Chap 38-Confusion

 

Familiar space.

The antique furniture that reflected Master’s taste perfectly, and the thick grimoires filling the bookshelves.

But it was different than usual.

Nowhere in this vast space could Master’s presence be felt.

The warm and powerful aura that always filled the room had vanished without a trace.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

“She’s gone, our Master.”

A soft murmur escaped Yeon’s lips.

She tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but her voice trembled slightly.

Master, who had always been by her side, sometimes strict, sometimes more affectionate than anyone else, protecting and guiding her.

The only support she had left, and perhaps someone akin to family.

Though she seemed prickly and blunt, she cared for and worried about Yeon more than anyone else.

The absence of her presence meant only one thing.

She had met her end in Terra and returned to the spirit world.

As an immortal transcendent, she would eventually create a new body and return.

But there was no way to know how long it would take for her to return.

Decades? Centuries? Or millennia?

Perhaps Yeon would never see her again, not even until her own death.

In the end… it was because of Yeon.

Because Yeon had made her break the Geass.

Because Yeon had held her back.

Once again, someone precious to Yeon had become unhappy.

“Hngh…”

Her vision blurred, and something hot welled up.

Despair crushed her entire being.

The fact that she had lost Master suffocated her.

Now she was truly alone.

She wanted to give up on everything.

She just wanted to disappear from this place.

But…

‘…Ah.’

A strange sensation bloomed from deep within her chest.

In the place where despair and sorrow should have been, a bizarre and unpleasant heat began to smolder.

The extreme sense of loss and guilt from losing Master.

That mental pain that pierced to the very bone…

[SYSTEM]

Unique Ability ‘Masochist’ is activated.

Thump. Thump.

Her heart began to beat erratically.

Sorrow and despair were soon transformed into twisted pleasure, spreading throughout her body.

Even the pain caused by Master’s absence was turned into a sweet stimulus by this cursed ability.

“…Disgusting.”

An abhorrent murmur escaped her lips before she knew it.

She loathed herself for feeling pleasure even in a moment like this.

She loathed her very existence for being swayed by such emotions, even in the face of Master’s death.

If only she didn’t have this ability, if only she could just grieve and despair like a normal person…!

Swoosh-

Suddenly, she felt a soft touch on her head.

‘…Huh?’

Startled, Yeon reflexively looked up.

Had someone else entered the room?

But what stood before her was not a real being.

It was Master’s figure, translucent like a hologram, yet so vivid.

The very figure she had longed for so much until just moments ago, but now thought she would never see again.

With her arms crossed as usual, she was looking down at Yeon with a slightly furrowed brow.

As if they had just met yesterday.

『You’re probably digging your own grave again, aren’t you? You foolish disciple.』

‘Magic?’

The voice of Master in the illusion was as blunt as ever, but it contained deep affection.

『You’re probably blaming yourself again, aren’t you? Saying that it’s your fault I ended up like this. Am I right?』

Yeon couldn’t bring herself to look up. It was exactly as she said.

『Haa… You understand everything else so quickly, but why not this… Yeon, do you remember what Bella said? Everyone has the right to choose their own path. My choice to take this path was entirely my own. It has nothing to do with you.』

Master’s voice softened a little.

『So, this isn’t your fault. Understand? Get rid of any unnecessary guilt and focus on what you need to do.』

She paused for a moment and looked at Yeon with warm eyes.

『If it’s you… you’ll be alright. As always, you’ll overcome everything in the end. Because you’re my disciple.』

Those words made her tear up again.

Master had always believed in her.

Even in moments when Yeon couldn’t believe in herself.

『Emilia will help you. She may seem cold on the outside, but she’s a kind-hearted child, so tell her if you need anything. She’ll probably complain, but she’ll listen to everything.』

At Master’s words, Yeon glanced at Emilia, who was knocked out and lying next to her after being hit by her attack.

Earlier, she had been so blinded by thoughts of Master that she had attacked without thinking…

Hmm…

It doesn’t seem like they’ll become friends, does it?

『…And Yeon.』

Master’s voice became low and serious again.

『About that foolish plan of yours. It will never work out the way you think it will, so cancel it immediately.』

“…!”

Flinch.

Yeon’s heart sank.

How did she know?

『You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders and sacrifice yourself until the end. You can’t save the world alone like that.』

Master spoke as if she could see right through Yeon.

『Haa…』

Master in the illusion sighed deeply.

『You won’t listen even if I tell you, will you? You’re so stubborn.』

She paused for a moment, then spoke again.

