Ishura - Volume 5 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Sine Riverstead

It was over ten years ago.

At Sine Riverstead, there was an area called the Needle Forest that had been there for a long, long time. Thick metal pillars stuck out from the hill like a grove of trees, and when one gazed up at the hill from the village, it looked like a mountain of needles.

Mele the Horizon’s Roar was always in the Needle Forest. He’d sleep like a log for however long he wanted to and stay sprawled out as he gazed up at the shapes of the clouds. If someone came to visit from the village, he would begrudgingly keep them company.

On that day, there was a child visiting Mele from the village.

“Why’re you sleeping?”

The child was named Misna. The young boy’s personality made it hard for him to fit in with the other children, and he always did everything alone.

Wearing glasses so thick that they seemed to be little more than shaved-down lumps of glass, he held a grammar book of the Order’s script underneath his arm. Mele had heard he was the cleverest kid among the village children. Not that Mele seriously remembered that sort of small stuff.

“I can sleep or get up whenever I damn well feel like it. Ahhh… Noon already?”

In truth, Mele had been awake for a little while at that point. He just felt too bothered to get up and simply found himself wanting to watch the sky’s color change for a little while.

Such days continued on for a spell after the Demon King Army had passed by Sine Riverstead.

“…Why didn’t you fight, Mele?”

“……”

Mele scratched his neck, not understanding the intentions behind the remark.

Misna’s words were often perplexing, in a different way from the other young children, and he never knew how to approach them.

“Everyone is saying that you’re a champion who saved our village. I don’t think so at all.”

“Oh yeah, that right? Well, doesn’t make a difference to me what a runt like you might think about me.”

—One small month earlier, this village had been threatened with annihilation.

The True Demon King and the Demon King Army, which accompanied them, had surged up close to the village’s border. The beasts in the forest began to go mad, and bodies were found of birds and rabbits tangled up together and eating one another. A large number of deer had thrown themselves into the river, and the villagers had locked up their doors and windows in several layers to ensure none of the children accidentally laid eyes on the Demon King Army.

It was only a matter of time before the madness spread to the residents of Sine Riverstead.

There was very little Mele could do. He had simply stood on top of the hill and glared at the Demon King Army.

The gigant, who had been lying on his back for two hundred and fifty years, kept his colossal black bow ready to fire at a moment’s notice and remained standing there from before sunrise to long after sunset.

It continued like this for several days. The villagers were worried for Mele, who was no longer eating or cracking lighthearted jokes, but they, too, remained unable to do anything in the face of the surging terror.

The tension seemed close to rending the village itself apart.

…And then they passed on by.

The Demon King Army went around the small village and headed off toward some other place.

“Listen here, go home and take a nap yourself. Me, I can barely keep these eyes open,” said Mele.

“…Is it true that you’re the one who stops the flooding every year?”

“Hell if I know. I’m just practicing with my bow.”

“They say that you’re the one who shoots down all the wyverns that come to the village.”

“It’s my food. I ain’t handing any of my grub over to you guys.”

Misna looked up at Mele, tears filling his eyes.

In contrast to his matter-of-fact tone, his face seemed to be mixed with anger and frustration.

“…If you’re so strong, why didn’t you fire any arrows?”

“Hah?”

“The True Demon King was nearby. You could’ve killed them. If you had just shot them, everyone would’ve been saved… Everyone in the world.”

Still lying down, Mele absentmindedly extended out his dominant right hand, opening and closing it.

The True Demon King had come right up next to the village. If he had shot his arrow, it would’ve reached them.

Mele’s arrows brought unilateral destruction, impossible to defend against. Even without precise knowledge of the True Demon King’s whereabouts, he could’ve laid complete and utter waste to the entire topography itself.

Anyone should’ve been able to arrive at such a simple conclusion.

So why hadn’t he been able to shoot?

“Hah, shooting arrows tires me out… It’s a big pain in the ass, so I didn’t.”

“That’s not it. You avoided it.”

“……”

“Y-you were scared of the True Demon King and couldn’t shoot your bow. You could’ve saved us all, but you didn’t have the courage to do it!”

The True Demon King had annihilated the True Northern Kingdom.

In order to fight the terror threatening the world, the remaining two kingdoms had been gathering soldiers from all over the land and strategizing about how to eradicate the True Demon King.

What about luring them to a city deep in the mountains and burning the whole mountain down with them?

What about building moats and walls too big for the True Demon King to scale and isolating them?

What about throwing poison in the wells along their invasion route and making them run out of food and starve?

What about using an artificial pathogen or a giant army of constructs to take them down?

Perhaps this time, they would finally be able to defeat the True Demon King. Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope left in the world.

—Such attempts ended without accomplishing anything.

There were stories of operation commanders going mad. Stories of the soldiers suddenly deserting right before they were meant to enact their plan. Stories of citizens opposing things from a humanitarian perspective. Or in some cases, it was none of these things…and it simply faded naturally.

For some reason, no one was able to pull the trigger to destroy the enemy of all.

Any and all will to fight against this enemy was stolen. Unable to do what was needed, they found themselves doing what they shouldn’t instead.

