The rampaging magical beast was so fast it was impossible to dodge, especially since the two girls had yet to recover from its mental attack.
In the nick of time, Merlin made a choice where her body moved faster than her brain.
She released her hands from her ears and, using every last bit of her strength, slammed into Machina.
Machina, whose leg was already crippled, didn’t react in time and simply watched as Merlin pushed her out of the way.
Machina’s pupils contracted sharply, and the world seemed to slow down a thousand times over in that moment.
She watched helplessly as Merlin’s hands pressed against her shoulders, watching herself fall backward without any strength to resist.
‘No…’
‘Please, don’t…’
‘This can’t be happening…’
“No!!!!”
*Squelch.*
A cruel, vivid red flower instantly bloomed across Merlin’s back.
The delirious magical beast quickly retracted its scythe. Instead of continuing its pursuit, it dragged its massive body back into a corner, where it continued to tremble and hiss in the shadows.
Yet, Merlin didn’t even let out a cry of pain. She simply looked at Machina and smiled with relief.
Machina’s mind went completely blank, and she scrambled over toward her. She didn’t care that the gravel on the ground cut into her knees, nor did she care about her elegance or dignity.
With trembling hands, she tried to plug the horrifying wound in Merlin’s abdomen, but blood flowed incessantly through her fingers. It was so warm it felt scalding, yet it turned her heart ice-cold.
Right, she was a mage.
Machina began to squeeze out the little mana she had just recovered, condensing ice to stop Merlin’s bleeding. The abdominal wound was gradually covered by frost, and the blood stopped flowing.
“You can’t pass out.”
“I’m still awake.”
Machina’s voice was shattered beyond recognition. Tears streamed from her eyes, mixing with the dust on her face before dripping onto Merlin’s pale cheek.
“Why did you do this… why… I don’t care if I die… but you can’t die.”
The black-haired girl’s tears fell like a rainstorm.
Merlin’s breathing was faint in her arms, but as she looked at the sobbing Machina, Merlin forced her lips into a vengeful smile.
Her blood-stained fingers twitched slightly, as if she wanted to touch Machina’s face, but they ultimately fell back limply.
“Humph… That’s for saying I’m useless and unreliable. Even without magic… there are things I can do.”
Merlin looked at the panicked Machina.
“Your expression right now… finally isn’t that fierce look anymore… I actually really hate that cold side of you.”
A mouthful of blood welled up, and Merlin looked into Machina’s eyes.
“Cough…”
Merlin stared at the person whose tears were flowing like a fountain.
“Even if I’m not as strong or as reliable as you… I can still protect you… right?”
“Shut up! Don’t say another word.”
But Merlin ignored Machina and continued on her own.
“Sigh… I think I’ve really gone mad.”
As she spoke, tears welled in the corners of Merlin’s eyes.
“Don’t cry, please, save some of your strength.”
Machina began to rummage through Merlin’s magic pocket for potions, but the bag was empty save for a few herbs. There wasn’t a single healing potion left.
‘She didn’t even leave a single bottle for herself…?’
Merlin paid no attention to Machina’s movements.
“I thought that during these years we were apart, if I could fade part of my memories, then I could fade even more. As long as time wore them down, even if they left traces in my heart, I could slowly accept it.”
Merlin panted intermittently, the rise and fall of her chest growing weaker.
“One day, I’d be able to accept the fact that you were laughing with someone else under the blue sky.”
“Don’t talk. I’ll listen to whatever you want to say in the future, just stop talking…”
Machina gripped Merlin’s hand tightly, completely ignoring the twitching magical beast.
It didn’t matter anymore. If Merlin died like this, she didn’t care what happened to herself.
That was right, she would just die too. She didn’t have the courage to live on anyway. She didn’t want this kind of ending… otherwise, what was the point of protecting Merlin all this time?
However, Merlin used her last ounce of strength to pull her hand away and gently pushed Machina.
“I hate the current you… Machina!”
Merlin gritted her teeth, forcing her body into a cross-legged sitting position.
The burning, agonizing pain in her abdomen had turned into a bone-chilling cold and numbness after Machina used ice magic to seal the wound. Paradoxically, this helped clear her head.
“Merlin…”
Machina looked at her empty hand, her heart throbbing with a sharp pain.
Merlin’s hot tears fell. She felt her emotions becoming increasingly difficult to control, as if she were pouring out a lifetime’s worth of grievances.
“I hate you. After Mom practically forced me to go to the academy, I saw you again. And all you did was bully me…”
“I’m sorry, Merlin… I’m sorry.”
Merlin felt her emotions spiraling.
She gradually felt like she couldn’t breathe. She struggled to swallow the murky air, her voice thick with tears and accusation.
Machina could only watch Merlin quietly. She couldn’t do anything else to provoke Merlin’s emotions.
Merlin whimpered like an abandoned kitten.
As her injury made her emotionally unstable, her personality regressed into that of a little girl.
“I feel so wronged… You’re so gentle and kind to everyone else, yet I’m treated worse than a regular classmate. You’re always fierce with me and never give me a kind look…”
Machina finally couldn’t help but interrupt with a sob.
“Then what about you… always letting those girls hug and cling to you.”
“They’re all girls… they don’t mean any harm…”
Machina wanted to say more, but seeing Merlin in this state, she couldn’t bring herself to speak. She shouldn’t provoke her at a time like this.
Merlin let out a weak chuckle.
“Even if I’m not as strong as you, and I’m not reliable, I can still protect you, can’t I? Who told you to always look down on me for being useless… I’m going to prove it to you, for saying I was useless! I’ve been holding this fire in my heart for so long…”
Looking at the blood-covered, pale Merlin who was still trying to act tough, the defensive walls in Machina’s heart completely collapsed.
“No… I don’t need this kind of protection… I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that to you… I’m sorry!”
“I feel so wronged, and I hate you so much… even if you abandoned me, even if you yelled at me and bullied me every day. I still wanted to protect you. Besides, you only got into this trouble today because you were protecting me.”
“Merlin… Merlin, stop talking… save a little strength… I beg of you…”
“Humph, if I don’t say it now, I might never get another chance. Consider this my final complaint.”
“That won’t happen…”
“At that time, I felt so useless, so regretful, just watching you be taken away. When you were out there fighting, I couldn’t do anything for you. So, I had a vague feeling that we would part ways once the war ended. Even if I understood the reasons behind it, did that make the feeling of helplessness go away?”
Merlin smiled with relief, a look so heartbreakingly beautiful it was devastating.
“Finding a reason for myself didn’t make me feel any better.”
“A reason? What reason?”
Machina knew this wasn’t the time to ask, but she couldn’t help herself. After all, it concerned Merlin.
The blue fairies were just as panicked as Machina, fluttering chaotically around Merlin and calling out her name.
“I’m still not as strong as you… but was I reliable this time? Was I at least a little bit useful? Haha…”
“You’re hurt so badly… stop talking… I beg you…”
“I hate you the most, Machina. Especially when you look down on me… but look at me now. Even if I’m weaker than you, I can still protect you… I just wanted to win this one point… Humph, being able to use magic doesn’t make you that much more amazing than me.”