81 – Agirem (16)
“hahahahaha!”
Hamel burst into laughter as if the heavens were parting.
“Ah… That expression, truly a masterpiece.”
Like someone who had tasted divine ambrosia, Hamel looked at Belle with a rapturous expression.
“You… You, killed my father…?”
Belle, eyes widened beyond belief, showed an expression of incredulity.
“Yes. I killed your father.”
Chuckling, Hamel confessed to his deed.
“I chased Miguel out of the city and ambushed him in the dark. But even then, I couldn’t escape unscathed. No, I was overwhelmed to the point of helplessness. Ultimately, I did kill him, but the memory of that moment is unforgettable. I was so tormented for a while that I couldn’t even sleep.”
“So.”
A voice interjected.
It was the subdued voice of Wade.
“So, did you target Belle for that?”
“Yes. It’s only natural for a child to pay their parents’ debts, isn’t it?”
Hamel chuckled.
“Well, I did say that, but in reality, it was impulsive. Without any specific plan, I just wanted to see that girl suffer… But it turned out to be even more fun than I expected.”
“….”
“How interesting it was to shed tears, break down, and fall apart after inevitably killing someone. I would have loved to witness that sight for another 15 years… no, 50 years.”
However, Hamel added.
“And then you interfered.”
“….”
Wade remained silent, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about how things turned out. It would’ve all been meaningless anyway if it had gone according to ‘their’ plan…”
He sighed regretfully, shaking his head.
“Anyway, that’s beside the point. So, how do you feel now?”
Hamel’s gaze once again fell upon Belle.
“How does it feel now that you know the man who ruined your life, even to the extent of your loved ones, is the one who killed your father.”
“….”
“Oh, right, I should mention this too. He was calling out your name as he was dying. Belle, Belle, he kept saying. Apologizing profusely. Thanks to him, I even memorized your name completely─”
“I can’t.”
“Hmm?”
“I can’t forgive…!!”
Bella, who had been quietly listening to Hamel’s words, suddenly sprang forward.
It was an impulsive move driven by uncontrollable anger.
But ultimately, she couldn’t even get close to Hamel.
She was blocked by Wade, who appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.
“Move aside…!”
Despite Bella shouting with her eyes blinded, Wade didn’t even flinch.
He simply shook his head.
“Stop.”
“Let go of my hand…!!”
“It’s meaningless, you know.”
“……!”
Bella bit her lip.
She knew it too.
That no matter how hard she tried.
No matter how much effort she exerted, she couldn’t inflict a single wound on Hamel.
But.
Even knowing that.
“Then, what do you suggest we do…!”
Understanding something in your head and accepting it in your heart are entirely different things.
Bella was not rational enough to cleanly step back in the face of the enemy who killed her father.
With her eyes filled with resentment and tears, Wade faced her gaze head-on without evading.
“Leave it to me.”
“……!”
Bella’s eyes widened, starting to tremble.
“I’ll repay on your behalf.”
Leaving those words behind, Wade turned away.
“Well, well, what a sight it would be if the girls saw, screaming in terror. There’s truly no prince charming from fairy tales here.”
Welcoming Wade in such a manner, Hamel clapped his hands exaggeratedly, his shoulders bouncing.
“It’s all well and good to put on airs, but… can you keep your word?”
Hamel took a step forward.
“You know. It’s no longer acceptable.”
“Well. You won’t know until you try, right?”
“hahahaha. I can appreciate your boldness.”
Hamel chuckled and shook his head.
“Raise that boldness a bit higher and maybe, if you kneel down and beg right now, I might consider sparing your life.”
As if hinting at a trace of compassion.
“You talk so confidently even though you have no intention of doing so.”
Wade’s sharp response came back.
“Oh, caught?”
Hamell chuckled again.
“We’ve reached this point, can’t just let you go. You’ve been too arrogant. Even if you beg on your knees now, I can’t just let you pass.”
Still smiling, but with eyes full of vitality, Hamell glared at Wade.
“Well, then—”
Before Hamell could finish speaking, Wade sprang forward.
“Oh my.”
Feigning surprise, Hamell raised his spear to block Wade’s sword.
However, as the spear and sword met, Wade’s sword, like a snake, surged past the spear and into Hamell’s chest.
“Ugh…!”
Swiftly shaking the spear to deflect the sword and avoid injury, Hamell managed to evade a serious wound, but the tide had completely turned in Wade’s favor.
Though the sword and spear clashed chaotically, the outcome was inevitable.
