694 – 8. Last Words (68)
Every time I wander down a hazy road, my consciousness becomes blurred.
Dreams, boundaries, unconsciousness… ….
Among the fragments of language that were blinking one by one, an unfamiliar sight was gradually coming into focus.
A memory I always looked back on.
When I came to my senses, I was walking on the path that a man had walked. This was the plains of the eastern part of the continent, and the whereabouts of the missing second princess Iris were being pursued under orders from the ‘Blind Snake’ Princess Shien.
The journey had already been going on for over several weeks.
The East has long since fallen into the hands of the Dark Church. No, it wasn’t just the east, it was everywhere except the center of the continent. So, it is inevitable that the farther you travel, the more danger there is.
I couldn’t even ride a vehicle. It only caused unnecessary noise, and furthermore, the number of people needed to be reduced as much as possible.
I guess I should say that it is fortunate that there is a space expansion pocket so there is no need to worry about supply.
It was such a difficult and dangerous journey. We moved as carefully as possible, and as we experienced several unavoidable collisions, time was bound to be delayed.
But that hardship is over now.
When I reached my destination, a scenery I had never seen before was waiting for me.
Arms and legs had melted and were added haphazardly. Bodies that had dissolved unpleasantly, like coagulated gelatin, stood like bushes all over the land.
“This…” ….”
“Those are miserable words.”
It was a brief impression.
My companion with reddish-brown hair left such a comment with even a slight sneer. A subtle light of contempt appears in the light green eyes.
It was a natural result that questions followed.
“Do you know what this is?”
“The final destination of those who are overly greedy. “I studied the Eternal Life School before it disappeared.”
“It’s a disaster related to alchemy.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
After hearing that, I stroked my chin for a moment. Now that I think about it, has Emma ever told me that before?
This place was once the headquarters of the Eternal Life School.
And it couldn’t have been such a coincidence that these terrible decorations were also related to alchemists.
Did Princess Iris and the Eternal Life School have some kind of relationship?
Then why didn’t Emma tell me that? If he was in a position of ‘senior researcher,’ there was a good chance he would have also heard key information within the school.
The worry was short-lived. Because there was no way there would be an answer.
I decided to choose a more reliable method.
“Emma.”
“Huh?”
“Are you hiding something from me?”
It was immediately after that that Emma’s eyes, which were smiling crookedly, became blank.
She was looking at me blankly with her eyes wide open.
Immediately he burst into laughter. It started.
“Phew, aha. Ahahahahaha!”
Once the laughter started to burst out, it did not stop.
Emma held her stomach and laughed for a long time before finally spitting out meaningful words.
I didn’t stop laughing until then.
“Aha, puhup, that… Tsk tsk, are you asking now?”
“Because the end is approaching.”
The answer was a watershed.
Emma’s laughter, which seemed to go on forever, suddenly stops. Emma was silently wiping away the dew from her eyes.
“You can’t pretend not to know until the end.”
“What if I’m hiding something?”
Grin, with a secret smile as always.
Emma turned her back and slightly bent her upper body. To anyone looking, it might look like she was showing off her talent, but it was visible to me.
A piece of vague emotion hidden within those light green eyes.
“Can you handle it?”
“Yes.”
Hmm, narrowed eyes.
Doubts come to me again.
“How can you be sure?”
“I said I didn’t want to lose anyone anymore.”
A voice that is extremely tired becomes crunchy like a piece of porcelain that does not fit properly.
Yes, I was exhausted. That too a lot.
“That’s why I never asked.”
“Are you afraid that if you find out the truth, you’ll lose me?”
“Maybe that could happen.”
I glance, and as I shift my gaze, Emma’s face appears in the empty golden pupils. She had a flawlessly pretty appearance.
“There is no reality that we cannot handle. “That’s kind of like a disaster.”
“Aha, I have no choice but to handle it somehow?”
“Because it’s always been like that.”
At her assertion, Emma hummed, closed her eyes, and rested her chin.
Then she shook her head a few times, her lips drawing a distorted arc.
The pale green eyes revealed again sparkle with an insidious light.
“As expected, it’s fun… “Ian, you are.”
Talk, then.
The woman took a light step and narrowed the distance between herself and me. Even if she didn’t do that, the distance that was already far shortened further.
“You’re stupid. “Even if you’re stupid, you’re so stupid.”
That was when Emma came close to me.
She suddenly straightened up her lowered body and let out a laugh. Then she shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands to her sides like flower cups.
It was a gesture that seemed somewhat light-hearted or vain.
“So, I changed my mind a little.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Okay, our companionship is over!”
