Chapter 111

Brightness was her first sensation. Light flickered behind her eyelids as if a lamp were being waved in front of them.

As the realization took hold, her consciousness slowly surfaced like a diver rising from the depths. Then, her eyes drifted open.

She found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, with white lace curtains swaying at the edge of her vision. When she turned her head slightly toward the open window, she saw sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves. As she mindlessly watched the foliage rustling in the breeze, the memories of what she had done gradually came flooding back.

"Are you awake?"

The sudden voice made her start. Turning away from the window toward the door, she saw Lifa standing there.

Lifa wore her emotions on her sleeve, and Erika could tell at a glance that she was caught somewhere between anger and exasperation. Knowing this, Erika found herself unable to give a proper greeting; instead, she offered a vague question in return.

"……In what sense do you mean?"

"Both. Honestly, if you were going to regret it this much, you never should have done it in the first place."

Lifa sat on the edge of the bed, making no effort to hide her displeasure.

Erika's first instinct was to claim she had no regrets, but she stopped herself. There was no point in trying to deceive Lifa, who already saw right through her.

"I have no excuses. I ended up forcing you into a terrible position as well, Lifa-san..."

"……Don't worry about me. I may have said we shouldn't fight, but in the end, I was the one who decided to step onto that battlefield."

In Lifa, who could state her convictions without a trace of hesitation, Erika saw a strength she herself lacked.

Suppressing a fresh wave of self-loathing, Erika asked the question she most feared the answer to.

"Um, so…… what happened to Lord Harold?"

Lifa’s expression clouded over.

"How much do you remember, Erika?"

"……I combined my spells and attacked Lord Harold."

Simply saying the words aloud made her recoil in disgust at her own actions.

In that moment, she had struck with everything she had. Even if Harold had desired the confrontation, he couldn't have escaped unscathed. It was hypocritical of her to worry about his safety after attacking him so ruthlessly, yet Erika could not help but ask.

"I don't remember much of what followed. Only that there was a flash of light, or something like it……"

The sheer recklessness of combining top-tier spells and unleashing them simultaneously had drained Erika’s magic power instantly. She had lost consciousness before she could see the result, but she recalled a blinding flash just before the world went black.

"It might be hard to believe, but that light was Harold smashing through your magic."

"He shattered it……? But he should have been restrained. He shouldn't have been able to move."

"We did have him pinned, but the moment the restraints broke, he neutralized the whole thing."

"How is that even possible……?"

To Erika, that compound magic represented the absolute peak of her power. If he had blocked it or managed to endure it, she might have understood. But to neutralize it—to erase it entirely—was another matter.

It implied the existence of a technique or spell with power equal to or greater than her own ultimate effort.

"It’s just a guess, but I think it was a combination of magic and swordplay."

"Is such a feat even possible?"

"I don't know. It wasn't like he was machine-gunning chantless spells, and there wasn't time for multi-chanting either. But even though he was definitely using magic, he swung his sword down at the exact moment your spell was neutralized, almost like he was cutting it."

"Meaning, if he were only using magic, he wouldn't have needed the sword."

"Right. But I was busy trying not to get vaporized by the aftershocks, so I didn't get a perfect look. Like I said, it’s all speculation."

A combination of magic and sword skills was a far-fetched theory. While Erika had pioneered compound magic, both components were still magic; casting them simultaneously was simply a matter of partitioning one's mind and mana.

Combining physical sword techniques with magic was different. Even if the attributes were the same, the way mana had to be channeled was fundamentally different. To Erika, it was the equivalent of being asked to walk forward and backward at the exact same time.

Logically, she didn't believe it could be done. Of course, that logic only held if one didn't account for Harold Stokes.

Erika knew that if anyone could do it, it would be Harold—a man who was as brilliant as he was unconventional, the walking embodiment of the impossible. Lifa likely shared that sentiment, which was why she had proposed such a wild theory.

"Um…… and Lord Harold? How is he……"

"……He was in tatters, obviously. He was bleeding badly, and he was gasping for air just to stay upright."

The news, though expected, pierced Erika's heart.

"But even so, he didn't fall. He was clearly reeling from the damage, but he was still fast enough to vanish before anyone could stop him."

"Then, he wasn't taken to a hospital……?"

"He’s certainly not here. We have no idea where he went or where he is now."

Lifa shrugged as if to say she was at her wit's end.

Erika wasn't sure if she was relieved he was alive or terrified that he was wandering around with life-threatening injuries. Knowing Harold and his habit of treating his own well-being like an afterthought, he was likely pushing himself even now, ignoring his wounds to complete his next objective.

Just the thought of it made her want to leap out of bed.

(I was supposed to be refining my magic to heal him, not to break him……)

Even if this was the role Harold wanted her to play, it was a miserable outcome. If the girl from eight years ago—the one who swore to become someone worthy of standing by his side—could see her now, she would be utterly disappointed.

"Well, there's no use dwelling on things we can't solve. Let's get you up to speed on the situation," Lifa said, clapping her hands to break the heavy mood.

"First, Erika, you’ve been out for two days. Total mana depletion. It’s a miracle you only fainted, honestly."

