Limited Extra Time - Chapter 170

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

—— Page 1 ——

“He returned to the earth.”

“…Why?”

“He hadn’t consumed Haron for quite some time, after all.”

“But Ajidahaka was there. He kept providing his mana…”

Carina’s pupils trembled faintly as her lips parted.

Her eyes met Ajidahaka’s silent gaze, and her pupils wavered like a ship caught in a storm before slowly disappearing beneath her eyelids.

“…I see.”

Carina’s face crumpled slowly as she murmured the words.

She clenched her teeth. Unable to bear the heat gathering in her eyes, I pressed my palms firmly against my eye sockets.

“It was simply time for him to go. There’s no need to grieve so deeply.”

Ajidahaka reached out and gently stroked Carina’s hair.

—— Page 2 ——

The muscular, enormous hand caressed her head with such tenderness that I felt tears threatening to burst forth.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. My life ended centuries ago. Without you, I would never have seen light again.”

My pale, bony fingers pressed hard against my eyes.

Yet what I could not hold back

pooled in my palms before streaming down my cheeks.

“You became the first light in my world. I looked upon the world and did what I could not before. I saw the world and even became a godparent to someone.”

Carina Leopold lowered her head.

Her voice, recited with quiet composure, pierced through me. It ached. It was agonizing. I was frustrated by the absence of any solution.

“Watching a human child grow is so joyful and lovely. Now I understand why humans, with their brief lifespans, create families and bear children.”

“I came to know what it means to build a family and have children in life.”

Ajidahaka’s expression was serene.

Carina, lost in her tears, could not see it, but he harbored no great regrets. He felt only a touch of sorrow and a hint of longing.

Yet he was not so fragile as to reveal such feelings to the child who would soon end her brief life and depart.

“…You must have felt the same way.”

“…Hic…sob…”

Now twenty-seven, even within the already brief span of a human life, this child’s existence had been uniquely short.

Because it was so brief, it was desperate. Watching her strive to live without a single moment of regret, I could only feel my heart breaking.

I could not leave her alone. Squeezing every ounce of my mana to transport myself here—that was my last clear memory.

What remained was barely enough mana to maintain

—— Page 3 ——

a human form, and the mana needed to return to the Mountain Range.

“Seren…”

At the sound of her voice, heavy with sorrow, Ajidahaka simply stroked her hair.

With her head bowed low, she could no longer hide her eyes. Watching tears fall steadily to the floor, he released a quiet sigh.

“Seren and Millaiyen…”

“Yes, it will be fine. My great-granddaughter is strong. She will surely become a human as formidable as he is.”

He spoke with a laugh, his words cutting through the strained tension in her voice.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you more.”

Sensing the fading remnants of magical power, I parted from Herta lightly.

Herta seemed to have anticipated this to some degree and accepted her fate without resistance. Ajidahaka felt the same way.

At Ajidahaka’s words, Carina Leopold shook her head. She wanted to say it was fine, that it was fine, but her voice wouldn’t come—she could only manage stifled sounds for a long moment.

“For a while, I should spend time with my successor.”

“Yes….”

Watching Carina Leopold nod, Ajidahaka rose lightly to his feet. He tousled his hair, turned, and slowly withdrew from Carina’s Room.

The door closed with a soft click, and Ajidahaka, leaning against it for a moment, slowly blinked his eyes.

“Eavesdropping isn’t very becoming.”

“…It’s my room. Mine and Carina’s room.”

“Yes, I apologize for the intrusion.”

Ajidahaka withdrew his hand, gripped Millaiyen’s shoulder firmly once, and passed by him.

Millaiyen clenched his teeth.

“How much longer does Carina have….”

—— Page 4 ——

“I don’t know.”

“Tell me, please….”

Ajidahaka answered while remaining in place, but Millaiyen immediately spoke again, his voice strained.

Sinews stood out on Millaiyen’s hand, clenched with all his might. Ajidahaka, looking down at that tightly gripped fist, exhaled a sigh.

“I truly don’t know. From here on, it will simply be a race against time with her.”

“Then how exactly….”

“My mana was exhausted the moment I arrived here.”

Ajidahaka answered as calmly as he could manage.

Millaiyen’s crimson irises dilated. The corners of his lips trembled faintly. Ajidahaka deliberately turned his gaze away.

“What do you….”

“I was born leaning upon Carina’s life. When her life ends, mine ends as well. As she weakens, so do I. And….”

He fell silent. He had no desire to continue.

Coming here, I had resolved myself to death and harbored no regrets. Or rather, I should harbor none.

