The poison gas continued to gather, compressing more and more, and when Simon snapped his fingers, one Skeleton Mage ignited it.
Fwhoooaahhh!
With a huge explosion, a massive fire burst forth. The heat and shockwave were so intense that it was hard to even open his eyes.
“Sorry, I’ll correct myself, Lorraine.”
Simon smiled.
“Even if you don’t like it, I’ll get you back.”
It was blinding.
The light and heat from the explosion behind were nothing compared to the blinding brightness of the hand Simon extended right in front of her, causing her to lower her head.
Why does he keep trying to give me hope?
“I told you… I’ve already completed the key contract.”
Simon turned his head. By now, small cracks were forming on Lorraine’s body, and it seemed like she was slowly disintegrating.
“This is the curse of blood. Becoming the key means becoming completely subjugated to the Demon Realm. I can’t live outside the Demon Realm anymore. So, I can’t go back to how it was before.”
She spoke with difficulty, as if sentencing herself to death.
But Simon, even after hearing this, remained unwavering. He seemed to be deep in thought, still trying to find a solution. After quietly mulling over her words, Simon spoke.
“What’s the condition to break the contract?”
“Death.”
She placed her hand over her chest.
“I can’t break the contract unless I die.”
“Is that so?”
Simon slowly approached.
Now, the undead of the 7th Legion were nearly dismantling the immortal soldiers, and the object in the direction Simon was heading was the heart of the Thousand Year Fragrance.
“I might be able to solve it.”
“Impossible! Death cannot be defied by anything! Every necromancer knows that!”
Well, she didn’t know much about the rules of the Thousand Year Fragrance. Simon silently showed his palm, and Lorraine’s eyes widened when she realized.
“The hand that was injured…!”
The hand that had been ruined from deflecting Bastion’s sword was now completely healed.
“I’ll start. Watch me for five minutes. And.”
He looked back at Lorraine.
“Don’t leave here. Even if your body breaks into pieces, I’ll save you.”
Now it was a familiar preparation.
In an instant, seven magic circles appeared, and the observatory was written as he prepared the monocle.
‘I’ll break it in a few uses.’
Having used too many Imperatus Compellos, the monocle was cracked and breaking apart. Simon put it on one eye and finally activated the dark magic.
<Imperatus Compello>
Wuuuuu!
In an instant, all thought stopped, and the heart of the Thousand Year Fragrance became visible anew.
The crystallization of the laws of immortality and reincarnation swirled in the information.
His mind momentarily blurred, but it quickly sharpened again. The way to break Lorraine’s contract, which had been a mere guess earlier, was now a certainty. As Simon focused on this knowledge, trying to record it,
[Long time no see.]
A voice echoed.
Simon’s heart skipped a beat. He knew immediately whose voice it was.
The person who had crossed the “gate” the first time he used Compello.
‘…The existence of everything and nothing.’
[It’s about time you reach your limit. Tired of the futility and insignificance of everything?]
The voice echoed in his ears.
At that, Simon felt his will slipping away, like a lie, and a new emotion filled him.
Futility.
Life is nothing but death and disappearance, and everything is but a fleeting moment. Why, then, was he struggling so hard to save one person?
[Now, come to where I am. You can do it.]
The voice whispered.
Simon felt the hand of that existence gripping his sight, trying to lift away the magic of the observatory and free him.
“Sorry, but now’s not the time to go there.”
[Huh?]
Simon desperately clung to his thoughts.
“I have to save my precious person.”
[Precious? The thought of preciousness itself is meaningless. Desire, craving, value. Does any of that really matter? Come with me and let’s observe everything from one step away.]
The voice said.
[The fleeting moment, a speck of dust, a tiny fragment that barely exists for a moment. Why put everything on that? Why are you doing this so desperately?]
“Because it’s fleeting—”
Simon gathered his will.
“That’s why it’s precious.”
Shaaaaaaaaa!
The blurry vision gradually became clear.
[…If that’s the case.]
Crack!
The sound of the monocle breaking. As something added to the formula in his mind, the Compellonia was forcibly undone, and Simon staggered back.
“Gasp! Huff!”
Simon panted and quickly collected himself, turning to look.
Lorraine’s body was falling apart. Her lower half was almost entirely gone.
‘Lorraine! You didn’t go to the Demon Realm and you trusted me!’
“Are you okay?”
Lorraine, who was vanishing, asked with concern. Around them, a few of the undead soldiers had fallen, and Bastion, still with some strength, was seen in the distance, his body marked with red wounds, coldly frozen.
Simon exhaled and nodded.
“Do you trust me?”
At Simon’s words, she nodded.
Kiiiiiing!
Because of the interference of the existence of everything and nothing, the plan was slightly derailed.
But…
‘There’s still a trace of truth in my unconscious.’
Just as Bahil taught me.
Simon spread the magic circles and began creating them in a trance. Not even aware of what he was creating, the runes and formulas inscribed by his fingertips were unclear.
But he simply trusted in his concentration and the flow.
In a short and intense process, the magic circle finally shone brilliantly from Simon’s hand. Now, most of Lorraine’s body had scattered, and only her chest and face remained.
“Gasp! Huff!”
Simon placed both hands on Lorraine’s chest, which was almost gone, and looked at her.
“Thank you, Simon.”
Srrrrrrr—
Finally, with the fleeting and cursed energy from the otherworld dissipating, Lorraine, free from the contract of the key, stood there.
“Thank you.”