I Pretended To Have Amnesia and the Hero’s Party Becomes Obsessed

29 – 4. The End of Obsession (4)

In front of the door, the knight John, who was guarding, heard a strange sound.

The sound was coming from beyond the corridor, and it was something he had never heard before in his life.

If one were to find something similar, it was like the sound of hail falling onto a metal bucket.

Involuntarily, curiosity and a strange uneasiness heated his chest. An impulse to check and see what it was tickled his spine.

However, Knight John chose to remain still.

It was because his body had been directly blessed by the Pope.

Ivan, the fallen, had been executed, and the new Pope, a woman named Clara, had commanded John to guard this door with his life.

Never let anyone in,

Never let anyone out.

And, although John may have lacked a bit in intellect, his faith was unwavering.

He fixed his gaze on the splendid stained glass of the Sistine Chapel, recalling Clara’s words.

“___”

However, the strange sound was not disappearing; on the contrary, it was gradually getting louder. No, it was approaching.

John looked at the corner from which the sound was approaching. And suddenly, he felt that the corner was too close.

A distance at which an enemy could rush at him in an instant.

Feeling the chill under his heart, John gripped the hilt of his sword.

“___”

And now, the sound was close enough that he could roughly estimate its position.

John steeled himself inwardly and drew his sword.

If the opponent was an adult male of John’s size, as John assumed, he would have surely defeated the intruder with his black sword.

Swish!

However, his sword cut through empty air.

The source of the sound was a pair of bronze hands and legs.

Moreover, on the two legs, there was a pair of eerie eyes tied with a bronze-colored necklace.

A monstrous creature horrifying beyond the imagination of even the demons of hell.

John’s eyes widened, and a scream boiled up from his throat.

“…!!”

However, a hand that leaped up like a frog blocked his scream in an instant. Then, the legless two legs struck his Adam’s apple splendidly.

Thump!

With his eyes rolling back, the pitiful John collapsed to the ground.

And beyond that, the limbs made of metal sought their owner and entered through the door.

Soon after, the sound of shattering glass reached me,

followed by a string of indescribable curses,

and I kicked the door with my foot, hanging a voice synthesizer around my neck.

“#@#$@$Clara, this damn woman…!!”

***

As soon as I stepped out of the door, I started running for my life.

There was no need to grab anyone and ask where Clara was.

The beams of light flowing from my left eye were indicating her location.

But that was not good news for two reasons.

Firstly, it was evidence that the stupid ritual had already begun.

Secondly, the place the beam pointed to was the top of the highest tower in the Crystal Palace.

And as far as I remembered, the only way to get to that top floor was to climb an insane amount of stairs.

Damn, if only this body was not designed for everyday use, but for combat…!

“Stop.”

And the bad news didn’t stop there.

The corridor connecting the Crystal Palace main building to that tower, my legs froze.

Distorting my face, I looked at the five knights blocking the corridor.

The one in the most splendid armor stepped forward and drew his sword.

“Kindly return to your room. If the ritual is ending, we will send you immediately.”

A polite tone I never expected from these tin cans, but it did nothing to improve my mood.

Without hiding my contempt, I spoke as if spitting out the words.

“When the ritual ends, do you know what happens to your saint?”

“… It’s not a saint anymore; now, she is the Pope.”

And the knight aimed his sword at me.

“… And we merely follow His will.”

Meaning they’re in the middle of that shit on purpose.

Yeah, those bastards won’t change.

I cursed inwardly and, at the same time, began to roll my head.

There was no option to step back.

However, it’s practically impossible for me to defeat five knights.

How can I break through here…

“Don’t bother racking your brain. It’s not like spinning your head will turn it into a human head.”

I didn’t think I would hear that here, and the voice shouldn’t have entered in the first place.

Unconsciously, my gaze turned, and a gleaming bald head caught my eye.

He tapped my shoulder and walked towards the knights.

“…Clevans…? Why on earth are you…”

“Stop!”

The knight, approaching Clevans with a raised sword, shouted. Unlike me, who at least showed politeness, he emitted light from his body threateningly.

“If you come any closer…”

“Hey, how many ranks are you?”

The knight’s face showed confusion at Clevans’ words.

“H-how many ranks…?”

“How can you be a rank below me, you bastard? Just by looking, don’t you seem like a lower-ranked personnel addressing a higher-ranked one?”

At that moment, the bewildered expression wasn’t exclusive to me. The faces of everyone present were tinged with confusion.

However, it didn’t last long.

The knight who had drawn his sword distorted his face.

