Chapter 13: Salvation

Chapter 13:
Salvation

 

MARIA TOOK OFF in search of Linus, leaving Cyrill all alone. Abandoned, she felt herself begin to spiral into a pit of eternal darkness.

Off in the distance, she could hear the sounds of combat, intermingled with cries of pain and shouts of anguish. Whatever was happening, people were dying.

Cyrill was scared.

She was scared of the thought of people dying. Of getting injured herself.

The fear that clenched her heart was a perfectly normal reaction, the kind anyone in her position might have. Cyrill wasn’t special. Slaying the Demon Lord, saving the world… She wasn’t here because she was driven by a desire to fulfill her sworn duty. She was just a normal girl whom humanity had chosen to bear the weight of their greatest dreams and their fiercest weapons.

“What can I do, really?”

It was easy to tell herself that she could do nothing. It was a convenient excuse, and so, that was what she’d chosen to do. She could do nothing and thus would do nothing. It was just the way the world worked.

And so it continued. She was scared, after all. She’d loved her simple life of raising crops in her little village. Everything outside that tranquil life was terrifying.

“I…”

She couldn’t do more than any normal person could. Even protecting those around her was a challenge, to say nothing of saving the world.

But if she just stood there doing nothing, she wouldn’t even be able to protect those she loved.

“I need…to do something about Mute.”

Linus and Maria were right to try to stop her. Even she knew that. But she really didn’t want Mute to die.

There had to be another way, right? To make up for it? But maybe there wasn’t.

No…no, there definitely wasn’t.

Be that as it may…she couldn’t just let this feeling of uncertainty take hold.

Cyrill moved toward the sounds of the fighting.

As she drew closer, the tremor beneath her feet grew stronger, and the wreckage of the city harder to imagine as anything but rubble. She felt a pit forming in her stomach. Cyrill’s hastened, a tense expression forming on her face.

And then she saw it.

There, up ahead, was a creature stripped of all its flesh, facing off against Flum. Her friend stood in the midst of a massive pile of rubble, wielding a large sword as long as she was tall.

“Flum…”

What was she doing? This girl who had been sold off as a slave and was incapable of fighting… Why? How?

Cyrill stood there gobsmacked until she finally realized who Flum’s opponent was. A chill ran up her spine. Linus and Maria were collapsed on the ground. The city around her was in ruins. And Mute was nowhere to be seen.

“That…that creature…”

Its scarlet fist slammed into the ground, sending a wave of debris straight into Flum. She fell to her knees.

The creature—no, Mute—conjured a host of flying daggers to end Flum then and there.

“I… I…!”

Cyrill took off in a mad dash. There was no time to think about the bigger issues. About what happened, about journeys, about right or wrong—none of it. The journey to slay the Demon Lord was all a farce. The church was corrupt. Flum was alive. She had no idea what was true anymore, no idea what should give her hope and what should make her despair.

Maybe trying to think things through had been a mistake all along. Only action could lead to answers.

Cyrill was nothing special. What she needed to do—what she wanted to do—was not to save the world. No, she just wanted to protect her friends. The people who meant the most to her.

That was it. The answer was simple.

I’m not gonna make it. Unless…!

Being too late or too weak to stop them…it seemed so wrong. She couldn’t bear to watch her friends kill each other. Her motivations were all so selfish. Hardly those of a hero. But a hero’s power didn’t come from a sense of duty. It came from the will to see your desires fulfilled through…bravery.

“Braaaaaaaaaaaaaave!” A shock wave blasted out from her body, scattering the wreckage around her.

Until now, she’d lacked the confidence and courage she needed to use the ability to its fullest extent. But now, she was in full control.

She was acting not for the world, but to save her friends.

 

Cyrill Sweechka

Affinity: Hero

Strength: 15,760

Magic: 16,512

Endurance: 16,924

Agility: 18,263

Perception: 13,092

 

Brave boosted Cyrill’s stats in accordance with her mental state. At full power, she could see her stats triple.

This was truly the work of a hero.

Cyrill watched Mute’s attacks close in on Flum. It was like everything moved in slow motion. She threw herself between the attack and Flum, protecting her friend with her own body.

DOOSH!

She felt a dull thud as the first strike slammed into her back, sending a shock wave through her organs. A moment later, the tip of another crystal ran her through. It was a mortal wound, and she knew it. The pain shooting through her body was nearly unbearable. She felt like she was being burned alive. Blood filled her throat with every breath, sending her into a coughing fit.

Yet…she managed to save Flum. She felt a sense of relief wash over her.

“Looks…like I…made it.”

“C-Cyrill?” Flum’s voice trembled.

