Chapter 48 – Small and Pretty Water Droplets Only Around the Eyes (2)
With that one word, the gas mask was thrown off, and Duke gnashed his teeth to the point where it made a loud noise. Then he answered with a loud groan.
“Yeah, this is a fuck. I wanted to see you.”
“I wanted to see it too. I was curious what he looked like.”
“Really? Me too.”
There were no lies in the bloody conversation. I wanted to see his face as much as Duke wanted to see me. I wondered who the academy’s cancerous lump was that had troubled Rogeria so much.
It was a moment I had been looking forward to, but strangely, I didn’t feel any special emotion. He looked exactly as stupid as I expected and had many gaps in his actions. Just your typical big idiot. It was nothing more and nothing less.
The most impressive thing about it is its huge size. He was a lot bigger and thicker than I thought. I had heard rumors that there was an illegitimate son of an aristocrat at the academy who was not unusually large but suffered from an intellectual disability, and I wondered if that was him.
In the meantime, Duke was also scanning me here and there. He stared at my lower body to the extent of being bizarre, but he seemed to have the same impression as me. No more, no less, just as expected. Now that they had lost interest in each other, it was their turn to talk business.
“Where is Roselia?”
“You must be curious about that.
“It’s like Roselia. So are you looking for it now?”
“Yes. Dog bitch.”
It seems that the relationship was not as close as I thought. There was no laughter at the situation of Duke, who was abandoned in an instant. The guy scratched his head and let out a sigh as if he was dumbfounded even thinking about it himself.
“So you’re looking for Roselia too?”
“You said so. So, in fact, I’m not interested in you.”
“Ah yes. Then how about this. Just the two of us looking for Roseria without having to fight among ourselves. How about it?”
“Do you want to come and hold my hand?”
“Where is your side or my side in this situation?”
Duke looked at me with a slightly nervous expression. I was lost in thought for a while, then slightly raised my eyes.
“What should I do when I find Roselia?”
“How do I do it. I have to tear the bitch to death.”
“Then it won’t work.”
“Is that so… Anyway, fuck bitches…”
As if tired of my words, he clenched his thick fists. I also caught my breath and raised my sword. When their gazes met, Duke opened his mouth once again.
“…Hey. But I want to ask you one question.”
“What.”
“Are you…Really an elf?”
“…”
The aftermath of the misunderstanding that started that day would lead to here. For a moment, Duke’s eyes were filled with innocent curiosity. If it wasn’t for his previous actions, he might have thought he was such a child.
…Of course, it’s too late for both of us to regain our innocence now.
That’s how I grabbed the bloodstained sword before I even had time to feel sorry for my situation. Then, he rushed at the classmate in front of him with all his might.
As I glided down the hallway, Duke’s face came to my eyes in an instant. As the distance quickly narrowed and the space collided with each other, the guy seemed to be very embarrassed and spit out swear words.
“This crazy…!”
“…”
Embarrassed, Duke swung his fist sloppily and passed me vainly over my head. There were too many gaps in the action, and the trajectory was too obvious. The cost of that fatal mistake was, of course, the blade digging into the wrist.
However, what I heard the next moment was not the sound of flesh being cut, but the rupture of hard metal colliding.
Kang!
“…!”
“You bastard. I wonder if I didn’t prepare for that?”
Duke’s harsh words were heard in an unexpected situation. Before I could even retrieve the sword, he grabbed my neck with a violent hand. The power that can only be called ignorance blurred my eyes in an instant and I lost consciousness.
If I continued like this, it was clear that I would faint helplessly. Duke grabbed my wrist and continued to choke me, and I kicked him in the groin as hard as I could before he lost consciousness. Only then did he scream and toss my body across the hallway.
“Ugh!”
“Ouch…!”
In an instant, the whole world turned upside down and the ground hit my back roughly. After rolling on the ground for a while, I managed to come to my senses, and even after standing up, I let out a suppressed cough.
“Cheuk…! Cool…”
“Aw… Uh… Yes. Didn’t you know this, you fucking bastard?”
