What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 808

My Earth (2)

How much time had passed since then?

“Cough, Your Highness······.”

I flinched, blinking and quickly turning around.

Gain, covered in blood, stood right behind me. My heart sank.

[Oh my god, Gain! Are you okay? You kept, kept vomiting blood!]

“Yes······. Your brother has a very loud voice······. I’ve been nearby the whole time······.”

[I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!]

‘How are you feeling now?’ I rummaged through my Gaga bag in a panic, then realized there was nothing I could give to the Cardinal, who had already stopped bleeding. Then I remembered that wasn’t true either.

Grasping her cold hand tightly, I slowly released aether [a magical energy], while instinctively looking for Cedrick with my other hand.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince, who had been with Gain, was quickly caught by my arm. Thank goodness.

-Swish······

[What about Sir Johann? Have you seen Sir Johann around here?]

“······.”

“······.”

Gain calmly shook her head, and Cedrick remained silent.

I felt a slight dizziness—a side effect of recently becoming a Cardinal—but still moved my gaze around, searching through the collapsing dream.

-Thump, thump······!

“Sir Johann······.”

If it’s Sir Johann, he should be nearby.

He was fine even when Eunseo looked at him, so his current condition shouldn’t be too bad······.

“······Your Highness.”

[Yes. We need to find him somehow to return to the royal capital together. This place is all collapsing······.]

“You can go back.”

[I know. With Sir Johann together······.]

“No.”

Gain replied in a hoarse voice.

Only then did I sense a strange atmosphere and turn to look at her.

The celestial body, shining with blue eyes, was firmly illuminating me as always.

“······I mean, you can make a wish on the Holy Grail and go home.”

[······Pardon?]

I clearly heard the words, but the interpretation didn’t immediately follow.

Gain squeezed my hand tightly, jolting my mind awake.

“Go home.”

What?

[······I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re suddenly talking about. Why······.]

“You said there’s only one left. You said they’re being dirty and stingy, only giving us one chance, right?”

Gain gestured towards the Holy Grail with her eyes, a forced smile on her lips.

I looked back and forth between her and the Holy Grail with a bewildered expression.

That’s right, Gain must have heard everything too. But······.

[······Why······.]

“You have to go. The time has finally come. If not now, when will you ever go home······. Who knows what will happen to that relic if you leave it here, who will get their hands on it. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

Of course, she didn’t shed any tears.

But her tight throat and reddened nose clearly indicated one thing.

This whole situation was too sudden and confusing.

I looked up at Cedrick, at a loss for what to do.

He was looking at me with eyes as hot and heavy as lava. As if he was holding something back.

[Your Highness too······.]

“······.”

[The same, thought······.]

“······.”

The heart I dropped when I found Eunseo hadn’t returned to my left chest yet.

Instead of a heartbeat, hundreds of emotions swirled in that empty space.

I could clearly read the labels of each one. The first was ‘disappointment’······.

“I’m so disappointed.”

A pause.

“I’m so······. I feel so let down.”

[······.]

“I’m really disappointed because I can’t live without Your Highness. Actually, I hate saying things like this. Because I have such a pathetic and clingy personality······. I really can’t let you go coolly.”

Gain, who met my eyes, was smiling with all her might, her face contorted as if she was about to cry.

Her scrunched-up face was so pretty.

“But our Your Highness······. Has a loving family. You have a brother, a sister······. You also have a mother. Grandparents, aunts, uncles······.”

[······.]

“So I’m going to take you back. Because I said I would take you wherever you wanted to go.”

‘Always. Do you remember?’ She smiled brightly, holding my hand tightly.

Her hand, colder than usual, felt hot, and her clear voice trembled like an idiot.

I looked down, staring blankly at my partner’s hand, and then······.

[There are still······. Still so many things I haven’t, resolved.]

“Your Highness, why are you crying so much? Hehehe. You’re making me want to hold you back.”

[······.]

I knew that the heat was from my hand, that the trembling was from my Adam’s apple.

