372 369. First betrayal.txt (2/2)

Once again, the light of the 《Level Up》 tries to spread.

Romis tried to hold it down by spreading the flames thinly, but the Master's light broke through Romis' flames and filled the entire central sanatorium.

'I may be inferior to you in flame, but not in this one!　The 《Level Up》 I developed to heal Yangtaki is all I have!

The light repeats the exact same scene as yesterday, in the same place.

The ”demon poison” that had accumulated in the patients around them was converted into the power to live, and they were relieved of their pain without a second thought.

Everyone says that they feel healthier than before they were sick, and it's as if they are dreaming.

'The pain in my body is gone and I feel lighter ....... What is this ......?

What?　Ouch, no ......?　My body doesn't hurt!

'Hi, light ......?　A light brighter than a flame is fuller than a flame: ......

The Master performs more 'miracles' than Romis, and then roars with the momentum of the battle.

'He wants to be cured!　Hoping for a cure, a cure, a cure, I came to Fania!　I never want to see anyone else suffer from a disease ever again!　Only this wish will not be swallowed up, even if it is your fire!

Unlike yesterday, my master was complete.

He was able to perform the 'ideal' figure of me and my patients without contorting his face.

'The one who steals the reason of the dimension', Aikawa Uzumi, played brilliantly as the 'savior' who came from another world to dispel the 'demonic poison' of the world - the patients who were watching the battle began to wonder who their real ally was.

'The boy who is now fighting the Lord-sama over there, this light ......?

'You saved me with that light?　Us?

Nonsense. Then why would my lord fight that boy--

The source of Romis' power is that the city of Fania itself is the 'price to pay'. In order for that to happen, the people of the territory must believe in the 'Altfel religion' and the prophet lord must be respected.

There is now a hole in that power.

In the center of Fania, a gaping hole - people who believe in the Light of the Aikawa Whirlpool Wave instead of the Altoffel religion - has appeared.

The change will really affect the flame of Lomis.

'Kook, the flames flicker ......!

Not yet--!

Master's 《Level Up》 did not stop.

The next step was to apply it not only to the patients, but also to the fire giants.

This is a unique application of 《Level Up》, a 'spellcraft' that specializes in conversion.

Romis transformed the people into flames, and the master begins to turn them back in the opposite direction.

Nevertheless, compared to the normal 《Level Up》, its perfection is low and very forceful. Even if Master consumed an ample amount of 'Demon Poison', they would not all be neatly restored.

Of the more than a dozen flaming giants that were lined up, about half of them turned into burnt corpses, while the rest turned back into soldiers with full body burns.

The soldiers who had returned to their former state seemed to have memories of their time as the flame giant, and while rejoicing in their survival, they shouted resentment at their bosses who betrayed them.

''Ha, ha, ha--, did you get saved?　Is it because of that boy's light: ......?

”Or, I can't move. ......!　d*mn, there's that guy over there: ......!

That bastard!　Romis Nayshaa--!

The man with the least amount of burns among the returning soldiers wobbled forward to impeach his former superior.

'Romis!　You can't have enough of demons, not even your own soldiers, who have served you to this day!　You want to control everything to that point!

His voice reverberated throughout the central recuperation room.

The soldier's blood-changing appeal was enough to accelerate the agitation of the surrounding patients.

If this continued, it would be known that the material of the flaming giant earlier was human.

If that were to happen, the 'price' of faith would all belong to the master, though only in this central sanatorium.

So Romis must have thought of that.

He gave up the push of his flaming sword and kicked the master in front of him, taking a large distance away from him. He then begins to gather the flames to end it all in the opposite hand of the one with the 'Heart of the Flame God'.

The flames, the flames in the room, gather together and condense into a spherical shape.

I can feel the rise in temperature on my skin.

My throat inhales the burned air and my lungs feel like they are going to be burned.

Above all, the color of the condensing flames was extraordinary.

From red to blue, blue to white - the flames were sublimating.

That sphere of fire specialized in incineration makes the viewer believe that death is waiting for them just by getting close.

''Kid. Do you think you've turned the tables just like this?　There are many alternative research institutes. All we have to do is to get rid of this Fiendish Research Institute and we'll get rid of it now. I'll show you my true flame...

When Romis spits those words out, the anger of the soldiers around him reaches its peak, and the murmur of the former patients grows louder. But no one can get close enough to them to face the overwhelming heat of the situation. With the air burning their lungs as well, people instinctively felt threatened and had no choice but to move away.

In the midst of it all, only the master stepped forward to avoid completing his trump card flame.

''Let them or ......!

At that moment, my skills will sense an end.

--perhaps it's a done deal.

That's why I turn my gaze away from the two of them and look for an enemy who isn't here.

If I were that guy, I would move at this time.

Immediately I run towards my master's back as fast as I can.

And with both of my arms broken and useless, I rushed at Tida, the 'Stealer of the Dark Reason' coming out of Master's shadow.

