A Love Offered to the Final Guardian: A Suicidal Boy Finds Meaning in Life in Another World - In a world where you won't disappear, I will choose.

It was a deep, bitterly cold morning. The village, just dawning after the night the barrier collapsed, lay silent as death. The sky was overcast in leaden gray, and the humid air of late summer clung to the skin. The adults had gathered in the assembly hall of the village chief's manor. About twenty villagers were packed in tightly. Everyone kept their heads down, faces pale, and no one spoke a word. The crystal orb placed on the table emitted only a faint, barely pulsing light. The usually jovial village chief, Godo, opened his mouth heavily. "[serious]...Can it be repaired?" The barrier mage, Hanna, slowly shook her head. Her hair, streaked with white, trembled faintly. "[sad]One-third of the northeastern barrier wall has completely vanished. At the normal rate of mana replenishment... we cannot keep up with the disappearance." Hanna's voice was flat. A dry voice that merely stated facts. "[sad]By tonight at the latest, magical beasts will begin invading through the hole in the barrier. The barrier will vanish entirely... within three days." Someone let out a short, sharp gasp. That was the moment the village's end was decided—three days from now. In the corner of the assembly hall, Kanata clenched his fists. His knuckles turned white. Deep in his chest, a heat he had never once felt in the real world swirled. (It's over?) (In a place like this?) No. That was what he thought. The sound of a chair scraping back tore through the silence. Lilia had stood up. Her silver hair, reaching down to her waist, swayed slightly. Her amethyst eyes gazed straight ahead, without a single cloud. From her face, neither the fatigue of last night's battle nor the shock of the barrier's collapse could be read. She was simply calm. So terribly calm that it was, in turn, frightening. "[cold]Village Chief." Lilia's voice rang through the assembly hall. "[cold]I request permission to execute the Guardian's Final Covenant." A moment of silence. Then, one of the villagers raised a trembling voice. "[scared]Th-the Final Covenant... Th-that's..." "[cold]It is a ritual in which the Guardian pours all of her mana and life into the barrier core." Lilia explained matter-of-factly. As if discussing tomorrow's weather. "[cold]If successful, the barrier's lifespan can be extended by ten to twenty years." "[scared]Th-that means... the Guardian dies!?" The villager's voice cracked. Lilia answered, simply and quietly. "[cold]If the village lives, that is enough." There was no emotion in her voice. No anger, no sorrow, no resignation. There was only the transparent stillness of someone who had let go of everything. Celes slowly closed her eyes. Her deep blue eyes disappeared behind wrinkled lids. Nothing could be read from her grandmother's face. Only the hand gripping her staff had turned faintly white. The sound of villagers swallowing their sobs could be heard. Kanata stood up. (No.) (That's not it.) He had to say something. But the words wouldn't come. Because the stillness of Lilia's profile as she faced the village chief pierced his heart—. Village Chief Godo nodded, deeply, heavily. Kanata burst out of the assembly hall as if kicking the door down. The air outside was cold. He ran. (She was, all along—) (Was she planning to do this, all along?) From the day she became the Guardian at thirteen, Lilia had lived on the premise of dying. If the barrier fell, she would die. That was the natural course of things for her. An emotion unlike any pain he had felt in the real world shot through Kanata's chest. (—Don't screw with me.) It was his first anger. He had never been this angry for someone else's sake. Deep within the manor. The door to the archive adjacent to Celes's private room was slightly ajar. That door, which was never opened under normal circumstances, was half-open this morning alone, as if inviting Kanata in. Kanata rushed inside. The smell of old parchment and ink. Accumulated dust danced in the dim morning light. Shelves lining every wall were packed with centuries of records. He opened documents at random. (There has to be something.) (A way to keep Lilia from dying.) Sweat beaded on his forehead. His fingertips trembled. Only the sound of turning parchment echoed in the quiet archive. And then—he found it. A bundle of parchment titled "Records of Outsider Summoning." At the very end, there was a passage added in a different handwriting. The letters were old and faded. But it was definitely written there. —Self-Oblation— Kanata held his breath. A forbidden art in which a visitor summoned from another world offers their own existence before the barrier core. If successful, the barrier absorbs the visitor's entire existence as mana, completing centuries' worth of repairs. The price—the caster's body, memories, and all traces of their existence are annihilated. Below it, in Celes's handwriting, was added only the word "Confirmed." (This is it.) Something burst deep within Kanata's chest. There was no fear. No hesitation. He thought it was far better for his own existence to vanish than for Lilia to die. "[gentle]...It seems you've found it." When he looked up, Celes was standing at the entrance of the archive. Her white hair seemed to glow translucently in the light from the window. The silver ring on her right hand shone faintly. "[serious]You... knew about this?" Kanata asked, clutching the document. His voice trembled. After a long silence, Celes answered quietly. "[sad]I knew. All along. Since the day you arrived, I have been troubled over whether I should tell you." "[serious]Why did you leave the door open today?" Celes's blue eyes wavered slightly. Deep within her wrinkles, the old mage's eyes were gazing at something. "[sad]I could not... stand by in silence and watch that child die." Saying only that, Celes turned her back and left the archive. The sound of her staff tapping slowly faded into the distance. Her back looked terribly small. Kanata stood up, clutching the document to his chest. He headed for the watchtower. His heart pounded noisily. His pulse was fast. His legs naturally quickened. (Wait for me.) (Lilia.) