NOVEL WEB Chapter 45
“Ah…”
Yujin’s words left Elysia staring blankly at him. And then…
Drip, drip.
“Uh, um…?”
Tears began to flow from her only remaining eye. The tears cascaded down her cheek, pooling at her chin before falling.
“Ah… I-I’m sorry. Wh-why all of a sudden…?”
Wiping her tears, Elysia’s sobs showed no signs of stopping.
“Ugh… sniff…”
Her struggles thus far burst forth as she finally broke down in tears. Yujin realized anew.
‘It must have been tough for her.’
Elysia was in a state of severe mental instability. Yujin had known this from the beginning.
During their first meeting, the moment she laid eyes on Enkeos—the very object Yujin had been holding—she had started to cry as if something had shattered inside her. There was no way he could have missed it.
When they made the contract, Yujin had thought it would be difficult to earn even a little trust if he offered to help without requesting anything in return. It was true that he had no obligation to assist her for free, so he suggested a contract that sounded somewhat like a devil’s offer, but in reality, it was merely a promise devoid of any force. He hadn’t even used the Dragon Language when they formed the contract.
In reality, Yujin just wanted to help her as an educator. However, he pondered how things might have changed if he had voiced his intentions a little sooner.
‘She was more unstable than I thought.’
Yujin had no way of knowing the struggles Elysia had gone through. He was unaware of the internal battles she had fought, how she had resisted the encroaching corruption of magic that gnawed at her bit by bit.
Thus, after their first meeting, during their later conversations when she seemed surprisingly normal, he had forgotten about how unwell she truly was.
“I’m sorry.”
As he spoke, Yujin gently wiped the tears from her eyes. Her surprise was palpable.
“N-no… You shouldn’t be sorry, Professor…”
“No, I believed you must be going through a tough time… It seems I was arrogant and mistaken.”
Yes, Yujin had come to this place with a pure intention to help Elysia. Among the countless souls fading away somewhere in the world, Yujin couldn’t do anything about them, but he believed he should at least help those who were visible and within reach.
Though, looking back, he realized he had acted too calculatively for someone with such intentions. That devil-like contract was a prime example.
“Aside from the contract… No, it’s because of the contract that I must ensure your safety. Yet, I didn’t even grasp the extent of your suffering. Your mental state is a crucial factor… I’ve been too complacent. I apologize.”
With that, Yujin retrieved a handkerchief from the Space Pocket and wiped away Elysia’s tears. She accepted his gesture, still gazing at him vacantly.
“…Why are you being so kind to me, Professor…?”
At Elysia’s question, Yujin paused for a moment to think. Why was he being so kind to her…?
“If I say it’s just a professor helping a student… you wouldn’t believe me, would you? And honestly, you probably couldn’t believe it.”
“……”
“Then let me ask you, Princess Elysia. What do you think when you see a child crying alone in the rain?”
“That…”
“They’re all alone, without parents, just crying until they wither away there.”
“……”
You’d first think “That’s pitiful.” And on some level, you’d want to help, right?
“I suppose I would want to help…”
“I’m just the same. That’s how I see you.”
With that, Yujin smiled brightly.
“Of course, you don’t have to believe what I say, but there’s one thing I hope you will: that there are actually more good people in the world than you might have thought.”
“……”
“If that weren’t the case… humanity would have likely perished long ago.”
Inevitably, in any world.
With that, Yujin pulled back his handkerchief.
Before long, Elysia’s tears had ceased.
“Well then, shall we get started? We can’t just keep talking forever, after all.”
***
Elysia’s treatment began.
Though it was somewhat misleading to call it treatment… well, looking at it from the standpoint of addressing her physical issues, it could be considered treatment.
“From now on, we’ll be unsealing the magic that has bound Princess Elysia. Are you prepared?”
“…Yes.”
Elysia nodded with a firm expression.
“I have an afternoon class, so I can’t spare too much time… Let’s start with just three hours for now.”
“Three hours…”
It felt long yet short. To Elysia, it felt like quite a long time.
“We’ll begin by acclimating you to the magic. The moment the seal is broken, the magic might go wild, but I’ll manage that part. Now, let’s begin.”
