Ch.286Chapter 286: Things to Do, Words to Say

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As Imperfectio continued her steps, memories she tried so hard to forget flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope.

These memories began with warm, hazy moments from her earliest childhood, when she was still called Lilianshiz rather than Imperfectio.

One day, when it was raining heavily.

She had been walking while crying, then twisted her ankle and hid under the shade of a tree, her slender body trembling, when a boy approached her.

It was a memory of the times she spent with that boy who offered her his broad, warm back.

Perhaps it was because she recalled such a warm moment.

The corners of her mouth—the only part of her face revealing emotion while the rest was concealed by her helmet—curved into a beautiful arc.

Even though she knew what existed at the end of that warmth, this was a moment when she, who had lost all expression, could smile freely while recalling it.

It was a memory like a brand seared into her mind, impossible to forget no matter how hard she tried.

Though the initial recollection warmed her heart.

It was also a memory that contained a painful contradiction, inevitably bringing incomparable sadness and despair at its conclusion.

Lilianshiz… now the woman called Imperfectio, knew this well as she continued her steps endlessly.

She tried to suppress the memories that kept surfacing in her mind ever since the man matching her steps behind her had touched her right hand, but.

As they say, some things are beyond one’s control. This had now reached a level she could no longer suppress through her efforts.

Without stopping her steps, Imperfectio simply closed her eyes calmly and accepted the memories flooding her mind.

There was no point in trying to erase memories that had already surfaced, as the facts that formed their foundation wouldn’t disappear, and.

She knew better than anyone that the joy, sadness, and pain existing within those memories were all things she had to endure, so she simply recalled them calmly.

He had always been by her side as she traversed her memories.

Whether in times of joy or sorrow, he was always beside her, doubling her happiness and sharing her sadness and pain to lighten her burden.

Imperfectio… no, Lilianshiz had liked him very much.

She wanted to be someone he could rely on—he who always talked about dreams with her, who was always kind and gentle to her.

That’s why she took up the sword.

Because she believed that by doing so, she could always be by his side as he wielded his own sword.

It was a naive and… in a way, foolish thought she could have only as a child.

But the purity of that thought when she had it was beautiful, without a shred of falsehood, even when she recalled it now.

Even to her, the one who had those thoughts.

But perhaps nothing is eternal.

Despite moving forward steadily, one step at a time, with such pure and beautiful aspirations.

The precious person she thought would always shine beside her grew distant from her as he changed from a boy into a man.

Lilianshiz didn’t know at that time.

That his body was incapable of properly containing something, and.

Because of that, he couldn’t even hold the power needed to protect something. And if he tried to force it, he would live writhing in immeasurable pain.

She only learned all this after he had left her side and she witnessed him transform into a being that destroyed the world.

After pushing the precious memories of him into a corner of her heart and fighting endlessly for her mission, fighting and fighting until light was restored to the world.

Only after seeing him turn to ashes, not even a handful remaining, did she learn the truth.

It was quite ridiculous to regret it after everything had passed.

She realized, even as she recalled these memories, that what happened on the day of the final battle—marked by incomparable pain and sadness at the end of her reminiscence—was no one’s fault but her own.

…Crunch.

Imperfectio, who had unconsciously gritted her teeth in anger at this realization, was startled as she slightly opened her mouth that had been clenched tight.

Despite having no right to regret, she still had the energy to be angry at herself who had created this situation.

It was ridiculous… utterly ridiculous behavior.

But even in the midst of this unseemly display, one fact remained clear in her mind.

If she were to blame anyone, it shouldn’t be him—who had given everything without fearing death to protect her, only to become a plaything of a transcendental being.

Rather, she should blame herself, who had determined he couldn’t be saved under the pretext of her mission and swung her ice-cold sword.

Her chaotically flowing memories, like a spinning kaleidoscope, finally reached their conclusion.

The memory of the final moment between her, the warrior chosen by the holy sword, and.

Him, who had died saving her, then was forced to live as a being that burned the world, manipulated by the will of a transcendental entity.

Though she knew it made no sense to say this now.

At that time, Lilianshiz had swung the holy sword hoping he wouldn’t die.

She had always coldly wielded her sword against him, who had changed and always spoke coldly to her while serving as the vanguard to destroy the world, recalling how she had abandoned her former feelings.

But on that day… from the moment she faced him, as he struggled to support his staggering body in poor condition….

As everything was coming to an end, she wanted to give him one last chance.

Unlike usual, when she would swing her sword with the determination to deny everything about him.

She entered the final battle with restraint in all her actions.

But she didn’t know then.

That Kal’s condition had deteriorated so badly that.

He couldn’t even properly defend against a sword swung loosely with a glimmer of hope.

Her expression turned sorrowful as she recalled the moment when the trajectory of the holy sword she swung for the last time pierced his abdomen.

So much so that had it not been for the black iron armor covering her entire body with negative energy, even Kal, walking some distance away, might have noticed her grief.

Though the abdomen was pierced, it barely missed the vital points.

In truth, Lilianshiz hadn’t intended to deliver the final blow to him but had meant to knock the worn-out iron sword from his hand.

Because his body had weakened so much more than she had thought.

She never imagined he would fail to dodge such a strike… or perhaps he had willingly accepted death, allowing himself to be stabbed.

She should not have coldly left him after he collapsed like that.

No matter how heavily her mission weighed on her shoulders.