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Lilia was already at the watchtower. Atop an ancient tree fifteen meters high. Leaning against the wooden railing, Lilia was staring intently in the northeastern direction—the direction where the barrier had collapsed. Her silver hair streamed in the cold wind. Her indigo cloak fluttered, and the blue gem on her forehead, "Seraphi's Tear," glowed faintly. Her profile looked terribly tired. But in her amethyst eyes resided an unshakable resolve. At the sound of Kanata climbing up, out of breath, Lilia slowly turned around. "[cold]...What." Kanata held out the ancient text. "[serious]I'll do it. I'll use Self-Oblation. I read this." In that instant, Lilia's expression froze. A moment of complete stillness. The next moment—. Lilia grabbed Kanata by the collar with both hands. "[angry]What could you possibly understand?" It was a low, strained voice. Her fingers trembled. "[serious]The village will be saved. You'll live. That's enough." "[angry]It's not enough!!" Lilia shoved Kanata away. His back slammed against the railing. Pain shot through him. But Kanata didn't fall. He kept looking at Lilia's face. Lilia's hands trembled in front of her own chest. Clenching, then opening. Emotions she couldn't control herself overflowed as trembling in her hands. "[crying]...I..." Her words caught. "[crying]I... don't want to lose anyone, anyone anymore..." Her voice shook, the ends of her words fading. "[crying]When I was thirteen, my mother died. It was the night of the Lantern Festival. A horde of magical beasts broke through the barrier... My mother, luring the horde outside the village, all alone...!" A single tear traced down Lilia's cheek. "[crying]Ever since then, all alone, always...! I always thought that if someone had to die, it should be me...!!" The tears wouldn't stop. "[crying]And yet... why you...! Why is it you dying instead of me!? I... I was able to go on because you were here...!" Lilia collapsed to her knees. The Guardian's mask shattered completely. Seven years' worth of tears burst forth as if a dam had broken, soaking into the wooden floor of the watchtower. Just before falling, her tears turned into small blue crystals, rolling away with a faint sound. A seventeen-year-old girl was crying out loud. Kanata walked up to her without a word. And wrapped both arms around her. "[angry]Let go...!" Lilia struck Kanata's chest with her fists. But the force was weak. "[angry]Let go...! If I lose you too, I'll...!!" Her fists changed to clutching his clothes. Lilia's fingers dug into the fabric of Kanata's chest. "[crying]...Stop." Lilia's voice was hoarse. "[crying]Don't die... Kanata..." Kanata pressed his cheek against Lilia's silver hair. "[gentle]...It's okay to cry." It was a low, quiet voice. "[gentle]You've been crying alone all this time, haven't you... You're not alone anymore." Lilia's shoulders trembled violently. Her forehead pressed against Kanata's chest. The blue light of Seraphi's Tear shone faintly through his clothes. Only the wind blowing across the watchtower passed between the two of them. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ At that moment. *Rustle rustle!* *Thud!* "[scared]Owwwww!!" A comical scream rose from the bushes below the watchtower. Lilia and Kanata looked up simultaneously. From within the bushes, a head of messy reddish-brown bed-hair popped out. Marco, with a smudge of soot on his right cheek, crawled out with a pitiful look on his face. "[scared]I-I didn't see anything! I totally didn't see anything! I definitely didn't see Bro hugging Sis Lilia or anything!!" Lilia's tear-streaked face flushed crimson in an instant. "[angry]Marco!!" "[scared]Eeek! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" Marco crouched down, clutching his head. His ears were bright red. Lilia hurriedly tried to pull away from Kanata. But—. Kanata's arms didn't let go. The arm around Lilia's shoulder held her even tighter. Lilia resisted for just a moment, but soon relaxed. "[sad]...Idiot." Muttering in a small voice, Lilia buried her face in Kanata's chest and stopped moving. Her face still bore the traces of tears, but the corners of her mouth relaxed, just a little. It was an expression like tearful laughter, one she had never shown anyone before. Marco saw that expression. His large brown eyes took on a serious light. "[serious]...Bro." Marco pressed his lips tightly together. "[serious]Are you really... going to do it?" Kanata nodded quietly. Marco's eyes reddened. His lips trembled, but he desperately held it in. "[crying]...About Sis Lilia." He started to say something, then covered his own mouth. (That's too much.) (It's not my place to say.) A resolve beyond his years surfaced on the fourteen-year-old boy's face. Lilia shot a sharp look at Marco. But Marco didn't run. Without running, he kept looking into Kanata's eyes. Kanata gently placed a hand on Marco's shoulder. "[gentle]I'm counting on you." Just one word. Marco looked down. His shoulders trembled. "[crying]...Okay." Tears fell, tracing down his soot-smudged cheek. "[crying]Okay...!" Rubbing his eyes with his fist, Marco nodded firmly nonetheless. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Night fell. The silence of the village pressed down, deep and heavy. The emergency alarm bell no longer rang. The villagers had returned to their respective homes and gone to sleep, preparing for tomorrow. But counting down the remaining time until the barrier vanished completely, surely no one could actually sleep. Lilia stood in front of Kanata's room. Her silver hair blew carelessly in the wind as always. She clutched the hem of her indigo cloak tightly with both hands. She moved to knock on the door—and st

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Episode 5

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

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