Chapter 299 : Don't Go

I quickly hid the bracelet behind my back, avoiding Ophosis's sparkling eyes.

"...?"

Ophosis looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I broke out in a sweat and managed to spit out an excuse.

"It's a shy fellow..."

"..."

I could hear the Heavenly Demon clicking his tongue.

Even I thought it wasn't a very good excuse.

"Here you go."

I quickly returned the sword as if to change the subject.

Ophosis took the sword in a daze and then, as if he had forgotten, said.

"Ah, did you have a good talk?"

"Yes."

Woong...

Fortunately, the vibration of the necklace weakened.

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

"What did it say?"

I said with a very regretful expression.

"I received a rejection notice."

"Heh."

"It seems I am not qualified to be the master of this sword. What a shame..."

Whether my acting worked, Ophosis comforted me.

"Don't be too discouraged. It's a very arrogant and picky fellow. It's not that your qualifications are lacking... hmm?"

Ophosis's eyes, which had been offering words of comfort, widened.

His hand was gripping the hilt of the indigo sword.

"..."

Ophosis held the sword with a blank face for a moment, and then looked at me with a face as if he had seen something strange.

"...What did you do?"

"Pardon?"

"This is the first time I've seen this guy so scared."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"It says there's a monster inside."

"A monster? What kind of monster?"

"It says it saw a red-eyed god of death in human form."

"Well. I have no idea what you're talking about."

I played dumb.

It seemed that guy was tattling on me to his father.

Wasn't it just born?

In many ways, it was a sword with a child-like temperament.

Ophosis held the hilt of the sword and seemed to listen for a while longer.

He shook his head, holding his temples as if he had a headache.

"It's rambling, so it's hard to understand what it's saying."

And then he threw the indigo sword back to where it had been.

With the sound of a crash behind him, Ophosis looked at me with calm eyes.

"That's a shame. Do you need another sword?"

"No. It's late, so I'll be going now."

Since I had accomplished my goal, all that was left was to leave.

I had to get away quickly before Ophosis showed more interest in the black bracelet.

I was about to leave with a farewell...

Thump.

As expected, Ophosis grabbed my arm.

"Can I see that bracelet one more time before you go?"

Woong...!

The vibration of the necklace grew stronger.

"Old man. Can you let go of this and talk..."

I had no choice but to try to break free and run, but it didn't budge.

'This old man, what kind of strength...!'

Just then.

"Ah, old man. I've been looking for you.

It was Hans.

"What is it?"

While Ophosis was looking at him and answering, I managed to pull my arm free.

"Sir Ephram has arrived."

"Has he?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?"

"He's waiting outside."

Ophosis clicked his tongue.

"You inflexible bastard. If he came from far away, you should have told him to come in first."

Hans replied cheekily.

"Last time, you told me not to let anyone in without your permission."

"Sir Ephram is an exception."

"Last time, you said there were no exceptions."

"...That rotten bastard."

Ophosis suddenly roared.

"Alright, just tell him to come in!"

Hans covered his ears and grumbled.

"You don't have to talk so loud, I can hear you."

"That bastard...!"

Hans disappeared from the doorway as if he were running away.

"Then I'll tell him to come in, old man."

Ophosis sighed and muttered.

"...That heartless bastard. We're not strangers. What's with the 'old man'?"

Ophosis, who had been muttering to himself, looked at me.

"I'm sorry. A guest suddenly came."

"Don't mind me. I was going to leave anyway."

"Is that so? I can give you another sword if you want."

"It's alright."

Ophosis smiled at me.

"I guess so. You don't seem like a man who would cling to a sword."

"You saw correctly."

We looked at each other and smiled.

"I hope we see each other again. If this old man can help you with anything, don't hesitate to come and find me anytime."

"Yes. We will see each other again. Someday."

"Go safely."

"Stay healthy."

I left the legendary blacksmith behind and quickly left the blacksmith's shop.

In front of the blacksmith's shop, where dusk had already fallen.

A man was standing.

Our eyes met.

In the darkness, a chilling blue light flashed.

It was an eye like a frozen crystal.

"..."

Our gazes met for a moment.

Blue and red gazes intertwined in the air.

Woong...!

The necklace began to tremble violently.

I held it with my hand to calm it down, but the vibration only grew stronger.

Soon, his mouth opened.

