Chapter 133 : Chapter 133

Chapter 133: A Cruel Fate

For a moment, I just stared blankly at Yael's face.

Then I turned my gaze to Evan.

Evan just sat there silently.

He looked as if he was lost in deep thought and his expression was quite serious.

“Would you like some more?”

Yael asked me, shaking the liquor bottle.

Having felt a strange sense of unease just before, I smiled and declined.

“I’ll just accept the thought. By the way, when is the doctor coming? I heard earlier that……”

“Huhu. He’ll be here soon.”

Cutting me off like that, Yael poured more liquor into the glass and this time, even I couldn't manage my expression.

‘This is strange. It’s as if she’s forcing me to drink…….’

It was then.

“I’ll have some too.”

Evan, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly held out his glass.

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“I said give me some too, Mother.”

Yael smiled awkwardly.

“Hey. Son. This is just for our grateful guest, the student. You can have some next time…… Ah! Wh-what are you doing, Evaan!”

Yael shouted urgently.

Because Evan had snatched the liquor bottle from Yael's hand without warning and started chugging it straight from the bottle.

Gulp! Gulp!

I think I heard him swallow about three times.

Evan's eyes suddenly widened and he took his mouth off the bottle and threw it.

Crash!

The atmosphere froze like a cold glacier at Evan's sudden strange behavior.

Naturally, the place was covered in a heavy silence and I, who was dumbfounded by the sudden change in atmosphere, quickly grasped the situation.

Evan was looking down.

His face was reflected in the liquor that had dripped from the table and pooled on the floor.

His face was miserably contorted and his two eyes were bloodshot.

He opened his mouth.

“Why are you lying?”

“……”

“Answer me, Mother. Didn't you hate alcohol even before you got sick? You said it was the source that killed Father. But, not only did you make it, but you're giving it to a grateful person as a token of your gratitude?”

Evan's voice was low but clear.

So everyone could hear it distinctly.

Yael did not answer.

She just stared at Evan.

An uncomfortable silence fell again and I, who was watching all of this, was finally convinced that the situation was taking a strange turn.

The issue was clear.

‘So Yael did intentionally make me drink.’

I quickly checked my body's condition and confirmed that I couldn't feel my mana.

A typical symptom of poisoning.

Anger welled up, but at the same time, a question mark appeared in my head.

‘Why on earth?’

Yael and I had just met today and there was no reason for her to do this to me.

From the atmosphere, it seemed that Evan also didn't know the reason.

“Why are you doing this?”

“……”

“I told you. He’s a fellow I care for, like a brother. But why, why on earth have you done this.”

It was then.

Yael, who had been quiet, opened her mouth.

“That’s why I did it.”

“……?”

“Because he’s someone you care for. That’s why I did it, son.”

Evan looked at his mother with uncomprehending eyes.

Because he's someone I care for?

What does that mean?

At the same time, the corners of Yael's mouth stretched wide to the sides.

A grotesque smile, far from what a human could make.

The mother's benevolence I had first seen was nowhere to be found on her face, and a gleaming desire had taken its place.

“Dr. Hamel told me. The true function of the healing ritual is not healing, but equivalent exchange. So, to save a loved one, you have to offer the life of another loved one as the price. Didn't the doctor tell you that yesterday?”

The answer came from behind.

“Haha. That’s what happened, ma'am. I was a bit busy yesterday. So I couldn't tell your son.”

Creak- the door opened, and a man in a black suit came into the kitchen.

Yael's face brightened.

“Oh my. You’re here now?”

“I’m sorry for being late.”

It was the sudden appearance of a strange man, but no one here was surprised or curious about his identity.

From the circumstances, it seemed clear that he was the doctor, Ralph Hamel.

Only one person.

Only I, who had confirmed his face, frowned deeply.

Because I knew his true identity.

His name was not Ralph Hamel.

And he was certainly not a doctor.

‘The opportunist, Lunark.’

A High Cleric of the Death Council.

That was the true identity of the man called Dr. Hamel.

Only then did all the puzzle pieces fit together.

Why Yael, who had only been lying in bed until now, had made me, whom she had just met, drink the poisoned liquor.

‘Damn it. It was a trap.’

It was all a scheme by the Beltus Cult to eliminate me.

I don't know when they prepared it, but I had to admit their cunning and meticulousness.

‘In that case…… is the mastermind Bishop Cristiano?’

The only person who could devise a scheme of this level was Bishop Cristiano.

Damn it.

Cursing inwardly, I quickly racked my brain.

Right now, without being able to use my mana, the only thing I could rely on was my pure physical ability, which was manifested by my stats.

