Chapter 30
This is a fictional story by realTensai
Alvis' staggered breathing drowned out every other sound as he ran faster than he ever did. He just came out of the hyper-train and knew every second counted. Lia probably already started her rampage. Like a wild man, he raced through the streets of Beqa with only one thought in his mind.
I have to make it in time!
——
The warehouse was within Alvis' sight as he got ready for one final sprint. His leg muscles felt like an overheated engine, yet Alvis ignored the pain and pushed through. After his final sprint, he finally arrived.
Without wasting time, Alvis burst into the warehouse immediately, making his way to the underground. He could hear explosions and smell the scent of blood, but the agonizing cries were a testament that the battle was still going on.
What he then saw when he arrived underground made him shiver.
Even though he himself had killed quite a few people in his last few runs, this sight was insane. Before Alvis wasn't a hall, it was a war zone. A battleground that gradually turned into a graveyard. The blood of the people painted the hall, with their dead bodies serving as decorations. Painful cries resounded throughout the hall as if they were the melody of death.
Alvis couldn't leave his eyes from the scene, paralyzed by what had happened. However, when he then saw the blonde girl still fighting, he woke up out of his daze.
"LIA!!!"
Lia, who was still in the heat of the battle, turned around only to see Alvis running to her. Her knitted eyebrows, paired with her shivering lips, told Alvis she didn't expect to see him. No, she didn't want to see him.
"W-Why?…. Why are you here, Alvis?!"
However, the moment Lia shifted her attention to Alvis, her opponents saw an opening. A man wielding a sword aimed it straight at her neck, trying to decapitate her. But before he could, Alvis created a small fireball and shot it through his head. Dead, the man fell to the ground.
"I've come to save you!"
Lia couldn't rest up and her expression became even more worried.
"So you really can you use magic even though you're human? But why didn't my spell work? It should have kept you unconscious till tomorrow."
Alvis himself didn't know the latter, so he could only guess. Most likely, it didn't last so long because he had gotten stronger through his several respawns.
"We can worry about that later. First, we have to defeat them."
Their attackers certainly didn't wait until their little chat was over and attacked. With Alvis there, they got a new target. Unlike Lia, Alvis couldn't regenerate, so they focused on him and tried to take him out. They attacked him as if they had just found weak prey.
They underestimated him.
Spiky earth spears erupted from the ground, impaling everyone who got near Alvis. Those who escaped his attack were finished off by small fireballs. After their first wave of attackers, all got defeated; they stopped, gulping. Alvis was a powerful foe.
"Why Alvis? Why are you doing this?" Lia asked, even though they were in the heat of the battle.
"Because I want to," Alvis said after defeating the next attacker, slashing him with an earthen blade.
"But why? Why are you going so far for someone like me?"
Lia just couldn't understand it. Even though she was an empath and felt his emotions, she couldn't understand him. Never before had she seen someone acting so reckless and risking his life just because he wanted to. He didn't make sense.
Yet he couldn't just tell her that his system forced him to save her, or else he would die.
No, this isn't even the reason anymore.
At first, this was his sole motivation. Save her because it was his mission. But over time, over the countless loops he got to know her, something inside him changed. It was so cliche the old Alvis would've laughed at him if he knew that. Yet his heart wasn't ice cold anymore. He wasn't the same Alvis who gave up on living.
He was now capable of feeling this human emotion.
"Isn't it obvious?!" Alvis asked, shouting, his heart racing. "...It's because I like you!"
Within this situation where they were killing countless assassins, Alvis confessed his feelings. He didn't know if his heart was racing because he just confessed or because he could die at any moment. Yet he knew she just had to tell her, or else she wouldn't understand.
Lia's body trembled as she shook her head, not wanting to accept it.
"This can't be! You know the real me. You know my past, my life as an assassin, my lies, my egoism! You know everything! And yet you dare say you like me?!"
