To Lingering Attachment (1)

Before I knew it, my fight with the monster presumed to be Another Hope had turned into close-quarters combat. Naturally, in this situation, Eve and Ilina Crowley couldn’t offer much help.

At most, they could cast sacred magic to enhance my physical abilities or create a defensive barrier that might block an enemy attack once or twice.

Another Hope was driving me back with extremely instinctive movements.

But I couldn’t call those movements simple. He clearly understood the characteristics of his own body.

My chains couldn’t be destroyed. No matter how powerful an enemy might be, they couldn’t break the power I had forged from my entire journey as the Son of Man.

It would be like trying to destroy human history itself.

That’s why those bound by these chains cannot escape their constraints.

However…..

“Kihihihi!”

If he tears apart his own body to escape, then it all becomes meaningless.

Even if I pierce through his body, he simply cuts off the pierced parts entirely, making it impossible to restrain him.

Then could I kill him? I probably could. Even his power must have limits.

Of course, before that…..

“Ugh……”

I would be exhausted first.

I’m out of breath. My limbs feel stiff. That’s only natural with a human body.

Even though I’ve regained some divine power, my essence is still connected to the human Lost.

The problem is thinking about fighting a prolonged battle against demons and devils in the first place.

Even if I put a bullet through his head, the enemy continues moving without issue, and severing his upper and lower body with a sword is pointless.

New flesh sprouts from the severed surfaces, which is problematic because I never know where it will grow from.

“Watch out!”

Just when I thought I had his back, Línea’s shout allows me to barely twist my body. An arm sprouting from his back claws past my shoulder.

“Kuk!”

Common sense doesn’t apply here.

A deformed being like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

I call them arms and legs only for convenience; he hasn’t even formed a proper shape.

Tsszzzzik!

This time, something like a tail whips out toward my neck. Just as I think he’s showing his back, I notice an eye formed like a fruit at the end of the tail.

“……”

It sends chills down my spine.

Just looking at it makes me feel discomfort and disgust.

Yes, merely facing it forces certain mental effects on the opponent.

It makes it difficult to meet his eyes, difficult to stare directly at him.

“Kihihihihihihihihi!!”

In an instant, my body freezes, and arms sprout from his tail, constricting my body.

“Don’t touch Lost!”

Línea, who had followed behind, cuts through the arms restraining me with weapons moving too fast to be seen.

Black blood splatters, and the moment it touches me, I feel a stinging pain.

Toxicity and heat, coldness and burning sensation.

Every negative element imaginable was contained in each of those droplets of blood.

Truly a being born to curse the world.

“Lost! Are you okay?”

“…Yes, thanks to you, I survived.”

Not only his raw physical power, but unpredictable attack methods are even more troublesome. And most terrifying of all, every element that forms his body is composed of malice toward the world.

If Línea hadn’t been here, I would have died at least five times by now.

It’s difficult to face such a monster in close combat like this.

I want to create distance and engage in ranged combat using sacred magic and chains, but…..

“Just hold on a little longer! We’re almost done!”

We have our own priorities in this situation. We need to gather the soldiers who are still alive and get them out of this darkness.

Fortunately, Eve’s sacred magic has healed them, and Ilina Crowley’s magic is moving them.

So I need to prevent the monster from heading in another direction.

Coming with this team was the right answer.

Everyone is working together like interlocking gears.

Perhaps because they all share a deep connection with me, we coordinate well.

Yes, thanks to them, I could hold out.

“It’s done! The flow is a bit unstable, but at this rate, we can send everyone to safety!”

Ilina Crowley’s shout comes right on time. She’s been preparing large-scale spatial magic for a long time.

Our goal from the beginning was to protect the soldiers on the front line, so this is enough.

I still believe we need to eliminate Another Hope, but that’s no reason to abandon people we can save right now.

“Then, I’ll go ahead first, so make sure you come back alive.”

“I didn’t know you had a talent for speaking so ominously.”

Ilina Crowley can’t stand on the front lines until she recovers.

The ritual she just performed transported a large number of people all at once.

I can’t ask her to help with the battle that will follow.

An empty battlefield.

All that exists here is the darkness covering the sky, the earth soaked in blood, and the light opposing that darkness.

“Another Hope.”

Only then does the monster, looking around, turn its head toward me again.

He has no reason, and words don’t reach him, but he understands what I’m saying.

“I never liked you from the beginning.”

I couldn’t help but be wary of Another Hope simply because he was a member of the Hope duchy.

But as I interacted with him.

As I saw his potential.

I came to think he wasn’t a bad person. Yet, I still had to be cautious of him.

He seemed too fabricated. Like a typical, perfect prince charming straight out of an old fairy tale or novel.

That perfection bothered me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been manufactured.

That’s why I was cautious.

But…..

“Isn’t this too meaningless?”

So easily, so simply.

Did he allow himself to be consumed like this? Was his mind so weak that he couldn’t even retain a fragment of Another Hope?

“Many people placed their hopes in you. I did too, to some extent. I expected you to struggle against the devil’s schemes somehow, but is this all?”

When Siris Forys returned through Edge Forys’s sacrifice.

I heard from her about Another Hope’s situation.

She said he was still fighting on the line between human and demon.

But what is this now? Did he give up everything in such a short time? Did he abandon himself?

“No. That can’t be it.”

I disliked him and found him suspicious, but I know many people trusted him.

Even if I couldn’t trust Another Hope, if people I trust believe in him, then I should give him at least minimal respect.

