Chapter 581 — Arc 8, Chapter 69 – “I Forgive You”

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As gauntlets of silver rang out, the torso and cranium of the undead standing in the way were pulverized.

Inside the body of every undead there existed a Corebug, and without piercing it, causing a fatal wound would be impossible, even if their head and heart were to be blown away. ――In that case, the best choice was to punch in a way so that the impact would spread throughout the whole body.

???: [How ‘bout this!]

Until now, he had been giving priority to swinging his fists with his entire strength and having them hit their targets, and he had not given much thought to the result that would be brought forth after they had landed. But, he revised that way of thinking.

The shockwave borne from the impact of his fist, he imagined it propagating throughout the body of his opponent. By doing so, a change could be yielded in the way his fist was unleashed, and in the result it brought about.

???: [――Hk.]

With a shivering response from its back, the body of the struck undead was smashed to dust, lagging a moment behind the area that had been directly punched. It was proof that the impact had been transmitted throughout the entire body, and that the Corebug had been killed.

As to not relinquish that after having grasped it once, he engaged the swarm of countless undead with his fists.

One, two, three; the number of the shattered undead was rapidly increasing――.

???: [Oi, brat! That’s enough, there’ll be no end to this!]

A gruff voice called out to the back of the one holding his ground as he swung his fists at the undead.

With a sword of fine craftsmanship in hand, dealing with the undead that had broken off towards himself, Heinkel persisted with earnest resistance as his face and hair were getting ragged.

At that quavering voice of complaint, Garfiel contorted the corners of his mouth into a smile.

A person who would have been better off running away if he so desired, was sincerely holding his ground here.

He had insisted that he would be safer remaining here with Garfiel rather than running away on his own, but it was difficult to believe that such a claim was still valid in a situation with this much pressure.

After all, this place was―― the grand gate that served as the entrance to the Imperial Capital, a crucial position that held the key to capturing the Imperial Capital by holding back the large army of undead attempting to march in.

Garfiel: [Ain’t gonna move one inch. If I don’t hold down this position, it’ll get in the way of Captain’s tactics.]

Hence, it was Garfiel’s duty to defend this place to the end by any means necessary.

Striking his fists together before his chest, Garfiel gave a reply brimming with motivation, to which Heinkel clicked his tongue. With a grim, unpleasant look on his face, in an angered voice he went, “But…!”,

Heinkel: [If it’s just to fulfill your duty, wouldn’t it be easier to carry out if you fell back a bit!? There’s no reason for you to hold your ground here… just leave that Dragon on its own!]

Having cut down an undead, what Heinkel pointed to with the raised tip of his sword, was the Cloud Dragon Mezoreia, which had engaged in a battle to the death against Garfiel, and was now lying on the ground.

Mezoreia was supposed to be on the side of the undead given its position, but the undead were unrelentingly directing their hostility towards the collapsed Cloud Dragon, and if neglected, the Dragon’s scales would likely be stained with blood.

Garfiel: [Can’t do that!]

Heinkel: [Why!? Isn’t it an enemy!? It’d be best to let them harm each other!]

Garfiel: [I don’t want Captain to be disappointed in me!]

At Garfiel’s childish answer, Heinkel’s expression stiffened as he found himself at a loss for words.

But those were his true feelings, without any exaggeration. Even in this battle, Subaru desired to reduce casualties, and bring them as close to zero as possible. Garfiel, too, wished to assist in that.

Besides, he had yet to exchange any meaningful words with the Cloud Dragon Mezoreia.

That was why――,

Garfiel: [My amazin’ self ain’t movin’! Bring it the fuck on, ya zombie bastards!]

Fiercely roaring in a loud voice, the sound of Garfiel’s two gauntlets striking each other rang out.

It would be best if the undead who heard that sound all gathered here, aiming for the living one brimming with vitality.

Garfiel: [Exactly, that’s fine by me. ――All of ya strong fucks, come at my amazin’ self!]