Clang!
It was Hamell who got injured.
Though not as severe as the previous wound, it was quite deep.
Left unattended, it could cause significant harm.
However.
Swoosh—
That wound healed in the blink of an eye.
“I aimed quite well… but it was meaningless?”
Chuckling, Hamell began to move.
Swish!
An unremarkable attack using the spear.
Wade swiftly dodged the spear, but it was just the beginning of Hamell’s assault.
Evading the relentless attacks, Wade’s movements became increasingly disoriented.
It was part of the original plan.
Even before Hamell reached that state.
But the problem was the speed at which it accelerated was noticeably faster.
“You seem upset.”
Hamell chuckled at Wade’s state.
Wade didn’t respond.
Not because there was no point in responding, but because he couldn’t afford to.
Regardless, Hamell continued.
“But… this isn’t the end.”
What does he mean by ‘this isn’t the end’?
Before Wade could even guess the meaning.
Swoosh—
The straight path of the spear suddenly ‘bent’.
“…!”
Wade jerked in horror, unable to completely evade the unexpected blow.
In the end.
Thud!
The dark lance grazed Wade’s side.
“Wade…!”
With a voice full of concern, Bella cried out as Wade quickly stepped back.
But Hamel wasn’t going to let Wade retreat in peace.
As Wade backed away, the dark lance once again coiled after him like a snake.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t the lance that was coiling.
Hamel’s ‘arm’ was literally bending.
Hamel’s flexibility, which already seemed to transcend human limits, now seemed to have reached a state beyond human boundaries.
The sight of his arm bending like a snake was akin to witnessing a monster rather than a human.
“hahahahaha!”
Laughing as if exhilarated, Hamel continued to swing the lance.
With each swing, Wade’s body began to accumulate wounds, and as time passed, his whole body was covered in small injuries.
Surviving through such a bizarre and lethal storm of attacks was undoubtedly impressive, but it did little to comfort Wade.
As his defeat drew near in real-time.
However.
Amidst this flow, a change came.
From Noble mtl dot com
Swoosh─
Displaying another peculiar movement, Wade once again flawlessly dodged Hamel’s lance, which was curving in an eerie trajectory.
Although it was clear that Hamel, who had already transcended the human body, was less affected by this than an ordinary person, he still couldn’t escape its effects completely.
Naturally, a gap emerged, and Wade once again seized upon that gap.
With all his might, Wade prepared a strike, planning to make the most of this rare opportunity and charged towards Hamel.
Watching this with wide eyes, Hamel chuckled softly.
“…Ha.”
“You seem to be quite cornered.”
He said quietly.
“Judging by not even knowing the state of your sword.”
At his words, Wade’s gaze naturally fell upon the sword in his hand.
And Wade saw it.
He saw that the sword he had somehow managed to hold onto all this time was heavily damaged.
Despite gritting his teeth at this fact, Wade swung the sword.
“You don’t know how to give up.”
Aiming for the sword, Hamel’s outstretched fist struck.
Crack!
Wade’s sword shattered into pieces.
And just like that, Wade was rendered powerless in front of the enemy.
“It’s over.”
Toward that Wade, a majestic force of darkness swung.
Thud!
With the sound of bones breaking, the mighty force of darkness, capable of shattering even buildings, struck Wade.
Crash!
Wade, unable to resist, flew at arrow-like speed, crashing into a wall and getting buried under the rubble.
“Wade…!”
Bella shouted in a voice close to a scream.
“Wade…?”
Bella called out Wade’s name in vain.
However, no matter how many times she called, there was no response from the pile of rubble.
“…”
Bella knew.
How powerful that force of darkness was.
It could easily crush buildings, harnessing the power to stir up storms with just its air pressure.
There was no way a human body could withstand that.
Step by step.
Hamel slowly approached her.
Bella staggered backward, but ultimately couldn’t escape.
She knew it was futile.
“Well, this is how it ends. How does it feel? To have your hope trampled right before your eyes.”
Hamel peered into her face.
“Ah, good, that expression.”
Bella didn’t reply, yet Hamel, seeing her expression, smiled with great satisfaction.
“My plans were thwarted, but seeing that expression, I can’t say it’s all bad.”
“Real despair comes after catching a glimpse of hope, you know,” Hamel added.
“…”
Despite Hamel’s taunting, Bella showed no reaction.
No words, no actions.
Just standing there silently, with vacant eyes.
It was over.
Hope was gone.
