Chapter 55

Chapter 55

“Leonhard…!”

Celine put Ringzor aside and waved widely as tears of relief filled the blue-gray eyes. After just a few minutes, Leonhard, gasping for breath, came to her.

“I… you…”

A few words came out of Leonhard’s mouth.

“I, I am fine. Leonhard was suddenly out of sight…!”

“Really?”

As he asked that, his body, which had been in a tense state, was noticeably stabilized.

“If you’re okay, that’s all right.”

While Celine was holding her neck for a moment, he glace around her.

“Do I have to go up there?”

“…I don’t know.”

Her voice was drenched in exhaustion. Celina had told Leonhard several times that she didn’t know. However, it was the first time she felt as ignorant of this world as she was now.

“Don’t be disappointed. Being a prophet doesn’t mean you can know every future.”

“….”

“Most of the prophets I have seen have been scammers. More than half of your prophecies have been right so far, so have confidence.”

“Leonhard…”

Celine looked into his sweat-drenched face.

“Thank you.”

“I would like to hear you say thank you in a normal sound.”

She thought that those words should be hers, not Leonhard’s, though she smiled instead of saying it. Seeing that, he extended her hand towards her.

“Get up. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

Celine held Leonhard’s firm hand tightly. It was such a strong hand that she had the urge to never let go of this hand again.

After a while, they again reached an ascent.

“It’s different from before.”

As Leonhard looked bewildered, she was no different. It was because the mountain, which seemed like it could be climbed on foot, had suddenly now turned into a sheer cliff, soaring above the clouds instead.

“Going back… It will be difficult.”

The ground, which was like rags, turned into boiling lava, and there was nowhere to set foot on ashes.

Celine bit her lip.

…There was only one option.

“I think we should go up there.”

“This…?”

Leonhard walked over to the cliff and put his hand on it. The lava that flowed down seemed to be uneven, as if it had hardened, so it wasn’t impossible to climb up. Still, as she climbed up, if Celine got exhausted and fell, she may die.

“Can’t we go up while destroying this?”

“I don’t know.”

At that, Leonhard pulled Rashir out and carefully slammed it into the cliff.

“….?”

Rashir didn’t make a single scratch on the cliff. Although he pushed in with more force, it was the same.

“I guess we just have to climb by hand.”

“Did you see that in your dream, too?”

“…No.”

Leonhard wrestled with the cliff for a long time, but in the end, he didn’t get what he wanted.

“I think your guess is correct.”

Celine, who was well rested, approached the cliff. Her mind was muddled, thinking that she had to climb up the cliff so high that it was invisible because the tip was covered with clouds. But, they have reached the point of no return.

They had to get through this hurdle somehow.

‘…At least I’m with Leonhard.’

She recalled the despair when she realized that Leonhard wasn’t with her.

“Do you have to go up here, too?”

“What?”

“If it’s okay for me to go up alone…”

Celine shook her head at his words.

She would never know if she was going up alone, so Leonhard going up alone wouldn’t do her any good. What’s more, now that the stage was clearly out of what she already knew, it was better not to venture out.

“I think… I think we should both go up.”

Without further hesitation, she stepped into the crevice of the cliff. Leonhard also tried to climb up the cliff right next to her, but he hesitated for a while.

‘Ah…’

Celine realized.

It was the same as when she came skipping the lava pit. This time, the way up the cliff was only visible to her. She thought that, of course, but was met with Leonhard’s backlash.

“If you go first, and meet a monster…!”

“I have a Ringzor too. I can do a little bit of guarding myself. And…”

A smile appeared on Celine’s face that Leonhard couldn’t see as she continued, “…I feel more confident that Leonhard has my back.”

“….”

Leonhard sighed and climbed the cliff, stepping behind her.

After a while.

Celine had reached such a height that she felt scared that she would get hurt if she fell. The time when she confidently held on to the crack as she could see it was over and cold sweats began to form on her temples.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, no. I’m a little tired.”

“Go slowly.”

Celine took a slow, deep breath in her batting heart, trying to calm it down. It was because the moment her hands or legs trembled and she fell, she would plunge herself.

She glanced up slowly.

‘…I can definitely climb up more.’

All the cracks in her eyes seemed easy to climb.

At the thought, she started moving again. After a long while, a new set of challenges arose as she approached in half-trance.

“….!”

Her blue-gray eyes widened, and she trembled in fear. It was because a smooth cliff appeared that she could not possibly climb.

While there were clefts of rocks and clumps of hardened lava scattered around her that she was able to hold on to and climb, it seemed that she would risk her life to move in the current situation without any safety equipment.

Still, she couldn’t come down now.

