Chapter 380: Bread and Dagger (78)
Chapter 380: Bread and Dagger (78)
My thoughts were adrift. Disjointed memories slipped and slid against one another, creating a discordant noise.
Several images surfaced within my hazy consciousness.
Normally, these scenes should have flowed in a continuous stream. Instead, fragmented links of recollection passed through my mind like a jagged chain.
A body hurtling forward, tearing through the air with a sonic boom. Dozens of snake heads turning toward me.
That was the first scene.
The memories that followed remained only in patches.
Sword and axe erupted in a spray of blood. Chunks of flesh and bone scattered alongside screams.
Right, I was fine up until then.
The golden trajectory incinerated every reaching tentacle. With Senior Delphine joining the fray, there were essentially no enemies left to hinder me.
No matter how terrifying the monster was, it was merely a newborn entity.
In terms of Aura alone, it was no match for Senior Delphine, who was stronger than me. And as always, Senior Delphine did not betray my expectations.
The next scene that came to mind was a storm of light beams enveloping the surroundings.
This, too, was arduous, but surmountable. Using Binding and Unbinding, I deflected some beams and dispersed others. There were countless instances where refracted rays collided with each other, triggering explosions.
Above all, the 'Gale and Thunderbolt' cast by Senior Elsie played a massive role.
The lightning, striking down indiscriminately, did not distinguish between friend and foe. Navigating through it was a trial, but the mass of flesh, unable to move in the first place, suffered far more.
The sight of dozens of snake heads being electrocuted simultaneously was truly a spectacle.
As the current caused their muscles to contract, the snakes all craned their heads upward. They looked like sea snakes waiting for rain.
Or perhaps some grotesque idol built to commemorate a pagan god.
Either way, the fact remained that the snake heads had been neutralized. I was closing in on the very last head remaining.
It was Leoric.
The scenes that followed were even more fragmented.
A face mutating like clay molded by a child.
Alex and Betty.
My blade could not bring itself to cut those two. The price for that momentary hesitation was horrific.
Thuck. The sensation of my abdomen being pierced transmitted through me.
Having suffered perforation wounds so many times, I knew.
This was, at the very least, a critical injury.
And then I lost consciousness, only to wake up here.
A dry voice created a ripple in the air.
"…A pathetic sight."
It was a familiar tone.
At that toneless reproach, I stumbled to my feet. Having faced him a few times now, I could tell.
That dry remark was tinged with a hint of blame.
It was an emotion leaking out in a tiny trickle, like squeezing water from a parched rag. No one except someone who had faced him for a long time would even notice it.
Yet, there was only one reason I could read his inner thoughts.
Because that man was me.
Golden eyes drenched in fatigue, black hair creating a lonely atmosphere like a wolf caught in the rain.
The gaze looking down at me held both mockery and pride. It was an aura that only one standing in the position of an absolute powerhouse could possess.
His low voice continued.
"Didn't you say you would protect everyone? And yet, this is the result… It’s not even funny."
"Weren't you the one who told me to go see the bottom?"
"Yes, I did."
He seemed to accept my point readily, but I already knew.
He was not the kind of person to accept my arguments in the first place.
The trajectory of the life he had lived was like a scar. There was no way to erase it even if he tried. Moreover, he probably never even considered wanting to erase it.
That would be a kind of criminal act.
An insult to the precious people he had discarded countless times, all for the single-minded goal of protecting the world.
The man had always insisted his path was the right one.
"But I never told you to cause a scene just to protect a few elves. Didn't you see? I wrote for you to give up, on the back of that letter."
"Then are you saying I should have just left that monster alone? While humans and elves kill each other in a misunderstanding?"
"It’s something that has always happened… for hundreds of years, no less."
His calm tone held no sympathy or compassion.
He was a human who had lost even the emotions a person ought to have. There was no way he would empathize with my feelings.
"Would a few more years have hurt? I wanted you to see the bottom while looking at the elves. Those living there are the Dark Cult's primary targets… inferiority, defeatism, frustration, and rage. All those emotions become Delphirem's prey. Furthermore, keeping your people among the elves makes it easy to gather information."
It was around then that I reached the limit of my patience.
A low, grounded voice scraped through my vocal cords. Heat radiated from between my clenched teeth.
"The elves of the village aren't my tools… You’d make them act as spies when they don't even know how to fight properly?"
"They must, if it's for the sake of humanity."
A burden was placed upon my shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
For a moment, my breath hitched. The man's golden pupils grew deeper.
"I've told you many times, you must discard what needs to be discarded… You're still acting like a spoiled child. You're whining because you lack the courage to throw something away."
"I've already discarded plenty."
For the first time, the man's mouth shut.
I barely managed to suppress the emotions surging up within me.
