Joint Combat Practice 2 (8)
All I can do now is run away. It’s been several hours since I ran away with that conclusion.
Ed and Clarice entered the beginning of the Great Forest of Kranfell and continued onward without wasting a moment.
If we can reach Margrave Zahoor’s territory like this and ask for help, at least two people might be able to save their lives.
Holding on to that hope, I continued moving through the forest.
Ed was already bleeding heavily. I was struggling to walk properly by myself because I was staggering.
Clarisse gritted her teeth and supported him with her lack of strength.
―Kwakwang! The Quagga Gaga River!
The sound of destruction coming to Aken Island echoes.
I can still hear the sound even though it is already several kilometers away. The dragon shape that covered the sky was more majestic than when seen from Aken Island, occupying a spot on the distant horizon.
“At least… if we just get out of range… then… we can go to Margrave Zahoor’s territory no matter how many days it takes… just hang in there… Senior Ed….” I shed
tears. Even as she shed tears, Clarisse did not relax her body.
However, she is a saint who has lived her entire life as a believer in Seonghwangdo. Even though she has a young body, she is much weaker than other girls her age.
There was no way those slender, white arms could support Ed’s sturdy body to the end. She tries to keep going with her trembling body, but soon Ed’s body, which is slowly becoming limp, is weighing down Clarisse.
“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh…”
Clarisse shed tears as she gritted her teeth and supported Ed, who was staggering little by little and losing his balance. I drew on a small amount of magical energy and used holy magic to apply pressure to Ed’s wounds, but I could not cover all the wounds on his body alone.
He gritted his teeth and made his way through the forest covered in blood, repeating the same words as if possessed by a ghost.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. We just need to go a little further. Margrave Zahoor’s territory is ahead of here. So… hold on just a little longer…”
Ed’s wounds are pretty serious even at first glance. The intense pain that comes from that wound will be difficult to bear.
However, Ed clenched his teeth and endured the pain without saying a word of displeasure. That alone was enough mental strength to make one’s tongue stand out.
Clarisse constantly used her magic power to apply pressure to the wound and minimize bleeding… but she was unable to resolve the physical wound itself. Removing the wound itself is something that only high-ranking magic magicians of the Holy Emperor Capital can do.
It was possible to imitate it in a similar way, but it was obvious that it would be implemented in a form with shattered magic efficiency. Ed will be exhausted before even half of the fatal wounds on his body can be resolved. It is such a difficult task to revive a life that has fallen into disrepair.
“I… why… can’t I do anything… why can’t I do anything… ugh… ugh…”
Clarice, gritting her teeth and holding back tears, dragged Ed into the forest. went between Seong Chang-ryong’s cries were still echoing widely in the sky.
As a saint, she has excellent sexual power and corresponding magical power, but cannot utilize them properly. In the first place, I came to Sylvania to learn how to use the magical power that was in my body.
In the end, all you have is the protection of the Holy Law wrapped around your body. This is the only blessing that avoids death in almost all situations. But even this could not protect Ed.
“This kind of blessing… I would rather have it than someone like me…”
I repeated that thought over and over again as I looked at Ed, but there was no way the blessings already imprinted on my body would be transferred to other places. There wasn’t.
Watching Ed’s blood slowly disappearing… Clarisse gritted her teeth again and walked away.
“This is not the time… this time… I can survive this time… I can do it…”
―Kaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Seongchangryong’s roar echoes in the sky again. The moment Clarisse heard that familiar sound, she had an intuition.
Here comes one more time.
A procession of scales covering the sky. That terrifying blow that pierces everyone within its range equally will once again blanket this area.
Even though he was already far enough away, just one or two shocks would kill Ed, who was in a near-dead state.
“No… no… no… no…”
Clarisse laid Ed on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Even if you minimize the impact by hiding behind some cover, you cannot completely block the attack. In that case, there is no choice but to protect Ed by using the protection of the holy law that the saintess has.
The procession of scales covering the sky rushes forward again with its razor-sharp blades set in place.
Clarice tries to block Ed’s body somehow with her small body, but she cannot completely cover Ed’s body in this short period of time.
He hugs Ed’s body lying on the floor as much as he can and sobs, but the pattering and pouring procession of scales penetrates his body without mercy.
“Whoa!”
Was the piercing through the collarbone a fatal blow? Ed spat out red blood… and looked up at Clarice with haggard eyes.
“No… Senior Ed… Just a little bit… Just a little further…”
In the forest, where only the leaves are rustling and the strong wind blows.
Behind Ed, who is lying on the dirt floor… a puddle of blood spreads. Clarisse trembled when she saw the bright red blood on her hands.
“Senior Ed… Senior Ed…”
This is the second time I see his face losing its vitality.
Still, you never get used to it.
