The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

“Come, Lux!” Randolph said with a smug smile on his face. “It’s time for you to see my masterpiec-argh! Dammit woman! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Grandma Annie, who had just finished whacking Randolph’s head with her staff, glared at the bastard, who just made a failed attempt to claim all credit for everyone’s hard work.

“One more word from you and I’m going to hurl a fireball in your face!” Grandma Annie shouted, which made the Blacksmith cower in fear.

Lux and Eiko chuckled after seeing this scene. Frankly, he wondered if Grandma Annie and Randolph were once a couple because of how close they were.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the Village’s Plaza, near the spawning point of the Solaians when they enter Elysium.

“Lux Von Kaizer, on behalf of Leaf Village, allow me to once again thank you for everything you have done for us,” Cedwyn said as he bowed his head.

The other Elders and the villagers of Leaf Village, who had also gathered in the plaza, also bowed their heads to their hero.

The Solaians on the other hand, looked at the Half-Elf with respect, admiration, and even a hint of jealousy. They also wished to become someone like Lux, so they made a promise to surpass him after they had reached the Apostle Grade.

“Village Head, you don’t have to do this,” Lux replied in embarrassment. “Leaf Village has helped me grow, not only as an adventurer, but as a person as well. I have learned many lessons in this place, and I will forever cherish them in my heart.”

“Pa!” Eiko also agreed with what her Papa said as she looked at everyone in the village with a smile from on top of Lux’s head.

Cedwyn smiled back, and gestured to Grandma Annie and Randolph as a signal to pull the cloth that was covering the surprise that they had prepared for Lux._.

The moment the cloth fell on the ground, Lux’s and Eiko’s mouths opened wide as they looked at the bronze statues that had been erected in the plaza.

Diablo’s, Ishtar’s, and Pazuzu’s statues stood tall and proud, with Diablo at the center riding his Nightmare, Airon.

Behind them was an elevated platform where a Half-Elf stood with his arms crossed over his chest, and a baby slime perched on top of his head.

Behind the Half-Elf was a Hulking Rock Golem with his arms spread wide in a protective manner. It was as if he was ready to block anything and everything that would dare to harm his Master, who wore a fearless expression on his face.

Eiko’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the statues in front of her. With a joyful shout, the baby Slime jumped off Lux’s head and hurriedly crawled across the ground to climb up her Papa’s bronze statue. A minute later, Eiko looked closely at the bronze baby slime on top of Lux’s head as if admiring herself.

“Pa!” Eiko shouted as she looked at the red-headed teenager who was looking at her with a smile.

“That’s right, Eiko.” Lux nodded his head. “That’s you.”

Eiko giggled and once again looked at the bronze baby slime. She stuck close to her statue and rubbed her cheeks against it, as if she was marking it as her own.

The Dwarves of Leaf Village, as well as the Solaians, were all in awe of the statue that they were seeing for the first time.

Suddenly, the chest of the Lux bronze statue shone, which spread to its entire body, as well as to the other statues around it. A moment later, a pillar of light shot up towards the sky and a blue barrier suddenly formed around Leaf Village.

Lux, along with everyone else in the village, suddenly felt a refreshing breeze pass over their bodies as the effect of the Guardian Crystal took effect.

—–

< You are affected by the Guardian Crystal Buff >

– Gives a permanent 10% increase to production success for Crafting, Alchemy, Smithing, and any form of crafts made in Leaf Village.

– Everyone inside Leaf Village will gain a 100% Health and Mana Regeneration Buff that will last for an hour after they leave the village.

——

‘Amazing,’ Lux thought as he looked at the Bronze Statues that were radiating a very faint glow from their bodies.

When he gave the Guardian Crystal to Cedwyn, he didn’t expect that the Head of Leaf Village would work together with the other Elders to create a statue of him and his subordinates, and use his statue as the home of the Crystal that would protect Leaf Village.

