Chapter 277
Chapter 277. As an Older Brother (3)
Gradually, my vision began to flicker. My body was protesting that continuous battles in such poor conditions were harsh, but I found it truly frustrating that I couldn't comply.
"Again?"
I thought to myself, filled with complex emotions. Is it happening again?
Experiencing the brink of death has now become too frequent to describe with words.
It's not as if I lack the experience to be swayed by these situations.
However, I began to think that confronting the enemy without 'armor' was occurring far too often.
"Haaa."
What can I do? My fate has started to twist in this way.
"Any last words?"
Ariam, with a gaze stained with anger, looked at me while staring at Aihan's dead body.
Holding a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right, she was ready to shoot at any moment.
"Please deliver this message to Sir Aihan."
Watching her add unnecessary words, I gave a bitter smile.
Pain and mana exhaustion.
My stomach hurt as if my insides were twisting, and the world swayed with dizziness, yet I wanted to sneer.
"Your swordsmanship was so poor, it made me yawn."
A disposition akin to a disease. I already knew what kind of outcome would occur if this were revealed to the world.
Swish──!
Ariam immediately shot an arrow at me.
Normally, deflecting an arrow slicing through the wind with a sword would be convenient, but I held no weapon now.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have broken the sword. No, I shouldn't have thrown the Moonstone Sword!
With wavering legs and waist bent as much as possible, the arrow narrowly missed my head.
"Ugh."
Now I felt pain even in the act of bending my knees. However, I knew that arrow was merely a prelude.
"Stop struggling unnecessarily and die!"
No matter how sluggish my body had become, following Ariam with my gaze was not difficult.
She drew the bow again. I could see faint mana flowing at her fingertips.
She had intentions of doing something. Feeling this, I managed to lift Aihan's fallen body.
"You cowardly bastard!"
What's so cowardly?
Not only did you gang up on me two-to-one, but you also used the power of a "holy relic."
As I threw the lifeless Aihan towards Ariam, the arrow flew off in a strange direction.
It seemed she changed its trajectory in a hurry.
'Now's my chance.'
Given my current condition, prolonging the battle wouldn't lead to anything good. No, it was a situation where losing was inevitable.
"I have to finish it this time!"
Thanks to blocking that one attack with 'Aihan', the distance between me and Ariam had noticeably closed.
If the distance was closed, even without a weapon, I could do something.
If only the distance was closed.
"Aaargh!"
Just as I felt some hope, searing pain spread through my body as if a hot iron was branding me.
"D'you think I wouldn't know what you were planning? Did you think you'd automatically win if you got up close?"
Suppressing the burning pain as much as possible, I slowly raised my head and noticed the "Mirror of Isaac" in Ariam's hand.
"I was waiting for that! For the moment you closed the distance!"
Muttering in a furious voice, Ariam gradually approached me. As the reflection of me in the mirror grew larger, 'Angelica' inside of me started to stir.
"A monster growing a demon inside you!"
Shut up.
"Bring my brother back!"
Why are you yelling at me?
'Ugh.'
A surge of nausea. At this rate, I felt like both the 'mana vein' and my whole body would burn away to nothing.
I don't want to die.
I hated it more than anything. I tried to move my legs to retaliate somehow, but my feet, heavy as lead, didn't budge easily.
Gradually, I was brought to my knees.
"Uuugh!"
Then, with a pitiful shout, a silhouette lunged at Ariam from the front.
'Who?'
The effect of the holy relic made me lose my composure.
Still, since someone intervened to block Ariam, the "Mirror of Isaac" didn't turn toward me.
As my flickering, blinking vision finally began to stabilize, I saw Herand.
The figure that appeared before my refocused eyes was none other than Herand. Rushing at Ariam, he grabbed hold of the mirror and was now wrestling with her.
"Let go! Are you insane!?"
"Yulian...! Run away, hurry!"
With a voice strained by despair, Herand attempted to snatch the 'mirror' from Ariam, though it was apparent that he was physically outmatched.
"Let go, you bastard!"
"This time, I will not let go...!"
Ariam's kick reached him, but Herand clung to the mirror in an undignified posture.
"I'd rather die than let go again...!"
"Is that so!?"
Thanks to Herand buying some time, I barely managed to muster the strength to stand again.
"Then you might as well die."
With an indifferent voice, Ariam drew an arrow from the quiver.
My body was slow, and my consciousness hazy, but there was an ominous feeling about Ariam's actions.
Somehow, in desperation, I pushed off the ground. At the same moment, the arrowhead Ariam held pierced Herand's neck.
===
⇒ Emotions have reached a peak.
⇒ Trait, 〈Open Eyes〉 has manifested.
===
My vision blinked.
It wasn't the process of losing consciousness, but the unveiling of my 'subconscious'.
Before I knew it, I found myself directly in front of Ariam.
"You, you...!"
Startled, Ariam tried to retaliate, but I overpowered her, slamming her to the ground.
Once, stagnant water surged like a wave. Within it, Ariam's terrified face came into view.
