Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Chapter 73 "This... won't work. Let me make one last request. Please kill me. Before I completely lose myself." Light temporarily returned to the man's eyes. The first action taken by the man who barely regained consciousness was to give up and despair. Aiming for the seventh Rank, he was truly a warrior. Countless battlefields and life-or-death situations had never broken the man's will. Yet that same man lay on his bed with an unblemished body, meekly accepting his end. It was utterly futile and utterly clear. Such was the end of one poisoned by Turbid Truth. ────────── ────────── It was indeed an herb used as an ingredient in the Dark Elves' secret elixirs. The Noble felt the Fire Energy seething within him. The Noble thought that with this power, the wall that blocked him would no longer be a problem. One day passed, then two days, then half a month. "Hot... so hot...!" The Noble writhed against the Fire Energy that blazed fiercely as if to devour his body. The unrefined Fire Energy would not subside. Rather, it grew ever hotter, until it would completely burn the man alive. ────────── ────────── The retainers recalled the majestic appearance of their former Family Head. "Are you trying to test me? Very well. I'll accept your challenge, you insignificant creature." At the time, no one thought it was arrogance. The Family Head was a Master of the Blue Magic Tower and lord of a great house, while that was merely a lower Demon. A year passed from then. Ruin came to the once-prosperous domain. The Family Head's eyes, which had once held wisdom and courage, were now filled with murky corruption. This had happened merely from a great Mage accepting a portion of a lower Demon's power. ────────── "...Master?" "Hmm?" "Are you really alright?" As breakfast was coming to an end, Cartria carefully asked Risir. "...Wait! Now I think about it—" "...!" "Your hairstyle seems different from usual!?" "?" "No, I misspoke. Your makeup!" "?" "No, that's not it either, the bread tastes...!" "..." "Damn. Am I really this hopeless? Sorry, Tia. What did I miss?" (E/N: I can relate. I'm sorry too.) "It's not like that. I was just wondering if there was anything bothering you—" "Something bothering me—well, if I had to say something, I'd like a bit less bread and more meat?" Too much bread and too little meat. Risir, who had been poisoned by Turbid Truth, consumed Four White Lotus, and was being consumed by Verdandes' power, said that was all the discomfort he felt. Cartria finally felt something was off. Risir's outward condition looked far too normal, as if nothing had happened at all. As if all problems had somehow been resolved for some reason. "You mean the meat!? I understand! Starting tomorrow—no, starting this evening, I'll definitely pay attention to that!" Cartria spoke cheerfully. It was the most natural she had appeared among all the lively maid personas she had shown so far. Her heart was beating rapidly with the hope that perhaps, without her knowing, a miracle had occurred. "Cough...!" However, that hope was immediately denied. Risir, who was about to say something, covered his mouth with his hand and coughed. "Master!?" Risir looked down at the hand that had covered his cough. His palm was stained dark red. *** Yesterday, after the sparring match with Meltas ended, Risir spent a hectic time. When he checked his physical condition following the sudden manifestation of Arcane Magic, he found all sorts of things had accumulated in his body. Risir stayed up all night to organize all of these and completely master them as his own. He manipulated Mana until he could be satisfied with himself. As a result, Mana Backflow and Overload followed. It wasn't at a level worth worrying about. Since experiencing Mana Overload in the past and nearly destroying his body, he had significantly lowered his threshold for limits. To make an analogy, it was a minor symptom comparable to muscle pain. 'Then what is this?' Risir looked at the blood that had stained his hand red. 'Hmm?' Then he felt that the strange foreign sensation he had been feeling in his body since yesterday had disappeared. 'Come to think of it, Blue Breath was said to have the effect of expelling waste from the body.' Risir made this rough guess. Surprisingly, it was a conclusion close to correct. Verdandes—the remnants of the mighty Demon who once ruled over the Desert region had become waste and been expelled from his body. Risir spoke with a pleasant sense of refreshment. *** "It's fine. It's nothing, so you don't need to worry." He produced a gentle smile, even with blood on his lips. Cartria found herself staring at his face without realizing it. She observed his face more carefully than before, and things that hadn't been visible before began to show. Namely, clear signs of fatigue. "Ah..." Cartria realized. The reason he had seemed fine wasn't because he was truly alright. He had only appeared that way because he was acting as if nothing was wrong. "..." In a way, it was natural. How could he be alright? Even at this very moment, his mind and body would be getting consumed. Cartria felt terrible self-loathing, remembering how she had just been denying such an obvious fact and escaping from reality. "Tia...!?" "How..." Cartria's expression became stained with pain. "How... how can you smile like that...?" Risir looked down at his hand in confusion. 