Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? Volume 4 Chapter 4 Part7

The Scarlet Haired Girl

A single young girl remained trapped within a ma.s.sive block of ice. She had long, scarlet hair and a gentle expression on her face. By her chest, a deep sword wound gaped open. But even with such a fatal wound, the corpse of the child continued to sleep peacefully with a soft smile spread across its lips.

"&h.e.l.lip; found it."

Another young girl with the same scarlet hair appeared out of the darkness and drew closer.

"Whew! That was close!" Floating in front of the girl, a flying fish flapped its fins. "We're almost out of time. If we were just a little slower, we wouldn't have made it."

"But we made it, so there's no problem."

"We can't relax yet."

"I know."

The girl touched the chunk of ice, causing a ripple to spread throughout its solid interior. Then, with a loud splash, it all instantly melted into a ma.s.sive deluge of water and rapidly filled the room.

"Oof."

The girl, now completely soaked, shut her eyes and tried to shake some of the moisture off. In front of her, the corpse of the young child fell to the ground.

"Oh my, look at that wound. Who would do such a thing to a little girl? Look, her pretty skin's all ruined." the fish said.

"She's dead, so there's no use worrying about her skin," the girl replied bluntly.

"That may be true for mortals, but immortals can't afford to throw away their beauty for something as small as death."

"I don't get what you're saying. I don't care either." The girl walked towards the corpse, making a little splash with each step. Then, she stretched out her arms and picked it up. "Cold."

"Well, it's been sitting in ice for so long."

The girl traced her finger over the gaping wound. "There's a really complicated curse cast on it."

"Of course. After all, the wound was made by that elite holy sword, Seniolis. The ultimate weapon of humanity, capable of killing the unkillable. No one, not even the Visitors, can escape that power to convert anyone it wounds into a mortal."

"Can we revive this?"

"Well, we probably can't do anything about this curse. It's a little advanced for me. Once we escape, let's look for Ebon Candle and make him do something about it."

The girl gently lifted up the corpses' bangs. "She's smiling."

"Mhm. I wonder if she's having a nice dream."

"She is. She had lots of dreams. Happy dreams, sad dreams. They were all short, but all precious."

"Leila, was it? The one she aspired to be like. Did she ever reach that goal?"

"I wonder&h.e.l.lip; not really sure."

Like sand blowing away in the wind, the surrounding darkness began to rapidly collapse and disappear. The long dream was coming to an end.

"Don't let go of her, okay? If the connection is cut, it's all over," the fish warned.

"I know." The girl tightly embraced the corpse. "It's been awhile, me," she whispered softly. "It's time to wake up now."