The charge began, and before long, dozens of light bullets had gathered in the sky.
And a rain of stars fell down.
Shattering, breaking, bursting with blood and water.
The orbs of magical power striking that body could not have been painless. With the rampage over, the mage must have been experiencing pain greater than he had ever endured.
Even so, the rush of the Sulpyo showed no signs of stopping.
I held my breath, waiting for the moment when Sulpyo would crash into me like a battering ram.
And just before that full-throttle sprint intersected with me.
My body spun, as if standing on a frictionless sheet of ice.
Riding the trajectory of Sulpyo’s charge, my body instinctively targeted the rear.
A skill I had learned from Guildford, the same one that had killed him.
Vision Cycle, Diffraction.
That was the end.
My sword plunged through Sulpyo’s neck with a thud.
It was then that the seemingly unstoppable rush of Sulpyo came to a halt. Perhaps he sensed death approaching and intended to stop here.
His gasping breaths scattered in pure white.
With a voice boiling with blood, Sulpyo burst into laughter.
“Cough, ha… ha! Great job… providing such a splendid and overstepping end, so I suppose I’ll give you some bread.”
I glared at the mage with a puzzled expression.
With bloodshot eyes, he smiled from ear to ear while looking over his shoulder.
It was not a truly grateful expression.
Rather, it was one filled with joy at being able to deliver the final blow to humanity, whom he utterly despised.
He opened his mouth, and there was a hideous eye positioned there. The device that activated terrifying magic at the cost of his own life, that “blessing.”
A crackling, semi-transparent circle spread outward.
The mage could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
“What is my wish, do you think?”
Damn it, I muttered curses internally as I quickly drew my sword. After all, the mage was already a dead man at this point.
I tried to get out of the dome surrounding me as quickly as possible.
“Cough, ugh…!”
If I hadn’t heard that muffled groan.
My eyes hurriedly turned to the source. There, still bound by shadows on the ground, was Neoris, my senior.
The hemispherical circle gradually darkened in color.
The moment its brightness hit the floor, this magic would be complete.
I hurriedly dashed toward Neoris. In the process, I found the hand axe I had dropped and struck down at the shadows like a madman.
Clang, clang, clang!
Flames erupted as if hitting metal. Seeing this, Sulpyo let out a manic laugh.
“Ugh, ugh!”
Neoris seemed to have noticed something was off about the situation.
Fortunately, after hitting down multiple times, I had managed to break some of the shadows. It was a relief that I could destroy them with aura.
First, I aimed for the neck.
“Hmph, ugh? Ugh?!”
Next were the shoulder and waist, leaving only the mouth and ankles.
Neoris’s condition was a mess.
The pressure must have been beyond imagination; her arms and legs were already broken. If I had let it go a little longer, her ribs might have been shattered as well.
Her choice to protect only the vital organs with magic was the right one.
Just after I managed to shatter the last remaining shadow.
The hemispherical dome was already incredibly dark. I picked up Neoris and sprinted at full power, but time was far too short.
With each step, the surroundings darkened further.
Each step I took made even the faintest rays of light penetrating the barrier disappear. No matter how hard I tried to run, escape seemed impossible.
Then there was only one answer.
I prepared to throw Neoris. The one taken aback was her.
“W-what are you doing, I-an?!”
“Shall we both die, then?”
I was already in a hurry. A blunt tone escaped my mouth.
Neoris floundered, unable to respond.
It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to listen to Neoris’s opinion anyway.
I threw her out of the hemisphere with all my strength.
At the same time, I dashed again with all my might, but the result was as expected.
Just as Neoris’s body slipped out barely.
My body crashed against the barrier with a thud, and I gritted my teeth, striking the barrier with the hand axe again, but it didn’t budge.
“…It’s useless.”
My fierce gaze turned toward Sulpyo.
He lay there, relying on faint breaths for life.
Overcome with emotion, I stepped toward him.
“This barrier prevents anyone from leaving internally. You’ve seen how powerful it is, haven’t you?”
“What have you done…!”
