Devotion and Death
"That's enough. Stop right there."
An overwhelming pressure, its source unknown, pressed down on Lucas.
Lucas froze, feeling his breath catch in his throat.
His senses screamed a warning.If he moved now…
He would die.
"..."
"Heh heh… Good instincts, young man. If you hadn't stopped, I would have cut you down where you stand."
Lucas's eyes darted toward the source of the voice, his gaze trembling.
Standing there was an old man with snow-white hair and round spectacles.
At first glance, he looked utterly ordinary, but Lucas could see it.A monstrous smile hidden behind the old man's mundane facade.
Lucas instinctively knew that this man was the one responsible for creating the undead knights.
'What... What am I facing here…?'
Lucas couldn't help but question the situation.
There was no doubt about the old man's existence, but he couldn't grasp what he was.
The old man wasn't strong.
He was death itself.
A gentle death that held no form.
Standing on the precipice of life and death, Lucas felt a primal fear wash over him.
"Such a bad habit you have there, young man, destroying someone's hard work like this."
"..."
"Oh dear, has he lost his mind?"
The old man chuckled, looking at Lucas's unfocused eyes with a troubled expression.
"I went through all the trouble of showing myself, enduring the side effects of the restrictions, and this is what I get?"
"..."
"Well, no matter. I've confirmed your skills are quite something… Taking care of you now will make things easier when I attack the Academy later."
"W-what… what did you say?"
Lucas snapped back to reality at the old man's words.
The Academy… An attack…
A vision of that calamity befalling the Academy flashed through Lucas’s mind.
"No…"
"Oh, you've overcome your fear? You're more impressive than I thought."
This was destruction.
This old man was at least on par with his master…
No, he might even be stronger.
He couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if the old man got his hands on the students.
-Thud…!
Lucas plunged his dagger into his own abdomen.
As a sharp pain shot through him, his clouded mind began to clear.
Spitting out the blood that welled up in his mouth, Lucas glared at the old man.
The old man smiled in satisfaction.
"Heh heh… It seems it was worth revealing myself, after all."
"I won't let you lay a finger on my students. So…"
"Come now, let's stretch these old bones."
"I will stop you right here."
-Crrrrraaaack!!
Lucas circulated the mana throughout his body with a ferocious intensity.
He knew, with a certainty that chilled him to the bone, that this would be his final resting place.
His life, which had continued through countless battles and losses on the battlefield, had finally reached its end.
It had arrived so abruptly.
Just a few days ago, he was joking with his fellow professors, training with student Raiden, and whispering words of love to his master…
Now, it felt like those everyday moments were nothing but a dream.
All those precious memories felt like they were being denied.
"At the very least… I'll take an arm from you before I go."
Despair and fear threatened to consume him, but he couldn't afford to surrender to them.
He had made a promise.
A promise to protect the smiles of the children who had given him hope when he was drowning in the despair of war and carnage.
"Indeed… That courage, is it devotion to others?"
"Let's wipe that arrogant smirk off your face, shall we?"
"Heh heh… Your blood boils. Please, don't disappoint me, young man."
The old man leaped back, widening the distance between them, and spoke with a relaxed expression, provoking Lucas.
Lucas accepted the challenge, gathering mana in both hands.
"Stars, heed my call."
As if responding to Lucas's invocation, a brilliant white light erupted from his fingertips.
Lucas swayed for a moment, feeling a wave of dizziness as he commanded the flowing starlight.
"One last time… Lend me your strength."
It was a forbidden magic.
A technique that traded the caster's lifespan for a brief moment of ultimate purification - the Reversion of Radiance.
Lucas was about to unleash the technique he had vowed never to use again after the war.
-Lucas… Please, do this one thing for your master.
-Promise me, that no matter what happens, you will never use that magic again.
-Your lifespan… it's already so short… Please, for your own sake, you need to live.
-Please… I don't want to lose you too.
His lover's sorrowful voice echoed in his ears.
A bitter feeling welled up within him, reflected in his emerald eyes.
Lucas bid farewell in his heart, a message he could never convey.
"I offer all of my remaining lifespan… Two years and four months."
I'm sorry, Master.
It seems your unworthy disciple will be leaving first.
I broke my promise and ended up taking my own life, but I have no regrets.
