Chapter 695: Revenge (Part 2)
“What…?”
A dumbfounded murmur slipped from between Merlin’s lips, his voice almost vacant.
The old man who, as an Archive, knew too much, had seen too much, and remained stoic in the face of everything, now showed a rare sign of disturbance. This was because of Kevin’s declaration—Kevin’s revenge.
It took Merlin a long moment to react properly.
“What… what do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I intend to take over your position. I will become the Archive.”
Merlin, with a tone as firm and clear as if he were explaining himself to an aging father who was losing his faculties, expressed his resolve.
Kevin himself had declared that he would inherit Merlin’s position as the Archive.
Merlin shook his head.
“No, that can’t be. This role—”
“I know exactly what that role entails!” Kevin interrupted Merlin’s words.
“I understand all too well that it’s not a throne of gold but a seat made of thornbushes! I’ve been by the side of a fool who regretted his actions every single night for decades…”
“…”
“Don’t give me that look. I’m not here to forgive you. Even if you kept me by your side as a living witness to your sins, even if you taught me magic and the knowledge necessary to survive, even if you showed me the best path I could take for the sake of our people, even if every night you couldn’t fall asleep because of guilt that ate away at you—none of that erases the crimes you committed! Let me make this clear, just in case you misunderstand…”
Kevin, who had been pouring out his emotions relentlessly, paused for a moment. He looked straight into Merlin’s one remaining eye and spoke again.
“The sins you committed will not disappear. Because they were not just.”
In silence, Merlin gave his assent.
“And the crimes you committed cannot be forgiven. Those who suffered at your hands are all dead.”
Once again, Merlin gave his assent through silence.
“Above all, I cannot forgive what you did to my father, my mother, my brothers, my friends, and countless others of our people. The pain you’re going through is nothing compared to what they endured.”
“…Yes. All of it is true.”
After a long silence, Merlin quietly opened his mouth to acknowledge his sins. Tears welled in his eyes.
Kevin drew close, his face near Merlin’s blood-soaked one, and whispered.
“But I will forgive you for the sins you committed against me… Yes, you wronged me, but I will forgive you and show you mercy. Do you understand?”
“…Are you sincere?”
“This is my revenge! This is proof! Proof that I, that we, are better than all of you! We are better than you! Because I forgave a sinner like you, and I even extended you grace. Remember this… From this moment, you owe me a debt, Merlin—all the Archives do! You carry a debt to this red-skinned warlock, a debt you will never be able to repay, even if you were to rise from the grave!”
Merlin could not respond. Instead, a single tear slipped from his eye, washing away just a hint of the blood on his face, and perhaps a small piece of the anguish trapped within his chest.
“…So, hand it over and be silent. Then, close your eyes in peace, though it may be in suffering.”
Watching Merlin weep, Kevin spoke, his voice tinged, however faintly, with sorrow and pain.
An unquenchable anger, a desire for revenge… mixed with contradictory feelings.
Merlin, letting out a single tear, cleared his throat and, in a slightly trembling voice, finally spoke the words he had never been able to utter in his entire life.
“I am truly sorry… and thank you.”
With those words, an intense light burst forth from Merlin’s body.
The memories, knowledge, experiences, and all the various concepts of the Archive fused with a vast magical force, exploding like fireworks. The brilliance was so intense that it illuminated the night sky of the Holy See State, shrouded in darkness.
It resembled the burst of sunlight that lights up the sky just as the sun dips below the horizon.
The vast light that brightened the night sky initially seemed to scatter randomly, like any ordinary light would, but suddenly it began to gather around a single point, as if drawn by an unseen force.
Throbbing, pulsing…
The power and memories accumulated over a thousand years by the Archive…
That single point was none other than Kevin’s hand, which was holding onto Merlin’s hand.
“…”
The red-skinned sorcerer, who had forgiven his enemy, endured in silence as he absorbed all the powers and sins that had been amassed over a thousand years.
A whirlwind created by the vast magic and memories tore at his body as if by blades.
Veins all over his body swelled, as if they might burst under the intense pressure of the onrushing magical power.
His skin cracked as if unable to contain what it held within, yet Kevin did not release Merlin’s hand.
As Merlin passed on everything held within the Archive, and while he took his final breath, Kevin held on without letting go, so he would not have to face it alone…
Then, after a moment...
With a great rumble, the light that had seemed as if it would vanish into the air finally entered Kevin’s body completely.
Simultaneously, the surrounding space rippled like waves, and an aura of light spread outward.
A strange stillness and calmness settled in, as if all that had just transpired had been an illusion. Yet the deep fissure that marred the ground bore witness to the event.