After all, by holding out as much as he could, Garfiel should have been able to make things even a little easier for the people precious to himself.

Heinkel: […There’s something wrong with you.]

Distorting his expression, Heinkel listened to Garfiel’s war cry. ――As he did so, Heinkel did not notice the slight stirring of the fallen Cloud Dragon behind him.

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Upon being affectionately lifted from the bed, Madelyn became convinced that this was the end. ――Because in Balleroy’s chest as he stood, a painfully large hole had been opened up.

It was the body of an undead. Madelyn knew that a fatal wound would not simply prove fatal. However, from the fact that the wound was not repairing itself like it was immediately supposed to, she could sense Balleroy’s intentions.

Madelyn’s darling―― the person she loved, would now once and for all head to a place she would be unable to reach. Where even the child of the Dragon that commanded the clouds could not reach, towards a place even further beyond the heavens above the clouds.

Balleroy: [――I’m real sorry, Madelyn.]

As Balleroy spoke with a kind expression, Madelyn’s eyes slightly widened.

That expression of Balleroy’s, it overlapped with one he had made in his lifetime, from before he had reunited with her as an undead. Of course, his eyes were still comprised of black with an auriferous hue looming within, and his complexion was still that of a pallid undead.

Even so, for but a moment, it seemed as if the warmth of life dwelled within Balleroy’s gaze and voice.

It was just like those many times when he would come to see Madelyn at the summit of Mount Palzoa.

――The fact that she had not been the one to help him regain that warmth, vexed her from the bottom of her heart.

Madelyn: [――Hk.]

As her voice choked up due to her sense of powerlessness and worthlessness, Madelyn’s golden eyes began to fill with tears.

As Madelyn’s eyes showed fragility despite being alive, Balleroy, whose eyes housed definite strength despite being dead, while reflected in the irises that shared the same hue as his own,

Balleroy: [Until the very end of the end, I sure was quite the selfish guy. I had ended up using you, Madelyn, an awful lot with that selfishness of mine.]

Determining the things he needed to do, and deciding that they would part ways, Balleroy was currently standing by Madelyn’s side.

This, was his way of broaching that conversation. What would subsequently follow, were Balleroy’s words of apology and gratitude; Madelyn could tell.

Indeed, because she had been able to tell.

Madelyn: [Friggin’, stop…]

Balleroy: [Madelyn?]

Madelyn: [Apologizing, expressing gratitude, all those sorts of things, friggin’ stop it…!]

As the roots of her teeth trembled, and she forcibly evaporated the tears that had welled up in her eyes, Madelyn appealed so.

As half of her consciousness was still connected to the dragonhusk, Madelyn could not put strength into her limbs. But, bypassing that reason through sheer will, Madelyn gripped the arm of Balleroy, who was holding her up.

His arm, the undead arm, was gripped tightly enough to cause cracks to form and shatter.

But, what she wished to convey through that was not anger or hatred. Only, it was the thoughts Madelyn was harboring, and wished to convey.

Madelyn: [If you’re saying you’re selfish, the most selfish thing that you did, Balleroy, was to selfishly disappear all on your friggin’ own. You selfishly showed up at this dragon’s nest, selfishly became someone precious to this dragon, selfishly stopped showing up, selfishly died, and selfishly disappeared… and now, you’re friggin’ planning on selfishly disappearing again…!]

Balleroy: [――――]

Madelyn: [You’ve already been friggin’ selfish enough. So then… so then! I won’t friggin’ forgive your selfishness anymore…! Instead of Balleroy’s gratitude or farewells… friggin’ listen, to what this dragon has to say…!]

She was crushing his arm, however, Balleroy had his eyes fixed on Madelyn without saying a word.

Staring back into Balleroy’s golden eyes with those of differing radiance yet identical hue, Madelyn spoke.

That was――,

Madelyn: [――Balleroy, you friggin’ brought this dragon to the outside world.]

Balleroy: [――Hk.]

At Madelyn’s words, Balleroy’s eyes widened.

