A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 7, Chapter 170: The One Who Takes That Hand

I felt a sturdy impact on my arms.

As soon as I felt this impact, my broken body groaned as if I could not withstand its force. Extreme pain ran through my shoulders and left arm. My body seemed to be complaining. I should have treated it more carefully.

However, my instincts did not listen to me, as the owner of this body. Instead, I acted immediately without thinking about the consequences of said action. Anyway, I wished I could get rid of the pain and suffering except when necessary.

With that in my mind, as my eyes blinked, black hair swayed in front of me like flapping wings. It even felt as if it were meshing with the night.

Ohh. I took a deep breath out of my lungs. I made it in time but my body was not cooperating. Then, I noticed the expression of the back haired woman.

「You look a little pale, Filaret. Your eyes have big dark circles. You need to remember how to rest from time to time. Sleep is a rest for the soul.」

I opened my lips toward the Sorceress Filaret La Volgograd, who had fallen into my arms as if she were falling from the sky. I could sense that the tone of my words was quite broken. It seemed that I, as a human being was worried about Filaret’s well-being. While running to this place, I wondered if Filaret might be safe somewhere upon seeing the pillar of magical power that looked awe-inspiring. My cheeks became loose.

On the other hand, Filaret’s expression looked strangely stiff, and she slightly shook her lips. She opened her lips for several times in an attempt to speak, but they closed silently again, and her voice did not come out of her mouth.

Her expression made me realize that she did not know what to say. It was rare for Filaret to behave this way. This whole scenario certainly did not look good.

While I was wondering what happened to the Filaret I knew of, her voice finally shook the space. I felt that her voice echoed well in my ears.

「…You…You’re right. If there is no one to wake me up, then I will not be able to sleep because I am afraid of oversleeping.」

Her voice leaked without much thought. Did she imitate me? Filaret also spoke with broken words. The way she spoke did not resemble the usual Filaret that often spoke with firm words. Of course, Filaret herself must have understood that irregularity.

Nonetheless, Filaret forced her lips to open and smiled at me. I could see her black eyes slightly moistened.

C’mon. How could a Sorceress behave this way? I thought that I knew people well, but it seemed that I was far from understanding these women.

When I gazed at Filaret’s current state, I noticed that her legs were still trembling as if they were having cramps. Well, she jumped from the second floor after all. Her cheeks seemed to be struggling to smile, even though nervousness ran throughout her body.

I moved my line of sight toward the upper part of the Lord’s House in search of the cause.

「Get ready, Lugis. This is the only place where you can’t miss the play. That thing is coming. So this not the time to dwell in unnecessary emotions, don’t you agree?」

Caria took a step through the darkness while holding the silver longsword. Beyond Caria’s gaze, and beyond Filaret and I, stood something, yes, without a doubt, something whose existence seemed unreal.

A lump of meat with the shape of a beast. The flesh-constricted arms and legs were strangely terrifying and deformed.

The lump of meat looked down from the second floor of the building, wearing flames in several parts of the body. The entire wall had been destroyed. This unbelievable sight seemed to come from a place out of this world.

However, that beast seemed to be observing us closely. However, how could it even see us?

I saw no eyeballs on the face-like section of that body. I could only see traces of blood and fat from that horrifying meat. I wondered if it was just imitating the observation. Such action made it seem as if it were just something alive without any meaning whatsoever.

My spine froze for a moment. I had no choice but to feel a physiological disgust after seeing such horrid appearance. I could sense the innermost part of my brain becoming numb as if it were having convulsions. Somehow, it felt as if an unpleasant part of my memory pierced my brain.

I slowly put Filaret on the ground and let her sit on the spot. Her legs did not hide the tremors, and it seemed difficult for her to walk properly.

Oh gosh. The ideal for me was to get out of this city quickly after taking Filaret’s hand. By the way, would that eerie chunk of meat let us escape safely? Perhaps, the root of that meat was good. It may see us off with a “pleasant smile”.

Unless the hostility, which it felt from the depths of the hideous flesh, directed toward us.

Not good. It would be dangerous to show our back to that kind of thing. It tried to reach Filaret moments ago. It probably wanted to absorb Filaret’s body into its own flesh. Since it failed the attempt, it may still want to absorb her. Turning our backs could mean our death. This situation was the worst. I would rather die in the ditch than be a part of that horrid mass of meat.

If I didn’t want to become a part of that thing, then I would have no choice but to swing my sword around and try to outsmart it. What a wonderful day it became, huh.

「Filaret, what’s wrong with you? It’s not like that thing came down from the heavens.」

I took a step forward while trying to shield Filaret with my body. I took my treasure sword and aimed it towards the beast.

While I spoke, I tried to grasp the situation within my skull. What happened here? What was that malformed beast? Why was it trying to kill Filaret? A large amount of thoughts ran from one end of my head to the other. However, I didn’t reach any possible conclusion. Irritation began to burn my skin slowly.

「…Mordeaux. That thing is Mordeaux Gon. No, not anymore. It was once that man, yes, but not anymore.」

Mordeaux, the pillager Mordeaux Gon. A mercenary, but a literal nobody who even robbed the position of Lord of Belfein. Filaret said that chunk of meat was originally Mordeaux Gon.

I see. I nodded upon hearing Filaret’s words, but I didn’t listen further than that. However, I obediently kept such words in my chest. Doubts were equally born in my chest, but there was no room or time to resolve them. Not now.

Caria also silently nodded to Filaret’s words and continued to hold her sword. Caria was ready to cut off that lump of meat immediately if she felt even a tiny amount of danger.

“…Groahhhhh…Ahhhhhhh…”

Was it a moan? Or was it just a distorted sound of its flesh? The horrendous figure of the beast, which shook a mass of flesh, made a sound that was both unpleasant and obnoxious.

The next moment when I took a deep breath.

Flames ran through the darkness of the night, scattering sparks in the air. The beast jumped in the sky, as if it was natural.