2nd Rank Has Returned

217 – Linked Chains-7

My sins are countless.

Perhaps even counting caused innumerable sins that would be hypocrisy, and could not be prevented.

Still, if I were to count my sins hypocritically, there would be three.

The first was overconfidence in me and my colleagues.

The senate thought that even if it was trash that they wanted to kill right away, it was worth using in terms of troops and military mustering.

In a war situation, even if we tried to purify it, it would only lead to chaos.

Thanks to that, talented people who claim to have the whole empire gathered in one place. Probably a great talent both in terms of military strength and ability.

A battle that could have been completely won if even half of the force had followed the strategy.

However, when the demon king appeared in person, the structure was completely overturned.

Those with Reinhardt’s blood were at least able to survive, but the other heroes were shaken and lost in fear.

Ordinary soldiers drove nails into their eardrums just by hearing the sound, and went crazy or committed suicide just by seeing the demon king.

I was still able to fight.

Even if my father gets poisoned and lies down.

Even if Auntie burns her life to buy time,

Even if his grandfather died in a fit of rage, wiping out enemy troops to death,

Even when my brother used teleportation to save everyone and left only an apology,

I had to fight.

For the world people kept and left behind, for the world he will live in.

When I got into a fight with the demon king like that, I made the second mistake.

‘…Unbelievable… why…’

When I looked at the true face of the Demon King in the midst of madness and chaos, I was speechless.

A human being who has never met or spoken to.

It was the skin of a person who was difficult to say even if it was old.

I had no choice but to know.

If it were Leonardo himself, he would have thought it was a trick and finished it without hesitation.

But even though he resembles Leo more than anyone else, he is a completely unexpected figure.

[You were careless.]

My second mistake. A victory that could have been captured alive was missed that way.

The results of that diary discussion came together.

It ended in destruction.

The battle would be determined by what the remaining people did in the future.

And now.

Meeting him is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

I couldn’t see it again, and I shouldn’t have seen it.

I think the word “I missed you” Will come out.

I feel disgusted with myself like that.

I’m just a blade right now.

* * *

“…How…”

[…How…]

The two warriors looked at Leo at the same time as if they had become one.

Ariaspil’s trembling bobbed hair, as well as the expression hidden by the helmet, were clearly visible in Leo’s eyes.

Leonardo’s face facing those faces was only a smile.

“The principle is simple. He made me think only the soul was dead. The body remains alive moment by moment.”

Even though the chest was pierced, it touched only the beating of the heart with minimal damage to the organs.

Thanks to the black divinity and the technique using medical knowledge, Ariasviel was mistaken for his own death.

The result was that I was able to enter this holy sword.

“Aria told me the story of meeting you in the Holy Sword. I got the hang of it right there.”

The structure of the Holy Sword’s reaction was understood as a whole. The keyword is not the death of the hero, but making the hero think he is dead.

If dying completely was the condition, when another hero tried to kill Arya, let alone the attack would pass, the treatment wouldn’t have brought her back to consciousness.

“So.”

Leonardo stretched out his hand toward the chest of the warrior clad in black armor.

Until now, the black warrior who had been pressuring Arya with a masculine and rough attitude shrank like a young girl.

“You can’t touch it. Because she’s only half dead. So she doesn’t have to dodge like a girl.”

Leonardo’s hand passes through the warrior through the black armor. Like a sage who is a ghost, you can see and talk to them, but you cannot reach them.

“By comparison, she can touch half-dead Arya, just like me.”

Leonardo then gently puts his arms around Ariaspil’s chest, who is embarrassed.

Ariasviel was not offended by this skinship even though she was subjected to extreme attacks. Rather, it was as if he was hugging himself warmly and snugly.

“Okay? The great Mr. Ruben Reinhardt?”

“…?”

[…]

When Leonardo referred to the black warrior like that, Ariaspil looked at him in bewilderment.

Even though there may not be a solid basis, even Ariaspil can tell that the being in front of him right now is not Ruben Reinhardt.

In addition, if you focus on the keywords and identify the identity of the holy sword and the hero, you will be narrowed down to one woman.