The moment the words were about to take shape and come out of his mouth.

Thump!

I kicked off the ground and unfolded my movement art with all my might.

I ran blindly in the opposite direction.

When the necklace became quiet, I stopped and looked back.

Fortunately, he didn't follow.

"Hooo... that was a close call."

I let out a deep sigh.

I don't know for sure, but if I had spoken with that knight, something big would have happened.

To think it was the first Knight of Frost.

I wasn't without the desire to fight him once, but it wasn't to the point of risking the distortion of time and space.

"Master. How was my wit?"

The Heavenly Demon replied in an indifferent tone.

[Excellent.]

As I was shaking my head in admiration of my momentary situational judgment, I suddenly felt a strong vibration from my necklace.

Woooong...!

I was startled and looked, and the necklace was spewing out a red light.

It was a reaction that was clearly different from before.

Did I do something wrong, or was Sir Ephram chasing me? As I was looking around.

A red mist flowed out of the necklace and slowly wrapped around me.

"Ah."

[It seems there is no more business to be done here.]

"Phew... I thought something big had happened."

I calmed my startled heart.

Soon, the surroundings were submerged in a thick fog, and I entrusted my body to the flow of time and space.

* * *

"Sir Ephram?"

Ephram stared blankly at the place where the red-eyed man had disappeared, and then looked at the place where the voice had come from.

A boy who looked somewhat delinquent was looking at him.

"The old man said to come in."

Ephram nodded once and then lowered the hand that had been on the hilt of his sword.

He followed Hans's guidance and went into the blacksmith's shop.

And so, he arrived at Ophosis's workshop.

"Sir Ephram has arrived."

"..."

Ephram found Ophosis's back, who was sitting at a desk and drawing something diligently.

He didn't even seem to notice that he had come.

When Ophosis didn't react, Hans sighed and called him again.

"Old man. Sir Ephram has—"

"Shh."

Ephram stopped Hans, who was about to call Ophosis again.

And then he gestured for him to leave, and Hans bowed his head and disappeared.

Ephram carefully approached Ophosis.

With curiosity, wondering what he was so engrossed in that he didn't even know he had come.

What he saw over his shoulder was a single bracelet.

* * *

The red fog cleared, and the scenery that was revealed was...

"Huh?"

[Hmm?]

It was a surprising sight for both me and the Heavenly Demon.

Because this was a place that was quite familiar.

"Don't tell me..."

It was a familiar back alley.

Soon, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed in the alley.

I quickly shot up into the air to get out of the way, and then watched from the roof of a nearby building.

The one who had run into the alley was... me.

That is, the real me from my childhood.

A kid who looked like he had a bad temper was running down the alley.

And thugs were chasing after him.

The kid ran hard, but there was a limit to how far he could run with his short legs.

Soon, the kid was caught by them and was beaten up and had his money taken.

"...What is this?"

While watching that scene, countless thoughts came and went.

Why did I keep coming back to this place?

The worst day of my life.

Of all times, in this unbearably terrible time.

Thanks to the Snowman, this was the second time I had come here, but I was still just as confused.

What on earth was my mission here?

And so, as I was rolling my complicated head here and there, and pondering over and over, I watched the little Ashuban being beaten up by them.

The thugs, who had gotten what they wanted, laughed and retreated.

And as the little Ashuban lay collapsed in the back alley, looking up at the cracked sky.

"Ashuban!"

A familiar voice was heard.

I quickly raised my head.

Thump, thump, thump!

Her pure white hair, which did not fit in with the back alley at all, fluttered.

My eyes widened.

My heart stopped for a moment.

It was her.

"Tina."

This was not some illusion that the Snowman had shown me.

This was reality, and it was real.

She was in a place where I could reach out and touch her.

[Stop!]

The Heavenly Demon's thunderous shout brought me to my senses.

And then, I found myself leaning over the roof.

I quickly reached out and grabbed the railing, and then kicked off the wall and returned to the roof.

As if it had been waiting, the Heavenly Demon's nagging poured out.

[You foolish bastard. Have you forgotten the Red Witch's words? If you face them like this, you will never be able to return.]

I belatedly sensed the vibration of the humming necklace.

It had been trembling violently, but when I returned to the roof, it gradually subsided.

"..."

I put the necklace back inside my clothes and looked down at the alley.

