In the darkness of the sun, the figure of a contemplator is trapped in a cell illuminated by the magic light of Ardis.
"Ahhh..."
But I couldn't hear the joy from Aldis's mouth.
A momentary moment as if the moment had stopped.
My heart rejects the sight in my eyes.
However, reason did not allow us to escape from the fact that it was an indisputable reality.
A shadow like a man hanging in the back of a cell.
That was the only life in the world.
"Lou... is that it?"
Aldis takes a staggering step.
His face warped as he gradually became clearer as he took two or three steps.
On the other hand, the chains buried in the jail wall are curved from near the ceiling and connected to the figure, entangling it like a curse on the body.
On the battlefield--no, the smells I've smelled many times in a ravaged town are all over the jail.
It's a familiar smell that often drifts after a battle, beside the women who were ravaged until they became like shells.
The figure does not wear any clothes to hide its body.
The bulge and gentle curvature of the chest clearly asserted that the captive was a woman, and at the same time painful wounds and mules marks represented the pain she had suffered so far.
The metal shackles that lead from the right shoulder to the neck, and the shackles that surround the upper abdomen, are each supported by a total of six chains, and the person is floating at a height just standing up.
Since there was nothing to protect the skin, the epidermis was darkened along the shackles and the light was dullly reflected.
There are no hand or ankle shackles.
No, the hands (...) and feet (...) for shackling were (...) or (...) (...).
Both arms can only be seen up to the upper arm, and both legs are lost from below the knee.
The shackles were directly on the torso because all the limbs had been cut off in the first place.
The cross-section seemed to be quite old, indicating that the time elapsed since the cut was not a month or two.
Greetings, Aldis approaches.
As you get closer, the color of your hair reveals its appearance, which brings further despair to Aldis.
"...... Lou"
Whatever the date of the fourth year may be, it will never be forgotten.
Small, pointed nose tip, slightly long eyelashes, those ears that turned red as soon as they were teased, thin lips that curved softly when smiling.
The face I used to smile at Aldis was right in front of me.
"Lou..."
Aldis's vision shakes with tears.
I took a step forward and heard a dry sound under my feet.
Aldis's foot crushed a small human skeleton.
The size of the skull beside it makes it understand that it is the skull of a baby.
There were three skulls.
I guess they were all newborn babies.
The scent of the lewd males surrounding them tells of the barbarism that is routinely practiced here.
Aldis's face warps even more.
I approached Lucille as far as I could reach and called out to her black eyes.
Lou?
But there was no answer.
The eyelids are not closed.
Aldis found himself in his eyes, but Lucille didn't see anything.
Without reacting to the presence of Aldis in front of her, she just seems to be looking away from her out-of-focus gaze.
I'm just opening my eyes.
There was nothing reflected by those eyes.
Aldis touched Rouchell's neck in horror.
I felt the warmth and definite pulsation in my fingers.
"I'm alive..."
It is by no means a joyful voice.
Tears overflowed.
The slightest joy is covered with remorse and sadness.
Rouchell's half-open mouth had lost all his teeth.
Just exhale quietly from your cracked lips.
"What's this...?"
Rona's anger beset her quietly.
"It's terrible, it's terrible..."
Rouchell was the first to find Lorna.
Rouchell took her to the mercenary group and took care of little Lorna until she was an adult.
Ardis is the longest date I've had, but for Lorna, Rouchell was the closest person to me.
That's why it was only natural to feel indignant at Rouchell's ruinous appearance.
"You're not dead... but you're not even alive!"
Not being dead doesn't mean being alive.
Without answering the question, I didn't see anything in his eyes.
Is it possible to say that the state of mindlessness, just not dead, is alive?
"Let's go home... Lou"
Aldis gently hugged Lucille.
The body you touched was warm.
That was aberrantly sad for Aldis.
Away from Rouchell, Aldis draws his sword and swings towards the abominable chains that hold her.
However, the chain, which seemed to be lightly broken, showed surprising strength.
Once again, Aldis tried to break the chain with a slash that increased the speed of his sword, but it also failed.
"Oh no..."
I was impatient with Aldis's face.
"I'll do it."
Rona stepped forward from the side.
I created a magic blade and hit it, but it didn't break the chain like Aldis' sword did.
"Isn't it just a chain...?"
Al, if the chains don't work, let's break the walls.
The two of them changed their aim to a wall.
Even if the chain cannot be broken, at least Luchel can be taken out of the place if the wall to which the chain is fixed can be broken.
It is not too late to remove the chains and shackles from this place.
But...
"What the hell is this wall!"
The wall stays in place despite Aldis's frustrating blow.
I barely got a small scratch, but no matter what I thought, it was unusually hard.
“I won't be long, Al.”
I know!
If you take the time, the wall will collapse.
Maybe we'll find a way to break the chains.
But Aldis is now breaking into their fortress.
If the people in the fort noticed Aldis' incursion, they could try a magic probe on some kind of beat. The time allowed was not so long.
"Wait, Al."
Lorna stopped Aldis, who was about to scrape the wall again, as she raised her sword.
