I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 61



60 – [In the Land of Elves – 28]

“Kuhk.”

Reina checked her wounds.

The Blood Palace was something that forced her to use power she wasn’t meant to wield, so the strain was immense. What’s more, since she was using it after such a long time, it felt like the resistance to withstand the burden had almost disappeared.

Not only that, she’d accidentally activated the Geas, making her head feel like it would split.

Her wounds were severe, and she was cursed.

Her condition was serious, but at least it seemed she hadn’t received a fatal injury, thankfully.

‘Actually, what’s important for me starts now.’

Because of the Geas, she didn’t know how to convey anything.

She couldn’t pass on any information about Alex, and even if they were to ask her, having caught on somehow, she couldn’t even nod her head.

The only way would be if they figured it out and asked, then Reina attempted to answer, triggering the Geas, which they could then use to decipher it.

It was just that whoever was asking needed to have an extremely sharp eye, a good hunch, and a good sense of things, needing to possess various non-logical attributes, and Reina would be in immense pain, that was the downside.

‘Is this a cheap price to pay for betraying the one who saved the world… and this attack was probably Alex’s doing, how could he go so far?’

Reina knew Alex was hiding something, but how could he possibly manipulate even the Demon King’s executives?

Until now, Reina had seen Alex as just a ‘human,’ even if she held a kind of faith in the kingdom. But if he could even move the Demon King’s executives, that changed everything.

She didn’t know what was what.

She wanted to give information, but she couldn’t, and even if she did, it wouldn’t be accurate, so Reina was honestly frustrated.

But.

“Are you both okay?”

“Les, thank you. We would have died if you hadn’t stopped them.”

“I-I’m alright…”

Among them, Les was the most seriously injured.

Even so, blocking it head-on was reckless, to say the least. The curse would keep him from moving properly, so he’d need treatment later.

The same went for Sylphie and Reina, though.

The curse was bad, but their injuries were severe too.

If they didn’t stop the bleeding, they’d die all the same.

“Sylphie, are you okay?”

“…”

Sylphie looked down at her own body.

The wounds were pretty bad, and her condition wasn’t exactly great, but she didn’t feel like she was about to die.

“I don’t know why, but I don’t feel like I’m gonna die. I really thought I was going to a minute ago…”

“It’s the World Tree’s blessing.”

“Blessing?”

“I don’t know how it happened, but the World Tree’s blessing is active. It’s what’s helping us survive by boosting our lifeforce, even with the injuries that should have killed us.”

In Sylphie’s case, she was a half-elf, but an elf nonetheless, making her eligible for the World Tree’s blessing.

“Anyway, you need to get treated. I have to go help take down that wyvern right now.”

“I-I’ll go too.”

“Don’t push yourself… not with that arm…”

“No.”

Sylphie’s eyes widened.

Following Silphy’s gaze, Reina also turned and saw Vane, fading away, looking back at them.

Hovering in the air, Vane glared this way.

“That b*stard…!!”

“Don’t worry, I’m dying… Even I can’t survive with a core that’s been shattered. To think I’m dying without even properly using the Grim Reaper’s power, it’s infuriating.”

“So what.”

“So I decided to give you lot a gift.”

“Huh?”

*Whooom….*

A piercing sound, familiar, sliced through the air, and Silphy’s eyes widened. At that familiar sound, she looked up and saw, once more, the shape of a meteor.

“Hahaha-HA!!”

“That b*stard, was he preparing this while we were fighting him!?”

Normally, preparing a meteor-like spell while fighting a powerful enemy was idiotic.

But Vane had underestimated them, while simultaneously preparing a failsafe. If he were to die, he would take his enemies down with him.

As the dust settled, Vane smiled right until the end.

“Well then, if there really is a next life, let’s meet again!! Hahaha-HA! Hahahaha-HA!!!”

Laughing wickedly until the last, Vane completely vanished from that spot, dead.

“It’s smaller than before, but it’s still enough to wipe out this entire area.”

If it were the same situation as before, they could just order everyone to evacuate.

But right now, quite a few elves were collapsed, and thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, even though they were critically injured and unconscious, most of them hadn’t died. Which meant, they could tell that if that meteor were to fall, they would be in danger.

“I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“If I fire the Comet Palace at full power…”

“You’ll die in your condition!”

“I’m going to die anyway. If so, it’s better if only I die.”

“Why…”

Reina felt it instinctively.

