Chapter 6 Part 25
Translator : PolterGlast
Voices could be heard in the already darkened streets.
Two young girls were walking side by side out of the library.
Somiliana Francilt, a girl with black hair as lustrous
as the darkness of the night, was doing research in the library with her friend
Lansa until late at night.
"Sorry, it's getting this late."
"It's alright. Instead, I'll get you to treat me
to Willoppe's sweets next time."
Somia smiled bitterly at her friend, who had a
pleasant expression on her face. Seeing the drool dripping from her smiling
mouth, she must be thinking of the sweets lined up all over the table.
By the way, Willoppe is a famous pastry shop in the
commercial district.
It was originally a bakery, but while baking bread as
its main business, it also made various kinds of new bread prototypes with its
leftover ingredients and various sweets with pastes made from boiled down
fruits and sugar.
The store is especially popular with women of the
city, and the most popular ones were sold out every day.
"You've been working really hard. But lately,
you've been doing it even harder, haven't you?"
"I-Is that so?"
The two of them were talking as they were walking
home, then Lansa suddenly asked Somia as if she remembered something.
Somia was shyly scratching her cheek due to Lansa's
words.
"Yes, it is. Is it because of that man that Somia
is working so hard?
"Who do you mean by that man?
"You know, the senior who had a combat training
with Jihad-sensei at the Martial Arts Garden the other day!"
There was only one person who came to mind when she
was told so much. Nozomu Bountis, the man who had saved her life.
Somia was a little tired by Lansa's excited tone.
Lansa was a good friend to Somia, but she was a bit of a gossip person and
sometimes caused a ruckus by spreading unnecessary rumors here and there.
For this reason, Lansa was often warned by her
homeroom teacher, but each time she responded with various reasons and tried to
cover it up.
"It was so amazing! He was able to fight against
that Jihad-sensei so well!"
"Yeah, that's true."
The way Nozomu looked when he was fighting against
Jihad reminded Somia of the way he looked when he was confronting the vampire
who tried to take her soul away.
The way he looked straight ahead without hesitation
and confronted such a strong enemy in front of him was the same way he looked
when he saved her from being taken away.
"Hey, can you introduce me? Everyone in the class
seems to be curious about him."
"Let's see......"
Somia slurred her words in response to Lansa's demand
as if she was troubled.
To tell the truth, Somia had been asked about Nozomu
many times by her classmates since the end of the combat training at the
Martial Arts Garden. If he had fought well against one of the heroes of the
continent, it was only natural that he would attract the attention of pure
children.
Moreover, Somia had cheered loudly for Nozomu during
the combat training. It was already a well-known fact that she had a close
relationship with Nozomu.
"Why not? There's no harm in it."
That might be true, but Somia felt a tinge of anxiety
and shame if Lansa and Nozomu were to meet. To be honest, she couldn't predict
what the gossipy Lansa would say.
Somia's pondering seemed to indicate that Lansa was
unlikely to get a good answer, so she leaned forward.
"It'll be alright! I won't take him away from
you!"
"What do you mean by not taking him away..."
Lansa, who seemed to tend to be attracted to this kind
of love story, approached Somia and asked her a series of questions about
Nozomu Bountis. In fact, she knew all the romantic relationships among her
classmates, which was terrifying. She knew who liked who, who kissed who, and
where. To be honest, she was a bit dangerous.
Somia didn't like the idea of hiding things from her
friends, but even considering her friend's slightly troubling personality,
Nozomu has many unusual circumstances.
There was the fact that he had mastered the Eastern
Katana Techniques, which was almost unheard of on this continent, but more than
anything, there was an extraordinary power inhabiting his body.
The power of a dragon that resided inside Nozomu,
which she had glimpsed of its power only a few months ago. His power, which had
somehow stabilized in a precarious balance, had once nearly gone out of
control.
It was clear that this was not an easy thing to talk
about.
"A-alright, if I had the chance ..."
Somia had no choice but to answer Lansa's demand with
a vague reply.
(Should I talk to Nozomu-san or Ane-sama about this?)
While thinking that it might be a good idea to at
least talk about it, listening to Lansa's words reminded Somia of her previous
date with Nozomu.
