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Chapter 126: What’s Left To Protect

Chapter 126: What’s Left To Protect

The tension was palpable and everyone’s intentions were now clear. Freya faced Agharita, her eyes showing that she would not hesitate to commit a taboo.Agharita sighed and lowered her weapon.

"Freya... You know this thing has been killing innocent people for months."

"And I’m sure we all already know that the one responsible isn’t Dora, so stop calling him a thing."

They looked at each other momentarily until Agharita shook her head with a smile.

"Yeah, that’s not him, he’s very innocent, typical of those who weren’t there to see what happened that day."

She held her dagger to her face, the blade glinting.

"Look, I won’t kill him, I don’t think I can anyway, I just want to cast a spell on him to weaken him."

A terrible music to someone’s ears.

"N-Nooo! Don’t come near me!!!" Dora shouted, to everyone’s surprise.

Freya, surprised, turned to him.

"D-Dora? Wait, it’s alright, I won’t let her..."

"Don’t touch me!!!" He shouted as Freya directed her hand towards him.

The scene left the girl speechless and even Zuri was confused. Dora lowered his head, starting to tremble again.

"Please... Please stop using your skills on me... I’m tired of this... I’m tired of hurting people..."

He crouched down, hiding his face. Everyone looked at him in astonishment, nothing about him recalled the phenomenon he was before, especially his reaction to someone close to him.

Freya, stunned, let her energy fade away.

"Dora?"

She felt her strength disappear, more affected by three simple words. Footsteps came closer and the origin knelt in front of Dora.

"It’s okay, I understand a little," Candace said.

She brought her hand to his cheek and, despite his frightened expression, she touched him.

Dora closed his eyes in terror, then looked at her in confusion, seeing that nothing was happening.

"It’s okay, see? No energy, you’re safe now, right?"

She gave him a warm smile, causing another rare sight for everyone as tears appeared on Dora.

He lowered his head, letting drops fall onto his legs, and Candace gave him a comforting hug.

"It’s okay, it’s okay now, we found you, you’re not alone anymore... sorry I’m so late."

He cried profusely, without a sound, then after a few seconds, he grabbed her arms with such little force that she didn’t notice him.

"Please, I don’t want to hurt anyone, I know you want to stop me, I know what I did... But if you try to take revenge on me... he will take over..."

Candace looked at him for a moment and gave him a tired smile.

"He?... So after all, you are still two people inside?... well, it’s something that tires me to see, but at the same time, thanks to that you are here... Dora.

She rested her forehead against his and patted his head. After a moment, she stood up and turned to Agharita.

"I think it’s clear? This one is not Greed, but the one he spoke of, the combination of all the Personas, the real Anesidora. If you do anything to him, Greed will wake up and you know that we don’t stand a chance."

Agharita remained silent and sighed in disappointment.

"Same for everyone, send the information to the HQ, Dora is still a human and the Sin will take over if any kind of energy comes into contact with him."

"Miss Candace, with all due respect, aren’t you just protecting him because he was your pupil?" A man stood forward.

Most people seemed to agree with him and all kept their distance from Dora. Candace crossed her arms.

"Tell me, if I give you permission, can you kill him?"

"UH?!" Freya, Zuri, and Agharita shouted.

The man seemed confused too and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean? Kill? You want me to kill him?!"

"No, of course, but since you’re so against him, then you will kill him, won’t you? If you believe he is dangerous, then why keep him alive? Just do it! Easy! But the boy says that he isn’t the one dangerous, and if you use a skill on him or come close to killing him, it will wake the demon, then I have no choice but to leave with the others and let you deal with him. If he is telling the truth, then you will die, and if he is lying and he is really the demon, then you will also die. But if you shut your mouth and become an NPC, we all die, so what’s your choice?"

She clenched his fist and looked away in frustration, facing the dean’s smile.

"Good, now if we’re all ready, let’s go. We’ve wasted too much time."

Freya and Zuri nodded and helped Dora up. Around them, the emissaries did not hide their displeasure, but as someone once said, this world was imperfect, and the greatest criminal could be a treasure if he was dangerous enough.

Dora, whose gaze was paralyzed, hesitated to walk and felt nauseous when Candace’s voice finally made him point out his greatest fear.

"Dora, are you fully awakened now?" She asked without turning her back on him, her arms still crossed.

Dora understood the meaning of his question and bit his lips.

"Yes."

Freya and Zuri, each holding one of his arms, opened their mouths. Candace stood still for a moment and slowly lowered her head.

"I see... so that means Midgard is dead... hmph... well... that was unexpected... I was sure that snake would never let go of the first body she got in millennia... hehe, curse her, she made a liar out of me."

Dora’s eyes hide behind his hair, hiding another streak of tears. Zuri’s eyes twitched and Freya looked up at the sky. They knew it was the greatest possibility, but human nature forced them to remain hopeful.

Candace scratched her nose, this time putting her hands behind her back.

"So... I guess Ely is dead too... right?"

The weight on Freya and Zuri increased as Dora fell to her knees. Both girls quickly crouched down to help him up, tears streaming down their eyes.

Candace didn’t look behind her, the noise doing all the talking. She looked up at the sun.

"I see... that settles everything then... eh... it’s funny..."

Behind her, Freya and Zuri were trying to wipe away Dora’s tears, but couldn’t concentrate as their own eyes failed them.

"Keep your head up Dora, you are the last person to blame... You are just another victim of this cruel world... it wasn’t..."

"I am not a victim!" Dora’s voice echoed in the forest.

Fists on the ground, his body trembled with emotion. Candace slowly turned towards him with a tired smile.

"It’s not up to you, right now I need you to be the victim in front of everyone. I trust you, but they won’t."

"I don’t deserve your trust either!"

His body slowly stopped shaking, raising his head he glanced at Freya and Zuri respectively.

"I don’t deserve your love, I don’t deserve your forgiveness... not me... because I shouldn’t be here."

He looked at the dean with anger building in his eyes.

"On this day, in this terrible battle, these fierce heroes perished to protect their people... Saint Peters, Saint Angelo, Saint Theodore, guild members... Elizabeth Balder... Midgard serpent..."

A tear fell from his left eye.

"Anesidora Carper."