Chapter 265: A-Rank Engagement Record – Borealis (2)
Chapter 265: A-Rank Engagement Record – Borealis (2)
As the cursed grasp descended, my body began to move of its own accord.
At a speed I could never achieve.
Beyond my limits.
With a strength beyond my limits.
And so, a spear of water, impossibly sharp, manifested and pierced him—the one standing before me.
A spear possessing a vast power I could never create.
My body twisted from the recoil of the forced action, but to the entity that caused this, such a thing meant nothing.
Hot, red water gushed out.
A liquid possessing a warmth we did not have.
No, this isn't what I wanted—
“Mishaaaaa!”
Another approached.
Someone holding a hammer, who in a brief moment, had transformed to harbor overwhelming power.
Taking my advice.
Breaking past her limits.
Becoming able to use her entire body as her own power, just like us spirits.
Lee Ha-ram.
It was something to be celebrated, yet—
No! Don't come!
Not now….
My voice, my scream, could not reach the outside.
Instead, what manifested was a crimson spear.
A cruel, red, warm spear, extending from the blood of the silent one fallen before me, pierced the Magical Girl who had just awakened to her new power.
No.
It wasn't me.
This isn't what I—
“Nooooo!”
Finally, my mouth opened.
By my own will.
Only after escaping the hands of the entity that manipulated everything from behind, and only after everything had reached a point of no return.
The white land began to be stained red by the liquid flowing from within the two beings.
And I, too, began to lose my form.
The recoil of exerting power that transcended what was given to me.
The worst possible conclusion.
Because I did not fulfill my role.
Because I made the worst choice.
The worst ending bestowed upon me.
No one was able to leave anything behind.
No one would see the power that overwrites the world, and I, who should have passed it on, fade away here.
All that remains here are three who self-destructed while fighting.
A future broken by a wrong choice.
It can no longer be undone.
All that remains is to regret until the moment of death.
And so, I wailed.
Only after everything had been twisted did I realize the Stigma had left me.
As if the outcome no longer mattered, all the whispers and the grasp that twisted me vanished.
But I can do nothing with this dying body.
Nothing.
No. Wait.
At least, for them... to increase their chances of survival, even by a little...
To a place closer to people….
I stopped my tears and steeled my heart.
To a place even slightly further away. So that even if I fail, I will not regret it.
Just as I thought that and tried to control my crumbling body—
“Cough... Fuck... that hurts like hell….”
He stood up.
Using his hammer as a staff, scattering red blood and flesh.
He... didn't lose consciousness?
Startled, I looked back at him, but he only stared at me with a strange expression.
“...What's with you? Why do you look more dead than me when you're the one who attacked?”
Even as a hole gaped in his chest and countless things spilled from it, he stared intently at me and spoke.
I tried to tell him everything, but—
“Ah!”
The words wouldn't come.
The entity that had drifted far away suddenly whispered to me again.
I felt him looking down at me once more, as if his interest had been piqued again.
“...Something's weird.”
Did he notice the strangeness?
He approached me, spilling countless things as if the contents of his own body were useless, dragging his hammer behind him and leaving a long, red trail.
“If there's a reason, tell me... Misha won't die from that... I'm not dead yet, and that lady is tough as nails... If it's now, we can still turn it back….”
No. Don't come.
This is the hope you just regained.
Even now, just let me crumble and take Misha and get out of here quickly….
I tried to say it, but the words wouldn't come.
He slowly reached out his hand toward me, without any hostility.
Fear welled up.
The fear that the Whisperer would dominate me again.
If that happened, there would be no turning back.
Then, I'd rather...
With that thought, I grit my teeth.
I must become the villain.
With that intent, I waved my hand so my thoughts would reach the water.
By my will, I commanded the spears to strike around the Magical Girl, in places that wouldn't cause injury.
The water, receiving the command, rose into the air and formed long spears.
“...I have no idea what's going on.”
The Magical Girl, though confused, raised his hammer as if he wouldn't allow himself to be attacked any further.
I'm sorry.
You won't be hurt.
I waved my hand and gave the command toward him.
Whoosh.
The air trembled, and the spears flew at high speed.
So fast my ears rang.
As if they were falling toward me.
Thwack.
And then, the water surged.
Transparent, beautiful water.
Within my vision.
“...Huh?”
I looked down.
I saw a long spear.
The spear I had commanded.
And then—
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Every spear I had created rained down upon me.
As if rejecting my command.
And then, I heard the whispers.
‘No, no, no.’
‘Humans. No stab.’
‘You, wrong.’
Emotions as pure as a child's.
In that moment, I understood everything.
The water, which had begun to sprout intelligence and emotion, had betrayed me.
Even though it was newborn, it seemed to know whose fault it was.
Ah. I see.
I have been defeated.
Not by anyone else, but by my newly born kin.
By a pure kin born of Earth, untouched by the reach of the invaders.
Was it because I was facing death?
The voice... the Stigma drifted away again.
My vision began to be dyed in black.
A complete death.
The erasure of my existence, unable even to enter The Cycle.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't afraid.
But I have something I must do.
And so, burning my remaining will, I wove my final words.
“Lee Ha-ram... are you listening?”
“...I'm listening.”
Countless questions and pain were embedded in that voice, but at the very least, I could find no trace of suspicion.
And so—
“As you saw, I have been abandoned by the spirits of Earth. They are the water spirits that have only just begun to be born.”
Because of my mistakes, that is.
Something even a newborn knows.
“They possess a friendly disposition toward humanity.”
Just as we did.
Even if they are contaminated, betrayed, twisted, or annihilated, this will not change.
They might occasionally attack someone in an uncontrollable fit of rage, but... please bear with them.
For they, too, are beings with emotions and individuality, just like us.
“They will become a new strength for the world. They may not possess intelligence or bodies like ours, but they will offer their small aid.”
They will protect the world.
In their own small way.
Holding back enemies with their meager strength.
Warning of The Enemy’s presence through waves and wind.
And swallowing the spreading contamination into their own bodies to reverse it.
Just as we did in the old world, they shall do the same.
“Unlike us, who are contaminated, they are pure. And perhaps, in the distant future.”
Perhaps it won't even be that long.
Since they have already gained intelligence once through me.
Even so.
“Perhaps after hundreds of years, our kin will be born anew.”
They might look different from us.
Their personalities, too.
Perhaps even their very way of existing.
But their origin will be the same.
“Until then, please. I entrust the world to you. I pray that it does not become like our old world... that this new home... becomes a new sanctuary for them….”
My strength... is failing.
The connection to my kin is beginning to sever.
Breaking away from the colony, I feel myself dying as an individual.
Still, it is fine.
For I was able to leave my words behind.
For I was able to leave my will.
“I... will not be able to see it, but please... that future... I beg….”
For some reason, I feel something with soft fur.
Though I can see nothing, and all I can perceive is the sound of my own voice, that warmth reached even me as I sank into the abyss.
“...of... you….”
A final thought comes to mind.
Mother Earth.
That probably doesn't just refer to the ground.
The place where one lives.
It doesn't have to be the earth.
The same goes for The Sea or the sky.
It must have been a term for the place where those clinging to their sorrowful lives give their affection—the place where they live.
If so, were we able to give that to you?
Even if the method was wrong, did you inherit something from us?
Did our desires, our lingering will, reach you?
It is fine if not everyone understands.
If at least someone could recognize the affection hidden within our wrongful deeds... that is enough.
For that is our existence.
Everything was dyed in darkness.
Into that deep place, where even light cannot reach.
Toward the dark abyss.