Clara's Point of View - 10 PM
Right now, my right hand is holding Althair's. Althair's familiar, Alrathi, is flying at high speed.
Althair and I haven't spoken at all since our departure. The atmosphere is very quiet; only the sound of Alrathi's flapping wings can be heard. The cold night wind hits our faces, making my light brown hair flutter.
For your information, the duration of the artifact is currently on cooldown.
I turned back to look at Althair's face, who was sitting behind me. His hair, previously light blue, had returned to its brown color—his eyes, previously amber, were gray again. His shoulders looked tense, and I could feel a sad aura emanating from him. Of course, he was sad—not just him, but me too. We had just lost our three best friends.
Rio with his recklessness.
Alex with his foolishness.
And Alicia with her kind heart.
They were all gone.
"Al..." I called out in a soft tone.
Althair didn't answer, didn't even turn his head—his head was still facing forward.
"I know you're blaming yourself," I said. "But this isn't your fault."
Althair finally responded to me. Because of our size difference, I look tiny to him. It's evident as Althair has to look down to meet my eyes. His gray eyes looked empty. "Not my fault?" he asked in a bitter tone. "I'm the one who led you all. I'm the one who decided to fight the elves. I..."
"I should have protected all of you," Althair said with regret, his voice choked. His usually sharp eyes had now weakened. They were red, and tears were gathering in the corners.
Before, during his last moments with Alicia—Althair was still strong. He wasn't this fragile. I know Althair's mental state is low right now; I understand him. My left hand wiped away the tears falling from Althair's eyes. "Don't push yourself so hard."
"Let them go and forgive yourself," I said, stroking his firm jawline.
"Easy to say but hard to do," Althair replied in a firm tone. It seems I managed to change his mood; from empty, it was now emotional. "You wouldn't understand, because you didn't experience it," Althair said to me.
I was confused hearing that, because we were always together—so what did I miss? But I kept listening, letting Althair finish his sentence.
"I couldn't help the family I love. My family fought, my people in the north were terrified, and I'm here, running away."
"Plus, I couldn't even protect my own best friends."
"I am a loser." The corners of Althair's eyes welled up again.
"What's the use of achievements? Of being nicknamed the 'Golden Boy' or the 'Dark Horse Mage'? It's all useless." Finally, Althair released the burden on his shoulders. "A nickname that doesn't help in this situation. An achievement that will be forgotten with time." His shoulders began to tremble. I squeezed his right hand tighter now, giving him the strength to know I would stay by his side.
"It's all useless when you always fail in every action."
This time, Althair started to laugh. He said that sentence with a small laugh, accompanied by tears that adorned his handsome face. I guided Althair's head to my neck. He rested there, using it as a place of rest.
"It's okay. It's impossible for anyone to succeed at everything," I said, trying to comfort him. "Everyone experiences failure, mistakes, and carelessness. No one is perfect, neither humans nor the world we live in."
"But it is in that imperfection that beauty lies."
Althair just listened, not answering—but that's what I wanted.
"Listen to this, Al," I said. "Humans always have conflicts, misunderstandings, jealousy, and arrogance. But from that, we learn. We learn humility, we learn to apologize, we learn to understand."
"You know love? Love is like a candle flame."
"Hm? Why?" Althair asked, sniffling.
"A candle flame will eventually go out, whether it's blown out by the wind or the candle itself runs out. It is because it will go out that we guard and watch over it."
"If a candle flame were eternal, we wouldn't care about it. We wouldn't bother keeping it alive or paying attention to it."
"Because we'd know that the flame would keep burning without ever dying."
"If two people love each other without flaws, are never disappointed, are always patient, and never get angry—it's like a machine."
"It's beautiful to imagine a relationship without conflict, but in reality, it feels cold. Humans learn from a series of real events."
"We know that humans don't live forever. It is precisely because of that that we try to use our time as effectively as possible."
"We know our parents will die before us, but that's when we learn to get closer to them, to spend time or make precious memories with them."
---
Clara's Point of View - 11 PM
"We've arrived," Althair said to me.
From a distance, I saw a stretch of ancient forest. The sky above was a grayish-blue, with a faint greenish hue. The edge of the land was covered in soft grass. At that moment, Alrathi, Althair's familiar, descended. The eagle landed gently. Althair and I got off its back. The eagle then disappeared, a sign that its task was complete.
In my hand was the storage ring given by Emperor Arthur. Inside, Carsel was still asleep. I asked Althair, "Al... is it dangerous if we keep flying in the sky?"
"Not too dangerous, but I have a plan," Althair said, looking into my eyes. "We've been followed for a while now, but I haven't reacted at all, trying to make the stalker think we don't know," Althair said quietly.
I wanted to be surprised when he said we were being followed, but I maintained my expression.
"I am very familiar with the terrain in this place," Althair said to me.
"So you're going to use—no, take advantage of this terrain to fight them?" I said, confirming.
"Yes."
...
