Academy’s Genius Swordmaster Chapter 467

2-136. Overcoming hardships, towards the stars -End-

#136

“Okay. Let’s give it a try.”

Akasha jumped out of Ronan’s arms.

She walked over to Axel and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Maternal grandfather.”

“Yeah, Akasha… Phew, are you leaving right now?”

He sat there, completely exhausted like the other wizards. It was a side effect of tinkering with time magic.

Akasha muttered.

“Yes. I came here for the last check. I’ve read it countless times, but I’m still a little uneasy.”

She was rummaging through her pockets when she took out a small book.

The cover, which had become tattered from having been read so many times, had the infinitely intuitive title [My Parallel World Adventure] written on it. It was a paperback of a story Ronan had written for her.

Akasha continued, having glanced through the book.

“First of all, the most important thing is… to gather the life force of Seniel from each parallel world. Destroy only Seniel from the first parallel world. The damage there is so severe that restoration is limited.”

“Yes. It’s an inevitable choice to restore the ecosystem. It’s the only parallel world that was reduced to a colony of giants.”

“You said that Seniel-nim won’t completely disappear?”

“That’s right. You can rest assured, as this has already been cross-checked with Seniel himself. The soul of a star will not disappear unless the planet is physically destroyed. As time passes and civilization is reestablished, a rock worthy of being called Seniel will appear again.”

“Phew, I feel a little better when you say it like that.”

Akasha sighed in relief. She already knew this, but she couldn’t help feeling uneasy. She was about to embark on an unprecedented adventure.

Position: Villain.

He was also the worst villain, with the grand title of ‘Calamity from the Future’.

Her duties were threefold:

First, to eradicate all the giants from parallel worlds together with Ronan from the past.

Second. Create a magical tool that can turn back time four times and give it to Ronan.

Third, never reveal your identity while the mission is in progress.

It had to succeed, because if even one of these failed, the history up to this point would collapse.

The basis for this absurd operation was Ronan’s book, [My Parallel World Adventure], written for his granddaughter.

Akasha loved the book very much. She read it over and over again, empathizing with the villain who shared her name.

And when she turned five, Akasha, who was playing in the garden, awakened to the ability to travel between parallel worlds like in a novel. The status of the book, which was considered to be just an ordinary novel, was elevated to an unprecedented book of prophecy.

‘I was really surprised at first. His abilities were exactly the same as those of the villain in the novel.’

There were four parallel worlds in total. The situation was mostly the same as the novel. The abandoned world and its people were running diligently toward an unfortunate ending as Adeshan returned.

Akasha told her family about this.

After a long debate, the intellectuals of the century came to a shocking conclusion: if parallel worlds were left as they were, the world we live in today would not exist.

Ronan receives the bead from the general who has regressed three times and returns. The one who gave the bead to the general who has not experienced regression was Ronan who completed his journey through the parallel world. And the one who helped Ronan obtain the bead of regression was his granddaughter Akasha.

Although it is full of contradictions, the current peace can exist because of this cycle. If we ignore the situation in the parallel world, this cycle will not start. However, questions naturally arise.

Why did Ronan have to go when he was about to propose?

Why didn’t Akasha solve the problem on her own, even though she had the ability?

Is it possible for the past to change because of something that happened in the future?

Questions that cannot have clear answers.

Axel gave this strange and inconsistent phenomenon a name: the time paradox.

‘We may never know the answer.’

Anyway, the problem had to be solved. No one wanted to lose their life.

After much thought, people decided to make what is called a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ come true. Scarily enough, by this time, humanity was able to recreate most of the events that occurred in Ronan’s novel.

Akasha, who had washed her face dry, opened her mouth.

“A time-reversing bead. I can make one, right?”

“You’ll do well. I’ve run the simulation hundreds of times without any errors. In the first place, you’re the only one on this planet who can do something like that.”

“I feel bad for Seniel. If it were just like the novel, she would have had to be destroyed almost entirely.”

“I feel sorry for you, but there’s nothing I can do. The only energy powerful enough to power time magic is the soul of a star. Just sending Sarante back to the past for a moment would have required a tremendous amount of life force, and to turn back the world’s time four times would require an incomparably large amount of life force. No matter how much I calculated, this was the only way.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I might get punished by heaven, but I’ll try my best.”

“I’ll forgive you. The Star Spirit is a merciful being. From today onwards, time magic will be sealed forever, so there’s no need to provoke her wrath anymore… Ahem, and Akasha?”

Axel cleared his throat.

Akasha tilted her head at the sight of her stuttering after a long time.

“yes?”

“It’s a personal favor. Please don’t tease me too much in the parallel world. I was really scared when I was younger… I’m a little embarrassed to think about meeting my old self.”

“Hey, why would I bother my grandfather? There’s no way I would do something like that.”

