He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior

She had hidden his face because she couldn’t stand to see it. Behind that mask, Lin concealed all his wounds.

Look at the arm your greatest comrade now bears.

The arm that was forced to grasp the Demon King's horn, tainted by dark magic, simply because he was considered a non-combatant. That arm was used to tend to your mutilated body.

He’s in pain, but he can’t even say so. He wants to be angry, but he can’t feel anger anymore. Look at your Lin.

This is all because of you, Luciena Estelle.

You ungrateful wretch.

“…!”

She had cried so much that the tears now burned her eyes as they flowed.

You cannot be forgiven.

“…No.”

Lin had finally acknowledged that she had done something wrong. Now, all she needed to do was beg for forgiveness.

You cannot be loved.

“Please don’t say that….”

Don’t take away my only hope.

Devote yourself to Lin, sacrifice everything for him?

Yes, maybe then she could be forgiven, even just a little…

But Lin isn’t with you right now, is he?

Lucy sprang to her feet. Clad in a simple nightgown made of plain cloth, she began to wander aimlessly through the palace.

Hmm, perhaps that’s enough for now?

Satisfied with its work, the Chasm fell silent. It was content to watch the unwavering loyalty it had cultivated in this girl slowly unfold.

“Lucy?! Why are you wandering around in your nightgown?!”

“Luciena! Where are you going dressed like that?”

Arsil and Naidrian appeared in quick succession after receiving reports that the Hero had been wandering the palace since dawn. After having locked herself in her room for the past three or four days, this was an unexpected development. Arsil considered it a miracle that she had held out this long.

“Lin… I can’t see him… He was with me in the room, but now he’s gone…?”

Lucy’s memory was far from intact after so many cycles. Everything was jumbled, and all she could focus on was finding Lin.

“What are you talking about? The porter evacuated with Tigrea after the demon attack.”

“Evacuated…?”

“Yeah.”

“Where?”

“I… I don’t know. It was an emergency. How would I know?”

Arsil stammered, unnerved by the odd way Lucy turned her head to ask.

“Bring him here.”

“What?”

“Bring him here.”

“I told you, I don’t know where he is!”

“Why don’t you know?! Why?! Why?!”

He’s supposed to be with me! Lin, everyone in this world is our enemy except us. He must be by my side, by her side. Suddenly, a memory surfaced. The final moment when Lin nodded, allowing her to leave. The sword that missed its mark as it tried to strike down the mage.

Could it be… Was Lin trying to abandon her because he had grown tired of her?

“Bring him to meeeeeee!!!!!!!”

In the end, the Hero could not hold on. Tears streaming down her face, she frantically searched for the porter. It was a foolish choice. She should never have let him go, but her foolish pride had brought this disaster upon her.

“Haa… Haa….”

The thought of being left alone made her dizzy. She felt nauseous, overwhelmed by the fear that anyone, at any moment, might stab her in the back.

“Lin… Lin…! Please, where are you…!”

Lucy’s breath came in gasps, and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably.

“Liiiin! I’m sorry… I’m sorry… hic…”

“Lucy, no matter what, the porter isn’t here. You need to give up.”

“His name is Lin! He’s not just a porter!”

Unable to stand it any longer, the saint tried to calm her, but the Hero violently shook her off.

Shing!

Even the temporary holy sword, the Chasm, was drawn and pointed at them, causing Naidrian and Arsil to tense up. Of all times, the Hero had gone berserk when the mage wasn’t present, and in the middle of the palace where many eyes could see.

“Okay, okay, but Lin isn’t here…”

“Don’t you dare call him Lin with that filthy mouth!”

“What are you going to do about it, you narcissistic bitch?!”

Even the foul-mouthed saint, Arsil, finally exploded. She wanted to slap Lucy across the face, but this was the Hero she was dealing with. She knew her chances of succeeding were about as good as cutting off her own arm and throwing it at her.

I have no choice.

The high elf Naidrian nocked an arrow coated with paralyzing poison, waiting for the right moment to act.

Thud!

A dagger thrown by the Hero embedded itself in the wall right next to her face.

“Hero, what are you…!”

“Do you think I don’t know? Just like that time, like that day! You’re trying to stab me in the back again, aren’t you?”

Arsil swallowed hard. What Lucy was talking about was something that only the three of them knew.

Damn it, should I have kept the porter around after all?!

Arsil cursed herself for thinking it was safe to approach Lucy just because she had seemed fine for the past few days.

“Only Lin matters. He’s the only one who treats me like a person, the only one who cares about me.”

Lucy was sinking deeper into her own delusions. As her muttering grew more intense, a dark aura began to emanate from her, darkening the space around them. Arsil, now desperate, shouted out.

“Naidrian, shoot!”

“Ugh, fine-!”

The arrow flew through the air with a sharp sound, only to be effortlessly caught by Lucy and snapped in half. The broken arrow disintegrated in her aura.

“See? What are you trying to take from me this time? You took my arms and legs last time, so what now?”

