Limbs Restored, Rin is Dead
Rin and Lucy headed straight into the cave.
He wanted to block the cave entrance with snow to cover their tracks completely, but unfortunately, Rin's physical condition was too poor.
His shoulder had been pierced by the succubus's claws, and his back was so stiff and painful from falling onto the rocks from the cliff that he could neither stand up straight nor bend over.
"Rin, are you okay?"
Lucy, clinging to his chest, asked in worry, but Rin only nodded, unable to muster a proper reply.
His ragged breathing made it clear he was suppressing immense pain.
Lucy felt deeply apologetic as he trudged forward in silence, even though carrying her and the makeshift carrier put a terrible strain on his back.
"It looks like an ordinary cave, but the engravings prove it's the Goddess's Sanctuary. The pain is definitely less intense than when we were outside."
Rin spoke up on purpose to soothe her worries.
"So we found the right place?"
"A series of coincidences led us to the right spot."
True to its name as a sanctuary, no monsters spawned on this map.
Instead, there was a time attack.
Even in the DLC, the player enters this area while being chased by a succubus.
The final mission of Chapter 1 was to find the Elixir and restore Lucy before the succubus caught up.
But this was reality, not a game.
And the situation was spiraling toward the worst-case scenario.
First of all, it was freezing.
They had been driven out into the snowy peaks of the Frozen Mountains without acquiring any winter gear.
As the adrenaline faded and the sweat from their frantic escape cooled, a biting chill immediately set in.
This chill would soon turn into a freezing cold that would seep deep into their bones.
It was a shame that a place called the Goddess's Sanctuary offered no warmth.
"Lucy, are you cold?"
"I'm fine. What about you, Rin?"
Then there's no need to use a skill scroll yet, Rin thought.
That was his conclusion.
He could feel it. He was reaching his limit.
Every single step was a battle.
Lifting his knees and stepping forward.
It was a simple, repetitive motion, yet he couldn't keep his balance and dragged his feet along the ground.
I need to prepare for the worst.
If a luggage carrier who couldn't even fight wanted to be of any help later, it was better to save his items.
Even if they were items carrying the warmth of the deceased, he hoped Lucy would find good use for them.
The layout of the Goddess's Sanctuary was extremely simple.
It was classified as a puzzle map, but calling it a puzzle was almost embarrassing.
Since proper combat was only possible from Chapter 2 onward once Lucy recovered, the sanctuary was designed so that walking straight ahead would lead directly to the hall containing the Elixir.
Thus, one only needed to walk straight to reach the chamber where the Elixir rested.
The reason it was still considered a puzzle map was because of the numerous side paths branching off the main route, leading to hidden items.
Exploring those paths yielded decent skill scrolls and consumable items, but more than anything, they triggered a massive barrage of illusions and text depicting the past of the luggage carrier and Lucy.
Combined with the succubus time attack, it was a mechanic designed to build tension in the final mission of Chapter 1.
Although one could clear the stage by just walking straight, skipping items and lore was never an easy choice for a player.
Especially if it was their first playthrough.
But Rin was different.
Besides, he was the luggage carrier himself. What was the point of watching his own past?
He already knew Lucy's past, too.
Because he had already beaten the game.
So, Rin paid no mind to the side paths and simply walked forward.
However...
"A treasure chest?"
Even though he was walking straight down the main path, a treasure chest containing an item sat right in the middle of the road.
Wondering if it was a mimic, he threw a stone at it, but it didn't budge.
When he carefully opened it, he found a skill scroll inside.
◈ Description: Completely shatters the mental state of an unforgivable party member. Drains the target's MP, Stamina, or Holy Power to 0, preventing any future recovery. Induces mental collapse as a side effect.
◈ Flavor Text:"No other way. Must shatter this mental world."
It was a skill he had never seen before.
Furthermore, the skill description was incredibly brutal.
But by now, he was unfazed by anomalies of this level.
However, the moment Rin tucked the scroll into his Luggage Carrier's Bag—
"Rin?!"
"Dammit...!"
A dark energy enveloped them, instantly creating a shroud of blackness.
We don't have time to watch the past!
Nostalgic scenery flashed before his eyes, and whispers began to echo in his ears.
"Lucy?"
"..."
Lucy was pale as a sheet.
She seemed to have been completely consumed by the illusion.
It couldn't be helped.
Rin was also trapped in the illusion, but he could still clearly see the path through the sanctuary.
"Keep up, Lee! I'm going to make sure no one ever looks down on us again!"
