Red-Eyed Siblings (7)

“Argh?!”

Teska clutched his head and collapsed.

Sudden pain. Disconnected memories.

‘I confronted Claire Ryan. And then…’

He had witnessed Claire grab something, and though he didn’t know what it was, he had moved to stop her.

And then the situation led to this moment.

There must have been something in between. Something definitely happened.

“Right, Claire Ryan…!”

He had underestimated her too much. He thought she was just a weak girl.

That’s why he couldn’t prevent her sudden action.

As his headache subsided, Teska’s murderous intent grew stronger.

Children are merely powerless beings.

Just creatures swept along in a devastated world—that’s what children are.

Someone who had lived in such a world in the past and received salvation in the form of becoming a half-demon.

“I was trying to save you, and you dare!”

A twisted savior.

Teska genuinely believed that becoming a half-demon was salvation.

It wasn’t fanaticism. He simply knew such a world.

In a desolate world where one could only wait for death amidst endless hunger and pain, what did it matter if one’s neck was leashed, as long as they could survive?

Yes, this wasn’t bondage but salvation.

Just like Eremus, just like Lilia, Teska too was a being whose growth had been stunted by becoming a half-demon.

He was essentially a child who would throw tantrums when things didn’t go his way.

It was precisely because of this nature that he could see through people’s hearts.

After all, children can be the most honest beings in this world.

“You’ll pay for hurting me!”

Teska was cunning and meticulous, yet simultaneously naive.

The main reason he had never surfaced until now…

Was because he was aware that this aspect of himself was dangerous.

Even at this moment, Teska recognized that he wasn’t being calm, but it was impossible to control his emotions that had begun to spiral out of control.

“Does it hurt?”

“…!”

Teska gritted his teeth and looked up toward the voice.

Right, he had forgotten. This was the room where Claire Ryan was staying.

Blinded by anger, Teska had even forgotten what he had come here for and glared at Claire.

And the moment their eyes met…

“What… is this?”

He sensed that something had changed.

There was no change in her outward appearance. Though she was standing without leaning on anything, she still looked fragile.

Then what had changed?

Teska pondered, unable to identify why he felt the current Claire Ryan was different.

“So you understand pain too?”

“…”

Ah, he understood now.

Teska finally noticed from Claire’s cold tone.

The hostility dripping from her voice.

A fighting spirit he couldn’t find in the girl he had encountered until now.

Her eyes had changed.

The dim red embers that had looked like they might extinguish at any moment now shone like beautiful rubies.

The opponent wasn’t running away. She wasn’t going to pull any more strange tricks either.

Teska could see that.

“Tch!”

So he fled.

He had never felt shame in the act of running away. As always, he just wanted to survive.

If Claire had changed in some way, if she had gained the will to fight…

Teska felt discomfort and fear from that alone. He had never stood his ground and fought properly before.

He had always been a fugitive, a coward.

Even with power, it was much more beneficial to act that way.

For someone like him, the very act of standing ground and fighting was incomprehensible.

Bang!

“Ugh?!”

But Teska’s escape was blocked before Claire could even do anything.

The barrier that had enveloped the entire domain.

It now covered this room. Since its range had narrowed and its direction reversed from outside to inside, there was no way to escape from here.

“You will die there.”

A cold voice coming from beyond the door. The voice of the apostle, Cielo.

‘Already? No, it might not be “already.” How long have I been unconscious here?’

There was no escape.

The moment Teska realized and accepted this, he turned around again.

He disliked the act of fighting.

But that didn’t mean Teska was weak.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Claire didn’t move.

She just watched Teska, who had tried to escape, with cold eyes from the same spot she had been standing.

Teska gritted his teeth, feeling as if she was looking down on him.

He was one of the Seven Blades, a direct subordinate of Belial.

He wasn’t someone who should be disrespected by anyone.

“You ask if I understand pain?”

Teska swung his arm widely.

