Chapter 103: After He Was Gone
(BGM Recommendation: "To the Faraway Sky" - please loop this song until the end of the next chapter.)
Later, the Kingdom of the Land's flanking air force never reached the isolated Gligar island. The island was located west of Jubilance Town, while the Dragonite capital was to the northeast. The air force, coming from the east over the sea, wouldn't even pass Jubilance Town, let alone the Gligar's home.
But in the end, the result was the same. The air force, composed of low-to-mid-level Pokémon, didn't last long against Wally's five hundred Beedrill and the Pokémon from the academy before scattering and fleeing.
On the main battlefront, the Dragonite army pursued the Land army that had been blocking the rear, cutting them down. Seeing that they were no match on the main front and that their air support was silent, the Land army fled into the mountain pass, trying to be the first to retreat to their capital and defend the city.
General Drake considered this, but did not dare let his army follow them into the tunnels. Instead, he led his troops through the Viridian Forest to strike at the Land Kingdom's capital directly.
But that was when the strange thing happened. The Land army never made it back to their capital. Logically, they should have arrived long before the Dragonite army, as the mine tunnels were a much faster route than trekking through the Viridian Forest. Yet, they never returned.
It was only later, when General Drake led men back to scout the path, that they discovered the entire Land army—a combined force of twenty thousand men and Pokémon—had been crushed to death inside the tunnels. While they had been fighting in the forest, a mysterious earthquake had shaken Mt. Silver, causing a massive tunnel collapse that had buried them all.
As for the Land Kingdom's capital, when the Dragonite army arrived, the people not only didn't resist, but they welcomed them as liberators, leading them into the palace to capture Sakaki the White.
Sakaki did not resist. He could have run when the army stormed the palace. Every king leaves himself a hidden escape route. But just as he was about to flee, a sharp pain pierced his heart. He had sensed the death of his Beedrill. And with that, he no longer wanted to run.
He used to think the Beast-Callers in his army were so childish and melodramatic. It's just a beast dying. Why act like it's the end of the world? Can't you just go out and catch a new one? Greatness requires ruthlessness.
Now, he understood. His ambition, his unification... he didn't want to think about it anymore. In these last moments of his life, he just wanted to remember. To remember that day in the forest, meeting that little bug, getting to know it, and the twenty-two years of memories they had shared.
"If I could do it all again, I would still want this throne. But I would have made wiser, steadier decisions... Beedrill, if we could do it all again, would you still be willing to believe in me?"
Sakaki the White died. Not at the hands of the Dragonite army. He died by his own hand, drinking the poison secreted by his own Beedrill.
The victor of the war was the Dragonite Kingdom. The news swept across the lands of Johto and Kanto. The kingdom celebrated. But on such a day, there were some who could not feel happy at all.
["The Guardian Dragon of the Nation, Lan, was killed in action."]
For most people, this news was irrelevant. In their eyes, it was a worthy sacrifice. But for a select few, it was a devastating blow.
In a small courtyard near the royal palace, Iris stood on a second-floor balcony, staring blankly. She lifted her head to the dark sky, letting the cold wind and rain lash her cheeks. She didn't know why, but her heart felt so heavy today.
"Iris." Her mother's voice came from behind.
"Mom? Is there news?"
Hearing her mother, Iris turned and ran to her, her eyes shining. She was expecting to hear that her aunt and Lan were victorious on the battlefield.
"...Lord Lan... has been sacrificed."
Iris's mother looked down at her precious daughter, swallowed, but still told her the news.
Iris froze, tilting her head, as if she hadn't processed the words. She took two steps back, staring at her mother's face. Suddenly, her nose turned red, and snot began to run. She looked down, wiped it away messily with her sleeve, and then looked back up at her mother, shaking her head forcefully.
"Iris..." Her mother's eyes turned red. She didn't know what to say.
Iris seemed to have confirmed the news, confirmed that her mother wasn't lying. Her nose ran again, but she didn't bother to wipe it. She bit her lip until it turned white, her small hands twisting the hem of her skirt. She kept staring at her mother with wide eyes, full of unshed tears, still shaking her head. The lively light in her eyes was gradually being replaced by a dull fog.
