Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 135: A Wrong World
The world fell away, replaced by wind and sky.
Eastiel had leapt, carrying them up the gothic face of the Scholomance Athenaeum, to a place where the rules of hallways and gossip held no sway.
They were atop one of the many stone spires that clawed at the perpetual twilight sky. This, of course, was not a place for students. It was a forgotten balcony clinging to the spine of the world.
The air here was a living thing. It was thin, cold, and sharp as a honed blade, scoured clean of the scents of ink, sweat, and perfume that clogged the halls below.
It carried instead the mineral scent of rain-washed stone, the distant, ozone tang of the magic that hummed in the school’s foundations, and the vast, empty fragrance of the sky itself.
The only thing that kept Eastiel from fracturing entirely was the sensation of Cecilia’s fingers carding slowly through his hair. The scent of her skin as he pressed his face against her. The soft yield of her body in his arms.
"I don’t like this place," he finally whispered. "I want to go home."
At some point, Cecilia had realized his turmoil wasn’t just anger. The rigid tension in his shoulders, the too-fast beat of his heart against her... it was raw, undiluted terror.
"I was wrong, East," she whispered into his hair, her voice thick with regret. "It’s all my fault. I should’ve handled this better. Prepared you. You don’t deserve to be thrown into this... I’m so sorry..."
"No." He shook his head against her chest. "Don’t apologize. I’m just... weak." He burrowed deeper, as if he could hide in the shelter of her. "If it was Brother Arkai, or Brother Oathran... they wouldn’t have... they wouldn’t be falling apart like this. They’d know what to do."
"Why are you comparing yourself to them? This is my fault, okay? I should have warned you. And I... I didn’t know you’d remember so quickly." She squeezed him tighter. "No, I should have known. Of course you would."
"I thought I could protect you from everything..." he whispered against her skin, and it made Cecilia’s eyes sting. "But I’m wrong again. I’m wrong. And I’m weak. I can’t fix it... I can’t fix the world for you. I can’t make you happy in it. I can’t... I can’t save you..."
DING!
[You’ve succeeded in the task: Uncover his secret!]
[Reward Rank 6]
- [5 Stars Skill Orb: Blacksmith]
Grant him enchanted blacksmithing skills!
DING!
[Unlock Rank 6 to gain this reward!]
[Would you like to roll?]
Ah.
So that was it. Eastiel’s secret was this. His overwhelming fear.
And the tasks... they could be unlocked out of order. The System only cared that the condition was met.
"Were you..." Eastiel’s voice was barely a whisper. "Were you forced to play this kind of game... to survive that night? The night you were supposed to... die?"
"No," Cecilia said, shaking her head gently against his. "It was... luck. A crazy, impossible stroke of luck. It was a gamble. I pulled a lever in the dark, and somehow... I won."
Hearing it, Eastiel raised his face. His eyes were glassy, unshed tears magnifying the gold, and the fear in them seemed to multiply, reflecting infinite terrible possibilities. "So you did... you almost... you were almost..."
Cecilia smiled, crushed. "Yes," she whispered back. "I was so scared. But not anymore."
She understood now that of her three husbands, Eastiel would be the only one who would react like this to whatever... this was.
"Then... about having three mates..." he ventured carefully, the question a minefield.
"Baby," she cut him off, her voice firm and solemn. "You know I’d rather die than be forced into something like that just to survive. No. I have the three of you not because of this power, and not because I needed it to live. I have you because I love you. And you love me."
"I didn’t mean... No, Cecilia," he grasped her shoulders, his fingers digging in with a desperate intensity. "Even if you had to do it to survive, you should have. You must. Survive. Survive no matter what. Use anything. Use anyone."
"But that would be wro—"
"So what if it’s wrong?" Eastiel snapped, the words a hiss that cut through the wind. "Be wrong, and live."
They locked eyes, and a single searing tear finally breached the dam, tracing a hot path down his cheek.
Cecilia couldn’t bear to let it fall. She moved, pressing her lips to the strong line of his jaw, then to the damp, salty track on his cheek, and finally, with utmost tenderness, to the closed lid of his eye, trying to kiss the pain back inside.
But he gently, firmly, pried himself away from her ministrations. He needed her to see, to understand. His hands came up, framing her face, his thumbs brushing her temples, holding her gaze captive in a cradle of calloused palms.
"Let me tell you one thing, Cecilia."
He leaned closer, until his forehead almost touched hers, his breath mingling with hers in the cold air.
"If you die," he whispered, each word measured, "even if it was the right thing to be... it’s still wrong."
Cecilia looked at him, seeing past the high school uniform, past the youthful face, to the soul of the man who had, from the very beginning, been ready to set the entire world ablaze to follow her to hell.
"If you die," he repeated, willing her to comprehend his truth, "the world will be wrong."
His golden eyes burned into hers.
"And a wrong world must perish."
DING!
[You’ve succeeded in the task: Make him confess to you!]
[Reward Rank 3]
- [5 Stars Weapon: Bully!Eastiel’s Brass Knuckle]
+50% ATK
DING!
[Unlock Rank 3 to gain this reward!]
[Would you like to roll?]
"So..."
BLAST!
A spear of white-gold lightning jagged down from the heavens, striking a distant pinnacle with a deafening crack.
RUMBLE—RUMBLE—BLAST!
Another bolt, closer this time, searing the air. The wind, already fierce, began to whip into a frenzy, howling around the stone gargoyles. The sky began to crackle.
In the heart of the gathering storm, Eastiel’s eyes never left hers. The fear was gone, burned away.
"Let’s destroy this wrong world."
His eyes started to glow, a liquid, molten gold. The tear tracks on his face vaporized into wisps of steam in the charged air—
"Mm. Fuck me," Cecilia smiled.
BLA—st?
The building cataclysm in the sky stuttered.
Eastiel’s face faltered.
...
...
...
"What?"
"Yes," Cecilia nodded. Her expression was serious. "The way to destroy this world is... uh... first, you need to kiss me. That’s one of the tasks."
She held up two fingers. "Then, you confess to me, which you just did, somehow..."
Apparently, declaring that the world was wrong if she ceased to exist counted as a love confession. Who knew?
"Then," a third finger joined the two, "you need to claim our relationship in front of everyone... make it crystal clear that we’re together. Publicly. Which, honestly, I think we just did back in the hallway? The ’hubby’ and ’baby’ bit... uhh, well, I hadn’t gotten the notification, so... I think we have to make it clear clear."
Eastiel blinked, the glow in his eyes completely guttered out. He stared at her fingers, dumbfounded.
"Then you fuck me." A fourth finger. "That one... let’s do it in private. Preferably somewhere not about to be struck by your lightning."
She looked meaningfully at the still-crackling, but now confused-looking sky.
"The last two..." A fifth and sixth finger, a peace sign she held with her other hand. "We already got them. You remembered our life outside of this world, and I’ve uncovered your secret. So you don’t need to worry about those. See? The path to annihilation is very structured."
She lowered her hands and beamed at him, proud to be helpful.
