Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 170

170.

‘Huh?’

However, the situation turned out worse than expected. No matter how hard I tried to shed my form, I couldn’t. Every time I tried to force my energy to move, I felt like I was caught in a raging torrent. The moment I tried to disperse, it immediately snapped back together like a magnet, leaving me with no way out.

“I told you, it’s impossible.”

Lucarim smiled, as if he’d known it all along, seeing my dismay.

“Are you really doing this?”

“It’s no use complaining. I have my pride too, and I’d be disappointed if it were that easy to undo.”

“Hey, Lucarim!”

“Ah, come to think of it…”

A whispering voice washed over me again as I was about to shout back in anger.

“I heard that when a spirit is forcibly unsummoned, the contractor feels considerable pain? The higher the spirit’s rank, the greater the impact. What would happen in the case of a Spirit King?”

“……!”

At that moment, I felt an impact as if I had been struck with a blunt weapon. I widened my eyes and looked up, and Lucarim’s smile deepened.

When a spirit is unsummoned, the spirit itself suffers, but the contractor experiences the shock of the body’s energy flow reversing. Lapis, who is directly providing mana, isn’t the only one affected; Isana is also bound to be affected. Especially since Isana is human, she won’t be able to withstand the pain easily. Even when সিকুএল [likely a typo, needs context to correct] was unsummoned before, she vomited blood. The shock of a Spirit King’s energy reversing would be several times greater than that. Could she really endure it? Lucarim said cheerfully, seeing my face harden.

“You seem to have guessed it from your expression.”

“…….”

“I heard that humans are so fragile that they can die from pain alone. I wonder what will happen to El’s contractor?”

The lightly curved copper-colored eyes sparkled with anticipation. Was he aiming for this from the start? Come to think of it, the original purpose of this demon’s visit here was to kill Isana. His original purpose, which I had forgotten for a while, resurfaced.

‘I let my guard down.’

I never imagined he would try to steal my energy and reverse it. Since Spirit Kings are rarely unsummoned, I hadn’t even considered this method.

Even if Isana survives this process, it’s still a problem. Once unsummoned, even a Spirit King has to rest in the main world [the spirit world or their original plane of existence] for a while. Isana’s body won’t be in good condition either, so she won’t be conscious for a while. In other words, she will be completely defenseless. The opponent is one of the four great dukes of the Demon World. Sibelius alone is not enough to handle such an existence. Besides, Alisa also had to be protected. With two people to protect, how long can Sibelius last?

I bit my lip tightly as my thoughts spiraled towards the worst. Why? I don’t think I’ve ever truly trusted him, but I felt an unusually strong sense of betrayal. I guess I had come to believe that we had become friends, just like he said.

“So, saying you had no intention of following the Demon King’s orders was a lie after all.”

“Oh, I’d be sad if you misunderstood.”

“How can you call this a misunderstanding?”

“I told you, it’s just a fun test.”

I didn’t ask what kind of test it was for. I wouldn’t get a proper answer anyway.

Lucarim made a troubled face as he looked at my distorted expression.

“I don’t know why you’re so angry. You have two choices. If you don’t want to be unsummoned, you can choose another method.”

“Another method? …Are you talking about cutting off your arms?”

“Yes, that’s right. You understand well. You’ll have to cut off both arms because both hands are in contact.”

“Are you just going to stand still while I do that?”

“Ah, I see. Are you worried that I might stop you? It’s okay. I won’t resist, so do as you please. But if possible, please cut them off in one go. That way, it’ll hurt a little less.”

Lucarim answered my sarcastic remark with a cheerful face, so cheerful that I wondered for a moment if he was talking about someone else’s affairs.

“Hey, do you even know what you’re saying? They’re your arms.”

“Of course, I know very well. Since they’re my arms, isn’t it okay for me to tell you to do as you please?”

“Are you really crazy?”

“I hear that often.”

After talking this far, I began to get confused again about Lucarim’s true intentions. I don’t know what this demon is thinking. I stared blankly at him in bewilderment, and he smiled leisurely.

“So, what are you going to do? Have you made a decision?”

“…What are you thinking right now?”

“Huhu, I don’t think this is the time to ask such a question. The power is still draining away. If this continues, you’ll really be unsummoned. Is that okay with you?”