I simply added, as if chewing the words.
"More than I could have ever imagined… before I received those letters."
I had stained my hands with blood.
Guilford, Alex, and countless other lives had to be taken by my own hands.
In the end, I had even thrown my own body into the fray.
Was even this not enough?
The man did not answer my question. He merely observed my face as I averted my gaze, before tossing out a single sentence.
"You will have to discard much more in the future."
It was merciless advice.
I could only manage a bitter smile. Come to think of it, he was always like this.
Even when he seemed to be doing something strange, there was a hidden intention. At the very least, it was never in a direction that would harm me.
Yes, that was how it was.
My ongoing thoughts came to a jarring halt, as if tripping over a stone. A new question bloomed like smoke in my mind.
Then, what about this time?
"…Do I really have to give up?"
It was a simple question.
Like a criminal waiting for a retrial, or a prisoner of hope pleading his case.
There was no way the man would listen.
Rarely, he let out a scoff.
"Yes, because it's still too early for you… You even let the final opportunity slip away right before your eyes."
"Then why did you tell me to bring the Princess?"
Abruptly, the man's breathing stopped.
Once again, that dry golden gaze turned toward me. I met that gaze head-on and asked.
"And why did you teach Seria that technique? Why did you throw away the other letter?"
"A letter? I don't know what you're talking about…."
"Synchronization rate."
The man, who was about to feign ignorance, clamped his mouth shut.
That was right. No one could touch the letters from the future.
Let alone touch them, I was the only one who could even see them. This was no exception for 'me' from the future; he had acted as if he couldn't see the contents of the letters until now.
However, questions had begun to bloom a while ago.
Recently, he had been giving advice as if he knew the contents of the letters. In the past, it had been limited to a general level, but not lately.
Especially when I fell into the elf village, it was as if he was reading my entire situation.
It meant he was sharing my senses above a certain level.
Above all, if anyone could touch the letters, it had to be him. It wasn't as if I had gotten drunk and tossed them somewhere.
"As the synchronization rate increased, did you become able to touch the letters? That's why you were able to throw away the second letter."
The man did not answer until the end.
It was a de facto admission. My voice naturally grew louder.
"What was in that letter? And why did the Princess and Seria have to come to the North? And who is the Old Lion of Yurdina…!"
"Brat."
Snap. The man's hand cut through the air.
Before I knew it, a single blood-stained piece of stationery was held in his hand. I couldn't even understand the principle of how it had appeared.
My eyes fixed on the newly emerged clue.
It had to be that letter. The one that had been inside the torn, empty envelope.
And the moment I reflexively took a step forward.
The world tilted.
I felt as if I might faint. My legs lost their strength, and I couldn't even walk properly. A sharp headache, like a bird pecking at a fruit, repeatedly hammered against my skull.
It was time to wake up.
The man's voice blended into my blurring vision.
"There are stories that are better left unknown. You are still far too inadequate to shoulder every burden."
Don't give me that crap.
I'm not some child you need to protect.
I wanted to say that, but my body wouldn't listen. Instead, my swaying body collapsed forward, and I found it difficult to even meet the man's eyes.
I only managed to squeeze out a few fragmented words through my fading consciousness.
It was a voice that couldn't even form proper language.
"I am… not you…."
And then, my consciousness went dark.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a dim room.
My vision relied solely on a single, flickering lamp. My eyes, slowly fluttering open, took in the light for the first time in a long while.
How long had I been lying here?
It was a luxurious bedroom. It seemed Senior Delphine had protected me until the end and retreated all the way to Yurdina Castle.
She was an incredible woman, no matter when I looked at her.
So much so that I still couldn't believe I had spent my first night with such a woman.
As my five senses gradually returned, I felt a strange sensation.
A gaze intently looking down at my lower body.
Without even noticing that I had opened my eyes, a pair of pink eyes were staring at the area near my crotch.
And then, she reached out a hand toward it, only to pull it back.
It was a ridiculous sight, unbecoming of a Saintess.
As soon as I regained consciousness, I had to choke back my words.
"…What are you doing?"
"Eek!"
The Saintess was so startled she almost fell backward.
Eyes filled with embarrassment and agony turned toward me. Then, a torrent of rambling excuses followed.
"I-Ian! You're awake? I mean, well… I, I was definitely! I definitely wasn't trying to sexually harass you. You know, right? I-I'm a Saintess!"
Looking at the woman muttering with a tearful face, I was certain.
I'm back.
Without having defeated Leoric in the end.
It was a bleak return.
Though, seeing the Saintess's bright red face, I briefly thought it didn't matter.
However, it wasn't just my party waiting for my return.
Shocking news was waiting for me.
Along with a blood-stained envelope decorating a corner of the bedside.