Chapter 190: A Special Thank You (5)
She is a mage, but not a mage. She is nothing more than a destruction mage, whose purpose is not magic, but simply destruction.
Such a person acted like a mage?
From the beginning?
I asked myself to find the answer.
What was Referndi’s purpose in resetting?
A simple conclusion emerged.
The murder of Lucy.
“Lucy!”
“Yes?”
Lucy looked back at me, and I pointed at Referndi. The moment he turned his head, Referndi smiled brightly.
Oh my god!
She figured out exactly what I was thinking.
“Too late! Thunder of the End!”
The red lightning that the red mage spat out cuts through the air.
A person who doesn’t even have the minimum rules to follow as a mage. Why would she have followed the etiquette of a mage? She was just trying to use it because she knew how mages worked.
He was fooled. Lucy was fooled!
He was fooled by that damn red witch!
Before I could even say anything, Lucy was directly hit by the cursed red lightning.
Kwajajajak!
“Kuaaaa-!”
The irregular stems of red lightning spread in all directions. Lucy’s scream. The acrid smell of burning clothes and flesh.
Eventually, Lucy, who had been burned black, fell.
“Lucy!”
I quickly caught him. The moment I caught him, he was completely burned, to the point where I could feel the dryness.
His sturdy body was trembling like a malaria patient, and his face was burned beyond recognition.
“Lucy! Lucy!”
“Uh, uh……!”
“Lucy, are you alive? Huh? Don’t lose consciousness!”
“As, as expected……!”
His lips, oozing with pus, seemed to be trying to say something. My vision blurs. I feel like crying because I’m so frustrated, stifled, and sad by my friend’s absurd appearance.
“Mages are……! Their future is……! Un, uncertain……! Kugh!”
“Hey……! You bastard……!”
My throat is choked up. If you have the energy to joke around in this situation, live! Live, I say!
“Ahahaha! Serves you right! Yes! That’s the look! Kersilla Creon! I wanted to make you look like a burnt black rat! Ahaha! Hahaha!”
“Kugh……! Referndi-!”
“Hu, don’t get so worked up. My magic might melt if you do. I burned one, so I’m going to freeze the other! Hehe. Haa……! This feeling. This feeling I felt when I was breaking something, whether it was a person or a village……!”
She covered her reddened face with both hands as if in ecstasy. Her body trembling slightly must be because she is feeling joy.
I should have known sooner. That she was a heretic among heretics who was never qualified to be called a mage.
“Kugh……!”
But regret was too late. I made the mistake of driving my friend to the brink of death. No, I also made the grave mistake of misunderstanding the enemy’s personality.
“Kugh……! Huck……!”
Lucy’s trembling is stopping. His life is fading away. Death always comes coldly. Like a snowflake that melts the moment it touches down, a sudden……
No, Lucy! You can’t die! I haven’t apologized to you yet! I haven’t told you about me! I finally got to remove the last wall left for me!
You’re the one who came running for me!
“Lucy-!”
As his trembling stopped, I cried out like that.
When Referndi screamed, I was frustrated, and Lucy was dying.
‘He’ appeared.
“I’m a little late.”
Tears streamed down my face. Some of them were still in my eyes. So I couldn’t see clearly at first. But I heard his voice and felt his presence strongly.
Familiar because it’s unfamiliar, unfamiliar because it’s repulsive, and repulsive because it’s familiar, this contradictory feeling.
There is only one person in the world who can evoke that feeling in me.
“Artshever……!”
My white enemy appeared next to Referndi. White outline. White from head to toe. Innocent white, which may be the opposite of what’s inside.
I wipe my eyes with my hand. The smell of Lucy’s flesh remains on the face that my fingers touched. Smelling the smell of my friend burning, I glared at the white enemy.
Artshever looked at me with an indescribable expression. Referndi touched his shoulder.
“You’ve already come, clown. Hahaha! Wait a minute. Now there will be nothing in the world for you to worry about, cough!”
Referndi’s words continued until Artshever grabbed her by the neck. The white hand was full of strength, as if it would break Referndi’s neck.
And for the second time ever, I could see his angry expression.
He said, as if spitting out a bug that had entered his mouth.
“Stupid bitch……!”
Artshever threw her away as if she were trash. Ironically, the place she was thrown was the huge barrier she had erected.
Kwaaaang!