So noisy. Well, that wish did come true in one way or another.
Though it might be a far cry from what you actually wanted.
"I'm different from you guys. I'm going to reach greater heights and achieve great things. When that day comes, I'll personally bestow my grace upon you."
Bestow grace? More like I'm on my way to get revenge, you brat.
His heart grew heavy.
"Hey, luggage carrier. Why on earth do we have to drag you along when you're absolutely useless in battle?"
It was all for today, for this very moment.
Unfortunately for you, I'm immune to mental attacks and status ailments.
Though I have no idea why.
Rin simply walked forward in silence.
"They're heading your way!"
"I've got it covered!"
Amidst the chaotic swinging of swords, three or four beasts slipped past Lucy's attack range and rushed toward the castle, but Nydrian quickly shot them down with her arrows.
"Formula complete. Deploying defensive barrier."
Tigria cast her magic, enveloping the castle in a protective shield.
"Huff... huff...! Finally...!"
Lucy took a stance, holding Hnoni.
As a reddish-gold light began to gather on the Holy Sword, a unique mutant beast charged straight at her.
"Blocking!"
Clang—!
Morgan Reinhold blocked the beast's tackle but was pushed back, his boots dragging along the ground.
As the mutant beast roared during the clash of strength, a swarm of monsters bypassed him and targeted Lucy.
"Think you're smart, do you?!"
Arciel, holding the left flank, slowed their charge with a flurry of punches, while Nydrian rained down arrows on the right to eliminate them.
"Target acquired. Extract, compress, compress, compress, accelerate... Ignite!!"
As Tigria clenched her fist, a massive explosion erupted among the beasts swarming from behind.
Her ability to manifest magic formulas exactly as she spoke them was far beyond impressive.
Squeeeeeeak—!!!
Yet, one of them miraculously survived, leaping over both the mutant beast and Reinhold to charge directly at Lucy.
"Damn it!"
"Tigria! One got through!"
"Tsk...! Target, accelerate, shift, accelerate, sharpen!"
Urged on by Arciel and Nydrian, Tigria quickly fired her magic, but it missed.
As Lucy, who hadn't fully charged her energy yet, hesitated over whether she should release her sword energy early—
"Aaaaaah!"
Screaming in terror, the luggage carrier charged at the wild boar beast, holding a small shield that could barely cover his own body.
Thwack!
"Squeal!"
He was thrown back with an unsightly shriek, but he had bought just enough time for her to reach full charge.
"I draw...!"
Swinging the Holy Sword with fully gathered power, she unleashed a wave of brilliant reddish-gold sword energy.
The energy sliced through the unique mutant and the rest of the rabble in a single blow, flying far into the distance to obliterate their nest.
"...I did it!"
With this, he could finally make up for his pathetic display of hiding behind a shield last time.
The Hero roughly shoved the luggage carrier, who couldn't hide his joy.
"Don't do useless things!"
"B-but this time, I...!"
"Even if you're a non-combatant, you're still part of the Hero's party. If you die from some reckless stunt, people will doubt our absolute strength and panic!"
"But... I can't just stand back like a coward forever!"
Lucy knew it too.
She knew the luggage carrier secretly practiced with a sword and shield.
But he had no talent.
Combat was simply not his domain.
"Sure, good job."
"Right? I'm still lacking in many ways, but if I keep at it..."
No, don't say it.
She ran forward to stop herself, but the Lucy of the past passed right through her.
"Hey, luggage carrier."
Don't!
"If you're a luggage carrier, act like one and just carry the bags."
Don't say that to Rin!
"Don't go showing off and end up as a corpse we have to carry."
"Ah..."
His voice died.
His shoulders slumped.
She had thought it was for his own good.
She believed that giving him false hope would only get him killed, so stopping him with harsh words was the most effective way.
That was what she had believed back then.
"Oh, my."
Beside her, as she stood frozen, stood Rin, his mask removed.
The two of them were watching their past selves.
"I thought you'd be reliving the memory of having your limbs severed, but what are you doing here?"
"Who are you?"
"Oh, you're so sure I'm not Rin?"
"Rin doesn't talk like that."
"Rin doesn't talk like this?"
Rin's face began to smudge like wet paint, until it looked as if someone had crudely painted a giant 'X' over it.
"Do you really know Rin that well?"
"Rin is mine...!"
"You sound like a parrot, repeating the same thing over and over."
The paint-smeared figure grabbed her shoulder.
As it did, its hand dissolved like paint, melting her arm.
Then her other arm, and both of her legs.