The two of them went out to the city side by side,
doing fortune telling together, making candy together .......
An older man who was willing to go along with her while
smiling bitterly as she pulled him around. She had so much fun that she lost
track of time.
He also listened to her problems, which she could not
tell even to her sister, whom she respected.
It wasn't Nozomu who asked her to talk about it, but
Somia herself, and in the end, he made her realize that she love her sister.
Somia smiled a little happily, wondering if it would
have been like that if she had an older brother.
In the end, she kissed him on the cheek as a thank
you, which caused a lot of commotion afterward...
"Ehehe ..."
Somia stroked her lips with her own fingers. That way,
the feeling seemed to come back to her when she kissed him.
Somia was lost in thought as she felt her heart warm
up.
(Come to think of it, Shīna-san had kissed Nozomu-san.
I wonder what a real kiss is like?)
Shīna kissed Nozomu in front of everyone, even though
it was to save him. When she tried to ask her about it, Mimuru stirred things
up too much and Shīna went off the rails, so she never got to hear what she
wanted to know.
(How about Ane-sama ...?)
Nozomu and Irisdina. From Somia's point of view, they
were a perfect match, but there was no progress in their relationship. As
punishment for stalking her date, Somia tried to get her sister to organize a
party with Nozomu for the upcoming special training, but there the training was
canceled midway.
Somia thought it might be nice to enjoy the holiday
while walking around the city with Nozomu and her sister.
Even as her cheeks relaxed at the sight of such
happiness, Somia felt her heart go a little faster.
"Ah~ !!"
At that moment, Lansa huffed and looked at Somia with
an implied smile on her face for some reason.
Before Somia could ask what was going on, Lansa walked
up behind her and pushed her forward.
"Look, he comes to pick you up."
"Eh?"
As Lansa pushed her forward, she saw the man she had
been thinking about earlier. It was Nozomu, dressed in Solminati Academy
uniform.
"Yaa, Somia-chan"
When Nozomu smiled and waved at her, Somia hurriedly
raised her hand to wave back.
But when she caught a clear glimpse of Nozomu standing
in front of her, Somia felt an inexplicable, strange feeling in her head. The
hand that had been raised became stiff and immobile, and then lost its strength
and was dropped down.
"Nozomu ...-san?"
"Somia, what's wrong?"
The voice that came out of Somia's mouth was one that
could not hide her confusion. Lansa, who had been pushing her back, tilted her
head to the side as if she had noticed Somia's strange behavior.
"I was just passing by."
“…………”
Unaware of their situation, Nozomu in front of them
spoke to Somia and Lansa. Without a doubt, his face and voice belonged to
Somia's beloved benefactor. However, Somia felt an inexplicable sense of
unease.
"Even so, you worked so hard until this late at
night. Iris must be very proud of you."
"A..."
The more Nozomu in front of her spoke, the greater the
sense of discomfort became.
The moment Somia saw Nozomu's eyes staring at her, she
instinctively say the following words.
"Umm... who are you?"
"……Eh!?"
“…………”
The air around them froze as if time had stopped.
Lansa's, who was behind Somia, repeatedly gazed back
and forth between Nozomu and Somia in confusion, while Nozomu in front of her
opened his eyes in surprise.
"You are not Nozomu-san, aren't you? Your
atmosphere is completely different, and also, Nozomu-san doesn't have those
kinds of eyes. Who are you?"
With her words, Somia had already discerned the true
nature of the uncomfortable feeling stuck in her chest.
Even though he looked exactly the same, there was an
inexplicable murkiness in the eyes of Nozomu in front of her. It was exactly
the same as those she had seen in aristocratic social circles. He had the same
characteristics as those human beings who hid unfathomable desires and terrifying
negative emotions behind their glittering appearance.
“…………”
Silence flowed between them.
The two faced each other in silence, but as time
passed, Somia felt a numbing chill run down her spine. A crawling chill went
around her whole body, and she gradually began to lose the feeling in her
limbs.
Even though the sun had set and it was still summer,
the chill that assaulted her whole body dulled the sensation in her limbs as if
she were buried in snow.
Eventually, the Nozomu in front of her shrugged his
shoulders as if he had given up.
