Chapter 246
Adela bore the burden of cleaning up.
“He’s dead.”
Lee Han said, having found Abaddon’s body amidst the debris.
His voice was dry and emotionless, devoid of even the slightest hint of joy.
Right now, those words brought no comfort.
She continued to clear the rubble, lifting rocks slowly.
She had to repeat this sorrowful task endlessly, and it wasn’t until midnight that she found the two of them.
There is a vast difference between suspecting someone’s death and confirming it with your own eyes.
Lee Han wished Adela wouldn’t have to see it with her own eyes.
“Hnngh… ugh….”
The outcome was inevitable.
The Cube was destroyed, and Abaddon was dead.
They had finally won a fight that seemed like it would never end, and the black magicians, having lost their leader, Abaddon, would scatter.
As a result, the war that had plagued them for years would come to an end.
It was a historic moment, but no one could feel happy.
“It’s meaningless.”
Adela muttered blankly.
“Even if everyone in the world celebrates… I’ll curse this day for the rest of my life.”
The world is becoming peaceful.
The war is coming to an end.
If you’re not in the world we’ve created…
It all becomes a meaningless story.
“I don’t need that kind of peace.”
At the end of this despairing reality, each person remembers those who left in their own way.
Adela gritted her teeth, trembling.
Solia eventually burst into silent tears.
Lee Han blamed himself for failing to protect them.
And behind them, Basilus was crying mournfully.
“Ugh… uuuh… uuuh….”
Basilus crawled over and wrapped his wings around the two bodies.
There was nothing he could do except warm them with his heat while letting out meaningless cries.
He could only hold onto those who had already grown cold.
“Uuuh… ugh… uuuh….”
The moon of the early morning felt particularly chilling.
* * *
Early dawn, when even the moon had hidden behind the clouds.
Adela, overcome with sorrow, had fainted from weeping and only regained consciousness much later.
She felt something odd tickling her legs.
How long had she been crying?
“Hngh… ugh… hngh….”
Adela rubbed her swollen eyes with her sleeve and looked up.
The gray kitten Joey, Yoon Haul’s pet, was rubbing its head against her leg.
“…!”
Adela shot up in disbelief.
The kitten had emerged from the debris.
It was the cat that had been with Yoon Haul until the very end.
Under normal circumstances, she might have felt a mix of sorrow and amazement at its survival from the explosion.
But now, things are different.
“…How did you survive?”
She was scared.
Though they were familiar as Academy comrades, those kids were anything but ordinary.
They were superhumans beyond the reach of average people.
The explosion that had taken their lives and even killed Abaddon—
There was no way a mere cat could have survived.
“Solia….”
Adela called out to Solia.
Despite all her crying, her voice was unnervingly calm.
It felt like all the blood had rushed to her head.
It was a sight too overwhelming for Adela’s mind to handle.
“Hmm…?”
Solia, her face twisted in sorrow, looked up.
Having only just regained her senses, she saw a kitten in front of her.
“…Joey.”
Solia stroked the kitten with vacant eyes.
At that moment, their eyes met.
Adela and Solia simultaneously thought the same thing.
“It’s not….”
“A normal cat.”
As if to prove their thoughts, Joey suddenly gagged.
It wasn’t sick.
It was holding something inside its body.
“Gah… gah!”
“What’s wrong with it?”
The kitten trembled violently, and finally, it coughed up something shiny.
Then, as if relieved, it purred contentedly once more.
“…!”
Adela hurriedly checked what Joey had regurgitated.
A saliva-covered cube.
It was glowing green as Adela carefully picked it up, and her expression turned cold.
The Cube of Life, which even Abaddon and they hadn’t found until the end.
Having researched Cubes with Natalie, Adela knew what it could do.
A Cube capable of resurrecting a dead person at the cost of another’s life.
“Why is this here…?”
Adela clutched the Cube with trembling hands.
Solia saw an indescribable glint pass through Adela’s eyes.
“You’re not… planning…”
It was obvious.
She was sure because she had the same thought.
“I think I know what you’re planning.”
Adela simply stared at the Cube.
She didn’t respond to Solia’s words and just gripped the Cube tightly.
Solia quickly spoke up.
“You look really unstable.”
“I know.”
“Give it to me.”
Solia stretched her hand out, demanding the Cube.
At those words, Adela turned and looked at Solia with icy eyes.
“Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”
She’s trying to hide it, but in the end, she’s thinking the same thing.
Solia was left speechless by Adela’s blunt remark.
Solia’s necklace, given by Han Siha, shimmered sadly in the moonlight.
She habitually fiddled with it before managing to speak.
“Don’t do it.”
For a moment, she almost lost her composure.
Adela was right.
If she had the Cube in her hands, she would have made the same choice.
But still…
“This won’t bring them back.”
“Haul, or Won.”
“The dead don’t come back.”
Solia spoke with bloodshot eyes.
“Even if you use it to bring him back.”
“Han Siha wouldn’t want to be the only one left alive.”
She knew Han Siha well.
The Han Siha she knew would resent them for making such a choice.
This wasn’t what he would have wanted.
