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Chapter 269 - A Sorrowful Vow (1)

“Zzzz...”

“Phew...!”

Everyone in the hospital was either snoring or about to. The medical staff was completely exhausted because they had been up for two days, without any sleep, trying to tend to the patients and wrestle with some of them.

Of course, not everybody could afford to sleep. Any hospital had doctors and nurses on call for emergencies, but in this situation, even they were dozing off. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open.

Gerlin, Monsieur’s best doctor, was one of them. He had spent the entire day stopping hemorrhages, suturing wounds, and tending to patients, but he had lost to a draw with his fellow doctors, so he had to stay on call for the night.

“Zzz...”

Despite his efforts to stay awake, Gerlin was dozing off in a rather uncomfortable position in his chair. He had purposefully stayed in an uncomfortable position so as not to fall asleep, but to no avail. At one point, he was overcome by a pleasant warmth, and his eyes became too heavy to keep open.

“Zzz...!”

Gerlin was too tired to notice the source of the warmth, and he slept like a log even after it disappeared.

“You’ve done well,” said Henry.

It was Irenae who had enveloped him with warmth. With help from Henry, Irenae had made her way to the highest point outside of the hospital and performed her Holy Code.

This Holy Code was called Extensive Rapid Recovery. She had also used this during the fierce battle of Zipan.

Elagon was also by Irenae’s side.

- Khu khu!

“Yes, you did well too.”

Henry patted Elagon on the head.

It would’ve been a daunting task for Irenae to heal everybody by herself, but with the help of Elagon, a spirit with healing abilities, it had been ten times easier.

“You have my utmost gratitude for helping us at such a late hour, Saint.”

“No worries. If there’s anything else I can do for you in the future, please look for me, and not the Pope.”

The Saint drew a firm line once again.

With that, Henry thanked her again and escorted her back to the Holy City. He then returned to Monsieur, his emotions still stirred. Part of him wanted to teleport back to Enkelmann right then and burn down the whole city.

However, he needed to do everything in order. He couldn’t go back to his impetuous nature. He had already lost people who were important to him, so he had to control himself and make rational decisions so as to not lose the people who were still on his side, alive.

Those people were the only ones who could help him at this point.

Having escorted the Saint, Henry went back to the hospital.

The doctors and nurses were no longer snoring in a troubled, fitful sleep. Thanks to the Holy Code performed by the Saint, they were sleeping blissfully, the atmosphere being that of an enchanted forest.

Henry looked for McDowell’s room because Von was in it as well, dozing off on a cot.

‘Lucky guy.’

Fortunately, the region that Von had been guarding had escaped Arthus’ wrath. Thus, unlike the other knights who had barely survived their encounters with the apostles, Von was completely unharmed.

Henry raised his right hand and gestured at Von, lifting him in the air with his magic. As he did so, Henry examined McDowell from the corner of his eye.

McDowell was covered in bandages, but Henry could tell that his grave condition had improved a lot thanks to Irenae’s healing.

After confirming that McDowell was in better shape, Henry cast Teleportation, still holding Von in the air.

“Teleport.”

Flash!

He teleported to Enkelmann.

***

Swoosh!

Arriving at Enkelmann, the cold air of the night woke Von up.

“Mmm...”

With a brief groan, Von opened his eyes.

As soon as he realized that he wasn’t in the hospital, he instinctively reached for his sword, which he had left on his bedside. However, Henry hadn’t brought his sword with them, so Von just grabbed the air.

“Huh?”

Von raised his head with a short groan.

“It’s me, brother.”

“Henry!”

Seeing that it was Henry who had teleported him, Von let his guard down and yawned.

“Ugh, I’m so tired... Huh? Wait... Why do I feel so refreshed?”

“The Saint visited the hospital during the night and healed everyone with Elagon’s help.”

“‘What? During the night, you say?”

“Yeah. They did it while everyone was asleep, so most of the patients probably won’t even know that they’ve been healed yet. Anyway... Brother, do you know where we are right now?”

“Here? This is...!”

At Henry’s question, Von turned his head and finally saw Enkelmann, or what should’ve been Enkelmann, for he only saw a mass of ice, similar to a glacier.

“Where are we? And what’s with the mountain of ice?”

“It’s not just a mountain of ice. This is the Enkelmann I told you about.”

“What? This is...?”

Von was stunned. He couldn’t believe that this glacier was Enkelmann. He then suddenly remembered Henry telling him that he had frozen the entire city as a temporary measure because of what Arthus had done.

Von’s complexion darkened.

“...”

Realizing that this cold, desolate place was Enkelmann, Von stayed silent and walked up to the ice and placed his hand on it.

It was cold. As his hand stuck to the ice, a deep, cold sensation traveled from his fingertips all throughout his body. It almost felt like his very soul was freezing.

However, Von didn’t take his hand away. Not long after, his palm was bright red and he felt a tickling sensation, indicating that he would soon get frostbites. Yet, he didn’t take his hand away from the ice. The guilt and regret of not being able to save his hometown was a million times more painful than a frostbite.