Was she sad that Cyrill was hurt? Did she still consider Cyrill her friend?

“Oou… Ooooouuu… Oooooooooooouuuu!!” There was a sense of sadness and confusion in Mute’s wail.

The moment Cyrill heard her voice, she knew Mute was still somewhere in there. And yet, she knew she had to end Mute’s life.

Her body was impaled in multiple places. She felt like she might collapse at any moment, only her will keeping her upright. She planted her feet firmly and summoned her sword.

There’s no sense in worrying about whether I can pull this off.

If she considered it her way of repaying Mute for her kindness, it would make everything simple. There’d be no need to drag the battle out.

All I can do is give it my best. No matter what happens, it’s better than living knowing I did nothing.

Her blade caught the light of the sinking sun, the flawless metal scattering its pitiless rays.

I’m sure Mute wants this, too. Now it’s up to me!

Cyrill spun, her blade following the path of her body.

“Blaaaaaaaaaaaaade!!” She screamed for all she was worth, spitting blood.

An arc of light shot through the air.

“Oou…”

A moment later, a broad, deep wound blossomed across Mute’s body. Even the power of the Origin cores and the nearly impenetrable muscles they had bestowed upon her were no match for the full power of the hero.

Zashuuu!

The monster swayed to one side, blood pumping from the gash.

There was so much that Flum wanted to ask Cyrill and tell her about, but she would have to put that off a while. Right now, all that mattered was destroying the black crystals shining through Mute’s open wound.

“Oooooooouuu!”

Flum rushed forward, spurred on by the desire to finally stop Mute’s rampage. She swung her massive blade toward the core as the spiral began to close the wound around it.

“Oooooouuuuuuuuu…”

Mute deflected Flum’s blow with her arm, but Flum did manage to lop Mute’s arm off as a result. Flum pressed the attack and thrust her blade once more toward the core.

Mute fended off a direct hit, using what remained of her left hand to strike at Flum’s face. Flum momentarily dismissed her sword, ducking out of its path. The wave of pressure rolling off Mute’s attack sent Flum stumbling backward.

Mute moved in closer, her arm still swinging.

It would have been simple to dodge, but Flum held fast. Just as Mute had moments before, Flum sacrificed her own arm to soak the blow. She heard a snap as muscles tore and bones broke, leaving her arm bent in an unnatural position.

“Ffnnngg…!” She gritted her teeth. If it was just pain that she had to deal with, then there was nothing to worry about.

“Hyaaaaaaaaaaah!!” Flum clenched her right hand around the Souleater and rammed the tip of the blade straight into the closing wound. She heard a clink as the sword made contact with a core.

Now she just needed to use her magic.

“Reversion!” Her magic coursed through her blade and, a moment later, one of the cores shattered.

She still had to take care of the other one before Mute would die, though.

“Oooooooooooouuuuuu! Oooooouu!” Mute threw her remaining arm to her face as if in terrible pain and cried out so loudly that her whole body shook.

The muscles running all over her body twitched and writhed as if they had a will of their own. It made sense that losing the equivalent of half a heart would be a painful experience.

Flum struck again. This one would be the death blow.

“Wait!!” Cyrill worked up what little strength she had to call out to her friend.

“Please be still, Cyrill!” Maria ran to her side, preparing to mend the sucking wound in her torso. It slowly began to close, but it would take some time until her ruptured organs were fully healed.

However, Cyrill still forced herself to her feet and stumbled toward Flum, even as blood poured freely from her mouth.

“Cyrill…why…?”

“We were together, she and I. That was all it was, but… Mute… I… We had no place to go, and…ngggf…”

She clutched her chest in pain. Flum hurried to her side to hold her up.

“She killed…so many people…and now she’s turned into this. I guess…maybe she deserves it…but…I can’t help but think…there’s another way.”

“Oh, Cyrill…it’s better if she doesn’t have to live like this.”

“I know. I guess I’m…just selfish. But it’s so sad…to lose her this way. I wanted to…”

Suddenly, Mute’s wailing stopped.

“Mute?” The concern was apparent in Cyrill’s voice.

“Cy…rill…” Mute’s voice was quiet, but the word was clear. Her hand came away, revealing a face half-returned to its human state.

“I’m…I’m so happy…that you’re back.” A gentle smile came to Cyrill’s lips as tears streaked her cheeks.

Flum was racked by indecision. Unable to bring herself to interrupt the moment, she chose to continue supporting her friend’s weight.

Mute dropped to her knees and fell to her side.

“Mute…you knew that I could have stopped you, didn’t you?” Cyrill gazed down at her.

Flum had failed to stop Mute. Were the positions reversed, she would’ve done so without a second thought.

