I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

179 – Sister (3)

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“What’s wrong? It’s like I’m seeing a ghost.”

Sister Maria looked at Sister Alice and said so.

Sister Alice shook her head as she lay sprawled on the floor.

“No, no, that can’t be true.”

“Alice… it’s me, it’s me.”

Sister Maria slowly approached us, one step at a time.

I felt a chill down my spine.

Although I wasn’t as shocked as Sister Alice, I couldn’t believe the sight before my eyes.

The reason I was relatively sane was because Sister Maria’s face looked a little unfamiliar.

Because I hadn’t seen Sister Maria for a long time before she died, her face had changed from what I remembered.

Of course, there was still some remnants of her childhood, but the face of my older sister Maria, who had grown up apart from me, was so unfamiliar that I would have not recognized her if I had seen her in passing.

However, Alice, who was always with me during my days at the academy when I was away from her, was different.

Sister Alice trembled all over and shouted out the courage she had barely managed to muster.

“Who are you! Reveal your identity, no one can impersonate my friend!”

“That’s why I said it was me.”

“No, that can’t be…”

“Alice…”

“Go, don’t come any closer!”

Sister Maria stopped obediently.

I was looking back and forth between her and Sister Alice, desperately trying to figure out what was going on.

My head was spinning from fatigue and confusion.

Sister Maria… No, who is that person who appears to be Sister Maria?

Enemy or friend?

That’s a stupid question.

They can never be allies.

The place it appears is so bad, and the timing of its appearance is also so evil.

The fact that the being that appeared in the form of Sister Maria at this time and place was clearly a trick of the Demon King to interfere with us.

Sister Alice would know that much too.

But, for some reason, in my sister’s wavering gaze, only a vague confidence and growing anxiety were visible.

As if to drive a wedge into Sister Alice’s wavering heart, Sister Maria slowly opened her mouth.

“You always have.”

Sister Alice flinched, and Sister Maria sighed as she looked down at Alice.

“Ha- Do you remember when I asked you to go play with me to a nearby town at the academy?”

“…!”

“You said you couldn’t come because you had class.”

“ah…”

“I said, ‘I have classes too, so let’s skip out.’ And you said, ‘I can’t do that.’ No matter how much fun it is to go out, Alice, it’s not worth it to skip out on class. Do you remember?”

“… sighe,”

“But how was it?”

“…”

“It was fun, wasn’t it? Just like I said.”

I don’t know the story.

As it was an anecdote from the academy, it seemed to be a memory shared only by the two of them.

I became even more embarrassed.

Is the girl standing in front of me really Sister Maria?

“… That’s right.”

Sister Alice nodded silently.

Sister Maria looked down at Sister Alice with a sinister smile.

It was her signature playful smile that still remains in my memory.

“Have I ever been wrong?”

“… Ah, yes…”

“This time too, Alice.”

She started walking towards us again.

“Alice, look carefully. It’s me. It’s me. Your friend. Maria, your best friend since Goldfield Estates.”

“Ahhh… ugh,”

Sister Maria approached slowly but without stopping.

Alice’s eyes slowly began to tear up.

My older sister slowly opened her mouth with a voice as trembling as her gaze.

“Me, really…?”

“huh,”

“really?”

Sister Maria slowly reached out her hand towards Sister Alice.

I said, blocking Sister Alice’s path and swatting her hand away.

“Stop.”

“…?”

Sister Maria looked puzzled.

Without taking my eyes off her, I spoke to Sister Alice behind her.

“Sister, wake up and come to your senses, it’s not certain yet.”

“Ha, but…”

“You know where this is. It’s right in front of the Demon King’s castle. It could be the Demon King’s trick.”

“…”

“It’s strange, that you would approach me so nonchalantly at this time and place.”

Sister Maria said.

“Of course, in front of the Demon King’s castle. Because he saved me.”

“Him?”

“What’s wrong with giving honorifics to the person who saved your life?”

“The one who killed him in the first place was the Demon King, and now you’re giving him honorifics for saving his life? What’s wrong with your head?”

“So that’s why I said he’s not dead, Alice. Who the hell is this boy?”

Sister Alice slowly got up from her seat.

Sister Alice’s legs were wobbly like a newborn fawn, and she was barely able to get up by holding onto my shoulders and leaning on them.

Sister Maria said with a frown.

“Don’t interrupt. There’s no way Alice wouldn’t recognize me, right?”

“… yes.”

Sister Alice said.

There was a faint smile in her weak and quiet voice.

I couldn’t tell if it was the joy of seeing Sister Maria again, or the laughter that came from feeling the absurdity of the whole situation, but Sister Alice definitely let out a small laugh mixed with a sigh.

“That magic from a little while ago was definitely a magic that Maria was good at using.”

“There is no other magic that can subdue without shedding blood.”

“The voice, the face, it’s exactly like the Maria I know.”

“Alice, you’ve… changed a bit, you’ve become haggard.”

“… Besides, no one but the two of us knows about the story you just told.”

“Because I checked your attendance as a welcome gesture. I think we’re the only two people who’ve gotten away with it without getting caught by the professor in the entire academy, right?”

“ha ha ha…”

Sister Alice laughed in vain.

“Maria. Wherever I look, it’s Maria.”

“Oh, Alice. I knew you would know!”

Sister Maria came straight towards me with her arms spread wide.

It was a pose that made it seem like he was about to hug Sister Alice at any moment.

Sister Alice pushed my shoulder gently and approached Sister Maria.

And then he slightly extended his arm,

“That makes it even more unforgivable.”

He then stabbed his sword into Sister Maria’s chest.

