The death of the traitor was surprisingly hollow.
Even though Yulen’s blood drenched my entire body, I was not in my right mind. My blurred vision flickered along my eyelids, and before long, my body was rolling on the ground.
I was breathless. I felt as if I might lose consciousness at any moment.
It was due to losing too much blood.
But I still had things to do.
While groaning heavily, I staggered forward, rising unsteadily. The hand axe I held in my hand glimmered with silver light.
Only then did I become certain.
My aura had grown stronger. It had shown signs for a while, but I didn’t realize it had finally bloomed.
It felt like I had returned from swimming through the stars.
When I opened my eyes again and faced Yulen, my world began to decelerate. Eventually, even the scattering flames and blood seemed to stop moving.
And amidst that time, my senses became clearer.
The instinct to kill and intuition vibrated painfully in my brain. In my vision, countless virtual trajectories and threads of space emerged, exposing their forms defenselessly.
I could not yet discern the detailed effects.
However, I could overcome Yulen’s aura entirely thanks to the blooming. Although I considered trying to remove the gray lesions through ‘Release,’ the rate at which the lesions spread was faster.
A slowing body meant that the aura was also slowing.
What if the aura hadn’t bloomed at the end?
Thus, I wandered through the drifting thoughts. Suddenly, the woman I had glimpsed in my memories came to mind.
She was a strong figure. Despite having rolled endlessly through the mud, she still shone and remained unbroken.
Perhaps that was why I was still standing.
As I retraced my memories, the path had surprisingly reached its destination.
My trembling hand brushed my cheek. It was only then that I regained my senses abruptly.
My vision cleared. I noticed the face of the woman who was crying profusely.
The pale pink hue spread and shimmered. The beautiful woman with silver hair had long since soaked her eyes with tears.
Coughing quietly.
A voice that seemed to hold back tears followed.
“Why, why did you do this…?”
Instead of answering, I gazed blankly at the Saint.
Was it because my consciousness was hazy that I couldn’t understand the Saint’s question? So, I decided to do what I had to do first.
With a clang, the restraining device was broken along with the flames.
Fortunately, the spell of ‘Release’ was also effective against the chains that bound the Saint.
First, one of the restraints binding my limbs was now down to three.
Regardless, the Saint merely stroked my blood-soaked cheek with a sorrowful look. Below her drooping head, a few drops of tears fell like jewels.
The sob lodged in her throat became more intense.
“It hurts, huh… I almost died…”
With a clang, another burst of flames erupted.
After confirming yet another restraining device was released, my dazed gaze turned to the weeping Saint.
Why did she ask that?
The answer was obvious. Because even though it hurt and was difficult, I still wanted to save the Saint.
Did I really have to put this into words?
It was perplexing. So I decided to withhold my answer for now. I also thought that freeing the Saint was more urgent.
With a clang, the chains came loose. Once I released the last remaining restraint, the Saint would be free.
“If only I had done a little better… Sniff… if only I hadn’t hesitated…”
In the Saint’s hands was a blood-colored bead, filled with self-reproach.
Only then did I understand why the Saint felt so guilty towards me.
She seemed to think that my near-death state was due to her hesitation.
In addition, the pain of being betrayed by someone she considered family.
Not to mention the fact that that person had turned me into this.
There was nothing that didn’t torment the Saint’s heart.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I was too incompetent…”
“Lady Virgin Saint.”
With a clang, as I released the final restraint, I uttered in a low voice.
My hands gently rested on the Saint’s shoulders. Startled, her pale pink eyes turned towards me once more.
The moisture in her pupils took on an even prettier hue. It looked like a beautifully crafted jewel.
“Don’t regret it.”
“…What?”
I didn’t even know what I was saying; I just blurted out the thoughts that came to my mind.
“There are things you must protect, even if it hurts and is difficult. Don’t blame yourself or be sad alone later.”
The woman who appeared in my recollection must have felt the same way.
She suffered from guilt all her life and wandered through the mire of despair on a battlefield where countless lives were lost.
I genuinely hoped such scars would not be etched into the Saint’s heart.
“I will definitely make it so…”
“Why?”
It was a response soaked in tears.
I had to close my mouth for a moment and meet the Saint’s gaze. Rarely did she show such an emotional response.
She was crying. The face of the woman steeped in despair and betrayal was so tragic that even the expression fell short of describing it.
“I’m not that great… I’ve lived by discarding my name and being the ‘Saint’… But it was all a lie! I achieved not a single thing…!”
“Because it’s you.”
Once again, an answer devoid of logic and thought slipped out.
The Saint’s face went blank again.
“Because it’s you, I believe.”
That was the end.
