Vera
...How dare he...
HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE?
He—he nearly got me! Me, the great Vera Marjoram! One of the Magocracy's ruling mages!
What was that spell?! If I hadn't summoned Wendigo, I would've died to that spell! Even Lana didn't have a spell like that! That speed and destructive power—it can only be a Master-level Wind spell!
He actually manages to take down Alyssum too! To think he actually has his own Great Fairy! Gah, once again, I've underestimated him!
But no matter. This is an excellent chance. He's stupid enough to expose himself out of the barrier. I'll just dispose of him first before finishing off his parents. That spell might be powerful, but he no doubt needs a long chanting time for it. And I won't give him that chance again!
It's a shame that such a gem of a talent has to die, but it's too dangerous to keep him alive in this situation, after what he just did.
The ice witch immediately switched her target towards Hugo, using her ice magic to cross the snow field at incredible speed. She held her right hand upfront, gathering her mana into it before firing a Cold Nova straight at him. Using his Wind Step however, he managed to dodge out of the way. It wasn't over though, as she moved the angle of her spell, continuously chasing after him as Cold Nova isn't just a one-shot spell like his Boom Cannon. As long as she maintained her focus, she didn't have to renew the mana gathering phase to remain firing the cold wave.
Ha, gotcha!
A splash of the Nova managed to land onto Hugo, freezing his legs solid.
Only for his Great Fairy to melt it right away.
Grr, fine! Double spell then!
She raised her other hand, before it too fired a Cold Nova towards Hugo.
Only to immediately stop it as she had to dodge a slash from Alan.
Tch, that snake can't even do its job properly!
Fine! You want me to get serious? Then I'll get serious!
To think that I would have to use that spell just for a bunch of nobodies like them!
Hey, snake! Come over here!
The snake, who was still busy keeping Hugo's parents from reaching their son, immediately obeyed. It buried its giant body through the snow, popping back up right where Vera was.
And swallowing her whole in the process, before burying itself back under the snow.
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Hugo
Somehow, I actually managed to dodge all of Vera's attacks and get inside Mother's barrier safely.
I nearly didn���t make it too. Only thanks to my Great Fairy that I could make it here.
"Hugo... Oh Hugo... Thank the Saint that you're alright..."
Mother was smiling brightly, even though she was clearly severely tired, as she was panting heavily, with her unable to stand up normally, having to lean on her staff.
Father too was panting, and the moment there was a lull in the attacks, he kneeled down, stabbing his greatsword to the snow.
...Wait, a lull in attack? What happened to the snake and Vera?
I looked around. There was no sign of their presence. They had disappeared completely.
"D-did Vera… did she retreat?"
"N-no, she's planning another sneak attack," Father answered. "She pulled her snake back and told it to swallow her before burying itself under this hill. She's hiding inside its stomach, using its ability to silently traverse through snow to hide herself."
"W-we have to use this chance to retreat, Alan. I-I can't keep up my barrier for much longer. My mana is nearly entirely gone," Mother spoke.
"Understood. We'll make a beeline to—wait, that rumble—EVERYONE, RUN!!"
Father immediately tackled Mother as he leaped away, while I reflectively used my Wind Step to blast myself backwards. Just in time before the snowy ground under us burst forth, revealing the snake's wide open jaw.
And Vera, who was standing inside with her two hands glowing brightly—all with a triumphant grin on her face.
She jumped out and aimed one hand towards me while the other went towards Father and Mother instead.
"Absolute! Zero!"
An immensely powerful blast of cold fired off from her two hands. They were nothing like the Cold Novas she had been throwing before.
Two Grandmaster-level Ice spells, casted simultaneously. She must have used her snake as a cover to give her the time to chant them both.
What happened afterwards were a series of events happening near simultaneously.
Great Fairy erected a wall of hot water to block the spell heading towards me. Only for said water to immediately turn into ice, before she herself was frozen completely.
Father, seeing that Vera wasn't just attacking them but also me, sent a powerful slash to intercept the spell. It crashed with it, weakening it considerably, but not enough to dispel it completely.
