That night, Hales and Elsie talked a lot about the hero and the past of the merfolk.
A thousand years ago, the northern part of the continent was not so cold. Elves, dwarves, and merfolk joined forces with humans to send out heroes to fight the Demon King.
The magic of the elves, the heavy armor of the dwarves, and the poems of the merfolk—as the three races closest to the heart of the Demon King's territory, they suffered considerable damage and their populations dwindled.
In the century following the war, the environment in the North deteriorated, forcing the dwarves and elves to migrate south. Because the southern mountains were monopolized by various royal families, the dwarves were unable to have their own territory.
That generation of dwarf kings launched a war after negotiations failed.
But it is clear that the five human kingdoms have the manpower, the technology, and the tactics.
The dwarves... were wiped out.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the elves, under the guidance of their elders, had no choice but to intermarry with humans to reduce racial barriers and avoid extinction.
The merfolk were in the midst of internal strife at the time, and after the strife ended, they were preparing to migrate south. However, after seeing the fate of the other two races, they immediately abandoned their plans to migrate south.
There is also a coastal area in the North, and given the environment at the time... it wasn't impossible to survive there, it was just a bit harsh.
Therefore, the merfolk did not migrate south on a large scale.
And then...
Hales closed the book, signifying the decline of the Mermaid Kingdom.
Elsie was still in shock, as her story did not seem to involve any connection with the other three races.
It feels like we're almost at the final chapter, and there's still a ton of hidden plot points to explore, which is a real shame.
If we could do it again...
Trust me, the hidden storyline will only make you suffer terribly!
[Think of Karen and Connor, Windsor, and your family. You don't want them all to die, do you?]
"..."
Go to the Abyss, Elsie. Those unimportant quests of the past are merely obstacles preventing you from moving forward.
“Soul Abyss… Sister Hales, do you know about Soul Abyss?” Elsie suddenly remembered.
Hales has lived in the North for many years, so he must have records about the Abyss of Souls!
"The Abyss of Souls?" Hales was taken aback. "What's that?"
"!?!" Elsie's eyes widened.
Could it be that the Soul Abyss truly does not exist?
Does the Soul Abyss really not exist?
Soul Abyss really... Narrator: I'm asking you a question!
【Huh? You're asking me? What's the point of asking me about your plot?】
Let me take a look at the outline...
[Hmm... Ouch... Where did I put my outline? I... I have so much junk here, it's a mountain of junk.]
"..."
"Are you done eating? I need to prepare more food; it's really hard to feed two people." Hales stretched and habitually patted Elsie's head.
"Okay, sister's going out for a bit, don't wander off!"
“Hmm.” Elsie nodded.
The door to the cabin was closed, and Elsie waited for the unreliable narrator to go find the outline.
At the same time, they began to plan their next steps. Perhaps they could ask Hales for a map of the Northern Territory? If they had one, they might be able to use the process of elimination to find the Soul Abyss as quickly as possible.
How long have we been in the North?
Elsie hugged herself tightly and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she opened her eyes, and in front of her was a constantly vibrating pop-up window displaying narration!
"Narrator, you're disturbing me."
Wake up! Elsie! The Blood Child has vanished!
"!" Elsie woke up instantly.
She quickly got dressed and started checking her data template.
Although most of the data is hidden, some key data is still preserved by Blood Crown.
But now there's not a single one left!
【Elsie...】
Can I ask you a question?
Do you believe that fate can be controlled by humans?
"..." Elsie said firmly, "I don't believe in fate!"
[Hmph... Such a protagonist-like answer.]
"Then, open the door. After you've experienced everything here, I'll tell you where the Soul Abyss is."
"..."
Elsie arrived at the door, and a sense of impending death made her hesitate. After thinking for a moment, she finally took the Lord's Longsword.
As for the armor, she didn't really want to wear it anymore.
With my magic power almost fully restored, even if there is real danger, armor is not as effective as a magical barrier.
She gently pushed the door open.
The blizzard from the North instantly bypassed the magical barrier, freezing everything inside the house, and the fire in the fireplace went out in an instant...
Under the blizzard, those blue eyes stared intently at her.
“Kaomi.” Elsie gritted her teeth. She saw Kaomi sitting in the snow. He seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time.
He held a sword in his left hand and a...ball in his right?
No… the smell of blood… that’s…?
"..." Elsie clenched her fists, looked at Hales's despairing face, and silently shed tears.
“Elsie, we meet again. You don’t seem to want to see me, even though I’ve been waiting for you here for a year.” Keomi threw Hales’ head at Elsie.
“I don’t intend to kill you; I want to imprison you forever so that I can enjoy freedom in this completely safe world.”
"Draw your sword!"
"..." Elsie trembled as she looked at Hales, who was half buried in the snow, and she couldn't help but cry.
“You’re crying…” Keomi shook his head: “Crying? Crying counts as time!”
He charged ahead through the snow, his icy sword light like a thunderclap in the long, dark night!
"Clang!" The crisp sound of weapons clashing.
Elsie's Lord's Longsword instantly parried Keomi's attack.
Keomi was stunned by this amazing power. Before he could even steady himself, Elsie's sword was already ablaze with sword energy!
"The third stage?" Keomi hurriedly dodged Elsie's slash, and the vibrating sword energy flames instantly coated Keomi's body like gasoline.
"Why, why do you keep stopping me!" Elsie slashed wildly through the tears, as if she had lost her mind.
But! She remembers!
I remember every word Keomi said, trying to understand him, trying to... reconcile with him.
If there is truly a peaceful compromise in this conflict, she will choose it.
But... is it because of fate?
Does fate really exist?
Can fate be changed?
Am I the one who will change my destiny?
"Kaomi!" Elsie roared as she pressed down on Kaomi again.
The sword energy and flames exploded in an instant, and Keomi's entire body was engulfed in flames!
He tried to use his breath to save the situation, but it was too late!
Your arrogance destroyed you. You could have triggered the earthquake while I was asleep. You could have... come and killed me much sooner.
But... there's no going back now.
Elsie remembered Bayin's words, and she remembered that different Keomi.
“You should have led your people to pursue freedom; that was your mission as king.”
"but……"
Answer me, Keomi!
"What you're chasing now—is it the freedom of all of you, or the freedom of just you alone?!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com