But the situation was getting worse, and suddenly my vision swayed, and my sense of direction began to be reversed.

“Hello, Gerard. I’ve heard much about your fame.”

In the meantime, Dr. Hamel.

No, High Cleric Lunark greeted me.

“But seeing you in person like this, it seems your fame has been a bit exaggerated. Such a pathetic sight, poisoned. I was looking forward to a thrilling encounter with you for a moment, and I'm starting to feel a little disappointed in myself. Heh heh.”

Lunark sneered at me, circling around.

But unlike his words, he did not let his guard down until the end.

“Hmm. But your gaze is still alive. Like a wounded beast. This is making my knees weak.”

“Hoho. Don't worry, Dr. Hamel. My son is here, isn't he? Evan will take care of it.”

“Hoo. That's good news to hear.”

Lunark stood behind Evan as if he had been waiting.

“I hear that Evan is a great bounty hunter.”

“He did that out of necessity for his sick mother, his main job is a professor at the Academy, you know?”

Yael handed Evan the kitchen knife she had brought from the kitchen.

“Mother.”

“Son. Just a little more effort. Huh? You can do it, right?”

“Gerard is a fellow who greatly helped in your treatment, Mother.”

“Isn't that even better? Since he helped once, we’re giving him the chance to help until the end. We are like this.”

Yael placed the kitchen knife directly in Evan's hand.

Then she grinned, and was it a delusion?

For a moment, her face turned black and she looked like a demon.

“Don’t tell me you think that child you’ve barely seen is more precious than your own mother, son~?”

“……That’s not it.”

“Really? Then what are you doing? Stab him right now.”

The complexion of Yael, who had been smiling like a demon, changed in an instant.

She pushed Evan's back and in the end, Evan came to face me.

Just in time, I was also looking at Evan.

Smiling.

A relaxed face, no different from usual, and unwavering, sparkling eyes.

It was as if he was saying, 'I respect whatever choice you make', and Evan finally broke down.

“Keuk.”

The kitchen knife in his hand trembled.

If he had his way, he wanted to stab his own chest and make a hole in it, not Gerard's.

That's how frustrated he felt.

But Evan was not even given that freedom.

“Aak!”

It happened in an instant.

A scream erupted from behind and when I looked there, Lunark was already behind Yael, holding a scalpel to her throat.

“D-Doctor!?”

“It seems your son is having a lot of trouble deciding. This will make it easier.”

Lunark, who smiled grotesquely, continued.

“Hey. If this artery is cut, not even a god can save her, you know? You barely managed to restore your mother's energy with yesterday's ritual, and you can completely cure her if you just perform the final ritual today. Are you going to throw away that chance with a momentary wrong choice? Huh?”

“……!”

“Evan! A-are you going to kill your mother!? Stab that bastard quickly! Make me a sacrifice for this mother right nowww!”

Yael screamed desperately.

At that, Evan hardened his heart.

“Forgive me.”

Evan's kitchen knife moved.

Toward me.

So, it ends like this.

Huu, a faint sigh was exhaled.

Immediately after, I drew the sword from my waist.

***

Chaeng! Chaeng!

A silver flash filled the space, and a sparkling spark lit up the darkness.

With a clattering sound, the furniture was smashed and the broken wooden planks were scattered in the air.

It was what had been the dining table a moment ago.

In the first place, it was a small house that could barely fit the few belongings they had.

The house was too small to handle the life-and-death struggle of the two swordsmen and with the raging sword strikes, the walls were broken and the pillars collapsed, so the form of the house had already disappeared not long after the fight began.

The site of the two's decisive battle was the very top of the hill.

In the closest place, where the moon and stars looked down, the two fiercely swung their swords at each other.

Pababa-bak!

Evan was indeed strong.

Even without wearing his armor, his stance was solid.

His weapon was also just a short kitchen knife, but the sharp tip was relentlessly digging into my openings, no less than a longsword.

I thought it was a true blessing that Evan had drunk the poisoned liquor like me.

If he hadn't, he would have been wearing his armor, and if that were the case, I wouldn't have been able to last even a minute.

‘Where did it all go wrong.’

I clenched my teeth.

I didn't hate or resent Evan.

Because I understood his feelings a hundred times over.

I just felt sad that it had to be this way and I hated the cult, Bishop Cristiano and Lunark who had designed this situation.

Did they say that if you cross swords, you can feel the opponent's personality and heart?

Just as those words said, I felt as if I could feel sadness and anger in his sword path and movements.

Then the opposite must also be true.

And so, I looked at Evan's eyes for confirmation.

In that moment, I completely erased all the thoughts and feelings I had harbored until then from my mind.

‘Focus.’

