136Th Chapter. Solara’S Choice (4)
Solara’s sin is simple.
Greed.
Her greed was too much.
It was fine that she wanted to save her younger brother.
But she chose the wrong person to make a wish to.
She shouldn’t have joined hands with the Four Heavenly Kings.
Right now, there seemed to be no way for me to change Solara’s mind.
Because her younger brother, Zenon, was being held hostage.
As long as Zenon was in Luna’s hands, Solara had no choice but to give in to evil, whether she wanted to or not.
That’s why I had to wait.
Until Solara realized it herself.
Until she realized that her own greed had caused this trouble.
Until her journey to save her younger brother turned into a journey to kill him.
That moment came.
And now it was my turn to step up.
Solara’s sin is simple.
That’s why it’s easy to repent.
Solara’s sense of justice is still alive.
Even though it’s hypocritical and cowardly, it hasn’t completely turned into an evil nature yet.
Solara’s crime is still at the level of condoning the Four Heavenly Kings’ atrocities.
There’s still room to turn back.
And I will turn it back.
“Eugene. Do you really have to go?”
“······.”
As the holy magic from the hand on my back flowed into my body.
A trembling voice came to my ears.
It was a lovely voice that I would hate to let go of.
“If you don’t want to go, you can stop supplying me with magic.”
“Th, then······ Eugene will hate me······.”
“······.”
I didn’t deny it.
Because it’s somewhat true.
“You don’t want to be hated by me, but you put out a nationwide wanted poster for attempted rape?”
“I’m sorry······. I made a mistake······.”
Jill apologized in a voice that didn’t make any excuses.
I was surprised for a moment.
Because the Jill I remember from the first playthrough never apologized.
‘There’s room for consideration.’
Come to think of it, the wanted poster itself was a secret wanted poster that was not made public, so it’s hard to see it as a false accusation against me.
Moreover, the identity I registered with Jill on my own has also been erased, so the charge of attempted rape is no longer there.
So, even though she did a lot of b*tchy things.
It’s not like she did something b*tchy that couldn’t be undone.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not b*tchy······.
“I was scared······. I was afraid that Eugene would never meet me again······.”
“······.”
“Why aren’t you answering······? Th, this isn’t the end, is it? You’re not leaving, are you?”
“I’m leaving.”
I couldn’t lie.
I’m leaving.
I’ll leave here, and I’ll leave this world in the future.
I can’t let her have false hope.
“Eugene······. I, I had something I wanted to say. I was scared until now······ I couldn’t say it because I thought I would look cheap if I said it first······. I like you. I like you a lot. The void without you is too big······. I realized it after you left. I’ll do better from now on. I’ll really do better. I won’t treat you badly, and I’ll treat you as preciously as I think you are. So please······ can’t you stay by my side······?”
“······.”
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I can’t stay here.
If I stay here and accept Jill’s feelings, it’s game over.
That doesn’t mean I should stay by her side and use her goodwill.
It’s not human to accept Jill’s feelings and continue to reject her.
That’s the cruelest thing to do.
“······I’m sorry.”
“Eugene······. You’ve changed. You didn’t used to talk to me like this.”
Is that so?
I used to speak formally to Jill in the first playthrough.
I just remembered.
“You didn’t used to be this blunt either.”
I’m aware of that too.
My emotions have been torn apart a lot during the 12th playthrough.
My first playthrough was probably the most carefree, no, the most refreshing.
“And you didn’t used to be this······ reckless······.”BANG. BOOM.
Even from this distance, I can hear the sound of explosion magic going off.
It must be Sola getting pounded by my little sister.
I’m on my way there right now.
Jill knows it too.
If it were me from the first playthrough…
I would have definitely told Jill to go somewhere safe with me.
Since even a single scar on my skin would be a disadvantage if I wanted to攻略 the three main heroines, the safety of myself and the heroines was my top priority.
“You’ve changed… The Eugene I know was definitely a shallow and cowardly man… Why have you become so strong…”
A shallow and cowardly man.
