A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

“I’m such a failure,” Redip murmured, looking at his cracked hands.

If he had been more capable, things wouldn't have collapsed so quickly.

In order to prolong his existence, he even compromised with Jonathan.

He now feels guilty about the choices he made back then.

However, if he could choose again, Redip would still make the same choice.

Because that is the only possibility for its own existence to be prolonged.

Unfortunately, in the end, he made a mistake and failed to prolong his existence.

He is now only one step away from collapse.

Redip still seems to be in control of himself, but only he knows that this is just an illusion.

His condition was peculiar and could not be explained in words.

The body appears to be breaking apart, yet it remains intact.

The concepts contained within him seemed poised to burst forth at any moment, transforming him beyond recognition.

My consciousness is very blurred, and I occasionally have blackouts.

At the same time, he was almost unable to go against his instincts, including the "survival instinct."

Thanks to this, Redip couldn't even do it himself.

The strange phenomenon is that you think about suicide, but you can't allow yourself to do it.

Even if someone wants to kill him, he will likely fight to the death.

What one thinks in their mind is completely inconsistent with the information transmitted by their body.

Once he reaches a certain critical point, he will likely break down instantly and harm those around him.

If he continues to stay by Dove's side, it's like a ticking time bomb.

By then, no one will be able to stop you on the spot, and by the time someone who can stop you appears, it will be too late.

At first, he didn't understand what kind of terrible disaster this power within him would cause, but over time, he came to understand.

He wearily rose from the decaying deck and took a few steps.

This was the first time he had moved around in a long time.

He had almost no need to eat, and during his stay in the secret realm, he was not hungry at all, so there was no need for him to take any action.

And now, he has moved.

Even though he hadn't moved when faced with the provocation from the Mathematical Society, he deliberately stood up and took a few steps.

He ran his fingers through his hair, which he hadn't cut in a long time.

It was long and messy, but not dirty at all; in fact, it was unusually clean.

Of course, there's nothing else particularly special about it.

He brushed his bangs aside, revealing a pair of silent eyes.

These kinds of eyes are generally called "dead fish eyes," a very unpleasant look.

Having someone with dead fish eyes around would put most people in a bad mood; after all, who wants to be around a颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, dispirited, or demoralized) person?

“You’ve finally arrived.” Redip walked to the edge of the wreckage, jumped down, and stared straight ahead.

The dazzling colors around him failed to capture his interest; his first thought was of an adventurer with dead fish eyes, just like himself.

This adventurer was the Bray he had been waiting for.

He's finally here. If he hadn't come, Redip really didn't know what would have happened to him.

He didn't have the same intense sense of "life and death must be for humanity" as Bray, but he also didn't want to become a monster.

Despite being called a demigod and worshipped by many, Redip felt deep down that he was still just an ordinary person.

He knew neither what to build with this power nor what to destroy with it.

His motivation for acquiring this power was simply to protect Dove.

After glancing at Bray, he looked at the girl with mixed feelings.

“You should talk to her,” Bray said to Redipple after glancing at Doffin.

“…” Redip fell silent.

Dove instinctively stepped out from behind Bray and stared at Redip for a very long time.

It's Redip, without a doubt Redip.

Dove didn't intend to cry, but tears welled up in her eyes on their own.

“Redip, it’s Redip.” Dove smiled, wiping away her tears with her hands.

"Thank you, Mr. Bray, it really is Redip."

She had thought she would find Redip, but she hadn't thought about what would happen after she found him.

Now she knows.

I felt both happy and sad; two very different feelings coexisted.

But none of that mattered anymore; she really saw Redip.

The emotional impact of gaining or losing the same thing is disproportionate.

The pain of loss is far heavier and more unbearable than the joy of gain.

Dove has no idea how he got through the days without Redup.

After her beloved Redip left her, Dove had no relatives left. She was all alone in the world, unable to confide in anyone or get help from anyone.

It felt like returning to the deep, dark seabed, to the days when I was locked up at home.

"Redip..." Dove rushed towards Redip without hesitation.

The clumsy girl fell to the ground, but before anyone else could react, she got up again and continued running towards Redip.

