Chapter 56: Friends in Body, Not in Soul (V)
My skin was as dry as sand, and the wounds on my body were stiff and cracked.
Compared to before, I was poorly moulded clay overbaked in flame.
But the thick mana around me began to rush into my body on its own, and an incomparably smooth warmth enveloped me, far more comfortable than healing upon levelling.
It washed into the cracks--the wounds--littered across me like the deft hand of an artesian goddess remoulding my flesh at the seams, smothering the inflections of both my body and mind.
_I feel... more connected, like a part of the air around me is a part of myself._
[Class Framework Assimilated]
[Contradictory Opase alignment avoided at new base level: Qualia.]
The now faint, illusory purple coating me began to fade, and the colour of the world returned to normal.
"ARSCH!"
Laurie's panicked voice cracked, and I found that my anger had not vanished but frozen into a cold rage.
I glanced in her direction.
Her eyes met mine, and her voice caught in her throat.
Her trembling lips betrayed her fear, and she readied her blade as I turned to face her.
[Boost]
An instantaneous adrenalizing force rushed through me, and I shot forward.
She struggled to react in time, but I wasn't aiming for her.
[Monumental Shift]
I kicked into the ground, gauging out a large mound of earth and forcing them to retreat.
The golem moved to protect her, but I knew it was too slow; regardless, it was my target in the first place.
Our fists collided, but mine passed through as if it hadn't even been there.
Maintaining that momentum, I spun and threw my leg out, crumpling its chest and launching a fragmented burst to the side, tearing away the bark of various trees.
"We—we weren't going to kill you—either of you. I just wanted the truth."
There was a helplessness in her tone—she had lost the will to fight.
"And you expect me to believe that."
I gripped my hands tighter in impatience.
"She was going to kill him! He could only stop the attack half way... It... it was you who said we were going to 'kill an innocent girl'. What made you think that!? I- I would never; I only wanted answers, and I could only follow suspicion."
I felt like grinding my teeth—_punching someone who sounds so deluded isn't satisfying._
"I barely managed to save her the first time, even when she did nothing."
I spat my words quietly, as if they weren't worth saying at all.
A stunned look crossed her face, and I felt a tinge of satisfaction.
However, her visage changed to one of realisation, then twisted into anger.
I looked at her, confused, as tears brimmed in her eyes and her sword fell to the ground.
Her hands were clenched enough to turn white.
"You- YOU HIPOCRITE!"
I recoiled.
She took a moment to heave, struggling to hold back sobs.
"So what... you give yourself a second chance, but not her! How fucking righteous! So you can change but she couldn't—is that it?
IS THAT ALL IT TOOK!"
She stepped towards me, shouting directly into my face.
I opened my mouth slightly, but no words came.
"Rita..."
She looked away and her shoulders slumped, her anger giving way to the grief she had pushed away.
"It's... it's all your fault. She was never like this before. All she ever did was follow your lead... It was always you who hated that girl. You- you had no right..."
She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
"I..."
I tried to say something, but she cut me off.
"She loved you."
My words caught in my throat as if squeezed shut by a deathly hand.
The air suddenly felt bitter in my lungs as images flashed through my mind.
My face contorted into an ugly expression.
_That look... the one she gave me as the life faded from her eyes._
_The shock._
_The confusion._
_The sorrow._
_...The regret._
_How long did it feel to her as she stared into alien eyes, searching for something that wasn't there? I barely gave her a thought._
_What did she think, knowing she would never know why as her life faded?_
...
I swallowed dryly.
_Why?_
Guilt bled from my heart, and I lost the energy to stand.
_Was this my fault?_
_How could I know?_
_What else could I have done?_
"This is so unfair... I didn't want any of this."
For the first time, tears began streaking down my face, and my inner thoughts leaked out.
I realised I'd made a mistake the moment I spoke—It'll sound so childish to them.
But I was too tired to try and rectify.
_It's not my fault I'm here._
_It's not my fault that I had to kill her to survive._
_It's not my fault that I felt responsible for this girl._
_It wasn't my fault..._
_Yet I have to feel this way; I have to mislead them and bear it all to protect myself and Rena._
_I felt like I could just do it all... why?_
_Ah, I hate it._
"YOU THINK IT'S UNFAIR FOR YOU."
Kesef's ferocious words resounded in the air, and I just watched him silently.
_I hate it._
Every ounce of his being went into pushing himself off the ground, blood squeezing from the wounds riddling his body each time he moved.
"YOU THINK IT'S FINE BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WANT IT."