And then, the spell nearly reached me. I could feel the intense freeze enveloping my skin in the millisecond it almost touched me.
I was lucky. I fired off my Boom Cannon, charged mid-air as I flew backwards, just in time to dissipate the remaining spell.
It flew straight to Vera, flying right towards her head.
Her attention, devoted entirely towards Father and Mother, didn't see the spell coming until the very last second.
And by then, it was already too late.
Her triumphant expression turned into horror, before my spell decapitated her in a single strike.
She had no other summon that could take the blow.
Her body fell down to the snow, and soon after, her snake vanished.
We did it…
We finally did it...
My back landed on the snow, chills enveloping my body. I didn't escape the powerful spell completely, even after all that, and I could feel my body temperature being dangerously low right now. Great Fairy had sacrificed herself to block the spell, so I couldn't ask her to warm me up again. I saw her body shattering into pieces in the process.
Father! Mother! We've—
Father? Mother?
My eyes darted around.
I can't find them. I can't find them anywhere. Weren't they just right there a second ago?
...Wait, the spell that was aimed for them—what happened to it? Did they dodge it?
I then noticed a large formation of ice crystals in a straight line that certainly wasn't there before.
RIght at the trajectory of the spell going after them.
My heart dropped.
I walked there, unable to even run at my current state.
And then, I fell on my knees.
N-no, t-this can't—
I could see them—bits and pieces of frozen flesh and body parts with their clothing. There were a pair of ears, a finger, a half-exposed bone with a sinew, and even a whole foot. Even the remnants of Father's sword and Mother's staff were there, all scattered and separated.
H-hey, t-this is not funny… Mom, Dad, w-where are you two really?
Come on Mom, Dad, we've won. Stop hiding. You two can come out safely now.
…
P-please….
Please!
And then, I saw them at a distance.
Two round objects, sitting side by side on the snow.
Father and Mother's decapitated heads.
I was looking right at their remains.
They had suffered the same fate as Great Fairy, who shattered into a million pieces when the spell hit her.
But unlike her, there was no respawn mechanic that they could use. They were humans. Normal, ordinary humans. Mortals with a limited lifespan. Not summoned Feys who can never die.
And I had lost them. I had lost them forever.
"U-uwaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
I cried.
I cried until I couldn't anymore.
I cried until everything turned black.
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When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a well-lit ceiling—a beautiful sapphire blue chandelier brightening the room with its candles. And then, I felt the softness under me, telling me that I was most likely laying down on a bed right now.
I'm… not dead?
I should have lost my consciousness back then. Then why am I not dead? My body couldn't have withstood the cold on its own.
"Oh, thank Mira, you're alive!"
I slowly looked to my right and saw a girl sitting on a chair, wiping off her tears with her long sleeves. She looked like a witch, with a tall and large black hat decorated with stars underneath. And she had long red hair that went down to her waist on the front, tied in a pair of loose braids.
"I-I really thought you're already too far gone for my spell to heal! When I found you, you were nearly buried completely under the snow. It was pure luck that the snowstorm had died down when I reached the top of the mountain, and that I found your hand jutting out like that. And when I pulled you out, you were as cold as ice, you know! I had to use my secret family spell to—" She abruptly covered her hands with her mouth. "—Oops. I can't tell that to an outsider. Grandpa will be mad!"
I looked at her as if I was looking at a ghost—my brain still not quite processing her words.
"Oh, we haven't met yet, have we? I'm Alincia! Marina's friend! And you must be Hugo, right, her little brother?" She smiled.
"Y-you.. A-Alincia…" My voice croaked.
"R-right, have something warm to drink first."
She helped me sit up before bringing a glass of water to my lips. Using her magic, she heated up the glass, turning the cold water into a warm one. I slowly chugged it down.
"There! Should be easier to talk now!" She put the glass back down on the nearby bedside table.
"W-where is this? W-where's Marina?" I yelled.
"H-hey, calm down! This is Vera's mansion. I had to carry you all the way here after you collapsed outside."
"A-are you with the Ice Witch?" I pushed myself away as far as possible from her. Damn it, my wand! Where is it?
