel, born as the successor to the former archangel.”

On the outside, he was still a young boy.

However, the power he held was at a level that did not fall far behind when compared to the previous Gabriel.

Among the archangels, the only one who had died was Gabriel.

From the start, in the process of devising his plan, he had left himself no room to survive.

It was a clear fact that he had killed countless people who had moved for a certain purpose.

He had absolutely no intention of glossing over his own karma.

“An archangel was born again, huh…… How?”

“Because Lady Elpiria’s power made the heavens move again. Originally, the seat of an archangel was designed so that there could be no vacancy, except for a single seat.”

The boy answered with a bright smile.

The one seat he mentioned was probably the Immaculate Archangel that Michael had once spoken of.

They had called Elpiria this and that, saying she was the Immaculate Archangel, but in truth, that was not the case.

It was something I had heard from Lucifer after I returned from subspace.

In truth, the Immaculate Archangel had already descended long ago.

And they had fulfilled their duty and disappeared.

In other words, since they had already finished what they had to do and vanished, no more Immaculate Archangels were being born.

From his perspective, there was no need to even think about how ridiculous the current archangels must have looked, running wild while going on about the Immaculate Archangel and whatnot.

That aside, Luna was one thing, but if you looked at it that way, I wondered if Lispa’s seat, since she had been stripped of her position as an archangel, was also vacant.

However. It seemed vacancies were not made so easily.

“You know what your predecessor did, don’t you?”

“Yes. I know. Originally, I should have to settle the rest of that karma in his place, but…… The heavens’ stance was that the predecessor’s faults should end with the predecessor.”

“Do you think he was a bastard who deserved to die too?”

“Whatever his purpose may have been, it is true that hundreds of thousands died because of him.”

It was not as if Gabriel had caused the incident without knowing that.

Since he had committed the act while resolved to die from the beginning, regardless of right or wrong, his intention itself was not denied.

And the one who made that decision was probably Michael.

Whether it was because of affection toward a brother with whom he had spent a long time.

Or whether it was because of the result of saving everyone through the sacrifice of a minority.

Either way, I also did not particularly welcome guilt by association.

That said, I had no intention of digging him up and stirring things up now.

So the things that the existence named Gabriel had done on the present continent were not known at all.

Those who knew also all kept their mouths shut.

No matter what the previous Gabriel had been like, they intended to see the current Gabriel as a separate being.

“Fine. I’ll be counting on you. But. What brings you here?”

“Because you are the Martial God who possesses the authority to execute transcendents. And Lady Elpiria is also someone whom we archangels must serve. I stopped by to greet you.”

“Right. Don’t try to do everything alone like your predecessor. Your seniors aren’t your children.”

“Ah. Also, Lord Leon.”

He politely made a request of me.

“If it would not be rude…… might you be able to forge a sword for me?”

What he then held out was a mass of light that was ambiguous to call an ore.

“An ore forged from light. It is a mineral called Helinix. It is the only one in the world, and it was also the sword of light that my predecessor used by changing its form.”

I became interested and looked at it.

To call it a mineral, it looked like condensed light, and to call it simple light, it had a form.

“What a fascinating mineral. You want me to make a sword?”

“Yes. I heard you possess tremendous blacksmithing skill. I will pay the price, so if you could craft it……”

“What price? Leaving his faults aside, it’s also true that I was able to finish off Yog thanks to Gabriel. I’ll do it for free.”

I took him to the workshop and checked over the mysterious mineral called Helinix that he had handed me from various angles.

It was a mineral I had never seen before in my life.

But I had a method too.

[Trait — Analysis is manifesting.]

No sooner had the words appeared than information about this mineral called Helinix rushed into my head.

This was also one of the traits I had obtained during the battle against Yog.

It was a mineral made of light that I had never seen before in my life, but I instinctively knew how to handle it.

Fortunately, it was a type I could process.

After that, I picked up the hammer.

Gabriel’s weapon was completed about three days later.

Gabriel, who returned to the heavens with his sword while looking extremely happy, looked as pure as a child who had received a gift.

Right.

Even if he had knowledge, in the end, wasn’t he a brat who had not been born for long?

On top of that, with the chief god silent, he was in a position where he could not even receive revelations, so he must have been more confused than anyone.

“May I perhaps name the sword myself?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Then, I will think about it and tell you later.”

As Gabriel left excitedly, Luna spoke while looking at his retreating figure.

“That guy. These days, he’s been going to the outer dimension and restoring it there.”