By then, the traitor Yuri had also joined in and was helping the collapsed little Ashuban up, and was nagging him and dusting off his clothes.

The three of them muttered to each other, shared a fist-sized piece of bread, and then scattered in their respective directions.

I watched that scene without blinking an eye.

I bit my lip so hard that the taste of blood filled my mouth.

Thoughts became tangled and unraveled repeatedly.

It felt like I had stepped into a muddy purgatory.

I could feel the heart demon stealthily approaching.

[Calm down.]

At the Heavenly Demon's single word, the heart demon disappeared.

I swallowed the liquid that had pooled in my mouth.

[I don't know what it is, but it seems to be related to your past.]

"What kind of relation?"

[It's your past, who are you asking?]

"...That's true."

[Cool your head, and move. Time will not wait for you.]

As the Heavenly Demon said.

"Hoo... haa..."

I took a long breath in and out.

As I took a deep breath, my complicated head felt a little clearer.

I looked up at the sky.

I could see the blue sky through the gloomy, dark clouds that looked like they would pour rain at any moment.

I stared at it blankly and organized my thoughts.

First, the little Ashuban.

This foolish fellow would run around all day, diligently pickpocketing to make up for what the thugs had taken.

Believing without a doubt that today would be no different from any other day.

I had no business with this guy.

Then.

The traitor Yuri, Tina.

It was one of the two.

I was about to follow the traitor... and I shook my head.

Because if I looked at him, I felt like I would kill him without even realizing it.

And I felt like I would twist the timeline like that.

So, for now, I decided to follow Tina.

Tina wandered around the alleys.

She would hide when she saw scary adults, and she would share the hard-earned piece of bread with kids younger than her and play with them, holding hands.

Watching that scene, I couldn't help but laugh.

Even now, she was a foolishly kind person.

And then, the traitor came.

I focused my inner energy on my ears and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Tina."

"Yes?"

"Later, when the sun sets. Will you come out to the west gate?"

I muttered to myself.

No, don't go. Say no. That traitor is going to sell you to those damn fanatics.

But contrary to my wishes, Tina smiled brightly and nodded.

As always.

"Yes! Alright!"

It was so like her to not even ask for a reason.

The traitor grinned and then disappeared, saying he would see her later.

Tina waved at the traitor.

With a bright expression that showed not a speck of doubt.

"..."

I watched that scene quietly from the roof.

I watched Tina, who was walking lightly down the alley, as if she were so excited.

I felt like a lead weight was piling up inside me.

My fists clenched and unclenched until they turned white.

The bitter taste of blood still lingered in my mouth.

Countless thoughts crossed my mind.

Countless assumptions came and went.

And in the meantime, the sun slowly set, and dusk began to spread over the unreasonable city.

Just then, Tina looked up at the sky, and then stood up and ran somewhere.

I watched that scene quietly.

"..."

I know the end of this story.

Tina will die, and I will be sad.

How much I regretted that day.

How much I had wished I could turn back time.

[Stop it.]

The opportunity came.

Now, if I just reached out, I could turn the event around.

I could make it as if it had never happened.

I could save Tina.

[I said stop it.]

If I just went down now and whispered a single word.

[Stop. Stop thinking.]

That would be.

Enough.

Woong...!

The necklace began to cry out.

As if in resonance, Scarlet's voice brushed past my ear.

—You are an observer. Other than the mission you have been given, you must not interfere, no matter what. Even if someone is dying in front of your eyes. Do you understand what I mean?

—Absolutely, absolutely do not change the situation.

The Heavenly Demon's low voice scolded me.

[Don't do something you'll regret. You're not being rational enough right now.]

"...Regret?"

A bright red emotion washed over me.

The corner of my mouth twisted.

"What the hell, I'll just do it."

I threw my body over the railing.

[Ashuban!!!]

The Heavenly Demon's roar hit my ears like thunder.

While I was falling like a single drop of rain.

Everything I had done so far flashed before my eyes.

It felt like a fleeting moment, and it also felt as long as a lifetime.

Thump!

I landed in front of Tina.

I stood, blocking the alley.

Tina, who had been walking lightly, was startled by my sudden appearance, and her eyes widened.

They were blue eyes that seemed to contain the sky.

I looked at Tina and then, I said the words that I might regret.

"Don't go."

*Woong...!*

The necklace cried out like crazy.

(End of Chapter)