Reincarnated As The Heroine?! I refuse!

88: Imhe's Imminent Death

Then she heard footsteps behind her. 

["I asked you two to head to the borders."] Her tone cold, her face expressionless, she uttered. Her ruby eyes expressed displeasure, and Oliver and Victor were slightly taken aback. They rarely saw her upset as she was quiet as a mouse when she preferred. 

He looked around to see only a beast in front of their sight. Then suddenly, it dawned on him. He glanced at Lea's back that seemed to reach out for the lone beast that continued to cry.

Oliver at the side observed the spectacle and could only mutter under his breath, "A humanoid beast... That's rare." He was not able to recognize the beast, and with that, Lea could only slightly wince.

The tragic heroine who chose the path of destruction. But unable to move forward due to her grudge with Lea's existence. She must have felt threatened. So threatened that her mind was engulfed with selfishness, irrevocable by everyone.

Lea continued to think of what Imhe's mind must have gone through as she went about from one nation to another. Helpless and confused. Her life would have been so different if given the chance to mature. But it was always obstructed, and when chance finally came, it was ignored as she too had changed. With a grunt, Lea focused her ruby eyes on the beast.

["Imhe."] She called. However, it proved ineffective as there was no response. Thus, she walked towards it with precaution.

["Imhe.'] She called once again, deeper into Imhe's consciousness. Then Imhe stirred, very slowly. It had been a while since any sound other than her own was heard. Her bloody eyes widened.

"................" 

Her mouth remained open, revealing sharp teeth. The glint in her eyes was filled with reproach. Without a word, she leaped from where she crouched and covered the distance between herself and Lea in a few seconds. Electricity surrounding her continued to zap and sizzle out and on. Landing softly just before Lea, the beast Imhe curiously looked deep into Lea's crimson eyes.

With one swift wipe, Lea had removed all horns on Imhe's head that caused everyone to flinch, and in the next moment, a beast's cry resounded. The volume was too powerful that Oliver could feel blood dripping from his ears, while Victor wittingly covered his furry pointy ears a second before the sound exploded. But even then, his usually indifferent expression cracked.

Contrary to all, Lea remained placid, but her ruby eyes were determined.

Where the horns were, blood flowed. Black and murky. Then more horns sprouted.

["Imhe."] She called, making the beast flinch. However, after Lea's display of strength, she appeared reluctant to approach. The new horns already solidified.

Lea never knew how to return Imhe to her human identity, however, her theory told her that if the current Imhe still retained a few human emotional imprint, then it was possible to bring forth a new entity in place. For whatever those emotions were, Lea could only experiment...

The next moment, Imhe could only see darkness. Gradually, she felt anxious. Time seemed to go faster within the void, and she felt so alone. So very lonely. She didn't like that, thus in protest, she cried once again. For she knew nothing but wallow in her misery.

Slowly, she could faintly remember nostalgic feelings that she must have forgotten over time. Feeling all alone with nobody to care nor love her for what she was. Her dormant heart ached, so painful and sour. But with every beat coupled with her past memories, something within her begun to bud.

Outside the void, Lea could clearly see what was going through Imhe's mind. She felt the latter was confused and struggling. She also felt the underlying emotions of a child that was abandoned. Deep within, Imhe was blaming the world for what happened to her parents and to her life. If she could only attempt another chance at living, and this time, with a more selfless mind, then she might be happier.

•  •  •

In the middle of what was going on, Bright finally caught up and what he saw was a huge mass of dark orb. Before it was Lea, standing still and observant. From what he could gather, Lea was focused and did not want to be disturbed. Thus he looked around, scanned their surroundings and noticed the bloody mess a beast could've done. Many human carcasses lied on the paved ground. He felt his insides turn.

Then he noticed movements in one of the buildings. Glancing at Oliver and Victor, Bright shrugged and walked towards one of the suspicious houses. It was likely a residence area, and whatever that was hiding was concerned of what was happening between Lea and whatever that was with the dark orb.

Despite the bloody path, Bright walked on.

•  •  •

Noticing Bright moving towards a certain location, Oliver was slightly worried. Thus, after a minute of thought, he decided to follow after him while cleaning up the blood on his ears. His hearing was not top-notch yet as the wound has yet to close, but his eyes were working perfectly fine for looking after Bright.

Victor was left to stare at Lea's progress. He was neither scared anymore, nor wary. 

•  •  •

Within the void, Imhe continued to wallow in her despair. Regret flooded her heart. Her mind cried for comfort. She wondered why she was born in this world at all if she was not meant to achieve any happiness. Then she heard a faint voice. So faint that it took Imhe several moments to distinguish the sound from her own.

["Your life is your choice. You are free to decide your own path."]

Was what the voice said, but Imhe refused to believe such things. There was no such thing as freedom. She had seen them all. People slaved and slaughtered for no apparent reason but their birth. It was all too unfair. As she held her non-existent ears, she wondered why she could still hear the voice.

["Let me help you."]

Was all it said, and that was enough to lift most burden in Imhe's heart. She needed someone to tell her she was not alone. She badly wanted someone to look at her and see how much suffering and loneliness she was going through. She knew she was acting irrational most of the time, but that was to gain attention. 

She just wanted someone to look at her, and only her.

["I understand. So let me hold you..."]

At Lea's thought, the void disappeared, which indicated Imhe's resolution. She realized what she wanted and what she needed, and once she opened her eyes, she realized whose voice it was that had been helping her. ".......Y-You...."

With a nod, Lea smiled with her arms open wide for Imhe. 

Despite everything, Imhe shook her head in denial, but Lea remained where she was.

After another moment, uncontrollable tears slid down Imhe's soft skin. She was human again, and someone was willing to accept her. Despite everything, Lea was willing to accept her for all her selfishness. 

As if hearing her thoughts, Lea said, ["You need to straighten up yourself, but so do I. Let's help each other out."]

Neither inferior nor superior, Lea wanted equality. She knew Imhe would reluctantly accept such a bargain. And true to her analysis, Imhe begrudgingly nodded her head and slowly walked to accept Lea's embrace.

Once she was there, Imhe couldn't believe the comfort it brought her.

She was enveloped with warmth that she had never experienced before. Then she looked into Lea's unusual ruby eyes, and she could see herself reflected in them. Her horns remained, but it was a small price to pay for getting her human consciousness back.

With her head on Lea's chest, she could hear the latter's calm heartbeat. It was so calm that she felt her consciousness slowly drifting away. Then she slept.

As soon as Imhe gave in to her sleep, every essences that she forcefully absorbed were released. The force was so great it broke her core in an instant, and Lea was left with nothing but a lifeless body in her arms.

Her heart stopped for a moment.