Being told something utterly unexpected, Balleroy was flummoxed. It was Madelyn’s first time seeing Balleroy make such a face. Even if he was undead, she was happy that she could still see new sides of the person she loved.

As if to sear all of that into her tenacious dragonkin body, Madelyn continued.

Madelyn: [This dragon, was brought outside. Balleroy friggin’ did that for this dragon. Balleroy brought this dragon out below the sky.]

Balleroy: [――――]

Madelyn: [This dragon, hasn’t been friggin’ used or anything like that. The reason why this dragon was able to come down from the mountain like this, and is now able to talk to Balleroy again like this… all of it, is thanks to Balleroy.]

If only she had been quicker to decide. She harbored a great many regrets of that sort.

If only they had conversed and shared in each other’s touch more. She harbored a great many lamentations of that sort.

Even so, of the things she had decided, the things they had conversed on, and the times they had touched, she wished not to relinquish even an iota.

Madelyn: [All of the things you gave me… Balleroy, you friggin’ brought this dragon to the outside world.]

She would not allow the time Balleroy had come to bid his thanks and farewell be used for such things.

She did not want to use the scarce time she had left with Balleroy to listen to and deny such inconsequential things. If the total time they had remaining was ten seconds, then in those ten seconds, Madelyn would――,

Madelyn: [I love you. Balleroy is this dragon’s everything. There’s absolutely friggin’ nothing that I love more than Balleroy. Balleroy is, this dragon’s, everything…]

Balleroy: [Madelyn…]

Madelyn: [Balleroy, Balleroy, Balleroy… Hk!]

――She would use the entirety of the remaining ten seconds to tell the person she loved that she loved him.

She wanted him to respond. She wanted him to want her. She wanted him to harbor the same amount of ardor as was dwelling within herself.

Casting away all those complicated aspects of love, Madelyn became an embodiment of feelings.

Even if people disdained Balleroy’s image, and even if Balleroy himself might desire that, Madelyn would absolutely never let that happen. She did not want to let that happen.

With her entire lifespan as a dragonkin, Madelyn would hold Balleroy Temeglyph within her heart.

Madelyn: [The lifetime of a dragonkin, is incomparably friggin’ longer than a human’s.]

Through that long, long amount of time, so long that it would seem like eternity when compared with a human’s, Madelyn would live while thinking of Balleroy, the man engraved in her soul.

That he had left such an impact behind, she would convey to Balleroy Temeglyph.

Balleroy: [――. Just what is it that ya find pleasant ‘bout me, I wonder. A guy like me, a man who’s not worth falling in love with.]

Balleroy briefly spoke in a manner deriding himself, yet Madelyn went without answering anything.

Madelyn was too busy pressing her forehead against his chest to express her feelings. The man who did not seem to understand his own charm, she would selfishly have him find the answer to that on his own.

It seemed like Madelyn’s intentions had been communicated. Balleroy took a long, deep breath.

And then――,

Balleroy: [Ya won’t be able to forget me even if I tell ya to. Yeah, I understand that exceedingly well after all. That’s why, I don’t mind if ya don’t forget me. Only――]

Madelyn: [――――]

Balleroy: [Find happiness, Madelyn. My beloved, darling dragon princess.]

For the first time in her life, Madelyn was rejected outright by the person she loved.

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???: [――How ‘bout that, Your Excellency? Ain’t my lil’ sis quite the big deal?]

Balleroy’s voice, which had failed to conceal his meritorious sentiments, drew the attention of all present at the site of the battery. ――Nay, not all of them. It was everyone except Medium.

The courage of the woman holding down Vincent’s Yang Sword-wielding hand towered above everyone else.

If one thoughtlessly attempted to grasp the Yang Sword, they would burst into flames if they lacked the qualifications. It was an entreaty that ran adjacent to death. But then again, without going that far, Vincent likely would not have understood.

While he understood that his life was the most vital thing to the Empire, this Emperor was the one who had the least understanding of the value of his life within the Empire.

