Chapter 63: At the End of Despair (5)

[63] 9. At the End of Despair (5)

It was a place ripped straight out of the dream of a mad scientist.

The black walls were covered with magic circles I could barely comprehend.

Tentacles, connected to those magic circles, writhed and pulsed, seemingly supplying them with magic power.

And at the source of those tentacles… a person was buried.

No, it would probably be more accurate to call it a chunk of meat.

Her entire body, except for a part of her face, was covered with burns.

Only a few strands of red hair remained, barely proving who she was.

“Sage…?”

“I didn’t know anyone would recognize me in this state.”

Parsley, after plunging a tentacle into Sage, slowly descended to the floor.

She looked different.

Her once blue robe was stained with blood and some unidentifiable mucus.

Blood dripped from her red hair, and her emerald green eyes were bloodshot.

And I could see countless needle(injection) marks on her forearm through a gap in her robe.

*Lunatic.* The word came to mind,

What followed that word was inevitably the Captain’s words.

[She might not be the person you remember.]

Parsley’s clouded eyes swept over us. And then she looked a little confused.

“Clara? Irene? And that woman is…?”

Her eyes widened as they landed on Feya. She blinked rapidly, and then her gaze turned to me.

“Rem…?”

I carefully removed my mask. Looking at Parsley’s hardened face, I opened my mouth.

“Parsley.”

Our reunion after three months.

But I couldn’t feel any joy or excitement.

Because I knew what this meant.

“Did you do this to Sage?”

I felt my voice tremble. Clenching my fists, I asked,

“Just why on earth…”

A burst of laughter cut me off.

I stared at Parsley, speechless. She was clutching her stomach, her laughter uncontrollable.

It was as if she couldn’t help but laugh. Tears even streamed down her face.

Every time her shoulders shook, laughter and tears fell.

Finally, the laughter subsided, and she looked up at the ceiling, muttering,

“Is this another mockery, or a final act of mercy?”

Then she looked at me, who’s frozen in place, and smiled.

“It’s fine, Rem, you don’t need to worry. All of this will be gone soon anyway, as if it never happened.”

“What the hell are you talking…!”

A hand, blocking my view, cut me off.

It was Irene.

She gave me a quick look and then, turning to Parsley, she asked,

“Are you planning to rewind time and change the past, Ms. Parsley?”

Her words sent a wave of shock through everyone, not just me.

Only Irene, with her hardened face, and Parsley, with her faint smile, were calm.

“Irene, you’re still as surprisingly knowledgeable as ever? To think you’d notice it right away.”

“It’s because you’re not the only one who tried to use Alain’s pocket watch to do that.”

Then, Irene added coldly,

“And they all failed, meeting a tragic end.”

Cracks appear in Parsley’s smile. Irene took a step forward with a cold face and continued speaking.

“I’ll be blunt. Stop it, Ms. Parsley. It’s not too late.”

Then she looked at me again, and I realized it was my turn. I opened my mouth.

“Parsley.”

Her clouded eyes turned to me. I carefully chose my words,

“To be honest, I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

Why she had taken the watch,

why she had done this to Sage,

and why she wanted to rewind time.

“So just… tell me everything.”

I smiled awkwardly and continued,

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes, I’ll listen to the end. And if after that, you still want to do this, then I won’t stop you.”

A spark of light appeared in her clouded eyes.

“So let’s talk.”

I said, voicing the reason I had come here.

“Just for a little while, let’s…”

“You were the one who stopped talking first.”

Her voice was hoarse,

A voice that made it clear that something inside her had twisted and broken.

Parsley’s green pupils tremble as they take me in.

“You were the one who killed someone and didn’t say anything.”

“Hold on, Parsley…”

“You were the one who broke up with me, who pushed me away, who only had eyes for you!”

“What are you…”

“And you, you were the one who, burdened by guilt, rejected me when I came to rescue you! You were the one who decided to die on your own!”

Tears spilled from Parsley’s burning eyes.

“You ruined my life.”

Unfamiliar memories flashed before my eyes.

Me, Feeding love potions to lure beggars,

Me, helping Killian tie beggars to metal beds,

and… picking up a knife…

“_____!”

I barely managed to cover my mouth against the rising nausea. What followed were sharp questions that stabbed at me.

*Are those my sealed memories?*

*Did I kill someone?*

*Did I help Killian slaughter people?*

My head throbbed painfully, like it’s about to split.

“No, no, no, no!!”

The one who shouted wasn’t me. I looked up and saw Parsley clutching, pulling at her hair.

