3 bar menu

Chapter 49 Part 15 – A memory from the previous「108 times」. The conclusion. They are dying, but their feelings transcend time. And the loop begins again.

A strange sound echoed through the air. Blood splattered.

Bradd and Alisa stopped as the sound of bells descended on the chapel.

「…… Impossible ……!! …… Why are you ……!!」

It was Bradd who let out a startled grunt. His right fist had been crushed miserably, like a burst tomato. That strange sound was from Bradd’s fist shattering on its own.
Alisa laughed.

「…… Oh, too bad. The one that is finished is you.」

At the last moment, the Heartless Autumn Leaves failed. The power that had been concentrated in the fist lost its base and dissipated into the air. The wings of blood mist on his back collapsed and Bradd’s red eyes returned to their original black color.
The 「Blood Atonement」 had been lifted.

Alisa had done nothing. Far from being able to use 「Frenzy」, she was unable to launch a single counterattack and was just standing there. She was supposed to have gotten a direct hit from the attack. Bradd remained alert until the last moment of the attack. As strong as Alisa is, her current situation should have driven her to a corner. He couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Alisa smiled coldly at Bradd, who staggered and was dismayed. Alisa looked down at Bradd’s blood, which was sticking to his chest, and scooped it up with her fingertips, then quickly spread it on her lips in place of lipstick.

「…… Fufu, did you want to give me a lipstick as a present since my makeup had disappeared over the battle. That’s very thoughtful of you. A woman should always be beautiful. But your expression when you are in despair and confusion is also very lovely.」

The technique that Bradd had staked all of it at was shattered by her. Approaching the stupefied Bradd, Alisa put her miserably wounded hands around his back. She was released from the paralysis caused by the electric shocks.

「…… Let me ask you a question. How do you feel now that the technique that sacrificed your two friends, carried your feelings for the woman you love, and that you risked your all for was broken without even leaving a single scratch on me …… Didn’t you say …… Receive this, Alisa, our feelings. Ahaha!! Haha!! I wonder what present you were intending to give me.」

Alisa burst out laughing. Bradd stood still there in a daze.
「…… Ahh, that’s funny. Fufu, it seems that your heart is broken. I’ll slowly pulverize your spirit from now on.」

She rested her cheek against his chest and whispered obscenely.
Alisa’s huge red wings wrapped around Bradd’s body as if they were lovers. In Bradd’s eyes, it looked like a giant snake coiled around his body in order to swallow him.

「…… You’re so silly, don’t you get it yet? Well, borrowing Arnold’s words, it’s time to pay the price for all the reckless moves you’ve made. You probably didn’t notice it, but the strength of your current body and your body in the『True History』is completely different. You had reached your limit long ago, but your willpower and power of the blessing had been holding you together. But in the end, your fist could not withstand the strongest technique, the Heartless Autumn Leaves. The fact that it was too powerful was its downfall. Just in case, I slightly cut through the bone of your fist with the Demon’s Cry so that it would break easily, did you notice that?」

Her sweet voice whispered cruelly. Cold sweat trickled down from Bradd’s forehead to his cheeks.

The moment Alisa activated the Demon’s Cry and Bradd was about to strike with 「Transmission」, he remembered that his fist had been rebounded with a strange force. Alisa had been laying a trap from that moment on. No, or perhaps it was from the time she had led him to settle the battle with the Heartless Autumn Leaves.

「…… But I never thought that Arnold would trap me first using a similar trick as to what I’m using on you. I guess it’s hard to see your own feet, this failure has been a great experience.」

Alisa smiled a little bitterly.

「…… Damn it, the hell you were saying about not intending to deceive me …… I’m such an idiot ……!!」

Bradd wanted to curse himself for taking Alisa’s words seriously.
To Bradd’s cries of regret, Alisa replied unabashedly.

「…… Fufu, I didn’t deceive you. It’s true that you wouldn’t be able to pierce through the Demon’s Cry, except if you use the Heartless Autumn Leaves. I didn’t use 「Subtle Beauty」 as I promised, and I went head on for the fight. Besides, if it had been a battle that is decided by points instead of a single round, you would have been long dead already. It wasn’t only your fist that I cut through.」

Alisa chuckled as she buried her face in Bradd’s chest.

At the disturbing feeling, Bradd tried to break free of Alisa’s embrace, but his legs wouldn’t move. He was unable to move not only his legs, but also his arms, or for that matter, anything from the neck down.

「…… It’s futile, I can use Heartbeat Synchronization to control another person’s physical condition as if it were my own as long as I’m in close contact with them. Although mine is specialized in destroying the opponents. …… First of all, I’ve paralyzed you from the neck down. Now you can’t escape. Let’s see, which part should I take next? Let’s blind those eyes that gazes lovingly at Scarlet.」

The reason Bradd was still in Alisa’s arms was because he had already been deprived of his freedom.
As Alisa said so, Bradd’s vision was plunged into darkness.

「…… Guhh ……!!」

Bradd grunted and tried to escape from Alisa’s arms by falling backwards, but Alisa hugged him tightly and did not allow him to do so.

「…… You are such a bad guy to try to run away from a woman’s embrace. As punishment, I’ll seal your nose that smells Scarlet’s sweet scent. And your ears that hear her gentle voice. You will only be left with the feeling of being embraced by me, your rival in love.」

Alisa licked her lips.
Blood suddenly spurted from Bradd’s whole body as his sense of smell and hearing were sealed, and he wobbled.
Alisa was entranced as she was drenched in blood.

「…… Fufu, a shower of blood from a top-notch warrior is the ultimate luxury. …… I told you that it wasn’t just your fist that I had cut. Your whole body finally started to collapse. …… The Demon’s Cry is actually a technique that I created as a trump card against the annoying power of the blessing. Do you remember? The technique that cracked every bone in your body right before the battle for Scarlet at the small castle on the cape in the True History? Demon’s Cry is the finished version.」

Alisa used her broken and twisted fingers to slowly crawl down Bradd’s back.
She is coldly checking the damage to his body caused by the Demon’s Cry.

「…… The characteristic of the power of the blessing is that it lets you exert power that exceeds the limits of your physical body. The burden it would have on your body is ludicrous. So, what do you think would happen if the 「Frenzy」 degrades the tissue at the joints of the bones and flesh in advance? You should be able to understand by now right. All of it will collapse in one swoop like a stone bridge that has been shattered at a critical point. …… Fufu, it was a beautiful tear, even if I say so myself. Thanks for being a test subject in an actual battle. …… Bradd, you will be dead soon. You can be proud in the afterlife that you have cornered me this much.」

Alisa’s whispers did not reach Bradd’s ears.
His hearing was already blocked and Bradd’s consciousness was already fading.
Perhaps this was a blessing. He did not have to know the cruel truth.
Alisa briefly said a few ways to nullify the Heartless Autumn Leaves and sighed.

「…… I crushed your ears too quickly. I could have seen more despair on your face. It’s my bad habit to be too hasty.」

Alisa, who seemed to be cornered, still had several cards hidden away. After all, the warriors’ fight while risking their lives was nothing more than an entertainment for Alisa. On the contrary, they were used as test subjects for Alisa’s new technique. It was too cruel of an ending.

Even so, Bradd did not give up.

「…… I will not …… lose …… Scarlet …… even if …… this body is gone …… even if only my soul remains …… this time …… I’ll definitely protect you …….」