Chapter 160: I Lost – 4
by admin
Vivian’s world seemed to have stopped.
Everything appeared to move slowly.
A crimson flower bloomed on Kailo’s back, dripping red nectar ever so slowly.
Her ears were filled with ringing.
Vivian’s eyes could not look away from him.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
How long had she been frozen like that?
—Thud!
Kailo slowly embraced Leopold.
The sword that had pierced his abdomen grew longer.
—Squish!
Before anyone could notice, Kailo had drawn a dagger and stabbed Leopold in the neck.
—Squish! Squish! Squish!
While Leopold convulsed, Kailo’s attacks, though weak, were precise and aimed at the paladin’s life.
Before long, Leopold crumpled to the ground.
A single sword was still embedded in Kailo’s stomach.
Kailo, staggering, eventually lost his balance and collapsed backward.
“Ah…”
Vivian’s chains clanked.
“Ah…! Ahhh!!!”
She could only let out beast-like cries.
Kailo couldn’t even muster a single word to console himself.
Despite that, he tried to stand up, but as if his strength had left him, he couldn’t rise.
“Ahhh!!!”
Vivian struggled and struggled again.
Blood flowed from her wrists, but she didn’t feel it.
Compared to the unbearable pain in her chest, no other pain could compare.
She wanted to run to him, but she couldn’t.
Watching the outcome, the Archbishop finally spoke.
“Behold!! Their defeat!!”
The soldiers of the 4th Knights Order, who had been fighting, stopped upon seeing Kailo fall.
The sparks of battle that had been igniting the square seemed to be extinguished along with Kailo’s collapse, leaving only silence.
Even the citizens of the territory were unable to make a sound.
There were no cheers for the trial’s outcome.
Vergor, who had been drawing his sword, the remaining 4th Knights Order, and even the other knight orders waiting for an opportunity to intervene—all froze as Kailo crumbled.
In that silence, only the Archbishop continued.
“It seems that Lord Las wished to judge him slowly. Everyone here has heard it!! This was Kailo Alan’s own vow, and in accordance with it, we have confirmed the outcome! What are you waiting for?! Seize that witch and her followers at once!!”
But Vivian didn’t hear his words.
All of her attention was on Kailo.
The man she thought would never fall.
The person most precious to her, who had been by her side since she was 14.
And now, he had collapsed… barely clinging to his last breath.
“…Ah… Ah…”
At her tears, Kailo finally reacted.
Like her, he seemed unable to hear anyone else’s voice.
His eyes searched for Vivian.
As if she was the last thing he wished to see before death.
Kailo tried to stand again, but once more, he failed.
With a bitter chuckle, he began to crawl.
The Archbishop, who had been speaking, fell silent, as if struck speechless by the sight.
Everyone gathered in the square watched Kailo Alan’s final struggle.
A crimson trail was drawn on the ground like a brushstroke along his path.
“…As expected.”
He murmured with difficulty.
“…Nothing in this world… ever goes the way we want.”
“…Ah… Ah…”
“…I’m sorry, Vivian.”
What was he apologizing for?
The only one who should apologize was her.
Because she had ended up in this situation, Kailo had to suffer like this…
—Drip…
More tears spilled from Vivian’s eyes.
If this was how it would end, she should have just burned at the stake sooner.
There could be no greater pain in the world than this.
“…This time, I can’t protect you.”
Kailo’s voice was filled with deep regret.
Like hers, his voice was full of pain.
“…I’m sorry.”
He said again.
“…I’m sorry.”
And with that, he reached out his hand.
But with her hands bound, Vivian couldn’t reach back.
She blankly stared at his rough hand, which had stretched toward her but never reached.
At that moment, his body lost all strength.
He no longer moved.
“…Ka… Kailo…?”
Vivian, who had been crying like a beast, struggled to call his name.
“…Kailo?”
She called out again, louder this time, but the massive man gave no response.
“…Come on, don’t joke around. I… I hate things like this.”
It had to be an act.
It was an irrational thought, but she clung to it, scanning his body.
If she could find even the slightest movement, she would call him out for getting caught and tease him.
But Kailo never moved again.
“Please… Please stop. Please…”
The man who once smiled at other women…
Who had come to her, one last time, to protect her…
And now, had lost consciousness like this.
Once again, he had become entangled with her filth and suffered for it.
“Kailo… Please…”
The hand he had reached out to hold her seemed so unbearably lonely.
Vivian thrashed wildly against her chains, desperate to break free.
There was a sickening crack as something in her wrist snapped, but she didn’t stop.
“Please… Please!!! Get up!!”
She screamed with all her might.
But at that moment, the Archbishop interrupted.
“Enough!! The verdict has been made. You wretched witch!! Stop this disgraceful—”
—Thud!!
