Chapter 407

Chapter 407

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 407: Declaration Of Dawn (2)

The world was enveloped in a white, magical light before returning to its original appearance. The sun, already risen, illuminated the epicenter.

“Did we do it?!”

I flinched involuntarily at my own reflexive words.

Ding!

Only after seeing the system notification that we had defeated the Evil God did I finally heave a sigh of relief.

“That surprised me…”

If it had somehow revived, it would have been truly dangerous.

Not only was my mana completely depleted due to the final Punishment, but the golem was also half-melted, as if it couldn’t withstand it any longer.

Look. Even now, it remains motionless in its final throwing posture. The golem’s power even shut off, and I can’t see outside.

A pitch-black cockpit where nothing can be seen. A sudden, ominous premonition made me tremble involuntarily.

“…Huh? Did I screw up?”

Wasn’t I… floating in the air just now?

Sure enough. The levitation magic I had cast began to stutter due to mana shortage, and before long, it completely dissipated.

And then came the sensation of falling. The dizzying feeling of rising from below, as if on a roller coaster, made me scream involuntarily.

“Kieeeeeeeeeek!!”

I desperately tried to draw up mana, but even with the Dragon Heart, it was impossible to reactivate the golem or recover enough mana to lift it entirely after only a few seconds of rest.

In that case, the only remaining option was to escape from here.

If it were just my body, a complete levitation spell would be impossible, but I could probably at least offset the falling speed enough not to die.

Trusting my physical specs, which were comparable to a decent knight, I kicked the front of the cockpit with all my might.

Thud!

A rather heavy thud. But it didn’t break open.

“What?”

Don’t panic. Even though it’s cutting it close, I still have time for one more try!

I tore up the Strength Scroll I had taken out of my inventory after a long time. I might be out of mana, but I wasn’t out of physical strength, so my body readily accepted the magic.

Once again, I squeezed all the strength in my body and kicked the hatch.

Whang!

“……”

Nothing had changed except that the sound was a little louder.

Well. I don’t know if the joint melted or if it’s just tightly locked, but this golem is made of alchemical steel that imitates dragon scale.

Didn’t the attacks of the two-headed giant, who possessed mythical strength, barely register as normal attacks?

Right now, the mana is cut off, and it’s on the verge of shattering due to overload, so it probably isn’t as tough. But even so, it’s not something my kick can handle.

“…There’s no helping it now.”

I curled up my body and covered it with my wings and tail. And I even filled my mouth with the highest-grade potion Faye had made.

My dragon form is sturdy, so I should be able to endure it. As long as I don’t die, I’ll probably manage somehow with the potion, regeneration, and Helena’s healing.

With that, I tightly closed my eyes and prepared myself. Soon after, I felt a heavy impact.

“Keuk.”

I quickly swallowed the potion. The pain vanished instantly. But something was strange.

“???”

Wasn’t the impact too weak? If I had fallen from that height, I should have rolled around inside the cockpit several times…?

It was when I cautiously opened my closed eyes, filled with doubt.

Bang!

The hatch was dented as if someone had struck it with great force from the outside. For a moment, I wondered if I had seen it wrong, but it was no illusion.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The hatch continued to cave in. Seeing this, I finally became certain.

“They came to save me!”

That’s right! I fought alone, but I’m not truly alone!

The others who must be watching the situation from afar… Iris or Iona must have noticed my condition and come to help!

The impact was probably lessened because they stopped the falling golem midway, and now they’re probably trying to open the closed hatch and get me out, even if they have to force it open!

Is this what it feels like to be rescued? With a strangely pounding heart, I waited quietly. And soon after, a beam of light filled the cockpit.

Whang!

As the twisted hatch was forcibly torn open, a familiar face appeared in the dazzling backlight.

Platinum blonde hair that reached her waist. Listlessly lowered ruby-colored eyes. And a sneer on her lips, along with tentacles writhing behind her back.

Now that I looked closely, it was only a person with a familiar face.

