Chapter 73: Chapter 70: Scattering Flower
Something that should never have been allowed to happen had come to pass. Everything was supposed to have ended. The witch had been sealed away, and everything was finally over.
And yet, Verner's powers had gone haywire and ruined everything.
There were several reasons for that. First of all, he'd lost the pendant that helped him control them in the midst of the battle. Second, Alexia's strong desire to die had prompted the powers lurking inside Verner to act. The most crucial reason, though, was Verner's lack of resolve. While controlling his powers was incredibly difficult, it should have been possible at his current level. However, Verner himself had started wishing for the witch to disappear. He'd thought that, if it hadn't been for her, his parents wouldn't have cast him away. Then, he wouldn't have met Ellize and doomed her.
He knew that none of this was truly Alexia's fault—she was also a victim. When he saw Alexia weeping and screaming, he had felt a pang of compassion for her. He'd wondered if she truly deserved all this. His mind said no, but—somewhere deep down—his heart whispered yes. Even though his brain understood, his heart didn't, and he couldn't temper his hatred.
Had someone asked, he wouldn't have been able to swear that no part of him wished for her to be punished.
At the same time, though, another part of him wanted to put her out of her misery rather than let her suffer forever inside the seal. He and the others had painted the witch as the villain the entire time, but in the end, they'd done nothing but avert their eyes from the truth. He couldn't do so anymore. Faced with her distorted expression of fear, screams, and tears, he'd been forced to see the real witch. Killing her now would be mercy. He'd even felt an itch to do so. A messy whirlpool of emotions troubled his heart. Verner was caught between hatred and compassion. With him in this state, a little push from within had probably been enough for the dark powers inside to take over.
The result? A dark spear buried deep inside Alexia's chest—a fatal blow.
As far as Verner was concerned, it had been a mishap, sure, but not a tragedy. The first witch's grudge would pass to the person who'd killed the current witch. Since he wasn't the saint, he'd most likely simply die. Even if he did go mad and attack people because the witch's powers overwhelmed him, Ellize, Alfrea, and Eterna were right there. They'd be able to stop him.
You reap what you sow, Verner thought. He hadn't been able to control his own emotions, and now he had to pay the price. That was just how things were.
The real tragedy, though, hit after.
Before Alexia had breathed her last, the chains that'd been restricting her started glowing.
Verner immediately understood what had happened. Ellize had most likely dealt the final blow, and he knew why. He was about to die, and Ellize had thrown away her own life to save him.
"L-Lady Ellize? Wh-What's going on? What did you just do?!" Layla screamed.
No, he tried to calm himself. The chains just glowed, we don't know yet.
He prayed he was wrong, but Ellize shattered his budding hope as quickly as it had appeared.
"I killed Lady Alexia," she said calmly. "The witch's grudge and her powers will be transferred to me shortly."
This was the one thing that shouldn't have been allowed to happen. The best of times could turn into the worst ones in the blink of an eye. The faces of the people present fell at once. Despair had taken over. In a few years, Ellize would turn into the worst witch the world had ever known—or so most of them thought. Verner's despair was different. In fact, it was much greater because he knew the truth.
And Ellize's next words would soon plunge the others deep into the abyss along with him.
"Don't worry, I won't become a witch," she said with a smile.
Layla's eyes lit up. Thank God, she thought, she knew what she was doing.
Now that Layla thought about it, Ellize had been saying that she wouldn't turn into a witch from the start. She'd told her she'd change the saint's fate and break the cycle.
However, what Ellize had meant and what Layla had understood didn't exactly match up.
"How could I...when I'm not the saint?" she added.
The thunderous revelation stunned everyone.
She wasn't the saint? The greatest saint in history, the miracle worker Ellize, wasn't the saint? How could she not be?
That doesn't make any sense, everyone but Verner and Alfrea thought. If she's not the saint, there simply can't be one.
As if she'd read their minds, Ellize continued, "Eterna is this generation's saint. And I'm...nothing but a fake who happened to be born in the same village."
"That's a lie..." Layla whispered.
She was frozen in place, as though she'd been abandoned in the middle of a raging blizzard. A striking sense of dread she'd never felt before in her life took over her body, and she shook uncontrollably. She couldn't even tell where she was anymore.
Ellize wasn't the real saint. She'd never heard anything so shocking. In fact, she struggled to believe it. How could she have performed all of those miracles if she wasn't the saint?
Layla shook her head. None of that actually mattered, and she wasn't the slightest bit disappointed. Whether she was the saint or not, Ellize was Ellize, and there was no changing that. She was the master she ought to serve...and the one person she loved more than anything. Her loyalty was to her, even if the real saint was someone else.
What she did feel, though, was fear. If Ellize wasn't the saint, only one fate awaited her after taking in the witch's powers.
"I'm sorry for lying to everyone for so long," Ellize said. "My deceit ends today. I'm giving you back your rightful place, Eterna."
