EP.227 Life is a Flower. Love is the Honey of that Flower (14)
”Lowville─!”
At the piercing cry that stabbed her back like an arrow, Apis instinctively turned around.
Dawna, firmly believing that she was pursuing Regis, covered in a large rag.
In her murky eyes, there was a unique desperation, like someone searching for light in the darkness.
This was the second time Apis had seen such a face from Dawna, based on her memories.
It was when they were recruiting mages for the party.
Dawna was invited to the party through the Magic Tower’s arrangement, and as soon as she saw Regis’s face, she attempted to unleash a meteor on him.
The cause of that commotion was that Dawna had a history of being swindled by Regis and had orchestrated that revenge.
Though it had ended at the time, Apis now realized the whole truth belatedly.
”Anyway······.”
Bang!
Apis barely dodged the spear-like magic projectile flying towards her, grumbling in irritation for a moment.
It wasn’t uncommon for promising parties to fall apart over romantic issues.
But to think that even they, who had avoided such sordid dramas, would unknowingly get caught in the same trap.
It wasn’t as if she could really blame anyone.
Not once had their comrades prioritized their personal emotions and obstructed the path of the party.
And there was no need to elaborate on how abstinent Regis had been.
Dawna’s impulsive actions would not have occurred had her mind been clear.
”D-Don’t go! Lowville! Please! I’m begging you! Don’t leave me alone!”
Though she had been firing magic projectiles non-stop for that duration, Dawna’s tearful pleas and the power of her magic were still overwhelmingly fierce.
Even among elves, who had magic power dozens of times greater than humans, only a handful could continuously unleash magic of such a level.
Dawna’s limit wouldn’t be far off.
Apis assessed this, and indeed, that judgment was accurate.
”Cough!”
It was right then.
Dawna, who had been firing magic projectiles like a storm, suddenly stopped in place, spitting out blood.
Though she desperately tried to cover her mouth with both hands, that flimsy reaction was insufficient to stop the flood of blood.
Thud!
”Cough! Cough!”
Even after Dawna collapsed in place, the hematemesis continued for a while.
Spitting blood was a typical end-stage symptom of magic exhaustion.
Desperately trying to extract mana that had already run dry had become a truly tragic outcome, completely depleting her life force.
”······”
Apis silently stopped in her tracks, gazing at the heartbreaking spectacle for a long moment.
How much time had passed?
”L-Low······ville······!”
Even while the droplets of life were all but drying up, Dawna cried out his name imploringly, reaching out a hand.
Even though that call and gesture were directed at Apis, they weren’t really for her.
What Dawna truly yearned for was the shell of Regis that Apis was wrapped in.
It was merely a hazy mirage that the shabby rag portrayed.
Apis chose silence for that very reason.
The most certain way to incapacitate Dawna would be to continue pretending to be Regis, leading her to faint from magic exhaustion.
In fact, Dawna was standing on the brink of collapse.
It was obvious that she would crumble within at most a few dozen minutes or even just a few dozen seconds.
So, the best course of action for Apis was simply to wait for Dawna to fall apart in silence.
But for some reason, Apis didn’t like this situation in many ways.
No, from start to finish, everything was displeasing.
Zing!
As an unusual noise suddenly echoed, Apis’s sharp ears perked up.
The swirling movement of magic around them was like a swarm of fiery ants crawling all over her body.
There was no doubt.
Dawna was attempting to use her magic again.
And this time it was on a level that defied comparison to anything thus far.
”I don’t want to be alone······! I refuse to be alone any longer······!”
Even with blood pouring from her burst veins, Dawna wouldn’t stop channeling her magic.
The flawless magic formula that had not a single flaw was now completely disheveled, something Apis had never seen before.
Although Apis had often harbored ill feelings toward Dawna, she deeply respected the intricate beauty of her magic technique, like silk woven by a master craftsman.
Thus, the shock was all the more profound.
Dawna’s magic, so vastly different from Apis’s memory of her.
It was as if she was watching a child throwing a tantrum at their parents.
It was from that moment onward.
Apis could no longer suppress the impulse she had been holding back.
Bang!
Planting her bow into the ground like a flag, Apis shot a fierce glare at Dawna.
With Apis’s mind having completely evaporated the original plan to remain silent until Dawna fainted, it was gone without a trace.
”Look at this······!”
”A-Apis······?”
Whoosh!
The rag she had been wrapped in was sent flying far away from the impact.
As a result, her identity, which she had been hiding until now, was completely exposed to Dawna, but Apis didn’t care at all.
”A-Apis······? Not Lowville······? W-Where is Lowville······?”
Like a butterfly with its antennae cut off, Dawna’s black eyes were wavering aimlessly.
Not a single time did their hazy path linger on Apis’s form; they continued to circle around instead.
”Cut the nonsense─!”
Thwack!
Right after that, Apis yelled a rebuttal, throwing herself into the fray.
Having been ostracized from her hometown, Apis had only encountered others a handful of times.
She was painfully aware of how devastatingly poor her ability to read others’ emotions was.
The rust of her past years, having relied more on threats and violence than understanding and dialogue, would not melt away in just a few years of encounters and journeys.
Because of this, Apis knew better than anyone how foolish a decision she had just made.
Throwing away the most certain and safe path to bet her life on such an uncertain measure.
At this moment, Apis knew she couldn’t argue against being called a hot-blooded elf.
But at the same time.
If she didn’t smash her fist into that pathetic face right now, she was certain she would lose countless nights of sleep for hundreds of years to come.
Clang!
”Ugh!”
Dawna, who barely blocked Apis’s swinging bow with her staff, let out a short moan.
Clearly depicted as rivals, the two had typically exchanged arrows and spells from a distance.
So, to find them this close, genuinely engaging in close combat, was practically a first.
”What? Don’t leave me alone? You don’t want to be alone? You’re not a kid, for goodness’ sake! You’re whining like a brat!”
”······What!”
Suddenly, Dawna glared at Apis in fury.
At that moment, through the haze of pain and sorrow, a faint glimmer of reason illuminated Dawna’s eyes.
And Apis couldn’t let that fleeting opportunity slip away.
Thud!
”Cough!”
Apis’s knee strike connected with Dawna’s unprotected abdomen.
The unexpected shock sent Dawna flying several meters before she crashed to the cold ground like a fallen leaf.
”Ugh······.”
”Get up. I haven’t finished beating you yet.”
Saying that, Apis approached Dawna, who now had a small ice crystal of arrow size embedded in her ankle.
It was a manifestations of Dawna’s magic.
Even while being beaten, she instinctively embedded her ice magic in a display of fighting instinct.
”I was just getting tired of bickering with you. This works out nicely.”
”······”
”Let’s have a match here. Dawna.”
”······”
Throwing her broken bow nonchalantly to the ground, Apis harbored a sharp hostility, and for the first time, Dawna’s eyes, which had been wandering aimlessly in the air, finally acknowledged Apis’s form.
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