The Name You Call Me -4- Falling
It falls. Emotions plunge all the way to the bottom. No matter how she tried to pinpoint what had gone wrong or where everything had first twisted apart, the only answer that returned was Ricardo’s cold corpse collapsed before her eyes.
“...Why.”
—...
“Why did you do that?”
—...
“Why…!!!”
Mikhail’s shouts rang hollow inside the dark cave. The illusion magic that had been coaxing forth old memories shattered the moment Ricardo died. Only then did she realize this was not the slum of her past but a cold underground tomb, and the chill of reality sank into every inch of her body.
Mikhail could not understand.
“Why did you give up…?”
What had she ever done for him? He was a worthless, useless existence. She could not fathom why he had chosen sacrifice.
She could only scream into the silence.
“Don’t do this… please.”
“Heh heh heh…”
Yung watched her trembling back and let out a hollow laugh. The script and the ending had not aligned, yet he had still claimed his revenge. The feeling was pleasant and unpleasant at the same time.
“Throwing your life away for mere friendship—how pathetic. That makes it even more entertaining…”
In the end, he had succeeded.
Mikhail’s vision, by contrast, only darkened further. Blood pooled across the floor. The man she had tried so desperately to deny from her memories now lay sprawled on the blade she herself had driven through him.
“...”
The restraint had been lifted.
“...”
She could move her body at will now, could swing her sword however she pleased.
But—
“It’s too late.”
There were far too many things she had done with her own hands to enjoy any happiness that freedom might bring.
“Who’s the villain here…”
Mikhail ground her teeth and muttered under her breath. She remembered the way his hand had gone slack at the very end and clenched her jaw until it hurt.
“Who’s the scum…”
No matter how many times she called, Ricardo would not move. Mikhail stared down at him and tightened her fists.
“What… are you sorry for…?”
—I’m sorry.
“What are you sorry for… when you’re the one leaving so selfishly… what the hell are you sorry for!!!”
Her fingers shook. Disgust surged up her throat until even her fingertips felt powerless. She hated the sight of herself—angry, weak, stupid—so much that her teeth began to chatter.
His final farewell echoed like a dagger in her chest.
—You’ve grown up so wonderfully.
Mikhail parted her cold, unmoving lips. Her mouth was parched, yet the only words she could manage were one desperate plea.
“Get up.”
—Plop…
“Get up…”
—Plop…
“Please… just get up.”
Hot tears fell one by one onto Ricardo’s unresponsive body. This was the reunion she had waited for so long, the moment she had believed would never come again in her lifetime. Yet everything had circled back to the beginning. Mikhail swallowed her sobs in silence.
The instant her tears threatened to soak into Ricardo’s clothes, Yung’s sneering voice slithered into her ear.
“You finally did it.”
“...”
“You acted like you didn’t want to, yet you finished it beautifully.”
“...”
“Impressive, kid. Honestly, I never thought I’d succeed. I was sure he wouldn’t give up, so I even prepared for mutual destruction… The result isn’t exactly to my taste, but it was still a decent little tragedy.”
“...Shut up.”
Yung laughed as though none of it mattered and turned to Mikhail.
“Now only our story remains.”
“I said shut up.”
“Let’s have a bloody fight to the finish. Whoever survives will keep this memory.”
“Shut up!”
The sword brimming with aura sliced through the air. Caught off guard, Yung spun quickly and barely avoided it.
—Crack.
“Hm…?”
Yung touched his cheek. Blood came away on his fingers. His pupils trembled. A chill ran through him at the sight of Mikhail’s icy gaze.
‘How did it reach me…?’
It should have been an impossible distance. He should have sensed the sword and dodged it easily. Why—
While complicated thoughts swirled in Yung’s mind, Mikhail’s cold voice reached his ear.
“I told you to shut up.”
She stared at him in silence, eyes containing nothing but pure rage, her face frozen in a cold mask. With a lifeless expression, she spoke lightly.
“Ricardo is sleeping.”
“Have you grown by overcoming the pain of parting?”
“Ricardo is sleeping, I said.”
