"[Absolute... Obli..."
"[GREATER INSTANT VANISHING]!!!"
I was interrupted by chanting at an impressive speed, but what left me most shocked was the effect of the chant...
In a fit of terror, the demon king had not hesitated to use a skill, in which he disappeared from my sights INSTANTLY!?
Of course, I immediately became wary, remembering Scarlet's [Instant Vanishing] skill she showed me during our training yet...
"WHAAAAAT?!"
Wasn't he reappearing?
...
No, it can't be...
...
He still isn't reappearing...
...
...
...
'DID HE SERIOUSLY JUST RUN AWAY?!'
I was left shocked as I shook my head and looked around anxiously as I waited for him to appear...
but...
NOTHING!!!
"WHAT THE F**K!?!?!?"
I yelled at the top of my lungs as I looked around at the now empty crater. There was no sign of life other than a madwoman (me), yelling at the top of her lungs in it...
'Such a demon king, that Azazel guy is...'
I felt so frustrated...
'I was about to release [Absolute Oblivion] for such a coward...'
But as the frustration began pouring over into my head, an overpowering feeling came over me...
Worry...
"...SCARLET?!?!"
I jerked my head and looked around anxiously...
I don't know how exactly...
But...
When I turned to see where Scarlet had been laying...
...
No one was there...
...
...
...
I fell to my knees as I realized what had just happened...
...In the midst of my blind rage...
...I had just allowed...
...The one I wanted to protect...
...To fall to the very danger she ran away from...
...
My thoughts began racing immediately as my desperation rose...
After running away... losing the demon king seal... and even going as far as to fight the demon king and her father...
'she... might... get... killed...'
My emotions had been welling up to this point, as they finally broke free...
As I felt that first tear break free...
The rest followed in an unending stream, as I finally gave in to the sadness of allowing...
My friend...
To be taken away...
It was an indescribable feeling of guilt that was hurting my chest, far more than the reverberating wound on my abdomen...
But as I was still clenching the calcined dirt in my hands I heard a soothing voice...
"Reika...?"
I turned around with snot and tears rolling down my face...
"My... *sniff* ria... *sniff*"
Without waiting for the opportunity, I stood up and ran to her open arms, as I began to vent my sadness...
"My... ria... she's gone... *sniff*... I let her... get taken *sniff* away..."
I kept on crying... I felt as if I wanted to vomit from the sheer guilt swirling in my stomach...
"SHE'S GONE!!! SCARLET IS GONE!!!"
I wailed while my heart felt as if it was breaking into pieces... She didn't want this... she sacrificed herself for me... She pushed me out of the way...
"IT WAS MY FAULT!!! IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME!!!"
For some reason, Myria's embrace was warm, yet it didn't make me feel any better... I could feel my emotions running rampant inside me as my mental fortitude dropped to dangerous levels...
When...
Myria's grip suddenly tightened around me...
"It's alright... It's not your fault..."
I felt her caring hug... her soft words... her loving attitude...
"She pushed you out of the way... because of a reason..."
She said honestly as she cleared some of the tears falling down my cheeks...
"Reika... we both owe you our lives in different ways... Scarlet was only doing what she could do... "
As her grip tightened around me one more... her tone became that of a sister as she patted my head and allowed me to calm down within her soft arms...
"But... You can get her back... I bet Scarlet knows that too..."
I liberated myself from her embrace as I faced her with a broken down spirit as I asked...
"How am I supposed to do anything...?"
I was feeling depressed once again... This felt incredibly devastating... throughout my life... I've never been afraid to lose anything... yet... for once in my life... I had attained something I did not want to lose...
Expecting Myria to stagger on my response, she eagerly smiled as she responded nostalgically...
"You'll figure something out... You always have, after all..."
As she gave me a final small hug, I felt my spirit coming back... And as I wiped away my tears...
"Un〜! We'll save Scarlet!!!"
"That's the spirit..."
Myria said relieved as she gave me a thumbs up...
As I regained my calm I began thinking on how we should be able to retrieve Scarlet...
'We don't know where the demon king actually resides... or where he has taken Scarlet... Hmmm... this might be a little difficult..."
However... as I began analyzing the situation a little closer...
'WAIT! Haruto is supposed to be a hero that aids in the subjugation of the demon king?! He could possibly know where he resides!!!'
I jerked my face in ecstasy while grabbing hold of Myria's hands:
"Woah〜 Reika?!"
"WE CAN DO IT〜!!!"
And without paying further attention to Myria's beet red face, I started scanning the area once more in search of Haruto...
However...
I had completely forgotten...
I was not the only one with a loss...
There, scattered across a wide section... were the remains of the Evenhide sisters...
The scenery was horrific... entrails scattered... blood dripping... unrecognizable bodies...
But in the midst of all of that gore... kneeling and crying his very soul out...
Was Haruto...
...
His wails weren't pathetic... He was actually suffering...
I had never seen this before... I thought he had become emotionally detached enough to get over things like these yet...
