Ch.63Again, Reunion (1)

    Olivia remained silent.

    A smile.

    In the midst of dying, the last thing she left was a smile.

    “……”

    Melina’s head dropped down, and her waist bent forward.

    – Hold your head up. Straighten your shoulders too. It’s better if your face is smiling…

    But the smile still remained in its place.

    Melina had remembered it.

    Her promise with herself, no.

    Not even a promise, just those few casual words.

    Looking at Melina with her gentle smile, one side of Olivia’s heart ached.

    Her feelings were complicated.

    [Clue usage has been forcibly terminated.]

    Olivia couldn’t take her eyes off her hands. Though she had returned to reality, Melina’s weight still remained.

    It hadn’t disappeared.

    It remained imprinted deep in her memory.

    Olivia couldn’t get up for a while. She didn’t know why herself. She tried to rationalize that her legs had simply given out.

    Her stomach burned. Something boiled up from deep within her insides.

    -Cough.

    Olivia coughed up blood. Pieces of what might have been parts of her internal organs mixed with blood, staining the snow-covered field red.

    ‘……?’

    As if it had been waiting, tremendous pain rushed in. Olivia stared wide-eyed at the notification window.

    [You are currently experiencing the aftereffects of forced termination.]

    There it was, the notification window she had seen before.

    ‘……Why?’

    Olivia couldn’t understand the current situation. That notification shouldn’t have appeared now. That only happens when meeting two regression users simultaneously…

    “……Ah.”

    Olivia’s face hardened.

    There was one thing that had been bothering her.

    What happens if the memory terminates before the time limit expires?

    ‘……Damn it.’

    The answer was this forced termination.

    And Olivia began to spew blood from her entire body. All she could do was curl up as much as possible to slightly ease the pain.

    The pain was several times worse than with Kiel. Her heart pounded as if it would burst. She couldn’t breathe, as if someone was strangling her. Her airway only opened when she vomited blood.

    At some point, her mana began to flow backward. All her blood vessels twisted, causing excruciating pain.

    Olivia couldn’t endure any longer and collapsed. Unlike Melina, there was no one to catch her.

    Olivia was alone.

    Ah, ah…

    In the snow field filled with pure white, Olivia writhed alone.

    Even as her internal organs were torn to shreds and all the blood vessels in her body lost their form and burst, Olivia didn’t lose consciousness.

    It was too unfair to end like this.

    If she had any sin, it was only that she had caused mass destruction without knowing the game would become reality.

    That was the thought Olivia had harbored since the moment she was possessed into this world.

    It was still the same now.

    There was no reward for saving the world hundreds of times, yet she had to pay the price for destroying it once.

    How unreasonable. How absurd.

    However…

    Olivia looked at where Melina was. She looked at where Kiel had once been.

    However…

    Olivia’s thoughts couldn’t continue. As if all the pain until now had been just the beginning, an even more terrible agony swept over her.

    Even thinking of the word “pain” was overwhelming. Her brain refused to think.

    Ah, ahhh…

    She couldn’t even reach for her spatial storage. Even recalling it was too much.

    ‘Potion, I need a potion…’

    As her consciousness gradually faded, she heard something breaking.

    In her vision, now completely red, brilliant golden hair fluttered in the wind.

    *****

    Melina’s golden eyes scanned the snow field. At the end of her gaze, she saw a red spot. The red spot was spreading like paint, gradually increasing in size.

    – Master!

    Melina walked toward the red spot as if entranced.

    – What should I do here?

    Melina had seen Olivia’s countless pasts. Although she had lost her enlightenment through regression, she hadn’t forgotten her memories.

    – Please accept me as your disciple!

    When she first opened her eyes, Melina was relieved.

    Because she hadn’t forgotten.

    She was glad she hadn’t forgotten how lonely, painful, and difficult it must have been for Olivia.

    Truth didn’t matter at all.

    Melina got closer and closer to the red spot.

    “……!”

    The closer she got, the faster Melina moved.

    She who had been walking at first was now running.