“… Allie… S?”

“I can’t forgive you.”

opening.

An unbearably hot heat spread out in all directions from Sister Alice.

My face felt like it was going to burn, so I raised both my arms and took a big step back, covering my face.

Sister Alice’s armor was so hot that it turned bright red.

Hot steam poured out of her body like a running locomotive, and her surroundings were covered in a haze that obscured her vision.

Even the center of the armor, the chest and back plates close to her heart, were slowly melting.

Sister Maria slowly fell to the floor, knees first, muttering.

“Yes, how did you… me…”

“Who are you?”

“I, I…”

“How dare you.”

Sister Alice muttered softly.

Even though her tone was soft, the anger and murderous intent that could be clearly felt was so cold that it made my heart sink, unlike the heat radiating from her body.

“Not only did you imitate Maria, but you also sullied the memories of Maria and me?”

Sister Maria’s upper body slowly fell to the floor.

Sister Alice twisted the holy sword and pulled it out of Sister Maria’s body.

Sister Maria lay there as if dead.

“How did you notice?”

As soon as she said those words, Sister Maria rose into the air as if she had been lifted up by something.

＊

Sister Maria, or rather, something unidentified that took the form of Sister Maria, slowly descended to the ground from a distance away from us.

It was a very light and refreshing movement, as if putting down a precious object.

“It’s strange. It would have been perfect.”

“…”

Sister Alice gripped the sword’s handle more firmly.

“The way he spoke, his actions, his mannerisms, he must have acted perfectly.”

“… this son of a b*tch.”

“I looked at all my memories from the past few years, and I realized how hard I studied and practiced. Now I know everything about Maria.”

Sister Maria’s gestures became increasingly bizarre.

It was an unnatural, awkward movement, as if someone had tied her body with strings and was manipulating her like a puppet.

Sister Maria awkwardly pointed her finger at Sister Alice and spoke.

“How did you know?”

“…”

Sister Alice glanced at me without saying a word.

Sister Maria also read that gaze, and slowly moved her finger to the side and pointed at me.

“Because of that guy? What did that guy say that made you notice?”

“…”

“What’s that guy?”

“If you were really Maria, you would never have said that to that boy.”

“… That’s strange. I don’t remember seeing anyone like that in the past few years. Could he be my lover?”

To my surprise, she didn’t recognize me at all.

Well, maybe that’s not so surprising.

Because she is not Maria’s sister.

It had to be someone disguised as her, or something else entirely.

From what I heard, it seemed like he had stolen and read Sister Maria’s memories, but I had never heard of that kind of magic before.

That means it must be the devil’s doing.

The reason you didn’t recognize me was probably because you didn’t remember the day Maria and I met.

“…”

Sister Alice slowly stepped forward.

My arms felt tingly as I stood behind her.

It seemed like he was burned by the heat emanating from her.

That’s why I could tell.

The fact is that Alice, who is now a quiet and reserved woman, is filled with indescribable anger.

Sister Alice didn’t answer any more.

No, I didn’t even open my mouth.

Without a single scream or curse, Sister Alice ran towards Sister Maria in an instant.

Sister Maria memorized the spell.

A huge, translucent blue shield appeared and blocked Sister Alice’s path.

“Are you going to kill me? I’m Maria.”

“Kill.”

Sister Alice quickly broke the shield and advanced.

“No, to be exact, this body is Maria’s. Are you going to cut it? Are you going to stab it?”

“You little punk…!”

“Well, I’m not going to just take it easy…”

Sister Maria began to recite the spell again.

No, at least that’s what I tried to do.

That is, until a sudden flying chunk of clay blocked his mouth.

“Ouch!”

Sister Maria looked at me with a surprised expression.

As she expected, it was I who created the clay with a magic spell and blew it up.

Even if I cast a spell to block magic, it would be useless if the opponent had Sister Maria’s magic power intact.

However, if you physically cover your mouth, you won’t be able to recite the spell.

“That guy.”

“Ugh?”

“He is Maria’s younger brother.”

With those words, Sister Alice dropped Sister Maria’s neck.

With a gushing stream of blood, Sister Maria’s head flew into the air.

I closed my eyes tightly.

But even after waiting for a long time, I didn’t hear the sound of her body falling or her neck falling.

When I slowly opened my eyes, Sister Maria’s head was floating in the air.

“What is this?”

Sister Alice, not seeming surprised, took her position again.

It looked like he was going to split Sister Maria’s head in two at any moment.

At that moment, Sister Maria’s head, which was floating in the air, made a sound again.

“…younger brother?”

A voice that has changed somewhere.

It was a lower, more hoarse voice, like that of a middle-aged man in his forties.

“Ah, ah! I see!”

The voice did not come from Sister Maria’s head.

In the darkness, someone was standing holding Sister Maria’s neck.

It was such a bizarre sight that once I became aware of it, I wondered how I had not seen it before.

A middle-aged man standing with one hand holding Maria’s neck and the other holding a ball of string controlling Maria’s body.

I realized that the way he hid his appearance was the same magic that hid the Demon King’s castle.

Could that guy be the Demon King?

However, it didn’t look particularly like a lizard.

No, it didn’t look like a demon to begin with.

They have no scales, no horns, and their skin color is not much different from that of humans.

While I was observing him, my eyes met with his as he slowly turned his gaze towards me.

The man looked at me and smiled brightly.

“You’re Ash! Wow, you’ve grown so much? You’ve grown so much I can’t recognize you.”

“… uh?”

At that moment, Sister Alice screamed loudly.

It was a scream, sharp and loud enough to tear apart the forest.

“Balderooo!”

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