A sudden ambush caused blood to trickle from my mouth. Staggering and retreating, I couldn’t bring myself to let out a groan.
The pain exceeded all limits, making my muscles stiffen in terror.
That was the fatal mistake.
Celina’s body, which had lost consciousness, creaked as it began to move. A leg that kicked my abdomen immediately wrapped around my neck.
And then, with a thud, my body flipped in the void and I fell headfirst.
My mind was spinning. Between my fleeting consciousness, I confirmed a faint blood-colored thread penetrating Celina’s body.
“Oh, damn…!”
Just when I was about to say I was glad Senior Elsi was here.
“I told you! There’s no god!”
A crazed, soaked voice erupted.
“Urgh, Aaaah!”
Senior Elsi suddenly screamed and collapsed. Blood trickled from the collar around her neck, sizzling as it flowed.
I couldn’t even use my axe to strike my neck; I simply severed the tether.
To make matters worse, it seemed Mr. Reynolds also reached his limit.
“Guh!”
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Mr. Reynolds fell to his knees.
His eyes had already dulled. It seemed he couldn’t withstand the backlash of magical power.
I had to move my body.
My vision was blurred too. Celina’s strength was enhanced beyond imagination due to being controlled.
Once subdued, escaping was impossible.
Who would have thought I would meet my end between the thighs of my childhood friend?
It was absurd and ridiculous.
Her thighs tightened around my neck, and I squirmed, releasing moans.
The shock from the blows had already tossed my sword and axe far away.
“M-Master… Aaaaaah!”
Senior Elsi somehow reached out her hand, but it was impossible to chant spells while being shocked.
In this sealed room, the only beings standing on two feet were the girl and me.
The girl laughed loudly, looking at the moaning figures sprawled out.
“Hahaha… Phew, kuk! I told you, right? It’s all useless… I’ll make you despair!”
With light steps, the girl began to walk.
Not towards me, but towards Mr. Reynolds, who knelt and collapsed.
The flame burning in the middle-aged man’s blue eyes was fading. He too seemed to have suffered significant blows.
“Being an old man… Did you think you were something?! Just because you’re an archmage… Huh?”
As the girl spat out her anger, her head suddenly tilted.
Though I couldn’t see her face clearly as she turned away from me, she seemed to have made a new discovery.
I wondered how many times her head tilted again.
Before long, the girl burst into laughter.
“Ah, haha! Aha, I see! Yes, yes… We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
The middle-aged man’s puzzled gaze turned towards the girl.
The girl now leaned forward, clapping her hands. Though her face was hidden, it was obvious.
She must have been beaming with a smile, her eyes shining.
In a mischievous manner.
“When was it? A few years ago? It must have been in the Holy Kingdom. It was the first mission I received.”
What was she talking about? Mr. Reynolds looked like he wanted to ask.
The girl trembled with joy, unable to contain herself.
“You saw me back then! I was still a child!”
At that, Mr. Reynolds’s expression became instantly bewildered.
His wide-open eyes began to scrutinize the girl’s features.
“Since I made your memory vague on purpose, it can’t be helped if you don’t recognize me? But how did you manage to find me… You ran away, didn’t you? After losing your lover and all your companions.”
Peering around, as if trying to find the reason, the girl’s gaze eventually landed somewhere.
At the end of it was Liya, who was sitting and moaning.
“……Ah.”
The girl’s expression brightened as if she had realized something, and she smiled sweetly.
Like a friendly shopkeeper welcoming a precious guest.
“You saw a fake that looks like me, and your memories resurfaced? If I had known you were such a valuable customer, I would have taken better care of you from the start…”
“……Y-You.”
Spitting out another mouthful of blood, Mr. Reynolds stammered out his question.
“You… are that girl…?”
“Yes, that’s right. Customer… Since my first customer is asking, I have no choice but to answer honestly!”
Lightly, the girl crossed her legs and respectfully bowed.
“Let me introduce myself once again… My name is ‘Greed’! I’m a merchant who profits off the fates of the unfortunate.”
“Then, what about my companions…?”
“Yes, are you asking if I killed them?”
With a twirl, the girl spun in place as if dancing.
