Chapter XXV: The War 3

"What do you think you're doing, Garion?"

On the battlefield, even though the area was covered in the deafening clashing sounds of the holy swords slashing through the flesh of the verendus, Khalid's voice echoed in the scene that caught Liena's attention.

Her smile grew wider. 

"Tell me you are out of your mind, and I'll believe it!"

Without hesitation, Garion walks straight toward the scene, ignoring Khalid.

"Forgive me, milord."

He can't even properly look at him because he can feel the murderous aura surrounding his little body.

When Garion closed his eyes and inhaled the cold breath of the air, all of the memories of her that were buried deep inside his mind flashed before his eyes.

It was the season of autumn; the ground was covered with dried, fallen leaves that rustled all around, dancing in the air when the cool breeze blew in.

There's always a man who takes a shed under the tree; it becomes his hideout, even since he was a kid. Whenever his parents argued, he was there, hugging himself all alone. There was no one in particular with whom he could share his problems, and talking to the old tree in the hidden part of the forest was the only exception.

He just blabbed all that had happened today while wiping his lips that were tainted with blood.

"Why did they even marry if they didn't even love each other?" 

His eyes were flaring in anger, and leaning his back on the tree made him feel comfortable enough that he dozed off after blabbing everything at it. Of course, he never waited for a response because a tree would never speak anyway.

"That's a shame."

When he heard a melodious tone of voice that he had never heard before, it made him want to open his eyes to know if he was hallucinating or not, but his eyelids became too heavy for him.

*Thud!...*

A lady in a long, noble dress carefully climbed down the tree while watching him sleep.

Liena had always been there too; in fact, she was the one to discover the tree before him, and she would never get tired of hearing all of his stories.

"I guess this time wasn't an exception either."

She mumbled while staring at his face.

When the air blew heavily and a dried leaf fell on his head, she was so sure that he was already in a deep sleep, so she never hesitated to get it, but before she could even land her hand, the man swiftly grabbed her wrist so tight. 

The moment he opened his eyes, he knew that he was already blinded in love, as if time had stopped between the two of them, and the last thing he could remember was the sweet, enchanting smile on her face.

"Liena…"

Garion called as he raised his head; seeing Khalid slash the verendus into pieces made him come back to his senses.

Khalid's face was covered in blood as he yelled his name, and his eyes were shooting lasers at him.

He knew it would enrage Khalid, but he had already prepared himself for it; Garion didn't even know how many times he had apologized to him in his head.

When Liena formed a smirk on her lips, calling Garion with her bewitchingly gentle tone of voice made him grit his teeth. Even though his left eye was already blind and scarred, you could still see the feeling of somberness deep inside those grave eyes.

'Is there no other way to stop this?!'

Garion's mind is a mess. Remembering the time when his wife and daughter were calling for him made him grit his fist tightly while biting his lips in great frustration. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was his wife's smile, her sweet, serene voice, and the warm, agape look in her eyes.

"My gentle wife…my wife…my family…" 

He mumbled to himself.

He could feel that his heart was clenching and that it made him feel suffocated; his palms even began to sweat.

Now that he had taken a visible look at his wife, Garion started to think twice and believe that it was all a nightmare that would disappear once he woke up, but hearing his name being called by Liena, he began to put all the blame on himself.

"G-garion! I'm scared. This verendus is controlling my body!" 

Her voice was shaking while she covered her face with her trembling hands.

Liena's unpredictable action made him feel sympathetic.

"Garion! Help me, please!"

That's when his thought snapped. Looking back on her wife, Garion began to feel belief and wish that he could help and embrace Liena in his arms, just like things used to in the past.

'It can't be; no, it's possible my wife could still be alive! ' 

His mind was full of racing thoughts, which made him unaware of how many times Khalid shouted his name at the top of his lungs just to get his attention and warned him about Liena, but he never spared a glance at him since he stepped on the battlefield.

"Liena!"

Garion shouted and ran as fast as his body could while stretching his hands towards her with the belief that he could still save her but hearing Liena giggles followed by her ominous laughter left him frozen on his feet before he could even go near her.

"Seriously?! You're so freaking desperate." 

She continued to laugh, which made him feel like a dimbo and a laughing stock.

He felt layers of unsettling emotion twisting his heart. He wanted to punch himself to wake up in this cruel reality and believe that his wife was no longer there but a verendus parasite that had already eaten the owner of the body, but what could he do? He was just a man who grew up in a household without love, so he devoted all he had to them. He became a man who was a fool for his family.

'Ha, I'm a fool! '

The more he hears Liena blabber nonstop about his wife, the more he realizes that it is too late.

Seeing her act like a completely different person pierced his heart, and thinking that he just let a mere verendus control the body of his wife made his blood boil in rage.

"I already told you, your wife is dead."

She affirmed it, seriously mocking Garion as if it were nothing, but for him, whenever he closes his eyes, the picture of his wife smiling at him keeps hunting him all the time, and remembering what Khalid had said helps him to become sober at the battle.

"If you fall into her trap again, then you're a fool, a fool that was only blinded by love."

It made him smile that even in the pit of despair he could hear Khalid's words ringing in his ears, and that somehow made him feel relieved.

"Buwahahahaha! Yes, I am a fool, so..."

He stopped.

"I already made my decision."

"Forgive me, milord." 

He added, then ran swiftly, as fast as he could, straight in her direction.

His action stole all the verendus' attention, and they started chasing Garion and firing him with all of their attacks, but he was so determined to get towards Liena even though he was already bathing in his blood. 

Garion just ran, ran, and ran until his sight became blurry, and when he was almost stabbed by the verendus with spiky acantho hair that was like a sharp wild grass, Khalid immediately threw the holy bayonet straight on its head, which made his body sizzle before it turned into a billow of smoke.

