The sword that grants wishes.
Upon hearing about the abilities of the Holy Sword of Wishes from Lucy, Yoon Si-woo was momentarily filled with hope that he could bring Scarlet back to life.
“…The price for granting a wish is the user’s life.”
However, once he learned that the user’s life was the necessary cost for the Holy Sword of Wishes to use its abilities, that thrill vanished, replaced by mutterings full of agony escaping his lips.
Yoon Si-woo unknowingly squeezed his eyes shut.
And with his eyes closed, he thought.
Could he die to bring Scarlet back?
At that moment, images of Scarlet flashed past his mind like a panorama.
No matter how difficult her situation was, she always tried her best to save others.
She never cared what became of her, always stepping forward for the sake of others.
In the end, she had sacrificed herself to save everyone.
If Scarlet were here instead, what would she have done?
If it were she who had died and was holding the Holy Sword of Wishes, would she really have sacrificed her life to save him?
Without needing to question himself, Yoon Si-woo felt he already knew the answer.
Thus,
“It doesn’t matter.”
Whether or not to use the Holy Sword of Wishes was something he never even needed to contemplate from the start.
“…Even if it means I die, it doesn’t matter.”
Because she would have undoubtedly done the same.
“If I can just bring Scarlet back, that child.”
Yoon Si-woo looked at Lucy with unwavering eyes and said so.
“……”
And upon seeing his eyes, Lucy could feel Yoon Si-woo’s heart.
Yoon Si-woo was hoping.
That Scarlet was not someone who could just die like that.
That kind-hearted people like her should be alive and enjoy more happiness.
Despite the fact that he would soon be unable to live and breathe in the same world as the girl, he believed this sincerely.
Lucy, whose soul was connected to Yoon Si-woo, understood the depth of feelings he held for the girl.
Thus, she had no choice but to realize how heavy Yoon Si-woo’s decision was.
It was an emotion that transcended even what could be described as love.
It was only then that Lucy began to understand, even slightly, why Yoon Si-woo had become so strong.
Though it had perhaps started as infatuation, Yoon Si-woo had discovered something within the girl.
Something that continuously drives a person to become stronger, something that could be called an ideal.
And Lucy remembered the moment Yoon Si-woo had realized that.
When the girl had fought against a demonic beast and ended up hospitalized with an injured arm, she had responded to Yoon Si-woo’s question about continuing her studies at the Academy by saying she would because she wanted to protect people.
Hearing such an idealistic response, Yoon Si-woo had voiced to Lucy his desire to become strong.
That must have been the moment.
When a flame had settled within Yoon Si-woo’s heart.
The girl wished for a world where kind people could be happy.
Therefore, Yoon Si-woo wished for nothing more than the happiness of that pure girl.
Although different, it was fundamentally a flame of the same light.
Having harbored the same ideal, it seemed only natural that he would also develop a willingness to sacrifice himself for the happiness of others.
Lucy looked at Yoon Si-woo with a gaze that expressed what she could not articulate.
“…So, you wish to bring that child back to life, even at the cost of your life?”
At Lucy’s question, Yoon Si-woo displayed a hint of guilt.
He had learned why she had until now refrained from discussing the Holy Sword of Wishes with him.
Yet having made up his mind, Yoon Si-woo nodded at Lucy, despite everything.
“…I understand your intention.”
And after hearing Yoon Si-woo’s answer, Lucy let out a soft sigh.
“However, I cannot allow you to die like that.”
“What? What do you mean—”
She declared with a determined look that she would not allow such a thing.
A sudden shift in the atmosphere.
Yoon Si-woo, confused, asked Lucy, but she interrupted him.
“Si-woo, do you remember the first contract we made?”
Lucy cut in and asked him a question instead.
At that question, Yoon Si-woo hesitated but tried to recall the memory of the day they first met.
But before he could remember, Lucy continued speaking.
“On that day, I agreed to become your family as you wished.”
“……”
“And in return, I asked you to grant me one request later.”
On the day he had asked Lucy to be his family, Yoon Si-woo also remembered it clearly.
He also remembered her saying that she would ask for a favor later.
Since Lucy hadn’t asked him for anything until now, he knew he would have to grant her one whenever she asked.
But why bring up such old matters now…
“…!”
At that moment, Yoon Si-woo trembled as he recalled something Lucy just mentioned.
Hadn’t she just said she wouldn’t let him die like this?