Solia spoke calmly, and Adela stood there, on the verge of tears.
Though she stood upright, she was crumbling inside.
“But you have to endure, Adela.”
Knowing how she felt,
Solia pulled Adela into a tight hug.
* * *
The dim dawn moon shone down on the desolate land.
The people of Odryse village had locked their doors, frightened by the mysterious explosion,
And it wasn’t until almost daybreak that the three of them and Basilus found lodging.
It was to keep an eye on Adela.
It had been a horrifying battle.
They had pushed themselves to the brink of exhaustion several times, and it had been a day filled with far too many hardships.
Lee Han had wanted to take the Cube from Adela, but it was clear she had no intention of giving it up.
He bit his lower lip anxiously.
By tomorrow, they would return to the Empire.
He had to figure out what to tell Han taesu of Castica, who likely didn’t yet know what had happened.
And how to explain everything to the Emperor.
There were still many tasks ahead, and the wounds were still fresh and painful.
As much as he didn’t trust the dazed Solia, Lee Han had no choice but to rely on her, who was sharing a room with Adela.
“If anything happens, call me.”
“Okay.”
Lee Han was worried that Adela might end up using the Cube.
Adela looked like someone cornered at the edge of a cliff.
Anyone would want to press the button if it meant escaping this hellish reality.
So Lee Han was certain.
“She’s definitely… she’s definitely going to try to use that Cube. Our persuasion won’t work.”
“…I know.”
Lee Han was almost as broken as Adela, if not as much.
“I’m losing my mind too, but this isn’t it. Even if you bring that bastard back to life, do you think Han Siha would just say thank you and live on like nothing happened?”
“….”
“I’m going crazy, so how could he not lose it if he saw this mess?”
It was already hard to hold on.
He just didn’t want Adela to leave too.
Lee Han, the hero designed to be righteous, was of that character, blaming himself for all the deaths.
Losing Won, and seeing Han Siha and Yoon Haul perish, he blamed it all on himself.
If only he had been stronger.
If only he had stalled for more time.
No, if only he could have killed Abaddon right then and there.
The two wouldn’t have had to choose mutual destruction in the first place.
Therefore, he wanted to prevent any more sacrifices.
“You have to stop her, Solia.”
Lee Han grasped Solia’s hands as he spoke.
“Okay…”
Solia nodded reluctantly.
If Adela tried anything foolish, she was to call him.
After repeating his words, Lee Han descended the stairs.
* * *
An empty lodging.
Solia pushed open the creaking door and entered the room.
The lodging was hastily arranged and uncomfortably small.
There was only one bed, meaning the two of them would have to lie side by side.
Adela was already lying down with her lips tightly shut.
It was impossible to tell what she was thinking with that expression.
But…
Solia suspected they were the same thoughts she was having.
She gave a sad smile as she spoke.
“Why are you lying down already?”
“…”
“You can’t sleep, can you?”
At Ardel Academy, they were rivals.
And even in their relationship with Han Siha, they were, in a way, rivals.
They couldn’t be called friends.
Yet having grown up facing each other for so long, there was an inexplicable sense of camaraderie.
Usually, it was Adela, with her easy going personality, who would chatter first, while Solia would remain quiet. But now, their roles were reversed.
Solia realized, after three years, that she considered Adela her friend.
Lee Han was right.
Unless they restrained her, Adela would undoubtedly use the Cube.
But
Could she really stop her?
In terms of personal combat strength, Adela was honestly far stronger than Solia.
Even if she tried to overpower her, Adela wouldn’t just let herself be tied down.
And she couldn’t keep watch 24 hours a day.
Just look at it right now.
Adela was lying there, staring up at her with a look that seemed to say she would bite her tongue and leave the moment Solia closed her eyes.
Watching Adela’s expression, Solia realized she couldn’t fulfill Lee Han’s request.
So…
She decided to understand.
“Adela.”
Solia called out to her with a trembling voice.
It might be the last time she called her name.
Her throat tightened.
Not knowing what to say, she stared into Adela’s eyes that were looking up at her.
“…”
They silently looked at each other.
Solia turned her head first.
“…I’m going to wash up.”
“Okay.”
Adela responded as if she had been waiting for those words.
Hearing that voice made Solia tear up.
She hurriedly wiped the tears from her cheeks as she left the room.
Ten minutes.
She would turn a blind eye to whatever happened in the room during that time.
Solia stood by the door, whispering to herself.
“You’re cruel.”
“How much more miserable are you going to make me…?”
How could she ever face him again?
What would she even say to him when he woke up, completely unaware of everything?
Her heart ached so badly she couldn’t lift her head.
“Haa… haa…”
Solia took ragged breaths and waited.
And then, ten minutes passed.
“…”
Solia opened the door with trembling hands.
As she had expected, the small room was completely empty.
Adela was nowhere to be seen.
“Adela…”
Solia muttered her name, looking around.
The old, neatly arranged bedspread and the pillow that still retained some warmth.
And on top of it,
There was a note left behind by Adela.
—I’m sorry for being selfish.
So, you really left, huh?