Chapter 50 - Volume 2 (2/2)

「U… u…」

He raises his head from Filmina at the faint groans. When he recognizes the person his sunrise-colored eyes look towards, the flood of magical power grows even bigger, despite Agedilus having no intention of it. ‘Crack,’ he hears the sound of a crack running through something. The magical boundary he had made around the palace begins to reach its limit. Ignoring that, Agedilus just looks at that person——at Celves. The young man’s white mixed with ash hair is supposed to be in neat plaits, but now it’s come undone, and instinctive tears well up in his azure eyes.

Cracks in the earth run towards Celves. Agedilus doesn’t need to chant any spell. He doesn’t even need to pick up his wand. All he has to do is think it. Just with that, Agedilus has enough strength to kill.

「G-ah—!」

‘Thud.’ He puts more pressure on, with Celves in the center.

One by one, the plants in the surroundings get crushed. Celves is made to fall flat on the ground, opening and closing his mouth in a voiceless scream. There’s no expression on Agedilus’s face as he watches it. His white face is beautiful enough that one would fear it; it would certainly captivate anyone who looked upon it, but everyone here knows that this isn’t the situation to carelessly be fascinated by it.

「Stop, Agedilus!」

Holding his sword planted into the ground, Alhelm is close to getting blown away but somehow manages not to, shouting at Agedilus. Agedilus’s sunrise-colored eyes clash with Alhelm’s red-brown ones. A chill runs down Alhelm’s spine at that otherworldly, far too beautiful expressionless face, more doll-like than dolls praised to be the finest works of craftsmanship. But a friend of this beautiful person couldn’t possibly falter from that.

But Agedilus’s reply is blunter than Alhelm hopes for.

「——Why?」

That voice truly sounds confused. It sounds like an innocent child asking his family why the sky is blue. But what it actually says isn’t that lovely at all. With his head tilted, Agedilus asks Alhelm again.

「Someone that hurts Filmina must be worthless to keep alive, right?」

「—you, you idiot!」

At that instant cursing reply, Agedilus’s eyebrows which were stuck as if frozen in place, finally move. ‘Who’s the idiot?’ Even though Agedilus tries to ask that, he can’t. Because even though Agedilus always thought that Alhelm’s foolishly smiling eyes were always lacking for tense situations, now his reddish brown eyes have a serious, certain anger in them, glaring at Agedilus. Agedilus’s sunrise-colored eyes are fiery, shaking and glittering as if matching the whirlpool of magical power, but Alhelm doesn’t falter from them, continuing to shout.

「Ya really think Filmina’s gonna be happy if ya do this?!」

Agedilus blinks once at Alhelm’s shout. He wants to say, ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Agedilus doesn’t need Alhelm to tell him whether Filmina would be happy or not. Filmina would probably be sad if he behaves like this. And she’d definitely be sadder than anyone else. He knows that better than anyone else. But, even so. Even if it means making Filmina sad, even so, there’s something he just can’t forgive.

「————!」

Focusing on Celves, countless cracks run through the ground. No matter how agonizing a face Celves makes, Agedilus harbors no deep emotions, so much that it surprises himself. It’s the same as when a letter from Filmina was stolen at the Academy of Magic——no, it’s worse. He has to clean up. He has to get rid of Celves. Just that one purpose controls him.

「Agedilus!」

Alhelm still calls out to him. ‘Shut up,’ Agedilus mutters on the inside. ‘What do you understand? Like hell you understand.’ Why is Alhelm making that desperate face that doesn’t suit him at all, calling Agedilus, even though he’s usually always pretending to smile? Agedilus can’t understand Alhelm’s intentions as he calls him at all. This isn’t related to Alhelm at all. And yet.

「I’m – begging you!」

‘Why is he getting so desperate?’ Agedilus thinks, holding Filmina. Pleading him in a way that’s so unlike himself, Agedilus can’t think anything but that Alhelm must have gone crazy.

Yes, that’s all he can think, but then why? The pressure he puts on Celves loosens up then. ‘Gah,’ Celves is finally able to breathe properly, his shoulders heaving as he still lies on the ground. Agedilus is shocked at that sight. He meant to kill Celves. He was supposed to kill Celves, and yet.

Alhelm smiles broadly, his entire body hit by magical power, kneeling on one knee, barely managing to support his body with his sword stuck in the ground. That smile deals an even further blow to Agedilus, who watches Alhelm dumbfoundedly.

「Alhelm’s right.」

Agedilus turns to look at that voice, so clear despite the raging magical power around it. He sees Clementine – finding it difficult to even stand straight from the waves of magical power, her silk-like silver hair blowing from the wind – but despite that, she still stands dignified.

She’s clad in a barrier of light magic, which she can use since she received the protection of the goddess. She somehow manages to approach Agedilus, half-running. With that force, she sits with both knees down on the ground, grabbing Agedilus by the collar as he holds Filmina, and raises her hand.

Slap! Strangely, that dry sound echoes loudly even in the torrent of magical power. Agedilus’s sunrise-colored eyes open wide, looking at Clementine who has slapped his cheek relentlessly.

「That’s enough, cut it out! This isn’t what you should be doing right now!」

「What I… should do?」