I Became an Outcast in the Academy

9. Branch (8)

Ellie harmed herself.

Gathering all her remaining strength, she grabbed the sword of Cyan that was piercing her and pierced her heart.

If it were the same, it would not be surprising even if she died instantly. It was an act of self-harm itself.

But Eli did not die. Because there was one person here who would not tolerate her death.

Wooow-

Duke Orphega, who brought mana to her entire body, grabs Ellie’s body and focuses her mind.

At first glance, she has no color on her face and her arms are limp, so she constantly pours her mana into Ellie’s body, which appears to be nothing but a corpse.

In essence, mana is the most fundamental element that makes up this world and at the same time, the life force itself.

For a person like the Duke of Orphega, who has reached the level of a master and can freely control all mana within a certain radius, saving the life of a human whose vitality is lost and who is running toward death is not a task. It was long.

“… Ha.”

And Xian just watched in silence as Duke Orphega was saving Eli’s life right in front of him.

Why on earth would you save Ellie without his permission? He didn’t even say this.

Because the duke knew full well that it would end up like this from the moment he strongly insisted that he would act as an observer of this duel.

How much time has passed?

Ellie’s colorless face begins to grow warm again. Her hands twitch, and the sound of her heartbeat begins again near her chest.

“… “Have we passed the urgent crisis?”

As the Duke sighs in relief and murmurs as if he will finally live, Xian quietly opens his mouth to the Duke.

“So, what happened to Ellie?”

“My heart was completely shattered. “I think it will probably be impossible to restore it.”

Xian twitched his eyebrows at the duke’s strange answer.

It goes without saying, but there is no way in this world to bring back to life a person whose heart has burst and been shattered. Also, it is even more impossible to regenerate the heart to its original form.

Although the Duke is a superman who can overcome human limitations and freely use things that can only be considered miracles, there are clear limits even to him.

So, the ‘heart’ the Duke is talking about now is not the real heart, but probably-

“… “I guess this means Ellie’s mana heart has been damaged.”

Mana Heart, a place where humans can artificially accumulate mana in the atmosphere within their bodies.

As it is an organ that allows humans to build up the power called mana and gives them superhuman strength, if there is any damage to this organ, the aftereffects will be severe.

When I was working as a mercenary on the battlefield, I saw more than once the sight of people who had been damaged here being turned into cold corpses with pitiful faces, unable to die after being expelled.

“It doesn’t mean it’s damaged. “Because Ellie’s mana heart was completely destroyed.”

As the Duke muttered this in a bitter voice, Sian raised her eyes towards him.

The Mana Heart wasn’t just damaged, it was completely shattered? So wouldn’t it be even more strange that Ellie didn’t die instantly on the spot?

But her doubts were short-lived as Xian realized who the person in front of her was and smiled bitterly.

It would have been an injury that would have killed him instantly to others, but the person who provided first aid to the injury was none other than the Duke.

If his body wasn’t literally torn to pieces, it would be even more strange that someone as high as the Duke couldn’t save Ellie’s life.

As Xian looks at Ellie with an expression of uncertainty, the Duke looks at him and quietly opens his mouth.

“As the mana heart was shattered… Ellie lost all the strength she had built up. And it will be very difficult for her to regain her original strength in the future.”

The saying that the mana that comes from the mana heart brings great power to a person’s whole body means, conversely, that when the mana heart is lost, the aftermath has a great impact on the whole body.

The moment Ellie stabbed her own Mana Heart and it disappeared, the balance of her entire body was broken and her body also suffered a huge blow.

They say that heavenly luck overlaps with heavenly luck and the body returns to its normal state, and mana hearts can be created again… It would be virtually impossible to rise again to the heights of the past.

In fact, the Duke of Orphega was no different from sentencing Elie to death as a military man.

“Ellie has no powers anymore, and she has become harmless to you.”

That’s… The duke was right. Ellie was no longer capable of doing any harm to Sian.

Before she can do any harm, she has become a part of her body that has to figure out how much life she has left.

“And I don’t know the details of what happened between you guys… I guess Ellie knows that she betrayed you for some reason and that you want to get her revenge on Ellie. And the fact that you have the right to just revenge.”

Hearing Xian’s words, the Duke gently strokes Ellie’s head and speaks softly.

“… So, what do you want to say?”

“I want to ask you a favor. “Can you at least save Ellie’s life?”

For a moment, Sian had a blank expression on his face at the completely unexpected words.

No one else, but I never even imagined that such words would come out of the mouth of Duke Orphega.

“Let me ask you one thing. Xian, does the revenge you seek necessarily mean taking the other person’s life?”

At those words, Sian shook her head.

That can’t be possible. If she takes someone else’s life simply out of her own grudge, isn’t she just a simple murderer?

The revengeful justice that Xian desires is the same as it was then and now.

Making one pay a clear price for the betrayal he committed. And to take away everything that the traitors had gained in return for betraying him.

Compared to the two goals that Xian wanted to achieve, taking the other person’s life was only an extremely trivial matter.

“This child can no longer be taken from you. The only thing left for this child is his life. Even though his life was also terminal.”

“… So, since Ellie is terminally ill, are you saying we should unconditionally forgive her?”

“That can’t be possible. I’m not that shameless. What you want to do in the first place is the right thing to do. “I know full well that I have no authority to say this or that in that matter.”

The duke muttered with a bitter smile.

“But I think I have the right to share and shoulder the responsibility that this child must bear. And at the end, a price worthy of Eli’s life… I want to pay you. “Can that at least save Ellie’s life?”

Xian finally realized what the duke was trying to say.

Duke Orphega was not forcing Xian to forgive Eli.

In fact, it was the opposite. Now the duke was saying that Elie was a sinner, and she was acknowledging his right to just revenge.

Therefore, he was begging for mercy towards Xian, who was not even close to her feet in terms of status.

He also wants to bear Eli’s sin and pay the price for it, so he was asking if you could spare Eli’s life.

“… Why are you doing this? “Do you think Ellie is worth enough for the Duke to personally kneel before me and beg for mercy?”

Ellie’s Mana Heart was crushed without a trace. And her body is on the verge of collapse.

Her life was saved, but at the same time, it was all about saving her life.

The current Ellie was so coveted by Duke Orphega, but she could not possibly be said to be a talent capable of inheriting his swordsmanship.

In other words, to the duke, Eli was just a person with no value anymore.

But I did not understand why the duke was kneeling towards her sister, begging for her mercy like this, for Ellie.

“… Definitely, as you said. Ellie was no longer able to hold her sword. When she looked at it objectively, she realized that Ellie was a woman of no value. But… Nevertheless, she said, “Ellie is my student.”

Those were completely unbelievable words coming from the Duke’s mouth.

“I accept Eli as her disciple, and she has promised to be her teacher to this child. And by teacher, I don’t just mean someone who teaches swordsmanship to her student. A teacher has a duty to protect his students and guide them on the right path. At least I… “I think a teacher has that obligation.”

“If this child is guilty, then I, who taught this child for half a year, must also be guilty. The disciple’s sin is the teacher’s sin. So, can you allow me to bear that sin for you?”

Although it was only a short period of time, only half a year, the Duke said that he would personally take responsibility because he was Ellie’s teacher.

And looking at the Duke like that… For some reason, Sian felt uncomfortable.

It was as if the Duke’s appearance reminded him of himself in the past, when he was bound by the shackles of his family and tried to believe and trust Ellie until the end.

The Duke no longer says anything to Sian. However, like a prisoner awaiting sentencing, he just waits silently for Xian’s words.

“I… “