Never Saved You - Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Translator: Yonnee

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Even when given a second chance at life, it’s still so unfortunate not to be able to live without another person.

Perhaps if Ophelia, and Ian as well, were to live, no matter what it was that they said, their pursuit would repeat as it was.

Ophelia was so sick and tired of it. She understood the reason for why Ian had no choice but to chase after her, but she had not the slightest intention of letting him back into her life.

Still, at this moment, she was already trapped like a mouse. With the steep cliff behind her and Ian in front of her now, she hadn’t been able to escape properly and so her getaway had been thoroughly blocked.

At the back of Ophelia’s mind, she knew that if she would take Ian’s hand here, he would never let go of her again.

As Ian’s goal was to have Ophelia for himself, he would never let Alei come near her at all, even if he tried to use all means possible.

In the end, there’s only one choice.

Ophelia let go of the reins. She pulled one foot out of the stirrup so she could dismount from the horse.

Seeing this, Ian’s expression brightened slightly as he thought that she was about to come back to him.

“Let’s end it here.”

And with that, Ophelia let herself fall back, down into the abyss beyond the cliff wherein it’s impossible to see even one inch ahead.

Her red hair fluttered like autumn leaves in the wind. Ian lost all reason and shouted.

Ophelia suddenly recalled the beginning of this life—when she left the banquet hall and jumped down a balcony, thinking that this was all a dream, refusing to believe that she had gone back in time.

Goodbyes with you have always been like this. The only way to end this ill-fated relationship is with this.

Because love was present in an ill-fated relationship, tragedy came inevitably.

Ophelia closed her eyes. As though predicting the end, the fall was ever so tranquil.

* * *

Alei urgently rushed through the forest.

After the siren had pointed him in this direction, it’s not so difficult to find the right trail because there were traces of horses passing through this way.

And he would have caught up already, if not for his body’s condition, which was so bad to the point that it’s getting harder and harder for him to endure.

“Cough, cough!”

Along with the cough that he’s become accustomed to now, likewise, he also had gotten used to this sensation of mana reflux that kept striking at him.

The pain was significant enough that he could lose control right here, but if he really would allow that to happen, he knew that the mana would flow back so sharply that it would destroy his internal organs. So, he had to grit his teeth through this.

Whenever a mage were to use magic, it was their body that served as a vessel that forms the spells.

Their veins became the passages through which mana flowed, and their limbs sustain each and every rune to implement the magic spell.

In other words, a mage’s body itself was an intricate map of circuitry.

However, if the mage had internal injuries, if even one of these circuits were blocked, then many problems would naturally occur, such as mana reflux or perhaps blowing a fuse.

The only way to avoid using one’s own body to form a spell was in the case of teleporting, which required the mage to fill in the coordinates in the magic circle.

So, in other words, if a mage didn’t want to use their body as a vessel to conduct their spell, then they would have to draw out a magic formula that was equivalent to the spell’s magnitude every time.

‘But there’s no time for that.’

Unfortunately, time was not on Alei’s side.

That’s why right now, Alei was constantly trying to control the extent of his internal injuries while at the same time being the cause of worsening the injuries each and every time. His limit was soon approaching.

As the mana reflux subsided for now, he used a detection spell around the forest, but then in that instant, he felt something warm trickling down his nose.

‘I even have a nosebleed now.’

Was he already at his limit? As he wiped the blood with a handkerchief, Alei frowned.

One good thing right now was that the flames had died down drastically, so there was no more need for him to coat his body with mana to block the smoke.

Obviously enough, if he were to incant multiple spells at a time, this also meant that he’d just make it all the more difficult for his body.

Apart from that, the other good thing now was that it’s become much easier to follow the horses’ trail even without using a detection spell.

‘A clear trail like these is proof enough that it hasn’t been long since they passed by.’

He could be close to finding Ophelia now.

Alei took off his hand from the fallen tree.

The lower half of the tree was fine, but the top half seemed to have lost its balance and eventually collapsed to the side after the middle of the trunk had gotten burnt.

And it was through that collapsed side that the horses’ trail continued.

Without a moment spared, Alei moved to follow it. There was no hesitation at all in his steps. Perhaps it was only natural. There was no clearer path for him to tread.