No matter how many times you repeat the death of a special person, you never get used to it.
Like a curse, it is engraved in the heart as a wound, causing constant pain.
Should I just let Ed go like this?
Ed tried to help Clarisse until the moment of his death. This time, Clarisse tried to save Ed… but damned fate wouldn’t let her do that.
“Senior Ed… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Clarisse shed tears as she hugged the dying Ed.
“I’m really… sorry… I’m sorry for not being able to help… I couldn’t do anything… I only received help… I just kept making people die… And yet… I didn’t do anything… I just leaned in… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Ugh… Ugh….”
Just like that… Ed had to face death.
However, it wasn’t right away.
-Sigh.
Clarice came to her senses as a hand wiped away her tears.
Ed’s hand, covered in blood, was wiping away the tears from Clarice’s eyes for the last time.
“I’m sorry… you don’t have to… don’t cry for no reason…”
Tears were pouring out of Clarice’s eyes to the point where Ed’s words were meaningless.
“It’s okay… don’t be sad and don’t be frustrated…”
“Senior… Senior Ed…”
“Also… I’ll help you… Maybe I… will. … So… don’t cry… get frustrated…”
―Tuk.
Finally… Ed’s hand rolled on the floor with no strength. He was looking at the sky with empty eyes, not even able to close his eyes.
Clarisse sobbed for a long time in Ed’s arms. A huge light pours down from behind her as she sheds tears.
Eventually, when you look up at the sky, you see the same magic circle you saw at Ofilis Hall.
Unlike when viewed from indoors, the gigantic shape is visible at a glance. It embodied the shapes of stars in a magic circle and was embroidered with bluish sacred power, beautifully embroidering the sky.
Soon, pure white light covered the world and Clarice lost consciousness.
* * *
“Saint. Let’s talk… what do you mean…?”
Light came to the world.
There is no roar of the Seongchangryong splitting the sky, and there is no sight of Ed covered in blood.
He just closed the book and placed it on the table, looking directly at Clarisse with a puzzled expression.
I saw two deaths.
He held up the remains of the Ofilis Pavilion, protected Clarice, and ultimately died in her arms.
Clarisse tried to protect it somehow, but in the end, she was attacked by Seongchangryong and died.
Either way, his appearance, covered in blood, remains vivid in Clarisse’s memory and is overlapped over and over again with his normal face.
-Wow!
“Eh… Eek…?! Saint Lady Seo… What are you doing…!”
Ignoring Jenica’s surprised and blushing reaction, the saintess hugged Ed tightly.
After being held in his arms, my heart is filled with the same dependable feeling as when I was held in the carriage.
“Saint…?”
When Ed asked with a dumbfounded look, Clarice didn’t give any answer and buried her face in his arms. Tears poured out, but I didn’t care.
The sound of whispering filled the surroundings. It had to be that way. However, Clarice didn’t seem to care at all.
After that, things went smoothly.
Clarice, who tightly grabbed Ed’s wrist, put Ed in the carriage and ran away again. This time the escape route was different. Instead of going towards the plains where there was no cover, we decided to go along the rocky mountain to the east, even if it meant going back a bit.
However, even though the experienced driver sped up like crazy, he could not reach the rocky mountain and had to be attacked by Seong Chang-ryong again.
This time, thanks to Clarisse’s protection, Ed was not mortally wounded, but he slowly died from excessive blood loss before he could reach the rocky mountain. Watching the blood fade little by little and then the reaction slowly disappear was a terrible trauma.
“Saint. Let’s talk… what do you mean…?”
When I returned, I held Ed’s hand again and headed to the beach. I decided that it would be much safer to take refuge underground than to cross the plains and get hit directly by the scales.
Ed knew two places to take refuge. It was a coastal cave on the west coast and a secret laboratory used by Professor Glast.
They took refuge in a cave on the western coast, but the cave itself collapsed due to the earthquake that occurred when Seongchangryong descended. Clarisse was almost crushed to death by a falling rock, but Ed rushed in to save her, and she was crushed by the rock instead. Ed, who had his entire lower body crushed, clenched his teeth and screamed in pain, but in the end he died, wiping away her tears without blaming Clarisse.
“It’s one five… five gongs, six gongs… one five, five gongs, one six gongs…!”
The saint’s purpose had already changed to saving Ed. No matter what happened, Ed Rosstaylor had only the determination to save the life of this man who stood by his side until the end.
This time, I took refuge in Glast’s Soul Library. Several layers of support magic were implemented to block the upper part and to prepare for the possibility of the ceiling collapsing. It withstood the earthquake caused by Seongchangryong’s descent and was able to survive the scale attack. Clarice cried tears of joy.
However, the ground was repeatedly attacked by Seongchangryong’s magic cannons… and eventually collapsed, unable to withstand with support magic alone.
