Chapter 695: Revenge

“What… what… ?”

A bewildered murmur escaped Merlin’s lips.

As an Archive, Merlin had seen and experienced too much, making him calm in any situation. But now, the old man showed signs of agitation.

Because of Kevin’s declaration. Because of Kevin’s revenge.

It took a long while for Merlin to react properly.

“W-What… What do you mean…?”

“Exactly what I said. It means I’ll be taking your place. It means I will become the Archive.”

Kevin spoke clearly and firmly, as one would to an elderly father whose mind was no longer intact.

Kevin himself would take Merlin’s place as the Archive.

Merlin shook his head.

“N-No… That’s not…”

“-I know exactly what that position entails!”

Kevin cut Merlin off.

“I know better than anyone that it’s not a seat of gold, but a throne of thorns! I’ve spent decades beside a fool who regrets what he’s done every single night…!!”

“…”

“Don’t make that face. I’m not forgiving you. Even if you kept me nearby as a living reminder of your sins, taught me magic and the knowledge needed to survive, showed me the best way to help our people, or spent sleepless nights full of guilt, losing your hair and muscles to suffering… your sins won’t vanish! Just so you know…”

Kevin, who had relentlessly spilled out his emotions, paused for a moment. Then, he looked directly into Merlin’s remaining eye and spoke again.

“…Your sins won’t disappear. Because it’s wrong.”

Merlin silently agreed.

“And your sins will never be forgiven. Everyone who suffered because of you is dead.”

Merlin silently agreed again.

“Most of all, I can’t forgive you for what you did to my father, mother, brothers, friends, and others. Your suffering is nothing compared to what they endured.”

“…Yes. You’re right.”

Merlin, who had been silent, quietly spoke to acknowledge his sins. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Kevin brought his face close to Merlin’s, whispering.

“But I’ll forgive you for the sins you committed against me… You sinned against me, but I will forgive you and show you grace. Do you understand?”

“…Are you serious?”

“This is my revenge! This proves it!! That we, that I, are better than you! We’re better than you all! Because I forgave you, a criminal! I even showed you grace. Remember this… By doing this, you and all Archives are forever indebted to me, to this Red One Magician, a debt so deep it could never be repaid even if you died and were reborn! Do you understand?!”

Merlin couldn’t respond. Instead, a single tear rolled down from his tear-filled eyes.

The blood on Merlin’s face was slightly washed away by that tear. The pain in his chest also lessened.

“Haah… So shut up and hand it over. Then close your eyes and rest in peace.”

Kevin spoke with a faint trace of pain and sadness in his voice as he looked at the tearful Merlin.

A contradictory emotion that existed alongside his unquenchable anger and desire for revenge.

Merlin, who shed a tear, cleared his throat and, with a slightly trembling voice, spoke his final words.

Words he had never been able to say in his entire life.

“I’m truly sorry… And thank you.”

With those words, a brilliant light burst out from Merlin’s body.

The Archive’s memories, knowledge, experiences, and all sorts of concepts intertwined with vast magic, erupted like fireworks, and the light was so intense it illuminated the night sky of the Holy Capital, shrouded in darkness.

Like when the sun, setting beyond the horizon, suddenly brightens the sky for a moment.

The immense light seemed to scatter into the air like ordinary light, but at that moment, the light was drawn to a focus by an invisible force.

Rumble…

The power and memories of a thousand years of the Archive.

And that point of focus was none other than the hand of Kevin, who held Merlin’s hand.

“…!”

The Red One, who forgave his enemy, silently screamed as he accepted the power accumulated over a millennium by the criminals, along with their sins.

Swoosh…!

Even as the whirlwind of immense power and memories sliced through his body like a blade.

Crackle…!

Even as the rushing power expanded his blood vessels to the point of bursting.

Crunch…!

Even as blood flowed from between his tightly clenched teeth, struggling to endure the pressure.

Shatter…!

Even as his skin cracked under the strain of containing the overloaded power, Kevin did not let go of Merlin’s hand.

While Merlin passed on everything of the Archive and took his last breath, Kevin held onto his hand until the very end.

So that he would not be alone…

Then, a moment later.

Rumble…

The light that seemed to scatter into the air gathered once again into Kevin’s body.

And at that moment, the surrounding space rippled like waves, and a ring of light spread out around him.

An eerie silence and calmness descended, making everything that had just happened feel like a lie. But the deep cracks in the ground testified to what had occurred.

In the midst of it all, Kevin gently closed Merlin’s lifeless eyes and laid him down respectfully.