This man, Silphee, was fundamentally the same kind of person as Olivia and Titania.

He’d do anything to achieve his goal.

In Reina’s eyes, there was a point of connection between those who were extremely good and those who were extremely evil.

It just so happened that the good chose goodness as their method, and the evil chose evil. There was something that those in the middle couldn’t understand.

Perhaps it was the quality of a hero.

Perhaps it was the quality of a savior.

A spirit hard to put into words.

‘…I have nothing, but.’

If Silphee did it now, he would absolutely die.

He couldn’t control it like Titania could, using it would kill him.

Then.

There was only one thing to do.

Do something Silphee didn’t know, something only Reina knew.

It was a somewhat cowardly tactic, but there was no other choice.

Because there was no question who was more worth surviving.

“Alright, then let’s shoot together.”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

“We’ll share our mana. That way, both of our survival rates will increase. There’s a chance we’ll die, but at least there’ll be a chance we’ll live. It’s better if we all make it out alive.”

“…Understood, if that’s what Reina-nim wants. Still, it’s a relief, if we succeed, our sins might be a little lighter.”

“Well, this might all be my fault.”

“Huh?”

“No time! Let’s shoot!”

“Yes!”

“I’ll hold the bow, you draw the string!”

“Ah, yes!”

Naturally, Reina gripped the bow, and Silphy staggered as she drew the string.

Holding the Starfall Bow, she looked up at the meteor above.

They had to deal with it before it fell, no matter what.

‘There can’t be any more deaths because of this damn raid!’

After shouting, Ray awkwardly smiled.

This too was surely selfishness.

The root cause of this raid, even if not directly, she was indirectly responsible. No, if you followed it to its roots, it might not be an exaggeration to call it direct.

“Pour in your mana! To the limit!!”

“Yes!”

Magic was coalescing within the Starfall Bow.

The power unleashed from the Starfall Bow in an instant would surely be on a different level than what Sylphy had shot just now.

Sylphy hadn’t even known how to use the bow when she’d shot it earlier, but Reina at least knew its method.

So, while it wouldn’t be as precise or delicate as Titania’s, she could use the method to gather magic power, and the force of a Starfall Bow shot using the proper method was considerable.

Rather, it could be said that Sylphy was amazing for having pierced through the body of Bane, a high-ranking demon general, even with an improper method.

‘Starfall Bow… it fits in my hand too, I might not be qualified, but just think of it as me borrowing Sylphy’s qualification for a moment. Just a very brief moment. I’ll give it right back.’

“Alright, enough magic has gathered! The recoil will come the instant we fire! Got it!?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll shoot on one, two, three!”

“Yes!”

“One!”

Sylphy clenched her teeth.

Every nerve was focused solely on channeling magic. Leaving the task of maintaining that channeled magic to Reina, she gazed up at the meteor.

Shoot on three.

Shoot on three.

On three.

“Two!”

Thwack!!

“Huh.”

Sylphy didn’t understand the situation for a moment.

Reina seized the bowstring Silphy was pulling back, and with the same motion, kicked Silphy away.

Silphy, now sprawled on the ground, stared at Reina with a bewildered look, and at that moment, magic flared intensely around Reina.

It was an atmosphere and sensation almost identical to when Titania had released her arrows.

“Lady Reina?”

“Sorry, I lied.”

“Huh?”

“The Starfall Bow only inflicts damage on the shooter. One of us is going to take 100% of the burden, you could say.”

“So, what does that…”

“One of us is definitely going to die. So… this is the most sensible way.”

It was true that she needed Silphy’s magic.

And Silphy needed Reina’s technique.

Above all, even if the burden was truly halved, Silphy, who was practically paralyzed from mana exhaustion, would likely have all her magic nerves burst and die if she took the full force of the Starfall Bow.

‘Well, not that I’d be much different.’

Someone had to die.

And even a child passing by would know who that had to be.

From noble mtl dot com

The good and the evil.

Silphy and Reina.

The answer was clear.

“No…!! That’s not right! You’re not Titania! You’ll die!!”

“I know. …Even so, I can protect you.”

Sylphy and Reina’s combined magic arrow would surely be powerful.

Maybe not comparable to Titania, but still.

“Meteor Bow!!”

*Thwaaang!!*

The ground cracked, the fissures spreading wide. A testament to inexperience, unlike Titania, the magic diffused around it, the compression incomplete.

