After bringing Ellyad back, Thrett immediately placed him on the bed, where Ellyad fell into a deep sleep, occasionally murmuring uncomfortably.
Thrett leaned on the low table, his gaze fixed on the sleeping Ellyad. Whenever Ellyad twisted in pain or muttered in distress, Thrett would gently stroke his forehead and cheeks, trying to soothe his discomfort. He knew Ellyad wasn’t sick, but he didn’t know what was causing his current condition. Despite his anxiety, he chose to spend all his time with Ellyad, repeating the same actions over and over.
“Are you having a nightmare? Is it painful? Is there anything I can do for you?” Thrett repeated these questions in his mind, even though he knew he was powerless.
Time passed, and Thrett noticed that the snow outside had accumulated quite a bit, but he was tired of the snow with its faint white light, having seen it for hundreds of years. The people on the street gradually dispersed, leaving only a few lingering figures.
He didn’t understand what made everyone so excited and celebratory about this thing. However, he remembered a different kind of first snow… It was unlike any other snow, a very precious sight, but Thrett couldn’t recall exactly what he had seen at that time.
Ellyad began to murmur again, gripping the blanket tightly until his knuckles turned white. Thrett immediately pried open his fingers and intertwined them with his own, allowing him to feel Ellyad’s discomfort at any moment. With his other hand, Thrett gently brushed aside Ellyad’s blond hair. Previously, whenever his fingers brushed past, Ellyad’s expression would relax, but this time Ellyad struggled to open his eyes.
“Ah…” Ellyad’s gaze found Thrett’s figure, and he let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you feeling okay?” Although Thrett wanted to directly ask Ellyad about the cause of his fainting and discomfort, Ellyad seemed too weak at the moment, so it wasn’t the right time.
“Thrett…”
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Unsure why Ellyad called him, Thrett leaned closer to ask.
“You’ve always been here…” Ellyad suddenly smiled, his expression pure and childlike as he looked at Thrett.
“Of course.” Thrett felt that Ellyad’s response was somewhat unusual, but still returned a smile to him.
“Can you kiss me?”
“Huh?” At this sudden question, Thrett initially thought he had misheard, but Ellyad’s gaze was so serious that it seemed as if refusing would shatter him.
Thrett didn’t reply with words but immediately pressed his lips against Ellyad’s.
How could he refuse?
After a gentle peck, Thrett leaned back, but Ellyad grabbed Thrett’s collar with his free hand, pulling their lips together again.
The kiss gradually intensified, turning from comforting touches into passionate embraces. Eventually, they couldn’t stop, their intertwined hands exchanging warmth and igniting a frenzy of desire.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Vevvfcis offilcu atja Siisjv’r yftjnlbg kjr gfjiis boo, Ktgfaa lwwfvljafis klatvgfk, rajglcu ja Siisjv klat mbcmfgc.
Ktlr alwf, Siisjv vlvc’a lcrlra bc mbcalcelcu. Pcrafjv, tf rja eq jcv wegwegfv, “P’w tecugs.”
Ciatbeut atfs tjv fjafc vlccfg cba ibcu jub, rlcmf Siisjv rjlv tf kjr tecugs cbk, Ktgfaa lwwfvljafis kfca vbkcrajlgr ab atf gfrajegjca ab bgvfg rbwf obbv ab yglcu eq. Mbgaecjafis, la kjr cba qfjx tbegr, rb atfgf kfgfc’a wjcs qfbqif vbkcrajlgr. Qtlif kjlalcu obg atf obbv, Ktgfaa qbcvfgfv. Pa rffwfv wbgf ilxf Siisjv kjr afralcu tlw jujlc—afralcu ktfatfg Ktgfaa kbeiv rajs ys tlr rlvf bg cba.
“Why doesn’t Ellyad believe me?” They had made vows, agreements, and even a life-threatening contract. Ellyad had solemnly promised before that he believed in Thrett, but in the end, he kept doubting.
Is there something influencing his emotions, making him unable to trust anyone?
Although Thrett was somewhat resentful of Ellyad’s behavior, he felt more sorrow. Ellyad always held a sense of fear towards Thrett, but the one truly vulnerable was Ellyad himself.
‘Then I’ll tell him again and again, as many times as it takes, that I’ll stay by his side until he stops doubting.’
Determined, Thrett returned to the room with the food, but there was no sign of Ellyad. The window was wide open, allowing the first snow of the year to drift inside, covering the floor with melted snow.
“Ell?”
Thrett rudely set the tray aside and leaned out of the window, but there were no footprints in the snow outside. Instead, there were traces of snow being disturbed on the window sill.
Thrett immediately climbed up and saw Ellyad sitting on the slanted roof of the inn, clutching his body tightly with both hands, fingers digging into his back.
“Ellyad!” Thrett rushed to Ellyad’s side, reaching out to pat his back. However, the moment his fingertips touched Ellyad’s back, he let out a short cry of pain and collapsed into Thrett’s arms, his fingers uncontrollably gripping Thrett’s clothes tightly, clinging to his chest.
“It hurts… it hurts so much…” Ellyad gasped heavily, his voice turning into cries of pain that he couldn’t suppress.
Thrett wanted to help him heal, but there were no visible wounds on Ellyad’s body, and even using healing magic had no effect.
“Ell, tell me where it hurts, so I can help you.” Unable to see the wound, Thrett could only bypass Ellyad’s back and hold him in his arms to comfort him, planning to find a solution after understanding the problem. The snow of light continued to fall on their hair, shoulders, and bodies, but to Thrett, these dots of light were nothing but a nuisance.
