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Chapter 47 Part 8 – A memory from the previous「108 times」. Beyond sorrowful. The men risk their lives to challenge the monster called Alisa, who is playing with fate.

Alisa met the eyes of the two people who are willing to risk their lives with a terrifying smile.

「…… Haaa, a monstrous woman …… It’s a very familiar nickname …… You remind me of 「him」 in the「True History」…… Fufufu, there’s no way that this monstrous woman has not taken any measures toward that escape path. You guys have another friend that is also like a monster …… I wonder where he is now.」

Seraphy and Arnold paled at Alisa’s words.
They were shocked that they had not seen Bradd.
He is a loner and also elusive, so they hadn’t paid attention to him thinking that it was the same as usual.

Even in the eyes of both of them, Bradd has superhuman physical skills.
A one-on-one encounter in the escape path would definitely cause the Queen’s fate to come to an end.

「…… Shit!! Arnold!! Let’s head there from the exit!! We have to stop Bradd ……!!」

Seraphy was flustered and was about to turn around, but Alisa laughed coldly at him.

「…… It’s too late ……!! See, you can already hear it from here ……」

His feet trembled. A voice echoed from the depths of the earth.
At first it seemed to be the howl of a beast.
Eventually, as his ears adjusted, he realized it was a person screaming.
The reason he mistook it for a beast was that the voice was so sad, so mad, and so full of anguish that he could not believe it was a human voice.
The bare, mournful cries that made him want to cover his ears echoed through the chapel.

「…… What ……!? It’s coming from the basement …… H-hey, could this voice be ……?」

Arnold had been listening to it and then he looked up in surprise.
He was surprised because the voice sounded familiar.
He was usually taciturn and blunt, but there was no doubt that this voice was ……

Alisa laughed.
Her clothes and blond hair fluttered suspiciously, as if it was alive, even though there was no wind.

「…… That’s right …… It’s Bradd’s cries. He killed Scarlet. ……Fufufu, the five heroes …… The moment one of you kills Scarlet, he will regain the memories and feelings he had in the「True History」. Only the person who has finished her off will regain it. …… And that’s where the fun begins. Fate does terrible things. ……Aaahh, I can never see such a sad and amusing spectacle anywhere else. ……It was worth the 28 years of waiting ……」

Embracing her own body, Alisa’s breath was caught in ecstasy.
She was drooling from the end of her sneering mouth.
Her glossy, slick lips were obscene and ferocious.
It was as if they were smeared with the blood of a sacrifice.
And yet the light in her eyes was frozen like the stars of the far north.
Arnold and Seraphy were at a loss for words with their hair bristling behind them and they backed away.
Before their eyes swirled a mysterious madness in the form of a woman.

「…… The cries of a man who has killed his beloved lover …… How sad and heartbreaking …… The destruction of the pipe organ was also lovely, but the despair of a man who has destroyed his own love is even more ……? …… What’s going on ……? Why hasn’t the retrogression started?」

Alisa stopped laughing and furrowed her brow as she pondered.

「… The loop was broken …? That shouldn’t be the case …… He’s coming up here …… I see, the him from the「True History」has been released and he’s heading here.」

Alisa snapped her fingers.
The golden bugs, which had been lying dead on the floor, shook their wings and soared at once.
Seraphy and Arnold’s whole bodies had goosebumps as they noticed the sound of wings rising from behind them as well.
The golden bugs had awakened from their paralysis and were simply mimicking death.
Alisa had used her overwhelming strength as bait and feigned ignorance to complete the trap.

「…… You guys narrowly escaped death. Arnold, Seraphy ……. I’ll let you off the hook this time. Remember this. A truly powerful person utilizes even themselves as bait. …… Enough of that. You guys should run away from here. He’s coming. If you get caught in a fight between the current him and me, you’ll fall apart in an instant.」

The second half of Alisa’s words were directed at the golden bugs that were flying around her with reluctance.
After motioning for them to retreat, Alisa took a few light steps back.
As if following after her, the floor shook like a rumbling of the earth.
A crack ran through the chapel’s solid stone floor.
The corners of the stone rose with a scraping sound, and then burst open as if unable to bear the pressure.

「…… What is it!?」

In contrast to Arnold’s astonishment, Alisa said,

「…… That’s a pretty extreme knock. A chapel is a place of quiet prayer. Breaking through the stone floor from below is a breach of etiquette. But I’ll give you credit for your skills …… It seems you have completely recovered your memory of the「True History」……」

Alisa dodged the falling stones as if she were dancing and muttered amusedly.

The chapel benches were hit by a series of falling stones one after another.
The benches made a rasping sound, revealing their shredded cross-sections, and were cruelly crushed.
The stones were blown away and the floor was hollowed out.
A staircase leading to the darkness of the basement extended downward.

Holding Queen Scarlet carefully in both hands, Bradd slowly ascended the stairs.
The white dust flying in the air served as a screen, reflecting the multicolored rays of light from the stained glass windows in a magical way.
The queen’s red hair and slender limbs swayed powerlessly amidst the scene as if light was shining through the clouds.
Her bloodless profile had already stopped breathing.
There were tear stains on her cheeks.
Arnold and Seraphy’s hearts were vehemently pounding out of their chests.
Her face with closed eyes looked much younger than her age.
In fact, they only noticed now that she had a small body.

A little Queen who carried heavy responsibility on her slender shoulders, struggled to rebuild her kingdom, was betrayed by her people, and ended her life unrewarded …… The fact that we have hunted down and killed this delicate, courageous woman is a searing remorse that wrenches our hearts.

Bradd’s hands were trembling as he held the queen in his arms.
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he smiled at her.

