Chapter 113 Fragments Of Loki
"Wassup botherin' you? You think I'm just gonna sugarcoat it?"
"Yeah. Because of those cloudy eyes. Where did the light in your eyes go when you exposed my misdeeds? Did it start raining in your heart?"
"So, lemme ask you, what's there to like 'bout this mess? Huh?"
"Oh, how unusual. Clinging to what should be clung to, delivering a blow to the wicked witch. Isn't it time for the true calling of a hero knight?"
She probably noticed that I was listening to the earlier conversation.
Knowing that, she's shaking things up.
With a rehearsed tone, as if performing on stage.
You should be more properly inspired.
"You said you managed to kill the tragedy I was trying to create. But those cloudy eyes again. You're overlooking something important."
"...What's it? Spit it out."
"It's obvious. The life of the witch who started this revenge. How can you ask for a curtain call when you haven't even killed that?"
"..."
Without eradicating the root of the problem, you can't end it. Accompanying her mocking smile, a black horse neighed, blocking the space between Rose and me.
"I wish you'd understand already. The wicked witch continues to stoke the flames of revenge, while the knight uses his silver sword to fend off the fire. The only outcomes are either a happy ending... or everything burns to ash, goodbye.
There's no such dream where a witch who isn't hated weaves a modest bond with a knight who doesn't hate her... that kind of cloudy-eyed fairy tale doesn't exist anywhere."
Bringing up that night, Rose speaks.
Trying to make us understand our positions, the reality that should be.
──I'm a witch, and you are the hero knight.
She thrusts it forward, driving it home.
(A fairy tale, huh?)
Well, I guess that's true.
Rose's hatred for Joosa is real. It's natural and justified.
So if I'm going to stand in her way and bring the curtain down as a knight, there's only one way to do it.
That's why the witch and the knight fight to the death.
That's the only reality for both of us.
"Alright, hero knight. Shall I burn you, or will you slice me? Let's decide where this ends."
But still.
Ah, I wonder why.
The sound of rain was drowned out by the small, red woman's throat making a noise, almost like...
The sound of a shoe stepping up to the unlit pyre.
"──, .........is."
A cold smile I didn't want to spill fell.
Crack! The mirror shattered.
'From today, this is where you'll live. Don't hold back, okay, Little Akira?'
In that endlessly adorned evil form.
Someone flickered in the cracked mirror.
'Is that so? Is it delicious? I'm so happy. Really. That child also loves that fish stew... Grandma is so happy.'
In that form, holding onto endless pretense.
A "someday" flickered in the cracked mirror.
'Your dream for the future is to be a hero... Is that so? But that's strange... I feel like Little Akira's dream wasn't like that.'
And then.
With the sound of another crack in the mirror.
Something I had locked away showed its face.
'Here, a birthday present.
Hahaha, did that surprise you? Come on, open it.
How is it? It's the game you wanted, right?
Grandma remembered, you know.
Hey, that's right, isn't it?
It's right, isn't it?
[Little Kei]?'
"────Kuhahaha."
It was unpleasant.
The wicked witch-like figure seemed to overlap with "someone" from "someday," but it never fully connected.
That made it even more annoying.
So I wanted to break everything.
"Yo, if that wine's gone for good, then ain't no gettin' back spit either, Ms. Rose Carmine."
"...Huh?"
Is there something you don't like?
Oh, yes. I don't like it.
Joosa's circumstances. The reasons Rose had to become a witch. The existence of the mastermind who must be watching this tragedy with glee somewhere.
There's still so much I don't understand, and none of it makes me feel good.
But.
"You been runnin' your mouth, callin' me 'Hero Knight' nonstop, thinkin' it's some kind of laugh riot. We first met, you was hurlin' trash talk, dissin' my looks and sayin' I'm a lackey. You're a straight-up hag, and got the gall to act like you're leadin' the show."
"What are you babbling about now? Are you trying to be funny?"
"Funny? No way, I'm stone-cold serious."
I didn't like it.
She kept calling me 'Hero Knight.'
But it wasn't because she was seeking salvation.
She just wanted the title as a prop for her act, a villain to her fake witch persona.
Damn, I really didn't like it.
"You think you're a big shot, tossin' 'witch' around like it's a badge of honor. A witch who ain't whacked nobody? Please, spare me the laughable boasts. You're just a nobody, ain't worth mention."
"Wha...!!!"
So I made up my mind.
I wasn't going to play the role of the Hero Knight that Rose wanted.
"You ain't no real witch, just a spoiled b*tch. Not even close to the real deal."
That's why I decided.
I was going to knock this spoiled b*tch off the stage.
No, I'd rather destroy this whole fake stage.
"You're outta luck, Rose Carmine.
A hero ain't good enough for a spoiled b*tch like you.
A 'Three-Line Bastard' like me, with zero cred, is gonna dismantle your whole show."
Not like a hero, not like a protagonist.
I was going to ruin this revenge play for my own selfish reasons.
I was going to give it my all, just for my own convenience.
That's what I decided.
"How dare you mock me like this..."
Her voice trembled, boiling like magma.
"Don't you dare mock me! I am a witch! I am Vengeful Witch, Roze! A witch cannot be defeated by mere humans! I'll prove it by turning this foolish town red!"
It wasn't her usual act as a witch.
