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Chapter 359
The End of the Nightmare
Ferda seated Valdrova and sat opposite her.
With the most crucial puzzle piece now here, everything feels like déjà vu.
A rough wooden table and candles.
The Red Woman sitting across.
Her expression wasn't yet as fierce as in the dream.
Ê nû.ḿ a .і d̄
But it would become so soon enough.
She will say she wants to annul the engagement.
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That was the future Ferda had been shown in the Nightmare Walking.
Forget it for now, Ferda.
Focus on the present.
"What brings you here?"
Е̃ n û ṁa ..і̀ d
"You know why."
Right, I know.
You must have seen things on your way here; there's no way you wouldn't know.
"Why did you hide this matter?"
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She asked calmly.
"Ruri told me the troop scale too. That scale is... something I struggled considerably against."
W ė b̈ n о̄_v̊е̌l̄ Énû ḿ а
In the end, she told her everything.
But he couldn't blame Ruri.
She is Valdrova's attendant, and she's told many lies up until now.
"Technology has advanced greatly, Eleanor. Enough for human hands to block them."
"Even so... it's insufficient, isn't it? To block everything."
"It's not to the degree you need to worry."
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"Don't lie."
Valdrova warned in a low voice.
"I don't want your last moments to remain as a liar's."
Those words shook Ferda's conscience.
In the end, he told her the truth.
"The scenarios we've run so far are premised on the Wall collapsing. People will die, but if luck follows, we can block it."
Eń u_m.ă
"Luck following means many people will die, right."
"...Yes."
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"There's a way to reduce that sacrifice."
Valdrova spoke, then took a deep breath.
She tried to hide that her body's condition wasn't good yet.
The reason became clear with her next words.
E ń umа
"In a week, I'll join the battle too. I'll stand at the vanguard and try to take down as many monsters as possible."
Normally, those would be incredibly reassuring words.
But her current state was far from reassuring.
"Your body needs at least 5 more months of rest to recover."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"My body feels heavy right now too... but I'm not weak. I can knock down enemies. Look here."
Valdrova picked up a pebble lying on the floor and squeezed it with force.
Ѐn û mа . i d́
Crunch!
"It breaks this easily, see?"
It wasn't just that the stone shattered; it turned to powder.
Judging by that sight alone, she looked perfectly fine.
"I'll stand at the front. Then... it might help a little."
"It's not possible."
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"Huh?"
At Ferda's flat refusal, Valdrova was taken aback.
"Your condition is unstable, Eleanor."
"As long as I have the power to smash enemies, that's enough, right?"
"Even if your power is the same, you have to face a quantity that even you at full preparation would have struggled against. And in a defensive battle, there's no one who can keep up with your rear. You'd have to go alone, and if you step forward in your current state, you could die."
"I can do it."
W̄ ĕ b n̂оvе́ l̈ E n ü m̌ ӑ
"Eleanor."
"Don't call me that!"
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She screamed shrilly.
She herself seemed surprised, jerking her body back as if hiccuping.
But she tried hard not to show it.
"I am... Valdrova. The Red Dragon Valdrova. The strongest dragon... on this continent."
Е̄nŭ m а́ ..і d̆
"..."
"Someone like you, Ferda-ssi, is trivial compared to me."
It was something she would never normally say.
She had been driven that far.
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"Are you confident you can control that power?"
"I can."
Е̌ n um̀ а
"Then prove it."
Ferda held out his hand as that proof.
"Eleanor, no, Great Valdrova-nim, please take my hand. If you can control that power, nothing will happen to my hand."
Valdrova looked down at that hand.
It was very different from the eyes that usually looked at it lovingly.
That soft, fragile hand was being regarded like a pile of ash that could crumble and disappear at any moment.
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Valdrova reached out her hand.
But no matter how brazen she acted, it couldn't be bigger than the fear she held.
In the end, she hesitated.
"Still, I'm strong."
What she threw out instead was an excuse.
"This power just needs to be shown to enemies, right? If I just go forward and... only fight, no one will get hurt."
W e̊b nо v̈èl̄ E nu.mа̀
"Uncontrollable power only brings tragedy."
"You... how do you know that?"
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The words she wanted to ask didn't come out.
Mistake.
A huge mistake was visible in Ferda's eyes.
He had been consumed by hatred and killed innocent people.
Еn um̄_a.іd
Fortunately, Valdrova didn't know exactly what that mistake was.
"So... I just have to let others die?"
She asked, clutching her skirt hem.
"If I don't step forward... there's no reason for me to be here, right? I'm the Duke. The Duke with the duty to protect people..."
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She tried to invoke the responsibility of her position.
"You've done more than enough until now. Alone at the Lonely Mountain, you drove out the things in the Devil's Land. There's no reason to feel guilt."
Е̄ nu̇m̈ a
"Doing this is only natural for me. I must protect the Serdes Continent, and also..."
"Being endlessly trapped in guilt, you mean?"
Valdrova's body flinched greatly.
"Monsters coming from that land isn't your fault. You going on a rampage that day wasn't your fault either."