''Teeda Landsh!''

As expected, Tida was about to pounce on me again, from her master's blind spot.

Thanks to that one too much of a pattern of surprise attacks, I succeed in colliding with my body from Tida's blind spot.

''--?

By shifting Tida's body, the muddy dagger that was about to reach my master's back cuts through the air.

I quickly regain my position and stand between Tida and Master.

I stare at the enemy in front of me with a desperate determination to not let him interfere with my master even if I present myself - but my master denies that decision.

''Tiara!　No need!　Tida's one of us!　You don't have to stop!

He stopped me by shouting that he was a friend, not an enemy.

At that statement, Tida, the enemy in front of me, showed me a strong upset, even though she was noh-ish. Of course, I'm like, ”Huh! I opened my big mouth and turned back.

There was my mentor, looking only at Romis and trusting us both.

'I still believe Tida is my friend. So if you have something important you want to say to Tida now, I'll listen. --I've got to listen.

Even though he had been betrayed, stabbed, and nearly stabbed again, his master never turned around.

On the contrary, he stopped completely.

''Ba, stupid Master ......!

”What--?

My and Tida's confusion grows many times over.

Even now, Romis, who is in front of me, is gathering heat, not just in the room, but all of Fania, to complete his trump card flame. The heat is like the sun, which is incomparable to the flames we've seen so far. When it is completed, all of them will die.

In that moment-to-second killing contest, if you're going to listen to your friends' opinions, you're still going to listen to a traitor?

--That's impossible. It's crazy.

But that abnormality was 'The One Who Steals the Reason of the Dimension' Aikawa Uzumi.

In front of that figure, Tida also became confused and shouted unbearably.

''Ugh, lie to me ......!　Lie to me!

More than anyone else, 'The One Who Steals the Dark Reason' doubts the trust of his fellow 'The One Who Steals the Dimensional Reason', and he questions the trust of his peers.

'What can I trust!　There is no one in the world who can trust a coward like me!　When you say you believe in something, you can't mean it!　I know what I'm talking about, Kanami!　You're like an empty vessel!　All the pretty things you say are borrowed!　What do you think you're doing underneath that stinking skin!　Let me hear it first!

Unlike Romis, Tida saw the essence of her master.

He declares that if he doesn't show the depths of his heart, there can never be a 'trusting relationship'.

Hearing the request, the master immediately responds.

'Tida ....... Maybe I'm just like you. I'm afraid to live, too, and I can't stand it.

He said he would listen to the story, but time is probably running out.

Before Romis gave birth to the sun, the master spits out his true feelings as they are, without thinking about the decorated words. It was exactly the spur-of-the-moment answer that Tida had sought in the first place.

'I can't see anything in this darkness ...... and it's dark, dark, dark, and for a long time I don't know where to go ....... So I have no choice but to believe in the 'ideal' inside me. There's nothing more for me to do ...... except to get there, because there's nothing else for me to do .......

I didn't understand the reply.

But Tida was terribly sympathetic. Deep in the hollow space in that noh mask, she groaned, ”Oh, ahhh, ahhh, ......” and her whole body was shaking.

'I don't know what you want to do with Romis, I don't know. But I do know that you want someone to believe in you, and you want someone to believe in you. And I want to make that wish of yours come true: ......!　So, no matter what happens from now on, I will believe in you to the end!

Thus, like a mirror, the master finishes answering Tida's most wanted words.

The figure must have been truly 'ideal'. Tida, as with me, knew it was wrong, but she couldn't stop admiring and listening to it, even though she knew it was wrong.

'Kanami ....... You can only live by other people's 'ideals'. That's the depth of your heart - or the 'crack' of your mind, okay?

I don't know if that little confirmation from Tida reached the Master.

But as if to affirm it, the Master ran out.

Following Master's back with his eyes, Tida compared the two men ahead of him.

'Romis' and 'Vortex Wave'

The Lords of Phania and the thief of dimensionality.

A friend who has been with you since you were born and a friend who you only met yesterday.

A friend who only wants to take advantage of others and a friend who continues to trust you no matter how many times you betray them.

If I were in Tida's position, I would trust my master without hesitation.

But he grasped his own head tightly with both hands, contorted his noh mask and the hollow of his mouth to the limit, and let out an inarticulate snarl, lost.

At the end of it, Tida fell to her hands and knees in her own shadow.

She murmurs in a small voice that only I can hear next to me as she melts into the darkness and disappears, as if she were sinking into a swamp.

'Yeah, Kanami is weak ....... Just like me, she's really weak ....... That's why I can only believe in that 'crack' ....... It's not what I wanted, but is that the answer to 'The One Who Steals the Dark Reason' ......

I could tell that the 'test' that Tida had said before she betrayed me was over.

Deciding that Tida was no longer a threat, I released my stance and turned my gaze to my mentor and Romis.

