episode_0101

A courageous battle cry echoed between those who protect and those who seek to conquer.

The clamorous clash of weapons colliding.

Intermittent explosions caused by the friction of magic and martial arts.

It was a noisy place where one could hardly feel sluggish, yet strangely, I found myself experiencing such emotions.

Was it because of the sense of exhaustion after giving it my all?

Perhaps.

The tingling pain coursing through my body and the overwhelming sense of helplessness that rendered me unable to lift a finger even in this uncomfortable place made me yearn for sleep.

But I couldn’t close my eyes.

If I did, I might not be able to have another conversation with the sword-wielding fellow beside me.

And maybe because I wouldn’t be able to bring up such embarrassing words at any other time.

Struggling to suppress the overwhelming fatigue washing over me, I jokingly spoke first.

“You said you’d protect me, you fool.”

“…I could have protected you if there hadn’t been a variable, right? Who would have known we’d end up merging with a goddess out of nowhere?”

“True. We would have won easily if that damn Agathon hadn’t intervened.”

As I chuckled laboriously, the fellow shook his head incredulously.

“You look like a lunatic when you laugh like that.”

“Haha… Maybe I am a lunatic. How can one stay sane in this insane place?”

In less than half a year, I had faced death’s door a staggering four times.

They say experiencing something once leaves an unforgettable trauma, so how could someone who went through it four times be considered normal?

What a ridiculous thing to say.

You’re just as crazy as I am.

Chuckling, I teased the fellow once more.

“So, do you dislike lunatics?”

“No, I quite like them. Of course, being a lunatic to an unbearable extent is an exception.”

Glancing –

Loreian ruthlessly teasing Alain.

The sword observed the pitiful sight with a tinge of regret.

“I planned to win the battle and confess in a grand manner.”

“…”

“That’s why I secretly put a bouquet of flowers in my bag, but now it has come to this.”

With a sigh –

Retrieving something from the broken armor, the fellow spoke with a melancholic tone.

“Haha, even the ring I was going to wear on my left ring finger has become useless. I intended to wear it joyfully upon a successful confession.”

“…”

“Well, assuming you accepted everything. Now… only emptiness remains.”

Thud.

Seemingly losing strength, the case containing the ring rolled out of the fellow’s hand.

Simultaneously, the pristine case was tarnished with dust.

As if the fellow’s firm and unwavering purity was breaking.

A pang.

My heart ached.

Despite being consumed by malevolent energy and feeling excruciating pain throughout my body.

Particularly, the pain felt as if my heart was being torn apart.

It was pitiful.

That unfortunate life, striving without receiving any reward, crumbling away.

Even while nearing death, that face smiling faintly, saying, “I loved you until the end.”

“Ah…”

I recalled hearing such words.

Indeed, losing something precious allows one to correct their mistakes.

Mend the barn after losing the cow.

Yes, that’s precisely the saying in Korean proverbs.

In the past, I mocked those who only realized their errors after losing something valuable.

Why wait until after losing it to hastily come up with a solution?

I couldn’t understand.

But now, I do.

I’ve become one of those foolish individuals.

With effort, I forced my unmoving arm to pick up the ring case the fellow had dropped, handling it delicately.

Then, I opened the case and tightly grasped the beautifully crafted ring in my hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“…For what?”

“For everything.”

No, not everything?

Recalling each mistake one by one, I slowly began to confess the truth.

“The biggest mistake… was it that I couldn’t be honest with my emotions? Huh, but what’s the point of being honest at the end like this? Everything’s already over.”

“Tsk… but it was kind of funny. How cute it was to make excuses and then run away in a hurry.”

“Shh, quiet… Ugh, remembering it now, there really is no separate dark history. Ah, I should just say my final farewell and go to sleep. My mind hurts more than my body…”

As I writhed in embarrassment at the passing dark history like a worm, the sword guy asked me painfully while laughing.

“So, when did our witch start liking me? It wasn’t love at first sight like me, right?”

“…It’s just that after being hit several times, I got over it. There’s nothing special.”

“They say there are trees that won’t fall even if you hit them a hundred times, right?”

“I keep hitting a thousand or ten thousand times because I fail, how can it not fall, you fool…”

There was no specific reason.

