Chapter 598

The four of them came out of the club building where Daitomorian was and returned to the Royal Class dormitory. Their original purpose was to ask the Christian refugees in the refugee camp if they could turn the saints' remains into undead. However, Rudby heard a prophecy about death. When Rudby did not back down from his words, he gave up and hinted at something strange. Find your already dead friend, Ashir. The connection is so weak that it is impossible to understand the meaning. Heinrich frowned as if Daitom was disgusted. Everyone has seen those who lose their minds in the horrors of war. The four of them have seen those who go crazy in the madness of war up close. Louise spoke up, saying that the shaman is a force she does not know and a being she does not know. However, even if it is an unknown force, did he not see people? Rudby says firmly, "I don't suspect Daitom, but I believe he can do something. If I die in the end, it won't be Daitom's fault, it will be mine." People believe only what they want to believe. They even believe lies, but not necessarily the truth. They believe that death is inevitable, but the process of dying is not meaningless. Ellen nods silently at Rudby's determination. She cannot break Rudby's stubbornness. If she does, he will wither away like a dead plant. Rudby's expression, which seems to be living something worse than death, is probably living in something worse than misery. The shaman did say he would die, but he did not say when. People will die someday, so anyone can make a prophecy about dying. Rudby would rather deceive the shaman's prophecy. Ellen also decides not to think about Rudby's death. It may not be true. The characters have seen people lose their minds in the horrors of war and are wary of the unknown. The next problem is finding Ashir. If Daitomorian is just a crazy person, it can be dismissed as nonsense. However, it is too unexpected and strange. The characters are more confused by the shaman's words. Ellen says, "Even if going to see it is meaningless, it can't be a bad thing." Ashir, who had talent in divine power, played the role of a priest who treated soldiers in the rear. He was torn apart and died due to a rear attack by flying monsters. It was difficult to even watch the gruesome appearance of the body that they had barely salvaged. The bodies of those who had achieved enough merit in the war were buried in the national cemetery in the north of Hwangdo. Most of the Royal Class students had achieved great merit in the war, and although Ashir did not directly engage in combat, he saved many lives. As Ashir was not a member of the Holy Knight Order, his tomb was in the national cemetery. "We should have gone to see it." Rudby sighed with self-blame, feeling resentful of himself for not even thinking about his friend's tomb in his despair. Heinrich and Ellen felt the same way. The road they had to take was long, crossing the Daeha to the north and passing through the palace, as the magical train was not running. There were guards clearing the snow on the streets, as well as people familiar to Ellen, Heinrich, and Rudby, who were Royal Class graduates. They saw a psychic who could control the wind, clearing the snow with a gust of wind. The children were amazed by the psychic's ability and followed him around, causing the war hero to struggle with the crowd. If all this was over, everyone hoped for a world where their powers were not needed, a peaceful world. They walked towards the cemetery, accepting the approaching death and heading towards their dead friend's tomb. They arrived at the national cemetery in Hwangdo, where Rudby and Heinrich had held a brief funeral at the Allied Forces' base before Ashir's body was transported to Hwangdo for burial. Ellen was too busy in the Allied Forces to attend Ashir's funeral. Louise was no exception. So they had only recently found out where Ashir's tomb was located. The guards in front of the huge gate were guarding the entrance to the national cemetery, and people were waiting in line to enter despite the weather. The line was not too long due to the weather. Ellen naturally stood with the rest of the group, even though she could have ignored the waiting line. She didn't say anything for fear of revealing their identities. However, everyone had their own thoughts. There must have been a reason for people to visit the cemetery in this weather. It was likely for the purpose of mourning those who had passed away. The sight of visitors waiting in line in various ways made them all feel solemn. After confirming their identities, they walked towards Ashir's tomb, accepting the approaching death and hoping for a peaceful world. The national cemetery was not cleared of snow like other streets, and Rudby commented on its size. Ellen knew from the map which areas were for the martyrs of the war and which were for the expansion after the Gate Incident. They were heading towards Ashir's tomb in the expanded area. Rudby wondered if all the tombs were from after the Gate Incident, and Heinrich looked up at him. Now everyone is not thinking of getting any clues from Ashir's tomb, they are just overwhelmed by death that is prevalent everywhere. So many people have died and been buried. Even this tomb is only a tiny fraction compared to those who have died. Yet it was overwhelmingly large. Countless deaths that cannot be counted. But compared to all the deaths that occurred after the Gate Incident, it is not even a speck of dust. Even this tiny tomb was enough to overwhelm those who saw it. Rudby murmurs absentmindedly, "How many people died...." "About 95 percent of all cities were destroyed," Louise says. "So you can assume that many people died too." If most of the cities were destroyed, it is not an excessive estimate to say that the population decreased in proportion to the scale of destruction. Even if 5 percent of the entire human race died, it is a huge scale of death. But the opposite is true. About 95 percent died. It is impossible to count, so it must be said in proportion. * * * A cemetery is a place where you can't help but think about death. You can guess what their lives were like by looking at the dead. You think about what your own death will be like. Ultimately, it's about life. You can't help but think about how to live. Because it is a space where death is exhibited, it makes you think about life. What is life? What is the reason for living? It is a space where all humans are forced to face the stark truth that they will die, so they can only think about living. Ellen, Heinrich, Louise, and even Rudby, who heard that death was waiting, walk quietly with their own thoughts. Walking through the vast cemetery in the snow, Ellen and her group soon arrived at Ashir's tomb. Ashir, who had a talent for divine power, treated many wounded soldiers. He went to war not to kill, but to save lives, and died. "Ashir...." Rudby looks quietly at the tombstone. Not everyone cried. They didn't try to forget, but they couldn't think about their friend's death because they were pushed into war. When winter passes and spring comes, three of them except Rudby will return to the battlefield. It is the job of those who have no worries. Only Rudby was left here to contemplate life and death. People on the battlefield who live close to death have no time to think because they are too busy day by day. Rudby looks quietly at the tombstone. He hopes that Daitomorian's prophecy will come true. Rather than feeling guilty for surviving in front of his friend's tomb like this, he wants to do something, anything, even if there is death at the end. I hope I have a role to play. It doesn't have to be as big as Ellen's. It doesn't have to be as powerful as Heinrich's. It doesn't have to be a commander like Louise. Even a gravestone on the battlefield is fine. For those who have been sacrificed, even for those who will be sacrificed. I want to fight. "......" Rudby sat in front of the tombstone for a while before standing up. Although everyone was exhausted, no one was shaking. Louise spoke up, saying that she didn't know the meaning of this place. Heinrich wanted to dismiss Dethmoriann's words as nonsense, but even if it was nonsense, it was too unpleasant. Rudby looked at Ellen, hoping she would know something, but even she couldn't figure it out. They decided to go back and investigate further. Ellen calmed Heinrich down, saying that Dethmoriann probably didn't have bad intentions and even if they didn't find any clues, they weren't in trouble. Heinrich sighed in agreement. "Ellen... I understand the meaning. I might have been angry for no reason, but what Dethmoriann said was completely baseless. Our visit here and the thing we are chasing have nothing to do with each other. The only thing in common is that the underground of the temple knights is a tomb and that we are here at a tomb... There is at least one common point... right?" Although it is unclear what the relevance is, there is not no common point. Whatever happened, there was a common point that it was a tomb.