R4STWH - Chapter 126
Chapter 126
The child grew up day by day.
At some point, she began to shed her girlishness and became a woman so beautiful that anyone who saw her was compelled to turn their gaze to her.
It wasn't just her appearance that had changed.
She grew stronger, faster, and smarter each day.
Perhaps because of that.
After leaving the hellish laboratory, people began to gather around the girl, who had been alone for a while, one by one.
At first, most of them approached with the intention of exploiting the seemingly innocent girl, but as rumors spread that she was not someone who was easy to deal with, the situation quickly changed.
“Would you like to help with this dungeon clear? I’ll give you 30% of the profit from selling the byproducts.”
“If you go with us, I’ll absolutely guarantee priority during item distribution.”
Everyone tried to recruit her by offering better conditions than the others.
As she cleared dungeons and hunted monsters every day, she started to meet people she got along with and eventually formed a team.
“Hayang-a, it seems like you should be the leader. I’m too lazy and those guys are stupid.”
“Are you introducing yourself right now? And why is our pretty girl called Hayang? That’s the name of the hamster you used to raise!”
“She looks like one. Small and white.”
“Anyway, I agree that 124 should be the leader. There’s no one else who can do it.”
As she fought, lived, and shared all her time with them, she learned new emotions that she had forgotten.
She laughed at times, and was angry at others, and occasionally sobbed secretly.
Elias felt relieved yet sometimes felt a sense of depression as well.
It went without saying in reality, but in the illusion as well, the only one who had recognized him and talked to him was the girl.
But as the people around her increased and she had less time alone, the number of times she talked to him also had no choice but to decrease.
'Even though we can’t even have a proper conversation.'
Elias was more than dumbfounded, he felt pathetic at his own self like this.
'Perhaps it's because I’ve been watching her by her side for too long…….'
After finding a reason for it, the intervals of him falling asleep and waking up gradually increased.
Sometimes half a year, sometimes a year would have passed.
When he reappeared, she always greeted him with a welcome.
“Butterfly, welcome back.”
Not even caring that the people beside her found it strange.
However, one day when he woke up, Elias recognized that something was different from usual.
'Why is she alone?'
Elias looked around the girl who was asleep while hugging her knees.
The large artificial cavern was dark. And in the middle of it, something that he couldn't identify was protruding.
'What is that?'
When he went closer, he saw a monster that looked like a huge octopus that was as big as a hill, lying there, torn to pieces.
'Did she defeat something like this?'
Where were the comrades who never left her side when she was sleeping?
Why was she curled up here like this, alone?
'Poor thing, why are you alone again. Hmm?'
As he stroked her pink hair, her eyelids fluttered open.
Her eyes that had been blinking slowly, widened.
“Butterfly!”
She shot up and reached out her hand to him.
“You came back. You didn’t disappear forever.”
Her trembling fingertips brushed against his intangible form.
“While you were gone……”
Her eyes became flushed. It seemed like she was barely holding back the tears that were about to fall.
“Many things happened.”
Elias quietly listened to what she had to say.
'Everyone…… died?'
Elias had also known that this world wasn't in a normal state.
Even as he watched, the ‘disaster’ covered people’s homes and devoured lives.
Even so, since there were quite a few powerful people including her, he had thought that they would continue to endure well.
However, his judgment was wrong.
The appearance of the SS-rank monster was a disaster that was above a disaster.
The facilities that were essential to people’s survival were destroyed, and even the awakened people had lost their lives in countless numbers.
Fortunately, her team had managed to overcome the crisis, but a stronger monster had appeared, as if trying to erase the word hope.
“Final, super final…… the quests were renewed endlessly as if to mock us.”
And the last one was a monster that looked like an octopus as big as a hill.
An SS-rank final boss monster that had been enhanced to its limits, Celiose, had appeared with the message and had taken everyone’s life.
“Only I was left. Now really…… there is no one else.”
All that was given as a reward for clearing the quest was just one useless SS-rank weapon.
“I definitely thought so, but…….”
She wiped away the tears that were pooling at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled at him.
“It’s okay. You’ve returned.”
Elias looked at her quietly.
Even though he was in a situation where he couldn't say even a word, he wouldn't have been able to say anything anyway, even if he had been able to.
What could he say to make the girl who was left alone in this ruined world say ‘it’s okay’?
He was someone who couldn't even offer a word of gentle comfort, let alone be of any help to her.
“I will do my best. So you don’t have to worry.”
She comforted him instead before getting up from her spot while dusting off her clothes.
Then, she took out the weapon that looked ominous, and started cutting the octopus carcass.
'……?'
“This is all that is left for food, so I have to store it well.”
The large pieces that she was cutting were neatly stacked inside her inventory.
“Somewhere in this world, there must be materials that can revive my comrade’s soul stones. From now on, I’m going to look for that.”
From that day onward, Elias didn't take his eyes off her for even a moment.
It was because he felt that if he left her side even for a moment, she wouldn't be able to endure it.
While using the SS-rank weapon she had received as a shovel, she searched through the ruins.
And when she could no longer endure the hunger, she would take out a piece of the monster's carcass that she had stored in her inventory and eat it.
“If there’s no food even if I revive my comrades, we’ll end up starving to death, so I have to save it.”
For a year, she searched around the inside of the tower while trying to find something useful.
As it was the last city where people had gathered to live, she was able to find some tools for living that were needed for survival.
However, it was hard to find any materials that would help revive soul stones.
“It seems they’ve already used it all up.”
Even while sighing, she didn't give up.
When she was convinced that she wouldn't get any more results, she left the tower and started wandering around the outside world.
She overturned piles of trash and dug into the ground.
She used a map that was a few hundred years old that she had found inside the tower and searched for places where minerals would be found.
One year, and another year.
Time flowed without stopping.
The time that she had been able to survive in that destroyed world was three years.
The few materials that she had barely managed to find didn't have enough power to revive the soul stones, and even one attempt ended in failure.
Her pink hair had turned as white as snow at some point.
“Butterfly.”
Perhaps because she knew that she couldn’t endure it any longer, she held out a small flower pot to him after returning to the tower.
“If I die, you’ll be left alone. So I planted everything that looked like seeds.”
Even while knowing that there was no way that plants would grow in this kind of environment.
“I hope that flowers bloom.”
It was the last gift that she had given to him, after pouring her heart and soul into it over time.
“So that you can be happy even without me.”
Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep quietly. With a tired face that looked like she would never wake up.
After waking up from something that felt like an illusion or a dream, Elias asked the being that was still in front of him.
“How do I…….”
Even though he had thought that only a little time had passed in reality, his throat was hoarse as if he hadn't spoken for a long time.
“Make that girl happy?”
He didn't know if it was love or not.
Since he was someone who had never given or received such an emotion.
However, there was one thing that was clear.
That he was willing to do anything if it meant that he could make the beautiful child who had sparkled alone in that desolate world, smile again.
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