Ch.214Chapter 214. Two People Who Don’t Give Up

“…He was a good guy.”

As I was using spirits to release the power forming the crystalline body, memories of the conversation we had before entering this place flooded my mind.

Stories told by another companion who had worked with him—someone I would never see again.

“He always kept his mouth shut tight, so I never knew what he was thinking, but he was a friend who always lent a hand when me or that kid needed it.”

His sentiments about him weren’t different from mine.

Despite his eccentric appearance and consistently taciturn demeanor, he always carefully looked after those around him.

Always leading the group, silently extending a hand when things got tough…

And now I’ve come to realize that throughout that journey, he himself had piled up countless corpses.

“But even though he didn’t talk, I could always feel how tired he was. Like he could collapse at any moment…”

Even if he had prepared himself for it, as a human, there would have been limits to his mental strength.

Just as he reached his limit in the fight with me, he must have tested himself every time he used his abilities in life.

“…Maybe that’s why he saved Garam.”

Of course, this is just speculation.

He never said anything, never shared even a single wound with others.

The opportunity to understand what was in his heart disappeared when he left this world.

“That child who became a leader at such a young age—maybe he thought they could take his place when he was too exhausted.”

But by entering the afterlife, I came to understand how strong his lingering attachment was.

I felt in my body how determined he was to eliminate the dangers targeting that child, even with a completely shattered mind.

So desperately, so urgently…

“…Garam.”

The reason he saved the child who ended up in my arms must surely exist in this world.

“This is no time to be sentimental.”

Annabelle Britannia’s voice reached me as I was dwelling on these bitter thoughts.

When I turned my gaze toward her, I saw her staring into the void with rigid eyes.

“The world moved to the point of turning back time. You must feel the cracks that formed because of it growing even now, right?”

“…Is the space about to collapse from the aftermath of the final rampage?”

“That’s not the issue. Such a major change has occurred in what was supposed to be a relatively safe area inside this cursed stomach.”

Her expression crumpled as the darkness accelerated its fracturing.

The speed was too radical and irregular to have been created naturally.

“It must have noticed. The one who controls this space.”

A force applied from outside is accelerating the collapse of this space.

Realizing this, I tightly embraced Garam and prepared to step into one of the cracks in the darkness.

-CRACK!!!

Getting out isn’t difficult.

If the connection between body and mind hasn’t been severed, I should be able to return to reality by tracing that connection.

And that remains true even after crossing the afterlife into the predator’s stomach.

If I can maintain myself in the subsequent torrent, Garam and I will surely be able to return to reality… Wait.

“Garam.”

I realized belatedly.

It’s not just me and Annabelle who need to get out of here.

While she might have been protected by his spirit when entering this place, there’s no way Garam could withstand the torrent I felt now.

“Garam won’t be able to handle it.”

And I was only able to reach this place because Annabelle protected me.

I hoped we could share that power, but what came back from Annabelle was about her own limitations.

“…I can only protect one person.”

Someone would have to endure the torrent of power with their bare body, just like before.

Realizing this, I took a deep breath and voiced the conclusion I’d reached after much deliberation.

“Then protect Garam.”

“Are you insane?! You nearly lost yourself just now—are you in your right mind?!”

“I’ve already experienced it once. I’m prepared.”

“Mere preparation isn’t enough for this…!”

“If you’re derived from me, then you know. That I’m nothing if not enduring.”

Wasn’t adapting and surviving in any situation my strength?

For someone like me, a disaster I’ve already experienced once isn’t completely hopeless.

Even if I can’t win against it, I should at least be able to overcome it…

“…I didn’t inherit your original personality, you stubborn fool.”

Shaking her head as if exasperated by my forced argument, Annabelle separated from me and began to overlay herself onto Garam’s body.

Despite my unreasonable request, she spread her veil to prepare the fragile body for the coming impact.

“…Thank you.”

-Don’t misunderstand. I just don’t want all the effort of coming this far to be meaningless.

Though still brusque, Annabelle was reluctantly agreeing to my unreasonable request.

I could feel her trust in me.

