TIRS 47

CHAPTER 47.

 That’s you?

‘Hell. My hell.’

I am your ruin. The death by salt. The tragedy of the beginning.

Is that why you called me that? Is that why I could only be your hell?

In the dazzlingly pure white shadow, you whisper to me.

‘Hell. My love.’

Still, I was your love.

Even if it were a lie, that was fine.

Willingly deceived, I would crumble in your arms. I would entrust my soul to the darkness like rest.

But misfortune eventually finds your end, the unknown light in the black fog aims for your breath.

Not wanting to lose you again, I willingly extinguish all the light in the world.

The only promise I couldn’t keep becomes a fragile vow, dripping with bright red blood. It becomes a painful oath…

So, it’s okay.

Don’t worry.

I will protect you…

—I told you not to worry!

I freeze.

A cry mixed with tears pierces my eardrums.

It’s a very familiar and important voice.

Who is it?

Just as I unknowingly try to approach the voice, you grab my sleeve.

“Don’t go, Hell.”

You look at me, trembling with tears.

“We promised to be together. To be together forever.”

Don’t cry. I’m not going.

I won’t leave.

I’ll be with you.

So…

—I said I’d protect you!

Once again, I freeze.

Ah…

I remember. That voice. And,

“I’ll protect you. No one will harm the princess.”

“I understand. I won’t let anyone worry the princess.”

The promise that was never lightly made comes to mind.

The fog that covered my eyes disappears, and I see the one I promised to protect.

Ruibel Azester.

Not you who can no longer be protected, but the one I still can protect. The one I must protect.

The owner of the half-hearted heart.

Perhaps the last person who will fulfill the long wish of my life.

“An opening!”

I kicked the fallen sword away and used all my strength to knock Anselot down.

Then I climbed on top of him and started punching him.

“You bastard!”

“Ugh…”

I think I heard groans from below.

“You liar! Cheat!”

“Ugh…”

The groans got louder just now.

Still, undeterred, I hit him harder with emotion.

“You said you’d protect me! Huh, you said you’d protect me!”

Unable to control my sorrowful feelings, I cried out loud.

“W-wait…”

“It was a mistake trusting you! You evil bug!”

“Wait, princess…”

“I should have known you’re a bug! You worm!”

“Princ—”

“Worse than a worm! I’m sorry to worms to call you a bug!”

While ruthlessly punching, suddenly—

Squeeze—

Strong arms embraced me tightly.

“Let me go!”

Thinking it was Anselot’s counterattack, I was startled and struggled to get away.

At that moment, I was resisting even harder, anxious and scared at having to face his attack again.

“Princess.”

A calm, low voice touched my ear.

Realizing this, I slowly stopped struggling and looked down.

Our eyes met.

He was looking up at me.

With ruby-clear red eyes, no longer dark.

“Anselot…?”

I realized he had come to his senses and widened my eyes.

Then, thick tears left at the corners of my eyes fell again.

“Princess, why are you crying? It upsets me to see your pretty face wet.”

“Why should I cry!”

I suddenly raised my voice.

“Because of you!”

“Did I make you cry?”

Anselot blinked awkwardly at my angry face.

Then he reached out and gently rubbed the tears from my eyes.

“I was bad. Hit me more.”

“If you say hit, I won’t stop!”

I slapped his chest a few more times without hesitation.

“Ugh…”

Anselot groaned as if hit again where he was already hurt.

I stopped hitting.

“Wait, you. I haven’t finished hitting you yet.”

With an unrelieved voice, I warned Anselot, then got up from on top of him.

Still in the form of the young woman who seemed to be a copy of me, I stared anxiously at the black fog.

‘In the original story, Hezen subdued that fog with force.’

But if I did that, Ile’s original form, hiding somewhere in the forest now, would be hurt.

I stepped closer to the black shape.

The fog twitched and took a step back.

It looked so scared it was hard to believe it was the terrifying black fog that bewitched the forest’s wanderers.

‘Ile never unleashed the fog to harm people in the first place.’

I recalled the original Ile.

Who am I?

Isn’t it Yoon Sena, the master of character interpretation who read and reread Light Spirit many times?

Ile, the Sage of Light.