Medium: [So-yah!]

Medium, who did not follow along with everybody else, drew a barbarian sword from the back of her waist, and then skillfully struck the green radiance upon the pedestal―― Moguro’s Magic Core, batting it off.

Drawing a gentle arc as it gyrated, it fell into the grip of Balleroy’s single upraised hand. Ascertaining its heat and weight, Balleroy looked at Vincent.

Vincent had lowered the tip of the Yang Sword, and was facing Balleroy intently.

Vincent: [――――]

Upon witnessing the pandemonium weaving its way through Vincent’s sable eyes in that moment, Balleroy knew that this Emperor needed Medium.

In order to narrow down his options and make the best of his decisions, he needed someone who would prop him up, smiling by his side as they looked to the future. ――Albeit Balleroy, the one who had robbed him of Chisha, bore no right to say so.

Were it Chisha Gold, it would not have been strange for him to have even predicted the feelings of guilt harbored by the undead-turned Balleroy.

Wondering if he was indeed overthinking things, Balleroy made a wry smile,

Balleroy: [Medi.]

At Balleroy’s call, Medium, having guessed his intention, trotted towards him. Into Medium’s arms, Balleroy entrusted Madelyn, whom he had been carrying in one arm this whole time.

The precious dragonkin girl, who, while in a state of half-consciousness, had only continued to convey her love towards Balleroy.

The girl, now asleep again, having worn herself out from crying, unto whom he had become an everlasting scar.

Medium: [Ballebro.]

Balleroy: [What’s up?]

Carefully receiving Madelyn’s body, Medium looked at Balleroy from a close proximity. Then, with a face Balleroy knew well, she gave a broad smile as bright as the sun.

Medium: [Do your best!]

Balleroy: [――. Yeah, I’ll give ‘em hell.]

Just who would believe that the body of an undead was brimming with vitality?

Receiving strength from that which nobody would believe, Balleroy energetically turned his back. Then, mounting his beloved dragon, which had been waiting in the depths of the smashed-open battery, he patted its wings.

That instant, the unleashed wind thrust Carillon up into the air, and it immediately began climbing to a high altitude.

Rapidly climbing by leaps and bounds, leaps and bounds, Balleroy and Carillon vigorously approached the heavens present above the clouds.

The voice of the wind disappeared; this was concentration, the sensation of flight engulfed by nothingness.

???: [Balleroy, Carillon, not just, the two of you. I, am here.]

Balleroy: [Ahh, that’s right. Now this is quite rude of me.]

Tightly holding onto the Magic Core―― onto Moguro, and receiving that protest, Balleroy wryly smiled.

Having their name enlisted among the Nine Divine Generals as the Steelman, contrary to their robotic appearance and manner of speech, Moguro was sincere, sympathetic, and dare say even amiable.

Moguro: [I, am the Meteor of the Empire. That, is my purpose of creation.]

Balleroy: [――Purpose of creation.]

The words Moguro had used to explain their reasoning, was ironically enough, the same that Sphinx would use on occasion.

In order to fulfill their respective purposes of creation, Sphinx would destroy the Empire, and Moguro would protect the Empire. And there he was, indecisively going back and forth, supporting each of them.

Moguro: [Why did you betray us, Balleroy?]

Balleroy: [Kuhah.]

At the exceedingly straightforward query, Balleroy chuckled at what could only be described as sheer Moguroness.

That question could have been referring to his betrayal from before or after his death, but perhaps Moguro likely had not made a distinction between the two within themselves. If anything, Balleroy was grateful for it to have been that way.

Both before and after his death, Balleroy’s reason for choosing to oppose the Empire had been the same.

Balleroy: [――It was for the sake of someone precious.]

Whether it was because he was approaching his imminent demise, or if it was because he thought of this robotic Meteor as a friend who was easy to get along with, Balleroy spoke thus.

This was probably the first time he had put those feelings to words, and he had not intended on ever speaking of them to anyone.

