C193
After confirming once again that Sombra was completely destroyed by me, I sat down next to Liena.
Then I swallowed and examined her wounds closely.
The attack of Sombra was quite extensive and had directly pierced Liena's heart.
Even for me, who is not an expert, it looked like a mortal wound.
Even if there were trained doctors and treatment facilities here, Liena's chances of survival would be close to zero.
"But Liena isn't dead yet."
If I take that fragment right now...
"Ethel."
At that moment, Liena called me with difficulty.
"Don't you want to remove this from my chest?"
I was surprised because it was exactly what I had imagined.
"If I take it out now..."
A large amount of blood will gush out.
Shadow's fragment fatally injured Liena, but it also got stuck in the wound, preventing the blood from flowing out of the body.
I once heard that a soldier who gets shot with an arrow in battle shouldn't remove it immediately.
This is because if you pull out the arrow hastily, it will bleed more, and there will be a higher chance of death from excessive bleeding.
Of course, in the case of a mortal wound, they'll die even if you leave the arrow as it is, but if you're not careful, you'll end up hastening their death.
So, what will be the outcome if I remove Shadow's fragment and Liena dies from excessive blood loss?
Will it be considered that I defeated Liena?
Goddess Miella would make that decision, but it would be better to do something rather than remain silent.
"Lo, lo sé."
Liena, who fell to the ground, nodded slightly.
"Still, I want to get away from this pain quickly. Please, Ethel..."
When I saw those calm eyes, I had a hunch.
Liena knew everything. That if I remove the fragment, she'll die, and that I'll remove it whether she asks or not.
However, there was a reason she asked. To relieve any guilt I might have.
"Por favor."
"...Okay."
When Liena asked again, I clenched my fist and forcefully pulled out the black fragment lodged in her body.
There was no time to hesitate much in a situation where Liena would run out of breath at any moment.
Since there was no longer any object acting as a stopper, the blood flowed freely and soaked the rooftop floor.
Liena let out a brief groan and then looked at me.
"Gracias."
"Sí."
This was Liena's consideration towards me.
Liena will die soon anyway. So, it could be said that it wasn't an act of consideration given specifically in anticipation of being loved by me, but rather an act she did simply because she wanted to.
Perhaps this was the first and last act of consideration without calculation in Liena's three lives, which revolved around calculation.
"¿Cómo te sientes?"
Liena obediently opened her mouth at my question.
"Nada mal. No, en realidad mucho mejor."
Even in the face of imminent death, her face seemed a bit relaxed for some reason.
"Ha habido un vacío en mi corazón desde hace mucho tiempo. Pensé que el amor de los demás podría llenar ese vacío. Pero no."
Liena's voice trembled slightly.
"¿Por qué me di cuenta ahora? La persona que podía llenar ese vacío era yo, nadie más. Era un vacío que nunca podría llenarse a menos que confiara en los demás y los amara de verdad."
Tears ran down her increasingly pale skin.
"Ethel, se siente bien poder hacer algo por alguien que te gusta, incluso si no necesariamente recibes algo a cambio. ¿No?"
"Así es."
"Me enteré demasiado tarde. Soy realmente una idiota."
Liena, unaware of that important truth, was unsatisfied until the moment of her death, even though she became an empress in her second life and had everything.
More love from more people. More! More!
Liena tirelessly sought the love of others and spread her blessings.
It was truly ironic that the hole that couldn't be filled until then was only being filled at least a little now that Liena had lost everything she had in her hands.
"Ethel, ¿estás ahí?"
As if her sight was slowly fading, Liena looked for me right by her side.
Now, the blood that came out of Liena was enough to create quite a large puddle.
I confirmed my presence by placing my hand on the cold hand that had lost its warmth.
"Sí, estoy aquí."
"Sí, antes..."
She pursed her thin lips with difficulty.
"Dijiste antes que mi padre y mis hermanos realmente me amaban. ¿Realmente lo dijiste en serio?"
"Al menos eso es lo que pensé."
"......"
Liena couldn't respond for a long time.
Do you regret the genuine affection you wasted?
"Cometí un pecado tan grande. A mi padre, mis hermanos, y Mikhail. Y muchos muchos... más."