Of course, it’s not okay. I hurriedly looked down at the arms holding me. Just in case, I tried to shake them off again, but as expected, they didn’t budge. Rather, it seemed like I was losing power faster.

‘Okay. If there’s no other way, I have no choice but to cut them off.’

After making up my mind, I focused my energy to attack. It’s impossible to scatter my form, but it’s possible to generate enough power to cut something. No matter how demonic he is, his body is just like a human’s, made of thin skin and flesh. Simply cutting it would be much easier than cutting through the thick, tough skin of a monster. Lucarim may lose both arms, but if I think of it as the price for playing such a nasty trick, it’s entirely his fault. It’s not my business to worry about.

But unlike those thoughts, I couldn’t bring myself to cut the hand holding me. The red blood that hadn’t even splattered yet seemed to be already painting my eyes red.

“Why are you doing that?”

Lucarim asked in a calm voice as I hesitated. When I looked up, I saw a face smiling gently. Seeing that face, the will that was already dwindling seemed to fade even faster.

“El, what’s wrong?”

Sibelius approached, wondering if it was strange that we were facing each other without saying anything. When I looked up, I saw Isana looking at me with a worried face. Only after seeing his face did I finally come to my senses and glare at Lucarim’s arms again. Even at this moment, his hands were rapidly absorbing my power.

‘Cut it off. I have to cut it off.’

I squeezed my eyes shut. My head was screaming to end it quickly, but my concentration was even more scattered. The screams of Mus, who was holding his two eyes covered in blood and lashing out wildly, echoed in my head. The groans of people I didn’t even know as they turned into monsters and suffered painfully… Would Lucarim scream like them?

‘…What should I do? I can’t do it.’

I bit my lip at the rising sense of despair. I shouldn’t have been thinking about that in the first place. Until a little while ago, I thought I could at least try, but now I had no confidence at all.

‘Should I cut off my own arm instead? I think I can separate it that way. Since it’s not a physical body, it won’t hurt that much. No, no matter what, that’s not right. If I do that, Lapis, who is providing mana, will get hurt. Besides, I’ve already lost a lot of power, so I might get unsummoned.’

In a short period of time, countless agonies tormented my mind. I distorted my face without saying a word in a situation where I couldn’t make any decisions.

“I knew it.”

A low muttering voice fell into my ear. When I looked up, Lucarim was looking down at me with an expression as if he had discovered something very interesting.

“What, what is it?”

“No, it’s just. I’m glad my guess was right. I guessed it back then, but looking at you now, I think I know for sure. Are you afraid of hurting people? Even though you’re a Spirit King?”

“…What does that have to do with being a Spirit King?”

“It matters. Like the beings of higher dimensions, spirits usually look at the beings of the middle world [the mortal realm] from a detached perspective because this is not their main world. No matter how much we mingle together, the distinction that we are different beings is clear. Therefore, it is extremely rare to get emotionally involved.”

“That doesn’t mean you can harm lives carelessly…”

“But you can kill monsters, right?”

“……!”

“Isn’t it just because the target is a person that you’re hesitating?”

Something thudded and vibrated in my heart. I seemed to have been hit right on the mark. Feeling my whole body trembling, I reflexively cowered. Lucarim’s eyes, which met mine, were lightly curved. Those eyes, which always seemed playful, were revealing a slightly strange emotion at this moment. I couldn’t tell what it was, though.

Whoosh!

At that moment, something hot splattered on my face along with a sharp flow of air. I reflexively raised my hand and touched my cheek, and a red liquid was smeared all over it. Before I could even figure out what it was, something fell to my feet with a thud. When I looked down, I saw two blunt lumps thrown down. They were severed human arms. Only then did I realize that the sensation of the two arms that had been holding me until just now had disappeared.

‘What…’

“Oh, are you going to be cheap and cut in?”

No sooner had I realized the situation and hardened my face than I heard Lucarim’s voice lightly clicking his tongue. He was already far away from me. Unlike his relaxed smiling face, there was nothing to be seen under his two shoulders that should have been there. Instead, blood was pouring down from his empty sleeves. The identity of what had fallen at my feet became even clearer. His arms had really been cut off.

“Hmph, the cheap one is the one who set the trap. I know you were stealing El’s power. Who do you think you’re trying to trick in front of me?”