I don’t know when I started feeling fluttery towards him… because I don’t know either.

It has been said that there are various types of love.

Like the sword guy who falls in love at first sight and gets over it at once.

Or accumulating affection as you meet, gradually getting over it.

Even if it’s an ugly affection, accumulating continuously, like clothes getting wet in the rain, eventually getting over it.

Perhaps, I think I might be the third case.

At the persistent courtship of the guy, I unknowingly developed feelings for him too.

Since it happened without my knowledge, the fact that I kept denying it is a big problem, I must say.

Swoosh –

I slid the ring I was holding onto my left ring finger and chuckled playfully.

“I mentioned it was for show this time… but even if I had won easily, the ring would have ended up on my left ring finger. Actually… I was pondering how to accept it.”

“No wonder you kissed me without hesitation. Do you know how embarrassed I was on the battlefield? I couldn’t just take you somewhere and cover it up…”

“Heh… then maybe try covering it up now. Whether I still have the strength for that is questionable though.”

If it were now, I was confident it would be covered smoothly.

Since we’re all dying anyway, having sex before dying isn’t so bad, is it?

When faced with mortal danger, the instinct for reproduction emerges as a biological imperative.

Normally, I would have taken about 3 seconds to think before speaking… whether it was due to my brain being overwhelmed by instinct or because there was no need to filter, vulgar words I had never uttered before were coming out of my mouth.

“Well, since our lives are in danger, should we do it more intensely? Like the male mantis, they eat the female’s head to make it more intense…”

“…Take that as meaning you like it intense. By the way, don’t you have something to say to me?”

“What do you want me to say?”

Is there more to say?

I’ve apologized, indirectly expressed my affection…

Seemingly nothing more to say?

With a quizzical tilt of my head, he looked at me with a disappointed expression.

“Since it’s the last time, you could at least say ‘I love you.’”

“Oh.”

Well, since it’s the last time, that much shouldn’t be too difficult.

After letting out a deep breath, I smiled widely and whispered confessionally.

“I love you.”

And then.

I’m sorry.

After confessing decisively.

I lost consciousness as if fainting.

——

Rustle – Rustle –

The sound of her breathing softly reached me as she slept as if unconscious.

Having said everything she wanted to, Beatrice fell asleep with a relieved expression.

Smiling briefly at her still beautiful appearance despite being covered in dirt and blood, I slowly got up.

Creak –

Using the greatsword as a cane, I stood up and could see my reflection through the blade.

Pathetic armor in tatters, and covered in blood to the point where I wouldn’t look out of place dead anytime.

Beatrix looked at me with pity in her eyes, and why she had revealed her hidden feelings so candidly.

Only now could I understand.

“Though I am prepared for the worst, driving a wedge like that…”

It’s not like I’m asking to die or setting up death flags like this.

I chuckled bitterly and casually tossed my broken armor aside.

Clang –

“Hmm?”

The seed of evil turned his gaze with interest at the sound of the armor falling.

And soon, he began to mock me with a disdainful expression.

“Who used mind control? Why is a Death Knight standing before me?”

“Well, thanks for the generous evaluation. But honestly, I think I’m just a sorry excuse compared to a Death Knight.”

“Heh… To me, you’re all the same. So, what interesting thing are you going to show me this time?”

“Oh, I changed my mind. Just a moment ago, I wasn’t really feeling it, you know?”

But now, I feel an urgent need.

It feels too regrettable to go to the underworld like this.

Adding a word, I gathered the remaining aura.

“Beatrix said she loves me.”

“Tsk! Just for that reason…”

“She wanted to be intimate with me. She was upset that we couldn’t have a relationship, so how could I die?”

“You…”

The mocking eyes were now filled with anger.

Wow, this is serious business. You definitely intend to kill me?

But what can I do about it?

I have no intention of dying now either.

Second and third brothers said.

Desire sometimes brings an unbelievably powerful force.

And when desire reaches its peak.

Thud – !

You reach a new level.

“Oh, I want to have sex.”

Instantly healed wounds.

And a sense of omnipotence coursing through my body.

I aimed the sword filled with endless lust at the seed of evil, raising the corner of my mouth.

Everything is.

For the witch.

For you.