Chapter 277: Master (7)

1.

Just like that, the fight was over.

The overwhelming difference in strength between the two of them made it impossible for Paola to resist, and she was defeated by Eloa without putting up much of a fight.

This was only possible because the latter had recovered her mana.

If she immediately came here after her battle with the Red Knight, she definitely would have been caught by those grotesque tentacles and ended up as their quick snack.

Eloa stood before the lotus flower, which was still shining brilliantly.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Lying against the flower, Paola mustered the last bit of her strength to yell at her, blood oozed out of her mouth.

"W-Wait...!"

Surprisingly, even after her heart was pierced, Paola was still alive.

Perhaps when she fused herself with that Homunculus, she inherited some of its tenacious vitality as well.

But, that just meant she'd cling to life a little bit longer, she'd still die eventually.

"..."

Seeing this, Eloa raised the Sword of Covenant again.

This time, she aimed to swiftly end her suffering with a clean cut to the neck.

"S-Stop! Hear me out...please...!"

Paola looked at Eloa in desperation, her blood-stained teeth revealed.

Thick blood was still oozing out of the gaping wound in her chest.

If she didn't get treated soon, death would be inevitable for her.

Eloa paused, but she positioned her sword so that she could strike the witch in front of her at any time.

This wasn't the first time that a criminal begged their lives to her.

There was even a criminal who was overwhelmed with fear, begging for her mercy before their fight even began.

Yet, she never once halted her sword or listened to their pleas.

Instead, she silently bore the burden of her own karma.

These were the same witches that had killed the innocents without care, killed other witches' apprentices, and even murdered their fellow witches.

Whatever it was that came out of their mouth would never justify what they did. They were those who deserved every kind of condemnation from her.

There was no room for her to compromise or sympathize with them.

...No, that was just an excuse.

Eloa knew it, more than anyone.

She was only trying to escape.

Using her desire for revenge and the dark emotion that she harbored as a refuge to waste her life until it fell apart.

"..."

But even Eloa, who usually would just cut the foe in front of her without any hesitation, couldn't just dismiss the Cowardly Witch.

Because she could see herself in her.

"You, too...! Could understand...! What losing someone feels like...! To lose your apprentice witch due to your own mistake...accepting the irreversible consequences...! You, too, should know how agonizing it is...!"

At this point, Paola had grown extremely desperate.

Even the slightest movement like opening her mouth made her punctured lungs scream in pain.

She screamed out her desperation at Eloa, squeezing out the words that she wanted to convey.

"I...I am...just like you...so...you can understand me, can't you? My feelings when I did those things..."

There was another reason why Eloa couldn't just easily strike the criminal with her sword. Because she realized that her plea was not just for her own life.

She wasn't trying to win her sympathy to prolong her own wretched life.

"I didn't do all this because I wanted to... This isn't about some silly magic... You understand me, don't you? I...just want to...undo everything!"

Just like her, she was desperate to fix her mistakes.

Her guilt weighed down on her, making her feel like a sinner just for breathing.

In her desperation, she became willing to grasp onto anything that might alter the past.

Similar to Eloa when she was taking out all those Criminal Exiles and Homunculi.

She never really thought she was doing things for justice.

Rather, it was all because Ravi happened to say 'I want to save the innocents' before her death, and those Criminal Exiles were the target of her revenge. As for the Homunculi, they were just something she went after at the side.

Maybe, just maybe, if the Cowardly Witch directed her resentment towards something else and if there was someone nearby to empathize with her, she wouldn't end up like this...

"I understand you. Your pain, wound, sadness, grief...everything. I understand it better than anyone."

In a way, the Cowardly Witch, Paola Xochitl, was really just a distorted mirror image of Eloa.

If Ravi hadn't said those words before her death...

She would probably end up in the same agonizing state, unable to shake off her own sorrow and guilt, falling into the endless pit of despair.

Eloa knelt down to meet the Cowardly Witch's gaze.

There was pity and sympathy in her magenta-colored eyes.

Seeing her eyes, Paola figured that perhaps she still had a chance.

So, she continued to plead fervently, with the voice that was choked with tears.

"Look...this thing...is done... With this lotus...you can bring your apprentice witch back! Just...please pretend that you didn't see it and let it go...! After I'm done bringing mine back, I'll immediately disappear...! After that...you can use it to bring back yours! It's a win-win, right...? A perfect solution for both of us..."

Eloa took a glance at the lotus flower.

"Yes! With this...we can erase our regrets! Even you... You can be happy again! There's no need for you to be consumed by your revenge for that Criminal Exile or Witch of Aquarius or whatever anymore...! You can start everything anew...!"

The bloomed lotus looked delicate.

It was undoubtedly the most beautiful-looking artifact Eloa had ever laid her eyes on.

Seeing it like this made it sound unbelievable that it sprouted from a countless pile of corpses.

Its beauty reminded her of a mother's love towards her child.

