Chapter 93
Beeeep. A ringing sounded in my ears, and my fingertips grew cold.
āMiss, Miss! Are you alright? Goodness, why are you shaking so much.ā
A rampage? What had Gerardās energy been like yesterday? I couldnāt even remember. No, I hadnāt even looked at it closely. I had been so full of worries about running away that I failed to take care of what was actually important in advance.
āAhā¦ā
āMiss!ā
My body collapsed. I felt abdominal pain as if my insides were being wrung out, and heat rushed up my spine all the way to the nape of my neck.
āGoodness, get in first! We should go to a doctor.ā
I urgently grabbed onto the coachmanās clothes and clung to him. Because of the rain pouring down violently, it was hard to open my eyes.
āPlease go to B, Bellota Harbor.ā
āWhat?! Didnāt you hear me just now? Lord Castion is rampaging right nowāā
āPlease. Iāll give you all the money I have, so please!ā
I handed the entire money pouch to the coachman.
āIām telling you, I canāt go even if you give me a fortune!ā
āPlease just take me somewhere near there. I wonāt ask for more. Just right before the restricted area.ā
When I knelt on the puddled ground and begged, the coachman said, āAh, damn it,ā and shoved the money pouch into his inner pocket.
āI canāt go fast. Because of the rain.ā
āThank you. Thank you.ā
I climbed into the carriage and hugged my cold body. The trembling of my body would not fade easily. Whether because of the cold or because of anxiety, my teeth clattered together and made a sharp sound.
The carriage that had reached the restricted area slowly reduced its speed. The wooden window connected to the inside slid open with a clatter, and the coachmanās face appeared through it.
āWeāre here. Iām saying this because Iām worried, but donāt go in there. Itās dangerous.ā
None of the coachmanās words entered my ears. After nodding frantically, I got out of the carriage.
āā¦ā¦ā
At the sight spread out before my eyes, I lost my words for an instant.
The enormous harbor that had certainly been intact just yesterday had disappeared entirely. Black seawater, surging past the danger level, had flooded all the way onto land. The administrators dispatched from the temple were controlling the area all at once, and the civilians seemed to have evacuated long ago.
All I could see was a pillar of water that had risen all the way to the sky like a whirlwind, and Gerard was nowhere. Seeing that several Awakened were armed, he must still be here. Whyā¦ Why is he the only one I canāt see.
The thunderous roar I had heard from the mansion where Madam Marcella had imprisoned me had not been an earthquake after all.
āā¦Gerard.ā
From this point on, even my memories are faint.
How I broke through the administrators and made it into the restricted area. How many people grabbed my body and tried to tear me away, I do not know. I did not care even when my skin was scraped and my clothes were torn.
Only the single-minded thought that I had to purify him, who had gone on a rampage, made me move. It was not some conviction, but a struggle closer to fear. From my face, smeared with tears and rain, torn screams poured out.
āGerard, Gerard!ā
With the extreme fear that I might lose him forever and the guilt that all this disaster seemed to have begun because of me, my whole body hurt as if it were being twisted.
āLet, go, let go of me! GERARDā¦!ā
It was then.
The enormous seawater surged up to the height of the templeās spire. Within the curtain that blocked my vision in an instant, the debris of buildings was buried.
āEveryone, get away!ā
The hands holding me were withdrawn in an instant.
I became powerless before that awe-inspiring force that seemed about to cover the world, and I was sad too.
You should never have met me. If I had known our ending would be this futile and terrible, then at thirteen, instead of purifying you myself, I would have brought another Purifier.
From my first meeting with you to now, every choice remained as regret.
My trembling legs finally gave out. Sitting collapsed on the ground, I stared blankly at what was rushing toward me.
āā¦Iām sorry.ā
I hoped the confession I left behind like a last word would reach him.
