The Emperor Is My Brother's Best Friend
Ch. 96

"Rose, right now I need to get you as far away from here as possible!"

Wells grabbed ahold of Rose's arm to guide her to safety, but she gently shook off his hand.

"Rose!"

She heard the sound of Wells desperately crying and calling her name from behind, but Rose left him behind and ran towards Russell and Elliot, who rested in a standoff.

She couldn't escape.

We can't let that monster destroy Tristan, brother!

Rose kicked out her foot, propelling herself forward. She'd never felt stronger.

Her body felt lighter than ever.

Russell and Elliot, who were taking a step back while glaring and evaluating each other, turned their heads at the same time as if they sensed Rose's presence.

"Rose?!"

Russell's face brightened as he discovered Rose, as if he had just witnessed a miracle.

In contrast, Elliot's expression grew cold, and his features hardened as he took in the girl who had died.

He seemed unable to believe that Rose, whom he had killed with his own two hands, was breathing once more.

As she got closer to Russell, Rose shouted at him.

"Your Majesty! Abaddon's soul...!!!"

We need to reseal the soul!

That was what Rose wanted to say, but before her voice reached Russell, the unexpected happened.

Black fog began to surround the mirror fragment that Ilya had broken. 

It expanded and contracted, brimming with an ominous energy, then suddenly rushed toward Rose.

"Rose! Be careful!"

As soon as Russell's warning reached her ears, Rose turned her head toward the approaching black fog. 

Russell, who had been facing off against Elliot, quickly turned his back on the enemy and ran towards Rose.

Rose stopped her approach toward Russell, covered her head, and closed her eyes tightly. 

She didn't have enough time left to think of how to avoid the fog. 

Her vision darkened, and she heard the sound of something heavy being stabbed.

"Your Majesty...?"

Rose slowly opened her fluttering eyelids.

There must have been an object within the black fog, and Russell's sword had pierced right through its center.

At first glance, it seemed like the roar of a monster could be heard emanating from the fog.

...Had His Majesty stopped the fog's movement?

It took her a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. 

The liquid that had flowed out of the mist spread onto the marble floor of the banquet hall and melted instantly.

"Ahh!"

As the ground beneath them disappeared, not only Rose but also Russell, who was nearby, fell into an undreground chamber.

In the midst of the unexpected fall, Rose suddenly raised her head. 

A pile of rubble that had fallen off the Imperial Palace floor was descending upon her.

If things continued like this, they would be crushed to death by that debris.

The thought sent shivers down her spine. 

Just in her moment of despair, someone pulled Rose's body closer.

Rose and the remnants of the Imperial Palace banquet hall plummeted deep underground, beneath the Imperial Palace.

---

"Ugh...!"

Rose must have briefly lost consciousness after her fall from the banquet hall, and when she came to, pain coursed through her entire body.

She struggled to open her eyes, and her heart sank as she observed the wreckage of part of the Imperial Palace lying near her.

... Luckily, I managed to avoid being crushed by the rubble.

"Ugh! It feels like my whole body could shatter at any moment..."

The impact of the fall left Rose feeling as if her body had been shattered, much like the pain she'd experienced right before her previous death when she fell off the cliff.

With trembling arms, Rose tried to push herself up from the ground. 

As she attempted to rise, she felt something holding her hand.

"What's this...?"

Rose turned her head to see a man's hand gripping her own, the rough calluses on his palm noticeable even through her dazed state.

Unable to immediately look up and identify the hand's owner, Rose had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly whose hand this was and why it was here with her.

"Cough. Thankfully, it looks like you're safe."

Before Rose could even glance up to confirm her guess, the owner of the hand spoke.

Rose shuddered, and her shock was evident in the tremble of her shoulders.

"Elliot!"

Finally lifting her head, she called out to the man holding her hand. Rose began to voice her confusion. How did he end up beside her in the first place when they had been so far apart?

However, Rose's words caught in her throat as she took in Elliot's current predicament. 

He was trapped beneath the rubble from the building's collapse.

"Why... Why did you...?"

Elliot chuckled in response to Rose's trembling inquiry. 

It was a different kind of laughter from the usual scorn he directed at her. This time, it was aimed toward himself.

"I know. Why did I rush to save you then? It would have been fine if I'd just let you fall and die."

Elliot's voice was unusually subdued, not at all like the proud man, Elliot Proud, that Rose had always known.

Struggling to move despite her leg injury, Rose used her arms to clear away some of the debris, desperately pushing against the heavy wreckage that pinned Elliot down.

"Come on... Move!"

No matter how hard she tried, the rubble crushing Elliot remained stubbornly immobile, and Rose's own strength began to wane.

Panting and fatigued, Rose leaned against the wreckage, her body drained of energy, and caught sight of the subdued Elliot.

Determined, Rose yelled at him.

"Stop it! I won't let you die like this. We'll seal Abaddon again... I'll make sure you face the consequences for everything you've done. This is not the end of the line for you!"

Once more, Rose exerted herself, pushing with all her might, but the debris refused to yield. Instead, it was Elliot who halted her efforts.

"No use... Cough... And even if I were to get free, there's no guarantee I'd survive."

Rose gazed at Elliot with a mix of determination and frustration.

"Quit talking nonsense! I won't let your life go to waste like this. You saved me... Seal Abaddon once more... Hic... You'll get the punishment you deserve."

Rose shoved at the rubble again, putting all her remaining strength into it.

However, the debris remained unmoved, and Rose's energy was rapidly dwindling.

Exhausted and panting heavily, she leaned against the unyielding wreckage and turned her gaze to the silent figure of Elliot.

She couldn't help but comment with a weary expression. A long-buried question rose up in her heart.

"It's strange. I sure felt like you wanted me dead."

