Chapter 48: What Comes After

Deena? What was she doing there?

“It’s you, Fidall’s chosen. Do you really think that you stand a chance against me just because you’re favored by Fidall? This human was once favored by Fidall, and look at what happened to him,” the evil god said.

“Yeah, yeah, are you done talking?” Deena asked with a nonchalant expression.

How could she be so calm in the face of the evil god? Wasn’t she afraid she would be killed?

The evil god stared coldly at her and said, “You’re quite arrogant. Do you really think you stand a chance against me?”

“Me? No. But Fidall can,” Deena said with a smug grin.

Before anyone could react, a bright energy enveloped Deena’s body that sent the evil god flying back. He skidded across the ground before righting himself. When the evil god looked back, Deena’s whole demeanor had shifted.

“Bydos, what was that about watching helplessly?” Deena asked in a cold voice.

“Impossible. Fidall?” the evil god said, unable to take his eyes away from Deena, who stalked towards the evil god.

“How is it impossible? You are currently using Luke’s body to act. How can I not find someone willing to let me use their body to intervene?” Fidall said.

The evil god gritted his teeth and threw himself at Fidall, screaming, “Fidall!”

Fidall calmly caught the black greatsword with one hand and shattered it. As the pieces of the sword fell, Fidall grasped the evil god by the face and held him in place. The evil god kicked and struggled, but he couldn’t break free from Fidall’s grip.

Once he realized this, he laughed and said, “Are you going to kill me? You know very well that this won’t kill me. You’ll end up killing this human. Are you willing to do that?”

Rather than respond to the evil god’s words, Fidall asked, “Luke, is this how you really want things to end? Have you forgotten your spirit? Your heart?”

Somehow those words resonated deeply in Luke’s chest, and memories he had forgotten flooded his mind.

That was right.

The day he set out with everyone to fight the evil god, Fidall had spoken to him. The god had warned him of the dangers of facing the evil god and the possibility that someone might have to be sacrificed to stop the evil god.

What had he said then?

He said he would gladly sacrifice himself if it meant saving everyone, and he had.

When they fought the evil god, they had been losing. Nothing they did seemed to hurt the evil god, and they had been reaching the end of their rope.

As a last resort, he sacrificed himself and let the evil god take control of his body. Then, with the last of his strength, he had allowed his comrades to seal him away with the evil god to ensure their victory.

How could he have forgotten?

“Luke, you asked me before that you wish for my help, but you might end up losing more in the end. Do you still wish for my aid?” Fidall said as the evil god fought back more frantically.

If there was a sliver of a chance he would survive, he would take it, but only if it didn’t hurt anyone.

Fidall seemed to hear his thoughts and gave Luke a sad smile before saying, “Very well.”

A bright light filled the room, and pain shot through Luke once again. The last thing Luke heard before losing consciousness was the evil god’s scream of outrage.

After an unknown period of time, Luke finally found himself growing aware of his surroundings. He blinked several times before he realized that he wasn’t alone and saw that he was completely surrounded by his comrades.

The moment they noticed he was awake, they threw themselves at him sobbing.

“Hey! Watch it!” Deena barked from the background, but none of them paid her any mind.

She scowled and shook her head at them.

“What’s going on?” Luke croaked.

“He needs some water,” Maison said, and they scrambled back to fetch him a glass of water.

Dominik helped him sit up while Ruthie held the glass of water to his lips. It took several attempts before he could sip some water.

After wetting his lips, he asked, “What happened?”

Everyone shared a glance before Maison said, “Fidall descended and saved you from the evil god.”

The evil god was defeated?

As if reading his mind, Maison continued, “Fidall says we won’t have to worry about Bydos for a long time. I think I heard something about a cockroach and a box.”

Luke tried to wrap his mind around it, but his head felt so fuzzy.

“You shouldn’t strain yourself. Fidall did his best to help you, but there are some aftereffects,” Deena said, stepping closer.

“Effects?” he forced out.

She nodded with a grim face and said, “The evil god occupied your body for years even if it was within the seal. It was impossible to remove him cleanly without some things being lost.”

“My memories,” Luke said, noticing the gaps.

“What?” Jackie asked, leaning forward.

“I can’t remember some things,” he said before coughing.

His comrades’ faces paled as Deena said, “That’s to be expected. You suffered a lot at the evil god’s hands, and the evil god was pulled out of your body through force.”

“Will I ever get my memories back?” Luke asked.

Her silence was his answer.

While his comrades gave him grief-stricken faces, he said, “I see.”

A wave of overwhelming sorrow filled him as Deena continued, “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s more. Your body suffered a lot of damage, and your health has been badly affected. You would likely never recover.”

“Why are you telling him now?” Maison snapped.

Deena stared Maison in the eyes and said, “It’s better he knows now instead of later. It’s impossible for him to miss the fact that he can’t move as he used to and won’t be able to hold a sword anymore.”

As Luke listened to them, he felt an overwhelming sorrow fill him.

So this is what Fidall meant if Luke was sure. The god knew Luke would end up like this and hadn’t wanted to intervene until Luke had asked again.

Had it been worth it?

Seeing Luke stare off in a daze, Ruthie tentatively asked, “Do you want to see your family?”

He hesitated.

“We’ve already talked to them in case you’re wondering. They’ve been wanting to see you. They wished you,” Jackie said.

“I…Not yet,” he said.

Everyone gave him a sympathetic gaze as Ruthie said, “We’re here. We’re not going to leave you.”

Deena nodded and said, “If anyone gives you grief, don’t forget you’re a hero. You saved everyone.”

Luke thought it was ironic. He had saved everyone except for himself in the end, but he had made his choice. All he could do was live with it.

He sat there, surrounded by his comrades, thinking of what the future would bring and could only hope for brighter things.