Just then, a stone flew from somewhere and struck the Archbishop’s head.
“Ugh!!”
He looked down at the crowd in shock and shouted.
“Who is it?! Who dares to be so rude…!”
But the silent crowd did not respond.
The color slowly began to drain from the Archbishop’s face.
—Whoosh!!
Another stone flew toward the platform.
-At this point, even Lord Las is siding with Lady Vivian!
-You don’t even know who the real heretic is!!
-Were you that desperate for power?!
Voices began to rise one by one.
And then, like a small spark turning into a raging fire, a thunderous roar erupted from the crowd.
-Even a blind man could see who the real madman is!!
-Kill those cultist bastards!!
-The ones who deserve to die are you!!!
Just as Kailo couldn’t handle the overwhelming number of Paladins, the countless Paladins couldn’t handle the crowd that outnumbered them dozens of times over.
Those who had shouted for Vivian’s death slinked away into the masses, while Vivian’s long-silent supporters finally found the courage to raise their voices.
In an instant, rage exploded, and people surged toward the platform.
“Your Excellency, we must get you out of here!!”
Baristan shouted urgently.
“Paladins! Protect—”
He looked around and belatedly realized.
Most of the knights who had been guarding them… had already fallen to Kailo Alan’s sword.
The remaining knights were either struggling to control the crowd or locked in battle against Vivian’s soldiers.
“Push them back!!”
A loud command rang out from among the soldiers.
The battle, which had momentarily paused, erupted once more.
But this time, the tide was completely one-sided.
The Las Order, faced with the overwhelming hostility aimed at them, seemed to lose their will to fight and were being pushed back.
—Thud!
Rocks continued to rain down onto the platform.
The Archbishop raised his hands, trying to shield himself, but he could not stop the hundreds of stones flying at him.
The bishops, in a panic, began fleeing in all directions.
But from the platform, the Archbishop could see it all.
“No!! Stop it!!”
The captured bishops were swallowed by the furious crowd.
Their robes were torn, their bodies beaten.
The screams soon turned to silence.
The Archbishop let out a hollow laugh.
Now, at last, he understood.
The king had been right.
Trying to devour both Vivian Rondor and Kailo Alan at once had been pure greed.
He could feel the tremors of approaching footsteps on the platform.
He realized—it was the end.
—Clank!
Duran rushed forward and unlocked Vivian’s chains.
At that moment, she collapsed forward, rushing to Kailo, who had been silent all this time.
“Ah… ah…”
The man who had always been so warm was now unbearably cold.
Blood still flowed from his body.
“Get up…! Get up, please…!!”
Vivian shook him roughly, desperately trying to wake him.
The one person who had ever truly loved her… the only person who had meant something to her.
But Kailo did not move.
His tightly shut eyes did not even twitch.
Countless memories flashed before her eyes.
Why?
Why did Kailo, who had suffered so much, have to fall…
While she, of all people, survived?
Shouldn’t it have been the other way around?
Why did the man who had always been so strong have to fall for her sake?
Vivian held back her grief.
Kailo hated seeing her cry.
If he heard her sobbing, he might just drift back into sleep instead of waking up.
So she forced herself to smile.
“Kailo… wake up.”
She changed her tone, as if coaxing him.
“…Can’t you hear this sound?”
She asked, but he did not respond.
There had been two bets between them long ago.
One was that if she ever cried, she would let him go home.
—Drip.
She had lost that bet long ago.
Vivian had cried in front of him before.
And now, she was doing it again.
No matter how much she tried to smile, the tears wouldn’t stop falling.
But there was still the second bet.
“…Kailo. I lost.”
She admitted.
“Completely… utterly lost.”
The second bet had been this: If one day, all the people of this land came to love Kailo Alan… she would let him go.
She had thought at the time—what an impossible bet that would be.
But now…
“Kailo! Kailo! Kailo!”
“Kailo! Kailo! Kailo!!”
The whole of Loctana was chanting his name.
Praises rained down for the man who had cut down the Paladins and saved Vivian.
“Kailo! Kailo! Kailo!”
“Kailo! Kailo! Kailo!”
The people who had once been trampled under his father’s rule were now shouting his name.
Vivian could hardly believe her own eyes.
Kailo was always like that.
He constantly showed her things beyond belief.
“…I lost, so… I won’t be greedy anymore.”
She held him close and whispered into his ear.
“…If you tell you are to leave, I’ll let you leave… If you tell me to die, I’ll die… So wake up. You have to confirm the result of our bet.”
—Drip.
She had completely lost.
She was weaker than him, more pathetic.
He was stronger.
Vivian had seen it with her own eyes—just how strong he truly was.
“So please.”
She pleaded.
Holding him even tighter, she whispered once more.
“…Please, wake up, Kailo.”
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