[Side story] Chasing a butterfly (11)
“It was alive.”
This was the first line spoken by Yenica Palover as she rose from the altar.
Lucy Mayril, who was said to be dead, was alive. Confirmation of its survival.
If it was the Yenica Palover that Lucy Mayril knew, she would have been a little more surprised, asked about the situation, or even expressed concern.
But it must be admitted.
The Yenica Palover standing in front of Lucy Mayril right now is not the Yenica that Lucy knew. I felt it right away just by looking at the exterior.
The cold sensation that comes out at the end of the dry tone is sharpened like a knife.
The cold gaze looking down at Lucy from the altar does not have the fairy-tale warmth of before.
It looks like it has been soaked in the cold reality for a long time and has lost all its former warmth.
Aken Island was completely under her control and reigned as the queen of this hell island.
A dark red cane is visible beneath the bleached white hair. Although it is very worn due to the signs of time, it is the same cane that Ed Ross Taylor used when he was alive.
The sight of him tightly holding the cane, which he keeps as a keepsake, as if it were his most precious treasure, gives off a sense of discomfort.
“…I was wondering if he was still alive.”
Yenika stands up and pours out cold words. Her remarks were unexpected from Lucy’s point of view.
This world’s Lucy Mayril is dead. Lortel clearly said so.
However, Jenica was suspicious of Lucy’s death.
“After I decided to turn Aken Island into a sanctuary, no matter how much I searched the island, I couldn’t find Ed’s body.”
Ed Rothtaylor was executed by Lindonist imperial forces in the plaza of Sylvania Academy.
In that case, Ed Rothtaylor’s body also had to be somewhere at Sylvania Academy.
However… Yenica Failover was unable to find his body.
“You took Ed’s body away?”
Lucy just looks up at Yenika with blank eyes, as always.
“If you are alive, all questions will be solved. “There aren’t many people who can hide on an island for this long without being noticed.”
“I… don’t know anything.”
Only then did Yenica Palover feel a sense of discomfort.
There is not a single trace of sadness in Lucy’s eyes. As always, he was just looking up at Yenika blankly with half-open eyes.
“Give Ed back. “I will use this altar as Ed’s resting place.”
“I told you. “I don’t know anything.”
“Why do you lie like that?”
“It’s not a lie.”
Lucy calmly told only the truth. However, whether Yenika would be able to accept it was another matter.
“I… I don’t even belong to this world. “It just trickled in.”
“…”
“I want to go back to where I came from. To do that, you need the power of the altar. “I can’t go back unless I recover my magic power.”
From Lucy’s perspective, these were words that were difficult to say out loud. However, he continued speaking calmly.
“Make way.”
“…”
Yenica was looking at Lucy quietly.
Ed Rothtaylor’s death changed many things in the world.
I know it well enough because I was close to Jenica. For Lucy Mayril, Ed Rosstaylor must have been as precious and meaningful as the world.
Despite this, he appears calm and casually talks to Yenika.
She didn’t lose Ed Rothtaylor.
Yenika realized that fact intuitively and lowered her head even further.
Perhaps what Lucy is saying is true.
Otherwise, there was no way Lucy would be so fine as if nothing had happened.
“…”
Lucy was at a loss for words when she saw Yenika like that.
He looks somewhat devastated.
It feels like she lost Ed and the meaning of everything in the world has been taken away, but in front of her is Lucy, who has not lost Ed.
What will she feel? Is it futility, jealousy, or is it an endless sadness welling up again?
Yenika’s face looked up… and looked vaguely vague.
“….okay.”
That was the only answer that came back.
Lucy even assumed battle in the worst case scenario. Surprisingly, I trembled at Yenika’s words that she would willingly send Lucy back.
It was a situation Lucy did not want.
However, just by looking at the exterior, Yenika is in an unusual state. At first, I thought nothing good would come from letting my guard down…
“Tell me one thing.”
Yenika spoke in a whisper as she trudged down from the altar.
Yenika asks with a sad face in front of the altar where volcanic ash is lightly blowing in the wind.
“Was Ed happy there?”
Just one question that encapsulates so many emotions. Lucy couldn’t answer that question right away.
After thinking for a while about what to say, I decided that there was no need to give a lengthy answer.
Lucy just nodded her head a couple of times.
Yenika closed her eyes as if that was enough…
The story was that it was okay to pass by.
Lucy put on her hat and walked toward the altar. In the wind at the top, my hair was blowing, and my frayed and torn clothes were blowing here and there.
Even in this situation, he walks with his small body.
This is it. From Lucy’s perspective, everything went well.
Just pass by Yenika, who is standing still, and use the remains of Tyrkalax at the Altar of Replacement to observe the outside world and send a rescue signal.
Yenika will not stop Lucy. He himself confirmed so.
As Lucy walks past Jenica, she looks back for a moment.
In the gloomy sky, there are multiple layers of magic circles created by Yenika, who was in grief.
Friede, who has risen leisurely among the countless spirits, is attempting to erase all remaining life forms on the island.
Yenika’s back stands alone against the distant background.
I guess it’s good. It’s a story from another world.
Lucy took out Tyr’kalax’s remains from her bosom. Magical power began to flow out little by little from the small bead-shaped relic.
I closed my eyes and felt the sensation of being assimilated into magical power.
An ordinary magician could not even handle the amount of magic power, but Lucy easily absorbed that enormous amount of magic power into her body.
Although the Altar of Grinding could not process all of the magic contained in Tyr’kalax’s remains, it at least allowed Lucy to absorb the amount of magic she wanted.