"It's not good, the movement of the fort is strange." You may have noticed. "
"Damn....."
Aldis tries to explore the magic power of Lorna.
It was already quite a distance from the fort's site, but I could still confirm it to Aldis if it was only part of it, not the whole.
"They're coming this way. Looks like those five strong guys are with us. Al, stay like this--"
"That's why I'm asking you!" There's no point in having to bring Lou out! "
"But those five guys are too bad!" There are many other enemies! "
"I know that!"
I could do it alone, but Ardis didn't expect to win the fight with all five enemies on his way.
But after four years of searching, I finally got here.
I couldn't give up so easily.
Al, listen to me.
Lorna lowered her voice and spoke quietly to Aldis, who was about to get lost in the pocket of thought.
"It's reckless for the two of us to deal with those five at once." Even if we win, reinforcements will be coming from the fort soon. But there's no more time left to let Lou go. "
Lorna dared to say what she understood.
A serious look was directed at Aldis.
"We have to choose now." Leave Lou like this and get out of here. "
"You can't do that!"
Rona spoke to Aldis angrily.
"Or maybe... I'll make Lou feel better right now."
Aldis's expression hardened.
Unable to catch Rona's words, she shakes her head unconsciously.
"N-no, let's...... Rona, you say......"
If you can't get him out, you should at least make Lou easier.
"You want me to... kill Lou?"...... you're telling me to kill Lou! "
Finally grasping the meaning, Aldis grabbed Rona in a flurry of excitement.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
I'm not kidding!
Lorna raised her voice against him, losing as well.
"Why should I kill Lou!"
So you're just going to keep it that way!?
Aldis lost sight of Lorna's biting questions.
"I know what Lou did here."
Rona's eyes had the same color of rage as Aldis's.
Rouchell would have been like a family to Lorna.
Being trampled on with dignity, receiving such terrible treatment that it breaks your heart, you will not be able to stand flat on the figure of a family hanging in a dungeon with no light.
But compared to Aldis, who felt too much for Rouchell, he remained calm.
"Leaving Lou here means you'll keep doing it." Is that all right with Al? It doesn't matter, does it? "
Aldis regained a slight but calm tone in his words.
"I've been suffering for years and years. If we don't make things easier for him now, Lou will only continue to suffer. If you keep going like this... you're pathetic."
Rona's voice almost disappeared at the end.
This time, the Ardis were able to reach us because they were not at all alert.
However, now that it is known, security will undoubtedly be strengthened in the future.
In some cases, Rouchell may be transferred to another location.
I don't know if I'll get another chance.
Above all, I managed to get here after spending four years.
If I had left Luchel behind, I wouldn't have been able to reach her again.
"Lou..."
Aldis called out to Rouchell with a sigh.
I want a reply.
I don't care what you say.
But there was not a single groan to be heard from his mouth.
I want you to look at yourself.
Just for a moment, I want you to reflect yourself in those black eyes.
However, those eyes were no longer looking at nothing but a void.
"You... are... you... are you...?"
It was Aldis himself who asked questions that could not be answered.
"Al, the enemy is approaching." We're running out of time! "
Lorna inspires the decision.
I may never be able to reach her again.
No, maybe there's some way to heal Lucille.
But even though it wasn't a surprise, I didn't think I could beat the five people with that magic response.
Still, I don't want to make Lucille suffer anymore.
Unforgivable, the presence of those who sent her to this living hell.
But if Aldis dies here, who will save Rouchell?
― ― ― Who will avenge them?
Far from logical thinking, fragments jumping out of emotions fill Aldis's brain.
The fragments bumped into each other, causing further chaos without any clutter.
"Guu...!"
Clench your fists as you fall down.
The pain of eating my nails felt as if it was someone else's.
Close your eyelids and gnaw at your teeth.
The back teeth were making strange noises because they couldn't withstand the load.
I desperately suppressed the urge to hold my head and tingle, and forced my emotions to escape from reality.
But we still have to come to a conclusion.
Aldis didn't even have time to think about it.
Al!
Lorna inspires the decision.
Aldis stared into Lucille's unspoken eyes.
A never-ending gaze bursts into Aldis' chest.
――――――――
Just a few moments of silence.
At the same time, it is a fragment of emotion that floods indefinitely.
Aldis puts his hand on Lucille's cheek and squeezes out words that would never reach his contemplator.
"Lu...... Let's go home together......"
With a gentle stroke to her cheek, Aldis took a small step back and held the sword in both hands.
With each arm, she twisted her torso backward and stopped fluttering at the half-body level.
I desperately stopped my sight from blurring with tears, and I forced my breath to become rough naturally.
I don't want to make Luchel suffer any more.
Soon after I felt the pain, I decided with a single blow.
Failure is unacceptable. Aldis himself couldn't forgive it.
Hold your breath.
At that moment, the sight swaying with wonders and tears became clear.
Aldis's sword tore through the sky and headed toward Lucille's head.
The wielded sword slashed the flesh, broke the bone, and went to the other side.