Chapter 88
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Chapter 88
Whether the Holy Sword sighed or not, I moved forward without hesitation. I mapped the interior structure, discovered people trapped within the mud giants, and after constructing a barrier using the oil and fire scattered around the Shelter, I brought the rescued people to safety. The only source of anxiety was the complete absence of any trace of the Saint.
[The terrain is bizarre, but it doesn't seem as dangerous as I initially thought. Compared to the Nodule that the Demonic Sword Owner entered before, this is far more manageable. I just need to locate the Owner of Elgiosa quickly.]
As the danger seemed to diminish, Rangiosa relaxed her guard as well. I agreed with the Holy Sword's assessment and moved toward the Shelter, carrying the unconscious man. Soon the Shelter came into view.
I stopped in my tracks. Echinacea Loaz was standing there.
'Why?'
Why had she entered the Nodule? I had assumed she would never follow me into this place. Why would she risk exposure of her hidden truth? I rushed toward her, practically dropping the young man I'd been carrying and positioning myself before her.
Echinacea scanned me as if checking whether I was unharmed, but I didn't notice. My attention was entirely captured by her left hand. I seized it immediately. It appeared burned—the cloth wrapped around it was seeping with fluid. Even at a glance, it looked terribly painful, yet her expression remained composed. Only a faint hint of embarrassment crossed her face as she gently withdrew her hand from mine.
"It's nothing serious, Lord."
When I first held her hand before the Fountain, what had I prayed for? I had wished that time could be rewound, that this small, softened hand would never be wounded again. That had been only a month and a half ago.
Yet already she bore wounds on her hand. Burns that marred her skin, which she concealed without concern. She stepped into the Nodule without hesitation. And for the purpose of saving others, no less. In less than two months, this was already the second time.
"...You—why do you always—!"
Why do you not spare yourself? Why do you willingly walk into danger? No matter how strong you are, you are not invincible. You spoke of wanting to be happy—couldn't you simply turn a blind eye to some things and live in peace? There would be no sin in your overlooking certain matters. Why do you not consider those who would worry for you?
The surge of emotion caused my voice to rise involuntarily. I saw Echinacea flinch in surprise, so I took a deep breath. Even so, I could not calm myself.
"Why did you enter the Nodule?"
"Pardon?"
"Why did you enter the Nodule? You had more than enough time to escape."
"I apologize. I intended to flee, but somehow...."
A lie. She would never speak the truth before me anyway. Asking was a meaningless gesture. I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them. Echinacea watched my expression carefully before speaking hesitantly.
"Lord, I found the Owner of Elgiosa. I left her in a safe location for now. I have a hypothesis about how to escape the Nodule...."
Hearing news of the Saint I had been searching for all this time brought me no joy. Learning of a new theory regarding escape from the Nodule sparked no curiosity.
"Um, Lord?"
"...I understand. That Starting Point must be inside there. It's a hypothesis worth testing."
I turned away and moved toward the Shelter, forcing the door open. My movements were rough. She asked me quietly.
"Lord. Are you angry with me?"
Her words were like cold water splashed on my face, bringing me back to myself. Angry with her? No. I was angry at the situations that forced her to act, and at myself for being unable to support her. I wished I were someone greater. I wished I were someone she could truly rely on. The fact that I was not someone she could turn to for help gnawed at my heart.
Yet here I was, letting my emotions show so transparently, acting shamefully. And worse, I had vented my frustration on her. I felt contempt for myself.
"I am not angry with you. ...I apologize."
I offered my apology without turning to face her and stepped into the Shelter. Even as my emotions churned, I had not missed her explanation, so I immediately understood. That scratch-like mark in empty space must be the Starting Point.
"Is that it?"
"Yes, likely so."
The moment I lifted Rangiosa and pierced it, a sinister premonition swept down my spine like ice water. The premonition proved accurate. A massive black giant emerged, along with every mud giant that had been within the Nodule.
In terms of efficiency, it would be better to entrust the black giant to Echinacea while I handled the mud giants. However, she wished to conceal her true strength, so that was impossible. Instead, I asked her to deal with the mud giants and took on the black giant myself.
Despite its enormous size, the black giant possessed no special abilities beyond regeneration, so fighting it was not particularly difficult. The only problem was that I had to dissect its entire body to locate its core. I proceeded methodically, as was standard practice when facing regenerative monsters. With some breathing room, the Holy Sword spoke carefully.
[Master, about the Nodule.]
"Do you have a theory?"
[It seems that whenever a major change occurs that differs from the erased past, the Nodule forms as a backlash, does it not?]
"...Indeed, that does seem to be the case. Coincidentally, both phenomena are caused by Divine Swords."
[Kairosgiosa reversed time, and Lakia Giosa creates Nodules. There must be some connection.]
