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(Fate) Chapter 284: Forging the Sword
🕑 Added 2025-02-08 16:59:26 +0000 UTCClotho spoke softly, her voice carrying the weight of destiny’s authority.
Through the power of fate,
Everyone present had witnessed, what should have been a mere three-year journey,
Yet felt like an eternity.
And so, they understood what had happened.
The pegasus had carried him, to the place where the Holy Sword would be forged.
"I, I—I’ll translate!"
Melly suddenly raised her hand, eager to speak up.
"I know! Promise got shy and ran away!"
As she spoke, her eyes sparkled, and she grinned smugly.
Clotho turned her gaze toward her.
Then, she looked up at the sky, which had darkened at some unknown moment.
Without a word,
She took two quiet steps to the side, putting some distance between herself and Melly.
Seeing this, Merlin, as if realizing something, also stepped away.
And the moment he did—
A beam of moonlight suddenly shot down from above.
Melly, barely reacting in time, dodged at the last possible second as the the blinding silver light nearly pierced through her.
The entire group let out a collective "tch."
"Eh?! Hey! What’s with that reaction?!"
Melly stared at them, offended.
Then, looking toward the sky, she waved her arms frantically.
"And Goddess Artemis! I was wrong, please stop shooting at me!!"
Even as she pleaded,
She had to nimbly dodge another barrage of divine arrows,
Each one aimed straight at her heart.
While some goddesses, like the wise and composed Athena, might have held back,
Artemis was not one of them.
Not when it came to jealousy.
The goddess, who would be jealous of even her most beloved believer obviously didn't care about it all.
When everyone saw this scene, they looked at each other and then turned their heads away, pretending not to see anything.
At the same time—
Promise, who had initially planned to stop Melly and Merlin from derailing things,
Immediately bolted with Pegasus the moment he saw Clotho step forward.
And so—
The pegasus took off, carrying Promise away once more.
As it flew, Brother Horse couldn’t help but feel a little regretful.
After all, it had once again missed a chance to enjoy some grass.
All we can say.… no matter where we go, a horse is always just a horse.
The pegasus flew through what felt like centuries—
Until, finally,
It arrived before an ancient temple,
Its bronze gates standing tall and unyielding.
Promise stepped forward.
With a gentle push, he opened the doors, and entered.
Inside—
There was no one.
Only the forge’s sacred flames remained—
Burning for thousands of years, undisturbed.
This place…
It was not the Greece of the Age of Gods.
But "The Otherworld."
So, of course,
The goddess who was once his teacher would not be here.
Even so,
It was clear whose temple this was.
The Temple of Hephaestus, the God of the Forge.
Promise stared at the divine flames, then turned his gaze toward the smithing hammer resting at the forge’s side.
For a moment, a memory surfaced on his mind.
The memory, of the Holy Grail War’s end.
Of the moment he had seen Queen Hera.
"So this is your doing again, Athena…?"
Promise murmured softly.
And, as expected—
Just as it had been with Hera,
In the absence of the Goddess of fate, Clotho and Goddess of the Night, Nyx,
The goddess of absolute wisdom, whose eyes saw all truths,
Had long foreseen everything that would unfold from the very beginning.
And so,
Athena had relayed it all to Hephaestus.
And Hephaestus had forged this very temple,
A perfect replica of his divine workshop.
It had remained abandoned,
Waiting, untouched by time,
Until Promise arrived.
Promise quickly calmed himself down.
Then, stepping forward, he reached out, and grasped the divine hammer.
And the moment he lifted it—
A figure appeared before him.
It was a woman, seated in a wheelchair,
with golden hair cascading down to her waist, and a mask concealing her face.
A goddess.
Promise's eyes widened, and then, he spoke.
"...Teacher."
Hephaestus smiled.
It was a gentle, warm smile—
As if she had truly heard his voice.
She even raised a hand, reaching out, as if to caress Promise’s face.
But...
The moment her fingertips touched him, they passed through his body like mist.
Well...she was not real, just a mere shadow, left behind for thousands of years,
Waiting for him to arrive.
Even so,
She made the same gesture she once had, pinching his cheek lightly,
Just like she used to.
There was no reproach in her eyes.
Only gentleness and care.
Then, she turned away, and lifted the illusory hammer, striking the eternal flames of the forge.
Clang!
The sound rang out,
And the volcanic fire roared to life.
She had begun forging.
Promise understood, this was Hephaestus teaching him—
Showing him how to forge the Holy Sword.
And more than that, she was passing down to him the divine craft of forging artifacts.
Promise took a deep breath, and then, he stepped forward, and lifted the smithing hammer, before drawing forth the paintings he had created—
The essence of this entire Fairy Lostbelt.
Together,
They began forging the Star-Holy Sword.
Time blurred.
He did not know how long had passed.
Until—
Under the night sky,
Melly, who was barely surviving the onslaught of divine arrows,
Suddenly saw a light rise toward the heavens.
A radiant burst of starlight split the world in two.
"…So it was already forged long ago?"
Merlin looked at the bright stars, and after a brief moment of daze, he seemed to understand and nodded.
"I should have known."
Melly, on the other hand, was less surprised.
"Of course it was."