『…So, I prepared a gift for you before I left.』

Master gestured lightly in the air, and a silver brooch suddenly appeared on her palm.

It was a brooch with delicate craftsmanship, emitting a subtle, moonlit glow.

It looked similar to the identity-disguising brooch that Bella had given her a while ago, but it felt much more elaborate and powerful.

『It’s a magical artifact that can conceal your identity. I made it myself, so there’s probably no one in Terra who can see through it. Sometimes… use it and live like ordinary people. Don’t push yourself too hard.』

And she added.

『I’ve also imbued it with a portion of my divine power so that you can recharge Decaymal Reverse. Of course, it won’t recharge as quickly as before. It will only recharge very slowly, little by little.』

Master sighed once more.

『Honestly… I wish you wouldn’t use that power anymore… but you won’t listen to me anyway… Sigh.』

And then Master looked at Yeon again.

Her eyes held a mixture of apology and pity.

『I’m sorry… for not being able to stay by your side until the end.』

『Let’s meet again someday, my disciple.』

With those words, Master’s illusion smiled faintly and disappeared into the light.

…

…

…

…

Consciousness slowly returned from the depths of darkness.

Her whole body ached as if it were breaking, and the pain in her abdomen, in particular, made it difficult to even breathe.

‘…Was I attacked?’

In her hazy mind, she retraced her last memories.

Yeon Bennet, covered in blood, the powerful impact that had struck her.

And…

The shocking scene of Dorothy’s magic, which had not responded to anyone, reacting to her.

“Hngh… Hngh…”

Just then, she heard a faint sob in her ear. A very small, sorrowful sound, as if trying to suppress it.

Emilia barely managed to lift her heavy eyelids.

In her unfocused vision, she saw a blurry figure.

What she saw before her was…

Yeon Bennet, crying.

Sitting on the floor, her face buried in her knees, her slender shoulders trembling.

The ominous aura that had just blown her away was nowhere to be seen, and she looked like nothing more than a wounded and lost child.

Her face was filled with deep sorrow and guilt, and… an incomprehensible pain.

It was an expression that she could never have made if she were the villainess as she was known to the world.

Emilia was confused.

What was true and what was false…

The Yeon Bennet she knew was clearly arrogant, cruel, and a piece of trash who had turned to Contamination for power.

But the figure before her now… was so different.

Suddenly, she remembered her actions earlier.

Slapping Yeon’s cheek, grabbing her hair, and driving her into a corner with all sorts of insulting words.

What if… what if that child really was the Grand Elder’s disciple?

What have I done?

Using violence and insulting a transcendent, and the Grand Elder’s disciple at that.

‘Crazy bitch…’

A cold realization ran down her spine.

Before the weight of that sin, even the pain in her abdomen felt faint.

She would have nothing to say even if Yeon killed her right now.

She should have just… just checked and let in everyone who came to the headmaster’s office, as the Grand Elder had ordered.

It was she who had disobeyed the order and done something foolish, swayed by prejudice and emotion.

Suddenly, she remembered something the Grand Elder had told her a long time ago.

『Emilia, you are capable, but you are too hasty. Temper that fiery temper of yours. Someday, you will regret that hasty nature of yours.』

Words that she had simply brushed off as nagging at the time.

But at this moment, those words became a sharp dagger piercing Emilia’s heart.

Emilia struggled to get up with her injured body.

As she moved her body slightly with a creaking sound, Yeon stopped crying and looked up.

Eyes that were red and bloodshot with clear tear tracks.

Yeon and Emilia’s eyes met in the air.

Yeon paused for a moment, startled, but then slowly got up and began to approach Emilia.

She could not read any emotion in those eyes.

Anger? Resentment? Or hatred? Emilia couldn’t tell.

She simply closed her eyes quietly.

Waiting for Yeon’s punishment to come.

She had no strength to run away, nor any intention to make excuses.

‘…Please, may it not be too painful.’

The moment Emilia was about to offer her last prayer.

The words she heard were the most absurd and ridiculous words she had ever heard in her nearly a hundred years of life.

“…I’m sorry, Professor.”

Emilia slowly opened her eyes, doubting her ears.

Yeon Bennet, still covered in blood, was standing before her.

She had her head bowed low, muttering like a child who had done something terribly wrong.

“I was… out of my mind earlier… I’m really sorry. I’ll accept any punishment…”

“……What?”

Author’s note:

Next week, I will be going up to Seoul from Wednesday to Friday…

I will have to take a break on Wednesday and Thursday.

I’m sorry…

I will try to update on Friday as much as possible.