“How much of the mana you gave remains in Carina’s body?”

His voice trembled as he asked.

Millaiyen’s breathing grew ragged. His expression was twisted beyond description.

Witnessing that visage etched with anguish, Ajidahaka hesitated.

“Please… don’t hide anything more from me….”

“…All that remains for us is this beating heart.”

Ajidahaka barely managed to speak before descending the Staircase.

Millaiyen collapsed against the wall. He covered his eyes with his own arms and tilted his head back. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to suppress the dry, burning sensation, but it was futile.

—— Page 5 ——

It was beyond his control.

What streamed down could not be stopped.

“Why on earth….”

Why on earth did she do something wrong?

Millaiyen clenched his teeth, swallowing back a sob. I couldn’t go in. I didn’t have the courage to enter.

I didn’t have it in me to tell her it would be fine, that everything would be alright. I couldn’t lie anymore about things getting better.

The time I had never wished for was drawing inexorably

closer.

The world I had never wanted was already looming before my eyes.

My hands trembled violently. Millaiyen clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, but it made no difference.

“Please….”

Unable to voice the words that followed, I swallowed them down with difficulty, shaking my head.

Only after another thirty minutes had passed did Millaiyen finally compose himself and slowly rise from where he sat.

The turbulent emotions had subsided enough that I could maintain my composure. I pressed my eyes repeatedly with the handkerchief I held, cleared my throat, and drew in a breath.

After sitting on the floor for quite some time, Millaiyen carefully knocked on the door.

At the knock, some bustling sounds came from inside. Millaiyen did not open the door.

Unlike usual, he waited silently until he heard permission from within.

“C, come in.”

At the main voice from inside, he forced a smile to his lips and turned the doorknob. Inside, Carina Leopold sat awkwardly on the Bed, smiling strangely, with a damp cloth in hand and her eyes red and chafed beneath.

“I was held up with work, so I’m a bit late.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Um… how are you feeling?”

—— Page 6 ——

When Carina Leopold offered a casual remark that came to mind, Millaiyen let out a low chuckle and settled beside her. As always, he drew her into his embrace and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“I’m fine. I’m back.”

“Welcome back.”

Watching the soft curve of her lips, Millaiyen kissed the corner of her mouth again, then her cheek, her neck, gently nipping at the nape before trailing kisses along her shoulder. Only then did he slowly pull away from her.

“How was your day?”

“Seren built a castle out of sand. I did have one episode, but after taking the medicine Periel Kalos gave me, it subsided quickly.”

“…I see.”

“Would you like to see it? The sand castle Seren made is so cute—”

Carina Leopold stopped mid-rise from her seat. A sand castle was hovering before her eyes. The sand castle that should have been outside now appeared right in front of her.

Millaiyen stood up in surprise, and Carina Leopold froze.

“…Carina?”

“I-I’m sorry. I think I imagined it because I wanted to show you so badly. …I’m sorry.”

Carina Leopold apologized frantically and hastily reached out toward the sand castle.

The moment her hand touched it, the sand castle that should have been on the ground crumbled to pieces. Watching the room become nothing but dirt in an instant, Carina Leopold’s face filled with panic once more.

Millaiyen’s eyes darkened further as he watched her eyes dart about, uncertain where to look.

“I-I’m sorry. Let me clean it up—”

As she urgently searched for something to sweep with, something else appeared before her eyes. A dustpan.

—— Page 7 ——

Carina Leopold froze in the very posture of bending down slightly.

…

Millaiyen observed the situation and drew a slow breath. He quickly composed his expression and curved his lips into a smile.

He supported Carina Leopold’s thighs and lifted her into his arms.

He left the room. Moving slowly into the Corridor and walking toward the Staircase, Millaiyen spoke with feigned composure.

“It’s alright, Carina Leopold. You don’t need to do anything. I’ll have the servants handle it.”

“…Yes.”

Carina Leopold barely managed her response, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again.

There was no point in hiding it, even if she wanted to. This wasn’t something that could be resolved by concealment.

With so little time remaining, there was no use in hiding this. Having reached that conclusion, Carina Leopold tightened her grip on Millaiyen’s shoulder.

“…I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I’m sorry. …I’m sorry, Millaiyen.”

“It’s alright.”

“…I’m sorry. I… I…”

Carina Leopold’s voice trembled.

She seemed gripped by terror, her fear rooted in her own condition.

Carina Leopold steadied her ragged breathing and spoke again.

“I… right now… my abilities seem to be spiraling out of control.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————