696 – 8. Will (70)
Yuren’s Auror.
It gradually erodes and dulls the part it touches. In the past, my entire body had turned gray and frozen to the point where I couldn’t even move.
It was a fatal injury in a game where even a split second could determine victory or defeat.
But I had no intention of being treated gently.
I immediately responded with a hatchet. Yuren, who rushed straight at me and was aiming for her follow-up hit, had to meet her hatchet, which was fired in a silvery path.
This is your opportunity.
Magic power flows unobstructed through the bloodstream. Strangely enough, my auror had the opposite power of Yuren.
If Yuren slows down movement, my auror accelerates my time. Even if you just look at it, there was no way my Auror, who had reached High Expert, was worse than Yuren.
In other words, this match is completely in my favor.
I was thinking that when I got up.
“Not yet!”
The sword of a fox with a fierce smile passes over my shoulder, drawing a line of blood.
My embarrassed gaze turned to my body. The thighs, which had already turned gray, did not listen properly, and the resulting loss of balance seemed to have been the reason for allowing the blow.
But why?
I also would have raised my auror.
While I was unable to properly respond to something I had experienced for the first time in my life, Yuren’s gray sword strikes fell like a torrential rain.
“Not yet, Ian! Don’t you know?! Aurors are the embodiment of imagery! “You’re not even sure who you are, so how can you become a proper Auror?!”
“Well, what…” Pfft!”
It was difficult to continue the attack and defense after losing a thigh.
This was on a hill, and if things continued like this, it was obvious that Yuren would be the one to take the high ground. It goes without saying that if that happens, the war situation will get even worse.
But I had no choice.
The shoulder that was injured just now was also turning gray.
I seemed to lean back, but then I completely broke my posture and rolled down the hill. Since I had lost one shoulder, it was difficult for me to hold the sword with both arms.
Then there is only one number left for me.
The sword held out with only one arm drew a clean straight line. The sensation of something touching the uvula.
It was Yuren’s sword. He lowered his posture and charged at me like an animal preparing to hunt, so even though I crouched down and threw my sword out, the tip of my sword was also touching Yuren’s uvula.
A deadlock situation where even a retreat is impossible.
The fox laughed, showing his fangs. It was a disgustingly raw smile.
“You want to say no?! However, no matter how I look at you, you are not the ‘Ian’ I knew… ….”
“Wow, that sound…” … !”
“Then what is that ‘promise’?”
I deliberately responded with a confident attitude, but I had no hesitation in Yuren’s retort.
‘Promise’.
From Noble mtl dot com
The sound of heavy breathing is heavy. The sound of my heartbeat was so loud that it made my brain vibrate.
When I thought about it, it was like that.
In the story in the scroll, Lupine said that I ‘promised’. I don’t know how many ‘promises’ he made.
I couldn’t think of anything. My memory was blurry. Maybe, I didn’t know that gray lesions also affect thinking.
It seems like it was an important promise.
“Medicine, inside…… ?”
“Yes, promise!”
Yuren’s drawn eyes burn like flames. Before I knew it, Yuren felt like a painting made of colors and lines rather than a specific shape.
“If you don’t even remember that, how can you be sure it’s you? You are just like that guy now… “You are now!”
Fox Mine unexpectedly leans forward.
“It’s just like me!”
It was a bold judgment of the situation, even though the tip of her knife was touching her uvula. It was comforting to know that in the process, his posture became disturbed, and the tip of the knife that touched my uvula naturally became slightly twisted.
I took advantage of that opportunity and attempted to slash the sword with my sword. However, it was not possible to exert proper strength in a sitting position, and it was Yuren who took the bolder step.
He went beyond just striking my sword and chose to throw away his sword as well. Due to the force exceeding my expectations, I lost my grip on the sword, and Yuren and I began spinning in the air.
It was obvious after that.
Bare hand batting.
Immediately after letting go of the sword, my good foot hit Yuren in the chest. Yuren had no choice but to stagger back a couple of steps due to the kick he made while putting his hands on the ground.
But is it because the gray lesions were neglected too much?
Because his body became heavy, he was unable to improve his posture. Above all, the beast had one great weapon left that humans did not have.
Fangs.
The beast moved quickly to attack me. As someone who lost his arms and legs one by one, it was difficult for me to immediately respond to his physical strength.
Then sharp teeth shine through the gaping maw.
Yuren’s eyes draw a smirking curve.
“As expected, I can’t leave my sister to you.”
Suddenly, I recalled the memory of the day I fought Yuren.
In the first battle, I was defeated by Yuren. In fact, even if I hadn’t given up my back, if he had become a demon and fought, it would probably have ended in my defeat.
But in the second battle, didn’t I win against Yuren?
Why on earth?
Some connection was lacking. Why was I able to run forward without hesitation even though it was a battle that I might lose, or rather would inevitably lose?
It was difficult to understand my past self. What Yuren said might be right.
Because I was no longer the person I was back then.
It’s just a ‘promise’.
There was a scene that suddenly flashed through my mind.
The memory of a man covered in wounds who stumbles and wakes up after dying hundreds and thousands of times.
The saint was standing in front of him.