“What nonsense…!!”

“It’s not nonsense.”

Clevans shrugged.

“Our barbarian commander asked to buy some time.”

“Well, that’s…!”

And then, someone who had shattered the stained glass leaped into the midst of the knights.

Between the colorful glass shards, the eerie light of azure eyes shone.

“Capture…!”

Crash!

The knight couldn’t utter the second word. His face was slammed into the ground by strong hands.

Two knights who regained their senses quickly extended their swords toward her.

However, one was blocked by a giant axe, and the other was hindered by the most primitive weapon of a human.

“___!”

Ssshing!

The blade, which had bitten into the fangs, awakens with a clear sound. The faces of the knights who saw him turn pale.

It wasn’t long for him, either.

The long handle of the axe struck one knight’s temple,

and her long leg struck another knight’s thigh.

Though the areas and tools were different, the conclusion was the same.

The two knights fell to the ground foaming at the mouth.

“…!!”

A sharp light suddenly presses down on the woman’s head. The hallway beneath her feet shatters, sinking deeply.

As if an enormous weight is being applied to her head.

Without even realizing it, I unconsciously moved my feet to help. However, Klevans blocked me.

And then, he smiled as he watched the woman lift her head again.

Thump! Thump!

It sounds like a giant walking. With each step, the beautiful floor of the Crystal Bow broke, collapsed.

The light that settled above her head gradually grew stronger, but her gait remained unchanged.

The knight who had emitted light from her hand trembles. With quivering eyes, she gazes at the approaching woman.

“M, mon…!”

Whoosh!

And, in one punch, she was sent flying and stuck to the wall of the Crystal Bow.

“Aaahh!!”

The remaining last one still had some guts.

He swung his sword above his head and charged at the woman.

However, before the sword could strike, the woman grabbed his wrist.

“_____!”

And then, the sound of steel bending.

The gauntlet in the woman’s grip crumpled like a piece of parchment. Blood oozed out through the gaps, like juice, staining the woman’s face.

The knight screamed and released a healing light from his arm, but the pain of his arm being twisted was unbearable.

Eventually, he fainted, his eyes rolling back.

The woman threw the unconscious knight aside and used the back of her hand to wipe the blood that splashed onto her face. She savored the masterpiece I had created with her inorganic eyes.

More like a skilled animal than a human.

And, it was the appearance of a woman that I had not seen for a long time.

Cruel, heartless, thorough,

Yet horribly beautiful.

A shivering pain surged from the nonexistent thigh.

“…!”

But as the woman looked at me, she became the Phaea that I knew.

The coldness melted away, becoming tears,

The cruelty softened, turning into a pitiful voice.

“Is it really you…!!”

“Cough-!”

I barely caught Phaea’s body rushing towards me. Phaea felt around my body with wet eyes, looking up at me.

“Are you alright? Are there any injuries? Any wounds? What kind of nonsense has happened in the past hundred years…!”

“I, I’m fine, just step back…”

I pushed Phaea away with difficulty.

However, even after stepping back, Phaea looked at me as if she couldn’t move.

I sighed and swept my hand through my hair.

“Why on earth are you all here?”

“Irene told us that you had been kidnapped. So we brought everyone to rescue you.”

I looked at Cleveland with disbelief.

Coincidentally, the sound of a knife colliding came from a distance.

I gritted my teeth and furrowed my brows.

“Are you all insane? Bringing everyone to assault the Papal See just to rescue me? What kind of madness is this…!”

“Yes, it is madness.”

Cleveland interrupted me and shrugged his shoulders.

“But, if we didn’t do that, the lunatic next to you would have chopped off all of our heads. Sorry about that.”

I turned to look at Phaea. She, who was glaring at Cleveland as if she wanted to kill him, immediately lowered her gaze when our eyes met.

“That, that’s… I can’t just stay still when you, my right arm, are in danger…!”

I sighed deeply once again.

Why is it that there are only stubborn people or lunatics around me?

“Forget about it and let’s move quickly. By now, the sniffer and the others should have opened the escape route.”

“The Holy Knights will now light their eyes and come to capture us. Do we have a place to go?”

“I knew that would happen, so I’ve already arranged a ship to the Eastern Continent. I’ve also sent a message to the commander.”

I couldn’t close my mouth at those words because I understood what it meant.

The entire mercenary group was preparing to set sail for this continent just for me.

Clevans laughed heartily, breaking the silence.

“Actually, I wanted to try the alcohol on the Eastern Continent.”