'Damn. Why is the waste being expelled upward? It should come out down below honestly.' Thinking the maid was crying because she was shocked by his coughing blood, he showed a kind smile to comfort her. "It's alright, Tia. It's probably nothing. So don't worry like that." "...!" An overflow of emotions. The cheerful maid mask that Cartria had been creating crumbled. To hold back that overflow, she covered her face with both hands. What Risir had shown was gouging at her heart. What words should she possibly say to him? -It's alright, Tia. It's nothing. To him who didn't know his condition at all and thought optimistically. -So don't worry like that. To him who worried about her even in such circumstances. How wonderful it would have been. -You're right. It'll be fine. If only she could have smiled and reassured him. But she couldn't. The signs of fatigue that even acting couldn't fully hide. The coughing up of blood. Cartria felt that the end she had desperately delayed had come right up to them. Risir—he wouldn't make it past today. She had ultimately failed to save him. She had ultimately brought ruin upon him—the man who had saved her world, no less. Pity and guilt toward Risir. Hatred and disappointment toward herself. These tangled together and strangled her with all their might. Her breath grew short. The urge to cry out loud made her chest feel stuffy. "Tia...?" But she had to endure it. She had no right to cry. She had no right to cause him worry. Then what should she do? What should she do now? "...Master!" The maid Tia raised her head. "May I make one request!?" "A request?" "Yes! Today, I want to spend time with you, Master!" The maid Tia spoke with an utterly cheerful smile. "...Shall we?" Risir couldn't refuse her request. Because tears were forming in the eyes of her utterly cheerful smile. *** It was an ordinary day except for the maid sticking close by his side. Having resolved most of the merchant guild leaders' requests, Risir spent his usual routine at the Magic Tower. Reading books, training his body, and then when he was about to receive lessons from Meltas again. "Master!" The maid Tia approached him restlessly. Spending his life's final hours in ordinary routine—Risir didn't know how his actions appeared to her. A sharp pang! In Tia's eyes, Risir was a man who loved his life. It was only natural. "If it's not rude, may I ask you something?" "Sure. What is it?" "If today were the last day of your life, what would you do, Master?" "...Well? I haven't really thought about it." "..." Another sharp pang! It was natural if you thought about it, but he wasn't prepared to face his end. "Then let me change the question—is there anything you want to do right now?" "..." Why is she suddenly acting like this? Risir tried to understand Tia's intentions. Since seeing him cough up blood, her behavior had been clearly strange. She seemed anxious somehow. 'Does she think she might return to slavery if something happens to me?' Risir nodded thoughtfully. It seemed like today should be used to calm her unstable state of mind. "Tia, if you'd like, shall I show you around the Magic Tower?" "...Yes! I'd love that!" Both smiled happily at each other's response. *** The final destination of their Magic Tower outing was a pond located in one corner of the Magic Tower Courtyard. Risir and Cartria sat side by side on a bench, gazing at the pond being bathed in sunset light. Cartria thought it was a pleasant silence, that it really was a beautiful scene as he had said, and that she wished time would stop just like this. "Tia." "...!" Then came Risir's voice. That's right—time doesn't stop. His remaining time would continue to flow. "How was it? Was it... fun?" That gaze. Cartria realized the reason he had spent time with her today. He had given her the gift of his time, not knowing that it was his own time. In the end, she was the one receiving help until the very last moment. She was the one causing trouble. "Master." "Yeah?" "Today was truly enjoyable." "Really? That's good to hear." "Truly, truly, truly... there will never be a more enjoyable time in my life than this..." "...That much? Should I start a Magic Tower tourism business?" "How was it for you, Master?" Risir smiled as brightly as possible, thinking to reassure her. "It was enjoyable. So much so that I'd have no regrets even if I died today." "...!" A sharp pang! Cartria turned her gaze away from him and looked at the pond again. "If it's alright with you, would you spend time with me tomorrow as well?" "Shall we?" "Tomorrow... please show me outside the Magic Tower... show me Bondaless..." "Sure. Understood." "...I'm happy." Cartria smiled brightly. Risir gently patted her back because tears were streaming down from her brightly smiling eyes. And so, the day came to an end. *** "Tia. Get up. We have to go see Bondaless." "..." (E/N: Get up girl. This is not a dark fantasy story. You have tourism duties!)