Chapter 82 – Later Story – Leo (4)
“No!!! Eric!!! Eric!!!”
“Shut up! Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer!!!”
I purposely made a loud noise to drown out Reina’s screams from behind. Then the guards hesitated and stopped in place.
“Stop! A civilian has been taken hostage!”
“Brother…!!!”
“I told you to stop! I’ll cut it.
“Ahh…!”
I put my hand on Eric’s mouth, afraid he might say something useless, and looked around with his ferocious eyes. At every moment, the armor snapped and dozens of guards and knights surrounded the surroundings. I made eye contact with each one of them and screamed.
“Fuck! Just come closer…Or else…!”
“No! No! Please!!! Eric!!!”
“Shut up! I’m really going to cut you! Fuck!!!”
Reina please. This is the only way we can live. So please be quiet!
“Ah…Ahhh!!! No!!! Eric!!! Eric!!!”
Reina continued to call out Eric’s name, as if my prayers didn’t reach her. The sight rather moved the hearts of the guys, and I could see the tip of her spear going down a little. I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.
“Yes. Do it. And clear the way so I can get away. Then I’ll spare this bastard’s life.”
“This damned criminal…”
A large guard in front of me gritted his teeth and glared at me. Seeing that he was wearing better quality equipment than the others, he thought he was the captain. He took a deep breath and spoke to me.
“Give up and surrender quietly right now, Leo. If that’s the case, I’ll take this sin into account.”
“You’re fucking fucking. Do you think adding one more sin here will make any difference? It’s just a road. If you don’t want to see the kid’s neck fly away.”
“Calm down and listen to me. But there is still a chance for an excuse. If the duke survives after being treated, it will be an attempted assassination, not an assassination, and even if he is sentenced to death, he will not die painfully. But if you kill the child… There is no turning back, Leo.”
“I’ll give you ten seconds. I’ll pave the way in it.”
“Such an asshole…!”
When I categorically spit it out, he eventually couldn’t hold back his anger and spit out swear words. But I started counting the hours anyway.
“Let’s count from now on. Ten…”
“Leo! Don’t be stupid!”
“Nine…”
“No! No! Please!!!”
“Eight…”
“What the fuck… The fuck…!”
“Captain! Let me shoot his arm!”
“No! I can’t risk it! Besides, there are civilians in the back!”
“Seven…”
“Leo! Stop! Stop!”
“Six…”
I counted and drew the knife closer. Perhaps because he was excited, his arm inadvertently tightened, and the blade touched Eric’s neck, causing blood to flow. Eric let out a weak moan, and Rayna howled madly again. But I didn’t care and continued counting.
“Five…”
“I got it! I got it! Damn it!”
At that moment, the captain of the guard threw his sword to the ground and shouted. Then he said weakly to the back.
“…For now, clear the road.”
“But boss!”
“It’s an order. We can’t take the sacrifice of civilians. Move first.”
“What the fuck…!”
“Haha…”
While hesitating, they each lowered their swords and bows and stepped back a bit. I looked at it and smiled. It’s like being swayed by a child like this. I’m sorry to Eric, but it was so fortunate for me.
“Huh…Heh…Ah…”
I heard Reina’s cry from behind. I tried to ignore the sound and moved her step by step. One step, one step. Every time I moved, the waves of hatred towards me retreated little by little and made a way. But I didn’t let my guard down and looked at their faces one by one.
“Pup…”
“Fucking bastard…”
Even though they cursed at me, they couldn’t come close to me. I passed between them with the knife still pointed at Eric’s throat. You just have to get out of here. You can think about the next day after that. I thought so and raised my head.
And over the horizon. I made eye contact with a red-haired girl sitting on the roof of a house.
“Uh…?”
I opened my mouth in a daze at the familiar appearance. Her sudden appearance turned her head belatedly, revealing her identity. But before that, her lips moved again. It was a little far away, but I could see the mouth clearly. As if possessed, I replayed the words from those lips in my head. Then a name quietly rang out.
Leo.
Theta.
…
..
…
..
Unknown words were scattered in the air. I tilted my head, not knowing what it meant. Then I felt a foreign body on the soles of my feet and stopped walking. I slowly turned my gaze to my feet.
And, I witnessed my legs getting hard fast.
“Uh…?”
It wasn’t just the legs. Fingertips, skin, hair. Even deep inside the body. The feeling of something hardening like stone spread quickly. Without knowing why, I exhaled and suddenly vomited sand. In an instant, the power was released and Eric slid down.
“Gagging…Billion…!”
I spit out sand again and looked at my hands. The hardened fingertips and palms were turning into stones. In this sudden situation, all I could think of was a simple question.
This…What…
“Now!”
