DOTD Chapter 20

Leaving no one to move, Adrian and Bella suddenly disappeared.

 

Or rather, they were in the same place, but in a different space, unrecognizable to the others due to the spatial manipulation magic.

 

Evan and Rowan stared blankly at their disappearance, unaware that they had vanished into subspace.

 

“I know it doesn’t make sense even as I say it, but did you just…”

 

“Um…”

 

“No, I think I’m mistaken.”

 

“Me too.”

 

They both exchanged questioning looks, even as they dismissed Adrian’s tears as an illusion.

 

“Anyway, they’re gone.”

 

“…No, she’s here.”

 

“What?”

 

Evan pointed to where Bella had originally stood.

 

“She’s still here.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I feel it.”

 

“You can feel what…”

 

Rowan narrowed his eyes. He didn’t seem to be lying.

 

In the direction Evan was pointing, he couldn’t see a single ant, let alone a human.

 

What the hell was he sensing?

 

Rowan crossed his arms and stroked his chin, watching Evan’s every move, because he wasn’t one for nonsense.

 

Evan stiffened his back, which ached with every movement, and closed his eyes.

 

He didn’t think he could swing his sword in the air with his eyes open.

 

At first glance, there was nothing where Evan’s attack was directed, but as he slashed harder, a faint line formed.

 

“Huh?”

 

Rowan’s eyes lit up as Evan, surprised by the sight and confirmed in his thoughts, turned to him.

 

Confirming the existence of the void, he slammed his sword down even harder.

 

🦋

 

“Adrian, why are you…”

 

Adrian’s eyes were wavering precariously as he looked down at me. His slightly parted lips were trembling slightly.

 

A low, breathy voice escaped his open lips.

 

“…Don’t leave.”

 

“…”

 

Now there was nothing I could do but blink.

 

The voice was the last thing I expected to hear from Adrian.

 

Not just his voice, but his tone, his eyes, his expression, his behavior. Everything was plaintive.

 

“…Do you hate me?”

 

“…”

 

Adrian struck again!

 

I was speechless, like a person under a suspension spell.

 

Because I was inside Adrian’s cloak and then looking back at him, I was almost hugging him, which explains why the distance between us was so close.

 

So close that we could feel each other breathe in and out.

 

At some point, I tried to pull away, but the arms around my waist wouldn’t allow it.

 

I tried to give it a little push, but it was as immovable as a rock.

 

Adrian, who was not used to exchanging affection with people, had been touching me without hesitation.

 

Eventually, I realized that I was the only one who was embarrassed by this awkward position, where our bodies were in contact with each another from the thighs to the upper body.

 

While trying to ignore my embarrassment, I tried to guess the cause of Adrian’s distress.

 

Surely it wasn’t because of me snapping at him.

 

It could have been tears of joy at the return of a friend he thought was dead.

 

That’s a pretty sad way to cry…

 

Well, then what? My head is stuck, and I can’t turn it around.

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

What the hell are you sorry about?

 

He apologized, tears dripping down his cheeks.

 

“Don’t cry.”

 

Lifting my hand, I placed it gently on his cheek.

 

His pale face was as cold as it looked. 

 

The tears felt like ice shards against the cold. His dark eyes, darkened by his lashes, were fixed only on me.

 

He whispered, his voice still trembling.

 

“I thought I was losing you… forever…”

 

He was scared. The slow words weighed heavily on my mind.

 

When he said he thought he’d lost me, I realized he was probably referring to the fact that he thought I was dead after Louis attacked me.

 

Yeah, I get it, as far as apologizing as an extension of that thought, I get it, all right.

 

But I don’t really know why he’s reacting like I’m going to abandon him.

 

I do know this. 

 

Adrian obviously misunderstands something, as well. I sighed inwardly.

 

Why did this have to be so screwed up?

 

“I don’t hate you.”

 

He didn’t even ask if it was true; he just stood still and looked me in the eye.

 

So I told him one more time.

 

“I won’t disappear. I won’t die.”

