Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 573

573.

“You’re wasting your time. You’re going to die anyway. Because of you, he has to feel the fear of death twice.”

“Trowel, this isn’t right. You can’t do this.”

“What’s not right?”

“What can I do, Trowel? What can I do? I’ll do anything. I’ll do everything you tell me to. Please, please……!”

A soft sigh was heard. He ran his hand through his hair and lightly crossed his arms. It was a somewhat irritable gesture.

“Then will you die instead?”

“……Huh?”

“If you die in his place, I’ll save him. Yeah, now that it’s come to this, should we do it this way instead? If you die, I’ll withdraw the plan to exterminate humanity. How about it? Saving everyone with the sacrifice of one person. Isn’t it the perfect condition to play the hero?”

Playing the hero… it’s not like that. I wanted to argue, but he didn’t give me a chance to speak.

“Ah, but I decided not to kill you. Then you can just kill yourself. Simple, right?”

“…….”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

Sybelius shouted in astonishment. Instantly, his figure sank down, burying half of his upper body in the ground. He was bound so he couldn’t move. Ignoring his shouts to release him immediately, Trowel turned to me.

“Why? You don’t think this is right? You said you could do anything. But if only you have to die, you don’t think that’s right either? That’s why I told you not to say things you’ll regret.”

“Trowel, I…….”

“Shall I make a prediction? You won’t be able to save anything in the end.”

The gaze that looked down on me with contempt, the words that fell coldly, hurt. Why does it keep turning out like this? The more I struggle, the deeper I sink into the swamp. As if mocking me, asking if I really think things will go well. The misfortune that gnaws at me like mold whispered that I can never be happy. But still. So even more…….

“If you understand, just give up now…….”

“Shall I make a prediction too?”

“……What?”

Trowel turned around with a dumbfounded expression at my sudden words. He must think it’s absurd for me to talk about predictions in front of the Spirit King who sees the future. But I know our future better. Because I am a living witness from that future.

“You and I will become very close someday. So close that we’ll think of each other first when we’re in danger, and we’ll gladly go to save each other, putting aside everything else.”

“What nonsense…….”

“If we meet by chance, we’ll be so happy that we won’t be able to hide our smiles. You’ll respect my companions just because they’re precious to me. And you’ll introduce me to those who are precious to you. We’ll regard each other as the closest friends and brothers.”

That’s right, the world I was born into was just like that. And I will definitely return to that world.

“So, no matter what you say now, I won’t be hurt.”

Even if it’s such an extreme method.

I took my eyes off Trowel, who seemed speechless, and took out my sword from my waist. When I pulled the blade out of the scabbard, a bright blue light flashed.

I had occasionally thought about it. What would happen if I couldn’t go back in the end? I don’t know if this body, which hasn’t grown for several years, will age, but it will still have a given lifespan. The effect of the spell won’t be eternally permanent. Since I would be trapped in this era if I became a spirit, there was a high possibility that I would soon become a spirit stone. It’s just that the timing will come a little earlier.

“Hey, what are you thinking?”

Perhaps he sensed that the atmosphere was unusual. Lapis’s voice sounded more urgent than usual.

‘I’m sorry, Lapis.’

“Don’t do it.”

Before I even said anything, the words of opposition came out first. Anyway, he was really quick to notice.

“I said don’t do it!”

Ignoring his shouts, I looked at Trowel. He had been frowning since the moment I drew my sword. It was like he was trying to gauge how far I would go on my own.

“Trowel, can I ask you a personal favor?”

“……What favor? A will? Or are you going to leave behind some mementos [keepsakes]?”

“It’s kind of similar.”

Trowel’s face hardened. Ignoring him making a face that he didn’t like something, I took out a small pouch that I had carefully kept in my arms. Lapis was inside this. I strode up to Trowel, grabbed his hand, and placed the pouch on his palm. Trowel, who hesitated for a moment, stared at the pouch with eyes full of curiosity. He didn’t seem to know that I had a spirit stone, but he seemed to recognize it as soon as he came into direct contact with it.

“This is…….”

“Please take care of this guy.”

‘He’s your future godfather.’

I must not have a sense of crisis if I feel like joking even in this situation.

“Hey!”

‘I’m okay, Lapis. Go back first.’

I replied inwardly to his desperate cry and took a step back. As the distance increased, the connection was cut off, and I couldn’t hear anything else after that.

