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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The Legend of Kroon, an in-game historical account mentioned several times in both Reincarnated Hero and Reincarnated Academy.
It’s a story about the legendary hero Kroon basically doing everything,
and the character who served as the healer in Kroon’s party was Saintess Psyche.
The exact narrative wasn’t mentioned… but
Kroon’s party, having reached Pandemonium, faced a crisis during their expedition to defeat the Demon King,
and Kroon, to protect his party members and future heroes, sacrificed himself, unleashing the power of his will.
He then sealed Psyche within a crystal to protect her from becoming prey to the demons.
In other words, the reason Psyche only appeared at Clarice Academy in Chapter 5 was
because she was slumbering and recovering her strength in this hellish den.
.
.
.
After traveling for about half a day using Yellody’s levitation magic, we arrived at the one and only sanctuary in Pandemonium.
Unlike the previous areas, which were painted in red and black, reflecting the image of a ruined world,
this place was like an ice palace, with emerald crystals blooming and illuminating the surroundings.
‘Kroon, that bastard… he was a monster.’
The only flower blooming in Pandemonium.
Psyche’s sanctuary.
Two demons, seemingly low-ranking, guarded the entrance.
I immediately whispered to Yellody,
“Go and get bitten.”
“Die… Die…”
At my command, Yellody bared her teeth and growled like a chihuahua.
“It doesn’t change anything even if you look at me like that. Want a taste of Authority?”
“……!”
Yellody exuded a terrible killing intent, but as my subordinate, she had no choice but to obey my every word.
“Really…!”
Finally, she trembled and walked forward.
.
.
.
A moment later,
at the words of the high-ranking demon Yellody… the low-ranking demons stepped aside, and
“Die, die, die!”
thanks to that, I was able to easily enter the heart of the crystal palace.
-Ding.
The closer I got to the center where Psyche was, the more my human body began to recover.
“Really. This is unpleasant. Just like you.”
Looking at Yellody beside me, she was grumbling, seemingly more uncomfortable than before.
Well, demons’ combat power decreased in this place.
Still, perhaps because she had been exposed to humans a lot, she seemed to be enduring it fairly well.
‘Psyche is…’
The central crystal tower that maintained this sanctuary emitted a beautiful light, containing a lavender gem.
It wasn’t like the cryogenic sleep seen in movies.
Psyche’s physical form wasn’t visible.
Kroon had probably sealed her in the form of a crystal or that gem.
If her figure had been exposed, the security here wouldn’t be so lax.
‘Do they just think of it as a… sanctuary?’
I immediately touched the crystal and waited for the game system’s status window.
-Ding.
‘…Just in time.’
It wasn’t too late.
In 10 hours and 2 minutes…
Psyche would descend here, having fully recovered her strength.
I assumed it would proceed as in the established story.
She would return to the mortal world, to Clarice Academy, to find a successor who would follow in her unstable footsteps.
Of course, dimensional magic… especially casting this ultimate spell in the middle of Pandemonium, not just a demonic realm like Professor MacLorn, wouldn’t be easy…
but only Psyche, the sole Saintess in this world, could do it.
‘Aria, Yeriel…’
I wanted to tell them to wait a little longer, but my words wouldn’t reach them.
Especially Aria, who hated being a burden more than anything… I was very worried about her.
Even if she saw me again… would she still like me?
Was it already too late?
‘Still, logging out here is overkill.’
Anyway, what I had to do now to return immediately was…
to survive for 10 hours without dying.
“I don’t know what you’re planning…”
Yellody, unaware of my thoughts, sneered, one corner of her mouth raised.
“Do you think you’ll survive just because you’re in the sanctuary?”
“…”
“This is the heart of Pandemonium. The guards will be back soon…”
-Shift…
“What are you doing?”
Ignoring her words, I took out snacks from my bag.
Top-quality chocolates bought from the Imperial City.
The packaging was enchanted with a short-term preservation spell, so there was no need to worry about them spoiling.
“……”
Yellody’s gaze was fixed on the chocolate in my hand.
She had a setting of loving sweets…
“Do you know the saying, ‘Even the Diamond Mountains should be viewed after a meal’?”
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A quiet silence filled the Seraphi Black Dormitory.
There were originally only three residents, but
one was now gone.
Aria, having returned here, did only one thing.
She traced Lev Denek’s presence in his room.
The chair he sat in.
The bed he lay in.
The closet with his scent clinging to it…
Aria thought she looked pathetic doing this… but it was the only way to maintain her fragile sanity.
Thinking of him…
she cried herself to sleep every day.
She didn’t sob loudly; tears just streamed down her face endlessly.
When she finally fell asleep, exhausted from crying, she was met with nightmares.
Andras, the enemy who killed her parents.
He greeted Aria with a smile, and
Marcosias
commanded her.
-Kill! Kill him! What are you doing! Kill! Kill! Don’t hesitate and kill him! Now!
-Haa… Haa…
In her hand was the magic sword she received from Lilith.
‘Let go, let go…!’
She wanted to drop it, but it was stuck to her hand, refusing to let go.
‘Huu…! Huuugh…!!!’
Whenever Aria’s emotions intensified, her father invariably appeared.