Suddenly, I noticed that he wasn’t drunk. When I turned my eyes, Pea was staring at me with a determined look.

Eyes that seemed to say it’s okay for me.

At this end, no matter what happens, no matter what I lose, those eyes seemed to say it didn’t matter.

At that moment, I felt a warm heat spreading from the bottom of my chest. It was a warmth that could almost be tears if forcibly drawn out.

“Sorry, I’ll go ahead.”

And so, I had no choice but to say that with a twisted expression on my face.

“Why…”

“There’s something I have to do.”

[Trust me, Rem, everything will be okay]

The person who had once looked at me with the same eyes was now about to do the most foolish thing in the world.

“…!”

Suddenly, excruciating pain shot from my left eye.

“Tongue, sir…!”

I pushed away Pea’s hand and quickly took off the eyepatch covering my left eye.

A darkened half of my field of vision.

But eventually, the hazy vision cleared again.

As I lifted my head, Pea’s astonished face appeared to overlap with another.

“Sir, your left e-eye… it grew back…”

At the same time, the beam of light that had emerged from my eye moved to my right hand.

It was an indicator showing where she would cut next.

Twisting my face again, I stood up straight, holding Pea’s shoulders, and said,

“Sorry, I have to go first, you understand, right?”

“But…!”

“I’ll explain everything later, sorry.”

And then, I started running again. I heard Paea’s voice behind me, but I deliberately ignored it.

Only the girl gazed at the tall tower where she was imprisoned.

***

So, the boy began to climb the tall tower where the girl was imprisoned.

And, it was also the boy retracing his past with the girl.

With each step he ascended the stairs, the boy meticulously recalled the memories.

How the girl smiled,

How the girl cried,

Sometimes how the girl got angry,

He continued to read the story that he and the girl had written together.

And, before long, the boy realized that the story hadn’t reached its conclusion.

Its end wasn’t tragic.

Some stories can only culminate in sadness.

The reason the boy thought so was that the most crucial line was missing from the story.

It was just one line, but a very essential one.

It was implied in other lines but never explicitly spoken.

Sometimes due to embarrassment,

Sometimes due to low self-esteem,

Sometimes due to distrust, it was left unspoken.

Then, abruptly arriving at the final chapter, the boy lost his way and buried it in his heart.

Thus, the unfinished story waited for a period of 13 years for closure.

And, 13 years was ample time to rot something away.

The boy assumed the story had ended and buried it deep within the pages.

The girl misunderstood the story and relentlessly tried to put an end to it in the wrong place.

And here we are now.

A girl in the midst of the most dreadful form of self-destruction,

And a boy, belatedly realizing the girl’s agony, rebelling.

The plot of the story had long twisted, the theme had become faint.

Even if a period were put now, this story would remain a failure.

At least, it won’t rediscover the beauty it once held.

However, the boy did not stop his steps.

Instead, he gritted his teeth and leaped up the stairs.

All to conclude this story.

To deliver the words he needed to convey to the girl.

The boy pushed open the door.

The boy and the girl finally faced each other again.

And, a ‘pause’ came to the girl.

Perhaps a pause named ‘Maybe.’

Even though there was no need, the boy sought out the girl. He defeated the knights and ascended this tall tower.

So maybe.

Truly maybe.

The boy didn’t forgive the girl.

But the lifespan of the budding hope was short.

The memory of the day when the boy’s eyes were gouged out was embedded in the girl’s soul like rusted nails.

No, it was rooted.

Every night, nightmares that gnawed at the mind,

Sometimes, illusions that brushed past even when awake,

And the reality that the person who took the boy’s eyes expected him to smile.

For 13 years like that.

The once innocent girl’s mind twisted and warped.

The girl turned her eyes away from hope.

Smiling, she raised the dagger upside down.

The boy screamed and rushed towards the girl.

However, that brief pause was too short for the boy to block the girl.

The dagger falling towards the girl’s chest was vividly engraved in the boy’s eyes.

Thunk!

But that pause was enough time for someone to draw a bowstring.

The hand holding the dagger froze. The girl’s eyes turned towards the arrow lodged in her arm.

The girl grimaced, trying to move her arm.

But the anesthesia on the arrowhead quickly drained the strength from the girl’s body.

The girl stumbled and collapsed right there.

The boy, barely holding himself together, looked towards the place where the arrow had flown.

A very small ventilation hole in the wall.

500m away, on the roof of a watchtower.

An elf named Sharik something lowered the bow he had been holding. He sighed as he brushed his hair back.

“I, coolness, confirmed.”

Just before the period, there was a space inserted.