283th Chapter
“…”
Arundel stiffened his expression coldly.
The closer Ulte approached, the more the strange convulsions that started in his forearm spread throughout his body.
Though his body could still move, there was no avoiding a decline in power.
There was no way to suppress this phenomenon other than subduing Ulte and creating distance.
This was a curse tied to Genesis. In fact, calling it a curse was somewhat inappropriate.
“…”
Mother. The chains connected to the existence he once called that.
Arundel stared at Ulte with eyes filled with vivid hatred.
Ulte continued walking toward Arundel without hesitation.
The deep crimson hatred emanating from Arundel soon sharpened into an arrow-like form.
Ulte also attached an arrow made of light to Genesis.
Arundel and Ulte aimed their bows at each other and fired.
*
A flash of lightning illuminated above the sea, followed by a thunderous roar.
It was immediately clear that this wasn’t an ordinary disturbance.
The war had spread all the way to the Osiris Countdom.
Realizing this, Karen immediately scooped up Lea.
It was crucial not to hesitate.
They needed to run as fast as possible to a safe place.
They had to head to the Manor where many strong and trustworthy people gathered.
There, Jimy would be, along with the Knights. And if they were lucky, Ray might be there too.
Karen discarded her sword, which only hindered her movement, and began sprinting.
Meanwhile, the troops guarding the coastline rushed over after detecting the commotion.
They soon encountered a Knight wielding a violet sword standing on the shore.
Exuding an unpleasant aura, the soldiers quickly realized this was the dreaded Devil Worshipper they’d only heard about in stories.
Without delay, the soldiers launched an attack.
But they soon realized how misguided their decision had been.
Gack!
Knight Benedict, wielding the Command Blade, casually swung his sword, bisecting everything around him.
Ordinary people couldn’t even see Benedict swing his sword.
“Mu, retreat!!”
The soldiers hastily retreated upon realizing the insurmountable gap between them.
However, Benedict didn’t let the soldiers who had first raised weapons against him escape.
Screams of terror and pain echoed repeatedly, reaching Karen’s ears.
Karen kept running, feeling the salty sea breeze mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
“Huff, huff…!”
Her heart pounded as if it would burst.
Karen barely suppressed the urge to look back.
She also forcibly restrained Lea, who was trying to lift her head and peek.
Every moment spent hesitating was time wasted; she needed to run harder.
“Huff, sniff…!”
The anxiety gnawing at her chest kept disrupting her breathing.
Focusing on the warmth of Lea in her arms, Karen tried to steady her ragged breath.
She sprinted towards the Manor with everything she had, leaving the rest to fate.
It was selfish, but she hoped others would become the enemy’s target first, buying her some time.
But…
Something was off.
No matter how hard she ran, the screams and the smell of blood didn’t fade.
Despite her efforts, the sounds of terror and the stench remained as strong as ever behind her.
If anything, they seemed closer.
“Huh…!”
Overwhelmed by a suffocating fear, Karen retched and finally stopped in her tracks.
Forcing her rigid neck to turn, she looked behind her.
“…!”
In that instant, Karen took a startled step back.
Not far from her stood the Devil Worshipper with the violet sword.
The Devil Worshipper hadn’t moved closer or further away since she last glimpsed him near the shoreline.
And now, his gaze was fixed squarely on Karen and Lea.
Swish
The Devil Worshipper extended a finger toward Karen, who was backing away.
Thinking it was the precursor to an attack, Karen instinctively prepared to roll out of the way.
But it wasn’t an attack.
The Devil Worshipper simply flicked his fingers a few times toward Karen.
What did he want by flicking his fingers?
Karen instantly understood.
The Devil Worshipper wasn’t interested in her. He wanted Lea.
Perhaps… that was just what Karen wished for.
Karen didn’t want to die here, cut down by a sword while fleeing.
If she could survive by letting go of Lea, Karen wanted to live.
Karen didn’t want to die here like this.
“…”
Karen’s grip on Lea loosened.
Unaware of this change, Lea clung tighter to Karen.
Just a little more effort, and Karen could easily drop Lea.
Leave Lea behind and flee.
Return to the Manor and find Ray.
Afterward…
Could she be forgiven for today’s actions?
“Huff, huff…”
In the end, Karen, unable to let go of Lea, wept.
Perhaps this moment was Karen’s last chance and hope.
She wasn’t sure if abandoning Lea and fleeing would be the right choice.
But Karen, sobbing pitifully, tightened her grip again.
“Sob… Huff…!”
With renewed strength, Karen hugged Lea tightly and turned to run.
Lea, still unaware of the situation, closed her eyes and leaned on Karen.
However…
Karen’s body staggered not long into her dash.