At that time, someone quickly picked up Eric, who had fallen to the ground. At that moment, I came to my senses and raised my head. But it was already too late.
“Shoot them!”
“!!!”
Hundreds of arrows pierced my body at the same time.
“Aaaaa!!!”
And at the same time, the stiffened body was also released in an instant, and the pain spread throughout the body. I raised my arm, which had returned to normal, to slash the arrow. But arrows were already flying from all sides.
“Shoot! Keep shooting!”
“Aaaaa!!!”
I let out an unsightly scream and danced madly in a barrage of arrows. Dozens of arrows were lodged in his throat while he pulled out the stuff that was stuck in it, slashed it, crouched down, shed tears, begged and screamed. At that moment, regardless of my will, my strength became dull and my body collapsed to the floor.
“Kuhhh… Billion…!!!”
“Protect the civilians! Come on!”
“Uh uh…!”
Even in the midst of that, I waved my hands at the approaching guards and struggled. However, the tendons and veins of the whole body were already severed, and the strength was gradually lost, and the blood spurted out of the body made it impossible to see. I finally gave up and slapped myself on the floor.
“Ahhh…”
“Captain Chris! The child is all right!”
“Stand back! I’ll take care of him. Stay alert! He’s a monster!”
“Baby. Come here. It’s okay now.”
“Captain Chris! Don’t go out alone. I’ll go with you.”
“Madam. Are you all right?”
“Ahhhhh…”
Amid the buzzing noise, like a mosquito, a single voice caught my attention. I raised one eye that miraculously wasn’t hit by an arrow and looked at Reina’s location. Involuntarily, her name slipped from my lips.
“Ray…Ray…Ah…”
“Eric…Eric…?”
“All right ma’am. The child is here…”
“Mom! Mom!!!”
“Oh my God… Eric…!”
“Ah…Ray…Ah…”
I repeated her name in vain. But Rayna didn’t even look back at me and took Eric in her arms, and she burst into tears. Then her guard, who had approached her, cautiously asked her.
“Hey, ma’am. You may be confused, but I have a quick question for you. Are you familiar with that guy? I think I heard that nuance.”
“Me…?”
Only then did Rayna look this way. How would I look in those pretty eyes? Well. I didn’t even want to imagine. I looked at her, trying hard to make her smile.
But Reina looked at me with mixed emotions in her eyes. Sadness. Confusion. Astonished All the emotions dripped down along with the tears, and suddenly the eyebrows were furrowed. A feeling appeared in her eyes as she held Eric in her arms.
It was contempt.
“No.”
Reina looked at the guards. And, gritted her teeth, she said in a tearful voice.
“I don’t know anyone at all.”
There was no hesitation in that one word.
“Okay.”
“Ah…Aaaaa…!!!”
I groaned and scratched the floor with my hands. But then someone walked over and blocked my view. And the touch of cool metal touched the nape of his neck.
“Should I be arrested?”
“No. I’d rather just kill it for sure.”
It was the voices of those two. I struggled in the face of death that approached so quickly. But that was by my standards anyway. My already weak body couldn’t even shake.
“Then let me cut it.”
“Please.”
“Ahh…!”
A final scream escaped my throat. But it didn’t work. The ruthless sword struck me right in the head. Wooddeuk. The sound of flesh and bone being torn was heard. No, it was a crushing sound. No.
It was the sound of my breathing being cut off.
Sssss…
“Ha… Ha…”
Dark blue smoke rose from his body. It was because he poured out too much of his hidden magic at once. I stumbled and leaned against the wall.
“Ugh… Ha…”
I’m done. Rian.
After finishing everything, the street I looked at was surprisingly empty. It must be because the streets were controlled because of the arrest operation. Fortunately, there were not too many casualties.
“Haaa… Ugh…”
After putting a curse on it for a very short time, it was immediately released, but so much mana was consumed. I bowed my head, realizing what it means to move time again. When Ryan died, he felt more pain than this. The same goes for Ellie.
And. That too.
…
When the burning goal disappeared, there was not much left in the hand. It felt as if something was getting wet in my mouth, throat, and stomach. It was terribly unpleasant and confusing at the same time.
For some reason, I wanted to drink some cool orange juice.
Or at least beer.
I wonder if there is a store open at a time like this. In the midst of such thoughts, a store suddenly came into my mind. I struggled to get up and started walking, attracted like a magnet by memories of the past. Each step gave me strength and my knees rattled, but I continued to walk terribly.
Soon, a familiar shop stood out. Seeing the light shining through this chaos, it seemed that it was still operating. I smiled and pushed open the shop door. Then the bell welcoming guests rang softly.
Daughter and daughter
“Welcome.”
“Haha…”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the nostalgic voice. The old man was wiping his glasses with an unchangingly stubborn face, and then got angry at the errand boy next to him.
