Limited Extra Time - Chapter 63

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

Carina Leopold jolted awake from her deep slumber, her body curling into a tight ball. In an instant, a piercing pain seized her chest, and her breathing became ragged and labored.

“Gasp…!”

Carina Leopold gripped the sheets with all her strength. Her pale hands drained of all color, growing even more pallid as her whimpers intensified.

This was happening despite having taken her medicine the night before.

Her vision flickered white, and her breathing grew increasingly harsh. She buried her face in the pillow, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

From between her clenched teeth, anguished moans escaped without restraint.

“Ugh…”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

I knew that if I endured this, it would eventually pass—but not knowing how much longer I had to wait was the cruelest part of all.

It felt as though someone had shoved me into a dark abyss, and I was falling endlessly into its depths.

“It’s fine… it’s fine…”

The words I barely managed to whisper between my teeth were meant for myself alone.

It’s fine. I’m still fine, I told myself. It was simply another episode, arriving as it always did.

“I can still…”

endure this.

Besides, once this night passes, Millaiyen will return. I wish he could be here with me… but I don’t want him to see me like this.

“Sigh…”

The necklace is gone too—Periel Kalos took it to analyze it.

There was nothing that could offer solace. My restless hands wandered aimlessly across the sheets.

With each wrinkle that formed in the fabric, Carina Leopold’s hands grew increasingly pale.

Cold sweat dripped relentlessly. Carina Leopold drew a ragged breath as she barely managed to push herself upright on the bed.

Her moisture-laden gaze fixed upon the brush she had placed on the nightstand.

Her breathing remained labored, yet she stared at the brush with the fevered intensity of a refugee dying of thirst.

Eyes gleaming with something akin to madness

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trembling, she reached for the brush and grasped it.

“I must paint….”

Carina Leopold’s pale blue eyes grew slightly clouded.

“I need to… I must….”

Her halting words sounded strangely distorted.

With one hand clutching at my heart and the other gripping the brush, I slowly rose to my feet.

I turned the doorknob.

Even as I expelled ragged breaths, I

climbed the stairs slowly.

The very top of Leopold Manor—now my studio.

With a face twisted in pain, I pushed open the Studio door with effort.

The lingering scent of oil paint wafted through the air.

The moment I inhaled that fragrance, the pain subsided. I leaned my back slowly against the wall, gripping the brush tighter in my hand.

“Ah….”

I blinked slowly. The terrible pain had completely subsided as though it had never existed.

If I painted, the pain would disappear. But my life would be consumed in its place.

“The Creators lived short lives because they performed too many miracles and paid a terrible price for them.”

Periel Kalos’s voice echoed in my mind. Suddenly, I began to understand.

Why they had no choice but to do so.

When a sweet fruit hung before one’s eyes, who could resist reaching out to grasp it?

“…You’re telling me to paint?”

The canvas resting on the easel gleamed in the moonlight, beckoning me. I moved slowly toward it.

I never knew the pungent scent of oil paint could smell so sweet.

Only one figure filled my mind. I squeezed the paint and

began to move my brush slowly. Moonlight poured down upon me like scattered powder.

I didn’t need to turn on the lights; the canvas before the moonlight provided enough visibility. I attached two canvases together and slowly reached out my hand.

With my lips pressed firmly together, I moved my hand ceaselessly. As my brush moved across the canvas, color bloomed

forth.

After repeating this dozens of times, form began to emerge, and after hundreds and thousands of repetitions, the outline took shape.

.

Despite the window being slightly open on the bright early winter night, sweat

trickled down my chin.

At last, I set down my brush.

A massive Herta occupied the blank canvas formed by joining two together.

It was a magical beast whose eyes gleamed with danger, brimming with peril.

“…Why did I want to paint this?”

Carina Leopold tilted her head.

Her mind had been consumed entirely by the image of the vanished Herta, and she had painted it instinctively without understanding her own reasons.

It had simply felt as though she had to.

‘It doesn’t hurt.’

There was no pain in her heart whatsoever.

Carina Leopold drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her breathing was neither labored nor distressing.

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Yet as the canvas began to radiate light, her deep blue eyes were consumed by a golden shimmer.

In an instant, they transformed into eyes of an otherworldly golden hue.

They were more vivid and lustrous than those of any beast.

Herta slowly revealed itself from within the canvas.