“The outer dimension?”

The outer dimension, where the contamination of the Outer God had disappeared, was now nothing but ruins where only records of the past remained.

The shoggoths, and the countless other destructive beasts created by the Outer God, had now disappeared without a trace.

They said he was making new sprouts bloom there.

And making living beings be born.

It would take a long time before intelligent life forms emerged.

But one day, greenery and verdure would grow there again too.

In effect, Sullivan was the only life form remaining in the outer dimension.

It left me with a subtle feeling.

If I followed my heart, I wanted to bring him over.

But I had already confirmed last time that he had absolutely no intention of coming here.

It would be enough to pick a day sometime and visit him while carrying some alcohol.

That side was not a problem I had to concern myself with.

* * *

My recent hobby was to disguise myself moderately and wander around various parts of the continent, sightseeing.

The one who had recommended this small hobby was Isna.

She said that since she was a master of disguise, I should try enjoying things raw as they were without using things like magic.

One could ask what kind of master of disguise she was, when she showed up in the banquet hall wearing a bear mascot costume and drew every gaze to herself, but…….

When Isna did things like that, it was an eccentric act she committed only when she was full of the intention to draw aggro from the beginning.

And.

The current her was revealing stealth without leaving anything out.

In reality, she had not used any special magic, and she seemed to be walking around quite boldly.

Yet it was rather fascinating that no one noticed.

“Look at that. They’re doing a play about you.”

“What play? When did they ever see me?”

“Originally, when rumors spread and spread, something like that comes out of it. You have absolutely no idea what your image is like on the continent right now, do you? Choosing to live in seclusion was a good choice. If word spread that you were alive, whether for political reasons or other reasons, it would’ve become extremely troublesome right away.”

That was why I had hidden it.

Because there was no reason to do something that would bring me no benefit at all.

Except for an extremely small number of people, most people did not even know that I had returned yet.

Of course, that was only natural.

But actually seeing minstrels perform a street play while calling it my story made me feel like my face was burning.

“Monster! I am Leon Cascadia! I cannot stand by and watch your evil deeds that would destroy the world, so I have stepped forward myself! Take my sword!”

“Pfft…… my sword…… Khehe…… take it…… pfft.”

After glancing sharply at Isna, who could not hold back her laughter while watching the play, I leaned my back against the bench and made a bitter expression.

“What kind of person weighs introductions and justification in a battle where life and death are on the line?”

“I heard that exaggerated direction works well in plays like that.”

“It’s hopeless. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Sure.”

She followed me, dressed in quite free-spirited clothing.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“You look really happy these days?”

“How nice is it to live without any worries? Recently, no accidents have happened either. How nice is that? On top of that, when I’m watching Elpiria, I lose track of time.”

“How absurd.”

“You’ll understand too once you get married and have a child.”

At my words, her eyes narrowed.

“Ah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I still have no intention of getting married, and I don’t want to marry a guy weaker than me either.”

From the start, time had lost its meaning for her.

Among humans, she was probably the only one.

The only one who had entered the ranks of transcendents who had surpassed lifespan, that is.

“If I keep living, perhaps someday I’ll end up getting married too. But not now.”

“Duke Catsey must be quite sad.”

“My mother has given up on me getting married. The family can just be inherited by someone else.”

Well, it was not as if she was the only direct descendant of Mielephon.

“But. Are you okay with not telling the princess that you survived?”

At that moment, Isna, who had been following me, asked carefully.

“The princess? Ah…….”

Princess Eilena.

A girl who harbored romantic feelings for me, and a woman who, by now, believed I was dead.

In truth, I had thought about it several times.

But perhaps it was better for her to believe that I was dead.

“You really do reject people like a knife in subtle ways, huh?”

“From the start, I’m a married man. She keeps saying strange things like becoming a second wife, but what lunatic gets married and then marries into the imperial family too?”

Of course, Lispa Elde Remielia was someone to whom that did not apply.

“That’s true too.”

From the start, she and I were in positions where we could not be together.

Of course, unlike in the past, I had become the continent’s guardian, so things had twisted in a strange way.

But even so, nothing would change.

“You sinful bastard. Princess Justina is still young, so let’s just say she’s saying things because she’s young, but what are you going to do about Merkavalt?”

“That’s a bit……”

Merkavalt would shyly come to me like a girl experiencing her first love, repeatedly give me jewels as gifts, and leave.