She smirked.
"After all, to that goddess, Promise wasn’t just her only student—"
"—He was her everything."
"She even locked him up once, you know?"
"Of course she’d have it all prepared for him already. She was just waiting for him to come get it."
"E-Eh, wait—Goddess Artemis, I swear I learned my lesson! Please stop shooting at me!! Goddess Clotho, save me!!"
Melly, still dodging for her life, pleaded as divine arrows rained upon her.
Well..if someone were to say, it was difficult.
Then it was really..after all, every arrow drew blood if it hit.
Artemis didn't know what mercy was.
But at the same time—
If you say she's okay, then she's really okay.
After alll, she moved so skillfully that even with all the arrows raining down from the sky, not a single one hit her!.
So, not to mention, Morgan and the others, who watched indifferently,
Even Merlin felt no sympathy.
If anything—
He kind of wanted to laugh.
"Well then... I guess my role ends here."
Merlin waved casually, and before Morgan or Artoria could react,
He transformed into flowers, and vanished.
To be more precise—
He ran away before the arrows started coming for him too.
At the same time...
As she dodged the rain of arrows, Melly began chanting.
Her voice, tinged with melancholy,
Spun into a Fairy Spell—
Lifting a storm of petals.
And just like that—
Everyone left Avalon, returning to the real world.
They landed within the Fairy Kingdom of Camelot—
And as soon as they did,
Baobhan Sith suddenly froze.
Because the soft warmth she had been holding onto, the gentle touch of her mother Vivian—
Was gone.
More than that—
She was still trapped.
Darkness bound her limbs,
The curse seeping into her body,
Crushing her in place.
Only then did she realize that she seemed to have been sacrificed as a divine core just a moment ago.
"Wuwuwu.."
Her gray eyes trembled, her body struggled, but she was unable to break free..
The curse held firm, burning through her,
Threatening to consume her completely.
Feeling the situation, her heart clenched and she wanted to cry.
And..
For the first time in her life—
She prayed.
"Woo woo, mother, please come and save me!
Prayed in her heart that Morgan and Vivian would come to save her, but the figures that emerged in her mind were not theirs at all.
Instead—
A white silhouette filled her vision,
And in the depths of her mind,
She saw those eyes like stars, clear and endless.
Will he come?
The thought surfaced unbidden.
And just as she thought it—
The world lit up.
A star blazed within the darkness.
It was brilliant, and dazzling, yet not harsh.
On the contrary..
It was warm.
It illuminated the abyss—
And shattered the curse that bound her.
At that moment, Baobhan Sith’s scarlet figure collapsed as her body drifted downward, as if she were falling into an endless void.
But just before she plunged into the abyss,
Two hands caught her.
Soft, slender fingers—
Yet strong enough to hold her firmly.
The light of the stars drove back the darkness.
The god’s cursed hatred, faded, bit by bit.
The world brightened and in this bright world, Baobhan Sith, still dazed, tilted her head upward as her gray eyes reflected his face.
Promise held her in his arms.
A princess carry.
And looked forward at the same time.
Looking at the Priestess standing beyond them, in the crumbling world, as if waiting.
"I saw everything."
She spoke softly..
"I am truly honored to have been drawn by you."
"I will tell all of this to Lord Cernunnos."
"I believe... It will make them happy for hundreds of years to come."
"May this bring peace to your anger—"
"And allow them to finally rest."
Promise spoke in a calm tone.
The Miko, though merely a blurred silhouette, suddenly smiled brightly.
"Of course."
"The light of the star you have ignited... is more than enough."
At that moment, beyond the realm of shadows, in the outside world—
The Fairy Knight Melusine stood frozen, as the radiant starlight surged forward,
Dispersing the divine curse.
The massive body of the Ancient God, slowly crumbled,
Scattering like fireflies
Across the entire Fairy Kingdom.
And at its very center—
Under the watchful gaze of the night sky, a figure emerged.
He walked out from within the fading divine husk, carrying the crimson fairy in his arms.
The world seemed to pause.
What... just happened?
Melusine stared at the sight, her mind struggling to comprehend
The impossible scene before her.
Then, she saw Morgan, Vivian, and the others descend one by one from the Fairy King's castle, arriving by her side.
But at that moment, Promise suddenly looked down in confusion, looking at the fairy knight in his arms, who was still staring at him as he said very sincerely, "You're still not getting up...? To be honest, if you don’t, I might not be able to hold you anymore."
Promise’s voice wasn’t loud, and he spoke in a very natural tone.
Yet, combined with the ancient god’s body behind him, which had transformed into glowing fireflies, there was an inexplicable strangeness to the scene.
In this regard, even Melusine couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.
Read the atmosphere, will you?!
Regaining her senses, Baobhan Sith blinked at Promise before turning her head to glance at Viviane and Morgan, who were both staring directly at her.
Her gaze flickered back and forth a few times.
Then, finally realizing that she was being held in a princess carry, and in front of her mother, no less—her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately began struggling.
It would’ve been fine if she had stayed still, but the moment she moved, Promise really couldn’t hold her anymore.
And so, with a soft thud, she fell face-first onto the ground.
All while everyone watched the whole thing unfold…
