Hero's Coffin Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The aide slowly looked around the space, then down at his own body before answering.

[I'm sorry, but I don't know how to enter His Majesty's tomb either...]

The sincerity was evident in his head-shaking gesture. The lord he served had died long ago, and he himself had been summoned as a soul after a very long time, so the probability of him lying was low. It was hard to suspect him of keeping an oath even after death, as a gentle smile appeared on his lips as soon as he realized that Harenir was a hero blessed with grace like his own lord.

In other words, the ancient aide was clearly favorable towards the current era's hero, and thus he was genuinely sorry for not being able to provide the answer they needed now.

Noi cautiously asked,

"Th-then do you know why the tomb rose?"

[His Majesty said that we 'must escape from the unrighteous'. It seems he had already anticipated that it would rise, so he ordered the tomb to be built in the form of a temple to be closer to God...]

It seemed that even the aide only learned about the fact that the tomb would rise after the emperor's death. Kalterik's eyes also lit up, fascinated by the idea of conversing with an ancient soul. The way he raised his hand was the very picture of a model student.

"Could we perhaps find clues in the sacred texts?!"

[I thought about that too and looked into it at the time, but not really...]

"...Did you not hear any separate stories related to the tomb?"

Even Mela joined in quietly. She who always exuded an atmosphere of calm bordering on coldness, seemed to have developed curiosity just for this moment.

[Why is your soul...]

But the aide let out a strange sigh as he looked at Mela. Being in a soul state himself, he seemed able to see others' souls as well, and his expression changed to one of confusion. There was a hint of wariness, but also bewilderment.

While he was curious about the reason too, unfortunately...

"Um, sorry, but I think I'm going to collapse in 10 seconds."

He had reached his limit. While he was secretly proud that all his companions were marveling at his necromancy, that alone wasn't enough to keep him going. Beyond just feeling drained, he could feel his brain shutting down in real-time.

10, 9, 8...

Only then did the aide realize that his own form was fading, and he hurriedly returned to the original topic. He was truly grateful that the aide even increased his speaking speed.

[Ah. When I said I would visit the tomb every day, His Majesty said this.]

7, 6, 5, 4...

[Any being of this land is welcome, if they have courage—]

The soul disappeared.

"It hasn't even been 10 seconds yet!"

Kalterik raged, but he had already collapsed. It was only because Harenir was supporting his waist with one arm that he didn't fall to the floor in an unsightly manner, but he had practically melted. Seeing this state, even Kalterik seemed unable to stay angry and pressed his lips shut.

Still, he too was disappointed that he couldn't hear the aide's story to the end. Ah, if he could find out everything perfectly here, he would receive recognition from Harenir for being helpful.

"Just let me rest a bit, and I'll do it again..."

"That's enough."

"No, I, I can... Urgh."

"Putting aside the fact that your state is not at all trustworthy, I think I know how we can enter the tomb now. So that's enough."

Then Harenir took out a potion from his bosom and tilted it to his lips. So heroes carry around things like this too. He drank the potion in an exhausted state. In fact, it was closer to Harenir forcibly pouring it into his mouth rather than him voluntarily drinking it.

He burst into coughs, but the effect of the potion was incredibly good. As soon as he swallowed it, warmth spread throughout his body and the nausea quickly subsided.

...Wait, was the potion he drank at the inn like this too?

He started in surprise and touched his lips. Come to think of it, all his wounds had disappeared. His lip had been split during yesterday's commotion, but now it didn't hurt at all. He was bewildered, as the potion Noi had given him in the past didn't seem to have eliminated wounds.

It seemed like a very expensive potion, was he being taken care of because he was recognized as a talent? Or was it meant for him to keep rolling around in the future? Hmm, it was probably the latter.

Afterwards, Harenir left the historical hall. His steps towards somewhere showed no hesitation. Although the clue the ancient aide had tried to give was abruptly cut off, he really seemed to have made some kind of inference.

Expectation welled up, but he couldn't help but be puzzled in front of the space where Harenir stopped.