The wall broke, and the witch’s thin body was buried deep inside. That alone made Referndi’s body unable to move, but Artshever didn’t stop there.
“I told you to endure it so much!”
Kwaddeuk! Kwajijik!
Invisible hands grab her body along with the cliff. Referndi coughed up blood at the same time as she screamed, her head thrown back.
“Aack! Aaaack! Kyaaaa!”
Udeuk! Udeudeuk! Kwajik!
A human body is being crushed. Like crushing a powerless chick in his hand, Referndi’s body was crushed and blood spurted out.
Artshever was angry. I don’t know why, but he was truly enraged.
“You don’t know why I told you to endure it so much! You’re a sadistic patient with nothing but a desire for destruction in your head!”
Looking closely, his outstretched right hand was clenched tightly. He seemed to be holding Referndi with that hand. The moment his hand went up, Referndi’s body swayed and rose upwards.
Artshever flung his hand downwards. Then Referndi’s body fell to the floor, splattering blood. Even if she was already dead, I wouldn’t be that surprised.
“Stay there! I’ll make you grateful to be breathing!”
It was a sight to believe that Referndi had cursed Artshever. Such a passionate Artshever, I’ve seen him for the first time since I asked him for a favor.
He caught his breath, adjusted his clothes, and came down to the ground. Referndi, whom he had made a mess of, was not in his sight. He looked at Lucy for a moment and then snapped his fingers.
Ttaak!
For a moment, Lucy’s body twitched and then his fading breath returned. Not only that, but it seemed like life was returning to his body.
I looked back and forth between Lucy and Artshever and then spoke to the one who seemed capable of conversation.
“What are you doing?”
“I apologize, Duke Arisein.”
Surprisingly, Artshever bowed his head at a right angle to me. His white hair swayed gently right in front of me. It was a truly polite and sincere apology.
I was even more surprised because I could tell from the beginning that he was truly sorry.
“What are you up to?”
“It was not my instruction. As you may know, she came to avenge her grudge. She was a rare talent, but…… Her lack of self-control was a flaw after all. I think I chose the wrong companion. It’s truly bitter.”
He was truly bitter. I don’t want to know his true intentions or feelings at times like these, but I guess I can’t help it.
Artshever straightened up and looked at me. Then he sighed with a look and feeling of regret.
“It’s natural for you to distrust me. Please wait a moment. I will speak directly in front of your friends. I hope this will convey my sincerity.”
He snapped his fingers in the air again. Then all the magic that Referndi had performed disappeared. Is this the powerful superpower?
“Ah, Hyung-nim!”
The first person I saw was Joey, who was sitting as if leaning against something. Joey first saw me and expressed his joy, but then he glared.
“You, you are……! Perhaps!”
“Ah, Jounin Yuse-gun, it’s the first time I’ve seen you in person. I apologize that I haven’t been able to make an opportunity to greet you. I’ve been a little busy. I’m Artshever Le Setrife. It’s a bit late, but nice to meet you.”
Joey picked up his greatsword and slowly approached. He looked like he didn’t want to even talk. Well, he had been tricked by Artshever while traveling all over the continent chasing him.
Artshever crossed his arms and stroked his chin.
“As expected, I can’t show you a good side since there are things that happened in the past. Hmm. I think it’s a really good hostile relationship to meet and talk when we’re not fighting, but it can’t be helped. I’ll step back for a moment.”
“Huh?”
I thought Artshever was going to disappear, but he wasn’t. When Artshever stood next to Referndi, who was covered in blood and a mess, Aila fell from the sky.
Kwagagang!
Aila appeared with a powerful blow that would have easily flattened her even if Joey had been below. She unleashed her destructive will throughout her entire body and erupted in tremendous rage.
“Artshever-!”
“Ah, wait a minute, dear. I didn’t come here to fight today. I came to stop the fight.”
“What nonsense! Did you make the person over there look like that too……? Risel?”
“Yes. Artshever did it.”
Aila looked at me with a disbelieving expression, and when I affirmed, she immediately shouted.
“What are you up to!”
“Even if you’re close, it’s better not to resemble each other that much, Arisein.”
“That’s why he’s my friend.”
At that moment, Levidian and Namia approached. The two of them were surprised by Lucy’s terrible appearance. Immediately after, Al and Kun also arrived. They probably came as soon as the wall disappeared after looking around it.