Even if I disappear and everyone’s memories are erased, Trowel won’t just leave the spirit stone unattended. He’ll report it to the Divine Realm and have them take it. I don’t know the process after that, but if I’m lucky, Lapis will be able to tell them about my situation. Then the Divine Realm will find me. It would be a problem if the Water Spirit King didn’t return, so they’ll find me somehow. I can only hope it’s not too late.

Trowel, who was staring at the pouch, raised his head with a stiff face. His gaze was scrutinizing my intentions, so I gave a bitter smile. I told you to just trust me when you don’t know. I don’t listen to others either, but Trowel is just as bad. Is it a Spirit King’s nature?

“Then I’ll do it now.”

“……What?”

Holding the sword with one hand, I pointed the tip of the blade at my chest. I heard that you can’t last long if your heart is stabbed. How long was that? A few minutes? A few seconds? I wish it was in seconds if possible. I don’t like pain. Ah, but I have a natural constitution and I’m also a Sword Saint, so it might take longer. Maybe I’ll have to stab it several times. A body that transcends human limitations wasn’t always a good thing in times like this.

“El! No! Stop it!”

Sybelius screamed from afar, but I didn’t bother to look back. I’m just adding to the things I’ll have to apologize to that guy for when we meet again later.

Things like this only get harder the longer you drag them out. I closed my eyes and thrust the sword in at once. The sound of flesh piercing through echoed heavily, and a dull sensation surged up at once.

“El!”

Perhaps because I expected it to some extent, it didn’t hurt as much as I thought. It felt like I was suffocating right away, but it was just a bit overwhelming. I guess once isn’t enough. I should have used sword energy. It’s strange how good ideas always come to me later. It’s more dangerous to pull the sword out than when it’s stuck in, so I pulled it out first. Only then did a burning pain begin to rise in earnest.

“Ugh…….”

My body lost strength on its own. Just before I dropped the sword, someone grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I tried to remain composed until the end, but a groan flowed out on its own because of the reaction. I wish you would just let me end it quickly; it only hurts more this way! I struggled to lift my head, wondering who was interfering. But the face I met was someone I didn’t expect at all.

“……Trowel?”

The man holding me had a pale face. Why is Trowel stopping me, not someone else? This was the first time I couldn’t understand his thoughts this much.

“What is this……. How could you…….”

The hand holding me seemed to be trembling. He bit his lip and hurriedly sprayed something on my body. Instantly, a burning sound was heard, and terrible pain rushed in. I think I screamed without realizing it. At the same time as my body collapsed, my vision flashed white.

After that, I was so out of my mind that I didn’t know what was going on. No, did I actually lose consciousness? From some point on, I only knew that I was lying somewhere. My ears were filled with muffled tinnitus [ringing in the ears] as if I was submerged in water. I could hear voices urging me and busy movements. In the midst of that chaos, I thought I saw the face of someone who shouldn’t be here.

“Father……?”

His distorted face looked so sad. Is it a dream? I think it’s a dream. I felt strangely languid, so I slowly closed my eyes. When I opened them again, that face had turned into Trowel.

“Trowel…….”

“What the hell are you?”

The low voice echoed. Even though he was right in front of me, it felt distant, so I guess it’s a dream after all. Well, I didn’t feel the terrible pain either.

“Why are you going this far?”

It seems to be a dream that shows me the scene I want to see. Otherwise, there’s no way he would feel like he’s worried about me.

“What’s so easy about this? Is your life nothing to you? You should have insisted on it like before, even if it was with ridiculous stubbornness! That would have been more like you! Do you know? Who’s going to recognize you for doing this! Sacrificing yourself in a place where no one knows is just a dog’s death! Do you think humans will be grateful?”

Tears were dripping from his scolding face. I had never seen him show such passionate emotions even in my era, so I was a little embarrassed. Did I want to see Trowel express such intense emotions? More than that, I think there’s some misunderstanding. Even if it’s a dream, it’s an unfair misunderstanding, so I shook my head.

“Trowel, I didn’t risk my life for the humans.”

“What do you mean you didn’t! After doing this, this kind of thing……!”

“If I risked my life, it was for you.”

His wet eyes shook greatly. I stared at him, who was frozen as if he had turned to stone.

“What I’m worried about is you, Trowel.”

I reached out and wiped away his tears. He didn’t avoid or shake off my touch.

“I want Trowel to be happy. I don’t want you to destroy yourself because you want to resent someone.”

“……I never did. Even if I did, it’s none of your business.”

“I don’t want to. I’m going to interfere. Because you’re my brother.”

“…….”

“You’re my only brother in the world.”

