Book Five: Return from the Other Shore - Chapter 493: Closure

"Hiss... Hiss... Hiss..."

His hands were already stained with blood.

"Guh... Haa... Ah... Ahh..."

His own blood was mixed with his mother's blood.

"Ahhhhhh... Waaaaaah... Waaaaah..."

His chest had been pierced countless times by himself, and his heart and lungs were completely destroyed.

"Waaaaah... waaaah..."

The Crystal Spike slipped from his hand and landed among the blood-stained Lycoris radiata.

"Ugh... Ah... Finally... Finally..."

They made their move.

In the end, I did it myself.

"They did it... it's over... I actually... I actually... really..."

With these hands,

Use this blade,

Finally killed him--

"Ha... hahaha... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... haha... wu... wu... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

A torrent of emotions completely overwhelmed my defenses.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

His body was shaking uncontrollably.

I can no longer form clear words.

Chaotic roars spilled from its wide-open mouth, indistinguishable between laughter and crying.

My head hurts, my hands hurt, there's no part of my body that doesn't hurt, but compared to the emptiness in my heart that comes with a tearing sensation, it's nothing.

"Huff... huff... ah..."

All her strength seemed to have been drained away; her legs felt like they were made of syrup. She could no longer support herself and collapsed to the ground.

Just then, a pair of warm hands caught her.

"A Ye ..."

She called my name weakly and softly; she was so fragile now, as if she would shatter at the slightest touch.

"A Ye... I... I did it..."

"Yes, you've worked hard. Take a good rest."

I wrapped my arms around her and let her lean against me. She didn't resist, she just kept sobbing. I used one hand to brush away the long hair that was sticky with sweat to her face, and the other hand to gently stroke her back, like comforting a wronged child.

After a while, her sobs subsided, and her trembling lessened. Only then did I loosen my embrace slightly and look at her tear-streaked face.

It's heartbreaking.

"... Is it painful, Givinia?"

"I don't know... I don't know either... It's like a hole has been ripped out of my heart."

She gently pulled away from my embrace and took a deep look at the lady's corpse.

It's as if I want to imprint it in my heart.

"Honestly... I sensed it a long time ago that, regardless of the outcome, I wouldn't be happy."

Wiping away the tears with the back of my hand eased my headache, but the surging emotions in my heart only intensified.

"If I fail, I'll die; if I succeed... I'll lose my lifelong support, become a walking corpse, and forever remain lost. Looking at it this way, letting time dilute the hatred was probably the best choice. But... fate is so cruel... Hey, A Ye?"

"What's wrong?"

"Although the idea of emptiness after revenge is cliché, what should I do next?"

Seeing her listless appearance, I sighed.

I never imagined I'd occasionally play the role of a wise person about life.

"Didn't your mom... Winsani, say that..."

"... Um?"

Even if you have suffered tremendous setbacks, even if you have made heinous mistakes, even if you have been living in confusion and pain, even if you have lost your direction, you must live on, live on with your head held high.

"..."

She closed her eyes, as if deep in thought. What exactly was on her mind in those few brief seconds? Reflections on the past? Lamentations about fate? Hatred or love for her mother? Confusion about life?

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to her usual self.

But there's something different; it's a subtle difference that only I can sense.

"Have I told you, A Ye? For me, living means being cautious, observing every detail, guessing everyone's thoughts, and carefully managing relationships with everyone... Over time, I don't even know what my true self is anymore."

"I think this is the real you: mature, steady, intelligent, knows when to advance and retreat, gentle to everyone, and occasionally a little bit cunning. You always appear when I need help the most, and that's enough."

"But this is just 'the me you want me to be,' isn't it?"

"That's exactly what I hope for, but isn't there an old saying? 'A girl in love can change herself for the person she likes.' No matter what kind of person you were before, as long as you become the person I want you to be—"

"--Pfft! Seriously, A Ye, you can be really funny sometimes."

"I'm very serious."

"Hmm..."

A girl in love?

Givinia gently placed her hand on her chest; her heart seemed to be beating slightly faster than usual.

I once had such a wish,

I want to be loved.

I also want to love someone.

Do I qualify now?

Can I do it now?

"...Hey, A Ye."

"Um?"

Can I love you?

"Of course."

"So..."

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, growing stronger and stronger until even the roots of her ears turned bright red.

"... Will you love me too?"

She looked straight at me, her eyes not with a feigned gentle smile, but with a clear, innocent gaze.

It's not that we've completely abandoned the past, nor that we've found a new guiding light.

She simply peeled away layers of pretense and faced me with her true self.

... How cunning!

