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Once Again, The First Step Part 4

Translator : PolterGlast

In her hazy consciousness, Irisdina woke up due to the weight pressing down on her entire body and the sensation of something warm hitting her cheek.

"U~, nn ......"

She must have hit her head, and a sense of weariness enveloped her whole body. She groaned and opened her eyelids to see Nozomu's face in her blurred vision. He was bleeding from the head and his whole body was quivering.

The blade that was supposed to take Irisdina's life has pierced his left arm, grazing the side of her neck and pinning her to the ground. Nozomu, who had come to his senses, quickly had his own arm pierced to protect her, forcing the blade's trajectory to divert.

"No-, zomu ......"

"U-Ugh ......"

Irisdina reached for his cheek, which was right in front of her.

The fury and hatred were gone, and his eyes were no longer tinged with crimson.

He has returned. Joy sprung up in Irisdina's heart.

But Nozomu's face, on the other hand, was pale.

Assaulted by intense fear and guilt, his katana, which had pierced his own left arm, began to clatter and tremble erratically.

He nearly killed them. It was what he feared the most.

"I-I, almost ...... k-kill everyone ......."

He looked so pale like a corpse.

And Irisdina, in front of such seemingly broken Nozomu .......

"Nozomu!"

She sprung up and embraced him.

"Are you alright? Can you understand what I said!?"

"I-I, ris ......?"

His blood was flowing out, making his body sticky and wet, but Irisdina didn't mind that and squeezed her arms tightly together. As if to hold Nozomu, who was on the verge of breaking, together.

"T-Thank goodness ....... I-I thought you were going to disappear, and I thought you might not even be conscious anymore......"

The tears that flowed unceasingly from the girl's eyes soaked his shoulders.

She, who would always look so dignified, showed the appearance of a girl appropriate for her age.

Seeing Irisdina like this, Nozomu felt as if his heart was being poked violently.

"Nozomu-kun!"

"Shina......-san."

Nozomu, who had just accepted Irisdina, who was sobbing inside his chest, lifted his eyes towards the voice he heard, and this time, Shina was rushing towards him.

She got down on her knees in front of Nozomu and touched him all over his body to check his injuries.

"Are you okay!? You're conscious!, right?"

Shina's snow-like fingers were busily caressing Nozomu's body.

There he noticed blood on her face and all over her fingers. Irisdina's body was also stained bright red as she hugged him.

"Everyone ...... gotten hurt ......."

"No, we're not. This is your blood."

Shina held Nozomu's cheeks between her hands as she spoke while forcing him to turn towards her.

"You didn't hurt anyone. Even when Tiamat tricked you into seeing illusions, even when you were consumed by anger, you didn't cross the final line."

"Is everyone ...... safe?"

She nodded slowly but clearly to Nozomu, who asked her in a dazed manner.

"Yeah. You properly protected us from Tiamat until the very end. The evidence is that everyone here is standing on their own two feet, you see?"

Shina's gaze turned to Mars and the others who were standing behind her.

Although their faces all showed a uniformly deep fatigue, everyone was still steady on their feet.

"Everyone is alive ....... but-"

When he found out that everyone was safe, Nozomu's tense expression finally somewhat softened, but his smile quickly faded.

Certainly, the worst did not happen, but the fact that he pointed his blade at them did not change.

There was no way he could end it with a single word, "thank goodness ......".

The fear and guilt that welled up in him. The negative emotions that suggested he didn't belong to be with them were rising up, and his body trembled as he turned his gaze away.

Shina then turned Nozomu's face towards her again.

"You may have used your anger to turn your blade against us, but even so, you were resisting, albeit subconsciously. So, please. Don't blame yourself so much ......"

Following Shina's words, Irisdina also nodded her head with tears in her eyes.

"Nozomu! Are you alright!?"

"Nozomu-sa~n! Ane-sama~! Are you hurt!?"

Mars and others who were standing behind them rushed to Nozomu and the others.

"Norn~! Hurry up and heal him~!"