"Redip!" The girl staggered, but her direction was perfectly clear.

Even if she fell, it didn't matter; she could still get up and continue running towards that person.

The girl opened her arms wide, showing a brave smile, but forgot to wipe the mud and tears off her face.

“Dove…” Redip called out the familiar name. How many times had he called this name? He didn’t know, but every time he did, he was very gentle.

Redup looked at the girl who was so eager to rush towards him, and tried to reach out his hand, but couldn't manage it for a long time.

He was also worried that he might break down at any moment and hurt the girl.

Redip also wanted to comfort the girl who was pretending to be happy but was actually crying.

But he dared not, he truly dared not.

Dove is Redip's treasure, his most precious treasure, a precious plant that he's afraid of breaking if he holds it in his hands.

Because I value her, I cannot allow myself to hurt the girl.

“Catch her, or you’ll hurt her too,” Bray said, his right eye seeing right through the fisherman’s heart.

He knew very well how afraid the collapsing Aragami was of destroying what he cherished.

This wasn't the first time Bray had seen something like this.

Redip paused for a moment after hearing Bray's words, then took a few steps forward.

Dove was running too fast and almost fell again, but Redip, who was walking forward, caught him.

"Don't leave Dove, please, don't leave." Dove buried her head in Redup's arms.

"Dove will work very hard to avoid being teased by you."

"So never leave my side without a word again."

Dove is now venting the emotions he has suppressed for a long time.

The girl's heart was only open to the fisherman.

Even Bray couldn't connect with this girl on a deeper level.

Because the girl's favorite person is this fisherman, and the person who treats her best is also this fisherman.

Only this guy is qualified to make this girl, who has gone through countless hardships, open her heart.

Dove always believed that Redip hated him, so he left.

Besides that, what other reason could there be? The girl couldn't think of any other reason.

She vowed never to let Redip hate her again; she only hoped that Redip would always stay with her.

“I’ve never hated you.” Redip patted the girl’s soft back.

The girl was very weak, so weak that even a gust of wind could blow her over.

How could he possibly dislike this girl?

Redip could hate anyone, he could hate the whole world, but he could never hate Dove.

It was this girl who made that good-for-nothing crawl out of the wooden house and bask in the sunlight.

Without Dove's simple words, Redip would never have had any hope for the world.

"I will never hate you, don't overthink it."

"Then why did Redip leave?" Dove's muffled voice came from Redip's arms.

Dove was practically trying to bury herself in his arms and never leave.

"Because I can't hurt you."

"If I stay by your side, you will be in danger."

Redip never actually intended for Bradford to bring him over.

He wanted to disappear from Dove's world like this, to disappear silently, not wanting Dove to know his situation, not wanting Dove to cry because of him.

His wish was for Bray to kill him and end it all.

However, Bray noticed that Dove had also brought along.

However, Reddeep could not bring himself to be angry at Bray's actions.

He also wanted to see Dove; he really wanted to see Dove's face in his final moments.

He wanted to... protect this girl as she grew up.

He wanted to see this child have children and live a wonderful life.

He wanted to witness Dove's happiness.

“No, Redip would never hurt me.” Dove shook his head desperately.

“No, I will,” Redup said calmly, gently pushing Dove away.

Dove, who had been pushed away, was a little taken aback. She looked up and saw Redip standing right in front of her.

Only now did Dove get a proper look at Redip.

The patterns that were originally only on the left side have now covered the entire body, and even the cracks in the ice can be vaguely seen in the eyes.

Why did Dove only notice such an obvious crack now?

The moment she saw Redip, she had already put everything else out of her mind.

However, now that she saw Redip clearly, she felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.

Dove pursed his lips, reached out, and touched the patterns on Redip's body.

Redup's body was ice cold, as if he had been soaking in seawater for a long time.

Those patterns aren't flat; you can feel that they're slightly recessed when you touch them.

If we go any deeper, will Redup fall apart?

Thinking of this, Dove gripped Redup's little hand tightly.

"What's wrong?" Dove asked, his initial joy at seeing Redipple completely vanished.