Chapter 76: Chapter 76 - Battle of Legends ( Part 7)
The Kingdom of Seraiya has never experienced anything like this day.
Finally, the clouds that had covered the sky for hours dispersed, and the warm sunshine shone over the capital.
The pressure created by the First Demon General disappeared.
People who believed that this would be the end of their lives slowly understood...
They were alive.
A loud roar sounded throughout the battlefield.
"We won!"
"The Demon General is gone!"
"Long live Princess Lilia!"
"Long live the White Sword Hunter!"
"No..."
One old knight wiped the tears from his aged face.
"...Long live our hero!"
The slogan rapidly spread.
"Hero!"
"Our hero!"
"Our hero!"
Hundreds...
Thousands...
Soon, every knight, hunter, mage, and citizen who survived the fight shouted with the remaining forces in their bodies.
"Our hero!"
Looking at all those people from the sky, Jennie smiled awkwardly.
She scratched her cheek.
"...They are definitely talking about someone else."
Excalibur sighed in her mind.
"There is no one else flying in the sky."
"I know..."
Jennie muttered.
"...But I was hoping that they meant Headmaster Orion."
"...You defeated a Demon General."
"I know."
"You saved the kingdom."
"I know."
"Accept the praise."
Jennie immediately shook her head.
"No."
"I will die of embarrassment."
Excalibur just sighed.
"Some things never change."
Headmaster Orion laughed so hard that he almost dropped his staff.
"I knew it."
One of the instructors looked confused.
"Knew what, Headmaster?"
He smiled.
"Even having revealed her identity..."
"...She is still the same girl."
Nearby, several students agreed with him.
"Lady Jennie is really impossible."
"I have never seen such embarrassment after saving an entire kingdom."
"She is amazing..."
A golden carriage arrived from the capital.
Royal Knights swiftly formed two lines.
First of all, King Aldric KingHeart left the carriage.
Although keeping the demeanor appropriate for a king, the worry on his face was obvious.
Queen Celestine left the carriage right behind him.
Despite wearing a dress that got dirty while she refused to stay safely in the palace, the elegance of her posture did not leave anything to be desired.
Prince Adrian was near them with his sword in the hand.
They came as rulers.
But in this moment...
They were just people who were looking for the girl who saved their family.
Immediately, Princess Lilia ran to them.
"Father!"
King Aldric hugged his daughter tightly.
"You scared us."
"I am sorry..."
Whispered Lilia.
"...But Jennie..."
She looked at the silver-haired maid flying in the sky.
"...saved all of us."
Slowly, the King raised his eyes.
For some time...
He just looked.
The quiet maid who served the tea in the palace.
The maid who bowed politely whenever she met them.
The maid who always had a gentle smile.
This maid had defeated a Demon General.
The King lowered his head.
It was not a deep bow.
But it was enough.
A king...
Bow to a maid.
"Thank you."
His voice was heard throughout the battlefield.
"You have protected not only my daughter..."
"...but the whole kingdom."
Next, Queen Celestine approached.
Without even a moment of hesitation...
She hugged Jennie as soon as the latter descended to the ground.
Jennie’s eyes widened.
"Y-Your Majesty?"
Smiling through her tears, Queen said.
"No."
"Today..."
"I am just a mother who thanks the girl who brought me back my daughter."
Silent, Jennie slowly hugged her back.
"I am glad..."
"...Princess Lilia is safe."
Queen Celestine’s tears finally fell.
"So am I."
Before Jennie could say something else—
"JENNIE!"
A familiar voice sounded across the battlefield.
Jennie froze.
She turned.
Running towards her as fast as they could were three people whom she loved more than anyone.
Arthur.
Elena.
Lucas.
Her family.
"M-Mom?"
"D-Dad?"
"Lucas?"
Arriving the first, Elena hugged her daughter without even a word.
Hugging her so tightly that Jennie could barely breathe.
"M-Mom..."
Buried in her daughter’s shoulder, Elena cried.
"You..."
"You scared us..."
Her voice cracked.
"When they said that the Demon General appeared..."
"When they said that you were fighting..."
"I..."
She could not continue.
Gently, Jennie hugged her back.
"I am sorry."
Shortly after, Arthur arrived.
Though always calm and reliable...
In this day his hands were shaking.