"I know, I know. Just stop pulling so forcefully! Nozomu-kun, let me heal you now......"

"~......"

"Ah ......"

Norn reached for Nozomu's wound, but he reflexively withdrew his hand.

A heavy silence prevailed between them.

While clenching his teeth as if enduring, Nozomu gently placed his right hand on Irisdina's shoulder and tried to gently separate her from the embrace.

It was like handling a treasure that he himself was not allowed to touch.

However, Irisdina did not let go of Nozomu's clothes.

On the contrary, she stared at him sharply with tear-filled eyes.

Nozomu tried several times to pull away, but each time he did, her eyes grew more and more serious.

Still, he persisted in his attempts to separate from Irisdina. Without being able to face her gaze head-on.

"Hey, Nozomu. We're-......."

Mars couldn't bear the sight and tried to call out to him.

However, at that moment, a pure white light enveloped the entire area.

*Giiiiii!*

With a screeching sound that made the air tremble, the [Cracked Crown], which had regained consciousness, raised its sickle-like arms.

Its former shiny carapace was now covered in countless cracks, and toxic bodily fluids were pouring out from all over its body.

[Cracked Crown] cloaked its wounded body with lightning and concentrated it into its distinctive crown. A shower of lightning began to rain down towards Nozomu and the others.

"Oh no ......!"

At this rate, Irisdina and the others, who are by his side, will be caught in the middle of this.

He lashed his immobile body, forcing it to shift, and tried to expose himself to the oncoming roaring lightning, so as to protect them.

But faster than Nozomu could move, they leaped in front of the rain of purple lightning.

"Shina-kun!"

"I know. Raz!"

[Yes, leave it to me!]

Countless thunderbolts collided with Razward's spirit magic, flooding the surroundings with a nose-tingling metallic odor.

"Guuuu......!"

The magical lightning, which exceeded even the power of the higher beings called spirits, instantly shaved away Razward's barrier.

The power that was exerted with its body full of wounds. It was truly an out-of-this-world demonic beast.

In an attempt to reduce the momentum of the lightning, Irisdina released [Intermediate Magic・Javelin of the Abyss].

The jet-black spear slipped through the net of lightning, and went straight for the crown of the giant centipede, which glowed pale, but got bounced off by the lightning that the [Cracked Crown] was clad in.

"No good. huh!"

*Gigigi ......!*

With a threat similar to a screeching sound, the pressure of the Thunder Rain increased even more.

[Ugh, damn ......!]

Razward, who was holding up the barrier, let out a cry of anguish.

Then, with a sound like shattering glass, the barrier was finally breached. But immediately afterward, a warm four-colored light enveloped Nozomu and the others with the shape of a box. The four-colored magic barriers repelled the lightning that had broken through.

"Are you okay?"

"Tima-san ......."

[Thank you, you saved me there.]

It was Tima who deployed the four-colored magic barrier.

Furthermore, two shadows leaped out from her side and circled to the side of the [Cracked Crown].

Mimuru assisted Mars, who was being repelled by the giant sickle-like arm. Next to him, Anri and Feo were doing the same and kept dispelling the Thunder Rain.

"Feo-ku~n? Are you okay~?"

"I myself am fine! But my wallet is getting worse ...... Anri-sensei, please! Take over for me!"

"Sorry~~. I can't help you with that at the moment~~. My salary is pretty low, so you'll have to do something about it yourself~~."

"What are you saying, Sensei? Sensei's salary is even higher than that of a common knight! I'm even cutting back on my living expenses to pay for the talismans! Shina, Mars! Please, cover for me! If I spend any more money, I'll have to live on nothing but water for the rest of the month!"

"Oi, Elf and Little Bird over there! Are you both doing good!?"

"We're fine for now. At least we still have plenty of room to help one more person!"

[Oi, you there! I'm not a little bird! Shi-jou, please say something to him!]

"C'mon, Raz, focus! You're getting pushed, you know!?"