Gulp.
Elysia swallowed hard in anticipation of the unsealing.
Yujin reached out towards her, slowly manipulating his mana.
Voom…!
Crimson mana formed a multi-dimensional magic circle. The restraint created by the high-level spells typically used by dragons had to be dissolved with appropriate spells.
Of course, he could use the Dragon Language… but revealing such a thing to Elysia at this time seemed premature. Elysia had already picked up that Yujin was no ordinary human, so it was only a matter of time before she would understand.
But for now, that was a consideration for the future. Yujin activated the spell.
Vroom!
As the spell triggered…
Clank, clank.
A sound like gears meshing echoed. It was the sound of the magic sealing Princess Elysia’s powers being undone.
And soon…
Clank!
It sounded as if a lock had been undone, and the magical sealing spell was released.
Fwoosh!
“Eugh!”
As Elysia gasped, a burst of white mana erupted outward.
Fwoosh!
Before long, white flowers began to bloom wherever the white mana spread.
Swish, swish, swish!
A field of white flowers instantly engulfed the spacious dormitory, centering around Elysia. It was an endlessly beautiful sight, but…
“Ugh, ah…”
Elysia saw it differently.
The ground was filled with dead flowers, a graveyard of blooms. Maggots began to crawl from the blooming flowers, and blood began flowing into the room.
Each detail was vivid in Elysia’s eyes. It felt like a nightmare.
And at the center of it all…
‘….!’
There was another version of herself.
The other her, adorned with flowers in one eye, glared at her with an intense focus.
Elysia now understood.
That was her demonic ego, a manifestation of her weakness and born from her darker side.
Elysia stared at [her] with trembling eyes.
Then, after a while of glaring at her, [she] finally spoke.
Let.Me.
Saying that, [she] lunged at Elysia.
Elysia unconsciously stepped back, but the figure before her felt almost like a mirage.
Even as she retreated, [she] closed in on Elysia in an instant, grasping her neck tightly with both hands.
*Cough…!*
[Let go.]
The demonic ego repeatedly shouted for her to be freed. It looked like a demonic spirit, glaring with bloodshot eyes.
[Let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go let go!]
The words were filled with madness and malevolence. Yet, strangely enough…
Elysia thought [she] looked incredibly desperate and frantic. It was then.
[Die!]
*Cough…!*
[She] tightened her grip on Elysia’s neck while shouting. Elysia had no time for further thoughts.
“*Gah… ugh…!*”
Suddenly, a knife appeared in one of her hands.
A white blade that seemed to be made of flowers.
A blade formed from magic, curses, and demonic power.
Even she didn’t know how she had created it.
Yet, all Elysia could do was swing it at the other version of herself before her.
*Ssssssk!*
The sharp sound of the air being sliced filled the space. And then…
Grin—
The demonic ego grinned sinisterly. Elysia finally felt something was off.
*Bam!*
The other self that had been choking her vanished, and before her now…
‘…Professor?’
Yujin was there.
‘Ah.’
But it was already too late. The blade was about to touch Yujin’s neck. The moment she realized this, it was barely a split second.
At this rate, Yujin would lose his head…
Thump!
‘….?’
…But it didn’t happen?
No, more than that…
‘…Did I catch it?’
It was the moment she realized it.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, a fierce wind blew, scattering white flower petals around them.
Yujin caught the blade filled with magic, curses, and demonic power using only his index, middle, and thumb.
“You little parasite, trying to pull off tricks like this.”
He murmured lowly, his eyes barely opened.
Boom!
An awe-inspiring mana erupted from him, incomparable to the white magic gushing out of Elysia’s body.
The scattered flower petals disintegrated as the rampaging magic fled in panic, starting to retreat. No, even more so, it began to fade away along with the petals.
“…!”
The powerful, dignified mana contrasted sharply with the violent energy.
The malevolent magic began to withdraw, lowering itself.
AAAAAH!
A scream reverberated from within. Yujin spoke, his eyes half-open, piercing through Elysia… no, her inner self.
“As a parasite, wouldn’t it be better to leave quietly than to provoke wrath with your tricks?”