Chapter: 301
I stared blankly at the person standing in front of me.
A strikingly distinctive pure white hair.
There couldn’t be a better match for the word “exceptional.”
How could I possibly misinterpret the image of you that I’ve captured countless times in my eyes?
What stood before me was undoubtedly Yoon Si-woo.
And that was why I fell into utter confusion.
“Eh…? Yoon… no, Master… Um…?”
What I saw in front of me was Yoon Si-woo, but my mind kept shouting.
The person right before your eyes is your Master.
The one you must obey.
It was strange, strange.
Clearly, what stood before me was Yoon Si-woo, so why did I constantly think of Yoon Si-woo as Master?
It couldn’t be that Yoon Si-woo was Master.
The Master was just moments ago the bad person who ordered me to kill my friends.
Wait, is that right? Or not…?
In my dazed mind, a faint sense of unease persisted, but my pleasure-fuddled brain couldn’t think clearly.
I didn’t know. I couldn’t understand.
But one thing was certain,
“Haha, look at that. The eyes that were glaring at me just a moment ago have changed into those of a docile lamb.”
The intense hostility I had been desperately holding toward my Master melted away like snow upon seeing Yoon Si-woo’s face.
It was inevitable.
How could I harbor enmity toward none other than Yoon Si-woo?
“Come back, Scarlet.”
When I thought of your voice that had saved me just when I thought it was all over.
When I thought of you, who saved me and fell into a long sleep.
There was no way I could do that.
“The only thing one can trust in this world is oneself, yet they’re so bent on living or dying for others. Really foolish things.”
Yoon Si-woo mumbled something and laughed.
My head was too clouded to grasp his words fully, but seeing Yoon Si-woo smile made me happy.
I was afraid that you might never rise again, that you might never be able to speak like that again, so just that sight was enough to bring me joy.
Maybe that was why the unease I felt didn’t seem to matter.
Seeing Yoon Si-woo standing there alive and speaking was something I yearned for so much.
With that joy, I somehow crawled over, wrapped my arms around Yoon Si-woo’s legs, and choked out.
“…I’m glad, I’m glad. Yoon Si-woo, you’re awake… I’m glad…”
“…What are you saying? What is this? Well, seeing your face like that, I guess I won’t have the spirit to resist anymore. It’s really a bother. Anyway, stop dawdling and get up. You have to fulfill your precious person’s request.”
Yoon Si-woo said as he pulled me away from his legs as if I were a nuisance.
“Request…? Yeah, I’ll do it. Anything… Yoon Si-woo, if it’s your request, I’ll gladly do anything…”
And upon hearing the word ‘request’, I nodded and replied.
Yoon Si-woo, who said he would use his wish rights given to repay his debts to save me.
With the intention to gladly fulfill any request of Yoon Si-woo.
Then Yoon Si-woo, the Master, made a request, ordered me.
“Then go kill those who tried to harm me.”
At those words, I blankly turned my head back to see the path I had walked.
Thinking of the other friends and squad members I might encounter if I retraced that way.
“Friends… it would be wrong to kill people…”
They were precious to me.
That was why I could refuse the Master’s order to kill them.
But, but.
“Ugh, ah… but, I must obey the Master’s order… besides, I must fulfill Yoon Si-woo’s request…”
As the thought of obeying the Master’s order kept circling in my head, the desire to fulfill Yoon Si-woo’s request intensified, and my head grew foggier.
It felt like my firmly-held beliefs were starting to crack.
And just as my mind was wavering, Yoon Si-woo, the Master, whispered in my ear.
“They’re trying to kill me, your precious person. Are you going to let those bad guys live?”
A whisper that crawled into my ear, my heart.
Yoon Si-woo, die?
No, that can’t happen.
I must protect him.
I shook my head and mumbled.
“Ah…? No… Master, Yoon Si-woo. You can’t die… I must protect you…”
“Right, you must protect me. So, what do you need to do?”
“To protect you…?”
Then a whisper flowed in as if to answer my question.
“Kill.”
“……Kill?”
“Yes, kill. Those who tried to harm me, with your own hands.”
Yoon Si-woo tells me to kill people.
I felt a sense of unease.
It was strange, unusual.
But still, thinking that I might lose Yoon Si-woo again, I felt a jolt of fear, and all sense of unease disappeared.
I nodded and murmured.
“I need to kill… the bad people. I must kill them all… to protect.”
I must protect, I must kill.
Overcome by those two thoughts, I stood up blankly.
And to protect, to kill.
I intended to return to where I came from, to kill all the bad beings trying to harm my precious things beyond that.
Vrrroooom─!
“……?”
Before me, a pure white dagger flew out of my pocket to block my way.
The Holy Sword of Truth floated in the air, vibrating as if trying to say something to me.
But unable to comprehend, I pushed the Holy Sword of Truth away with my hand and murmured.
“Step aside, I need to go protect my Master Yoon Si-woo.”
As I said that, the Holy Sword of Truth shuddered and flew toward Yoon Si-woo, the Master behind me.
Then it started to swing around as if to attack.