Though the Cowardly Witch's actions were despicable, her love for her apprentice was genuine, that was why such a beautiful and pure looking flower was created.

"Yes...it can be done...we can start anew..."

Paola said such words slyly.

She conveniently left out the part where they'd need to sacrifice a ton of people to get the lotus to work and fulfill their desires.

The witch knew that throwing the Duchess into a tough spot was the best thing she could do at the moment.

Since they felt the same pain and sorrow...

These words she uttered would feel more alluring than any kind of temptation to Eloa.

And surely enough, those words struck Eloa deep in her heart.

The possibility of her being able to bring Ravi back...

Living in the future without having to go through all the pain anymore...

She could say the words she never got to say, teach what she never got to teach and create a future that she could only dreamed of.

The perfect future that she couldn't even see in her dreams. Such a thing was laid bare in front of her.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Ravi's voice, cute little nose, wide inquisitive eyes—everything about her was etched firmly in her mind.

She was her most precious treasure, something that she would never trade for anything in the world.

To hold the Cowardly Witch's hand meant that she'd reunite with her.

Not in some dream, not as that pale, lifeless, blood-soaked body she found her in.

But alive, as her lively apprentice.

"How many people had died for this lotus to bloom?"

Calmly and quietly, Eloa let go of any lingering attachments.

When she reopened her eyes, the vivid memories of Ravi dissipated like a mirage in the desert.

"That...doesn't matter! Those people are no one to us anyway! And there's nothing wrong with wanting to see the person you love again...!"

"I have no right to judge you, nor to call your grief wishful thinking, and I also have no desire to deny your wish."

"Fine, I'll compromise...! Why don't we save your apprentice witch first...!"

Deep down, Paola had already known. The issue here wasn't the sequence or the order.

Still, though she knew that the Duchess had rejected her offer...

She still let herself to wallow in denial, clearly showing that in her face as the veins in her neck started to bulge.

"..."

But, seeing Eloa's silence, she finally realized that the executioner had already placed her blade on her neck.

"How can you be so heartless...? I thought you said you understood me...? We're the same, aren't we...?"

With her desperate pleas mercilessly rejected, Paola's face twisted into a mix of rage and hatred.

She directed her condemnation, which was akin to a desperate scream, solely at Eloa.

"I understand your anger and despair well. After all, I have experienced them all myself."

"Shut up! You don't know anything! I...! Just for this... I...!"

Eloa looked down at Paola with pitiful eyes as the latter succumbed into her rage.

"Your grief, regret, despair...that wretched feeling of guilt... I've experienced it all. I, too, would have done anything to save Ravi..."

But that was before she met Siwoo.

Maybe, if the one who was standing here was her past self who was wandering around without a goal after losing her target of revenge...

If she considered the Cowardly Witch's proposal with her heart that was just a step away from breaking apart completely...

She probably wouldn't shake her head so easily.

It'd be too arrogant of her to think otherwise.

After all, Eloa never saw herself as someone with a strong mental fortitude.

She could see herself agonizing over this, maybe even extending a helping hand to the desperate Paola, who was on the verge of death.

"But, if I were to use your power to bring her back...she'd definitely be mad at me..."

"Ha! You're making this cowardly choice because you're scared of being hated?!"

"Yes, I'm scared."

Eloa let out a deep sigh.

"I can already picture it. She'd yell at me, asking why I did that, why did I bring her back to life...? But, I know that she'd forgive me eventually. She'd cry, scream, maybe even hit me, get mad at me for a long while, but eventually she'd come around and give this incompetent teacher of hers a hug."

"..."

"After that, I'd spend the rest of my days wandering around, trying to make amends for all my wrongdoings."

"Then...wouldn't it be fine...?"

"But, that's not what she would want. That's just me being selfish. I have to walk the path that was left for me, to grieve those who were gone and keep on moving forward."

"..."

Paola's voice faded, as if she had poured all her energy into her passionate speech and anger.

Her throat was choked by the hot blood that kept oozing out of her lips.

She could sense that her end was near.

Neither of them spoke another word after that.

They had said all they needed to say.

"Anything else you want to say?"

"..."

Now stripped of her last hope, Paola glanced up at Eloa, her eyes looked dead.

In her hollow chest, where even her thoughts refused to bloom, a thick, suffocating hatred blazed like wildfire.

That was the loathing she directed right at the foe who had stolen every ounce of hope from her.

"I hate you."

With that as a cue, Eloa's sword moved, creating a beautiful arc.

The blade glided effortlessly, slicing through Paola's neck while shattering the lotus she leaned on without making a sound.

After she returned the bloodless sword into her subspace, Eloa muttered bitterly.

"Yeah, I understand that feeling too."

After the lotus flower, which was slowly crumbling like a heavily cracked glasswork, collapsed, covering Paola's body beneath it...

Eloa headed towards the place where Siwoo was waiting.