Despite having an independent will that could have allowed her to refuse, she was acknowledging me enough to support my assertion.

-So don’t collapse. If you claim to be so great.

Feeling those sentiments conveyed through her words, I nodded silently and stepped into the crack.

And WHOOSH!

With the collapse that began along the crack, waves of memory rose up and began to mercilessly engulf my body.

My skin was completely stripped away, and every muscle in my body twisted.

The sensation of nerves deeply embedded within stimulating my brain taught me how precarious my current situation was.

“…I can, go.”

When I exerted my will to resist, I could feel my torn flesh gradually recovering.

Though still excruciatingly painful, I didn’t feel that I couldn’t endure it, having already prepared myself.

“I can, get out…”

Because I still had spirits that were drawn to me with a will independent of Annabelle.

Even in this crucible of chaos where countless remnants were entangled, I could at least preserve my body…Wait.

-No oooone…

As I advanced one step at a time, enduring the torrent, a rough voice reached me through the crashing waves of power.

-No one can take what’s miiiine…!!!

From the moment that scream was heard, I felt the waves of power engulfing my body grow even fiercer than before.

Gorgon Zola.

The actual master of this space had noticed the intruder in his body and was outraged.

-I won’t lose any more… You absolutely cannot take anything from meee…!

The obsession of an old farmer who died with lingering attachment to a mere book.

But that desire was incredibly transparent and distinct, and the power derived from it was more intense than any spirit I had encountered before.

-Don’t take anything from meee…!!

This space was convulsing with that power.

I could feel his unyielding will trying to block my path, destroying his own stomach rather than allowing even a single cell to be taken from him.

I sensed a fierce hatred shaking the entire space—one that would crush me instantly if I let my guard down even slightly.

“…What do you mean ‘don’t take’?”

But I could endure it.

Though the force had grown stronger, it wasn’t precisely targeting me.

In fact, the torrent was even pushing against my back, helping me toward my destination.

“You’ve devoured so much that you don’t even know where to aim, you damn pig.”

In a way, this was an expected outcome.

This creature is a monster of consumption that grew by devouring everything in existence indiscriminately.

With everything jumbled together without organization, it would be impossible for it to properly understand its own body.

To use an analogy, it’s like a human trying to catch a single worm that has entered their body.

Precisely because it’s a disaster greater than anything else, there would inevitably be difficulties in targeting something that has entered its interior.

“And I should be the one saying ‘don’t take.’ Who are you to take this child?”

Realizing this, I felt my determination grow stronger.

I felt hope welling up at the realization that even this monster, which had seemed only terrifying, couldn’t become perfect despair against humanity.

“Who are you to take my sister?!”

Taking advantage of this opening, I advanced step by step, until finally encountering a beam of light.

I immediately knew that was the passage leading to the mortal world.

If I entered there, both Garam and I could safely escape from this darkness.

-KWAAAA!!!

So endure.

Don’t yield to this wave of power, and endure until the end so we can return alive together.

“…Who are you?”

As I felt my will being tested by the oncoming force, I faintly heard a girl’s voice.

“Who are you?”

The small girl protected by Annabelle whispered to me, directing unfocused eyes toward me.

A child small enough to be held in my arms compared to her grown body in the mortal world.

It taught me that this child was still just a young girl. No matter how quickly she had become an adult, her essence was still that of a child who needed protection from adults.

“Garam.”

“Why, are you…”

Perhaps my calling her name didn’t reach her heart?

The gaze that had been directed at me closed again, and a voice tinged with resignation weakly escaped from her parted lips.

“Why are you resisting so desperately?”

As if denying what I was doing now.

As if reproaching the very act of resisting in this moment that was tearing apart my mind, reproaching the fact that I had come to save her.

“Aren’t you, scared?”

But that was merely an expression of her own fear.

The faint trembling I felt from the hand clutching my body clearly showed this girl’s weakness.

“…Garam.”

“I’m scared. What, terrible things… might be waiting, ahead.”

I sympathize with such a girl.

And I empathize with her.

“…Everyone feels the same way.”

Because I too am just a weak human oppressed by reality, only with more experience than a child.

