Sudden and sharp, that growing pain within me aches and grinds like a dying bell.
Silently perched on a tall tree by the spring in the heart of the Forest of Bewitching Trees, I look down at the clearing. Below my gaze, a quivering girl with the same attribute as me fought desperately against the monsters, lonely tears flowing down her lone blue eyes. Her opponent was the mighty Giant Trent and its spawn.
Just a little behind her, the other members of her “party” mockingly stole from that which they had promised her as a reward for halting the monsters: a decent meal. They laughed as they grabbed the little hope she had and ran.
What…? What is this…?! Is this really fine for you…?!
Being used as a pawn, having even the little promises taken away from you, and still choosing to dedicate yourself to that damned party to the bitter end?! Even if it’s clear you won’t last much longer…? Even though you have no chance of winning? Why…?!
Is it because of your Dark attribute? Because you have nowhere else to go? Is that why you have to endure it? No matter the suffering, until you’re buried in the dirt, you… Do we have to endure this…?
At this rate, you’re really going to die a pointless death—
“Thrust, pierce, gouge…!”
At that moment, in tandem with the girl’s shout, her tattered cloak fluttered once more to the wind. The red etchings across her body gleamed and multiplied, lunging themselves all at once at the Giant Trent.
The sharp talon-like tips of her markings impaled the hollow mouth-like crevices of the gigantic monster, carving and gradually burrowing its insides. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Huh? Could it be she’s aiming at the monster’s core?!
“I won’t die…! I will live…! That’s why, I will gouge you out!”
What had I been seeing all this time? Had I misunderstood it all on my own?
That girl hadn’t given up.
Even as she bleeds, even as she’s thrown away and isolated from everyone else, she still searches for a way to survive.
Her figure… One of a continuous struggle for survival; one of a persistent hope, of fighting for one’s future… It all impacted my laden heart.
She was so dazzling, so radiant to me. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“If you have nowhere to go, why not join our party, eh? Oh? Is it about you having a Dark attribute? Haha, you don’t need to hesitate about that. Because right now, you’re just perfect for us!”
Yes. She shone so much brighter than that Hero of Light and his fake smile.
Before I even realized it, a blade gleamed in the dawn. When I came to, my body was already on the move. I had jumped
The Giant Trent, whose branches had been snapped and cut from its trunk with my blade, emitted a scream-like shrill from its hollow mouth.
“…Huh? Who…?” The petite Cursemaker opened her moon eyes wide, looking up at me as I descended from the gigantic tree.
Together with my swung blade, something within me ground. It wasn’t pain, nor an anguished scream, but rather a roar.
As if bursting forth, what gushed out of my very being was fervent and warm.