[Salvos] 774. The Watcher

774. The Watcher

***

“You’re going with us?”

Daniel stared at Yves Virgil in disbelief. It was not something which the young man from Earth expected to hear at all. Maybe he would have expected Yves to accompany them as Ivonne Vigil. But to go with them as the Watcher?

There was no way, right?

“I mean, I appreciate the offer. But I don’t see how going with us as Ivonne Vigil will help turn the tides of war.”

Daniel said as he scratched the back of his head. In response, the Watcher just blinked.

“What? No, why would I do that? I’m going with you as Yves Virgl— the Elfslayer.”

He grinned as he pointed at himself with a thumb.

“So don’t worry, we’ll deal with this little invasion quickly, before getting back to your training. I’ll just show that new Elven Matriarch why Ios-friel was so afraid of invading the Human Lands, and we’ll be done.”

Daniel blinked a few times as he processed this. He turned towards Kacey to see if she was hearing what he was hearing. She was just as taken aback as the young man from Earth.

“Forgive me, Sir Virgil, but if I am understanding this correctly, not only will you be accompanying us to the front lines, but you will also be fighting alongside us against the Elves?”

It sounded like such a silly question when it was spelled out that way. However, Daniel knew why the [Crusader] was asking it.

And that was because the Watcher was supposed to be… the Watcher.

Now, Daniel wasn’t exactly the most familiar with the history behind the Title. But he knew the gist of it, and that was simply that the Watcher was not always known as the Watcher.

Call him the Elfslayer, or the highest-leveled of the Human Lands, Yves Virgil had gone by many different names in the past, back when he still fought to protect Humankind. But one day, he disappeared, leaving behind only a note for his protege, Mori Gladius.

The now-deceased Champion of the Human Lands.

While Mori Gladius didn’t disclose all the details contained in the note itself, he had told everyone simply what it said, which was:

Humankind has relied on my protection for far too long. But I cannot be its savior forever, not without it growing complacent. So I leave it all up to you guys to stand on your own and become the great figures in history you are meant to be. I’ll be watching.

That was how Yves had grown to be known as the Watcher.

However, right now, he seemed almost clueless to that as he scratched the back of his head when posed the question by Kacey.

“I mean, yeah? Why would I not help you fight off the Elves? What, do you expect me to just sit there and watch?”

He asked with a scoff, before pausing, realizing what he had just said. He held out a hand before either Daniel or Kacey could speak.

“Ok, I get your point. Still, though. Just because I’m the Watcher, doesn’t mean I can’t intervene from time to time.”

“That’s true. It’s just that you’ve just been gone for so long. I would’ve thought that you, I dunno, would’ve preferred to not meddle in wars any longer. Especially considering that letter you left Mori Gladius…” 

Daniel said as he scratched the back of his head.

Hearing that, Yves tilted his head.

“...I never left Mori a letter.”

“Wait, what?”

Both Kacey and Daniel stared at the Watcher in shock. They exchanged a glance, but Yves Virgil just looked completely clueless. So they explained what they both knew about Mori and the letter the Watcher had supposedly left behind.

When they finished their explanation, Yves had his lips drawn into a thin line.

“Mori, that idiot… he really tried to make me out to be more of a hero than I am, huh? But that truly is like him…”

Yves trailed off. And for a moment, Daniel wondered if the Watcher even knew of what happened to the Champion of the Human Lands— during the battle with Belzu.

But after a moment, the Watcher closed his eyes and clenched his fists. A wave of emotions seemed to wash over him as he remained silent for a long moment. It almost looked like he wanted to lash out in anger, then cry, before smiling.

Taking in a deep breath, Yves shook his head and turned to Daniel and Kacey.

“Sure, maybe a part of me believed that Humankind was growing too reliant on my protection. But it was never about that. It was always just my selfish desire to be free from the burden that I’d been dealt.”

The Watcher tilted his head back as he stared at the ceiling and continued.

“I was tired of being Humankind’s protector. I was tired of fighting. I was tired of being the strongest— of having to always strive to be stronger to take down any threat that comes my way. I wanted to just… be free and live my life as me.”

Daniel stared at Yves as he spoke. For some reason, those words seemed to resonate with the young man from Earth. Of course, Kacey did not seem to take it in the same way as him. She looked on with round eyes, completely appalled at what she was hearing. Which made sense, considering that the Watcher was always revered as some kind of legend.

It was almost like a child finding out that Santa Claus wasn’t real.

But Daniel wasn’t from this world. So all he could think about was his life back home in another world, away from all this bloodshed he had been forced into ever since he was summoned.

He understood how Yves felt, even if their circumstances were different. However, there was a reason why the [Hero] still worked so hard to fight, even today. His grip tightened on the Primordial Longsword he had sheathed at his side, right next to the Sword of Alexander.

Yves sighed, drawing Daniel’s attention back to the present.

“But, well, I guess if that’s what Mori thought about me, then I guess I have to live up to his expectations, huh?”

The Watcher turned around as he gestured for both Kacey and Daniel to follow.

“Come on, what are you two doing just standing there? Let’s get going already. We have a war to fight.”

“Right.”

Daniel nodded and turned to Kacey who was still trying to work her jaw, processing what had happened.

“Kacey, do you have a map of the area?”

“A map? I—”

The [Crusader] started. But Yves cut her off as he waved a hand off dismissively. 

“We don’t need a map. Don’t worry, I’ve got it handled.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Daniel asked with a frown. The Watcher gestured for both the [Hero] and the [Crusader] to follow him. As he led the way, he explained.

“It’s just as you said, we’ve been gone for months. The front lines would’ve changed by quite a bit. And walking there will take a few days at the least. We want to save time, don’t we?”

Pushing a set of heavy double doors open, Yves brought both Daniel and Kacey into a room which he had only brought them into once before. It was a room filled with treasures— all the precious items which he owned as Ivonne Vigil.

He rummaged through a pile of gold coins, tossing aside random ornate-looking objects. Not every single item here was an artifact. Many of them were just valuable treasures like diamond rings or ruby pendants.

But there were also a few powerful artifacts lying about, like a scepter with a ruby at its tip that could apparently cast a [Grand Fireball] spell, or a shield that could create a barrier of frost. Yves ignored most of those artifacts. 

Probably because they were too weak for his levels, so they’d be useless in battle for him.

He did grab a few vials, but they evidently weren’t what he was looking for. What he found instead was a feather. A rather large feather. It almost looked like it belonged to a bird that was the size of a building.

“What is that?”

Daniel asked with a raised brow. Yves chuckled as he held it up for the [Hero] to use [Identification] on.

“See for yourself.”

The Watcher said, and Daniel frowned.

[Teleport Feather: Epic Grade - Capable of instantly teleporting the holder to anyone they are thinking of. One-time use only.]

“Huh.”

Daniel gaped at it for a moment. Kacey went cross-eyed. And Yves just grinned as he held it out for them.

“Alright, now just grab on and we can get going—”

He started. But Daniel broke out of his stupor. He stepped forward as cut off the Watcher.

“Wait, we can’t go just yet.”

Daniel said hurriedly. And Yves furrowed his brows at that.

“Why not? Aren’t we supposed to be in a rush?”

“We are. But… I need to do something before we leave.”

The young man from Earth said as he averted his gaze.

“And what exactly is it that’s so important you have to do right now?”

Yves asked quizzically. Daniel sighed.

“I have to… advance my Class.”

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