224. Bloom

    Robert sinks into thought.

    At this very moment, the moment his hands tremble, a thought seizes him.

    Did I place too heavy a burden on Cell?

    He asks himself.

    Did that child collapse because I gave her too much to bear?

    As expected, the answer was already clear.

    Correct.

    She was a child with deep emotions from a young age...

    ‘Dad, I’ll try to become stronger.’

    The daughter who repeated those words was now becoming a full-fledged monster.

    Corrupted by a demon, and a high-ranking one at that.

    The outcome of the battle was already decided. Objectively speaking, even if he used White Flame, the chances of defeating her were nearly nonexistent.

    So, drowning in his emotions, he can only think endlessly.

    ''Cell... Why with a demon? You didn’t have to... You didn’t have to break yourself like this...’

    Robert’s gaze, as he points his sword at his daughter, is filled with emptiness.

    Not just nothingness, pure void itself.

    “Everyone, get out of here! It’s a demon ambush!”

    Even as Ulysses’ voice rings out, Robert, who had positioned himself under the pretext of handling the situation, cannot bring himself to act.

    What kind of father will his two daughters remember him as? The thoughts swarm his mind relentlessly.

    Cell’s transformation was unnatural when he thought about it.

    Though she had always been skilled with the sword since childhood, she was never this much of a genius.

    So, to please him, for Thalia and the family, she must have succumbed to the demon’s whisper.

    And of all demons, it had to be Belial, the Monarch of Lies, escalating the situation beyond his control, until she ultimately chose to take her own life for their sake.

    His daughter was about to make that choice. What could a father do in return?

    ''Is the only thing I can do to let her go peacefully? Can I even do that?’

    Cell had already grown stronger than him.

    Ulysses was evacuating the others. Nox was barely holding the enemy back, and Noah and the other Seven Stars weren’t here, they had their own duties to attend to.

    Even if they were, they might help, but they wouldn’t be able to kill Belial completely.

    Unless it was White Flame, he wouldn’t die.

    Knowing that, he hesitates.

    Because that means, right now, he is the only one who can kill his own daughter.

    “Snap out of it, Knight Robert!”

    Nox shouts at him.

    Robert jolts back to reality and looks at him.

    He’s slightly shorter than himself, but far more dependable than when they first met. But what’s most impressive is his audacity to yell at him in this situation without faltering.

    While doing what anyone finds difficult, Nox blocks the enemy’s sword.

    A blade flies toward Robert, Nox deflects it and exhales sharply.

    Robert, nearly struck by the blind attack, finally regains his senses.

    “Sorry.”

    “You’ll buy time. Please hold on.”

    “What?”

    As Nox speaks to him, who has the sword in hand with a blank expression.

    Robert can only be stunned.

    “I’m going to save Cell von Stiliner. Someone once told me that giving up because it’s ‘too late’ is what disqualifies a knight. So I’ll do my best... So.”

    Nox’s eyes gleam coldly.

    “Don’t you give up on your daughter either.”

    “...What if I can’t?”

    “Like I said, you’ll buy time.”

    Nox parries the enemy’s sword and steadies his breathing. Cell, wielding a thin red blade, slices through space and unleashes a rapid slash.

    Different from White Flame, yet fundamentally similar.

    Then.

    Chaenggg——!

    A heavy strike is deflected by Nox.

    “If you buy as much time as possible, I’ll resolve everything. The first thing you need to do is believe in your daughter.”

    “What?”

    “...Cell won’t die even if you attack her with everything you have. Belial won’t abandon her body either. So there’s no reason for you to hesitate here.”

    Robert’s brow twitches.

    To make such a judgment in this moment, he’s quick.

    In a situation where anyone would be overwhelmed, he still finds an opportunity to use his opponent in this mid-battle?

    This is something only the most exceptional among knights are capable of.

    ''Nox von Reinhaver.’

    Why?

    Nox von Reinhaver. A child. Barely fifteen.

    Yet his words carry weight, and Robert can’t help but feel he possesses a vessel greater than his own.

    ''Theo... Your youngest is truly remarkable. You can close your eyes without regret.’

    “Understood. Nox, let’s do it your way.”

    After a brief pause, Robert steps forward and begins swinging his sword in earnest.

    White Flame ignites as he attacks Cell, and Nox swiftly moves back.

    Adjusting his distance, he approaches Thalia and asks Pell behind her.

    “How much longer do we have to wait?”

    “The power of blessing... To use it requires an enormous amount of mana. At least 30 minutes of continuous pouring.”

    “We’ll help.”

    The ones who arrive then are none other than Noah von Trinity and my magic master, Astrid.

    Though absent earlier, they came quickly at my request. The situation isn’t so bad now.

    Three of the Seven Stars have gathered.

    Ulysses von Fritschel, Noah von Trinity, Astrid von Kaliud.

    With these three, buying more time, and ultimately making Thalia bloom should be possible.

    “We leave it to you.”

    “No. I’m sorry, but there’s one problem the Headmaster mana alone can’t solve.”

    “What is it, Pell-kun?”

    “The magic I use forcibly blooms the target’s abilities. ''The power of Blessing.’ To activate it, two conditions are needed. First, the target must be suited for blooming. Thalia meets this, so no issue there... but...”

    “We don’t have time. What’s the other one?”