"Why did we come back here?"

They had come to the site where the first emperor's tomb had been located, the very first place they had visited. Looking down into the deep, dark cavity was still chilling. As he was peeking over the fence and trying to subtly step back, Harenir leapt over the fence in one bound.

His companions followed him in surprise, and while he really wanted to stay behind, he reluctantly moved under Kalterik's fierce gaze. What's going on, why are we getting closer and closer to the cavity? Just three or four more steps and it would be the end.

"One wrong move and we could fall in."

"Yes. That's the plan."

"What?"

Harenir just shrugged at his concern. As if this was the result of a perfectly reasonable deduction.

"The first emperor said, didn't he? Anyone with 'courage' is welcome."

"That courage probably doesn't mean the courage to die."

"What greater courage is there than leaping in prepared for death?"

"Have you been having a hard time as a hero? I understand, so let's step back a bit and talk..."

As he was blurting out words in panic, Harenir let out a small laugh. Chuckle, chuckle, it seemed like a genuine laugh, and his gaze was caught as if unnecessarily mesmerized.

But then his hand was grabbed too.

Wait, hold on.

"I don't want to fall...!"

"It's okay. If you're not prepared to muster courage, it's a hero's duty to guide you."

"No, it's not! Anyone can see this looks like a double suicide! No, for me it's murder!"

"You, you talk a lot when you're flustered, don't you?"

These were words he would usually swallow internally, but now his filter was broken. And soon his body would be permanently broken and face the crisis of being discarded.

Harenir held his hand tightly and stepped backwards. Was he opening his fingers to block necromancy, or was he deliberately making eye contact to prevent any rash actions, even using his face?

Suddenly, his appearance looked very unfamiliar.

While the abyss-like cavity was gaping like death, his face, as he headed towards it, was filled with a strange expectation. Was it anticipation from figuring out how to get to the first emperor's tomb, or was he hoping for something else as if by chance?

He tried to shake off the feeling of being mesmerized by those sky-like eyes and stand firm on the ground, but it was impossible with this weak body.

"...!"

Finally, his body tilted.

He couldn't even scream. The saying that you can't make any sound when you're too surprised clearly referred to this situation. Moreover, as Harenir pulled him into a tight embrace the moment they fell, he completely froze, trapped in his arms.

Afterwards, as golden energy rushed into his vision, he realized it was Harenir's intention to wrap him in holy power like in the historical hall, but being tightly held in his arms with no gap was shocking all the same. Behind them, Kalterik screamed loudly enough for his share.

"Commander!"

"Sir. Just in case, wrap Noi and come down."

Don't give orders so calmly while falling! He struggled wildly belatedly, but it was impossible to escape from Harenir's arms. In the end, he grabbed Harenir's collar resentfully. You bad bastard, you X bastard, you XX bastard!

Whoosh—!

The fierce sound of wind announcing their fall brushed past his ears and his clothes flapped wildly. Endless darkness spread beyond the golden energy enveloping his body. Seeing this situation with his own eyes was so chilling that he buried his face in Harenir's chest as if blaming him. It was meant to be an attack, but Harenir's chest was so firm that only his forehead hurt unfairly.

I don't want to die again...!

Thud.

"..."

At some point, everything around them became quiet. But he was already so terrified that he couldn't immediately grasp the change and just kept trembling in Harenir's arms, when Harenir spoke in a very subtle tone.

"This is unexpected. I thought you'd be nonchalant about death since you use necromancy."

"...?"

He raised his head in shock. Where are we now? The afterlife? But do I have to hear Harenir's voice even there? Well, I mean, it is a voice that would sound fitting in the heavens... but Isaph doesn't seem likely to go to heaven...

Only after all sorts of thoughts whirled through his mind could he finally calm down.

So, right now, he was in a position lying on top of Harenir, and Harenir was lying on a lush grass field looking up at him. His golden hair was disheveled among the grass.

Harenir smiled gently at him as he remained frozen in a daze.

"We've arrived at the sky island."