“...”

Von looked down, and Henry waited silently.

A few minutes passed, and Von finally broke the silence.

“Henry,” Von said in a hushed voice.

“Yes?”

“You brought me here so late into the night so I can say goodbye, right?”

“Yes...”

“I... I can’t believe they’re all... zombies... Not even the Saint’s powers can fix this?”

“Technically speaking, they’re not zombies. They have many of the characteristics of a zombie, but it was Arthus’ divine power that turned them into this.”

“Divine power... Divine power, huh...”

Von pondered those words for a while. He then asked, “So if we kill Arthus, won’t the people of Enkelmann turn back to normal?”

“That’s...”

Henry couldn’t deny Von’s theory because he himself wasn’t too sure about Arthus’ powers.

Seeing Henry trail off and hesitate, Von grew even more bitter. However, he swallowed his bitterness and grief, and feigning composure, he continued, “I know. You would’ve already helped Enkelmann if you knew how.”

“...I apologize.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s Arthus who needs to apologize, not you. Anyway, thank you for letting me see Enkelmann one last time.”

Enkelmann existed even before the Eurasian Empire, and Von was the only Sword Master who had been born and raised in this city. He had dedicated his life to the empire, ensuring that Enkelmann would continue to exist.

Enkelmann had survived even after it had lost its power due to Henry’s death, and even after the empire collapsed and another one was created, Enkelmann endured.

However, now...

The time had come for Von to say goodbye to Enkelmann, his hometown, which he had supported for so long.

Of course, Henry wouldn’t destroy the city itself; he would execute the people in it because keeping them alive as zombies would be cruel to them and dangerous to everyone else. However, if all the people of Enkelmann were killed, people from multiple generations, the city would no longer be Enkelmann, but another old, abandoned city.

It was the people who lived there and maintained the traditions that made Enkelmann. Without them, the city would be nothing but a sorrowful ghost of the past.

“Harz...”

Von’s expression became even more dejected. He called out the name of the person for whom he felt most sorry; the person to whom he had to apologize the most.

Harz had lived in Enkelmann for half of his life as a diligent and upstanding public servant. He had ultimately earned the right to live out the rest of his life comfortably, in retirement. Yet, for all his hard work and loyalty, he only received a miserable death.

Harz hadn’t managed to enjoy the riches he deserved.

This had all been simply for Arthus’ amusement.

In the end, Von couldn’t help bursting into tears. He still kept his back to Henry; he didn’t want Henry to see him in this state.

Von continued to weep for Harz for a long time.

Finally, after shedding enough tears to dampen the ground, Von, still with his back to Henry, asked, “Henry, do you happen to have any liquor?”

“Yes, here you go.”

Henry pulled out a bottle of booze from the subspace and quietly placed it by Von’s side.

Von picked up the bottle of alcohol, uncapped it, and took a few gulps. Then he spilled the remainder of the liquor onto the ice.

The alcohol froze in seconds.

After emptying the entire bottle, Von quietly placed it in front of the ice and bowed his head in silence. He prayed to the heavens and apologized profusely to Harz, and at the same time, he vowed to get revenge.

After he was done with his prayer and his vow, Von turned to Henry and looked firmly in his eyes.

“Henry.”

“Yes?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“You should be able to wipe out the entire city so that no trace of it remains, right?”

“...Are you being serious?”

“Everyone in Enkelmann is dead anyway, and now that they’re gone, this city is no longer Enkelmann, so...”

Thud!

Von clenched his fist and thumped on his chest.

“I shall burn Enkelmann to the ground so the souls of these poor people may rest! I will bury Enkelmann in my heart!”

Von made up his mind. This was the best he could do for the wretched souls of Enkelmann.

Henry nodded and said, “Alright, I understand.” He wouldn’t have expected anything less from Von, so he decided to honor his decision.

“Can you take a few steps back, please?” asked Henry.

With that, Henry clasped his hands together and cast a spell. As he did so, his emerald-colored mana enveloped him and radiated an emerald glow.

At last, Henry whispered the last words of the spell.

“...Bonds of Hellfire.”

Whoosh!

No sooner had Henry said that than his entire hand was covered in blue flames. Henry then closed one eye and looked at his flaming hand with the other. As he concentrated, the blue flames extended toward Enkelmann, encircling the entire frozen city.

Then something incredible happened.

Whoosh!

Enkelmann was engulfed in the blue flames of hell.

Whoosh!

Bonds of Hellfire was a spell that would only be finished once the target chosen by the caster was reduced to ashes. It had the typical characteristics of hellfire.

As the flames were melting off the ice, Henry put out the flame in his hand.

As he watched the Bonds of Hellfire that spread across the entire frozen city with Von, Henry vowed once again.

‘Arthus, before I kill you, I’ll make sure that you’ll spend every single moment of your miserable life repenting for your crimes!’

Henry’s vow was as cold as the ice in Enkelmann and as fierce as the flames that were consuming that ice.

With his heart full of hatred and fury, Von replicated Henry’s vow.