The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Reunion (4)

***

I opened my eyes to the blazing night sky.

Lili's sweet scent, clinging to me as she held me close, filled my senses.

"…Your Highness."

"F-Finn? Are you alright?! Are you hurt…? Oh, your eye…"

Speaking to her seemed to have backfired.

The moment she heard my voice, she started frantically checking my body and face for injuries.

Her hands cupped my face, but my gaze was fixed on Bifrons.

He flinched under my stare, his unease evident not only in his trembling shoulders, but also in the flickering of the magical energy he was gathering.

"…But the possession is over. It seems the price was one of your eyes!"

He had noticed the change in my aura, the absence of Finn's overwhelming presence. A smug grin spread across his face.

I turned my gaze to Lili, her eyes still filled with worry.

I pulled her close and whispered,

"Your Highness."

"Y-Yes, Finn?"

"I'm sorry."

"What are you…"

Please, just sleep for a while. This isn't something you should see.

My whispered plea faded into the air, unheard. I rendered her unconscious.

Thump.

She slumped against me, asleep.

I looked at her, her face smudged with dirt and streaked with tears, her body covered in minor cuts and bruises from her desperate attempts to save me. Yet, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

'If she's like this… it means she knew everything…'

I pushed the questions aside and turned my gaze back to Bifrons.

I could ask her later. Right now, I had to deal with the burning rage that consumed me.

"You arrogant fool. You think you can do anything now that the possession is over and you've lost an eye?!"

He couldn't bear my cold stare any longer. He launched another dark red orb at me.

The same deafening roar as before.

I had no weapon, I had lost an eye, and I wasn't worthy of wielding Solaris.

So, it was natural for him to be so confident, so smug.

He had seen me, moments ago, helpless and vulnerable, my abdomen pierced by his attack. And now, even weaker, I simply stared at him, unfazed.

But he didn't know the difference between the me before I lost consciousness, and the me now.

"…Black Night, White Night."

-Because your sword lacks a singular purpose.-

As if summoned by my will, Black Night appeared in my hand.

I swung it at Bifrons's attack, severing its connection to him.

Slash.

The magical energy dissipated, scattering into the air and vanishing.

"How did you get Black Night…?!"

He didn't know.

That I now had an unwavering purpose, a singular will to infuse into my sword.

Whirr.

White Night, which I had left in my dorm room, flew towards me, as if summoned, and I grasped its hilt.

The two swords, Black Night and White Night, dissolved into shimmering, silver dust, merging and transforming into a single blade.

Black Night, as dark as the night sky.

White Night, as pure and bright as the moon.

The two swords became one, a single blade, reminiscent of the moon hanging in the night sky.

Its blade was a pristine, moonlit white, while its hilt was as black as the night sky.

Like Solaris, this sword, too, had chosen me as its master. I knew its name without asking.

"Lunar Eclipse."

Hum…

Lunar Eclipse vibrated with joy, finally reunited with its master.

A warm feeling spread through me, as if the moonlight itself was embracing me.

Bang!

Bifrons fired another blast at me.

This time, I swung Lunar Eclipse with a clear purpose, extinguishing his magic.

"How…?"

He finally realized his attacks were useless against me. He stumbled back, his eyes wide with fear.

Yes.

Thanks to Finn, I had found my purpose, my singular will.

Finn, devoted to Lilisiana, the Empire's sun, had become a sunflower, yearning for the sun's light.

A knight blessed by the sun, wielding the light.

And what about me?

I didn't feel loyalty towards Lili.

My feelings for her were different, a romantic love, a yearning of the heart.

So, what was my purpose? What had driven me through this hellish life?

The answer, as always, lay in the beginning.

The reason I was reincarnated, the reason I wrote that 34-character comment.

A single, desperate wish: to see Lilisiana Yekaterina find happiness, a happy ending.

I wouldn't allow anything to stand in her way.

I would tear apart anyone who dared to cast a shadow on her happiness, so that she could smile, a princess in a fairytale, her ending a happily ever after.

If Finn was born from the sun, a ray of light protecting the sun,

I would be the moon in the night sky, watching over the sun's path, nurturing its growth, a shadow born from the light.

Yes.

I had been reincarnated for her, the sun.

I had inherited the Sword Saint's talent and experience, the light.

And now, I had found my purpose, my will, befitting the name I had earned: the Emperor's Shadow.

"I will kill anyone… who stands in Lili's way."

Every single one of them.

Man, woman, young, old… regardless of age, gender, or race, anyone who dared to obstruct her path to happiness,

I, her shadow, would eliminate without hesitation.

Even if it was the Demon King, the most powerful being in this story. Even if it was the author, who had cursed her with a tragic fate.

That was my singular purpose, my unwavering will.

***

Shuffle.

Bifrons shuffled back, his feet dragging across the ground, but he couldn't hear the sound.

The pounding of his heart drowned out all other sounds.

"Lunar Eclipse, Mirage."

Mirage.

An illusion.

The boy, who had been glaring at him just moments ago, vanished, then reappeared.

Behind him.

Slash!

Before Bifrons could react, the boy severed the tendons in his arms and legs.

It seemed like a simple act, but it wasn't.

An ordinary swordsman wouldn't have been able to scratch Bifrons, let alone get close enough to attack.

But Bifrons was powerless against the boy's will-infused blade.

I will sever the tendons in your right hand.

And your left.

Each cut, each precise movement, was fueled by a singular purpose, a deadly intent.

Bifrons gasped, trying to scream, but,

The boy stomped on his head, driving his face into the dirt, silencing him.

He tried to gather his magic, but,

Every time he did, the boy's relentless attacks disrupted his focus, scattering his magic into the air. He could only whimper in pain, helpless and defeated.

The boy leaned in, whispering,

"I've been waiting for this day… Bifrons."

"Mmm…! Mmm!!"

"You want to live? Seriously?"

Bifrons's head, pinned to the ground, nodded slightly. The boy chuckled.

"Well, if that's your wish, I shall grant it. I'll keep you alive… until you beg me to kill you… Fortunately, I have a lot to discuss with you."

Slide.

The cold blade slid between his ribs, a searing pain.

But with his tendons severed, he couldn't resist, couldn't even scream.

He convulsed, his body wracked with pain.

Tears of blood welled up in his eyes.

Then, a single word, whispered like a curse,

"Mirage."

He finally understood the cruel reality of his situation.

The boy, having used his illusionary technique, intended to torture him without interruption, without witnesses.

Bifrons despaired, filled with regret and self-loathing.

Why hadn't he cast a self-destruct spell, like the other lower-ranking demons?

And he could only plead for a swift death, a mercy he didn't deserve, from the boy who held an inexplicable, almost otherworldly, hatred for him.

Bifrons's personal hell continued until the instructors, summoned by Selina, who had leisurely made her way to the main building, and Irene, who had sensed the disturbance and rushed back, finally arrived.

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