episode_0233

“Ugh… I managed to survive thanks to you, but… why is Bivi here…?!”

Dio V Runner, who had nearly died from Camilla’s laser, was puzzled as to why Bivi, who was supposed to be protecting the remaining people, was here. At that moment, Dio V Runner spotted me standing in front of the fallen Yuria, grinning as he began to get up.

“Hahaha…!! That relentless explorer… I kept believing he must be alive, but seeing him here again… it makes me so happy I could cry…”

“Dio V Runner…!! Are you alright?! It looked like you took Camilla’s attack head-on earlier…”

“Ah, Gid… I’m fine…”

Gid rushed to him and helped him up as he slowly rose. Dio V Runner felt that his body was still mostly intact enough to move and told Gid he was fine. Gid then spotted me standing in front of Yuria, recalled something, and spoke to Dio V Runner.

“It was Zeke you were waiting for all this time, wasn’t it, Dio V Runner…? The only person who can bring Aria to her senses…”

“That’s right… Although Camilla is unstable right now, she has descended, and her divine power has grown even stronger in response to her rage over the fallen worshippers, those ‘Children of Light’ or whatever they’re called… but I gained one certainty while fighting Aria earlier…”

“Certainty…? What in the world are you talking about…?”

“Zeke will surely realize it too… It seems Yuria also figured it out while fighting Aria… Phew… We should leave Aria to Zeke and focus on drawing Camilla’s attention. Even Bivi can’t face Camilla alone.”

“Yes… but even the three of us defeating Camilla is…”

“Don’t worry. If… if my thoughts are correct… Camilla will surely fall… For that, those two are needed. So we must draw Camilla’s attention, Gid…”

“…Understood, Dio V Runner… Your words have never been wrong, so I’ll trust you.”

Dio V Runner asserted that Zeke and Aria were needed to overcome this situation, and while they did something, he and Gid needed to draw Camilla’s attention. Gid decided to trust his words and, with Dio V Runner, turned his head towards Camilla, who was resisting Bivi’s cold. Meanwhile, I was observing the surrounding situation. The land burning due to Iruvan’s flames… the fallen resistance fighters… and…

“Yuria… are you… alright…?”

“Ah… Ahaha… It’s good to see you again, Zeke… And knowing you’re alive makes me feel even better… I was worried about you after the Revarud facility… *gurgle*…!!”

“…!! Don’t speak, Yuria…!! You’ll die if you keep…”

“ZEKE-NIMMM!!!!”

Just as Yuria, overjoyed that I was alive, tried to say she had worried a lot, she started coughing up blood. I, flustered, told her not to speak. Aria then saw my expression, shouted at me with a look full of displeasure, and I, letting out a deep breath, turned my head towards her. When Aria saw me looking at her again, she spoke.

“Zeke-nim…!! I… I thought Zeke-nim had passed away… I was so sad until just now… But to meet Zeke-nim again like this… Isn’t this also a miracle that happened thanks to Goddess Camilla-nim’s blessing…?!”

“…Me, dead? Ah… I nearly died from your attack before…”

“But Zeke-nim… I worried so much… and I tried hard not to make you ashamed of me right now… So why are you worrying about that hateful snow woman instead of me?”

When Aria said she thought I was dead, I was about to mention how I truly almost died from her attack earlier. But Aria cut me off, evidently annoyed that I had worried about Yuria just now, and complained with a cold expression. In my frustration, I took a deep breath and thought. *Right now, Aria is being controlled by Camilla. So she can’t act rationally… But… but it’s so frustrating that Aria has to remain in this state…* Just as I was feeling frustrated, knowing that Aria wasn’t in her right mind, Yuria noticed that some of the fingers on my left hand were missing and, startled, spoke to me.

“Ze… Zeke… Your… fin… fingers…”

“Ah… I’ve been through a lot too… Phew… I’m sorry, Yuria. I was too late, and you ended up like this… And I can’t heal anyone with my power…”

“Don’t… don’t worry about me, Zeke… Even if I look like this, I’m a snow woman… If I gather enough cold, wounds like these can be quickly healed… But… you said you took Aria’s attack earlier…? What happened…?”

“You be quiet, Yuria!!! How dare you interrupt me while I’m speaking with Zeke-nim!!!”

“….!!!”

