I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

30 – 030. Even the Most Brilliant Flowers Fade

Ariel straightened her posture.

Whether it was thanks to the miracle bestowed by the heavens.

She instinctively knew what she had to do now. She knew what sacrifice was needed for the sake of her depleted innate energy.

Kneeling.

Her hands placed neatly together.

And her clasped hands against her chest.

She parted her small lips.

“Oh, God.”

“……?”

A question bloomed on Lancelot’s face as he stared blankly at Ariel.

Helios Magic Tower.

Senior Mage, Ariel La Helios.

She was a mage. He’d seen her use frost magic with his own two eyes, a fact that wouldn’t change.

And yet.

“Oh, Life Goddess, who judges life and death.”

How could it be?

Why was it that, from this woman, he could see the halo of a saint?

“Please have mercy on the young lamb.”

*Whooosh—!*

“Grant your child one more chance.”

Lancelot’s jaw dropped.

What Ariel was performing…it wasn’t some life magic.

Divine magic. A product of ‘miracle’ that only a select few chosen by the gods could wield.

“I offer you my blood and flesh…please save this pitiful lamb.”

*Thud! Thud!*

Traces of stars began to paint the area around Ariel in a dazzling display.

Lancelot couldn’t believe his eyes. As if the light possessed consciousness, it flowed between Ariel and the fallen Frey. It was a scene that vividly exuded a feeling of carrying some kind of energy.

*Shhh——!*

Once more.

A dazzling sky-blue light poured onto Ariel.

* * *

Frey thought.

‘…What is this?’

Like a kite with a severed string…

His broken consciousness returned.

But his body wouldn’t move.

Like a monitor with the power off, he merely sensed that his own consciousness was ‘awake.’

The strange phenomenon didn’t end there.

‘Oh, hi? I’m Ariel. What’s your name?’

Memories.

Recollections.

A distant past.

Forgotten promises.

A young girl’s dreams filled his mind.

‘Fray! Today I’ll teach you how to make sugar candy.’

Young Ariel was an endearing child with a bright, cheerful smile. She was always stuck to Fray like a leech, as if she couldn’t stand being apart for even a moment.

‘Fray! What’s your dream?’

The time of memories flowed quickly.

Before long, the childhood Ariel had grown into a proper young lady. Yet even then, she always sought out Fray.

‘Me? Ehehe… My dream is to be a priestess. I want to become a wonderful priestess and help those who are sick and suffering.’

Whenever she talked about dreams, she always hoped to become a ‘priestess.’ It was a dream that suited her well, a naive soul who couldn’t simply pass by someone who was ill.

‘Fray! Let’s play together again today. Ehehe, I really like Fray!’

Then one day.

‘F, Fray! I, you know… I’ve awakened my blessings! Two of them!’

Ariel, who came to find Fray, couldn’t hide her excitement.

A divine blessing, that honored opportunity had found the young girl.

‘One is ‘Holiness’…… And the other is, ‘Beauty is Fated to Fade.’ What does that mean? Ehehe. I hope they’re good blessings.’

Time flowed once more.

It didn’t take the innocent girl long to discover the true nature of the blessings that enveloped her.

‘Fray…… I’m going to die. Like a doll whose thread snaps around the age of twenty, I’m just going to drop dead.’

One day, Ariel came to find Fray, tears streaming down her face, and spoke.

Fray at the time couldn’t say a word.

He was jealous of her, who had awakened two whole blessings, and so he often let sharp, thorny words slip out.

‘I… I’ll become a mage.’

A few days later, Ariel, with a haggard look, spoke with a determined face.

When asked why she was giving up her dream of being a priestess, she just smiled and replied, ‘Just because.’

Ariel’s awakened blessings were Divinity and Premature Brilliance.

[Divinity] was unique to the continent; a blessing held only by the Pope of the Divine Order, who oversaw all religious orders.

[Premature Brilliance] was a curse-like blessing that made all talents bloom brilliantly, but ultimately led to death around the age of twenty.

“Hey, Frey… there’s been a message from the Helios Magic Tower.”

One day, Ariel found Frey, who was preparing to become a mercenary.

“Uh-huh, I’m going to become a mage. And… I’m going to study life magic. For Frey, who can’t learn mana, and for me, who has a limited lifespan. I’m going to fix it, no matter what. It feels like a field just for us, doesn’t it? Ehehehe…”

Rejecting her fate, abandoning God, the girl’s new dream was to be a mage.

Life magic. The reason she was engrossed in life magic was simple.

For her friend, who had lost the blessing of mana.

And, for herself, who was getting closer to death with each passing day.

The last time Ariel visited, she spouted lines like a frustrating part of an old, cheesy rom-com.

“Promise me.”

The answer to the question, ‘Promise what?’, was simple.