In the pouring dirt, Ed covered Clarisse’s body with his own body until the moment of her death and used his magic power to support the ground as much as possible, leaving Clarice’s body unscathed.
In the midst of the collapsing ground, Ed died again protecting Clarisse.
Everything else is restored when time goes back, but the wounds left on Clarisse’s body remain intact. I don’t know why.
Therefore, Ed died and died again and again, protecting Clarice above all else.
Clarisse never got used to that death.
Every time he died, I had to suffer heartbreaking pain. It was repeated over and over again, but Clarice did not get frustrated and just gritted her teeth and endured.
If you get frustrated and give up on everything… There is no one to save Ed, who died for him several times.
Ed continued to help Clarisse time and time again, even without knowing the full truth of what was happening. Now Clarisse couldn’t give up his life.
“Saint. Let’s talk… what do you mean…?”
Clarisse’s face was drained of color and the area under her eyes was starting to become puffy… but still, when she looked at Ed’s face, she was somehow able to grit her teeth and gather strength. I closed the book and hugged Ed’s face tightly, who was looking at Clarisse with a bewildered expression… I caught my breath again.
I can’t even remember how many times it is now.
Clarisse left Ed alone and stood on the roof of the Trix Building to clearly see the moment when Seongchangryong descended.
This time, I observed the magic circle filling the sky, but I could not pinpoint the source of the magic power. After confirming that fact, I looked down again at the ruined Aken Island, stained with blood.
“Saint. Let’s talk… what do you mean…?”
After that, I searched for all kinds of escape routes and hiding places. I tried this dozens of times, but no matter where I went on Aken Island, there was no place that was safe from the Holy Spear Dragon, Velbrok. Each time he failed, Ed had to die in Clarice’s place.
That’s why Clarice couldn’t give up.
“It’s one and five… five, five, six, six…”
After suddenly saying that, Clarice had nothing more to say.
Ed’s eyes widen when he sees Clarice telling him his military number accurately. When I look at that face, the memories of the dozens of times I died for Clarice seem to be eating away at my body like cancer cells.
The images of Ed dying for him over and over again seem to overlap endlessly… but he was never able to save Ed.
I tried every means I could, but I couldn’t run away… hide… or find a way to overcome the ridiculously strong Holy Spear Dragon Velbrok.
They haven’t even been able to figure out the reason why time keeps going back.
It is said that a high-ranking priest is involved, but no matter how much I wander around the academy during this short period of time, I cannot find the Pope or the Archbishop.
All that remains is the coachman’s testimony that the magnificent carriage was in the carriage storage area next to the Maxes Bridge and that he disappeared into the teaching building with his closest associates in tow.
The huge magic circle that appeared every time time went back was also… so large that it was impossible to pinpoint where it appeared. It’s definitely somewhere in the teaching building… I can’t pinpoint the exact location.
It was just… one day of repetitive joint combat training… that was eating away at her spirit.
If you’ve come this far in the first place, shouldn’t you stop relying on Ed?
If it’s painful to watch him die and you can’t bear it any longer, shouldn’t you just leave him alone and find your own way? That’s what I thought, but losing the only person in this world who could understand her situation… was even more terrifying than that.
Can you really stay sane in the fear of being left alone? Fear from such a different direction eats away at Clarice’s heart.
Clarice, who was completely shocked… couldn’t say anything after reciting Ed’s military service number.
“Saint…?”
Only Ed, who was watching the scene, was dumbfounded.
“Saint… there are inspection personnel at the Maxes Bridge. It is said that Elte Company’s trade goods are currently crossing the Maxes Bridge. The situation is very chaotic due to the goods wagons and escort mercenaries, so they are asking you to wait for a moment.”
Suddenly, I heard the coachman say something. Only then did Clarice understand the current situation.
So… that was after bringing Ed in, putting him in the carriage, and ordering the driver to head to the Maxes Bridge.
As Clarisse sits still with glassy eyes, Ed stands up and instructs the coachman to break through somehow.
The coachman nods and drives out among the Elte Company’s trading wagons that fill the Maxes Bridge.
Edgar held Clarice’s body tightly as the carriage swayed back and forth.
Clarisse’s body, seen up close… was full of all kinds of scratches. Although time may go back, for some reason, the wounds that fill Clarice’s body do not.
At first, it was just Ed’s handprint on my wrist, but the more I repeated it, the more small wounds it became.
Seeing that, Ed ordered the driver to stop the carriage.
“…?”
Clarice looked up at Ed with empty eyes.
“Get off, saintess.”
“…yes?”
“Get some rest.”
Isn’t this an imminent situation?
The meaning of Ed’s words… Clarice did not understand.
“…I…know a few people I could ask for help.”
