"..."
"..."
Boom—
The rain fell harder and harder, and another peal of thunder split the sky.
Lightning illuminated Alvitte's face, turning it deathly pale. Water dripped from her soaked hair along Linsey's arm. Her eyes had only barely regained a trace of vitality, yet what showed in them now was nothing but intense sorrow and self-reproach.
"Linsey, kill me."
Words Linsey would never have believed came from the Righteous Walker girl's mouth.
"You saved me from certain death, yet I turned my sword against you."
"Perhaps this failure is the price I must pay for committing an unrighteous act."
Linsey refused without a second thought.
"I don't kill my friends."
That answer only caused Alvitte greater pain. She did not know what emotions she should use to continue.
"But you're stronger than me."
"As I am now, I'm a sinner whose guilt cannot be absolved even by ten thousand deaths."
"I remember—through killing, your skills can greatly strengthen you and grant you some miraculous items. Though I've failed now, under your skill's assessment, I should still be a valuable prey."
Linsey continued shaking his head.
"That makes it even more impossible."
"Seeking power through endless slaughter would only turn me into a monster. The Abyss School has a path like that. I know what the final outcome would be—you'd only be harming me instead."
"..."
Alvitte was speechless for a moment.
Linsey gave the Righteous Walker girl no room to keep thinking and instead asked about what had happened to her.
"Alvitte, explain this to me first."
"What do you mean the White Steel Sword was destroyed?"
"That sword may not belong to me, but I know full well that it possesses an unimaginably indestructible nature. Destroying it is something only the Eighth Stage or Ninth Stage could accomplish.