Chapter 208 – Loss
“I see. You are right. Perhaps defeating you will not be as easy as I anticipate. However, there is one thing you have misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood?”
“There are people here who are stronger than the three you fought before.”
One of the masked men stepped forward. He had ‘XIII’ carved on his mask.
(What is this abnormal magic energy…)
I gasped. My heart skipped a beat, and I felt as if my whole body was boiling.
This person was a monster, stronger than any that I had fought before.
(Calm down…keep yourself together…)
I held my body to stop it from shaking.
I had overcome hopeless situations many times before.
As long as I could dodge the first attack, the others would be easy.
But even as I tried to reassure myself, it was dawning on me….
I could not beat this person.
This was a difference that was even bigger than the time I fought against the Sword Saint or Ms. Evangeline.
“The strength of a doll is greatly affected by the quality of the body. And this one was created with the strongest materials. You will not be able to react fast enough. The battle will end with a single strike. Expect no miracles. This is reality.”
Said IV.
“It has nothing to do with right or wrong. It’s the strongest that prevails. You will lose.”
He then told the other man to remove his mask.
XIII’s silvery hair reflected in the magic light.
The handsome face was void of any human warmth. There was no light in those blue eyes now.
Heart and soul had been cut off. Lost completely.
He was changed.
A different person. I wanted to believe that it was a stranger.
But I knew…
After all, how could I not recognize it as the face of the person who I had spent so much time with?
What kind of horrible medicine and mind control had been used to do this?
My mind went white with rage.
I could not control myself.
With Spell Boost, I accelerated and activated my most powerful spell towards IV.
I wasn’t thinking about what would happen later.
I was only motivated by anger and the desire to erase this man from the world.
However, the spell failed to activate.
The strength left my body.
And I collapsed.
I had no idea what had been done to me.
But I could not move.
I was numb all over.
(I wasn’t able to see…)
It must have been some kind of lightning magic.
However, it was much faster than any I had seen him use before.
Even when accelerating, I was not able to react.
My consciousness began to fade.
Still, I gritted my teeth so hard that my jaw felt like it would shatter.
Anger.
I was so angry.
But I was able to do nothing.
“His heart has been thoroughly destroyed.”
Said IV.
“You will never speak to him again. There is only a doll here. No human.”
The cold voice echoed.
“That is the hopeless, merciless reality.”
In the darkness, I was bound by a single thought.
Rage that had no way to be released.
Damn it.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it…
Why did such a thing have to happen to Luke?
He was a good man.
This could not be the end of his life.
Still, I realized it now. Being good was no guarantee that you would not meet misfortune.
Life was unfair. But that was not a satisfying answer for me.
It was wrong. It must be stopped.
My face was wet with tears.
I had put on some light makeup in the morning, so it was likely a mess.
Of course, that didn’t matter now.
Please, God. I will do anything to be able to speak to Luke one more time.
I would sacrifice myself in order for him to get his heart back.
My fingers, feet, hair, arms, heart, memories, knowledge, magic. I would give it all away…
I was crying like a mad woman. But there was nothing else that I could do.
I didn’t care about anything else…
Who knows how much time passed after that. I felt completely drained of strength.
However, that was oddly comforting.
Perhaps the tears had helped to wash away the negative emotions as well.
I felt refreshed.
It was as if I suddenly knew that everything was going to be fine. As if I had not been so sad a moment ago.
But then I thought of him again.
And the rage and sadness filled my head, and I groaned and cried.
I had always thought that magic was more important than anything.
As long as I had magic, nothing else would matter.
What a fool I had been.
I now realized how happy and lucky I was.
And now I saw how painful it was to lose.
The thought of never speaking to him again…
I am so stupid, so I don’t realize what I have until it’s gone.
Mother, Nina, Ms. Leticia. They were also important to me. People that could never be replaced.
However, this sadness would likely fade as time passed.
Even if I tried to remember it, it would start to feel less real.
I recalled how horrible I had been in the past. Where a fight with my mother resulted in me wishing that she would disappear. Even if I knew how sad it would be if it really happened.
I just never expected something like this to happen. I was such a fool.
I should have been nicer to Luke. I should have listened to him more. I should have cared more.
He was always worried about me. He cared about me more than he cared about himself.
But I was not like that. I cared more about magic than myself.
I was just a blind fool, living blissfully.
In truth, I had noticed that he liked me. That there was something special and passionate there.
But it scared me a little. I thought it would change something.
I just wanted things to stay the same. I wanted us to stay friends.
He was important to me, but I loved magic, and wanted it to be my priority. Romance just seemed so unnecessary.
But the truth was, I did need him. I would lose a big part of myself without him.
I wanted to be closer to him, talk to him more. I wanted us to compete and spend our days together.
(Why…why…!)
I clenched my hands into fists. My nails dug into my palms, causing them to bleed.
The pain might as well have not been there.
Because the hurt in my chest was much stronger.
It hurt, it hurt so much.
Luke, why…
Why, why, why…
While curled up, not able to do anything, I cried like mad.
The door of the cage opened quietly.
Through blurred vision, I saw a masked man enter.
I had not even realized that I was in a cage until then.
But I did not feel like getting up.
Without moving, with wet cheeks, I looked at the iron bars.
“Nina Lawrence has been captured. Your last hope is gone.”
Said the man.
I sprung up. I had to defeat the man in order to help Nina.
My body lunged forward so that I could headbutt the man who had XVII carved into his mask.
However, the sounds of chains rattled behind me. My hands were shackled behind my back, and fixed to the wall.
I struggled to release myself, but the hard metal just dug into my wrists.
“You are like a wild dog.”
XVII said with a shrug of his shoulders. He then pressed a handkerchief against my mouth. I immediately closed my lips, but it was too late.
The strength left my knees, and I fell to the ground.
It was as if I had no control over my body.
“We have decided to destroy your heart. It is too bad, as you are a rare talent. But it cannot be helped, since you went against us.”
He pulled out a syringe filled with purple liquid.
“Don’t worry, your suffering will end here. It will irreparably destroy your heart, so you no longer have to think about anything. You will feel no more sadness. You will be released from the hellish reality. By the death of one’s heart, true salvation is complete.”
I gritted my teeth and tried to move my body.
But it did not move.
As I groaned, the man held my head up.
The needle moved closer…
I could not let things end like this.
There was still so much that I wanted to do.
So much that I wanted to say…
I felt a prick on the back of my head.
It was nearing the end. The rest of my life was being torn away from me.
Strangely, it did not hurt.
I did not feel anything.
Perhaps that’s what having your heart destroyed meant.
Just then, in the corner of my vision, the man’s body went limp.
And I heard footsteps approaching.
Someone squatted in front of me.
I saw a black mask with XIX carved into it.
My head was grabbed and something was pulled out from the back.
A syringe clattered on the floor. The purple liquid was still inside.
“Yes. Good.”
The familiar, cool voice of a certain woman. She took off her mask, and her long, golden hair flowed out.
She had a face that seemed to be enveloped by an aura that was mystical and inhuman.
“I came to repay the debt of you taking me out into the town, Noelle.”
The strongest non-human of the western continent.
It was Evangeline Runeforest, queen of the elves.
Thanks for the chapter