Slowly moving to a corner of the space while holding Letty, I retrieved a blanket from “Spatial Storage.” I laid it on the hard rocky ground and carefully placed Letty on it.
Placing my hands against her eyes, I gently closed them. Her childlike peaceful expression made her look like she was just sleeping.
“Are you feeling better?”
I turned my body and looked towards the voice. Lucas was directing his emotionless gaze towards me.
“How did you get here? It takes hours to get from the surface to the deepest part.”
“You can see it if you look up. I dug my way here.”
I pointed to the ceiling with my finger. Lucas fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words, and grimaced.
He must be surprised. I had punched through the hard ground repeatedly to reach here in the shortest possible route. The interior of the Valley of Trials is quite complex. Ignoring the traps and shortening the time was the optimal solution.
Even if my hands were broken several times while using all kinds of strengthening magic to dig forward, they would return to normal with “Heal.” As a result, I was able to open a passage in about twenty minutes.
But still, it seems I was too late.
I tried to suppress my emotions as much as possible and spoke.
“If you turn back now, I’ll forgive you.”
“…What?”
“I’m going to start treating Letty. During that time, keep an eye on that bastard and the old man trembling over there. If you do, I’ll forget all about your betrayal.”
I turned away to place my hands over Letty. But the reply came back with a sword.
I didn’t turn around but stopped the strike aimed at my neck with one hand. I gripped it tightly and crushed the sword. Fragments scattered, and the broken sword made a sharp sound as it hit the ground.
I heard a gasp. Lucas’s presence behind me faded.
I looked at my own body and was astonished.
An unprecedented amount of magic power was writhing all over my body. I couldn’t control it no matter how hard I tried. It overflowed endlessly, regardless of my will.
The air vibrated violently. Cracks appeared in the ground touched by my magic power.
Ah, I see… I’m…
Am I angry?
Amidst the swirling emotions, my mind was surprisingly calm. Without being swayed by emotions, a process to help Letty was formulated with minimal thought.
To prevent her body from deteriorating, I used “Barrier Magic” multiple times on Letty’s body.
“Just wait a little while.”
Looking up and turning back to remove the obstacle.
“I’ll be right back.”
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I took out the black sword and faced Lucas.
“Let me ask you one thing: why did you betray us?”
“Betray? What are you misunderstanding? I don’t remember being your comrade.”
“Why did the hero like you get involved?”
“…It has nothing to do with you.”
“Because of that, I’m in trouble. There’s no way it’s not related to me.”
Lucas looked sharp and thought for a moment before answering.
“I wanted to end it.”
“Huh?”
I was taken aback by his unrelated answer. I had no idea what he was trying to say.
“Six years ago, demons attacked Rivulhilo. You know about it, right?”
“…What about it?”
“The rampaging demon took the lives of many residents. One area was destroyed, and even now, six years later, the scars have not healed.”
The streets of the “Reconstruction Zone” came to mind. Broken streetlights, unrepaired debris, suspicious residents… Those who were born and raised there are forced to live with inconvenience.
“Reconstruction areas are nothing but isolation in reality. Prejudice, discrimination… just because of different races, unfair treatment has to be endured. It’s a rotten world.
…Still, not everyone discriminates.”
Saying that, I realized something.
“Oh, right, what about the Spirit Sword? I need to meet Henry again.”
The Spirit Sword, which he was supposed to keep close at all times. To awaken Henry quickly, it needed to be kept by his side. However, despite scanning the area for Lucas’ presence, it was nowhere to be found.
Lucas nodded.
“I discarded it. It’s no longer needed.”
“W-what—”
I was left speechless.
Discarded? Something containing the soul of his own brother?
Before I could say anything, Lucas manifested the Holy Sword and kicked the ground.
Instinctively, I defended with the Black Sword. A few clashes of swords ensued, and we were in a standoff.
“Continuing from where we left off… demons attacked the city. At that time, there was a hero nearby. But he didn’t help; instead, he abandoned the residents and fled.”
I deflected the Holy Sword and we distanced ourselves from each other.
“That hero was me.”