“Isn’t that so? As expected, our granddaughter is really kind···”

“I might just be playing a little prank.”

“Now, are you kidding?”

“Yes. Grandpa Axel is so cute. To be honest, he still seems like he’s my age.”

Akasha poked Asher’s cheek. His face turned pale.

Freed from the shackles of time, he still retained the appearance of a young man. There was a great difference between him and Marja, who had become an elegant lady.

“Right. What about Grandma Marja?”

“We’re training again today. Jaipa is in charge.”

“I guess you really intend to overcome the barrier of time.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t look easy though.”

Axel smiled. It was a slightly sad smile. Unlike himself and Ronan, who had escaped the shackles of aging, Marja was still growing old. If she could not achieve a state of complete transformation, she would have no choice but to accept her mortal fate.

Akasha said.

“You will definitely succeed.”

“I think so too. If Marja fails, I too will have to accept the flow of time.”

“You’re giving up immortality?”

“That’s… eek, I spoke nonsense.”

Axel covered his mouth with his hand.

“Don’t worry, Akasha. Marya will never give up. Even if you fail to transform, there are many ways to live a long life. Like becoming a vampire like Braum.”

“Oh, you mean the Northern Marshal? My grandfather also said something similar.”

“huh?”

“I overheard their conversation. My grandmother asked me what I would do if I died of old age, and I said nonchalantly that I would live for three more days and then die. What fun would it be without you?”

It was a story from when I had a runny nose, but I remembered it clearly.

The three-day grace period was a time to shed tears after finishing his wife’s funeral. Ronan’s words that he would follow him when the tears dried inevitably caused young Akasha to burst into tears.

“I still remember. My grandfather tried to comfort me by saying it was a joke, but it wasn’t a lie.”

“Ronan would do that. He loves Sister Adeshan so much.”

“Yes. That won’t happen anymore.”

Akasha laughed. Adeshan overcame aging three years ago.

The blessing of turning back time was not only given to the silk inspectors and magicians. After painstaking efforts, she reached the pinnacle of shadow mana and was able to live forever with a youthful appearance, just like her husband.

Akasha, who had expressed her gratitude to Axel, returned to Ronan.

“Grandpa, I’m going to go now.”

“Oh my god, I’m really leaving. Should I help you get dressed?”

“It’s okay. It’s so well made that it’s easy to change into.”

Ronan was holding hands with Adeshan, preparing to see Akasha off.

His sharp eyes were dripping with worry.

I knew it was something I had to do, but I still felt uneasy about leaving my lovely granddaughter behind.

Even more so because he knew he’d have to deal with his past self throughout the mission.

Akasha, who was wearing a special suit, snapped her fingers.

“Oh, but I have a question.”

“Any questions?”

“Yes. Why at that particular time? If only we had sent Uncle Sarante a little further into the future, a much stronger grandfather would have been able to resolve the situation.”

“It’s a time paradox. It’s a story that can’t be explained in the first place.”

“I’m still curious. The reason Mr. Sarante went to that point was simply to prevent history from changing, and he simply copied the contents of the book. But I thought that my grandfather might be the only one who could know the answer. If I were to write a book about what’s happening now, my grandfather’s role would be the first sentence.”

“That makes sense. Let’s take a look.”

Ronan furrowed his brow at the poignant question.

It was as Akasha said. Compared to what he has achieved now, the Ronan of the past was nothing more than a monkey with a sword, to the point of being called a fool.

Why did it have to be that time?

Why did my future self, my present self, use the day before the proposal as a turning point in my destiny?

It didn’t take long for the silence to be broken.

Ronan, who had been scratching the back of his head, opened his mouth.

“Maybe it’s because it’s the best time to eat candy.”

“······yes?”

“Accomplishment is always buried at the end of suffering. That’s how life is in general. The moment when a person can best taste the sweetness of joy is after he has chewed and swallowed the bitter taffy.”

Akasha narrowed her eyes. It was difficult to understand for the time being.

Suddenly, taffy. What is the person who was just arguing talking about?

Ronan continued speaking without paying any attention.

“Looking back, I had a lot on my mind back then. I somehow managed to save the world, but a new problem arose. Adeshan was pregnant with your father, and my stupid brain was not satisfied with planning a proposal, and I was worried about the existence of the parallel world. Then, Sarante showed up and asked me to save the future. You can imagine how flustered I must have been.”

Ronan let out a hollow laugh. Even now, thinking about it, it felt like a dream.

At that time, I was as internally troubled as when I had been given the destiny to save the world.

“So I think I sent it back then. Weak and arrogant, but with many wishes, when I overcame all the hardships that were screwing me over, that was the moment when I could gain the most. Because I went on an adventure during that time, I was able to realize. How much I love my wife, how beautiful the world we live in is… The adventure of changing the endings of the abandoned parallel worlds had as big an impact on my life as the return. Sunrise. So it was during that adventure that I realized the world.”

