Fakes Don’t Want To Be Real Chapter 99

FAKES DON’T WANT TO BE REAL

~ 99 ~

 

* * *

The mages who participated in the slaughter of the monsters debated heatedly after receiving the mark from Verndia.

Originally, the discussion began with a small group of people, which quickly turned into a debate between all of the mages involved in slaughtering the monsters.

Verndia became exhausted listening to all of them, causing him to leave, ordering them to come back after they had discovered what it was.

A few hours later, one of the wizards came to him as a representative.

 

“We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s part of a magic circle, which the origin was unknown.”

 

The wizard said he’d need a precision tool to take a closer look, and it was hard to tell from a mere fragment.

 

“Actually, even with precision tools, I can’t say for sure that I’d be able to figure it out, because it was foreign in our eyes.”

“I see.”

 

Verdia frowned at his comment.

The mages brought to the slaughter were no slouches. Despite they were not comparable as Lia’s, they knew how to handle minor things

And yet, odd magic to them was being practiced in Lestir’s front yard?

Verndia traced the mark with his fingertips. However, his mood must had been infected to his uneasiness tracing it, as though it was a hideous insect.

 

‘Maybe it has something to do with forbidden magic.’

 

He decided he must see to it when he got back, soothing his discomfort.

 

* * *

 

That night, Psychke had another strange dream. In it, she was walking barefooted on a snowy forest; the air permeating chilly breeze against her skin, yet she was dressed thinly.

The world was silent, except for the moon, which hung lonely in the night sky. Not a single bird could be heard, not even the sound of her footsteps in the snow.

Then, from behind a tree, an emperor emerged from nowhere. His face was bathed in moonlight and he was clearly mad.

 

“Shia.”

 

Psychke, who was staring at him blankly, just felt a rough grip on her wrist as the man dragged her away.

While holding her close, the emperor asked menacingly.

 

“Why didn’t you activate the Mark as you were told?”

 

Psychke didn’t speak.

She hadn’t ignored the Emperor, and she didn’t know why she hadn’t complied.

Waiting for an answer, he asked again.

 

“What about the sign? Do you have it now?”

“No… someone took it.”

“Who?”

 

Psychke was silent again.

She remembered holding his large, warm hand, but she couldn’t remember who he was or what he looked like.

The Emperor’s eyes grew fierce as he realized who it was in her lengthening silence.

‘D*mned Lestir, how dare you interrupt again!’

… No, maybe this is an opportunity.

His face changed in an instant, and he whispered in the gentle voice of a snake, luring the ignorant.

 

“What can I do, Lestir won’t meet you without it.”

“Ah…”

“So, I guess we’ll have to get it, right?”

“Uhh.”

“By the way, Shia.”

 

The Emperor whispered low against her ear.

A shiver ran down her spine, but she remained still.

 

“Whoever took it is a b*stard, who doesn’t listen to you even if you act nice. So, what should we do to him?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Kill him.”

“Kill…!”

 

Psychke gasped as she repeated after him.

The Emperor tightened his grip on her, immobilizing her.

 

He spoke quietly like a man who teaches the natural proposition that one plus one is two.

 

“Yes, kill him.”

“That’s… right.”

 

She prevailed unmoving, pursing her lips soundlessly.

No matter how much she missed Lestir, she hated killing him.

 

“If you just ask for it…….”

“I won’t kill you. Think about if carefully.”

 

The Emperor clicked his tongue when she didn’t comply.

 

“I wonder why he took it away.”

“He didn’t take it away, he said he’d look at it.”

“Then he should have returned it back right away.”

“I didn’t ask for it back.”

“He borrowed it.”

 

A slow hand caressed Psychke’s left fourth finger- the spot where Lestir’s engagement ring was placed. For a moment, the emperor had to restrain not breaking that finger off. It would soon be his, so he didn’t want to scratch it a bit.

 

“It’s polite to return it before the owner says so. It’s just, he has no intention of returning it.”

 

Psychke’s face shaded. The blue eyes that gazed out over the snowy forest became cloudy.

