Crown of Thorns

CHAPTER 42

Translator : Cuties ––– Editor : WilsonWilson

The darkness that was surrounding the corridor gathered together, growing bigger beside me. It soon opened its mouth as if meaning to swallow both the emperor and the warrior. A dark swamp unfolded, with no bottom or end. And as it reached out and headed for the emperor, darkness rushed to devour him.

But before it even reached him, it began to burn by light. It was because of the warrior, who was blocking the darkness from the emperor. His bright light shattered the witch’s darkness. I was glad and grateful that he had grown this way, and so stood on the other side from me.

He must be able to kill the witch. As happy as the witch to think so, the warrior said.

“Why? Why the hell?”

He asked, tightening his grip on the sword he was holding. His cold and wounded glare turned into that of a sword, stabbing me in the heart and soon tearing me to pieces.

If it became known that the warrior knew the witch, the crown that should have been gloriously handed to him would immediately turn itself into a crown of thorns. But, only me, the emperor, and the warrior were present here. The emperor did not doubt that the warrior would kill the witch, or else he would have more troops here to protect his body rather than to stop the rebels. In the first place, an ordinary human was not even a witch’s opponent, so his choice could be considered wise.

I brought up what I had prepared beforehand.

“Did you believe in witches?”

The warrior was visibly rigid.

“The witch I knew wasn’t like this. She was kind, warm, friendly, and loved humans. She was not a witch but was pushed into becoming one. That’s what I thought. Am I wrong, Nyx?”

As the word Nyx came out of his mouth, I ended up closing my eyes. The warrior did not seem to want to believe the current situation. He seemed to want to hear from me. To confirm that it was not me who had done all this.

“What are you doing?”

The Emperor’s yell brought him to his senses. I can’t break down everything I’ve tried so far. This is the first and last chance.

Twisting my lips, I spoke.

“It’s pathetic that you’ve still been thinking that all this time, you small little human.”

Evan’s eyes opened wide. I continued to ignore the hurt in them.

“I was going to do this from the start. I thought, if you were pathetically weak and kind enough, so much so that you would believe in me, then you wouldn’t interfere with my plans. I would’ve thought that you’d catch on by now. Human, you can’t kill me, just as I expected.”

I felt heartache in Evan’s deep eyes. He didn’t show as much emotion as I thought, as much as in my dream, and it made me sadder. It was a pity that he was the one who showed everything to me.

“Nyx. Didn’t you want a new world? Weren’t you hoping for a beautiful world, not revenge? Wasn’t that why you wanted me to be a warrior?”

“Did you believe that?”

I said, twisting my lips.

“Funny, humble and insignificant. You seriously didn’t think I’d love humans, who’d only ever caused me pain, did you? I knew at once that you would be a hindrance. So I reached out my hand pretending to be kind, and you got conceited as if you were something special. That’s pathetic. Human beings are all like that, and you’re no different. When hope dies down, they are filled with more despair. Seeing you fall into the abyss, I don’t think my efforts have been in vain.”

Evan kept his mouth shut. Next to him, the emperor shuddered with anxiety and shouted. But I couldn’t hear his words at all. I continued to speak in a voice as attentive and friendly as possible.

“All those things you believed in were false, warrior. Still, it’s a little sad to see you like that. I’ll give you one last chance. It’s a reward for all the fun I’ve had with you.”

“…”

“Kill me. Try and kill me.”

“…what?”

His eyes were strained with bewilderment. I had hoped he would be provoked and quickly flung his sword away. I wanted to run away from this situation. I wanted to stop. It was so terrible, so horrible that Evan had to do this.

“Kill me, come on. This is the first and last chance for you. Your sword can kill me. Come on, put that sword to my heart, warrior.”

And as I smiled, the warrior’s face crumpled. It was an expression I had never seen before. Even if I were only a witch who remained in his old memories like a folktale from childhood, he still opened his heart to me and relied on me. But how sick and tired he must be, now when I suddenly changed and weighed down on him.

The warrior had a complicated gaze and a wounded face, and he soon froze cold. Then, he opened his mouth.

“You’ve made a mistake, witch. Hope is bound to disappear soon, but if you don’t miss it to the end, it will eventually become a weapon to overcome despair. I chased the end and came to this position. Whatever purpose you had may be, I should thank you. The monster you raised for fun will end up swallowing you.”

But the warrior only aimed at me with the tip of the sword, and could not easily push it in. No matter how much I wished for the light, a weak warrior will not be able to get rid of my darkness easily.

“As expected of you weakling, there’s nothing you can do. Your last chance is over, warrior.”

