Happy Endings Do Exist

I succeeded in defeating Erze’s doppelganger, but there were still problems left.

That was her mark still remaining on Percis’ shoulder.

Unless this disappeared, he wasn’t free from the curse yet.

“Heuh…! Haa, haa….”

Afterwards, Anise fought against the curse remaining on Percis for quite some time, but somehow it didn’t seem to disappear.

Thanks to her miracle, it only faded and then became clearer again, repeating several times.

As a result, Anise’s stamina and magic power began to run out first.

In the first place, her miracle is also just a phenomenon created by burning life energy in the name of magic power.

“Anise, are you okay…!?”

“Ugh, yeah. I’m okay. Sorry. I’ll continue right away….”

Thud.

“Anise!”

She was trying to squeeze out her strength to respond to her lover’s wish, but in the end, she seemed to have run out of strength and collapsed on the bed.

“S-Sorry. I was just a little dizzy, so I’m okay.”

Vermillion rushed over and supported her body, but Anise only offered an apology powerlessly.

Percis, who was looking down at this with a sad look, shook his head.

It’s not that he doesn’t know their efforts, but it seemed to be the end here.

A life already abandoned anyway.

He decided to be grateful for having dreamed even a sliver of hope that he could survive for a while.

“That’s enough. Son. Let’s stop here.”

“Father, what are you talking about…!”

“T-That’s right. I’m okay, so please don’t give up.”

Anise somehow tried to put her hand on his shoulder again, but Percis indirectly refused by rearranging his clothes.

“I’ll gratefully accept just your heart. I’ve already given up on my life anyway. It’s not Anise-yang’s fault, so don’t worry about it.”

“But…!”

“Keueut!”

Kung!

I guess it’s not possible after all.

With that thought, Vermillion slammed the bed with his clenched fist until it crumbled.

Why can’t he be of any help even in this situation?

His lover is sweating like that, doing her best as if sacrificing her life.

Why does he have to writhe in helplessness without being of any help?

“Anise.”

At that time, Kyle suddenly called Anise.

“Yes, Kyle.”

“If you have enough magic power, can you do it?”

“Maybe…. I think I can. I’m sure there were some results.”

Anise nodded, hesitating slightly, and Kyle rested his chin as if thinking for a moment.

Then, he stared at Vermillion for a moment and held out his hand to him.

“Vermillion, there’s a way. I need you to help.”

“R-Really? Kyle!? I’ll give you anything if it’s help!”

Vermillion nodded vigorously with a face full of emotion, as if a revelation had come from God.

Then, following Kyle’s instructions, he grabbed one of his hands.

Then Kyle held out his remaining empty hand to Anise and placed it on her back.

“From now on, I’m going to pour your magic power into Anise. So pour out your magic power with all your might.”

“You’re going to transfer my magic power to Anise…. Is that even possible?”

“Yes.”

Vermillion made a dumbfounded expression as he looked at him nodding bluntly.

That’s because transferring magic power to others is virtually impossible.

For example, healing magic that increases the magic power activity of others to increase self-healing power.

Or, like the magic Sylvia used earlier, there is magic that amplifies the magic power of others.

But nowhere is there a way to completely transfer magic power to others.

Unlike blood, magic power cannot be transferred to others just because the blood type matches.

Even if they are twins born from the same womb, it is impossible to transfer magic power to each other.

If you make a mistake, each other’s magic power may become entangled and flow backwards, causing the magic circuit to explode.

‘It’s possible. It’s enough.’

Nevertheless, Kyle thought he could do it.

It wasn’t just a baseless gamble.

Because before the regression, he had already absorbed black magic into his body, gaining the divine power to handle both white magic and black magic in one body.

At first, he simply thought it was a miracle caused by regression, but that wasn’t the case.

When Kyle later found out about his own magic power, his magic power was close to nothing.

In other words, magic power that does not belong to anything.

It had the same properties as a blank canvas.

‘If it’s the nature of Anise’s magic power, the analysis is almost complete. All I have to do is change Vermillion’s magic power as it is and release it again.’

Therefore, he intended to absorb Vermillion’s magic power into his body, use his magic circuit as a filter, change it to suit Anise’s body, and transfer it to her.

