The atmosphere was heavy.
That was how it felt to Eleanor.
It was an apt description of the standoff between the boy, the man, and the girl who got caught in the middle.
The man frantically scanned his surroundings. Calling for backup was a far safer bet than facing the monster who single-handedly carved his way here.
And he wasn’t wrong. Though the boy had eliminated many of his peers along the way, there were still plenty of them left.
Ti wasn’t in the boy’s, Dowd’s favor.
But, as Eleanor knew, this guy excelled in situations like this.
“—”
Redirecting one’s gaze was an old trick, but it was effective enough to fool anyone if used correctly.
The boy’s gaze shifted slightly. As looking away at a ti like this was a strange move to make, it naturally drew the man’s attention in the sa direction.
In that instant, Dowd fired the pistol in his hand with lightning speed.
One shot to the shoulder. Another to the leg.
Though it wasn’t enough to give the man a fatal injury, it was enough to render him unsteady on his feet.
The man scread and collapsed, dropping the girl he had been holding. Dowd dashed forward and caught her in his arms.
“—Phew.”
The boy let out a sigh of relief as he checked the girl for injuries.
She was unhard, his reckless charge had paid off.
Eleanor chuckled as she observed this scene.
Seriously…
This was a familiar sight to Eleanor.
Fraud. Deception. Trickery.
These had always been Dowd’s favorite thods to overco crises—tools he’d seemingly possessed since long before he beca the man he was today.
In any case, the protagonist managed to save the heroine, and the story was on its way to a happy ending.
At least, that was how it should have gone.
But mistakes always happened when you least expected them.
“—YOU LITTLE FUCK—!”
The man, who had collapsed after being shot, roared furiously as he pulled out a ‘second’ firearm from his coat.
This left the boy completely blindsided, as he thought he had subdued the man enough by disarming him.
His eyes widened.
The man was ‘subdued’, not ‘dead’. There was no telling what desperate move he might pull.
A mistake unimaginable for the ticulous man Eleanor knew.
—No
When she gave more thought into it, it was only natural.
No one was perfect from the start. Even if the boy had learned so much, he still couldn’t do everything flawlessly.
It was just, the boy lived in an environnt where the tiniest mistakes could bring forth the most rciless consequences.
The man raised his gun and aid at the boy, and a mont after, the sound of gunpowder exploding echoed through the space.
But what followed wasn’t the boy’s blood splattering.
“—?”
An incomprehensible image flashed through the boy’s mories.
Gunshot.
Bloodstains.
A snow-white dress stained bright red.
“—”
His body reacted before his mind could process it.
He fired his pistol again, and this ti, a hole blew through the man’s head. Still unable to register anything else, he caught the girl’s collapsing body.
“Why… why did you—”
He wanted to ask, why would she do such a thing. But before he could finish, the girl interrupted him, gasping between her words.
“Ah, this?”
Although her face was contorted with pain that she had never experienced before, she still managed to let out a smile.
“I figured… I needed to do at least this much to find so courage.”
“What the hell are you—”
“I have one thing to confess… No, maybe two?”
Despite her nonsensical words, the boy frantically examined her body.
“—”
His face instantly turned pale.
The shot had hit her in a fatal area. There was no hope of recovering from this.
And it was his own mistake that caused all this—
“Don’t bla yourself.”
Before he could finish the thought, the girl flicked his forehead.
“I didn’t get shot because of your mistake, okay?”
“—Stop talking.”
It was a flimsy excuse, but the boy, on the verge of tears, could only manage to let out that reply.
“—It… It’s not going to stop anyway. You can stop with that weird…pressure thing.”
“I SAID STOP TALKING!”
He pressed on the wound.
But, the bleeding still wouldn’t stop. And the more her blood gushed out, the paler her face beca.
The boy’s mind was drowned in an indescribable agony.
And at that mont…
The girl’s calm voice reached him.
“They said… I don’t have many days left to live.”
“—What?”
“They said it wouldn’t be strange if I’d drop dead any day.”
The boy stared at her, montarily forgetting the situation. She smiled faintly and continued.
“So whether I die now from this, or a bit later from…my illness…it doesn’t really matter, does it? You can stop.”
