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Chapter 75 Part 7 – The ending of Rona’s awakening of love. And the people remember the sorrowful night and weep.

「…… Damn you monster boy ……!!」

The pale Matthew groaned.

「It’s my defeat.」

Underneath his mustache, the mouth curved up.

「…… It would be if you had been more ruthless.」

A metallic sound resounded.
The blade of Wendell’s sword was broken from the base and flew through the air.

「…… Kuh ……!!」

「Look at that. The noble prince is groveling on the ground.」

Matthew kicked the exhausted Wendell with all his strength.
Wendell rolled on the ground like a ball and could no longer move.

「Wendell-sama!!」

Rona’s scream echoed through the air.

With his remaining right hand, Matthew grabbed Rona’s neck from behind and held her high in the air.

「Young girl. Thanks to you, I could keep my life. If this kid had the guts to kill you together with me, the battle would have ended there. But there is no “if” in a battlefield. Because the force of the sword was so terribly powerful, the recoil from bringing it to an abrupt halt must have been extraordinary. He would no longer be able to move even a finger.」

The three old warriors gritted their teeth in rage.

「You despicable man ……!!」

At that time, just before his throat was slashed by Wendell’s sword, Matthew used Rona as a shield and thrusted her forward, causing Wendell to forcibly stop the attack. During the short instant while his left arm was chopped off, Matthew had used the vines to pull Rona to him. With a single glance he was able to see through the force of Wendell’s attack. He had a devilish intuition.

The slender blade of a child’s sword could not withstand the metal fatigue and the forced sudden stop. It ended up breaking.

Wendell had put in all his strength into the all-or-nothing attack and on top of that he had to forcibly stop it. His muscle fibers were shredded by the recoil and caused him to no longer be able to stand up.

「…… Well, you don’t need to worry. Even if your body is in tatters, with Wiskum’s excellent medical skills, your body will become stronger than it was before. Although by that time, you won’t even know who you are.」

With a triumphant laugh, Matthew threw Rona aside as if to say that she was no longer of any use to him and approached Wendell with the intention of capturing him.

「Fuhaha, an experimental body with the same characteristics as the True Emperor? I am really looking forward to this. You and this girl are both fools who can’t get rid of the shackles of affection. I’ll wipe off that shitty personality without leaving a single trace. You can thank me for that.」

Even with the loss of his left arm, his gait is undisturbed.
Rather than his strength, it’s his mental strength that is terrifying.

…… But there was one thing the cautious Mashu underestimated.

「…… I don’t care no matter how much you ridicule me ……!! …… But ……!!」

It was the strength and determination of a girl in love and the anger she feels when someone she loves is being insulted.

Rona pounced on Matthew and tackled him on the lower back. With that alone, no matter how much she put her heart and soul into it, Matthew would not have been affected. In fact, Matthew had snickered at her futile resistance. But then, his scornful laughter froze.

「…… But I can’t forgive you for insulting Wendell-sama!! …… Fall down!!」

Rona leapt into the empty sky while still clinging to Matthew.

「…… Uwoooohhh!?」

Rona’s unexpected action caused Matthew to panic. He was pulled down by Rona’s weight and momentum and stumbled in an unsightly manner. He desperately tried to bend his body backward so that he could regain balance. If he fell from this place, he would be headed straight down to the river surface far below. But he was still not used to balancing his body without his left arm and could not move his body as usual.

「You ……!! Let go!! Damn it!! Let go of me!!」

Even if he tried to shake off Rona, he couldn’t do it with only his right hand.

「…… Since it has come to this, I’ll split your body apart with the vines ……!!」

The strong vines entwined around Rona like steel wires and constricted her. The vines dug into Rona’s soft skin. And yet, Rona never let go of her hands.

‘Ronny ……!! Teddy!! Please!! Please lend me your strength ……!!’

