Chapter 48 – A World Without Me Is Too Fragile – 3

I saw a fairy tale like that when I was young.
The story of a princess who gave up her voice to meet her prince on earth.

I thought it was so romantic and cool.

Because at the time I didn’t know what the ending of the story was.

“Are you asleep?”

“Yes. If you don’t wake him up, he’ll be asleep for about two weeks.”

“Okay…”

Right before leaving with the fake saint, the nun used a sleep spell on me. But at that time, in fact, I was not asleep. Half a penny is only a wizard, but he was still able to use minimal defense magic. So I pretended to be asleep and waited.

After about a day like that, I went out into the street. I had a plan of my own. At the time, I thought it was a pretty bad plan. I thought I could get rid of that fake saint and get Luca’s love back.

But that thought disappeared like a bubble when she faced the real saint in front of the cathedral.

Okay. I know. She was standing there, she was a fake saint. I knew that, and I believed it too. After all, that year was just a fake saint who copied me. It’s just a fake made out of someone’s need like me.

So I gritted my teeth and took one step at a time. Fake virgin. I’ll reveal its identity. Like a stupid thief. I’ll somehow strip that hypocrisy and expose it in front of people. Sure, definitely will do that.

But you know The closer I got to her, the more I lost interest in her. It shouldn’t be that I can see her closer and closer.

The closer I got, the more I started to see people’s expressions.

…

There was no dirty desire on their faces.

I didn’t lick her waist with my eyes, I didn’t observe how far her nipples were sticking out, and I didn’t talk dirty with her blushing face.

I just purely followed her words and her will and hurrahed for her with one heart and one mind.

I was looking at it At some point, I started to take a step back.

And in the end, I ran as hard as I could into the darkness where I slept again.

As I ran away, I kept asking myself. Why? What is the difference between that woman and me? I hate to admit it, but now she looked exactly like me. But people’s attitudes were very different. What difference did it make? Because that woman speaks better than me? Or are you more confident and confident?

No, it seemed like there was something that couldn’t be explained with that. I ended up locking myself in the basement and laying there alone thinking. What was different what the hell

If I knew the reason, could I become like that woman?

…

No.

I guess it couldn’t have been.

Because from the start, that wasn’t my destiny.

I’m not a genius wizard, the hero of the warriors’ party, or a saint of the Ennesic Church. Just count

Just an ordinary country girl.

…

I wish I had known from the beginning.

As originally destined, it would have been nice if Ellie became a genius wizard and I grew up as an ordinary country girl.

If so… If so…

Maybe, it was me who was with Luca.

If you think about it now, there is a princess in that fairy tale. If I had just lived in the sea as I was originally meant to be, I might have met the prince one day.

But she was greedy and made her own destiny come to nothing.

As if I miserably abandoned Ellie.

Ah.

…

Ellie, I miss you.

I feel that way today.

Ellie. Miss you.

“Ellie…”

“…”

Are you a sleep talker? The sleeping Sera called her name over and over again. She looked very innocent as she mumbled slightly wet with tears and called her best friend’s name.

Like, like back then.

…

Thud.

Then again, the heart rang with the earth. I looked around again to find the epicenter, then shook my head. I don’t have time for this. Just listen to the story and leave.

Now is not the time for this.

I braced myself and looked at Vanessa. She silently nodded at me, and I followed her nod, grabbing Sera’s arm and shaking her.

“Ah… Yes…”

“Sera.”

“…Ellie…”

“Sarah. Wake up.”

“…Ah?”

Twice, after waving her arms, Sera opened her eyes. Suddenly, the voice returned to normal. Sarah looked around blankly as if she hadn’t woken up yet, and she met her eyes with mine. In an instant, a smile spread across her lips.

“Luca…”

But that smile didn’t last long. The smile that appeared for a moment slowly sank to the bottom of the surface like the setting sun. And what rose above it like the moon was fear soaked in melancholy.

“…What…Is…? Could it…Maybe…”

She shut her mouth, unable to finish her words. But it was obvious that he didn’t have to listen to what he would say after that. Apparently, she thinks I’m here because she did something wrong with her.

“Sera.”

I spoke in a low voice to calm her down. Then she sat down and asked.

“I want to ask you something.”

“What do you want to ask…?”

“That…”

I hesitated a little and dragged my horse. Then, in a heavy voice, he opened his mouth again.

“Do you think a curse that stops time is possible?”

“A curse that stops time?”

Sera carefully chewed on her sudden story. Then, she raised her head and asked if there was something she suddenly noticed.

“That…Why are you asking?”

“Tell me first. Do you think that’s possible? Stopping time?”

“Is it possible to stop time with magic?”

