The world doesn't need succubi to save it.

Because what appeared on that charming face was not the same frivolous mockery as her words.

Instead, it was a faint sadness.

She frowned slightly, her eyes seemingly filled with joy, yet also with helplessness, but mostly with loneliness.

Your personality is really awful.

[I can't believe I've been waiting here in the dark for so long.]

"……long time?"

He asked the question based on his own thoughts and received an unexpected reply.

【Um. 】

There were no more words, only a faint sound that seemed to be squeezed out of his throat.

Swallowing her sorrow and pain, she simply murmured an "Mmm."

Unlike her usual nonchalant and carefree demeanor, she appeared somewhat vulnerable at this moment.

She stared blankly at him, his body covered in wounds, as if comparing him to the image in her memory.

After a long while, she finally laughed, and spoke as if it were a lighthearted remark:

[For a very, very long time...]

It's been a really long time.

So long... I even thought I would never see you again.

Chapter 523 I Want to Save You

It's been so long.

It's been far too long.

The woman, her expression sorrowful, raised her hand and gently stroked the man's cheek, as if she were holding a priceless treasure, with utmost tenderness.

In that darkness, the loneliness that I had once taken for granted suddenly became so unbearable.

I never imagined that what should have been a few breaths of waiting would actually take so long...

It was so long that my soul was on the verge of collapse, and even my sense of self almost vanished.

I can endure darkness if I have never seen the light.

How pitiful.

She didn't know if she was talking about herself, or if she was pitying the wounded, silent man.

Perhaps, it's both.

[It's just as bad as I thought. It's amazing you managed to make it this far.]

"........."

The man remained silent, only looking at her with eyes stained with blood.

Judging from your current state, you probably can't say anything either.

In her eyes, the man looked far more miserable than he appeared.

It was as if he had stepped from a hallucination into reality; all the hidden wounds on the man's soul were revealed, and he was almost unrecognizable as a human.

Countless fatal wounds piled up on his body at this moment, as if he had been pieced together and stitched together, bound and entangled by dark threads to prevent him from falling apart.

That's truly tragic.

How much have you sacrificed for them?

Do you really want to save them that badly?

Even at the cost of my own life?

"...Then let's leave it at that."

Accompanied by a soft, unreadable whisper, her fingertips gently touched the man's brow:

Let me hear your true thoughts.

She asked:

Do you really want to save them?

"........."

She is naturally suspicious and never trusts anyone.

But if it were him, she was willing to try to believe him.

His consciousness had dissipated, and little of his ego remained; this was indeed his true self.

What she awakened at this moment was the unwavering obsession that resided deep within his soul.

She asked, drawing upon his unwavering devotion to his soul:

Are these things painful?

"pain."

The pain in his body and soul was endless, and each death challenged the stability of his mind.

Are you in despair?

"despair."

There was no hope in sight; the power of the gods was far beyond reality.

Have you ever thought about giving up?

"I've thought about it."

The idea of ​​saving everyone was unrealistic; he had considered hiding with only a few people and saving only a small number of those who were worth saving.

"...That's more like it."

You also have moments when you want to give up, right?

He is weak in the face of fate, despairing and wanting to give up, wanting to escape difficulties... He is a living, breathing human being, not a divinely ordained perfect savior.

While a perfect savior may win the affection of others, he will also be silently estranged and kept at a distance.

Because others cannot be perfect.

They will feel their own inadequacy and experience imperfection when facing the savior... and this feeling is not pleasant.

After a moment of silence, she stepped forward and gently embraced his blood-stained body, ignoring the blood staining her clothes.

He stiffened for a moment when she hugged him, but he instinctively raised his hand and placed it on her waist.

She rested her chin on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and whispered:

So, after all that, do you still want to save them?

"think."

[As expected, it's still the same? Heh, they really are stubborn.]

This is what you really think...

An answer that was not surprising at all.

Rather... if it were you, there would only be this one possibility.

Yes.

Although the idea is really naive, this is who you are.

It's such a pity. If you had given up in the end, I would have had the chance to keep you here, and you wouldn't have had to face any more pain.

Slowly opening her eyes, she released his waist, about to separate from him.

But just as she was leaving, she heard a sound.

"Compared to them..."

The arm that was originally resting on her waist tightened, pulling her body close and pressing her against his.

"I'd rather save you."

【！

! ]

She wanted to see his expression, but her body was firmly controlled, and she could only hear his panting.

他 说:

"I want to save you."

This is obsession.

Without any other interference, this was his deepest obsession.

I can't save everyone.

But you are the only one I don't want to give up.

I don't want you to be alone.

I want to save you.

"...You're really mean-spirited."

Uncontrollable tears streamed down her face; she was deeply saddened.

For the first time since she came into being, she experienced this kind of emotion—being moved.

If you say that, doesn't that make me the only one who looks like the bad guy?

Although she was deeply moved, she still felt sad.

Because the time for another separation has come.

Why so late?