A Love Offered to the Final Guardian: A Suicidal Boy Finds Meaning in Life in Another World - The Confession in the Burned-Out Forest, and the Night the Earth Splits

*Fwoooosh—!* Three logs stacked at the edge of the clearing were sent flying all at once. Splintered wood fragments danced through the air before clattering across the ground. "[excited]That was insane!! Bro, that was your best one yet, no contest!!" Marco shouted, practically bouncing as he jumped. His reddish-brown hair, still riddled with bedhead, swayed with the motion, and the smudge of soot on his cheek glistened black in the morning sunlight. "[sad]...No, it wasn't." Kanata furrowed his brow and stared at his left hand. A tingling heat lingered in his fingertips, but there had been no sense of control whatsoever. He hadn't released it by his own will. The magical energy rampaging inside his body had simply forced its way out on its own. (*Why?*) Eight days since the transfer. Every single day, he'd come to this clearing near the watchtower to train. Last night, he'd kept at it until dawn. And still, not once had he managed to control it properly. "[serious]I'm doing it again." Kanata took a deep breath and clasped his hands together in front of him. He drew in the magical essence. The invisible force in the atmosphere—Lumen—he let it flow into his body. (*Slowly... calmly...*) He recalled the breathing technique Erin Hanna had taught him. Gather the power at the center of your chest, then guide it to your arms, your hands, your fingertips. Kanata's left hand began to glow with a faint, pale blue light. "[whispers]Bro... can you pull it off...?" Marco held his breath and watched. That was when it happened. (*—Ah.*) Suddenly, the magical essence in his chest went berserk. As if a dam had burst, it surged into his left hand all at once. A cold shock raced through him, and the light swelled out of control—. *BOOOOOM!!* A slender tree growing at the edge of the clearing snapped at the base and was blown away. White smoke rose from the remaining stump, and the acrid smell of char hung in the air. Kanata clutched his left hand and dropped to one knee. His fingers were convulsing. "[sad]...Damn it." Marco rushed over in a panic. "[scared]H-hey, you okay?! Didn't that one have way more power than before?!" "...Sorry. Maybe I really can't do this after all." "[serious]Don't give up! It's only been eight days, right? You've still got a long way to go!" (*Eight days... huh.*) Back in the real world, he'd never stuck with anything for eight days straight. He'd quit his club activities. Abandoned his studies halfway through. Even conversations with his family had never lasted more than three days. (*And yet—*) For some reason, here, he didn't want to give up. Kanata stood up. "[serious]One more time." "[excited]Yeah! I'll stick with you as many times as it takes!" That was when it happened. "[cold]...You're still at it?" At the voice from behind them, both Kanata and Marco froze. They turned to find Lilia standing there. Her silver hair, long enough to reach her waist, swayed in the morning breeze, and her deep indigo cloak fluttered behind her. Her amethyst eyes moved in sequence—from the broken tree stump, to the smoking ground, to Kanata's left hand. "[scared]L-Lilia-nee! This is, uh—" "[cold]You're in the way." Lilia's words were ice-cold. "[cold]Day after day, blowing up trees. Even if this is outside the barrier, it's too close to the village. It's time you chose—either move somewhere else, or give up entirely." "...Sorry." Kanata hung his head. —But. Lilia said nothing. She simply stared intently at the scorch marks left on the ground from the earlier magical outburst. The blackened, discolored soil. The faint white smoke still rising from it. And the lines of pale blue afterglow tracing the path where the magic had passed. Her amethyst eyes narrowed, as if measuring something. (*—Every time his emotions waver, the output spikes.*) Lilia's intuition told her that much. This wasn't ordinary magic. This otherworldly boy's magical power was directly linked to his mental state. It wasn't that he *couldn't* control it—there was a *reason* he couldn't control it. "[cold]Hmph." But Lilia said nothing. She simply turned her back. Her indigo cloak billowed in the wind. She was about to leave just like that—but then, for just a fleeting moment, she glanced back. Her amethyst eyes pierced straight through Kanata. It wasn't contempt. Nor irritation. It was a measuring, serious gaze—the first of its kind she had ever directed at him. Without a word, Lilia turned away again, and this time, she truly left. "...Ah." A small sound escaped Marco's lips. "[surprised]Lilia-nee just looked at you. For real." "...What do you mean?" "[serious]Up until now, Lilia-nee only ever thought of you as 'that weird guy from another world' or whatever. But that just now was different. She was seriously observing your magic. As a Guardian, she looked at you as a 'combat asset' for the first time." Marco's voice was a mix of excitement and a touch of surprise. "[excited]You did it, bro! This might mean she's starting to acknowledge you, even just a little!" Kanata couldn't find the words to respond. All he knew was that the seriousness in those amethyst eyes—the way she had looked at him—was seared into his chest. (*I have to get stronger.*) That thought pulsed fiercely in the depths of his heart. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Night came. Kanata gazed out the window of the village chief's hall. The two moons poured pale blue light through the membrane of the barrier. The air was cold, and the faint murmur of the Sylph Spring could be heard in the distance. He turned his gaze to the northeast. The watchtower, built atop a fifteen-meter-tall ancient tree. That was where he should have been able to see the familiar silver hair. —But. (*She's not there.*) Kanata gripped the window frame. The watchtower's light was out. Lilia was nowhere to be seen. (*She said she was going to investigate the barrier today.*) He remembered Marco mentioning it that evening at Mina's diner. *'Lilia-nee said she's focusing on the northeastern outer edge tonight. The barrier's been getting thin around there these past few days, so it's dangerous.'