Chapter 29 - There Was No Meaning
"I saw it."
Hmm?
She saw 'it'?
What exactly did she see?
"Can you be a bit more specific?"
Hmm, the fact that she stayed behind means that she wanted to talk to me alone, so she must have witnessed something important.
What could it be?
Don't tell me the little Shadowlord has a skill or something that shows her I'm not the Samur this 'World' knows.
That would be pretty amusing, but yea, not ideal.
"I saw you kill Dynogaur." Her eyes stared into mine.
Dynogaur? Hmm.
"Are you talking about the Minotaur?"
He was the only existence I killed with my own hands- with my own two arms, to be more precise- since I took control of this body.
Unless she's also a Transmigrator and has come from a World I once lived in.
"Yes." She nodded.
Well, at least she's not a Transmigrator.
"I see. Does that mean you were awake in that crystal?"
"In a sense."
"In a sense?"
"I was not truly awake. I was only sharing my senses with Dynogaur."
Oh my.
"Were you close with him?"
"He was like my family." She smiled slightly.
Shit, just as I expected.
So I ended up killing the one being that was there with Clementine the whole time she was imprisoned in that crystal.
That's gonna be a yikes from me, bro.
Aight, time to handle this situation like a mature adult. Because no matter my reason, I did end up snatching away her family.
"I'm truly sorry." I bowed my head.
I can only imagine what it must have been like for her.
Being encased in a dark crystal for thousands of years while staying in a semi-conscious state must have been a terrifying experience. fre ewebn ovel
Within the darkness that was her life, Dynogaur was probably the only source of light.
And we, no, I took that light away from her. I barged into her home and massacred her family.
She was then brought here, to a new place, and was asked to think of me, the man who took her world away from her, as her brother.
This is something I must take responsibility for.
"Thank you for saving him." Her eyes drooped.
"What?"
She's thanking me for saving the guy that I actually murdered?
"By killing Dynogaur, you granted him his only wish." She smiled again, this time derisively.
"I see." freew(e)bnovel.(c)om
Well, the Minotaur did scream at us to kill him.
But he's not the one I'm concerned with.
"That's why I want to thank you." She bowed.
"I understand." I nodded and Clementine raised her head.
I looked into her eyes for some moments and found what I was looking for.
"By the way, how do you feel?"
"What do you mean?" She titled her head.
"After all is said and done, you are the one who lost someone important to you."
"Oh, that… I said that Dynogaur was like my family, but that wasn't really the case."
"Really?"
"Yes, I was the only one who could feel what he felt. To him, I was likely nothing more than an inanimate object." She giggled abashedly.
Ouch.
"That doesn't answer my question."
It still doesn't tell me how she truly feels about his death, though.
"Eh?" Clementine's eyes widened. "I, uh, yes, I feel grateful that Dynogaur got what he desired."
Good grief.
"Clementine. I did not ask you how you felt about Dynogaur."
"Huh?"
"What I'm asking from you is simple. How do you feel about YOURSELF after losing someone who YOU considered close to YOU?"
"…"
"Go on."
"T-that is irrelevant." She averted her eyes.
"The one standing before me is you. The one thanking me for killing a family member is you. So yea, I think it's very relevant."
"No, it does not matter."
This gal's incorrigible.
"Why?"
"Because it was Dynogaur's wish to die, and you granted it. I have no right to interfere between you two." She took a deep breath, trying to control herself.
"And who decided that? Was it Dynogaur? Did he tell you that you do not have the right to feel anything for him?"
"…I think we have discussed this long enough. I should be going now." She turned around and walked towards the door.
Oh wow, she's trying to use a move which I have long since mastered.
Well, I guess I have no choice but to think out of the box.
"You know, I think you're wrong."
"About what?" She answered without looking back.
"You should not be thanking me for killing Dynogaur."
"Why not?" She stopped and turned back to me.
"Because I enjoyed it." I smiled.
"What?" Her eyes widened to a dangerous degree.
"Yes. Killing him was quite satisfying, actually."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She scoffed.
"By the way, you said you witnessed the moment I killed Dynogaur, right?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
"So tell me, what were his final moments like?"
"…I'm not sure where you are going with this."
"Just humour me."
"I respectfully refuse."
As expected, even though she truly opened her eyes only a few days ago, as the Shadowlord, she's armed with the same knowledge, thinking capabilities and power as a normal adult Shadow.
"That's a shame. Allow me to do the honours then."
"Like I said-"
"Dynogaur's last moment were, for a lack of better term, pathetic."
"…" I could almost hear her gnashing her teeth.
"Look at it this way. When I killed Dynogaur, time was flowing at the pace of a turtle."
"…What's a turtle?"
Wut?
"It's an animal that moves extremely slowly. My point is that the time had slowed down to such a degree that it had practically stopped. Are you with me so far?"
"Haaah, yes."
Hmm, have I finally piqued her interest?
"So, not only did I kill Dynogaur by attacking him on his back, he also didn't know that he had died. For him, his life stopped just like that. There was no glorious battle, no sense of satisfaction. He just dropped dead."
"Oh no…" Her voice and eyes trembled.
"So do not thank me, for his death was pointless."
"It was NOT!" She waved her hand in a frenzy.
"Is that you think?"
"There was no way his death was meaningless!"
"Oh, but it was. In fact, his entire life was meaningless, now that I think about it. What did he live and fight for? To protect a glorified crystal from tomb raiders? Utterly meaningless. And what did he ultimately die for? Because I needed an 'ingredient' to save Noelle's life. Absolutely meaningless."
"YOU!"
"And what about your relationship with him? He didn't even know that you were sentient, much less that you could feel what he felt. So, it was just as meaningless."
"Wha?!" She froze.
"So, just like I said, everything was… hehehehe, meaningless."
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