So I’ll believe in him.

Just as those people did.

“Shouldn’t you leave some last words?”

I grasp <Messiah>.

Each link containing the trajectory of my connections shines.

And sand begins to gather around one particularly bright link.

The trace of Edge Forys’s life that I received from him that day through our wager.

The life of a grand mage who was bound to the earth but always dreamed of the sky.

Kiiiiiiiing!!

The links of the chain glitter.

The revolving sand and stone fragments look like stars.

“He’s still here.”

Whoosh!

The chain shoots out in a straight line.

Among the countless connected links, the one shining solemnly draws the sand and stone fragments orbiting around it, painting stars in the void.

“The person who believed in you.”

Crash!

The chain pierces through Another Hope’s body. As before, Another Hope tries to tear his body to escape the chain’s binding.

As Another Hope grabs the chain with both hands…..

The stars orbiting around the link engulf him.

The monster still emits a menacing aura and screams.

Even this isn’t enough? Even showing him the traces of someone he believed in and followed doesn’t work?

Shrrkk!

In the end, the monster tears away its flesh and escapes from the chain’s binding.

Just as it has done many times before, it swings its massive arm toward me.

“……”

If nothing changes even with this approach.

Yes, then there’s no choice. I truly must cleanse him now.

<Messiah>

The links of the chain shine.

Not just the link symbolizing Edge Forys’s life, but all the traces of connections I’ve formed throughout my life.

New links orbiting above the links weave together like a pillar.

I prepare my final strike, infusing it with my divine power.

And just then.

“Hey! Is it working?!”

“Yes, thank you, Princess Ilina Crowley.”

Ilina Crowley, who had withdrawn after gathering the soldiers, bursts back through space she’s opened.

And the person she brought along.

When I saw that person, I had no choice but to withdraw my chains once more.

“Young Master Another. It’s been a while. Well, not really a long time, but…”

Siris Forys.

She approached as if having an ordinary conversation.

I could warn her of the danger, but this is her decision. Just as I tried to persuade Another Hope using traces of Edge Forys.

“Ki… kihihi!”

Another Hope lunged at the moving target before him, just as he had been doing. Yes, he tried to swing his arm toward Siris Forys.

But I didn’t move.

What’s happening now is a process of one person trying to trust another.

“I…”

Siris Forys waited.

She remained composed even as the monster approached her moment by moment.

Her faith was beyond anything I could evaluate.

“Love you.”

I had to witness the end of that faith.

“……”

“……”

And finally, the monster stopped.

Everyone who had been anxiously watching breathed a sigh of relief.

But Siris Forys smiled as if she had known it would turn out this way, as if it were only natural.

“Have you been well?”

“La… dy… Si… ris.”

For the first time, human words came from the mouth of the monster that had only been screaming.

But it was unstable.

He trembled as if speaking itself was unfamiliar.

“I… killed… many… people… must… die…”

The monster, Another Hope, writhed. He seemed to struggle with his own body, as if it felt strange to him.

Yes, a deformed being that could barely move except by instinct.

Siris Forys gets hurt just from him thrashing about.

Sharp thorns protruding from all over his body scratch her cheek, causing her to bleed.

And Another Hope became even more anguished at the sight.

He had become a monster. He had become an irreversibly deformed being.

He wanted to speak of love but couldn’t, wanted to embrace her but couldn’t.

Yes, he couldn’t do those things, but…..

“Young Master Another, thank you for protecting me all this time.”

It was different for Siris Forys.

She could express feelings of gratitude and love freely, and could embrace Another Hope without concern for her own injuries.

“I’m here. I’m with you. So you’re still my knight. The wonderful knight who promised to protect me.”

“……”

Black liquid that looks like tears flows down Another Hope’s face.

Though he was a monster whose facial features could barely be distinguished, everyone present could tell that what he was shedding now were tears.

And Another Hope, after trying to embrace Siris Forys, hesitated and began to back away.

“I… am… Aaah… Aaaaaaaaaaagh!”

Finally, he fled while screaming as if in pain.

I don’t know what thoughts passed between his hesitation and decision.

I don’t know what pain caused that scream.

It was as if he didn’t want to show himself anymore.

As if he had judged that he shouldn’t be here.

He distanced himself as if fleeing.

The moment Another Hope left, the darkness covering the sky disappeared.

“Lost, was it okay not to chase him?”

Línea asks with concern. That’s only natural.

After all, I had insisted that he needed to be eliminated here and now.

But what can I do?

When he’s still striving to be human. I can’t ignore that effort.

He has already killed many people on the battlefield, but…..

“Well, it’ll work out somehow.”

There’s no clear reason.

If he wants to atone, if he wants to be human.

Even if I attach all sorts of fancy words, the conclusion is only one:

“We have no choice but to believe.”

There’s no proof or contract. The only thing that vouches for Another Hope is Siris Forys’s faith in him.

If we had ignored her and tried to kill Another Hope, she wouldn’t have stood by quietly.

One who believes versus one who prepares.

Of course, in a situation like this, being prepared would be the right approach, but…..

How could I, as a priest, deny ‘faith’?

And there are practical reasons too.

“Besides, joining the other battlefronts rather than chasing after Another Hope will result in fewer casualties.”

Pursuing a fleeing enemy versus going to face other enemies rampaging on the battlefield right now.

There’s no need to spell out which path is easier and faster.

That’s the excuse I made.

An excuse for trust.