Chapter: 167
Yoon Si-woo’s sword pierced down.
For a moment, Frieda, who had been trembling, soon fell silent as if her breath had ceased.
Immediately afterward, Yoon Si-woo, without a moment’s hesitation, turned his gaze from Frieda and dashed towards me, leaning against the wall.
“Scarlet! Are you okay?!”
His expression as he ran and shouted made me involuntarily smile.
Where had the cold demeanor he showed while facing Frieda just moments ago gone? Perhaps it was relief to see him wearing an expression full of worry and concern.
Despite the fact that the usual white-haired boy had turned into one with dark hair, the essence of who he was had not changed at all, and that thought brought me comfort as I gazed into Yoon Si-woo’s now darkened eyes.
“… I’m okay, so just calm down a bit.”
“Calm down?! Your condition is—how can you say that?!”
“… It’s fine. Despite appearances, I have a sturdy body, so there’s no need to worry too much. I just lost a bit of blood, that’s all, so I’m feeling a little dizzy.”
To be honest, I was in a vague state that made it hard to say I was completely okay.
After all, it seemed I had bled enough to have already died, but while I felt dizzy and weak, I didn’t feel like I was going to die, which I supposed was somewhat reassuring.
Of course, I understood why Yoon Si-woo was so restless.
If I were in his position, witnessing a friend standing there with just one arm left while bleeding profusely, I surely wouldn’t have been able to remain calm.
Yet, seeing how worried Yoon Si-woo was, I thought I might as well try to reassure him and put on a brave face, but just then, Yoon Si-woo murmured with a pained expression.
“… It’s my fault.”
“… Huh?”
Wondering what he meant, I turned to find Yoon Si-woo answering with a face filled with guilt.
“… I just said something like it’s okay as long as you’re alive, even if you lose an arm or leg… I didn’t mean it towards you, but…”
I didn’t quite understand the full context of what he was saying, but it seemed that something he had said was weighing heavily on his mind.
So, he thought that after saying such a thing, I had ended up like this?
What a foolish thought.
“…… You didn’t do anything wrong. This isn’t your fault, so don’t say that.”
“No, it’s my fault… If only I had arrived a little earlier… If I hadn’t been late, Scarlet, you…”
Though I told Yoon Si-woo he wasn’t at fault, he continued to blame himself, feeling remorseful for not having arrived sooner about my state.
Watching him like this made me sigh in frustration and call out to him.
“… Hey, Yoon Si-woo.”
Then, I took his remaining arm and placed it against my chest, asking,
“How does it feel? Can you feel it?”
“… Huh? Uh…?”
I asked again, and Yoon Si-woo, having been dazed, slowly nodded his head in response.
Looking into his trembling eyes, I spoke.
“Yoon Si-woo, if you really had been late, if you hadn’t come, my heart wouldn’t still be beating like this. But you came. You saved me like you promised. You did whatever it took to make that happen.”
Honestly, while I believed he would come, I couldn’t shake the thought that he might not make it in time.
But Yoon Si-woo had kept his promise.
I didn’t know what methods he had used, but he truly had rushed to help me when I was in danger.
For that reason, I felt nothing but gratitude toward him.
With that sentiment, I sincerely said to Yoon Si-woo.
“You’re not late. Just like you’ve always come to help me, you came this time too. So don’t blame yourself.”
Upon hearing this, Yoon Si-woo nodded, but his eyes still reflected deep regret.
As he removed his hand from my chest, I could see him slowly gazing with sorrow at my left arm, the place where it had been severed.
If in the future, I were to replace all my limbs like this, it was clear that he would feel guilty every time he looked at me.
I didn’t want to see that, so I paused, contemplating for a moment.
Then a thought crossed my mind, and I spoke to Yoon Si-woo carefully.
“… Hey, Yoon Si-woo. Can you just touch the severed part of my arm once?”
Yoon Si-woo’s expression clouded over with bitterness.
See, you still have lingering feelings about the severed arm.
Still, he had no choice but to do as I asked, picking up the severed arm from where it was lying on the ground and placing it against the cut site.
“…! Scarlet, your arm!”
He exclaimed with an astonished expression, his voice echoing as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
As I grimaced at his loudness, he quickly lowered his voice, but I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the astonishment he displayed.
The sight of the severed limb slowly reattaching to the stump was such an absurd yet shocking sight.
Damn, this actually works…
As I muttered to myself internally, Yoon Si-woo, looking flabbergasted, asked,
“… Scarlet, what the hell is happening…?”
“… Ever since my body partially transformed due to the witch’s power, my recovery abilities have increased. I figured that perhaps the severed limbs could grow back, and look, it really does work… It might be thanks to that guy’s abilities, making the cut surface so clean.”
“… So, we can grow back your severed limbs? That’s a relief…”
“… Yeah, it’s a relief.”
I nodded in agreement, matching Yoon Si-woo’s sense of relief.
Yet, there was a complicated feeling inside.
While being able to reattach my limbs wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it seemed bizarre that I could merely bring a severed arm close and it would grow back.
