Two new teardrops fell down her already wet cheeks. “The worst thing is...that Leki’s thoughts mirror my own. Leki wants to set me free because I want that too, from the bottom of my heart. That’s terrible, isn’t it? And I said I’d never let Leki do something like that again.”
“There’s no way you could have that...” Orphen said, staring down the gun barrel. He searched his memories—he’d destroyed that gun himself. There might still be bullets left, but there was no way it would shoot them. Well, there was a chance, he supposed. Freak accidents were always a possibility.
Facing each other like this, he wasn’t sure if it was him or Claiomh who was in more danger. Orphen continued his questions.
“It’s strange that you know how to use it too. How—”
“It’s so strange here, isn’t it? It’s like... It’s like...before you know it, there’s a weapon in your hand. I know how to use it too...” Claiomh’s eyes drifted like she was dreaming.
Orphen flinched in surprise. “Something’s controlling you.”
“That doesn’t matter. It’d be so easy to shoot myself with this thing, so I wonder why...I can’t do it.”
Was it out of fear or disgust? The barrel of the gun shook in Claiomh’s hands. Her finger was on the trigger. It could go off at any moment.
“Orphen... You can’t say for sure that you won’t let anyone die, right? You can’t stop me from dying, can you?”
“Even if you threaten to shoot me, I won’t kill you. You don’t need me to tell you that, do you?” Orphen told her, determined.
Claiomh nodded, uncharacteristically honest. “Yeah...you’re right. I couldn’t shoot you anyway.” She shifted, turning the gun to point toward someone else—toward Colgon.
She wasn’t shaking anymore either. She held the weapon with perfect form, aiming straight at her target.
She’ll hit him if she shoots like that...
He was more nervous now than when the gun had been pointed at him. Colgon was just staring coldly at Claiomh. If she shot him, Colgon would kill Claiomh. Orphen was sure of it. But he couldn’t be sure that he could stop it if he intervened...
He got a sense of the distances for a second. He was still a few steps away from Claiomh. Colgon and Claiomh had more distance between them, but Colgon wouldn’t be picky about how he killed her. The lord was right next to Colgon and seemed to be protecting Claiomh from his earlier actions. On the other hand...
He’s not trying to stop her from pulling the trigger...?
It was only instinct, but that was the sense Orphen got. The lord wanted to kill Colgon. He might not stop her if Claiomh tried to.
Heartia was right above him, but he was farther away than anyone else. The same went for Lottecia.
He couldn’t upset the balance of the situation. Orphen took a quiet breath and slowly said, “You’re right. There are no miracles in this world. There are no gods. There’s nothing for you to pray to.”
His composure didn’t last long, though. His voice cracked as he stared at Claiomh aiming the gun. “That’s why...we have to think hard for ourselves. You said that to me. No, I guess you didn’t say it, but you granted me that thought.”
Normally, he wouldn’t consider the distance between them significant. He could close it in an instant. But he couldn’t reach out to her and he couldn’t run over. All that could reach her was his voice.
“So don’t cry! There’s another way! Maybe there aren’t miracles, but there’s something like them! If there weren’t, how would anyone live?!”
There was no change in Claiomh’s expression, but her lips parted ever so slightly. It wasn’t enough movement to shift her from her shooting stance. “Leki...cried. In Nashwater. In front of me. In front of Ryan. Why did he cry? I didn’t know. I never figured it out. I still don’t know. He sounded so sad. So...”
She was concentrating, so there was no inflection in her voice. It sounded like she was reading the words off a page. “I thought he would leave. But he came back right away.”
Her composure didn’t last long either. She screamed fiercely, “If that was a miracle, then it’s all the more reason why I need to do something for Leki!”
Don’t shoot! Orphen willed the thought, since there was no time to voice it.
Claiomh squeezed the trigger and the hammer fell, firing a lead bullet from the gun’s barrel.
The gun jumped, the recoil slamming into the girl’s arms.
Orphen couldn’t follow the bullet’s trajectory with his eyes, but the first shot hit somewhere to the side of Colgon, deflected with a metallic sound—the sword in Colgon’s hands shone and the buzz of the insect wings intensified. He must have utilized some defensive effect. One powerful enough to protect against a bullet.
She pulled the trigger again on momentum. Another bullet flew after the same sequence of events.
However...
The lord had reached out casually. His hand was extended toward Colgon, but it wasn’t Colgon that he’d touched. His fingers landed on the glowing sword and the light of the blade suddenly vanished along with the buzzing of the insect wings.
For the first time in a long while, Orphen saw distress on Colgon’s face.
With an eardrum-piercing cacophony, Colgon’s sword fell to pieces—the bullet must have struck it. Colgon couldn’t even keep the grip of the sword in his grasp—it flew from his hand and hit the wall, falling to the floor.
It wasn’t over.
Claiomh was bent backward from the recoil of the gun. It would take her a second to adjust her position.
Orphen kicked the floor, intending to make use of that moment.
At the same time, something shoved him from behind. He tried to get low and avoid it, but he didn’t make it in time.
Shoving Orphen, Majic leaped forward, completely unexpectedly.
Claiomh was already in position again.
She was only aiming the gun at Colgon, but she must have noticed Majic. Her gaze wavered for a second.
If he got too close, she could shoot him accidentally. In that situation...
✦ ✦ ✦
