However, Sedi didn’t accept it so easily.
She rushed at Lukas without even bothering to wipe the black blood off her mouth. Swoosh, he heard the sound of the scythe cutting through the air, but it wasn’t threatening. In the first place, an attack that was slower than the speed of sound was nothing to the current Lukas.
He didn’t think Sedi didn’t know that as well.
He tilted his head slightly to dodge the attack. Originally, with Sedi’s level of skill, dodging with just a small movement wasn’t something that would’ve been possible. At the same time, this was a testament of how weak she currently was.
Sedi didn’t stop even after her attack was dodged. She swung her scythe like a madperson. There was a lot of emotion involved. The heart chilling display of skill that she’d shown earlier as she batted away the many spells was nowhere in sight.
Just a few minutes ago, the scythe had moved like one of her own limbs, but now, she seemed to be having problems supporting its weight. It felt like her small body was being dragged around by the weapon.
Her body was filled with openings.
He would only need a single finger to subdue or kill her.
Paak!
Lukas chose the former. He grabbed the scythe with his bare hands before throwing it into the distance. It was something he could only do because there was no force behind her swing.
“Uahhh!”
Despite losing her weapon, Sedi still rushed forward with her bare fists. There was no hesitation in her actions, and the animal-like howling was a bonus.
Lukas felt that he no longer needed to use magic, divine power, or external force.
He just used martial arts to respond to Sedi’s attacks, redirect the force, and put her on the ground.
“Kuhuk…”
Sedi let out a breath. Blood could be seen dripping from her mouth. Lukas snapped his fingers, causing the ground around her to move like clay and bind her entire body.
“Kuk, eek!”
Sedi struggled to break free from her restraints and get to her feet, but the ground had already regained its hardness.
The situation had completely reversed. Luksa was no longer the one who was imprisoned.
“…”
After a while, Sedi stopped struggling. It could be said that she had given up too quickly, but in this case, it was completely reasonable. She had understood the fact that she couldn’t break free with her own strength.
“You did really well.”
Her voice was composed of a strange mix of emotions.
It sounded sharp, but there was also a clear tone of deep self deprecation. There were many other emotions mixed in, but Lukas wasn’t able to identify them all.
“This isn’t the end. At the very least, you can’t just end it by restraining my limbs and looking down on me.”
“…”
“You know what you have to do.”
“What do I have to do?”
Smirking, Sedi gestured with her chin towards the weapon that had flown behind her.
“Isn’t a scythe a weapon made specifically for execution? So…”
Lukas was silent.
“Don’t stay silent.”
And for Sedi, that silence was a response that made her uncomfortable.
Because it meant he was thinking.
“Think carefully. Remember what I did to you.”
Sedi’s voice seemed to be filled with an incomprehensible emotion.
“Who was it that cut off Father’s limbs? Who gouged out your eye? Who cut off the head of your best friend?”
“…”
“Answer me!”
Sedi’s voice was filled with desperation.
Lukas didn’t answer, and instead, continued to look down at Sedi with a solemn gaze.
And then he said something preposterous.
“Did you kill Kasajin for a moment like this?”
Sedi realised that those words weren’t completely ridiculous.
“In case you lost. You cut off Kasajin’s head so that I would kill you without hesitation. Was that your plan?”
“Stop.”
Sedi’s voice became cold once again.
Perhaps it was because she’d lost a lot of blood, but it felt like her mind was a bit clearer. The phenomenon of the edges of her vision becoming dark had also faded a bit. Perhaps, the current Sedi was the most sane she’d been since coming to the World of Void.
“You seem to think there is something wrong with me, but there’s nothing like that. It was just magnified. I did what I always wanted to do.”
Even if it had been driven by impulse, the fact that she’d acted that way wouldn’t change.
Sedi paused before muttering in a broken voice.
“…so everything I did, it was my choice. My decision. So please put aside your cheap sympathy and do what needs to be done. Otherwise, everything will just repeat after Father leaves this place. You know that, don’t you?”
“Is sympathy wrong?”
Instead, Lukas asked back. And continued before Sedi could answer.
“I’m not trying to cover for you. I have no intention of comforting you. Of course, I won’t forgive you for the terrible deeds you committed. However, worrying about you is my freedom. Even if you did worse things, I would still worry about you.”
Sedi’s heart sank when she heard the word worry.
Trying not to show how much it bothered her, she said.
“…don’t be swept away by trivial acknowledgement. Father isn’t like that.”
“Acknowledgement will never be trivial. And… I was like this. A long time ago. Before I met you.”
He’d been like that in the past, when he was called the Great Mage.
“I thought that if someone committed a crime, it was natural for them to be punished for it. I still don’t think that’s wrong. However… there was clearly something missing from this thought. I was able to realise that in this world.”
He remembered the past he saw, and the Trowman Orphanage.
And Sophia.
“I had a mother-like figure. Like you. Sedi. She and I weren’t related by blood.”
Sedi was still panting, but she didn’t stop him or do anything.
For one, it was because she knew Lukas didn’t like to talk about his past, and two, because she couldn’t help but be deeply interested in what he was saying.