Althair von Kaelvros's Point of View
We began to walk into the forest. The trees around were very tall and large, shrouded in a mystical aura, which added to the horror of this place. I walked beside Clara. More accurately, I was holding Clara's hand, guiding her. But suddenly, this place was enveloped in fog.
Clara disappeared from her spot. The hand I was holding was gone; her trail had vanished. But I wasn't afraid, because I knew what was happening.
"Althair...."
In front of me appeared the spirits of Rio, Alex, and Alicia. The three of them blocked my way. Not in human form, just spirits—like smoke. The one who had called my name was Rio's voice.
"Why didn't you save us? Why did you leave us?" said Alex's spirit.
"You led us to our deaths," said Alicia's spirit.
I stood tall, looking at the three of them in turn. My friends who had died.
"I'm sorry."
A simple phrase, but it was the only thing I could think of right now.
"I regret it," said Alex's spirit. "If I had known it would be like this, I would have rather stayed at the evacuation point, defending my parents to the last drop of my blood."
"Why did I follow you then? Trying to save a baby, with no guarantee, just on a whim," said Alex.
"I'm sorry."
"You made the decision. We trusted you, but your decision led us running towards our deaths," said Alicia. "I had my own life, my own loved ones, and you made it so I can no longer protect that treasure."
"Can you take responsibility? No, you must take responsibility."
"I'm sorry."
"I died because I believed in you, believed that Carsel had to live to bring justice for the innocent citizens," said Rio.
"I'm sorry."
I didn't bow my head. I looked at each of them, one by one, accepting every word they threw at me.
"I hate you!" Rio said to me emotionally.
I looked at Rio's spirit and replied, "Yeah, me too."
"My family in the north was defeated. My people were surely taken prisoner by them," I said in a hoarse voice. "And I couldn't do anything for them. And now you all too..."
"I hate myself more than you hate me."
"I won't look for justification. I can't erase my mistakes, my sins."
"I never intended to look for it."
"I will keep living. I have to take that responsibility. I won't be shackled by the past."
"I can't change your fate, but I will make sure your deaths were not in vain."
I looked at the three of them with a steady and confident gaze.
"Watch me. Watch my struggle."
...
"Al."
"Altha!"
"Althair!"
I felt a shout from my left, and my left arm was being shaken. I turned and saw Clara looking at me with worry.
"What's wrong with you? Why were you standing still like a statue? Did something happen? Nothing happened, right? Did the stalker cast a spell? Did..."
I quickly placed my hand on her lips, shutting her mouth to make her stop.
"It's okay. It's safe now."
I removed my hand, and she seemed to have calmed down. "Wait a minute, I'll check on you. Who knows, you might have a wound," Clara said to me. I let her do as she pleased.
"Prepare yourself. We're going to fight," I said to Clara after she finished checking on me.
"Right," Clara replied.
I immediately cast a defensive spell. Fog quickly covered our location, making us hard to track.
THWIP
An arrow had just lodged itself in a rock to our right. I was just in time. It turns out we had been marked. Luckily, I created the fog, which disrupted the stalker's vision.
I immediately ran with Clara, getting away from there. I was about to hold her hand, but Clara pushed it away and told me to focus on what was ahead. She assured me she would be fine. I obeyed.
Suddenly, behind us, a blood-red aura projection appeared, heading our way. Clara immediately created a barrier spell. The two clashed, creating a small-scale explosion.
I created a magic weapon in my right hand, a longsword made of pure mana. From the small explosion emerged the silhouettes of two people, a woman and a man. The Vampire Queen and her guard, Lilith and an NPC.
Lilith was dressed sexy like a harlot, accentuating her curves. The NPC, meanwhile, wore full black armor.
"In such a hurry, are we, young Duke?" Lilith said with a small laugh.
I stared at her sharply, not at her body, but at her eyes.
"Lilith," I said sharply.
It's strange. She fought my father before, but here, Lilith is completely unharmed. No, she must have healed herself after the fight with my father. In other words, Lilith is not at full power here. I know how it works. Lilith heals her wounds using her skills, and those skills are not insignificant.
"Surrender and give me the baby, and I will grant you a gentle death," Lilith said arrogantly. "Don't be like your father," Lilith said, looking at me.
"You know? I used your father as a punching bag before he died at my hands. Don't be like your father, okay? Die peacefully," Lilith said, trying to provoke me.
I remained calm, learning from before. Clara held my arm, wanting to know my reaction.
"I'm fine," I said, reassuring Clara. "This is our last battle. We're just one step away from our goal," I whispered in Clara's ear.
"Right," she replied.
"What are you after here?" Lilith asked. "It's impressive that the heir of the North could find this special place."
I ignored her words. It was truly pointless to respond to Lilith.
Lilith is a Swordsman, and that guard is a Mage, Althair monologued. He must be an Archmage, but I have the advantage here.
Watch me from above. I'm not asking for prayers; I'm just asking you all to watch me. This time, I will succeed.