“No…that’s not quite right. You wanted to be killed, didn’t you? But I…”

“…a…ay…”

“Huh?”

“Get…a…way…” Light enveloped her hand. The heat within was so hot that her flesh began to smolder.

What remained of Origin’s will that ran freely through Mute’s body was focused on Cyrill.

“Cyrill!!”

It was Flum’s turn to protect her friend, though she knew full well that taking the brunt of the blast would likely spell the end for her. And yet, she didn’t hesitate to step in the way just as she felt an immense blast of light against her back.

“Connection!”

Mute’s arm slammed into the ground, throwing off her aim and sending the blast skyward, where it faded into the distance.

“Haah…thanks, Nekt,” said Flum, grateful for the assist at such a climactic moment.

“Nah, actually I’m too late, really. It’s a shame that I could only get here when the battle is nearly finished considering what’s happened to Mute. This an absolute tragedy, ya know.”

She ran a hand dejectedly through her blue hair.

Flum couldn’t help but notice the rips in Nekt’s clothes. Had she taken the impact of the blast instead? Now that she looked closer at Nekt’s face…

“N…e…kt…”

Mute tried to fix her hazy gaze on Nekt. She looked happy to have her family with her.

“S-sorry…”

“I can’t believe you did that. What were you thinking, using a power that you can’t control?”

Mute’s voice was growing stronger now, with Origin’s power spent for a time.

“Cyrill…I’m…I’m sorry.”

“It’s all Origin’s fault. There’s nothing for you to apologize for.”

“I’m…the one…that chose to…do it. Please…quickly…just…kill me…”

“Is that why you decided to spend time with me?”

Mute nodded.

She was a bundle of contradictions. She was proud to wield power that no human could ever hope to achieve, even as it isolated her from the world. Even if she felt no resentment for her fate, she had to have wondered where life might have taken her under different circumstances.

In the end, she’d chosen to commit the murders she had, not only to prove the value of her existence, but also because she hoped that someone would stop her.

“No way. I want to help my friends, not kill them.”

“I’m…your friend?”

“Yes, Mute. I consider you a friend. And that’s why I’ll stop you, but I won’t kill you.”

No matter how horrible her actions may have been, Cyrill wouldn’t betray her beliefs.

Mute was unsure how to respond. Should she be happy? Sad? She’d hoped Cyrill would ultimately come to the conclusion that she needed to die, and yet, deep inside, she was happy to hear that Cyrill considered her a friend in spite of everything she did.

“You get it, don’t you? The world is full of nice people. Far more than you’d ever believe.” Nekt smirked and crouched down next to Mute just in time to see a smile form on her sister’s face. “There is a place out there for you, Mute. And you can get the help you need.”

“Nekt…no…it’s fine. I…don’t need…that. This is…the end…for me.” Mute still seemed uncertain, though Cyrill felt renewed hope upon hearing Nekt’s words.

“There’s a way to help Mute?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Is that true, Nekt??” said Flum. “Even after what the cores did to her body?”

“Listen, I already know all that, Flum. But there’s still a way for her to get help.”

Mute slowly shook her head.

“No…I…should die.”

“Well, I won’t let you.”

“You must. I…don’t deserve…to live…after what…I did.”

Her plan had been an elaborate suicide from the start. She’d made sure there could be no undoing the damage she caused. That was why Flum was so willing to end her life…and why Nekt wanted to spare it.

“Now…just kill me…while I’m still…myself.” She closed her eyes and opened what was left of her arms. “I hope…you’ll be witnesses…to my death. Flum Apricot, I leave it…to you. It would be…”

“There’s nothing good about any of that!” Nekt shouted out in anger before she could get the next words out.

She refused to allow it.

As a second-generation child herself, she knew that this was not true happiness.

“Ink lives a charmed life with Flum and her friends. She’s happy. She lives just like any normal girl! We…we deserve to be happy like that, too!”

Everyone deserved a world that made room for their happiness, even if one misstep or poor turn of fortune could turn that right into little more than a fleeting dream.

Cyrill spoke next to try to change Mute’s mind.

“I want you to live, Mute,” she said. “I know that you’re not committed to this death. You’ve just driven yourself into such a deep hole that you can’t see another way out. As long as you stay alive, I know that you’ll discover what it is that you really want from life.”

Nekt picked up where Cyrill left off.

“How stupid do you have to be to think that making people watch you die will make you happy? No one’s going to be satisfied with that! Maybe you’ll be okay with it, but what’s that gonna do to everyone else, huh??”

“I…”

Nekt knelt down and leaned close to Mute. She had tears in her eyes.

