Chapter 26: Consequences — part 1
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Nathaniel's point of view:

I watched as my sister collapsed, her thin body vulnerable and weak, with wet tear stains down her cheek. I felt like an idiot when I realized the source of her annoyance had been me; my unusual behavior had alarmed her. I knelt close to her and gently wiped her wet face with my fingers. The necklace that had concealed her appearance had long since been removed, revealing my little sister's frailty. I wondered what I was doing as I felt the warmth of her silky smooth skin. Cold, corrosive irony swirled within me.

I thought I was doing everything for her, but I was really doing it for myself. And now that my foggy mind was clearer, I realized I was being stubborn and stupid. So much was lost because of a whim. Maybe I even lost my little sister's trust.

In my peripheral vision, a system message flashed. As if daring me to check it. [Would you like to use character information?]

My little sister's sad, forlorn face crumpled behind the bluish, slightly opaque screen of the system message, as if she was having a nightmare. My mind was unable to issue the check command to the system. Even though I was curious, no, I needed to know if I had lost Charlotte's affection; it wasn't right.

With a snort, I scoffed at my own mind's blatant cynicism. Actually, my right hand was trembling slightly; I was afraid of something else. I was terrified she had changed her mind about me. That she no longer loved me.

"I'm sorry." I said, my voice trembling.

With my trembling hand, I traced her smooth, pale jaw. The heaviness I felt inside just thinking about not being important to her gnawed at me. Even though I thought I wanted her to see me as nothing more than a brother, my heart raced with a strange addictive feeling as I pressed my thumb against her soft, warm cheeks. Although her face and body were different, I could tell she was the same person I had known by watching her curl up in her sleep and her hand search for something to hold on to, as she always did in my previous life.

When I stopped tracing her face, the strange sensation vanished, and her delicate features wrinkled even more, as if they missed the warmth of my touch. But the sensation was so addictive that if I didn't stop, I'd end up in a vice.

I stood up and peered through the dark dome. The dark crystalline magic power that kept us from the bloodthirsty hell seemed especially depressing. The black aura swirling within it gently lightened, as if mocking my mistakes, allowing me to observe the consequences of my actions.

The bleak and desolate landscape in front of me was depressing. The tavern had been completely destroyed, as had the surrounding buildings, which had been damaged by the dimensional lock. There were approximately 100 square meters of grey patches of what had been living structures. I could still hear the battle of Novem and Alea in the distance, but as the explosions became less frequent and powerful, I knew it would end soon. I was worried about Novem, but I also felt a sense of shame. I put her in danger even though I knew she wouldn't lose because, despite being purity level 5, she is at the top of her level's average strength.

'But that's no excuse.' I exhaled a sigh. 'I'll make it up to her in some way. A vacation?'

I stopped looking into the distance for Novem's figure and focused on our direct adversary. Belora's form was a dark, blurry blob, but I could see him struggling to teleport. I used magic to strengthen my vision, creating a slightly distorted telescopic zoom. The pudgy man's face was drenched in sweat. He desperately attempted to fill the required capacity with his meager magical reserves. Someone with more power would have vanished by now.

My fist tightened; I had a distant desire to activate the skill 'Overload' and take out the daggers that I had kept in my dimensional ring, or even take the bow that my little sister had gotten, which was now lying on the ground, and attack one last time. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Remembering Charlotte and Novem, my priorities became clear once more, perhaps more so than before.

My little sister was the driving force behind my decision to participate in this absurd second life. I couldn't care less about anything else as long as she was safe and happy, but now the image of a stoic and beautiful face crossed my mind. Novem, the woman who had cared for me and was now putting her life in danger for me, crossed my path of thought as if to announce her presence. I wasn't sure how I felt about Novem, but maybe giving her a place in my priorities wasn't such a bad thing. So I clenched my fist and accepted defeat. This mission had been a waste of time, resources, and lives. But there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt a little sorry for Lena, that reddish-haired, frail-looking girl. When I was reading about her character in my previous world, I couldn't help but see my little sister in the image of that girl.

Charlotte, or Lucille at the time, was a rather thin and frail girl with reddish, silky hair that, despite a childhood filled with health problems, remained vibrant, as if reflecting her fighting spirit. She held her own on most occasions, reminding me a little of Lena.

Because of my bad mood, my lips pursed. I decided to distract myself by looking at the desolate landscape through the crystalline shield, which did little to alleviate my heaviness. A crack appeared in the dome that protected us as I considered whether cuddling my little sister while she slept would be a good distraction. The crystalline dome then disintegrated into glowing crystals, which disintegrated into dust. The smell of burning wood transported me vividly and confirmed everything that had happened.

As soon as the shield vanished, hurried footsteps echoed. A woman appeared, dressed in a robe that hugged her slim figure. Her straight hair swayed in time with her hips' rhythmic movement. Her black eyes bore into Charlotte's sleeping body, her concern visible in how those deep-set eyes typical of shadow servants shifted from side to side quickly.

"Is the young lady okay?" She inquired, going to Charlotte's side. She measured her pulse by touching her neck. "She passed out."

I observed the woman examining my sister for injuries. "Is it all over now?" I inquired, my voice tired.

She looked at me with a reassuring smile. "You'll be safe soon." She said this before returning to her examination of Charlotte.