In a refreshingly bright tone, Emma pointed a way with her hand.
This was the path that Emma and I had been walking along. In other words, it meant to stop going back.
“Now don’t listen to anything, don’t know anything…” “Go back and forget about the world.”
“Then what happens?”
“You won’t have to hurt anymore. “There is no need to be disappointed in me.”
It was an attractive option.
If I could go back to the past, it would be a future I would not have hesitated to see.
But it was already too late.
Huh, I said, suppressing my laughter.
“Emma, I am… “I’ve already done that before.”
“Huh?”
“When you fell into critical condition at the academy.”
The light gradually begins to fade from the face of the woman who was pretending to be bright. Her eyes are starting to darken, as if her dark clouds are blocking the sun.
The woman’s right hand covers her forehead.
“I pretended not to know you even back then.”
“…… So?”
“I always regretted it. When I met you, I couldn’t even tell you…….”
Her right hand covered half of her face, including her eyes, so it was impossible to guess her expression. The only thing that stood out was the bitter curve around the corner of his mouth.
I finally finished speaking.
“I can’t do that this time either.”
After that, Emma remained silent for a long time.
She just silently mulled over my words, and then began to lift her hand that was covering my forehead.
Lovely reddish-brown hair was falling between my fingers. The woman’s light green eyes, with her bangs pulled back, contained a darkness deeper than anything she had ever seen before.
“Ian, you are so… You’re putting me in trouble.”
I faced those gloomy eyes and was silent for a while. It just awakened the energy in her entire body.
The attached limbs located here were not separate entities. If you dig underground, you will see a huge colony extending from deep within.
I can assure you that I have fought against the Dark Church hundreds and thousands of times.
The fact that this will not be an easy opponent.
Seven sins, or more.
I guessed its scale and asked.
“So, what are you? “How did they annihilate the ‘Eternal School’ in one night?”
“I told you, Ian… “I didn’t do it.”
Huh, he let out a sound that I couldn’t tell if it was mocking or lamenting.
The woman smiled coldly. Her matted hair and her pure white hood are gradually turning black as if flames are spreading.
“It’s just that they were unreasonably greedy.”
“What about Her Highness Iris?”
“Ah, that idiot… I’ll show you if you want. Because you are special.”
“What happened to the Alpenhauser family? Are you a member of the Seven Sins?”
From Noble mtl dot com
A snorting sound that bursts out.
“…… “Seven sins?”
It had been a long time since the clothes the woman was wearing had transformed into jet black robes.
Eventually, the woman turned around and put her back to him. The answer was simple.
“No.”
Right after that.
A sharp killing intent pierced through the ground at the edge of my senses. It was fast, but I am a talented person who is close to becoming a master.
He couldn’t subdue me to this extent.
Yes, I should have done that.
Sigh.
I cried out and vomited blood into the delicate hand that pierced my abdomen. With eyes full of disbelief.
You must have avoided it, right?
It was an angle that could be avoided by just slightly twisting the body. I, who had countless practical experiences, could not have been mistaken. I definitely twisted my body.
The results were simply deleted.
My body remained fixed in place, as if it had never happened from the beginning. It wasn’t a matter of optical illusion or time.
Something is wrong.
Common sense, laws, anything was good. It felt like I had been the victim of an absurd prank. The feeling of such intuition gradually seeping into the skin.
Before I knew it, the light green eyes of a smiling woman were staring at me.
“It’s greater than that.”
The creaking gaze is directed to the back.
The owner of the arm that penetrated my abdomen was located there. No, should I say he is the owner of the arm?
It was an unpleasant work of art with several arms, legs, and faces fused together.
Out of the five or six faces, there were three people I could recognize, all of them women. It was someone I also knew.
Second Princess Iris.
Siene Alpenhauser.
Luna Alpenhauser.
Heh, the open mouth and pupilless eyes showed that their condition was not normal. Either he is dead or he is suffering something worse than death.
In the end, I let out a laugh that I don’t know how long it was.
“f*ck you… ….”
Squeezing out the last of my strength, I rummaged around in my arms.
I just fainted.
*
I regain my senses while taking a deep breath.
Naturally, my hand traced my abdomen. Fortunately, my abdomen, which had been pierced just before, was still intact.
It didn’t take long for my sanity to come back.
Unlike before, there was a guide staying by my side.
“…… How is it?”
My body automatically flinched as light green eyes suddenly invaded my field of vision. I unconsciously moved my hand to my waist, but before that, there was one noticeable change.
The size of the tiny Emma.
Not long ago, it was the size of a fist, but now it has grown to the size of my forearm. Even though it was small, it was still very small.