My body, barely holding itself together, swayed and crumbled down. My clear mind followed suit.
With a thud, my vision flickered.
“Lian… Lian?! Stay conscious!”
It was hitting my limit.
My eyelids slowly closed, and my consciousness sank into the abyss.
With a pop, like a spark, consciousness returned.
I stood in a familiar plain. It was a battlefield covered in dried blood and countless corpses.
I had a memory of seeing this scenery not long ago.
My eyes vacantly scanned my surroundings. It was truly a sea of corpses. I was astonished that there was not a single trace of life on this vast land.
It was the trajectory of some man who had walked through.
And soon, this world would likely become his life.
As my gaze drifted blankly around, it became fixed as if nailed to a certain spot.
It was a corpse. The man whom I couldn’t even see the face of the last time I saw him.
Or should I say, the woman.
It was Yulen.
With my eyes closed, I examined the fallen beautiful jawline of the woman in detail. Now that I thought about it, I felt like Yulen had this same look when I defeated her.
The cause of death was probably a piercing wound. The hollow hole near her heart proved the moment of death.
As I stared blankly at Yulen’s corpse, a dry voice seeped from behind me.
“…It’s finally over.”
My gaze naturally turned towards the source. There was a man sitting on a rock.
He was nonchalantly tying the knot on the scabbard, as if he were a general preparing for departure.
“It took longer than expected. ‘Greed’ had set many traps.”
“Did you know?”
His response was even imbued with a gentle heat.
The man looked at me as if to say what I meant.
I had to grit my teeth under his emotionless gaze.
“That Yulen is a traitor.”
“I knew. I killed her.”
My fists instinctively clenched at the response.
Despite my fierce gaze, the man only wore a blank expression. His eyes glanced at the corpse in front of me.
“Yulen had attempted to betray the Saint at the beginning of the war with the Dark Cult. After barely escaping, she was branded as a heretic by the Saint.”
“And then?”
“She blocked my way when I went to save the Saint in the final battle.”
There was a lonely glint in the man’s eyes as he spoke.
An emotion like ash that had burned out.
“So I killed her… ultimately, it was too late.”
“Couldn’t you have at least given me a hint?”
With my voice softly heated, the man replied indifferently.
“I always feel this way, but you ask for too much, kid.”
“If that were the case, Reynolds wouldn’t have died… No, the number of sacrificed orphans would have been much…!”
“Could you have withstood it without bloodshed?”
It was a cold retort. The absence of any emotion made the counter-argument knife-sharp.
It felt like something was surging up my throat. But the words I wanted to say did not come out.
I couldn’t rebut.
As if he expected it, the man’s empty gaze looked into the empty void.
“Moreover, Yulen’s betrayal is a significant event that will impact the future. I couldn’t recklessly reveal or let on… Don’t be too sad.”
An unexpectedly comforting piece of advice followed.
I could hardly believe that, narrowing my brows slightly as I looked at the man.
His face looked as fatigued as always.
“It’s something you will experience countless times moving forward. Losing, parting, being betrayed… You need to dull your senses.”
“…How?”
My question was justifiable.
Even now, my hands trembled. It was hard to bear the fact that my life was tied to the sacrifice of orphans, and the reality that Yulen was a traitor whom I had personally slain.
But to dull my senses?
How could a human do such a thing?
Before I could even utter that complex feeling in a cry, he said:
“Let me give you one piece of advice.”
Quietly, the man stood on the ground.
The more I looked at him, his gaze became increasingly unreadable. His golden eyes, battered and worn, were burning fiercely even without any light to reflect.
What path must one walk to have such weary eyes?
As I hesitated for a moment, the man spoke earnestly.
“Don’t be stubborn. Sometimes you need to know how to let go. Otherwise…”
He walked past me, his footsteps soft.
His hand brushed against my shoulder a couple of times before he departed.
“You will suffer greatly. Very much.”
Before I could even ask what he meant.
I felt a force pulling at my body. It felt like water in a bottle slipping through the neck.
The last time I saw the man from behind, he looked like he was in immense pain.
Suddenly, my eyelids were forcefully pulled open.
The sound of my ragged breath filled my ears. I scanned my surroundings with a panicked look.
It was an unfamiliar bed. The clean, pure white sheets hinted that this place was being hygienically maintained.
But my attention was drawn elsewhere.
Where was the Saint?
The incident was not yet over. The contents of the letter were just the beginning.
My anxious gaze scanned the room, but I could not see the Saint. I almost stood up, still wrapped in bandages, in my growing anxiety.
If only the door hadn’t quietly opened.
Beyond it, I saw the round, surprised pale pink eyes.
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.
“…Lady Virgin Saint.”
Perhaps I still had a chance left.
