HDOVAML Chapter 110

<Episode 110>

 

Why is she struggling so desperately? 

To say it’s simply to fulfill the mission given by the Spirit King of Wisdom…

It seemed as though she was consumed by a desperation that even he couldn’t understand.

A peculiar human. An unfamiliar anomaly. It was only due to these oddities that he had chosen to observe her.

Ashmed was overwhelmed by an indefinable emotion as he averted his gaze from the scenes delivered by his messenger.

He was death incarnate in this universe.

He had witnessed countless sights more harrowing than this. The only difference now was that every human he had encountered since his birth had always been a lifeless corpse.

Fragile beings, so insignificant they could not influence fate in the slightest.

While Arkane loathed mortals with a deep-seated hatred, Ashmed bore no personal grudge against them but saw no reason to waste interest on creatures rejected by the brother who loved him dearly.

Thus, this was the first time.

The first time he truly faced a living human, not a lifeless corpse whose soul he was meant to claim.

As time passed, the scenes relayed by his messenger began to show many other humans.

For some reason, the royal family of Nisha—a kingdom devoted to Arkane—seemed to be chasing after Rose Hacardella.

They used the powers of darkness to drive her mind into unbearable torment, seeking to cut off all resistance at its source.

When her silver eyes, robbed of light, met his through an unbridgeable wall of hallucinations…

[…]

Ashmed was gripped by an indescribable sense of dismay.

That human had said she entered the corpse of the deceased to fulfill the mission entrusted to her by Lore.

But if left as she was, she would inevitably be captured by the royal family of Nisha.

If that happened, there was no way she could fulfill her original mission.

[…]

This was to set the anomaly right.

His duty was to ensure that the soul claiming to come from the future would leave as soon as possible, find Rose Hacadella’s original soul, and claim her life as it should be.

So helping her just this once wouldn’t be wrong.

For the first time, Ashmed broke his principle of noninterference in the flow of the mortal world and ordered his messenger to find someone who could aid her.

As a result, a man from the Hacardella family rescued Rose Hacardella from her peril.

They escaped the threat unharmed.

Only then did Ashmed exhale a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, but he quickly stiffened, questioning why he had felt relief.

Why would the safety of that human matter to him?

He had only helped to fulfill his duty—what was there to feel relieved about?

The discomfort lingered, gnawing at him persistently.

Feeling his mood sour, Ashmed deliberately averted his gaze from Rose Hacardella for a while.

But even as he carried out his duty, claiming the lives of the dead, he couldn’t entirely suppress the sudden curiosity that would creep in.

What might she be doing now? She seemed to be heading for the Kingdom of Dryas—was she progressing in the mission Lore had given her?

Though he scorned himself for such thoughts, Ashmed ordered his messenger to show him Rose Hacardella once more.

The scenes showed her meeting with the ruler of a clan that favored Dryad.

They discussed relics belonging to the Spirit Kings, and Rose Hacardella followed the ruler into the sanctuary of the Dryad royal family.

Even as the Spirit King of Death, Ashmed could not encroach upon spaces protected by the guardianship of another Spirit King.

Naturally, he withdrew his messenger, unable to see what transpired within.

Still, as Ashmed observed the human struggling from afar, a question arose in his mind.

Arkane.

Why was the royal family of Nisha, a nation devoted to his brother, so intent on seizing relics of other Spirit Kings?

[I cannot understand…]

What was so desirable about a relic that merely contained fragments of another Spirit King’s essence?

[…You may go.]

Ashmed dismissed his messenger, stepping away from the past and turning his gaze to the majestic snow-capped mountains and the piercingly blue sky.

[Ashmed, it might be best if you don’t return to the Spirit Realm for a while.]

[Why?]

As the suggestion that suddenly reached his ears, Ashmed turned to Prinscher with a questioning look.

[…You already know, don’t you? The kingdom Naiad loved has met its end.]

When Prinscher murmured Naiad’s name, his expression faintly turned grim—a subtle shift noticeable only to the most perceptive.

[Overwhelmed by grief and hatred toward your brother, who surely had a hand in this, Naiad is rampaging in anguish.]

This was something Ashmed would have never known under normal circumstances, but he happened to discover it while observing the actions of the human who had taken over Rose Hacardella’s body.

[…I see.]

Love. 

Having never been consumed by such emotions himself, it was difficult for Ashmed to grasp Naiad’s grief and hatred.

[Ashmed, if I were to lose even you… I would fall into a despair incomparable to the shallow grief and fury of those Spirit Kings who govern nature. I would pour all my strength into vengeance, devouring my own existence to the very end.]

Had he not witnessed up close someone writhing in torment, consumed by love and hatred, enduring cruel curses and agony?

[Toward the world that took you from me, toward the universe that abandoned me for its love of life…]

And so, he could only trace the vague outlines of these incomprehensible feelings and struggle to understand.

[In any case, don’t go to the Spirit Realm. Naiad might lash out at you in her fury.]

[Understood. But are you not going to see her?]

[…What do you mean?]

Prinscher showed a faint hint of confusion as he asked.

[No one else, but Naiad herself, is suffering so much. She is your…]

Ashmed spoke in an emotionless tone, as if reciting an undeniable truth.

[…You already know. Seeing me will only worsen Naiad’s turmoil, so it’s better not to meet her at all.]

Prinscher answered with a faint smile.

It was a smile in name only, overshadowed by deep self-mockery.

[Truly complicated.]

Ah, emotions. How are they so intricate and elusive, stirring up such disquiet within me?

Ashmed frowned in dissatisfaction and muttered quietly.

 

***

 

[Let go of me! I said, let go!]

Kwoom!

The Spirit Realm was composed of 13 dimensions.

[Stop this, Naiad!]

Kukooom!

Each Spirit King of nature was assigned a dimension to govern, ruling it alongside their followers.

From life and death to darkness and wisdom, the primordial spirits also reigned over their respective dimensions.

One dimension was reserved as a shared space for spirits outside of the Spirit Kings’ rule.

[Answer me, Ignis! Will you remain silent as the vile darkness distorts all fate?!]

[Naiad!]

And this place was the purest and most sacred domain—the dimension ruled by the Spirit King of Light, Ignis.

[Calm down! What kind of disgraceful behavior is this?!]

Since the fall of the kingdom she loved, the Water Spirit King, Naiad, had been raging outside Ignis’s palace, pouring her fury toward him like someone who had lost her sanity.

The Earth Spirit King, Oried, tried to restrain her, his jaw clenched as his face contorted with deep anguish.

[Come out! Show yourself before me! Shed even a single tear, offering me your worthless pity as you always do!]

Panting and screaming, Naiad eventually collapsed into Oried’s embrace, sobbing aloud.

[…I understand your sorrow deeply. I lost the nation I blessed long before you.]

[Hacardella… In the end, everything is gone. My kingdom, my pride, trampled mercilessly under Arkane’s feet!]

Oried consoled Naiad in her despair while fixing his gaze on the Light Palace, which remained eerily still and silent.

[Truly cold-hearted… You’d think he’d at least step out once.]

Then again, hadn’t it been the same during his own time?

Oried twisted his lips into a self-deprecating smile.

Ignis, ever so kind and gentle, never showing anger no matter the offense, could sometimes seem terrifying in his unwavering serenity during moments like these.

[…Oried.]

As Naiad’s sobs subsided and a brief stillness fell, someone’s presence was suddenly felt.

[Dryad? …What brings you here?]

It was none other than the Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad, who appeared and looked at him.