As he wandered through the ruined forest, it felt bizarre to him how everything was so clearly visible.

Suddenly, he recalled the time when he first lost his memories. He also fell into a forest back then.

‘It was nighttime before, too.’

Amidst the trees that were so high up that it felt like there was no end in sight, while he forgot who he was, he soared through the sky without direction, as if he was a young bird still practicing how to fly.

At that time, he couldn’t control his flight through magic all that well, even as it was a spell that’s easy enough for intermediate or high-level mages.

Perhaps it was because his mind was wiped clean that the magic that should have come instinctively to him was so unfamiliar.

No matter how natural it was for humans to use their limbs, if one were to forget everything they knew, then they would likely walk unnaturally with their arms and legs swinging together at a time instead of alternately.

Due to this, Alei faltered while having to take down trees with him.

And apart from that, he tried many times to go back down on the ground, but he couldn’t land properly.

As he went through this several times over, Alei’s body belatedly grasped that magic was familiar. It seemed to become easier after that.

Except, a great fear of the unknown loomed over him like a shadow, following after him and forcing him to hurry forward.

Alei still didn’t know what he was thinking at that time, but the fear that he had experienced remained vivid in his memories.

What was it that frightened him so?

Was he afraid of the truth that the dense thicket of trees was covering? Or was he, like an imbecile, vaguely terrified of his own condition?

Alei thought that it might be the latter, but when he finally reached a place where the trees no longer obscured his vision, he could no longer trust his own judgment.

At the end, with the terrain now open to his view, he saw two horses with empty saddles. And, the figure of just one person—this did not match the number of horses.

The familiar silhouette of a man lay at the edge of the sharp cliff, lying on his stomach as though it was not enough to kneel just with his knees.

“…No, please, Ophelia…”

Calling a very familiar name, too.

Sometimes, ignorance was bliss. A dreadful hunch came over Alei, and he knew he was about to face the horrific truth.

With the singular beast staying there, not matching the numbers, and the ground that broke off in front of the horizon—it was all so reminiscent of a rupture.

An ominous feeling struck him. It felt almost like he was being pushed by someone. Alei took a step forward.

He checked to see if the man who was laying there was the same man in his memories.

Black hair. Silver eyes. The man he knew was someone who always carried madness with him, and yet this time, he was so overcome with grief.

The man was crying. He kept telling that person, who Alei knew so well, no, you can’t, please come back. Over and over again.

But what Ian usually said to Ophelia wasn’t so different. So Alei tried to suppress the looming dread and forced his lips to open.

“Grand Duke Ronen.”

The moment he was called, that man’s eyes were once again filled with madness. Even so, his countenance was still different from how he usually was.

The madness that lingered in his eyes usually made him seem as though he’s the kind of man who wouldn’t be able to control the sudden urge to stab someone else immediately. However, the madness that now came over him was the insanity of a fool who would tighten the noose over his own neck.

A hoarse voice, like fingernails scratching upon metal, answered him.

“…Alejandro Diarmuid.”

“You seem rational enough to recognize me.”

“How… How did you get here?”

“Am I not allowed to come here? I’m here to meet Ophelia. I was told she went this way.”

He had been worried when he heard that she was being chased by someone, but it seemed to be Ian. It might be for the better that it was him after all instead of someone from the temple chasing after her for no reason.

But if this situation was the lesser evil, why did it feel so ominous?

Alei shook off the tension that made his throat clench and his tongue stiff, then he continued speaking.

“Then what are you doing here? Where’s Ophelia? You’re the one who was chasing after her, weren’t you?”

“Yes. I…”

Ian trailed off again. While his madness strangled him once more, it was the reason for why he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

It was only then that Alei realized why this ominous dread kept hovering over him.

It was because of Ian. How could he not feel any dread when Ian kept speaking in such a crestfallen voice.

Alei frowned, stepping away from the weeping man.

“Stop crying and just tell me where Ophelia is. I can’t waste any more time because of you.”

Crying as he was told off, the man suddenly raised his head once more. In that moment’s instance, there was a sunken look in the man’s eyes, as though darkness had shrouded him—as though he himself had met his demise.

With a voice to match this, he said,

“Ophelia is… dead.”