Standing in the center of it all, Kevin gently closed Merlin’s eyes after ensuring that he had drawn his final breath, and respectfully laid his body on the ground.
As Merlin lay on the ground, Kevin finally let go of the hand he had held to the end. He arranged Merlin’s hand neatly over his chest, then took a handkerchief from his pocket, condensed the moisture from the air onto it, and quietly wiped the blood from Merlin’s face.
Then he rose silently.
Observing him from a few steps away, Oliver spoke first for the first time since they had arrived in the Holy See State.
“Are you now the Archive?”
“Yes.”
Kevin turned his head and replied. A faint crack appeared on one side of his face.
…
“…”
A fine crack marred one side of Kevin’s face.
Oliver, seeing this, said nothing.
Or rather, he didn’t react at all.
After all, he had expected this outcome.
To become an Archive, certain conditions were necessary.
First, one needed guilt and a sense of sin, so intense that it was inescapable in such a burdensome task.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
Even with resolve, if one lacked the strength and capability to carry it out, it was sadly but inevitably meaningless.
Thus, those who became an Archive were invariably among the most skilled magicians of their time or counted as one of the most formidable. Without such power, they could never contain the vast contents of the Archive.
If the vessel was too small to hold its contents, then, like any other vessel, it would inevitably shatter.
Kevin was no different.
While he had indeed proven himself as a military mage at a young age as an Archive’s disciple and had earned his place as a professor at the Tower of Magic, it was premature to call him the very best of his time.
This was evidenced by the crack that had appeared on Kevin’s physical form—a sign that his vessel barely managed to contain the Archive’s contents. It was a precarious state, to say the least.
A slight shift in balance would be all it took to shatter the vessel.
Merlin had known this, and naturally, so did Oliver.
It was obvious at a glance.
Nonetheless, he hadn’t intervened. He had no reason to stop him, and more importantly...
“Why did you take on the Archive?”
He was curious. He wanted to understand why Kevin had forgiven an unforgivable enemy.
When Oliver asked, Kevin approached him, touching the cracked skin on his face.
“Why ask when you already know? You heard it all, didn’t you?”
Oliver could say nothing in response.
Kevin was right. Oliver had already known that Kevin’s words to Merlin had been sincere, that he had forgiven Merlin, imposing an unpayable debt upon him by bearing the burden of the Archive—proving that they were better, that he was a greater existence than those before him.
Still, he had asked because he couldn’t believe it.
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he found it hard to believe that Kevin had forgiven his enemy, let alone taken on his sins.
“There’s no need for you to understand.”
Seeing the confusion on Oliver’s face, Kevin said calmly.
“No matter how grand it seems, it was, in the end, just a deeply personal matter between Merlin and me. Whether I hated him or pitied him, this was just my own personal choice. So there’s no need for you to try to understand or to assign it meaning.”
Kevin’s words were sincere, as always.
At the same time, Oliver could tell that this sentiment wasn’t limited to just Merlin and Kevin.
As an Archive, Kevin had also come to the same resolve regarding the End.
A stance entirely opposite to that of the previous Archives…
“Are you truly sincere?”
“One should clean up after themselves. One shouldn’t expect others to do it for them, no matter how dirty or unfair it may seem… So do whatever you want.”
“You’re serious.”
“Always.”
Kevin, matching his gaze to Oliver’s, spoke with both respect and determination shining in his eyes.
“Listen to me. You don’t owe the world anything. Even if you did owe something, no one has the right to force you or push responsibilities onto you. So choose the path you want.”
“Are you sure you’re all right with that? As an Archive?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? If you don’t do anything, things will just remain as they are.”
“But isn’t it possible I could carry out what I originally intended?”
“Then I’ll stop you. At least I’ll try. And besides…”
Kevin’s words trailed off as he briefly showed a hint of emotion—anger.
It was anger not for himself but for Oliver, against a fate that seemed unjust.
“A world that can only sustain itself by burdening a mere child with an impossible weight would be better off ending.”
With that, Kevin pulled something from his pocket.
It was Oliver’s torn leather mask—the face of the fixer Dave.
He handed the torn leather mask to Oliver.
“So, do what you want. I’ll do what I want too.”
Oliver took the leather mask silently as Kevin finished speaking and rose to his feet.
As he stood up, Oliver asked Kevin,
“…What are you planning to do now?”
“I’ll help the knight. I can’t leave a single woman to handle everything alone.”
With those words, Kevin stepped into the space before him without a moment’s hesitation, and now alone, Oliver looked down at Merlin’s body laid neatly on the ground and murmured to himself.
“What I want, huh…”