“On… my back… it’s… aah!” Ellyad let out a cry of agony, and in the next moment—
The snow-white radiance blossomed from Ellyad’s back, casting a clear and divine white brilliance against the night sky, exuding a strong presence. The Demon Lord knew what it was.
It was the other pair of wings of the hero, which was supposed to be his counterpart.
However, the scene the Demon Lord expected didn’t unfold as planned. Instead of the pair of pure white wings that should have appeared, what emerged from Ellyad’s back were white skeletons protruding abruptly. The fragmented and severed bones, along with a few remaining feathers, still emitted light dutifully. Ellyad, as the hero, didn’t have intact wings but rather a pair of torn and broken wings.
Amidst the endless night, amidst the drifting of countless stars, the incomplete wings trembled timidly. The hero’s pain had reached its limit. He gritted his teeth, fighting back sobs, and intermittently pleaded to the Demon Lord for help:
“…Wings… my wings… it hurts so much─”
—
The Final Act – The Nameless One and the Gentle World (Part II)
—
‘My world, my happiness, it has all disappeared,’ Snow began to think.
In the completely dark room, there echoed the weak and feeble cries of children, some sobbing intermittently, completely unable to arouse sympathy, but rather causing people’s scalps to tingle, with an atmosphere of eerie dread permeating the air.
Locked inside this foul-smelling black space for who knows how long, with hands unable to see anything, the children trapped inside could only rely on touch to navigate their surroundings.
At first, everyone cried out of fear, having been forcefully separated from their parents or witnessing their loved ones being murdered before their eyes. After crying for a long time, they then began to fear hunger and the unfamiliar environment, but the children cried for a long time until their voices gradually weakened, and a strange stench began to spread throughout the entire space.
Snow quietly hugged his knees, leaning against the wall. The position he chose had a hint of circulating air, driven by instinct.
Snow Ryuu Blaika, that’s the child’s full name, and it’s quite common. Children born under the blessing of the Snow of Light are often named this way. There are also many children on the continent of Sipistole who bear this name, although it’s a beautiful name, it’s not uncommon.
Unfortunately, perhaps only here, this ‘Snow’ has not received the blessing of the goddess. The scene of his parents being eviscerated before his eyes still vividly remains in his mind. On a snowy day, he lost everything in an instant.
He was afraid and cried, but the more he cried, the hungrier he became. In the end, he discovered that children who cried too much would only turn into a foul-smelling mass. So he decided to keep his mouth shut. Despite being young, Snow was remarkably intelligent. He was always more mature in learning, judgment, and action than children his age.
After who knows how long, the door of the black room was finally opened, and light poured into the room. Finally, he could see the scene inside, but at this point, the room was silent.
“It’s all clear now, we can begin,” the person who opened the door called out.
Shortly after, several adults entered carrying lanterns, pinching their noses. They walked among the filth and unconscious children on the floor, occasionally kicking those who lay there. If they found any still breathing, they would roughly drag them up and toss them to the adults behind. These adults then carried the dying children out of the room.
‘Are they being saved?’ Snow silently wondered, but a sense of inexplicable fear stirred in his heart.
“Sobs, ahhhhhh!”
A sudden scream exploded from outside the door, breaking the silence of the room. The children who were still alive trembled in fear and tried to get up, wanting to know what was happening outside.
“Well, that makes things much easier,” one of the children who had gotten up was immediately found and dragged out by the waiting adults outside.
“Yaaaaaaah!”
Another loud scream pierced the air, and Snow, unable to restrain his fear, peeked his head out slightly, only to be abruptly grabbed by a strong hand and tossed to the adults waiting behind him.
Due to being starved for too long, Snow and the other children brought out had no strength to struggle. They were dragged away and placed on the ground by the adults, like livestock awaiting slaughter.
Despite it being winter, there was a warm current flowing through the hard floor. Snow nestled on the ground, his cold body quietly absorbing the warmth.
A fiery red silhouette flickered in the corner of his eye. Slowly shifting his gaze, he saw a child’s shirt being stripped off, and the fiery red branding iron mercilessly sinking into the child’s smooth back. The sizzling sound of the branding iron and a wisp of smoke instantly erupted the child’s piercing screams!
“Ah, ahhh!”
The horrifying screams pierced Snow’s eardrums, causing him to jerk his body and desperately crawl backward.
After taking a bite, the branding iron left, leaving behind the small, trembling body with a large amount of saliva and foam flowing from its mouth and nose. Tears no longer flowed from the white eyes.
“Alright, next one.” The man holding the branding iron beckoned, and Snow was kicked towards the furnace by a large foot.
As the branding iron was about to fall on him, Snow’s last ounce of strength erupted in an instant. He rolled to dodge, mustering all his energy to try to get up and escape.
“Hey, hold him down properly,” the man holding the branding iron muttered casually.
“This little guy sure has some stamina,” remarked another man standing nearby, raising his foot. The massive sole of his foot landed squarely on Snow’s face. Suffocation filled his nostrils as the child’s frail body was thrown back toward the furnace. The man holding the fiery red branding iron wore a wicked grin on his face. The beast-like branding iron no longer gave him any chance to escape. It viciously sank its teeth into Snow’s neck.
“───Ah!”
This was the first time Snow heard his own scream, similar to the howl of a primitive beast.
ah poor EL, such a difficult jouney, but many thanks for the chapter
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