If she went down, where would she go…?

Celine glanced down. Under her was Leonhard, who followed her steadily, and a cliff so high that she could barely see the bottom of it continued.

“Leonhard…”

“What’s the matter?”

“I can’t go up.”

“Celine.”

Leonhard’s voice didn’t look like he was bewildered, nor did he show any fear. Rather, it was a cold, stern voice, nothing different from his usual voice.

“Believe in your abilities.”

Suddenly, a self-sneering laugh swelled in Celine’s stomach.

…Ability?

In the present, she had no ability. There was only Ringzor’s power that Leonhard had bestowed upon him by the Emperor, and her memories from the gameplay where she tricked him in the name of prophecy…

“…Really, I can’t go up.”

She could feel Leonhard lift his neck slightly and look over her.

“I think we can go up high enough.”

“Can, can you see it…?”

“Yes. Can’t you go over there?”

At the end of Leonhard’s chin gesture, there was a mass of lava that she could only catch by throwing her body.

“I, I feel like I’m going to fall…”

“I’ll catch you. Isn’t that why I’m behind you?”

“Then, Leonhard…!”

“Don’t belittle me. Because I can climb even with you on my back.”

Celine closed her eyes tightly and opened them.

‘…Leonhard is right.’

If she couldn’t go down, she had to go up somehow. Despite that, she didn’t want to risk her life and throw her body. More than dying, she feared that if she died, she would have to come up here again from the beginning.

Celine fumbled her hands here and there.

‘…There is a gap.’

Although it was hard to see with the naked eye, she felt a gap she could hold with her fingers. Celine cautiously removed her left foot and began to rub against the cliff for an invisible crack in her eyes. She moved as she slowly climbed up the wall slowly, but stably.

Things were a little easier for Leonhard. He instinctively found the gaps that she had not been able to find, and he was climbing side by side with her.

Her tight breathing gradually returned to its place, and they began to climb at a rapid pace. Finally, the flat ground was strewn at her fingertips, and she clenched her teeth, lifting her scruffy body up.

‘It’s cool…’

There was a light mist over the cliff, and the cool, moist air was felt.

But, there was no time to enjoy the moisture.

Celine glanced down at the dizzying cliff to help Leonhard. She didn’t dare disturb him by yelling, but she wanted to let him know that she had finally reached the end.

“….!’

Exactly at that moment, the cliff that Leonhard was holding quickly collapsed.

She was so shocked that she didn’t even scream. A mixture of astonishment and horror, her whole body trembled and her stomach rumbled. Celine barely came to her senses and looked down to see that Leonhard was hanging on to the collapsed cliff with Rashir nailed to it.

She was not in a position to be relieved that he did not fall.

His hands, which were white at the knuckles from holding the hilt, showed how much pressure Leonhard was under.

‘If he were okay, he would have reassured me.’

However, he didn’t say a word now. There were two possibilities… It was hard enough to spit out a word, or he had nothing to say.

Celine touched her forehead with her trembling hand.

‘What… what should I do.’

She couldn’t think of a single way to save Leonhard. Ringzor, unlike Rashir, could only be used for attack. In the current situation, an attack would only make Leonhardt more endangered.

…Magic.

The word that popped into her head at first glance seemed to make her laugh. Of course, if she had magic, saving Leonhard would be a breeze. However, now that she was caught in the rebound, the thought of magic was nothing but a futile regret.

Although she knew it all too well, Celine could not stop her thoughts of magic.

Her longing for the power to save Leonhard grew in an instant, and it took control of Celine and would not let her go.

‘If only I could use magic…!’

Celine’s eyes filled with tears that she didn’t know how many times it was now. She came here to unravel Leonhard’s grim future. Nonetheless, on the contrary, that move was threatening his life even more.

All these decisions were made by her, and she was responsible for the current situation.

…Regardless, she couldn’t do anything.

It was because she was just an incompetent who couldn’t even be called a wizard because there was the rebound from the warlock.

‘Leonhard will die. Because of me…’

Click.

It felt like something was breaking in her head.

Goosebumps erupted from her head to her toes, and strength filled her entire body. Celine knew what this feeling was, and she knew better than anyone. Her magic power was filling her whole body.

She moved before she could even think of why and how she did it.

In an instant, a colossal ice staircase grew from her feet, where she stood, to the cliff on which Leonhard hung. The magic engulfed her like a mighty whirlwind, giving her a shield and her spear. However, now, all that mattered to her was that she had saved him with her magic.

Leonhard looked in disbelief and ran up the stairs to reach Celine, who was shaking.

“Celine…”

She hugged Leonhard before he could speak his words.