I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

78 – Green Woman (2)

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I was silent.

Actually, I was a person who was used to silence.

Having spent most of my life sitting in my room studying, I have learned the art of enjoying silence even before the mysteries of magic.

But ever since I entered this damn forest, I have changed.

No, more accurately, the nature of the silence I feel has changed.

Whenever Ms. Sylvia sensed something displeasing to her, she would keep her mouth shut and let out that quiet fierceness.

The silence felt at that time was not simply the absence of sound, but was like a quiet warning sound that radiated a heavy presence.

It was a heavy and loud silence.

And now.

I experienced another level of silence.

This was not a natural, comfortable silence, nor was it a silence that weighed heavily on the surroundings.

Absence of all sounds.

A state of complete silence where you cannot hear the sounds of the surrounding environment, your body moving, or even the sound of the person in front of you breathing.

It was a feeling more fearful than Sylvia’s life.

The hair on my entire body stood up, and goosebumps rose all over my body.

The devil is alive.

Is it because of the shocking facts that the green woman conveyed, or is it because of the absence of this fatally empty sound?

I crouched down, clutching my arms.

“Demon King… Still?”

“Yes.”

When the woman’s firm answer came back, I had no choice but to fall to the floor, holding on to her trembling legs.

Demon King.

I could not fathom the amount of despair that name brought.

Of course, the world was still dark even after the Demon King disappeared, but the Demon King was not actually dead.

No, is it because the Demon King did not die that the chaos in the world could not be eliminated?

It didn’t matter which one.

Burning human countries passed before my eyes.

You can see people burning in the flames.

Mom, Dad.

Lila.

And Sylvia and Sister Maria…

Ah, Sylvia.

Why on earth did I suffer for such a long time…

Sister.

Why on earth is my sister…

“Come to your senses.”

The green woman spoke in a firm voice and helped me stand up.

“The twisted fate is certainly a terrible sight. “The Demon King survived, her warrior spirit was worn away, and all of her companions who would have helped her died.”

“…Ah, ah.”

“But surviving doesn’t mean you’re alive and well.”

She slowly placed her hand on my cheek.

As the fresh citrus fruit scent emanating from her yellow hands tickled the tip of her nose, her confused mind seemed to calm down a little.

I slowly lifted my head, strengthening my trembling neck.

Her green eyes were giving a gentle gaze.

“Those eyes. I can see beyond those sinister eyes. “That disgusting body, weakened and trying to recover from the wounds inflicted by the hero.”

“…”

“We are definitely weakened, but the same goes for our opponents. That’s why I called you. Ash”

“You’re calling me. “I came to this forest…”

“Yes, it was a coincidence. It was misfortune and sadness. But… It was also hope.”

“…What on earth does that mean!”

“…”

I was so frustrated that she kept making vague noises that I screamed.

It was an action that was close to a struggle to overcome the fear and confusion filling my heart, like a scared puppy barking.

The woman stroked my head and slowly opened her lips as if she understood me.

“From the place where the carriage overturned, the warrior’s hut.”

“…Yes?”

“Even with your sparkling, strong spirit that got up and started walking with your broken leg, you couldn’t walk that long distance. “It was impossible.”

“… What is that all of a sudden?”

“But you eventually reached the hero. “How was that possible?”

That was a question I also had throughout the time I spent in the forest.

How did I walk for over two hours with my body in such a mess, with my bones sticking out through my skin and one ankle turned so that I was facing backwards?

At that time, I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment, so I couldn’t remember the details of the situation at the time.

All that remained was the memory of blindly walking along the light.

My steps that day could only be described as a miracle.

It was so ridiculous that even Ms. Sylvia, who was so strong, stuck out her tongue and declared that it was impossible.

I looked at her with her trembling eyes.

She slowly shook her head up and down.

“Yes, the spirits helped you.”

She lifted her head up with her sad eyes.

“I plowed the ground to make everything soft where your feet touched, bounced off the strong raindrops as much as possible, and blew the wind to push your body little by little. Besides that, the spirits used various methods to help you. Of course… All of that was possible because of your will to choose to walk until the end.”

My mind became confused again.

Honestly, I don’t remember receiving much help.

At the time, I had never even imagined the existence of a spirit, let alone felt it. Even if I received such help, it would be natural for me to not recognize it.

However, it seems that it makes more sense that I, who had never been anything like a warrior in my life, was able to achieve such an incredible march in the end that I received such invisible help rather than a vague explanation that my mental strength was simply strong. Did.

Because my mental power is not that strong to begin with.

“That’s not true. “For an average person, it would be difficult to even walk one step.”

“…It was to save Lila.”

“No one would say that a person who walks with a broken leg to protect a precious person has a weak spirit.”

The woman said that and stroked my head.

But I felt a certain contradiction in her explanation.

“They say spirits can’t affect reality without a spirit caster.”

“…Right.”

“Then how did the spirits help me?”

When I asked a question, I saw a slight hint of water in her eyes, which already looked sad.

She said, looking at this empty place where we were standing.

“Surely, spirits cannot exert their power without a magician.”

“…”

“Not only does it make you weaker, but it’s also prohibited.”

“…Banned?”

“Yes, if the spirits run wild, the world will become chaotic. “Rules established from the moment this world was created to prevent that.”

Rules.

Those words sounded very ominous.

