Chapter 77 – Tears Melted Into Scars (5)
“Ha…”
“…”
“Haaa…”
“…”
“Under…”
“Sigh…!”
“…Cheuk.”
Haru, who took a deep breath for a long time, roughly pulled out the sword he had stabbed. Then, the lumps of blood that had pooled in Rebecca’s stomach poured out all at once, and naturally her knees bent.
The iron-blooded woman, who knelt down in the snowy field, looked at her palm, the only one left. Her spilled blood, her dozen vapors, and her tainted oil slowly trickled down. We watched her crumble like that in silence.
However, the person who stabbed her with the sword did not see it. One day, as she tried to put her sword into the sheath with her trembling hand, she dropped it to the floor. Rebecca’s blood dripped from her fingertips.
“I told you not to…”
“…”
“I…”
The scolding mixed with resentment could not continue. With that, she had already exhausted her energy and one day she slowly fell to her floor. Saya managed to hold her in her arms before her body crashed into the snow of her day. She then took her bloody sword and put it in her scabbard instead of hers.
I grabbed the pain in her chest and barely stood up. Then, with her empty eyes, she looked at Rebecca’s face staring into space.
It was only then that the wrinkles drawn on her lips came into view. And the dark circles under her eyes. The dark tear stains melted into the scars. Once as hard as steel, she only revealed her human side behind her on her knees.
But now it was too late. What use would it be if she could only bleed after all the oil in her body had leaked out? A meaningless realization flowed in the veins of his empty eyes.
“Keeeee!!!”
“…”
Meanwhile, the hatchlings were still howling. As if our trivial human affairs were not needed. It just spewed flames to destroy the world. Beneath its devastating majesty, it really felt like everything was useless.
“Keeeeeg
“Ha…”
When they heard their cries once more, Ms. Rebecca let go of her long-suffering breath. The dark red fluid flowing from the corners of her mouth was now much more oil than blood. She stared blankly at her empty space, then slowly raised her head.
Then she made eye contact with me, then raised her hand and pointed somewhere.
“…”
“…”
I looked in the direction she pointed without even asking what it meant. There was a stable that was well covered with bales of straw. As she listened closely, she heard the uneasy tossing of her hooves.
When I went inside just in case, I saw a horse standing alone in an empty stable. Although it was skinny, it was quite large and was certainly equipped with equipment such as saddles and blindfolds.
I sneaked up and touched him by the neck, and he rubbed his body against my hand, perhaps hungry for human touch. It must have been that the training was really good or that he had already met someone before I came.
It’s obvious who that is. I stroked him for a while to make him feel safe, and then dragged him outside.
In that brief moment, the temperature had become quite warm. The sparks the hatchlings ignorantly spewed out seemed to have had an effect. In the meantime, Saya was hugging Haru with her whole body so that her body temperature wouldn’t drop.
“Lope. What do you mean?”
“…”
“I see.”
I glanced at Rebecca, and Saya moved towards her without saying a word, nodding her head. As soon as he saw Saya, he stretched his neck mournfully toward her and closed his eyes as if enjoying her touch. The elves’ affinity for assimilation into nature has always exceeded my imagination.
“Can all three of us ride?”
“You and Haru are light, so it should be fine. Rather, I don’t know if I can lead well. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden a horse.”
“It’s okay. He’s a good kid, so he’ll follow your advice. More than that, Lope. How’s your wound?”
“I don’t know yet.”
As he slowly brought his hand to her chest, he felt a throbbing pain. She didn’t tell Saya, but she still felt something cold pouring out of her. But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“But I think we’ll have to get out of here first. I’m sorry, but Saya, could you take my backpack? I don’t think I’ll be able to wear it.”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
“How’s your day? Still…”
“I think I passed out. I had so many activities today. I don’t know how long he can last.”
Her heart ached at the pessimistic prospect. But she couldn’t help but agree. While coming here, Haru’s body was shaved and crumbled. He was hiding it in his unique cheerfulness, but it must have been a long time since he reached his limit.
And that would be me too. Perhaps I am not so different from Rebecca’s situation. Even Saya seemed a little overpowered. I felt desperate that the end of this trip was approaching.
Is the last one right? I hope so. I took a breath and walked towards Rebecca.
“Ha…”
She was still breathing her last. Then, as if she heard my footsteps, she raised her head and looked this way.
But I didn’t look into those eyes. Instead, she bent down and slowly began to pull out the belongings hidden under her coat.
“Sorry.”
“…”
It was a heartless act, but she didn’t blame me. Rather, I leaned back slightly so that I could easily rummage through my pockets. But not many things came out. At best, a small dagger for emergencies. I took only that and this time I grabbed her remaining arm.
The gauntlet from Belentel was still stuck there. I tried to take it off, but Rebecca raised her head to stop me.
“Don’t write.”
“…”
“It’ll eat your guts.”
