151 – Alice (2)

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“I don’t have much time left anyway…”

Alice’s quiet mutterings, whispered through a bitter expression mixed with sarcasm.

Sylvia wasn’t so dull as to not realize what that meant.

Alice talks about her own death.

Sylvia said, looking at Alice’s chest, which was covered by thick armor.

“When you healed Ash earlier, you didn’t use your divine power, did you? You just touched Ash’s shoulder.”

“… okay.”

“But Ash’s shoulder is completely healed. If I used my divine power, the wound would have healed but would have left a scar, but you completely erased Ash’s wound without even using your divine power.”

“… was overflowing, so the horse I was riding on didn’t get tired.”

“It looks out of control, is that why? It’s because there’s no time.”

“You’re quick-witted. Well… you’re not completely ignorant of divine powers, so you’d be able to figure it out.”

Alice slowly raised her head and looked up at the ceiling, leaning her upper body back sharply.

In that seemingly languid movement, there was a deep sense of fatigue and skepticism.

“It seems to be creaking more and more as the days go by.”

“Is it broken?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s broken, or maybe my life force that I’ve been using up like fuel is running out.”

“How much is left?”

“I don’t know either. A year? A month? If I’m unlucky, maybe tomorrow.”

“…”

“So we must hurry. I think I will be able to close my eyes in peace once I finish off the Demon King before I die and see that damn curse that has bound Ash disappear.”

Sylvia nodded to Alice’s words.

If you put aside your personal feelings about her, she was absolutely necessary for the journey to the Demon King.

In order for Ash to survive in the midst of the magic that filled the area outside the lake, Alice had no choice but to use her divine power to remove the magic accumulated in Ash’s body.

Sylvia was able to remove the magical energy accumulated in her body, but her divine power alone was not enough to fully resolve the magical energy for both herself and Ash.

Last time, when I was wandering around the forest after losing Sylvia’s cabin,

The incident where Ash was almost lost forever because of the magic accumulated in his body was proof of this.

Therefore, Alice’s limited lifespan, which was practically on the verge of expiry, had to be defeated by the Demon King before it ended.

On a dangerous journey where it wouldn’t be strange if anyone died at any time, you must take Ash with you and find and kill the Demon King who is recovering in hiding before Alice dies.

Sylvia let out a shallow sigh.

“At this point, isn’t this world already ruined?”

“That’s not wrong.”

“what?”

“Go outside the forest. The world is doomed. Even if we kill the Demon King, it won’t be possible to return things to how they were before. At least not in our generation.”

Sylvia was momentarily silent at Alice’s dry tone.

Although she had not said a word, somehow it sounded to Sylvia as if Alice was mocking her failure.

Of course, it could have been because Alice had been persistently sarcastically listing Sylvia’s failures one by one, but Sylvia’s own sense of entitlement was a bigger cause.

Since learning that the Demon King still exists, Sylvia has continued to ignore the fact.

At first I pretended not to know.

When Alice told him that he could no longer pretend not to know, he ignored it, saying that it had nothing to do with him.

When I could no longer ignore Ash’s earnest request, this time I tried my best not to think about it.

The Demon King is a being that is like the despair of humanity and trauma to humans.

That terrifying presence was a source of despair and trauma to Sylvia as well.

No, more precisely, it was not the existence of the Demon King, but the journey towards him.

At the end of that thorny path, which is like walking on a cold, icy thornbush, there are no tales of heroism, no stories, no rewards, no wealth, no welcome from people,

There were no proud achievements or consolations left.

Friends, colleagues, freedom, future.

There was only a time of painful loneliness, as she looked back on the things she had lost and been taken from her, one by one.

“…”

Sylvia looked at Alice without saying a word.

He was a hero.

Just like myself a few years ago.

Even the sense of impending inevitable doom seemed to overlap with Sylvia herself.

For her too, the only thing she would face at the end of her journey to capture the Demon King was her own death, which had already been decided.

“Alice,”

“what.”

“…”

Sylvia’s mouth would not open for a moment.

In fact, he didn’t even know what he was trying to say when he called her name.

Sylvia closed her eyes for a moment and slowly looked into the one heavy question in her mind.

I am,

Maybe I,

Would I have gone to catch the Demon King even if I had known that all this suffering I had experienced was coming?

“…”

“…”

“What the hell? Why didn’t you call me and then say anything?”

Sylvia began to move, slowly and painfully separating her tightly shut lips.

“You die.”

“What is this again?”

“Knowing that, why…”

“…?”

“Why are you trying so hard to catch the Demon King?”

Alice slowly lowered her raised head and looked at Sylvia.

No, I just glared at him with a bewildered expression.

But Sylvia continued speaking without paying any attention.

“I’m going to die anyway. The world is already ruined, just like you said. This might all be meaningless struggling. If I fail at that, I’ll die in regret.”

“her,”

“But why…?”

“…”

Alice sighed.

“I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but it really can get to the point where it’s nonexistent… Really.”

“…”

“Why are you doing this, you crazy b*tch? It’s because of Ash.”

“… ah?”

“Because I want Ash to live happily.”

“…”

Sylvia looked at Alice as if she had been hit in the back of the head.

“You may not mind if you live with Ash even if you’re cursed, but I don’t want Ash to live in hiding. You can go where you want and do what you want.”

“…”

“…I wish I could live happily like that.”

“…”

“Why did you think I forgave you? Because you were pretty? Because you were a warrior? Fuck, it was because Ash likes you. Ash is happy when he’s with you, so I forgave him.”

“Alice, you…”

“okay.”

A strange golden light flowed from Alice’s eyes.

Between the two furrowed eyes, those sparkling eyes were filled with rough and crude emotions.

Anger and irritation.

“I like Ash.”

And jealousy

“…”

“I liked you when I was little, and I still do, to the point where I remember my heart pounding so hard when my father wrote me a letter telling me about our engagement. That’s why I hate you so much. I hate you, I hate you. I don’t want to be taken away from me, I don’t want to give Ash up. Just thinking about you laughing next to Ash makes me sick! Right now, right now, I want to take Ash away… no, I want him back.”

“…”

“But I don’t have time. I don’t have time to make Ash happy…”

“… Alice.”

“All I can do is kill everything that stands in Ash’s way, lift all the curses that have been tormenting Ash, and tear apart the Demon King who screwed Ash over and that damn Balder Staff.”

Alice spoke fiercely, like a growling beast.

Sylvia could only stare blankly at Alice like that.

“and…”

Alice paused for a moment, then took a slow breath and exhaled slowly again.

It seemed as if he was forcibly suppressing his rising anger.

Certainly, the rough, clanking sound of the mechanical heart turning rapidly could reach Sylvia’s ears.

With each breath Alice took, the boiling heat hissed out, as if slowly extinguishing a fireball she had swallowed in her stomach.

Alice took several deep breaths in succession and then continued speaking in a slow, calm voice.

“That way, I will have the face to see Maria even after I die.”

“…”

The two were silent.

The only sound that filled the quiet cabin was the crackling of a bonfire, sending tiny ash particles into the air.

Sylvia clenched her fists and trembled in shame as she realized how pathetic she looked.

Alice clicked her tongue and closed her eyes as she looked at Sylvia like that.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, go to sleep.”

“… When do you plan on leaving?”

“Not tomorrow. I need to check how much Ash can move, I have things and news to deliver, and I also need to fit the armor I brought to him.”

“… Two days will do.”

“Okay, if nothing happens, we’ll be leaving in three days.”

Sylvia nodded and answered.

“I will prepare.”

.