episode_0048

“What the hell is this…”

“Eriel…Eriel…! My daughter..!”

“Wow… I’m so glad, Ariel…!”

After the day I extracted more than half of Ariel’s magical power. Ariel’s complexion gradually brightened and she soon got up from the hospital bed.

The therapist looked in disbelief and wondered what had happened.

The Frost family was happy, even shedding tears, that Ariel had recovered and returned.

‘Spotting talent.’

[Name: Ariel Frost / Age: 20 / Female / Status: Demonic energy erosion (mitigated).]

[Unique Ability (Child of Mana): You have the amount of magical power given by God. Your mana is as infinite as the ocean and as strong as a flowing stream. All mana-related actions receive a God-given correction!]

[Unique Ability (Magic Eye): This is an eye that can see magical power. You can see the trajectory of magic power and use magic power more smoothly!]

[Unique Ability (Qualities of an Archmage): You are born with the qualities of an Archmage that will go down in history. He has a higher understanding of mana than anyone else, and can use it as naturally as water!]

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[Demon Energy Erosion (???): Eroded by excessive black magic. If you do not remove the residual demonic energy left in your body, you will die in 37 days, 10 hours, and 39 seconds. (49%)]

[A significant amount of demonic energy is removed, and the body becomes stabilized.]

[You can absorb demon energy. Would you like to absorb it? (However, if the user absorbs the remaining magical energy in another person’s body without harm, a physical overload will be imposed on the user.)]

[Remaining Magi: 49%.]

I haven’t absorbed all the demonic energy yet, and I still have a limited time limit… but I’m glad it’s alleviated.

But… it’s not over yet. Even if her condition improved slightly, Ariel was still a patient, and the warlocks had not yet moved.

“Father. I’m really fine now. Even your brothers.”

“But daughter…”

“It’s okay. Now that I’m feeling better, I’ll go to the academy too.”

“Now…wait a minute. Ariel! You just woke up from a hospital bed, but you’re not going straight to the academy!”

“Brother Jake. I’m really fine. And I’ve already missed a few days, so I have to go quickly.”

“……Ugh.”

Ariel seemed to be preparing to head straight to the academy. The head of the family, Freed Frost, and Ariel’s older brothers, Jake and Kyle, could only stamp their feet at the sight of Ariel’s resolute appearance.

“Miss Ariel. How about taking a little more rest?”

“….Why? I’m okay now.”

“You are not completely cured yet. In any case, the condition may worsen again.”

But, I can’t let Ariel leave right now. As I said, Ariel wasn’t completely cured, so she could get worse again, and I didn’t have much time.

“Please. Miss Ariel.”

“….just this time. Because I’m only going to rest for 3 days.”

When I looked at Ariel with an earnest expression, she reluctantly agreed to my request.

The head of the family and Ariel’s older brothers looked disappointed at the sight of Ariel not even listening to what they said but immediately accepting what I said.

Afterwards, they expressed their gratitude with their mouths so that only I could see them and not be heard by Ariel.

Well… it looks cold on the outside. No, it’s cold. However, it was surprising that he became so kind when it came to anything related to Ariel.

“Thank you. Miss Ariel.”

“……Ugh.”

“Huh. Are you feeling sick again? Why is your face so red?”

When I smiled and thanked Ariel, her cheeks turned red. Does it hurt anywhere? Has the condition worsened again?

I tried to put my hand on Ariel’s forehead, but Ariel shook it off.

“….No. It’s nothing.”

“Hmm. is that so? If your condition worsens, please tell me right away.”

“Daughter… No way….”

“No… that can’t be…”

An unknown despairing voice was heard from behind, but it probably wasn’t a big deal.

‘Anyway…I guess I should hurry.’

It was just five days later that the academy’s warlock meeting announced an attack on Snowpil Village.

I couldn’t let Ariel, who was sick, help, and there was a high possibility that the warlocks would prepare in advance, so the only time given to me was three days before Ariel left.

Can you do it? Pulling out all the remaining demon energy in 3 days…

‘…no. must do it. After that… there might not be a chance.’

Somehow, all the remaining magical energy in Ariel’s body is extracted. Let us devote all our energies to it.

“Miss Ariel. I’ll at least massage your shoulders.”

“…Yes. please. Father and brother, please leave.”

“Ugh…Kuhuh… No way…”

“I can’t believe it… This is a dream…”

Why are you so sad? Did something else happen?

[You can absorb demon energy. Would you like to absorb it? (However, if the user absorbs the remaining magical energy in another person’s body without harm, a physical overload will be imposed on the user.)]

‘Absorb.’

“….cough. If it hurts… please tell me.”

“Yes. It’s just fine right now.”

Since I was sitting behind Ariel, I wiped the blood with a handkerchief and pretended to massage Ariel’s shoulders to absorb the demonic energy.

My body gets heavier and my lifespan decreases in real time… but it doesn’t matter. For now, I just focus on absorbing demon energy.

***

I had a dream. In my dream, I am sitting alone in a garden where the whole world is colorless.

“It’s okay.”

What is okay? There’s no one left around you.

What is okay? The loneliness and emptiness you feel now is growing day by day.

In my dream, I just repeated, ‘It’s okay’ as if I was hypnotizing myself. The girl with lifeless purple eyes just mutters like a crazy person.

Sometimes, when my parents and older brother came up to me and talked to me, I felt like I had a little bit of color.

After they leave, my world turns colorless again.

“….It’s…okay.”

Tears fall from the girl’s lifeless eyes, but there is no one to wipe away the pitiful tears.

-lol. fun!

-Look at this! I made it!

-Wow… that’s amazing!

Suddenly, when I hear the voices of children playing outside the garden, the thought of wanting to play among them dominates my mind.