"Sí, muchos."
"Sé que es realmente descarado, pero si te parece bien, ¿puedes decirles que dije que lo siento?"
"Liena, si te disculpas porque al final quieres sentirte cómoda, entonces detente."
For a moment, Liena's expression hardened.
"Ya veo. ¿Solo quiero sentirme cómoda? No sé. Pero el sentimiento de arrepentimiento es real. Ahora sé que estaba equivocada."
It didn't seem like a blatant lie.
"Alright. I'll tell them. But, to be honest, very few people will accept your apologies."
"I suppose so."
Liena's face relaxed a bit.
"Nevertheless, thank you Ethel. And I'm sorry."
It was such a small, weak voice that you could have missed it if you had been even a little distracted.
"For knowing you..."
Even after waiting, the conversation didn't continue.
I gritted my teeth for a moment, then raised my hand and closed the dead person's eyes that weren't yet closed.
"Goodbye, Liena."
From the moment I met her in the orphanage until now, many images of Liena that I've seen passed before my eyes.
If reincarnation exists, then I hope your parents don't abandon you and that you learn to love normally and live a life loving and being loved like others.
Goodbye, my old friend.
"Ethel."
After a while, Terence approached me.
"Oh, wait. I'm covered in blood right now..."
My clothes and hands next to Liena were covered in blood.
Terence hugged me gently as I panicked at the thought that if he touched me now, he would also get stained.
"It's okay."
He comforted me warmly.
I felt that warmth for just a moment and then quickly escaped from his embrace.
"I need to check something."
I walked to the edge of the rooftop.
Indeed, at some point, the noise of the battle below had stopped.
"Descendant."
At that moment, Caius's new form suddenly appeared in the air.
"The battle has ended. The demonic power of the apostle that had spread throughout this area has been completely eliminated, and the demonic beasts have also regained their senses."
As he said, the monsters that had been running wild a moment ago were now silent.
They stayed in their positions, looking around or at each other.
They seemed powerless, frustrated, confused, and numb. As I looked at the various monsters, I remembered what Caius had said earlier.
They also think and judge individually.
Unknowingly, Liena treated Shadow as a chess pawn, but in the end, she ended up being avenged.
"In a way, it was a fitting end."
I had that thought in my head, then quickly pushed it out of my head, looked at Caius, and asked him.
"Will there be a monstrous wave?"
"I clearly saw how the apostle of our god was defeated by the apostle of Miella a thousand years ago. I feel the same now as I did then."
He closed his eyes in silence.
"I can feel it. Our God has been defeated again. His spirit has completely vanished from the face of the earth."
That meant I did it.
I blocked the monstrous wave. The world won't perish either.
I opened my mouth again and felt something rise in my chest.
"Caius, can you communicate with the monsters?"
"Yes, it's simple."
"Then, could you tell them that it's over and they should leave?"
"Why don't you say it?"
"What?"
"I'll translate it."
So suddenly I found myself facing hundreds of monsters.
"Attention!"
Thanks to the kindness of the demon king who used a loudspeaker spell, I was able to shout loud enough for all the monsters gathered here to hear.
"It's all over, go back!"
I actually wanted to say something more plausible, but so many things were happening that I didn't even have the energy to think about it.
Finally, as Caius interpreted my words, the monsters slowly began to leave the building.
Surprisingly, there was no friction of any kind.
Is it because they have also accepted defeat, or is it because, like me, they are so exhausted from the successive battles that right now they just want to rest?
I collapsed while harboring somewhat useless thoughts, thinking that maybe both could apply.
"It's hard to stand..."
Terence, who easily accepted me as if he had anticipated this situation, whispered in my ear.
"You worked hard, Ethel. Now rest a little."
For me, who needed a break, these words were like a sweet relief.
After that, I slept for twelve hours without dreaming.
"Good job."
I seemed to hear the voice of the Goddess as I slept.
I woke up in the late afternoon, washed my body, ate, and quickly got ready to leave.
Although my fatigue hadn't completely disappeared, my desire to return to the empire even if for a moment was stronger.
However, there was one thing to do before leaving.
I was planning to bury Liena's body in this place.
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