Chapter 103
Chapter 103
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 103
>Chapter Title: Damn It
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ruins of the wasteland.
In the enveloping silence, a single breeze blew, tickling the skin.
“……Ah.”
Obern, who had been slowly blinking his eyes, fully opened them and blankly took in the scenery ahead.
What had happened while he had covered his ears and closed his eyes? The ground was a total mess, like the heart of a battlefield.
Atop it, achromatic objects writhed.
[This…… body, burden…… mere…….]
Collapsed ice barrier.
Amid its rubble, a being that could hardly be called human kept writhing its body.
As if caught in invisible threads. No, like a broken doll, it jerked and extended its hand.
Just one step.
One step, and it could seize the Grand Duchess and Obern's throats, yet it merely staggered.
That was the moment.
Srak—
A sharp slicing sound, like thin paper cutting into skin.
[……Aaaaaah!]
It was then that Destroyer let out a scream.
Obern unconsciously tried to cover his ears at the sight, but the Grand Duchess's indifferent voice rang in his ear.
“You can rest assured. All impure energy has vanished.”
Was that the signal?
Sssruk.
Destroyer's body split diagonally. The upper half slid smoothly along the fissure over the icy surface.
Soon—
Thud!
There was no movement. The instant the upper part hit the ground, it lay utterly still, as if all vital functions had ceased.
Sarak……
That impure—no, formerly impure—mass of flesh scattered like sand in the blowing wind and faded away into the distance.
That was when Obern snapped out of it.
“De, Death Knight! What of Death Knight……!”
“…….”
The Grand Duchess said nothing. She merely stared straight ahead with her deep blue eyes.
‘Death Knight? Death…….’
Obern tried calling Shine through his spirit link, but there was no response. It merely echoed as an empty soliloquy in his mind.
“Boy, that lost soul has met its end.”
Unable to watch any longer, the Grand Duchess spoke, but Obern did not hear.
‘Death Knight perished? No way……. He never said anything like that.’
He had. Obern knew it all too well.
On their way back to the ancient ruins to save Aster, Obern and Shine had envisioned what lay ahead.
How to save Aster. Whether they could escape Destroyer. Or what to do if they had to fight.
Every scenario awaiting them was a perilous moment where not even an instant of hesitation could be afforded.
Shine had drilled the worst-case scenario into Obern time and again.
- Young master, you must never hesitate. Got it? Hesitate even for a second, and I'll take your head myself.
- But if I do that, Death Knight……
- What, at worst, I'll die? But……
‘But.’ With that, Shine had fixed Obern with burning eyes.
- The living must live.
“……Ah.”
Obern collapsed to the ground with a thud, covering his face with his small hands.
It was something he had resolved himself to the moment he activated Overclock. He had steeled his heart. Loss. He had harbored venom to prepare for it.
It was inevitable, he had convinced himself. Something he had to endure, he had swallowed his patience.
But the reality that struck…… the void left by loss was far too vast.
“Boy, is it that painful?”
“…….”
The Grand Duchess gazed down at the sobbing Obern with languid eyes. Her usual air of utter disinterest. Yet, a flicker of emotion briefly crossed her gaze.
“Boy, raise your head and look at me.”
The Grand Duchess's hand rested on Obern's shoulder. Quite large for a woman's, it pressed down firmly. The warmth was gentle, but the strength it carried felt somehow heavy.
At that weight, Obern lifted his head. Meeting his eyes, the Grand Duchess spoke.
“Smile.”
“…….”
“Was it not a victorious battle?”
“…….”
“Then smile. Laugh loudly, sing songs. Clink glasses and revel with all your might. That is…… the respect owed to your comrade.”
The Grand Duchess's gaze bored straight into Obern. A clear light dwelled in her languid eyes. Overwhelmed by that stare, Obern watched as she flashed a grin.
“…….”
At that smile, Obern forcibly curled up the corners of his mouth.
His shoulders shook as a laugh spilled out. No, it was a sound indistinguishable from a sob.
But that lasted only a moment.
“Ugh, hng……!”
A choked voice. Tears welled up and fell from Obern's eyes.
He simply could not smile.
Unable to swallow the sob that burst forth, he wailed as if the world were ending. The Grand Duchess slowly closed her eyes. She erased her presence, becoming like a person who was not there.
It was her own way of showing consideration, allowing Obern to pour out his emotions without reserve.
* * *
After a long while, Obern wiped away his tears with a somewhat composed expression.
“I showed an unsightly side……”
“It is only natural. How many could stoically bear the loss of someone close? Does your heart feel a bit lighter now?”
“……Haha.”
Obern glanced toward where Shine had stood.
It was an awkward laugh, but the Grand Duchess could sense the emotion within it.
“Indeed, if it were a loss that could be shaken off with a single cry, no tears would have come. In any case…….”
The Grand Duchess glanced at Aster.
“That impudent priest—I'd like to take a quick look at him. Is that alright?”
“Yes? That…….”
Obern hesitated in his reply. He recalled how Shine had blocked the Grand Duchess.
They hadn't spent much time together, and he never learned her true nature to the end.
