The warm sensation that had been flowing through my entire body disappeared, and I looked down at the red-glowing necklace in my hand.
“…! Aria!”
I barely managed to support Aria as she stumbled and checked her condition.
It was hard to say that Aria was in good shape at a glance. I had poured all the remaining Divine Power into myself through Blessing, so it was strange that her condition hadn’t deteriorated further.
– Aria…
Esther also fell silent, gazing at Aria.
Because I had poured all my Divine Power to save myself from falling, she hadn’t recovered her injuries properly… After pouring all her remaining Divine Power into yet another Blessing in her still weakened state, she had now become no different from a walking corpse.
Krahhhh!
“Keugh…!”
How could something that had only bones left still roar?
No, it felt as if it was attacking me mentally.
– Evan, you should be thankful to Aria and me. Thanks to my mental barrier and Aria’s Blessing, we’re still standing here in front of that wyvern.
“…”
After supporting Aria, I moved aside to avoid the wyvern that was charging toward us.
Perhaps because it was a barrier Aria had deployed with all her strength, there wasn’t even a scratch from the brush.
Once I quickly got out of the way, I set Aria down in what seemed to be a safe spot.
I carefully laid her down in as comfortable a position as possible, laying out the clothes I had taken off earlier on the ground and covering her body with them.
Though she was practically wearing nothing on her upper body, so it should have been cold, perhaps thanks to the necklace Aria had given me… she didn’t seem to feel the cold much.
“Aria…”
I looked down at Aria with a worried expression.
“Eugh… Ugh…”
It was too dark to see clearly, but it was obvious that her complexion had turned pale compared to before, and she seemed unable to use her ability to detect thoughts, merely repeating garbled sounds.
Moreover, it seemed that her recovering wounds were worsening again, as the smell of blood became increasingly thick.
No matter how much she said she wouldn’t die, what power is this…
Why was it trying to push her so far?
A power that requires one to injure themselves to heal someone else, I had never heard of such a thing.
“Haah…”
With my eyes closed, I stood up.
To prevent my own death, I cast a solid shield and Blessing strong enough to withstand all the rocks falling from that high place.
And now, to ensure I could deal with the wyvern, I handed over the magical items I had and didn’t use the little remaining Divine Power to recover but gave it all to myself.
I looked down at the necklace that Aria had last handed to me.
The red jewel hanging from the necklace sparkled like fire.
– This is… the Gem of Radiance…! With this, I can definitely slay the wyvern!
Esther, having confirmed what the necklace was, spoke with conviction.
“The Gem of Radiance…?”
– Yes! It’s a relic of the sun god Solanis that greatly enhances the Divine Power of purification! Even though it seems like it recognized you as its master, handing it over to you is surprising…
Esther seemed genuinely amazed that she had handed it over.
– Perhaps… she handed it to you because she trusts you that much. When we held hands before and sent out Divine Power, it was all for you to be able to use this.
“Is that so…”
Looking down at Aria, whose expression had relaxed compared to earlier, I fell deep in thought.
The fact that she handed it over despite it being already recognized as her master means… she believed that I would surely slay the wyvern.
To not betray Aria’s expectations, I had to succeed.
‘There’s no room for leisure.’
I couldn’t keep thinking like this.
I clenched the necklace tightly in one hand, reaffirming my resolve.
The wyvern was searching for me, looking around from below.
Even amidst that, it was exuding a chilling aura, and its eye, now only a skull, glowed with a blue light as it discharged eerie thoughts.
– Evan! Place the Gem of Radiance against my sword!
“What? This is a necklace, right?”
– I don’t care, just do it quickly!
Showing doubt in Esther’s command, I nevertheless followed her instructions and placed the necklace against the sword.
It was in that moment.
Swoosh!
“W-What…?!”
– Sorry, Aria! I’m just borrowing your relic for a moment!
With Esther’s nonchalant thoughts, the light emanating from the sword intensified until it radiated brightly enough to illuminate the entire area.
Finally, when the light dimmed… I opened my closed eyes.
– How do I look, Evan?
“What’s… this?”
Before I could inquire about what was happening or what had just occurred, I froze at the sight of the Sacred Sword.
The blade that had been glowing yellow was now stained red.
The gem embedded in the center was emanating sunlight, and the sword’s blade was rippling with a crimson energy like sunlight.
What on earth happened…?
The Sacred Sword had transformed.
– Hurry and tell me! How does it look?!
“Uh? Uh…”
– Why are you spacing out like that?
“Um…”
Was it just my imagination that Esther’s personality had changed…?
‘No, right now, that’s not important…’
Whether Esther had changed or not, it wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered most was to slay that wyvern right in front of me.
For that, I didn’t need to care about Esther’s changes.
If it had changed because of the Gem of Radiance, then that meant it would return to normal once I removed it.
“… I’m going, Esther!”
– Let’s go, Evan!
Shouting to Esther, I flew toward the direction of the wyvern.
Then, just as I had done before, I gathered magic power into the Sacred Sword.
However, the power gathering in the sword felt extraordinary.
Something… was different.
‘This power is…’
It was unlike anything I had felt before.
Was it because I had received a Blessing from Aria, or was it due to the power of the ‘Gem of Radiance’ now adorning the sword?
I didn’t know which it was, but I was certain of one thing.
‘If it’s like this… I can do it…!’
With this power, I could slay the wyvern!
I concentrated my energy and, just before landing, swung the Sacred Sword toward the wyvern in front of me without hesitation.
At that moment,
Kwahhhh!
A crimson energy reminiscent of the sun spread out like a wave, crashing down on the wyvern.
Krahhhh!
The wyvern, facing the oncoming wave of light that spiraled toward it, emitted a chilling breath with its blue gaze, but it was useless.
The breath that seemed as if it could freeze everything was swept away by the wave and crashed upon the wyvern.
*
‘Oh… no…’
How fiercely were they fighting that I could feel the aftermath even without seeing or hearing anything?
If they were fighting this intensely, I wouldn’t care at all if the place I was in crashed down!
I wouldn’t wish for much; I just wanted the ground I was lying on to collapse so I could experience freefall once more.
Unfortunately, when I saved Evan, it was too high up, and I didn’t feel any pain, just a sudden drop instead.
Given that I fell headfirst, it made sense, but I wanted to truly experience it, even if just a little.
In any case, if I could feel this level of aftermath even without seeing or hearing, it was only a matter of time before the place I was in collapsed.
Sure enough, after a short while, the ground I was lying on started to shake.
‘Here it comes…!’
They must be too busy fighting to catch me, and if I fell now, it would be hard for them to look for me, so this might be the only time I could enjoy the pain freely.
There wouldn’t be anyone to watch, so it would be the completion of Aria’s world!
Thinking that, I silently rejoiced and got ready to fall along with the crumbling ground.
If I fell headfirst again now, I wouldn’t be able to find happiness in freefall.
As I braced myself to not fall headfirst while anticipating the oncoming pain, in that moment,
Thud!
‘Huh…?’
I felt someone pull me, and we came to a stop in mid-air.
‘No way…’
Could it be… they caught me even amidst the fighting…?
‘No… that’s impressive…’
Normally, I should be grateful for such a thing, but for some reason, I didn’t feel that way.
I simply felt… regretful.
Damn it…
Still, that was impressive.
Even while fighting, they were attentive enough to care for me.