When I look out from this garden, where no such thing as color, to the colorful, enchanting world outside… there are times when I take a few steps without realizing it.

“Can I… play too?”

“Hiik…! Monster…Monster..!”

“Uh…Mom!!”

“…Come here. Come on!”

What poured out on the girl who had the courage to approach the children her age was not interest but fear and fear.

Children often ran away crying, calling out their parents’ names. Even the parents who came trembled with fear as they looked at the monster.

“……..”

There is no salvation for a colorless monster that invades a world of beautiful colors.

I am not a monster. No matter how much I cry and say that I don’t harm people, the monster’s screams don’t reach me.

“I’m… okay.”

The girl returns to the colorless garden. There are definitely pretty flowers blooming, but it’s a dull world where color doesn’t exist.

Among them, there were a few white and purple flowers and yellow and brown birds chirping. It was not enough to brighten the colorless world.

And so everyday life repeats again. The girl is still alone and muttering. Family members approaching the girl.

The girl looks enviously at her friends outside the garden again. Even if I muster up the courage to speak again, all I get in return are cold stares.

As time passes, the distance between the colorless garden and the outside world becomes greater.

The distance that could be reached with just a few steps soon increases to a distance that it is not certain whether it can be reached even if you run for hours with all your might.

time goes by. The flowers in the garden bloom more beautifully, and the girl grows.

However, it is still difficult to find color. On the contrary, the garden has become even larger, growing taller as if it would even cover the girl’s shadow.

…..under…!

Yeah…that’s…!

Now what is that sound out there? I’m not even sure if there’s a sound.

Or, it could be an auditory hallucination created by one’s own loneliness.

Even though the distance is longer, the girl continues to challenge herself. This time, I wondered if I could be like the people out there. The girl runs even though her feet are torn by rocks and her lungs hurt as if they would burst.

However, even though time has passed, the fact that it is a monster does not change. Rather, a monster that grows in size and shows sharp teeth jumps out of the garden.

-Quaaah!

-Save me…Save me…!

-Please…please at least as much as the child…please…!

“………….”

The monster, looking down into the innocent child’s eyes, walks back into the garden while hearing the child’s mother crying.

Its weight is as much as the weight of the gaze the monster has received. It becomes as heavy as the loneliness and pain that has accumulated over many years.

“….I am…”

at last. The girl closed her heart. I locked the door that connected the garden to the outside world, and I only blamed myself.

Rather, after you give up, you don’t feel anything. Feelings and things I want to do. I couldn’t figure out anything. I just live because I can’t die.

Kwasik-!

My only joy in life was to step on and kill the flies and bugs that crawled around in the colorless garden.

“………….”

However, now even that is exhausted. The woman suddenly turns around and looks at the endless darkness in one corner of the garden.

If you head in there. Can I feel more comfortable now?

If I kill the monster I am, wouldn’t everyone be happy?

In this hell-like time that flows endlessly, we continue to worry hundreds of times every day.

Even so, the woman looks at the faintly colored flowers and small birds blooming in the garden and soon gives up.

Then one day. Suddenly, emptiness comes.

I feel unbearably lonely, my whole body becomes cold, and I feel like I have forgotten my own existence in the endless emptiness.

“I… I’m tired now.”

Flowers of faint colors bloomed and birds chirped, but the woman who was lost in the abyss could neither see nor hear them.

Let’s stop now. Let’s get comfortable.

The woman slowly and silently walks towards the darkness.

The steps of giving up everything were light, but they become increasingly heavy due to the fear of approaching death.

“…I can’t do it.”

When faced with the end of life, I feel scared. The woman shakes her head, turns away from the darkness, and walks back toward the garden.

Tub-

“…Ugh!”

However, darkness does not easily let go of approaching prey. Countless hands extend out from the darkness, entwining the woman and swallowing her into the darkness.

Help me. Anyone is okay, please.

I too… want to live.

‘father. mother. Brother… Kale. Fria….’

The woman lets out a silent scream as she is dragged into a space of nothingness where there is no concept of colorlessness. May the few remaining faintly colored strings come down. I pray that you can get me out of this place.

However, there is no such thing as a helping hand. The woman’s eyes become more cloudy, and she soon gives up even struggling.

The woman closes her eyes. Surrender yourself to the guiding hand and relax as if you were floating on the sea. The woman’s body is now engulfed in darkness, leaving only a few parts.

“Miss Ariel. What are you doing here?”

What broke the endless silence was a quiet yet soft male voice. The woman searches for the source of the voice with her faintly opened eyes.

Black and red. The touch of color that sparkles intensely in a colorless world instantly draws a woman out.

Tuk-tuk.

I tried to pull the darkness’s grip as if I couldn’t let go, but it was all cut off and disappeared by a gentle and warm touch.

“Miss Ariel. I am there.”

“……..”

The colorless garden gradually turns black and red. There were only two colors, but in a colorless world, those colors alone were beautiful enough.

“….Yes.”

The woman smiles at those beautiful colors. The frozen heart melts in the warm atmosphere and warmth created by the colors.

Soon, the colorless world changes into a two-color world.

No more regrets, no more loneliness. It doesn’t even feel empty. Even the darkness that was pulling me from behind had disappeared somewhere.

Women hug men tightly. I hug you tightly, as if I will never let you go.

Kwajik…Kwajangchang-!

At the same time, the world is broken and broken. At the same time, my eyes open.

“Ariel… my daughter…!”

“Eriel…! I’m so glad…!”

The world seen through dimly opened eyes. Faint white and purple colors flash before your eyes.

“Miss Ariel.”

And, the intense colors that can be felt right in front of you. Ariel smiles slightly as she looks at the brightly shining color that seems to steal all attention.

A smile as if nothing matters as long as that color shines brightly in this achromatic color.