“What are you doing, you worthless bastard?
“The meal is fine.”
“In my house, snacks are essential. If you’re not going to eat, go out.”
“I guess so, right?”
I quietly looked at his face. He opened his mouth, frowning with a face that hadn’t changed at all.
“So. Stew and what?”
“Do you have any orange juice?”
“There is no such thing.”
“Then just give me a beer. A cold one.”
“Just a beer. Yes.”
The old man nodded his head calmly and then moved towards the oak barrel behind him. While staring at it, the nostalgic smell of stew spread.
“Here, a bowl of stew.”
“Thank you.”
When I smiled, the child smiled after me without knowing why. Then, showing friendliness, he slumped down in the seat next to me.
“By the way, who’s your sister? I don’t think she’s from this area. She must have managed to come up with a drink despite all this chaos.”
“Um…Then you and the old man…No. Who are you? Even if the old man had to protect the store, you would run away. But why are you sticking to the store even in this situation?”
I tried to bring up the same question as before, but I looked at the child’s face and asked it. Come to think of it, it seemed like I hadn’t heard anything about this child until the end.
“Me?”
The child tilted his head, as if a little surprised. Waiting for an answer, I gazed endlessly at that innocent face. Soon, small lips parted slowly and a simple answer came out.
“Just.”
“Just…?”
“Yes. Well, the old man took me away, but what can I do about it?
“If you want to stick around like that, do something, you bastard. Play and eat and play and eat all the time! There’s not a single corner I really like.”
“Mistress, you’re messing with me again.”
Despite the old man’s disapproval, the child shrugged his shoulders indifferently. I asked the old man this time.
“I heard you took it. What’s the story?”
“Literally, what. Originally, he was a guy who wandered the streets without parents. I brought him because he thought it would be perfect to pamper him for free. But hey, he’s a troublemaker. He’s a troublemaker.
“I see…”
I answered a bit bitterly. Then the old man tilted his head and asked if he had doubts about my tone.
“Why. Is there a problem?”
“No…It’s not like that.”
I know. Why am I like this I might have expected something like a great secret without knowing it. There’s no reason for that. I closed my lips and looked at the child’s face.
Perhaps.
Maybe it’s because the last thing I saw was your face.
I remembered the last scene before time turned back. At that time, the child was looking at me with a terrified face. There were even tears in the eyes of the child who did not blink even in the invasion of the demons. Well, it wasn’t really something I didn’t understand.
At that time, I was stabbing myself in the throat with a piece of a broken plate.
…
Okay.
Then, obviously, I died once. Unable to overcome guilt and regret, he tried to kill himself. However, thanks to turning back time, he managed to revive.
So, to put it simply, it was resurrected. And then he became the devil again.
Like the demon king in the prophecy.
Widely.
“One beer. Here.”
A bright yellow drink was placed in front of my eyes. All the smiles that had been drawn on his lips had disappeared before he knew it. I looked at the drink and slowly raised my head.
“Still, the old man is a warmer person than I thought. He speaks harshly, but seeing that he never throws that child out.”
“I feel like I want to throw it away right away. But I can’t. My granddaughter is asking about this guy these days. I just want to say that he died, but I want to pass it on, but how can you say such harsh things to a pregnant child. Does this guy know that or not?”
“I’m listening.”
“Shut up you bastard.”
In the middle of the friendly conversation, I opened my eyes wide and asked.
“Is your granddaughter pregnant?”
“Yeah. I just got married, but they say I’m pregnant or something. Damn bitch. Actually, I had an accident before I got married. I didn’t know that, and I worked very hard to prepare for the wedding. Ehh. Ehh!”
The old man sighed heavily. But there was a smile that couldn’t be hidden. It was a bit shocking to see the indifferent old man pursed his lips trying to hold back a laugh.
Oh my god. Your granddaughter is already pregnant. Great. I wanted you to have a good wedding, but you’ve already passed that stage. Really. Really good.
“Congratulations. Now you can see your great-grandchildren.”
“I’ve lived a long time. Oh, the world is going to collapse. An old man like me even cares for his great-grandchildren.”
No.
It’s a really good world.
I slowly raised my glass. The beer in it overflowed a little and then flowed coldly over my fingers.
The world where they disappeared was peaceful and warm. Maybe it was the world that should have been like this from the beginning. All defective items are removed, so we can only return to normal. Now, there was only one defective product left in the clock called the world. The defective product took a sip of beer as it watched the world flow more peacefully.
“Whoa…”
I felt a tingling sensation as the tangy carbonic acid spread through my tongue. I closed my eyes and vaguely felt the touch that might be the last. Now everything is really ready. Only the last step remained.
Okay.
Now, it’s time to go see him.
