Ep 165. Plead Your Case. (4)
‘Strange…is there ahquake?’
Karas’ eyes twitched in disfort.
As the grouh him tio shake, his fiwitched beh, searg for something to hold onto.
And while his hand did find something, it didn’t feel particurly firm. Or tough. Or even still, for that matter.
But, to aent, it felt nostalgic to hold.
…Until the hand that held his decided to tighten into a crushing grip.
“#%^&*!!!”
With an i groan, Karas’ eyes jolted open to reveal a boundless white sky.
And, as it turned out, the grouh him erfectly still. What was rumbling was not the world itself, but the insides of his head.
Not that it ed him much.
“…Light?”
“…”
As he raised his upper body, the first thing the professor noticed was his student, squeezing his hand with quite literally every ounce of strength her tiny hand could muster – which shouldn’t have been a lot, though for some reason, it felt like it was.
The sed thing Karas noticed was the ominous presence behind his back.
“…?”
He slowly creaked his head to notice the dragonlord standing behind him. One hand was stretched forward, and summoned within its palm was a glimmering, densed sphere of mana, seemingly prepared to bst the target in front of it.
“…Serenis, is it me or are you moments away from bstih magic?”
“That depends. Do you pn to cause another se?”
“…No?”
“Then no.”
While Karas’ eyes twitched in fusion, the tightening grip on his hand forced him to return his attention to his student. He tried tle his hand out of her hold, but when he failed to do so, he gave a pleading look toward the half girl croug in front of him.
“L, Light…? That…hurts quite a bit…”
“…”
Instead of letting go, the cat half tightened her grip further, causieacher’s body to jerk once more. Karas’ other hand tapped against the ground in a surrendering manner, but even that didn’t seem to help.
Then, Karas frantically looked to the dragonlord with a pleading gaze, wordlessly asking for assistance.
At first, Serenis withdrew her hand, as well as the prepared spell.
But she then crossed her arms, shaking her head at the academic’s unsightly dispy.
“pared to all the trouble you’ve caused, this is but a small price, Karas.”
"Trouble? What did I…?”
As his mind briefly wandered, soon apanying the pain in his hand was a flood of memories – recolles of what he’d done before losing sciousness.
Namely, attag everyo Chell.
Including Light.
‘…ht. That happened.’
On the bright side, he was no longer panig on what to do.
O-sht side, he was exhausted, dizzy, ashamed, and most of all, in pain.
Not that he had any mind to pin. He merely stared back at Light with a saze as she gred at him with spiteful eyes.
“…”
“…”
For a moment, Light’s grip seemed to loosen – and Karas began sighing in relief, gd that one part of his exhaustion was gone.
But his relief was quickly killed as Light then proceeded to tackle him, ing herself around his waist.
Again, Light shouldn’t have been particurly heavy for the professor – but for some reason, it certainly felt so. And while he would’ve loved to ask her to get off for a moment…
‘…sidering what I’ve done, I ’t exactly bme her for being upset-‘
Sniff.
“?! Light?!”
Although Light’s face was buried in his waist, the sniffles quickly indicated that his student wasn’t t him out of spite er.
Karas’ body froze, unsure of how to approach the situatioe his helpless gaze, Serenis didn’t seem keen on any sort of advice.
“…”
“…”
Sighing, the professor carefully reached out his hand.
And, as per usual, he pced it between the half’s ears to pet her.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…Why’d you do something you were gonna be sorry about?”
“…”
While Light’s muffled question stabbed at Karas’ sce, she herself remained buried in her professor’s embrace.
I didn’t want to believe it.
The person who saved me and cared for me for so long would tack me. That’s what I wao believe.
So, to be ho, when you were yourself again…
I wanted you to smile at me like you always did, as if nothing had ever happened.
I wanted you to tell me that you’d tack me. That it wasn’t your will at all.
But one look at you is all I o know.
To know that you’re feeling sorry,
To know how relut you are to look me in the eye.
And because you are, I have to hear it from you.
As her trembling lessened, Light abruptly withdrew herself to raise her head. She forced her teary eyes to remain open.
A bitter, resentful gaze met the professuilt-ridden eyes.
And while that aloold the half more than she o know, she still wished to hear the answer from her teacher.
“…Why did you attack me?”
“…”
Again, Karas maintained silen the question – but with his entire body ag in pain and his student staring him to oblivion, he couldn’t dodge the question forever.
