Chapter 156: Chapter 156: This Is What It Feels Like to Be Alive

If you think about it this way, you only live in order to die. Even elves, long-lived beings, know that. So then, where is the meaning of life if the end waits just around the corner?

Mitsuki walked alongside the large group that had formed. Behind them was Marco, keeping his distance from everyone with a grim expression. He was extremely irritated about having to travel with nobles, to the point it looked like he could melt the ground with his glare.

’The carriage ride is going to be even worse.’

At moments like these, Mitsuki appreciated not having emotions. Just imagining how troublesome it would be to be surrounded by so many noisy people made his stomach churn instinctively.

’At least they aren’t fighting like they did back in the dragon village.’

Right now, they were heading toward the place where Aslan had hidden the horses and carriage.

"Now that I think about it, what did the horses eat while they were hidden away?" Azel asked.

"I left them a large pile of hay and several barrels of water. I knew we wouldn’t take too long, so it shouldn’t have been a problem," old Aslan replied.

Monar smiled faintly.

"The horses must be eager to run. I’m glad to think we’ll be able to reach our carriage much faster thanks to them."

Ellegaard grumbled. She couldn’t refuse to take these people with her because the carriage didn’t belong to her. If it were up to her, everyone else would be walking while she enjoyed herself in the carriage alone.

It was truly fortunate that her fantasies never became reality.

The next few hours passed with everyone walking. Most of the journey was filled with awkward silence, since nobody had anything to say.

Night fell, and everyone gathered around the campfire, but Marco stayed as far away as possible. In fact, he sat leaning against a tree with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

Mitsuki glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

’So this is how they used to see me back when we first started the journey to Nemoria, huh...’

It was ironic, because now he was standing exactly where someone like Marco was supposed to be.

After watching him for a moment, Mitsuki decided to ignore him.

’I can’t do anything for him. It’s better to leave him alone, because if I were in his position, I’d want to be alone in peace too.’

The night passed uneventfully.

The next morning, the group approached a mountain range covered in dark green forests. The influence of the ash hadn’t reached this place, so the trees were green and full of life, just like the murderous beasts roaming around the area.

While walking down the trail Aslan had prepared beforehand, the group encountered a massive bear with silver fur as hard as iron.

No one even bothered getting defensive. In fact, everyone looked bored by the beast.

Mitsuki stepped forward, raised the shotgun, and fired. The bear died instantly, leaving behind the smell of burnt meat and scraps of its hide.

’Anything that isn’t corrupted tends to be weak. How funny...’

It wasn’t.

By the afternoon, they finally reached the place where the carriage was hidden.

At first, everyone only saw a giant stone wall in the middle of the mountain, but Aslan simply made a small gesture with his hand, and the rock sank into the earth, revealing a large cave illuminated by magical stones that imitated the yellow light of the sun.

Aslan entered the cave and emerged moments later, guiding the carriage along with the horses, which looked incredibly energetic.

"Everyone, get on. It’s time to return home."

The girls climbed aboard first, leaning against the corners of the carriage and its canopy. The boys took the other side, right next to the wooden gate that kept everyone from falling out.

There, Mitsuki looked toward the forest road. It didn’t stir any emotions within him, but the moment they reached the first real road they had seen in days, his eyes slowly widened.

He could see himself riding in Monar’s carriage, heading straight toward hell without knowing anything about what was going to happen.

Now he was returning to Luxar. He was missing an arm, his soul was broken, and his mind lacked emotions, yet he was alive. He had managed to survive such a trial.

He closed his eyes, feeling the afternoon breeze, and showed a faint smile.

Ellegaard and Jeanne looked at him in silence. Mitsuki’s reaction seemed curious to them, because that smile no longer looked expressionless.

’So this is what it feels like to be alive.’

After standing so close to death, Mitsuki had finally begun to truly live.

***

A dark space opened amidst the forests contaminated by the Curse of Ash.

He sat atop a rock, patiently waiting beside his fellow Heralds of Shadow. A friendly and understanding expression could be seen beneath his black hood.

Galahad meditated with his eyes closed, deeply contemplating something possibly sinister.

Suddenly, two more heralds emerged from between the trees. They wore the same hooded robes, but one of them carried a cloth wrapped around something.

"We finally found you, Four. We brought what we discovered. It’s an incredible find," said the Herald holding the cloth.

It was Nine. Beside her stood her brother, Seven.

"Excellent. When I received the message, I could hardly believe it, but here it is. Thank you for your hard work. Lord Zero will never forget this."

Nine nodded. She handed the sword to Galahad, and he took it into his hands as though it were the greatest treasure of all time.

And it was... more or less.

He unwrapped the cloth, revealing the glorious golden blade.

"Excalibur... it is finally ours. Seven, Nine, your reward will be delivered by our companions present here. You may take a few days to rest, because once we uncover the secrets of this sword, we will finally begin our plan."

The girl and boy nodded. Then they turned around and left.

"Hey, sis, don’t you think the sword’s original wielder will be needed for it to work?"

"I don’t know, Seven," Nine replied. "It’ll only be a matter of time before they figure that out."

"But back then the sword glowed on its own, didn’t it? Don’t you think that has something to do with the people we saw that time?"

Nine sighed.

"Probably. Just in case, we’ll ask Six to keep an eye on them. If anything happens, they’ll be the ones responsible."

***

The conspiracy slowly takes shape within the shadows. Mitsuki returns to Luxar to rest both physically and spiritually before continuing his journey.

There will be many tales left to tell, each darker than the last, because this world will always remain this way; someone’s eyes are always watc

hing from somewhere.

(End of Volume 1: The Tales of Cinder)