Ch.51Unjust Fate (7)

I still feel incredibly sad, but after crying it out, I feel a bit better inside.

In just three weeks, I’ll be able to muster that kind of strength again. Since I can go back, there’s no reason to be sad.

But why won’t my tears stop flowing?

“…What happened here?”

Rebecca had somehow returned to us, completely recovered. I forced myself to stop crying and answered.

“I won.”

I pointed at the weak man collapsed on the floor. Rebecca responded with a bewildered voice.

“No… how on earth…?”

“He was really weak. Why did you lose to someone like that?”

“In terms of pure skill, he’s strong enough to be on par with Leo… how…?”

“Was that person really that strong?”

I thought he was just a stupid and naive fool, but according to Rebecca, he’s incredibly strong.

Or is Leo equally unskilled? Was it all just about having good stats?

“He can skillfully handle most weapons and has mastered almost every martial art.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. That’s how he rose to become the captain of the 3rd Division of the Demon King’s Army based on skill alone.”

“But he was much weaker than I expected.”

“How exactly did you defeat him, Ms. Lite?”

Rebecca asked me as if she couldn’t understand at all.

So I explained to Rebecca how I defeated the weak man with my perfect strategy, incredible wit, and overwhelming technique.

“…Isn’t that too underhanded?”

“He threatened me with a blade first.”

“But wasn’t it two against one, and he couldn’t use his right arm?”

“There’s no such thing when facing a knife. You get stabbed, and it’s over.”

“But didn’t you say you grabbed the knife when he tried to stab you and then threw him?”

“That was only possible because my perfect strategy had drained all his stamina.”

Rebecca looked at the weak man collapsed on the floor with pity and said:

“You were lucky this time.”

“Luck is also a skill.”

“Well, it’s his fault for letting his guard down.”

“So what do we do with him now?”

Even if he can’t use both arms, he’s still a threat. He might be able to summon demons.

“I’ll handle it.”

Light gathered in Rebecca’s hands and transformed into a bow and arrow. She immediately drew the bowstring and shot arrows into both legs of the weak man.

“Now he won’t be able to move. Let’s leave him like that for now and do what we need to do.”

Rebecca said while looking at the door that emanated an ominous aura.

“When we open that door, a demon won’t jump out or anything, right?”

“I’m not sure either. But that door has nothing to do with demons.”

Though extremely anxious, the three of us approached the door.

“Wait a moment, let’s think about this first…”

My warning came too late as Rebecca opened the door without hesitation. And inside there was a countless number of demons…

…No one. Neither demons nor people. Instead, a massive orb emitting an ominous aura was floating in the air.

“What is that…”

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Rebecca shot an arrow toward the orb.

But the orb remained undamaged. Instead, Rebecca frowned deeply.

“Ms. Lite, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

“It’s better to take the beating first.”

“There are about 100,000 demons contained in there.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It is possible. But it requires countless sacrifices. I wonder where they got that many sacrifices from?”

No wonder we couldn’t see any demons—this is why they weren’t visible.

I can roughly guess where all these sacrifices came from.

During the previous war, someone besides the Demon King must have been gathering sacrifices.

“So what’s the good news?”

“If we destroy that, the demon horde will be completely annihilated.”

“How long will it take to destroy it?”

“If we purify it continuously from now until dawn, we can destroy it.”

“That’s great, let’s start purifying—”

“I absolutely cannot allow that.”

Suddenly, the weak man’s voice came from behind us. Reflexively turning my head, I saw the weak man standing with difficulty.

He definitely shouldn’t be able to use his legs, so how is he moving? Still, his physical condition looks terrible.

“What do you think you can do in that condition…?”

Squelch!

The weak man stabbed himself in the heart with a dagger.

“At least I’ll take you two as companions.”

Then something like a soul emerged from the man and was sucked into the orb.

“…What is he doing?”

After all that trouble appearing, he commits suicide? His words and actions don’t match at all.

“Ms. Lite.”

Rebecca suddenly spoke with a terribly trembling voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re all going to die here.”

“…What?”

“Ten minutes. In ten minutes, all the demons will pour out of that orb.”

I wish it were a joke, but judging by her tone and the atmosphere, it’s definitely not a lie.

“What the hell? Why so suddenly?”

“Normally, to summon demons from an orb containing this many, you need to pay a significant price.”

“…Don’t tell me that person’s death was the price?”

“Usually, one person’s death wouldn’t cause something like this. But the problem is that he wasn’t an ordinary person.”

So that’s what he meant by taking us as companions. Instead of dying quietly, he had to be annoying till the end.

Anyway, thanks to that pathetically weak bastard, we’re going to die a day early.

“Still, we have to try everything we can!”

Rebecca created a massive arrow of light and aimed it at the orb.

—Whoosh!

With wind as fierce as a storm, the arrow flew sharply toward the orb.

Crack!