Once Merlin was lying on the ground, Kevin finally let go of the hand he’d held till the end, carefully placing it atop Merlin’s chest. Then he wordlessly began to wipe the bloodstained face of Merlin with a handkerchief he had moistened by condensing the moisture in the air.

After that, he quietly stood up.

Oliver, who had been observing from a few paces away, spoke first for the first time since coming to the Holy Capital.

“Did you become the Archive?”

“Yes.”

Kevin turned his head and answered, and a faint crack formed on one side of his face.

***

“…”

The faint crack on Kevin’s face.

Oliver saw it, but he said nothing.

No, to be accurate, he had no reaction.

He had already expected it.

To become an Archive, several conditions had to be met.

First, a sense of guilt and sin was necessary. To prevent one from fleeing this heavy burden.

But even that wasn’t enough.

Even if the will was there, without the power and ability to carry it out, it would merely be a sad, meaningless effort.

Thus, those who became the Archive were always either the greatest magician of their time or one whose name would be mentioned among the very best.

Without such abilities, a person could not contain the vast contents of the Archive.

But what if the vessel wasn’t large enough to hold all the content? One didn’t need to imagine it.

As with any vessel, it would only ‘shatter!’ if it couldn’t hold its contents.

Kevin was no different.

As an Archive’s apprentice, Kevin had honed his skills at a young age as a Military Mage, and he had gained considerable academic knowledge as a professor at the Tower of Magic. But it was too early to apply the title “the greatest of his time” to him.

As evidence, Kevin’s body bore a faint crack.

Proof that the vessel barely managed to contain the contents showed how precarious his state was.

If even a little balance tipped, those contents could shatter the vessel.

Merlin had known that, and, of course, so did Oliver.

Anyone could tell with just one look.

Nevertheless, they did not stop Kevin. Oliver had no reason to, above all.

“Why did you inherit the Archive?”

He was curious. Curious as to why Kevin had forgiven the enemy he could never forgive.

Upon hearing the question, Kevin approached Oliver without answering immediately, but instead, he touched the cracked skin.

“Why ask when you already know? You’ve heard it all.”

Oliver couldn’t say anything.

Kevin was right. Oliver knew that Kevin’s words to Merlin earlier were genuine, that he wanted to prove they were better and place a debt on Merlin by forgiving him and shouldering the sin of becoming the Archive.

And yet, he asked because he couldn’t believe it.

He couldn’t believe, even after witnessing it with his own eyes, that Kevin bore his enemy within his heart.

To even shoulder that sin seemed incomprehensible, even unfathomable.

“There’s no need to understand.”

Kevin told the confused Oliver.

“Even if it seems grand, it’s just a personal matter between Merlin and me. Hating him, yet choosing to forgive him because I understood how much he suffered, it was a purely personal decision. So you don’t need to waste your time assigning meaning or trying to understand it.”

Kevin’s words were genuine. As they had always been.

At the same time, it became clear that this was not just a matter between Kevin and Merlin.

As the Archive, Kevin had adopted the same attitude towards the inevitable end.

In stark contrast to all previous Archives.

“Are you serious?”

“One must clean up after oneself. You can’t expect someone else to do it for you. No matter how dirty or unfair it may be… So go ahead and do what you want to do.”

“You’re serious.”

“As I’ve always been.”

Kevin answered and then knelt down on one knee to meet Oliver’s gaze.

In Kevin’s eyes reflected respect and determination toward Oliver.

“Listen. You owe the world nothing. Even if you did, no one has the right to impose anything on you or leave you a burden you didn’t choose. So make the choice you truly want.”

“And if I continue on the path I’ve chosen? Will that really be okay, as the Archive?”

“Why not? If you choose to do nothing, nothing will change.”

“Or I might even do what I had planned to.”

“Then I’ll stop you. At the very least, I’ll try. But above all…”

Kevin trailed off for a moment, his emotions flickering. It was anger.

Anger, not for himself, but for Oliver. Anger at the unfair fate forced upon him.

“If the world has to unfairly push an unbearable burden on a kid like you just to survive, then it deserves to end.”

Kevin solidified his thoughts as he took something from his pocket.

It was Oliver’s torn leather mask. The face of the Solver, Dave.

Kevin handed the torn leather mask to Oliver.

“So do whatever you want to do. I’ll do what I want to do.”

As Oliver silently accepted the mask, Kevin finished speaking and stood up.

Once Kevin stood, Oliver asked.

“… What are you going to do now?”

“Help the Knight. I can’t leave all the fighting to one woman.”

As soon as he answered, Kevin leaped through space without a moment’s hesitation. Left alone, Oliver gazed at Merlin’s body, lying neatly on the ground, and murmured.

“What I want…”