684 – 8. Will (58)
“…… Nope.”
Emma’s brow furrowed. It was probably a difficult story to accept.
There was no need to give a lengthy counterargument. I decided to just repeat what I said.
“I told you, I won’t lose anything…” “I don’t want to lose you either.”
Then Emma snorted her laughter. As if she had heard a very funny joke.
“That’s stupid again. I must say this now, but it is impossible not to lose anything…….”
“What about you?”
With a single question out of my mouth while panting.
Emma pursed her lips once again. Was it an illusion that those light green eyes that looked at me intently seemed particularly deep?
“Now, how much will you pay to save my life?”
This was a question she asked not long after they met.
When I was attending her academy, I heard that 10,000 gold was needed to rescue Emma. As the second son of a rural homeowner, it was not an amount I could afford.
That’s why I couldn’t save Emma. Maybe that’s why Emma used to talk about ‘10,000 gold’ as the price of my life.
It must have been a joke.
But I thought it wasn’t entirely a joke, so I asked again.
Emma was silent for a while. With her back to me, she put her alchemy tools back into her luggage, and without saying a word, she sighed, before touching her forehead.
The woman spoke only after pressing her temples several times, as if her skull was pounding.
“…… 100 Gold.”
At the same time, the woman smiled a desperate smile.
“You are such an idiot. Please never give me a discount more than this… But remember.”
As if he couldn’t stop it, but clearly.
Emma told me.
“The basis of alchemy is ‘equivalent exchange.’ And it is also the law of this world. It’s impossible to gain something without losing anything… “As much as you gain something, you must pay something in return.”
Instead of answering, I just took a deep breath.
Without even knowing how important this advice was.
**
My memory is blurry.
It was unclear how I opened my eyes and regained my body. But the moment I opened my eyes, I thought.
Finally.
I felt like I was free from the problem that had been bothering me all along. A strong sensation rose from the tips of my fingers through my bones like a gust of wind, and my senses became so sensitive that my hair stood on end.
My enemy does not exist here.
Of course, I felt that my body had not fully recovered. Every time I evoked an image, I felt a sharp pain running through my intestines.
Nevertheless, those facts were beyond my interest.
It was simple. Didn’t I still have enough and overflowing power to suppress the enemy in front of me right now?
It did not take a long time to prove it.
When I kicked the ground, fragments of the shattered earth filled the air. In stopped time, all landscapes are colored in colorless colors.
Eindel’s grasp blocks me.
It formed an intangible wall. It was one of the techniques that had caused me trouble so far, but it would have been a different story if my body had recovered more than half.
Gyeol (結), draws the aurors to the limit.
Time was needed to concentrate magical power. However, it was a condition that had no meaning to me, swimming alone in a stopped world.
A sword body that gathers together and shines brightly like a jewel.
The extremely compressed blade of the Milky Way tears through the intangible wall in one fell swoop.
“Uh, what?!”
Eindel let out a scream of embarrassment. Her face looked like she had no idea that her barrier would be breached so easily.
Astonishment, fear, and faint anticipation.
I couldn’t understand the emotions that came to mind at the end. Just a bang, and one of the old priest’s arms flies through the air and falls.
“Ahh, ugh, ahhh! hehehe, kihi, hehehe!”
The old man let out a bizarre laugh and stretched out his free hand.
Then a rising black shadow appeared, and it was already too late.
Have.
The auror, stretched to its limit, was transformed into an instant bomb. The black shadows that covered the area were practically useless in front of the exploding silver magic power.
Running through a world that flickers white.
What the sword is aiming for is another arm.
Without even a noise, the old monster lost its last remaining arm.
“Ahh, ah…” Ahhhhh! Pugh, hahahahaha!”
The old man who had lost both arms was now facing the top of his head like a rhinoceros.
Looking at the body running on its two legs, as if it was going to hit me.
I swung my sword in a straight line without saying anything.
Sigh.
The body of the running man is impaled on the sword like a skewer. The blade that pierced his chest did not allow any further advancement, and only black, dead blood flowed from the old man’s mouth.
It was an extremely lame ending.
I felt like I could do more. I was filled with confidence that I could combine stronger, more brutal, and more murderous techniques.
But that won’t happen now.