There he was... crying from his very heart...
In order to respect his grief... I slowly approached as without muttering a single word...
I felt empathy for Haruto... I never thought... I would actually feel this way for someone who had turned my life into hell on multiple occasions...
Yet I couldn't stop myself...
I now stood behind him, as his sobbing began decreasing...
And I guess he noticed I had arrived behind him... because in between sobs he began speaking softly...
"Yeah... I'm a summoned hero... yet the others were so much stronger than me..."
"..."
I did not dare to speak... I just listened... as I allowed him to continue venting all of his grief...
"That's why I couldn't train with the princesses back in the kingdom..."
"..."
"Mia... approached me... She was such a nice girl..."
"..."
"When she noticed I still had potential she began training me herself..."
"..."
"Soon enough... I became stronger than her..."
"..."
"I then started working with her sisters too... Eri... Charlotte..."
"..."
"They were all so nice to me... They saw someone in me... I had not even considered..."
"..."
"Now... they're dead..."
"..."
As Haruto barely retained his tears from dropping in a cascade, he regained his calm as he brought his story to close...
"Listen Reika... I know what you're planning now... I'll take you to where I think the demon lord should be..."
"..."
"On one condition..."
"..."
"Allow me... to at least try to fight that b**tard... I don't care if I die trying... He killed them... I will try to avenge them... it's the very least I can do..."
"What if you die...?"
"It doesn't matter... it's not like you can't defeat him on your own... I've finally come to know... just how strong you are..."
As he let go of Mia's dead hand... he stood up, turned to face me, smiled sadly... And finally spoke...
"We... should get going..."
As he took some steps forward... I got ready to follow him...
However...
In that second...
I felt lightheaded, sick, nauseous...
My footing immediately got uncertain...
For some unknown reason... my head began pulsating, feeling as if it was being crushed...
As I finally felt my consciousness fading...
Without much resistance on my part...
I fell to the ground...
""REIKA!!!""
I could hear some distant voices calling out to me... Yet I didn't quite hear them... They were distorted...
I could hear some strange screams and my name being called out... but... I felt so sleepy...
I felt the strength leaving my body as an ominous cold took over...
Myria's P.O.V.
""REIKA!!!""
Both, Haruto and me yelled in horror...
For some reason, Reika had just collapsed on the spot...
Seeing this made me unnaturally nervous as I ran with all of my speed to aid her...
"Reika!!! Wake up!!!"
Grabbing her body a sensation came across...
'Cold...'
Looking at her body properly, the beauty that characterizes Reika so well had become dull as the color of her lips became pale and the color of her hair became whitened...
Her body was so cold... Her color gone... I wasn't sure what was going on yet, I was sure of something...
...
...
...
She was dying...
Haruto soon crouched as well while becoming desperate over Reika's condition...
"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER?!"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
I responded as my anxiety grew larger by the second...
I was at a loss for what could possibly be causing Reika out of all people, to suddenly become so ill, so fast...
However, as I touched her forehead, I saw something with the corner of my eye...
Haruto stared at me curiously as my hands intently wandered towards Reika's abdomen...
"What are you doing...?"
"..."
And as I finally grabbed a hold of Reika's clothes... Haruto finally understood what I was about to do...
"WAIT STO-"
*RIP*
...
...
...
Before me, was the single most horrifying picture I've ever been presented...
...
...
...
Reika had a gaping wound on her abdomen...
Yet it was no normal wound...
It had turned black...
Even a strange miasma was oozing from the wound itself...
And most surprising of all, the wound seemed to be enlarging itself by the second...
Both, Haruto and me stared in true fear as we watched the wound quite literally begin consuming Reika... Seeing this, Haruto was absorbed by his desperation as he began yelling:
"REIKA!!! HANG ON!!! REIKA!!! REIKA!!! DON'T DIE!!!"
But as Haruto began screaming, I began chanting:
"[CLEANSE]!!"
As my hands became wrapped in holy light, I placed my hands on Reika's wound... Hoping that her wound would heal, I put my best efforts into my spell...
...
...
...
Nothing...
Nothing happened, the wound remained the same... a horrible sight on such a beauty...
Seeing this shocked me...
I had never in my life... seen a wound that wouldn't be aided with [Cleanse]...
'This can't be it... I won't give up...'
"[HOLY RADIANCE]!!!"
...
...
...
No effect...
"REIKA I WON'T GIVE UP ON YOU!!!"
I began chanting spell after spell, with no effect whatsoever...
As Haruto stared at me in between tears... he asked innocently...
"Is she going to be fine...?"
I stared at him in sorrow as I, for once my life, had been completely useless in aiding someone heal... in such a crucial moment...
"I... don't know..."
Reika's P.O.V.
I was back in the dark horizon...
In the middle of nowhere...
My emotions pulsating...
My abdomen throbbing...
And of course...
This place has only one inhabitant that I'm aware of...
And this time was no exception...
Yet she was...
Smirking...
"Finally the pieces fell into play, huh Reiki?"