"Heal! Hurry, heal!!
Howard stopped moving at all.
But it's not too late. I'll definitely show you in time!!
I keep practicing healing magic hard. The blood is gradually stopping. Sure, it's stopped... but... Howard's gone...
"That's not true!! I'll definitely, definitely help you, Howard!
……
Speak up.
But there was no reaction. There's no way.
Yeah, and you know it.
I know.
... Howard is no longer in this world. All that's left is the remains. The soul, its heart is already gone. Signs of death that I have seen many times before.
The pulse has stopped and the pupils are completely dilated. I've seen so many signs of human death that I hate them. That's why reason knows.
Howard is... dead.
But emotions don't recognize it. I can't admit it.
If I admit it, if I stop this hand, I'll admit Howard's death.
Ah... I know.
Such a thing can only escape reality. But, but... I am!!
"Uhh... guh... Howard... Howard Ooh Ooh Ooh!
I couldn't help screaming.
The tears in front of my eyes make me blurry and I can't see. See Howard lying in a blurred view.
Hey... Howard.
I took the last word very well.
I know Howard left it to me in the end.
But what am I supposed to do?
How do I live in a world without Howard?
What kind of face should I smile at?
What kind of face should I have?
I don't know... I don't know, Howard.
As she mourns, she hears footsteps from behind.
"Ray"
It was the voice of the master. But I don't turn around, I just keep trying to cure magic. Even though I knew it wouldn't be in time anymore, I couldn't stop it.
"Ray"
"... we should still be in time!
"Ray, stop."
Master will take my hand and stop using magic. In response to her behavior, I shot through my master with anger.
In addition, I yell at my master. Try to hit her with an endless rage.
"Why are you stopping?!
"You already... know that, right?
"─ ─"
It was then that I could finally see the master's face clearly. She stared at her beautiful blue eyes. The face was just a faceless expression. She looked like a doll, as if she didn't feel anything.
Ray, let's go.
When I looked closely, there were many soldiers under my master's command. And not only Howard, they're packing their already desperate bodies into sacks.
After seeing such a sight, I finally understood reason.
The battle here is over. Many sacrifices.
"Oh no!
Speak up. But why did you still want to resist? It was too harsh to suffer the death.
This mission is not over yet.
"But!
Pacin and a dry sound came into my ear. Apparently, I was cheeked by my master. I stared at my master in a daze.
"Listen carefully. You know that. This is a battlefield. If our actions are delayed, more people will die."
Ah... yes.
It is always the master who is right.
I was just a deaf child. He was just... a helpless person.
Maybe it was a good idea. Maybe he was in good shape. Maybe he was optimistic.
Fighting on the battlefield is like this.
I thought of it somewhere like other HR. And I realized it for the first time by Howard's death. I felt like I finally understood the misery of this hellish battlefield.
"Let's go. Ray"
"... yes"
Master takes my hand, and I move on. Howard's body was already in a bag. I was staring at it with my face distorted.
And I noticed.
Master's hands are trembling again. Yes, it is.
It's not like Master doesn't think anything. The people we've been fighting with aren't dead, and they don't feel nothing. He just looked at me upset, and he was acting brave.
Understanding that makes me sick of my shortness.
But the battle is not over yet. We still need to keep fighting.
"... Ray. Get used to it, or you'll die next."
"... yes!
Tears falling from the ground.
Ah. Why can't I protect anything again?
Why am I so helpless? [M]
When I thought about it, I felt something twitching in my heart ─ ─.
◇
The state of war has changed dramatically.
Until now, the Royal Army was thought to dominate, but the opponent who butchered two of the seven greatest magicians went out to the rear instead of the front, so it was decided to consolidate the defense of the rear.
And when Ray and Lydia came back, there were members of the Special Selection Unit Astral who heard about Howard's crisis.
"Lydia! How'd it go!?
When Lydia came back to the base, Carol asked first. She then calmly reported the number of deaths in the battle.
There are twelve dead.
"Yes... what..."
"Among them....."
Lydia was lost when she tried to continue her words. I was wondering if I could pass on Howard's death like this.
But Carol sees Ray's face next to Lydia and realizes that she was slapped in despair. His body was covered in blood. But it turns out it's not Ray's trauma, it's his buddy's blood.
A considerable amount of time had passed and the blood was clotting black.
"No way...."
Howard was killed in the line of duty.
Abby responded to the words faster than Carol did. She was preparing a towel and a warm drink in anticipation of Howard's return.
Lydia and the others are back, so I thought I'd give them a warm drink in the cup right away.
But Abby drops the cup on the ground when the report comes to his attention.
Abby crawled into Lydia without worrying about Parisian and shattered pottery.
"Lydia!! It's true! No... you're lying, right? That's how you always make fun of me... hahahaha! Hey... you're kidding, right? No... what?
……
Distract your gaze.
Lydia couldn't face the way her best friend looked so painful. Meanwhile, Ray leaves in front of Abby and tells her not to wipe her after tears.
"I took care of Howard at the end."
"Ah... ah... Ray... are you kidding me like that?
Shut up and shake your neck.
Abby couldn't believe it.
Howard was always worried about Abby. You have been on the consultation for a long time. I went to dinner many times, and sometimes I went to play with him. Abby also knew that there was a slight pale love budding in it.
When this war was over, I wanted to move the relationship forward... that's what I hoped.
"Howard fought bravely until the end... bravely. No matter how worn out I was, I was fighting for my buddies..."
Tears and so on are exhausted.
That's why Ray was able to tell it. I think that's the best I can do for Howard.
"Ahh... ah... ah..."
Fluffing and backwards.
And Abby broke his knees and crouched down on the spot, covering his face with both hands, and started crying.
"Uhh... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
It is by no means an unusual sight. When my people died, it was normal for someone to cry like this.
Carol quietly shed tears as she enveloped Abby as she approached him with a cry.
Henrik, Flor and Delk were just there.
"Stupid... Howard... you are!!
Derek gripped his fist. I had a bad feeling, but it hit me and he was crying quietly again.
"Enzworth, what's the status of the war?
"Yes, the rear is now sinking."
Report the situation calmly to Henrik. But Henrik's fist trembled slightly. Nor did Flor, who was next door, stop crying.
Howard was always the mood maker for the special forces Astral. Well, none of them could be calm enough to hear that he was killed in battle.
"... Howard. I will put an end to this war."
Ray looks up at the sky.
The cloudy weather changed, and the sky was clear enough to feel good. But the sky was filled with crying underneath.
Those who suffer much sorrow.
A man who intends to carry on his thoughts with his death.
Howard's death triggered a major change in the Special Selection Unit, Astral.
And finally... the Far East was about to enter the final battle.