“Are you still trapped in pointless delusions? Let this uncle tell you clearly. He’s dead. You killed him with your own hands. Can’t you tell the magic has been undone?”
Yung looked at her with an intrigued smile. She didn’t seem ready to die just yet. Originally he had intended to offer his own life to keep the promise he had spoken, but—
“I changed my mind.”
A far more interesting story had occurred to him.
A fight to the death? He had thought of a much more entertaining play than that crude farce.
Yung rose, drew the sword at his waist, and slowly approached the coldly staring Mikhail.
“Do you want to kill me, kid?”
“...”
“Do you feel like chopping off my arms and legs and keeping me alive? Or grinding me up and drinking me alive?”
“I…”
—Slice.
“Urk…!”
Mikhail flicked the blood from her blade and spoke to him.
“I told you to shut up.”
Yung let out a mocking laugh at her unchanging cold expression.
“Why are you so angry?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“In the end you’ve simply returned to where you started.”
“...”
“That kid was already dead inside your memories anyway. Yet here you are throwing a tantrum because you killed him again with your own hands. Just like a tragic heroine.”
A tiny crack appeared in Mikhail’s expressionless mask. She could not simply let Yung’s words pass.
“Memories…? Where I started…?”
Her breath was still shaking, the sensation on her fingertips still ice-cold. To listen quietly to his crude mockery that ignored all of it was revolting…!
“If it weren’t for you… none of this would have happened.”
She wanted to rip that ugly mouth apart while it was still alive.
“Oh dear, little one…”
“Shut your mouth.”
“No matter how much you hate me, the past won’t change.”
The root of every single tragedy.
“Curse me all night long. Will that bring him back to life?”
“...Either way, you’re dying today.”
“Who? You…?”
Mikhail thrust her sword again, this time with genuine intent to kill.
“There is no one left in this world who can stop me.”
She unleashed aura of two colors—silver and ash-gray. The blade carrying both powers streaked toward Yung’s throat.
—Clang!
Yung barely blocked the aura and spat out a sneer, trying to provoke an opening. His current body could not withstand Mikhail. The wounds he had suffered fighting the Archbishop of Greed were nothing to scoff at either.
“...Why wouldn’t there be someone to stop you? I can just erase your memories. And do you really think you can do anything? Once I set the puppet up again, you’ll just—”
“No. I’m going to kill them all now.”
“...”
“What good is justice… There’s no one left I need to look good for.”
“You killed him! With your own hands! Kahaha!”
“Yes… Now I have no one. Why did I try so hard to be a good person… doing all those stupid things just to endure… How much blood did I spit holding on through those days, only for everything to circle back again…?”
The aura fueled by rage only hardened her broken blade further.
But—
—Crack…
Mikhail’s old sword, long past its limit, could no longer endure the power and shattered.
Yung looked at the broken halves and gave a twisted smile.
Yet—
“I will kill you.”
Mikhail’s strike did not stop. Aiming solely for Yung’s throat, it pressed forward relentlessly.
“W-wait!”
Yung could not regain his stance against her rapid approach. The wound from the previous battle had reopened while he blocked the last attack.
‘Ugh… that Greed bastard…!’
Mikhail did not miss the moment he lost balance. A wet squish sounded chillingly in her ears.
“Guh…!”
Yung stared at the broken blade buried in his stomach and gave a bitter smile. The sword snapping had spared him a fatal wound.
“My victory, kid.”
If he seized her head again and rewrote her memories, victory would be his. The thought of turning her into a puppet while preserving her ego made him laugh. He slapped his hand onto Mikhail’s head.
“What are you doing…?”
“...Why isn’t the magic—!”
“Get that filthy hand off my head.”
The cold voice made Yung feel as if his heart had frozen solid.
Mikhail was looking straight into his eyes. The earlier wavering was gone; only pure murderous intent remained.
‘The magic…’
He was clearly holding her head. She should have lost her memories and collapsed…!
“I’ll cut off your other hand too, so take it off.”
Mikhail twisted the sword buried in his gut, having overcome the black magic. She had grown. No—she had become unbreakable. He was already beyond the reach of cheap tricks.