Perhaps her prayer was answered. The heat from the fire caused an updraft and a tornado was generated with a roaring sound and sent sparks of fire high into the sky. The tornado directly hit the blazing stake and the pile of firewood and caused it to become unsteady. The stake crashed down toward Matthew. It was like a raging dragon of fire.

「Impossible ……」

Matthew’s eyes widened in horror as he gasped.

Even the walls of the nearest abandoned warehouse burst with fire and collapsed.

「No way ……!! How could I have misjudged the scope of the fire ……!?」

The mass of flames avalanched down toward Matthew. With exquisite movements, the flames avoided Wendell. There is nowhere for Matthew to run. It was as if Rona’s wish had been heard and fulfilled.

「Ronaaaa!! Stop it!! Don’t do that!!」

Wendell desperately tried to raise himself up and stop Rona, but he was barely able to crawl.

「I’m coming to help you ……!! So ……!!」

Looking at Wendell’s desperately outstretched fingers, Rona smiled.

「Thank you, Wendell-sama. I’m so happy to have been able to meet you …… Toward you, I ……」

Rona didn’t say anything beyond those words that were full of her emotions.
Because she thought that Wendell would be troubled by it.

「Rona-chan!!」

Marielle had rushed over after evacuating the town mayor’s wife and child to a safe place.
She was the only one who could read Rona’s words through lip reading.

‘Wendell-sama, I love you.’

Rona said silently with her lovely lips, smiled like a flower, and fell together with Matthew. The terrible sound of a crash resounded and a swarm of flames engulfed them both. A column of water rose from the dark surface of the river about three meters below and steam burst out.
Torrent of flames rushed into the water one after another turning the surface of the river scarlet in the night.

There was no hope for Rona’s survival.

「…… Ronaaaa!! Why!? Uwahhhhh!!」

Wendell pounded his fist on the ground and wailed.

He couldn’t reach her.
He couldn’t protect her.
Even though she was a flower that was courageously blooming with all her might.

Rona’s beautiful smile at her last moment left a deep scar on Wendell’s heart.
The tragedy of that night would always cast a shadow over Wendell’s heart. It is only after his fateful encounter with his future companion, Cornelia, that he is truly saved from the darkness.

「…… Nooo ……!!」

The three old warriors who had rushed through an opening on the sea of flames roared at the devastating scene.

「She is …… no longer ……!!」

Taking Wendell’s feelings into consideration, they muddled their words.

「It’s my fault ……!! Because I wasn’t strong enough, Rona ……!!」

Clinging to the chest of the white-bearded Brian who had come to help him up, Wendell cried as he screamed like a child. The white-bearded Brian urged the brown-bearded Bill and the black-bearded Bobby to look for Rona. The two nodded and ran off to depart on a small boat. They didn’t want to give up on the search even if it was only a one-in-a-million chance.

The white-bearded Brian let Wendell cry for a while.
He knows him well. Unlike his extraordinary talent, Wendell is kind.
He understands how deeply he was hurt by this incident.
That is exactly why Brian had to harden his heart.

「…… Young lord!! Just how long are you going to cry!! Please excuse my rudeness!!」

He pulled Wendell off and hit his cheek with his thick palm.

「If you feel frustrated, then become stronger!! So that you can protect the people you love from any enemy!! Other people may not be able to do it!! But you can!! You possess that much talent.」

For Brian who thinks of Wendell as his own grandson, it was a painful experience to reprimand Wendell when his wounds had not yet healed.

Truthfully, he wanted to comfort Wendell. But that would only leave Wendell with sorrow. Rona would not want that to happen.

Brian had to inspire Wendell to overcome the grief of his loss. That is his role. Even if Wendell resents him, even if he ends up hating him, he will accomplish his role. He will never let Wendell, the person Rona loves, to become a depressed man who is haunted by the past and is crushed by it. He thinks that that is the only parting gift he can give to Rona. The white-bearded Brian bit his lip.

The moonlight and the flames illuminated the shadows of the old master and his young disciple.