For him, this was the greatest honor that he could possibly receive, which made him teary eyed. Even so, he did his best to smile and not allow a single drop of tear to fall from his eyes. He needed to keep his cool image for the younger generation as he stood tall, while holding back the feeling of happiness inside his heart.

“Why don’t you give us some parting words before you leave the village?” Cedwyn said with a playful smile on his face.

Everyone clapped as they cheered the Half-Elf who had become an important member of their lives.

“Actually, I don’t know what to say,” Lux said as he scanned the faces of everyone around him. “You refer to me as a hero, but I am not a hero. In my eyes, the heroes are the Dwarves who have stood their ground and protected this place since its conception.”

Lux smiled as he looked at Grandma Annie.

“If you ask me who I think the true heroes of Leaf Village are, they would be Grandma Annie, who sells candies to everyone and stands at the front lines when monsters invade the town.”

“My Master, Randolph, who busied himself in his smithy most of the time to craft and repair the weapons and armors that most of you use to fight and defend against Monsters and their attacks.

“The Riders of Norria, who ensured the safety of this region and is always there to send reinforcements when the sky falls down upon our heads.”

“The adult Dwarves who escorted the children to the shelters whenever the town is being attacked by monsters.”

Lux closed his eyes and pressed his right hand over his chest. “A hero is someone who would give their life to something bigger than oneself.”

When the Half-Elf opened his eyes, he scanned the faces of everyone in the crowd, young and old alike, with a smile on his face.

“Right now, I am looking at heroes, and the future heroes of the world,” Lux declared before raising his closed fist towards the sky “Long live Leaf Village!”

“”Long live Leaf Village!””

“”Long live Leaf Village!””

“”Long live Leaf Village!””

“”Long live Leaf Village!””

“”Long live Leaf Village!””

Resounding shouts echoed all across the village, which made Cedwyn’s and the Elders of the Village’s blood boil. Not out of anger, but out of desire to uphold the Legacy that their Founder, Favonius, and now, Lux, had left behind.

Lux then bowed his head to his Master, Randolph, to Grandma Annie, to Cedwyn, to the Elders of Leaf Village, to Captain Boreas, to Aron, to the villagers, as well as the Solaians. After bowing to all of them, he summoned his mount Jed, and jumped on its back.

He had already said his final goodbyes to the people that were important to him. Now, he waved his hands as a final gesture of farewell to the dwarves of Leaf Village, as well as the Dwarves that came from Solais.

“I will bid you goodbye for now, but this is not our final farewell,” Lux said as Eiko jumped onto Jed’s back, and crawled towards her Papa’s head.

She knew that the time to say goodbye had come, but the tears in her eyes fell like rain, drenching her Papa’s hair.

“Let’s all meet again soon!” Lux shouted as he urged Jed to make a dash for it. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, everyone would see him crying uncontrollably.

“Bye Bye!” Eiko shouted before crying like the baby she is. “Wuwuwu!”

Jed ran with all of its might, in order to protect his Master’s dignity.

Grandma Annie and Randolph wiped the tears that fell from their faces. As they watched the red-headed teenager embark on the next stage of his journey. They never thought that they would love someone this much, even though he wasn’t a Dwarf.

As the Half-Elf was approaching the gate of Leaf Village, the Guards and the Riders of Norria that were stationed there gave him a salute.

“Goodbye, everyone,” Lux said as he returned their salute, while his tears blurred his vision. “Till we meet again.”

The guards bid him safe travels as Lux went past them. Eiko watched with sadness as the village that she loved grew farther and farther away from her.

“It’s fine, Eiko,” Lux assured her. “We will definitely return here someday.”

“Pa!” Eiko nodded her head as more tears slid down her eyes.

Even when the Half-Elf was already a kilometer away from Leaf Village, Lux and Eiko could still hear the resounding shouts of the villagers, who were still shouting to honor his name.

—–

End of Volume 1: Open! Heaven’s Gate!