Free Web NovelChapter 198: Limited Time
"Hey... About that Leviathan monster or whatever it’s called... Do you have any information on that?" Mika asked the system as he strolled back to the inn.
He just left the now-destroyed palace after fighting Cylia.
[You only need to know that Leviathan will be one of the toughest foes you will ever face.]
"Is it even on par with that person...?" Mika wondered nervously, thinking back to his supposed greatest enemy.
[I do not have any data on that person but if I had to guess, then I would say yes.]
Mika palmed his face and heaved a sigh.
"She wants me to help take it down soon...? As if I could close the power gap in such a short amount of time..."
[You do not have to worry about it yet. I will train you thoroughly so that you can reach new heights.]
But Mika was not really excited about that. If he had to get stronger, then that would also mean that he had to fight even stronger beings. And considering that his current power level already surpassed that of a normal human, then his future opponents would also be at least in a realm surpassing human logic.
"It wouldn’t even surprise me anymore if I had to face an S-rank demon..." he lamented, sagging his shoulders.
After he uttered those words, he found himself in front of the inn.
Normally, the lights would be out at that hour but this time, they were still on and it appeared like people were talking.
"Are they all still up?" Mika muttered as he opened the door.
And he was right. Everyone was awake.
Some of them were usually going to sleep late, while some of them usually went to bed early. But today, those, who go to bed early, were woken up.
Assembled in a circle, they looked at Mika in disbelief.
"D-did you perhaps witness the destruction of the palace...? J-just for your information, it was the queen, who challenged me!" Mika tried to justify himself.
But that was not the reason why they were looking at him like that.
"Mika!"
Harik was shouting his name in worry as he grabbed both of Mika’s shoulders.
"W-what’s wrong?"
At that moment, Harik did not wear his sunglasses, showing his despaired eyes.
"A-are you really going to die in two years?!"
"!"
Mika widened his eyes when he stared at Harik open-mouthed.
"Lisa told us about your conversation with the queen." Belian added, approaching Mika.
He, too, showed concern as his voice was also sounding slightly sadder.
"I-I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to eavesdrop..." Lisa apologized, averting her guilty face from Mika, who turned his head to her.
Lisa still sat beside the other girls. But most of them did not take the news as well as Belian and Lisa, who had their emotions under control.
In the time, Mika was there, Rachel was not able to look up and cowered as she was holding her tears back. Sylvia was trying to comfort her by hugging her.
"..."
Lily was just standing there and stared at Mika. She seemed shocked and disappointed. Only when she slowly walked up to him, Harik would move aside.
"I don’t really know your circumstances yet nor do I know what kind of powers you have but is it really true...? Will you die in two years...? And if yes, then why...?" she asked.
Mika took a look at everyone. They were all anticipating his answer.
His gaze shifted to Ophelia, whose eyes were lightly red.
"It’s true." Mika said firmly.
Those words destroyed their last dams. Almost everyone’s eyes got teary and their lips shivered.
Lily was about to say anything but was unable to do so. And even if she could, she would have been stopped by Mika, who put his hand up.
"Some of you may have realized it but the powers I have turn me more and more into something inhuman. After all, a normal human shouldn’t be able to hold so much power. Me having a shortened lifespan is just the result of having an incompatible body that holds monstrous powers."
"I’ve understood it a long time ago and there’s nothing I or anyone else can do about it." he added.
Rachel shakingly stood up.
Snot came out of her nose and the tears could not stop flowing. She wanted to hug Mika, however, her legs gave up midway.
"This is too cruel...!" she cried, hiding her face with her hands.
"..."
Sylvia only had a blank expression, or rather, she looked at something far away like Belian did.
"Don’t screw with me...!" Harik muttered bitterly as he clenched his fists.
"I’m sorry." Mika murmured.
Lisa was now in front of him.
"H-how could you come to terms with that...? You’re younger than me! How could you accept such an early death?!" she lost herself in her emotions, no longer able to control them.
She was desperate, sad and angry.
And Mika just listened.
"..."
At the same time, Ophelia got up and silently walked to her room, however, Mika caught a glimpse of her apathetic face shedding tears.
"This is why I didn’t want to tell you..." Mika whispered to himself, inaudible to the others.
He knew that his friends would grieve and react like that if he told them about his lifespan, therefore, he wanted to keep it a secret until the day he would actually die. If he had to choose if he wanted to see his friends sad in front of him or without him, he would immediately choose the first one.
"Alright, everyone!"
Lily clapped her hands once and loudly.
Contrary to the mood, she was smiling brightly and her voice was also surprisingly filled with energy.
"Two years, huh...?"
She tapped her chin with her index finger while looking up.
"I suppose those two years from now on will be the most fun for everyone!" she declared.
"?"
Everyone, including Mika, was confused.
"Come on, guys! Instead of spending the time with sadness and grief, let’s enjoy the time we have left together to the fullest!" she elaborated happily.
Lily turned her smile to Mika.
"I promise you that you will have no regrets and that you have a smile when you die!"
At first, he was taken aback by her crazy declaration but he could not help but smile.
"Sounds good to me. I will take you up on that offer." Mika said.
"I wouldn’t have accepted a no either way, hehe!" she giggled.
"Now, let’s get some sleep! The next days will be a blast!" Lily added with her hands on her hips.
The others, who were also taken aback, listened to Lily and reluctantly went to their rooms, leaving Mika and Lily alone.
Lily was also about to head inside her room but she stopped in her tracks, facing Mika with her back.
"You know? I have the feeling that you’re still hiding something. Of course, I won’t force you to tell me everything about you nor do I want to make you feel uncomfortable but still... It pains me when you try to distance yourself from us..."
Her voice gradually became lower and sadder.
"Well, anyways!" freewebnσvel.cøm
She returned to her usual demeanor as she turned her head to him.
"Sleep well tonight!" she said, waving her hand.
"..."
Again, Mika could only gaze at her figure before she closed the door behind her.
"I’m a fool, right...?" Lily muttered self-deprecatingly.
Inside her room and with her back leaning against her door, her beaming innocence and joy faded away quickly.
Tears rolled down her cheeks but she did not utter a sound of her crying. She just slowly sagged down and sat on the cold floor, hugging her knees.
She bit her lips and shut her eyes strongly.
Even after wiping her tears away with her hands multiple times the tears still would not stop flowing.
After all, Lily may be the one, who was the most hurt from the news. But that was unbeknownst to everyone else as Lily tried to view the situation optimistically even though she knew that it was impossible.
Today was a night when no one could get a wink of sleep.
It was a night full of tears. And yet the person in the center of all that, Mika, was calm.
"Hey, system. Will I really die in two years?" he asked indifferently as he stared at his ceiling.
[Just go to sleep. The following days will take a toll on you.]
"If I think about it, there are still so many things I want to do."
"It surprises me but I want to graduate without any problems with my friends at my side. I want to get a normal job afterward. I want to help the village grow. I want to make my parents happy."
The list went on.
"I want to get married and have children. I want to grow old. I want to drink with my friends, laughing about embarrassing stories from our adolescence. I..." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Then, Mika stopped.
A slight smirk crept onto his face.
"Maybe I do want to live longer."
