Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Fall
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"...Follow me."
Mary blankly mulled over Krash's words.
It made sense, since she never imagined anyone telling her to follow them.
Mary had spent her entire life clashing with enemies at the forefront, smashing them to pieces.
She wasn't naturally the sharpest mind.
If anything, she was a bit below average.
Perhaps that's why that trait became an advantage when leading the charge.
With her head emptied of thoughts, Mary could advance without hesitation.
That relentless advance, pushing forward again and again while leading everyone else—that was her specialty.
But even that strength proved meaningless against certain foes.
The being born from the Worst Evil, Ragnarok.
Before the monster that could devour the world in one hand, Mary was powerless.
The Generation of the Sky had been utterly crushed, her nation erased from the world, and she herself pushed to the brink of death.
When she awoke.
The world was already hurtling toward destruction.
As she watched the injured rise one by one to prepare for the final battle, she finally realized it.
The crushing pressure of having to lead, and the conclusion that everything hinged on her alone.
The moment her thoughts reached that point, she fell into vague anxiety.
And to dispel that anxiety, she leaned on none other than Arthur.
The hero who always stood proudly by her side.
That hero told her this:
"It's okay, Mary. Even if you make a mistake, I can fix it. I have Regression. You can charge ahead without worry."
Arthur's final assurance.
The words that even if the world was erased, they could return together.
Clinging to those words alone, Mary thrust her spear toward Ragnarok.
Yes, that was how it happened.
And the result was predictably devastating.
The world perished, and the Generation of the Sky was all but wiped out, leaving only a handful like Krash and Arthur.
She looked up at the world and sighed.
Even after ignoring the overwhelming pressure and charging ahead, this was the outcome.
Having cast off the pressure once, the returning weight was now far greater than before.
So after regressing, Mary clung to Arthur even more fiercely.
She believed only he could lift that pressure.
But Arthur never appeared before her.
His absence everywhere began to rot her from deep within.
One incident after another exploding, reality sinking deeper into a quagmire.
And on top of that, Sigrin Epania's contemptuous words, the last person she trusted.
All of it was more than enough to break Mary.
At that very moment.
Krash, who had defeated her, spoke to her.
"Just follow me."
The words that she only needed to follow.
It was something Mary had never heard before.
She had always lived with cheers from those behind her, words of trust.
Even Arthur had stood by her side, never intending to lead from the front.
But Krash was telling her to follow him now.
At the moment he stepped deep into her heart, the weight of those words was beyond imagination.
Mary stared at Krash with a dazed expression.
Krash looked down at her silently.
He was in female form now, but his true appearance overlapped in her vision.
He was no longer some cursed outcast.
He was a powerhouse who could tell even her—the Divine Spear—to follow.
A dazzling figure to usher in a new era.
Mary's throat bobbed with a gulp.
Mary was human, after all.
The anxiety and fear etched deep into her heart when the world fell continued to gnaw at her.
Sigrin wasn't much different.
She hadn't been the nicest personality to begin with, but after regression, her temper sharpened even more.
Sigrin too had been devoured by the helplessness before destruction.
She was someone who could do anything.
That's why Mary suddenly realized she had stopped relying on Sigrin long ago.
She knew that staying by Sigrin's side, gnawed by destruction, would only lead to repeated mistakes.
So her refuge had been Arthur.
But with that refuge absent now.
Krash's words were an irresistibly sweet temptation.
"R-Really... I can just follow you?"
Krash didn't know the world was doomed to perish.
That's what Mary believed.
But precisely because of that, another thought struck her.
Because he didn't know of the doom, he might confront it without fear—unlike them, who had already lost once.
It was a wildly self-serving interpretation, but Mary wanted to believe it.
She no longer had the strength to walk ahead.
Krash fell silent.
His silence stirred her heart.
Her eyes fixed solely on his lips.
Like a bride anxiously awaiting her beloved's response, she huddled, desperately hanging on his every word.
"Yeah."
The moment his lips parted.
"You just follow me."
The sweet words at the end of her wait pierced through her ears, imprinting firmly on her brain and heart.
Crack—
Something shattering above her head echoed.
Mary couldn't hear it, but Krash heard it louder than ever.
Because Black Hood was activating in his grasp.
Shards of the broken dial scattered as fragments of light.