Anyone in the world, no matter who it was, no matter how far away they were, whether they were openly opposing them or not, would be forced to confront that terror. Such was the True Demon King.

I should’ve been able to fire.

In truth, Mele had awakened long before Misna’s visit.

With his body lying down, he had continued to ponder the same thing over and over again.

The entire time, long after the Demon King Army had passed by Sine Riverstead.

All I could do was stand at the ready.

“You saved the village. But the Demon King Army… They went past this village and destroyed Gilano Forestland. My friend Yuren lived there.”

“…Like I’d know. Don’t give a rat’s ass either way. Long as I get to protect my napping spot, that’s good enough for me. Anywhere else’s got nothing to do with me.”

“B-but…all the adults… I-it’s cruel! They treat you like a champion, and you couldn’t shoot at all! When you know the truth better than anyone! And you’re really fine with that?! Doesn’t it bother you?!”

The villagers said that Mele had won. That the Sine Riverstead’s guardian had driven off the Demon King Army.

—They were wrong. Mele had lost to the terror. For the first time, he hadn’t been able to shoot at an enemy he needed to defeat.

If he just had a bit more courage. If he was just a bit stronger.

The Mele of the past might have been able to shoot the True Demon King. He couldn’t help thinking so.

“I told you, I don’t care, okay?! Enough of your shouting already—go home. I wanna get back to sleep already.”

“I…I thought…that our Mele could’ve become a real hero…!”

“…………”

Misna didn’t say anything further, and his tiny back descended down the hill.

From the next day, Mele no longer saw Misna anywhere.

He heard later that the following day after his visit to Mele’s hill, Misna boarded a caravan and left the village. That the boy had decided to study outside the village and fight against the True Demon King on his own.

However, that was all.

Since that True Demon King was never defeated by any champion.

Several years passed by.

Mele remembered the day a single lone wyvern flew down to the Needle Forest.

Although a wyvern appearing in the Sine Riverstead was a somewhat rare occurrence, to Mele, it wasn’t a matter worth remembering, and he nocked an arrow to his black bow just like always.

He didn’t use one of the iron pillars in moments like this, when he was driving wyverns away. It was an arrow made with Craft Arts out of soil.

……………

However, at the time, Mele kept his arrow nocked and waited until this wyvern perched itself atop one of the iron pillars sticking out of the mountain. He could tell that with this opponent, if they engaged in a fight, neither of them would make it out of the scrap unscathed.

—This wyvern had three arms growing from his body.

“……So you’re Mele the Horizon’s Roar…?”

His name was Alus the Star Runner. The strongest wyvern in the land, arrogating all the legendary treasures remaining in the world and crushing champions beneath him. His arrival always meant the end for the legends at his destination.

“And what if I am? Ain’t got nothing here. ’Cept for me.” Mele dauntlessly smiled yet replied in a low tone.

The fact that Alus the Star Runner had appeared meant Mele’s turn had come.

A great number of this world’s legends hadn’t been able to take down this wyvern, but Mele the Horizon’s Roar could do it.

Sine Riverstead was home to a peaceful people—for over two hundred and fifty years, no enemy had appeared worthy of Mele’s full power.

Finally come here to do me in, eh? I’m happy to hear it, Alus the Star Runner.

He drew power into the hand holding his black bow. If he was going to attack, the sooner the better. With one shot, carved out from the hill, he’d scatter dirt and sand into the air and take away Alus’s ability to fly freely. If Alus avoided it by flying low, he’d use a trajectory that’d send him down over the village’s pastures—

“…………”

Mele was unable to fire.

Even though he was well inside his bow range, Alus the Star Runner stood stock-still atop a pillar and quietly observed Mele.

“……That bow. Is it strong…?”

“Ha, curious, are ya? I don’t know who the hell out there made it or whatever materials they used, but this fella doesn’t break no matter what. Gonna try stealing this, then, ya scaly pigeon?”

“…No thanks… Looks like a pain to carry around.”

For this rogue, it was enough of a reason to give up on an item for his collection. On the other hand, it meant that were the black bow a weapon Alus could use, he would’ve absolutely stolen it from him.

“Besides, your real treasure…isn’t that.”

Alus craned his head and looked in the direction of Sine Riverstead.

“…What does it feel like?”

“You don’t know a damn thing about me… What the hell are you here for, Star Runner?”

Mere didn’t take his fingers off his arrow.

Mele was an ancient gigant warrior. He hadn’t only fought against floods and wyvern flocks, but krakens and dragons as well. His proudest accomplishment was battling and winning against all such opponents, and nothing should have made him happier than to face off against a powerful opponent.

And yet—what would happen if he did?

He’d be forced to fight here, at Sine Riverstead.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

If you’re looking for a fight, then I’ll give ya just that.

There was a voice whispering to him the same question he had heard when the Demon King Army surged close to the village.

“What are you afraid of?”

Past Mele hadn’t needed to protect anything. He had been able to throw his own life away if it was all for the thrill of battle. He was strong and courageous.

Until he had laid down roots here in Sine Riverstead.

…What the hell’s that crap? Doesn’t matter. Ain’t got nothing to do with it.