Elliot replied in a slow and measured tone.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding, Rose. I never wanted to kill you... In fact, when I learned you were a vessel, I felt a hint of disappointment."

Rose wanted to scoff and tell him not to lie, but she found herself unable to do so.

There was a sincerity in Elliot's expression that gave her pause.

With a tired look, Rose lowered her gaze slightly and began to reflect on the past for a moment before speaking again.

"...Elliot. I don't know about you, but... I've already been through hell once. I promised myself that if I were to go down that road again, I wouldn't go at it alone..."

Rose locked eyes with Elliot.

"Elliot Proud. Come to hell with me."

Elliot burst into laughter at the solemnity of her words.

It was the first hearty laugh he'd felt since their dire situation had begun to unfold.

"I never thought I'd hear those words from you. What's brought about this change in you? I wonder, but Rose... I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Elliot raised the hand that was not pinned under the rubble. 

The hand, which had been struggling so hard, trembled noticeably. 

His quivering finger pointed upward.

Following his gesture, Rose craned her neck to look up. 

Her expression hardened as she took in what lay above.

Elliot's voice reached her ears.

"I'll probably be the only one heading to hell. Even if you end up there... Cough, save it for the distant future."

Dust and debris rained down on Rose's face as she peered upward. 

Without any intention of taking it lightly, she began to push at the debris covering Elliot with a newfound urgency.

"If you have the energy to say something like that, at least use it to help clear this mess!"

A short while ago, Rose had wished to die and go to hell with Elliot, but now she longed for life more fervently than anyone else.

Once again, dust and debris showered down on her head. 

Urgency etched itself into Rose's expression.

The debris that had precariously hung above them, refusing to fall, now teetered dangerously, on the brink of crashing down.

Rose grunted and exerted all her might, but the rubble pinning Elliot remained immovable.

"Please...! Please...! Do something!"

Even as Rose struggled to free him, Elliot remained silent and unmoving.

He gazed at another section of debris that appeared ready to tumble at any moment, then reached out his hand.

"Rose."

Though his hand was so feeble that it quivered with the slightest motion, it found newfound strength and gripped Rose's arm.

Guided by Elliot's lead, she leaned toward him.

Their faces drew nearer.

"Rose, I..."

Their eyes met, and Elliot spoke some words softly for her ears alone. 

Yet, before Rose could react to them, Elliot gave her a powerful push.

"Ugh!"

Elliot's forceful push sent Rose's lithe body rolling backward. 

Her body, suddenly set in motion, tumbled about uncontrollably, and when the tumultuous rolling finally ceased, Rose swiftly lifted her head.

"Elliot!!!"

She yelled Elliot's name at the top of her lungs, but her voice couldn't reach him.

Thud-! 

The shatter of collapsing debris drowned out her cries, and the dust billowing from the fallen wreckage enveloped Rose.

"Cough! Cough!"

Coughing, Rose waved her hands to disperse the dust and then surveyed the area where she had just been.

Elliot was buried beneath a jumble of rubble, entwined with debris from another collapse.

"No... Elliot...!"

A pallor washed over Rose's face.

She crawled over to the wreckage and futilely attempted to move it, though she knew it was hopeless.

"Elliot... why...? Why...?!"

Tears welled up in Rose's eyes and streamed down her cheeks, unbidden. 

Her screams reverberated through the desolate basement.

"Ahh! Hic---Ugh! Come on, move!"

Rose struggled, pounding her fists relentlessly against the immovable debris. 

Her delicate skin became bruised and bloody, but she didn't relent.

Maybe if I keep at it like this, it'll give way eventually? I can't let---after all, he---

Despite the absurdity of the notion, Rose continued to batter the unyielding remnants of the Imperial Palace.

"Hic, no... I... I want you to..."

It was true that Rose harbored resentment toward Elliot. 

She still resented him.

She had thought that Elliot, who had plotted to destroy the Honeywell family, harmed Wells, and heartlessly pushed her off a cliff, deserved to suffer a similar fate.

But she didn't want to see him die like this. 

She hoped that he would face a just retribution for his deeds and pay for his crimes.

So that he could never become the head of the Proud family again. 

So that they couldn't pose a threat to the Honeywell family.

"Ugh... Elliot..."

Rose called Elliot's name plaintively, believing that he, as the formidable Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Knights, could easily cut through the debris and emerge if she waited a little longer.

Rose huddled down, waiting for Elliot to reappear.

However, the only thing that greeted her was a crushing silence that stole her breath away.

In that profound silence, Rose recalled Elliot's last words to her.

"Rose, I... If I were your real first love..."

Elliot hadn't been able to finish that sentence, perhaps because he himself recognized the absurdity of such an assumption.

After remaining crouched in place for some time, Rose slowly rose to her feet. 

Her legs still refused to cooperate, making any movement of hers difficult, but she clung to the remnants to help herself stand.

Dirtied by dried tears and dust, Rose's face bore signs of her ordeal.

Limping and appearing somewhat disoriented, she began to find a way out.

In the pitch-black darkness, she could see nothing a mere inch ahead. Thus, as she continued forward, Rose collided with an obstacle blocking her blind path, stumbling in the process.

How long have I been walking? 

Rose, moving through this dark and unpredictable space, eventually lost all strength in her legs and collapsed.

"Elliot, I guess I... I will go to hell with you."

Maybe I am already in hell.

How could this place, where no sounds reached her ears and no sights met her eyes, be considered her living world?

Rose closed her eyes, awaiting the cessation of her breath, when something stirred in the still darkness.

She listened intently to the faint sound.

"Rose...!"

It was a barely audible voice calling out to her. 

Rose turned her head toward the sound.

A light approached from the distance, and tears welled up in her eyes as she recognized the approaching figure.

It was Russell, bearing a bright torch.

He's here.