"... I'm surprised, I thought I had completely
transformed my appearance."
He let out a sigh and his mouth distorted. His
appearance was the complete opposite of her impression of the calm Nozomu.
It made her convinced that the Nozomu in front of her
was a completely different person.
"As I thought, you're not Nozomu-san. You're Ken
Notis-san, aren't you?..."
Ken's eyes squinted as he got caught that he wasn't
Nozomu and that she had figured out who he was.
This was completely not in his plan. The current Somia
didn't have the innocent face she usually had when she was with Nozomu, but the
face of a dignified woman.
Somia's body was trembling slightly as if she was
being pressured by Ken's unusual presence.
However, her eyes stare straight back at Ken,
desperately trying to resist his intimidating gaze. Those were not the kind of
eyes that a girl around ten years old could pull off.
"I was
planning to finish it with some injuries, but since I got caught, I guess I have
no other choice..."
The sense of
intimidation that had been hitting them swelled all at once and attacked Somia
and Lansa. Immediately, Somia grabbed Lansa's trembling hand to escape.
"Lansa-chan!
Run!"
Ken quickly
drew a magic formation in the air. The formation fizzled with light, and then
an icicle the size of an adult's arm formed in the air and shot out.
Somia grabbed
Lansa's trembling hand and tried to let her friend run away, but Ken's icicle
was much faster than Somia and Lansa could escape.
Somia and
Lansa stopped in their tracks as an icicle pierced the ground near their feet
with a high-pitched sound.
"Sorry,
but I won't let you go. For Lisa's sake, now that you know, I have to make you
silent."
Ken's gaze
and his negative emotions crawl around their whole body.
His jealousy
and hatred of Nozomu, whose mask had been removed and who was now exposed, was
too intense for such young girls.
"...
I-ss it really for Lisa-san's sake?"
Her voice
trembled and her tongue was hard to move.
Even so, Somia
struggled to keep her trembling legs from collapsing at any moment and turned
to face Ken, who was still disguising himself as Nozomu in front of her. She
naturally extended her left hand to the arm ornament on her right arm.
It was the
armlet with a bell attached that Nozomu had given her as a birthday present.
The moment she grasped it, the clinking sound of the bell echoed in Somia's
ears.
"Aa……"
*Ching -
ching* …….
Every time
the terrified Somia's arms trembled, the precious gift given by her loved one
continued to ring as if to cheer her up, and the sound melted Somia's frozen
body.
When she
noticed ...... her trembling had subsided.
"Yeah,
that's right. Because I'm the only one who can protect Lisa..."
"That's
not true"
"Wha~"
"No. At
least not for you."
Clearly,
Somia denied Ken.
She had heard
the story from Nozomu. His past, when he had separated from his lover.
Even though
she knew that it might be a bad idea to provoke Ken in this place where there
was no one around, Somia couldn't stop her mouth once it was moved.
"Have
you conveyed your feelings properly? Have you properly express your feelings to
her? I'm sure you haven't. Because all you've done is tear the people you love
apart."
"~
!!"
Somia's words
pierced Ken's heart with a crushing blow.
Yes, Ken had
never expressed his feelings to Lisa in a tangible way. The only thing he chose
to do was to bring down his rival.
Since his
choice to kick Nozomu out, Ken had never looked after his own actions, nor on
Lisa's feelings. He just blindly misunderstood that Lisa was his, and he was
soaked in pleasure. As Lisa clung to Ken, she was also heartbroken and couldn't
let go of Nozomu.
What Ken did
was like playing with blocks by himself.
The little
girl in front of him saw through this and confronted him.
"You
can't expect her to like you without you conveying your feelings to her
properly."
The sound of
gnashing teeth could be heard inside Ken's mouth.
"You
never looked at anyone besides yourself. The only person you care about is
yourself. Such a person is ......"
"You're
a young lady who talks a lot!"
Ken, whose
face was bright red, reached for the longsword at his waist.
Somia's eyes
widened and Lansa, with her face drawn in fear, let out a small scream.
But the next
moment, something rushed past them at a high speed.
"Tch!"
"Eh?"
Ken clicked
his tongue and stepped back. At the same time, the cobblestones under Ken's
feet flew apart with an explosive sound.
