Extra in a Romance Fantasy

185 – The Cult Leader (5)

“Miss Mary…!!”

Wade’s sword struck Mary.

Seeing that scene, Alexis let out a cry that was almost a scream.

“Wade Hebron…!!”

Wilhelm’s face twisted in anguish as he shouted Wade’s name.

Cedric’s expression hardened, and all emotion vanished from Chris’s face.

“…Miss Mary, Mr. Wade…”

“……”

Rachel and Ira’s reactions were somewhat different from those of the other four.

What appeared on their faces was not anger, but sorrow.

Sorrow at the fact that such a situation had come to pass.

Sorrow that Mary had become a sacrifice for this, and that Wade would have to bear the weight of it all; the two felt an overwhelming sadness.

Eventually.

The ominous aura emanating from Mary’s body began to fade.

And at the same time, the body that had been suspended in the air started to fall helplessly downward.

However, the body did not crash to the ground.

Before that could happen, Wade, who had moved in the meantime, caught her body.

It was then.

“Hahahahahaha!”

A hearty laugh, completely out of place in the atmosphere, rang out.

The owner of the laughter was none other than the cult leader, who had been watching the situation quietly from a distance.

The leader threw his head back and burst into laughter.

It was quite some time before the leader’s tilted head finally came back down.

“Wade Hebron, you’ve finally killed Mary Blue Noa with your own hands.”

With a deep smile on his face, the leader looked at Wade and said.

“How does it feel? The feeling of having killed your childhood friend, whom you’ve clung to for a lifetime under the pretense of saving others. Hmm?”

There was an unmistakable delight in his voice.

“Is it sad? Despairing? I do hope you’ll kindly explain what that feeling is like.”

His intentions were clear.

The leader was not genuinely curious about Wade’s feelings.

He was simply reveling in the moment, eagerly anticipating what would come next.

Wade’s heartbreak.

His descent into despair.

“…….”

In response to the sneering of that leader, Wade showed no reaction whatsoever.

He simply gazed quietly at Mary, cradled in his arms.

As if he had lost his very soul.

“…Are you satisfied now?”

Alexis, who had been silently observing the scene with a vacant expression, suddenly lifted his head and asked.

He directed his question toward Beluid, who was watching the same scene.

“Are you satisfied now…!!”

Alexis, usually so composed, raised his voice to a level that echoed around them.

His expression was embroidered with deep, dark anger and profound loss.

“…….”

Beluid offered no reply to those words.

He merely gazed quietly, his eyes reflecting an indescribable emotion as he looked at Wade and Mary.

“Principal…!!”

Once again, Alexis shouted toward Beluid.

“Be quiet.”

A voice, disturbingly calm for the situation, cut through the air.

The owner of that voice was none other than Ethan.

“…Lord Tugh.”

Alexis’s gaze shifted to Ethan this time.

His eyes, just like when they were directed at Beluid, were swirling with anger.

“What on earth is this? You told us not to do anything pointless. Is this the result you spoke of? Is this what you wanted when you said those words…!!”

In response to that impassioned outcry,

“I told you to be quiet.”

Ethan frowned slightly, as if annoyed.

“Lord Tugh…!! You…!!”

Just as Alexis’s anger was about to intensify further,

“Stop babbling and look at that.”

Ethan subtly nodded.

Naturally, Alexis’s gaze, and everyone else’s gaze, shifted in that direction.

There, kneeling, was Wade, cradling Mary in his arms.

“You…!!”

Realizing this, Alexis shouted with a voice filled with rage.

He thought Ethan was mocking him.

An unbearable fury surged from deep within, consuming Alexis.

“What on earth…!!”

Are you seeing this?

As Alexis shouted, ready to unleash his anger, he soon fell silent.

Because an entirely unexpected scene began to unfold.

Mary’s eyelids, which he thought would never move again, started to flutter.

““……!!””

The group collectively gasped.

Like witnesses to an impossible event, their eyes widened to an unimaginable degree.

And amidst their astonished gazes,

At last, Mary’s eyes opened.

“How…?”

They had no choice but to be astonished.

They clearly saw the beam of light from Wade’s sword strike Mary.

Yet, the Mary who had been cut was now wide awake.

She was breathing normally.

It was an utterly unbelievable sight.

Everyone in the room was taken aback, simultaneously horrified.

However,

Among them, there was one who maintained his composure.

“I told you so.”

Ethan, with a consistently calm expression, said.

“You still don’t know that guy.”

A smile finally appeared on the face that looked at Wade and Mary.

*

Mary spoke to me.

She asked me to kill her.

Otherwise, an unstoppable disaster would occur.

I knew that her words were not a lie.