But knowing how much Gain was struggling, I couldn’t even make a joke.

I couldn’t bring myself to look up and bit my lip.

Still, still······.

“We can take care of the remaining things. Duke Schneider will be put on the gallows, we’ll pray for the souls of those who died in battle······. I’m debating which monster to throw Werner’s corpse to as food.”

[······.]

······Werner Venetian is dead. I let out an empty laugh.

Then Gain wiped away my tears and smiled brightly.

“······We’re definitely not breaking up. I’ll come to see you again.”

[······.]

“You’ve always come to see us······. This time, we’ll go. So you don’t dive from your apartment.”

[······.]

“We’ll go. I promise.”

Tears streamed down like a monsoon.

It wasn’t that I was ashamed of crying, but my nose and throat were so blocked that I couldn’t say anything.

So I just held onto Gain’s pinky finger tightly. For a long time.

[······I’ll wait.]

Like a child who believes that if I do, I won’t have to leave.

[Always, always······. I’ll be thinking, looking out the window, waiting. For me······.]

A nasal voice I didn’t want to hear.

Even the pinky promise had to be done three times because I couldn’t do it right the first time······.

[······Until the day you come to see me. I promise.]

A greeting that wasn’t cool at all, and wouldn’t be remembered.

A face that was ugly and contorted from crying and laughing.

“······.”

Cedrick Liester reverently kissed the back of my hand, and I stared at the two stars he held for a long time.

Then Gain strongly clasped both of my hands.

‘Sniff.’ A sniffling sound, I didn’t know whose it was, came.

“······Please stop coming······. I’ll keep coming until you’re really sick of me.”

[······Yes.]

“During summer vacation, I’ll eat, sleep, and do everything at Your Highness’s house.”

[Yes······.]

“Oh? Did you just say okay?”

I burst out laughing at her playful words.

Gain finally shed tears and smiled dazzlingly.

Her blue eyes held a vitality that I would never forget.

I finally realized that she was no ordinary star.

[······.]

“······.”

A sparkling jewelry box where all my memories were gathered.

My continent.

My Earth.

“······I’ll take you to the bus stop.”

[Haha.]

I laughed out loud for the first time. But the weight in my heart couldn’t be measured.

-Whoosh······!

Holding her hand with my right hand and Cedrick’s hand with my left, I walked towards the Holy Grail.

Kaboom······! As if the entire universe was blessing us, it was scattering fragments of purple stars.

Occasionally, intense vibrations shook the piece we were standing on, and each time, the three of us leaned on each other to avoid falling.

In a collapsing world, we steadfastly promised each other the future.

[······.]

“······.”

“······.”

The piece of the universe holding the Holy Grail was very small.

My partners and I walked slowly on purpose, but we soon arrived in front of the relic.

-Crack, crack, crack······!

[······.]

A shower of light purple meteors poured down from above. It all felt like a dream.

“Make a wish while blowing out the candle!”

Gain, who let go of me, waved her hands and smiled until the end from across the Holy Grail.

Knowing how difficult that was, I tried to smile back.

Boom, boom, boom······! Then there was a great reverberation.

I hurriedly hugged the baby in my arms, then realized that I had to let go of this child too, and crumpled inside once more.

[······Our youngest. Say hello to Demi and your other brothers for me.]

-Awoong

[And definitely······. Run to meet your brother. Okay? Run all the way.]

-Awoong!

[Good. I love you.]

I kissed the white forehead of the divine beast, and as soon as I handed it over to Cedrick, my cheeks were wet again.

I deliberately rubbed my face roughly to wipe it away. I didn’t forget the words I wanted to say to my partner.

[······Thank you, Cedrick. For everything.]

“······.”

I had never thought that he would willingly let me go, so today’s decision was even more appreciated and touched my heart.

The feeling of being respected as a friend made my throat choke up.

Smiling brightly at him, I carefully placed the Gaga bag on the stand and took out a water bottle from inside and opened it.

Then I washed the blood that had soaked my hands with water and let it flow into the Holy Grail.

