-I failed.
I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed—
....
I have failed.
....
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!!!"
As I mourned Elvy's death with a blank stare, the sound of painful screams reverberated loudly deafening me.
When I turned to the source of the scream, I saw Mila who hysterically started running towards Elvy's upper half. While crying loudly she hugged the girl's cold body.
While I, lying on the ground, could only stare at them from afar.
Due to Elvy's earlier push, I fell from a tree and suffered a fracture in my left leg, making it difficult for me to walk.
My legs continued to scream in excruciating pain as I slowly started to crawl towards Elvy's body too but I paid no heed to it. My vacant eyes just continued to stare at Elvy's corpse which had been ruthlessly mutilated.
I didn't scream, not even a single tear came out of my eyes.
This is really shocking.
Since when did I start to stop crying?
Maybe I'm not actually human?
Geez, what was I thinking, This isn't the time to be thinking about something insignificant like that. I have to get up quickly and give the order for those Elf soldiers to retreat.
—But, why should I do it?
Because I have failed, so I have to retreat, and then make another plan to attack the dragon.
—Huh? What was I thinking?
Elvy is dead, and the dragon is still alive.
Right, that's why I had to step back and rethink another plan to defeat him. It's still too soon to give up, I have to move quickly.
—I have to go to Elvy's place first.
But for what? Isn't she dead?
—Can I revive her with my high grade [Heal Potion]?
No, that's impossible.
—Then, what should I do?
Elvy is dead, and the dead can never live again.
—But, I don't want her to die. What should I do to turn it back on?
Elvy is dead. She was beyond help.
I'd better get up quickly and give the Elf the order to retreat.
—After that, I should also go to save Elvy.
Huh? What did I save her for?
Isn't she dead?
Give up, she's dead.
—No, she can still be saved.
No! Shut up! Elvy is dead!
Damn, my head was taking in too much information and couldn't think straight at a time like this. Everything feels so insignificant when this hopelessness settles in my soul.
I can't go on like this.
I have to do something to get everything back together.
I'm aware of that, but—
"Elvy..."
—No, that's not it, she's already dead. I should be able to stop thinking about it again and focus on getting over this mess first.
"Elvy... Elvy..."
Shit shit shit! How stupid am I! Stop thinking about something that is not important!
Come on, I have to move!
I don't have time to think about something that's gone.
I have to step back right now.
—Elvy is dead.
"Elvy, Elvy, Elvy..."
—Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies, Elvy dies...
Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die...
Uuh, damn, I guess this is a waste.
My body didn't want to move as I thought. My thoughts and feelings are torn apart, I can't control them properly.
—What should I do?
What should I do?
….
….
….
….
….
….
("Riku, go and defeat that dragon!")
"Ali… cia…"
As I was sinking and sinking into my own despair, with a warm light, Alicia's voice brought me back from the cruel darkness.
"?!" My eyes are wide open.
Like a mirage, I can see Alicia's silhouette smiling gently at me.
Seeing that, I took a deep breath, and then slapped my face hard.
'Plak!'
After that, with a resolute gaze, I finally regained my senses.
"Oh my, that goddess sure is a bother. If it's like this, I'm forced to beat the dragon until it's dead," I said with great enthusiasm, and started to get up again with all the strength I had.
I took a [Heal Potion] from my [Inventory] and drank it quickly. At the same time, the fracture in my left leg healed, and I was able to move freely again.
"This is better," I muttered.
After that, I held my breath for a while, and stood up straight. Then, as soon as I started taking deep breaths, I screamed as loud as I could.
"THIS IS STILL NOT OVER!! WE ARE NOT LOST!! DON'T GIVE UP!! FIGHT!! DON'T GIVE UP!! WE ARE STILL NOT LOSE!!!" I screamed with all my might.
"—?!"
Hearing my scream, they all looked surprised.
I don't know if it had enough impact to let everyone regain their composure or not.
But...
Looks like I don't have to worry about that.
"Did you hear that?! We still haven't lost! Commander Riku orders us to fight! It's still too soon for us to give up! Give it all you've got! Show your warrior spirit to the dragon! We haven't lost yet!" shouted Regim with a big smile full of fighting spirit.
