chapter_0190

A mournful sob echoed through the air. The figure, whose back seemed smaller than usual, trembled incessantly.

Everyone remained silent, unsure of what to say. The Possessors had complex expressions, while Nika and the Chairman looked perplexed, struggling to understand the situation.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of time to stand idly by. I gently placed my hand on the trembling shoulders. A face wet with tears and sorrow turned towards me.

“Leona. I’m sorry, but…”

“Huk… Yeah… I understand…”

Leona stood up shakily. She reached for the Holy Sword embedded in Aria’s chest but stumbled backward as the corpse rose with it. I quickly caught her before she could fall to the ground. The tears that had begun to subside now flowed more profusely.

“Nika.”

“Yes, Master.”

Nika quickly came forward and supported Leona. Leona allowed Nika to lead her away, staggering as she walked. I waited until they sat down properly and then turned to Aria.

Aria was smiling.

It wasn’t the hysterical laughter or the mocking smirk, but a pure and radiant smile befitting a protagonist of a romance fantasy novel. Her previous behavior, filled with madness, now seemed like a lie.

I quietly pulled out the Holy Sword. The corpse twitched, and still-fresh blood trickled from its mouth. I stood the sword upright and knelt beside it, closing my eyes and concentrating. My right hand glowed as it became semi-transparent, revealing Aria’s body behind it. My semi-transparent hand passed through Aria’s hair and entered her head.

The cold and chilling memories of a corpse seeped into my fingers.

-Please… Anyone, please answer me… Huh? I don’t want to be alone anymore… Anyone will do, so please…

My body trembled as I heard the sad voice in my head, no less sorrowful than Leona’s.

It was Aria, who had awakened her self-awareness alone in the stopped world and desperately sought someone in the same situation.

-Leona…… I’m here…… I’m scared. What should I do……? I’m scared. I’m so scared I could die…… Please…… Please say something, anything. Wake up, at least…… Why…… Why aren’t you waking up…… You promised…… You promised we’d be together forever…… Liar……

Another memory seeped in. In this memory, Aria was clutching the frozen Leona, tears streaming down her face as she begged. Her fists weakly pounded on Leona’s chest. Leona remained unmoving, wearing a smile.

Aria’s memories continued relentlessly.

-I want to die…… Just…… Kill me……

Aria, huddled in a corner of a cave somewhere, leaning against the wall with her knees drawn to her chest and her face buried between them.

Aria, falling off a cliff. Aria, drowning in water. Aria, bashing her head against a rock. Aria, strangling herself. Aria, biting her tongue. Aria attempting suicide in countless ways.

And when none of it worked, her mind broke, and she became half-dead.

-I, I see…… There’s still a chance…… So, I…… Heh, heh, heh…… There’s a chance…… Huk…… Huh, huaaaang……

Finally, the memory of Aria absorbing the fragments of the broken world and learning about another world.

“……”

As those memories ended, new ones flowed in. It was Aria’s memory of me reading the prologue and letting out a triumphant scream, and her preparing to bring me into this world.

In reality, it took less than 10 seconds, but it felt like an eternity. I finally obtained the memory I wanted and withdrew my arm. My right hand returned to normal from its semi-transparent state.

I looked down at Aria, still wearing a smile. I slowly stood up. The sound of rustling leaves could be heard as the wind blew, a sign that the world was beginning to move again.

We didn’t have much time before things got out of hand. I closed my eyes and concentrated, reaching out to touch time, just as Aria had done. I calmed the surging time, which threatened to burst through the dam. The writhing subsided.

“It’s done.”

It didn’t take long to finish the task. I opened my eyes, and everyone, who had been anxiously watching me, sighed in relief when I said it was done.

They must have felt the writhing of time, an instinctively unpleasant feeling.

“Is it over?”

“Yeah. It’ll take about five minutes at most.”

Five minutes was an overestimation. At most, it would take one or two minutes. The wind blew, gently rustling our hair. Priscilla nodded vigorously, feeling the breeze on her palm.

Of course, the situation wasn’t entirely resolved. We had only dealt with the biggest and most urgent issue. There were still things to explain, and Leona, who was sitting there in a daze, needed comforting. I also had to figure out what to do with Aria’s body.

“You can stop maintaining the Queen form now, Nika.”

“Yes? Oh, yes, Master.”

As Nika responded, her pink hair turned brown, and the revealing outfit that was hard to look at directly transformed into a tightly-fitting maid uniform.

Rosalia, who had been staring at Nika with a puzzled expression, now looked even more confused. To be fair, the saint outfit she wore when we first met was even more revealing, but still.

I wondered how she would react if she knew it was because of Aria.

“Aiyah. I’m glad the child is safe, but… What happened? How did that student end up doing this to us…?”

“I’ll explain everything later. It’s not something we can discuss here. Let’s return to the Academy first, Chairman. You have some things to take care of as well, don’t you?”

