The two pillars soared high into the sky, twisted together, and came back to earth at breakneck speed. Then they became one big spear and fell straight down onto Maribelle!
“Aaaaaaah!”
The shining white spear pierced Maribelle and pinned her to the ground. As soon as the strength left her body, the light dissipated.
“Elise!” Sasara came running from behind me with a furious look on her face, and I followed. Sasara lifted the collapsed Elise onto her lap, not paying any mind to the black curse surrounding her.
“Elise! Elise!”
Sasara removed the cloak around Elise’s neck and pressed on her chest to encourage her to start breathing. She smacked Elise’s curse-blackened face a few times, and then she cried and held Elise while pressing their cheeks together.
“Come on, Elise! Open your eyes!”
The stadium was filled with screams.
“What was I thinking...?”
I’d made an error in judgment. Maribelle was shining red, so I should have known she would be unpredictable. I’d almost lost my grandmother to her curse!
“I failed to protect someone I love again...”
Why did I let Elise go? I’m the villainess! Elise doesn’t have anything to do with this!
This is all because she got involved with me! I’m the one who changed her fate!
“It’s...my fault...”
I’d been too prideful to think I could save her if it came down to it...that I could make it in time. I’d exposed Elise, someone many people needed, to danger. I’d stolen Elise from everyone.
“I should be the one to die...”
If only I’d accepted my fate according to the plot...
“Don’t say that, Sere...” Lou wrapped his tail around my neck.
“I’ll come down to earth. Let’s use my healing ability.” Asu’s magic approached.
“W-Wait! Asu! Miss Sere, Lou, look at Sasara!”
Everyone looked where Miyu told them to. Inside the black mass containing Elise and Sasara, there was one faint point of light like a firefly. A heartbeat?
“She needs more magic! Sere, give her some of yours!”
Hearing Asu raise his voice for once, I hastily put my hands together and sent magic toward Sasara’s light! Miyu stopped trying to remove the curse and added her own magic. Lou, instead of sending his magic to Sasara, nibbled my neck and replenished my magic; it felt even richer than before.
The faint, fuzzy light gradually gained strength. It went from a dot to a coin, then a coin to a ball, chasing away the darkness around it. When it finally surrounded the two women, there was a sound like glass shattering, and the black mass was blown away! I assumed that included the part that had been inside Elise as well.
The black mass gathered itself up like it had with my grandmother, became an even larger sphere than that time, and flew right at Maribelle. It absorbed itself into Maribelle’s stomach as she lay on the ground, and her skin turned even blacker.
I looked away from the repulsive sight and back to Sasara. Sasara, in her black Trundle uniform, stood up and fixed her loose hair while gently holding Elise in her pure white dress. Sasara was radiating a divine light.
Elise’s body suddenly jerked, and she slowly opened her eyes!
“Sasara... You’re as chivalrous as ever...”
“Elise... I always end up worrying about you...” Sasara sighed.
“She’s been awakened as a saint,” Lou muttered, looking directly at the two.
Asu’s voice sounded from above as well. “She used the power to dispel evil to get rid of the curse. I’m impressed that she removed a curse that Miyu wasn’t able to.”
“Of course she would be awakened with magic from us holy beasts in her...” Lou noted. “Don’t just go around giving magic to people you’re not contracted with, Miyu!”
“B-But... Was that wrong of me, Miss Sere?” Miyu hung her head.
I shook my head. “Of course not. Thank you for helping Elise and Sasara, Miyu.”
“Of course!” Miyu curled up and sprung onto Elise. Sasara’s eyes went wide from the shock of getting a kiss on the cheek from Miyu.
Right, Sasara can probably see Miyu now that she’s received Miyu’s magic. She might even be able to hear her.
I slumped down, and Kodak supported my waist.
“Thank goodness...” A tear rolled down my cheek. I lowered my head so nobody would see.
Elise had made it out alive. I was glad that she was okay, of course, but I was also relieved that I hadn’t made a huge mistake. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to carry that heart-crushing guilt. It was me that had been saved.
I’m...so selfish. Elise fought for my sake, but all I can think about is myself.
No more mistakes. I won’t let anyone I care about stand in front of me again. If anyone’s going to be hurt, it’s going to be me!
“I feel powerless whenever you’re hurt,” I remembered Gillain saying. I finally understood how he felt.
I have to talk to Schneider... I’ll protect everyone else from getting hurt...