‘I, am…’ ….’
What did I say at that time?
It seemed like a very important promise. That’s why he forced himself to stand up even though it was so painful and difficult.
‘I won’t run away.’
That’s right.
Forgotten memories washed over me like waves. Burns that fill my brain deep like swells crashing into a cape.
My hand unconsciously groped the side. Then something catches hold of me.
But Yuren’s fangs were already on the verge of biting my neck.
It was right then.
Fire strikes from the sky.
Kuhuhuhung!
It was literally ‘fire’ and ‘lightning’. Before he knew it, a flash of fire and lightning mixed together from a geometric figure floating in the air struck Yuren. At the same time as being burned and electrocuted, Yuren’s spine arched and his snout rose into the sky.
I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.
Shut up.
The unidentified stick held in my hand pierced Yuren’s eyeball. Even if he was a demon, it seemed like he couldn’t bear this much pain.
Yuren screamed as he clutched his eyes, and while he was rolling around, I crawled around and grabbed the hatchet that had fallen to the ground.
Park!
Blood and brain fluid splattered around the ax blade stuck in the fox’s skull. Only then was I able to get up shakily, panting.
Yuren’s body was trembling. It must be the final convulsion.
I dragged my injured leg and approached the fox Mine. As I grabbed the handle to pull out the hatchet, my old friend’s hand grabbed my arm.
Of course, I couldn’t do anything more than that. It was probably the last struggle.
I decided to listen to his will, which would be his second.
“Hey, Ian… “Why was I born like this?”
Silence.
It is said that in the Holy Kingdom, if there is no priest who cannot administer the Anointing to the sick, silence is maintained.
So that people who are about to die can shake off their last regrets.
As an undertaker for an old friend, I also planned to keep that tradition.
“If only I had more talent… Or, if you were a little luckier… hehehe, huh? Then, would you have been able to remain by your side?”
The silence continues.
The light was slowly fading from Yuren’s sunken eyes.
“Why, the Heavenly God made me… You were born like this…….”
My breathing slows down. It doesn’t get rough, just quietly.
“I, am…” Oh, in prison… I guess I’ll go… …..”
That was the final request.
“Who, you…” Well, boo… widely… ….”
The fox’s breathing completely stopped, and only then did I pull out the hatchet covered in blood and brain marrow.
And then, shaking off the ax blade, I said the words I had been holding in.
“Your sister was awesome.”
It was something I couldn’t bear to say to Yuren. In fact, this may be an expression that is rude even to a saint.
But since he was the one who hit me twice in the back of the head, even the saint would understand this much.
I stood up, shaking off the muddy clothes. The glow of sunset painted the entire landscape with shadows.
And there is a new figure on the hill.
The small body and conical hats of sizes that do not fit the body come into view one after another.
The girl was sitting cross-legged, resting her chin and looking down at me. Even the leisureliness of an elder could be sensed in that bored demeanor, where he even yawned and said, “Haaam.”
I couldn’t see it clearly because of the shadows. However, those sapphire-like eyes did not lose their shine in the ink painting of twilight.
I was quickly able to guess the identity of that girl.
Elsie senior.
To be more precise, she was ‘Senior Elsie’ from the future.
“Why did you help me?”
There was no formal greeting. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, but this was the extent of our relationship.
The girl also knew that fact better than anyone else. Hmm, I see her snort and turn her head innocently.
“Because you have some money…” How did you help me? And again, um… ….”
She scratched her chin and frowned, but then ‘Senior Elsie’ made a point and she burst into laughter.
“We, the West, are a bit foolish, so I wanted you to help us.”
“Me?”
“Okay, now… “That magic stick in her eye.”
My eyes naturally turned to the back. There, the dead body of Yuren, bleeding from one of her eyes, was lying scattered about.
The stick that pierced Yuren’s eyeball at the last moment.
I lowered my posture as if possessed and pulled out the stick. The squishy feeling was really unpleasant, but it didn’t matter.
As soon as I saw the pitch black bar absorbing all the surrounding light.
At last, yes.
Because I finally realized what the ‘promise’ I had forgotten was.
The girl’s shadow glances at me. On the side of the hill’s shadow, a crack in the air that has suddenly swirled and broken.
“Take that and go. “It will help.”
I held the stick and remained silent for a long time.
In the end, he just nodded and walked quietly. I have a hunch that this is probably our last meeting.
The moment I stepped into the crack.
“…… Hey.”
In a landscape that turned pure white, a low whisper tickled my eardrums. I hurriedly turned around, and there, like an afterimage, was the image of senior Elsie with the corners of her mouth twisted.
“Cheer up. “Don’t be like us in the West.”
It was a short goodbye.
My eyes, which had been silent for a while, suddenly focused on the pitch black bar. And by the time I took a step again.
The pure white light cleared like fog, and the scenery beyond greeted me.
A fallen middle-aged wizard.
The blood vessels were bruised and bruised all over the place due to the shock of the heart bursting. Just by looking at the man gasping for breath, it was clear that this man did not have much life left.
I knew this person’s name.
“Mr. Reynolds.”
Reynold Lynella.
I had to listen to his will.