For some reason, the words coming out of her mouth just now felt like they sounded synonymous with the word fate.

Just as a twisted fate led to a great tragedy, it was a sound that convinced me that if I break it, there will be a very terrible price.

She spoke slowly, swallowing the heavy emotions that filled her throat.

“They said this is the spirit world. Ash.”

“…Yes,”

“Aren’t you curious why in this space, the world of spirits, you can’t see any other spirits except me and your guardian spirit?”

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“…Because of me?”

I am the rightful owner of the spirits and have the ability to communicate with them.

However, I have never had proper communication with spirits.

Nevertheless, many spirits willingly broke the rules and helped me get to Sylvia, whom I had never had a conversation with.

Some children did it because they used up all their strength, and some children did it because they broke the rules.

They mixed and disappeared in a gust of wind, a handful of dirt, and clear sunlight.

I covered my mouth.

I felt nauseous.

Somehow, I felt good.

The warm sunlight that wakes me up every morning with the sound of birds.

That pleasant breeze gently blowing my hair.

Soft soil that was cool and crushed into nice shapes.

I finally realized that the beautiful scenery I had felt while enjoying life in the forest were all the bodies and souls of the spirits who sacrificed themselves for me.

I lowered my eyes.

I couldn’t possibly look at her.

How did the green woman, the forest spirit queen and the spirit’s parent, feel as she watched the young spirits disappear?

I know.

I had no choice but to know, I had no choice but to understand.

I also had no choice but to watch her family die before my eyes.

Because I know that helplessness and pain well.

“…Why, for someone like me.”

“…”

“No matter how much I can communicate with spirits, no matter how much I am loved by spirits, for me who has never seen me… Why…”

“You must not be mistaken. Ash.”

“…”

She spoke in a firm voice.

But she couldn’t even hide the wetness behind her voice.

She spoke, barely able to soothe her sobbing throat.

“It wasn’t for you.”

“…”

“It’s to correct this fate.”

“…What can I do? Now… What can I do now? What good is an elementalist without a spirit now? “Why, wait for someone else like me!”

“There is no one else. Ash. “It’s only you.”

“So what do I…!”

“Because you are the only one who can hear the whole story of this world that I have told you so far and my subsequent request.”

Oh, was it something like that?

She, no, this destiny did not want me to have the power to fight the devil.

In this twisted fate, all I could do was listen to her from the beginning.

The green woman nodded her head and said.

“Please guide her so that her hero can reach her demon lord once again. “This time, she can kill the demon lord.”

“…Ha,”

Only after hearing her words did I understand everything.

Ahahahaha, it’s funny too.

What kind of arrogant thought was that?

No matter how rare a talent he was born with, what help would an elementalist without even proper training be of any help in subduing the Demon King, something that so many heroes had attempted and failed to do?

My role in this twisted fate was not to subdue the devil.

Whether it was a righteous fate or a twisted fate, it was still the hero’s role to catch the Demon King.

My role is simply to bring the wounded and broken-willed hero before the devil once again.

For that goal, the spirits brought me to Sylvia.

“…From the beginning.”

“Ash…”

“It was all for this.”

“…”

“You expected everything.”

“…”

“So that the warrior will love me.”

“…”

“You made me fall in love with Sylvia.”

“…Don’t misunderstand. Ash. “Human emotions are not that simple.”

“Don’t lie. “If the power of an elementalist was needed, it wouldn’t make sense to let the elemental die.”

“I didn’t set it up to make you love me. Ash. “I was sure he would love you.”

“… Ah,”

I slowly collapsed to the floor.

There were so many stories flowing in at once that it was confusing.

Various emotions rose and subsided repeatedly, to the point where it was difficult for me to fully grasp my feelings.

“Ah…”

Damn fate.

Having lost my original role, this twisted fate gave me a new role.

A plaything for the warrior.

A clown and lover to urge her to go out on her own limbs once again.

For that scenario, my family was massacred, my younger sister was resurrected as an undead without even being able to have a proper funeral, and the spirits that had been living and breathing in the beautiful nature of this world for a long time were killed in droves.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I just laughed like an idiot.

Should I be grateful that even in this twisted fate, I was able to meet Sylvia?

Or should we blame this damn fate that sacrifices everyone we can touch and see?

My parents, Lila, the men who came into the forest, and even the countless spirits who helped me.

Everyone who comes close to me ends up being sacrificed.

Now, it can be considered a pattern.

Perhaps Sylvia, too, will die with the Demon King this time?

“…It’s harsh. Too.”

If you blame, who should you blame?

Green woman? She, too, is a victim who had no choice but to helplessly watch countless children die for this fate.

Spirits? How can I blame those children who practically burned their own lives to save me?

Goddess? She, she said, even lost her own divinity for the sake of her humanity.

This arrow of resentment, with nowhere to go, spun around in my mind with no place to go.

I felt like the directionless, wandering path of resentment was tearing my heart apart.

“I know it sounds terrible, I’m sorry. I can deeply understand your sadness. “I’m so sorry.”

“… Ugh,”

“But, this was all. “This was the only way to protect humanity.”

“…Why, why,”

“Did you see that the forest was filled with demonic energy? This is proof that the Demon King is gradually recovering. A year, or two years. “I’m not sure, Ash, but we don’t have much time left.”

“… Why me? “What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Ash…”

“…”

“But please. Please save us, humanity, and this world.”

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