The opponent was already incapable of fighting, and was far too weak to project my full power on. This was true even for those who reached the level of ‘High Expert’ or ‘Grand Wizard’.
There was only one duty left to me. Listening to the sorrow of an old man.
“…… Cost.”
At the word that suddenly came to mind, Ein Del laughed, making her blood run cold.
He wanted to flail his arms, but he had no arms left. The old man just looked at me calmly, with blood pouring from his mouth and the cut.
“What price did you pay? “You signed a contract with the Dark Church.”
hehehehe.
Eindel laughed with a blood boiling sound, and his eyes looked blankly towards the sky. The old man who was reminiscing about the past was silent for a long time, but then his gloomy eyes stared at me.
“hehehe, ‘master’… ‘Pay’. It seems you finally understand the laws of the world… Cough! That’s right. There is no such thing as power without a price…….”
“Shut up and talk. “Before my patience runs out.”
Aindel shook his head surprisingly calmly. It seems like he knows very well that my threat wasn’t even a single lie.
With a kind smile, he said.
“I sacrificed my son.”
I strengthened my grip on the sword.
“My son was also forced to make a choice. Will you save his daughter-in-law, or will you save his grandchild? He said that only if one of them sacrificed his soul would he save the other. In the end, the son sacrificed his grandchild. I just can’t forgive that fact… “Wow!”
The sword was twisted.
Black blood was leaking out from the twisted affected area. At the same time, the amount of blood flowing out of Eindel’s mouth also increased.
I had no regrets. It just left a dark bitter taste on the tip of his tongue.
Nevertheless, the old monster did not lose his smile until the end.
“hehehe, hehehe! hehehe… But, I achieved my goal. The awakening of ‘Arrogance’ that I had longed to see… ….”
“What nonsense?”
Even though he growled and asked, there was no answer.
The old man just stared blankly at the sky with his head thrown back.
“Ecce, universa, quae habet, in manu tua sunt…” Lord, please look down on this lamb. hehehehe… ….”
That is the end.
As soon as he pulled out his sword, the old man’s body collapsed like a deflated balloon. His body, with the spark of life extinguished, remained silent without even a single movement.
Phew, I let out a sigh.
It was still far from enough. I could have done more. Although my body was not perfect, this amount alone was enough to cut down the enemy in front of me.
Is it because I held back for a long time?
I looked back, feeling a kind of frustration. When I think about it, my colleagues had arrived here besides me.
Saints, Leto, etc.
Looking back, the fact that nothing was said during the battle was somewhat troubling. But it was a fight that ended so quickly, so it could have been so.
It was when I looked away with such easy thoughts.
“Huh, haa… ….”
Waving eyes.
The woman with silver hair slowly looked back at me with a sense of fear. She had a corpse lying sprawled out in front of her.
No, it wasn’t a corpse yet.
So, I just sighed and smiled. It was so unrealistic, it felt like a malicious joke.
I move at a brisk pace. The saintess looked at me without saying a word, then quickly closed her eyes and turned her head away.
What is this?
Literally, it was an extremely simple impression. The number of thoughts that filled my mind was limited.
Why is the man in front of the saint.
He has a pale complexion, is breathing faintly, frowning in pain, and exhaling black smoke like a burned corpse.
Because he was one of my more precious friends than anyone else.
A wet voice fills my ears. It was a desolate tone.
“Ian, Ian… Ugh… Choi, I tried my best, but I just couldn’t… ….”
Let’s go.
I knelt down without saying a word. The saint was telling the truth that she did not want to believe, but she did not dare to deny it.
Because I understood it with my heart, not my brain.
With great difficulty, Leto opened his eyelids and smiled at me.
He was holding a piece of paper in his hand. The paper I wrote to sign a ‘contract’.
Suddenly, something I heard in an unfamiliar memory comes to mind.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘As much as you get something, you must pay something in return.’
Heh, heh heh.
I ended up laughing like a crazy person.
Yes, I guess so. There must be a price. But, this isn’t it.
“…… “Ian.”
Leto tried to pretend that nothing had happened.
“I have to live up to my share, you bastard.”
I realized this for the first time.
My words of wanting to die until now were nothing more than trivial words.
I, for the first time, truly.
I wanted to die. By any means necessary.
If only I could save my friend.
It was the beginning of a will.
Damn, Leto dead…