One of the girls’ dormitories had been blown away by Aria, and the nearby park was in ruins. Soon, time would start flowing again, and the Chairman needed to restore order.

It would be even better if the Crown Prince were there to help calm the chaos more quickly.

“Chairman, please take everyone back first. These students can give a brief explanation, and I’ll fill you in on the rest when I return. Nika, you stay with them.”

“Yes. I’ll do that. What about you, Master?”

Nika nodded, understanding my intention. While Nika went to create the dimensional portal, I stopped the Chairman.

“Chairman.”

“Why?”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said before I went to the Demon World. I had my reasons. You can think of another request.”

I was referring to the Chairman’s promise to grant any wish as long as I returned safely. At the time, I had no idea what a Demon God was like, so I acted all high and mighty, but the reality was far different.

The Chairman’s face lit up at my words. Then, her bright smile turned into a subtle one as she drew closer.

“Does that mean you expected me to make such a request?”

“……It’s a favor. The Demon God was very different from what I thought.”

“I was joking, so don’t worry. Anyway, thank you for considering me.”

The Chairman hugged me briefly, and the smell of milk lingered in my nostrils. She let go and smiled gently. Nika, who had been creating the portal, looked at us enviously.

While Nika and the Chairman worked on the portal, I called over the other four.

“You heard the explanation, right? Just stay with the Chairman and explain what you know.”

“Everything we know?”

By ‘everything,’ she meant not only that we were Possessors but also the implications that came with it.

“It doesn’t matter. You saw it too. Nika, the Chairman, and Leona were able to move just like us because of my connection with Aria. Aria mumbled something about it being because of me, but regardless of the exact reason, there’s no point in hiding it anymore, is there?”

“Yeah, that’s true. Got it.”

The four of them seemed to accept my explanation and nodded. They smiled brightly and sent me an earnest gaze, along with Nika, before leaving with the Chairman.

After they left, it was just me and Leona. I sat down next to her without a word. Leona leaned against me, and her head rested on my shoulder. We stayed like that for a while.

“Mira.”

Leona was the first to speak.

“I’m listening.”

“……I never once thought of Aria as not my friend. But Aria didn’t, did she? This isn’t the first time I’ve heard those words. When she first acted strange at the Academy, she said something similar. Hey, Mira. Was Aria… lying to me from the start?”

It wasn’t from the very beginning.

At least, at first, the two of them were genuine childhood friends and sweethearts. But then, for unknown reasons, Aria awakened her self-awareness alone and was left untouched for over a thousand years, causing her thoughts to twist.

When I said ‘from the beginning,’ I meant from the moment Laura finished writing the novel until now. The Aria in the novel and the Aria in this world were practically different people.

“Not necessarily. I saw her memories of crying all day long next to you. On the other hand, there were also memories of her getting angry at you for being a useless hero. So, I can’t completely sympathize with her, but I understand why she became like this.”

In other words, I couldn’t excuse her actions, no matter the circumstances. At most, I could only slightly empathize with her.

“……Are you sure? How can you be so sure?”

“Because I looked into her memories directly.”

I briefly explained what I had learned from rummaging through Aria’s memories. As Leona listened, her face grew darker and darker.

When I finished, Leona looked like she was holding back tears, doing her best not to cry.

“So, that’s what happened…”

Leona stared at Aria’s body, laid out neatly, for a while before speaking again.

“Why did she only do that to me?”

“I don’t know.”

It might be because she’s the protagonist, but I didn’t say that out loud. I didn’t want to burden Laura unnecessarily. She was already struggling with the thought that she might be the cause of all this.

I stood up, and Leona, who had been silently watching me, reached out her hand. I took her hand and helped her up. Holding hands, we approached Aria’s body, and I pulled out the Holy Sword.

I returned the sword to Leona, and with my left hand, I created the Holy Spear. The spear pointed at Aria.

“I don’t know how you feel about it, but what Aria did to you and what she’s doing now are separate issues. The fact that you can sit here and reflect on it is because we won. Aria didn’t intend to let any of you live.”

If Aria had been here instead, I would have become her battery, and the others would have perished with the world or suffered endlessly somewhere.

“……Yeah. I know. Of course, I think she’s wrong.”

Leona fiddled with her lips for a moment before turning away.

“Come find me when it’s over. I’ll ask you to do something. I think she’s wrong, but… I can’t watch. I’m sorry.”

I assured her that there was no need to apologize and sent her on her way. Leona walked quite a distance before stopping and squatting, covering her ears with her hands.

After making sure she was okay, I held the Holy Spear. I could have used Eternity or the Dragon’s Tooth, but this was the most certain method.

The light pierced Aria’s chest. Her body was enveloped in light and scattered in all directions. Only a small amount of blood remained where her body had been.

I waited about five minutes to ensure nothing else happened, then turned away.

It was over.

A handful of light flickered and disappeared where Aria had died.

It was the exact spot where Aria had taken her own life.