The frozen air enveloping the battlefield felt as though it were crystallizing within the lungs. Amidst the vast expanse of ice, the oppressive silence was suddenly shattered by the man's scream, a sound so raw and hollow it echoed with pure agony.
"Why?!" the pink-haired man cried out again. His voice was hoarse, cracking under the weight of a profound despair. "Why didn't you ever tell me?! You're a complete bastard, Arvin!"
Hearing his master's name screamed with such piercing grief caused Alrain's heart to skip a beat. His instincts took over instantly. Without a second thought, Alrain blurred through the frigid air, moving at a speed that turned the world into a freezing haze.
However, as he reached the epicenter of the ice, Alrain came to a jarring halt. The soles of his boots ground harshly against the frozen earth, creating a shrill, agonizing screech.
Alrain froze. His breath hitched in his throat, and time seemed to grind to a halt around him. His eyes widened, fixed upon a sight he had never dared to imagine, even in his darkest nightmares.
Right before his eyes, sprawled upon the cold, frozen ground, was the blue-haired man he loved more than his own life. He lay motionless. His cloak was shredded, and the formidable aura of life that once radiated from his sturdy frame was gone.
Alrain's world collapsed in an instant. The suffocating grief immediately mutated into an explosive, white-hot rage. His blood boiled. Without a word of warning, his right leg swung with full force, charged with the power of wind and lightning, slamming into the side of the pink-haired man kneeling beside his master's corpse.
Thud! Crack!
The sickening sound of breaking bones rang out. The man's body was launched into the air before crashing down and skidding dozens of meters across the frozen ground, leaving a long, jagged scar in the ice.
"You bastard!" Alrain hissed. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving. His eyes burned with a murderous fire, as if he wanted to tear the man apart where he lay. "I'll make sure you die by my hand right here!"
Alrain took up a fighting stance, waiting for the man to get up and retaliate. But what happened next was entirely unexpected.
The pink-haired man only coughed weakly, fresh blood dripping from the corner of his lips to stain the ice beneath him. Instead of fighting back or defending himself, he did nothing. He simply sat there in resignation, his eyes dull and fading, as if he had been waiting for, and was ready to embrace whatever fate came for him.
"Do whatever you wish... I won't fight back." the man said, his voice faint and hollow. "I no longer have any desire to oppose you."
Hearing that answer, so heavy with hopelessness, Alrain ground his teeth together. His clenched fists slowly relaxed. Striking a man who had already thrown away his own will to live would bring nothing back. Alrain turned his head away, dispelling his magic sword and ignoring the man as he walked toward his master's body.
Alrain knelt beside Arvin's remains. His hands, usually so steady when gripping a blade, trembled violently as he touched his master's skin, which was now as cold as the ice surrounding them.
With excruciating care, he cradled his master's head in his lap, stroking the slightly disheveled blue hair with a touch so tender it bordered on reverence.
His defenses finally shattered. The tears he had been holding back flooded out, streaming down his cheeks and falling onto his master's face, whose eyes were closed in a peaceful, eternal sleep.
"Why did it have to end like this, My Lord...?" Alrain whispered, his voice breaking into a sob filled with sorrow and frustration. "After this war was over... I wanted to make you my husband. Why did you have to leave me?"
Alrain continued to caress his master's face, his heart heavy with regret. He cursed himself for arriving late, for letting those pathetic enemies slow his path. After allowing himself to be consumed by grief for a moment, Alrain looked up. His gaze sharpened again, piercing the pink-haired man who remained silent in the distance.
"Answer me!" Alrain roared, his voice echoing through the silent, icy wasteland. "Are you the one who killed Lord Arvin?!"
The man slowly raised his face, which was masked in tears and desolation. "Yes... it was I who killed him." he answered, his voice trembling with a pain he couldn't hide.
Alrain's jaw tightened. "You bastard! Are you... Allen?" he demanded, seeking confirmation of the one name that had always been his master's greatest weakness.
"Yes, I am Allen."
Hearing that, Alrain's world seemed to stop again, replaced by a storm of unbearable emotion. He stared at the pink-haired man with a gaze that was a chaotic blend of uncontrollable rage, deep frustration, and a soul-searing regret.
With agonizing gentleness, Alrain laid his master's head back onto the frozen earth. He stood up and began to walk toward Allen, his footsteps heavy and menacing.
"Do you know?" Alrain said through gritted teeth, starting the confrontation as he closed the distance. His voice was low, vibrating with a rage that was on the verge of erupting. "Lord Arvin lived in a constant, agonizing state of regret after you began to hate him. Do you know what he did behind that cold mask of his? He would always hold onto an academy uniform... the one he said belonged to you!"
Allen's eyes widened in shock. His body tensed on the ice, speechless as he heard a secret he had never suspected.
"I tried... I tried with everything I had to wash that regret from his heart, but it was all in vain!" Alrain continued, his voice rising, pouring out all the pain of his unrequited love. "He loved you so deeply that I, who stood faithfully by his side and risked my life for him, was never even acknowledged! Even... even when I lowered my pride and confessed my feelings and intentions to him, he only met me with coldness. He was harsh to me because his heart was locked away only for you!"