The World Is Mine For The Taking

Chapter 1500: Epilogue 27 - Elise’s Secret (2)

I clenched my fist the moment I heard those words.

For some reason, hearing Lucielle talk about Leon like that irritated me far more than it should have.

I hated how she could look at him and reduce everything he was down to a single purpose. To her, Leon’s existence seemed to begin and end with Lilith. It was as if nothing else about him mattered. His thoughts, his feelings, his experiences, everything he had gone through up until now seemed completely irrelevant compared to the role he had been born to fulfill.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.

From the very beginning, Leon’s existence had been tied to Lilith.

He was her vessel.

That was the reason he existed.

If he eventually fulfilled all the conditions necessary for Lilith’s resurrection, then from Lucielle’s perspective, he would simply be accomplishing the purpose he had been created for.

A tool serving its intended function.

A vessel returning what belonged inside it.

Something like that.

Even so, there was one problem with that way of thinking.

What happened to Leon afterward?

If Lilith returned, what exactly would happen to him?

Would he disappear completely?

Would his consciousness simply vanish?

Would he be erased without leaving behind even a trace?

Or would he somehow continue existing after Lilith reclaimed the body?

Nobody seemed to know.

At least nobody had ever given me a clear answer.

Lucielle had told me more than once that Lilith’s resurrection was necessary. According to her, Lilith returning was one of the few hopes this world had left.

I understood that.

I really did.

The problem was that understanding something and accepting it were two completely different things.

Because if I was being honest with myself...

I didn’t want Lilith to come back.

At least, not at the cost of Leon.

Maybe that made me selfish.

Maybe that made me a terrible person.

But every time I imagined a future where Leon disappeared so that Lilith could return, I found myself unable to accept it.

The person I wanted to remain wasn’t Lilith.

It was Leon.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

I wanted him to stay.

I wanted him to keep smiling.

I wanted him to keep being himself.

That was all.

"Do you think..." I began quietly. "Leon can’t do it?"

"Hm?"

Lucielle looked at me.

"I mean going against the Dragons."

For a moment, she simply stared at me.

Then her eyes narrowed slightly.

The look she gave me made it seem like she was trying to determine whether I had suffered some kind of head injury while she wasn’t looking.

It was honestly a little annoying.

"It’s impossible," she said.

Her answer came immediately.

"It’s impossible for someone like him to stand against the Dragons. If even Satania could not stop the destruction awaiting this world at their hands, then there is no reason to believe someone like him can."

"How can you be so sure?"

That made her stare at me even harder.

At this point, I was fairly certain she genuinely believed I had lost my mind.

Unfortunately for her, I was completely serious.

Because when I thought about Leon, I couldn’t help but feel that everyone was underestimating him.

Yes, he wasn’t strong enough right now.

That much was obvious.

Compared to monsters like Satania, he was still lacking.

Compared to ancient beings like the Dragons, the gap was even larger.

But that was only the present.

The future was different.

Every time I met him, he had grown stronger.

Every time I saw him, he seemed to have accomplished something impossible again.

And the strangest part was that it never felt like he had reached his limit.

If anything, it felt like he was still climbing.

Still growing.

Still improving.

Like he hadn’t even gotten close to the peak yet.

That was why I couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility.

Maybe he really could reach that level one day.

Maybe he really could become strong enough.

"Leon might not be strong right now," I said. "But he will be."

Lucielle remained silent.

For a brief moment, I thought she might actually consider my words.

Instead, she shook her head.

"It will never be enough."

Her voice was calm.

Almost cold.

"It will never amount to anything."

She looked directly at me.

"Right now, he is weak. If Lilith does not return, then everything she prepared for hundreds or even thousands of years becomes meaningless. Do you understand what that means, Elise?"

I didn’t answer.

She continued anyway.

"Do you think I would simply allow him to take her place? Do you think I would entrust the fate of this world to someone when there is absolutely no guarantee he can accomplish anything?"

I frowned.

"If we’re talking about guarantees, then Lilith wasn’t guaranteed to win either."

Lucielle’s eyes narrowed.

"She said she had a plan," I replied. "But she never said that plan would definitely work."

The moment those words left my mouth, the atmosphere became noticeably heavier.

Lucielle stared at me.

Really stared at me.

Then she sighed.

"You truly have fallen deeply for the vessel, haven’t you?"

I looked away.

Unfortunately, that reaction probably answered her question better than words could.

"You are even arguing with me now."

There was something almost amused in her voice.

"Good."

I frowned.

"Good?"

"Yes."

She nodded.

"It proves just how deeply you’ve fallen in love with him."

I didn’t say anything.

There wasn’t much point denying it.

Not anymore.

"You don’t want him to disappear."

Her voice softened slightly.

"You don’t want Lilith to reclaim that body because you fear what will happen to him afterward."

A long sigh escaped my lips.

"So just like Lilith did to you, you’re using me for your own goals."

For the first time, Lucielle’s expression changed.

Only slightly.

But enough for me to notice.

It had been a very long time since everything involving Lilith had happened.

Yet somehow, it felt like history was repeating itself all over again.

Different people.

Different circumstances.

The same result.

Lucielle remained silent for several moments before finally speaking.

"This is for the sake of the world, Elise."

Her voice was steady.

"But regardless of what you think, one thing remains true."

She looked directly at me.

"I do consider you my daughter."

"I see."

I lowered my gaze.

"Unfortunately, I can’t say I feel the same."

Silence followed.

An awkward silence.

The kind where neither side had anything left to say but neither side wanted to leave.

Then suddenly, Lucielle looked up.

Straight into the sky.

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue.

The sound immediately made me alert.

Without saying a word, mana began gathering around her hand.

Dark energy condensed rapidly into a small black sphere resting above her palm.

The amount of power packed into that tiny ball was enough to make my skin crawl.

Then she threw it.

The sphere shot upward.

Faster and faster.

Higher and higher.

For a moment, it looked like it would simply disappear into the clouds.

Then something happened.

The dark sphere struck something invisible.

A massive golden barrier suddenly revealed itself.

Ripples spread across its surface.

The sight looked familiar.

It resembled the Guardian.

Or perhaps it actually was the Guardian.

My eyes widened.

Someone had been listening.

The entire time.

Apparently, whoever had been hiding realized there was no point remaining concealed.

The figure slowly descended from the sky.

Then, instead of landing normally like any sane person would, they dropped.

Completely.

The figure came crashing down from an absurd height and slammed into the ground hard enough to create a massive crater.

The impact shook the surrounding area.

Dust exploded outward.

Chunks of earth scattered everywhere.

For a brief moment, visibility disappeared entirely.

Then the dust slowly settled.

A figure stood at the center of the crater.

Completely unharmed.

Not even a scratch.

The person casually brushed dirt from his clothes as though falling from the sky was a perfectly normal thing to do.

Honestly, I was beginning to suspect that normal and Leon had never met each other.

"I was wondering where you’d gone, Elise."

The moment I heard his voice, my heart immediately relaxed.

Leon.

He looked over at me.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I was starting to get a little worried."