"By that logic, the events most significantly altered would be those connected to her—the Demonic Sword Demon. Yet I have heard no reports of a Nodule forming near the Loaz Estate."
[What if the Demonic Sword Owner had quietly arranged things so it wouldn't be discovered? Perhaps that's why she was so accustomed to the Nodule.]
"...What?"
[Damn it, watch ahead!]
Lost in thought about the possibility that she had entered the Nodule multiple times without his knowledge, his attention wavered. The black giant's hand came crashing down inches from his face. Since he was aware of it, the danger wasn't critical. But his dodge came a fraction too late, and his forearm was scraped deeply, blood spraying. In that instant.
"Yurien!"
Echinacea Loaz called his name in an urgent voice. Yurien de Harden Kirie froze in place as if caught by that voice.
She soared through the sky. Riding a white sword, violet flames erupted. A long trajectory piercing through the crown of the black giant's head flashed before his eyes. Before the collapsing remains of the black giant could settle, she landed through the flames. A terrified face and wet eyes searched for him.
"Yu...."
Upon finding him, she began to call his name again but swallowed the rest. Her eyes blinked slowly, and gradually the color drained from her face. She froze in place like a statue.
Yurien de Harden Kirie was equally frozen. It was the first time he had witnessed her wielding the sword properly with his own eyes. It was concise, powerful, and beautiful. An exceptional manipulation of mana that any Master would have to admire. But her call that pierced his ears struck him far more intensely than that fierce display.
She had called his name. It was the first time. Ever since she had murmured it before the Holy Sword in Rangiosa's memory.
Goosebumps rose from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes. A tremor so intense that merely being called by name sent shivers down his spine. The image of her sobbing before the Holy Sword surfaced in his mind, and he felt dizzy. If he hadn't possessed exceptional self-control, he might have seized her and begged her to call his name just once more.
A few remaining mud giants rushed toward them, but Echinacea Loaz didn't move an inch. Yurien de Harden Kirie raised the Holy Sword and dealt with them.
'Rather than going mad, I'm already mad.'
As he swung the sword, he calmly acknowledged his state. He had wished to be called by name, but he hadn't expected to be shaken to this degree. He realized once more that he had fallen to a point of no return.
By the time he finished dealing with the giants and returned, Echinacea Loaz stood motionless. Now that he thought about it, she had just used mana before him. He had been so distracted by his name on her lips that he had momentarily forgotten that fact. Yurien de Harden Kirie carefully opened his mouth while observing her complexion.
"Echinacea Loaz."
Echinacea Loaz flinched and hesitantly stepped backward.
"Echinacea Loaz? Are you alright?"
It was an ominous reaction. When Yurien de Harden Kirie called her again, her face turned pale. And she turned away. She was turning to flee. To leave him. His heart lurched and nearly stopped.
"Wait...!"
Yurien de Harden Kirie seized her arm. She retreated further. If he let go now, he might never see her again. That instinct gripped him.
He had no time to think—he instinctively grasped her shoulders. The slender body in his hands struggled. Her movements were frantic and disoriented. Her entire frame trembled like the strings of an instrument. He couldn't meet her gaze.
Echinacea Loaz hadn't worn such an expression even when her skin melted away from the acidic secretion spewed by a monster. She was gripped by a fear so profound that it constricted his chest just to witness it.
'Is she terrified because her ability to use mana has been exposed?'
That alone wouldn't cause such terror. Perhaps she feared that he would infer her connection to the Demonic Sword based on this. The thought of it, the malice toward herself that surges up, the terror that seizes her, the urge to flee—she had erased it all. That was what her past as the Demonic Sword Demon meant to her.
Though I had known of this wound, seeing it laid bare so nakedly made it seem far more precarious than I had imagined. My breath caught in my throat.
"I knew."
At his words, Echinacea Loaz's struggling ceased. Her eyes, which seemed to be losing focus, wavered and flickered like light drowning in water. Yurien de Harden Kirie added to reassure her.
"I knew, so don't worry."
You weren't exposed. I knew everything from the beginning, but I have no intention of excavating your wounds. If you wish to bury all those past events, then I too shall bury them.
"You k-knew... How... Since when...."
Echinacea Loaz stammered her words, but only grew paler, burying her face in her hands. As she swayed as if about to collapse, Yurien de Harden Kirie hastily supported her.
He was bewildered. He had meant to reassure her, but had he made a mistake? Wasn't she afraid of being exposed? He tried to see her face through the gaps between her hands, but couldn't. Instead, he felt her shoulders trembling within his grasp.
'Is she crying?'
It felt as though something heavy had struck him in the chest. She rarely cried. She hadn't wept even in the Loaz Estate, the place where she had killed her entire family with her own hands. Yet now she was crying.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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