Ch.290290. Six Clock Hands (10)

*WHOOSH-*

A holy mage is pouring all their strength into infusing layer upon layer of holy power.

Thanks to this, the once dim cave is now illuminated by the light of holy power, but Michelle’s consciousness remains unresponsive. With her red ponytail undone, she looked as though her breath would cease at any moment.

The only signs of life were an extremely faint pulse and shallow breathing. Any decent physician would shake their head at such a condition.

Nevertheless, Erica continued to infuse Michelle with holy power, as if possessed.

Aris, unable to bear the heartbreaking scene any longer, steps outside the cave.

“AAAAARGH!!!”

Finally, Michelle’s pulse stops completely.

The healer’s scream of losing a comrade echoes throughout the cave.

***

Aris strides forward, swallowing harsh words directed at Junon.

When they mentioned the mana circuit operation, Aris had stepped aside without protest, having no knowledge in that area. But now, the bitter realization that this was a mistake cut deep.

He had already experienced countless failures.

In Tembris, he had gradually lost strength through numerous battles, and during the fight with Ashpern, he had fled, abandoning their leader Goden.

And despite somehow rising to the excessive position of commander, he had proposed the absurd operation of “Sirah Relocation” under the name of Tembris.

And now, a mana circuit operation?

It was preposterous.

Even if Michelle had discovered Junon’s plan to draw Ashpern’s attention alone, she should have stopped that reckless operation, and should have prevented Michelle from offering herself as bait.

And ultimately, the very idea of performing a mana circuit operation here should have been rejected outright.

“Aris? Why are you here…”

Yes, just like now.

*BOOM!*

A lotus flower bloomed from the ground, creating a shockwave that spewed earth like vomit toward Junon.

“Ugh!”

The projectile, more like a hard rock than soil, struck Junon’s abdomen precisely.

“What are you suddenly doing? I could have been hurt…”

Before he could finish speaking, another spell followed.

A magic formula appears, targeting a specific point near Junon’s back. An explosive spell, as fiery as the caster’s personality, designates a single point and creates another impact.

In normal condition, he might have dodged it, but the attacked boy’s body hadn’t recovered yet.

It had only been a few hours since he had given his all in the battle against Ashpern, and though he had used that short time for sleep, he was barely able to move his body now.

There was no time for rest. His body hadn’t regained its sensitivity to respond to magic. The physical form of one who had poured all his strength and mental energy into saving someone was inevitably exposed to the attack.

Yet the opponent, not satisfied with a single explosion, now surrounds him with flame magic from the front, making no attempt to hide it.

“I shouldn’t have let you kill Michelle like that…! I should never have listened to you!!”

“Ugh… Wait, just wait a moment…!”

The lotus-shaped flame hits Junon’s body with precision.

Though she had a hot-tempered personality, this pink-haired girl had never directed a lotus bloom at a comrade with such genuine emotion.

But now, the person before her was responsible for Michelle’s death, and her suppressed emotions burst forth.

With veins bulging in her throat that felt like it was burning, Aris drives Junon back, as if unleashing the hatred rising from within.

And so the lotus bloomed mercilessly.

*Thud, thud thud.*

There was no way he could defend himself.

From the start, with a body covered in bruises and blood, and unable to protect himself due to depleted mana, there was nothing he could do.

As Junon, cornered against a wall, struggles to maintain balance on his two legs, Aris grabs him by the collar and shouts.

“Why… did you do it…”

“…Huff, kuh…!”

“Tell me, why… why did you do it! WHY?! Why did you spout such nonsense without knowing your place and reduce Michelle to that state?!”

A friend who had never betrayed her.

The first person she had reached out to and brought into the Tembris party, a comrade with whom she had spent years here.

Even at the academy, while exterminating magical beasts, when receiving harsh words from professors or enduring the slander of nobles—a benefactor who had always remained on her side, never turning her back.

How could he abandon her like that?

“If you knew it wouldn’t work… you could have at least let Erica try, who was willing to use all her holy power for treatment. This was precisely the time when you should have pushed forward with the reckless idea of saving a comrade!”

Why hadn’t he done that?

Aris, holding Junon by the collar as he barely stood, struck his body with her fist several times in reproach.