Just as Yuria was asking what had happened to my fingers and what situation I had mentioned earlier, Aria became greatly enraged and attacked Yuria by firing a laser from the tip of her staff. Before the laser could reach Yuria, I emitted flickering magic from my right hand and blocked Aria’s laser. When I blocked her attack, Aria flinched in surprise and shouted at me.

“Wh… What are you doing, Zeke-nim…!! Don’t you know who you’re protecting right now?! She’s an eyesore of a snow woman who dared to interrupt my conversation with Zeke-nim!!! So why are you protecting a woman like that!!!”

“…Aria isn’t in a state to listen to us right now, is she, Yuria?”

“That’s right… No matter how much I shouted that you were alive, Aria didn’t even think of listening to us… She probably won’t hear your words either…”

“I know. I’ve experienced it before. And… I’ve experienced it in the Criton region too, so I know full well… Leave this to me, Yuria.”

“You… don’t you see my condition right now? I can’t help you even if I wanted to…? Can you just pull this sword out before you go…?”

Yuria said she was in no condition to help me and asked me to just pull out the sword piercing her back. I pulled the sword from Yuria’s back, threw it to the ground, and immediately began to walk towards Aria. As I did, I looked at Aria’s face, recalling all the smiles and sadness… and the many expressions she had shown me until now, and I sighed again in frustration.

‘Aria… you showed me so many sides of yourself. When I ate your food and said it was delicious, when we slept together, and whenever we did something together, you always smiled at me. Before, when you were controlled by Cecilia and killed Rascal Mister, your benefactor, and when I was injured, you showed a sad expression filled with guilt. And when I acted beyond your expectations, you looked flustered… Whenever I tried to do something reckless, you looked troubled… Most of the time, you showed many different expressions depending on me. But… but the current you…’

Stopping mid-way to Aria and recalling the memories I shared with her, I felt a bitter expression spread across my face as I could feel nothing from Aria’s current face. Then, slightly annoyed that Camilla was controlling Aria and thus nothing could be felt from Aria’s current self, I glared at Aria and said,

“Aria… In the end, you sided with Camilla…”

“Zeke-nim…!! I’m relieved you’ve finally turned your gaze back to me… When I heard you had died, I felt a shock like the world was collapsing… But to know you’re alive again… I… *sobs*…”

“Aria… If I ask you to stop right now, will you listen?”

To Aria, who was about to shed tears of joy at my being alive, I asked if she would stop these absurd actions right now if I requested it. Aria casually wiped the single tear from her eye with her finger and looked at me with a bewildered expression, then spoke.

“What do you mean, Zeke-nim? Everything I’m doing now is to create a world for Zeke-nim and me… So why are you asking me such a thing?”

“…Killing people like this is what I… no, what *we* want for a world? Who told you that was my idea? And do you really think the world you want is the world I want?”

“Hahaha… Goddess Camilla-nim predicted that Zeke-nim would respond that way… But once you see the world that will be created with your own eyes, you’ll love it…!! A beautiful, golden-shining world where everything that threatens or displeases Zeke-nim has disappeared…”

“Do you think covering a blood-stained floor with a luxurious carpet solves anything, Aria? Do you really think I’d want something like that?”

Just as Aria was about to emphasize that the world created afterward would be incredibly beautiful, even if it involved sacrifices, I cut her off and challenged whether she thought I would like such packaged beauty. Aria flinched for a moment, her expression began to harden, and I started to survey my surroundings to assess the situation.

‘Everyone is fighting against Camilla and the cult right now… but they’re all being pushed back by the cult… Protega… Tess… Uncle… even Dio V Runner… People I knew… people I never thought would unite are fighting with their lives on the line… And Aria, too… she must be fiercely resisting Camilla’s divine power from within… Considering that Bivi told me Viola Blossom willingly abandoned her divine power before… there must be hope for Aria too. But for that to happen…’

Recalling Bivi’s story on the way here about Viola Blossom having willingly abandoned her divine power to join their side, I believed that Aria could also shake off Camilla’s divine power. And… for Aria to do that, there was only one thing I had to do… Phew… I had already prepared myself for it, but… I’m trembling so much. But I can’t hesitate…!!

“Aria… many people have been hurt by you. They were all people who had been indebted to you…”

“What does that matter, Zeke-nim? If they were indebted to me… it’s only natural for them to willingly become nourishment for the world I’m creating for Zeke-nim and me…”

“Then, if Rascal Mister were to ask you for the same thing, would you do it?”

