Chapter 194 I Want To Go To That Starry Sky
The Chronosphere has given an order.
It's a forbidden power of the gods that ignores one's own will and emotions, ensuring that it takes a certain "action".
'After teleporting Fiona to the [Temple], you'll attack only Fiona. At that time, you yourself must not have teleported to the [Temple] yet. You'll get killed.'
'Aaron will use the sword made from the "Gravity Elemental Treant's Core Wood" to break the situation. Then, you'll teleport behind Aaron, taking on Fiona's form.'
'Smile, Ickle, smile. With Fiona's face, act affectionate. That's right. Call out his name with Fiona's voice, lovingly.'
'Teleport behind him, taking on Fiona's form, and create a blank space in his consciousness. That's the point where you can kill him with certainty.'
'Corner him with remote magic? Can we still kill him? No, no, don't misunderstand, Ickle.'
'He still has the power to fight even at this point. The aura he infused into the 'Gravity Elemental Treant's Sword' is still there. He's recovering it.'
'Normally, it's impossible to recover the aura infused into a sword and reuse it, but he can do it.'
'So even if you attack him with remote magic, you can't kill him. He'll definitely survive. And if he survives for just a few seconds, Fiona's situation will be resolved. Then, you'll lose your chance to kill Aaron.'
'So, it's right after Aaron dropped his sword. There's no other chance besides this.'
'With Fiona's face, voice, and consciousness, create a blank space. Aim for that moment, and pierce his heart with magic.'
'By doing so, in that instant, he won't have any room to use the aura he recovered from his sword for anything else. No, to be exact, he'll use the aura he recovered to coat his newly drawn sword to slash you that appeared behind him. That's why, in that moment, he can't use his aura for defense. That's when you can kill him. Checkmate.'
'――I can see it. The future where he's lying in a pool of blood. That's the future my Invisible Hands will grasp!'
Splat.
Aaron's body, which had fallen, had the sword pulled out of his chest.
A massive amount of fresh blood spilled out, drenching the floor of the [Temple].
Ickle was smiling, gazing down at the scene with a stuck-on grin.
――Something's off.
――Her heart is telling her something.
――But something is suppressing it.
――She did the right thing. But a voice in her heart that doesn't belong to her is saying that.
"Aa...ron...?"
A faint voice was heard. Ickle looked up to see the owner of the voice.
* * *
Fiona, who had received "Black-White," swung her sword with precision, despite her anxious heart.
In an instant, she infused "Black-White" with aura, dyed it black, and swung it, releasing aura from the sword itself.
Sword technique――[Heavy Fang Continuous Blade]
The blade tainted with dark aura was swirling around Fiona, erasing the magic blades that were pouring down on her, and the magic barriers that restricted her escape routes, all at once.
At the same time, the "Black-White" that had gained weight was too heavy to hold, and the sword tip struck the ground.
Fiona, driven by anxiety, poured magical energy into it and dyed it white again, rushing to Aaron's side to provide backup.
"――――."
But by then, everything was already over.
Aaron's back, which he had turned around with a horizontal swing of his sword, came into view.
However, the sword didn't swing, and for some reason, it stopped mid-air.
And then...
The magic sword, accompanied by fresh blood, flew out of Aaron's back.
"――――."
It felt as if time had stopped.
In the frozen scene where thoughts and everything else had come to a standstill, Aaron's knees gave way, as if to demonstrate the merciless flow of time.
The magic sword was pulled out of Aaron's falling body, and as if he had lost his support, Aaron collapsed onto the floor. He fell so heavily that it seemed like he would hit his head hard, but there was no groan, no movement. Only a massive amount of fresh blood spreading from his body, creating a surreal scene.
"Aa...ron...?"
She called out his name.
Aaron should have...
'Hey, what's with that face? Do you think I'd go down with this little injury?'
"......"
She imagined him looking up with a carefree expression, saying that with a sarcastic smile.
"......"
But that imagination was proven wrong, and Aaron remained collapsed on the floor, motionless and powerless.
Why was he lying there?
Why wasn't he getting up?
Why doesn't he respond?
Unconsciously, she tell herself not to think about it――and if she find the answer, she doesn't know what will happen, so she thought.
"...Huu..."
When she took a breath, a strange, whimpering sound leaked out.
Just as she was about to answer the many questions, Fiona slowly looked up and saw the person holding a magic sword.
They didn't even have time to spare, and their long, red hair was hanging down. Their eyes were the same red color as her hair, and their face was a familiar, yet overly familiar face. They had a forced smile on their face. Was it the aftermath of stabbing Aaron? Their entire body was covered in large amounts of fresh blood.
Fiona...
"......Ah."
Before the "Great Outbreak" occurred in the labyrinth, she was attacked by a group that seemed to be the masterminds behind the Stampede. At that time, she had to fight back and kill some of them.