Amid the drifting light, Mary's face shone brighter than ever, beaming with joy.
Having shed the pressure and everything else, she decided to think only of following Krash.
That fact granted her fleeting euphoria.
Krash's fist quietly clenched amid the crumbling light.
The skill Excel he had so desired.
That Excel was now in his hands at this moment.
Mary would soon notice her skill was gone.
But she wouldn't tell a soul.
She feared most letting Krash know her value had diminished.
She would spend her life pretending to have Excel.
But Krash wasn't done with Mary yet.
She had one more role to play.
"Before that, Mary, there's one favor I'd like to ask."
"Y-Yes! Anything, anything!"
Mary nodded vigorously, showing her willingness to do whatever it took.
Watching her, Krash gave a apologetic smile.
"I want to get in touch with Sizly. Any way to do that?"
"Lady Sizly Epania?"
Mary's eyes widened round.
She knew Krash and Sizly got along decently.
But personal contact? That was unexpected.
"Yeah. Possible?"
As Krash asked again, Mary nodded hastily.
The owner of the imperial brand etched into Mary's body was Sizly.
So she knew Sizly could reach her through it.
"I'll contact her right away."
Like pleading not to abandon her if she did anything asked, Mary spoke up.
Krash smiled gratefully, and Mary overflowed with happiness at that alone.
The price of entrusting everything to him.
'That wraps things up with Mary.'
He rated her talent highly, but that depended on whether she could change herself going forward.
Krash could provide the spark, but nothing more.
'One thing I'm curious about.'
What would Mary Diana look like, ascending to the pinnacle with only her Heavenly Martial Body, sans skill?
Whether that vision became reality was up to her.
'Two left now.'
Abella and Sigrin Epania.
Only those two remained.
One of the three women who regressed together.
Mary Diana.
The moment Krash completely broke her.
After dealing with Mary, Krash slipped out of the girls' dormitory unscathed.
His appearance, resembling his mother, drew plenty of stares.
Fortunately, no one approached him boldly.
His feminized face was utterly cold.
Thanks to that, he made his way smoothly toward the special academy.
He planned to meet Darling and demand the potion to undo the transformation.
No reason to keep this form a full day longer now that Mary's business was done.
[Krash.]
Just then, a voice came from Crimson Garden gliding leisurely overhead.
The moment Krash looked up questioningly.
A chill crept down his spine for some reason.
And as he hurriedly turned forward.
"Huh?"
There stood a woman with long, dark blue hair whipping in the wind.
Eyes devoid of emotion, an inexplicable pressure that cowed anyone who met her gaze.
Charlotte Valheim.
Krash's older sister by a year.
Facing Charlotte, Krash instinctively tensed.
A primal sense screamed that he absolutely could not let her see him like this.
And he quickly realized why Crimson Garden had called him.
It had deliberately drawn his eyes before he could slip away.
[Hee hee.]
A mischievous laugh echoed in his mind.
But ignoring that, Krash first pondered how to handle the situation.
Because Charlotte had locked eyes on him the instant they crossed paths and hadn't looked away.
What would a sister's reaction be to her brother cross-dressing?
Any other sister, maybe—but Krash couldn't predict Charlotte's at all.
'No, she hasn't figured it out yet.'
She'd just think he was a woman who resembled their mother.
As Krash tried to pass by with his head turned toward her.
"Krash."
Without a hint of hesitation, Charlotte called him to a halt.
Krash's shoulders twitched involuntarily, and Charlotte tilted her head.
"What the hell is this look?"
For a split second, Krash considered bolting with Excel.
But he dismissed it.
Charlotte might chase him even then.
He knew her personality a little.
Better to face her head-on.
So Krash turned to her squarely.
"Circumstances."
Circumstances for cross-dressing.
Ridiculous even to him, but it was all he had.
Charlotte pressed her chin lightly, scanning him up and down.
Her gaze unnerved him, making him shrink unconsciously, but she ignored it.
Then she flashed her signature smirk, lips curling up alone.
"Little sister suits you."
As she spoke, she was suddenly right in front of him.
"You've asked your big sis for a lot lately. How about paying up now?"
"Pay up...?"
Krash swallowed hard as Charlotte's eyes crinkled in a smile.
"Let's date."
And just like that, he was suddenly going on a date with Charlotte.