Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Because the World Without Me Is So Fragile - 3
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I read a fairy tale like that when I was little.
The story of a princess who gave up her voice to meet the prince on land.
I thought it was so romantic and cool.
Because back then, I didn't know how that story ended.
"Is she asleep?"
"Yes. If you don't wake her, she'll stay asleep for about a week."
"I see..."
Right before leaving with that fake saintess, the nun cast a sleep spell on me. But I didn't actually fall asleep. I was only half a mage, but I could still manage a basic defensive spell. So I pretended to sleep and waited.
About a day later, I stepped out into the streets. I had a plan of sorts. Back then, I thought it was a pretty good one. I figured I could get rid of that fake saintess bitch and win back Luca's love.
But that thought vanished like bubbles the moment I faced the real saintess standing in front of the grand cathedral.
Yeah. I knew it too. The one standing there was the fake saintess. I knew that—or at least, I believed it. That bitch was just another fake imitating me. Just another phony created to serve someone else's needs, like me.
So I gritted my teeth and took one step at a time toward her. Fake saintess bitch. I'll expose your true nature. You stupid thief. I'll strip away that hypocrisy and reveal it to everyone. I swear I will. I absolutely will.
But you know... the closer I got to her, the more I lost my drive. Not even as I got close enough to see her clearly.
The closer I got, the more I could see the people's faces.
...
There was no filthy lust on their faces.
No one was ogling her waist with their eyes, scrutinizing how perky her nipples were, or whispering vulgar jokes with flushed faces.
They were simply cheering for her with pure hearts, united as one in following her words and will.
I stared at the sight until, at some point, I started backing away.
And in the end, I fled with all my might back into the darkness where I had been sleeping.
As I ran, I kept asking myself why. What made her so different from me? I didn't want to admit it, but she looked exactly like me right now. Yet the way people treated her was worlds apart. What was the difference? Was it because she was better at speaking? Or more confident and bold?
No, it felt like something beyond that couldn't be explained away. In the end, I locked myself in the basement and lay there alone, thinking sadly. What was different? What exactly?
If I'd known the reason, could I have become like her too?
...
No.
I don't think I could have.
Because that fate was never mine to begin with.
I wasn't a genius mage, or a hero of the hero's party, or the saintess of the Ennesic Order. I was just Sera.
Just an ordinary country girl.
...
It would have been nice if I'd known from the start.
If Eli had become the genius mage as fate intended, and I'd just grown up as an ordinary country girl.
Then... if that had happened...
Maybe it would have been me with Luca.
Thinking back now, that princess in the fairy tale... if she'd just lived out her destined life in the sea, maybe she would have met the prince someday.
But she got greedy for the impossible and turned her own fate to bubbles.
Just like I miserably abandoned Eli.
Ah.
...
I miss Eli.
That thought hits me especially today.
I miss Eli.
"Eli..."
"..."
Was it sleep-talking? The sleeping Sera kept calling her name. Her face, slightly tear-streaked as she murmured the name of her closest friend, looked so innocent.
Just like back in those days.
...
Thud.
Then my heart echoed along with the ground again. I scanned around for the source once more before shaking my head. No time for this. Just hear her out and leave.
This isn't the time.
I steadied myself and looked at Vanessa. She nodded silently at me, and I followed her gesture, grabbing Sera's arm and shaking it.
"Ah... yeah..."
"Sera."
"...Eli..."
"Sera. Wake up."
"...Huh?"
Only after shaking her arm twice did Sera open her eyes. Her voice had already returned to normal. Still groggy, she blinked around blankly before meeting my eyes. For a moment, a smile spread across her lips.
"Luca..."
But the smile didn't last. It sank slowly below the surface like the sun setting, and in its place rose a moonlit fear soaked in melancholy.
"...What... is it...? Did I... did I...?"
She clamped her mouth shut without finishing. But I could guess what came next without hearing it. She must think I'd come because she'd done something wrong.
"Sera."
I spoke in a low voice to calm her, then sat down and asked,
"There's something I want to ask."
"Something... you want to ask...?"
"It's..."
I hesitated a bit, dragging out the words. Then I opened my mouth again in a heavy tone.
"Do you think a curse that stops time is possible?"
"A curse that stops time?"