Parsley looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Rem, I didn’t mean it. I think I lost my mind. There’s no way it’s your fault.”

Between the cracks in her voice, a strange heat creeps in. A fire flickered in her once-clouded eyes.

“It’s all my fault, isn’t it?”

Self-loathing, that was the name of the flame.

“It’s because I’m such a pathetic, stupid bitch, because I’m such a loser that even my mother abandoned me. It’s because I’m an idiot that you didn’t tell me anything, right? You tried to kill Killian on your own, because I’m so incompetent.”

Her hand, twisted like a claw, covered her face, squeezing. A cry, bordering on a scream, escaped her lips.

“It’s because I’m a worthless bitch that you had no choice but to do that, right?”

Parsley’s hand gripped her face as if she were trying to tear her skin off her face.

“I’m sorry, Rem. It’s all my fault.”

Suddenly, her voice calmed. The intense trembling that had been racking her body stopped.

“So I’ll fix it. Everything.”

Her hand fell from her face. Her now calm face turns towards Irene.

“Irene, the reason they failed was because their calculations were fundamentally flawed.”

Irene flinched. Parsley smiled.

“You can’t possibly defy the rules of the world with just some magic power and a single magic tool.”

She raised her hand and drew a magic circle in the air.

*Whirrr-*

The space tremored as the magic circle glowed, as if some gigantic creature were roaring.

At the same time, the movement of the tentacles also becomes more active.

The tentacles wrapped around Sage’s body,

and then started to connect to Parsley’s body as well.

“At the very least, we need to sacrifice the lives of two archmages.”

I instantly understood what she meant.

Two archmages.

And there were only two mages in this room.

My body moved before I could even think.

But Parsley was faster.

“…!”

A tentacle burst from the floor, wrapping itself around my ankle. I tried to break free immediately, but it was much stronger than I thought.

“Don’t worry, Rem. Everything will be fixed soon.”

Parsley said, looking down at me with an almost loving look in her eyes.

“The people you killed, how you were ruined, and Marianne’s death.”

The strangely shaped watch appeared before Parsley. She reached out and grasps it with her hand.

“I’ll go back to the past and fix everything.”

Then, holding the watch preciously to her chest, she said,

“I’ll rewrite your story for you…”

*KABOOM-!!*

A golden light exploded and engulfed Parsley.

The tentacle that had been wrapped around my ankle went limp.

I looked at the source of the light, bewildered.

“Clara…?”

“Parsley, as someone who has tried something similar, let me give you a piece of advice.”

Clara frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

“That’s com-plete bullshit.”

“You…!”

As the golden light gradually faded, revealing Parsley’s contorted face. Her eyes, flickering with anger, turn towards Clara.

But Clara simply glared back and said,

“And besides, my love just told you that he wants to have a little chat. Can’t you shut up and come down?”

My love. Parsley’s eyes trembled at those words.

Seeing this, a sneer appeared on Clara’s face.

“Oh, you didn’t know? We’re dating. We’ve always liked each other since a long time ago, you know.”

Parsley’s pupils trembled once more.

Then, a twisted smile spread across her face.

“…So you’re C?”

“Oh, so you’ve read that book too? You poor thing. It must have been so miserable, liking someone who was already taken.”

Clara giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

A vein bulged on Parsley’s forehead.

“Fine, it’s the end anyway, so it might as well end like this.”

*Whirrr-*

Following her hand gesture, dozens of magic circles appeared in the air.

In response, intense light also starts to emanate from Clara’s body.

Soon, her entire body was radiating such an intense light that it was hard to even look at directly. She turned to me and smiled brightly.

“Rem, stop that fool. I’ll buy you some time.”

I couldn’t help but stare at her with a blank expression for a moment.

It’s because the Clara I knew was a selfish girl.

Without realizing it, a question leaked out of my mouth.

“Why…”

A fierce smile spread across Clara’s face.

“I told you, didn’t I? What’s precious to Rem is also precious to me.”

Again, my mind went blank.

But not for long.

“Go on, Rem. Save her, just like you saved me.”

Her words pierced deep within me.

Pushing aside my doubts, I nodded my head.

And then, I started running, with all my might.

Towards Sage, who was wrapped in tentacles,

towards the source where all the magic power is gathering.

*********** (Author’s Afterword)

Woof woof!

(Thank you for reading!!)

Arf arf!

(And Chronitz-nim, thank you for the 10-coin donation!! Now that it’s summer break, I’ll make sure to not take any more hiatuses!!!!!!)