Arnulf continued recounting what happened after the eventual end of the Great Demon War, his words conveyed with a grave, heavy tone.

“After Orson was caught in a plot and assassinated, Yvette disappeared without a trace. It took me a few years to realize what had happened — Orson had made enemies in his continued attempts to undermine war efforts and to make peace and was ultimately killed by them,” Arnulf continued. “The moment I came to that realization, I quit as well. I wandered the eastern reaches of Nicaea, once more a lone wandering warrior. When I returned to the west after a decade, everything we fought to protect was in shambles. The Voralten Empire was crumbling, threatening to collapse, and a mysterious plague from the north had ravaged and depopulated the once bustling cities of the empire.”

The old man stared at his shaking right hand.

“Yvette was right,” he continued. “Continuing the war against the demons turned on us. Many on both sides needlessly suffered for what I let happen. I alone could have prevented such misery from happening.”

“I see,” I finally spoke after listening to all he had to say. “That whole story is a tragedy, but I can’t be one to judge you for your sins. After all, all that tragedy originated with me. But what now, Arnulf? Will you continue to shut away yourself here? To waste away quietly in these desolate forests?”

The former Paladin remained quiet.

“…Do you regret it all?” I asked.

“Of fucking course, what do you think?! Every damned day I wish it had gone differently, that I hadn’t been such a fool.”

“Hmm, old man, you resemble me so much it’s scary,” I said while laying a hand on his shoulder. “Let me tell you a quick story. Imagine this. There was once a tyrannical Demon King who led a war that ravaged the lives of many. This Demon King however came to regret his mistakes at the end of his life and decided to reincarnate himself, for the opportunity of a life unlike the previous. And in some ways, he got what he wanted in this new life: a peaceful, carefree life with a loving family.”

Arnulf looked up at me, a bit puzzled.

“But, at the moment of his death in his previous life, when he lamented the mistakes he made and swore to live the next life without regrets, he unknowingly made yet another mistake. The spell of reincarnation went awry, and this supposed reincarnation of the Demon King inherited only part of his previous self's soul. So he lived in ignorance for the first years of his life, not knowing who he truly was nor the nature of the world he lived in.”

The moon peeked out from the moving clouds, bathing the clearing with cool moonlight.

“And eventually he lost what he had gained. His peaceful life was taken away as a consequence of his previous life's mistakes. It was taken by the Holy Knights, a group founded in the past for the sake of fighting against the Demon King and his demons. As if fate sought to reprimand him for living in ignorance despite the sins of the past. And so the reincarnation of this Demon King continued to carry even more regrets.”

Arnulf had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if realizing what point I was trying to make.

“But this reincarnated Demon King decided that he was too stubborn to give up, roll over and die and also too jaded to live a life of blind, vengeful spite. So after all that, he’s trying his best to continue his wishes: to live without regret and to eventually right his wrongs,” I said with a grin. “Though, the key word is trying.”

“It’s too late for me,” Arnulf suddenly croaked.

“Don’t say that, old man! If this piece of shit here can try, then certainly you can!”

“Tch, don’t get cheeky, boy.” Arnulf finally lost the dark, stormy expression that had been on his face. “I mean it may actually be too late for me. I’m at death’s door, and I’m no Demon King capable of reincarnating myself.”

“Hmm, I see. Right, an old man like you should enjoy his retirement,” I said with my fingers stroking my chin. “Then, it’s decided. Let me take care of it.”

“What?”

“I’ll inherit your wishes and I’ll fulfill them in your place, so, you can rest easy now. You can enjoy the last days of your life without the weight of the past on your shoulders. Rejoice!”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the old man so genuinely baffled until now.

“…Ha…Hahaha! The reincarnation of the Demon King! Making my wishes come true! Hahaha!” He laughed heartily as he picked himself off the ground and stood up. “Okay then, boy, first I want to understand, what will you seek to do in the near future?”

“First, I will fix the last mistake I made as Demon King Malachi,” I said. “Because my reincarnation spell messed up, my soul split into various fragments. A few years ago, I encountered a rampaging monster who carried such a fragment. There could be more monsters like that wreaking havoc across the continent. My first goal is to remedy that by gathering the remnant fragments of my soul. And along the way, I wish to see with my own eyes what the world has become after so long.”

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“…Alright then. I’ll take you up on your offer then. But before that,” he said while picking up his sword and pointing it once more at me. “You have to finish your training with me. As you are now, you’re but a weak brat with big words. Once you can finally beat me, then I’ll think about letting you inherit my wishes.”

“Great!” I brandished my sword as well. “Don’t go easy on me, old man!”

“Hmph! The idea never crossed my mind. In fact, now that I know you aren’t just any brat, I’ll make your training the worst experience of your life!” The former Paladin had a casual smile on his face, one that resembled the smile of the carefree, yet skilled warrior that the Demon King Malachi fought against three centuries ago.