Evan's eyes were saying this.

Just like that day.

The only things I could see were the two swords dancing in the air.

Although unlike that time, one of them was a short kitchen knife, nothing changed.

As everything around me turned black, all of Evan's movements became clearer and slower.

A state of selflessness.

What I felt were the friction of the sword against the sword, the opponent's and my breathing.

And the throbbing.

‘Focus on this moment.’

The direction and path of the stabbing sword, his breathing and movements, the sound.

How could I forget?

This was a perfect re-enactment of that day.

The life-and-death struggle that couldn't be finished due to Yuria's intrusion.

Kiiing!

Just then, Evan's waist twisted at high speed, and a kitchen knife flew from his side toward my chest.

It was a natural and stealthy combination without any preliminary motion, so by the time I noticed the attack, the kitchen knife was already right in front of my chest.

So I threw my body back with all my might.

But.

A slight pause.

For some reason, Evan's kitchen knife was brought to a halt in the middle.

I don't know the reason.

Did his heart weaken because of affection?

Or, guilt or remorse?

It was unknown, but in a life-and-death struggle, a moment's hesitation led to an irreversible result.

I rotated half a turn on my right foot and stood diagonally.

Chwaak, the kitchen knife grazed past my clothes.

At the same time, I held the sword in my right hand straight and pushed forward.

A strong 'pu-uk' sensation traveled through my hand and pierced my brain.

At the same time.

“Keok!”

A stifled groan also erupted from behind.

I flinched and looked back.

Lunark was clutching his throat with both hands and choking.

The scalpel he had been holding was on the floor, and a kitchen knife was now deeply embedded in his throat.

A fountain of blood gushed out with a gurgle.

‘……A kitchen knife?’

I hurriedly looked ahead.

Evan, who was standing tall, was frozen in the posture of having thrown the kitchen knife.

The tip of a longsword was sticking out from his back.

The one holding it was my own hand.

A slight stagger──

Evan's knee bent in half and his center of gravity shifted forward.

I hurriedly caught him in an embrace.

“Professor.”

My eyes, as I held Evan, trembled finely.

In the first place, Evan's kitchen knife had not been aimed at me.

Evan's target from the beginning was Lunark.

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

As if she wanted to deny the unwanted result, Yael tore at her hair with both hands and screamed, and it was similar to the cry of a demon.

In fact, as soon as Lunark died, she went down the slope at a high speed, and that speed was by no means that of a patient with an incurable disease.

No.

Her grotesque appearance, crawling with abnormally long arms and legs crossed, was no longer human.

At that, a sorrowful smile formed on Evan's lips.

“Heh heh. I knew it. My mother hates alcohol. And the lamb stew was not delicious either. The best in the empire. It wasn't my mother's touch, you see.”

“……Don’t talk.”

“At that time, they must have put some other being into her while pretending to perform the healing ritual. That’s why she was so energetic. Yes. To be honest, I had already felt something was strange. I just denied it. Mother. It must be my mother, I told myself. I just wanted to believe it, forcefully. Whatever it was, she now looked at me, and while doing so, she smiled and called me her son. I was just satisfied with that.”

Evan's face contorted miserably.

Transparent tears welled up in his eyes and then trickled down his cheeks.

“Stop. I get it, so……”

Seeing that, I felt my heart race.

I instinctively felt it.

That Evan was trying to let go of his own life.

The only reason Evan lived was for his mother.

But the result that came at the end of that effort was his mother's demonization.

If he had simply failed to cure the disease, he could have accepted it, even if he was sad.

Evan thought that all of this was because of his greed and selfishness.

And he was trying to take on all the sins with death.

‘I can't let that happen.’

I hurriedly searched for a way.

I tried to move my mana, but the mana still refused my will.

It was because the toxicity of the alcohol had not yet worn off.

Therefore, artifacts or items were still unusable.

It would have been good if I had Clatter, but Clatter also needed my mana to open the subspace.

“Damn it.”

I let out a rough curse and looked around.

The top of the hill was in ruins from the battle, and the workers who had lived there had all evacuated from the aftermath of the fight, so there was no one there but us.

What caught my eye was the dead body of Lunark.

Next to it, a bag that looked like a medical kit was overturned.

At the same time, an inference flashed through my mind.

If it was Lunark who had prepared the poison for the liquor, wouldn't he also have the antidote?

The inference immediately turned into action.

I stood up to lay Evan down and go.

But.

I couldn't take a step.

“Wait. I have a favor to ask, Gerard.”

“Just a moment, Professor. I’ll quickly……”

“……No, should I call this a request rather than a favor. Skull Mask?”

I froze on the spot.

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