Upon hearing that, everyone started to raise their voices one by one.
"Oooohhh, we still haven't lost!!"
"Let's show the damn dragon our true power!!"
"Long live Commander Riku!!"
Seeing everyone starting to get motivated again, I smiled. At that moment, I gave Regim my thumbs up, and he also gave me a thumbs up.
Well, I guess I can leave this part to him. He really is a reliable friend.
"You guys are really annoying!! Can't you all die in peace!! Just annoying!!" Roden shouted as he started rampaging again and destroyed everything around him indiscriminately.
For now, Regim's group will be restraining the dragon, so during that time I should finish my business as well as quickly.
Making sure that everything was safe, I immediately ran as fast as I could.
My goal is Elvy's body which has now become a cold corpse. I took hers lower body and carefully carried her running to where her upper body was, which was currently in Mila's arms.
The woman was still crying over Elvy's death with a terrible expression, her body was covered in wounds and dirt, which made her lose her grace as a mature woman.
I immediately approached the woman and put Elvy's lower body near her upper body. But, when I wanted to take Mila's upper body, she hit my hand.
"Keep those filthy hands of yours from Elvy, you human!" she said while glaring sharply, which made me unconsciously hold my breath.
"—Hc?!"
It is a serious threat.
I clearly felt an intense killing intent behind hers words.
My goodness, this is really troublesome.
Even though I don't have time here anymore to take care of it. Right now everyone is struggling to contain the dragon, so I have to do my job as quickly as possible.
"Mila-san, please listen to me for a moment!!"
"No! Go! Leave me alone!!" shouted Mila refusing loudly.
Hearing that, I clicked my tongue in annoyance, and then without hesitation—
'Plak!'
—I slapped the woman's face hard.
"Huh?"
She looked surprised, hers eyes opened wide.
But, I ignored her and grabbed hers collar roughly while looking at her in annoyance.
"Listen to me Mila-san!! I have a way to bring Elvy back to life!! But, this is not a fairly humane way! I don't care if you want to curse me or insult me for using this method on your friends! However, this is our only hope of winning this battle!!"
I banged my head hard on Mila's head and said that right in her face.
"…."
At first, Mila just kept silent.
But, slowly, she started to regain hers composure.
She removed my hand from hers collar, it made my eyebrows raise in surprise. However, ignoring my reaction, she started taking deep breaths while wiping away her tears.
After that—
'Plak! Plak!'
"Eh?!"
—The woman suddenly slapped herself on the cheek and quickly stood up.
"Yosh, Onee-chan will try harder you know~!!" she shouted, clenching hers hands high.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but be speechless.
But, then he patted my shoulder, and said with a gentle smile.
"Onee-chan will trust you one more time! Onee-chan doesn't know what you want to do. But, if it could save El-chan and everyone! do it! If you were cursed because of that, Onee-chan will also carry that curse with you!!" she said.
"…."
My eyes opened wide when I heard that.
"Then, Onee-chan will also buy time for you! Will Onee-chan make that dragon pay back for making Onee-chan's cute little sister like a toy!!" she said and started walking towards the dragon.
At that moment, Mila started to cast her magic once again, but this time it wasn't myth level magic. Because she had exhausted a lot of magic power from the previous battle, he could only use high level magic.
But, that alone was enough to have a powerful impact on the dragon.
"Receive grief from Onee-chan, you ugly dragon!" mocked Mila with tears still sinking down her face.
At the same time, dozens of [Wind Blast] spells appeared and attacked the dragon one after another.
'Boom! boom! Boom!'
Seeing that, my eyes were amazed.
They are all truly extraordinary.
"Okay, I guess here I will also start my task," I said with a big smile, and started to open the status panel that I have.
There, I hit the skill column.
'Click'
Suddenly a new panel appears and shows the contents of the skill I currently have.
[Skill: System Alchemist (lv. 100/100)]
I opened it, and I immediately pressed the new feature that was already open from my skill.
There it was clearly written—
[Creation of the Homunculus]