Ch.3131. Beginning of Term Assessment (4)

“Ugh…! This really hurts like hell!”

I managed to grab both of Charlotte’s arms, one in each of my hands, and pin her down.

With both her arms restrained, Charlotte struggled and tried to shake me off.

Until that moment, I thought I could just hold out like this.

But perhaps realizing that brute force wouldn’t work, she began unleashing her magic power indiscriminately.

As a result, my body was taking the full brunt of the blade-like wind of magic she was releasing.

My uniform tore apart, exceeding its limit to withstand such force, and my skin began to roughen, then get scraped and torn.

Even red blood spurted through the sharply cut skin due to the magical wind blades.

Still, I didn’t let go of her arms.

-Grrrr…!

“Let go? I can’t do that. I don’t want to die either… If I run away now, it’s as good as being dead anyway.”

Even as Charlotte’s magic wind blades cut into my skin and made me bleed, I had no choice but to endure.

The moment I let go, my tattered body would no longer be able to resist, and I’d be offering my heart to her.

Even if by some miracle she didn’t target me, it would be the same outcome.

Charlotte’s rampage would harm people. If an out-of-control Charlotte attacked others…

The result would obviously lead to a decrease in the duchy’s fighting strength and the execution of a Tembris member who had become a murderer.

‘But… what should I do?’

Continuing to hold out like this is impossible.

How am I supposed to replenish Charlotte’s depleted magic power?

There’s a limit to how long I can endure, and if my prediction is correct, it will be quite some time before Goden and his group arrive.

The best solution would be to put Charlotte to sleep and feed her a potion made from boiled magic herbs, just like Goden did.

The problem is that’s impossible for me right now.

‘Another way… there must be another way…’

I can’t help but recall the situation back then.

Originally, Charlotte would have convinced the other four to take me along by now, and we would be exterminating the rats as a team.

Then, after escaping from the abusive team, Charlotte and I would have happened to meet Goden and caught his eye.

Calculating that time, it would take at least 30 minutes. It means it would take Noel and John at least another 20 minutes to bring Goden here.

-Kruk, krururuk!!!!

The onslaught of wind blades makes my mind hazy.

My body is starting to shiver, and the pain seems to be diminishing.

“Damn it… I can’t hold out for 20 minutes, not even 5 minutes at this rate…?”

If there’s no answer, think harder. If I give up here, I’ll just die after giving my heart to Charlotte.

If I don’t want to become the victim of a magic-blinded girl committing murder, I need to grit my teeth against these magic wind blades and keep thinking.

That’s the only future where the current me, who will die in 5 minutes, can survive.

Now, what does Charlotte need?

They say magic power, but putting in the unprocessed, murky magical energy spread throughout the continent won’t work.

What’s needed is clean magic power with impurities removed, enough to restart a human brain.

-‘Human skin works too. That’s why she grabbed your wrist.’

Thinking about magic power reminded me of advice I received during training with Professor Muniher.

‘If that’s the case, I could…!’

It should work.

Clean magic power refined by a body that has absorbed raw magical energy.

Human magic power must also be refined.

‘Next… how to insert the magic power…’

If I can somehow insert magic power, I can stop the rampage of this girl who has gone insane.

What’s needed is clean magic power refined and produced by a body that has absorbed the unprocessed magical energy spread throughout the continent.

The correct method of insertion is to make liquid-state magic power go down the esophagus.

Or having someone with similar magic quality inject it to eliminate side effects.

But now is not the time to debate right and wrong; I just need some way to insert it.

-Kyaruk?!

When I inserted a bit of magic power as I had recently learned, Charlotte’s magic circulation seemed to distort momentarily, and her resistance temporarily weakened.

“You might feel a bit dizzy, but I’m also disabling my magic shield, so we’re even. Got it?”

So, it seemed to work. The only anti-personnel tactic I could use.

Asking Professor Muniher for guidance was a stroke of genius.

-‘Even human skin has tactile sensation, doesn’t it? Magic has similar nerves, so if I inject magic power into your skin, the flow of magic will move in the forward direction.’

-‘So… this is essentially injecting your own magic into someone else and making it flow in the same direction to avoid it?’

-‘Exactly. There’s even a medical technique that uses this principle to heal severely injured patients by flowing magic power into the skin.’

-‘However, it requires precise mana control. If the magic power flowing isn’t of a similar nature, the patient will experience too much pain. It’s a drawback that must be endured for dying patients, though.’

Anti-cast.

It was something I had been doing all along.

Or maybe it’s because I’m an incompetent failing student who can’t properly use anything else.

But right now, I don’t regret learning it one bit.

“It’s true that I had a bad ending in that party… but I never wanted any of you to die.”

I say these words to Charlotte, even though she can’t hear them.

“So, bear with the pain a little. Charlotte.”

I hope our youngest, who always wanted to be the most grown-up, suffers a little less.

-Kyaaaak!!!!

***

It’s quiet. I feel trapped in a dark space where no one exists.

If I don’t stay conscious, my thoughts will stop, my breathing will cease, my pulse will fade, and soon the beating of life itself will stop—it’s terrifying.

Yet Charlotte didn’t want to leave this quiet place.

Strangely, the urge to lick her lips at the sight of people, to tear out the heart in his chest and chew on it, remained.

She was clearly angry at first. She wanted to kill those four rats immediately, but she lacked magic power due to the prolonged battle.