The corrupted Carla. After taking revenge on former Count Kipros, she had been surprisingly quiet, but now she suddenly appeared before my eyes.

“What the…?”

“Long time no see.”

I was momentarily taken aback by her nonchalant greeting. As soon as I grasped the situation, I took out the shining Shining Lion Dagger from my inventory and swung it.

But it was blocked far too easily.

Crack.

Not only did a tentacle wrap around my wrist and stop it, but it also twisted and broke it.

“Keuk.”

The effect of Strength should still be active, so it’s definitely not that my strength is weak, but to think it would be blocked this easily.

This is the worst. My mana is depleted, I’ve lost the dagger that might have worked, and one of my hands has been subdued.

But what worries me even more is…

“What happened to the others?”

“Hmm? Is that the first thing you ask?”

“Isn’t it obvious? There’s no way they would have let me come this far quietly.”

They might have been a little late compared to Carla. But it’s strange that my companions haven’t reacted at all yet.

Carla, who had a blank expression for a moment at my words, gave a slight smile.

“You all seem to have a good relationship. Don’t worry. I haven’t done anything. It’s just quiet because I’ve put up a barrier around the area.”

“What? But…”

“Rest assured. It’s a barrier made of authority, not mana, so it’s normal that you can’t sense it.”

Carla nodded and then wrapped my body with her other tentacles. I resisted as much as I could, but in my current state, I couldn’t break free at all.

With my entire body subdued by the tentacles, I was slowly pulled out of the cockpit.

“Ah.”

My women, keeping a certain distance, couldn’t rashly approach. Upon confirming my face, they urgently shouted something, but their voices didn’t reach me.

“…The Veil of Silence?”

“You figured it out quickly, as expected. You’re right. I succeeded in absorbing the authority that the Boiling Silence left in this body. All it does is hide my presence a little or make the surroundings quiet, like now, though.”

Carla shrugged and then slowly looked around. Aside from the traces of the fight between me and the two-headed giant, it didn’t seem like there had been any other battle.

“Ah-ha. So you’re using me as a hostage. That kind explanation from earlier too. And this restraint that’s unpleasantly sticky but also somewhat gentle. What’s your real intention? I thought you said you’d kill me painlessly next time we met.”

“You’re being so hostile, unlike last time, it hurts my feelings a little. Don’t you understand yet? This was my way of showing that I didn’t come to fight.”

“You should have said so sooner…”

I thought I was going to use the resurrection option attached to the Blessing of All Gods’ trait today.

It’s hard to believe, but Carla doesn’t seem to intend to kill me. She would have had countless opportunities to kill me, but she not only left me alive but also didn’t touch the others.

I let out a long sigh and raised my head. Perhaps she sensed that I was willing to talk. The pressure I felt on my limbs clearly lessened. Now I could shake off the tentacles anytime. Though I’d probably be caught again soon.

Tilting her head, she continued to speak.

“So? What in the world did you stir up such a big fuss for? What do you want to say?”

“Of course, it’s because I have something to ask you.”

Carla gave a sweetly fake smile. If the original Carla’s bright smile that I knew crumbled in reality and became dulled by despair, this would surely be what it would look like.

As I swallowed a groan inwardly, she approached me closely, as if climbing on top of me.

Her flowing platinum blonde hair cascaded down, enveloping the surroundings like a curtain. It was a scene as if only Carla and I existed in the world.

In that state, she cupped my face with both hands. Her languidly seductive eyes suddenly sparkled, and the atmosphere changed completely.

A light turned on. Or a fire ignited. Either way, it didn’t matter. After resigning herself to everything in the world and becoming detached, the murky ruby in her eyes regained its original light for a moment. What did the expression matter?

Carla’s soft, beautiful voice seeped into my ears, overwhelming me for a moment.