“Ha… Ugh…”
As he raised his head, he confidently patted my arm with his hand. Judging from the unusually thick arms of his, it seemed that something like an iron plate had been added under his clothes. Perhaps Roselia helped with processing. It must have been a sloppy thing, but at least the effect was perfect.
In the meantime, the guy picked up his club from somewhere and he started coming towards me. There was a hint of confidence in his slow steps.
“Are you embarrassed? Huh? Are you a little embarrassed!”
“Ugh…!”
The hallway windows shattered as Duke brandished his club menacingly, sending sharp fragments flying in all directions. Even then, I coughed violently and managed to step back. The more he fell, collapsed, and even rolled on the floor to avoid attacks, the more his momentum grew stronger.
“Fuck you bastard, I thought you were great! You’re not a fuckin’ bastard!”
“Cool… Ugh…”
“You’re not a dick, okay? You’re not a dick!”
“Under…”
As he listened to the bullshit shouted triumphantly, something swelled up in his chest. These are just words that can be passed over, but I kept wanting to refute them. So you’re so good that you didn’t come in person and sent the kids. I almost got that ugly refutation out of my mouth.
It’s strange. I’ve never felt anything like this before. I don’t know why I suddenly feel this way. Was the emotional gap Saya pierced in my heart wider than I thought? The feeling of good luck began to rise little by little.
…No.
Is it just because a kid who isn’t really a dick is just kidding?
Before I knew it, I was gritting my teeth. It seems that hatred for him was steadily building up without noticing it. Petulance. Anger. Disgust. The by-products of sleepless nights kept rising to the end of my throat.
“Get lost!”
“…!”
While he was floundering in such bizarre emotions, his club attacked him head-on. I managed to raise my sword just before the ferocious attack shattered my head. Soon, the swords collided with the clubs, and a violent impact vibrated in the elbows.
“Ugh!”
“Fuck it! Fuck!”
As if he thought it was almost over, he screamed like an idiot and hit the club several times. Twice, three times, four times in a row, the shivering shock rang out, and at the last moment I had to stop it by kneeling down. Then he pressed down on my sword with force and spoke vigorously.
“How is it…Do you feel better now?”
“…”
“You can’t even say anything? Are you afraid you’ll die?”
“…Under.”
Unbeknownst to me, an empty laugh leaked out. I was so irritated that I could clearly feel it myself. It seemed that he was really angry at his actions.
But anyway, because his strength was as great as that, he continued to push my sword. If he was pushed back in the power battle like this, he would be decapitated with his own sword like a villain in a cheap play. As if he was thinking that way too, he uttered the last word, exuding supernatural power.
“Get lost!!!”
…
But this was no such cheap play. Instead of stupidly continuing the power showdown, I slightly twisted my wrist and slipped his club. Duke opened his mouth in a daze when the club, which he had been exerting himself with so much effort, was driven into the ground in vain.
And I didn’t miss that moment and hit the empty man’s cage with a pommel.
“Ouguk…!”
“…”
As soon as the exact cut was dented, Duke stepped back with a choking sound. He opened his eyes wide in amazement, and when he jumped, he looked funny. Even so, when I raised my sword, I tried to defend it with a club.
But I grabbed the handle and the blade with both hands, pushed the stick away lightly, and thrust the sharp end of the sword into Duke’s armpit. Then he kicked him hard in the chest before he came to his senses.
“Ugh…!”
“…Ugh.”
Then, as if the ground had been kicked, the touch of hard metal echoed through the soles of my feet. As expected, it seemed that the belly was also wrapped around metal. Maybe that’s why the movement was a bit slow. It was clear that Rogeria had prepared thoroughly.
Meanwhile, Duke raised his club with both hands to block my movement. However, due to the accurate cutting of the tendons, one of his arms drooped against his will. Naturally, the club he was holding also fell to the floor.
“This… Such a fuck…”
“…”
“오지마 개새끼야!”
The outcome had already been decided, but Duke could not accept it and swung his fist. Of course, the trajectory that stretched out from the disheveled posture was sloppy, so I naturally dodged it and then punched him in the nose with my bare fist. Then the cool sound of bones breaking reverberated through the air.
“Ke-heo-eok!”
“Are you okay?”
