Chapter 28

It doesn’t seem real.

Elysia ran down the alleyway in a frenzied effort, holding back her nausea.

Tweight lost.

When Elysia saw Tweight fall, bleeding profusely, she thought, “I can’t believe it.” Having wielded a sword since she was a child, Elysia was confident in her own strength, however, she still thought that she was no match for Tweight. After all, Tweight had easily incapacitated her in the entrance exam. She thought that Tweight was on a higher level.

Tweight was defeated.

He was a strong, somewhat mysterious, yet strangely reliable man. That Tweight had just ― been easily defeated.

Wrong. Not just defeated.

With that many wounds, there was no way he was just “defeated”. She had to admit it. Tweight would not help her anymore. He would never catch up with her as she kept running.

Tweight was…

Tweight was dead.

“Where are you going?”

A voice came from ahead of Elysia as she ran. A man in a black cloak appeared in front of her.

The second assailant.

Another attacker appeared. Elysia was so surprised that she stopped moving. In the meantime, the first attacker who had just stabbed Tweight caught up with her.

“You’re late.”

The first assailant told the second as Elysia stood between them.

“Oh. There were a couple of people in the way, so it took a while.”

Having said that, the second assailant pulled his hands from behind his back. With a thump, two large sphere-like objects fell at Elysia’s feet.

They were ― human heads.

One was that of a girl. The other was that of a boy.

“Woman. Do you recognize these two?”

The severed heads had faces that Elysia knew well.

It was Glan and Mize.

“Aaaa, aaaaaaahhhh!?”

“So you know him. Hmmm, he was a troublesome brat. He’s not very strong, but he’s got a lot of guts.”

The assailant said in an indifferent tone to Elysia, who was crouched down holding her head.

“Why, why… Oh, are you after me, aren’t you? But why are you doing such a terrible thing…?”

Elysia asked, tears streaming down her face.

“Hey. Did you just ask me why I…?”

The man who attacked her said in an irritated voice. The man clicked his tongue and opened his cloak to reveal his chest. Inside the cloak was a familiar piece of armor.

“Orthodox, Knights…”

“Yes. We are Knights of Orthodox.” The man said.

“Now we are knights, but… once we were orphans picked up by Master Robert.”

Elysia’s eyes widened at that comment. But if you think about it rationally, it’s not surprising. Unlike the Knights of the King’s Guard, the Knights of the Orthodox is based on talent not class; they will use people of any status as long as they have the ability.

“It was eight years ago. The war had just begun. We, who had lost our families and homes to demons, were saved by the Knights of Orthodox. At that time, it was Master Robert who was directing the Knights. In order to repay his kindness, we trained hard and joined the Knighthood.”

The man continued to angrily spit out words at her.

“We’re still the lowest rank in the group. We didn’t even participate in the recent exercise. So we were going to make steady progress and repay Master Robert for his kindness. But… Master Robert died before we could return the favor. By your own hands!”

The man said with a murderous intent.

“Do you understand? ―I’m furious. We’re willing to go to any length to kill you now.”

A face hidden by a cloak. In the pitch-black darkness, the eyes of hatred were hovering.

“Ah, ah…”

It’s the same.

As soon as she understood the man, Elysia’s body trembled with fear.

He is just like me.

The man in front of her is the same as she was a little while ago. Driven by hatred, consumed by the desire for revenge, he was filling his vessel with murderous intent. The only thing he could think about was killing his hated enemy. To do so, he was willing to go to any extreme.

“What!?”

Elysia started running reflexively.

“Shit.”

The man’s tongue wagging aided Elysia’s escape.

But due to her terror, Elysia’s body was as heavy as lead. Her eyes were open, but she couldn’t see the scenery. She felt as if she was wandering in endless darkness.

“Aah!?”

Elysia stumbled over a crack in the ground and fell over. The man caught up and called out to Elysia, who rubbed her face.

“Why are you running away?”

The man’s question made Elysia’s mind go blank.

“You knew this would happen. You must have killed Master Robert with determination, ready to abandon the future. Then why are you trying to escape now?”

The man was right. She thought she had killed Robert with the intention of throwing away her future.

Why am I now trying to escape death?

“You’ve missed your life.”

“―n?”

The moment she heard those words, the energy drained from Elysia’s body. He had guessed right. She understood that these were her true feelings. After finishing her revenge, she talked with Tweight, Glan and Mize for the first time in a long time. As she looked at their smiling faces, Elysia began to see the future again.

Today, for a moment, Elysia had hope for the future. Maybe a future where she signed up for an adventurer’s guild and worked with Mize to become a top-notch adventurer. In the process, she might travel around the world. They might meet new friends. By the time she became a sophomore, she might have more friends at school and enjoyed her school life in peace. It might have been a live free from any baggage. She had seen such a future.

“After you killed Robert, you should have taken your own life as well. But since you didn’t, three people died because they were caught up in your fate.”

“Ah… uh…”

“This is your revenge. Don’t think that a person who grants wishes in exchange for the future can get the future back without any risk. If you wanted to live and have a future, you should have thought of a way not to throw it away from the beginning.”

The man was right about everything.

It was my fault that Tweight is dead… and Glan and Mize.

It was the result of abandoning the future and acting without thinking ahead. Elysia had picked up the future that should have been thrown away, and the wrinkles had repercussions on Tweight and the others. When she killed Robert, she went into a frenzy, but now she couldn’t remember any of her feelings at that time. What remained in Elysia’s heart after that one night was blank, stark emptiness. It reminded her of what Tweight had said. Revenge is an act of regaining what has been lost, never an act of gaining something new.

Indeed, she had gained nothing. This feeling of emptiness was the proof.

The ending was not worth it. Did I let my three friends die so that I could feel this kind of emptiness?

“If this is what it takes…”

Seeing the blade the man was thrusting at her, Elysia’s strength drained from her entire body. She no longer had the strength to resist. Elysia clutched her head and let out a strangled voice.

“I shouldn’t have… taken revenge.”

“―Good. Don’t forget that.”

Elysia’s eyes widened at the man’s words. She didn’t understand what he meant. But before that ― the voice she just heard sounded familiar. The man removed his cloak. Elysia was stunned when she saw the face that had been hidden.

“Twe…ight…?”

A man who had been stabbed in the stomach and was spitting out blood. For some reason, he was standing there looking completely composed.