It was far more massive and far more formidable than what she had witnessed in daylight. Carina Leopold pressed her forehead and staggered back a step.

‘…I’m dizzy.’

It felt as though someone were drawing out a fragment of her very soul.

The horn of the Herta that emerged caught the swaying Carina Leopold. It appeared twice as large as the Herta she had created before.

It was fortunate the Studio was spacious—otherwise, it would have torn through the roof.

“…How do I send it back.”

I understand that I need to get it outside, but I’m not certain about the best way to do so.

While I deliberated, Herta fully revealed herself.

Crack—the canvas beneath her foot warped into a shapeless mass. She was far too large.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the sound of alarm bells ringing from afar, Carina Leopold lifted her head. Simultaneously, the outside began to grow chaotic.

The sounds of Knights moving echoed from outside, and lights ignited throughout the Leopold Manor.

The silent dawn had become a cacophony.

Grasping Herta’s nasal horn helped ease the dizziness somewhat. Only then did Carina Leopold manage to stand on her own feet.

Herta’s lifeless eyes, now facing me directly, locked precisely onto Carina Leopold.

“What could be happening?”

Carina Leopold whispered while stroking Herta’s face with her arm.

Herta, letting out a low cry, lifted Carina Leopold with her horn and placed her upon her back, then charged toward the Terrace.

The massive body landed more lightly than expected. Yet the tremor of the ground could not be prevented. A small earthquake erupted from where Herta’s feet touched down.

“Wait—!”

Before she could cry out further, Herta leaped upward once more with tremendous force.

Contrary to her massive frame, Herta soared through the air in a graceful bound, clearing the Duke’s Estate wall.

“Where are you going—!”

Herta’s thoughts flashed through my mind before I could even ask.

Carina Leopold, clinging to one of the jagged ridges of the bumpy shell on Herta’s back, opened her eyes wide.

“Are you curious about what I’m doing?”

Herta, carrying me on her back, was now heading toward the Castle Wall.

Toward the Castle Wall built to prevent magical beast attacks. Because I was curious about what I needed to do.

“…Everything’s fine, but people will be startled when they see you. Could you take me

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to a place where there’s no one around?”

Since I didn’t know where her ears were, I whispered earnestly near her face, and Herta let out a low growl before sharply changing direction.

Surprisingly, whether Herta had good athleticism or a light body, her movements were nimble and felt less ponderous.

‘Is Herta always like this?’

Herta’s weight was certainly not light. Yet her landings were somehow quiet, and though small

tremors like earthquakes rippled through the ground, she didn’t destroy or damage her surroundings.

“So you can jump this high.”

Herta leaped again in front of the Castle Wall.

I thought it would be difficult to climb in one go, and as expected, Herta planted her sharp claws into the Castle Wall once, then leaped again.

“Hup…!”

Carina Leopold drew in a sharp breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and lowered her body.

Herta finally stopped moving, her claws dug into the Castle Wall. Her massive form stood firm on one side of the wall.

Crash—! Bang—! Crunch—!

At the ominous sounds reaching her ears, Carina Leopold blinked once. Though Herta, whom I rode, wasn’t moving, the Castle Wall shook violently.

Clinging to Herta, I carefully poked my head out.

Carina Leopold’s golden eyes widened as she twisted slightly between Herta’s ridge-like back and stretched her neck forward.

“…Herta?”

Though obscured by darkness, the carapace and horn glinted faintly where moonlight touched them.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The alarm bell rang without pause, and torches ignited across the grounds. Knights jolted awake and rushed toward the commotion in the distance.

Herta, possessed of keen intelligence, crouched low within the shadows where she would not be easily noticed.

“A magical beast! A magical beast has appeared!”

“Herta!”

“Damn it, most of our capable knights are already deployed on the pre-emptive subjugation!”

“The Castle Wall is going to collapse!”

“What kind of strength is…!”

The dimly lit Territory was suddenly flooded with torchlight.

The inhabitants of the Territory began appearing one by one, and the commotion grew far greater than expected.

“Herta, why are they so angry?”

I felt the raw fury of Herta’s assault on the Castle Wall as she snorted heavily, and it ached.

Killing intent and malice saturated the air. Herta shook her head at my question.

“Everyone, calm yourselves.”

At the low voice, I lifted my head. It was quiet, yet possessed tremendous force.

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