The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped

73 – 73. The Fortress of Regnas (2)

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Edan’s presence is felt.

Instinctively sensing it, Regnas signaled to King Tarant.

A peaceful meeting might not be possible.

That’s why, to prevent any possible casualties, the citizens of the city were evacuated in advance.

“We meet again at last.”

If faced with the truth, how would Edan react?

He might get angry.

He was someone who could express anger more vehemently than anyone else.

Though he had a blunt personality like Maximilian, he was also someone who cared for his comrades more than anyone else.

Fate is truly cursed.

The man with reddish-brown hair smiled and gripped the hilt of his sword. It was one of the habits that appeared whenever he steeled himself.

“The fanatic of war has arrived. Everyone, retreat.”

“Ha, have they… already… arrived?”

“As I mentioned before, under no circumstances should you draw your sword. That’s an order.”

“…Of course.”

Ragnas, leaving instructions for Tarrant and the knights, began to walk away.

He left the bustling city behind.

Before long, he arrived at the crowded walls lined with tall turrets.

The soldiers guarding the walls were on high alert, ready to obey the king’s orders. Ragnas stood alone on the wall, facing the strong wind, waiting for Edanthe to arrive.

“…Ragnas.”

How much time had passed,

A man clad in a rusty iron mask suddenly revealed himself.

A warrior.

Finally, he reunited with his old comrade.

Ragnas raised his head, smelling the gunpowder carried by the wind. He then met the sharp gaze behind the iron mask.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Not exactly a casual time for a reunion, is it? After causing a commotion in Pug Kingdom.”

“Sorry. Must have surprised you.”

“Is this a laughing matter?”

A gunshot rang out, and a bullet was fired.

As the words ended, Edanthe drew his pistol and aimed at Ragnas, pulling the trigger.

Ragnas extended his hand and caught the bullet.

“…Still as quick as ever.”

“What can I say? Old habits die hard.”

The distance between Ragnas and Edanthe was only 10 yards.

As soon as the pistol was drawn, a mana-charged hand was extended.

Ragnas’s reaction speed, sensing danger, surpassed that of even a superhuman.

His skills had not rusted at all.

Despite three years passing since the end of the war, he maintained his prime.

The Seven Strongholds of the Warring States.

Sword Saint Ragnas.

Ragnas, who had been in charge of the vanguard with Maximilian in the Holy Maiden Party, was a hero of reversals who never showed his hand in any danger.

One should not underestimate his usual gentle demeanor.

Silence before the great storm is the calmest moment.

Edanthe knew Ragnas’s strength better than anyone else. That’s why, before the Empire and the Glory Kingdom declared the Sword Saint, who had fallen from grace as the king’s executioner, a public enemy, he took action.

“A vampire, really… Your tastes are still peculiar.”

“I don’t keep her around just because I like it.”

Ragnas, witnessing the vampire with flowing black hair, spoke with a smile. She was guarding Edanthe like a bodyguard.

She belonged to the vampire clan of the First Blood.

She even served as a disciple to a deity of calamity.

How did Edanthe, who had always despised the aristocratic factions, come to accept her?

Ragnas showed a hint of curiosity but also a strong interest.

“I’ll have a word with him, so wait at a distance for now.”

“Understood, Vanguard.”

As Edanthe gestured, Arielle nodded and dispersed into mist.

“There was no next… What on earth does that mean? No, even before that… Why did you all disappear?”

Heroes. Holy Maidens. Mercenary Kings. Sages. Sword Saints.

The heroes who had defeated the Immortal Demon King vanished overnight.

At first, it was attributed to a simple disagreement. They thought that the male leads, with exceptional looks and outstanding abilities, had grown tired of spending their lives with a pitiful female lead.

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But as time passed, doubts arose.

It made one wonder if it wasn’t such a simple reason after all.

“Where’s Beatrice?”

No one was eavesdropping.

No one was there to interrupt.

Edanthe stared at Ragnas with sharp eyes, finally posing the question he had been holding back for a long time.

* * *

The answer is within reach.

He was about to face the truth he had longed for.