“This…Fuck…Leak…!”
Even so, when he didn’t admit it and raised his head, he kicked hard in the hamstrings this time. The exact blow caused the huge body to float for a moment, and then fall down violently. Duke, who finally sensed defeat, crawled behind him.
“Uh… Ugh…”
“Go. Go quickly.”
“Ugh! Wow!”
And I followed him and stabbed him in the thigh with my sword. Every time he was stabbed, dark red blood flowed out, and his legs gradually lost strength. By the time I reached the end of the stairs, I had barely had the strength to crawl.
Even so, Duke somehow struggled and reached out his hand to the stairway. But I didn’t tolerate even that final resistance and pushed him all the way in the back. That’s how the guy started rolling down the stairs with his whole body, not his hands.
“Ahhhhh!”
“…”
“Billion! Ooh! Ooh!”
“…”
“Eh…Ahh…!”
It is much faster to roll down the stairs than to walk down. The fact that I realized again stimulated my interest. Before I knew it, Duke was far away, shaking his body. I wondered if he was dead, but he was persistent in his vitality. He could still be seen breathing slowly.
It seemed that he didn’t have the strength to even groan anymore, but Duke stubbornly moved away from me. The place my hand reached while crawling like that was the stairs again. He was certain that he would die this time if he fell again, so he somehow grabbed the wall and stood up.
Of course, I had no intention of accepting that, so I went straight to the stairs. And kicked the stomach of the guy who barely got up with his foot again.
“100 million…!”
Soon, Duke’s breathing went backwards with the sound of empty breathing. As if time was slowing down, the huge body slowly rushed towards the stairs. If it fell like this, it would be death.
So the boy reached out in front of him to grab hold of the last string of his life. If there was a god who sowed mercy regardless of human malice, he would give us our last hope. That shallow belief moved Duke’s fingers.
Then, to my surprise, the desperate fingertips grabbed something solid. It was unclear what the identity was, but Duke embraced his desperate heart and grabbed the stick of salvation. For a moment, a bright light of hope entered his eyes.
But that was the sharp blade I held out toward him.
“Ah…”
“…”
“Lo… Lope…”
Blood trickled down the palmsheheld tightly. The weight of the sharpened blade added to the weight of the Duke, and the wound on his hand was rapidly deepening. It was a laughable irony that the rope of the gallows was caught in the hand of a condemned man seeking mercy for the last time.
Even so, Duke held onto the blade tenaciously. The hand he was holding kept slipping because of the flowing blood, not the wound. I looked into his eyes with a mixture of fear and desperation.
“Ugh… Ugh… Good… Good…”
“…”
“Lope…Please…Please…”
“…”
“Please … This fuck …”
The guy spat out a curse as if he had a hunch of fate. I, too, realized it was time to end Duke’s time. So, with my last words, I lightly pulled the sword that was caught.
“Go away.”
“It’s fucking fucked!”
With a final scream, Duke tumbled down the stairs. Even while his body was floating in the air, he cursed my name and screamed until the end.
“Lope! Lope!!!”
“…”
“Fuck…Keahhhhh!!!”
“…”
“Ouch…!”
Along with the dull sound of being shot, came the sound of breathing that seemed to be interrupted. The guy who fell to the bottom of the academy like that, wriggled on the floor and then fell limp.
“A billion… A billion…”
But that tough life was still emitting a faint sound of breathing. That’s why I also persistently followed him to the bottom of the stairs and stood next to him. Then, he suppressed the breath that continued to leak out with his knees.
“Ugh… Uh…!”
When I boarded the boat, Duke coughed up thick blood and opened his eyes again. It seemed that there were too many unresolved sins to stand on the edge of the dead.
“Relax. You’re still conscious.”
“This fuck…!”
“Why. I guess I can’t afford to be fooled anymore.”
At my words, he looked at me with eyes full of fear rather than anger. Then we heard the voices of the people around us.
“What… What! Lope…? Who is that?”
“…Oh my God. It’s Duke.”
“Duke…? Duke? That… Bastard?”
“Really? Impossible…”
Why are you still here Maybe I didn’t have the courage to go out? But it didn’t matter anyway. Duke wouldn’t be lonely if there were more spectators.