Kang Ji-hoon’s brothers were so terrible that I always admired kind and cool brothers. I wanted him to think of me as a younger brother, just like I followed him. I don’t know how happy I was when he said he was my brother here.

“It’s okay, Trowel. Everything will be okay.”

His expression clouded over, and he bowed his head as if he was prostrating. The hair that touched my shoulder tickled my cheek. I watched his shaking head as he cried and slowly stroked it. Trowel, who paused for a moment, tightly grabbed my hand. Unable to overcome the languid energy, I closed my eyes again.

Will everything be over when I open my eyes next time? It’s not a good habit to escape with delusions. But if it’s a dream like this, I don’t think it’s okay to never wake up. Seeing this, I haven’t improved at all.

* * *

At some point, I suddenly opened my eyes. My head was clear as if I had slept well. I don’t know how long it’s been since I woke up feeling so refreshed. I wanted to enjoy this feeling a little more, so I buried my face in the soft bedding. It would be perfect if I could sleep for another hour or two like this.

As I turned over to my side, I felt a gaze watching me. When I raised my head slightly, I saw a familiar face. I thought I would regain consciousness when the Underworld or the Divine Realm found me. So it wasn’t strange that Eluien’s face was in front of me.

“Father…… I finally met you.”

Eluien. It’s Eluien. I finally met him. Hehe, he stared at me quietly as I smiled. His face is too indifferent for someone seeing his son after a long time. I was about to feel sad because I was the only one happy, but he said in a blunt tone.

“I guess you wanted to see me.”

“Of course. I’ve been waiting for this day.”

“Even though you never thought about summoning me again.”

“……Huh?”

Summon? How can I summon a future god? I would have done it a long time ago if I could have done that. I blinked blankly and then paused at the belatedly overwhelming sense of incongruity. Come to think of it, Eluien’s hair is blue. Why is it blue? In an instant, the sleepiness completely disappeared and I woke up with a start.

When I jumped up, the familiar structure came into view at a glance. No matter where I looked, it was inside Sybelius’s tent. What, wait a minute, is this still the past era? I’m not dead? I definitely stabbed my heart, didn’t I? Why am I alive? I groped around my body, but I couldn’t see any scars, let alone painful areas. And when did I change my clothes? I don’t know where the dream started and where the reality ended. The most incomprehensible thing among them was the face I was seeing in front of me now.

“Father?”

He reacted again to what I called him without thinking. After all, no matter how closely I looked, it was Eluien. Not a hallucination or delusion, but the real Eluien of this era.

“Why…….”

Why is he here? If this is reality and I haven’t returned to my original era, then this shouldn’t be happening, right? I don’t know how to calm down my embarrassment.

“Are you unhappy that I’m here?”

No, that can’t be! I quickly shook my head, and he sighed lightly as he stared at me with an unknown gaze. I was still not feeling a sense of reality, so I stared blankly before barely regaining my composure. Still, I seemed to know for sure why I wasn’t in pain.

“Could it be that Father healed me?”

“Who else do you think could heal that?”

That’s true. The neck or heart are fatal vital points to anyone with a body. Most people should be considered dead if they are stabbed. That’s why I chose it. I heard that even if you use holy water or recovery potions, they will only help you last a little longer. Rather, there’s even a warning that it’s better not to use them and let them go peacefully because it only increases the pain.

‘Ah, maybe that’s what Trowel sprayed on me.’

That was the first time I had been in so much pain that I lost my mind. It hurt more than when a stone thorn was stuck in my leg. It seemed to be because the speed at which the injury worsened couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the wound was regenerating.

I just thought it was a prolonged pain from the injury, but I never imagined it would be aggravated in that way. Minor injuries tend to regenerate without pain, so I couldn’t even imagine these side effects. It was a better method not to use it unless it was a situation where you could definitely save someone. It’s more surprising that Trowel had a recovery potion.

“Does it hurt?”

I hurriedly came to my senses at the question. Eluien was looking at the chest area where I had stabbed. When I relived the pain at that time, I was unconsciously touching that area.

“Ah, no! I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

I received a healing technique that could revive even a dying person, so there’s no way it would hurt. Rather, my condition is better than ever. Eluien’s gaze was fixed on the injured spot, even though he knew it better than anyone else. I kept getting nervous because I felt shy and awkward. How did he know and come right away to heal me? Was he watching me all the time? No, more than that, why did he help me when he had already broken the contract? Come to think of it, I haven’t even said thank you properly yet. I was so out of my mind that the order of my thoughts was all mixed up.