Chapter 60: A Wrong Embrace

A blade is something that can only bring harm.

In a world where people are forced to pick up swords and fight, they can only do so while constantly witnessing either their own blood or their enemies’ blood blooming into crimson flowers.

This world is cruel, a world where one cannot survive without gripping a blade tightly.

The peace one can experience now is merely because someone else is fighting in their place.

So no matter what, in the end, one must face that battlefield filled with fading lives.

The clashing of steel rang endlessly in Lila’s ears.

Simon, standing before her, clenched his teeth tightly.

For Simon, every mistake in combat meant serious injury, perhaps even death.

That is why this is something cruel.

Though his movements were clumsy, Simon was genuinely resisting every one of Lila’s strikes.

Even when facing a blade that could take his life, there was not a trace of fear on his face.

From the very beginning, Lila understood, compared to his weak body, Simon’s spirit was far stronger.

That was what she admired most about him, and also what she herself lacked the most.

That’s right, she had always been afraid.

She was not the type with a strong will.

From the very start, her heart had been wavering.

Afraid of fighting others, afraid of lives being lost, afraid of forming deeper connections with people.

Lila knew that she was like a stubborn child, tightly bound by her inner fears.

Even though she knew that the existence of danger in the world did not mean everyone was dangerous or malicious—

she still couldn’t stop herself from overthinking, always imagining the worst.

So even while holding a sword, she had never thought of harming others.

She rejected causing trouble, and she rejected letting anyone get close.

Watching the swordlight flicker in Simon’s hands, Lila was actually thinking inwardly,

‘Hmph, seems I taught him well.’

But on the surface, she remained stubborn, acting indifferent.

Her flashy and elegant swordsmanship pressed forward without retreat.

‘Has Simon really grown this much?’

Though puzzled, she continued pressing him step by step. The silver glints of their blades clashed multiple times within a single second.

This was something to be expected.

Lila accepted it silently.

Simon was already gasping for breath, his sword hand trembling, yet his gaze remained firm.

He had managed to bluff her, that was something she had confirmed from the start.

Why could he be this resilient?

Lila often wondered that.

To be honest, some of her harsh training methods came from wanting to see just how much he could endure.

Yet once she regained clarity, what remained was only guilt lingering in her heart.

Had she become an accomplice of a goddess, or merely her tool?

Lila didn’t care.

Under the strain of intense combat, Simon’s arms had already lost strength, just a slight deflection could knock his blade aside.

But Lila still pretended they were evenly matched.

She didn’t intend to defeat him too easily.

For a time, their blades traced crescent arcs of silver in the air, colliding again and again in stalemate.

“Do you still have strength left, Simon?”

Lila easily sidestepped his attack, a mocking smile appearing on her lips.

“It’s not over yet!”

Simon clenched his teeth. Every swing of his arm felt like electric numbness coursing through it.

‘Think. Think. Think. Find a way to defeat her.’

That vivid crimson, it was so blinding.

But there was no hope. No chance. No possibility.

From the very beginning, this outcome had already been decided.

His legs felt as if weighed down by a thousand pounds; he could barely take a single step.

“Someone like you will always be treated this way.”

That mocking face, he hated it.

Breathing rapidly, his fragmented thoughts reached that conclusion.

Why had he persisted until now?

What a ridiculous question.

There was nothing for him to hold onto. Nothing worth enduring.

He had already reached the depths of despair.

All he saw was a world full of wounds, so in a world already filled with pain, adding more wounds had no meaning.

Until… until he saw the light.

And so, even after giving up, he could keep going.

Everything was to chase that light.

In truth, he was someone who often wanted to give up, give up fighting, give up struggling, hide in a place where no one would find him, abandon the future, and finally abandon hope.

He wanted to reset his negative life back to zero, to grow again, to become someone qualified to pursue the light.

The world before him blurred; his hand could no longer lift.

That hateful figure remained in front of him, so close, yet he had no strength left to reach it.

In the blurred world, he could see cracked lips moving.

He could hear a voice, but couldn’t understand it.

It was probably mockery and contempt.

But with no way to retreat, taking a step forward was only natural, something he had to do.

So he let go of the iron sword.

He could no longer lift it.

With some unknown force pushing him forward, he stepped ahead.

Clenching his fist, he lunged with all his strength.

But his unsteady footing lost balance.

In a weightless world, everything in his vision spun rapidly.

Simon drew closer and closer to the ground.

Everything fell silent.

In that quiet world, just as he expected pain, he instead fell into a warm “paradise.”

‘What is this?’

Amid intense dizziness, reality and dreams seemed to merge.

Around his waist, it felt like a pair of arms had wrapped around him, soft, carrying a comforting warmth.

In the last clear image, Simon saw Lila’s cold face.

Yet somehow, in those pink eyes, he thought he sensed a trace of gentle concern.

‘Is this… an embrace?’

He immediately denied the thought.

Simon closed his eyes, and all color disappeared.

“You’re truly weak.”

He heard a cold voice evaluate him.

“But far stronger than me.”

That voice carried self-mockery, and a kind of vulnerability Simon had never heard before, yet it was serious, unwavering.

She should have been proud.

She would never say something so weak.

Then… who was she?

A figure suddenly surfaced in his mind.

But he could no longer resist the dizziness.

He fell into unconscious darkness.

****

In reality, it could be clearly seen.

Simon staggered forward like a child learning to walk, approaching the girl with crimson hair.

He reached out, and lost his balance, falling forward.

He fell into her arms.

She trembled at first, her body stiff, as if unsure what to do.

Then, as if relaxing, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Their bodies were close, yet their hearts were misaligned.

An embrace that had been unknowingly anticipated.

He could feel her warmth.

She could understand his exhaustion.

And yet, neither truly understood the other, filled instead with confusion… or even hostility.

Still, by the strange twist of fate, two hearts, both afraid, yet forced to move forward, ended up embracing, in a way that was both wrong… and somehow, right.