Lucy turned her head little by little as she continued to feel the magic slowly overflowing through her body.
The appearance of Yenika looking back is still the same.
“I envy you.”
Are there eyes on the back?
With the sight of Aken Island approaching its end in front of her, Yenika spoke to Lucy in a hushed voice.
“But Ed will be waiting for you there.”
“….”
“So I’m just doing my job.”
Lucy opened her mouth to say something, but stopped.
And then I closed my eyes.
Many people sacrificed to bring Lucy to this altar.
For them, the revived Lucy was their last hope. He was the last person who could somehow heal Yenika, who was consumed by sadness and madness.
So what do you mean?
It may be a cold story, but it ultimately has nothing to do with Lucy.
It is right to leave like this.
No matter how many times she thought about it, Lucy’s reason kept whispering to her that this was the right answer.
Lucy has a place to return to.
It is a place where there are people who have become a haven from a difficult life.
The boy had a life as eventful as Lucy.
Starting out as a loser who was abandoned by his family, he always walked his own path with a steadfast expression despite many trials and suffering.
I accepted Lucy as she was, lying in a lazy state and flirting with me for no reason.
He was so tired of life that he never envied Lucy’s blessed talents, nor did he expect anything more from her than she needed.
The boy simply stayed next to Lucy with an open mind.
When I close my eyes because I want to see something like this, the profile of the boy sitting in the camp ahead of the bonfire late at night comes to mind.
As always, it looks like they are refining their equipment to survive again tomorrow.
What Lucy learned from the boy was that desire for life.
It is the tenacity and passion that does not give up on survival in any situation.
Lucy loved the boy’s consistency and sublimity.
A boy who maintained a philosophy that was completely opposite to Lucy, who only ran away from nothingness, and that boy’s persistence allowed Lucy to live.
Therefore, without even Lucy herself knowing it, Lucy’s values have been endlessly overwritten.
The loneliness and emptiness that I had lived with my whole life were suddenly replaced by something with greater meaning.
“I don’t understand you. Just like you don’t understand me.”
Lucy’s voice became even stronger.
Yenika felt a great sense of discomfort in Lucy’s voice. It was a tone of firm determination, as if he had decided to do something.
Ironically, the reason Jenica gave way to Lucy Mayril is because she understands Lucy’s feelings better than anyone else.
Lucy will want to go back to Ed.
More than anything else, the most important thing for Lucy is to restore her magical power and open the way to Ed.
There is no way there is room to pour limited magical energy elsewhere.
Lucy never stands in Yenika’s way. There is no time or reason for that. Jenica knows best the affection Lucy must have had for Ed.
Nevertheless, the first thing Lucy did as soon as she recovered her magic was to gather the magic of the area and blow away the surrounding spirits.
– Hwaaaaaaaaa!
– Quaaaaaaaaaaa!
The highest level lightning magic, ‘Never Punishment’.
The lightning, which becomes even more powerful in the hands of Lucy, who has regained some of her magical power, returns the spirits of the area to nothingness.
Lucy jumped down from the altar, concentrating her magic in the swirling wind. And again, he stands straight in front of Yenika.
I returned without moving on. It was Lucy’s choice.
“You…”
A storm-like wind passed by and Lucy raised her head as she straightened her old and worn clothes.
“You can tell at a glance. Lucy. You are in a position where you should not carelessly waste magical energy. “Do you think you can stop me like that?”
“I will take care of that.”
“Why do you make that choice?”
Jenica’s face when she turned around was stained with pain.
The choice to let Lucy go was heartbreaking for Yenika as well.
Despite the storm of emotions he felt as he looked at Lucy, who had not lost Ed, he ultimately did what he thought was right.
What is lost is lost.
What Ed is waiting for in the other world is Lucy Mayril.
Because I knew that fact, I let Lucy go even though my heart was pounding.
Because I had work to do.
However, Lucy does not use the magical power she has recovered after so long to go back.
With her regained strength, Lucy stood in Yenika’s way.
“It’s just a matter of recovering magical power somehow.”
Even if all magical power is lost here, it can be restored someday.
The aftermath of the Phoenix Ring does not last a lifetime.
If you hold on for a few more years… you will somehow be able to find a way to return.
There’s no way Ed would give up Lucy after only a few years. Because I have that confidence, I stick to what I think is right right now.
Yenika couldn’t understand Lucy’s decision.
For today’s Lucy Mayril, this world would feel like a terrible hell.
You just want to leave as quickly as possible.
Nevertheless, the reason for blocking Yenika even with a completely battered body is—
“Running away from here is an insult to the person who gave me life.”
It is a world full of people struggling to survive.
There are also many people who tried to send Lucy here even at the risk of death.
The purpose of all of them boils down to one thing.
To survive.
Lucy is holding her hat down and lowering her head in the middle of the howling wind.
Just as Jenica’s appearance was different from what Lucy knew.
Lucy’s current appearance is also different from what Yenika knew.
You can’t tell at a glance.
But only now… the difference is clearly visible to Yenika.
“Everyone who tries to survive deserves respect.”
“You…”
Even in the storm, the girl’s eyes shine.
Who was the person who imbued such values in a girl who was nothing but emptiness?
Even with his small body, he stands proudly in the storm. Is it an illusion caused by longing that someone in my memory appears overlapping?
The girl has received a lot.
I was given life by the boy, I was given a reason to live, and I was given beliefs to carry out.
And to carry out that belief, the girl finally becomes a hero.
A vortex of magical power swirled.
In the aftermath, volcanic ash covering Mt. Orn rises high into the night sky.
