The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 33

Chapter 33: The Blue Dragon’s End

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“What?! Why?! How the hell did you take that head-on and come out completely unscathed?! HOWWWWWWWW?!?!?”

Rein clutched his head with both hands, looking utterly confused. He was unable to comprehend the sight before him—unable to accept that we were still alive.

“Eh-Ehehehe… We made it alive somehow…”

“-?! GILBERT-SAMA!”

Losing my strength, I slumped against Elsa-san’s back. Yeah. What I did was actually very simple. While we were taking the full force of Reiner’s breath attack, I just kept casting healing magic on both myself and Elsa-san, over and over again to no end. 

When Elsa-san had been pursuing Reiner relentlessly, Reiner couldn’t land any decent attack and even if did land a fatal blow, I would just heal it immediately. The only way to take us down was to erase us completely in an instant. Which meant, he was left with no other choice. He had to use the trump card he had been saving for Mer-san. Yes. I was certain Reiner had been hiding a trump card. Because if he didn’t, then Klaus and his group would have zero chance at winning against Mer-san. Of course, there was a possibility that Klaus himself was the one hiding the trump card. but if that were the case, Klaus would’ve used it to take Mer-san down himself. The fact that Klaus had done nothing but running meant… The trump card wasn’t in Klaus’s possession, but in Reiner’s.

Which leads us to another question: Why did Klaus entrust the trump card to Reiner?

“Ma-Maybe the trump card… Has some kind of condition…. O-Or if he tried to use it against Mer-san… He’d be taken down by Mer-san … During the time needed to cast it…”

I barely had the strength to speak, but even so, I forced my voice out to tell them my hypothesis regarding Reiner. I also needed to make Reiner realize further struggle would be in vain and at the same time, I wanted to see if he still had another trump card hidden away.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed my guess was right. Well, of course. Everything had a price, especially something as powerful as that.

“A-Ahaha… He-Hey… Do you… Have any… Other trump cards left…? If you do… Then go ahead and… Use them… No matter what… I will make sure…. Everything you do… Becomes completely meaningless…”

“Damn it… Damn it… DAMN ITTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!”

Reiner’s face twisted in rage and despair as he spat out curses. That alone was enough to tell me—no, to tell everyone—that he, or rather, Klaus, had no other trump card left to use.

Reiner hung his head down in defeat and in that very moment, there was one person who didn’t waste this opening. 

—Thunk.

“…Ah… huh…?”

A long spear pierced through Reiner’s stomach. 

“YOUNG MASTER GILLLLLLLLLL!!!”

And it was Conrad-san who had thrown his glaive at Reiner. 

“Young Master Gil! Young Master Gil! Young Master Gil!”

Conrad-san yelled as he rushed over to me, weaving through the dragons with brute force. His face was filled with worry for me. He looked close to tears. 

Ahaha… There’s no need to panic so much, I’m fine…

“Young Master Gil!!”

“I… I’m fine… I can still… Use healing magic…”

That part was a lie. I couldn’t even heal the smallest scratch anymore, but… I still forced myself to pretend to be strong. I forced myself for the sake of Conrad-san and Elsa-san, so they wouldn’t be worried about me and also… To make Reiner realize any further attempts at resisting were futile. Well, it seemed we didn’t even need to worry about Reiner anymore though. Because… He was beyond saving. 

“Da-Damn it… Get out… Get out….”

Reiner gripped the hilt of the glaive, trying to pull the glaive out with all of his might. However, his hold was slippery due to the blood. Despite his struggle, blood continued to pour out from the wound. Soon, his strength began to fail him and eventually, his arm dropped limply. 

“He-Hey… Since this is the end… Tell me… Wh-Why did you all… Follow someone like… Klaus?”

Truthfully, I knew the reason why, but I wanted to hear it directly from this man’s mouth. I wanted him to tell us the reason why he didn’t choose Mer-san even though Klaus was a coward who had used underhanded tricks to kill the previous king. I wanted to know why Reiner still chose to follow Klaus despite that. I thought it was something I needed to hear as a form of closure for the man we had just defeated.

“Ha… Tch… Shut up… There’s nothing you… Can do… Deep in the mountain… Like this.. We just live our life… Thousand of years… And die in vain… While humans… They die so quickly… And yet… They get to enjoy themselves… Living however they want… While we… Even though we’re… Stronger than them…!”

By the time I realized it, tears were falling from Reiner’s blue eyes. Maybe this man only wanted to see the world, to know what were waiting beyond the constricting rules of his country. He wanted a world where he could be free. 

“You idiot… If it’s Mer-san… She would’ve broken the rules… Even though… She was planning on… Breaking the rules from the start…”

“Huh…? You’re saying that now…?”

Even without following Klaus… Without betraying Mer-san… The future he desired would be in his hands without all that. The expression on Reiner’s face didn’t show any sense of accomplishment or satisfaction of having done something worthwhile. What remained was frustration, regret, and guilt for having made the wrong choice.

But I didn’t feel sorry for him. I wouldn’t feel sorry for him. This man had the freedom to choose. He wasn’t like me, who had no freedom, no choice for ten years only to be abandoned by my own father in the end. And then, Reiner fell into the Dark Forest while consumed by despair. 

“Ehehe… With this… Mer-san… Will win…”

I can’t. I need to stay awake, but… I’m so unbearably tired… 

Though I tried to keep my eyes open, but my eyelids just kept drooping. 

“Conrad-san… Elsa-san… I will… Leave the rest… To you two…”

“-?! Young Master Gil?!”

“Gilbert-sama!”

Having exhausted all my strength, I leaned against Elsa-san’s back and let my consciousness drift away.

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