"I know that but..."
She wasn't convinced.
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It's frustrating.
The conversation was running on parallel lines.
Ferda would keep stopping her, and she would keep being stubborn.
And in the end, Valdrova would stand at the vanguard and face the monsters coming from beyond.
Hoping only that her death would come before others'.
Like the King Piece that went alone into enemy lines.
Eṅům а̂ .іd̂
'Iorga.'
What unfolded before his eyes was when he met Iorga.
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Valdrova's game that began on the chessboard.
The King moving forward.
She didn't fail to understand the game.
She just thought that if she did that, there would be no more games where someone dies.
Е̄num а̇
Scared and frightened, she stepped into the dead end someone had to enter.
Afraid of someone's death, she stood at the vanguard so no one else would see it.
'That's why she couldn't be liberated.'
Everything became clear.
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Why Iorga gave her that item.
"I'll be fine."
W̆ еb́ ň о́ ṽeĺ Ёṅu mа
Valdrova smiled.
"So... Ferda-ssi, don't worry too much. I'll somehow make it work."
It was the smile that deceived herself, who was getting hurt to reassure others.
-There are times when you must fight even knowing you'll lose.
Following that, Lucy Philiaz's advice surfaced.
He was certain that advice was for now, not some other time.
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'This is a fight I lose.'
Because losing means defeat, it was a fight he'd only avoided.
Now, even if I lose, I must fight.
"Until when..."
So today, I fight you.
"Will you keep spouting such foolish nonsense?"
Ѐ ǹ u̇ m а
Ferda didn't want to see Valdrova's expression.
That blank face unbefitting her strong nickname.
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She was looking at Ferda with an expression like she'd been properly betrayed, a dagger driven in.
"Until when will you stay planted before the Devil's Land, immersed in playing the good girl?"
It was similar to when Godwin burned down the entire village he cherished.
But Ferda's words didn't stop.
Е númа
"Until when will you count the deaths left behind you and bind yourself?"
"Why..."
She asked in a trembling voice.
"Why do you say such things?"
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She clenched her fist tight and looked up at Ferda.
"What does Ferda-ssi know... to speak like that? I'm doing the best I can."
Еn u̇ ṁа
"Is treating your own life so trivially your best?"
"Everyone does that. War is like that!"
"You are a King, Valdrova. A King has value only while alive. No one wishes for a King's death."
Ferda put an end to the conversation running on parallel lines.
"As the Regent's authority and the Allied Forces' Chief Director, I tell you, Valdrova. You will not be able to go to the battlefield."
"I'll do as I please. No matter what Ferda-ssi says!"
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Valdrova didn't yield her will either.
"That won't be possible."
Ferda took out the item he'd kept in his pocket.
The King Piece brought from the Blue Eye.
The magic contained within was named Heavy Crown by Iorga.
The power that suppresses a King.
W e.bń оvẽl Еn ǔ m̃ ӑ
Ferda pressed the King Piece's head with his thumb.
"Because I'll stop you from doing so."
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Snap!
The King's head shattered.
As it lost its form, the sealed magic was released.
Magical power instantly swirled and engulfed Valdrova.
Еn̈um̈а̄.
"Ugh!?"
Valdrova's bewildered movement.
She tried to resist the magic somehow, but the magical power completely enveloped her entire body.
"This is..."
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It was a sensation Valdrova felt for the first time in her life.
Her already heavy body felt even heavier, and strength wouldn't enter her finger joints.
Еnum̄ ǎ .і d̀
No, precisely, she couldn't move with her usual senses.
The tremendous power that had constituted her body had vanished.
"Just how...?"
"Iorga-nim prepared this. Saying this situation would come, he let me make the choice."
"Why would Iorga..."
Valdrova touched the table just in case.
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It doesn't break.
This time she struck the table with all her might.
Bang!
A loud sound rang out.
But the table is fine.
Seeing that, Valdrova couldn't believe her eyes.
Е̂ ňu m ã. і d
Even a fool would know what that means.
She is powerless.
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"P-please return it to how it was..."
"I can't."
Iorga's magic isn't one that considers release.
"Even if it were possible, I wouldn't return your power to you."
Е n̂u mӓ .і d
"It's an order!"
Valdrova sprang up from her seat.
The chair was pushed back and fell over.
"I'm the Duke! I'm above Ferda-ssi! You have to listen to me!"
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"Wartime is different."
She tried to invoke authority, but it didn't work at all.
Е̊ ń um а
Her tightly clenched fist trembled, unable to overcome her frustration.
In the end, Valdrova lunged at Ferda.
"Listen to me right now!"
She pushed him against the wall.
Her tightly clenched fist pounded Ferda's chest.
"I can fight! Look! It hurts! It hurts when I hit you like this!"
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Her fists were quite painful.
But he thought even his frail body, which he'd cursed all his life, could endure it.
The woman pounding his chest now was no different from a single human, not a dragon.
After pounding for a while, Valdrova's fists gradually became weaker and slower.
She was exhausting herself.
"Heuk... heuk..."
E núm̂ ӑ . іd̊
In the end, she didn't even have the strength to clench her fists, and they went limp.
She grabbed Ferda's chest and leaned against him.
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She exhaled hot breaths.
"Euhk..."
As the risen heat subsided, a mournful crying sound mixed in.
The most hated sound in the world climbed up his chest.
Enûm̊a
"Selfish person..."
Valdrova said that.
"Ferda-ssi just... doesn't want to see me go out and die, right."
She raised her resentful voice and shouted.
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"Others can die for all you care! As long as I'm alive, that's all that matters! You're a selfish person! A selfish person!"
"Yes, that's right!"
Е̌ nûm a.і̃ d̀
Ferda shouted back, choking up.
He grabbed Valdrova's arms and pressed her.
Valdrova tried to resist Ferda's strength, but couldn't shake him off.
"I'm a selfish human! The person I love! I'm a selfish bastard who stops her from making a fuss about throwing herself into a dead end! What kind of fucking idiot would just watch something like this?!"
Rough and crude words poured out like rapid fire.
He poured out everything he'd been holding back onto Valdrova.
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"You've protected this place alone for over a hundred years! How many generations have changed in that time? Do you know how many lives you've protected? Why don't you know that! Why don't you look forward and obsess over what's piled behind you?!"
"I don't know! I don't know!!"
Valdrova grabbed her head and sobbed.
"Because of me... many people died. Many people died because I rampaged, and Silverwind is among those deaths. I hate seeing death. The death of someone I... cherish is even more..."
That day's tragedy was vividly contained in her eyes.
How many deaths has she witnessed in a life close to immortality?
Е nu m а̌ . іd
She couldn't forget those deaths.
The fear of losing what she loved was an unforgettable wound.
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"So you didn't want children?"
He asks her.
"Because to you, it would just be another death added?"
Valdrova didn't answer.
Ŵе b̌ ñ о v ѐl Е̃ nū m a
Only her caught hands trembled faintly.
"Then why did you say you'd marry humans? Knowing everyone dies, and that I too will one day leave your side!"
Valdrova's mind is in chaos.
"Speak! Do you want to be happy, or do you want to live forever in guilt?!"
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"Me too...! Me too...!"
Finally, Valdrova gasped in agony.
Еn̄ u m̆ а̀. і̊ d̀_
Hyperventilation came from overwhelming emotion.
Valdrova's body leaned toward Ferda.
"Heuheuk...! Eueueueu...!!"
Her sharp horns pierced Ferda's chest.
Valdrova had no awareness that she'd inflicted a wound.
Ferda didn't feel wounded either.
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He just stayed there so she could lean on him.
The excessive heat cooled with her sobs.
"Please, Ferda-ssi... don't let them go to death. Don't make me just watch their deaths."
She begged, trembling in fear.
His heart wanted to grant that request, but Ferda's answer was fixed.
"I can't do that."
Е̇ n̊um а.і d̂
"Is it because you love me?"
"Yes."
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Ferda didn't avoid it.
"Then I won't love you."
She drove a dagger into Ferda's chest.
Like flailing in fear and swinging whatever she caught.
Е n u m̀_ӑ
"I won't love you, who drives countless people to their deaths with your selfish heart."
She properly gripped it to hide her own fear.
As Valdrova's words continued, Ferda felt them getting closer.
The end of this story.
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He knew it, but it was a fate he didn't want to face.
But because it couldn't be avoided, it was fate; standing before Ferda, she calls him.
E ṅūm å
Valdrova's vague emotions were converging into one, and that was now focused on Ferda.
The confused and powerless Valdrova pulled away from Ferda's embrace.
"Ferda..."
That expression was a face Ferda knew well.
Valdrova's anger that had been foretold countless times in dreams.
"I'll annul our engagement with you."
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She thrust the driven dagger deeper.
All blood drains away and his heart stops.
A moment feels like eternity, gasping in burning pain.
It was a declaration painful enough to die from, yet he also felt a sense of relief.
The end of that nightmare repeated countless times.
Ferda could finally answer that dream.
Wѐb n о̂v̌е̃l̊ Е̊ ñum а
"Understood."
Valdrova bit her lip hard at that answer.
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Ferda made a businesslike expression, as if unbound by personal matters, and spoke politely.
"When this battle ends, I will leave your side."
Valdrova's face, seething with resentment.
That face became a thousand blades and stabbed Ferda again.
Ѐn ũ m̂ a . і̆d
Surprisingly, pain was no longer felt.
"You won't love me anymore either?"
Ferda answered that.
"If that's what you wish."
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Valdrova tightly closed her eyes.
Squeezing out the last tears in her tear ducts, she cried no more.
W̊ e b̄ n̄ о̃v̈е̊ l̇ Ѐǹũm̊а
With reddened eyes, she looked at Ferda and said this.
"We're strangers now. Ferda-nim."
A dry word and polite farewell, as if nothing had happened.
"I wish you good fortune."
Thus, Valdrova left.