Yet the time they shared had been brief but intensely profound, enough to grasp each other's character.
Obern subtly stepped in front of Aster.
The Grand Duchess let out an amused chuckle.
“Hmm, you don't trust me?”
“That's…….”
“The crime of bypassing me to claim Sakwol merits death, but that will be settled after meeting my master. And above all…….”
She glanced toward where Shine had stood.
“Is he not the one your comrade tried to protect?”
“…….”
Obern clamped his mouth shut at those words.
Because he knew Shine's personality, he could easily imagine what he would have said if he were here.
Probably……
‘You lunatic. What comrade? Comrade my ass. Shows up at the last second and sticks his nose in…….’
He would have grumbled and scolded pointlessly.
Delighted deep down by the word ‘comrade,’ yet hiding it behind feigned embarrassment.
Recalling him, Obern steeled himself against the fresh sting in his eyes.
“That priest deserves a final farewell too, no?”
In the end, Obern stepped aside.
‘Final farewell.’ Those words had struck his heart.
And rightly so—Death Knight Shine von Remang had left nothing behind.
Before Obern even opened his eyes, the Duke had scattered like smoke along with the perishing entity, and his sword had shared his master's fate.
Not even a single sword left behind.
“Then…….”
“If I can wake him, I will.”
With that, the Grand Duchess checked Aster's pulse.
‘Hmm, indeed……. Quite the extraordinary one?’
Aster's internals were in dire straits.
Yet utterly fascinating.
Like a stone worn smooth by ages?
A damaged core would normally show cracks, but there were none—perfectly smooth.
Merely thinned to an infinite degree. As if someone had polished it thinner and thinner.
The same went for his other circuits.
But that was not what surprised the Grand Duchess.
‘Quite…… the unique mana he possesses?’
Pure mana. No, purity beyond mere description.
Like someone who had devoted a lifetime to refinement, utterly flawless.
Its attribute…… unknown.
‘This priest is hiding quite a lot.’
The sensed mana attribute was null. It bore no hue.
From that earlier pillar of fire, one would assume fire attribute mana, yet it eluded grasp.
But techniques to conceal mana attributes did exist……
To the Grand Duchess, it simply registered unconsciously as Aster hiding his attribute. Her thoughts never reached the Decullan Heavenly Origin Art.
In any case.
“Hmm, he should awaken soon.”
Having diagnosed Aster's condition, the Grand Duchess promptly infused mana and began treatment.
Truth be told, it hardly qualified as treatment.
She merely accelerated the sluggish flow of mana through his circuits a bit.
Simple in words, but recklessly attempting it on a core and circuits thinned like Aster's could harm the patient.
Yet the Grand Duchess handled the process with ease.
How much time passed?
When she removed her hand from his pulse, Aster stirred with a faint groan.
“Ung…….”
“Se, senior. Are you conscious?”
“You…….”
Propping himself up, Aster stared blankly at Obern's face with wide eyes.
“……Obern?”
Focus returned to his pupils, and his own name slipped from his lips. Obern nodded.
He was glad.
But only for a moment.
“Yes. I, Obern. Senior. How did you…….”
“You're quite the sinful one yourself.”
“……Yes?”
“They say the meek ones are the worst. Looks like you've piled up sins no less than me.”
“What do you…….”
Obern tilted his head in confusion, but only briefly.
“But if you're dead too…… Agh!”
Bam!
A resounding impact echoed in all directions.
Aster's vision flashed white, while a stinging pain bloomed at the back of his head.
“P, parasite…… Whoa?”
Assuming it was Shine, Aster whipped around. But his eyes soon widened round.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Your senior brother. Didn't master tell you?”
“Senior brother? What senior brother. Did I even have a master? The pain's real, so not a dream.”
Aster rubbed his throbbing occiput.
This vivid pain. Definitely not a dream. And likewise, not dead.
‘Which means this isn't hell…….’
Then Obern hadn't fallen to hell either.
“Even a mad master can't overlook a priest's words…….”
“Shh, quiet.”
Aster hushed the Grand Duchess and calmly sifted through his hazy memories.
Had he lost consciousness? The prior events swirled in chaos through his mind. But only briefly.
“Obern, why're you here again?”
“That…….”
“Tsk, never mind. The parasite must've dragged you. Uselessly sharp instincts.”
Obern wasn't particularly sharp.
Surely Shine had spotted a slip in his words or sensed something and turned back.
But……
“Destroyer?”
“That…… We stopped it.”
“…….”
A sudden premonition flashed through his mind. Aster stood and glanced around.
After surveying the devastated wasteland once, he turned to Obern and asked.
“The parasite?”
“…….”
Obern gave no answer. No, he tried, but his throat choked, voice failing.
The Grand Duchess spoke instead.
“He perished.”
“……Perished?”
“Yes. Repelled Destroyer to save you. Then perished.”
Aster stared quietly at the Grand Duchess.
He didn't know who she was. The blue eyes and overbearing tone grated especially. But beyond annoyance, her gaze was chillingly cold.
“……Damn it.”
Aster's hollow voice echoed into the void.
A red sunset was falling.