Artshever smiled and said.
“This is truly a pleasure. It’s a lucky day to see you all in one place. I’ll skip the introductions since you all know me. Likewise, I know all about you, so please skip the introductions. First of all, I apologize for causing you concern and harm. Referndi’s actions today were her own doing. It was the result of my not considering that her grudge was excessive. I didn’t realize she was on the same level as the idiot from Breedpo.”
An old riddle was solved. The moron from Breedpo was also his work.
Artshever pointed at Lucy.
“I’ve saved Mr. Lucy’s life for now. It would be better to leave the rest to the priest. He wouldn’t want to receive my treatment anyway. So I’ll just say what I have to say and take this stupid bitch with me.”
Artshever looked at me with a look that said, ‘Would that be alright?’ I was quite upset, but more than that, I wanted to treat Lucy quickly. My desire to fight had completely disappeared.
I glared at him and said.
“Speak.”
“First of all, I sincerely apologize for the shameful lack of self-control of my colleague who can only use such barbaric means and the damage caused by it. As you may know, there is an invisible, unspoken promise between you and me. We fight by any means necessary, but we fight on the battlefield agreed upon by both parties. After we’ve settled down, there’s a simple rule that any method is valid if it’s effective. But a fool who doesn’t understand that broke it. It’s truly regrettable.”
I don’t want to translate his mind, but I feel like I’ve become a good ancient language translator. Because I understood the sincerity in his words directly.
If you want to know what the unity of words and thoughts is, you should probably feel the sincerity I feel in Artshever’s words. He spoke with unadulterated sincerity.
“There are few ways I can apologize. Apologizing with my life is actually the way to please you the most, but I can’t do that because I have my own purpose. So, I have prepared an alternative, albeit a poor one.”
“What is it?”
“I will not stop the gathering of the army that will attack the Imperial Capital. I promise to thoroughly manage any commander’s arbitrary departure. I will sit back and watch as the Herduke Kingdom’s army gathers to attack the Imperial Capital without any tricks.”
I could see his sincerity, and that’s why I was even more surprised. What did he just say? He’ll let the army gather?
Levidian’s surprised voice questioned him.
“Are you serious?”
“I am serious, Sword King-nim. Ask Duke Arisein. He will be able to see that my meager sincerity is truly offered.”
“Risel, is it true?”
“Yes…… He’s sincere.”
I didn’t want to, but I nodded. Artshever had a smile on his white face that suited him.
“It is truly a blessing that there is someone who understands my sincerity. I know that the gathering of the army that will precede the attack on the Imperial Capital is the most important thing. I will not interfere. Let’s fight in the Imperial territory.”
“There’s one more condition.”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Don’t play games on the battlefield. I’m saying don’t dig traps in advance. Otherwise, do you think I’ll readily step onto the stage you’ve created?”
He scratched his head and sighed deeply.
“Haa. This is really a lack of trust. It’s really sad. Well, I guess I’m the relatively weaker one today. I’ll do that. You don’t have any other conditions, do you? Oh, I will refuse if you ask me to lose.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Get out of here.”
I waved my hand. At the gesture of chasing away a bothersome insect, Artshever bowed deeply. He picked up Referndi, who was lying sprawled on the ground, and slung her over his shoulder as if she were some kind of luggage.
“Now, I’ll disappear. I’ve really caused a lot of trouble. I guess the next time we see each other will be on the battlefield.”
“Go away, you clown. If it wasn’t for Lucy, I would have already surrounded and beaten you up.”
“Hahaha! Even I wouldn’t be able to handle that. Please ask Mr. Lucy for a special thank you when he wakes up. Then, please be at ease.”
Artshever bowed deeply, and at that moment, his body blurred and disappeared. Referndi also disappeared as if she had never been there from the beginning.
I let out a big sigh. If we had surrounded and beaten Artshever right now, we might have had the upper hand. But Lucy’s life would have been in danger.
I don’t know what trick Artshever used, but his intention is easy to read. He wants to guarantee his own safety with Lucy’s life.
“Namia, please take care of Lucy’s treatment.”
“Yes.”
Listening to the sound of Namia constructing holy magic, I looked up at the sky for a moment. The dark clouds were already gone.
To experience the strength of the enemy…… It’s something I don’t want to experience, even if I’m someone who has died and come back to life.
The sky cleared up, but my heart was still cloudy.
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