Sera mulled over the sudden question. Then, as if something clicked, she looked up and asked back.
"Why... are you asking that?"
"Tell me first. Do you think it's possible? To stop time?"
"Can magic stop time?"
Sera took quite a while to think about the question. Even in the darkness, her eyes glowed green, flickers of something I couldn't grasp passing through them. Amid that, the unpleasant thuds kept going—thud, thud. What the hell was causing this vibration? Just as that thought crossed my mind, Sera's answer came.
"...I think it's possible."
Her answer was affirmative. Sera met my eyes squarely without fear and spoke.
"Of course, stopping time isn't some simple spell, but it's not impossible. You know how Eli used to tear space itself? Manipulating space is a miracle close to a god's power, but only a mage as powerful as Eli could pull it off. I think time's the same. Of course, it's incomparably more complex than space manipulation."
"So, in short, you think it's possible?"
"Yeah. I think so. Like what happened to you and Eli..."
The last words came out cautiously. Sera clasped her hands together and looked up at me quietly.
"You're talking about that curse, right? The one you and Eli suffered. Bobby said that much, didn't he? That it's a curse that stops time?"
"...Yeah. Bobby said so. But I wanted to check if it was true. That's why I came."
"Because I can't lie about the truth?"
"Right now, you're the only mage I know."
"Yeah. Makes sense."
Sera gave a smile that wasn't quite a smile. Then she spilled out her scattered thoughts on the curse.
"Bobby didn't let me in on the research... but ever since that day, I've been thinking about it nonstop. If that unidentified Four Heavenly Kings bastard saved that curse for his final moment, it must have been one of the demons' ultimate techniques. Or maybe manipulating time just consumes an enormous amount of power."
"Bobby said the curse means 'Eli. Seth's. Name. Your. Time. Stop.' What does 'Seth's name' mean?"
"It means a curse cast by borrowing someone's power. Like how the Order's priests perform blessings in the name of the Ennesic Goddess, it's probably a curse using a high demon's—or the god they serve—authority."
"Could that Four Heavenly Kings guy's name have been Seth?"
"Unlikely. Because Eli cast the curse in Seth's name too. You can't use a dead person's name for curses or magic. Same goes for breaking them. It's nearly impossible for someone else to dispel a curse cast by a dead person."
"So you're saying Eli borrowed that Seth guy's name to cast the curse?"
"On that... I'm not sure. Only Eli would know."
Thud. The ground and my heart echoed together again. Now pain stabbed my chest. I ignored the sensation and spoke.
"One more thing. If they had power over time, why didn't they think to rewind it? Wouldn't that help them more than stopping my time?"
"It'd just repeat the same thing. Rewinding time means sending all memories and experiences back too. So even if they did, it'd loop the same events. Like fate. Eli's probably in a stopped-time state now, unable to see or hear anything. Even you... couldn't see every moment back then, right?"
"...Right..."
I recalled those memories. After the mana-filled nights ended, the curtain of darkness that came like drowsiness. Was that not sleep, but time stopping?
Thud.
My heart echoed again. The pain spread through my body, impossible to ignore. I fought it down and barely managed to speak.
"...Thanks, Sera. For answering."
I rose slowly. But then Sera grabbed my collar.
"Wait, Luca. I have something to ask too..."
"I have to go, Sera. Now..."
"Just answer one thing. Really just one."
"Sera, enough..."
"Is Eli alive?"
Thud. My heart pounded. I even felt the ground shake.
"Sera..."
"There's a reason I'm asking now. If Eli's curse only stops time... then she could still be alive, right? No, it's not just possible. If only time's stopped, it doesn't affect her life. Right, Luca? Eli's alive, isn't she?"
"Right now..."
"Tell me, Luca. Eli was precious to me too. I was stupid, a trash bitch, and I abandoned her. But now I regret it like crazy. So tell me. Is Eli alive? Eli..."
"Yeah! She's alive!"
My heart pounded again, pain surging through me, and I yelled without thinking. My head spun, heat rising. I glared straight at Sera.
"So what? What are you gonna do now that you know? Beg for forgiveness? Now? After everything?"
"Luca..."
