Things I Didn’t Know
by Afuhfuihgs
Leaving Estelle behind and walking into the darkness, the surroundings gradually brightened. Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could tell. It was a movie theater. There were no people sitting in the seats, and nothing was appearing on the screen. As I walked towards the emergency exit sign in the distance, something appeared on the screen as if it had been waiting.
Of course, I tried not to look. It was probably trying to stop me. But I couldn’t ignore Lakar’s voice echoing throughout the movie theater.
“…You can’t pass.”
Without realizing it, my head turned sideways towards the screen. On the giant screen, Lakar, having lost his limbs and covered in blood, was crawling on the floor, trying to bite the cult leader’s ankle.
The cult leader, whose upper body had been half-destroyed, slowly regenerated his body and stared at Lakar’s pathetic attempts before opening his mouth.
「Why do you go so far?」
“…Because he’s my friend.”
The cult leader didn’t respond to Lakar’s answer for a while. Even after completely regenerating his body, the cult leader just stood there, looking down at Lakar as if he had frozen.
Finally, the cult leader asked Lakar.
「Is Ross such a precious friend that you’re willing to throw away your valuable life while crawling on the floor like this?」
Spitting blood and struggling to keep his constantly closing eyes open, Lakar barely managed to answer with difficulty.
“…Of course.”
「How amusing. Your current actions aren’t because of friendship. It’s just because you think it will benefit you to be with Ross.」
“…”
Lakar didn’t answer. Not because the cult leader’s words were correct, but because they were so wrong that he didn’t feel they were worth answering.
「Will Ross even remember your death? You won’t gain anything. Your death will never be rewarded.」
At the cult leader’s mockery, Lakar let out a weak laugh, his lungs punctured and leaking air. But the cult leader realized that Lakar was genuinely ridiculing him.
“…You wouldn’t understand, since you don’t have any friends.”
「Ross will betray your expectations.」
“…Not considering things like that is the basic condition of friendship.”
At Lakar’s rebuttal, a vicious aura surged from the cult leader’s body. The cult leader, enraged to the point where the surrounding space distorted, stared at Lakar for a while before speaking.
「Then prove your friendship.」
As the cult leader moved his hand, the heads of Raellan and Raikan separated from their corpses and flew towards the cult leader’s hand.
「Five minutes.」
The cult leader, holding Raellan and Raikan’s heads in both hands, looked down at Lakar and said.
「If you cut your own throat to prove your friendship, I promise not to chase Ellie for five minutes.」
Lakar’s one remaining eye widened. The cult leader created a dagger for Lakar, who had no limbs, and stuck it into the floor.
「But it won’t be a clean death.」
The aura of chaos flowing from the cult leader made the blade of the dagger appear dull, as if it were a fake blade.
“…Only five minutes? The cult leader is being stingy.”
「Shouldn’t you be grateful that I’m pretending not to notice that you’re deliberately stalling for time? It’s not difficult to cut your throat right now and chase Ellie. However….」
The cult leader bent his knees and moved closer to Lakar’s face.
「I’ve just become slightly interested in this thing you call friendship. I’m wondering if you can choose a painful death for the sake of five short minutes for your friend to escape.」
Lakar smiled and wriggled his body towards the dagger stuck in the floor.
“…Keep your promise.”
「If you show spirit.」
The screen turns red. The sound of flesh tearing as it is forcibly rubbed against the blunt blade can be heard. I wanted to turn my gaze away from the screen. Because I didn’t want to see Lakar’s end, where his muscles were torn, his blood vessels were crushed, and his flesh was tattered, pouring out blood.
But I didn’t turn my head. Because even in the midst of the terrible pain of having his flesh torn little by little, Lakar didn’t scream even once. Five minutes. For just five minutes, Lakar chose a painful suicide.
Along with a disgusting feeling of nausea, anger began to surge madly within me. My nails were already embedded in my palms, and blood was flowing. I want to kill the cult leader. I want to chew off his face, piece by piece.
I watched Lakar’s end to the very end. Because it was the least I could do for my friend who died for me.
After confirming Lakar’s death, the cult leader stopped in place for five minutes as promised, then completely severed Lakar’s head and moved away with the heads. Thinking that was the end, I leaned back in the movie theater chair for a moment, trying to soothe my churning stomach.
“Aria!”
“Kane, I’m okay… just run away!”
But soon, Kane and Aria’s voices echoed in the movie theater.
「Hooh, to reduce the vice-leader to this state.」
“Cult Leader-nim, this is….”
The cult leader gestured towards the vice-leader, who was kneeling before him in a ruined state.
「That’s enough. Useless thing.」
“W-wait a minute…!”
The vice-leader’s body literally exploded. An aura of chaos flowed out from the vice-leader’s blood and was absorbed directly into the cult leader’s body.
「I have a proposal for you all.」
The cult leader, whose face filled the screen, was wearing a clear smile.
「Since there are two of you, this time it’s ten minutes.」
***
I was a mess as I left the movie theater. There was vomit on my chin, and my palms were full of nail marks. My hands were covered in blood because I couldn’t hold back and punched the chair, smashing it to pieces.
