The White Whale's shattered body twitched slightly in a pool of blood, its life force flickering like a candle in the wind. The monstrous beast, once capable of blotting out the sky, now lacked even the strength to whimper. Deep, bone-revealing wounds on its scarred body still gushed blood, its greyish skin peeled back to expose dark red flesh. Each weak breath brought forth bloody foam from its blowholes.
The subjugation team, in unspoken understanding, formed a circle, weapons lowered. They deliberately left the honor of the final blow, knowing it was a moment belonging to the old man who had fought for fourteen years.
Wilhelm's steps were light, the blood on the old Sword Demon's body long since dried. The longsword in his hand reflected the rising sun, the family crest on its blade clearly visible.
The White Whale's sole remaining eye constricted violently as the old man approached, the image of Death reflected in its pupil. It instinctively tried to struggle but found that any movement only hastened the loss of its life. Thick blood continuously poured out, soaking the ground beneath it.
"For my wife, Theresia van Astrea!"
Wilhelm's voice brought the entire battlefield to a hush. As he raised his longsword, a vivid splash of red appeared before his eyes, a color he would never forget in his entire life.
Memories flooded back like a tide.
The first encounter, the young girl who turned back to look at him amidst a sea of flowers. The sunlight gilded her fiery red hair, and the flowers she held swayed gently in the wind.
"Do you like flowers?" The girl's voice was as clear as a bell.
"No, I hate flowers," the young Sword Demon replied stiffly.
"Why do you wield your sword?"
"Because I have nothing else."
After that, time flowed like fine sand through his fingers. Sunrises and sunsets, seasons changing, Wilhelm's life trajectory was completely altered by that red-haired girl. He still wielded his sword daily, but the direction of its point had changed.
The once arrogant Swordsman, who used to wield his sword only to prove himself, now saw her bright smile reflected in every cold glint of his blade. Theresia was like a ray of light, shining into his long-closed world, making him understand that a sword could not only cut but also protect the most precious treasures.
Until that day that changed everything, Wilhelm, in front of everyone, took the sword from her hand and deeply kissed those lips that always carried a smile.
"Do you like flowers now?"
"I don't hate them anymore."
"Why do you wield your sword?"
"To protect you."
The girl in his memory puffed out her cheeks. "Do you love me?"
The young Sword Demon turned his face away: "...I don't know."
"Some things, it's nice to hear someone say them out loud, you know."
"One day, when I want to say it, I will."
The final image froze on her adorably feigned anger, a treasure he had cherished for half his life.
"Oooooohhhhhhhh!"
Wilhelm's fourteen years of longing and regret erupted completely at this moment. The longsword cut into the White Whale's neck without resistance, the sharp blade severing muscles, splitting bones, and finally-
"Thud!"
The enormous head crashed heavily to the ground, the light in its single eye extinguished completely. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the old man's clothes crimson. The White Whale's body twitched a few more times, then finally fell still.
"It's over... Theresia, finally!"
Wilhelm released the sword hilt, his calloused hands trembling uncontrollably. He looked up at the sky, as if a pair of gentle eyes were watching him from there.
"Theresia... I..."
His aged voice trembled, that hoarse voice crushing every sleepless night of the past fourteen years, melting thousands of dawn tears, and permeating countless murmurs before gravestones.
"I love you!"
These three words finally broke through the shackles of time, blooming on the battlefield intertwined with blood and fire. They were sharper than any sword technique, piercing through fourteen years of accumulated regret.
This was the shyness that couldn't be spoken on their wedding night, the regret swallowed back on every anniversary, the confession choked in his throat when the most important person in his life departed forever. Now, this belated love, carried by the night wind, crossed the boundary of life and death, heading to that world full of flowers.
Tears blurred his vision, but he seemed to see her again, the red-haired girl standing in a sea of flowers, smiling back at him.
Note- I still remember the first time I saw Rezero and Wilhelm's backstory was revealed.
Btw White Whale Arc has finally ended.
...
Re@d adv@nce 80 ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.