He had spent the impossibly long years of his gigant life polishing his skills with the ultimate bow. He always hit his mark, and he always destroyed his targets.

But should Mele the Horizon’s Roar fight with everything he had, what would then come of Sine Riverstead?

This small village couldn’t hope to withstand his full fighting power. This place was an all-too-miniature village of minia, the gap in scale so vast that he was unable to live together with them. If the arc of his arrow grazed the ground, the village would be unrooted entirely, and if his colossal body ran through it, he’d crush both their houses and their fields.

It had been the same on that day when the Demon King Army was right in front of his eyes.

He became unable to do the very thing he had always wished for.

This gigant, more powerful than any other, could do exactly that simply by letting go of his finger.

And yet Mele the Horizon’s Roar was scared.

“…………”

Alus didn’t move. Did he think that Mele wouldn’t shoot?

Or perhaps, Alus the Star Runner, having witnessed all the treasures across the land…had managed to see through to what type of treasure Mele now found himself needing to protect.

“I’ll say it one more time. What…do you want?” asked Mele.

“…Nothing, really.”

Alus turned his head in a completely different direction, as if Mele’s existence was of no concern to him.

He didn’t seem interested in the slightest with anything that didn’t capture his interest.

…From the very beginning, he hadn’t appeared there looking for a fight.

“I just wanted to ask you, that’s all… What it feels like…”

“What what feels like?”

“Having a homeland…a country.”

“…This puny village? Like hell it’s any of that stuff.”

Mele’s true treasure wasn’t this black bow he had from the time of the Wordmaker, nor was it the iron needles stuck into the mountain, nor even his pride as the strongest in the land. It had all been supplanted somewhere along the line.

Had the ancient gigant, while living under the standards of the small and weak, accidentally grown smaller and weaker himself as well?

He felt scared to lose this village.

“It ain’t bad,” Mele said, trying to laugh it off.

Sine Riverstead had been a shackle to him. In the Needle Forest, Mele continued to protect this village from the flooding that came once a year. As long as he was here, he would never be able to truly battle.

“It ain’t bad, having a place you belong.”

Nevertheless, he didn’t want to blame the villagers for him growing weaker.

Sine Riverstead wasn’t at fault at all. Things like this happened when one lived for a long time.

It wasn’t bad. It was much, much better than fighting to his heart’s content and annihilating the tiny village instead.

That’s what he believed.

“…Really.”

Alus flapped his wings wide. His visit to the Needle Forest had been for a remarkably trivial reason, purely just to ask Mele his question.

“Hey, Alus!” Mele shouted as Alus was taking his leave.

He asked a question like a past child had asked him once before.

“Why don’t you fight?! If you’re all about bringing down the world’s legends, there’s one of them who’s a helluva lot bigger than the rest, right?! The strongest one out there, the one who no one’s able to bring down!”

“……? ……Ohhh, you mean the True Demon King…”

Having conquered legends far and wide, this wyvern could’ve defeated such a person and become a hero. There may have been a lot of people who selfishly placed their hopes in Alus the Star Runner.

However, Alus didn’t fight for anyone. He was always fickle and lived free.

His way of life was the exact opposite of Mele, who had chosen bondage for the sake of the villagers he needed to protect.

“The Demon King doesn’t have anything, right…? No treasure…or place they belong. Defeating them’s meaningless…”

The wyvern was right. The True Demon King was sure to be alone, without anything to protect.

His wings disappeared far off into the chartreuse sky, waiting for dusk.

The legend and the legend-slayer parted ways without a fight.

It had been Mele’s sole chance in the past two hundred and fifty years.

“…Heh, he leaves with a sorry excuse like that?”

The gigant, left behind without anyone to fight, stayed standing alone on the hill.

Mele the Horizon’s Roar, holding his true-shot bow, for the second time in his life, let his target get away.

“Excuuuuse me! Where do you get off, sleeping past noon?!”

Then present day—a shrill voice echoed through Aureatia’s gigant town.

Aureatia’s Twenty-Fifth General, Cayon the Skythunder. He was Mele the Horizon’s Roar’s sponsor.

“Why, evening will be here soon!”

“Ah, pipe down, will ya?”

Mele the Horizon’s Roar opened his eyes underneath a roof. House though it was, it was plainly built, little more than a giant box, with four walls and a ceiling constructed in a rush. Compared with the other gigant staying in Aureatia’s gigant town, he easily required four times as much area for himself.

“Heh-heh-heh.”

“Heh-heh-heh my foot! Are you still half asleep—is that it…? Have a dream or something?”

That was it. He had a dream. Long happy days, peaceful, and starved for battle.

“Well, see…how can I put it? Just let myself get a bit happy is all.”

This wasn’t Sine Riverstead. None of the small, weak friends he needed to protect were here, either.

He could be his strong former self, without anything to fear. Everyone had wished for it.

Sine Riverstead’s colossal hero would be appearing in the seventh match. A true legend, spoken of together with Lucnoca the Winter. Mele the Horizon’s Roar.

He had waited two hundred and fifty years for this chance.

“It ain’t bad, having a place you belong.”

The strong and powerful were gathering together.