When the answer didn’t come easily, the Emperor whispered softly.

 

“Everyone dies, think of it as occurring a little bit faster.”

 

Psychke shook her head slightly in reluctance.

Then the Emperor’s smile turned chilly.

 

“If you can’t do it, Shia…”

 

He clasped Psychke’s hands together as if gripping the hilt of a sword. Her small hands were squeezed between his large hands.

 

“I’ll do it.”

 

* *

That dawn, in the barracks of Verndia.

Psychke woke up in her doll bed and rubbed her eyes. She must have slept soundly, but her whole body was strangely stiff. She put aside her drowsiness and grabbed Verndia, who was about to return her to his barracks.

She asked,

 

“About the sign, are you still looking at it?”

“No, I was going to tell you, but I think I need to investigate it further. So I’m going to leave it with a mage I know as soon as I get back to the castle.”

“I wonder if you could give it back to me.”

“Why?”

 

If it were any other item, he would have given it to her immediately, but this one bothered him the most.

Psychke blurted out.

 

“There’s something I want to check.”

“May I ask what you want to check?”

 

Psychke was silent. She knew herself she needed that mark, but she didn’t know the reason why.

Just then, a strange voice giggled in her head.

 

“See, he’s not going to give it back, will he?”

“……!”

 

For a moment, due to that voice, her heard ached to badly her tears welled up in her eyes.

Pressing her temple, Psychke bit her lip until it bled, trying to hold back the pain.

But she couldn’t stop a weak moan from escaping.

When Verndia heard her, he instantly panicked.

 

“Where does it hurt?”

“My head..”

 

Thinking she might have a cold or something, Verdia ran his fingers over the pea-sized lump on her forehead.

To her surprise, the headache went away.

Psychke looked up at him with watery eyes.

 

“I’m fine now. It must have been a temporary sickness.”

 

Was she really okay?

As soon as she woke up, a sense of foreboding stabbed at her heart, as did the thought of asking about the mark’s origin.

But she didn’t want to let it out, so she didn’t speak, even as Verdia watched her with shaky eyes.

 

* *

That morning, a demon appeared.

It was different from the first day as if there were a precursor to a higher-level demon.

There were no lesser beasts at all, mostly intermediate beasts with the occasional higher beast mixed in.

And a black aura surrounded them, concluding that an Asum had appeared.

 

• Kyaah!

 

The herbs had made them ferocious, but the increased numbers kept them from being overwhelmed.

The Slayers, Ikaxia, and Adenthal did a good job of keeping the creatures at bay.

Even Psychke, whose eyes were closed because the eye patch she wore had been torn off by the fierce battle, was struggling hard.

 

“Princess, behind you!”

“Yes!”

 

Boom!

Ildia, a demon in the form of an electric eel hovering in midair, released a lightning bolt. Amidst its face and power, she met it upright, no hesitation.

She sliced through it with her sword to prevent it from bouncing off the others.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she lunged at the ground, dodging Ildia’s tail swipe by a hair’s breadth.

The wind from her silver tail whipped across her face, but she didn’t raise an eyebrow.

She plunged her sword, enveloped in blue light, into the center of Ildia’s torso, near the core.

 

• Kyaaah!

 

The blue sword pierced through the black aura. The core of the monster was pierced like a piece of paper.

 

“I got you.”

 

Satisfied that the creature was dead, she plunged her sword into the snowy ground and leaned back to catch her breath.

 

‘It doesn’t seem like I fought that long, why is this so hard?’

 

Her head felt heavy, as if it contained dozens of rocks, making her head hurt so much. Verndia spotted her and rushed over toward her.

 

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, I just had a headache and was resting.”

“Kill him.”

 

A voice whispered in her head. Psychke’s closed eye sockets twitched slightly. She straightened her stance, pulling her sword out of the ground.

Will all the strength she could muster, she swung it towards Verndia.

Luckily, the blade didn’t reach him.

 

• Kkweiiek!

 

The monstrous boar that had been lunging at him was cut in two. As he was close from it, he was covered in the boar’s blood, and his face hardened in an instant.