The reason she was now bringing up the contract was not…
“Lucy, you don’t mean…!”
Yoon Si-woo shouted toward Lucy, overcome with anxiety.
And he saw it.
“…Si-woo, I cannot let you die. You are my only family and master. To me, no one in this world is more precious than you.”
With a gaze both tender and remorseful, Lucy spoke to him.
Yoon Si-woo felt her deep desire for him to not die reflected in her eyes.
“Lucy!!”
“…I’m sorry. I just wish you could understand how I feel asking this of you.”
Her words only amplified his unease, and Yoon Si-woo desperately implored her to reconsider.
But Lucy, unfazed by his urgency, maintained a wry smile and continued.
“…Si-woo, the Holy Sword of Wishes you possess.”
Please, don’t use the Holy Sword of Wishes.
If she were to make that request, bringing Scarlet back would no longer be possible, so Yoon Si-woo had expected Lucy to ask for such a thing and closed his eyes tightly, resigned.
However,
“─Transfer ownership of that sword to me.”
The continuation of her statement completely differed from what Yoon Si-woo had anticipated.
“……”
With a shocked expression, Yoon Si-woo opened his eyes to see a sword bathed in soft blue light, like a star in the early dawn, flying out of the void and landing in Lucy’s hands.
The Holy Sword of Wishes had transferred its ownership to Lucy in accordance with their contract.
Seeing Yoon Si-woo staring blankly, Lucy chuckled and murmured.
“Why, are you surprised? Well, I guess you would be. The sword is very picky about its owner, and yet it has come running to me just from a single request. That must mean you weren’t much of a match for it as a master.”
Of course, it wasn’t that reason that had shocked him, so Yoon Si-woo couldn’t retort.
Observing Yoon Si-woo’s response, Lucy gently smiled and said.
“It was just a joke. This sword actually likes you a lot, so you don’t need to worry. That’s why it came to me without resistance.”
Lucy, with a pitiful expression, gently caressed the Holy Sword of Wishes in her hand.
“…Perhaps because of the power it possesses, the sword has a consciousness. It doesn’t like its own ability. How could it like a power that activates at the cost of the owner’s life?”
As if to agree with her words, the Holy Sword of Wishes flickered softly with blue light in Lucy’s hand.
Yoon Si-woo watched Lucy and the Holy Sword of Wishes in silence.
At first, his expression had been one of shock, but it gradually became rigid.
It wasn’t because he was anxious about Lucy taking the Holy Sword of Wishes from him.
Lucy realized Yoon Si-woo’s expression had hardened and understood that he was starting to guess what she was about to do.
“…Si-woo, there was something I didn’t explain when discussing the Holy Sword of Wishes earlier. Its power is almost miraculous, but it’s definitely not omnipotent. If it could bring about any event at the cost of a single life, it would be called a deity, not a sword.”
Lucy held the sword and spread her hands, as if illustrating a scale.
“You can understand better if you think of it like a scale. On one side, you have the life sacrificed as a cost. It’s an impossible task to grant wishes that exceed the value of the life given. Moreover, since it acts to create something akin to a miracle, there is a certain amount of energy expended; technically, the exchange rate is less than even an equal exchange. Therefore, no matter how strong you are, it’s impossible to resurrect a dead witch with one human life. But—”
Lucy paused, looking at Yoon Si-woo, who couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“…But if it’s the life of a witch who can live nearly forever, even if it’s not possible to resurrect the dead witch in her original state, bringing her back as an ordinary human is certainly possible.”
The moment those words left Lucy’s lips, Yoon Si-woo’s eyes widened in intense agitation.
To put that differently, since she had brought up the Holy Sword of Wishes, it meant she was thinking of a sacrifice for herself.
A whirlwind of emotions surged within Yoon Si-woo.
Amidst that storm of feelings, he gazed at Lucy with trembling eyes, his lips fluttering before he finally managed to utter one word.
“Why…?”
An inquiry that stood above all his feelings.
Why?
Why was she willing to do that?
It would only carry significance for him to resurrect Scarlet, so why should she go so far?
With that question hanging heavy in the air, Lucy chuckled awkwardly.
She couldn’t clearly articulate the answer to that ‘why’ even to herself.
Why… Well, why could that be…
Lucy asked herself.
And to find the answer to that question, she sank back into the memories of her past—memories that only she knew.
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