An instinct that transcended my understanding was sending fierce warnings.

If things continued like this, an uncontrollable disaster would happen.

And to prevent that, I had to kill Mary.

It was a very rational and valid reason, but if that had been the only one, I would not have taken up the sword.

However, the bad news did not end there.

I felt it.

That Mary’s condition was not right.

That her rampaging soul was gnawing at her body, at her spirit.

I was certain.

Even if I did not kill Mary, if I left things as they were, she would die.

Not just losing her life, but her soul would be obliterated as well.

Kill Mary.

If I don’t kill Mary, humanity is in danger.

After all, she would die if I left her like this.

So, just kill her.

It felt as if someone was whispering that in my ear.

The situation, the world.

It seemed as if I was being led to kill Mary.

In that situation, I ultimately raised the sword.

But it was not to kill Mary.

I cannot kill Mary.

Even if it means the destruction of humanity, I cannot bring myself to kill her.

If it comes to Mary dying, it would be better to fight against the disaster that would bring about destruction.

Yet, if I leave things as they are, Mary will die.

Then, then what should I do?

How can I save Mary?

The answer came more easily than I expected.

‘Cut the source.’

Mary’s powers were rampaging due to the energy implanted in her by the cult leader.

That ominous energy had taken root within Mary’s body, within her soul, causing her abilities to run wild.

So, if I cut that energy, the source, I could save Mary.

With that thought in mind, I drew my sword.

I would not cut the body of a person, but only the energy that resided within it, and within the soul.

If someone were to hear that, they would shake their head.

The great Ten Blades, even the martial artists who spoke of being the strongest on the continent, would all shake their heads in unison.

Because it was impossible.

Simply cutting energy might be achievable for one who has reached the realm of thought.

However, to cut only the energy within the body without harming the body itself is impossible, even for a martial artist who has attained the realm of thought.

But what about cutting the energy that has even penetrated the soul?

And to do so without causing harm to the body or the soul in the process?

Everyone would speak in unison.

It’s impossible.

From the very beginning, touching the soul is not a domain permitted to humans.

Yet what I was about to attempt was several steps beyond that.

An act that was surely impossible, one that everyone was convinced could not be done.

Yet.

Knowing that, I raised my sword.

There was only one reason.

If things continued as they were, Mary would die.

If I did nothing, Mary would surely perish.

Thus, I resolved to swing my sword.

I resolved to challenge the impossible.

There was no certainty.

Rather, there was only anxiety.

Perhaps more than anyone on the continent, I had ascended to a higher realm and knew with greater certainty and specificity.

How difficult it was to sever only the energy that had infiltrated without harming the body or the soul.

Yet, it was not entirely devoid of possibility.

Through my battle with the swordsman, I gained enlightenment and stepped into a new realm.

And I was still not fully grasping everything about that new realm.

I could only sense it vaguely.

That this new realm, quite literally, held possibilities that transcended my understanding.

I decided to stake everything on it.

I resolved to wager all of myself on that unknown possibility.

Gripping my sword as tightly as I could, I began to wish fervently.

My intent, the wind, my will.

I started to release it into the world.

Long ago, I had thought.

That the place I reached after training in Cheryl’s space was a new realm.

At that point, I had become capable of various things I could not do before.

That was certainly the next realm I had vaguely imagined, in its entirety.

However.

‘It was not.’

That was an illusion.

In the fight with the swordsman, witnessing the phenomena created by his intent, I felt a profound sense of alienation and ultimately realized.

That it was merely my illusion.

What I had thought was a new realm was just a passing point.

Woong—

The sword began to weep.

It was not the usual fierce and grand resonance.

Rather, it was an infinitely calm and faint echo.

So faint that it could easily be drowned out in such a tumultuous space.

Yet.

That exceedingly weak sound, for some reason, resonated clearly throughout this space.

It was not merely a sound.

The faint vibrations emanating from the sword resonated through the surroundings.

This space, this world.

It trembled gently.

As if mimicking the breath of the sword.

As if in harmony with my will.

And then.

I infused the sword with magical power.

Fuel in the form of magic flowed into the framework created by my thoughts, and soon it ignited a dazzling light.

In that state, I gazed at Mary.

I saw Mary with her eyes closed.

Her face appeared serene, as if she had accepted death, but I knew.

I knew that regret lay hidden within that face.

A deep sorrow was sleeping beneath the surface.

As I looked at that face, I finally swung the sword.

In due time, the light born from my thoughts, my fervent wish, passed through Mary’s body—

The result.

Was now before my eyes.

“…Wade…?”

I saw my reflection in her clear eyes, reminiscent of the sky.

As I gazed into those eyes.

Only then did I smile.