Suppressing his trembling, Edanthe waited for Ragnas’s response.

“Edan, I’m sorry to ask before answering… May I ask one thing?”

“…”

Edanthe furrowed his brow at Ragnas bringing up a new question while waiting for an answer. However, as there was no need to rush, he suppressed his impatience for a moment.

There’s no need to rush.

Today, the true nature of the Holy Maiden’s Party will finally be revealed.

Legnas is not one to speak falsehoods. Hence, despite the anxious thoughts clouding his mind, he allowed himself to question Legnas.

“Are we truly beings from a novel?”

“What?”

What did he just say?

At the profound inquiry tinged with regret, his mind turned white.

Shaken reflexively by the unexpected question, he plunged into deep panic, momentarily losing his desperate resolve to uncover the truth.

How did they find out?

When did they come to know?

That they were artificial beings created by someone. That the vast world they fiercely protected was a fabricated space.

Even though they heard it clearly, it was hard to believe.

It was an impossible thing.

It was something that shouldn’t be.

Feeling the fierce change in his pounding heart, he swallowed dryly.

“Since meeting Edan, I occasionally felt doubtful. It should have been the beginning of our journey… Edan, like a prophet foreseeing the future, adeptly handled every situation we were entangled in.”

“…”

“At the time, I simply thought he had a keen intuition. But now that I see the truth, I understand. Edan knew our journey from start to finish before it even began.”

“…How could that be.”

He didn’t rush.

Legnas’ voice was firmer than ever.

He didn’t know the details.

But it was clear that the Holy Maiden’s Party had reached ‘knowledge that must never be known.’

“So, did the Holy Maiden’s Party flee without a trace because they discovered that the world they had fiercely protected was actually a vain creation?”

All their actions taken so far were merely part of the process on the monorail created by the author. Having achieved a grand finale after many twists and turns, the Holy Maiden’s Party must have felt a more dreadful remorse and emptiness than death.

Perhaps that’s why they concealed their whereabouts.

Thinking of Beatrice, who must have expressed disillusionment and despair, he asked Legnas.

“Sometimes expressing confusion, sometimes pouring out disappointment… The journey we’ve been through for years was undoubtedly filled with beautiful memories above all else. Even if it’s a story created by someone else, I believe our desperate efforts to save the world were never in vain.”

They saved the world.

They rescued numerous people.

That’s why they would never regret it.

Even after facing a truth that should never be known, the knight of the darkness, Legnas, still shone resolutely.

He was no different from before.

Despite the many events that had occurred, he remained the virtuous knight.

“So why did they disappear?”

The prediction was wrong.

The Holy Maiden’s Party didn’t hide for personal reasons.

There was a reason they had to leave.

There existed a new revelation that required them to vanish without a word.

As each piece of the puzzle gradually unraveled like a mystery, his heart began to beat rapidly. With eager anticipation, he awaited Legnas’ response.

“There was no ‘next’… Do you remember the words I left behind?”

“Huh.”

He had exterminated the king and nobles, leaving a prophecy for Prince Erik.

As he nodded at Legnas’ words, a deep question brushed past his mind like a swamp.

‘Although Beatrice had been thoroughly concealed until now… why did she suddenly appear in the world and slaughter the king and nobles of the Pug Kingdom? Legnas is definitely not someone who would wield a sword for past vengeance.’

The reason for the sudden disappearance of the Holy Maiden’s Party must have some connection to the brutal massacre in the Pug Kingdom. And Legnas’ prophecy would be a clue to unravel that connection.

The time spent waiting for an answer felt like an eternity.

It was a moment he had longed for desperately.

“Exactly. There is no ‘next’ for us.”

“What do you mean.”

“The world is slowly dying. Since we defeated the immortal demon king, the evil that prevented the end of the world has vanished.”

“…”

The final demise of the perennial villain, who constantly inflicted trials, signifies the conclusion of the work.

Conclusion.

Legnas referred to it as the ‘end of the world.’

For the characters in the story, the conclusion might very well signify the end of the world itself. For once a work concludes, its world will forever remain unchanged.