I rushed in with the darkness. I read the bafflement and the agony of the moment in the widened eyes of the warrior. Even if I attack the warrior like this, I wasn’t sure that his sword would stab me in the heart. So I turned the black sword that had sprung up in my hand back to the emperor.

“Your… Your Majesty!”

My sword penetrated the heart of the Emperor with great precision. The terrible feeling was conveyed through the palm of my hand holding the sword. It felt quite different from when I stabbed myself in the heart. The emperor’s face was struck with astonishment, perhaps because he didn’t think I would be aiming for him. In addition, he didn’t even think I would be so fast. His big eyes shook without him uttering a sound. Soon death crept up his face, and blood began to flow around his mouth.

“Kugh…! Kurgh!”

Blood spattered as he coughed.

I wanted to dig a little deeper and take his life for sure, but I couldn’t. I was also losing my strength as fast as the blood that was flowing.

When I managed to lower my blurry gaze, I could see a sword sticking out through my body. Before stabbing the emperor, the warrior’s sword penetrated my chest first, but I was accustomed to pain, so I did not shake. However, a white light was gently spreading, driving out the witch’s darkness. I couldn’t stand it any longer.

The light reminded me of the white butterfly that a young warrior had called to long ago. The reality was that the charm I gave him was burning with light and looked like a white butterfly, but I thought that the white butterfly sent down by the deity was dancing around him. The butterfly brightened the face of the warrior, driving away from the darkness around him. The warrior’s face seen from such a bright place was very beautiful and soothing.

For he was the only hope in the world and the only warrior who would be able to give me death, so I was glad to meet such a human.

As it was dripping down from the sword, my blood continually soaked the floor. There have been countless times when I took my own life, but a feeling I’ve never felt before had captured me. It was the fear of death. I also felt a sense of freedom for the fact that I won’t have to miss the warrior, who was most likely going to die first if he didn’t kill me, and that I didn’t have to be afraid of the possibility of the warrior’s life going wrong.

Turning my head to look at him, the witch was trapped in the warriors red eyes. They were as brilliant and hot as the fire that was burning the witch. It was as if the sun itself had enacted judgement upon the witch. Once again, as he was holding his sword, the warrior’s grip tightened, burning my heart. His light burned and melted in my body. The pain that began in my chest had spread throughout my whole body. Although it was not the pain of the flesh, it was the pain of the heart.

Instead of the warrior’s light fading, the witch’s darkness was fading. Yes, this is what I’ve wanted so much. It’s finally over, and the witch will only exist somewhere in fairy tales. From now on, the warrior will live happily ever after.

The warrior was strong, overcame the witch’s whispers, and had a ray of hope that would never be extinguished.

But why does it hurt so much?

A burst of blood suddenly rose up. With a calm expression, the warrior pulled his sword out. My blood sullied the warrior and dyed his white hair. I was full of sorrow and regret. I thought I had a big hole in my body. Everything was slipping out through that hole—blood, strength, life, emotion, and thoughts.

As I was slowly falling, I didn’t miss the sight of him having an unpleasant look on his face. Similar to the young man in memory, his arms and legs were long and tough; they were reliable enough to carry the world. However, he was not the young man who loved the witch. He wasn’t the young man who understood the witch, who wanted to see the real her and eventually found the woman hidden under her shell.

The warrior moved his long, strong arms and legs and approached the emperor. He called out for His Majesty, but the emperor’s breath has long since ceased. The warrior had a forlorn expression.

As I was delirious, cheers erupted outside the door. And not long after, someone came in.

“Fa-father… Aaaaaah!”

The woman who screamed either because of the emperor or the witch was in a pitiful state. The warrior held the slender, delicate and beautiful woman, so unlike the witch in his arms. Several knights who heard the woman’s scream entered the room. They were the Imperial Guards. It had meant the rebels’ defeat.

That’s a relief.

I had thought so, and gazed at the warrior’s feet, supporting the woman out. As if to harbour my desire to reach there, my blood flowed in the direction of the warrior, but it was soon trampled on by the Guards.

The view gradually blurred, and my eyes kept closing. I tried to hold out, but it wasn’t easy. The pain was already dulling, and I felt strongly that this would be the last time I’d feel it. I couldn’t tell if it was either blood or tears around my eyes.

– Witch, you know…

– Witch, witch! What are you doing?

– …Nyx.

– Nyx, I’m glad I could be together with Nyx.

I was also happy. The end of my long life was filled with joy. The persistent eternity that was considered a curse had finally come to an end.

I closed my eyes, recalling the smile of my warrior. A clear laughter resounded in my head, but the voice had also gradually become cloudier and cloudier. And soon, only the still silence embraced me.

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T/N : *sniff* I’m not crying, you are! *sniff*