Now, it really felt like I had become a body that could no longer be called entirely human, and I couldn’t help but grin bitterly at that realization.
Noticing the expression on my face, Yoon Si-woo asked cautiously,
“… What’s wrong?”
“… I just feel like I’ve unavoidably turned into a monster…”
As I softly murmured while waiting for my arm to regrow, Yoon Si-woo suddenly raised his sword high.
With the sword held aloft, he smiled at me and said,
“Don’t worry too much. Look at this; my arms can regenerate too—.”
“…?! Hey, you crazy idiot!!”
“Oops.”
Shock coursed through me as I saw him about to chop off his perfectly healthy arm.
I lunged toward him and, forgetting about my legs for a moment, just barely managed to throw myself into his arms.
My goal was to halt his reckless behavior, and though I succeeded, I gasped heavily, looking at him.
“What do you think you’re doing?! Why on earth would you try to cut off a healthy arm?!”
“N-no… I just thought I could show you that I can regenerate limbs too, so I was going to do that…”
That would just ruin your lifespan!
Knowing from the original story about the cost of the relentless recovery powers that the Holy Sword possessed, I raged internally at his indifferent attitude while he literally showed off by attempting to hurt himself.
Considering that he has Lucy with him, he surely would have been aware of the toll of using his abilities.
Yet, for the sake of my emotional state, he would willingly go to such lengths…
I felt grateful towards him but pleaded as I looked up at Yoon Si-woo.
“Please take care of your body; it feels like my heart is dropping, so can you value yourself more?”
“… I’m sorry. But Scarlet, hearing that from you feels really ironic, you know?”
“… I don’t know! You’ve made my arm almost regrow, now it’s fallen apart again…!”
Thinking it over, I realized I shouldn’t have been the one saying this since I was the one who lost limbs constantly; I turned my gaze away and replied.
However, more pressing was how long he planned to hold me like this.
Feeling like a baby due to being carried in such a diminished state stirred feelings of embarrassment.
While wriggling to escape his grasp, Yoon Si-woo turned my body to face outward and mumbled,
“Stay still. It’s hard to hold you up until it attaches back. I’ll help you.”
After pondering for a moment, I relaxed and leaned against Yoon Si-woo.
Perhaps in response to the shouting I’d just done, dizziness washed over me, and I was willing to ignore my embarrassment entirely.
With my limb and body entrusted to Yoon Si-woo, I shut my eyes.
As I closed them, I could feel the severed nerves slowly reconnecting, alongside the constraining strength of Yoon Si-woo holding my arm.
Glimpsing upwards with a slight opening of my eyes, I could see Yoon Si-woo gazing intently at the connection point, anxious about whether the reattachment would go wrong.
…Indeed, after becoming familiar with white, seeing Yoon Si-woo with black hair and black eyes felt so out of place.
It used to be the opposite that was unusual.
I figured I had become accustomed to this world.
Lost in such thoughts, I hesitantly asked Yoon Si-woo,
“… Um, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“… Aren’t you afraid of using the witch’s power?”
At my question, Yoon Si-woo flinched slightly and replied in a soft voice.
“Not particularly. I didn’t learn about my identity all that long ago, but I’ve known Lucy, the witch sealed in my sword, since I was a kid. Using Lucy’s power doesn’t scare me at all.”
Having said that, Yoon Si-woo noticed my reaction and questioned,
“The only scary thing would be the reactions of those who see me use this power, I guess. Uh, Scarlet… Are you not scared? That I’m using a witch’s power…?”
His question reminded me of the dilemmas Yoon Si-woo had throughout the original story.
Right, he always hesitated to use Lucy’s powers until the last moment due to such concerns.
Because he understood the public’s prejudice against witches.
And because he anticipated their reactions.
Thus, when Yoon Si-woo nervously asked me, I smiled and replied,
“Scared? We’re both in the same boat when it comes to the witch.”
I then shared with him thoughts I had concealed in my heart until now.
“On the contrary, I think it’s fortunate.”
“… Fortunate?”
“Yeah.”
Looking at Yoon Si-woo, who looked puzzled, I smiled and continued,
“Now you and I share a unique secret that we can never tell anyone else and understand one another.”
As I said this, I leaned more into Yoon Si-woo.
Since I had fallen into this world and discovered the secret hidden in my body, I had been immensely grateful for Yoon Si-woo’s presence in my life.
I feared that without him, I might have gone insane a long time ago.
But because Yoon Si-woo was there, I could avoid such a fate.
Knowing there was someone I could share my secrets with in this world.
Understanding that he was someone who had grown up with me without prejudice against the witch.
It was likely that Yoon Si-woo was able to use Lucy’s powers without hesitation in front of me for the same reason.
“From now on, we know each other’s secrets.”
I noticed Yoon Si-woo’s black gaze examining me.
As I smiled at him, our eyes locked, and I said,
“We’re secret friends, right?”
At those words, Yoon Si-woo blushed a bit but nodded his head.
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