There, all the preparations had been made and Romis was smiling high, holding up a sphere of pure white fire. Master, who had been late to the party because of his conversation with Tida, was about to pounce on him.

''Kuhn, hahahahaha!　Nice stall, my friend!　Well done, you've got my attention!　Thanks to you, my best flame is more than enough to complete it!　Let's end it all with this sunshine!

Just in time!

I look off that last page with relief.

As I kept my distance from the battle between the two of them, I could see clearly.

I could see where Tida was going - as she melted into darkness behind me and disappeared behind me.

”-- Yeah, it's over. Lomis.

Thanks to the raised sun, Romis' shadow was darker.

From the darkness of that shadow, Tida emerged and stabbed a dagger into his abdomen from behind.

Romis, who was concentrating only on his master in front, was unable to avoid the deadly blade.

''--?　Tee, Tida?

Romis turns his eyes only to the back of his head and calls out his name when he sees the man who has been forced to do so.

Then, when Romis realizes that he was stabbed, he immediately throws away the 'Heart of the Flame God' in his hand and puts his hand on the wound to try to stop the bleeding.

The moment Romis' consciousness turns to self-defense, Tida mercilessly activates the spell technique 《Dark》. That overflowing darkness enveloped the sun in the air.

Then, as if digesting it with her stomach as it was, she easily absorbed all the flames and converted them into darkness.

Tida amplified the darkness as she spoke to Romis, who was poking his knees in pain.

'It takes no training to wield a sword. Just as I taught you, my friend. ...... Oh really, you were right about everything. That's great, Lomis. Unlike me, you're an amazing guy ...... and have always been my dream for a long time.

Tida ”was” and speaks of it as being over.

Romis can see that he's finished betraying his friend and intends to abandon him, and he cries out to create a new flame.

'You ......!　Tida!　Teadaaaaaaaaaa--!

However, just as the flames were about to flare up, Romis clenched his hand against his abdomen tightly and stubbed out.

''Guh, gaa--!

The mud that Tida had laced the wound with must have doubled Romis' pain.

The intense pain would not allow Lomis to use the flame.

It was no longer possible for Romis to use the 'power of the flame' without Tida's permission.

At the same time as acknowledging this, I also understand the foulness of Tida's ”Power of Darkness”. The most advanced techniques, such as ”spells” and ”miracles,” require steady emotions and concentration. And yet, the Power of Darkness lightly disrupts that premise.

Even the master in front of Romis, who collapsed in pain, decided that the game was over and sheathed his sword in the scabbard at his waist.

'Tida, thank you for your help ......'

'Oh ....... That was just in the nick of time, because of me. ......

''The one who steals the reason,'' the two looked at each other and nodded at each other for the success of their joint fight.

Sandwiched between them, Romis slammed a shouting summons into Tida, his body shaking in small increments.

'Tida!　We've been friends since we were born, haven't we!　And yet, you trust such a shady man!　Rather than this me, the one I knew yesterday and today!

The only way Romis can turn the tables from here is through Tida.

He will be able to persuade him through 'fraud', even though he is in pain.

'Reconsider!　You've forgotten what you said earlier!　All you have to do is listen to me!　I know you better than anyone!　That's the only way I can make you happy!

With every word, Tida nodded back and moved closer to Romis.

Then she brings her muddy hands close to his face.

'My friend!　Do you understand?!

Romis found hope in Tida's soft movements.

But just as their cheeks touched, Tida stopped her hands and began to speak.

'Romis. Now, I repent. Listen to me.

Romis scowled at the words, which had nothing to do with the fight at all.

'What?　Za, penance, you mean: ......?

The whole time they were talking, mud flooded from Tida's feet and wouldn't stop. Furthermore, the air around the two of them became darker and darker everywhere.

It was the exact same scene as the master earlier, though different in color and nature.

The mud and darkness swelled as Tida abandoned her friend.

He also used each word as a 'price', and now 'the one who steals the reason for the darkness' seemed to be completing.

Finally, the mud filled the central sanatorium, creating a pitch-black pond.

Those who had been kept away by the sun of Lomis had no choice but to leave the room in the face of the disaster of that mud pond. Even the soldiers, tainted with rage, were leaving, carrying their wounded comrades on their backs.

It was a crisis for Lord Romis, but not a single one of his lordship's people rushed to him.

We were left alone in the middle of the pitch-black pond, and the penance was done.

'Romis, all the nightmares in this city are attributed to me, 'the one who steals the truth of darkness'. And you, who were my childhood friend, are the biggest victim of my 'curse' more colorfully than anyone else.

First and foremost, Tida shook her head that the man who had been her friend was innocent.

At that moment, she felt the complexion of the master next to her distorted.

-- my childhood friend (・・・・), the 'curse (...)' (...), the biggest victim (・・・・・・).

I take a step back.

There is no doubt that the story of the two men now is coming to an end. But I dare to turn that last page, including not only Romis and Tida, but also my master in my view.