“Huh? What the heck is this pesky sword doing! Trying to slice me up with that toy sword? It’s just a nothing trying to act all high and mighty!”
But the Holy Sword of Truth, moving at a speed even worse than a child swinging a sword, was effortlessly caught by Yoon Si-woo’s hand.
Then the Holy Sword of Truth, held by Yoon Si-woo, shook violently like a startled bird, barely managing to escape his grip and flew back to where I stood, settling in my hand.
With the Holy Sword of Truth in my grip, it finally seemed to calm down.
But I couldn’t help but feel something was wrong with how the Holy Sword of Truth was acting now.
Why, why was the Holy Sword of Truth acting like this toward its master, Yoon Si-woo?
Why did I feel like this sense of unease couldn’t be ignored?
As I pondered these thoughts while gazing at the Holy Sword of Truth, suddenly, it stabbed me lightly with a flick of its body.
In that instant.
“Ah…?”
A faint light began to seep out of my body.
That warm yet sacred feeling radiated a golden light, one I was familiar with.
I couldn’t not recognize it.
It was the light from Yoon Si-woo, who had saved me countless times from darkness.
As I stared dazedly at that golden brilliance, the light seeping from my body slowly stretched forward.
The light of the sword illuminated the way so that its owner wouldn’t wander in confusion.
“Hey, what the heck are you doing! You! What are you standing around for! Aren’t you going to hurry up and go kill?!”
In the place illuminated by that light was Yoon Si-woo, the Master.
“Can’t you hear me?! Go kill those humans! For me! Got it?!”
And upon seeing him image venting his frustration while telling me to kill people for himself, I suddenly realized something.
“…That can’t be.”
“What?”
“…Yoon Si-woo wouldn’t say such a thing as to kill people for himself.”
Yoon Si-woo, who had thrown himself to save me.
There was no way he would say something like that.
It dawned on me, foolishly realizing that obvious fact just now, and I looked again at the person before me.
Maybe thanks to the light, now I could see that figure clearly.
No, the person in front of me was not Yoon Si-woo.
The moment I realized that, I felt the fire igniting back into my hazy consciousness.
I became aware of the unease enveloping my mind.
“What, what the hell?! You’ve come to your senses?! Damn it, since it’s come to this again─!”
But I still wasn’t fully coherent.
The figure in front of me was still perceived as my Master, the one I had to obey.
I didn’t feel like causing harm to the person in front of me.
So at this moment, even if my mind began to clear, I thought.
How to break out of this situation.
A way to escape whatever was manipulating my mind.
And just as my thoughts reached that point,
Whoosh,
I set myself on fire.
“Whoaahhhhhh─!!”
I’m burning.
I’m on fire.
My skin, my organs, my muscles, my veins, every drop of blood in my body.
My whole body ablazed in a horrific pain screamed out of my mouth uncontrollably.
But at the same time, I felt it.
The things that had melted into my body, the things that had made me strange, burning away with the flames.
Thus, regaining my senses, I approached the figure in front of me, filled with all the frustration up until now, and shouted.
“─You!!! You think this is some kind of joke!!!”
“How…! This is impossible! My power was enhanced by the Sacred Remnants, how could you…!! Why am I losing to someone like you!!”
The Witch of Lust looked horrified, as if she couldn’t believe I regained my senses on my own.
“Ugh…! Hi… Hiiik! Don’t come near me!!!”
The Witch of Lust, losing her will to fight, stepped back as if evading me but ended up tripping over her own feet and falling backward.
In that state, desperately trying to escape with her one remaining usable arm, she crawled across the ground.
It was clear that no matter how she tried to escape like that, she’d be caught up to in no time.
“Alright, I messed up! I messed up! Please… spare me!”
Now realizing she couldn’t flee from me, the Witch of Lust begged for her life.
Seeing the pitiful state of my enemy that had almost defeated me just moments ago was quite the sight.
I sighed and reached out my nearly charred and blackened hand to remove the black gem, the Sacred Remnant, hanging around the Witch of Lust’s neck and muttered.
“…The reason you lose to me? There’s no way someone who’s never thrown a punch in a battle could win against me, who’s fighting with the resolve to burn myself.”
“R-Right…! I lost! I lost, so! Was the goal that Sacred Remnant?! I’ll just give it to you, so please let me go! I won’t mess with you again!”
Still pulling that pathetic act and begging for her life, I sighed again and muttered.
“Sure, I’ll let you go.”
“Really! Thank you! Really th—”
“I’m sending you to hell, you worm.”
“Gah─”
With a punch filled with my genuine intention, I struck the Witch of Lust in her abdomen.
I wanted to beat her until she died, but since it took longer than expected, regrettably, I couldn’t do that.
But I wasn’t too disappointed.
“Whoaahh─!! Aaaahhhh─! Kyaaaaaah─!”
The flames wrapped around my fist would send the Witch of Lust off to hell in the midst of horrific pain.
This fire was specially adjusted with utmost care for you.
Think about the people you’ve hurt, and suffer slowly before you die.
That would be a fitting end for trash like you.
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