* Kanata placed a hand against his chest. The protective charm Marco had given him—a simple pendant made of a cloth pouch threaded with a string—was faintly warm beneath his clothes. (*Alone. Again.*) He remembered the night her shoulders had trembled. Beneath the light of the two moons, the back of not a Guardian who could fell five demonic beasts in ten seconds, but of a mere seventeen-year-old girl. (*—I'm going.*) Kanata gripped the charm and dashed out of the room. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The outer edge of the forest was a completely different world from the daytime. A milky-white dense fog obscured everything, reducing visibility to less than five meters. The trunks of giant trees loomed like vague shadows, and the fallen leaves underfoot were damp with moisture, swallowing all sound. The air was cold, thick with the mingled scents of mold and humus. (*Where is she?*) Kanata ran. Relying solely on the charm, he headed in the direction Marco had told him. The tingling, prickling sensation of having crossed the barrier's boundary line still lingered on his skin. —*BOOM!* An impact echoed. Close. Even as his feet kept getting caught in the muddy ground, Kanata sprinted with all his might toward the source of the sound. He leaped over a fallen tree, using his arms to tear away the clinging vines. And then—he saw it. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The fog was swirling unnaturally. At its center—it was there. A massive body exceeding five meters in length. Jet-black scales covering its entire form absorbed the moonlight and gleamed with a dull luster. Rows of venomous purple protrusions lined its spine, and six crimson eyes fixed upon their prey. Its tail was longer than its body, and at its tip, three sickle-like blades made of bone glinted sharply. —A High-Class Valgrím. And, facing it head-on. Silver hair danced in the air. "[cold]—So you've come." Lilia concentrated her magical power into both hands. The blue gem on her forehead—the Guardian's proof, Seraph's Tear—flared with intense light, and countless arrows of light were unleashed. But. The moment the Valgrím let out a low growl, Lilia's light magic was—repelled. Upon the surface of its scales, the light refracted and shattered. Attribute Reversal. "[angry]—!" Lilia leaped backward. But the Valgrím's tail pursued her. One flash. Two flashes. Three flashes—. *Shhk!* Blood sprayed from Lilia's left shoulder. Her indigo cloak was torn, and the bandages visible beneath it were instantly dyed crimson. Her body slammed against a tree trunk and crumpled to the ground with a thud. (*Lilia—!*) Kanata's feet stopped. His mind went completely blank. Lilia slowly rose to her feet. But her left arm hung limply, and her face was twisted in agony. The old wound on her left shoulder—the one she'd received in her first battle at age thirteen—had reopened. The Valgrím raised its tail, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. (*Stop it—*) Kanata's entire body grew hot. (*Stop it—stop it—!!*) Deep in his chest, something exploded. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!" Kanata's entire right arm was enveloped in a blinding light. His magical power, completely out of control, swelled in resonance with his emotions. *I won't let her die.* That single impulse triggered a light-burst. *BOOOOOOM!!!* The light engulfed the Valgrím's four limbs. The surface of its scales froze in an instant, and the purple protrusions shattered. Its six eyes widened in shock. Its movements stopped—for a few seconds. Lilia did not miss that opening. "[cold]—It's over." Lilia thrust her left hand forward. Blood was still dripping from her wounded left arm, but her amethyst eyes held an unmistakable killing intent. She concentrated all her body's magical power into her left arm and began her incantation. "Lumina Lance—" Light formed into a spear and was unleashed. The pale blue radiance pierced through the center of the Valgrím's chest—the location of its core. *GYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!* The Valgrím's death cry echoed through the night forest. Its massive body swayed and collapsed to the ground. *BOOOOM*—a tremor ran through the earth, shaking the surrounding trees. Silence. Smoke rose from the Valgrím's remains, and purple bodily fluids stained the ground. Upon contact with the air, the blood ignited, spreading flames to a nearby dead branch. The fire flickered, illuminating the darkness of the night with a red glow. Kanata remained on his knees, unable to move. His right arm burned with searing pain. The recoil from releasing his magical power had drained all the strength from his body. "...Kanata." Lilia approached him. As she walked unsteadily, pressing down on her left shoulder, her silver hair was matted with blood and mud. And then—without a word, she began tearing at the edge of her own cloak. "What are you—" "[gentle]Be quiet." Lilia began wrapping the torn cloth around Kanata's right arm. Over the burn, carefully, but in silence. —*This is.* Kanata remembered. When she had been wounded by a demonic beast, he had torn his own jacket and pressed it against her wound. This was her silent reciprocation of that act. As she wrapped the cloth, Lilia's fingertips brushed against the bandages on Kanata's left wrist. Her hand stopped, perfectly still. "...What is this?" Kanata looked down. But he didn't run away. "[sad]You can look." He slowly unwrapped the bandages himself. Revealed on his left wrist were countless old, white scars. The marks of existence he had carved into himself back in the real world—proof that he had been there. Kanata began to speak, his voice suppressing all emotion. "[sad]I was... always alone. In the real world." The flames crackled and popped. "[sad]My family fell apart, and I had nowhere to belong. My mother told me, 'If only you weren't

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Episode 4

Name: A Love Offered to the Final Guardian: A Suicidal Boy Finds Meaning in Life in Another World
Author: Novelia

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