But it was enough.

The magic was enough, and the arrow ascending grew instantly, large enough to swallow the meteor whole. Considering most of the magic was Sylphy’s, the sheer volume was absurd.

*Kwa-ga-ga-gang!!*

A massive sound echoed as the meteor in the sky exploded violently.

‘For a sinner’s last act, it’s… decent, I guess.’

Is there a hell?

I hope so.

At least, there would be hope for atonement.

But, yeah…

‘I never did apologize.’

I’m sorry.

I never could say those words to the victims.

Clinging to regret until the end, dying so selfishly.

I laughed bitterly at myself.

Magic veins burst, and blood flowed.

And then.

“Reina?”

“…….”

At that small voice, I turned my head.

The woman who had arrived here, held in Royce’s arms, was a complete mess, like a corpse from the battlefield. In some ways, her condition seemed even more severe than Reina’s now.

‘Olivia.’

Even so, she was alive.

Of course.

I can’t win even once.

“Reina!”

Olivia slipped out of Royce’s embrace and grabbed Reina who was lying on the ground.

Blood flowed.

The burst magic nerves seemed to already tell of her fate.

‘Why.’

Reina looked at Olivia.

This wasn’t a bad ending for her.

One of the targets of her revenge was dead, and Elvenheim had been saved.

She had protected people as a hero, and at the same time, one of the people she needed to take revenge on was dead. It wasn’t the best possible ending, but not a bad one either.

Yet.

“Why, are you making that face?”

“Don’t die!”

“Uh, why….”

“You think you’re paying for your sins with this? Don’t be ridiculous!! There’s no sin that’s paid for by dying!! *I’m* the victim, *I* should be the one to do it! Why are you just dying on your own!? Whether you get punished, whatever, you have to live! You have to live and face your sins! But you’re just dying by yourself!?”

“…….”

I’d seen emotional Olivia before.

But this was… how should I say it.

The direction of her being “emotional” seemed different.

“You have to live and pay for your sins!! You can’t die like this! You’re running away! You’re running away down the easy road of death!! Coward! Idiot! You’re going to be selfish to the very end!”

“…….”

“Even if everyone else says you did your best for Elvenheim at the end, I’ll still say you’re selfish! So don’t die! Live and pay for your sins! Live carrying the cross of that ‘evil’ you committed, regretting it every day!!!”

Her face looked like she was about to cry, but I couldn’t tell if she was anguished that Reina was dying, or if she was feeling wronged.

Maybe it was both? Or maybe it was just Reina’s self-centered perspective that made me think that?

“If you die here, I’ll resent you forever! So don’t die!! Properly, the sins… the price for the evil you committed, you have to pay…….”

“…….”

I wanted to tell her everything, the truth.

I wanted to give her the little information I knew.

But it was impossible.

Even in this situation, the Geass was working properly.

But there was one thing I had prepared.

The little information that Reina knew would be helpful.

Dying like this, surely the condition will be met.

Now.

Just.

“S-sorry…”

Should I apologize?

Or should I die in silence?

I agonized over it.

Wouldn’t this apology hurt Olivia even more?

But that wasn’t for Reina to decide.

Lowering her head, apologizing, it was Reina who had to apologize for her sins, forever. How to accept it, how to react, that was for the victim to decide.

If they’re displeased by it, I should never utter an apology again.

If they accept it, I should apologize forever.

“… You, scared.”

Olivia murmured.

“…Die well, Reina. …Receive torment in hell befitting your sins.”

“Y, yes.”

That face, like she’s about to cry, why is it like that?

I don’t know.

Was that the face of the Hero Olivia Reinhart?

Or maybe it was just Olivia’s face.

For Reyna, who’d never built a real relationship, she couldn’t even grasp the truth behind that face.

Just.

Their clasped hands trembled.

“……”

That was the end of Reyna Forest.

Completely breathless, it was impossible to tell where those eyes were looking anymore, she wasn’t breathing at all.

Olivia lowered Reyna to the ground, staring at her for a brief moment.

Then she got to her feet.

“Royce! Help me! We’re going to kill the rest of the wyverns now! Silphy and Les, fall back! Get treated now, and have that curse dispelled!”

“Lady Olivia…”

“……”

Olivia spoke, drawing her holy sword.

“Let’s go, Royce.”

“……”

Royce just watched Olivia silently for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes, let’s go.”