Why Him of All People?
I stared at the figure before me. The one holding a massive scythe that looked like it could slice the moon itself in two. A woman with flowing red hair, standing tall with her usual dignified grace. She was the epitome of strength and beauty. To me, she was the most precious person in the world. To Elisa, she was someone she had admired and looked up to for as long as she could remember. Her ultimate goal.
As I gazed at her, Elisa drew her dagger and slowly stepped onto the stage, approaching the person standing there—her mother, Ilios.
“I never imagined we’d meet like this, my daughter.”
“...”
The moment Elisa appeared, Ilios offered her usual warm smile. But Elisa said nothing. She simply took up a fighting stance.
“Are you planning to start right away? Don’t be in such a rush, dear. Even so, acting too impatiently could get you hurt.”
“....”
Ilios spoke in a gentle, affectionate voice to her daughter, who was already releasing her magic power and looked ready to charge at any moment. Elisa sensed that the woman before her wasn’t taking this fight against her own daughter seriously at all. A surge of frustration began to well up inside her.
And then—
“!”
-Clang!!
In an instant, Elisa merged with the shadows and launched an attack at terrifying speed. The strike, so fast it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye, flew straight toward Ilios. Ilios swiftly swung her scythe and barely managed to block it.
“...Even so… don’t you think that was a bit too harsh on your mother?”
Ilios spoke with a hint of complaint in her voice. Yet her smile never faltered. Seeing that, Elisa cried out, her voice thick with emotion.
“Don’t you dare go easy on me, Mama! Right now… I’m completely serious! I will defeat you without fail… and I’ll make sure to cleanly settle things between you and that man!”
“!!”
The sincerity in Elisa’s words caught Ilios completely off guard. The relaxed expression she had worn until now was instantly replaced by shock.
“E… Elisa? W-what are you saying right now…”
As she spoke, the strength in Ilios’s hand that was blocking Elisa’s dagger began to waver slightly. At the same time, Elisa’s emotions exploded. She pressed her attack with renewed fury, shouting as she drove Ilios back.
“Stop pretending you don’t know! I already know everything! I know that you’re in love right now! And that you go to meet that man every chance you get and spend time alone with him!”
“Ugh!...”
Unable to refute Elisa’s sharp accusations, Ilios remained silent for a moment. Then, after barely pushing back her daughter’s attack, she asked in a trembling voice, still visibly shaken.
“H… how… did you find out?”
“It was obvious the moment I looked at you! You were practically broadcasting it everywhere. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”
“...Sigh...”
Ilios let out a heavy sigh at her daughter’s words. Then, in the next instant, she unleashed a burst of power from her hand and forcefully shoved Elisa away.
“Tch!”
Elisa staggered back from the push. Immediately after, Ilios seemed to steel herself. She looked at her daughter with a much calmer, more resolute voice.
“Yes… if it’s come to this, there’s no point in making excuses anymore.”
Her attitude carried a mix of bitterness, a touch of resignation, and an underlying determination. She gazed at her beloved daughter and continued in a firm tone.
“You’re right… Mother has someone she loves right now. Someone I’m seriously considering remarrying.”
“!...”
Ilios spoke with absolute conviction, as if her mind was already made up. Seeing her like that, Elisa felt a sharp pain stab through her chest. She lowered her head, her voice trembling.
“...Why… why does it have to be him of all people?”
“El…isa?”
“Why him? Honestly, ever since we first met, our relationship has been terrible! So why, of all people, did you choose him now? Just… just why!!”
Elisa screamed, tears streaming down her face. At the same time, as if her emotions had completely run wild, she swung her blade mercilessly and charged straight at Ilios.
“!”
In a flash, Elisa raised the shadows on the ground like blades and rushed forward. This new style of attack was completely different from anything Ilios had seen before. She felt a surge of surprise and hurriedly prepared her defense.
And as a result—
-Kwaaaaang!!!
A tremendous explosion rang out. The noise and impact were like dozens of iron pillars slamming into the ground all at once. A thick cloud of dust instantly obscured their vision.
*
The battlefield had turned fiercely intense in the blink of an eye, and a thick cloud of dust now blocked all sight. As I watched the situation unfold exactly as Elisa had requested, I felt a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
‘Not only merging with shadows, but physically manipulating them too… It’s clear she’s grown significantly stronger compared to our last fight.’
From a purely combat perspective, her improvement was impressive enough to warrant praise. However, setting that aside, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled by the intense emotions Elisa seemed to be displaying during the fight.
‘I’m too far away to hear clearly, but it looks like she’s arguing with her mother about something. What on earth are they talking about to make her react like this…’
It was only natural for a daughter and mother to bicker over various issues. The problem was that this particular argument was happening in the middle of a national-scale tournament. In that sense, I found myself thinking that both the legion commander and her personal guard were impressive in a completely different way.
‘The type who doesn’t care what anyone around them thinks and just says whatever’s on their mind, huh? Well… both Elisa and Ilios have such strong personalities that they can even argue with someone like Samson.’
Ilios had always expressed her will without flinching, even against the mountain-bandit-like, terrifying Samson. Her courage was truly remarkable, regardless of her graceful appearance. I reminded myself of that once again.
While I was lost in these thoughts, waiting for the dust cloud in front of me to clear, it happened.
“Aah…”
The next moment, a voice filled with sorrow came from beside me. It was the emoticon-faced… no, Shamyuel’s voice, heavy with pity. I immediately understood why she had reacted that way.
The scene before my eyes was… Ilios, her body pierced in multiple places by Elisa’s shadow attack and bleeding profusely, yet still holding her daughter tightly in her arms despite her mangled state.
*
“M… Mama… w-why…?”
Her mother Ilios was embracing her tightly. The daughter who had been overwhelmed by rage and attacking relentlessly just moments ago now felt nothing but deep confusion.
In that brief instant, Elisa saw it clearly. She saw how Ilios had deflected her attack and closed the distance into striking range.
‘She could have counterattacked at any time… If she had wanted to, she could have easily subdued me. And yet…’
But in the final moment, instead of striking back, Ilios had chosen to pull her into an embrace. Seeing her mother covered in blood yet still choosing that action, the rage that had consumed Elisa was doused as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her head.
And as she looked at her daughter, Ilios gently stroked her hair and spoke in a calm, quiet voice.
“...Do you hate it that much? That your mother loves that person… that he might become your new father...”
“...”
Even while her entire body was riddled with holes and in terrible pain, Ilios spoke without losing any of her affection for her daughter. Her words flew like arrows and pierced straight into Elisa’s heart.
Nevertheless, Elisa fought desperately not to be swept away by her mother’s overwhelmingly powerful love. With great difficulty, she opened her mouth.
“...I hate it… I really do… Just the thought of you being with him, Mama… it hurts so much right here in my chest. Why does it have to be him… Why… out of all the countless people in the world, did you have to fall in love with the hero?”
“...Huh?”
The moment she heard Elisa’s words, Ilios froze with a completely dumbfounded expression.