Then a large
shadow intervened between the two.
"Y-you
are ..."
"Run!"
Camila, who
broke in between them, confronted Ken while urging Somia and Lansa to escape.
Camilla
glared at Ken as she lowered her hips and took a stance. Her eyes glinted with
the obvious hostility towards Ken that she had been holding back until now.
"Good grief.
What do you think you're doing? This is the only way to protect Lisa..."
"Shut
up! I can't go along with your delusions anymore!
Camilla was
disgusted by Ken's behavior, and she no longer had a piece of companionship
with Ken. She interrupted Ken as if to say that she didn't need or oblige to
listen to him.
"Is that
so, then it can't be helped."
Ken let out a
sigh of disappointment. But he immediately looked up and smiled as if to say,
"It doesn't matter".
"Those
Ecross students... As long as they know about my abilities, as well as you,
Camilla, I can't just leave you guys alone..."
"~ !?
Y-you ..."
Even a friend
who had known him for two years was immediately judged as enemies and need to
be eliminated. There was no hesitation or conflict in Ken's attitude.
Camilla, who
had been exposed to the true nature of a person who had lost his way and gone
out of control, just stared at the "enemy" in front of her while
trembling in anger.
"Sorry
Camilla, this is for Lisa's sake too..."
Ken said the
words that should have made him feel guilty in a flat and without intonation
tone and pulled out the long sword at his waist.
The
brilliance of iron that shines dully in the moonlight looked like the Grim
Reaper's scythe to Camilla, Somia, and Lansa.
Then Ken, in
the form of Nozomu, stepped toward the prey in front of him.
"Uuu……"
"It'll
be alright..."
With the
lives of two frightened children behind her back, Camilla clutched her staff in
a tight grip. She gave a whisper to her trembling arms and let the magic in her
body intensified.
Then, she
began to chant. She built up a magic formula, releasing the magic power into
the air, and created a mass of fire about the size of a human head.
"For
Lisa? It's all about your self-satisfaction and your selfish obsession!
Camilla
shouted loudly and threw the mass of flame in her hand. As if to embody her
anger, the flaming mass flew towards Ken with fierce force.
However, Ken
quickly poured magic power into the longsword body and swung it up.
"Fuh!"
A flash of blue
magic light dispelled the flaming mass, and the flaming mass disappeared into
the dark night sky.
Furthermore,
before Camilla could prepare her next technique, Ken activated his
body-strengthening magic and leaped at Camilla in a single movement.
Ken shortened
the distance between him and Camilla like a gust of wind. He overturned the
longsword at his waist and swung it down at Camilla.
However,
Camilla was also an excellent student, belonging to the first class of the
third year. She quickly strengthened her own body and caught Ken's longsword
with her staff, which was filled with magic power.
"Kuh!"
"It's
useless. Do you think you, a rearguard, can beat me at this distance?"
The sound of
the cane creaking echoed in the air as Camilla let out a cry of anguish.
As Ken said,
contrary to her personality, Camilla was originally good at supporting her
allies from the back. When she first entered the school, she was unable to
blend in with her surroundings, but she was able to help Lisa by showing her a
sense of duty.
Due to her
strong personality, Camilla could handle close combat with her staff. However,
her skills were not nearly as good as Ken's, who was one of only five students
in his year to reach A rank.
"What
are you two doing, hurry up and run!"
And Camilla
was well aware of this fact. That was why she raised her voice to at least let
Somia and Lansa who were involved in this incident escape.
"Ah~...
but ..."
"Hurry
up! Protect your friend!"
Camilla's
voice trembled with tension, but she held her ground and tried to protect Somia
and Lansa.
Perhaps
inspired by her courage, Somia and Lansa, who were watching Camilla and Ken
fight while stunned, finally turned on their heels and started running as if
they had been hit by a bullet.
They
struggled to move their legs, which were shaking with fear, to get away from
that place.
"Do you
think I'm going to let you go?"
However, Ken
had no intention of letting the girls escape from this place. He launched a
kick towards Camilla's stomach, who was in front of him.
"Gaha~!"
Camilla
screamed in agony as she was blown backward by Ken's kick.