"No, I'm not!" She huffed, folding her hands. "I'm Marina's friend, remember? In fact, I came all the way here to rescue her myself. And your wand is right there, on the table."
I looked to the direction she pointed to, and sure enough, just behind the glass from before, there was my wand, along with my Bag of Holding. Naturally, I quickly snatched them both.
"Look, I had to go through hell to get here, you know! I had to fight off that bubble girl who told me that she wasn't going to allow me to go, when I finally realized her scheme. She brought me away from the Academy just so I wouldn't meet with you guys when you came there to check up on Marina. And then, I had to hire some guy I never even met before to take me here with his horse. And it was a painful, non-stop ride all the way here. My butt is still sore from that."
"And after all that, you guys already did everything, didn't you? How in the world did you manage to defeat Vera on your own? I saw her staff near where I found you, also sticking out of the snow. And she would never abandon it if she wasn't dead."
Right… I killed Vera… It was me who blew up her head with my spell.
"And Marina's just fine! Although… well, can you walk? I'd rather show it to you, to be honest." Her smile switched to a sad one.
"M-Marina? What happened to her?" I nearly jumped out the bed.
"W-whoa, calm down! it's nothing too bad. She should recover in a few days on her own."
Taking her word, I methodically put one foot to the floor before the other. And then, I lifted myself off the bed. I still staggered a little at first, but I quickly stabilized.
"She's sleeping in the next room. Follow me." She smiled as she took the lead.
The hallway we exited to was completely empty—not a single soul in sight. Not to mention the fact that there were numerous icicles stuck on the walls and ceilings, while a layer of snow nearly obscured the floor.
"What happened to the people here?" I asked. "Shouldn't Vera have lots of servants around?"
"Hmm, I don't know. It's already like this when I got here." She shook her head. "My guess though that Vera probably told them to evacuate. You see all the frost and snow around? Those must have come from Vera's snowstorm spell. Made by a mage her tier—no windows or doors should be able to stand against it for long, so the cold would seep through, endangering whoever stayed behind. Really, it's such a bother. I had to clean up first with my Fire magic before I could use that room for you to rest."
We then entered the next room, and sure enough, Marina was there, laying down on her own bed.
"Big Sis!"
I immediately rushed forward, grabbing her hands.
Only to find out that they were cold. Really cold.
Even colder than a corpse.
"Why is she—"
"It's Vera's spell, I think. Grandpa told me once about it. There's an Ice spell that can keep the victim in a state of cold sleep, preserving their life perfectly without any need of sustenance or even air. Before I got here, she was actually inside a giant ice crystal. And I had to melt it first before I could get to her. And man, what a tough ice that was! There was no doubt that Vera made it intentionally as well, to protect her if the ceiling decides to collapse or something while she was fighting outside. Using that cold sleep spell, Marina could be preserved inside safely, since she no longer needs to breathe after all."
"S-so she's not dead?"
"Of course not, silly! Or else I would still be wailing loudly when you woke up!" She grinned. "In fact, she should wake up and recover with no problem whatsoever in just a few days. So don't you worry about a thing, alright?" She patted me on the shoulder.
I looked back at Marina, still rubbing her hands with my own. She had a calm expression, almost as if she really was just sleeping normally. Only, I could tell that her chest wasn't rising up and down in the slightest. She's really not breathing, huh?
And then, I remembered—the things that Vera had said.
"Hmm? Why are you turning pale all of a sudden?"
"It's… well…"
I told her what she had said, in the most polite words I could.
"Ah, that…" She paused, looking away with a blush. "Don't worry." She looked back and gave a bashful smile. "I… well… I've checked on her down there and her… well, thingy is still intact…"
"W-wait, don't get me wrong! I-I'm not a pervert or anything! It's just that… well, I know exactly what Vera was planning with that grandson of her, so I took the liberty to check immediately. I-it's not like you can do the checking after all. Y-you're a boy! I don't care if you're his little brother but you can't do that! Not to a girl!" She huffed again.
