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Chapter 49 Part 18 – A memory from the previous「108 times」. The conclusion. They are dying, but their feelings transcend time. And the loop begins again.

By the time Alisa looked up, Bradd’s fist was already in front of her.

Alisa cursed herself with bitter regrets.
She had scoffed at them, but she had not meant to underestimate them. However, the very thought itself was conceited.
A cornered rat will bite a cat. Rather than just a bite, Alisa was now on the verge of death.

She twisted her body to dodge, but the approaching fist in her field of vision was much faster than that.
Alisa prepared herself to get punched in the face.

With the rumbling sound of air, Bradd’s fist burned through several strands of Alisa’s hair. The burning smell and the pressure of the fist struck Alisa’s face.

Alisa was miraculously unharmed. Her knees sank much farther than expected, and luckily Bradd’s fist just barely passed over her head.

However, Alisa lost her stance. Her legs were still immobile, as if melted into the ground. They were as heavy as lead and would not move. There would be no more miracles. Alisa quickly crossed her arms to guard her face. But Bradd’s fist would easily break Alisa’s arms since her arms are in their original state. It would not even serve as a shield.

However, no matter how much time passed, there was no other attack.

「…… Bradd ……?」

Alisa looked up at Bradd with a questioning look in her eyes and met his eyes.

Alisa’s eyes widened in shock.

Bradd’s face was etched with a frustrated expression. Tears of regret glistened in the corners of his eyes.
It was the same look that Bradd had on his face earlier when Alisa had sunk him in the embrace of death. He had that same expression as he stopped in the position where he had tried to thrust his fist out.
Looking at him, Alisa gasped.

「Bradd, you ……」

Alisa staggered back and distanced herself from Bradd.
She had wounds all over her body, but she straightened her back in respect. She looked emotionally at the man she called her rival in love.

「…… You had long passed away …… and even after death, you still tried to protect Scarlet ……」

It was no wonder that Bradd’s death could not be foreseen, nor could he be stopped by the destruction of his spine.
He was long gone. There is no way to kill a dead man.

Alisa staggered and moved toward Scarlet, who laid behind Bradd.
But then she stopped and stared at Bradd’s dead face.
She giggled.

「…… What’s with that frustrated look on your face? You have driven this Alisa Diamondi to this point. You should be more proud of yourself. But you’re dead, so how could you possibly know.」

Alisa put her face close to Bradd, brushed her hair back over her ears, and gently laid her lips over his lips.

「…… I’ll only take this away this time. But it’s bad manners to kiss with your eyes open. Remember this.」

Alisa gently reached out and closed Bradd’s eyelids. She wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Alisa looked over Bradd’s shoulder to gaze at the sleeping Scarlet, as if she was trying to burn the image into her eyes.

「…… It was a rare chance to teach you so much pleasure that you’ll break down. What a pity. But even I can’t defeat a dead person. And I’m not so much of a disgrace that I can run up to the one I love without defeating my rival in love. Okay, I’ll let you off the hook this time. The more fruit and pleasure I save for later, the more deliciously ripe it will be ……」

Alisa looked away as if to shake the thought out of her mind and turned around. Behind her, Bradd slowly fell on the floor.

「…… Come here, golden beetles.」

In response to Alisa’s call, the golden beetles flew around her. Surrounded by the rustling of their wings, Alisa extended her hands to welcome them. Looking at the tragic state of her hands, the sound of the golden beetles’ wings grew louder from indignation. Letting out a high-pitched, furious cry, they fiercely circled around Alisa.

「…… Thank you, don’t worry about me. It doesn’t hurt as much as it looks. Besides, the loop will start soon. And when that happens, it’ll start all over again. Then it’ll be time to say goodbye to this injured body. Although I’ve been taking great pains to nurture my body ……」

Alisa looked up at the sky through the broken roof of the chapel.

Before she knew it, a mysterious black cloud had begun to swirl in the sky. The bottom of the clouds flickered in blues, whites, and reds. The colors of sunrise, sunset, winter, and the harbinger of a storm, changed rapidly. It was as if a child was playing a trick with the stage’s lights, using the sea of clouds as a curtain. It was clearly not a scene that belonged in this world.

「…… Bradd …… I’m indeed the one who is causing the loop. But you see, even if you could kill me, even if Scarlet didn’t die, the loop would still start. In recognition of your spirit of trying to protect Scarlet even after you died, I’ll tell you how to get out of the loop. But know that it is my mercy that I did not speak of it while you were alive ……」

With her back to Bradd, who had fallen on the floor, Alisa uttered the method.

Alisa did not tell a lie. If Bradd had been alive to hear it, his expression would have been twisted as he shuddered in despair. The conditions for breaking the loop and allowing Scarlet to move on to the next life were too harsh.

The golden beetles decided that the men who had harmed their master were the ones that had died while covered in blood.
With a low buzzing noise of their wings, they rushed to the corpses to exact vengeance.
Not content with just seeing them dead, the golden beetles swarmed around their bodies, eager to devour their flesh and bone.

「…… Stop it. I’m grateful for your feelings, but because these men were so persistent, you guys would find it hard to digest them. They made me suffer this much. I know you have your grievances, but let’s send them off with flowers.」

The golden beetles stopped moving at Alisa’s words.
Then, as if bewildered, they folded their inner wings, crawled about gingerly, and poked each other with their antennae. But they remained faithful to Alisa. Soon all the golden beetles unified their wills, their beautiful golden backs glistening.

The floor was filled with colorful illusory flowers. In the blink of an eye, the flowers covered the chapel that had been so tragically destroyed. The flowers gently caressed the remains of the Sleeping Beauty Scarlet and the men who died protecting her.

Looking at the scene, Alisa nodded and smiled a little lonely.

「…… Thank you, we’ll have to say goodbye here. I’m sorry, even if it’s you guys, I don’t want to show you my last moments.」

The golden beetles made a sad squeaking sound.

「…… I’ll see you again in the next loop. Goodbye, my sweet children ……」

Alisa started walking, while dragging her leg with torn tendons.
She stopped just once, glanced behind her, and gazed at Scarlet who was still sleeping silently.

「…… See you again, sleepyhead Scarlet. The most hateful and lovely person in the world. We will dance on the edge of time forever. I wonder what kind of expression you’ll show to me next. Ahh, I’m really looking forward to it.」

Then, with a terrible sneer on her face, Alisa turned around and slowly walked out of the chapel. She did not even look at the strange scene in the sky after her first glance at it. It was as if it were a trivial, insignificant matter. She proclaimed with her poised stance that she was the protagonist of this world, no matter how much she has been hurt.

「…… Scarlet, do you remember what you said to me when we put our swords through each other? …… I have always remembered it …… no matter how many loops we go through ……」

With a final sigh, Alisa disappeared from the chapel.

The bell of the bell tower next to the chapel resounded like crazy.
The earth-shaking sound rushed in from both the sky and the earth.
The rebels that had been engrossed in looting the burning castle opened their mouths like idiots as they looked up at the sky. Those thickheaded people finally noticed that something was wrong.

The world was coming to an end.