It couldn’t be a more perfect definition of me from the first playthrough.
“That’s why it’s annoying… I still like you like this… Even though I know I’ll probably end up dying alone in a foreign land… I like you so much, I don’t know what to do… I’m going crazy with anxiety… I can’t hold you because I’m afraid you’ll hate me… I want to stop you even now… But all I can do is give you my magic…”
Jill’s voice gradually turns into a sob.
The hand that had been gently caressing my back slowly moves to the front of my chest and hugs me from behind.
I can feel the plump sensation on my back and the speed of the magic transfer increases even more.
“Are you going?”
“Yeah.”
“Promise me you won’t die…”
“I won’t die.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to leave because you hate me… I’m not hated, am I? Right?”
“…”
“I don’t know why, but I’ll wait. I can endure it now. I can endure it because I know you’ll come back. I can live because I know you don’t hate me. So please, please don’t die…”
Swish.
A holy protection is added to me.
It’s a thin barrier, but it’s quite sturdy.
Judging from the fact that it’s much stronger than the barrier I saw in the first playthrough, Jill must have grown a lot too.
“Okay, that’s enough.”
“I haven’t given you all of it yet…”
“Use the rest of your magic to heal Sola.”
“What? That guy is a traitor.”
“He’s a traitor with a lot of uses. He hasn’t completely betrayed us yet.”
“You’re risking your life again…”
“…”
“Don’t die. If you die, I’ll kill you. Got it?”
“Okay.”
After soaking my back with tears.
Jill slowly releases her embrace.
It’s time.
It’s time to bring the strongest swordsman on the planet to our side.
I draw my magic sword and head towards the battlefield.
“Stay far away because it’s dangerous.”
“…”
Mijung, who had come running up to me, naturally stands by my side.
The square, which had been hit by explosion magic, was now in ruins.
Sola was in the middle of it, breathing painfully with blood clots.
-You’re going to die-
‘Stop talking nonsense. Before I hand you over to Luna.’
-Are you really going to go?-
‘Yes. It’s already too late.’
-…-
The magic sword buzzes loudly.
If I lose here, the magic sword will also be permanently in Luna’s hands and will not be able to avoid the same fate as Zenon.
As if realizing my situation, the voice of the magic sword trying to stop me stops.
From his point of view, helping me is the best course of action.
-Can you give me a little, just a little bit of control over the magic sword?-
‘What? No. Why should I?’
-Although it’s only a small part, I think I can follow the skills of my main body, Belphegor. I can cast magic-
‘Damn it. I have to give it my all.’
-I’ll do my best-
Since I can’t afford to lose here, I allow the magic sword partial access to my magic.
And then I transform the shape of the sword into a large two-handed sword.
It’s a sword for Frost-style swordsmanship, which is good at defense.
“Luna-nim. Please, give me your orders…”
“Okay! Okay, okay! The main force of the Holy Knights is approaching! I’ll heal you right now, so go and destroy the Holy Knights-“
“Sola.”Just before she completely fell to the other side.
I gently spoke while touching Solara’s shoulder.
Then Cardinal Nicolas, no, Luna glared at me as if she was going to kill me.
Solara flinched and reacted.
It seems like she can hear my voice.
This is enough.
I guess I can save her with this much.
“If you bow your head here, you will never be able to come back. Then I will have to kill you.”
“As expected······ You, the Four Heavenly Kings······ weren’t······.”
“Of course not, you idiot. It’s sick to be fooled. Now choose. Do you really want to go to the other side?”
“I can’t help it······.”
“You can help it. I’ll give you a hint. I’ve already destroyed all of Luna’s puppets that are left in Cologne.”
“What are you talking about right now? aaagh!!! Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet!!!”
“What this means is that if you just kill that cardinal, the medium will disappear and the necromancy will lose its effect.”
“······!”
Luna tries to interfere by screaming.
But it’s useless because my voice is being transmitted directly into Solara’s head through the vibration of magic power through my hand.
