Chapter 185…………………………………
“You’re wrong! You are different from them!”
Liena desperately tried to explain that her feelings for me were genuine.
“You were the only one to show affection to me when I had nothing. I’ve finally realized that, and I’ve decided to live only for you.”
“Doesn’t that ultimately mean you like me because you already like me?”
Liena couldn’t deny my question.
“…Is that bad? Everyone does that sometimes. Is it strange to like someone because they liked you first?”
“It’s fine if it’s a trigger for love. But it’s a problem if it becomes the purpose. You’re liking someone to be loved in return.”
“I’m not! I’m not trying to be loved by you. How dare I… after what I’ve done…”
“Really?”
I couldn’t fully believe her words.
The look I had seen in Liena over the past few days—it had been subtly expectant.
“Even if you live for me, what if I told you that there’s no chance I’ll ever like you for the rest of my life? Could you still like me?”
“…!”
“See? It’s hard to answer, isn’t it? You haven’t changed. Before, there were many people you wanted to be loved by. Now, it’s just me.”
“Th-That’s not true. My feelings for you are pure. I really want you to be happy.”
“Is that so? Then stop targeting Terrence. The destiny we’re meant to fight is you and me. Terrence has nothing to do with it.”
“That’s impossible! That man is brainwashing you! And you saw that memory yourself! He’s evil!”
“I’ve told you, it’s a misunderstanding. Just like the reality we face is different from that memory.”
“Idel! You’re being deceived! I will save you…”
“You idiot! Listen when I talk!”
I shouted with every ounce of strength I had, and Liena’s eyes widened in shock.
“I’ve seen Terrence up close for a long time! I’m telling you, he’s not that kind of person! For my happiness, he has to be here!”
“Idel…?”
“You say you love me? If you really do, then respect me and listen to my opinion!”
All the emotions I had quietly stored while dealing with Liena over time erupted.
“You pretend to care about me, but you never listen. You judge what’s good for me on your own, decide on it, and force it on me!”
I had yelled many times in my life, but I rarely shouted with such intensity.
“Even when you brought me here saying you’d stop the Monster Wave for me, it was the same. You pretended to give me a choice, but in reality, you just wanted to be with me, didn’t you?”
“That’s not true, I—”
“If you truly love someone, you don’t coerce them. You consider what will make them truly happy and choose accordingly.”
I turned my gaze toward Terrence, who was looking only at me.
I recalled the time I had left just a single letter and departed the Astarot Empire.
Although I had misjudged what would make him happy, I prioritized Terrence’s happiness over my desire to be with him.
That, I believed, was true love.
“So, Liena.”
I took a step forward toward her.
“If you truly care for me, don’t involve anyone else anymore. Let’s face this together, just the two of us.”
Liena, whose eyes flitted about restlessly, stepped back, a sharp contrast to my steady stance.
“I-I don’t want to… I don’t want to fight you. I just want to get along.”
“It’s impossible now that you’re an apostle of the evil god. Even before that, it was impossible. Using that as an excuse is just selfishness.”
“I… I did it for you, because I like you…”
“The only thing you truly care about is yourself. You just need someone to pour your affection into.”
“Don’t speak as if you know everything!”
“I do. I’ve seen your memories.”
“Shut up! Shut up!”
Liena, already unstable, was pushed further to her limits.
“It’s kind of sad. After living two lives—or maybe more—you’ve never truly loved anyone else.”
“Shut up!”
Liena covered her ears and glared at the sky, her eyes bloodshot.
“God! I don’t need a year! Take all my remaining lifespan, leaving just a month! And give me power!”
Instantly, the magical energy in the air surged, and the clouded sky trembled.
I regretted possibly provoking Liena too much, but quickly dismissed it.
This clash was inevitable; sooner or later, it had to happen.
I first unleashed my divine power to purify the magical energy that was about to engulf us.
But that alone couldn’t stop the other disasters caused by the surging energy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of monsters battering the fortress gates grew several times louder.