“Lope… You…!”
“Shut up.”
“Keah! Billion!”
“Lower your arms.”
“Billion!
The guy twisted his body, wanting to live somehow, as if he still had the strength to resist. I slapped him in the face and looked around. Suddenly, the head of the mop on the dirty floor caught my eye. I didn’t know why there was only his head without the sack, but it seemed to be suitable for covering the bastard’s mouth.
The moment I thought about it, I quickly snatched the mop head. Then, he shoved it into the mouth of the man who kept rebelling.
“Oooooh!”
“Stay still.”
“Oooh! Oooooh!”
However, it was quite a bit bigger than I thought, and it didn’t go in properly because he kept rebelling. When the hell will this tough life end? The struggle was funny, but I also thought I was tired of it.
“You don’t even faint.”
“Ugh… Aww…!”
“Anyway, tough guy…”
“My God. It’s Duke.”
Suddenly, someone’s groan was heard from the other side. It seemed that I was not the only one feeling a sense of liberation at this moment.
“Right. That bastard is right.”
“Bastard. He looks good.”
“망할 자식…개새끼…”
“Just die. Relentless bastard.”
Curse. Sob. Abuse. Every possible negative reaction was pouring down on him. Among them, there were people who threw things and people who screamed as if in a fit of fuss. At this point, he must have felt embarrassed, but Duke struggled to spit the door rag into his mouth until the end.
“Oooh…Billion…Billion…”
“Stop it. Some.”
“Billion…Uh…”
Eventually, the boy’s eyes slowly opened. It was clear that I would run out of breath if I left it like this, so I slowly began to let go. A choking sound began to come from my throat as if my tongue was curling up.
“Aaaaagh!”
“…!”
But then the sound of urgent footsteps rushed this way. And before I could react, a heavy brick fell and smashed Duke’s head.
“…!!!”
“This…!”
“Haa…Haaaaa…!”
Startled, I removed my hand and looked to the side. Then, a girl with a very tired face stepped back and sat down. She gasped for breath, with the Duke’s blood all over her body.
“Ha…Ha…Ha…”
“…”
“Ha … Ha … This … This bastard …”
“…”
“Haa…Ahh…”
“Sister…Sister…!”
Soon, a boy came up from behind and hugged her. Then the girl burst into tears and buried her face in her own arms. The sobs that had been suppressed for a long time spread throughout the hallway.
“Black … Black … Dog … Dog … Huh …”
“Sister…”
“Uhhhhh…Ed…”
Are those tears of joy? Or if it was a sign of futility, there was no way to know. All I could do was leave the place so that they could care for each other’s feelings. When I stood up, many people standing beside me moved with me.
“Rope…”
“…Erika?”
Then Erica came over to me and grabbed her by the collar. Then I wondered why so many people are still here.
“Didn’t you leave? Are you still evacuating?”
“We were talking. And most of all, Rebecca…”
“Why Rebecca?”
“He said he had something to tell you. I couldn’t hear it because the noise was too loud, but he must have been talking about the Anbert family…”
“…”
Albert family. Anxiety surged at that one word. Did something happen to the ship? As I was about to roll my thoughts, Rebecca-san’s voice jumped in.
“Lope!”
“Miss Rebecca.”
Haha… Whoa…”
As soon as she got inside, she tossed her gas mask and let out steam with her chirping. Seeing the gray smoke rising instead of sighing, her anxiety only grew. Rebecca held her breath for a while before she called my name again.
“…Lope.”
“Yes.”
At my answer, she hesitated and twitched her lips. And then she put a word in her mouth that made her anxious every time she heard it.
“There’s a problem. It looks like the ship arrived sooner than we thought. Or… Wait. Where’s Saya?”
“Yes? Saya loves Rogeria like Haru…”
I blurted out my words while answering habitually. Come to think of it, even though she went through the whole academy with Duke, she couldn’t remember once smelling that strong forget-me-not scent.
An aura like a harbinger of disaster floated in Rebecca’s eyes. She sighed deeply and spoke in a heavy voice.
“We need to find it. Right now.”
