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IBP 91
Chapter 15. A True Reunion
I could see the light flowing from my hands slowly burning away the darkness that had leaked beyond the barrier stone.
‘I made it!’
Earlier, I had asked Caligo to send both my body and my shadow outside at the same time.
I told him that I would hold onto the shadow and fly to the Dragon's Lake together.
Caligo had been unsure if he could control the shadow properly, but...
‘We actually did it!’
Standing before the Dragon's Lake, I let out a ragged breath, panting for air.
Was it because I used so much strength to break the barrier? My entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
And...
As I tried to step inside the barrier, I was bounced back.
‘Damn it, the barrier didn't break completely!’
The breach was too small for my body to pass through.
‘Do I have to use the light ability to smash that barrier completely?’
But the light ability was for healing; would it be enough to completely destroy a barrier?
‘I have to try anyway!’
I had managed to destroy a part of the barrier by emitting light earlier!
It would work this time too!
I bravely pushed myself up.
Then, I fired more light from my hands.
Boom!
Crash!
Fortunately, I heard the sound of a corner of the barrier collapsing.
With a wide smile, I relentlessly blasted light from my hands.
Just a little. Just a little more...
The barrier will break.
I'll be able to reach my sister, who is inside that barrier.
Finally, I crawled through the gap of the broken barrier, inch by inch.
Sweat poured down my forehead, and something—whether tears or rain—streamed from my eyes.
"Cou, cough."
Suddenly, I realized I was coughing up blood.
"...Huh?"
But since I could enter through the gap in the barrier...
I bravely straightened my posture.
And...
In the brilliant light I emitted, I saw the darkness enveloping my sister slowly vanish.
As the darkness cleared, I saw Dahlia sprawled on the ground, and my sister, head bowed and clutching her stomach.
Looking at the two of them, I walked forward, staggering.
‘Dahlia, things definitely won't go your way!’
It was right then.
I felt as if my eyes met my sister's, who was near the Dragon's Lake in the distance.
And...
"Cou, cough!"
Blood surged through the gaps of my teeth.
But I didn't care.
Thinking only of the fact that my sister was in pain, I put all my strength into my fingertips.
Finally, I fired one last burst of pure white light toward my sister.
My hands trembled violently, and a chill ran through my entire body.
Without realizing it, my body slowly collapsed to the ground.
And...
I could see my hands gradually becoming transparent.
"I... I did it."
Still, it didn't matter.
I had handled all the darkness that had almost gone berserk and enveloped my sister. It was okay even if cold sweat poured down my forehead.
‘Thank goodness...’
It was just as I looked at my hands once more, feeling a sense of relief.
I became flustered as I felt my body slowly shrinking and my field of vision dropping rapidly.
Before I knew it, I saw puppy paws before my eyes.
It was exactly as I had been in the past, as the puppy Coco.
And in that moment.
I instinctively realized the "intense catalyst" needed for my sister to recognize me.
The <intense catalyst> Cherry had mentioned was...
‘Saving my sister and reaching the point where I exhaust all my life force.’
And thus, becoming a puppy.
And finally, my sister discovering me as a puppy.
...That was it.
* * *
Chloe's vision went pitch black.
The sensation of her entire body burning made it feel as if she had temporarily gone blind.
Even if she had to tear apart and devour the body of Gillen, who had recklessly treated and killed the one she loved, it wouldn't be enough.
‘This kind of pain is nothing.’
She endured the agony in silence, without letting out a single moan.
Then, just as her head felt like it was swelling to the point of bursting and her body began to flicker...
Boom!
Crash!
A small noise echoed in her head, where the migraine had been raging...
"...What?"
Soon, the berserk symptoms that had been boiling her entire body stopped completely.
"How did this... happen...?"
It was almost as if.
‘It feels like someone came to save me.’
Suddenly, Chloe thought.
Until now, she had been lonely, as if walking alone through a darkness where she couldn't see an inch ahead.
But lately, it had been different.
She had felt reassured, as if she had a brave knight by her side.
She looked at the light that had enveloped her entire body.
The light illuminating the inside of the barrier was slowly fading away.
Though the light was disappearing, Chloe felt she knew who the brave knight who came to save her was.
The small being who had healed her all the way here, Coco.
I think it's time to admit it.
That I like you.
That I crumbled helplessly before your kindness...
* * *
Having exhausted all my life force, I collapsed to the ground.
My body had finally become a puppy.
In that moment, hallucinations echoed in my ears, and remnants of the past flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.