Turrets intercepting monsters trying to climb the walls fired continuously, without rest.
Liena’s magic surged, seemingly drawing even more monsters.
“This fortress can’t hold much longer. I reinforced it with my power, but it’s far too old.”
Gaius approached and whispered to me:
“Descendant, ignore them and focus on yourself. I will never let them reach you.”
“Thank you.”
“No need. Even in this distant future, it’s a joy to fight again.”
He also spoke to Terrence and Lucy:
“Stay with my descendant. I can handle the small fry alone. But the current apostle wields magical energy I’ve never seen before. You will need to help.”
Soon after, Gaius leaped from the rooftop to the ground.
At nearly the same time, the deformed main gate was pushed open by monsters, and those who avoided turret fire poured in.
Seeing the flood of monsters, I worried about Gaius handling them alone.
But then something unexpected happened.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground along the inner edge of the wall began exploding in sequence.
Monsters that had confidently breached the fortress fell from the powerful blasts.
At first, I thought Gaius had done it, but he looked around curiously, clearly not responsible.
“Success!”
A parrot that appeared somewhere below shouted, and we immediately knew whose doing it was.
“Kais! Was that your doing?”
The magician proudly replied:
“I wasn’t just hiding! While Prince and Lucy defeated the monsters, I scattered my new invention everywhere.”
I noticed a cloth bag around the parrot’s neck.
“Bomb seeds! Simple effect: step on them, and they explode.”
“Impressive. But could this endanger you too, Gaius? Shouldn’t we warn you?”
“Y-You mean that scary-looking demon over there?”
“He’s on our side. Please help.”
“…Yes, I’ll try. Good luck, Viscount Lucibiu.”
The previously confident parrot flew off the rooftop, heading down.
Now, only the three of us remained on the rooftop, with Liena surrounded by a thick wall of magic energy.
“Idel… too much, love, I, want, see, actually, resentment, teach me, hate, but…”
The overwhelming magic seemed to blur even an apostle’s mind; she muttered a string of meaningless words.
I spoke to Terrence and Lucy behind me.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to involve you two in the final stage.”
Terrence placed a hand on my back.
“I had planned to be with you no matter what. A bit disappointing.”
Lucy whispered into my ear:
“Yes, master! I’ll naturally be by your side as your subordinate, no matter what the prince thinks.”
“You’re the one who interfered between Idel and me.”
“Quiet.”
Seeing them bicker like that in front of such a terrifying enemy eased my tension slightly.
Even with their faces pale from the surrounding magic, they playfully acted for my sake—it was so endearing.
“Thank you. I have one request: can you give me both of your powers?”
Terrence and Lucy looked serious.
“I know. Accepting both powers without enough time to convert them would be dangerous.”
But I continued:
“The Liena over there is hundreds, even thousands of times more dangerous than that.”
Neither could argue against it.
After a pause, Terrence spoke first:
“I’ll give it slowly, in small amounts.”
From Terrence’s hand supporting my back, his power gently flowed in.
“I’ll try as well.”
Lucy’s power followed into me.
I took a deep breath and expanded the area I was purifying with divine power.
Cold sweat streamed down my temples, and Liena’s magic gradually receded.
“Idel!”
But when Liena roared, my divine power could not advance further, reaching a stalemate at our midpoint.
“Huh?”
At that moment, a phenomenon similar to before occurred.
A sphere of mixed light and darkness appeared, quickly swelling to a much larger size than before.
The next instant, the sphere engulfed me—this time including Terrence and Lucy.
It seemed like another soul resonance, and Terrence’s face suddenly appeared before me.
“Please allow me this favor, Viscount Freihyden.”
I stood before him, frowning, hands clasped in a plea.
“Could you let me work here? I’ll do anything! I have no recommendation letter, but if you employ me, I’ll work hard!”
Hearing his voice, I knew immediately:
This was Idel’s memory.