The arrow seemed effective as a small crack appeared in the orb. If we continue like this a few more times, we might be able to destroy it.

“Good! Keep shooting!”

“I’m sorry… I put all my power into that shot… I can’t shoot anymore…”

“…What do we do now?”

“Probably everyone except Leo and the dragon person will die, just like in the dream I had before.”

If we don’t destroy that thing within 10 minutes, we’ll die. But how do we destroy it?

“Does physical attack work on that too?!”

“Yes, it does work—”

I immediately took out my gun and fired bullets infused with divine power. I fired all 10 rounds, but the orb remained undamaged.

Even after firing everything I could, the orb was still intact.

Right now, Ha-eun is also creating doppelgangers and continuously firing magic at the orb, but still, there’s not a scratch.

“How are we supposed to break this thing?!”

“It’s impossible. In the end, fate prevails.”

As if completely resigned, Rebecca sat down, clasped her hands, and began to pray.

“Ah… even though we’re on the brink of death, the Goddess still remains silent… Do we really have to submit to fate…?”

Ha-eun also pleaded with a trembling voice.

“Senior…? I’m out of mana… Is there any way…?”

“Wait, just wait a moment!”

There must be some way. Maybe if we called Leo?

But then Leo would die from using up his lifespan, and we wouldn’t be able to complete the magic by tomorrow.

…Lifespan?

That’s right, I have this. Maybe I can use it to break that thing!

Bang!

I immediately loaded one day and fired, but there was no damage. Even with a week loaded, nothing changed. When I loaded a month, a tiny crack appeared.

…A year should be fine, right? I still have over 80 years left to live anyway.

—Bang!

When I fired with a year loaded, a definite crack appeared.

“…Ms. Lite? What are you doing?”

“Nothing special.”

“Your body is already weak enough! If you use your lifespan in that state…”

“Whether I die now or die after using up my lifespan, it’s the same!”

—Bang!

I loaded another year and fired, creating another crack in the orb.

“Senior! Let’s escape and find another way…”

“What if things go wrong then?!”

—Bang!

Another year gone. That’s the third year now. It’s the same as when I shot to protect Ju-an.

It seems like I always use my lifespan when trying to change fate somehow. Is there some kind of rule to this?

“What if you die doing this?!”

“But others will live!”

—Bang!

Fourth year. I can feel my body getting weaker. Will I not even be able to make breakfast every morning now?

“Are other people’s lives more important than yours?!”

“So you’re saying we should run away and all die together later?”

—Bang!

Fifth year. I feel like my insides are twisting. If I fire one more shot, it will surely be much more painful than now.

I’m afraid to pull the trigger now. Will I be unable to move next time? Or will I have to live in constant pain?

—Bang!

Sixth year. At least it’s better than dying here and now. And the orb is almost completely cracked. Not much left.

Ha-eun and Rebecca no longer tried to stop me. Instead, now I’m trying to stop myself.

I’m afraid to use more of my lifespan. I just want to stop right here.

—Bang!

But I’ve already wasted six… no, seven years. Stopping now would be a loss.

—Crash!

With the eighth bullet, the orb shattered with a loud noise.

Fortunately, I only used 8 years. Even combined with the 3 years I used before, it’s only 11 years.

“…Ms. Lite. How much of your lifespan did you use?”

“Only 8 years, that’s a pretty good deal.”

“But the strain on your body…”

“Then would you like to make breakfast instead of me? Oh, but then the kitchen would burn down. I’ll keep making breakfast.”

I feel intense fatigue throughout my body. It’s probably because of the fight with that weak man earlier.

Still, I smiled as if nothing was wrong and said:

“So is it really over now…?”

Suddenly, black smoke rose from the remnants of the orb. And that smoke flew fiercely toward me.

As the smoke entered my body, my consciousness suddenly began to fade.

“Ms. Lite? Ms. Lite!”

I shouldn’t collapse here and make them worry… but I can’t hold on anymore…

And so I lost consciousness.

***

I regained consciousness in some kind of tent. And I heard the conversation of a man and a woman.

“What the hell did she do to lose 8 years of her lifespan?”

“I’m sorry… I was too weak…”

“…I’m sorry. So what exactly is her condition?”

The woman in nun’s clothing opened her mouth with difficulty.

“She’s lost all her memories.”

“…Can that be restored?”

“Yes. What Ms. Lite experienced was a kind of curse, so she survived. Her memories will return soon.”

“When will her memories come back?”

“She should be back to normal around Saturday.”

“That’s a relief, at least.”

The two seem to have finished their conversation. Who were they talking about? It’s definitely not me. After all, I clearly know who I am…

…Who am I?

As I was feeling confused, the red-haired man noticed that I was awake.

“Excuse me… where am I?”

“…Where do I even begin to explain?”

“Could you please explain everything from the beginning?”

“…Alright.”

And the man began to explain who I was.