In fact, it sounds plausible in theory, but if ordinary magicians heard about this act, they would laugh at it as crazy.

In the first place, it is absurd to completely analyze the nature of another person’s magic power without even a proper device.

Accept the magic power of another person, change it to suit its nature, and then release it again?

No scholars would have dared to think of such a crazy idea.

But Kyle was a man who had to do what he set his mind to.

“Kyle….”

Even Sylvia, who relatively lacked theories about magic, realized how dangerous this act was and showed concern.

However, she couldn’t reach out and stop him in a situation where her friend’s father was dying.

In the end, Kyle wore an unusually soft smile as he looked at her hesitating without knowing what to do.

“…Don’t worry. Sylvia. I’ll finish it soon.”

Then he winked at Vermillion.

Vermillion was also worried, but soon nodded with a firm expression.

His precious friend is trying to save his father by sacrificing himself, so how can he hesitate?

Backing down here was the same as belittling Kyle’s courage.

“I’m going.”

Jiiiing─!

Light bloomed with Kyle’s low murmur.

Everyone in this place called it a miracle.

＊＊＊＊＊

That night, Percis opened his eyes.

His consciousness suddenly cut off in the middle, so he couldn’t remember properly.

The only thing he could remember was the moment when his son’s friend found a way and started treatment again.

He couldn’t even know whether things went well or not after that.

Squeak.

“Father, you’ve woken up.”

As he looked around without knowing why, the door opened slightly and Vermillion appeared.

His expression was much brighter than it had been until this afternoon.

Percis blinked blankly at the fact, and Vermillion came over and quietly sat down on a chair next to him.

“How are you? Father. Doesn’t your body feel lighter?”

“Lighter….”

Percis muttered quietly, not understanding the meaning of Vermillion’s question.

Then, he saw his son’s gesture pointing to his shoulder and widened his eyes and lightly shook his body.

Then, unlike usual, he really felt lighter.

It wasn’t just a feeling that his condition had improved after waking up.

It was like being reborn.

As if he had removed the burden weighing down on his shoulders, as if new wings had suddenly sprouted.

As he widened his eyes at this strange feeling, a smile formed on Vermillion’s lips.

“Thank you for your hard work. Father. Anise said that the curse on your shoulder has completely disappeared.”

“That’s…. Is that true?”

“Of course. If it seems like a lie, I’ll show you.”

Vermillion smiled bitterly as he looked at his father asking back with unbelievable eyes, got up from his seat, and brought a mirror placed on the table.

Then, he held the mirror behind his shoulder and tilted it so that Percis could check his shoulder.

Percis slowly turned his head and checked his shoulder, and unconsciously muttered ‘lie’ inside.

That’s because there was nothing there.

Except for the small marks caused by aging and cracking skin, nothing else was visible.

As if there was no curse or stigma that had been tormenting him from the beginning.

“Ah, ah…!”

A strange sound, whether it was an exclamation or a sigh, flowed from Percis’ mouth.

Is this how a believer who has witnessed God’s miracle feels?

It was hard to describe it.

He just made incomprehensible sounds as his emotions dictated.

To Vermillion’s ears, it sounded like a wolf freed from its shackles was freely letting out a cry.

“…Really, you’ve really worked hard. Father. I’m sorry for making you carry that weight alone because you have an inadequate son.”

“Ah, no. It’s not…. How could that be your fault….”

Congratulations, praise, apology, and comfort to him.

Vermillion conveyed all of that in one sentence.

At that, Percis just hugged his son.

Only then did he realize that his son’s eyes, who was trying to smile indifferently, were swollen.

It was a truly amazing feeling.

Freedom that he had given up on at some point, that he had let go of himself.

He chose to be bound by chains himself, and lived with the determination not to untie them.

Therefore, he thought that even if he was given freedom again someday, he wouldn’t be so happy.

But that wasn’t the case.

Humans are animals in the name of freedom.

Percis Drake realized today that that expression also applied to him.

Without a doubt, there was no moment in his life that was so touching and refreshing.

And it was a gift that his child, whom he had sworn to protect, had brought him for his sake.

He was happier than anything else at that fact, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak.