episode_0083

The countess who taught me swordsmanship when I was young always scolded me with a cold expression.

“You’re not even a normal kid. Even if you were just a dullard, I would have taught you somehow.”

At that time, I considered her as my mother, and so I never stopped trying to gain her recognition.

There were times when I trained until I literally collapsed from exhaustion, but he didn’t even glance at me.

“… This is so pathetic. Rather than spending meaningless effort in the training ground, I’d rather study.”

He crushed the sword I had received as a gift from the Count with his foot.

“It’s so disgusting. You who sees it overlapping, and I who sees it overlapping. It’s really pathetic and disgusting.”

Even my teacher, who turned me into a monster, didn’t fully recognize my talent.

“Staff and bare-handed fighting… That’s all you have. To be honest, you’re not as talented as the other guys. You’re the most plain… But you know. Fighting isn’t something you do with talent.”

He was a man of the worst personality, but he never lied.

“Your weapon isn’t something like that trivial talent. The Demon King is better than you at wielding a staff and fighting with bare hands. That’s why you shouldn’t be putting that first.”

I asked what I should prioritize. At that time, I was even more foolish and ignorant than I am now.

“Madness. Your madness that you don’t care if you die is your greatest weapon. A man who can’t die until he gets his revenge can’t beat a guy who acts like he doesn’t care if he dies.”

At that time, I didn’t understand that. Maybe I still don’t understand it. Understanding is something that is always being updated, so even the understanding I have now may turn out to be an absurd misunderstanding when I look back in the distant future.

I’m just pushing through my current understanding and doing everything I can.

I stomped my foot down with a loud noise and smashed the Queen’s instep.

“…ugh.”

“I don’t know what the trick is to regenerating wings and arms, but in the end, it’s just a repeat of that day.”

There were many twists and turns, but I won over her.

I cut off the arm and tore off the wing. My entrails almost spilled out, but victory was victory.

Although I was unable to land a decisive blow because the battle situation was unfavorable, I thought that there was no way she could survive in a society where the law of the jungle prevails.

“Queen, I don’t know you very well.”

“That’s what you’ll find out from now on…”

“That’s why I have no intention of judging your life. I also have no intention of criticizing you for killing the king who loved you.”

Then the queen’s gaze changed.

“… How about that?”

“It’s just a minor talent. It’s a talent that allows me to see fragments of the memories of someone who has been touched by my sound, which is extremely rare. My teacher said it has to do with resonance through vibration. I don’t know the exact principle either. ”

It’s not that I want to see it, I can’t see everyone’s memories, and the memories I can see are only short fragments that pass by.

It was a talent that was merely a byproduct of an attack using echo.

“My husband. I love you, but I feel a little awkward about this topic…”

“Why do you deceive your own memories and even your own heart? If your memories of your motives are also distorted, then it is clear…”

“Stop it!”

“Your acting is really clumsy. The acting of a madman is probably the most profound acting skill among roles. Was the acting of a clumsy madman that enjoyable?”

“… Now I think I understand a little why you are being avoided, my dear husband.”

“The thing that scares me the most is that that love isn’t an act.”

I was not so foolish as not to know that she loved me. The queen, for some unknown reason, was in love with me. She loved me even though she had stolen my love.

It may sound contradictory, but it is an undeniable fact.

I couldn’t receive that love, and I had no intention of receiving it.

“Raoul Bergé. My husband. Instead of such trivial stories, I want to confirm our love again!”

As the Queen swung her arms, tiny, invisible slashes flew in.

Each sharp scale became a small blade that struck me with devastating blows. As a result, the surrounding area was reduced to ashes, and I was also wounded and began to bleed.

She and I had a very similar fighting style. She had a great balance between offense and defense, used unique slashing and striking attacks simultaneously, and preferred close combat whenever possible.

“It hurts.”

“Pain is our pleasure. You and I will love each other more deeply by giving and receiving pain.”

“It’s hard to understand. If pain is pleasure, then why do you have your king…”

At that moment, the Queen’s fist was about to strike my face.

I barely managed to block it with my cane, but if I had failed, my mouth would have been shattered.

“My lord… That’s all for the trivial talk…!”

“Is my interpretation wrong? From what I remember… You seemed to feel sorry for the king who was reduced to rags and groaning in pain.”

“… That can’t be true, my lord. Such a pitiful and pathetic king.”

I didn’t know my interpretation would be wrong again.

The old dragon in my memory was groaning, reduced to rags by the Demon King’s sword strike. On the other hand, the Demon King only had one arm and one leg broken, and the old dragon’s claws did not touch his life.

That’s why I thought he stabbed the back because he couldn’t stand to see it go. It seemed like he stabbed it to relieve the old dragon of his suffering. It seemed like he was preventing it from dying at the hands of someone other than a dragon.

The old dragon seemed to acknowledge her kindness.

“As a bonus, the old king will take your heart…”

“Raoul Bergé. My beloved husband. Please shut up your mouth…!”

“You were really kind. Didn’t you fool everyone? So that the old king would look like he died a pitiful death due to a mean betrayal, not because of his own strength.”

“Didn’t I say no… Please tell me…!”

“Surely, to me, you are nothing more than the worst stain, worse than dirt…”

The Queen seemed to sense what I was going to say next and reached out her hand in anger.

It was an unnaturally large and excited movement. It was a movement that was not typical of her, who fought with delicate techniques.

This emotion is probably anger.

“You must have been like a lovely daughter to the old king.”

As soon as I said those words, I grabbed her wrist that was flying towards my heart.

“I guess the arm and wing are also the result of using the remains he left behind. Of the remains I destroyed, the arm and wing were the only ones that were intact. I guess he used magic to reattach them. This is just a guess.”

However, it was the most credible guess. The most important thing in sorcery is perception. If it is a target with a deeper connection than blood relations, the souls will match better and the bones will be connected without any side effects.

All that remains is to assimilate them using lifespan or strength, and regenerate the rest. Since strength does not seem to have diminished, it must have been in exchange for lifespan. That would be the most common and convenient sacrifice.

“… Please stop.”

“You’re kinder than you look. I found out today by reading that memory. You really are.”

“Stop it, please.”

“What a pitiful dragon. It’s not because he doesn’t feel anything, but because he’s not honest with himself.”

The queen rushed at me in anger, but her angry movements soon created an opening.

I cut off her left arm with a blade that resonated stronger than ever before.

“Is the only time you’re honest with me is when you whisper love to me and tell me to stop?”

“If you say more than that, I will be really angry.”

“You are so pure.”

“Raoul Bergé…!”

She staggered forward, her arms missing, and lunged at me, but her skills were not rusty enough to be struck down by such a small attack.

Her body lost balance due to losing an arm, and it was her mistake to rush in before she could fully adjust.

And since I was not a generous person to overlook such a mistake, I had no choice but to strike her wing with my short staff and tear off one of her wings.

“… Are you going to do more?”

Even if she regenerated her arms and wings, she had already lost to me once.

In the end, I was just standing at the same starting line as before, but I wasn’t stronger.

“If you surrender now, I am willing to accept your surrender. On the condition that this rain stops.”

Then the queen grabbed her head with her remaining arm and began to mutter.

“… You are so frustrating and lovable to the end. You make me feel ashamed and ashamed, yet you are still lovable. I must be pretty crazy too. ”

“How deep and great is this love that other emotions cannot shine? Even if I try to be angry at you, in the end, love overwhelms the anger.”

“Only anger creates a gap. I can’t muster the strength to kill you…”

“Then…then…I just won’t hold back. All my feelings towards you.”

It was an incomprehensible sound.

She too will not be able to understand what she is saying.

In the midst of such a feast of misunderstanding, flowers out of season began to bloom along with a cool breeze.

“Anemone…?”

Not only was it not the season for them to bloom now, but they were not the kind of flowers that would bloom suddenly in such a deep forest.

“Raoul Bergé. I, like you, cannot understand my feelings. But the cause of the feelings is not important, is it?”

“Raoul Bergé. I love you.”

“…..”

“So I want to die with you.”

I could understand the feelings contained in that confession.

Because I too have loved someone so much.

“You will love me too.”

“……”

“Because you are like me. More than anyone else.”