"Wha!? Ignore? Are you guys ignoring me!? I'm going to starve to death, you know!? Are you guys okay with that!? In the first place, I kept overusing magic power to activate the talismans, so I'm almost at my limit!"

Feo was complaining about how he was being treated, but the situation was starting to get even worse.

The movements of Irisdina and the others were gradually becoming sluggish. They, too, had long since reached their limits.

Even so, there was not the slightest intention in their eyes to run away.

"I, I ......"

He felt a warmth deep within his chest. Such feelings were inspired by their determination.

Whatever the reason, Irisdina and the others were risking their lives to protect him, the one who had pointed his blade at them.

Their faces were stained with dirt and sweat, and their clothes were in tatters from the constant exposure to the lingering damage of the Thunder Rain. Their bodies were also battered and bruised, but they still managed to stay on their feet.

It was not out of a sense of duty or obligation. It was a desperate and single-minded act of caring for someone from the bottom of their heart.

Even though his heart ached as if it were tightened with cotton, the earnest efforts of Irisdina and the others continuously generated a burning heat deep in Nozomu's chest.

His body and mind, pulled by strong positive and negative emotions, had become rigid. Their equilibrium began to collapse.

The heat that continued to build up lit a flame in Nozomu's heart, burning and melting the chains that bound his mind.

The sight of his friends who were so earnest to this extent had spoken to Nozomu more eloquently than a thousand words.

No matter what you say, you are already our friend .......

That was all he needed.

"~! Norn-sensei. Can you make my body move at full power, even if it's just for a moment?"

Norn's expression froze in surprise upon hearing Nozomu's sudden words. Nozomu's body now has wounds that would normally require him to be bedridden immediately and rested.

Especially the katana that pierced his left arm was still stuck in it, and if it was pulled out carelessly, it might damage an artery and cause massive blood loss.

If he were to lose a large amount of blood all at once, he would go into shock and die as it is.

It would be impossible for him to fight any longer, and Norn, who was in charge of keeping him alive, would never allow him to do so.

"You... do you even know your own condition!? You have lacerations and muscle injuries all over your body. The amount of blood you lost due to the katana that pierced your left arm cannot be ignored! Most of all, if you were to unleash your power right now, Tiamat would surely try to take advantage of it again!"

If Nozomu were to release his ability suppression again, Tiamat would once again try to take him over.

If Tiamat's aim is to resurrect herself and to achieve this she needs to break Nozomu, then this is the perfect situation for her.

"Are you going to waste Irisdina's and the others' efforts!?"

"No, it's precisely because I don't want it to go to waste, so I have to do it now!"

Nozomu shook his head at the admonishing rebuke.

Irisdina and the others who were protecting him despite the fact that he almost killed them.

Determined to answer their feelings, Nozomu put his hand on the katana that pierced his left arm and pulled it out.

"Kuh ...... uuugh!"

The katana was pulled out with a loud "swish " sound, and fresh blood flowed out and spread over the ground in a crimson color.

Norn and Somia hurriedly held the wound and applied healing magic.

"I am someone who has been running away all this time. And I still am. Even though everyone was willing to reach out to me, I lost myself in anger, and I was so afraid of myself that I turned away from them because I couldn't believe them......"

While looking at the wound, which was gradually being closed by magic, Nozomu once again reflected on himself.

Trying to handle the situation on his own, he lost himself in anger.

In the end, he even turned his own blade against them.

Even though he was such a shitty person, they still called out to him.

Because of that, Nozomu was able to come back here.

Until now, he had turned away from his surroundings, and even though he realized that he was running away, he was unable to move forward even after he tried to move his feet.

But .......

"But I want that to end it now. I just want to stand next to everyone again ......"

"Nozomu-san......"

Somia's eyes were drawn to Nozomu's strong-willed expression, and Norn silently met his gaze.

At that moment, the voice of someone who was not supposed to be there could be heard from the side.

"Yo, I'm here to return the favor."

He reflexively turned his head in the direction of the voice. Nozomu's eyes widened involuntarily upon seeing the unexpected people there.

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