CHAPTER 4 – THE “MONSTER OF HAISHIN” AND THE “BEAST”
PART 02
——
Our eyes widened at the unexpected turn of events.
So Lea was the one who approached Bahamut in the first place…?
“I thought, no, hoped that since Bahamut matched me in power, he would not be afraid of me, and we could be together… I was just so weak then, and so stupid,” Lea berated herself.
“To him, I must seem like a foolish prey walking right into a trap. He latched on to my hopes and accepted me. As we talked through the door separating the world from the ‘sealed space’, I started to feel pity for him, to think that the gods were wrong to seal him away… And then, heeding his request, I removed the seal from the door.”
“Oh no…” Tetra whispered incredulously.
Since Lea possessed the same amount of power as Bahamut, she could probably open the door to the “sealed space” from the outside. Bahamut must have known about this, and made use of Lea.
“I am sure you can guess what happened next. After he escaped from the ‘sealed space’, he left me here and sealed the door shut again.”
“He must have felt threatened by you, Lea-san, since you’re as powerful as he is.”
Harissa deduced, and I fully agreed.
“…Yes, what she had said is all true,” Satsuki confirmed, after checking Lea’s story through the Great Magic of Creation. Though she was unable to access billions of years of records at once, having details of the story made it easy for her to check for facts and deduce if the tale was true.
In short, Bahamut had taken advantage of Lea, then sealed her away so that she wouldn’t be able to harm him.
So that was what had happened.
“Just listening to your story makes me so mad.”
But Lea just shook her head at my indignation.
“No…this was all my fault, because I was weak. I thought that Bahamut would be free once again to destroy the Earth as he wished… Fortunately, that has not happened yet, but I was the one who had let such a menace loose upon the world.”
“Erm, well…”
I was about to protest that what Bahamut did wasn’t her responsibility, but a sharp glare from Lea made me swallow my words.
“I have been regretting my actions all this while. Whenever I closed my eyes, I would dream endlessly of him rampaging the Earth above. Time passes really slowly here, so every second I spent in here felt wasted, as I wondered again and again how many lives had been lost, and if there was anyone still alive up there, or if the world was already destroyed.”
Lea looked up at the sky, bright with a faint light that wasn’t from the sun. The real world must be located on the other side of this sky.
“As long as he is free, there is a chance that he will destroy the Earth again, so I need to defeat him, even if it costs me my life.”
Lea finally stood up and started walking with determination towards the temple, where Bahamut was.
Seeing the painful resolution in her eyes, I hurriedly blocked her path.
“W-Wait! There’s no need to do this alone, right? I’ll help you, with ideas and plans if not with strength and power, so don’t act so hastily!”
“This is a battle I need to fight. I cannot get you involved.”
Lea made to leave again.
I knew that she wished to fight this battle alone, as an atonement for her mistake.
However, I still stopped her.
“But you haven’t got a chance of winning! Have you already forgotten how he defeated you just a while ago!?”
“I still need to do this.”
“…Dammit!”
She was just as stubborn as the others…!
Tsumiki, who wanted to revitalize “Nozomiya”.
Tetra, who wanted to rescue Ziz village.
Now Lea, who wanted to defeat Bahamut.
They were all stubborn, because they didn’t want their parents to worry, or have given up on relying on the villagers, or didn’t want others to get hurt. I knew all these had influenced their behavior and made them tough.
Yes, I know how you girls feel!
But!!
“I said, wait!”
I yelled as I grabbed Lea’s arm and forcefully held her back.
“What-”
“I’ve explained the significance of my ‘Lineage’, haven’t I? Lea, you’re my ‘heroine’. Without me, your ‘story’ won’t have a happy ending.”
“…But that means you will be dragged into my story? I do not want that.”
Lea returned my glare with one of her own, yet hers was filled with sorrow.
“The world that I thought would be destroyed due to my mistake is safe, and there are lots of these human creatures living there now… Do you even understand how happy that makes me feel? Do you comprehend how precious humans are to me? I can tell you, but you will not understand, so I do not want you getting hurt.”
Every single word was laced with Lea’s feelings, piercing into my heart.
I knew that she really wished to protect humans, to protect us.
I could tell that just from her tone.
But,
“I know… but I don’t care.”
“What!?”
“Why must every single one of you want to do things alone!?”
The feelings which had been seething within me finally surged up and escaped in a shout.
“Haven’t you been listening? When I’m dragged into ‘stories’, I get the right to decide whether I want to help you. So the decision to rescue Lea… and Tsumiki, and Tetra, is mine to make!”
I declared as I took a step towards Lea.
“You want to do this alone because you’re kind, or maybe because you feel responsible, but when you can’t do it alone, there’s nothing wrong with accepting the help of others. Isn’t that the ordinary thing to do!?”
Another step forward.
I looked up into the face of the woman who stood taller than myself.
“So rely on me… That’s what I’m here for.”
“Uuh…”
Lea let out a whimper as her eyes widened, before she hurriedly glanced around, as if hoping to escape.
I grasped her hand.
“You’ve been blaming yourself here forever, in this empty place, haven’t you? So maybe you’re afraid to rely on someone else. But don’t be afraid.”
Billions of years had passed in the real world…and because time moved slower in this fake world, Lea must have spent an unimaginable amount of time here alone.
Her heart had probably been so worn down by hatred and self-reproach that there was only a tiny sliver of it left.
So I didn’t want her to feel that way anymore.
To think of herself as insignificant.
To battle loneliness, and feel weak to have fallen for Bahamut’s tricks.
And I wanted her to remember what it felt like to trust someone again.
It might have backfired on her once.
But she wouldn’t be disappointed again.
I wouldn’t let it happen.
“I’ll never let go of your hand. If you trust me, Lea, then hold onto me tightly.”
“……”
Lea was silent, her hand hanging limp in my grasp.
I refused to let go.
Then, finally, she gave my hand a hesitant squeeze.
I returned the grip firmly.
“…Will you really rescue me?”
Tears had started to fall from Lea’s eyes again.
I hadn’t wanted to make her cry, so I decided to play a fool,
“Well, that seems to be what I’m good at,” I replied with a bitter smile, “so leave it to me.”
I gave her a confident nod.
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