“—”
“Well, now that things are like this, I can finally say it. I don’t know if I could have said it before I died, but…facing death really gives you courage, hehe.”
The girl coughed before continuing.
“Hey.”
With a sly smile, she pulled his head down.
Their foreheads touched.
“Go out with .”
The boy’s face contorted horribly.
It looked like he was crying, or maybe laughing.
“What the hell are you saying—”
“It’s my lifelong wish.”
“Fine, fine, whatever you want—”
“So, we’re dating now? Starting today, we’re a couple, right?”
“Yes, sure, so just stop—!”
“Alright, let’s break up then.”
Seeing the boy’s dumbfounded face, she giggled again.
“Save that part for when you et soone you can truly love, okay?
“Also, you know…”
With a sigh, the girl wrapped her arms tightly around the boy.
“Before I die… I really wanted to try it. Dating…that is.”
Her voice was laced with a pained groan.
“But you know, I wondered if saying sothing like this would be a burden on you. If my first and only relationship would leave you with a tragic mory. I thought about dying without saying a word. But in the end, I couldn’t help myself.”
“—You.”
“I…want you to be happy. Even when I’m gone, please et soone good, have children with her, build a family…”
The girl who gave a beast a human life continued speaking.
“Please…live like a human. That’s all I ask.”
“…”
“Bring…happiness to those around…you.”
Ordinary.
Just a simple, ordinary life.
“—”
Cherish what she had given him.
The girl’s breathing slowed and the light in her eyes faded.
And then…
A terrifying silence descended.
“…”
Ti passed.
And passed.
The boy’s mouth opened.
“—”
But no sound ca out.
Then the pain ca.
An agonizing, harrowing pain.
Just the act of breathing felt like he was swallowing fire through his lungs and throat. It felt like his chest was being wrung dry mid-exhale.
“—”
The mory beca blurred.
Like static on a screen, the following scenes were jumbled together. It was clear that he wasn’t in his right mind back then.
But even in that state…
The ‘experience’ that was burned into his mind was sothing Eleanor could clearly feel.
—A cruelty born from a mistake.
Calculating every variable with almost paranoid ticulousness.
He obsessed over the safety of those around him because of the pain of loss.
And never letting anyone into the deepest part of himself, for fear of facing that pain again.
By shutting everyone out, he could ensure he’d never suffer this kind of agony again.
No one beca the way they were without reason, and he was no exception.
This fragnted mory buried deep within his mind was the foundation for nearly all of Dowd Campbell’s behavior today.
The ‘core’ of who he was stemd from this experience.
In other words…
This ti…
The situation Dowd Campbell was in right now…
…Might be more dangerous than he realizes.
Could be far more serious than he thought.
She had seen everything she needed.
It was ti to leave.
—But, wait a minute.
Eleanor suddenly pondered, resting her chin on her hand.
I swear I’ve seen that girl sowhere before…
The girl at the root of Dowd’s mories…
She had definitely seen that face before.
…Sowhere close to —
With that lingering thought…
Eleanor’s consciousness was abruptly pulled back to the ‘outside’.
●
“—Huh?! W-Woah!”
As Eleanor suddenly bolted upright, Professor Astrid let out a startled cry.
It was a very natural reaction, given she had done that without any warning.
“W-What’s wrong?”
As Astrid stamred, Eleanor, now standing, quickly responded.
“I have a question for you, Professor.”
“…What is it?”
“This ability to see into soone’s ‘mories’, can Professor Mobius do it too?”
“…I don’t know for sure, but…”
Despite the sudden question, Astrid managed to let out a reply.
Perhaps because she could see the seriousness in Eleanor’s deanor.
“He should be able to do it, to so degree… Like, he’s probably able to analyse the nature of soone’s trauma to so extent…?”
“Then, could you tell where exactly Dowd and that man are currently facing each other?”
“W-Wait, what are you planning to do?”
At Astrid’s question, Eleanor let out a sigh before replying.
“I’m going to save my husband, of course.”
Her tone sounded like she was saying sothing obvious.
That was the clearest answer soone could ever /genesisforsaken
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