Although it was for self-defense, she had experienced killing.
She wouldn't hesitate to cut down an enemy now. However, even if they were an enemy, she didn't want to actively cut them down.
The reason was that she had a fundamental aversion to using her life, which her father had entrusted to her, for the opposite purpose of helping someone.
"......You."
But it was different this time.
The existence that looked like her was probably the same one that had taken on Aaron's appearance on the ground.
Why did they teleport her here? Why did they change from Aaron's appearance to her? When she teleported her here, they targeted only her and attacked... And when Aaron let go of "Black-White" to help her, they appeared behind him... Everything.
They're using herself――Fiona Ackerman――to kill Aaron Gale.
And to make matters worse, they're using her own face to stab him in the chest with a sword.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
It was an emotion she had never felt before.
Her vision and consciousness were burning with intense heat.
She had never felt such anger and hatred towards anyone before.
With a hatred that made her forget herself, she cried out in tears.
Just then, a fake Fiona appeared, holding out her palm towards her. A magical energy was about to envelop her entire body from her hand――
But then, a loud "Boom!" sounded
And a black aura burst out from "Black-White", wrapping around her entire body like a black flame, blocking the activation of her Space magic.
Her intense hatred and killing intent were so strong that she lost control of her aura. She was on the verge of hurting herself with her own aura.
But she wouldn't get hurt by her own aura. And that's because――
'Sword Dance Maiden' final skill――――[God's Descent]
[Selection――――――――Skill God: Sword God]
God Technique――――[God's Body]
The magical energy beam stopped, and the black flames began to fade away.
The black veil that had covered her figure lifted, revealing a radiant figure with a shining aura and golden light in her eyes.
To prevent the magic, she had hastily deployed a heavy attribute aura, which made her clothes disappear in an instant, but there wasn't a single scratch on her skin underneath.
"......!?"
The fake Fiona, who had been protected from the magic, opened her eyes slightly.
On the other hand, Fiona――,
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Hero Battle Technique――[Flash Strike]
This wasn't a movement technique, but rather a way to assist her actions. She used the power of the aura bursting out from her entire body to forcefully lift up the black-stained "Black-White" and swung it down. The sword's blade, suspended in mid-air, was fiercely slammed onto the ground while the aura blade flew along its trajectory.
Hero Sword Technique――[Heavy Flying Blade: Heavy Fang]
The black blade flew,
"――――!?"
The fake Fiona deployed a barrier in front of their eyes and blocked the attack.
However, the barrier only lasted for an instant. In the next moment, the barrier cracked, and the blade pierced through, sending the fake Fiona flying. The heavy blade, which continued to advance without stopping, pulled the resisting fake Fiona along, and finally pushed her body against the surface of the last remaining pillar,
BOOM!!!
and, together with the barrier, sliced the fake Fiona's body in 2.
Fresh blood spurted out, staining the surface of the pillar red. The fake Fiona slid down to the floor, sinking into the pool of blood.
* * *
After Ickle killed Aaron, she couldn't move on her own accord.
The anger and hatred directed at her from Fiona Ackerman felt like someone else's problem.
She mechanically resisted the slash and created a barrier. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to choose the option to escape. That was――,
'If you were to kill Aaron, bring Fiona to my place at that time.'
――It might have been an order to be carried out, but it didn't feel that way. Even without an order, she couldn't escape from that place.
Anyway, Ickle tried to teleport Fiona, but was resisted, attacked, blown away, and now...
BOOM!!!
And got their body cut in 2.
Intense pain. Scorching heat. Freezing cold. Bleeding. Losing life. Losing strength.
Her body's sensations were already gone.
Only her consciousness was flying somewhere.
'Mr. Aaron... I want to come back here someday...'
'Huh? ...To this lake?'
'Yes...'
'Hmm... I'll bring you back when I have time.'
Past.
On the way back from the Hellem Wilderness. By the beautiful lake in the mountains, where they had a campfire and gazed at the starry sky reflected on the lake's surface, just the two of them.
Yes, Ickle really did want to come back here.
But this time... not as Chloe Caduceus, but as Ickle.
She doesn't like this name, but it's better than someone else's name. When everything is over, she'll tell Aaron Gale about her name, Ickle.
(Yeah... if he doesn't take me with him, I'll be in trouble, so...)
Going alone is scary. There are monsters and bandits, and it's a dangerous place. That's why she needs Aaron Gale to take her with him.
They have to go together.
She wanted to go together.
Once more.
(Ah... I want to go to that starry sky...)
(............)
(......)
Lying in the pool of blood, Ickle had taken on Fiona Ackerman's face, and tears were streaming from both her eyes.
Her heart had already stopped beating.
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