While
glancing sideways at Camilla's fallen body on the ground, Ken activated his
technique once again. The target was Somia and Lansa who were trying to escape
from this place.
The target
was Somia and Lansa who had turned their backs and were trying to escape from
this place. Ken's fingers swept through the air like a command rod, and the tip
of the icicle was pointed at Somia's back.
"~! Stop
it!"
Camilla
screamed in pain as her vision distorted from the pain when her body hit the
ground.
However,
Ken's finger was swung down mercilessly. In the next moment, an icicle flew
towards the defenseless Somia like an arrow.
"Kuh~
... move!"
Camilla
whipped her aching body and ran while releasing all her magic power without
thinking about the outcome. The body-strengthening technique that had been
activated raised its effectiveness at once.
As the
icicles flew at high speed, slowly approaching Somia and Lansa's defenseless
backs, Camilla rushed to them without losing any of her momentum and threw
herself down to embrace them.
The next
moment, an unpleasant tearing sound echoed in her ears. The next thing she
knew, a shock ran through her entire body.
"...~!"
Camilla, who
had fallen to the ground, looked into her arms to find Somia and Lanza looking
dumbfounded.
They seemed
surprised that they were suddenly held in her arms, but they did not seem to be
injured.
"I'm
relieve- ... Kua~!"
Just as
Camilla relaxed in relief, she felt a sharp pain in her right foot.
When she
looked down at her feet, she saw that a reddish icicle had pierced her right
foot deeply.
And from the
edge of Camilla's vision, she could see the figure of Ken moving towards her
slowly.
"Kuu~!
Ooh~!"
Camilla was
unable to concentrate due to the intense pain running through her right leg,
and was unable to cast any proper magic. Even if she could cast a magi, it was
doubtful that it would work against Ken, who was a superior opponent.
But even so,
she couldn't back down. Camilla released all her remaining magic power.
It was a
torrent of magic power without any techniques. The magic power she had just
released couldn't stop Ken, the only thing she could do was to slow down his
steps a little bit.
The next
moment, however, something happened to Ken's body in the form of Nozomu.
Suddenly, Ken's figure distorted as if his figure was seen through a lens.
Then, with a splashing sound, the layer of water covering Ken peeled off,
revealing the image of Ken that Camilla was familiar with.
"Tch~..."
Ken clicked
his tongue at the fact that [Reflective Water Surface of the Heart Mask] had
been released.
[Reflective
Water Surface of the Heart Mask] is an ability that allows the user to freely
change their appearance by attaching water that has been imbued with magic to
their entire body and controlling it. However, if the user were hit by powerful
magic, it will react with the water's magic power on the user's body and the
disguise will come off.
Ken's gaze
pierced Camilla as if he wanted to kill her. Camilla's mouth smiled in triumph.
But with her right leg crushed, she couldn't run anymore. It would be difficult
for her to even walk. It would be impossible for her to protect Somia and Lansa
as she did before.
She couldn't
stop Ken by herself. While thinking so, Camilla released her arms from Somia
and Lansa, and gently pushed them out of the way as if to tell them to leave.
However,
contrary to Camilla's feelings, Somia did not try to escape.
While
trembling in fear, Somia fought back the tears that were about to spill and
began to cast a healing spell on Camilla's leg.
"What...
are you doing ..."
"I'll
heal your wounds ..."
The lips she
bit down on in an attempt to stifle her fear were painful, and behind the girl,
a Grim Reaper was approaching step by step.
"Hurry
up, run..."
Despite
hearing Camilla's voice urging her to run away, Somia refused to stop the
healing. Eventually, Lansa followed her lead and began to heal Camilla's leg
too.
Ken was
already very close to them. Ken raised his longsword with a distorted smile on
his face.
"What's
going on here..."
However, at
that time, the voice of someone that should not have been there echoed in
Camilla and Ken's ears.
Camilla and
Ken froze due to that voice. Somia and Lansa were also at a loss for words at
the intruder who had appeared in that place.
She had long
crimson hair and a well-developed figure. She had a beautiful face that made
everyone look back at her with a friendly smile, but now her face was tinged
with confusion.