“Why didn’t you run away? It was a clearly dangerous situation. It’s fortunate you won, but what if the golem’s performance had been insufficient? It would have been better to abandon this castle, re-equip, and then return. Did you even consider bringing a Swordmaster from the Empire? Or perhaps… were you trying to protect those dwarves?”

“……”

A mocking, sarcastic voice. But for some reason, I sensed a certain earnestness within it.

I didn’t know why she was asking these questions, but I knew they were very important to her.

I chose my words carefully and opened my mouth in a cautious tone so that my answer would be fully conveyed.

“Because if I did that, Senior Faye would regret it.”

“…What did you say?”

“Senior Faye might have sorted out her past, but that doesn’t mean it all disappears, does it?”

Just like you, fake Carla, who are still tormented by the past, even though you’ve been transferred to another world.

“Of course, there was also the concern that if I just left it as it was, it would be reborn as a complete incarnation and become even stronger… but more than that, I really wanted Senior Faye to be truly saved from her past.”

I’m not just talking about her despised childhood.

The moment she couldn’t protect her mother, the moment she stubbornly held onto her dream while crying at the sudden change in the attitude of those around her one day, the moment she left for the academy with only one tattered basic alchemy book, the moment she was cooped up in her workshop, barely eating and looking disheveled, the moment she was suffocating in reality, thinking that maybe it was all wrong.

As someone who knew all those moments, I wanted to tell her. You weren’t wrong.

“My belief, my victory, is proof that Senior Faye’s path was right. And this was proof that could only be achieved here, in the place where she spent her most difficult moments.”

Even Rahim’s holy sword, directly forged by the Clashing Steel, couldn’t kill the Evil God. But a golem made with alchemy, which she had been so scorned for, achieved the great feat of slaying a god?

What greater proof could there be?

It’s a little embarrassing to say, but this thought was underlying my quick nod to Faye’s opinion.

“I understand. But this time the result was good, so it was fortunate, but what if it had gone wrong? You might have ended up proving the opposite.”

“No. That won’t happen.”

“Huh? But the Evil God…”

“I’ll say it again. Senior Faye will never lose. Because I’ll make sure of it.”

“……”

She pressed her lips tightly together. Her eyes flickered erratically, as if suppressing something. I still didn’t know what she was thinking, but it probably wasn’t a bad thing.

Carla, who had been standing blankly for a while, slowly lowered her body.

“Thank you for answering.”

“No problem. So, are you going to let me go now?”

“Yes. That was the promise. Though it was a promise I made with them, not with you.”

She flicked her chin towards where my women were. When I slightly turned my head to look, I saw my companions looking anxious.

From their perspective, they couldn’t hear anything, so they must be worried about what was happening.

In any case, whether it was an empty promise or not, she released the tentacles that had been restraining my body.

As I was loosening my wrist, still feeling the lingering numbness, Carla, who had already half-turned as if about to leave, asked in a light voice.

“Oh, that’s right. You said you knew the future where I existed, didn’t you?”

“…I did?”

“Do you know my end as well?”

“……”

“It’s okay, you can tell me.”

After a brief hesitation, I nodded.

“…You die by my hand.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Carla, reborn as the Apostle of an Evil God, burns and destroys the world before ultimately dying by my hand.”

To be a little more precise, she dies by the player’s hand, but since that player is me, it’s not wrong.

She had a dumbfounded expression at my words, but then she chuckled and lightly patted my shoulder.

“Since I saved your life once, you should save mine next time.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ask again when you understood. Ah, and I’ll be taking that, so you know.”

With those words, she took a step forward without looking back.

But with just that, her figure melted into the air as if dissolving, and she became impossible to find.

To think she could already handle the Boiling Silence’s authority to this extent. For some reason, she seemed closer to her right mind after not seeing her for a while, but if we had fought, it would have been truly dangerous.

Anyway, while I was relieved that fake Carla had left without any major issues…

“Huh?”

I suddenly noticed that the two-headed giant’s head, which had been lying far away, had disappeared.

“Hey, that was supposed to be part of my dowry…”

Why are you taking that?