“Well, if I were to interpret it in my own way… are you saying that when something dramatic happens, that’s when you feel the most exhilarated?”

“As expected, our granddaughter is smart. But do they call that a buzzword these days?”

“Actually, this is also a somewhat outdated trend.”

“It’s not easy… Anyway, you’re right. When I finished all the journeys, I felt a lethal dose of high. It was because I lived with that feeling as my driving force that I was able to exist in that novel and in the present.”

Ronan nodded. If the timing of the adventure had been different, he would not have written the book.

Lance was born somehow, but it is unknown whether he was connected to Setchika. He may have been connected to Aria through a minor change, or he may have remained single his entire life.

Even if Akasha were born after breaking through all the variables, there would be no way to know what would happen in the future because there is no book. There would be no opportunity to awaken to the method of opening the rift leading to the parallel world. Even if awakening had occurred, it would have been much later. Naturally, history would have flowed differently than it is now.

But if you think about it, these are all meaningless assumptions.

The reason the story could begin was because Akasha had connected the General and me in the first place.

As expected, the time paradox is a crappy topic. It’s so incoherent and complicated.

However, there was one thing that I could be certain of, even after brushing aside other complex factors.

Ronan said.

“Akasha. My conclusion is that we were just meant to be.”

“grandfather.”

“That’s enough. You don’t have to understand it perfectly. It’ll probably be the same when you go in there. Even if you make a mistake that you didn’t mean to make, it’ll be my experience. Even if you’re so nervous that you shit your pants, I won’t notice. I don’t remember it.”

“I don’t care. That kind of stuff.”

Akasha stuck out her tongue.

She was now a 3m tall monster wearing a special suit. She wasn’t wearing a mask yet, so only her white face was floating. People had already gathered to see her off.

Ronan looked up at his granddaughter and said.

“Okay, now go and give that little brat a kick in the butt by using his sword.”

“Whoa… can I do it? No matter how much I practice, how can I…?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m much better at it than you think.”

Ronan cut her off firmly.

I still have nightmares sometimes about being beaten up by Akasha in a parallel world.

Especially, the punch that hit at the last moment would have killed him instantly if it weren’t for the fragments of Seniel.

“What if I lose to my grandfather in the middle?”

“That won’t happen. I don’t know about now, but back then, my skills weren’t even as good as your toes. Why can I be sure of this? It’s because I taught my granddaughter how to fight.”

“I guess so. Of course, magic itself has developed considerably over time.”

“Of course. The fact that your magic doesn’t work will make you faint. Auror too. If you feel a little cocky, feed that scary world to me.”

Ronan chuckled. The magic of Akasha that he had personally trained was not weak enough to be cut by someone like his past self. Of course, it would develop as the adventure in the parallel world continued.

Akasha clenched her fist.

“Yeah. I’ll write it even if it’s just because it’s unfair. Considering how much special training I put into completely changing the landscape of the world···.”

“There’s nothing we can do. The image of the great villain as a blue sky is a bit strange. In order to avoid being discovered, it would be better to deal with him as a bottomless pit.”

“I think so too. Oh, and what about the woman named Letancier in the first world? If it’s like the book says, I should kill her.”

“Flying Squirrel… If the sprout looks good, don’t kill it. Just cut it off from above the leg and throw it somewhere. Sister Navardo is still alive, so she’ll probably reattach it on her own.”

“That sounds good.”

Akasha nodded.

Ronan finally learned that Letancier from the first parallel world was not dead.

Now it was really time to leave. Everyone present gave her a hug.

Finally, Ronan threw something at Akasha, who was taking a deep breath.

“Here, take it.”

“Whoa?!”

Long, spindly fingers caught it. Akasha’s eyes widened.

The last part of the special suit that Ronan handed over was the mask. Not only was it durable and comfortable, it also had a function that changed all lines into screams befitting a villain.

Akasha, who was admiring the mask, tilted her head.

“Huh? Why are there so many of them?”

“I guess it’s everyone’s wish… I put it up as a provocation and a wish for your success. Because if you fail, it’s all over.”

The mask Akasha wore was covered in symbols of famous organizations and individuals.

The Dawn Tower, the Full Moon Tower, the Imperial Knights, and the Twilight Tower emblem of Lorhorn decorating the center.

It was something that was taken down and put on by those who had helped with the operation, and it looked like spoils of war after everyone had been killed. It was a bit creepy, but it was ultimately a successful production because it made Ronan, who had encountered Akasha in the past, look back.

Akasha smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. You will definitely succeed.”

“I know. If you’re tired, just come back and rest. You can come back anytime.”

“Okay, I’ll be back, Grandpa.”

Akasha bent down and kissed Ronan on the cheek.