For a moment, there was a gap in the intensity of our clash. Taking advantage, without missing a beat, Lucas stepped into my guard and swung the Holy Sword sideways.
My left thigh was deeply cut. Before falling due to losing balance, I pivoted on my right leg and jumped. Using a moment suspended in the air, I invoked “Advanced Healing” and kicked with my healed left leg while still in motion.
Lucas arched his upper body backward to evade. Expertly handling the sword I struck with, a high metallic sound reverberated in the air.
“After Henry died, I faced the demon alone. We both got injured, and the demon fled toward the city. But I didn’t even try to chase after.”
The clash of swords intensified.
“I thought, ‘Why do I have to help?'”
Lucas’ face as he spoke showed no emotion.
“I might die fighting. Yet, is it worth sacrificing myself to help others?”
As we clashed, a crack appeared in Lucas’ Holy Sword.
“I’m a hero, so it’s natural? Then who will help me? I begged for help repeatedly, but was always refused. I was called a pathetic child and even had stones thrown at me. I lost even my beloved brother. So why should I be the one to help?… I forgot that most of the residents were innocent.”
With a sound, Lucas’ Holy Sword cracked.
“I abandoned them. I turned my back and fled. I made ugly excuses saying I wasn’t at fault.”
I continued to receive blows from the sword. Each time, the crack widened.
“With each passing day, disgust and guilt ate away at me. No matter how much I tried to look away, the truth remained unchanged. My choices killed many innocent people. It’s my fault, I killed them.”
Eventually, unable to withstand it, the Holy Sword broke with a loud noise. Lucas distanced himself from me and threw away the broken Holy Sword.
His demeanor seemed repentant.
Grimacing in pain, Lucas scratched his head with both hands.
“Always, always… voices echo in my head. Voices of the dead, groans, resentment… They torment me in my mind, driving me mad each time.”
Several strands of red hair fell to the ground.
“I helped people as a hero to atone for my sins. If I acted out the ideal Henry wanted, even for a moment, I could forget reality. Nights of nightmares turned into days of reminiscing about the days when we talked about becoming knights together. It was a precious memory for me… or so I thought.”
Lucas lifted his head, his face previously downturned.
“But eventually, memories with Henry became unpleasant.”
Hatred.
With a grimace filled with hatred, he clenched his teeth.
“His ideals tormented me. Memories filled with empty words disgusted me. Henry’s words kept binding me; his ideals were too heavy for me.”
Blood dripped from Lucas’ clenched fist. Finally, I spoke.
“So, you discarded it?”
“…The old me is gone. There’s no face to show now.”
“Henry forgives you. Let’s start over together—”
“Forgive? Yeah, he probably would. He’s that kind of guy.”
Chuckling, Lucas raises the corner of his mouth. With a smile that’s a mix of tears and laughter, he says,
“I can’t forgive myself.”
Seeing him like that, I realized.
The annoyance and disgust I had felt towards him, I understood their true nature.
It was because… he was like me.
Not in personality, but in the way he tried to live alone without relying on anyone.
I am strong, both mentally and physically, so being alone was not a problem. Whatever happened, I could solve it on my own.
But he’s different. Struggling between his duties as a hero and his own emotions, he can’t forgive his own weakness. Unlike me, who lives carelessly, he can’t choose to run away even when he feels like he’s being crushed.
He probably wanted to quit being a hero many times. He must have wanted to abandon everything and run away. But the strong sense of responsibility that came with being chosen as a hero prevented him from doing so, and it gnawed at him to the point of pushing him into this corner.
“I felt relieved when I heard Seft’s plan. Now… I can quit being a hero.”
“Even if it means sacrificing someone else because of your actions?”
“…I’m tired. Let me rest.”
Muttering so, Lucas looked weak, like a small child.
Somewhere, he seemed to be wishing for someone to end it for him.
Finally understanding, I clench my fists in silence. …Damn, so that’s how it is.
You want to rest? Fat chance.
Gritting my teeth, I speak up.
“I still hate you.”
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“…his body from deteriorating” – its about Letty so “her body”.
“…which i was supposed to keep close” – shouldn’t there supposed be “he was”, sword was given to Lucas?
thanks, fixed