Solara’s eyes slowly widen as she understands what I mean.
“Recover yourself and follow me. I’ll hold you so that you can’t escape.”
I pour three bottles of high-grade potions on Solara’s head at once and move forward.
It will take about 5 minutes for Jill’s recovery magic to heal Solara enough to move.
I just have to hold on for 5 minutes.
In the first place, I don’t expect to win.
How can I win against a flying wizard?
“Kill that bastard, Zenon!”
Screech!
The surrounding magic power condenses at the tip of Zenon’s hand and creates a terrible wave.
At first glance, it seems like a great magic of the 8th or 9th rank is about to be cast.
But to think that this is just a 4th-rank explosion magic that uses so much magic power.
‘The magic power efficiency is very low. You can’t shoot it infinitely.’
The way to break it is simple.
Just don’t get hit.
If I approach without getting hit and cut down Cardinal Nicolas, I win.
‘You said you can ring it?’
-Uh······ Maybe?-
‘Oh my god. Why maybe with me. Tell me you can do it.’
-Ha, I can do it!-
‘No, not to yourself. Tell me you can do it.’
-I think I can······-
‘Wow.’
It’s not pretty at all.
I wonder if this magic sword is trying to kill me, but I have no choice but to believe it.
“Frost Stream 3rd Style: Herbivore.”
Boom!
The explosion magic is cast.
The lump of magic power gathered at the tip of Zenon’s hand flies straight at me.
If I accelerate and fly my body instantly, I can avoid it outside the blast radius.
But that’s the end of it.
The second explosion magic will fly in and hit me as I fall.
A monster like Solara can withstand it even if it gets hit several times, but I can’t.
I’ll be dead in one shot.
No. Even a graze is a critical hit.
So I have to face it head-on.
Staring at the lump of magic power flying towards my forehead.
At the exact timing.
I swing.
“Intercept!”
Clang!
The raised sword blade hits the magic sphere directly.
Originally, magic power is not greatly affected by physical force, so it will pass through and smash my forehead to pieces.
Bang!
“What?!”
The magic sphere exploded without piercing the magic sword’s blade.
The blast pressure is scattered into the void, pushed by the blade.
Luna’s expression, who was watching the scene, is filled with embarrassment.
“Ki, kill him! Quickly!”
This time, it’s a combo.
It seems to be less powerful, but two explosion magics fly in succession at a fast speed.
Bang! Boom!
“Th, this is ridiculous!”
I cut them all down with successive linked slashes.
From a wizard’s point of view, it’s bound to be far behind the eyes of a swordsman who is ‘fast’.
I’ve already taken three steps forward.Luna started to run away as she noticed the distance was closing in, but she couldn’t escape.
“Oh my?! This is Kali’s ability······!”
A sphere like a mirror enveloped and imprisoned Luna.
The celestial armor.
Luna couldn’t escape from inside it.
No, if she transformed into a spirit form, she could leisurely escape.
But if she did that, her connection to the necromancy would be severed and she would lose Zenon.
It was his defeat.
-I can’t keep cutting! I’ve used up too much concentration! I’m almost at my limit!-
“Just hold on a little longer.”
Would I be able to cut down Zenon if I used the secret technique of the Dakia-ryu?
I wondered.
It seemed like there was a protective barrier, so I wouldn’t be able to strike him all at once.
But if I unleashed a series of attacks, I might be able to cut him.
However, I didn’t know how Solara would react if I cut Zenon’s body in half.
For now, it seemed best to drain all of his magic power and make him tremble.
But why didn’t Zenon’s explosive magic momentum seem to die down?
-Doesn’t he have infinite magic power?! He uses magic inefficiently, throwing 90% of his magic power into the air, and yet he’s still shooting it out like this!-
“Surely it can’t be infinite······.”
At this point, I wondered if it really was infinite.
My conviction was starting to waver.
I thought I could hold out.
Bang! Kwa-kwang!
A series of attacks poured out.
I cut and cut the magic, but the explosive magic didn’t stop.