Carillon: [――Kiryararahhh.]

Perhaps because Balleroy’s shame had been transmitted, Carillon looked back at him and returned a nod as it flapped its wings through the sky. Through the special trait of flying dragon riders, only Carillon knew. ――No, it seemed like Medium had also figured it out, but he had generally been hiding it.

For that to be divulged, he thought it must have been unacceptable for Moguro, but――,

Moguro: [I see. Understood. We, are same. ――For the sake, of somebody precious.]

Balleroy: [――――]

Moguro: [Balleroy, I forgive, you.]

At the forgiveness of Moguro, who was robotic, yet still attempted to get close, Balleroy’s cheeks stiffened.

Those cheeks of Balleroy’s housed the hue of life distinct from that of the undead, and in his eyes there no longer loomed the hue of gold upon black, but rather they had regained their natural glow. ――That was the brilliant blaze, of Balleroy Temeglyph’s final moments.

Balleroy: [You’ve got my thanks, Moguro.]

As a dead individual who was now by no means inferior to a living one, Balleroy looked up to the sky as he spoke thus.

Still rapidly accelerating by leaps and bounds, Balleroy and company pierced the clouds. The maelstrom of clouds was swirling as if it had a certain will, and it began to envelop them as they raced into the sky.

That, which was not intent on crushing them, was something Balleroy had seen in the past, at the summit of Mount Palzoa. This was the Dragon’s nest, made so as to not let those within the clouds escape outwards――.

Balleroy: [――――]

Within Balleroy’s mind, many faces emerged.

Vincent, the Nine Divine Generals, Madelyn, Serena, Medium, Flop, and Miles.

They were the proof that Balleroy had lived, and they were the meaning in Balleroy having lived.

Together with his beloved dragon, Carillon, carrying them all――,

Balleroy: [――It was a life rife with its ups and downs, but I’d say it wasn’t a bad one.]

Carillon: [――Kiryararahhh.]

With even his final words unable to break away from his half-hearted nature, his slovenly self ended up receiving a scolding from his beloved dragon.

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That instant, dragon claws thrust into the ground, and the collapsed body raised itself. Immediately, the red-haired man to its side screamed “Uoohhh!?” as he fell onto his backside, but that did not weigh on their mind.

More so than such insignificant things, what mattered now was――.

???: [Balleroy―― Hk.]

The impact of being punched had been far too tremendous, so they were unable to stand up. But, that was no matter. What was needed now was not the strength to stand up, but the might of an empyrean being.

With a quiver of their long whiskers, funneling power into their sharp eyes, they focused their attention on the sky directly above the Crystal Palace. The scintillation ascended straight upwards, streaking a hue of emerald green across the ether. And at the summit of that beam of luminescence, only continuing to climb higher, was somebody precious.

That intent, that resolve, that determination, and that selfishness, they would forgive it all.

???: [――――PREAHHHHHH.]

The power gushing out of their humongous body obtruded upon the welkin, and a cumulus maelstrom began to coil in the sky of the Crystal Palace. Once they ushered the emerald gleam into the vortex, they drastically increased the density, and accelerated the gyre further.

Like so, the Cloud Dragon Mezoreia―― Madelyn, summoned all of her power.

Madelyn: [――Ah.]

That instant, a flicker of light illuminated the world, and the maelstrom of clouds was ripped asunder from within.

What that signified, what had been lost from the world, what had become distant from herself, she keenly understood to a painfully clear extent.

Madelyn: [Ah, ahhh, AHH, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH――!!!]

Gazing up at the sky of scattered clouds, thinking about the one she loved, of whom there no longer remained any vestiges, Madelyn burst into a wail with the large mouth and thick neck of the Cloud Dragon.

――Underneath the odiously clear sky, the lovelorn maiden of the Dragons just kept crying.

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Thank you for reading, this chapter meant a lot to me.

I also made a tribute video to go along with this chapter, you can watch it here. (Be sure to turn captions on)

Love, Archbishop