Even though she's not using any underhanded tricks now, she's still quite cunning.

"Yes, if you truly love me, I will surely reciprocate with love that goes beyond that."

How could I possibly refuse when such an adorable person asks me such an adorable question with such an adorable expression and such an adorable voice?!

"That's wonderful..."

It was the first time I'd ever seen her smile so brightly.

Like Fireworks bursting in the night, even the stars and moon are obscured.

"Oh, there's one more thing."

"I have a pretty good idea what it is."

As we spoke, we looked at the Lycoris radiata that were slowly withering and decomposing, and at the corpse covered in petals.

"At least, give her a proper burial."

"... Um."

"They actually won!" Truth Incantation exclaimed in surprise.

"The cat ears of the Truth Incantation twitched, and its pupils shrank to slits, as excited as a wild cat that had been starving for three days and suddenly found a fresh fish."

"What's that Luo-chan suddenly saying?! It sounds like lines from a low-brow novel's narration..."

"I suddenly felt like someone was going to write this, so I said it... By the way, you're so noisy!"

"Why did you hit me again...?"

"I sensed the anger of the person who wrote those words towards you, so I punished you on his behalf for calling it a low-grade novel!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Hey, ladies..."

Just behind them, a woman's voice suddenly rang out.

The voice was quite unremarkable, the complete opposite of its owner's appearance.

Rakshasa True Word's expression immediately turned sour; she glanced back impatiently.

"What's wrong? You... what was it again?"

"Anubas, I've reminded you more than once, I thought it was the kind of name that would be easy to remember."

"Alright, Anubas, what is it?"

"I just wanted to say— Miss Ye has won! That's wonderful!"

"... You talk too much nonsense."

"Tch~"

Anubas deftly swayed to the side of the two lolis. Luo-chan and Zhen-chan subconsciously kept their distance from her. Even these two, who had been around for who knows how long, had to admit that Anubas's appearance was indeed stunning.

Do you really like black and white that much?

"It's just a personal color scheme, don't worry about it."

Anubas tossed her long, jet-black hair, grinned, revealing black and white teeth and a tongue that was half black and half white. In her hands were two parchments covered with mysterious writing in red ink, as well as objects resembling seals and handprints.

Luo-chan glanced at her irritably and asked, "Is this the contract you were talking about?"

"That's right, please forgive me. After all, my stated purpose for this trip is to deliver the Truth Incantation and the Rakshasa True Word to our irritable Leader. How could I dare to disobey?"

"Actually?"

"Didn't I tell you already? I'm on Miss Ye's side. It's so lucky to have gotten this job, this way we can—"

Anubas shook the contract.

"--We've taken control of you."

Luo-chan frowned, while Zhen-chan was still confused, asking, "Huh? Huh?"

"Even though I was mentally prepared, it's still very annoying."

"We simply want to gain control of you so we can deliver a fatal blow to the Leader at the most crucial moment. If we succeed, we will naturally restore you from your World Crossing Gate state back to your current state."

"Hey, hey, aren't you mistaken? I never said I didn't want to revert to my World Crossing Gate state."

"Oh?"

"Whether it's me, that idiot over there, or the other four, none of them can resist the idea of forming a gate. It's probably an instinct ingrained in their minds. Although they may feel reluctant at times, deep down they still feel at ease about reuniting."

"Then why do you look so disgusted?"

"Because..." Luo-chan glanced quickly at the situation below, "Although I want to trust her, I still can't completely relax. Separating from my Husband without saying a word..."

"Love grows over time? I know, I know~ A young girl's heart is always full of poetry, sister... no, you should call me... auntie? Auntie? Anyway, I'll support you."

"So you're just giving up on taking me with you?"

Of course not.

"..."

"However, I will not take both of you with me."

Huh?

Anubas calmly produced two more contracts, still covered in dense, mysterious text, seemingly no different from the previous ones.

"What is this?"

"What I showed you just now was a contract for 'gaining partial control of the Rakshasa True Word and the Truth Incantation,' while this... is a contract for 'gaining partial power of both.'"

"Strength?"

"That's right. Don't forget, what's needed to construct the World Crossing Gate is the 'function' of you Divine Item, not your 'power'. Even if most of your power is lost, the gate can still be constructed normally."

"But... who are you going to give our power to?"

"I told you, I'm on Miss Ye's side, so Miss Ye's companions are my companions too. Right now, only Miss Ye can stand up to the higher-ups head-on. If it were me, I would want my companions to be stronger, so come on... sign this, and I'll relay these things to them."

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My Monthly Votes has dropped again, so sad...