I took a big sigh of relief, placing one hand on my chest. Oh thank God. It was a lie after all! It was just her trying to taunt us.
"Oh, that's right. Where are your parents? You came with them, right?"
My smile immediately vanished, as a rush of my memories resurfaced.
"They… they didn't… they didn't make it…"
Before I knew it, tears started to fall down from my face again.
I bolted, running away from her before she could say anything.
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I went outside, back to the place where I saw them fall.
No, I didn't even get to see that. I didn't get to see their last moments, as Vera's spell shattered Mother's barrier before freezing the two. And I didn't get to see either the moment they shattered into a million pieces. I was too preoccupied with my own trouble.
On the other hand, Father paid attention to me in that split second. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to protect myself from the spell, he used his sword to save me first.
I killed him. I killed Father. And Mother as well in the process.
If it weren't for my weakness, they would have survived against that spell. If I had been stronger, I would've been able to repel or dodge that spell on my own. There would be no need for Father to do that.
I fell to my knees yet again. I felt sick to my stomach. My whole body shook, and my tears refused to stop.
...Why?
Why am I here in the first place?
I am a failure. A complete failure.
I disappointed my parents in my first life. And now, I took their lives in the second.
...I should've never been reincarnated in the first place. I should've drowned in that river like the trash that I am. Then maybe, the Hugo that would be born without me would be able to keep them safe.
...I shouldn't have gone with them in the first place. I was so much weaker than them. I was their burden, the weak link in their party. I was nowhere near Myrilla's level as a mage.
"You'll keep Father and Mother safe as well?"
"Yep! No question about it! Leave it all to your big brother!"
To think I was so arrogant, so stupid, to make that promise to Erika… What would I say to her when I returned? What could I say to her crying face, as she demands me to return them like I have promised?
And not only her, but Marina as well… how would she feel that when she woke up, her father and mother were no longer in this world—all because of me. If it were her in my position, they would've survived to be sure.
Not only have I failed to be a good son to Father and Mother, I've failed to be a good brother as well to them both.
Erika would certainly hate me, for breaking my promise and taking away her father and mother from her.
Marina, on the other hand, might keep up her cheerful demeanor towards me. She might even say that it's not my fault that Alan and Renee are dead.
But I know, that deep down, she won't truly ever forgive me. Her smiles will always have that underlying coldness, and her eyes will never look at me the same way again.
I can't. I can't return to such a place.
It's all over. I no longer have any home to return to.
And that's what I deserve. A garbage human being like me never deserves a warm and loving family in the first place.
Heh, maybe I should just… end it all… all over again…
Maybe I can get another chance at life… at a different world entirely… as a different person…
It will be nice if I can be a girl this time...
I pointed my wand right at the bottom of my head.
It's only going to take a second. It won't even hurt.
...
"T-that's to remember me, alright? D-don't go kissing any other girls while I'm gone!"
Sherry.
That's right. I still had Sherry.
Sherry, who I had promised to be faithful to.
Sherry, who had promised to be my wife.
Sherry, who had promised to be stronger for my sake.
I put the wand down.
That's right. I couldn't die yet. I still had her.
My future was now clear.
I would go to her. I would travel all the way to her village in the Demon Continent. I would tell her everything that had transpired while she was gone.
And then, I would wait for her judgment.
If she still somehow felt any love towards me after my confession, then I would start a loving family with her, just like she wanted. It would be my third chance in life.
I looked back at the mansion in the distance.
She'll be fine. She has Alincia taking care of her.
Don't worry, Sis. You'll never see me again for the rest of your life.
And I'm sorry, for being such a pathetic failure of a brother.
And then, I ran.
???
Ahahahahaha!
Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Haaah... how long has it been since I possess such joy?
The promised depths of despair... it is here at last...
And with the demon girl away on another continent, no one can mend his broken, weak heart. He dug a hole even deeper on himself!
What a pathetic little man. He's even more pathetic than his predecessor.
Yes, run away. Run away from everything. From everyone.
It's a shame he didn't kill himself. Though perhaps... with a little more push...
Hmhmhmhmhmhm! Let's see what I can do, shall we?