A sharp pain went through her mother's heart. She reached out and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.
"I don't want..." a mumble came from her chest.
"I DON'T WANT IT! WAAAAAAAH..." Iris finally couldn't hold it back any longer and collapsed into a hysterical, wailing cry.
"I DON'T WANT LAN TO DIE! I DON'T WANT HIM TO!"
She struggled out of her mother's embrace, grabbing her dress with both hands and screaming, as if just by throwing a big enough tantrum, her all-powerful mother could somehow bring Lan back. But that was impossible.
...
In the royal palace kitchen, Hestia hummed a gentle tune as she took a familiar bottle from a pot of hot water. Just then, she heard the anxious whispering of several maids in the hallway. It was normal for them to whisper, but Hestia gently crept to the door, intending to eavesdrop in case they were saying anything bad about her.
"What do we do?! Should we tell Hestia?"
"...No! We can't!"
"But she'll find out sooner or later!"
"The later the better. Hestia has been taking care of Lord Lan for so long. If she finds out he was killed in action, then..."
Hestia couldn't hear the rest. In that moment, the world went silent. She couldn't hear anything at all. When she finally came to her senses, she found herself curled up in the corner of the kitchen. Her maid's uniform was stained with various sauces, and the kitchen was a total mess.
The warmth in her hands made Hestia look down, bewildered. She was still holding the baby bottle. It was filled with the warm milk she had just heated up. But... even if she heated it ten thousand more times, what was the use? The big baby who was supposed to drink it... was gone.
Hestia did not cry. She just held the bottle, curled up in the corner, and stayed there for a long, long time. So long that she didn't even know when she had fallen asleep.
...
Time flew by. A year passed in the blink of an eye. The capital of the Dragonite Kingdom looked much the same as it had a year ago.
On the plains outside the capital, an artificial flower garden had been cultivated. In the center stood a stone monument. Several Pokémon would often pass by the garden, look at the stone for a moment, and then quietly leave.
"Scyther..."
The old Alpha Scyther had come here for the first time. He had brought a flower that only grew in the middle ring of Mt. Silver and placed it in front of the monument. He stood there silently for a long time.
"I wanted him to stay with me, to see the day that peace finally arrived."
A quiet female voice sounded from behind him. Liz, accompanied by Hestia, had walked into the garden. Scyther turned to look at her. In just one year, she looked much older. Her wine-red hair now had many streaks of white. She was only thirty-one.
Liz walked to the grave, raised a hand, and gently caressed the stone, then sat down on the ground in front of it.
"I shouldn't have sent him on the sea route..." Liz sighed, her eyes a little dim.
In the countless nights over the past year, every time she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but feel guilt and self-blame. She was the one who had insisted that Lan go. She had killed the one she loved most. Every time she thought of it, the pain was so great she had to consciously control her own breathing.
But no one blamed her, not even Hestia or Iris. Because if Lan hadn't gone, then all the people in the capital would have been taken hostage, and the entire Dragonite Clan would have been killed.
"When I was little, I would see people tying up puppies with ropes, and I thought it was so pitiful," she whispered. "But now I wonder... was I the rope that bound Lan's whole life?"
"If I had only realized sooner... I would have told him to stop forcing himself to do things he didn't want to do for my sake. I wanted him to be free, to be happy, to live for himself."
Liz hugged her knees, pulling the cape tight around her body.
Suddenly, the white cape on her body seemed to become warm, a warmth like sunshine, enveloping her in a full embrace. Liz was in a daze. This feeling... it was as if Lan was hugging her again.
"Lan... I miss you again."
Liz gripped the cape, burying her head in her knees. Tears streamed from the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. In that moment, she looked just like the helpless and pitiful little girl she had been twenty-three years ago.
A crystal-clear tear fell, soaking into the earth by her feet. In an instant, a small, beautiful flower bloomed from the spot. Liz, her head down, noticed its sudden appearance and subconsciously reached out to touch it. But the flower was like a mirage. Her fingers passed right through it, unaffected.
In that moment, Liz seemed to realize something. She looked up, behind her.
There was nothing there.
But she could just feel it.
He was here.
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