_I hate it._
His breathing intensified as his own words incensed him.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
He leapt forward, his open fists tearing at the air like the claws of a beast.
_I hate it._
I tilted my head back, letting the fist slip by, before grabbing his head by the hair and slamming his face into my knee.
_He's so slow... and I hate it._
"You... you bastard!"
Kharn rushed forward, an alien glimpse of rage colouring his face.
"Please STOP!"
Laurie shouted, having lost all will to continue.
But he didn't listen.
I picked up her long blade from the ground and slashed at his fingers in the air.
Blood spewed over the ground, and Laurie jumped to her feet as I stood.
Kharn looked unfazed, rushing at me like a veteran who'd lost the instinct to flee.
I hated it.
I pointed the blade forward, but Laurie jumped in front, her back facing me.
The sword had already moved, and she lacked the strength to push him away.
It pushed through her, out through her abdomen, and directly through Kharn as well.
The hilt rested firmly against her skin, and a rush of warm blood covered my hand.
I let go, shaking slightly.
_Oh... I hate this._
_Won't they just go away?_
They crumpled to the ground, resting on their knees and leaning against each other.
Their breathing was laboured, and I watched them with expressionless eyes.
...
"Why..?"
There was an even deeper pain pushing its way onto his face as Kharn grabbed her by the shoulders, yet it was clearly himself that he was trying to hold together.
She looked up at him, her face dirtied and lost but with a hint of clarity.
"Because I love you."
His mask crumbled away, and tears streamed from his eyes.
"W-why?"
Blood drooled from his mouth as he tried to give voice to his feelings.
She smiled faintly, with a growing weakness in her eyes and posture.
"You deserve it."
He was at a loss as her hand reached up and caressed his cheek.
She relaxed and leaned down, resting her head against his shoulder.
Their display shook me awake, and I looked away.
The anger I'd felt subsided, and I stared down at my off hand in deep contemplation.
He wrapped his arms around her back, and the two seemed to melt into each other, growing more limp as the pool of blood grew larger.
Silently, his teeth were gritted, and flecks of gold were constantly sparking on his fingers in a desperate attempt to conjure magic.
Reality slowly sank in, and his lips quivered silently.
Their breathing became shallower, and their expressions became more distant.
...
Suddenly, an emerald incandescence arose across my arm, and a nebulous flow spread like a fog into the surroundings.
The flesh on my arm began melting away like wax, but the pain didn't phase me much at this point; whatever caused pain seemed to melt with it after a short breath anyway.
Particles of light popped into the air and rained down, dancing through the jade-green waves like feathers carried in the wind.
Rena, Kesef, Kharn, and Laurie... each were touched by the gentle embrace of light in the ethereal void.
I glanced to the side, a mix of emotions in my heart.
[You have killed lvl17 Angel: Arshe]
[Exp +2385]
[Lvl11 --> lvl12]
[Health fully recovered]
[Mana fully recovered]
[Stat Points: 0 -->10]
[Agility: 110 --> 115]
When I looked back, Kharn held Laurie in his arms, and they lay unconscious, resting against each other.
The sparks of light sizzled in the air as they touched down on the four around me.
Their wounds quickly healed, the sword pushed itself out, and my arm shrivelled into a husk, eventually crumbling into dust... Only a little remained, not far from the shoulder, and it didn't even bleed.
After a minute, they were as healed as I could manage, but that didn't mean they had recovered.
_They're still unconscious..._
_Well, this is good; I'm not going to give them time to collect themselves._
The emerald smoke suddenly began to swirl.
The wind rushed past my ears and rustled my hair; gradually, it became harder and harder to see.
_This is far easier than it used to be._
The fog abruptly dispersed, and the three vanished into thin air, leaving only me staring at the dry and bloodied ground.
I heaved a heavy sigh, and the earth crunched as I heavily knelt down.
Tentative steps came from behind me, but I lacked the energy to turn and face her right now. Yet she came around, and I forced a weary smile onto my face.
Before I could say anything, she dove into my chest, trying her best to tightly hug around my body.
"I'm... so sorry."
She started to sob.
"Thank you. No one has..."
Unable to continue, her grip tightened.
It was a better display of how she felt anyway.
Her sincerity. Her gratitude—it washed away a large part of the angst I'd buried myself in.
_I'm only really here because I wanted to help her. I could have gotten away and effectively started this life again, but I didn't._
_Maybe that makes it worth it._
[Syrin, you have gained the title: [Outclassed]]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shiyayori
Shiyayori Thanks for reading :)
Definitely the hardest chapter to write so far...
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