A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 361

Chapter 361: Epilogue (4)

#12. Past

... On that day five years ago, as the greatest star in the world set, Deculein died. Without a shred of a doubt, without any way to turn back the clock, Sophien witnessed that all too certain final moment of his death.

Whoooooosh—

From the end of the winter mountain, at a snowline altitude where her body was scattered by the frigid cold northern winds, Sophien witnessed the scene inside Rohakan’s cabin where a warm bonfire was burning, with a sight that surpassed a human's.

— Brother.

Sophien took in the sight of Yeriel calling out to Deculein, the sight of Deculein smiling at her, and the sight of their last conversation with her own two eyes.

— Yeriel.

Deculein called Yeriel, who had come to him, and he silently reached out a hand to comfort the child who was mourning.

— ... Why have you been hiding all this time?

Yeriel asked, her voice trying not to break but cracking with tears.

— I was not in hiding.

Deculein replied.

At that moment, Ellie stepped toward them and gave Deculein a slight nod—a small, simple gesture of greeting that carried more weight than a hundred words—and Deculein met her eyes with a light nod, and with that, their greeting was over.

— I was waiting here.

Deculein continued to speak to Yeriel.

The emotion in the word waiting was so tender, affectionate, and warm that Sophien rested her chin on her hand with a smile, exactly as Deculein once treated his own sibling, even though Yeriel was without a doubt not related to him by blood.

— ... I see you have been doing well.

Deculein’s voice was filled with warmth, and with every syllable, every resonance, that warmth glittered like light.

— You think... I'm doing well?

Yeriel replied, sobbing at Deculein's compliment.

However, it was impossible to tell from Yeriel’s expression whether she was happy or sad, even with the teardrops hanging from her wide eyes.

— Have you been watching over me?

Yeriel took a firm hold of Deculein’s hand, and tears shimmered as they fell onto their clasped hands.

— Was I... doing a good job?

Yeriel was waiting for Deculein’s reply, looking in a way that was too childish for a woman who had raised Yukline to a great house of the Empire.

— Yes, Yeriel.

Deculein replied.

— You are doing well. You have always done so, and you will continue to do so.

Deculein continued, saying to Yeriel that she was doing well, really, that she was doing well.

— Therefore, you have no reason to be sad, and I am not worried about you either.

Deculein smiled, lightly got up, and held Yeriel in his arms.

— Because you are my sister.

From that moment onward, there was only a loud, unending sobbing, with Yeriel unable to compose herself as if the world were crumbling around her, her tearful heart filling the entire cabin with its sound.

What could Yeriel's state be at this moment? Her throat must be choked with tears, and her reason, completely gone, making it impossible for her to think straight. Was it a blessing if she didn’t pass out from all that? Sophien thought, watching them.

— Yes, because I am your sister.

... However, Yeriel pulled herself together faster than Sophien had anticipated, biting her lip as she wiped her tears with her sleeve before burying her face in Deculein’s chest.

— I am sorry for everything.

Of course, Yeriel is a spirited woman, with as much determination as Deculein, meaning she is a fitting head of the family, Sophien thought.

— Thank you so much, and...

Therefore, Yeriel did not want to waste Deculein’s final moment on something like sadness or be left with regrets at the end, and instead she suppressed her exploding emotions with all her might and conveyed her true feelings...

— I love you.

... The words she had always wanted to say but had never been able to, at least now, in this moment.

— I'm glad that you were my brother.

At that moment, Deculein’s eyes curved into a slight arc.

— ... Yes, Yeriel.

However, Deculein’s smile lasted only a moment, for his heart had already stopped and his body had already reached its limit, and he had merely been postponing his final moment while waiting for Yeriel to arrive.

— Yes, brother.

As he accepted the death that had come for him a long time ago, Deculein slowly closed his eyes.

— You can rest now.

And at last, Yeriel accepted Deculein's death.

#13. Present

“... I was unwilling to accept it.”

Returning to the present, Sophien wrinkled her face as she looked at Epherene.

“What was it that you were unwilling to accept?” Epherene asked, as if she had no idea what she was talking about.

"I was unwilling to accept his death," Sophien said.

“Would there really be a way if you refused to accept it?” Epherene replied, tilting her head.

Chirp— Chirp—

Somewhere, the sound of birds chirping echoed with a sense of peace.

The two were now having a conversation in this ordinary, secluded fishing spot—a place deep in the mountains where, due to its lack of human presence, nature was well preserved.

“You are a mage, are you not? It should be your specialty to create a way even when none exists.”

“Regression is not an option,” Epherene replied, raising her eyebrows. “Even if it were possible, I cannot disturb a timeline that has already been made.”

Epherene had a promise and a determination, and she was willing to sacrifice everything to meet Deculein.

However, this conviction was limited to herself, and she could not forcibly sacrifice others for her own purpose, and that was a principle that both Epherene and Deculein had held on to.

"Hmph, you have nothing to worry about. The sacrifice is one I will make."

Epherene, gripping her fishing rod, looked at Sophien.

“The Quantization of Time,” Sophien continued, staring out at the ocean.

“... Sorry?”

Quantization of Time was the theory that Deculein had passed on to Epherene in Lokralen five years ago, and it was a miracle achieved together by the mentor and protégé.

"That spell of yours, I am told you learned it in Lokralen."

Whirrrrrr—

The fishing rod shook, and a ripple appeared on the surface of the water that had taken the bait.

“And?”

"That will be sufficient to achieve it."

“Of what...?”

"I am certain you remember. It was not long after Deculein's death that a meteor fell in the Northern Region."

The meteor, Epherene thought, her head nodding after a moment.

“That day when Your Majesty and I came to the future together..."

“Indeed.”

In the past, Sophien and Epherene had traveled to the future together, and there, Epherene had received a wand from Deculein—the last gift left to her by a Deculein whose life had already come to an end.

“The fragment of that meteor is with me,” Sophien continued.

Epherene’s eyes trembled like ice, and she looked at Sophien with a nervous expression.

“And.”

Snap—

Sophien snapped her fingers, and a presence appeared from somewhere, making Epherene turn with a look of bewilderment that soon turned into a smile.

"Hello, it has been a while."

The woman's voice was monotone, but as she smiled faintly at Epherene, it became clear that she was Sylvia, the only woman the Archmage Epherene called a friend.

"It's been a while, Archmage Epherene."

Next was the child who once treated Epherene as an archmage, now the greatest adventurer on the continent and no longer a child.

However, her feelings of warmth were fleeting, and with a rational expression Epherene asked, "Ria, Sylvia. What brings you both here?"

“Well?” Ria replied, a bright smile on her face and a strange confidence in her posture.

Epherene rose to her feet without a word as tranquil mana bloomed beside her, and though this unexpected encounter was as joyous as it was sudden, she was a major pillar of the continent’s magical realm, charged with safeguarding its laws and providence, and thus bore the duty to eliminate any possibility of a severe threat to the continent’s safety should it arise again.

“What brings you here?” Epherene asked in a low voice.

#14. Rohakan’s Cabin

The second step was to bring Deculein, who had been in hibernation for ten thousand years, out of the past, but they would have to do so without being detected, hiding him away somewhere. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Because all that matters is to meet the Professor, Epherene thought.

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