“Hero, we weren’t trying to…”

“Fine, have it your way.”

“Arsil!”

Naidrian tried to explain, but the foul-mouthed saint couldn’t hold back her temper and ended up provoking the Hero.

“This time, I’ll take Lin for myself.”

Everything seemed to freeze. Lucy stood there, unmoving, staring at them. Her eyes had lost their focus long ago. As everyone held their breath, watching the situation unfold, Lucy slowly raised the Chasm.

“Now that I think about it… you’ve never… asked for my forgiveness, not even once…”

The dark aura flared up like a raging fire. Only her glowing red eyes shone ominously through the darkness.

“And now you want to take Lin away from me too…?”

“You sure talk a lot!”

Arsil slipped on her dragon-scale gloves. The moment they were on, holy power crackled like lightning, revealing her fierce determination.

“Come on, then. A good punch will help you sleep. I’ll knock you out until we can bring the porter back.”

But the Hero’s dark power surged violently as she screamed.

“I can’t sleep without Lin’s heartbeat beside me-!!!!!!!”

The saint, her temper boiling, and the elven archer, who shook her head in disbelief, once again found themselves facing a Hero they had once betrayed.

“You hid him, didn’t you? He’s mine! He’s only for me! Lin… Lin…! Without you, I…”

“Ugh! Just hit her with the paralysis arrow!”

“You’re the one who provoked her, Arsil!”

As Naidrian tried to ready another arrow, Lucy struck her in the ribs before she could even lift her bow.

“Guh…!”

Crack!

“Ahhhh—ugh!”

Naidrian couldn’t even scream as she fell to the floor. The pain was unimaginable, beyond any scream she could muster.

“You—!!”

Arsil lunged at her with a flying kick.

“You seriously hit a comrade?!”

But Lucy easily dodged and struck Arsil down with her fist. The saint landed on the marble floor, back first.

“Ugh!”

“A comrade? You think that works on me?”

Seeing Lucy lift her foot, Arsil quickly rolled aside to put some distance between them. Lucy’s bare foot came down hard enough to crack the floor tiles, sinking her calf into the ground.

“I don’t need you… I only need Lin.”

Good, let’s go, partner! Let’s finish this in one blow.

“…Okay.”

Lucy raised one hand to measure the distance to Arsil, while the other gripped the Chasm at her side. The dark aura swirled around her sword like a storm.

Fsssaaa—

The eerie sound echoed, unlike the holy power’s usual crackle. Naidrian was incapacitated, and Arsil’s back injury made it difficult for her to move.

“Are you going to destroy the entire palace…?”

“No?”

“Then stop this now…”

“I’m going to destroy everything except for Lin and me.”

“You crazy bitch!”

Desperately gathering her holy power, Arsil hesitated. Should she attack the Hero to prevent her from causing further destruction, or should she heal herself first and then try to hold her off in hand-to-hand combat?

While she wavered, Lucy, fully charged, raised the Chasm vertically.

“Lucy, please!”

“I don’t need your pleas.”

The veins in her arm bulged, her muscles tensed. One strike would end it all. The Chasm, with a sinister smile, eagerly awaited the moment of destruction, when suddenly a bright and cheerful voice interrupted between Arsil and Lucy.

“Delivery~!!!!! Uh… the recipient is our Hero, Luciena Estelle! The sender… just says it’s from the Hero party’s porter! Is the Hero here? Delivery! A letter from the porter!”

Fssss….

“…It’s me! That’s me! I’m Luciena Estelle!”

As if by magic, the fully charged dark aura vanished, and Lucy began hopping up and down like a child who had just received a treat, waving excitedly at the World Postal Service courier.

“Alrighty! Here you go. No need to verify the recipient since you’re so famous. Now, the sender… is it the guy with the black, messy hair and the weird mask?”

“Yes, that’s him! My only ally!”

“You two seem really close~?”

“Hehe.”

Lucy beamed as she carefully opened the letter the courier handed her. But as soon as she read the first line, she couldn’t continue.

To my beloved Lucy.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

“Hehe… I… I love you too, Lin… hehe….”

She repeated those words to herself, knowing they would never reach him. Crying tears of joy, Lucy could hardly contain her happiness as she waved the letter at Arsil.

“Look! Look! Lin sent this to me!”

“That crazy woman….”

As Arsil tended to the bleeding Naidrian, she found herself utterly exhausted by the Hero’s antics.

“Excuse me, are you perhaps the high elf, Naidrian?”

“The one lying here is Naidrian.”

“I see… Well, I also have a letter for Naidrian, so I’ll come back when she’s recovered.”

“Is it also from the porter?”

“Are you the recipient?”

“No, I’m not, but…”

“Then I can’t tell you.”

Arsil couldn’t argue with that logic and refocused on healing the archer. Or at least, she tried to.

To my beloved Lucy… To my beloved Lucy… To my beloved Lucy….

Stuck between a physically broken Naidrian and a mentally broken Lucy, Arsil let out a deep, deep sigh.