With a long sigh, the professor finally opened his mouth.
“Well, I…thought that…if we were to reach the Archive, I could…well…”
“Well what? Archive this, Archive that – what are you even looking for?”
“The…old you, I suppose.”
“…Old me? Like, when I was a cat?”
“No, um…even before that.”
“…?”
“…The person you were before you were born as ‘Light.’”
Light’s eyes closed halfway as she heard her professor’s reply.
She wasn’t particurly surprised. She’d heard this answer before – just from other people.
But even though the answer remaihe same, it was a lot harder to process when it came from Karas directly.
“...So what everyone said was real?”
“Light, I-“
“You were actually trying to kill me?”
“No no, not at all! I, i merely thought that, uh…that you may also be able to recim past memories like Serenis, and-“
Karas’ panicked reply was cut short as Light pounced on him once more, burying herself into her professor – and her professor into the ground.
The academic groaned from the sudden impact, twitg beh his student’s weight. He cwed the ground in a vain attempt to get up.
Sighing, Serenis shook her head before turning to Aymeia.
The former deity had been watg the entire se unfold with nary a word. She merely stood in pce, unsure of what to do and powerless to go or leave – especially with the spider that had beerusted to her, who was now fortably resting in her hands.
After making note of the little critter, Serenis made a brief ent for the former deity.
“…They’re not usually like this.”
“I…didn’t think they are…”
Rolling her eyes, the dragonlord turned back. She slightly leaned forward, looking down into the academic’s pained face.
“Though, you do seem more worn than usual, Karas. Are you alright?”
“…No…for…for some reason, I…don’t have any strength…”
Serenis quizzically twitched her brows. As far as she was ed, Karas didn’t have any reason to be tired; she’d long removed the divinity, and hadn’t done anything to harm him afterwards.
The answer came from another deity, who was busily scribbling haphazard words onto his seemingly endless scroll some distance behind the group. He didn’t even bother to look up as he answered the dragonlord’s question.
“A manaspawn that feeds on souls has exhausted themselves of it. It’s only natural.”
“…? What does that even mean?”
“They’re moments away from starving to death.”
“…Ah.”
This time, the dragonlord’s puzzled gaze fell upon the Historian directly.
But stared or not, the deity’s quill never ceased to move for even a single moment, tinuing to fill the scroll with its ink.
“What exactly are you writing?”
“The very events that are happening in this moment.”
“…? Why?”
“’A puzzling question. I am a historian, Serenis. Rec history to me is as breathing is to you.”
“…”
“In addition, the events that transpire within the Archive must be recorded by hand. Hence, I’d quite appreciate it if you’d all take your leave at your earliest venience.”
Serenis snorted in amusement at the deity’s bluntness. She was starting to uand why Felicir had called him etric.
“…I would, but I believe we’ve still matters to discuss. You are of the Twelve yourself, after all.”
“I am not.”
“…? What?”
“’The Twelve’ is but an illusion that Felicir’s devised in his rule. There is no such thing; I am a divinity, not some made-up deity.”
“…You’re still in possession of a divinity. Just like the others.”
“This divinity has always beloo me.”
“…No, your divinities are from-“
“This one’s always been mine.”
“…”
Clearly, etric didn’t cut it.
“…I don’t suppose you’re willing to lose it, then.”
“Why would I willingly lose something that’s mine?”
“Again…your divinities are but fragments of one whole. None of it belongs to mankind.”
With Serenis’ st remark, the Historian’s quill finally came to a halt.
He raised his indifferent gaze to study the dragonlord. It seemed as if he’d refute her answer any moment.
But surprisingly, his gaze soon fell back to his scroll, and his quill resumed its writing. Even his answer was in no way a refute to Serenis’ st response.
“Si seems you’re sidering taking it by force, I should inform you that you are far too weak to do so in that state.”
“…What?”
“So return to your , Serenis. We’ll meet again anyhow.”
“What are you-“
Serenis began stepping forward to approach the Historian. She’d been curious to know what his divinity even was, and now seemed a better time than any to find out.
Though, before she could take her sed step, a sudden yelling cut through the air to steal away her attention – a voice that had been low and dying only moments ago, now invigorated with newfound curiosity and shock.
In fact, Karas had even mao raise his upper body again, frantically turning his head to s their surroundings.
“Wait, THIS is the Archive?!?!?!”