It began with a scene of numerous humans pelting me with stones.
"Ugh, so annoying. That stray dog spreading germs keeps begging."
"Leave it. If it's that annoying, just set a trap and kill it."
Yes, that's how it was.
Humans had always hated me...
The one who saved me while I was whimpering in the mountains, feeling depressed, was the leader of the stray dog pack, Choco.
"Don't be anxious. Just don't trust humans. Let's just live among ourselves."
Recalling the past, I trembled and curled myself up.
The anxiety that had subsided thanks to the love and affection my sister had given me began to resurface.
The fear of being abandoned and hated kept blooming in my heart.
Just as that painful anxiety was about to devour me, and Choco's words to 'not trust humans' echoed in my ears...
The remnants of the past that tormented me changed.
The protagonist of this vision was a familiar figure who appeared in my hallucinations every time.
It was Gillen Amadeus.
"Ah... I'm starting to get annoyed. This stupid dog, should I just kill it now?"
It was Gillen Amadeus, who had kicked me, trampled me, and finally poured healing potions over me.
The moment I remembered his cruel side.
I finally realized why Gillen was a regular lead in my hallucinations.
It was because he...
"If I kill it at once and take its life, it'll be obvious. I can just absorb it slowly."
...Because he was the one who killed me when I was a puppy.
I saw the sharp sword in his hand and the magic tool he had brought to absorb my life.
Every time that thing, which looked like a round ball, touched my body, I collapsed to the ground, unable to even scream.
Before I died.
"To think a filthy dog like this has the potential to become a spirit beast. How fascinating?"
Gillen pushed the absorber toward me.
Having accidentally discovered through his magic tool that I had the potential to become a spirit beast, he kicked me, tried to kill me, and drained my life force while I was bound, time and time again.
Recalling such past pain brought me excruciating agony.
I heard that the side effect of an ability rampage is that it eats away at one's mental strength; perhaps I am in a berserk state right now.
Thinking that, a part of my heart crumbled.
Because...
‘Did my sister feel this way every time she went berserk?’
If so, my heart ached so much...
I curled my small body into a ball.
Even as I curled up to comfort myself, the anxiety in my heart multiplied infinitely.
Words that should not be heard kept echoing in my ears.
"Who would ever truly love something like you?"
This was a hallucination I hadn't heard until now.
Before I knew it, my body was trembling.
"How could Lady Chloe truly love a stupid dog?"
...But.
‘Somewhere, there was definitely someone who said something different.’
My sister...
She told me, "Our Coco, I love you most in the world."
Bad imaginations began to eat away at the happy and firm trust.
The malicious voices I had heard while using my healing power kept tearing through my heart.
‘Am I... perhaps being abandoned?’
Just as my heart became so weak that such thoughts occurred...
I barely managed to shake my head.
Even if my vision grew dizzy, my body shrank, and I became a puppy.
‘It's okay.’
If I just wait here quietly, pressed against the ground.
Sister will come for me.
Even when I was a puppy, I always waited for her in front of her room.
One day, two days, three days. No matter how long I waited, sister always came to me.
So, when sister comes today...
‘She'll adore puppy Coco and look at me with love.’
Because sister likes puppy Coco much more than human Coco...
"Cou, cough..."
Blood flowed from between my teeth. But even as I coughed up blood, I smiled happily.
Once sister recognizes me...
Then she'll play ball with me.
She'll roast more sweet potatoes for me.
She'll tell me, "Our Coco is the prettiest in the whole world."
And she'll hold me tight.
A part of my chest felt painful and sore.
The blood leaking from my mouth showed no sign of stopping.
But it was okay.
‘I'm actually so excited...’
However, my vision gradually grew dim.
I didn't want to close my eyes because I felt like I could see my sister.
‘But I keep getting sleepy...’
I could see Caligo's shadow, which had guided me here, moving as if dancing.
But, you know...
‘If I sleep just a little bit more and wake up...’
I don't think I'll be lonely at all.
Because I won't have to lie in bed alone anymore.
I'm saying this now, but.
The bed I used wasn't actually hard; it was cozy.
It's just that whenever I realized sister wasn't beside me, my heart stung a lot, as if it had been scraped.
‘It's okay. Now, I'll be able to fall asleep lying next to sister...’
You know, I think I was actually very lonely all this time.
That's why, even though it hurts so much right now...
‘Because I think sister will recognize me, I'm just so... happy...’
My vision faded away.
And the last thing I saw was definitely my sister.
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