“Forget me, the me who will die soon, the person called Ariel. Now… we’re strangers now. If I develop a cure for Frey, I’ll just send the medicine.”

Whispering with tears, Ariel left like that.

Countless years passed.

The girl who gave up her dream of priesthood had become a proud member of the Magic Tower.

The brilliant talent she gained in exchange for a limited lifespan placed her in the position of the youngest senior mage. Even so, a strong yearning for someone tore at her mind.

It was relatively recently that Ariel, haunted by the promise of the past, reached out first.

“Frey. I miss you.”

Ariel’s letter, imbuing her will with magic, took flight. She hoped, with all her heart, that the recipient wouldn’t suffer any great misfortune.

And so, two years later.

Frey received the letter. Ariel rushed to him in an instant.

She knew it. That her time left, was now, very short.

“Ah, hi?”

Ariel was awkward meeting her old friend. It was because violating the promise she had made herself felt uncomfortable.

But then.

She faced a shocking truth.

Her one and only friend had lost his memories.

He didn’t remember her, or the promise of the distant past, or the girl’s approaching fate.

It felt strange.

It was because her longtime friend felt like a different person. A gaze that seemed to pierce the material world, it was…unique, to say the least.

“Ugh, uh? No, it’s not.”

Ariel acted intentionally aloof toward him.

It was laughable that she came seeking her own selfish desires. The near future, about to unfold, came to mind.

Ariel’s void, ordained like fate.

How ridiculous is it to say ‘forget me’ and yet desperately seek him out again?

Even so, Ariel didn’t leave Frey. No, to be precise, she couldn’t leave. Just facing him made her heart throb, eliciting a burning thrill.

And.

“…Hah.”

In the space where endless black darkness sprawled. Frey, recalling all those memories, let out a small sigh.

It felt like the puzzle pieces were finally fitting together.

Ariel, Ariel La Helios.

The genius mage not present in ＜Silvering＞. The traits she held were [Divinity] and [Beauty’s Early Demise].

Divinity was a trait possessed by only one person in the world.

The head of the Divine Order that leads all churches, Pope Sullivan, was its owner. Many players often complained about him, wondering if it wasn’t practically a ‘Unique Trait.’

The only reason she, who should have walked the path of a priest, became a mage, was one reason.

Frey.

And Beauty’s Early Demise was…

“A trash trait no one chooses.”

The reason was simple. If a character was destined to be deleted when all abilities were growing rapidly, who would choose such a trait?

“Ariel.”

He’d thought it strange. That’s why he’d relentlessly interrogated Ariel. But to learn the truth like this, he couldn’t have imagined it.

Ariel wasn’t fit to be a great mage. She was merely a person who was indifferent to life and death…a person facing her end…

* * *

Lancelot, who had silently been observing the strange phenomenon, struggled to raise his upper body.

Even someone as oblivious as him could easily sense that what was happening was far from normal.

“Ariel… what are you doing right now.”

“……”

Ariel, with golden light radiating behind her, didn’t answer. She simply turned her head slightly and smiled sadly.

“Everything will go back to how it was.”

“……!”

Lancelot was speechless at her forlorn smile.

Right now, her eyes were eerily similar to a certain man’s. Her smile mirrored his old friend’s, so much so it was unsettling.

“…….”

Frey, and Ariel kneeling before him.

The sun, brightening into dawn, cast its radiant light upon them both.

Sunlight, striking Ariel’s snow-white dress, stained with blood, scattered blindingly. It was a scene that looked more like the birth of a saint, than a sorcerer.

“……You know,”

Ariel lowered her desolate gaze, looking down at Frey.

His utterly still, pallid face pricked at her heart.

“Actually, when Frey said he’d lost his memories of me… I was, just a little bit, relieved.”

Wooom——!

A golden, unknown energy began to writhe.

“I’m sorry, that my promise from long ago, and my actions now, are different.”

Kugugugugu——!

“Living with Frey at the Helios Magic Tower was my last wish, but I guess it was too greedy of me.”

Saaah…

The energy, trembling violently, burst from Ariel’s back. Like silken threads spun from light, the energy seeped into Frey’s nose and mouth.

Drip.

Clear tears traced a path down her pale cheek.

“I love you. I really, truly loved you. Probably still will, forever.”

Ariel, one last time…

She wished her desire upon the heavens. To the god she had rejected and denied, she uttered a shameless prayer.

.

.

.

Please.

As promised in the distant past.

Let Frey forget me and live on.

[ Highest Divine Magic ]

[ Sacrifice ]

Whooosh——————!

Light bloomed. Like a flower blooming late in midwinter, the light didn’t last long before fading.

The ephemerality of blossoms.

The last snow-covered petal, fluttered and fell.