After briefly losing speed due to her stumble, Karen managed to regain balance and continue running.
Lea, nestled in Karen’s arms, realized Karen was crying.
Seeing Karen cry made Lea feel sad and anxious too.
Lea wanted to tell Karen not to cry.
She wanted to encourage her sister to keep going.
As Lea shifted her body to speak, Karen stumbled again.
This time, Karen lost her balance completely and tumbled to the ground with Lea still in her arms.
Their bodies slid sideways and came to a stop when they hit a rock.
Lea felt the ground growing damp.
The pervasive iron smell surrounding them now emanated from Karen as well.
Startled, Lea fumbled to touch Karen’s face, but Karen pulled her closer and crawled on the ground.
With labored breathing, Karen dragged herself toward the nearby broken alleyway.
Her legs dragging painfully, Karen exhaled weakly.
She no longer had any strength left in her body.
“Aargh… Ugh…”
Trying to move her body further, Karen realized she couldn’t.
Twitching futilely in place, she managed to lift herself slightly by her waist and caressed Lea’s face.
Lea’s cheeks reddened from the bloodstained fingers of Karen.
Looking at Lea, Karen couldn’t contain her overwhelming emotions, gritting her teeth and distorting her face.
“Huff, huff…”
Her heart ached.
It pained her deeply that this was all she could do, that this was the path she had to choose.
Karen found it horrifying that this foolish ending was the best she could offer herself.
“Huh, waaah…”
She missed the past.
When Karen was young, she thought she was amazing.
She believed that when she grew up, she would naturally become someone worthy of Ray. Someone precious, special, and unique to Ray.
So Karen never hid her possessiveness toward Ray.
She marked her territory around Ray in childish ways and strutted proudly.
But as time passed…
Karen gradually realized she wasn’t as remarkable as she thought.
Each time she became aware of how inadequate she was to stand beside Ray, she grew increasingly passive.
Still, someday…
She hoped to stand by Ray’s side.
She anticipated that if, by some miracle, such a day arrived, she would finally express the feelings she had repressed.
But that was an impossible fantasy.
“Ahh, huff, snif…”
To Ray, Karen was nothing more than a remnant of old memories he couldn’t let go of.
Apart from their shared childhood memories, Karen was easily replaceable.
Karen hated acknowledging this reality.
For so long, she had deceived herself, believing she was the only one, special, and precious to Ray. But now, that lie had reached its limit.
“Lea…”
Upon close inspection…
Lea’s face bore subtle resemblances to Ray.
It was a symbol proving the unbreakable bond with Ray.
Ray’s true family.
The flesh and blood that Ray cherished most.
Someone different from Karen, truly special to Ray.
“Lea, stand up.”
Human nature doesn’t change.
Karen had always been driven by a strong sense of possession and exclusivity.
That’s why she wanted to be the only one, special to Ray.
If that was impossible, she at least wanted to be uniquely remembered by Ray.
Karen wanted to etch her existence into Ray’s memory in some way.
“Hurry up and run.”
Ray.
If I die for the sake of the child you cherish and love the most…
Will you remember and miss me even in the distant future?
I’m sure Lea will do that for me.
Karen decided to believe that.
“Go. Just go. Go to your older brother. Understand?”
“Uh, sister…”
“Hurry up and run. Hurry!”
Hesitant at first, Lea turned her back on Karen after hearing her shout.
And she began running while sobbing uncontrollably.
Watching Lea’s retreating figure, Karen, covered in blood, quietly wept and then patted her waist.
She had discarded her sword when she first fled.
Karen grabbed the nearest rock, roughly the size of her fist.
Footsteps approached.
Through her blurred vision from tears, Karen threw the rock in the direction of the sound.
The rock stopped short before Benedict’s feet.
Benedict calmly raised his sword.
Karen closed her eyes amidst the cold.
As Benedict swung his sword, its trajectory was blocked by a deep blue barrier.
Crack!!
A girl with silver eyes stood in front of Benedict.
Knowing he would be obstructed, Benedict stepped back, adjusted his stance, and delivered a full-force downward slash with his sword.
Benedict, known as the Kingdom’s Greatest Swordsman, possessed a brilliant talent worthy of the title.
His sword strike carried the history of countless struggles passed down and developed over time.
Long ago, sentient beings wielded blades to survive against foes they could scarcely oppose.
To overcome greater, stronger, and larger entities, they honed their blades.
Thus, the history of swords was a history of struggle and overcoming weakness.
Benedict’s inherited sword technique carried the power to cleave through even a tidal wave.
However, Luna showed no sign of wavering.
Even the perfected techniques honed over centuries…
Ultimately crumbled before overwhelming power.
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