Above her head, the "Color of Fear" was faintly visible.
Although her expression showed complete loss of will to fight, I reached for her quiver without hesitation.
Grabbing the last remaining arrow, I immediately drove it into Ariam's chest.
"Ugh..."
A handful of blood trickled from her mouth as her lips trembled, looking at me, her emotion shifting from 'fear' to 'anger'.
But that was it. Her quivering lips ceased movement, and her eyes, which had been filled with fury, lost all life.
"Elder brother Herand."
After confirming Ariam's death, I approached Herand. An arrow from Ariam was embedded in his neck.
"Elder brother Herand!"
I called out, but Herand did not answer. In fact, he didn't even react. Kneeling, I examined Herand's complexion.
Blood flowed continuously from his neck where the artery had been pierced.
His face began to pale, appearing as if he was crossing an irreversible river.
"Please, get up."
A wave of guilt crashed over me like the tide. If I hadn't brought Herand along and had simply driven him away as usual, this wouldn't have happened.
If even he were gone, I felt like there would be no one left in this world to hold me to 'family' by blood.
"Please."
If only I had remained numbed by the habit of being 'Yulian', perhaps I wouldn't feel such guilt.
"Ugh."
Hmm?
I looked down. Then I saw Herand's face, which had paled, gradually regaining life.
'What...?'
As I examined the wound at Herand's neck, I noticed something pitch-black wriggling.
Angelica.
It appeared that it was sewing up Herand's wound, taking on the role of the damaged artery to some extent.
'You...'
Wasn't it unable to exert its power because of the 'Mirror of Isaac'?
― Grurrr.
Angelica let out a scream akin to a groan. It too was moving with all its might.
'For a demon.'
Thank you.
***
"Uhmm."
With a groan, Herand sat up. Absentmindedly, he placed his hand on the ground, feeling the soft texture of a bed beneath his fingertips.
"Where... agh."
His whole body was too sluggish to move properly, yet the pain distinctly coursed through Herand's nerves.
'Why am I here?'
As he regained consciousness, Herand slowly started to piece together his memory.
The first thing that came to mind was visiting Yulian to ask him to take the position of 'Head', and then following Yulian until reaching the underground canal.
'Ah.'
A horrifying scene also surfaced in his mind.
He had rushed in to stop Ariam, only to have his neck pierced by her arrow.
Herand hurriedly touched his neck. Pain surged from the pierced wound, indicating that indeed, it wasn't a dream.
Creak.
As Herand struggled to comprehend the situation and felt bewildered, the door to the entrance opened, and a servant entered.
"Sir Herand!?"
Upon seeing Herand up, the servant looked at him with wide, surprised eyes.
"Oh, oh..."
Just as he was about to ask what had happened, the servant hurriedly dashed outside.
Left feeling awkward, Herand let out a small laugh.
"Elder brother Herand."
After the servant left, Yulian was the one who immediately entered.
"Yulian... urgh."
Herand grimaced. When he opened his mouth, pain surged from the wound in his neck that hadn't healed yet.
"It would be wise not to speak for a while. Focus on recovery now."
As usual, Yulian approached with an unreadable eyes and smile. Pulling a chair closer, he sat down in front of Herand.
"Thank you for saving me, elder brother Herand. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here now."
Though it was definitely the usual atmosphere, the tone Yulian used contained an air of respect.
Rather than merely pretending to be polite, Herand felt he was facing 'Yulian' as a person, a genuine human interaction.
"Oh, no. It was only..."
A bout of coughing followed, showing that his neck wound was still far from healed.
"It seems there is no one else but you, elder brother."
Suddenly, Yulian uttered something strange, and Herand suppressed his cough as he looked at him.
What was he saying?
Herand's gaze silently asked Yulian who, in response, deepened his smile.
"As for family head. No matter how much I think about it, someone like me doesn't suit the head's position, but you do, elder brother."
"No, I think..."
"I will not change my mind."
Even though Herand spoke up, enduring the pain, Yulian cut him off with his words.
"Even if I die, I have no intention of playing the head of Cryphart. Should anyone other than Sir Oben to become the head, I wouldn't care for the Cryphart family for the rest of my life."
Inside, Herand's heart began to churn with anguish. He couldn't find any sound argument against Yulian's decision.
There was intense resentment towards the 'Cryphart family' in his words. He understood. It was a legitimate feeling.
After all, it was the Cryphart family that had made him this way.
The emotional rift was so deep it seemed impossible to discern its end. For Herand, to plead with Yulian further seemed to offer nothing but trouble, just as it would be neither more nor less than a bother.
"I'm sorry."
"But if you become the head, elder brother, I will fulfill my duties as a family member."
Herand raised his gaze to meet Yulian's once again.
Clacky's Corner:
My heart dropped when I thought that Herand would die. I didn't know I would care for him that much.
We started the story with Herand fearing Yulian.
Now they have finally gotten closer.
P. S.
23 chapters left.