“However, I believed that our connection was made from something deeper. I knew. Simply being related by blood didn’t make you family.”
“…family.”
“One day, I learned that the woman I considered my mother, Sophia, was committing horrible crimes.”
As he continued to speak, Lukas felt as if the situation at that time was overlapping with the present.
“It was unforgivable. It was so terrible that I can’t even say it. I witnessed it for myself… and I killed her with my own hands.”
It was more of a one sided slaughter than murder.
Of course, this wasn’t what he’d actually done in the past.
Instead, when he’d eaten the body of another Lukas in the Dump Site and was faced with a similar memory as a consequence of it, Lukas had killed Sophia without hesitation.
Sophia had died without being able to even say her last words. It was a fitting end for a murderer who had thrown aside their humanity, but it wasn’t an end that was a suitable final appearance for the woman he considered his mother.
“It is human nature to be swayed by emotion even when we know it is morally wrong.”
[…]
When he quoted what he’d heard from a ‘Lukas’, he heard someone in his head chuckle.
“Of course, that’s not the right thing to do. But I think such imperfection is necessary. For you, and for me.”
Lukas felt as if a light had turned on in his head. Perhaps it was because he kept thinking about it. The way he should treat her, and the way she should treat him. The answer was now clear.
He walked towards Sedi. Each step was taken without hesitation, and when he reached out to her, whose entire body was restrained, Sedi instinctively flinched and closed her eyes tightly.
Surk-
But what she soon felt was the touch of fingers gently brushing her hair.
Just as Sedi was about to open her eyes.
Ttak.
She felt a sharp pain on her forehead.
It was the first time in her life that Sedi had felt this kind of pain… No. Was this even pain? As she became bewildered by this vague feeling, Lukas spoke.
“Why did you do that?”
“…!”
His stern voice caused waves in her heart.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
…He was scolding her. And teaching her.
He was reprimanding Sedi for making the wrong choice based on his own experience.
Just like a real parent.
Ulkuk. (TL:…if you can think of a onomatopoeia for being emotional, insert here)
“…urp.”
Something hot rose up from her chest.
Sedi claimed to be Lukas’ daughter, but she wasn’t a child. She knew how to use her common sense and her personality was more advanced than most intelligent beings.
When a child made a mistake, the child didn’t perceive that it was a mistake. They only realised what they did was wrong after being scolded by their parents.
That was the crucial difference between Sedi and a child. (TL: not the hundreds-thousands of years?)
She was fully aware of her mistakes. She had always been aware of the fact that the path she was walking on was wrong. It was like a lump of lead resting on her chest that she couldn’t get rid of.
Sedi had been determined. She’d decided that she would carry that weight for the rest of her life.
But now, that determination… had faded.
Because Lukas’ stern voice had removed the lead.
No, he hadn’t removed it. He’d lightened it. He removed half of the fault from Sedi and took it upon himself.
This foolish man.
“…hu.”
She heard a strange sound. It had come from her own throat.
Her vision became blurry, but it wasn’t as dark as before. Instead, Lukas face seemed to be shrouded in fog.
“Hht, huu…”
A sad sound leaked out of her mouth.
The beast-like sound showed that Sedi was trying with all her might to suppress the sob that threatened to come out.
Lukas didn’t say anything.
“…so-, rry.”
But when he heard the voice that leaked out, he answered quietly.
“It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry. Hup. Father. Huk…”
Finally, she was unable to stop the tears from bursting out. They weren’t black.
Sedi, who had only been pouring out black liquid until now, finally let out something else for the first time.
“I’m sorry… Father. For doubting you. For being obsessed. For trying to force you. It’s not like that… the relationship I was thinking of, isn’t like that.”
Did she really think that she had no choice but to continue walking even though it was the wrong path? Don’t be ridiculous. Sedi was so ashamed of herself that she couldn’t stand it.
She could’ve turned around at any time. That level of choice and will had always been there. And yet, Sedi had ignored them and continued walking. In fact, despite knowing that she was walking the wrong path, she had been filled with greed. Dominated by desire.
This was the result.
It wasn’t the fault of her father, Lukas.
“…thanks.”
Sedi smiled faintly.
“This is it. It’s enough. So, kill me.”
Sedi mentioned her own death for the first time.
“This is different from before. I can now die with a smile. I’m not bluffing, that’s really the case. And the thought of dying to anyone other than Father… I hate it.”
After all, that was also her greed.
Sedi was getting sick of her shamelessness even at this time.
At the same time, she hoped that Lukas wouldn’t mind this childishness.
“…is that really what you want?”
“Sorry. For doing the wrong thing.”
“…”
Lukas looked down at Sedi with a hollow gaze. Then he stretched his hand out.
The scythe that was stuck in the ground a short distance away shook before floating up on its own, eventually coming to rest in Lukas’ palm.
Sedi smiled faintly.
“Goodbye, Father.”
‘It was nice to see you again.’
Those last words didn’t come out of her mouth. It was too shameful.
Then, the scythe fell like a guillotine.
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