-Aria, it’s okay.
His words comforted her.
-I’m sorry… I’m sorry…
Unfortunately, as Aria found a semblance of peace,
that voice soon changed.
To a low, pleasant resonance.
-It’s alright. Aria.
Lev Denec.
The moment when everything stopped, and only his voice could be heard.
However, there was no one to hug her like back then… no one to pat her back.
‘Sorry, I’m sorry! Lev! I’m sorry!’
Aria’s cries, like the whispers of her heart, dissipated into the air.
‘Where are you… Where are you…! Even just seeing your face… wouldn’t you come to me… just once…?’
Perhaps this moment was more painful than facing Andras or Marcosias.
As Aria cried out for Lev until she was exhausted and about to lose consciousness,
-Stab!
“No…!”
-Stab, stab!
“No…!”
-Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab!
The heavy, vivid sensation she wanted to forget returned to her hand.
A hand soaked in blood.
The hand that killed Lev Denec.
But the hand he held.
-…Lev… you’re the worst.
-It’s… creepy. The you I believed in… was a worse person than I thought.
-You don’t need to help me with my revenge anymore.
‘Sob… Sob… Sob…’
The memory of that day, too late to ask for forgiveness.
‘Lev… Lev…’
-I’ll help you. With your revenge.
How much must he have suffered after saying those words?
He truly was the one who defeated Andras…
He was the one who tried to save everyone…
yet she had only doubted him.
She recalled his expressions, sometimes calm, sometimes sad.
‘It’s… because of me…’
If it weren’t for her revenge…
he wouldn’t have said those things.
In the end, Aria believed that she was the cause of this tragedy.
‘I’m… bad, bad… I should be punished… punished…’
-Knock, knock.
-!!
Just then, there was a knock on Lev’s door.
Aria got up and walked towards the door, as if in a trance.
She felt a little dazed.
She entertained a faint hope, a fantasy.
That when she opened the door, he would be there, and
-…What are you doing in my room?
-Hmm… You’re the type to show it through actions, Aria?
that he would tease her like this… again.
She indulged in such… sweet dreams.
-Click.
And when she opened the door,
it wasn’t Lev, but the half-elf, Selena.
.
.
.
“As expected, you’re here.”
“…”
Despite Selena’s cold words, Aria’s eyes were still dazed.
“I have something to ask you about Lev…”
Selena was about to ask about Lev in a harsh tone, but
“Sigh.”
she let out a small sigh and checked Aria’s condition first.
She looked a little thinner, as if only a few days… had passed.
A bandage was loosely wrapped around her slender wrist, but
“You…!”
it was soaked with blood.
As Selena grabbed her wrist, the bandage naturally unraveled, revealing her delicate skin.
“…!”
“Bad children… should be punished… I… even if I just hurt myself a little…”
She healed naturally.
Selena knew roughly what was going on.
“…”
That she had partially inherited the Saintess’s power.
Aria probably couldn’t inflict wounds on herself through simple self-harm.
“Aria Bluebell…”
Selena’s racing heart had calmed down.
She had intended to ask Aria what Lev’s last words were, but
“Selena… I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
Aria’s eyes seemed to beg to be killed, as painfully as possible.
-That’s right.
-Selena, excuse me, but me too.
-I feel the same. I’m sorry.
It hadn’t been long since they had clashed over Lev.
“…”
Judging by the circumstances, it seemed true that Lev died because of her.
Selena suppressed the surge of emotions and said to Aria,
“Don’t ever do anything stupid like that again.”
“…”
“It’s pathetic. Do you think Lev would want this?”
“Sob… Sob…! But…! What… what should I do to… Lev…!”
“I’m sorry, but no matter what you do… Lev won’t come back.”
“…!”
At Selena’s sincere tone, Aria’s eyes regained focus.
“Stop acting like a child. Do you think Lev would appreciate seeing you like this?”
“……”
“Both you and I… we know what it’s like to lose someone precious… don’t we?”
“……”
“The only thing we can do for the dead… is to pull ourselves together and live on.”
Live on.
At Selena’s quiet words, Aria swallowed her tears in silence.
“And, you know what? You’re not the only one. I like Lev too.”
“…!”
“But the human man I came to like… the person he sacrificed his life to save… is you… you…!”
“…Selena…”
“So please, stop making the person I like look like a fool.”
With those words, Selena turned her back on Aria.
“Yeriel prepares your meals every day. Come down and eat properly.”
-Clatter.
“…”
The door closed, and Aria was alone again.
This was the reality she faced.
Yes, Lev… wouldn’t come back.
But she didn’t want to accept it.
“Lev… Lev…”
Aria knelt beside his bed, burying her face and chest in his blanket.
She still needed his scent.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry… I’m sorry for not believing you…”
She tried to grasp the neatly arranged white sheet… and imagine herself sinking into his embrace.
She hadn’t even properly apologized.
-I’m sorry…
Instead, she was the one who received an apology from him.
‘Just once… even just once…’
If only she could tell him she was sorry, that she truly liked him… just once…
How wonderful it would be.
Can… you… hear… me?
-!
Just then.
Aria, can you hear me…?
What reached her ears was
a holy and noble, celestial voice.
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