"I knew it was a double-edged sword, but two days……"

"I’m just impressed you didn't die after burning that much mana. The others woke up the same day and are staying at an inn nearby."

"I've kept them waiting, then. Is everyone else alright?"

"Everyone’s fine. At most, Hugo is whining about his jaw hurting."

She called it whining, but a direct hit from Harold would hurt anyone. Still, the fact that they were all fundamentally unharmed was a relief.

Yet, that fact carried a heavy realization: he had clearly held back.

Erika didn't want to be arrogant, but none of the six people in their party were weak. They were a coordinated unit that understood each other’s strengths. Despite that, Harold was so far beyond them that they couldn't even touch him. In an overwhelmingly advantageous six-on-one fight, he had neutralized the four front-liners in an instant. It had taken Erika and Lifa’s combined trump cards just to land a single scratch.

If Harold had been fighting to kill, they would all be dead.

He was far too strong. That was the primary takeaway from her first real confrontation with him.

"Now, for the main point……"

"What is it?"

"Besides you, there are two other people hospitalized in this building."

"……You mean those two?"

Erika immediately pictured the man and woman they had defeated on the roof of the Harrison Mansion. She remembered they had collapsed after Harold did something to them.

While she had complicated feelings about the people she had fought, it seemed only natural that they would be brought to a hospital given their condition.

"Yeah, but……" Lifa trailed off, her voice lacking its usual edge.

"Is there something wrong with them?"

"……Erika, did you notice anything strange about them when you were fighting?"

It was a vague question, but Lifa didn't waste words on trivialities. Though her memories of that fight were eclipsed by the battle with Harold, Erika searched her mind and found an answer quickly.

They had been trying to kill her, yet she hadn't felt a shred of malice or hostility from either of them.

"In hindsight, it felt as though I was fighting sophisticated dolls…… or perhaps humans without emotions."

She hesitated to call them dolls, but the essence was the same: she couldn't feel their will. It had looked as though they were merely attacking her mechanically.

"Honestly, I’m not great at reading the 'vibe' of a fight, so I was skeptical. But if you felt it too, then what they told us might actually be the truth."

"I’m sorry to dump this on you right after you woke up, but I want you to read these," Lifa said, handing over several sheets of parchment. Erika scanned the first page.

It was an interview transcript of the two people in question. Erika wondered how Lifa had gotten her hands on it, but she focused on the text.

According to the records, their names were Ventus and Lilium, and they were members of the Stella Clan from the Bertis Forest. A cold pit formed in Erika’s stomach, a premonition that was quickly confirmed as she read on.

They claimed that several years ago, their village had been attacked. In the chaos, they were abducted and confined in a research facility. Many of their kin were there, subjected to horrific human experimentation day and night.

Ventus and Lilium were no exception. Through drugs and unknown machinery, their bodies and minds were systematically dismantled and rebuilt. Their sense of self was eroded until they could no longer speak or act on their own; eventually, they became puppets that could only follow orders.

If this were true, Erika couldn't imagine the horror of being conscious while watching your own mind and body be hollowed out.

There was no doubt that the incident Harold had intervened in years ago was the source of this. Yuno’s reports had detailed the gruesome injuries Harold had sustained then.

Even as a child, Harold had been extraordinarily capable; for him to be wounded so badly meant the battle was catastrophic. With so many dead, any abductees would have been written off as missing in action, leaving them beyond the reach of any search party.

Furthermore, Harold had mentioned that the perpetrator had the military and the Deliberation Chamber in his pocket. There was never any hope of Justus Freund being caught.

It was a despicable, cowardly act. Erika finished the report, her anger simmering beneath the surface.

"So this is why they felt so hollow during the fight."

"They were interviewed separately and gave identical stories. Combined with your observation, it’s almost certainly the truth."

Harold had once mentioned that he had rescued two members of the Stella Clan from human experimentation.

He must have been talking about Ventus and Lilium. In his own way, he had been trying to save them, and somehow, he had succeeded in restoring their free will.

Even if it meant forcing them to confront Erika and the others as enemies.

"Anyway, those two said they want to apologize to Rainer."

"For what they did to his parents?"

"Yeah. Apparently, even though they weren't in control, they remember everything."

That was a heavy burden to bear. To have memories of hurting innocent people against one's will was a nightmare. Yet, they were stepping forward to take responsibility.

"The problem is whether Rainer can keep his cool when he sees them……"

"It will be difficult. Rainer’s kindness is matched only by his love for his family. I don't think he can simply forgive the people who nearly killed his parents."

"You think so too? Maybe we should give it more time."

"No. Let's arrange a meeting."

Erika wanted to respect their resolve. She was certain that Harold would do the same.

Moreover, she found their strength radiant—a strength she lacked. She had run away from the painful reality that she couldn't help Harold, yet these two were facing their own darkness head-on.

(Even if I am not strong enough, if someone with true strength like Lifa or those two can stand by him, perhaps they can eventually save Lord Harold.)

She knew it was a defeatist thought. She knew she was being selfish, trying to push her own hopes onto others.

But even so—even if it was impossible for her—she wanted to find some way to save the man who was currently choosing to be alone.

That was the only wish left within Erika's hollowed-out heart.