Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Saint's Unwavering Heart
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When I first saw Victoria fighting desperately, shedding blood in my past, the thought that crossed my mind was, 'Why?'
Although Victoria and I are heroes who share the burden of vanquishing the Demon King, this matter was an intensely personal one.
Moreover, this was a past I had not shared with her.
I thought that even my comrades, if they learned the full truth of the incident, would blame or come to dislike me.
'Why is she going this far?'
Right now, Victoria was swinging her hammer countless times, shedding blood to protect me and my parents.
Clearly, due to her frail constitution, she was someone who tried to end fights as quickly as possible or avoid unnecessary battles, yet here she was, fighting a war of attrition.
Even so, Victoria seemed to be trying her hardest not to show any sign of hardship. An unbreakable fighting spirit was burning in her eyes.
Every time Victoria moved or was grazed by an enemy's attack, flower petals scattered from her body.
Originally, she should have felt pain so intense she'd scream in agony if anyone so much as touched her.
"Is that all you've got? It doesn't even tickle. As expected, the acts of a flat-chested woman are pathetic...!"
—It's indescribably painful and agonizing, but since Astal is watching... I have to pretend I'm okay as much as possible.
Victoria gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, and forced a smile to reassure me.
She moved her arms and legs while barely suppressing the screams trying to escape. Her true feelings were being conveyed to me, who could hear her inner thoughts, without any filter.
Why was she doing this?
Petals fluttered and danced in the air. The sight of the Saint with her hammer, smiling brightly as she shattered the trauma that had tormented me until now, unfolded before my eyes.
In the face of this spectacle, so beautiful that the word escaped my lips unintentionally, I searched in my mind for the reason she was fighting.
'...Because I cured your terminal illness?'
No. That was just doing what was natural for a comrade.
Even if it hadn't been Victoria, but Kyle, Anima, or Taryon, I would have thrown myself into the task and gone to the Holy Kingdom to find a way to cure their terminal illness.
So why,
was Victoria fighting for me now?
'Because she's a precious comrade who has shared life and death with me? Or because we're fake lovers for a month by contract...?'
Countless hypotheses flashed through my mind, but I soon realized that seeking a reason in her actions was unnecessary.
No matter how devout and altruistic a Saint Victoria was, there were few people in the world who would risk their life for such a flimsy reason, fighting in someone else's nightmare.
—...This altruistic feeling isn't part of my duty as a Saint. It probably stems from my affection for you.
—I'm lying like this now.... But once this is over, I want to properly confess to you.
As someone who could hear Victoria's inner thoughts, I could perceive the sincerity she had hidden within her lies. It was a love that was heavy and deep, and thus, infinitely transparent and pure.
Although I couldn't understand it with my head, I could vaguely sense it due to the feeling that tightly squeezed a corner of my heart.
And at that moment,
Shkrrrt, schlorp.
The sight of Victoria's right arm flying off, unable to properly block the combined attack of the Dullahan and Bellamora, entered my field of vision.
'Victoria...!'
No matter how much I shouted, no sound came out. A metallic, bitter taste lingered on my tongue, and I couldn't move a single finger, as if I had become a painting hung on a wall.
It felt like I had received a death sentence, like a terminally ill patient who could never change this hellish past.
'Move, please move...!'
I could see Victoria gradually tiring, her breathing becoming ragged. The distance she was being pushed back was noticeable at a glance.
"Stop bluffing. You've already lost an arm...."
Bellamora, who had severed one of Victoria's arms, wore a mocking smile, sensing victory.
Even if this was an illusionary dream of the Succubus Queen, the pain and suffering felt would be as vivid as reality.
"...Hah, do you think Astal will abandon me just because I'm missing an arm? You really don't know him."
—If I lose an arm, it'll actually be easier to act spoiled with Astal. It might also help bridge the power gap that exists because he has dragon blood.
Victoria, on the contrary, raised the corner of her mouth toward Bellamora and was trying to use a miracle by drawing a holy sigil with her remaining hand.
—But, since it seems like something that would truly make you sad.... I'll use a little trick as well.
The Saint's miracle.
Creating something that cannot happen in reality at the cost of losing a body part. Victoria's miracle, seen after a long time, emitted a bright light even within the dream and was restoring her severed right arm.
Originally, I had sternly warned her never to use it, but she was sacrificing her body as if her own life were worthless.
"He is the most kind-hearted mage in the world. A good man that a wretch like you could never even associate with."
—And above all, he is the one I ardently adore.
Victoria moved her restored arm to check if it worked properly, then charged again at Bellamora and the Dullahan, taking a stance to strike them down powerfully.