    I ask impatiently, but Pell hesitates before answering.

    “Because it’s forced blooming and requires a massive amount of mana, the target must have the willpower to endure it. Unimaginable pain and suffering will overwhelm Thalia. The chances of success... are vanishingly low.”

    “Pain?”

    “In most cases, it triggers trauma and crushes the target. Without a miracle, there’s no hope.”

    Pell grits his teeth and continues.

    “In the worst case, Thalia might never wake up.”

    Even if Pell had prepared the ritual faster, Thalia’s talent bloom.

    The power of blessing, required these conditions.

    This was something I hadn’t known even while playing Inner Lunatic.

    ''She must feel the pain. The probability of success is slim.’

    Is it right to gamble on Thalia like this, to plunge her into agony?

    What’s the best choice I can make in this situation?

    It might mean hastening her death.

    ''But.’

    The answer was already clear.

    The Thalia von Stiliner I remember.

    Timid yet unyielding, never breaking, always pushing forward despite repeating the same struggles every day.

    If she’s such a person, she could do it.

    “I’ll buy time with Robert. Headmaster, Master, please help.”

    “Do you really believe Thalia will wake up? That she’ll defy expectations like a miracle?”

    Noah asks as I turn away. I smile with absolute certainty.

    “Yes. Maybe even more than I believe in myself. I trust her. And.”

    More than I, who endlessly hesitated and weighed options in uncertainty.

    Perhaps I trust Thalia more.

    “Even if she fails, I won’t resent her. Regret is just a pointless luxury.”

    “...Go.”

    Astrid says simply.

    From here, it’s a battle against time. Whether we endure or not.

    Haa, I steady my breath.

    And step toward Cell again. Robert is already badly wounded, and Ulysses, after evacuating the students, can barely block attacks.

    From here, I’ll intervene aggressively. And the only thing left is for Thalia to break through her own walls, surpass them, and become a genius.

    But I believe.

    — I’ll try.

    Those words carried a resolve stronger than anyone else’s.

    I knew that better than anyone.

    **********

    ''In the end, I couldn’t win this time either.’

    I think to myself.

    Feeling the mysterious mana enveloping me, I replay the battle in my mind.

    The source of this deep despair, which no one else could understand, was my one and only sister.

    The one who abandoned everything for her family.

    Nox once said.

    — There’s something more important than becoming stronger.

    — Not losing yourself. That’s what matters most.

    — When I stopped being the ‘me’ I remembered...

    — People left me.

    During special training, I idly chewed on his words before asking.

    — If I change, will you leave me too?

    I knew it was a childish question.

    But what else could I do? I wanted to ask. I wanted something to lean on.

    Right now, I’m weak.

    I train repeatedly to improve, but the likelihood of never surpassing my sister is high.

    Everyone told me to give up.

    Except Nox.

    But he told me.

    I have to change..

    That I need to become stronger.

    Otherwise, you won’t be able to save anyone.

    So I asked.

    If I fail, if I’m not enough, if I fall short.

    Will you leave me?

    At that, Nox smiled faintly for the first time in a while and simply said.

    — As long as you don’t give up on me first, I won’t abandon anyone.

    — ...Though it’d be more accurate to say I can’t anymore.

    Whoosh!

    Mana burns through me, burning like flames over the whole body, and it feels like my mind is flying away

    Why is this happening?

    Honestly, I don’t know.

    And now, the scene unfolding before me.

    It was me that badly defeated by my sister, rolling on the ground.

    A corner of a certain scene.

    Fragments of memories pierce me like shards of glass, sending chills through my body. What actually is this?

    Why am I seeing this scene?

    Even as I sink into despair, I recall Nox’s words.

    — I won’t give up.

    Distorted, it shifts into something easier for me to hear.

    — I won’t

    — Give up on you.

    The words fracture and reform into that phrase.

    I realize it again.

    Back when I first went to the Reinhaver family for knight training, back when I approached Nox solely to grow stronger after seeing his potential,

    I love him far more now than I did then.

    I love how he teases me for hating spiders, but secretly moves them away when they appear.

    I love how he acts like he’ll leave me, but always ends up on my team, pushing me away yet warmly lending his back.

    It was never just a fleeting emotion.

    Crackle——!

    Even amid that, the pain continues.

    At the same time, I think.

    What if I don’t protect my sister now?

    My father, who rushed here upon hearing the news. Headmaster. My classmates.

    ...Even Nox might die.

    The Nox who risked his life every moment to protect others.

    To protect me. I can’t just watch him die.

    Amid the crushing weight of these thoughts, I stop thinking about the pain.

    The bitter despair, even the summer memories.

    Even my blind fear of spiders, none of it matters now.

    Just a desire to see one person fills me completely. And to do that, I instinctively realize the best course is to slowly accept the mana surrounding me.

    Kuungg.

    I surrender my body to the mana that gathers faintly, spreading through me like mayflies.

    The next moment, I wake up and see Nox’s back.

    His bloodied white hair, his broad shoulders on the verge of collapse. With bloodshot eyes, I rush forward and point my sword at the demon who stole my sister’s body.

    “Don’t take my sister, Nox...My father, away from me.”

    I won’t let anything be taken from me.

    Crackle!

    Blind emotion becomes pure white flame, erupting into a pillar of fire.

    I won’t retreat anymore. No matter who stands in my way.