-I can’t cut anymore······. I’m going to fall asleep······-
The magic sword quietly fell silent.
With this, the magic cutting event was over.
I had no choice but to take the damage.
“Ugh! Damn it!”
Bang! Kwa-kwang!
I dodged the three consecutive attacks that came raining down.
I wasn’t dodging by looking at the magic, but by looking at the tips of Zenon’s fingers.
“Keuheuk?!”
But perhaps he noticed that, because now Zenon was firing magic in a different direction from his fingers.
I was hit by a direct hit and sent flying, rolling on the ground before I realized it.
I had blacked out for about a second.
Originally, I should have died from this······.
But thanks to the protective barrier, I ended up with just a tattered body.
However, the protective barrier was now gone.
If I got hit one more time, it would be the end.
“Keuheu······ Heuk······.”
My hands and feet had received the least protection from the protective barrier, so they were already badly injured.
There were many fragments embedded in my body.
If Solara saw this, she would say, “What’s with that serious face?”······.
But I really feel like I’m going to die.
“I can do this all day. Let’s see when your magic power runs out, Imma.”
“······.”
Zenon glared at me with slightly angry eyes.
He began to gather an enormous amount of magic power at his fingertips.
It was a different dimension of magic power than he had ever shot before.
“Huh?”
I can’t dodge that.
If I get hit, I’ll die.
No, my body won’t even remain intact.
It was powerful enough to blow away this square, no, the entire block of this city.
I have to stop that.
I have to cut it.
“Secret technique of the Dakia-ryu······.”
I hurriedly changed the form of the magic sword to a longsword.
I raised my sword and prepared to swing it.
And then I gritted my teeth and was about to thrust my sword out when.
Kwarrung!
“······?”
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered and it started to rain.
Just as I was wondering what was going on.
“Euaak!”
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Lightning struck and pierced Zenon.
Zenon fell from the sky, powerless.
The wind brushed past me, and Solara’s new form, enveloped in electricity, flew in and caught Zenon.
“I’m sorry······.”
And Solara pierced and shattered Zenon’s protective barrier with her bare hands.
She put her hand on his chest and said.
“I’m sorry······.”
“Ahuk! Ah! Aah······!”
She dug in and tore out his heart.
Soon, Zenon’s half-blackened heart appeared in Solara’s hand.Panting, he ran weakly, then stopped.
It was over.
Solara had finished it with her own hands.
To put an end to it, she removed the celestial armor.
“Ugh… damn it…”
Screech!
Cardinal Nicholas, with a blank face, was revealed and cut into pieces.
As expected, there wasn’t a drop of blood since he had been dead for a long time.
A cold air seemed to escape from the dismembered body.
Soon, the air dissipated and disappeared into the distance.
Although the spirit body was missed, all the puppets in Cologne were destroyed.
Necromancy could no longer be used.
Solara and Zenon were free.
They could now die as free people.
“Sister…”
“Oh, Zenon. Sister. It’s me.”
In the midst of the pouring rain.
Zenon raised his hand with difficulty, coughing up blood from his chest.
Solara hugged Zenon and brought his hand to her cheek.
Zenon’s eyes were full of life.
The will to live was evident.
Zenon met Solara’s eyes with his strange eyes for a moment and smiled faintly.
“Zenon… no…”
The momentum of the blood fountain erupting from his chest weakened.
Zenon’s arm lost its strength and fell limply.
The pupils, which had been full of life until just now, soon became empty.
Zenon did not respond or react no matter how much Solara called out to him.
“Kyaaa!!!”
Solara’s scream echoed like a scream.
Thunder and lightning crackled inside the dark clouds.
The lost anger spread everywhere.
“aaa…”
Solara stopped screaming.
She was hugging the bloodied Zenon and shedding tears or rain, she didn’t know which.
“What’s this mess?”
“……?”
An old man with an umbrella frowned and put down a large toolbox with a thud.
Kern.
Your Excellency, you arrived at just the right time.