Sarah thought about the question for a long time. Even in the dark, something that I couldn’t understand continued to pass by in my eyes that glowed blue. In the meantime, the unpleasant echo of thump, thump continued. What is the true nature of this echo? Just as I was thinking, I heard Sarah’s answer.

“…I think it’s possible.”

The answer that came out of her mouth was yes. Sarah opened her mouth, meeting her eyes squarely with me without fear.

“Of course, stopping time isn’t that simple magic, but it’s not impossible. That’s why… Ellie used to use magic to tear space apart. Controlling space at will is also a magic close to a miracle from God, but it’s a magic that’s as powerful as Ellie’s. I was able to use it because I was a wizard. I think time is the same. Of course, it’s so complicated that it can’t be compared to manipulating space.”

“In a word, are you saying that it will be possible?”

“Yeah. I think it’s possible. Just like you and Ellie were…”

The last word came out very carefully. Sara looked up at me with her hands folded together.

“Are you talking about that? About the curse you and Ellie suffered.

“…Right. Bobby said. But I wanted to find out if it was a lie or not. That’s why I came.”

“Because I can only tell the truth?”

“Now you are the only wizard I know.”

“Yes. I guess so.”

Sara answered with a smile that didn’t even look like a smile. And about the curse he rammed out the stories he had been thinking about.

“Bobby didn’t include me in the research… But ever since that day, I’ve been thinking about that curse. If the curse that the mysterious Four Heavenly Kings kept until the very end, it must have been one of the last secret tricks for the demons. Or Dealing with time itself consumes a lot of energy.”

“Bobby said the meaning of the curse is Ellie. Theta’s name. Your. Time. Stops. What does the name of Theta mean?”

“It’s probably a curse done by borrowing someone’s power. Just like the church’s priests bless in the name of the Ennessic goddess, a high-ranking demon. Or, it must mean a curse done by borrowing the power of their god.”

“What is the possibility that the name of the Four Heavenly Kings was Seta?”

“I don’t think so. Because Eli also cast a curse in Theta’s name. You can’t use a curse or magic by borrowing the name of a dead person. The same goes for lifting a curse. It’s almost impossible for someone else to lift a curse placed by a dead person. Because it’s close.”

“Then, are you saying that Ellie borrowed the name of that bastard named Theta and put a curse on it?”

“About that…I don’t know. Only Eli knows that.”

Thud. Again, the earth and heart rang at the same time. Now she could feel the pain in her chest. I tried to ignore the sensation and opened my mouth.

“One more thing. If you have the power to manipulate time, why didn’t they think of turning it back? Wouldn’t that be more helpful to them than stopping my stuff?”

“Even then, the same thing will only repeat itself. Turning back time means returning all memories and experiences to the past. Then, in the end, if you turn back time, the same thing will happen again. Just like destiny. Ellie too Time has stopped right now, so you won’t be able to see or hear anything. Even you… Weren’t you able to see all the moments back then?”

“…Yes.”

I remembered the memory of that time. At the end of a night filled with mana, the veil of darkness came over me like drowsiness. Was it not about falling asleep, but about stopping time?

Thud.

My heart thumped again. A painful sensation that could not be ignored now spread throughout his body. I barely opened my mouth, trying to suppress the pain.

“…Thank you, Sera. For answering me.”

And I got up very slowly. But then Sarah grabbed my collar.

“Wait a minute Luca. I have something I want to ask…”

“I have to go. Sera. Now…”

“Answer me just one. Really, one is enough.”

“Sarah. Stop…”

“Is Ellie alive?”

Thud. Heart beats again I even heard the illusion that the earth was shaking.

“Sera…”

“There shouldn’t be a reason to ask this right now. If Ellie’s curse is nothing more than stopping time… Is there a chance that Ellie is still alive? Luca? Is Ellie still alive?”

“Now…”

“Answer me, Luca. Ellie was a precious person to me as well. I abandoned her because I was stupid and because I was a trash person, but now I regret it madly. So tell me. Is Ellie alive? Ellie…”

“Yes! Alive!”

My heart thumped again, and as the pain filled my whole body, I screamed involuntarily. It felt like my head was spinning and a fever was rising. I looked straight at Sarah and said.

“So. What would you do if you found out? Are you going to go and ask for forgiveness? Now? After all that has happened?”

“Luca…”

“I should have had that kind of regret at the barrier. Or when Leo started torturing Ellie, or at least at the last moment, I should have protected Ellie. I wanted to hold Ellie’s hand at that time, but I couldn’t. My whole body felt like an idiot. “I couldn’t do that because I was frozen. I imagined that scene several times in my mind, and I stretched out my hand as hard as I could, but it didn’t move. But you? You didn’t even try to do that, with both arms and legs intact. But now what? Ellie?” Is alive? Yes god damn it is alive and it’s not because of you at all!”