-Swish······

[······.]

Then the gray tray, imbued with my blood, began to emit a faint glow as if preparing for something.

I looked back at my friends one last time.

Honestly, we were stalling for time, hoping to wait for Sir Johann······.

But he didn’t show up until the end.

Perhaps the Cardinal had already fallen out of the universe and returned to the royal capital.

[······Please give my regards to Sir Johann. Tell him that I will really miss him.]

“I’ll think about the last part. See you again, Yeseo.”

“I must schedule a meeting date soon.”

-Aeuk!

[Hahaha.]

The last thing my friends gave me was the same hearty laugh as always.

I gripped the Holy Grail tightly with both hands and lowered my gaze to make a wish.

My tear glands were malfunctioning, constantly blurring my vision, making it difficult to lift my head.

My fingertips, gripping the tray, were covered with a sticky attachment.

-Gurgle, gurgle······

[Haa······.]

······I wanted to see the end of this war, and I wanted to hold a funeral for Princess Elysée.

More than anything, I wanted to apologize to young Cornélise. I wanted to say hello to my other friends too.

I also wanted to know the end of the Schneider family, and I wanted to witness the new birth of the Venetian Theocracy from the front row.

On the other hand, I wanted to taste the desserts that Laurence made again, and I wanted to see the lakeside villa that Eva had confidently promised to build.

But at the same time······.

‘If not now, when will you ever go home······. Who knows what will happen to that relic if you leave it here, who will get their hands on it. It’s the perfect opportunity.’

That was absolutely right. If not now, I couldn’t promise to return home.

Suddenly, Prince Yeseo’s request lingered in my mind like a will.

‘「Please choose your happiness. It’s okay.」’

······I haven’t kept a single promise, is it okay to go back like this?

He told me that, so is it really okay to go?

Until the very end, hundreds of thoughts grabbed my ankles and wouldn’t let me go.

-Rumble, rumble······!

[Ugh······.]

I wasn’t sure, but I had to seize the moment. Finally, my lips parted.

[······Take me, home······.]

-Swish······

So at that moment,

[Back······.]

-Rustle······

When I discovered the crawling robe shadow,

[Send······.]

-Rustle, rustle······

When I caught the scene of that person grabbing the scythe on the floor, it was by no means a coincidence.

This is fate.

-Swoosh!

-Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh······!

The deathly black scythe aimed at my friends’ backs, I deployed two circles!

[I wish for the resurrection of the dead Prince Yeseo Venetian! And you will be here forever—!]

-Thwack!

······Huh?

[Cough······!]

Above the golden light shining like a full moon, my bodily fluids poured down.

At the same time, a cough burst out.

I blinked, looking down at the hook that had pierced my heart from behind.

What is this? The scythe was clearly over there······.

「Believe······. Please. We are······ moving towards the promised goal······.」

[Ugh, cough······.]

A rusty metallic sound, like a dead machine, was uttering a terrible curse into my ear.

A shiver spread to the ends of my hair.

I spat out something that I didn’t know was blood and turned to look at the creaking old woman.

Empty eye sockets faced me.

“······Your Highness?”

“Serenite?”

The voices of my friends, sensing something was wrong, were fading away.

I widened my eyes, which kept closing.

「To ensure that such an ending is reached······. All, means, and methods······. Are being mobilized.」

[Cough······.]

Bojena, dying from the arrow of God, was looking at me and grinning.

At the same time, the Holy Grail, which had repaired the ‘wish,’ began to emit an explosive golden light.

I glared at the old woman as if to kill her and clenched my growth [determination].

A chilling sensation ran through me as something was being pulled out of my heart.

-Swoosh······!

-Oooooo!

[You, you bastard······!]

-Kaboom······!

“Your Highness! What is this, Yeseo! Yeseo······!”

Just as a house-sized radiance swallowed me, the old woman vanished into complete graphite powder.

Only the black scythe was piercing my rampaging heart.

And what I last saw in the flash······.

-Crackle!

-Grasp!

Was someone’s scarred hand.