Called the Dreamlike Ile before awakening after leaving the forest with the protagonist Hezen and his party, Ile was abandoned by his species at birth.

Simply because he had human blood.

The forest, long inhabited by monsters and abandoned by people, was dark and lonely.

Ile, corrupted by loneliness, used the fog to bewitch the wanderers who lost their way in the forest.

Saying let’s be together in the peace the fog gives. Let’s stay together for a long time.

Sadly, unlike Ile’s wish, those caught by the fog’s enchantment slowly lost their life force and died.

Left behind, Ile bewitched more wanderers in deeper loneliness and fell into deeper loneliness again…

Decades, centuries passed in endless vicious cycles.

But Ile couldn’t break the cycle.

Though his body’s age was unknown, his mental age was like a child, since he was abandoned at birth.

“Ile.”

I spoke to the black shape.

The black shape shuddered.

“I won’t attack.”

I showed my unarmed hands to persuade the black shape.

“Let’s talk.”

The shape hesitated.

“I know you didn’t mean to hurt us.”

Reading that hesitation, I approached directly.

“You were lonely. Enduring time alone in this vast forest.”

The black shape didn’t flee but stared at my face silently.

“I’ll stay by your side.”

I reached out my hand.

“Come with me. You don’t have to hurt people anymore.”

The black shape stared at my palm for a long moment.

Then suddenly, a fierce black fog sprayed toward me.

“Princess!”

Thanks to Anselot pulling me aside and embracing me, I could block the attack, but the black shape dissolved into thin air and fled far away.

“Ah…”

I looked at the fading black fog with empty eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Anselot asked without releasing his arms around me.

Remembering how he had attacked me just now, and knowing it was because of Ile’s fog, I still felt a little annoyed at him.

“Let go.”

I poked Anselot’s chest with my elbow.

“Ouch.”

Anselot acted exaggeratedly hurt.

“Stop faking pain.”

Ignoring him, I picked up Piya, lying on the ground.

With shallow breaths, Piya’s small chest rose and fell.

She seemed to have fainted and fallen asleep.

Anselot looked at Piya limp on my palm and slightly frowned.

“What’s wrong with this bird?”

What’s wrong? You attacked her.

I swallowed my words and glanced at Anselot.

“Don’t you remember?”

“…?”

Anselot blinked slowly.

As expected, he seemed to have no memory of what he had done.

I glared at Anselot with a sour look, then turned abruptly.

What’s the use of holding someone who can’t even remember and asking about unconscious actions?

I was annoyed at Anselot for not remembering attacking me, annoyed at him for not recognizing me and attacking, annoyed at him for being bewitched by the fog despite my warning.

And despite being angry, I was angrier knowing it wasn’t really his fault.

“But what can I do? It’s all Ile’s fog’s fault. And the fact that Anselot couldn’t escape Ile’s fog means…”

I frowned, recalling Anselot crying in the black shape’s embrace just a while ago.

Ile’s black fog was a trap that found and exploited the weaknesses inside people.

It’s not like Anselot was mentally weaker than others to get caught.

Maybe Anselot has a deep inner wound I don’t know about…

“Wait, Princess.”

At that moment.

Anselot grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, breaking my thoughts.

He asked in a low voice.

“Is this a wound?”

His stiff face took a step closer.

Anselot carefully held my cheek and gently rubbed around the faint scratch.

“Oh, this.”

It was left by Anselot while he was bewitched by the black fog.

“It is a wound.”

Anselot didn’t look happy.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was fighting with the fog.”

I dodged telling him it was his doing and muttered awkwardly.

“The fog did this just now, right?”

“…”

No. Actually, it was you.

But I said nothing and swallowed it, so Anselot seemed to believe it was the fog’s doing.

Anselot bowed his head and sighed.

“I’m sorry, Princess.”

“Huh?”

“I said I’d protect you but ended up hurting you.”

“…”

Not knowing what to say, I was choosing words.

Suddenly Anselot lifted his bowed head.

In his red eyes staring straight at me, a dangerous aura appeared.

“The bastard who hurt you, I’ll kill him.”

“W-what?”

Seeing my surprised face, Anselot smirked crookedly and added,

“Don’t stop me.”

No, the one who hurt my face… that guy… that’s you.