'Character information'

[Name: Lili.

Age: 19.

Strength: Purity level 7

Bloodline: Shadow dimension

Titles: Rookie

Love: 5% Slight appreciation (protects you because she is ordered to)]

'Why doesn't she detest me?' I was the cause of the deaths of many of her comrades, but she doesn't hate me. I was perplexed by the shadow servants. Something was wrong with them.

Ignore that for the moment, whatever it was it was not the time to think about it. The sounds of battle in the distance had faded almost completely, Belora seemed to be on the verge of fleeing as the dimension began to flicker over his figure holding the teleportation stone. This time, I no longer had the urge to jump up and try to catch him, I had enough.

The black dome that had been blocking the dimension had also vanished. Belora apparently couldn't carry two artifacts without overloading his body. While the dimensional blocker absorbs ambient magic, it still requires some magic from the user to resume its self-sustaining energy cycle.

The dark glass shattered on us like snow. It appeared to be a dark and sad rain in the night that gradually turned into day with a gradient in the sky. A final explosion could be heard in the distance, signaling the end of the battle. My clear but tired mind wanted to put an end to it all.

Curious people had already gathered in the area, as had agitated knights who were perplexed by all the destruction. Because our evening walks are late at night and the sun rises very early, I could tell that not much time had passed. My mother, a woman of purity level 3, should arrive soon now that the dimension is open and she can hear the explosions or commotion.

Belora's surroundings began to tremble as I considered how to explain everything to our mother. Her faith in me will most likely dwindle, but all I can do is accept it silently. I'll work twice as hard to make amends.

I returned my attention to my little sister, focusing on how she was now breathing peacefully, being attended to by Lili who was concentrating on something. I didn't want to see Belora escape; I didn't want to see my failure.

"Take us with you!" I could hear the desperate cries of some of his subordinates.

And then silence. They were gone.

Or so I had thought.

I froze when I returned my irritated gaze to the area where Belora had been. My eyes were taking in a scene that I had not anticipated seeing. Belora had a sword protruding from his left side of his chest. The only sound that could be heard was the rhythmic dripping of blood on the ground. A dark and sinister aura swirled around the man wielding the sword. As they weaved through his black clothing, the shadows seemed to call and compliment him. Under the still-darkened sky, he resembled death itself, snatching people's lives.

Belora's face was confused as he watched the sword emerge from his chest; he tried to speak, but all that came out was a puff of blood, making a wet sound as it crashed to the ground. Even I had no idea what was going on. Belora's now limp fingers dropped the glowing, turbulent teleportation stone.

All of Belora's followers were stunned. On both sides, there was a brief pause, as if time itself had been shocked by this development.

The man drew his sword with a wet sound, unaware of what he had provoked. Belora's body fell to the ground, and the man, oblivious to it, quickly grabbed the stone that was falling in the air. "Ha~ Close."

Belora's terrified minions resorted to their most primitive instincts and attacked. Some cast elemental spells, such as fireballs, water cannons, and earth bullets, adorning the dawn with flashes that scared away the people gossiping about what had happened and alerted the knights approaching to inspect the scene.

The man's face contorted into an amused grimace as the more combat-oriented men joined the mages casting spells. His beautiful features, which had previously been hidden by a hood, had transformed into the mask of a lunatic. As the men charged in his direction, he stood still, as if their attack were a joke, and when the first sword came down to cut him, he vanished.

Or so it appeared in my vision, but as the screams of all the attacking men echoed in unison, my eyes couldn't follow the attack. The man reappeared in an instant, a volley of spells exploding on his back, and his bloodstained sword cast a terrifying shadow over us. The men's bodies bled as they fell one after the other; none of them knew what had happened, but when they fell, they all knew their lives were over.

I awoke from my trance when the man in front of us stood there, amusedly watching our movements. The magical pressure emitted by him caused me to tremble slightly. His mere presence was clogging my lungs and weakening my spirit.

Something in my gut told me I needed to flee. At the time, not even the prospect of seeing 'character information' seemed like a compelling reason to stay and see who I was dealing with. Even taking my daggers out of the dimensional ring didn't seem like a good idea. 'Run away,' was the only thought that came to mind. It was my survival instinct, which was deeply ingrained in my being. The one who told me I needed to flee because I was prey.

I took slow steps back, approaching my little sister, intending to carry her and flee, or at the very least escape and seek help from more shadow servants, like Novem or Alea, who I knew had won their battle.

Lili, the mage woman, gave me a thoughtful look. She was behind me, but when she noticed me slowly backing away, she moved forward. Her back covering my figure appeared heroic, but desolate and small in comparison to the man's shadow cast by the fire from behind him.

Lili was joined by another shadow servant, this time a warrior wielding a silver sword and wearing silver armor that glowed and protected her vital organs.

There was a rattling of the knights' plate armor. They had apparently already arrived, and a full squadron was approaching us. 

But, before the knights could intervene, the man raised only one hand. The ground shook as energy swirled in his open palm. A crack appeared just beneath the knights, who could only scream as they vanished into the abyss beneath their feet.

He shrugged as he watched the crack close with his simple command, giving one last unamused glance at where the men had vanished and only the pained cries of some of them remained. "Don't get in the way."

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