***

Arnulf lay still in his bed, his body having severely thinned over the few months that had passed since the revelation that I was Malachi reincarnated.

“Well, boy, pat yourself on the back,” the old man said from his bed. “As of now, you’re finished with my training. Call yourself an expert-level practitioner of both Avestic-style swordsmanship and Uralten-style swordsmanship. You were my best pupil yet, but keep on learning. Keep on bettering yourself.”

“Of course, Teacher. But I thought I was your worst pupil?”

“Both,” he said with a glimmer in his uncovered eye. “You were technically both. You were the only pupil I ever had.”

“And you were my 2nd best swordsmanship teacher,” I said with a thumbs-up.

“Tch, be nice to an old man on his deathbed.”

“…Please, tell me now,” I said with a solemn air, “what your wishes were. I’ll see them through to completion.”

The old man sighed heavily before opening his mouth to speak again.

“You’re rude as always, I see. You couldn’t give me some time to get on the subject myself? Well, fine then,” he said. “First, Yvette should still be alive somewhere. If you ever find her, tell her I’m sorry. Tell her that my biggest regret was not understanding her and Orson’s wishes. That I was thankful for her being my friend, even for a short time. And tell her that the time I spent with her and Orson were the best years of my life.”

“Of course, do you know where she would be?”

“Unfortunately not. But I have the feeling she wouldn’t be too difficult to find. And as for my second wish… My second wish is not truly just my wish, but rather Orson’s wish. You seek to take the mantle of Demon King once more, right?”

“Yes, eventually,” I responded.

“Then you’ll be the one most qualified to make his wishes come true: make a world where demons and humans can live together in peace.”

“Oy, old man… that’s a lofty wish, y’know?” I said with a smile. “But that was my goal from the start.”

“And one last thing, boy.” He uncovered his right eye, revealing his glowing mystic eye. He touched his mystic eye with the fingers of his right hand while he grasped my wrist with his left. “I, Arnulf of Lydia, pass my blessing henceforth to the one before me.”

The glow in his right eye disappeared.

Did he… give his mystic eye to me?

I felt a burning sensation in my left eye, and when it settled, I began to see glowing particulates in the air, flowing as if carried by invisible currents. And within Arnulf, I saw the swirling ball of mana that was his reservoir.

“Are you sure about this, old man?”

“Hmph, a dead man has no use for something so useful. And doubtless, you’ll need it for your search for your soul fragments. You have a long difficult road ahead of you, boy, so this should make it a bit easier. With the mystic eye of magic perception, you’ll be able to have a general idea of where to search.”

“I… thank you. Thank you, Arnulf.”

“Yea, hearing Arnulf from your mouth just doesn’t sound right. Go back to calling me old man or Teacher or whatever,” he said before going into a fit of rough coughing.

“Fine, then thanks, old man!” I exclaimed. “And thank you for everything. I’ll do my best to fulfill your last wishes, so don’t go bitterly dying with regrets, old man.”

“Hmph, if you so insist. And… thank you to you as well. The year I spent with you wasn’t too shabby, Luqa.” Arnulf looked up at me with a small, but genuine smile. “Now, leave an old man to die alone.”

“You sure you don’t want me to stay here to send you off? Or finish you off, in fact? Give you a warrior’s death?” I said with a chuckle.

“Oh, you horrid brat. Leave me to sleep for a bit!”

“Sleep well, Paladin Arnulf.” I moved to leave the cottage and to pass the time with archery practice.

By the end of the day, when I returned to the cottage, Arnulf had quietly passed away in his sleep. As he requested, I carried his body and buried it just outside the cottage. I marked and decorated the grave with many of the weapons that filled his home, and, using earth magic, I created a gravestone marking his burial spot. I carved into it the following words written in the Uralten language:

< Here lies Paladin Arnulf of Lydia, the Weaponmaster. Friend to Paladin Orson and Paladin Yvette to his dying breath. >

“Rest in peace, weary hero.”

And now was the time to seek out my soul fragments.

As far I knew, they could be carried by monsters, like that crimson-eyed shadow beast that I fought with Tavarius and Lucia, or they could be inherited by a demon, like the “Malachi” from the tailed demons’ village.

Though, according to his memories, the latter received the soul fragment from picking up an Avestan sword that housed the fragment, so was it possible that pieces of my soul could be stored in magical artifacts as well?

And so I planned to depart for the human nations in the south, to register and live as an adventurer while seeking out my soul fragments.

Or at least, I would have if I didn’t immediately notice something with my new mystic eye.

From the direction of the inner parts of the Northern Forests, I perceived a familiar sensation. My mystic eye registered a fragment of my soul hidden within the ancient trees of the Northern Forests.

This eye does wonders. Thanks, old man.

Returning to Arnulf’s cottage, I retrieved my sword as well as enough supplies for the next few days. Before my departure from here, I would retrieve this soul fragment of mine laying deep within the Northern Forests.