But she knew better than anyone that if she collapsed too, everyone there wouldn’t survive.

That’s why she had to squeeze out magic power even when she had none left.

That must have been when it started. When the anger that had filled her to the brim subsided and she began to lose control of her body.

After freezing the four rats with all her might, her mind went black, and she couldn’t think of anything.

Her body wouldn’t move as she wanted. Yet the momentary scene she saw at the end remained vivid.

That she wanted to eat something. That she was craving magic power that couldn’t be filled.

That she was targeting the man who had saved her with a terrible, contemptible gaze that saw people as mere livestock, as nutrients.

And then slowly, the memories she had began to be cut off like a broken film.

Since arriving in this dark place, she became like a fool.

There was the smell of blood.

Somewhere, she tore out a heart and ate it. The raw magic power was delicious. But it wasn’t enough.

In another place with the scent of blood, there was prey that seemed even sweeter.

What would it taste like to tear out its heart and eat it?

Her body was already moving. She lunged several times, but the prey was too persistent.

Still, she kept attacking. She was already intoxicated by the scent of magic power emanating from that man, who seemed like he would taste the best.

-I ─────… you ───── never.

This voice…?

“So, bear with the pain a little. Charlotte.”

…

……

………

No…! Not that person…!

As her brain, which had been consumed by instinct in the unconscious, accepted something, it pushed away the appetite that had been endlessly consuming her body.

Through the space she barely managed to push open, something like a very soft fluid flowed in from both wrists.

Wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck, chest. And after entering the heart, something stiff was pushed out with each breath.

She felt as if her head was clearing in this refreshing and warm feeling.

At the same time, her most alien memories slowly returned, starting from the most recent.

-‘Others might accept you, but I will never acknowledge you as my senior.’

-‘Why are you still in this party when you’re completely useless? You’re just holding the party members back!’

-‘It’s because of you… It was all because of you!! This party fell apart because of one incompetent person like you!!!’

These were the only memories Charlotte, who had never spoken like that, could recall now.

And the unconscious Charlotte began to speak.

“No… don’t…”

Why not? You’re hungry. Just eat.

“No… I’m not hungry… I…!”

Liar. How can you say you’re not hungry when you’re suffering like this?

Eating makes you happy. It lets you keep living. Don’t reject that principle. Eat. You must eat that…

“Ah?”

At that moment, Charlotte felt an unpleasant sensation as if something had been poured over her body.

Maybe it was the smell of what had been poured. That peculiar bloody smell entered her nose.

“Hey… I can’t use anything right now, so what am I supposed to do if you use that…”

As the man’s voice was heard again, the memories that had been consumed gradually returned.

Following that, clean and soft magic power flowing through her skin circulated throughout Charlotte’s blocked circuits.

As the amount of magic power circulating in the circuits increased, Charlotte was gradually regaining control of her body.

Eventually, when enough clean and pure magic power had been filled, Charlotte’s eyes, which hadn’t allowed even a point of light to enter, regained their clear pupils.

“It hurts… like hell…”

Despite the man saying it hurt like hell, Charlotte didn’t feel even a hint of pain while the magic power was flowing in.

Charlotte’s eyes, freed from darkness, were watching the blood-covered man who was staggering.

Thud.

“…”

The man who had been holding Charlotte’s arms collapsed weakly, and Charlotte, now conscious, carefully caught him and sat down.

With the blood-covered Junon closing his eyes, she fearfully placed her blood-stained hand near his nose.

She felt a tickling sensation on her crimson-stained hand. His breath, though shallow, had not ceased.

As she pressed her body close, his heart, touching her shoulder, was still pulsing diligently. His heart hadn’t stopped and was continuing his life activities.

The girl’s breath, which had been choked, now flows out like a winding stream.

“Thank… goodness…”

He’s alive.

The one who took the monster’s attack in her place.

The one who restrained her when she couldn’t control her strength while focusing on dealing with the monsters.

The one who succeeded in turning a beast back into a human.

Junon.

I’m so glad you’re alive.

Charlotte uttered his name and gently laid the tattered man’s head on her lap.

However, his body doesn’t seem comfortable. The wet liquid flowing everywhere is disturbing.

“There’s… too much blood…”

No matter how much she tried to wipe it with a handkerchief, there were too many wounds, and it quickly became soaked with blood.

The crimson-soaked handkerchief would only smear the blood around no matter how much she wiped Junon’s body.

Even Charlotte, who had never seen a person die, could tell that his life would be in danger if left like this.

“Stop… stop flowing…”

So that this blood-covered man’s wounds wouldn’t open further.

So that the blood flowing from his wounds would stop.

So that the warm temperature of the man who saved her wouldn’t grow cold due to the flowing blood.

“Please help…”

She wished for someone to help.

And her wish would soon be granted.

“Over here, this way!!”

“There they are! She was going wild and it was no joke… huh?”

Just as Noel and John arrived.

“Please… please save this person…”

Junon, whose original flesh color was barely visible due to the bleeding from large and small wounds all over his body, and Charlotte, who was covered in blood and shedding desperate tears while begging for his life.

This joint training exercise concluded with the two being treated and rescued by the party members who were just beginning to form.

There were no casualties.

After five minutes had passed, the screams subsided everywhere, and although there were quite a few injured, none were in critical condition between life and death.

Except for just one person.