PMEVBO 61

Praise ‘XXX Hayut’!

(0/1)

The moment this quest dropped, I escaped the cell. I figured escaping the cell was the only way to even attempt this insane quest. After all, the original Lucariel also ran wild inside the prison before encountering Isabelle.

Various restraints were fastened all over my body, and the one around my neck was connected to the cell and a Tali cord. Therefore, to escape the cell, I absolutely had to deal with the restraint around my neck.

The restraints were sturdy, impossible to break with ordinary strength. In the end, I had no choice but to use divine power.

I concentrated the maximum divine power I could muster at this moment onto my neck.

With a snapping sound, the restraints I targeted shattered, but the cost was immense. Using divine power to destroy restraints designed to block divine power was madness. Agony unlike anything I felt when lighting the envelope or cigarettes surged through my body. My HP began plummeting instantly.

Having crawled out of the cell and wandered around for six hours now, my HP was…

HP: 9/100

I’m gonna die soon…

Even if I lucked out and survived, I would probably pass out. Six years ago, I’d fainted after casting the Guidance skill at the cost of HP. Back then, my HP was at 8.

“Damn it, if the time limit expires while I’m unconscious, I’m screwed…”

“Guh!”

I finally coughed up a mouthful of blood. I felt dizzy along with the pain of my insides twisting. I leaned against the railing and closed my eyes for a moment.

Then, suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. I didn’t if it was because the other person was strong or I was that weakened… I couldn’t move an inch.

And so, like a young animal caught by the scruff of its neck, I reunited with XXX Hayut, Iser Hayut.

***

A rough, hoarse voice entering puberty. Fourteen-year-old Iser had been ashamed of his own voice back then.

But the voice of twenty-year-old Iser was different from that time. A well-honed bass penetrated my ears.

“I missed you, Lucariel.”

I was certain I’d never heard Iser use polite speech before, yet strangely, those words didn’t sound unfamiliar. 

Somehow, tears threatened to spill, so I bit my lip and stared at the status window.

HP: 100/100

Only then did I realize. The pain that felt like my insides were being twisted, the metallic taste of blood pooling in my mouth, both had vanished as if they’d never been there.

Even before I tried to force my way out of the cell, my HP was at 44. And just moments ago, it had plummeted to 9.

But with a single kiss, my HP surged back to 100.

I haven’t felt this good in the past six years…

The only human who could revive someone on the brink of death to such vibrant health, both six years ago and now, was one person alone. But it felt so unreal I blurted out a question.

“You… are you really Iser…?”

“Yes.”

Iser answered while still holding me from behind. A subtle pressure came from his chin resting on my shoulder.

I tried to loosen Iser’s arm wrapped around my waist. But it wouldn’t budge an inch. Seeing how it wouldn’t easily come loose even now that my HP was at 100, Iser must have gotten stronger.

I could have forced it, but I didn’t want to go that far.

…What if I hurt him?

I gently tapped the back of his hand a couple of times.

“I just want to see your face properly. Could you let go?”

Iser seemed to stiffen for a moment, then let out a sigh. His hot breath tickled the skin below my neck.

Before I knew it, his arm, which had been tightly wrapped around my waist, slowly loosened. 

Only then could I see the face I hadn’t dared to imagine.

Iser was naturally small in stature. With long hair and delicate features, I’d initially thought he was a girl. More precisely, I thought he was Isabelle. So many aspects matched the description of Isabelle in the novel.

But if this were our first meeting, I would never have mistaken the Iser before me for his sister.

Iser, who once hadn’t even reached my shoulders, had grown tall enough that I now had to look up at him. His pink hair, which had once reached his waist, was now short and trimmed. His once soft facial features had lost their baby fat, becoming sharp and defined. 

His face, already fairy-like, was now breathtakingly captivating, the last trace of childishness gone.

The twenty-year-old Iser was beautiful.

So much so that the memory of killing him with my own hands when he was only fourteen felt like a dream.

“Finished looking? Then I’d appreciate it if you’d share your thoughts.”

I opened my mouth, my gaze fixed on his chest.

“That place… where you were hurt that day… is it okay…?”

Without thinking, I reached out toward his chest, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch it. Just as I hesitated and started to pull my hand back, a hand seized my wrist. Iser pulled my hand and placed it over his heart.

“It’s fine.”

The steady beats I felt through his clothes and skin tickled my palm.

But even so, I couldn’t feel at ease. I was anxious, as if Iser right before my eyes might die at any moment. Perhaps he noticed my state, Iser interlaced his fingers with mine over my hand and whispered.

“If you’re still worried, shall I let you see for yourself?”

Without releasing my hand, he began unbuttoning his own shirt. The skin revealed through the open front was clean, without a single scar.

He drew my hand back once more, placing it upon his bare chest. The skin where we touched was cool. But not cold like a corpse. There was no blood on my hand either… It was different from that day six years ago.

“Thank goodness…”

As a sigh of relief escaped me, hot tears trickled down. I couldn’t stop them, even if I wanted to. My vision blurred with the tears pooling in my eyes. I stood frozen in place like a broken machine, mindlessly spilling out words he hadn’t even asked for.

“…You lost so much blood, and you weren’t breathing.”

“….”

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I killed you…”

My head was so foggy I barely registered what I was babbling. Iser, who had been silently listening to my near-delirious ramblings, tightened his grip on our intertwined hands and asked,

“…You killed me?”

“I killed you… No, I thought I killed you, that’s why … I killed all those people…”

It felt like untangling a knotted ball of thread. The more I untangled it, the more it became a mess. Similarly, the more I spoke, the more my words felt like they were spiraling into chaos.

“So what you’re saying is.”

Iser continued calmly.

“You killed me, and because you were so sad and in pain… you caused the Hayut Massacre?”

I nodded, my gaze lowered. A tear hanging from my chin fell, leaving a distinct mark on the marble floor. Like an indelible stain of my sin.

Then, Iser cupped my chin. He gently lifted my head, forcing me to meet his gaze.

“No, it’s not that.”

“……What?”

The tears pooling in my eyes flowed down my cheeks, clearing my blurred vision. The sky I hadn’t seen once in the past six years. His eyes, resembling the sky at its most beautiful, stared at me. 

They held a vivid affection that didn’t fit someone looking at the person who had harmed so many people, including himself.

Wiping my tears with his thumb, Iser opened his mouth.

“Lucariel, the people you killed there that day were no one─”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Or perhaps, I just couldn’t hear him.

“Ugh…!”

A terrible headache, like needles piercing my skull, suddenly surged through me. A ringing in my ears, like the hiss of a snake warning of danger, echoed.

I clutched my head, unable to steady myself. Just as I was about to fall, Iser caught my swaying body in his arms.

“As expected… it won’t be easy.”

Iser whispered softly, placing his hand on my forehead.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

The moment his cool palm touched my forehead, the headache subsided. Then, as the tension in my entire body melted away, I suddenly felt drowsy.

I fell immediately into a deep sleep.