“Of course! Or rather, if you think about it, it’s your fault too… If you had been stronger, it wouldn’t have happened, right?”
A sinister chuckle followed.
“Because that’s what you wanted, I granted you power… An item capable of opening the door to the truth.”
The girl’s face slightly twisted. Mr. Reynolds’s gaze naturally followed it.
In her hand was a jet-black staff.
It had always felt out of the ordinary.
“It amplifies the wielder’s magic and has the ability to forcibly guide one beyond the ‘boundary’ to the ends of truth. Even without side effects! How precious an item could it be… What must have been sacrificed as a price?”
As if unable to contain her excitement, the girl rubbed her palms together, and the sound of her licking her lips reached my ears.
“……Your lover.”
Silence descended upon the chamber.
In an instant, it seemed to have turned into a massive communal grave. I held my breath, and even Senior Elsi, who was suffering from electric shocks, cast a gaze full of shock.
Mr. Reynolds stared blankly.
“It’s the last gift she gave you. Of course, there were some minor prices involved… Pwoo, hahaha!”
Holding her stomach and laughing, the girl waved one hand dismissively.
She appeared to be thoroughly delighted.
“Customer, I’ll let you live, especially for you are a precious customer to me… From now on, don’t recklessly throw away the life you’ve barely saved. Well then, I’m off!”
With a cheerful farewell, the girl raised one arm.
Then, turning her back, she started walking toward us.
My vision was narrowing.
I was gasping for breath. My already hazy mind was becoming more muddled.
Is this the end?
I instinctively realized.
That any further struggles would be in vain.
Indeed, was that the truth?
There is no god. There is no salvation.
The miracles I wielded were only at the expense of someone’s blood.
A self-deprecating laugh escaped my lips.
How could you have won?
Through my fading consciousness, I seemed to catch a glimpse of a man’s back.
It was a lonely and desolate path.
Yet he walked it wordlessly. In the past, I used to think his back was far away, but before long, I realized.
How lonely the man’s shoulders were.
Perhaps, it would be better to just leave everything behind.
A weak yet rational judgment brushed through my mind. I wanted to reach out and grasp the man’s feet.
Yes, just a little longer like this.
Just then.
Swish, thud.
A sound that shouldn’t have been heard came from somewhere. My startled vision instantly cleared up.
The world was engulfed in silence.
Even the sound of the girl’s footsteps was gone. Those golden eyes were merely staring blankly behind her.
Swish, thud.
The pitch-black staff spun in the air before falling.
A man was staggering as he rose to his feet.
The girl sighed, placing her hand on her forehead.
“Really, how foolish… I tried so hard to save you.”
Swish, thud.
Regardless, the man stood firmly on his two feet.
Blood trickled down from his tightly closed lips. The dimness in his eyes indicated he too had reached his limit.
Tsk, the girl clicked her tongue and faced the man again.
“Isn’t despair still lacking?”
Swish, thud.
No reply came.
“Isn’t defeat still lacking?”
Swish, thud.
The girl welcomed the lack of response with open arms.
“In that case, I’m more than happy… to grant you as much as you want.”
The blood-red whip danced and traced a trajectory in the empty void.
The force of the whip, which emerged like a flame, was still fierce. Even the concentration of magical power was suffocating.
He should know its power well.
Yet the man continued to walk.
Though he staggered with each step.
Swish, thud.
The blue eyes were blazing fiercely.
And just as the man closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath.
The Archmage returned.
The wheels of thunder that rose behind him began to spin violently. They were faster than anything I had ever seen before. The crackling sounds disrupted both vision and hearing as the electricity wildly surged.
Even so, the girl wore a relaxed expression.
“Ah, the eyes filled with rage… How beautiful would they become when colored with despair, if they were to break?”
I watched Mr. Reynolds, spellbound.
I couldn’t understand why he was moving. There was no way to aim for victory here, no matter what.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to escape and plan for another day?
I wanted to ask right away.
Yet, the question that actually slipped from the middle-aged man’s lips wasn’t directed at me, but the girl.
“……I.”
Gasping, he uttered his fragmented question.
