TSMMT Ch 181

The Reason for Slaughter

Guiscard stared into the mirror. Long hair, gaunt cheekbones, vacant eyes, and a deep scar over one eye stared back. Traces of his former beauty lingered only on the unmarred half of his face.

[Fafnir] "What do you wish to do?"

Fafnir materialized within the glass. Guiscard stared back blankly as she narrowed her eyes and scanned his features.

He was far from sane. Sanity was impossible. Acquiring the power to turn back time had shattered his mind and destroyed his reason.

A fleeting trace of pity touched the dragon's face.

[Fafnir] "My daughter resembled her father, but you take after me completely."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Fafnir] "Which makes me despise you all the more."

He offered no reply to her insult, his expression entirely hollow.

[Guiscard] "She must not be hurt."

[Fafnir] "Indeed. She must not be harmed."

He shook his head at her words.

[Guiscard] "Dianna must not be hurt. She must not die."

He muttered as if brainwashed, and Fafnir's eyes narrowed.

[Guiscard] "Dianna. Dianna. Dianna. Dianna, Dianna!"

He clutched his head and continued to mumble.

[Fafnir] "I can hardly bear to watch."

Murderous intent ignited in Guiscard's eyes as he held his head.

I will kill them. I will kill them all.

Once more, an uncontrollable urge to slaughter radiated from him.

---

Tarascus watched Dianna.

She and Guiscard were conversing in low tones. A gentle smile rested on her lips, while his expression remained rigid. Even so, their hands were tightly intertwined.

Perhaps the sweeping wind had forgotten winter, yet it felt unnaturally frigid.

Tarascus raised his hand and stared at his palm as a brilliant golden light flared across his skin.

The power lost when crossing into this world was finally returning. Once this last task was complete, everything would be restored.

Just this final task.

What happens after that? What comes next once this is done...?

[Adelheit] "Are you alright?"

Tarascus turned at the sound. Adelheit stood behind him.

[Adelheit] "I felt I should be present before the army marches."

Adelheit shifted his gaze toward Dianna and Guiscard, his eyes softening before he offered an exaggerated smile.

[Adelheit] "To think I set my heart on the woman loved by a god. I certainly have high standards, don't I?"

[Taras] "Loved by a god?"

[Adelheit] "Yes."

Tarascus offered no response.

[Taras] "Is this affection?"

He tilted his head. Adelheit smiled faintly.

[Adelheit] "Without a doubt. I share the same feelings, so I understand all too well."

[Taras] "..."

[Adelheit] "I assumed a god would know everything, yet Our Lord is unexpectedly clumsy."

Tarascus looked toward Dianna. He recalled Zmew's words about harboring affection for a mortal, as well as Fafnir's mocking face.

So that was it. It happened. The moment he acknowledged these feelings as love, it felt like a sentence he was bound to serve.

Like a sinner, he gazed at Dianna.

[Taras] "Then what should I do?"

[Adelheit] "What do you mean?"

[Taras] "I don't know what step to take. Harboring such emotions was meant for a creature, not for me."

The naive dragon god feared nurturing emotion within his breast.

[Adelheit] "Should you not act as you desire?"

[Taras] "..."

[Adelheit] "Well, if you wish to win her love, you could confess. Or, if the yearning drives you mad, you could carry her off and kidnap her..."

[Taras] "..."

[Adelheit] "Though I doubt you will do any of that."

Tarascus nodded at his words, and a quiet smile touched Adelheit's face.

[Taras] "Correct. What I desire..."

[Adelheit] "..."

[Taras] "...is peace."

Because life was an endless struggle, eternal peace might never reach Dianna.

Yet if every rift born of his existence dissolved, and if Dianna, who had suffered through two miserable lives, could finally find happiness, was that not what mattered most?

[Taras] "Yes, this is affection."

To become selfless. To consider one's own heart insignificant, holding another's smile far more precious than one's own.

Tarascus felt warmth blooming within him. Even though he knew it dragged him into the mire, he felt strangely content.