She could give up. She could run away.
Even now, she could escape this illusionary dream, join forces with the Hero Kyle, and find a way to save me.
"And besides, right now, no matter what anyone says, he is my lover."
Victoria remained in this nightmare with me for the sole reason that she likes me now.
I still didn't understand what love was as an emotion, but just by watching Victoria's words and actions, I could vaguely comprehend it.
—For the one I love, I would even follow you into the fiery pits of hell.
Right now, I could hear Victoria's inner thoughts unfiltered, and in doing so, I became unable to fathom just how strong her feelings for me were.
For the person she loved, she could readily throw away her own life and die.
For the person she loved, she could shoulder their dark past and walk alongside them.
'...Am I not receiving a love far too undeserved from you, Victoria?'
I gritted my teeth as I watched Victoria fight. It was the devotion of a Saint that no other man in the world would receive.
It was not something a fool, who was arrogant in his childhood genius and because of that killed all the villagers and his parents, deserved to receive.
Simply because Victoria liked me, I couldn't burden her with everything like this.
I did my best to move my body on the horse, falling to the ground and crawling. There was pain as if my bones were breaking and my body was being crushed, but comparing it to what Victoria was enduring now felt like a luxury.
"All things.... The cold of a snowy mountain that freezes everything...."
I stretched my hand toward where Bellamora was, trying to squeeze out the last of my strength to use my magic.
Even though this was a past that couldn't be changed, perhaps thanks to Victoria, I could act with a tiny bit of autonomy.
"Now.... Dwell within my hand, become a spear that pierces the enemy....!"
Ice Lance, a beginner-level spell.
Since my current level had reverted to that of a 10-year-old, I couldn't use three-dimensional magic circles with the limited freedom granted to my body.
The desperate measure I managed to wring out of my mind was this.
As soon as I finished the incantation, a long, icy awl shot from my palm, flying toward Bellamora like a cannonball.
Crash—!
"What a pity. I thought it was an ambush, but in the end, it didn't even reach me."
As if she didn't even consider blocking a mere beginner spell, Bellamora turned her head slightly, elegantly dodging my attack.
"I wasn't.... aiming for you...."
"...What?"
On the contrary, seeing that, I inwardly cheered. I had been searching for the weakness in this film with my magic-sight eyes for a while now.
Ultimately, to show so many dreams within such a vast territory, I judged that even the Succubus Queen, the queen of dream demons, would have shortcomings relying solely on her personal power.
Hero Kyle must have known this, which is why he acted separately from me and chose a method to evade Bellamora's surveillance.
"The area where magical power is gathered abnormally.... Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Fzzzt, crackle—.
An unknown mechanical device sparking with flames and making noise. It seemed to be the magic tool showing the film.
"Hahahahah!!"
Bellamora, seeing smoke billowing up from behind her, couldn't hold back her laughter and let out a loud laugh.
"...Why are you laughing?"
"You're really adorable! I was just curious what scheme you were plotting, so I played along!"
Bellamora, perhaps having laughed so hard she cried, even had the leisure to wipe the corner of her eye with her hand and block Victoria's attack with her remaining arm.
"Unfortunately, the projector here is just a simple power source to show the film to people. Even if it's destroyed, it doesn't matter at all."
"......"
"Hah, were you expecting something? For this nightmare to end? It can't be that flimsy! It's basic tactics to prepare two means...."
As Bellamora snapped her fingers, her shadowy subordinates appeared and began replacing the object called the projector.
"...Then, what happens if you destroy the real power source at the same time?"
Watching that scene, I raised the corner of my mouth softly and threw a remark at Bellamora.
"...Huh?"
"It seems Kyle timed it right. Victoria, thank you for fighting so hard until now."
I conveyed my gratitude to her with a look.
All these possibilities were thanks to Victoria, Kyle, and my other comrades striving to find the enemy's weakness.
Whoosh.
Then, from the replaced projector, a pillar of fire erupted, and the form of a dragon, Kyle's symbol, became visible.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Astal, having sent this much magical power, I think you'll know."
Kyle, having dealt with all the suited figures who had been hindering them, spoke before the massive mechanical device.
It was a gigantic power source that kept repairing itself and attacking Kyle's party no matter how many times he tried to destroy it.
"It seems this can't be destroyed from just one side; it must be destroyed simultaneously at the same timing."
Kyle then thrust his flame-wreathed holy sword into its maw, hoping the most powerful and combat-savvy mage in the party would notice.
Please let the timing be right.
So that everyone can escape from Bellamora's illusionary dream.
Wishing for this, Kyle twisted the hand gripping the holy sword with all his strength.