“I am…!”

“What are you going to do now? So what are you going to do, Sera!”

“Let me go with you.”

Thud.

…

To have a headache. No, the pain spreading all over my body was so intense.

“Ellie…I’m going to go find Ellie, right? I want to go too Luca. I’ll be more helpful if I’m with you. So…”

“That’s not right, Sarah.”

“Why? Why not? I can be much more helpful than that woman. I can use magic, though not as much as Ellie, and it will be easier to enter the capital if I use my position. And…And…”

“Vanessa. Put Sarah back to bed.”

“Luca!”

I left Sarah screaming and looked at Vanessa. She was looking at me with anxious eyes.

“How long?”

“Let’s go out and talk about that. Go out…”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

This time, my heart thumped three times in a row. The sound was so loud that I was mistaken that I could hear it from outside.

“Luca! Please. Let me join you. I won’t get in your way. I promise! So please!”

I tried to ignore her words and this time turned her gaze to Rachel. She was staring at her wall with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“That…”

“What are you doing, Rachel? Here…”

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Heartbeat rings I finally took a deep breath and cupped my chest with my hands. If you do that, just in case this heartbeat will calm down. But the moment I put my hand on my chest, I stopped breathing and looked up.

This…

“Lucca! Please! Please!”

This sound…

“I want to go too, Luca. Please!”

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

I turned to Rachel. Coincidentally or inevitably, she looked at me just in time. And for the first time I saw Rachel’s expression of fear.

“No way…”

“Nonsense.”

Memories of the past crept in. It had been like this before. An ominous aura that covered his entire body. A sense of intimidation that made her bones ache. And, the vibration of the ground that resonated so strongly that it made me mistakenly thinking that my heart was beating.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Yeah like

This vibration, like a raging bull, is clearly…

Bang!

At that time, a violent shaking shook the entire basement, and piles of dust and dirt poured down. Instinctively, I opened her arms to envelop the people around me. I saw Rachel storming out of the basement and shouted her name.

“Rachel! Holy shit, Vanessa!”

“Okay. Hurry up and follow me!”

Even though I didn’t say much, Vanessa walked over to Sarah, and I ran forward, leaving her behind. I jumped out of the stairs almost as if flying, and threw myself towards the light on the ground shining in the distance. Let’s head outside, against the dazzling stream of light that seems to crush our body, the first thing we hear is…

“Kyaaaaa!!!”

It was the sound of people screaming.

Dirt, dust, acrid ash. And at the same time, the smell of blood leaked into the lungs. When I turned my head, I saw fire and the remains of collapsed buildings flying everywhere, as if the peaceful scenery from earlier was all a lie. I cried out with all my might, listening to the distant screams.

“Rachel!”

I didn’t hear an answer, but I soon spotted her on the roof of the shack and ran towards it. She stood precariously, looking to one side of her like a broken doll.

“It can’t be… It can’t be…”

“Rachel! Wake up!”

I climbed onto the roof and grabbed Rachel’s slender shoulders and shook her roughly. But her gaze was fixed on one spot and did not move.

“This is nonsense… Nonsense…”

“Damn it, wake up Rachel! Wake up!”

I finally raised my hand and slapped Rachel on the cheek. Then she gasped and turned to me.

“Luka-san…”

“Can you come to your senses? You shouldn’t be here right now.”

“But this…”

“I know. I know too…”

“This…”

She pointed with her trembling hand where she was looking. Only then did I turn my head toward her, knowing what I was about to see.

And, although it remains in distant memories, I encountered memories that I never miss.

Not far from the walls, a storm danced in dust and blood. Its gigantic body catches my eye at a glance in the bleak landscape where human corpses fall like hailstones and stones and trees that have been in place for hundreds of years are uprooted and soar into the air. Arms and legs filled with bursting muscles, and horns as hard as iron, which went on a rampage, couldn’t overcome the rage that filled its body and screamed into the air.

“Oohhhhh!”

“Kyaaaaagh!”

Even though it could be heard from quite a distance, his screams were enough to give a sense of intimidation with the hairs all over his body set close together. Rachel sat down in her seat, even shedding tears, and I grabbed my sword while staring at him.

“Nonsense…”

I denied it with my heart and mouth, but it was still moving in front of my eyes. Just like when I was first released from the seal, he burst into rage at the fragility of this world, wielding his whole body and destroying everything thoroughly. As if he didn’t know a word other than destruction, the one who manifested as a catastrophe in the human world was the same as when he first encountered it.

“Ooooo!”

Again the boy screamed. Glutton. A monster that eats human flesh. The demon, second in the ranks of the Four Heavenly Kings and the strongest creature in the land of demons, went mad to prove his existence to me. I looked at him and quietly called his name.

“The Minotaur.”