 

The corners of my mouth lifted in a ‘do you believe me?’ expression, and I chuckled. He loved my laughter, and I hoped it would help him calm down a bit.

 

It seemed to work, and Adrian’s trembling gradually subsided.

 

The last of the pent-up tears left his slightly reddened eyes and slid down his cheeks.

 

With that wistful look, he spoke.

 

“… People die.”

 

This guy?

 

He tackles my words, suddenly stating the truth of life.

 

“…I know.”

 

Unable to resist hitting the guy who had just stopped crying…

 

I narrowed my eyes in disbelief, and he continued.

 

“But…”

 

“…”

 

“Someone dying…”

 

His low, slow voice has the power to center you.

 

“I was scared for the first time.”

 

Each word rang in my ears, one after the other.

 

The word ‘scared’ sounded different coming from someone who seemed to know nothing about fear.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

He looked a little puffy, as if he didn’t like my apology.

 

“Don’t apologize.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Don’t die.”

 

“…”

 

“Don’t run away.”

 

It’s full of don’t’s.

 

“But what else can I do?”

 

“Stay alive.”

 

“…”

 

“That’s it.”

 

What does my being alive mean to you?

 

I clamped my mouth shut, unable to get the question out.

 

He leaned on me more than usual, I knew that. 

 

Still… ‘I didn’t realize it was this much.’ 

 

For the first time, I wondered how he’d fared in the five years I’d been gone.

 

Probably attacked and beaten to death by Louis, of course…

 

“Ah!”

 

Thinking of Louis reminded me that I didn’t have time for this now.

 

We have to stop the monsters!

 

“Adrian… don’t freak out, but listen… the monsters that are coming to the tower right now were created by Louis… and I think they’re coming because of me, no, I’m almost positive.”

 

Louis said it himself, and he’s seen it many times, so there’s no need to doubt it.

 

The important thing was to lure the creature outside Avantha before it could do any more damage to the tower.

 

“So if I leave here as soon as possible…”

 

“No.”

 

Adrian cut her off as if there was nothing more to hear.

 

“If you don’t, more monsters will come. I have to go.”

 

“Don’t go.”

 

I stuttered for a moment, overwhelmed by his determination, but there was no backing down from this.

 

“…No, this is because of me, and it needs to be fixed…”

 

“It’s not because of you.”

 

“What are you talking about, Louis…”

 

“The monster was originally created by the Tower.”

 

What? Wasn’t that made by Louis?

 

I’m confused by the discrepancy between what I thought I knew and what I didn’t.

 

It had to be true that the monsters had demonic powers…

 

“That can’t be true. If it is, why are you letting them attack?”

 

“It’s…”

 

Unable to make sense of it, I asked for an explanation, and this was the answer I got.

 

To be precise, the monster was a creature created when the former Master of the Tower was experimenting with demonic powers, and now it was being controlled by Louis, who had become a demonic host.

 

“Anyway, since it came to this place of its own volition, I’m the cause, so I’ll hear about it later. For now, I’ll just have to…”

 

“No.”

 

Again, I yell at him, but he cuts me off.

 

“Adrian!”

 

“Yeah.”

 

He replied calmly, as if he couldn’t see my frustration.

 

“This is the only way to do it. Is there any other way…!”

 

“There is.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“There is a way.”

 

“There’s another way…?”

 

“Yeah. I told you, it’s from the Tower.”

 

Ah! I kind of knew what he was going to say.

 

If they made it, they’d know how to deal with it.

 

‘So that’s why you said it was made by Tower.’

 

“What’s that method?”

 

“Two or more divine powers together.”

 

“Two… divine powers?”

 

“Then the demonic power is diluted.”

 

That meant that Louis would have less influence over the monsters, which was a very appropriate response to the situation.

 

That way, fewer of them would flock to me without having to be lured elsewhere.

 

There are five treasures with divine power on the continent.

 

Presumably, there are two types of divine power that Adrian came up with to use this method, the power I absorbed, and the treasures passed down through the generations of the Tower.