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  Vol 2 Chapter 30: True Friendship

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  “Greetings, ‘Eclipse’ Team’s Captain, Marlyno.”

  Before Marlyno stood a man bck.

  “Who are you?”

  “You need not yourself with my identity. What matters here, however, is you.”

  The figure took a step closer, and with it, the oppressive pressure around them grew stronger.

  “Am I not correct, Miss Chimera?”

  “!”

  In a swift motion, Marlyno drew the dagger she kept for emergencies, pressing its bde against the stranger’s throat.

  Yet, the man showed no sign of , as if entirely indifferent to her threat. He tinued, unfazed.

  “I never imagihat the monster left behind by the war decades ago would bee an adventurer in human nds, aiding humanity. Quite the turn, isn’t it…”

  “Silence!”

  Marlyno pushed the dagger harder, its edge sinking slightly into his skin, causing blood to trickle from the wound.

  “Ah, I see you couldn’t tain yourself. Despite the role you py, a monster is still a monster, after all. It’s something that ot be ged.”

  Without warning, the man’s hand moved with lightning speed, and Marlyno’s dagger shattered, breaking into two pieces.

  “What exactly are y to say?”

  With the bde broken, Marlyno immediately jumped back, widening the distaween them. Her hand instinctively reached for her ste pouch, prepared to draw her greatsword at a moment’s notice.

  “Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

  The man took a siep forward, closing the gap as effortlessly as before.

  “Do you truly think you keep your secret hidden? The Chimera is a forbiddeence. If others were to find out, it might not just be you, but your panions too who would suffer. Perhaps even be dragged into the flict.”

  “…!”

  “No, wait. Perhaps your panions themselves might e to despise you.”

  “They won’t!”

  Uo hold back, Marlyno shouted vehemently, her voice sharp and desperate.

  “How very trusting you are. But when they are branded as traitors, human aplices to a monster, when the world turns against them, what then?”

  “You…!?”

  “Rest assured, we won’t speak of it freely. But that’s only if you agree to cooperate with us.”

  At st, Marlyno uood the man’s iions.

  But she could not refuse.

  “…Promise me. You will not harm them.”

  “Of course. We value the spirit of an agreement. We won’t harm those who have no part in this.”

  “…Give me some time.”

  “I uand. Take your time to say goodbye to your panions.”

  ...

  Several hours had passed sihen.

  It had all begun when Marlyno, on her way to procure medie for a hangover, had entered the man in bck. In the end, he had brought her here.

  It was said that they inteo use something Marlyno carried with her in a ritual to resurrect their master. And this plot entangled many forces, making Marlyno’s relut pliao e here feel like the wisest course of a.

  “Sisi? What are you doing here…?”

  But there was one question that now pgued her: Why was Sisi here?

  “Wait, your injuries…!?”

  The remnants of burns from fireballs still marred Sisi’s skin, her face pale, and her body trembling slightly- a clear sign of magic depletion.

  “…You!”

  Fury burned within Marlyno as she turned her gaze to the man nearby, her voice sharp and acg.

  “Didn’t you promise not to harm them!?”

  The man wore a look of feigned innoce, as though the victim in this sario.

  “I’m afraid that’s beyond my trol. I follow the principle, ‘If no harm is doo me, I shall do none iurn.’ She came to me, after all.”

  With a shrug, the man acted as though it were all simply part of the game.

  “Besides… what you do now?”

  Marlyno tried to rise, but the magic circle around her held her fast, designed specifically to restrain her and prevent her from disrupting the ritual’s effectiveness.

  “Regardless, that girl piqued my i. Out of kindness, I’ve allowed you to meet. Surely you have no objes?”

  Marlyno turned her gaze back to Sisi, who y on the ground with a look of defiance.

  “…Sisi, you…”

  “Captain!”

  Sisi suddenly shouted, interrupting Marlyno’s words with a forceful cry.

  “What… have you… taken us for!?”

  “I… I am a Chimera… a forbiddeence…”

  “Why are you still talking like this!?”

  Sisi, despite the toll of magic exhaustion, forced herself upright, her eyes burning with an iy that matched Marlyno’s own.

  “Do you knoe formed this team? Mira, the genius who graduated first in healing magic, could have gone anywhere. Higher-paying pces called to her, but she still chose to be an adventurer, running about on these endless errands.”

  “I…”

  “And me! Do you think I stantly ‘fall ill’ because of some weakness? No. I do it for you!”

  “What…?”

  Marlyno was taken aback. For her? What could that possibly mean?

  “Do you even uand? After all this time together, you still don’t get it? We’ve known your secret from the beginning. So what if you’re not human? Mira chooses not to care, to ig, and still sees you as Captain. Me? I’ve made myself seem like the ‘odd one’ fabrig my ins, so you wouldn’t carry such a heavy burden of self-loathing. What did you choose iurn? What answer have you e to?”

  Sisi’s desperate shouts, her words ced with anguish, left Marlyno in stunned silence.

  With a heavy breath, Sisi colpsed onto the floor, her body betraying her from the exhaustion. Marlyno remained unmoved, but her silence spoke volumes.

  “…It’s almost time. The ritual ot be deyed any further.”

  The man who had been silently watg now stepped forward, summoning a sword of fire. He raised it high, a malicious grin spreading across his face.

  “Enough with the seal drama.”

  With a swift motion, the fire sword desded upon Sisi.

  Bang!

  The sharp sound of impact echoed through the room, and a body flew across the room, smming into the wall with a deafening crash.

  “…You… how could you!?”

  But standing where the man had been, now stood Marlyno, grievously wounded, her body missing an arm and a rge portion of her torso.

  “Captain…”

  Sisi, groaning from the shock of the blow, gazed up at Marlyno with wide eyes.

  “I… choose to remain as the Captain of ‘Eclipse.’”

  At that moment, Marlyno’s expression was not one of doubt, but of unwavering resolve.

  “Hah!… Hahaha! You think breaking free of your restraints will ge the oute? Even as a Chimera, the differen our levels ehat the result of our battle is already decided.”

  The man’s smile twisted into something far darker, his hand once again crag with fire.

  “You will never win. In the end, I will kill you, and your death will fuel the ritual!”

  With a final, mog she man hurled the fire at Marlyno.

  Uerred, she called upon her regeive abilities, rushing toward the fmes even as they scorched her body. Her wounds closed as fast as they were opened, and she fought the paiermio hold her ground.

  “Hah… Hah…”

  After a long struggle, Marlyno finally ed the magic of the fire, dissipating the attack.

  But this was only orike.

  “Tch! Blog o won’t ge anything. Let’s see how many you block…”

  Suddenly, the ground shook violently, as if the very foundation of the base was being torn apart.