Crazed and Dazed

On that day, when the first fires were lit, the cries of war were heard. 

It was their job to patrol, to find any remaining enemy soldiers that might have lost their way and take them in as prisoners.

Rita Van Eustis was supposed to be patrolling along with them, but she was instead sent to the boats, to head directly toward Sar. So now, it was just the two of them.

Of course, Lunan did find himself feeling a bit uncomfortable.

They walked along one of the many winding paths of packed dirt, lined with shrubs and overgrown greenery.

Night was beginning to fall. And that's when the duo heard it.

Boom!

They both stopped in their tracks.

"I'm not… having auditory hallucinations being played on me, right? You heard as well?" Lunan turned to her.

"… Yeah."

"It's from the shore… something must've happened at the docks. Miss Eustis was stationed over there."

"She'll be fine. The ships are designed and positioned in a manner that they can get through most trouble. Plus, they take a very unorthodox route."

"We should head over there! It could be an enemy attack," Lunan urged.

"An enemy attack, huh? An unexpected one like this, how long do you think it'll take for this entire island to go under chaos?"

It felt as if the mood suddenly shifted. Nueluth's tone was serious, dark, and grim.

Lunan could definitely feel it.

"I'm tired of it."

"Tired of what?"

"Pretending like I don't hate you with all my might."

Her sword was taken out of its sheath, an action that Lunan had not even noticed. 

"No one will find your body here. And if they do, they won't be able to figure out if I did it. So I can finally avenge my sister."

Lunan's heartbeat quickened.

"You're being irrational, Nueluth. You aren't thinking right now."

"You of all people should know how rational I've been to even let you live. Right now, I'm thinking clearly."

"…"

Lunan took a few steps back, Nueluth matching his steps but moving forward. Her blade remained pointed at him, keeping him in constant threat.

His eyes searched frantically, moving from the blade to her face, to his surroundings.

This is my blunder. I know that it's not a good idea to be alone with her, yet I came here unprepared. No way… I'll have to use that?

"I'm tired of everyone. Everyone is telling me to simply forget. Telling me that what she would've wanted is for me to forgive whoever killed her. I wish everyone knew it was you. I wish everyone knew that you were a twisted individual. But wishes don't get you far, it seems. Even back then, do you know what I was wishing? On that day?"

Lunan quietly repeated. "On that day…"

"I didn't wish that you were dead. I wish that I were quick enough to stop you."

That day.

To me, it still feels like a distant memory.

No, not even that day. That entire week feels like bundles of memories compressed into a single, long winding string.

"Why are you making that face, Lunan?" Her attitude shifted dramatically.

Before, her voice was rage-filled. Vexed. But now, it was irritated. Questioning. 

"Don't tell me…"

That irritation turned into bafflement.

"You forgot? You don't remember that day? When you killed my fucking sister?"

Maybe it was seeing the guilt in his eyes, maybe that was her confirmation. Her casus belli.

She kicked Lunan down, a fierce strike.

Lunan barely raised his arms to guard his body from the attack.

Her shin came in contact with his forearm, sending him aback.

He slid across the dirt.

"Ack!-"

His method of recovering was to backhand spring, increasing the distance between them.

"A single strike… and my forearms are already sore…"

She's too far gone. I couldn't convince her of anything.

"Get up."

!

With a gust of sharp winds, Nueluth appeared behind him, in all her glory.

She spun to gather momentum.

Mana accumulated within her leg.

Bang!

This time around, the tip of her foot collided with his back, bluntly.

"Gyah!-"

Lunan Mumixir was sent flying several meters forward.

He crashed into trees, gaining splinters until reaching his final destination.

Like a rock skipping over water, he bounced, landing onto the ground roughly.

The strength of that attack sent him flying. Far.

It appears like… It's going to take some time for her to find me.

As he attempted to assess the situation to the best of his abilities, the fading consciousness of his was beginning to be problematic.

"…"

I see.

I can't move.

She'll find me eventually. So this is how I'm supposed to go out?

Died in battle. That's what they'll say. Though, I guess I deserve it.

Since I was the one who killed Alicia van Mahaut.

Alicia?

That name came to me like… it was from someone else's memories…

-

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Authors Note

Hello readers!

I have just recently realized that every time I write something in italics, it doesn't show up when I copy and paste it into WebNovel. Which is really troublesome.

But, I'm glad that I've figured it out now.

I think the character arcs in this part of the story will be pretty interesting. I hope so, at least.

And I'll be bringing back a character that you guys will likely be glad that I brought back, as they are an interesting character as well, and shouldn't be neglected.

Recently, a friend of mine that I had told to read this story came to me with a complaint on how Jisvo had to die.

Really, I think his death was pretty well. And I wasn't expected Jisvo to be a character he favored.

He died next to the girl he loved so dearly! I would've chosen the exact same way to die.

It's not like he's all that important, anyway. If I had to choose a favorite character, it would probably be Beiric, or Lionel.