“Well, I don’t want that to happen. I refuse to believe that you’ll be happy in death. You can still be saved. Isn’t it even worse if you don’t let that happen? You… I… We both have a future. So stop thinking of this as just your own problem!”

Mute had to understand that there were people who would mourn her loss. And yet, she, Luke, and Fwiss had all decided to commit these atrocities while preparing for their own deaths—or would have, if they hadn’t told everyone about it ahead of time.

Mute hesitated.

She knew that she shouldn’t, but her heart couldn’t help but be moved by this display of emotion.

“It’s too early to give up, Mute. There are a lot of people worried about you.”

“Please, just take my hand. I’ve found a way for us to live out our own lives just the way we want to. But it’s all pointless if I’m the only one who survives!”

Nekt’s tone turned weak, desperate—vulnerable, in a way it hardly ever did before; a rare glimpse into her heart. At a loss, Mute looked to Flum for help.

Nekt had to understand that even if they did survive, there was a long, hard road ahead. The people who wanted to save her and the people who wanted to end her life were separated by one crucial factor: the nature of their relationship with her. Family—or a complete stranger. Sure, Flum had made a promise with Nekt, but she had a job to do here. In fact, she had barely spoken to Mute.

She could no longer hear the sounds of battle rising from the central square, suggesting that Mute’s Sympathy powers had worn off. As long as the battle was over, Flum’s mission was complete. Whether Mute lived or died didn’t change that.

In that case, she would leave the decision to Nekt and Cyrill.

Flum let her sword fade away and shook her head. With that simple act, the option for killing Mute was off the table.

“Still…I…”

Mute still couldn’t give up on dying.

Nekt sighed in annoyance, grabbed her hand, and tugged. “Nng…then I’m just gonna have to drag you with me. I’ve already decided!

She clasped Mute’s hand tightly in her own, glanced back at Flum and Cyrill, and then used her Connection ability to teleport away.

“Huh, they left. But Mute’s still…huh?”

Now that the moment of crisis had passed, Cyrill wavered from side to side, collapsing into Flum’s arms.

“Thanks, Flum. Sorry, I just got a little hazy there…”

“You lost a lot of blood.”

“I guess you’re right. Anyway, you…you’re really going to help her, right?”

The dark expression on Flum’s face remained, even as Cyrill pressed the issue. Maria and Linus chose to stay out of it, watching their exchange in silence. They were all too aware of the conflicts of interest involved.

“Origin corrupts every part of a person’s being and destroys whatever dignity they had.”

Flum had seen just how badly Origin cores could twist people more times than she could count at this point. The ogres, the church’s research staff, Ink, Dein’s men, even Dein himself… The list of victims went on and on.

“You can’t promise salvation to someone who’s already damned.”

Such was the fate that met Dafydd, along with all the dead he brought back to life. Making matters worse, the Children were still being pursued by Origin and those who longed to use their powers.

“Sorry, Cyrill, but I can’t commit either way. I don’t know what Nekt plans on doing, but there’s only one way I know of to save a person who’s been so thoroughly infected by Origin…”

She didn’t want to consider it, but there was no other option available.

“So you’re saying there’s a chance. Even if it requires nothing short of a miracle, I… Flum…” Cyrill’s gaze grew more and more distant as Flum spoke. “Please…don’t…be angry…”

That was all she really hoped for. Her eyes slipped closed, and she fell still in Flum’s arms.

“C-Cyrill?”

No response. She seemed to have passed out from exhaustion.

Maria spoke up and explained.

“Healing magic alone can’t restore all the strength she lost after taking a blow like that.”

Linus hobbled his way over on unsteady legs. Though his arm and leg were mostly recovered, he was still in much the same boat as Cyrill.

“Huh?”

Flum was also quickly reaching the limits of her endurance. She’d drained her reserves dry in the battle with Mute: lost limbs multiple times, suffered injuries to her organs, and used many powerful Cavalier Arts techniques during the battle in the town square. On top of all that, she’d even used up all her magic. She was simply exhausted at this point.

“…Ha…” Flum felt the last dregs of strength leave her body in an instant, and she toppled to the ground with Cyrill. Maria and Linus ran to her side, calling her name, but there was no response.

 

***

 

The people under her control in the town square stopped moving the moment that Mute lost.

Gadhio walked casually to Eterna’s side. While he looked like he could keep going, she felt as if she only barely managed to hang on this long. Gadhio shedded his gauntlet, stretched out his hand, and exchanged a quick high five with her. The crisp sound it made echoing through the silent square was oddly satisfying.

The battle was over for now. The war was still far from over, but they had bought themselves a moment of rest.