Elsi Rainelle’s life was tragic.
It was so much that she hesitated to recount the wounds of her childhood. After all, wasn’t she once a girl who considered herself a guardian dog for her clan?
Now, for the first time in her life, Elsi defied the will of her clan.
It was just a short while ago.
The battlefield where she faced the retinue of the Evil Deity was smeared with blood and conflict.
Noise, screams, roars.
All were sounds she wished to not hear. The battle involving nearly a thousand soldiers and the Magic troops of the Rainelle Clan, along with the elite forces of each army, was equally intense.
The enemy was an immortal monster that could rise again even after being brought down.
No one could be without fear.
Humans have always feared the incomprehensible. The Corpse Giant, let alone, had an appearance that was grotesquely hideous.
Even the brave soldiers of the Yuridina Clan displayed signs of faltering.
Elsi was just as terrified.
It was an opponent that even the Lady Virgin Saint could not defeat despite holding a grand ritual. It would not be unreasonable to think that hope was lost.
Yet Elsi could not give up.
If she was going to die anyway, she was resolved to die here. As long as I-an’s life was still intact, Elsi would not retreat.
Rather, the problem lay with Raymond.
The Archmage of the Magic troops, who was binding the Corpse Giant, had Raymond as the core. If that were to forcibly break, it meant that the backlash would inevitably fall upon Raymond.
Seeing Raymond cough up blood, Elsi panicked and shouted.
“Uncle!”
“Cough… I’m fine, Elsi.”
Despite the sudden injury, Raymond remained calm.
He had undergone countless real battles until now.
Since becoming an Archmage, his crises had significantly decreased, but his experiences living as a mercenary, straddling the line of life and death, were not in vain.
He even scolded Elsi.
“Focus instead. We’re the only ones who can support Lord I-an.”
“But he is something that can cut off the Archmage’s binding spell…!”
“An opportunity will surely come.”
Raymond’s hand grasped Elsi’s shoulder firmly.
His blue eyes blazed like will-o’-the-wisps in the blizzard.
“……Isn’t it the fate you decided?”
Ultimately, Elsi bit her lips and circulated her mana through her blood veins.
In fact, she wasn’t in a position to worry about anyone else.
Due to the strain of her mana, Elsi’s blood veins had long been torn in various places. Intense pain was relayed from the images of her injuries.
As she circulated her mana, the pain only intensified.
The nerve endings screamed, and her eyes felt as though they were about to burst from the pressure of the blood pooling within.
There were many times she wanted to cry and fall apart.
However, Elsi could not do that, and ultimately, she stood in this place.
Raymond, seeing her, quietly advised her.
“You must prepare the decisive blow.”
“……I know.”
That was the role of a Mage.
However, Elsi could not be sure how much her magic would help.
She was facing an opponent that had even defeated the spell of a 6th Circle Archmage, empowered by the strength of a group.
It seemed there was not much she could do, being only of the 5th Circle.
She had to rely on I-an and merely hope for a fatal opening to appear.
Yes, men are always strong and do not fall.
Elsi had no choice but to trust him once again.
It was then that Raymond’s palm rested upon Elsi’s back.
As Elsi instinctively turned to look, Raymond thundered with a voice.
“Focus!”
Instinctively, Elsi stiffened her body and stretched her hand forward.
Geometric patterns began to draw themselves in front of her.
“I’ll guide your mana… it will be much easier. Or, if you wish, I can increase the output even more.”
But it would be more painful.
Before the addition could finish, Elsi immediately heightened her output without hesitation.
Crackle, a spark began to jump in the air.
Raymond swallowed a gulp of breath as he watched Elsi.
Love was indeed terrifying.
Once, he felt the same.
So Raymond decided not to hold back with advice for his niece.
“Concentrate your senses so you don’t miss even the slightest thing….”
Gasping, Elsi’s eyes widened.
The mana loop of her heart was spinning fiercely as it reached its limit.
As her senses grew sharper, the pain felt stronger.
Elsi forced down a cry that welled up within her.
Yet beyond that pain, there was something.
A faint light shimmered in Elsi’s blue eyes.
The mana spun and circulated throughout her body, eventually revealing itself to the outside.
She had overextended herself.
She felt a sensation as if one of her blood veins snapped back with a pop.
Unable to hold it any longer, Elsi screamed.
“Ahh, Aaaah!”
“Do you want to give up?”
Raymond asked provocatively.
“You can give up. Just stop forcing it, and if you follow the clan’s decision.”
With bloodshot eyes, Elsi bit her lip.
Of course, she absolutely did not want that.
The more so, time seemed to speed up.
