Sheila stared at me wide-eyed for a long, tense moment...until she cocked her head in befuddlement. “Sorry, come again?”
I nearly stumbled from the anticlimactic response. Well, I guess it did come out of nowhere...
“I want to see my life flash before my eyes,” I clarified. “You know, that thing that happens when you’re on the verge of death.”
“Whatever for...?”
“I need to experience it firsthand to craft a new spell.”
“Ah... Hence why you asked me to try killing you, yes? Not to actually kill you... Very well.” With a hum, Sheila adjusted her grip on Crimson Rose.
But before she could do anything, Lardon suddenly emerged from within me. Sheila winced.
“What’s up?” I asked her.
“I shall protect the lass.”
“Huh? From what?”
“From her,” Lardon answered. “I do not know what you’re planning, but one thing is for certain: This lass will be wiped from existence if she happens to stumble upon this scene.”
“Ohh...”
Naturally, she was talking about Dyphon.
I hadn’t thought of that at all... Lardon made a very good point. Dyphon liked me a lot—even calling me “darling”—and was rather impulsive to boot. If she spotted Sheila’s “attempt” on my life, she would probably fly into a fit of rage and kill Sheila on the spot. There’d be no stopping her then.
Well, I could probably manage as long as I mustered all my strength, but that wasn’t exactly possible while on the verge of death. But Lardon could definitely do it. For better or for worse, she knew exactly how to handle Dyphon. With her on the lookout, I could rest easy.
“Thanks. You’re a huge help.”
Lardon chuckled. “Think nothing of it. This is a small price to pay for the interesting show you are about to put on.”
Meanwhile, Sheila seemed more at ease now that she knew the reason for Lardon’s sudden appearance. “What shall I do, specifically?”
“Aim for his abdomen,” Lardon instructed, drawing both our gazes. “He wants the full near-death experience, yes?”
“I’ve never heard anyone say that before... But yes.”
“For that, piercing his abdomen is your best choice. You could also slice through his waist to sever his top half from the bottom.”
“Hmm, I see... I’ve heard that those executed in such a manner take several minutes to die.”
“Correct. It is an injury which causes a slow death by bleeding out. It’s exactly what he wants.”
“Very well.” Sheila faced me. “Are you ready?”
I nodded.
Sheila bent her knees and held her sword ready at waist-level. Then, in one sharp motion—yet much slower than usual—she thrust out the blade. I neither dodged nor put up a barrier, so her sword cleanly stabbed me through the gut.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Urgh!” I gritted my teeth. “T-Take it out...”
The blade slid out, and a searing pain began to permeate my body from the wound in my abdomen. I staggered briefly but just barely managed to stay on my feet.
“Ah. Here she is.”
I heard Lardon’s muffled voice, followed by tremendous explosions—the sound of immense power clashing in the distance. A shock wave struck my body, flinging me into the air and sending me rolling over the ground.
Endless pain assaulted me from two united fronts. The wound in my abdomen and the bruises all over my body combined worked together to blur my vision and muddle my thoughts. Sounds filtered into my ears, but my mind failed to comprehend them.
Finally, it happened. Just as I’d been hoping for, my life flashed before my eyes.
The days I’d spent before becoming Liam flitted through my mind’s eye in a flash, and the experiences I’d accumulated after becoming Liam blitzed past even faster. The speed at which all these memories replayed made the world around me feel sluggish in comparison.
What a bizarre sensation...
I could still feel time passing, albeit at a painstakingly slow rate. I’d sometimes felt time pass like a sludge on lazy and uneventful days, but it was nothing compared to this.
Once my life finished replaying in my mind’s eye, I felt time speed up once more, signaling that the end was nigh. By now, I’d already gained the very experience I’d wanted, so I finally mustered my energy to cast a healing spell on myself. The magic swiftly sealed the wound in my abdomen and returned clarity to my consciousness.
“Darling!”
The first thing I saw was Dyphon’s face. I took a look around and found that I was lying flat on my back, with Dyphon sitting beside me and peering down at me from above.
I slowly pushed myself up.
“Oh, darling— Agh!” Dyphon wasted no time throwing herself on me, but was held back by Lardon before she could even curl her arms around my neck. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!”
“Leave him be. He’s still healing.”
“Urgh...”
Lardon turned to me. “Well? Have you gained the experience you sought?”
“Yeah. I’ve got the image down pat. Thanks, Sheila...” My gaze wandered a bit in search of the girl, only to find her grimacing a short distance away. “Huh? Sheila? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing...” she mumbled.
“Fret not. She simply received the full brunt of this one’s wrath,” Lardon explained, glancing at Dyphon. “Consider it a necessary fee.”
Taking a better look around, I realized that the terrain had been totally reformed. The devastation quickly reminded me of Lardon and Dyphon’s recent fight to the death. It was easy to see that things had panned out exactly as Lardon had predicted.
“Sorry for putting you through that,” I told Sheila.
The girl harrumphed. “Wh-Whatever do you mean?”
She had every right to be afraid of a divine dragon, but she seemed too embarrassed to admit it anyway. The look that Lardon was sending me affirmed my read, so I figured that I’d best drop the topic entirely.
“In any case, I find you both terribly amusing.” Lardon chuckled. “You, for coming up with such an idea. And that girl, for simply accepting it and stabbing you with no hesitation whatsoever.”
“Really now?”
“Indeed.”
“Why are you guys laughing?!” Dyphon snapped. “Darling! Don’t you ever do something this dangerous ever again!”
Lardon huffed. “It’s pointless. He will do anything for magic. Nothing will stop him.”
“Ugh. Acting like some know-it-all...”
“If you wish to stay by his side, you had best learn to simply watch over him. Or do you want to stop him?”
Dyphon stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and whipped her face away. “Hmph!”
Now that Dyphon was calm, I proceeded to create my new spell while the near-death experience was still fresh in my mind.