I would gladly give my life a thousand times over to protect the students I swore to guide, the students I saved from a blood-soaked battlefield.
…If there's one regret I have…
-What? You want me to say that…?
-No, it's not that I can't…! It's just embarrassing…!
-Alright, alright! I'll say it, so stop whining!
-…I… I love you, Lucas.
…It would be that I couldn't see your face one last time before I depart.
Please, don't grieve for me too long.
And, please… look after the students for me.
"Bloom, Flower of Life."
-Lucas Style Annihilation Magic Secret Technique-
'Full Bloom.'
Pure white flowers blossomed in the air.
One by one, two by two, they burst open in succession…
Until they covered the entire clearing, transforming it into a vast field of white.
The old man and the young man stood facing each other amidst the beautiful field of swirling flower petals.
"A magic that sacrifices lifespan… Beautiful, yet undeniably cruel."
"Gasp… Gasp…"
"A beautiful death… How ironic, don't you think, young man?"
"Cough, hack… Shut… up… and… come… get… me…"
"Heh heh… Very well. Let's put you out of your misery."
The old man lunged towards the gasping Lucas with a light chuckle.
At the same time, Lucas kicked off the ground.
And in the next instant…
-BEEEEEP!!!
A blinding white flash and a jet-black blade clashed, and a deafening ringing sound, as if the forest itself was screaming, filled the air.
***
“Take it off. Right here, right now.”
“Huh…?”
Violet stared at me blankly, as if trying to decipher the meaning behind my nonchalant words.
“R-right here…?”
“Yes, right here, in front of me.”
I confirmed, nodding my head, and watched as the color drained from her face.
She instinctively raised her hand to cover her bandaged face, her voice trembling as she protested.
“N-no! I can’t…”
She pulled her knees up to her chest, curling into herself like a frightened turtle retreating into its shell.
Her fingers clutched at the fabric of her clothes as she trembled.
“I-I can’t show you… what’s under this bandage…!”
“And why not?”
I had clearly struck a nerve. Violet’s reaction was more intense than I had anticipated.
I knew the reason behind her fear, but I pressed on, feigning ignorance.
“Now that I think about it, I’m curious. Why do you wear that bandage anyway?”
“…”
“Hoh, are you choosing to ignore me, commoner?”
“Eek…!”
Violet flinched at my threatening tone, her head snapping down in a gesture of submission.
“Th-that’s not it…! I-it’s just like I said before… what’s under this bandage… i-it’s… really ugly…”
“…Ugly?”
“P-people… they say it’s disgusting… they told me to… t-to keep it covered…”
“...”
I gritted my teeth, her words stinging more than I had expected.
I already knew what lay beneath the bandages, but hearing her say it out loud, hearing the pain and shame in her voice, it filled me with a rage I could barely contain.
Disgusting? Keep it covered?
If hearing those words secondhand was enough to make me ache with sympathy, what must it have been like for Violet to hear them said to her face, day after day?
I took a deep breath, composing myself before speaking again.
“Take off the bandage. I don’t care about such things.”
“…”
Violet stared at me with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
She probably expected me to recoil in disgust, just like everyone else.
I could see the fear in her eyes, and for a moment, I almost relented.
But I couldn’t back down now.
“You’re making me even more curious about what’s under there.”
“B-but… I… I can’t…”
Her voice was barely a whisper, tears welling up in her beautiful violet eyes.
I steeled my expression, adopting a cold and indifferent demeanor.
“Don’t talk back to me, commoner. You’re forgetting your place in front of the Lishite family.”
“Eek…! N-no, that’s not…!”
It was a low blow, a blatant abuse of my authority.
She had no obligation to show me anything.
I was being selfish, driven by a morbid curiosity to see the scars that I had only read about, to understand the depths of her pain.
“Just do it. I won’t ask again.”
“H-hic… Y-yes… S-sniff…”
“...”
“I-I’ll show you… J-just… please…”
-Rustle…
Tears streamed down her face as she reached up with trembling fingers and began to unwind the bandage.
Slowly, agonizingly, the veil that hid her face was lifted.
The white cloth fell away, revealing…
“...”
“S-sob… D-don’t… Don’t look…”
A large, discolored scar that covered the entire right side of her face.
Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel.