A foolish voice came out of my mouth due to the surprising growth.
“What are you…?” … ?”
“Well. “I guess we’ll find out soon.”
Before I knew it, I was immersed in starlight.
Like the Milky Way, silver fragments float in the black space. Every time the countless lights float by my side, I feel as if unfamiliar scenery appears.
Suddenly, a headache hits me like a thunderbolt. It was the moment when I couldn’t even scream due to the sudden pain and was clutching my head.
“Not yet, not yet… I haven’t gotten my strength back yet. We had a ‘contract’, right?”
“No, I don’t have a ‘contract’ yet… “Keuuu!”
I wanted to refute it, but my head hurt so much. My skull was being squeezed, and my eyeballs felt like they were going to burst from the pain that felt like my brain was being pressed.
It may be because so many memories are rising and sinking.
Seeing me like that, the little woman burst into laughter.
“It’s already too late. “You can’t get out of here without my help.”
“This thing… Fraudulent contract…… !”
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay the price right… Ruler.”
With a whoosh, the woman drew her circle toward the sky. Then she followed the trail, and a small circle with a reflection of the scenery appeared.
It began to descend and gradually increase in diameter. In the past, it even covered me.
It felt like I heard a whisper for the last time.
“There isn’t much left now.”
Once again, the view has completely changed.
It was a plain with low hills. Dusk was burning in the distance, and a lantern could be seen on the ridge looking at the setting sun.
Because of the aftereffects of the headache, I couldn’t identify it right away. But as soon as her pain subsided and she frowned slightly, I realized:
The owner of my back.
Her jade-colored hair tied back catches the eye at a glance. When I confirmed this, a sigh naturally escaped my mouth.
Why is it that guy?
Well, I knew the direction, but I didn’t even know where to go yet. First of all, I wanted to know what my ‘lost memory’ was.
In the past, ‘I’ did not mention him separately. But if you wander into your subconscious, you will definitely be able to catch the clue.
I didn’t know what to look for, so I had nothing to say to anyone I met. In the end, I sighed and decided to take a leisurely walk.
But since it was a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, I thought it might be worth having a conversation with.
And since that little woman called herself a ‘guide’, she must have taken her to a meaningful place.
Yuren didn’t say anything until I flopped down next to him. There’s no way he wouldn’t notice my presence.
I suddenly confessed my concerns to Yuren, who was looking at the horizon in silence.
“Yuren, I…” “I think I’ve lost my way.”
“What nonsense?”
“As if you had lost your gender… ….”
“It’s sh*t again.”
Fortunately, Yuren reacted as I remembered. That blunt voice, indeed, a man who only knew the sword. She looked like a woman, or at any rate, like Yuren.
He said with a sour face.
“Ian, I don’t care about gender. Because I decided to dedicate my life only for my sister and the sword…….”
“But both of them were taken from me.”
“Please shut up, Ian… “I was just about to tell you a good story.”
It was almost time for Yuren to get really angry, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
In fact, if it weren’t for Yuren, she had no idea how to escape from here. After giving me a stinging look for a while, Yuren opened her mouth again.
“In short… okay. That’s it. “Life is all about direction.”
“Okay, whatever. I know the direction, but… There’s no road ahead? “Tell me where to go.”
“That’s because you aren’t desperate. Look at me, what did I sacrifice to force my way through?”
I am proud of having made a contract with an evil spirit.
I really wanted to shoot it. However, because it seemed dangerous to scratch Yuren’s insides any more, it was never spoken out in the end.
It was worthwhile. When Yuren saw my sullen expression, he burst out laughing as if he was dumbfounded.
“Wow, you look like I can’t believe you.”
“Yuren. Don’t misunderstand, just listen. Honestly, if you say that…….”
“Then I will prove it to you. “It will help you become more desperate.”
Yuren then begins to rummage through his belongings.
He steadfastly withstood my puzzled expression and handed me a rolled up document. Even at first glance, it didn’t look short.
Despite the silent question, Yuren simply answered as follows.
“Read it.”
I wonder what this is all of a sudden.
I sighed deeply, but since there was nothing I could do anyway, I gently unfolded the rolled up paper.
The first sentence written there was like this.
‘Lupine Lynella cried and shouted.’
Some time after that.
The expression on his face as he held the document began to become serious, and soon his eyes filled with a strange suspicion turned towards Yuren.
My old friend gave me a nice smile back.
“That’s right.”
As if he had been waiting.
“It’s happening outside… While you’re irresponsibly stuck in this corner of unconsciousness.”
That was the truth, I didn’t want to know.