After a long silence, Junon finally speaks with difficulty, whispering.

“There was… no other… way.”

“Huh.”

The claim that there was no other way disgusted her completely.

He had always evaded responsibility this way. Whenever an operation failed, whenever an incomprehensible strategy was forcibly implemented and things went wrong, he would say those words.

There was no other way.

Aris was utterly sick of Junon’s evasive statements.

*BOOM!!!*

“Ugh…! Aris, please listen to me…”

“SHUT UP, YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!!!”

His body was completely battered.

Bruises and scars visible through his torn clothes, even fresh wounds covering his body.

The combat uniform once ordered through Charlotte was now little more than rags, tattered beyond recognition.

But Aris saw none of this.

She only continued to bloom lotus flowers mercilessly, one-sidedly unleashing magic attacks.

“When Senia died like that, you did the same thing, and after coming here, you sent Charlotte and Cain off saying you had something for them to do, then left them with no news! And now, after all that, are you going to deflect again saying you had no choice? Shouldn’t the words ‘I’m sorry’ come out of your mouth first?!”

“Senia will… return soon. Charlotte might not be visible right now, but he’s recovering! And Cain…!”

“Please, just shut your mouth! Please be quiet!! Do you have any idea how disgusting you are, making excuses while abandoning our members one by one?!”

“*cough!* I told you. I never intended to abandon anyone!”

As his excuses continued, Aris closed her eyes tightly and increased the output of the lotus blooms directed at Junon.

Until now, she had at least controlled the power and aimed to miss slightly. But she could no longer tolerate his words.

Yet, Junon continued to stand up with his broken body until the end, saying:

“She’s alive. Right now, because of the neutralization time…”

*BOOM!*

“They will definitely return. The three people sent to Shute, and Michelle’s condition…!”

*BOOM! BANG! CRASH!*

By now, Junon’s voice had begun to quiet.

Only a crawling voice could barely be heard.

In that state, Junon squeezed out his words.

“Why… won’t you… believe me…”

Was that all he could say after straining himself? Driven to the edge of a cliff, leaning against a single rock, his attitude hadn’t changed at all.

All he could say was “why won’t you believe me”—such a pathetic excuse.

Aris used no more magic against Junon, whose final words were nothing but excuses.

“You really won’t change no matter what I say… You’re truly the worst human being, Junon.”

There’s no point in continuing to attempt dialogue with someone who won’t listen.

Aris turns her back and delivers one final message.

“It would be best for you to stay quiet, like a dead mouse. If you appear before me again and spout such nonsense… I won’t let it slide next time.”

The last part was a warning.

She would no longer recognize him as a party member, comrade, fellow warrior, or friend.

So Aris warns him. If he tries to block her path in the future, she won’t attempt dialogue as she did today.

***

Aris, wiping away tears as she trudged along.

She didn’t know what to say to Erica, who had been screaming in grief over Michelle’s death, but thought it best to be by her side for now.

But before returning to the cave, she saw Erica coming up the hill.

Junon was right behind her.

“…”

Aris said nothing to Erica and let her pass.

It was obvious what would happen next. Whether using magic or physical force, Erica would try to vent her uncontrollable anger somehow.

And the end would likely be the same path she had taken.

This too was Junon’s karma. Aris decided to continue down the hill.

But then.

*THUNK.*

“…?”

Thunk?

In an instant, her mind cleared and an ominous feeling flashed through her consciousness.

A chill ran down her spine. She felt anxious about what might have happened to Junon, who had been leaning against the wobbling rock right behind her.

‘Surely not…’

It couldn’t be.

No matter how much she disliked him now, he had once been a party member.

Beyond that, they had spent years together, crossing the threshold of life and death as comrades and fellow warriors.

And they had been friends. Even if he was the worst kind of person who only made excuses.

But why was she so afraid to look back?

*SWOOSH!*

“…!”

At the sound, Aris finally came to her senses and turned around.

What her two pupils captured was the slumped body of someone with a pierced heart, and…

“E-Erica…? What are you doing…?”

The chilling image of Erica holding a blade covered in blood, clearly having pierced through a heart.

It was murder.