「…… You’re so foolish …… Scarlet …… Why would you become a queen …… You’ve got a strong sense of responsibility, so you shouldn’t take on the responsibility of a kingdom …… If you become a queen, you’re bound to work hard until you die ……. It must have been hard for you to be alone …….. you’ve become so light ……. if I had been here …… even if I have to kidnap you, I would have forced …… you to stop ……」

Bradd gently laid Scarlet’s body on a red bench that had remained miraculously safe.
Bradd’s tears fell on Scarlet’s pale cheeks.
Arnold and Seraphy were speechless at the sadness in Bradd’s back as he spoke to her while fixing her disheveled hair. The normally brusque Bradd was full of sorrow beyond words, which they could never have imagined.

There was no way that the Queen and Bradd had been lovers.
They were just old acquaintances as enemies.
But there was an atmosphere between them that no one else could enter.
Kneeling beside Scarlet, shoulders trembling, Bradd clutched his knees so hard they bled.

「…… I’m sorry …… Far from stopping you, I didn’t even realize it was you ……!! I couldn’t even be there for you ……!! On the contrary, I hunted you down and …… with these hands, I ……!! These hands that have sworn to protect you …… I ……!!」

「…… That’s right. You killed Scarlet with your own hands. Not just this time. You’ve done it again and again and again. …… You no longer have any right to cry beside her.」

Spitting coldly and fiddling with her black ribbon, Alisa slowly approached.

「Enough of this goodbye. Hand over Scarlet to me and step back. This is the chapel. A place where this child deserves to sleep. If you keep acting like her lover …… I’ll crush you along with your soul.」

Bradd did not turn to look at Alisa.
He continued to stroke Scarlet’s cheeks with his back turned.

「…… You’re wrong. The place where she can rest at ease is not this lonely place. I’m going to take Scarlet to that hill where she said she wanted to sleep when she died …… In that place filled with beautiful flowers where we promised to meet again …… I will take her there. There I will protect her until I die.」

Alisa’s expression changed drastically. Her blue eyes are tinged with the dreadful color of cold emptiness.

「…… That attitude of yours that thinks that you are the one that knows Scarlet the most. It’s getting on my nerves. A man’s romanticism is ridiculous if it goes too far. …… You just don’t want to give up, do you? …… Then I’ll test how far that love of yours can go. Love is always entwined with tests …… Isn’t that right?」

Alisa sneered and her figure disappeared.

「…… Ahahaha!! I wonder if you can still talk about love even when your neck has been detached from your body ……!!」

The match was instantaneous.
Alisa had magically closed the distance between them.
Bradd turned around and caught Alisa’s hand sword, as if he were cutting down his opponent.
Alisa’s smile became distorted. Sparks flew.
The two appeared to stand still, like a scene illuminated by a bolt of lightning.
Both had powerful powers and were clashing, jostling, and competing against each other.
A beat later, the air exploded.
A dreadful energy surged through the air, shattering the stained glass windows into tiny fragments. The wind swirled.
The stone floor caved in and the surrounding benches were blown to pieces.
It was as if a storm had suddenly appeared inside the chapel.

Bradd was kneeling down on one knee.
He had hardly moved from there, as if protecting Scarlet, who had been laid to rest.
Alisa was the one who was sent flying.
She landed softly about ten meters back with her blond hair swinging, wiped the blood from her cheek, and smiled bitterly.

「…… I’m surprised. It’s been a long time since I’ve ever attacked with the intention of killing someone and then being hurt instead …… I’ll give you credit for this. It’s a fist with a fierce god in it. As expected of a man who has killed his beloved Scarlet so many times.」

Bradd wasn’t upset by Alisa’s provocation.
He responded quietly with a painful expression.

「…… That’s right. You’re right. I’m the worst demon from hell. I’m no longer qualified to love this person …… but ……」

A mist of blood appeared and swirled around his sad back.
Bradd’s eyes glowed deep crimson as he stood up and turned around.
The physical enhancement technique 「Blood Atonement」 was activated.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he glared at Alisa.

「…… Even if I end up turning into a demon, Alisa!! I’ll definitely defeat you!! Because that’s the only atonement I can make for her ……! …… Come on. Monstrous woman. Let’s settle this battle amongst bloodstained monsters ……!!」

Receiving Bradd’s glare, Alisa laughed coldly in a glamorous manner.

「…… Okay, I’ll be your opponent. The current you deserve to dance with me. …… I’m going to fill you with so much …… fear that you won’t be able to think of anything but me. Right in front of your beloved Scarlet…… You’ll regret that you made me serious ……」

The blond hair of Alisa soared like a living creature.
Her glacier-blue eyes turned an even more frightening, bottomless blue, and then ……
Arnold and Seraphy gasped in astonishment.
The color of Alisa’s eyes turned …… a fiery crimson ……!!

「Blood Atonement ……!! Alisa can use it too ……!!」

Alisa glanced at the shocked Seraphy and lifted her mouth.

「…… That’s not it. How impolite. Don’t lump my technique together with those imitations. This crimson is the color of my real eyes. …… It’s the same color as Scarlet. I usually force myself to change them to blue. You’ll have to put up with the backlash. …… You’re well aware of it so it won’t surprise you now. Bradd.」

Alisa smiled happily at Bradd, who affirmed by not changing his expression.

「…… I wonder how many people in this world know how strong I am when I have red eyes and can still make that expression. …… I’m thrilled. I think I can make wonderful memories with the current you …… In front of the remains of the person they are deeply in love with, the love rivals will fight each other to death. This is also entertaining. Now then, …… let’s settle our feelings for each other.」

…… Then to settle the fight, the two people that have transcended beyond the realm of human beings simultaneously kicked at the stone floor.