"Why
does Ken look like Nozomu... and why did Ken attack Camilla..."
The
incomprehensible scene caused Lisa Hounds' mind to stop thinking for a moment,
and she stood there like a scarecrow.
But her eyes
clearly saw Ken's appearance when the [Reflective Water Surface of the Heart
Mask] unraveled.
She saw Ken
as if he were taking off his disguise, and her best friend lying injured on the
ground while protecting two young girls.
Ken, too, was
stunned and his expression was pale, unable to understand why Lisa was here.
However,
Ken's presence in the form of Nozomu showed Lisa, who had been trapped in an
impasse of thought, a straight path. It was something she had never noticed
before. Something she had unconsciously not tried to understand.
(The scene of
betrayal I saw two years ago was a fake one that Ken showed me.)
The
contradictory behaviors of Nozomu that had been confusing Lisa until now were
becoming clearer and her jumbled thoughts were quickly unraveled and connected
as a single line.
"T-then,
at that time ..."
The image of
Nozomu's betrayal that she had witnessed two years ago was replaced by the
image of Ken.
The reality
that she had believed in until now began to fall apart.
"N-no,
it's not like what you think, Lisa... Th-this is..."
Ken, with a
pale expression, tried to explain, but his words and behavior only further
destroyed the "two-year deception" that he had instilled in Lisa.
Every time
Ken tried to explain, Lisa stepped back step by step.
"Then
... I was..."
At the same time,
she realized that all the hatred and anger she had directed at Nozomu all along
was directed at someone innocent and that it was all misplaced. At last, she
understood.
(A traitor
who trampled on my feelings.)
(The worst
human who ran off to another girl.)
So, who
exactly was meant by that?
The world
that she had believed in until now was turned inside out, and all the words of
anger and hatred that she had directed at Nozomu were reversed and pressed down
on Lisa's heart own at once.
Her body was trembling
as if to express her screaming heart.
"Lisa,
let me explain ..."
Ken reached
out to Lisa as if to ask for help, but it's no use crying over spilled milk.
The chains
that had bound her for two years had been completely shattered, by none other than
Ken himself.
"N-no!!"
"...~!"
Reflexively,
Lisa rejected Ken's outstretched hand. A slapping sound echoed, and a stabbing
pain ran through both of their palms.
It was a
decisive moment. Despite the silence, the distance between the two of them was
rapidly growing apart.
No, the two
of them had never been one. It was a broken relationship, to begin with. Either
way, it was only a matter of time.
However, the
distortion that had accumulated over the past two years exploded as a violent
quake.
Ken and Lisa
were at a loss for words and their composure.
At that
moment, Lisa's eyes widened at the sight that came into her eyes. Her heart was
beating wildly as if it had been grabbed, and her breathing became heavy as if
she had sunk to the bottom of the water.
Beyond her
line of sight, she saw the figure of Nozomu Bountis rushing towards her.
===============================
Nozomu
frowned when he saw the devastation in front of him.
Camilla was
lying on the ground with blood pouring from her legs, and Somia and Lansa were
by her side. And what caught Nozomu's attention the most was the sight of Lisa
and Ken standing face to face with each other with their faces pale.
(I wonder why
Lisa is here?)
Such a
question flashed through Nozomu's mind, but in front of him lay Camilla, her
leg pierced by an icicle.
He couldn't
quite understand the situation, but the ground was covered in a carpet of red
blood. He couldn't just leave the injured Camilla alone.
Putting his
doubts aside for the time being, Nozomu rushed over to Camilla and the others.
"Somia-chan,
Camilla, are you alright !?"
"No-Nozomu-san
..."
Somia and
Lansa were crying, maybe they were so scared.
Camilla
looked up at Nozomu with a pale expression. Her lips were also losing color.
She was probably bleeding quite a lot.
"H-how
did you get here ...?"
In a hoarse
voice, Camilla asked how Nozomu noticed Ken was here.
Camilla had
assumed that the communication network was still broken, and this was neither
the Ecross school building nor the student dormitory. It was no wonder that she
wondered how Nozomu was able to find this exact location.
"I was
heading towards Ecross school building after I heard your voice through the
communication network, and on the way, I saw fireworks launching into the
sky."