Even in the face of my growl, the mage only smiled faintly.
In a hazy voice, he said, “I can feel it… The figures of those sensing the anomaly and rushing to save you. How many of them will I take as companions?”
Those words jolted me back to reality.
Now that I thought about it, I could sense those approaching this way. Among them were some familiar presences.
This barrier blocks anyone from leaving internally.
In other words, it means it doesn’t prevent those from entering externally.
An involuntary cry escaped my lips.
“Don’t come in!”
The presences outside the barrier flinched and stood still.
What if I said that I might die like this?
The faces of the women who would rush in without question floated before me. So, I had no choice but to mumble a crude excuse.
“I still have things to do… so don’t worry and wait.”
“Cough, cough….”
The mage burst into laughter at my feeble excuse.
It was a reaction far more amusing than expected.
“Quite entertaining. We were the same… Supporting each other, sacrificing each other, living with the mindset of tearing our own flesh. How does it feel to choose your own sacrifice?”
“It feels like absolute hell.”
The mage’s laughter grew darker.
The barrier was beginning to tremble more and more. It was clear the end was approaching.
I had already slumped down, resigned to whatever would happen. I yelled a few more times, fearful of my companions outside breaking in.
The mage murmured, almost as if it were his last words.
“Looking back now, we didn’t want to accept that blessing either.”
“…Then you don’t have to receive it, right?”
“It’s even harsher than that. Honestly, I didn’t want to die… I was just scared of living longer. I couldn’t leave this cruel fate to my kin.”
I nearly scoffed but held it back.
After all, I was on the brink of death.
Listening to the laments of someone about to die wasn’t difficult. It was a ridiculous sight, but I decided to go along with his last words.
“Then will it improve the lives of the remaining kin?”
“I’m not sure. But we have nowhere left to fall. As such, in a fit of rage, we flowed ineffectually to this place….”
I let out a deep sigh.
From the mage’s voice, I could sense thin regret. Come to think of it, Benedetta was the same way.
Gathered together, and gathered together.
I didn’t truly understand what that expression meant.
“How are the elves these days? I heard socializing is spreading.”
“Socializing, is it?”
The mage swallowed hard.
“That might be possible. However, we had no choice….”
“Even now?”
“Now it’s even more so.”
The sound of his gasping breaths hinted that the mage was nearing his end.
The faint tremor of the barrier was increasing. Though outside was chaotic, this magic was about to be cast first.
With one last cry, the mage shouted.
“Oh, poor young kin of mine! Being forced to swallow such hideous flesh, how torturous it is…!”
To worry about only his kin until the very end.
Yet he had hurled my kin at me. I attempted to scoff but felt an anomaly before I could.
Someone was rushing inside the barrier.
I was startled and quickly raised my voice again.
“Stop! Don’t come in! I’ve told you so many times…!”
However, the person who broke through the barrier was so unexpected that I was left speechless.
A small-framed elf girl.
Abiyang.
She called out in a frantic tone.
“W-where are my young kin?! Then, did my younger sibling have to swallow this damned flesh too?!”
With bloodshot eyes, Abiyang was no longer in her right mind.
Now that I thought about it, I recalled hearing during the last inquiry.
Abiyang had said she wanted to protect her younger sibling from socializing. So she had been hiding in human society, sending funding.
Of course, the voice of the young elf was too frail to stimulate the eardrums of a dying mage.
His gaze clouded, and he left me with his final words.
“Thank you for listening to my lament, young human… In return, I will let you know my wish.”
The vibration of the barrier intensified.
The ground cracked and shattered, with fragments flying upwards into the sky. My body was also rising, defying gravity.
It seemed Abiyang finally regained her senses, looking around in panic.
But it was already too late.
There was a sound of late knocking on the barrier from outside, but the magic had already been completed.
My senses were being systematically shut down.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.
My body was now left alone in complete darkness. The only thing left in my impression was the dying elf’s last words.
“I wish to return to the embrace of my kin. Right now.”
Soon, my consciousness faded into pure white.