Eterna stared at Ellize, her mouth soundlessly opening and closing. The reality of what she'd just heard hadn't quite sunk in yet, but she understood the weight of the word "end" in Ellize's mouth.
"Someone who isn't the saint cannot inherit the witch's powers. When these powers enter a vessel that isn't sturdy enough to receive them, they break it. But fear not—once I die, they won't pass to the next saint, even if she's present. The incredibly long cycle of suffering ends with me."
"No..." Fiora said, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe Ellize was saying it as though it was the way things ought to be. She must have planned this from the start, she realized.
Alfrea's appearance and the possibility of sealing the witch had come after. She'd probably decided to go along with Alfrea's plan thinking that even if it didn't work, she could still fall back on her initial idea. She'd always intended to bear all of the burden herself.
"I've always wanted to apologize to you the most, Layla," Ellize continued. "I know you take great pride in serving the saint, yet I tied you to my side when I was nothing but a sham. I don't think you'll ever forgive me, but please know I'm sorry."
"L-Lady...E...llize..." Layla could barely speak through her sobs. "No... I-I..."
She wanted to tell Ellize that she was wrong. She didn't care if she was a fake or the real deal. Her saint was, and would always be, Ellize. She tried her hardest, but her voice wouldn't come out.
Unfortunately, time waited for no one. Black miasma started seeping out of the crystal and flowing into Ellize's body. The transfer was underway.
"Ah... AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Layla roared, pulling out her sword and slashing at the miasma in a frenzy.
However, no matter how many times she hit it, nothing happened. A sword couldn't cut through intangible magic. All Layla achieved was a ridiculous, almost comical-looking fight against the air.
"Layla," Ellize said.
She knew better than anyone how futile Layla's struggle was. Ellize rested her hand over Layla's, and her knight dropped her sword, crushed by her powerlessness. If the miracle worker herself affirmed that something was impossible, then it must be. Ellize brought her hand to Layla's cheek and wiped away her tears. She smiled and gazed at Layla as though she understood everything the knight couldn't say.
"Thank you," Ellize said.
Those two little words carried a plethora of feelings.
Layla desperately wanted to answer, to say something, but her throat betrayed her once more. Instead, she embraced Ellize as tightly as she could in an attempt to convey her feelings. She looked almost like a little girl clinging to her mother, and although Ellize was shorter than Layla, she started patting her knight's head gently. Ellize's last act of kindness made Layla even sadder. She was going to lose her. Soon, Ellize would disappear forever. She'd never smile at her again; she'd never caress her hair again.
That was what death was—an endless separation you had no way to fight.
As she comforted Layla, Ellize looked at the others. "There will never be another witch. This millennium of pain is over. This world can finally start moving forward. I won't be here with you, but...I wish for all of you to be happy."
Cruelly ignorant of the situation, the curse hadn't stopped its transfer. The trail of miasma seeping out of Alexia's body was gradually growing thinner. Before long, the process would be over. And, when that happened, Ellize would die.
Needless to say, Ellize herself was aware of that, but she wanted to devote her last moments to them.
"Your era starts now," she said encouragingly, a final smile on her face. As those last words left her lips, Ellize collapsed.
Layla held her slender body up, hugging her even tighter. She'd felt the girl's body go still. Her body was still warm in her arms, but there was no life left inside of it—no soul. She was gone for good. She knew there was no coming back.
Ellize's eyes fell shut, and the flower she wore in her hair fell apart. Ellize's magic had kept it in full bloom all these years, but without it, it had turned back into a regular, unremarkable flower. The scattering petals served as yet another reminder that Ellize's time was over.
She was gone.
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"No... This has to be a lie... Tell me it's a lie! Lady Ellize, please! Please open your eyes!" Layla sobbed as she hugged her master's lifeless body. Her usual dignified appearance was marred by a mess of tears and snot.
No matter how many times Layla begged her to, Ellize didn't open her eyes. Eventually, Layla was forced to accept that she was clinging to an empty shell.
She suddenly remembered something Ellize had told her once.
"Everything will be all right, Layla. Your saint won't die."
She'd been talking about Eterna, not herself, Layla realized.
"I-I... I don't care...if you're a fake... I just w-wanted you...to stay by my side... To me, y-you're the only one. You are the real one!" Layla shouted. Her sobs made her words almost unintelligible.
"Everything will be all right. I promise I'll create a future where everyone can smile. A true happy ending."
Ellize had never included herself in that promise. She didn't exist in the happy ending she'd envisioned.
Layla held on to the last of Ellize's warmth as she wondered, How could she smile through this all?
She screamed and bawled like a child, unable to hold her feelings back. She'd forgotten all about the prestige and dignity a member of the saint's guard ought to maintain. No one here would mock her for this.
Around her, everyone wept. Verner fell to the ground, crying silently.
The somber spectacle was nothing like the happy ending Ellize had pictured.
(2k word count)
A/nThis is the end of volume 3, please look forward to the next volume i really like volume 4. So please stay tuned💞💞.
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