Although he wasn’t specialized for combat, he had the power of shadows bestowed by Belial.

He had no technique. He just wildly swung shadows that would tear apart everything in sight.

But that was enough.

As his inherent power was weak, Teska had received the most power from Belial. Just wielding it was enough to have defeated many formidable opponents.

“Of course I do!”

He knew the moment hunger and thirst transformed into pain.

He also knew the moment heat or cold turned into pain that gnawed at the skin.

He knew such pain, which is why he ran and became a half-demon.

“What about you? Do you think you know what pain is?”

Teska smirked at the scene after the mist cleared.

The bed and table were already shattered into pieces and turned into garbage, and Claire was covered in blood.

It seemed like she had tried to protect herself with holy magic, but it only managed to block vital spots, and even that was flickering now as if about to go out.

“Looks like you wanted to lecture me or something, but too bad.”

Bang!

Teska swung his arm again.

Claire seemed pinned in place, unable to even approach Teska’s attack.

Will alone can’t change anything.

Regardless of effort, a devastated world pushes people into despair.

“No matter what you say, my heart won’t move.”

“I don’t want to persuade you either. I just had something I wanted to ask.”

“Huh?”

Teska tilted his head.

He had already repeated his attacks several times. In his excitement, he had forgotten, but she should have been dead by now.

Yet Claire was still standing.

In the exact same spot as before.

“Have you ever had to think carefully and move cautiously with each step so as not to fall?”

One step.

Claire finally moved.

She moved toward Teska, and he swung his arm repeatedly as if to stop her.

“Have you ever had to forcibly straighten your face that grimaces with each breath?”

Another step.

Claire moved as if unconcerned about her wounds.

Teska finally realized.

It wasn’t that Claire couldn’t move. She simply hadn’t moved.

She knew she couldn’t fully block Teska’s attacks, yet she didn’t avoid them.

“Have you ever been in a situation where you had to be careful even lying down in bed because your head was dizzy with fever?”

“You…”

“That’s truly terrible. Was the pain you claim to understand like that too?”

Claire just wanted to speak.

“If you understand pain, you should think carefully based on that experience about what I’m going to do now.”

That no one understands pain better than her.

* * *

It had been about 20 minutes since Claire’s room was sealed along with the <Dreamer>.

And the mist of the <Dreamer> had disappeared about 5 minutes ago.

During that time, all sorts of explosions could be heard from inside the room.

“Will she really be alright?”

Línea anxiously asked Lost, who was leaning against the wall and smoking indoors.

The fact that the mist of the <Dreamer> had cleared meant there would be changes for Claire.

Though it could have negative effects, Lost clearly thought it would be fine. Línea didn’t intend to deny that, but…

“Claire doesn’t even know how to fight. What if she gets hurt…”

“Línea.”

Lost, who had been watching Línea anxiously stamping her feet from the corner of his eye, chuckled.

“You know about Claire’s constitution, right? So, if she solves that problem, what will Claire become?”

“Um… a healthy person?”

“I wasn’t asking something so obvious. Well, it’s not wrong.”

“I-I’m sorry. Um… Since she’s loved by the gods, couldn’t she become a priest?”

“Claire is better suited to be a paladin or a Templar.”

“…Even if she has the aptitude, she hasn’t learned anything, has she?”

Claire hadn’t even learned basic self-defense. Her only way to protect herself was a single shot with a gun procured from Nidavellir.

Even that was a high-risk, high-return method that would backfire if unsuccessful.

And she was now trapped in such a small room. Línea couldn’t help but worry.

“Línea, what talent does one need to become a knight?”

“Talent?”

Aura? A robust physique?

Various elements flashed through Línea’s mind, and finally, an exemplary answer emerged.

“Will?”

“Well, that’s a bit idealistic, but close enough. No matter how solid the body or how good the technique, if one doesn’t have the mindset to face an enemy head-on, it’s impossible.”

A knight must not retreat.