As he
listened to Camilla's question, Nozomu shredded the hem of his clothes into a
strip and began to slowly pull out the icicle that was stuck in Camilla's leg.
"~!"
Camilla
frowned due to the pain running through her leg.
After pulling
out the icicle while being careful not to injure any arteries or muscles,
Nozomu wrapped the wound with the shredded clothes and tightened it.
While Nozomu
continued to stop Camilla's bleeding, Nozomu remembered how he had gotten here.
After hearing
Camilla's voice through communication magic stone, Nozomu ran out of the
dormitory and rushed towards the Ecross school building. He thought that Somia
might still be in the school building because he had heard from Irisdina that
she had recently started to work harder at her studies.
At that
moment, Nozomu saw a light flying toward the sky. Yes, it was the mass of
flames that Camilla had shot at Ken and had been blown away.
It was
obvious that something was going on in a place where such attack magic was
used. That was the reason why Nozomu was able to come to this place.
Camilla
frowned at the pain that ran down her leg when Nozomu tried to stop the
bleeding. Certainly, the amount of blood that was flowing out was decreasing
considerably.
Nozomu
breathed out a sigh of relief, but eventually, he slowly stood up and raised
his face.
"...
Barozza-san. Please take care of Camilla, Somia-chan, and her friend."
Nozomu
stepped forward step by step. Camilla was watching his back.
Barozza
shrugged his shoulders as if he had no choice but to put his hand on the hilt
of the sword at his waist, while Somia and Lansa looked over at Nozomu with
somewhat worried eyes.
And Camilla
kept her face down apologetically.
Does she
regret not being able to stop Ken? Or does she regret involving Lisa?
Nozomu
couldn't fully understand what was going through Camilla's mind, but he still
had something he wanted to tell her.
"Camilla
..."
"…
?"
"Thank
you, for protecting Somia-chan and her friend ..."
Nozomu gave
her words of gratitude. For him, Somia was also an important, irreplaceable
companion, friend, and an important girl who had accepted him. Nozomu expressed
his heartfelt relief and gratitude to Camilla for protecting such a person.
"*Hick
... please"
While
sniffing, Camilla begged Nozomu for something.
Camilla
couldn't say exactly what she wanted him to do, but Nozomu gave her a small
nod.
As if pushed
by her words, Nozomu made his way to the childhood friends in front of him.
"Ken,
Lisa ..."
"Aa……"
When Nozomu
approached Lisa, she looked frightened. Her eyes were filled with deep regret.
Her attitude
was clearly different from what he had seen in the past. At this moment, the
true relationship between the three of them was completely exposed to the
outside world.
"No-zomu
...!"
Ken, noticing
Nozomu's presence, glared at him as if he were looking for a fight. A chill
runs down Nozomu's spine, and his keen senses ring an alarm bell. It was a
hostile intent. Ken could have attacked him at any moment.
"Ken,
it's no use. It's all over."
Yes, Lisa was
already fully aware of Ken's deception. When she believed that Nozomu had
betrayed her, Lisa had relied on Ken so much, but now she was completely
frightened of him.
No matter how
much Ken tried to mend the situation, there was nothing he could do.
Once
something is broken, it can't be put back together again. It is impossible even
for spirits to turn back time.
"You, if
only you weren't here ......!"
However, some
people still clung to the past even when they know it would never return to the
way it was before. And they sought an outlet for their uncontrollable
resentment.
Ken, mumbling
to himself, pointed the tip of his longsword at Nozomu.
His words and
actions no longer had any sense of reality. He just assumed that Nozomu was the
cause of everything and clung to his own delusion.
He was as
empty as a demon, and with a dangerous madness, Ken stepped towards Nozomu in a
single dash.
With a
rushing momentum like a gale, he swung his longsword downward with a force
aimed at destroying Nozomu's body.
There was no
hesitation in his attack.
"...
~!"
Nozomu's
reflexes kicked in before he could even think about Ken's instantaneous attack.
He quickly
lowered his body, grabbed the hilt of his [Mumei], and strengthened his body
with his instantly raised Qi. He twisted his torso and pulled out the katana
blade.
In the next
moment, the two blades collided, scattering sparks.