Because Wade had appeared.
And the ember of hope that had flickered because of him being there had vanished without a trace.
Now, all that remained was remorse and guilt towards Wade, and a sense of despair for the future that lay ahead.
‘…Maybe.’
Maybe, if it’s going to be like this.
Wouldn’t it be better to just end it all like this?
Such a thought suddenly crossed Bella’s mind.
A decade marred by hardship had gnawed at her heart, cut it, torn it apart.
She couldn’t fathom enduring that dark future.
However, as if she had read her thoughts.
“Why are you like this? Your family is waiting. Surely… you wouldn’t abandon your family?”
The devil’s malicious whisper dug into her heart.
Family.
The reason she endured ten years of suffering.
If she were to give up, they would probably die miserably.
Bella knew that fact all too well.
A tear trickled down.
Darkness crept back into her heart.
As black and dark as a night without the moon.
Perhaps an eternal darkness she would never escape.
Even though the deserted streets still had bright lights illuminating the surroundings, Bella’s vision was only dim.
Night had fallen in her world.
And then.
“Who… dares…”
A voice that seemed to fade away.
“…You’re quite tough.”
Hamel confirmed the owner of the voice and spoke as if he was tired of it.
“Shouldn’t you be more fitting for the title of ‘not human’?”
It wasn’t untrue; Wade’s appearance was grim.
His whole body was covered in blood, his left arm hanging limply with a broken bone.
Apart from his arm, other parts of his body seemed to have suffered fractures as well.
“You focused all your strength on your left arm for defense. Impressive reaction speed.”
As he said that, Wade made a quick decision and concentrated all his power and determination on his left arm in that short moment.
To minimize the damage.
Despite his efforts, looking at his current state, Hamel could indirectly guess the strength of the spear he wielded.
“But what can you do in that condition? Your body barely moves, and your sword… is in no condition to be wielded properly.”
It was a mocking tone, but not an incorrect statement.
The sword was broken, with only the handle remaining, and Wade’s physical condition was so chaotic that it was doubtful if he could even wield the sword properly.
He was simply not in a state to fight.
“It’s just a pathetic struggle. I… won’t stop you from dying, but I won’t let you die like that.”
Hamel, who seemed puzzled, raised the spear again.
“Stop.”
A calm voice intervened.
The owner of the voice was Bella, who was not far away.
“Please… stop now…”
With eyes devoid of light, Bella murmured in a faint voice.
“I can’t take it. I’m going to die. Rather… I’d… I’d rather run away.”
There was no strength left in her voice, but emotions were undoubtedly present.
The worry and guilt towards Wade.
“Now… It’s meaningless….”
Even knowing Wade was alive, the light never returned to her eyes.
It was because she knew.
That there was no chance of winning.
She couldn’t win against Hamel.
“Now it’s over…. Nothing can be changed. No matter how hard you try, you can’t change my situation.”
The night, now will never end.
She calmly accepted that her life was over.
At that moment, Wade, who had been silently watching Bella, spoke for the first time.
“…Even in the darkest night, the end will come.”
Struggling to stand properly, Wade spoke.
“If you wait and wait, eventually morning will come.”
Bella was about to refute the somewhat random statement but closed her mouth.
It felt like she had heard those words somewhere before.
“Hmm. Quite an emotional line. If I were a poet, I would have rocked the continent.”
Hamel exclaimed exaggeratedly as he stepped forward.
“But now, it’s really time to end this.”
Saying that, he adjusted his spear, and Wade, with only the handle of the broken sword left, raised it.
“Oh my, have you finally lost your mind?”
Shaking his head at Wade’s appearance, Hamel extended his foot forward.
With lightning speed, Hamel’s spear moved, and the next moment, he reached Wade, who was in a mess.
“It’s over.”
Hamel swung the spear.
The spear, filled with force, surged towards Wade.
He might have withstood the previous strike, but there would be no surviving the next one.
In that situation.
With the death scythe at his throat.
Wade moved his arm.
Swung the sword.
With nothing but the handle left, he swung the sword towards Hamel.
To an observer, it seemed like a senseless act.
A behavior that would undoubtedly be judged as madness by anyone watching.
However.
There was no wavering in Wade’s eyes.
With eyes as clear as can be, he swung the broken sword’s handle towards Hamel.
And then.
Everything split apart.
The desolate road, the half-collapsed buildings.
The pitch-black window that seemed unbreakable.
And the demon that ruled over Agilrem.
Mc you playing too much