When the person who had sacrificed everything to protect her was stabbed by her sword and lying on the cold floor.

She shouldn’t have left after coldly telling him to just lie there quietly.

Because of the steps she took after hesitating countless times in that brief moment, she didn’t even witness his final moments properly.

It was far too late for regret.

When she hurriedly approached where he had fallen, seeing him already turned to ashes, she—Lilianshiz—despaired and simultaneously recalled the moment that had led him to this fate.

Even knowing that in that situation, using his power recklessly would leave him with no choice but death.

To protect me, he had carried me on his back without regard for his own life, despite being severely wounded and unable to walk, running without stopping to a safe place, and I survived, but.

Even if it was for the sake of my mission, I….

Squeeze-

Imperfectio pressed her left hand against the sudden pain in a corner of her chest, her lips turning downward as far as they could go.

The warmth that had briefly risen in her chest had now disappeared, replaced by grief.

She was so sad that she might have shed tears from her dried-up eyes if someone had just nudged her.

But she knew well that tears from her already dried eyes would be a luxury.

She also knew that if by some miracle something formed in her dried-up eyes, it would not be tears but tears of blood.

Not metaphorical tears of blood.

But tears of blood intertwined with hatred toward the disgusting being who had taken the life of the precious person who had saved her own life through sacrifice.

Upon reaching this realization, Imperfectio came to understand one fact.

Immediately after seeing him disappear into ashes.

Though the demon god had been sealed again and peace had returned to the world.

She couldn’t live alone in this peaceful world.

So she had immediately wanted to follow him.

If she hadn’t seen the pair of rings that were the only things that hadn’t turned to ashes among all his possessions.

She would certainly have done so.

When the rings—which she had always cherished in her bosom but had thrown at his chest in a moment of determination, declaring the end of their relationship after he had changed, and had completely forgotten—revealed themselves in the ashes that had been him.

Tears flowed ceaselessly from her eyes.

While she had abandoned, given up, and forgotten everything as she pointed her sword at him.

He had lived wishing for her happiness.

It was easy to imagine that he had looked at this ring and recalled her warm expressions that he would never see again.

How could she not weep?

That was the moment when Lilianshiz’s hell began—wanting to die but unable to.

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Imperfectio’s continuing footsteps were now replaying the final moments when she had still been Lilianshiz.

It was a moment of hellish days that repeated, where living wasn’t really living.

She could have felt pride in protecting this world, seeing people enjoying peaceful daily lives and small happinesses.

Yet the guilt of failing to protect the precious person she wanted to save, instead turning him to ashes, pushed her into a lonely hell.

Though she couldn’t bring herself to die when she recalled him, who had wished for her happiness without any excuses as he turned to ashes.

Without him, she couldn’t be happy even if she wanted to—wasn’t that hell?

But still, she endured and endured, persevering through life.

She thought that living in this world she had protected might bring her at least some moments of happiness.

And if she lived her life steadfastly, when she met him again, she could tell him that she had managed to live somewhat happily in the world he had sacrificed himself to create.

She had to live with at least some strength for that….

Though it was an absurd reason, it was the only way she could live.

So even as she withered inside, she silently continued her life to achieve this nonsensical goal.

-Don’t you want to see him? Him, alive?

It was only natural that she would listen to the sweet voice that radiated dark intentions.

That voice didn’t stimulate her guilt.

It proposed to send her to a world where everything was the same but with different outcomes due to various minor changes overlapping, while preserving the world she had protected.

Upon hearing this, Lilianshiz didn’t hesitate.

Even though she instinctively knew that as a result, she would be reborn as a being that was no longer human.

And that a being with a distorted essence would meet a miserable end.

If she could just see him.

Not him turned to ashes and blown away by the wind.

But him living normally in this world.

The miserable conclusion she would reach was just a trivial price to pay.

So she listened to the sweet voice and stepped onto this land.

And she met him again.

Kal Ranos.

That precious person who looked exactly as she remembered him, without the slightest deviation.

She wanted to run into his arms the moment she saw him, but.

The joy was brief, as she immediately realized.

Even though he had the same appearance and memories.

He was slightly different from the Kal she remembered, and.

There was no room for her in this Kal’s heart.

Because he already had someone.

The reason he wanted to protect this world, his everything—the precious woman.

Who was giving him the love that her counterpart in this timeline couldn’t give.

And she also felt.

How much the Kal of this timeline loved the version of herself from this time.

It was regretful, but also deeply reassuring.

At least in this timeline, it seemed that nothing would break the happiness of those two.

If such a thing were to happen….

‘I will prevent it.’

Imperfectio’s steps became more determined as she finished her silent pledge.

Already, she had shed all the lingering attachment that had built up while watching him here.

Even if he wasn’t the exact person she remembered.

All that remained was to guide him to a place where the repercussions of her final choice wouldn’t reach him.

And then to remove from this world the demon god who sought to stain the world with pain while advocating a distorted ideal….

No, that’s not right. To remove from this world the mother who had created her current self.

By sacrificing this insignificant body of hers….

And in the place she would go after death.

She would go to that person who was a bit older than the one behind her now.

With a slightly fiercer expression, who always spoke coldly except when they were young.

But who was more precious to her than anything else, and tell him just one thing.

The words “I’m sorry”….

The words she never managed to convey to him as he turned to ashes after collapsing with the holy sword piercing his abdomen, when she had only spoken coldly about her mission and left him.