"This idiot!" 

Khalid shouted, and that made him feel cautious.

When the sense of unease overtook Reinhardt, his heart was racing while his eyes widened in disbelief.

'Don't tell me-' 

He even tried to reorganize his thoughts, and remembering the other type of verendus, the corypheus, which possessed Garion, an intense feeling of sorrow filled his chest.

Reinhardt inhaled deeply before warning the others.

"Everyone retreats immediately!" 

He warned, and the knights gathered in one area. Reinhardt began to build a thick barrier all around them, leaving Garion and the verendus behind. 

Khalid even tried calling his name to enter the barrier, but he just looked at him. Even Khalid was dumbfounded by the situation and wondered why Reinhardt suddenly created a barrier.

"Bastard! Fucking bastard! Garion!"

Seeing him all covered in blood, with his right hand having been chopped by the verendus, made Khalid curse furiously. He tries to break through the barrier to save Garion, but Reinhardt stops him, shaking his head and looking disappointed.

"Milord, you can't!" 

He shouted, and the next thing that Khalid saw in his eyes was Garion's arms gently but tightly embracing his wife.

Now that he has trapped her in his arms, a scene that never even occurred has created an illusion in his mind—a picture of the perfect happy family he always wanted...

After that, the scene became quiet; he couldn't even hear the deafening crescendo of the shrieking verendus attempting to destroy the barrier, but he could see Garion open his mouth to speak to him, and he could hear a different kind of familiar voice while hearing those words.

"Khalid!" 

He called, but he also heard another voice of a man calling him with a grin on his lips.

"Lee Hyun!" 

The voice shouted.

Khalid couldn't believe what he was hearing, but when Garion began to speak again, he saw a different person covered in blood. It felt like déjà vu to him and left him unspoken.

"I didn't regret being your companion."

'Lee Hyun, thank you for being my friend.' 

After hearing those words, what happened next left Khalid so shocked that he didn't even have time to blink his eyes. Seeing how Garion's body created a compelling massive explosion in front of his eyes that almost destroyed the whole kingdom, which also made Liena squeal like a stuck pick, left Khalid shocked to the point that he was left speechless while his eyeballs trembled.

'So that is the decision you have made.' 

He thought while wearing an elegiac expression on his face.

Just then, a memory from the past was unlocked in his mind.

Two teens wearing high school uniforms could be seen staring at the window of the old classroom when the boy walked towards Lee Hyun and talked to him casually without even a sense of fear hidden within those eyes.

"Hey, Lee Hyun, won't you regret it?"

He boldly asked while putting his elbow on his shoulder.

Lee Hyun then shrugged it away before he began to speak.

"What nonsense are you spouting again?!" 

His voice was high, but there was no sign of malice or anger in his tone.

"See? I'm talking about that attitude of yours; you're always cold, but I'm glad that you're always helping me."

He smiled softly, while Lee Hyun completely denied everything he said.

"Who said I'm helping you?!" 

He tries to distance himself from him while wearing a disgusted, cold look on his face that makes the boy roll his eyes.

"Whatever, abandoning your emotion will lead to nothing. Don't come crying in my arms when that day happens." 

He even points his index finger at him while fearlessly making eye contact with Lee Hyun. 

By looking at his actions, you can already tell that the two of them are pretty close to each other.

Lee Hyun then grabbed his fingers and formed a smirk on his lips.

"You wished."

Just like that, Khalid was back to reality while facing the ground. He didn't even pay attention to the voice that whispered in his ears.

[The Goddess Iris has activated the blessings of Gale; your sorrow will be acknowledged by the sky.]

The scene that was covered earlier in silence was devoured by the sound of the rain that was falling from above. No one was hurt because of Reinhardt's barrier, but Khalid didn't even say a thing and just stood there like a statue.

'You'd be laughing if you were here, because right now... I regretted everything.'

He let go of the bayonet he was holding, and when Reinhardt tried to go near him, they were all startled to hear Khalid laugh like a maniac as if he had already lost himself.

"Pftt-Ha-Hahahahaha!"

He could feel his heart sting, and his eyes began to blur, but when Khalid looked back at them, their faces were unable to be painted because instead of the clear crystal tears that flowed from his eyes, thick iron blood flowed immensely on his right eye, leaving all of them in shock.

'M-Milord eyes... It's turning back to normal! '

Reinhardt even noticed how his eyes turned back to their original color, but they didn't look as bright as before; they were so dull that you could feel wrenched in those eyes.

They just stood there, watching him feel the blood flowing out of his eyes; even Khalid himself was confused about what was happening.

"W-why? Why can't I feel a thing?" 

He tilts his head, and the look on his soulless eyes feels like sucking Reinhardt in the pit bottom of the black hole and hearing the words that came out of his mouth shreds his heart in pieces.

"Pfft!—PuwaHAHAHAHAHA! You want me to save the world?!" 

He stopped and wiped the blood on his cheek with his tiny palms.

"How can I?! If I can't even save myself!"

Just then a chain appeared out of nowhere inside his heart and started wrapping around it, and that's when Khalid felt that his emotion was starting to wither; he couldn't even see it, but he surely felt it; he even felt that it had stopped beating without knowing that his heart had turned black.

That day they had won the war, but everyone's eyes were filled with guilt, sorrow, and sadness.

While all of them were being drenched by the rain, Khalid quietly stood there, looking at them like a dead person without any emotion while the verendus continuously entered his body, when..... the same monotone voice rang in his ears.

[The curse Mummie has reached its intensifying level; Khalid de'l Urchtdorf's emotion will be imprisoned in demand.]