I burned the tree.
I burned the person.
Even in that moment, as I moved forward, burning everything in front of me, the fire clinging to my body did not extinguish.
The flames ignited by the people who betrayed my trust and cried for revenge did not die out.
My flesh, continuously burning while also constantly regenerating, meant that my pain did not end.
Hating the world that made me suffer that pain so much, I wished to return that pain to the world.
Aah-!!!
Filled with vengeance, as I burned the world with my own hands, I heard screams filled with anguish.
Surely the burned world was suffering the same pain as I did.
So, those screams should have been sweet to hear.
However, for some reason, I felt no emotion from those screams.
Only the blazing flames whispered to me to burn everything in front of me, and so I burned and burned again.
Burn.
When the flames whispered to me like that, I heard the screams.
Burn it.
When the flames urged me like that, I heard the screams.
The forest that was once filled with cherished memories was now filled with black soot.
When I burned all the places where those precious memories resided.
I suddenly turned to look back at the path I had walked.
I saw a path covered in soot, where nothing remained, all burned.
Only then did I realize.
At the end of revenge, ultimately, there’s nothing left.
That revenge is indeed a futile act.
I may have known this from the very beginning.
That I shouldn’t have done such things.
Aah-
Realizing this, I found myself sobbing uncontrollably.
Aah-
The sound coming from my throat resembled the screams I had been hearing.
Aahhh-!!!
No, perhaps from the very beginning, it was I who had been screaming.
I tried to stop myself.
But, it was impossible.
The flames ignited by my desire for revenge would not extinguish until the vengeance was fulfilled.
No matter how much I wanted to stop, as long as the flames of revenge burned my body, the voice within me wanting to burn everything would not cease.
Was that the reason?
That moment when my breath was cut off by another’s hand felt like such a relief.
At the end of my life, I desperately wished for one thing.
That in the next life, I wouldn’t have to spend a life filled with such regrets.
I truly wished for that.
But when I regained consciousness again,
I could feel it.
The flames inside me had not yet extinguished.
Not even death could snuff out those flames.
Once these flames engulf me and those innocent children,
I will once again move to burn the world.
Thus, all that remained for me was despair.
*
When I woke up, I found I was crying without realizing it.
Huh, why am I crying…?
…I don’t quite know, but I felt like I had a very sad dream.
However, the fact that I couldn’t remember the dream made me think maybe I had gone somewhere to save the world.
Muttering nonsense in my half-asleep state, I got up.
To gather my senses, I slowly turned my neck to stretch.
And then,
“…Hiiik?!”
Sitting right next to my bed was Yoon Si-woo.
I felt a bit embarrassed for making such a strange sound, but this was beyond my control.
Waking up to someone sitting next to me with an extremely serious expression, how could I not be startled?
More importantly, why was he staring at me with such a serious face while I was sleeping?
Did a ghost come out or what…?
As I calmed my startled heart, I felt like I understood why Yoon Si-woo was here.
Given how he’s always worrying, it seemed he had been taking care of me while I was sick.
I glanced at the window, and dim sunlight was filtering through the closed shutter.
It definitely had been nighttime before I fell asleep.
…Could it be that he stayed up all night worrying about me?
If that’s true, I’d feel really sorry about it…
Anyway, thanks to him, I felt much better than before I fell asleep.
I thought I should express my gratitude.
Just then, with a serious expression, Yoon Si-woo stared at me intensely and murmured,
“…Scarlet, is that you?”
“…?”
I must have made a dumbfounded expression in response to that question.
It was such a strange question that I wasn’t sure I heard correctly.
It was the second most bewildering question after being asked on the internet if you are human.
But since I was asked, it felt like I had to answer. After a moment of existential contemplation, I carefully responded.
“…It’s Scarlet.”
“…I’m glad. You look okay.”
Even I thought my answer sounded really dumb.
But it seemed that the serious look on Yoon Si-woo’s face softened a bit with my reply.