Shouts of hope for success shook the plaza.

She waved at everyone and then put on her mask.

『■■■■■■■!』

A strange, distorted sound rang out.

As Akasha swung her finger, space tore apart and a giant crack appeared.

Blood-red waves were crashing on the white sandy beach. It was the first parallel world to be occupied by the giants. Akasha jumped into the crack without looking back.

『■■!』

The crack closed.

Among the countless people, only Ronan was smiling.

He already knew that Akasha would succeed.

****

This is the end of the story.

However, it was not a complete end.

Time magic has been sealed forever. Things like regression will never happen again. Akasha has nailed it down that this will be the last time we travel to parallel worlds.

The moment Akasha returns with the string, an unpredictable future will begin again.

“I like the weather···.”

He muttered with his hands in his pockets.

The plaza was almost deserted, and there was a sense of loneliness. Only a few people, including Adeshan and me, were left, pacing around like wild dogs. I was worried about my granddaughter, but most people were probably too anxious about the future to go home.

‘It’s funny. Just one person went back in time a few minutes, and now they’re freaking out because they can’t do it.’

The reason people were anxious was simple.

The fact that I had control over time, even for a moment, made me forget the fear of the future that comes from vagueness. It gave me hope that if I made an irreversible mistake, those from the future or the past would come to my rescue.

But contrary to expectations, the parties involved had no intention of interfering with time and parallel worlds any longer. Everything was already perfect, so why would they do something like that? Our world and the four parallel worlds had reached a happy ending, and if there was anything more they should do it on their own.

Like it or not, fate will move forward. Towards the vast unexplored sea.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Of course, it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t scared at all.

Uncertainty will often bite us. We will be saddened, confused, frightened, and even cry at the unexpected misfortune. One day, invaders worse than winged bald men will burst out from the sky.

That’s okay though. There will be just as many good things. Just fight and win like you always have.

The ecstasy of achievement is always buried at the end of suffering, and the sweetest moment is right after swallowing the bitter taffy.

Suddenly, Adeshan pointed to the sky with his index finger.

“Honey, look at that.”

“huh?”

I raised my head. The twilight sky was spread out like a gazetteer.

The sunset, melting into purple, signaled the end of day and the beginning of night. The wind that blew my bangs carried the scent of wild flowers.

It was a sight I could see all the time, but it was even more beautiful because of that.

So much so that I thought maybe I saved the world just to see this.

“Yeah. I’m going to kill you.”

“I’m glad it didn’t rain. It’s a perfect day to see someone off.”

Adeshan rested his head on my shoulder.

The weather forecast for heavy rain turned out to be woefully wrong.

I laughed and shouted to the sky.

“See you!”

“Huh?!”

A startled Sita landed in front of us.

I hugged Adeshan like a princess and climbed onto Sita’s back.

Almost at the same time, Sita soared into the sky. It was a long drive. The long tail and wings spread out in a straight line, and in an instant, the world became smaller.

“Hey, what are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“The weather is nice. Let’s meet up higher up.”

“Anyway, you···.”

Adeshan smiled bashfully. He seemed embarrassed, but he didn’t seem to dislike it.

Her long, black hair was flowing gracefully. Her face, which had not changed at all since the day she accepted my proposal, was red in the sunset. It was beautiful. We kissed without a second thought. When we pulled our faces apart, I could see the sun sinking below the horizon. The city that covered the land was slowly coming into light.

At that moment, an object I had never seen before caught my eye.

“That is···?”

It was the western side of the island. It looked dark because its back was turned to the sunset.

Three huge objects that looked like paper airplanes were rising, trailing white tails. They were so bright that they looked like stars returning to the sky.

Adeshan raised his eyebrows.

“It’s a star ship. After making such a fuss, they ended up shooting it.”

“Oh, that was today?”

“Yeah. I think the first destination was the moon.”

I think I’ve heard that too.

A star ship created with clues from the ruins of ancient Dainhar.

There was a daily battle between those who opposed space exploration, who thought that it would be like becoming bald giants, and those who supported it, who thought that having wings but not flying was an insult to the heavens.

Looking at that sight, it seemed like the pros had won in the end. The fact that Akasha’s parallel world operation was able to remain such a perfect secret must have been partly because that ship attracted so much attention.

By the way, I didn’t know it would be this fast.

We vaguely thought that we would be able to go to other stars someday, but…

‘Yeah, they’re all like this.’

One corner of the mouth went up.

Maybe the future has already begun.

The contrails crossing the sunset were beautiful.

As I was blankly staring at the star ship, a little of the main voice leaked out between my lips.

“Have a nice day, Akasha.”

A tomorrow where we cannot see even an inch ahead, and therefore a future that is worth looking forward to.

I could have waited with a smile on my face.

Academy’s Genius Swordsman Part 2 Complete.