It was natural.

Ah, so this is love. I want her to smile.

[Taras] "Yes, now I understand."

He remembered the dragons who had perished.

The end drew near. The time had come for Dianna, Fafnir, and Guiscard to reach their final resolution.

---

Dianna stood up.

Tarascus had explicitly said she need not act, that the end was at hand, and that the Guiscard of this world required no further burden. Yet he had rallied an army against the monster horde, establishing a battle line to face them. This was the unbridgeable divide between Dianna and Guiscard.

She dismounted from his horse. Mounted above, Guiscard stared down at her.

No secrets remained between them now, yet a strange mix of tranquility and anxiety lingered in the air.

[Dianna] "From here, I must go alone."

Her purpose was clear. Guiscard watched her, tension heavy in his eyes. As he realized what she intended to do, his expression shifted with unspoken emotion.

Dianna offered a faint smile, turned, and began walking away. As he watched her depart, he finally called out.

[Guiscard] "Ann!"

At the sound of her intimate name, she turned back as if she had been waiting.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. She quietly accepted his warmth, finding simple solace in the gesture.

[Dianna] "Thank you."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Thank you, Guiscard, for believing in me."

Indeed, Guiscard had always trusted her abilities. Even when she awoke from the deep sleep Tarascus had induced, he had placed absolute faith in her power.

Now was no different.

[Dianna] "Thank you for letting me resolve this."

He had respected her choice. She smiled. He had done all that he could, and now he was letting her go.

But this was a path she had to walk alone. These were matters not for the Guiscard of this world to resolve, but for the Dianna of the past life to face head-on, things only she could do, things she must fulfill.

[Dianna] "Guiscard."

Perhaps this would be a long farewell. Perhaps they would never meet again. Even so, she smiled brightly and gently caressed his cheek.

Yes, it's alright now.

Because this was how she protected Guiscard. This foolish man had respected her, even honoring her choice to depart.

Perhaps eternal, tranquil happiness had never been meant for them in the first place, since they originated from different timelines.

Dianna offered a brief farewell with a wave of her hand and stepped lightly across the battle lines toward the monster swarm. As her feet touched the blackened earth and she walked among the beasts, not a single monster attacked her.

Everyone watched her retreating figure. The knights stared with blurred, stunned gazes.

Uncharacteristically, she wore a skirt instead of the trousers she had worn previously. Her pure white skirt fluttered softly in the wind. Like a pristine bride offered to beasts, she vanished into the foul, corrupting darkness in all her beauty.

Logaple gritted his teeth at the sight.

A few knights turned bewildered glances toward Guiscard, but the King stared straight ahead, his gaze unswerving.

---

Just as expected, the Guiscard on this side, the one commanding the monsters, made no move to attack her.

Bright golden hair fluttered with every step as Dianna carefully navigated between the monsters. They parted to create a clearing, where a whirlwind of black feathers swirled into the shape of a man.

Not Fafnir, but Guiscard emerged. The moment his eyes fell on Dianna, his features contorted in anguish.

[Guiscard] "Why... why, why, why are you coming here?"

He stuttered, staring at her with a desperate gaze.

[Guiscard] "You... you're weak."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "You must not come to a foul place like this."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Your... your life is precious. You must not."

He reached out to grab her, only to recoil as if realizing the horror of his own touch. He halted in an awkward posture, his hands drawn back from her body, looking as if he was desperate to say something.

[Dianna] "Then why are you doing this? You didn't have to go this far."

[Guiscard] "Of... of course I did!"

He shouted violently, only to catch himself and quickly smooth his expression as he watched her face. He bit his lip in a fierce effort to suppress his rage and spoke again.

[Guiscard] "Th-those... those bastards caused you pain. You must not die."

[Dianna] "What?"

So this was all to keep her alive? Guiscard offered a twisted, broken smile.

[Guiscard] "I brought you back. You mustn't die again."

[Dianna] "What do you mean...?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

[Dianna] "You... saved me?"