That’s what Leonardo knows best.

“Why are you like that? Even though we had no relationship, I wanted to see him a lot.”

I was doing that because I knew it very well.

The proof was that he purposely spit out a strong tone at the part of ‘no relationship’.

[Wait a minute, I…]

“Isn’t it right for me to ask the question now? If you’re being unlucky with Arya, why would you be embarrassed by me, her bottom?”

Ariaspil in the helmet couldn’t answer properly as he said he was embarrassed.

It’s like seeing a wife getting ripped off by her husband.

With both hands slightly below the navel, head bowed, fingers rubbing thumbs together as if to symbolize anxiety.

[…Leo, Nardo, are you… A victim of this situation…]

“Ah, Aria! Is it okay that I stabbed you in the chest earlier? If it hurts a lot, I’ll help you~”

I cut off the words of the black warrior as if an ax was attached to my tongue.

Aria would normally happily accept even such charming worries, but now in this serious and heterogeneous situation, I couldn’t take it kindly at all.

“…Ah…! Yes yes…! Are you okay…! If you can do it later…”

“No, no, what would you do if you got hurt by that pretty chest? It’s a clean chest with no scars compared to the first playthrough, so I’ll have to take good care of it.”

I don’t know why, but the black warrior’s fists tremble as they are clenched. Maybe Leo would do the same even if he knew why.

Because it’s clear that you already know.

[…Is the story over?]

“Ah, roughly speaking. But when did you say you saw it? With no, no, no relationship with me.”

Even though the pupils were covered by the helmet, Ariasviel showed a trembling gaze.

As if facing each other in a mirror, the expression caught my eye.

[…I understand.]

“Are you saying that with respect?”

Ariaspil looked at the black armored warrior in embarrassment at the rapid stance change that seemed to have no backbone.

She suddenly becomes suspicious that this woman is the one who, just a few days ago, tried to strangle herself and thrust her holy sword into her belly.

[Because you are a clear victim in this situation.]

“It’s difficult to express it like that all of a sudden, right? Of course, being tricked by Arya and the other Reinhardts definitely hurt me.”

Ariasviel trembled in fear at those words. As if it wasn’t just words, it was because Leonardo’s power to embrace him was becoming stronger to the point of tightening him.

Although Leo could be laughing now, he was more angry than ever.

The hero in front of me also noticed the anger first, so he lowered his stance.

“But who are you? I, the party involved, have not yet settled. In Arias Feel, even if I play, I play, and even if I play, I play.”

It was obviously a harsh angry word, but Arya Spiel couldn’t contain his joy overflowing with emotions.

I can’t stand the wriggling of my lips when I calmly say such reckless words. Seeing the vibration of the corner of his mouth, the gaze of the warrior wearing a black helmet shot out.

[…Not only you, but also your mother is a clear victim of the demon lord.]

The black hero, who had suppressed his murderous intent, turned his gaze towards Leo again and did not stop his argument. Leonardo, who was smiling even when he was full of anger, straightened up.

“…Are you going to mess with your parents? Take good care of your mother.”

At those words, the warrior in the black armor flinched again.

As if I had been hit hard with remorse at the word mother.

[Joe, this is not meant as a mockery. In the first place, the devil’s vessel is not an innate problem. It may be a congenital problem, but at least two of them are exceptions.]

With that one word, Leona Road’s true colors gradually deepened. His gaze is so fixed on the warrior that his helmet is completely pierced.

“…Then, all the hats became the Devil’s vessel due to an acquired problem? Does that make sense?”

[…]

Ariasviel bowed his head resolutely even though he seemed to be full of energy. He made no reply, as if affirming as silence.

Leo’s true color is covered with shades and darkness.

I can’t help but laugh at the fact that it can’t even be treated as a comedy.

If that’s true, seeing it from a distance or up close is a tragedy that makes you feel like throwing up.

[There is a way. At least you, Leonardo, can escape from the Devil’s hands.]

From noble mtl dot com.

“…Is that why you f*cking told me to kill Arya earlier? Take the plague.”

[It doesn’t matter if you are sold. But at least you are saved…!]