    Melina’s face, which had been full of smiles, now resembled that of her first day of regression.

    In the middle of the red spot lay a person.

    Someone Melina knew well.

    No, someone Melina cherished more than anything in the world.

    Various emotions flashed in Melina’s eyes as she bit her lip until it bled.

    It was despair, anger, grief, and at the same time resentment.

    Two contradictory emotions churned wildly in her heart.

    Melina’s pace slowed a bit. The anger and resentment rising from deep within her heart were the cause.

    Olivia’s deception, betrayal…

    It was as if someone was whispering that Olivia was the cause of all pain, that it was all her fault.

    – I promise. When the time comes…

    “…No.”

    Melina had seen.

    She had seen Olivia’s countless pasts.

    That child had saved the world more than thousands of times.

    A child who had fought alone for eternity without any reward.

    Melina looked up at the sky with an angry face.

    ‘To such a child…’

    Melina could not forgive whoever made her feel anger toward such a child, whoever tried to inflict terrible wounds on such a child again.

    Perhaps the reason she was made to regress was to hurt Olivia.

    Melina increased her speed again. The closer she got to Olivia, the more her anger boiled, but Melina endured.

    She recalled memories of happier times. She recalled moments when she received favors she could never repay.

    She recalled the past when she could only give a smile to her disciple who would repeat her life again.

    With each step forward, she recalled one more memory.

    Finally, Melina stood before Olivia.

    Melina learned for the first time that so much blood could come from such a frail body.

    -Thump.

    Though faint, her heart was still beating. She was still alive.

    [Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill.]

    Amidst the rage trying to consume her mind, Melina reached out both hands toward Olivia.

    “…Livia.”

    The next moment, Melina gently lifted Olivia into her arms.

    Whoooosh!

    The world was dyed in beautiful golden light. Healing energy gathered and began to be absorbed into Olivia’s body.

    Wounds healed rapidly. Color returned to her skin that had turned blue. Her face, which had been contorted with pain, became peaceful.

    Soon, the sound of labored breathing could be heard.

    With a gentle smile, Melina said:

    “Livia. Everything will be alright. Everything will be fine…”

    Melina stroked Olivia’s head. As hard as she bit her lip, her touch became equally gentle.

    Lightening the burden.

    That was her role.

    *

    *

    *

    *

    *

    Strangely, it felt cozy.

    Olivia somehow felt the air had become warmer. Like that of a spring day.

    Had someone lit a bonfire?

    Perhaps because she wasn’t fully conscious, her body wouldn’t move as she wanted. Even lifting her eyelids was difficult for Olivia right now.

    “——.”

    There was a slight commotion around her. Though she couldn’t hear what was being said, she was certain it was a familiar voice.

    -Thump.

    Olivia focused on her heartbeat. Fortunately, she seemed to still be alive.

    “Is Master…alright?”

    “Don’t…worry…about us.”

    “How many…left…allocation?”

    A little more time passed. She still couldn’t understand, but at least it was clearer than before. It was evidence that her body was gradually recovering.

    Her senses were returning bit by bit.

    She could feel magical power moving nearby. One was lightning, another was light, and the last was ice.

    Only then did Olivia realize where she was.

    ‘Glacia’s lair.’

    It seemed someone had brought her here.

    ‘…But who?’

    It couldn’t be her disciples. She hadn’t told them the location, and the place where she had frozen Melina was far from the lair.

    And it was unlikely that hunters or adventurers would come to the harsh north.

    ‘Unless Melina brought me here herself…’

    That’s when it happened.

    “Are you awake?”

    At the infinitely affectionate voice, Olivia unconsciously opened her eyes. Melina was there.

    “You’re awake?”

    “Are you alright!”

    The disciples who had been watching from afar rushed over. Olivia learned for the first time that her disciples could make such faces.

    “…I knew you would be fine.”

    Aramis was unusually polite.

    “Olivia.”

    A soft voice was heard.

    Only then did Olivia look directly at Melina.

    “Could we talk for a moment?”


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