Kodak came up to me as I gazed in thought at Elise, Sasara, and Miyu. He wiped my tear away with his thumb.
“You don’t have to fight alone, Miss. You can depend on me. I’m your teacher, you know.”
“...”
“We all love you just as much as you love us. It’s not your fault you made an error in judgment. You trust us enough to give us information, so we all understand what you’re thinking. And if we succeed, it’s thanks to all of us working together.”
I remembered my brother saying something similar recently, but...
“Not even Erza fought on her own. A master’s job is to use their allies well. You’d do well to listen to your elders, Serephione.”
I looked up at Kodak.
“You believed in Elise. Elise teamed up with Sasara based on your trust and got results. What should you do as master?”
“I should...believe in them,” I replied. “Appreciate them. Thank them.”
Kodak ruffled my hair.
“Being together is the best part of life! That’s what being young is all about! Get over there!” He pushed me from behind. Uneasiness still in my heart, I stood up straight in a way that befit a master and went over to Elise, Sasara, and Miyu.
“Thank you, Saint Elise, Sasara, and heavenly beast of the east. I’ll never forget what you did today. Please let me take care of the rest and take some time to recover.”
“But Serephi, I’m your guard...”
I shook my head. I couldn’t have a saint as my guard.
Elise stood up out of Sasara’s embrace and knelt to me. “I wish you good fortune in battle, Saint Serephione.”
Elise should have been entirely out of stamina and emotional energy, but she managed to give me a smile. I really was no match for a saint.
I used Appraisal on the unconscious Maribelle just to be safe. She shone red.
Maribelle (Protagonist of I Love You, My Wild Rose, magic academy student)
Status: Unconscious, weakened by curse (backfired)
Skills: All magic, reincarnated, Autopilot (lessened effect from curse), beloved by the gods
Now that she’d taken such strong backfired curses, there was no way she could continue to act as she had before. Maybe one day she’ll even be able to lift curses this heavy, but she’s not there yet.
“That concludes the fight. Now give back the king,” Ziek said loudly to Schneider from the stands, as if Schneider were only a disruptive kid to him.
“You’re right. In a bit, then.”
“Now.”
Schneider furrowed his brows. “Isn’t that a little hasty?”
“Cut the crap. I don’t believe anything you’re saying, unlike our master. Give him back now. According to our master, you stole him in an instant. You could do the same now.”
Schneider slumped his shoulders, closed his eyes, and said an incantation.
Terl landed once again with a loud thump, and the king was on his back, wrapped in a blanket with his eyes closed. Terl used wind magic like a cushion to gently bring the king to the ground. He didn’t seem injured from afar.
“Father!” Gardner yelled as he broke into a run toward the stairs at the back end of the field. Gil also leaped from the stands and ran toward the king. He gently picked his younger brother up and ran a finger along his cheek. The king opened his eyes.
“I’m sorry... You can rest now,” said Gil to his brother with an empty look on his face. A tear fell from his uncovered eye.
“Sere.” Asu’s voice sounded in my head from above. “There are traces of healing magic having been used on him. Terl’s magic too. But it doesn’t look like any of it worked, unfortunately...”
“I see...”
Gil left, carrying the king, and Gardner and Cecil went after him.
I turned toward Schneider. “As you can see, the next king is your uncle Gilbert. Now that there’s no more battle for the throne, why aren’t you pulling out or negotiating?”
“Would you pull out after I tried to kill your former master?”
“If that was in the people’s best interest.”
“I could attack someone close to you again.”
“...”
“You’re not on my side,” he said as if admonishing me for my naivete.
I’d honestly thought that if he would just bow down to me, I could think of some way to put him in his place other than fighting him. Still, at this point, my friends and family wouldn’t assent to anything but beating Schneider into a pulp.
“So, tell me again... What do you want from me if you win, Serephione?”
“I want you to lay down your arms and swear a pact of nonaggression toward me, my friends and family, and Trundle. Make me believe what you said about not lying to me again. If Maribelle attacks us again, stop her yourself.”
“This means the only way to end this is for you and Sere to fight,” Lou said.
“Good insight... Lou of the west, was it? Speaking of which, the heavenly beast of the east has been sticking close to you. I’m surprised she’s with you and not the saint. That makes three holy beasts I’m up against...” Schneider smiled wryly. Now that he knew about Miyu, there was no point in keeping the illusion on.
“So, it’s been two and a half years.”
Schneider took a red rose from his chest, enjoying the scent.
“Show me how much you’ve grown, Serephione.”