Huh…!

Leonardo’s fist penetrates the black warrior’s head. Already, his body was slowly becoming translucent.

“You have to be able to say bullsh*t in order to laugh it off. Who begged for such a nasty salvation?”

The hero of the black armor knows.

That Leo wouldn’t do it with his own hands.

That’s not because he’s a hypocrite.

“Besides, I don’t understand the mechanism either? If you follow that logic, what is my mother? Did you even give your body to the demon king like a prostitute?”

[…No matter how many people die, no one can come here.]

After a while, the black armored warrior looked at Ariasviel in turn.

As if he was drowning in regret and remorse.

[…Come to the Holy Sword’s resting place that day. Because you can know anything.]

“…Everything is…”

“Rather than that, why are you talking half-length again?”

Leonardo calmly pointed out the fact while watching Aria and himself becoming translucent.

[It’s not Leo, it’s Ariaspil…!]

“When did you call it short? On a topic that has nothing to do with it. You will be unlucky.”

The warrior in the black armor trembled while holding his hands with his head lowered, like a mute who was about to suffocate while eating honey.

“Rather than that, just answer the questions I ask. Unlucky Mr. Ruben Reinhardt.”

[…Ask a question.]

The black hero waited for the question with complete resignation. Even Ariaspil, who hated the hero of the holy sword, sympathized with that existence.

“Can I retrieve my memories with a holy sword?”

Ariaspil trembled at those words.

It was probably a question and answer that we should face.

Because it’s as if a part of the Leo that made up was lost due to his own lack of ability.

[…That’s… Impossible. Even if it’s not a holy sword.]

Ariasviel’s expression trembles and distorts at that one word. Not as much as that.

I hoped it wasn’t as much as that. I wished there was a way to the holy sword.

“…Then what was the last time I was purified with the holy sword!! With that…!!”

[That’s just filling the divinity with the holy sword and reaping the demonic energy! Strengthen Leo’s mental power to remember…]

“I told you not to let go. I’m listening too Didn’t your grandfather teach you etiquette?”

[…It’s just that I’ve preserved my memories…]

Although it was an important situation, Leonardo put importance on top-to-bottom like Marquen. It was so terrible that even Ariaspil, who was excited by the sudden truth, calmed down for a while at the hero’s pity.

[…Unless it is done at the level of turning back time, there will be no complete memory recovery…]

“…Hah… The thing I want to be right about is absurd, and I’ve definitely figured out the bad things.”

[…Sorry…]

“Okay. Don’t apologize I have an apology or two for you…”

Leonardo immediately stopped talking. His own hand as well as the aria spiel in front of him were fading.

“…Leo… Mr. Reynald…! Body…!”

“It seems that the people outside are impatient.”

The body gradually disappears as light. The lower body, which had already supported the floor, had already disappeared.

[…]

Aryaspil, wearing black armor, looked at them without a word.

He doesn’t deserve to say goodbye to himself.

He shouldn’t have had the shame to say hello after he had the worst farewell while alive and posthumous.

“I’ll see you next time, why are you so sad?”

Leo said. Leo always came along like this.

He’s nothing short of a cutlery when he’s being so pathetic.

“Wait. I can’t beat you right now, but I’ll beat you with my hands later.”

Even though I can’t be honest, I act confidently with myself.

“Ariaspil is the only hero to me. Whether it’s the 1st generation or the 3rd generation, is it my part-time job?”

[…Why…?]

In Leo’s disappearing face, he said.

I didn’t even point out half words.

This time, as if they were on an equal footing.

“Because Ariasviel became my first hero.”

It disappears indefinitely before long.

The hero in the black armor, who confirmed that it was gone, sat down.

Even though you don’t have the right to shed tears, shameless crying makes a warrior feel ashamed.

[…No…Leo…]

I am not a hero.

A worthless failure, compared to that person, it’s just an endless fake.

[…You are real…!]

Aria’s only hero was Leonardo.

In the distorted and repeated time of hundreds and thousands of years.

I was able to endure it because I had Leonardo.

Even though he wasn’t destined to become a hero from the start.

Because he became a true hero.