Chapter 76 – Friends

Friends

“This won’t do. I think I’ll just have to kill you. I’m sorry.”
After finally stopping her laughter, she spoke to me in a cold voice different from before.
Her gaze coldly fixes on me. Unlike before, there’s no emotion in her eyes.

But seeing that look in her eyes, I felt relieved instead.
…It meant she hadn’t noticed that I was looking for a chance to counterattack.
‘This is the last chance.’

All magicians have a slight time lag between preparing magic and casting it. This applies even to me, whose incantation time is extremely short.
In other words, that’s when they’re most vulnerable. At least during that time, they can’t respond separately.
I was planning to aim for that gap.

“Well then, goodbye. Successful product.”
Milene bid me farewell in her still cold voice.
The moment her mana condensed and manifested as a spell…

“[Wind Bullet]”
…a bullet of wind cleanly penetrated her forehead. A direct hit.
“Huh, what, what.”
Even after a small hole was made in her forehead, Milene let out a confused voice.

…Soon after, blood burst from her forehead, spraying the air and creating a blood mist.
She fell to the ground with her eyes wide open, as if not understanding what had happened.
After that, her body, which had been twitching intermittently, went limp and slack.

After confirming this, I finally let out a long sigh.
“Phew. That was dangerous…”
A cold sweat ran down my back at the thought that I really could have died this time. But this was no time to be relieved.

I still hadn’t rescued Saya, who was presumed to have been captured by them. I was also worried about Pfel and Cherni who were currently collapsed.
“Damn it…”
Just as I turned away from her corpse and was about to check on Pfel and Cherni’s condition.

“Didn’t I tell you?”
…The voice of the one I thought was surely dead reached my ears.
“No way…”

The small hole in her forehead began to gradually close up. It was a sight that made me doubt my own eyes.
Not long after, her head regained its original form as if nothing had happened.
“I told you I had an experiment done by Erdas-nim. I now have a bit of the Demon Lord’s body too. Isn’t it amazing?”

‘I didn’t know it was this kind of experiment…!’
She had already transcended the category of human. In contrast to me, who couldn’t properly manage my expression due to shock, she wiped the blood from her forehead and said with a refreshed expression.
“Thank you. Having a hole in my head once makes me feel refreshed. I should try using it sometimes too. Kyahat.”

In a situation where even my last resistance had been in vain, I couldn’t think of any more ways to overcome this situation.
“…Please don’t touch Pfel and Cherni.”
In the end, all I could do was beg her.

If Pfel and Cherni survive, my friends will know about this incident even after I die.
Then they might be able to rescue Saya too. My friends are amazing people, unlike me.
“Please, I’m begging you.”

…So this is the best I can do right now.
“Oh, you’re even kneeling? That makes my heart waver.”
Dying is scary. Even for a body that has already died once, the cold sensation of death settling in the body is not something one can get used to.

“Please. Be satisfied with killing me.”
The reason I’m taking this attitude, despite that, is because I know what’s more precious than life, though it’s a cliché.
“Aw. This shouldn’t happen… how about this. I’ll specially let you live if you kill those sprawled out guys with your own hands. How about it? Does that sound appealing?”

She tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand why I was saying this, and then made a proposal to me.
A proposal full of pure malice. Of course, there’s no way I would accept her proposal.
Seeing me remain silent without responding to her words, Milene spoke with a voice clearly showing her disbelief.

“Why are you going to such lengths? Is someone else’s life more precious than your own?”
“…Of course. They’re family.”
With those final words, darkness began to settle in my vision as if my eyes were closed even though they were open.

“I don’t understand. Why…”
…Milene’s voice gradually faded. After that, as an irresistible drowsiness overwhelmed me, my consciousness rolled into a dark quagmire.

“I don’t understand. Why…”
Milene muttered while looking at the collapsed Ariel.
‘It’s strange.’

Even though Ariel, who had been consistently called the successful product in comparison to herself, was now lying defenseless, she felt no sense of elation, joy, or even accomplishment.
“Kyahat. Kyaha. Kyahaha… It’s not fun.”
Laughing makes you feel better. Who said that? Was it Mom?

‘Mom? I had a… mom. Huh.’
Without her realizing it, her madness was gradually worsening.
…That was the difference between Ariel and Milene, and the reason why Milene was called a failed product.

Milene, who had been constantly muttering “It’s annoying—”, slowly turned her head towards the direction of Ariel’s house.
In that area, there were two who had charged at her and were easily subdued, now unconscious. An elf and a demon. They were weak yet annoyingly charged at her.

‘Why did they charge in despite being so weak?’
She might have known before, but maybe it’s because of the experiment from Erdas-nim, even thinking has become bothersome.
“…Of course. They’re family.”

Suddenly, an inexplicable irritation welled up. It was because that successful product’s words kept ringing in her head.
By now, she couldn’t remember her mom and dad’s faces.
She couldn’t remember the last words they exchanged before parting. Or maybe not. I don’t know.

“It’s annoying.”
I should kill her after all. I can’t stand it anymore with that successful product’s words constantly echoing in my head.
I lifted up the barely breathing, messed-up successful product with magic.

The reason I bothered to lift her up instead of just killing her right there was because for some reason I wanted to see the successful product’s face.
“Goodbye. Successful product.”
I bid farewell to the successful product again.

Just as I made up my mind to kill those two lying over there after killing this one…
“Put that hand down right now.”
“Put Ariel down, or I’ll kill you. You.”

…Uninvited guests had arrived.
“How did you guys get here? Don’t tell me this successful product requested help… I’ve been had.”
Both of them look familiar. No, is there anyone in the empire who doesn’t know these two?

One is the human called the saint of the hero party, and the other is the one called the monster of the hero party.
“Don’t call her successful product, she has a name, Ariel.”
“…I faintly sense demonic energy. Not a demon, just trash I suppose.”

‘Is this what they call killing intent? It feels strange.’
My body is trembling. Not because I’m scared, but yeah, it’s like the natural reaction a human shows when facing a lion.
‘Huh?’

Why is my arm over there?
Before I knew it, my arm that had been reaching towards the successful product was lying on the ground.
Only after seeing the blood on the greatsword the monster was holding did I realize that the monster had cut off my arm.

Of course, I didn’t feel any pain. When was it that I stopped feeling pain? I think I still had some sense of pain until the last experiment with Erdas-nim.
I stared at my severed arm for a moment and then turned my eyes to where the successful product was.

…The successful product is already wrapped in a barrier of holy power so bright it hurts the eyes. At this rate, it seems I’ll have to give up on killing that successful product too.
‘…I was careless for nothing.’
It’s all because that successful product said strange things.

“I’ll spare your life. We need to hear an explanation about this situation. However, it would be better without arms and legs.”
That saint seemed to have already disregarded me and was approaching the successful product to check her condition, while the monster was glaring at me with eyes that looked like they would kill me at any moment.

Swoosh.
Eventually, the monster swung his man-sized greatsword with one hand through the air.
…With just that, my barrier was cut like paper, and my remaining arm fell to the ground with a thud.

‘Huh, am I really going to die? Here?’
Just as I was dumbfounded for a moment, my vision suddenly lowered. It was because even the legs supporting me had disappeared due to the monster’s sword.
“Riste, can you make sure she doesn’t die? I wasn’t clean enough.”

“Of course. The one who did this to Ariel shouldn’t die so simply.”
I couldn’t react at all. It happened in the blink of an eye. It was too fast even for being fast, probably because he received a separate buff from the saint standing next to him.
“Cough.”

A tangy taste of blood spreads in my mouth. It’s because of the blood clot that came up my throat.
…This situation isn’t fun at all.