I wanted to protect the people I cared about. That’s why I tried to become stronger, even if it was difficult, even if I wanted to give up, I tried my best to become stronger. That was the meaning of my life as Ross.
But I couldn’t protect anyone. All the members who followed me cut their own throats for my sake. Even Aria, who resented me.
I, who wanted to protect everyone, had become the one who needed to be protected.
It’s ridiculous.
I thought this was enough, that I had tried, that I had done my best. I thought that even if I wasn’t recognized by anyone, I could be proud of myself. No, that was arrogance. Because I’m still alive and well like this.
I want to kill the cult leader who made my precious people die. Even though I know that I can never completely kill the cult leader. But I moved forward. Even though I knew that if I went back, I would meet the cult leader who was chasing me.
Because I’m afraid? No.
Even if all my friends died for me, my primary goal was to revive my most precious Luna. Even if it means sacrificing everyone, reviving Luna is what’s important to me. There was no such thing as saving the world.
It’s just, to revive the person I love.
So, with every step I take, endless self-hatred surges endlessly with the beating of my heart. Everyone believed in me and chose death, but I am not Roel. I’m not a hero who makes the choice to give up the person I love for the sake of the world.
Just, just.
To revive Luna, I’m just a piece of trash who forcibly swallows down nausea and ignores the responsibility of a life I owe, moving my feet.
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere. Lifting my gaze, which had been unconsciously fixed on the ground, I realized that I was passing through a fish tank-like passage. Outside the passage, instead of fish, there were three people. Roel, Nelson, and the Golden King.
“This is….”
Without realizing it, I pressed my face close to the passage and listened to their conversation.
“Ross truly believes in you. He relies on you more than he relies on me.”
“So he will be able to become stronger. Because he will lose more than in any other world.”
Roel, who had been lost in thought with a painful expression for a while in response to Nelson’s answer, asked in a genuinely sad voice.
“Just what… kind of plan are you making?”
For a moment, I thought I had made eye contact with Nelson. Nelson’s gaze was directed at me from beyond the passage. But whether it was a coincidence or not, Nelson soon turned his body and looked at Roel.
“Bella will kill Luna.”
“…”
“That’s where the beginning of all the plans lies.”
Strangely, I started to laugh. Even if I closed my mouth, even if I bit my lip, I couldn’t hold it in. Letting out a groan-like laugh, I slammed my forehead against the transparent passage.
Bella, not the cult leader, killed Luna…?
“Luna is everything to Ross.”
“So, to get everything back… he will do anything.”
Roel, as if he had noticed something, said angrily.
“Don’t tell me, are you trying to make Ross use the Holy Grail? That’s… a mistake. If I use the Holy Grail, I can save everyone! I’m not some damn protagonist who saves the world, I’m just a piece of trash who endlessly repeats failures!”
“But you are the protagonist of the novel that is the foundation of this world, no matter what anyone says. That point is the most important point in the plan, and that is the unchanging truth of this world.”
“…How exactly does Ross using the Holy Grail, not me, save the world? If you can’t convince me, I won’t accept it. No matter what you do, I will get the Holy Grail according to the plan.”
“Of course I can convince you. There’s nothing more certain to convince you than this.”
At Roel’s expression of asking with a face that he couldn’t understand, Nelson wore the gentle smile he always wore. But I no longer welcomed that smile.
“Because it’s the persuasion that Ellie from the first world prepared even while sacrificing herself.”
“…What does that mean?”
“The action that Ellie from the first world took while passing on her memories to me was not for you.”
Roel’s eyes widened. He realized what Nelson was about to say first.
“…Don’t tell me.”
“Yes, Ellie from the first world asked me to save Ross.”
I heard a sound from the other side of the passage. When I turned my body in that direction, I saw Nelson’s figure. Nelson, who was hiding behind a tree, gestured, and a raccoon moved.
“Huh?! A raccoon?! Do wild raccoons live in the academy too?”
I heard Aria’s excited voice as she discovered the raccoon.
As the raccoon gestured as if telling her to follow him, the pure Aria followed the raccoon without much suspicion.
The raccoon stopped at a statue installed on a path that students heading to the combat department dormitory don’t often use, and when the raccoon circled around the statue, Aria stroked the head of the raccoon, who had returned, with a curious expression.
“Is this your house? Are you trying to introduce me?”
The raccoon made an expression as if he was frustrated, hit Aria’s hand, and disappeared. Aria made an absurd expression and shouted, “Bad raccoon!” and kicked the statue in frustration.
Ttaenggeurang-!
“Huh…?!”
Startled by the sound of something falling, Aria, afraid that she had broken something, carefully checked the back of the statue. There, a pocket watch with a unique design was placed.
“Huh?! Is this the artifact that Ross was looking for?!”
While Aria was muttering to herself, Lakar approached and asked.
“Aria, why are you here? This isn’t the place you’re supposed to be searching.”
“No! That’s not important! I think I found it!!! The thing Ross was looking for!”
“Really?! I’ll call the club leader right away! Don’t touch it for no reason!”
At Lakar’s warning, Aria quickly retracted her hand, which she had been about to touch. Watching Nelson disappear quietly with a smile as he watched that scene, I could tell.
From the beginning, I….
No, our Messiah club―
Was in Nelson’s plan.
0 Comments