Putting his hand on Jennie’s head the way he used to when she was little, he said.
"I am proud of you."
Jennie’s eyes started to sting.
"D-Dad..."
Arthur smiled.
"You protected everyone."
"But..."
Now his voice became firm.
"...Don’t ever make your mother worry like this again."
Jennie laughed through her tears.
"I’ll try."
Several steps further from them, Lucas stood.
Crossing his arms.
Really trying to look cool.
"You know..."
Clearing his throat.
"You could have said that you are the legendary Sword King."
Jennie scratched her neck.
"I... was not sure how to do it."
Staring at her for some time...
Lucas walked forward...
And clicked his sister on the forehead.
"Ouch!"
"You idiot."
His voice trembled.
"I thought..."
"I thought that I lost my little sister."
Jennie’s smile disappeared.
She approached.
Both brothers hugged each other without any words.
Quietly laughing, Lucas said.
"I don’t care whether you are Leonis."
"I don’t care whether you are the strongest person in history."
He hugged her tighter.
"You are still my annoying little sister."
Jennie could not hold the tears anymore.
"...Thank you."
Arthur and Elena joined their hug.
Together, the four of them stood.
Not as heroes.
Not as legends.
Just...
A family.
Watching them from nearby, Lilia smiled warmly.
"So this is where she belongs."
Nodding, Queen Celestine said.
"Yes."
"No matter who she once was..."
"She has an incredible family."
Smiling, King Aldric said.
"And maybe..."
"...That is the reason why she became such an exceptional person."
While everyone around them was celebrating...
Lilia quietly looked at Jennie.
The question which echoed in her heart since the battle did not want to disappear.
At last, when the reunion ended, she quietly approached.
"Jennie..."
Jennie turned with her usual warm smile.
"Yes, Princess?"
Lilia hesitated.
Then she gathered all her courage.
"...Can we talk?"
Seeing the seriousness in her expression, Jennie nodded.
"Of course."
Quietly, the two of them went from the crowd to a hill overlooking the battlefield.
Not a word...
Only the wind accompanied them.
Finally, Lilia stopped walking.
She looked at Jennie.
Not as a princess.
Not as royalty.
Just as the girl who cares more about Jennie than anyone else.
Her voice was barely audible.
"...Are you..."
Swallowing hard.
"...Really the Sword King?"
Closing her eyes, Jennie remained silent for a long time.
Then with a quiet sigh, she looked at the horizon.
"Yes."
"I was."
Heartbeats of Lilia skipped.
Jennie smiled sadly.
"There is something..."
"...Which I kept secret from everyone."
Looking back at her, she added.
"I think..."
"...It is finally time to reveal the truth."
Taking a deep breath, she said.
"A thousand years ago..."
"My name..."
"...Was Leonis."
The words just fell from Jennie’s lips.
"A thousand years ago... My name was Leonis."
The wind stopped.
Not weakened.
Stopped.
The grass stopped moving.
The leaves which were falling through the air stopped falling.
The sound of cheering echoed all around the battlefield as if some evil force had taken all the sounds from this world.
Lilia blinked.
And...
She stopped moving.
Her eyes were wide open but her body stopped.
Jennie’s smile stopped.
"Lilia...?"
She tried to reach out.
But there was no answer.
Jennie turned around.
The battlefield was transformed into an image painted in the most beautiful colors.
Arthur was standing there motionless with one of his hands on Elena’s shoulder.
Elena was crying but her tears were suspended on her face.
Lucas smiled but his smile was also motionless.
King Aldric...
Queen Celestine...
Prince Adrian...
Headmaster Orion...
The hunters...
The knights...
And even the birds flying in the air were motionless with their wings stopped.
The time stopped.
"What...?"
Whispered Jennie.
Excalibur started talking.
But her calm voice was full of shock.
"This is not my power."
Jennie gripped tightly the holy sword in her hands.
"I know."
The sound echoed all through the frozen world.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking.
Golden ripples went through the frozen air with each step of the mysterious figure.
Jennie slowly lifted her head.
A woman came down from the sky.
She was wearing a white robe decorated with thousands of stars.
White veil on her face covered her head but not her eyes.
Long silky hair reached her knees and was shining like water under the moon.
Wherever her feet touched the sky flowers bloomed only to fall apart in the lights of a thousand stars.
Seven radiant halos were floating behind her back.
And in each of those halos there was a symbol of one Divine Sword.
Jennie automatically grabbed Excalibur in her hands.
"Who are you?"
The woman stopped several steps away from her.
She looked at Jennie with her gentle eyes.
With her eyes which were holding in themselves a thousand years of loneliness.
And then...
A tear rolled down her cheek.
She smiled sadly.
"It’s been a thousand years..."
"...Leonis or better to say Jennie. "
Jennie’s heart stopped for a moment.
Excalibur violently trembled after hearing this.
"Lady... Miasa?"
The radiant woman nodded.
"Hello, Excalibur."
Jennie looked at her .
"Goddess... Miasa?"
She took off the veil from her face.
The woman smiled sadly.
"Yes."
"Forgetten, I am the one who gave you second chance of life."
Silence filled the frozen world.
Jennie slowly put down her sword.
"...Why are you here?"
Miasa closed her eyes.
"To apologize."
Jennie frowned.
"To apologize?"
The Goddess looked toward the motionless figures below her.
Arthur.
Elena.
Lucas.
Lilia.
The family which Jennie knew during fifteen years of her peaceful life.
"I broke the laws of Heaven."
Her voice was shaking.
"A thousand years ago, after your death your soul should have left this world."
"But I couldn’t accept it."
"You were carrying humanity on your shoulders."
"And you died without living once for yourself."
So...
"I did the greatest sin for a goddess."
Jennie was listening quietly.
"I granted your wish and gave you back your soul."
"I gave you a new name."
"A new family."
"A peaceful childhood."
"A chance to smile."
"A chance to cry."
"A chance to live as Jennie."
Jennie’s eyes were getting soft.
"I was happy."
"I know."
Miasa smiled through her tears.
"And seeing your happiness made me believe... maybe I have made the right decision."
Her smile slowly faded.
"But every miracle has its price."
Jennie felt how her chest was tightening.
"What... price?"
"The miracle was accompanied by one absolute condition."
"The world could never learn that Jennie and Leonis are the same soul."
Jennie immediately recalled Azrakiel aiming his sword towards her.
"Sword King Leonis."
Miasa nodded.
"The moment your true identity became known in this world..."
"...The miracle was starting to crumble."
Jennie looked at her in shock.
"...What does that mean?"
The Goddess raised her trembling hand.
The golden light covered the frozen kingdom.
Thousands...
Millions...
Innumerable threads were connecting everyone with Jennie.
Arthur.
Elena.
Lucas.
Lilia.
The royal family.
The academy.
Every smile.
Every memory.
Every precious moment they had spent together.
One by one...
The golden threads were disappearing.
Jennie stopped breathing.
"No..."
Miasa lowered her head.
"The existence called ’Jennie’ is erased from reality."
Jennie’s voice was trembling.
"...Erased?"
"Not your body."
"Not your soul."
"But every memory connected to you."
Jennie opened her eyes widely.
"No..."
"Arthur will forget he has a daughter."
"Elena will forget her child."
"Lucas will forget his little sister."
"King Aldric will forget the maid who saved his kingdom."
"Princess Lilia..."
Miasa’s voice was breaking.
"...will forget the girl she loves."
Jennie fell back.
"No..."
"No!"
"There has to be another way!"
The Goddess closed her eyes.
"I was searching for one."
"For a thousand years."
"But I haven’t found any. This is it. Equivalent exchange for power."
Jennie’s hands were trembling uncontrollably.
"They are my family..."
"They are my home..."
"They are everything I ever wanted."
"I know."
Miasa approached her.
"If you refuse..."
Hope flashed in Jennie’s eyes.
Then the Goddess said the words which destroyed that hope.
"The seal protecting the deepest prison will break today."
"The remaining Demon Generals will wake up."
"The Seven Divine Swords will lose their blessing."
"And everyone you love..."
She looked toward the frozen figures below her.
"...will die."
Jennie was standing completely silent.
She defeated monsters.
She defeated a Demon General.
But this...
This was a battle which no sword could win.
A tear fell down from her eyes when she was looking at Arthur, Elena, Lucas and Lilia.
For the first time since becoming Jennie...
She was offered to sacrifice not her life...
But her memories of people she loved.