"You should have regretted it back in that barrier. Or when Leo started torturing Eli. Or at least in the final moments, protected her. I wanted to hold her hand but couldn't. My whole body froze like a cripple. I imagined that scene in my mind a thousand times, reached with all my might, but nothing moved. But you? Arms and legs fine, and you didn't even try. And now what? Is Eli alive? Yeah, damn it, she is. And it's not thanks to you!"
"I...!"
"What are you gonna do now? What, Sera?!"
"Let me come with you."
Thud.
...
My head hurts. No, the pain spreading through my body is excruciatingly sharp.
"You're going... to find Eli, right? Aren't you? Let me come too, Luca. I'll be more help with me there. So..."
"No, Sera."
"Why? Why not? I can help way more than that woman. I can use magic—not as good as Eli, but still—and my status will make entering the capital easier. And... and..."
"Vanessa. Put Sera back to sleep."
"Luca!"
I turned to Vanessa, ignoring Sera's screams. She looked at me with anxious eyes.
"How long?"
"We'll talk outside. Outside..."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
This time, three in a row. The sound was so loud I thought it might be heard outside.
"Luca! Please. Let me come too. I won't be a bother. I promise! Please!"
I ignored her pleas and turned to Rachel. She stared uncomfortably at the wall.
"This can't..."
"Rachel, what are you doing? Here..."
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
My heart pounded. I finally took a deep breath and clutched my chest, hoping it would calm the beats. But the moment my hand touched it, I froze and looked up.
This is...
"Luca! Please! I'm begging you!"
This sound is...
"I want to go too, Luca. Please!"
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
I turned to Rachel. Coincidence or fate, she looked my way too. And for the first time, I saw terror on her face.
"No... way..."
"Impossible."
Memories flooded back. It had happened before. An ominous aura covering my body. Bone-chilling pressure. And vibrations so strong they tricked me into thinking my heart was pounding—the earth's tremor.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Yes, just like.
This vibration of a raging bull charging was unmistakably...
Boom!
Then a violent shake rocked the entire basement, dust and dirt raining down. I instinctively spread my arms to shield those around me, but I saw Rachel bolting toward the exit and shouted her name.
"Rachel! Damn it, Vanessa!"
"Got it. Hurry after her!"
Without a word from me, Vanessa moved toward Sera. I bolted forward, flying up the stairs. I hurled myself toward the light filtering from above. Pushing through the blinding rays that threatened to crush me, I emerged outside to the first sound that hit me...
"KyaAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Screams of people.
Dirt, dust, acrid smoke, and the stench of blood seeped into my lungs. Looking around, the peaceful scene from before was a lie—flames everywhere, debris from collapsed buildings flying. Amid the distant screams, I yelled with all my might.
"Rachel!"
No reply, but I spotted her precariously perched on a shack roof, staring blankly one way like a broken doll.
"No way... No way..."
"Rachel! Snap out of it!"
I leaped onto the roof in one bound, grabbed her slender shoulders, and shook her roughly. But her gaze stayed fixed.
"This can't be real... Can't be..."
"Damn it, snap out of it, Rachel! Come on!"
I finally slapped her cheek with a sharp crack. She gasped and turned to me.
"Luca..."
"You with me? We can't stay here like this."
"But this..."
"I know. I know too..."
"This..."
Her trembling hand pointed to where she stared. Knowing what I'd see but unable to stop, I turned.
And faced a memory etched deep but not fondly remembered.
Not far from the walls, a storm of dust and blood danced. Corpses rained like hail, centuries-old stones and trees ripped from roots and flung skyward. In the carnage, its massive body flickered into view. Arms and legs bulging with explosive muscle, swinging iron-hard horns in frenzy—it bellowed into the sky, unable to contain the rage within.
"ROOOOARRRR!"
"Kyaak!"
Even from afar, its roar stood my hairs on end with pressure. Rachel collapsed in tears, and I gripped my sword tight, staring it down clearly.
"No way..."
I denied it in my heart and aloud, but it moved before my eyes. Just like when I first broke free from the seal, it raged at this world's fragility, smashing everything thoroughly. As if it knew no word but destruction, the calamity incarnate in the human world looked exactly as the first time we met.
"ROOOOARRRR!"
It roared again. The gluttonous pig-monster that devours human flesh. Rank 2 of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings, the strongest land demon. It rampaged to prove its existence to me. Staring at it, I quietly called its name.
"Minotaur."