How could a protector who must defeat enemies protect the people behind them if they step backward?

“But I think the answer is patience.”

“Patience? Hmm…”

“Someone who has lived every moment in pain has now gained a healthy body. Would they cower at moderate pain?”

“…That’s a terrible reason.”

She became insensitive to pain because she had suffered too much. The girl named Claire Ryan was already accustomed to pain.

More familiar with that pain than anyone, she can stand her ground.

That’s certainly a quality that those who willingly walk into danger must possess.

“That’s what indomitability is. You’re strong because there’s no turning back.”

That’s why Claire was strong.

She hadn’t stopped since she set her direction.

“So she’ll handle it well.”

“But I’m still worried.”

“Well, that can’t be helped.”

Lost trusted Claire. It wasn’t just because he believed in her talent or mindset.

He simply knew.

“You’ll understand later.”

Before his regression.

Right after awakening her holy power, Claire literally tore apart twenty demon soldiers around her with her bare hands.

* * *

“Uh…”

Teska felt fear.

After taking her first step, Claire was slowly and surely approaching.

In the process, she didn’t avoid the attacks directed at her.

Until now, he had thought the barrier’s durability was decreasing, but as the distance shortened, he realized that Claire was simply not blocking areas other than vital spots.

Just her walking slowly and proudly toward him, as if she felt no pain at all…

“Wait… Wait, don’t come closer.”

Even though Claire hadn’t launched a single attack, Teska couldn’t help but be terrified.

The wounds didn’t last long either. The holy power packed into her body regenerated her flesh without even using separate holy magic.

“Burke! That’s right! If you kill me, you’ll never see Burke again!”

“…”

“I-if you kill me, Burke dies too! I’ve put such rules in place so that half-demons under me can’t betray me!”

“So if I kill you, all the demons you created will die too.”

“Y-yes! That includes Burke! You should think carefully!”

Claire hesitated for a moment.

It was a lie. Surely a lie to avoid the crisis.

But there was a possibility.

The mere mention of Burke’s existence confirmed that there was some connection between Teska and Burke.

So even if it was just a 1% chance, there was that possibility.

Yet Claire sneered.

“I was right not to respond to your conversation back then.”

And she began to move her feet again after the brief pause.

If she hadn’t found her answer beforehand, she might have stopped here.

She might have let Teska go because of the 1% hope that Burke might be alive.

But Claire now understood.

It was her responsibility to kill Burke.

What she had been resenting wasn’t Lost who killed Burke, but herself who couldn’t do it and left the end to someone else’s hands.

So even if Burke, who might possibly be alive, dies because of this choice, she won’t regret it now.

She had already made up her mind. Even if Burke himself were standing in front of her now, she wouldn’t hesitate.

Because cutting that leash would be what she should do.

“Gack! Keurhk!”

Claire got close to Teska, who was flailing and swinging shadows, and strangled him with her hands.

“Spare…”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? I have no intention of persuading you.”

Crunch!

She applied so much force that Teska felt his bones breaking despite protecting his neck with shadows.

“My brother was foolish. That’s why he was deceived by you. My brother was the one who fell into the abyss, frustrated with reality after being taken in by all sorts of sweet talk.”

“Gek!”

Crack!

Claire broke Teska’s neck bones, which kept regenerating, multiple times.

She controlled the intensity to allow the broken bones to regenerate, giving him pain.

Teska randomly swung shadows to attack Claire as if trying to somehow deal with the situation.

He tried to cut off the hands and wrists grabbing his neck, and even tried to strangle Claire in return.

But Teska couldn’t help but feel terror at the sight of Claire, who didn’t even blink at any of these measures.

“But he was still my brother. A brother who didn’t hesitate to do such a foolish thing for me.”

“Gurk! L-let go!”

She had been thinking since the moment Teska first mentioned Burke.

“So I had no intention of handing you over to anyone else.”

She wanted to kill Teska with her own hands.