Considering his reaction, he probably wanted to know if I was feeling alright.
He must have been tired from watching over me all night, which led to him stumbling over his words.
Thinking that made my guilt towards Yoon Si-woo deepen.
As I contemplated making breakfast for the exhausted Yoon Si-woo, his mobile phone buzzed, as if he received a text.
Did he receive bad news?
With a wrinkled expression, Yoon Si-woo checked his mobile phone.
After glancing between his phone and me, he frowned and muttered,
“…I’m sorry, Scarlet. I know I should be here with you, but it seems like I have to go for something.”
Yoon Si-woo looked incredibly, incredibly remorseful but also anxious.
It seemed like a parent who left their child by the water’s edge wouldn’t look as worried as he did.
I couldn’t help but wonder how much he had worried about my condition that he felt he needed to leave now.
I exaggeratedly gestured that I was fine to ease his anxiety, speaking up.
“Ah? No, you should go if something’s come up. If you’re worried about my health, don’t worry about it. Look, thanks to your care, I feel completely fine now. So don’t stress and go.”
“But…”
Seeing him worry when I assured him I was okay made me feel a little sad.
It’s nice of him to care, but it felt a bit overprotective.
“Really, I’m fine. You know I’m pretty healthy. What are you so worried about? Did something big happen that I don’t know about?”
With that thought, I playfully questioned, but Yoon Si-woo flinched and shivered.
That response was so strange that I couldn’t help but be surprised.
…Huh, what? I was just joking!
Did something happen while I was sleeping where I vomited blood?
If that were the case, I could sort of understand Yoon Si-woo’s reaction.
So I waited for him to answer, genuinely curious if something happened, and after a moment of silence, Yoon Si-woo murmured.
“…No, nothing happened. It’s nothing for you to worry about. I think I was just a bit too anxious.”
“…What? That was it? I thought you were hiding something from me. Well, there’s no way we could keep secrets between us, so I guess it was just unnecessary worry.”
After all, we share the big secret of being witches, so what could there be to hide?
When I laughed, thinking that it might have been unnecessary worry, Yoon Si-woo also smiled and nodded.
He seemed a bit strained while smiling, perhaps due to not getting any rest while taking care of me.
“…Hey, you didn’t get a chance to rest while you were taking care of me, right? Are you pushing yourself too hard?”
Upon saying that with concern, Yoon Si-woo replied to reassure me.
“Push, what? I’m fine. I’m just doing what I always can do.”
After standing up, Yoon Si-woo smiled at me before leaving the room.
“So, Scarlet, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
He still seemed like he was putting on a brave face.
*
After Yoon Si-woo left the house, feeling better, I informed Ms. Eve that I had fully recovered.
When I asked how class was going, it turned out that there had been such a major incident that they couldn’t conduct any classes and had to use it as cleanup and hands-on practical training for a while.
It seemed they were short-staffed, as the other students were also diligently helping in areas that needed hands.
Now that I was feeling fine, I couldn’t just sit around, so I decided to volunteer where help was needed.
Currently, the most needed support was in the disposal of demonic beast carcasses scattered throughout the city.
If left unattended, they could decay and release miasma, putting the citizens at risk, so we were working with cleanup teams to move them to safe locations.
As I received directions and made my way to the work site, I passed by the hospital and saw a familiar girl with blue hair squatting down in front of the hospital.
I paused my steps for a moment and approached her, who had her head buried in her knees.
“…Marin.”
“…Scarlet.”
Seeing Marin lift her head weakly, instead of a greeting, I cautiously wrapped my arms around her shoulders.
She truly was the strongest girl.
When her father was severely injured, she stood up to fight, insisting that a hero must smile even through hardship.
But regardless of how many titles could be attached to her, she was still just a little girl.
“…Uhp, huff…”
No one would blame her for quietly shedding tears without being able to burst into loud sobbing.
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