"Yes, I know everything. I know the real you, your past, your life as an assassin, your lies, and your egoism. And all those things are an undeniable part of you. But those things are also what made you the person you are today. Those things made you the person I started loving. They made you the kindest person I ever met!"
Lia still seemed not to understand, however, her tears showed Alvis' words had reached her. Yet it was too soon to rejoice. While talking, they had advanced to the boss' room. They were now standing before the door, all their foes out of the way.
Now Alvis had to take over.
"Don't worry, I will take care of the rest," Alvis said before opening the door.
The door creaked open, revealing a dimly lit chamber obscured by shadows. As Alvis stepped inside, his eyes were drawn to the ominous figure seated on a throne at the far end. The air seemed to thicken with malevolence, and the room itself recoiled from the presence of the Assassin Organization's enigmatic leader.
The boss, a towering figure with feline features, exuded an aura of predatory authority. His golden eyes, narrowed slits that mirrored those of a hunting beast, glowed with an unsettling intelligence. A sleek mane of silver hair cascaded down his shoulders, framing a face that bore the scars of countless battles and untold secrets.
The first time Alvis had seen him, his menacing aura had been enough to take him to his knees. But this time he stood there, unwavering, even though he stood before such a powerful creature.
"Alvis, you can't fight him! If you do, you will die! I can't let you die on me!"
Yet one look at Alvis' unyielding eyes was enough for Lia to understand he wouldn't change his mind.
"Just wait and look, Lia. I will take care of the rest."
Alvis clenched his fist as he looked the monster deep in his golden eyes. His killing intent was directed at Alvis, yet Alvis kept staring into his eyes. All the loops he had spent training were just for this moment. For this fight. If he couldn't defeat him now, he couldn't save Lia. Now everything depended on him. He couldn't waver now.
"I will fight with you!" Lia said.
But when she then tried to step forward, she realized she couldn't move her body. Her shaking legs wouldn't let her move. Lia started hitting her thighs, yet the result stayed the same.
"W..Why? Why won't my legs move? I have to fight! I have to end this organization!"
"Don't worry. You have tried your best. You can rest easy now," Alvis said, patting her shoulders. "I will handle it."
Feeling his reassuring touch, Lia broke down.
"I-I am so pathetic. Even though I've come so far, even though I know about all the evil he causes, I just can't kill him! He was the one who saved my life! He was the one who took me in when I had no one! I know how hypocritical it is to use that as a reason not to kill him, but I just can't. I hate myself for my weakness. I hate myself for my cowardice and egoism. But deep down,… I still fear to be left alone. I'm so pathetic!"
"You aren't pathetic," Alvis said, placing his hand on her head. "You are the kindest person I know," he continued, a genuine smile on his face. "The fact that you are admitting your fear and shortcomings and trying to change something is enough. I will take care of the rest! This is the only reason I'm here. To lend you a helping hand and do the thing you can't do. I'm here to defeat the boss!"
Alvis stepped before Lia, only letting her see his back. Like her protector, he stood between her and the boss. He then took a deep breath before saying the words a man had to say.
"And after I defeat the boss, please marry me! I want to always be on your side. To support you when you feel you have no one. I want to give you a place you can call home. I want to be your family! This evil organization isn't a place a kind person like you should be in!"
Alvis proposed to her. It was in the heat of the moment, and Alvis just wanted to tell her his true feelings. Yet it was a more rational decision than it may seem. He knew that if he truly wanted to save her; he had to become the family she didn't have. Just becoming her boyfriend wouldn't be enough. She would only be able to sever her ties with the Organization if Alvis became her new family.
Lia couldn't say anything, way too moved by Alvis' words. However, Alvis even preferred her to not give him an answer now. He still had the hard part in front of him.
"Cute words you said there, boy. But what can a mere human even do? You are too weak to defeat me, let alone save her! You don't have what it takes to be a man who could protect her!"
"I may not be the strongest, heck Lia is probably even stronger than me, but this doesn't matter. There are things only I can do! And one of them is to beat you! I will win and save Lia. Come what may!"