The Unseen Sacrifices
The tears of truth showed no sign of stopping. Her heart was worn raw by endless self-reproach, yet the world kept turning, refusing to wait for Erielle. The scenery that had once been the academy now shifted into Snowfield Village. In the distance, she saw herself walking alongside Venice, chatting as they strolled through the village.
"Cough... cough..."
There she was, coughing repeatedly, while Venice watched her with concern. It was clearly before her cold had worsened. At that moment, she felt an alien energy stirring within her coughing body. It resembled the dark mana she could now sense, yet it was somehow different.
Why... why could she feel such an ominous energy coming from herself?
"......"
Venice suddenly began studying her with an intent gaze. Why... why did he look so sorrowful? Could it be...
"No... Please, don't..."
"I'll pat your back for you."
Despite Erielle's desperate screams, Venice placed his hand on her back. Soon, a dark energy began flowing out of her body and into his. She had denied it, insisting it couldn't be possible, but Venice absorbed the energy into himself anyway. Her past self's complexion brightened instantly, while Venice's grew darker.
"....Cough."
When Venice coughed softly, blood trickled from his lips. Watching the scene, Erielle felt her chest tear apart with pain and guilt.
"Ah... aah..."
What she had thought was a cold that came and went in an instant had actually been something akin to the dark mana lingering in her body. Every time Venice patted and stroked her back, her condition miraculously improved. She had felt grateful to him, and a new curiosity had sparked within her. But the cold hadn't simply vanished—Venice had absorbed the energy that had been gnawing at her body. He must have known that taking in that energy would damage him.
When yet another hidden truth surfaced, Erielle crumbled once more. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor, reaching out with trembling hands toward her past self.
"Please... look behind you..."
Turn around, even now. Look at Venice's face behind you. You could figure it out if you just turned. Her illness had suddenly improved while someone else's complexion had worsened. If she turned around now, everything could still be undone. So please, look back... I'm begging you.
"No... No...!"
But her cries, of course, never reached her past self. That detestable version of herself simply continued walking with her usual blank expression, never noticing the sad smile on Venice's face as he followed behind.
"Ugh... aaah...!"
"...You seem to understand my feelings a little now."
The angel stared at that hateful past self who walked on without noticing Venice's sacrifice, while Erielle pounded the floor and wailed. With a sharp crack, the world shifted again.
She was now inside her own room in Snowfield Village, a place all too familiar.
"Cough... cough..."
Her past self lay bedridden with a severe headache and fever burning through her body. Family members looked down at her worriedly, and Venice watched in silence. Eventually, only the two of them remained in the room. Once her past self fell asleep, Venice offered a sad smile before his expression hardened with resolve.
"No... Don't do it...! I told you not to...!"
"Cough... cough..."
"Aaaaaah...!!"
Erielle sank into despair as she watched her sleeping past self and Venice, who continued absorbing the energy even as he coughed up blood. The worse Venice's complexion became and the more frequently he spat blood, the more the energy inside her faded. Meanwhile, that same energy began to accumulate clearly within Venice's body.
Stop. Please, stop. You're killing yourself. Stop it. She screamed for him to take his hands off her disgusting self and tried to run to him, but her fingers passed through empty air.
"Hic... sob..."
Realizing there was no way to reach either Venice or her past self no matter how hard she tried, Erielle sank to the floor and could only stare blankly at the scene.
Time flowed swiftly. One day, two days, then three passed. Venice remained by her collapsed form without rest, continuously drawing out the energy. Even after finishing his nursing duties in the evening, he went out alone to hunt down dark mages, eliminating them and rescuing victims. To any observer, he looked like a devoted hero—so selfless that one might call him a fool.
Time continued to pass. At some point, Venice's eyes began to waver and he grew restless. The reason was her own sudden departure for the imperial capital.
"At this rate... there won't be time to treat her..."
Even though the process was harming his own body, his expression and words showed that he prioritized not being able to absorb the energy over his own well-being. Erielle's heart was pierced by yet another nail at his incomprehensible devotion, and fresh tears streamed down her face.
Eventually, Venice packed his bag alone and set off for Snowfield Village. After exchanging friendly greetings with the villagers, he changed into a dark mage's robe with a tense expression and climbed onto the highest rooftop in the village. From there, he began watching over the village without so much as blinking. He skipped meals, continuing his vigil out of fear that dark mages might attack at any moment. He didn't leave his post until the following night.
Then it happened. Dark mana began rising from all directions around Snowfield Village. It was the hour when all the villagers were asleep, and no one else noticed the dark mana. But it rose rapidly—fast enough that even if someone ran from house to house waking everyone, it would already be too late.
Venice looked around, then sprinted toward the orphanage. He gathered various flammable materials and set them ablaze. The orphanage burst into flames and collapsed with a deafening explosion, startling the villagers awake. They rushed outside, spotted the burning orphanage, and ran to alert their neighbors until the entire village had gathered.
Venice began dealing with the dark mages who came running toward the fire. He perfectly eliminated the group that tried to block the evacuating villagers. After confirming that the residents had escaped safely, he searched the village for the remaining dark mages and eliminated them one by one.
".......!"
During the chaos, an enormous surge of dark mana erupted from the village center. When Venice rushed there, a powerful dark mage greeted him. After a brief exchange, they clashed in battle. At first the dark mage held the advantage, but Venice feigned an opening, reversed the dark magic with inverse calculation, and claimed victory.
The face behind the shattered mask belonged to someone Erielle also knew—Karl Vent. That repulsive man had been a dark mage all along. Venice ended the vile Karl Vent with a single strike.
".....No..."
Immediately afterward, the furious faces of Kayle and Fria appeared, along with her own disgusted expression. They raged at what they saw without knowing the truth. Erielle felt nauseated watching them.
The moment he spotted them, Venice's eyes shook violently. She was the one who grabbed him as he tried to flee quickly to join the assembly. In the end, her own magic revealed Venice's face, and her past self refused to even listen to his attempts at explanation.
"Don't... Venice isn't that kind of person..."
Despite Erielle's quiet sobs, her past self continued to corner Venice. He silently endured the accusations. There was no time left for him—he had to move immediately to thwart the dark mages' plan.
"....I'm sorry."
In the end, Venice chose to sacrifice himself to save many others. She and her friends, who had failed to realize even that, cursed, blamed, and hated him for it. They disparaged and condemned the noble sacrifice of someone purer and kinder than anyone else. In a situation where even a saint would feel wronged, Venice had sacrificed himself for her and her friends. How much pain had he endured while silently bearing those accusations alone? How much had it hurt to have his noble sacrifice torn down and dismissed with a few words?
Venice ran off. Hot tears streamed from his eyes as he kept repeating apologies. Time flowed once more.
Venice infiltrated the dark mages' leadership by pretending to be Karl Vent. She watched him continue his endless efforts to save everyone at the cost of his own life, suppressing his rage. He hid among the repulsive dark mages, currying favor with them while holding back his emotions.
What had she been doing at that time?
While Venice risked his life to make sacrifices, she had disparaged him with disgusting delusions and distrust.
"...Ha... haha..."
She was an idiot. Every action he took had been for others rather than himself—a noble sacrifice—and yet she hadn't recognized it. She had even distrusted and hated the very person who had offered up his own body to save her. She was the vermin who had cast aside her savior time and time again. A fool who couldn't see the truth because of her petty thoughts. That human trash... had been her.