It was raw anger, raw murderous intent, hitting me like a scorching wind.
It felt a bit nice, and I couldn't help but squint.
"...Yo, listen up! I said I'ma crush it, period."
But it was already too late.
I would destroy all obstacles.
The mirror, the stage, everything without hesitation.
I decided to crush everything this spoiled b*tch held inside without mercy.
Even if she called my actions inhumane.
Even if I was branded as a failed hero.
Just for now, I didn't care.
So.
"...If ya wanna blame somebody, blame dat dude Hrimfaxi over there."
I didn't really have a grudge against you, but.
I aimed my destructive impulse at the black horse with Ruthless.
Then, I wove all my magical power into it and unleashed it at it.
The cold, divine shield.
"[Svalinn]."
* * *
Shidou was the first to open his eyes wide.
"W-What just happened?"
The air changed so drastically it felt like it would shatter.
A chilling sensation so terrifying that even Shidou, who had been through many battlefields, felt his guts twist.
Of course, it was obvious who the source was.
Especially since Shidou had already witnessed Hiiro's transformation once before.
A bloody obsession.
The same feeling he had when he sensed Hiiro as a demon during the entrance exam.
Cold droplets, different from rain, ran down his cheek.
"W-What is happening?"
But Hiiro, following his transformation, brought confusion.
For some reason, he was casting the supportive White magic Svalinn on the enemy, Hrimfaxi.
"W-Wait, Hiiro! Why are you strengthening the enemy?! You're not joking, right?!"
Sham panicked, trembling at the incomprehensible action.
Shidou didn't speak up, but he shared the same question.
No, not just him; Quollio, Lyam, and even the furious Rose were all caught in the same doubt.
"That's why I said so - always straight-up SERIOUS!!"
Hiiro's roar drowned out the confusion of his allies.
In harmony with the voice that sliced through the rain mist, the light armor of Svalinn grew even stronger, shining, and then.
[Hikiiieeee──!?!?!!]
"!?"
As if to tell that Hiiro's actions were not meaningless, the black horse, which should have been blessed, began to scream and writhe in agony.
(⋯⋯What does this mean?)
They knew that Hiiro's White magic was stronger than regular White magic. They also knew that it was his white beast named Ruthless that brought this power.
In fact, during other missions, Shidou himself had the chance to benefit from it.
Svalinn is a magic that wraps the user's Magi in an armor-like form.
But Hiiro enhanced that light armor to the point where it suppresses the movements of the target, the Hrimfaxi. It's like using it in a completely wrong way. How much Magi does it take to pull off such a feat?
No, White magic basically has the same effect and consumes the same amount of Magi, no matter who uses it. So, this incredible feat must be due to Ruthless's power.
(But even if he enhances it to the point of materialization, isn't suppressing movement the limit? Why does the Hrimfaxi scream like that?)
If you're bound by chains, it's natural to try to break free. So what could be causing such suffering that it screams?
"Could it be..."
"──I see. So that's Hiiro's aim."
And Quollio reached the same conclusion as Shidou.
"⋯⋯Seriously, what a crazy idea that guy has."
"Uh, Mr. Quollio. What does this mean? What's Hiiro's aim?"
"He's using the Hrimfaxi's traits, Ms. Syam."
"⋯⋯Traits?"
Even though Quollio's wounds were healed by blue magic, his face still looked pale. But the words he spoke with his blue-tinged lips carried a solid basis and strength.
"When it comes to the Hrimfaxi's characteristics, it's that muddy sweat. It constantly produces that without limit. That's how this beast is structured. But conversely... there's a mechanism it can't control. Just like we can't stop the flow of blood in our bodies."
"Is that so? But to use that...?"
"That beast expels the endlessly produced muddy sweat through the pores under its scales. It's like pouring water into a bag full of holes. So... what happens if you block that?"
"⋯⋯!"
If the hole for discharge gets blocked, the water has nowhere to go and starts to swell up.
Unlike the water that keeps pouring in, the bag's expansion isn't endless.
What happens as a result?
It's a logic even a child can understand.
[Hiki!?!? Hikiiieeee!!!!!]
"U, O, O, OOOO...!!"
As if sensing its own fate, the black horse struggles desperately.
Trying to clench its outstretched palm, Hiiro continues to wrap the light armor of protection around it, each time a crack appears from the resistance.
Over and over. Again and again.
To stop the breath of the obstacle.
As if tightening its grip around its neck with both hands.
[Hi,,ki,kie,iieiikie,,,e,A──AaAaAaAaAAAAAA──]
"OOOOOOOOO!!!!"
And then.
With a face that could hardly be called heroic, the hole remains blocked.
[iHei,Aa,a]
The water (the sweat and mud being refined) keeps pouring in, and the bag (the black horse) can't take it anymore.
It collapsed under the pressure.
* * *
The black horse crumbled, unable to withstand the destruction from within.
"..."
In the face of such a grim end, no one could utter a word.
In the heavy silence, the body of the beast that met its death turned to black ash.
Torn apart by the rain, it melted into the mushy earth.
"..."
If people are to think of death (memento mori),
what exactly should they think of regarding that death?
Did they think of something in relation to the grim reaper that tied this ending together?
"Eeek!"
Someone's scream echoed softly.
It was swallowed by the sound of the rain, never to be heard again.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)