Soon, she could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. Nevertheless, Elsi fixed her gaze on one point on the battlefield.
She could see something.
At the end of pain that stabbed like a knife into her spine, Elsi exhaled with a rough breath, her eyes wide open.
It was truly an unexpected scenery.
“……Can you see? That is the fragment of truth.”
Raymond spoke with a satisfied tone as if he knew it would be like that.
However, upon hearing those words, Elsi’s face only went blank.
Between her inhales and exhales, she wanted to slowly shake her head.
No.
This scenery was not some fragment of truth.
It was a memory of a girl.
Trees densely grew, stretching sideways. In the gentle sunlight, the girl held feelings of love and eventually formed a bond.
At the edge of that moving picture was a burning Great Forest.
“F-finally protected it….”
Sobbing, that heartfelt voice was uttered as she stroked the man’s cheek.
“……My precious person.”
It was clearly someone else’s memory.
Yet as the voice seeped into her ears, the loop of her heart began to spin more intensely.
Even Raymond was startled by the flow of overwhelming mana.
The Archmage spell “Current of Thunder” was thus completed.
The 6th Circle great spell held terrifying power even on its own.
Even the retinue of the Evil Deity, in a weakened state, could not resist it.
Everything felt unfamiliar.
Someone had plunged into battle, risking their life for another.
They had flayed their body to bring the insurmountable enemy to its knees.
At the end of that struggle, a great spell was achieved.
She had not yet reached the level of an Archmage.
But she could clearly see the beginning of that path.
If she walked and walked, she would reach that place someday.
Elsi was in a daze.
For the first time, she had achieved something without relying on her clan.
So Elsi was happy, and more than that, she felt relieved.
Now she could be embraced by I-an.
The clan’s intentions no longer mattered.
Whether they proceeded with the engagement or not, Elsi would stand beside I-an of her own will.
That unwavering fact brought her immense joy.
When I-an had collapsed, she almost crumbled.
Every night, she would silently cry or sit in a daze until she fainted.
She even prayed to a god she never believed in.
Lord, please heal our master, not that unfortunate girl… or the Lady Virgin Saint. If you do that, I will become a devout follower of the Heavenly Deity Sect.
Perhaps her efforts had borne fruit.
I-an eventually rose to his feet, and Elsi was lost in sweet dreams for a time.
Rather than live as the clan’s guardian dog, she would gladly become I-an’s pet.
That resolution still held strong, and Elsi had no doubt that hope would come true.
Until today, before she began a conversation with I-an.
There were things she wanted to say, but for a moment her mind went blank, and Elsi could say nothing.
She simply clenched her fist and stuttered a fragmented voice.
“Ah, uh, ah….”
“No, is it that shocking?”
Of course it was.
Hadn’t I-an boldly declared it previously?
That he would love her for the rest of his life.
Elsi firmly believed that promise, and thus she had left her clan behind.
So how could this happen?
She had fought risking even her life!
Elsi could not hold back the tears that blurred her vision.
It was truly the heart of an abandoned puppy.
Elsi’s shoulders slumped weakly.
At this point, even I-an could only be bewildered.
He hurriedly began to console Elsi.
“No, Senior Elsi… there’s still your social reputation.”
“Me? The master is more important than my social reputation!”
Her tone was ambiguous, torn between formality and informality.
I-an slapped his forehead, realizing how shameless that statement was.
Thinking about it, Elsi’s social reputation had long since plummeted.
Even if he tried to recover it now, it was far too late.
Still, I-an continued to persuade her.
“Moreover, there’s the reputation of the Rainelle Clan to consider….”
“I-I’ve abandoned the clan!”
Now, it was I-an’s turn to be shocked.
With a sob, that statement tumbled out, and he had to rub his eyes in disbelief.
“……What?”
“I said I abandoned the clan… for my master.”
What nonsense was that?
I-an’s eyes, fixed upon Elsi, reflected blatant confusion.
Regardless, Elsi merely hung her head with a sorrowful expression.
The girl’s mournful whisper continued.
“B-but how….”
Tears shimmered in her beautiful blue eyes.
It was undoubtedly a scene where I-an became the villain.
It had nothing to do with I-an’s intentions.
Simply, a girl had abandoned her clan for him, and now it was as if I-an had suddenly announced a breakup to that girl.
All he had done was say not to call him “master.”
Elsi trembled as if she had received the blow of a broken heart.
If left unchecked, she seemed ready to explode.
Ultimately, Elsi could not hold back any longer and raised her voice.
“Hey, you jerk! Do you know how much I’ve dedicated myself for you… huh?!”
Had it not been for I-an’s hand gently grooming the underside of her chin, she would have lost her composure.