The smeared entity grabbed her limbs and dragged them down.
"Aaaaaaaaargh—!!!!!"
Lucy screamed at the burning agony.
The pain was so intense that the tears welling in her eyes dried up instantly.
The paint dripped down, and her missing limbs flailed uselessly.
"Get away from me!!!!"
"Oh, my. You're rejecting me? The very thing you wanted so badly?"
"You're not Rin!"
"Of course I'm not. But I am the very thing you and Rin have been searching for."
"Aaaaaaargh!!!"
"Does it hurt? Is it painful? Hmm?"
The paint did not leave her alone for even a second.
It kept pulling at her limbs, pinning her down so she couldn't move.
"Is it your severed limbs that hurt?!"
"Riiiiin!!!"
"Selfish to the very end!"
"Help me, Rin!!!!"
The paint forced her head up.
Grabbing her face as she lay prone, it forced her to look forward.
"Look! Look at what you did to him!"
"Noooooo!!"
The luggage carrier had tried.
He had tried so many different ways to win the favor of the other party members.
And thousands of times, he had hung his head.
And most of the time, the one who made him hang his head was Lucy herself.
"Are you completely brainless? I was just trying to have a moment alone with Reinhold!"
"You burned the soup while training...? Are you sure you're even a luggage carrier?"
"Just shut up. You're making everyone uncomfortable. Can't you just do your job in silence?"
No matter how hard she stared with wide eyes, she could never see his expression behind the mask.
She could only feel him slowly growing numb.
"In a way, it's a relief. Getting this far is a huge step forward."
The paint-like entity began to melt and run all over her.
Though Lucy was drenched in the paint, it felt scalding hot, as if she were being burned alive.
A silent scream echoed.
“——!!!!!!!”
"Oh! Your bones are already forming. See? Restoring your limbs is nothing to me."
Lucy struggled with all her might to stand.
Amidst the unimaginable agony, the sheer intensity of the pain kept her conscious.
"Restoring the body is easy! But... even I can't do anything about a dead heart."
The melting paint pointed a finger at the luggage carrier.
"Do you see it? Do you see it? Do you?!"
The luggage carrier no longer lifted his head.
Lucy burst into tears.
"Can you see the heart you all killed?!"
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!"
She begged for forgiveness hysterically.
Confronted with her sins, Lucy wept endlessly, pleading.
"Tsk, tsk. No, no."
The paint would not forgive her.
"It's far too late to beg for forgiveness."
The paint cackled.
"Luciena Estelle! Open your eyes! It's time to let him go."
"What?"
"His role is finished. Praise him for successfully completing his task."
"What are you talking about?"
Uttering incomprehensible words, the paint gradually seeped into her body.
Before the final drop entered her heart, the paint—no, the Elixir—squeezed out what little mercy it had and whispered to her:
"If you wake up now, you might at least hear Rin's last words."
"Don't screw with me!"
Lucy summoned every ounce of her strength and stood up.
She pushed off the ground with her hands, planting her knees and feet firmly on the floor.
Her hands and feet were as white as marble.
"My hands..."
They were soft.
"My legs..."
Her legs, extending from her shapely hips, were long, slender, and beautiful.
"They're back...!"
As Lucy stared down at her body in sheer disbelief, a faint chuckle reached her ears.
"Thank goodness."
It was Rin.
His body was torn to shreds, slumped against the cave wall.
Beside him lay a charred succubus.
To be precise, the remains of what used to be a succubus and the shattered pieces of a holy water bottle were scattered around.
"I told you, didn't I?"
"Rin?"
"That I'd fix you."
His voice and expression were peaceful, but the pool of blood spreading from his body was impossible to ignore.
Judging by how he clutched his stomach, he was trying to keep his entrails from spilling out.
"Unfortunately... I think this is as far as I go."
Lucy stared at him blankly.
A cold shiver ran down her spine, and the hair on her arms stood on end.
As she stood frozen, unable to speak, Rin reached out with a trembling hand and draped several layers of clothing over her.
"You'll catch a cold..."
Rin smiled.
It wasn't his usual faint, fleeting smile. For the first time, he gave her a wide, bright smile.
And that was it.
A sorrowful smile was the final ornament on the life of the man named Rin.
"...This is a lie, right?"
She reached out to touch his cheek.
It was cold.
"You said you'd stay with me."
Thud.
At Lucy's touch, his body slumped limply to the side.
"Ah..."
Only then did the reality of Rin's death sink in.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!"
The Hero had lost her only ally, her greatest companion, her Rin.