Sibelius, who had just swung his sword and cut off his arms, retorted coldly. It seemed that he couldn’t stand seeing me in a corner and stepped in directly. Behind him, Isana was standing with her hands covering Alisa’s eyes. It was natural, as it was a terrible sight for a young girl to see.

“El, are you okay?”

“Ah, uh…”

As soon as he approached, Sibelius checked my complexion first. I nodded with a slightly dazed feeling at his worried question.

It was a dangerous situation if anyone didn’t end it. I should be relieved that I received help, but my heart was strangely complicated. Even though I was trying not to be conscious of it, my eyes were automatically drawn to the flesh lying on the floor. I felt chills down my spine just from looking at it, but Lucarim, the person who lost both arms, seemed to be far too calm. Judging from his expression, it was as if nothing had happened.

“Hmm, well, that’s fine. I never told you not to interfere, so I understand. I’m so generous that it’s a problem.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I’ll let you off with your arms this time, but if you do this again, I’ll blow your head off!”

“Is that a threat? As expected of the bloodline of Rune [a powerful lineage or family]. You’re quite belligerent, unlike what you look like.”

“Shut up! I don’t have to hear those words from a dirty demon!”

Lucarim laughed even more at the fierce outburst.

“To dismiss all demons as dirty, you’re certainly saintly. Well, your clan has always had a particularly strong black-and-white logic. The more you cherish something, the easier it is to hurt it. You’ll be a good card.”

“What are you babbling about? I don’t even want to see your face, so disappear from our sight right now!”

“Of course, I will. Even I can’t keep acting like this.”

After answering lightly, Lucarim glanced down at his arm area. The arm that hadn’t been bandaged was still dripping red blood. At that sight, I hurriedly came to my senses. It wasn’t just a cut, it was completely severed. Just because he was acting like nothing was wrong didn’t mean he was really okay. Maybe it was just my imagination, but his complexion seemed to be much worse.

“F, first, treatment…”

“Just leave him alone, El.”

“But…”

“He’ll take care of it anyway. You don’t have to step in.”

“That’s right. I have to take care of this myself.”

Lucarim’s clear voice followed as soon as Sibelius’ cold words ended. At that moment, the two arms on the floor floated into the air. They slowly moved towards Lucarim in that state. He must have used magic to move them. He scanned his arms once and then smiled with satisfaction.

“Hmm, you cut them off very cleanly, considering how much you showed you hated it? I was wondering if I should wait until they grow back, but I can manage to stitch them up at this level.”

“C, can they grow back?”

“Of course. Demons have good regenerative abilities. It takes a little longer, though.”

I wondered why he was so relaxed even in this situation. He must have had something to rely on. I drooped my shoulders as I looked at his playfully smiling face. I didn’t know if it was because I felt drained and empty, or if it was because I was relieved.

“Then I should leave at this point. It’s a pity, but today will be the last time we meet like this.”

“Are you going back to the Demon World?”

“It’s faster to recover that way. It’s about time for me to go back anyway.”

From the last words, I realized that he had planned to return from the beginning. The reason why the level of his pranks was so high today must have been because of that. I looked at Lucarim with a slightly subtle feeling. When I faced him, he was just annoying, but now that I thought about him leaving, I felt a little empty. It seemed that I had grown quite fond of him in the meantime. Then, as if reading my thoughts, Lucarim made a mischievous expression.

“You look disappointed? I guess you didn’t hate me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, really?”

Was it that unexpected? Lucarim’s eyes widened as if he was surprised even though he had asked. It felt like the first time I had seen him really flustered.

“Why? Why don’t you hate me?”

“Should I hate you?”

“It’s not like that, but… I’ve tried to do a lot of bad things to you guys? It was really dangerous a little while ago, too?”

“I didn’t like that, but still. Somehow, you didn’t seem like you were going to harm me.”

“Hoo, is that confidence that you can beat demons at any time?”

“No, it’s not that… I didn’t feel like you were sincerely threatening me.”

“…….”

Come to think of it, the reason why I was so easily caught in his vicious pranks like a fool must have been because of that. I thought he would laugh at me, but unexpectedly, he just stared at me without saying anything. It was a familiar look, as if he was worried or impressed.

I was soon able to remember where I had seen those eyes. It was the same strange look he had when he asked me if I was afraid of killing people.