Ever since I heard from Isna what meaning there was in a dragon gifting jewels to someone else, I felt like my stomach was getting clogged every time I received them.

Recently, it seemed she was learning something while meeting with Lispa.

If possible, I hoped she would not do something reckless like Lispa and say something like, “Let’s see if you say the same thing even after 100 years.”

Of course, one of the reasons she came to find me was actually because of the black dragon hatchling Arsha carried around.

But perhaps because dragons were not the type to pay much attention to their own kind by default, after confirming it was safe, she had cut off her interest.

While that was happening, a child running through the street bumped into me.

“Ouch!”

The boy, who plopped down just like that, looked like he was about to cry, but soon rubbed the corners of his eyes with his hands and bravely stood up.

“Kid. Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“Heroes don’t cry!”

The boy shouted.

“Hero? You want to become a hero?”

“Yes! When I grow up, I’m going to become the continent’s guardian too!”

I quietly looked over the boy, who was shouting confidently.

The clothes he was wearing looked similar to the outfit I had worn during the war.

On top of that, in his hand, he held a wooden doll that resembled me, though I had no idea where it had been made.

It seemed there were quite a few guys who had made a profit here and there while image-making me into a martyr.

But I had no intention of going out of my way to dig into it.

“What’s that in your hand?”

“It’s the continent’s guardian! Isn’t he cool?”

“You think the continent’s guardian is cool?”

“Of course! He’s a hero who saved lots and lots of people!”

It was a simple and clear reason, childlike in nature.

If we had lost the battle against Yog, if the world had become like the closed world Isna had experienced.

Perhaps this child would not be here right now.

The same went for the others too.

“Right. Go on.”

“Yes!”

Watching the child’s back as he dashed away, Isna spoke.

“You made that. The others went through hardships too, but. You know? They say that because you became a martyr or whatever, each nation is also choosing peace over war. They’re saying they should preserve, as much as possible, the peace created by the continent’s hero.”

An international union had been created, but this kind of phenomenon felt quite fascinating.

“Why are you saying embarrassing things?”

“I see it positively though? Do you hate it?”

Well.

She had personally seen a gloomy world.

So it seemed the very image of this world was incredibly precious to her.

“It’s not that I hate it.”

I could not add anything else, so I muttered as if evading the matter.

Seeing me like that, Isna chuckled and lightly struck my shoulder.

“Let’s go. I’ll buy today. In the past, I had a lot of money. Now you’re richer.”

“Beer?”

“The side dish has to be meat, no matter what.”

As a result, the fact that someone had been saved through the actions I had taken to protect my life, and Cascadia as well, felt rather good.

I thought it would be nice if this kind of scene could be maintained without anything happening in the future too.

Like that. Another four years passed, and by the time Elpiria had turned six.

That day, too, was a very peaceful day.

When I went to the office because I had something to ask Melissa, who was busy preparing for her wedding, she panicked and tried to hide something.

So I asked.

“What is it. That thing.”

“I-It’s nothing!”

It did not seem like anything serious.

But her reaction was unusually big.

Right.

Well, it must be privacy.

Thinking that, I approached her.

At the same time, she drew up her aura and protected her eyes.

However.

Kwajik!!

I instantly tore apart the thick wall of aura she had raised, then set off a flash artifact right in front of her eyes.

“Aaack!! My eyes!! There isn’t a single day when that damn flash variation is the same!?”

It seemed she had grown sharper in her own way and was devising measures to defend against the flash.

But even so, it was useless.

Beside Melissa, who was screaming and rolling across the floor, a single letter fluttered down.

At the same time, from within the shadows, the phantom wolf.

Muyeong leapt out, snatched the letter, then approached me and held it out.

“…….”

A flustered look passed over my face after I read the contents.

The contents stated that our youngest sibling, Arsha, who had entered the imperial academy, had caused an incident.

“What the hell is this……”

Our infinitely pure and adorable little sister, now nineteen years old, had either entered puberty late or had been influenced by someone, and ever since joining an academy club, it seemed she had been causing accidents all over the place.

“Half-destruction of an academic building? What the hell do you have to do for that to happen?”

“Th-That…… some bastard spread a weird rumor that he and Arsha were in a romantic relationship, so Arsha got angry and tried to wreck that bastard, and then……”

Our endlessly delicate and pure little sister had become the greatest tomboy of the Cascadia family.

How had my pure little sister ended up like that?

“It’s because of you.”

I ignored her words. I had not known she would turn out like this either.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]