“Cough…!”
A thick stream of blood poured from Yung’s mouth.
The sword, yanked out with brutal force, drew a red line across his abdomen before meeting the cold air. Without giving him a moment’s rest, Mikhail aimed the tip at his throat.
“Die.”
“...Wait, kid! I’ll give you good memories—!”
“Stop acting pathetic…”
“Not yet! Not yet—!”
—Stab…!
In a heavy voice, Mikhail told him.
“Now disappear.”
—Step… Step…
Only now could she see. Ricardo’s figure stood clear and upright.
“...I see you.”
With powerless steps, Mikhail walked toward the man lying on the ground. Even in death he had stayed right there, as though cheering her on until the very end.
“Now… I see you properly.”
With trembling fingers she stroked his cheek, then pressed her forehead to his.
The fog was lifting. The long haze that had blinded her for so many years finally cleared.
“I… was very late, wasn’t I?”
“...”
“I’m sorry I came so late…”
Now Ricardo looked exactly like the boy from her memories—young, strong, and kind.
“I’m truly sorry…”
—Crunch!
“...!”
Yung, clutching the sword buried in his neck, staggered to his feet and roared with lungs that held no air.
“Kahahahaha!!!”
Mikhail glared at him in shock. The man she had believed dead was standing there, coughing blood. The moment she gathered aura to reach for Tyrving lying beside Ricardo—
Yung, face twisted with madness, shouted at her.
“Kid! Let’s go together!!!”
“When did you—!”
“Wouldn’t that be better? Rather than living with those terrible memories, it’s easier to just die—!”
With a twisted smile, Yung activated the orb.
—Click…!
A massive explosion roared in Mikhail’s ears, erupting from deep underground.
“Kahahaha! Yes, this is a masterpiece…!”
“...”
“I should have done this from the start. Puhaha… ha… uh…?”
Mikhail did not hear Yung’s laughter fade. She did not see his face trembling as he stared at something.
What filled her eyes was an enormous flame descending the cave stairs. The giant blaze created by the orb swallowed her entire field of vision.
Mikhail closed her eyes and thought, He’s burdening me until the very end.
Tears would not stop at having created the worst possible outcome without a clean ending.
‘Until when…’
The light of the explosion drew closer. Mikhail, eyes closed, offered a sad smile.
“I’m sorry…”
I hope we never meet again. If we had never met, we wouldn’t have had to suffer this tragedy.
“...I really.”
If there is a next life, I want to become someone who can help you. But you probably wouldn’t want to tie yourself to someone like me again.
Amid falling tears, Mikhail turned her head toward where Ricardo had been lying.
“...”
Nothing was there. Her eyes widened and she whipped her head around.
And then—
“...Look.”
A familiar voice reached her ear. Her pupils trembled.
It was red hair. A broad back she wanted to lean against. A figure she wanted to hide behind.
Ricardo, holding Mikhail in his arms, spoke in a playful murmur.
“Aren’t you the only one satisfied before self-destructing? What kind of promise is that when you were just going to do whatever you wanted anyway?”
Yung stared at him in panic.
“H-how are you alive?! You should have been dead!”
“Me?” Ricardo shook his head with an expression that said this was truly amusing. “Why would I be dead? I’m perfectly alive.”
He scoffed and looked at Yung with pity.
“Ugly to the very end. No wonder your first love cheated on you.”
“You bastard…!”
“I simply played along. Pfft… Ah. This is fun. Oh, right… That first love is probably living happily with that man now, raising their child. She regained her memories or something. Isn’t it funny?”
“You bastard…!”
“I understand. You can’t fix an ugly face, after all.”
Together with the massive explosion, the underground chamber began to collapse along with Yung’s hollow expression.
“A… aaaaaagh! I’ll kill you!”
—Rumble…
“If you can. Ah… you’re already dead.”
It all came crashing down.
Ricardo held Mikhail close and whispered softly.
“Your name really was pretty.”
“...”
“Misa.”
The name you call me, my name…
“Thank you…”
It had been sweet.