“…..”

When I asked if she would do it if Rascal Mister asked for a similar thing, Aria seemed unable to answer easily, showing a flustered expression. Then, magic began to flicker like flames in my hands, and I let out a breath and said to Aria,

“I don’t want to fight you, Aria.”

“What…? I don’t want to fight Zeke-nim either…!! So why are you saying such a thing…?”

“Because unless I defeat you, you’ll never listen to me.”

When Aria said she didn’t want to fight me either and couldn’t understand why I was saying this, I replied that it was because I realized she would never listen to me unless I defeated her. Aria heard my answer, a shallow smile appearing on her expressionless face, and she said,

“But Zeke-nim… are you sure you’re alright? You’ve always been afraid of my power…”

“I felt a lot of fear towards the original you… but I feel no fear towards the current you, who uses such flashy divine power that’s all show.”

“Hmm… I’ve heard that from others before… but it seems you don’t realize that Yuria, who ignored my strengthened power, ended up in that state.”

“It’s not a matter of whether your power is strong or not, Aria… Whether your power is strong or not… I feel no fear towards you, who appears so pathetic using such empty divine power!!! TRAHAN!!!”

When Aria said her power was stronger than before and that Yuria had been gravely injured because she ignored it, I shouted that it wasn’t about the strength but about how pitiful Aria looked using such power, and I summoned Trahan, gripping it with both hands. Aria, sensing that I was serious about fighting, grinned and said,

“Then I have no choice either!!! To ensure Zeke-nim can see the world to come when he opens his eyes… I must defeat Zeke-nim, who is resisting so strongly!!! I will not hold back…?!”

“I’ve already prepared myself for it, Ariaaaaa!!! Devil Stump!!!”

Just as Aria, saying she wouldn’t hold back in this fight, gripped her staff tightly and charged at me, I declared that I had already prepared for this, imbued Trahan with full magic, and slammed it into the ground. The ground began to crack, starting from Trahan and spreading towards Aria’s location. Aria, seeing me suddenly use such a powerful technique, flinched in surprise and looked flustered.

“What in the world is this…?!”

“I told you!!! I came here prepared for this fight!!!! Explode, Magic!!!”

“….!!!”

Just as I shouted that I had come prepared for this fight, purple light suddenly erupted from the cracks in the ground, greatly flustering Aria. At the same time, the cracked ground glowed with purple light and exploded, throwing Aria backward from the blast. Aria immediately landed on the ground and muttered, greatly flustered.

“Wh… What happened…? Zeke-nim has this kind of power… Ho…?!”

“Do you think I came here without a plan, Aria? You, of all people, should know I’m not that kind of person, shouldn’t you?”

Just as Aria was still flustered and couldn’t grasp what had happened, I suddenly appeared behind her, holding Trahan high. Aria flinched in surprise and immediately turned, quickly blocking Trahan, which was aimed at her, with her staff. Aria, dumbfounded as she blocked my Trahan with her staff, asked me,

“What in the world happened to you…?! How did you get such powerful strength… And when did you get behind me…?!”

“I gained a lot of enlightenment after fighting you, Aria… Right now, I’m putting all my strength into this more than ever…!! I will definitely defeat you…!!! So that you can listen to me…!!”

“I don’t know what happened to Zeke-nim… but I too am putting quite a lot of effort into this… If it’s to show Zeke-nim an ideal world…!!!”

Aria, stating that she too was serious about her current task, put more strength into her arms and pushed Trahan back. She then immediately swung her staff to attack me, and I too immediately swung Trahan to counter Aria’s attack. Thus, we continued to swing and block each other’s weapons, continuing our exchange. All the while, seeing Aria’s changed yellow eyes, I longed for her former red eyes. And at that moment, as I blocked Aria’s attack, I felt something and thought.

‘Aria doesn’t even know if she’s serious or not right now… That’s why… her attacks are…!! Yes… there was still hope…!!’

Blocking Aria’s staff, I realized something important and became completely certain that there was still hope for Aria. If so… then I must quickly defeat Aria and convey that message to her… If only I do that…!! I resolved to dedicate myself fully to this fight, believing in the hope of saving Aria. For Aria…!!