There was a deep persuasiveness in the voice mixed with bloody sputum. Perhaps the reason why he is now down like this is because of the accumulated wounds. Haru’s attack must have only served as a decisive blow.
Even so, I finally took off the gauntlet. Rebecca looked at it bitterly, then met her eyes with mine.
Then, for the first time, transparent dew flowed from her eyes. It was only one tear, but this time it was clear without any impurities. As the tears leaked into her mouth, Rebecca slowly opened her mouth.
“Rope.”
“…”
“…Lope.”
But I turned my back on Mr. Rebecca before she could finish her sentence. She didn’t want to hear it, and I didn’t think she would want it. When I looked up, Saya was waiting for me, leaning against her words.
“It’s over?”
“Huh.”
“Then shall we go?”
“Let’s hurry.”
After a brief conversation, we mounted our horses. Holding Haru in my arms while holding the reins, and Saya holding me from behind, the space was quite sufficient. When I sent a signal while recalling old memories, fortunately the horse started to move forward.
The steps that started like that gradually turned into running, and the wind that brushed my cheeks also gradually increased its strength. The horse, which had been locked up in the stable for a long time, left the house without looking back and headed for the distant wilderness. The guy’s running was cool because he didn’t know that death was waiting in front of him.
Only then did I look back. Then, through the distant scenery, the figure of a woman collapsed, bleeding, caught my eye. She looked very shabby as she exhaled white breath among the bare trees.
Then, suddenly, the woman lowered her head and dropped her hand on her floor. She couldn’t see very well, but tears or blood were slowly flowing from the corner of her mouth.
But no more white breath came out. In this way, she melted into another landscape of the destroyed world.
“…Senior. Where is this place?”
“…”
“Seniors?”
“…”
“…I’m out of town, Haru. I’m on my way to the port on horseback.”
“Ah. Somehow, the waves were rolling in a dream.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“My neck hurts. My head hurts. But my arm doesn’t hurt. Oh, it’s because it was cut off. But I’m glad I did.”
I hear the voices of the girls surrounding me. The horse keeps tossing its back and running, and my body shakes with it. Seeing her stomach churn, she must have suffered from motion sickness.
“I heard the sound of hatchlings earlier. Is that okay?”
“Yes. I don’t think he’s here. You can rest assured for the time being.”
“Anyway, I’m hungry. I must have had something in my stomach lately. I’m hungry all the time.”
“It’s not too much. It’s past lunchtime. Can I get something out of my backpack?”
“It’s okay. Even if you’re a sister, don’t perform tricks like that on a horse.”
Listening to Haru’s words, I suddenly felt like I was hungry too. Like Saaya said, it’s because a lot of time has passed. Or is the injured body instinctively trying to replenish nutrients? While I was trying to figure out why, I involuntarily remembered the food in my backpack. I wish I had something delicious.
Or a cake Or real fresh milk.
…
His milk is…
“…More than that, older sister. That…How did it go?”
“Huh?”
“How did it go?”
“…”
“All right. You don’t have to answer.”
“I’m sorry, Haru. I forced you to.”
“No sister. I wanted to.”
“…”
“I feel like I’ve finally paid off my debt.”
No matter who heard it, it wasn’t a soothing voice at all. If you listen closely, you might catch a glimpse of the traces of tears at the end of your throat.
Anyway, the body is heavy. Controlling a horse was more difficult and tiring than I thought. Especially when you hug and cover the day. I’m not blaming it, but unlike Saya, who has almost no weight, Haru’s body felt a bit heavy.
“More than that, why didn’t you say anything, senior? Didn’t you faint?”
“I didn’t want to be burdened if I told you… Are you okay, Lope? Can you answer?”
“I am…”
Are you okay. Just as I was about to reply, my reasoning suddenly broke. Regardless of his will, his body collapsed and his eyes blurred. Then Saya was startled and grabbed the reins instead of me.
“Lo… Lope? Oh my God. Lope!”
“What is it? What’s going on? Senior!”
“…”
No matter how hard I tried, my lips wouldn’t open. In the meantime, Saya and Haru hurriedly shook my body. Every time consciousness returned, time was cut off and Haru’s Saya’s voice leaked in.
“I have to stop…Where…”
“Where is there anything? Wait, the smell…”
…
“…Be careful Haru. Be careful.”
“There’s no one there. No way…”
…
“Oh my God. Who are you guys? Oh my…”
“…Oh my god.”
“Call him. We need to move him inside. Come on…”
“…Aiden!”
Even now the voices of others have been heard. Is it hallucination? When I looked up, I could see people gesturing in the distance.
However, the sight was drenched in dazzling light somewhere, and I couldn’t believe it was real. I gave up and hung my head while trying to count the boundary between dreams and reality. And, as always, we started counting the time we had left.
The imperial spokesperson said, there are 200 days left.
From there, if you subtract the time spent on the island and the time that has passed since leaving, it will now lead to destruction…
…
Until destruction…