“But everyone still lives on. No matter how afraid they are, because they have reasons to…”

“Still, I don’t want to.”

As if even such sincere advice didn’t reach her heart, the girl buried her face in my chest and began to sob.

“People… dying because of me…”

“No, you’ve done nothing wrong…”

“I don’t want to see anyone else die because of me anymore.”

-KWAAAAAAAA!!!

A wave of force crashed down from above, threatening to crush my body.

I tried to protect Garam with my back, fearing she might be crushed by that force, but what I saw in the girl’s eyes when she noticed was even greater despair.

“So leave me behind.”

As if my very actions were causing her pain.

As if she had come here of her own will and didn’t want anyone else to suffer anymore.

“Just… leave me here and go.”

How did it come to this?

What sin did this child commit to be dragged into a strange world and forced to bear what no child should have to bear?

“…It’s not your fault.”

Such a fate feels cursed, and the trials I’ve faced to meet this child feel overwhelming.

Nevertheless, my arms holding the child in my embrace grew stronger.

Rather, because I understood this child’s suffering, I felt my will to stay with her grow stronger.

“No one forced anyone to sacrifice themselves for you. Not me, and not him either…”

Moreover, despite understanding this girl’s pain before I did.

Despite that, I felt that he had a reason for wanting to save this girl, even at the cost of his own life.

“…Everyone chose to save you of their own will.”

I don’t know the exact reason.

Since I no longer have the opportunity to hear his inner thoughts, all I can do is make assumptions based on what I’ve seen.

Fighting dangers without a word, saving people without a word…

And at the end, a man who pushed himself to the point of having regrets about whether he had properly saved a girl must have had a reason to do so.

“Because we want you to live on, even in this kind of world. Because we want you to live on, even in this kind of world…!!”

Whether that reason was benevolence or selfishness, he ultimately wanted to save this child.

Because he believed there was a reason for this child to live on, even in this kind of world.

“So don’t tell me to leave you behind.”

How could I, who has inherited his desperate will, abandon this child?

How could I give up and leave alone in this moment when I can clearly feel the child in my arms?

“I will never abandon you, so Garam, you too…!”

With that will, I took one step at a time.

Taking one step at a time toward the light unfolding before me.

-KWAAAA!!!!

Just as I was about to spill out the fear contained within, a storm rushing in from all directions pushed my barely balanced body.

The direction I was being pushed was toward the exit.

But in the unexpected storm, the child I was holding fell away.

The girl I wanted to save was about to disappear, swept away by the torrent of power with her limp body.

“Please…”

In what might be the final moment.

All I could do in such a moment was reach out my hand.

I could only hope that the departing girl would grab my hand of her own will.

“Please, don’t leave me behind.”

As that desperation leaked out, her eyes flew open.

At the same time, her limp legs kicked off the ground, and she began to stretch her hand wide toward me.

And…

*****

“…Stupid brother.”

A soft whisper reached my now clear mind.

As I turned my stiffened head to the side, my blurry vision caught sight of someone.

A girl with a mature appearance but a fragile inner self, facing me.

“You have a wife… what would happen to the people left behind if something went wrong while taking care of just me…”

Is what’s escaping her lips resentment toward me? Or is it self-loathing for putting me in danger because of her?

Either way, what I’ve done to this child might be called a sin.

Because living in reality, which is filled with more terrible things than the hidden world, is in itself like forcing despair and pain.

“…If you want to hate me, you can.”

I should accept it if she feels resentment.

If that’s the price for forcibly saving this child.

If that’s the responsibility I must bear for making her grab a hand she could have let go of in the final moment.

“How could I hate you?”

But despite such selfishness, the girl was smiling.

A very bright and clear…

She was showing me the kind of honest smile that a girl her age would make, without reservation.

“When you didn’t abandon me, how could I possibly abandon you?”

Yes, the girl wanted to live.

Even though the world is still sadistic, and what has happened cannot be undone.

Nevertheless, the girl was expressing her will to live before me.

“…Thank you, brother.”

“For finding me… thank you, really.”

Finding comfort in the fact that there is someone to share even such a world with.

Feeling the utmost joy.