The betrayal of his close friends caused Allen to feel grieved and despaired.

Pain and grief resembled a dagger as it incessantly sliced at his heart, and this pain inside his chest was truly unbearable.

Are all those things we shared in the past all a lie? An illusion?

Was I the fool of a dog who mistook another dog when he saw his reflection in the water, causing him to lose his food?

If I didn’t fall in this kind of illusion, would things end differently?

I was truly a fool.

--- ---

Allen’s grievances soared to the Heavens. He was bitter. He screamed resentfully in his mind as teardrops continually tumbled down his cheeks.

Why?!!! Why did I learn the truth? It would’ve been better if I died without knowing! In that way…

In his chest was a small black dagger and blood flowed out unceasingly.

This small black dagger was Lime; Allen’s dearest tamed monster.

Who would have known that this small and seemingly weak monster was the reason that Allen managed to live up until now so he really owes this small guy a huge debt...

But who would’ve known, in the end, this was also the thing that would end his life.

Lime was a rare dual attribute, poison-metal slime which was a very dangerous monster. It could change its form and transform into any weapon. And the worst part, every weapon it transformed secretes a terrifying toxic poison that can even kill a mammoth in less than an hour.

It was commonly known that slimes are weak monsters. But who would expect that this kind of weakness was actually their greatest strength?

Because they are weak, they can change into anything, they could become anything… even into something terrifying.

That was why slimes are treated as special monsters.

As for the toxicity of Lime’s poison, who would’ve known how fearful it truly was aside from Allen who always relied on this to survive in life and death battles?

--- ---

Many things had happened in his life.

He lost his home, his peaceful and normal life. Even his country and his most important person in the world, his one and only sister which was his only family… all because of those damn monsters.

Ah, just how many times did I think of giving up? He was tired, very tired.

But still, he continued walking forward.

I desired power.

I wanted to become stronger because of revenge. I have nothing left and even my heart was filled with nothing but intense hatred for taking everything I have. But that was until I met them…

People who he can consider his friends and new family…

I always thought that I was really lucky.

A lot of people supported him, ‘Allen, are you hungry? Fighting is tiring, isn’t it? Here, I have some bread~’…and helped him.

Because of them, sometimes he found his hate wavered to the point that he had forgotten his revenge.

But even though I realized that I still thought that it was fine.

Just being alive is lucky.

I thought I could endure anything. I could pass any ordeals as long as we worked together. After all, no matter what world it was, whether it’s in stories or movies, humans always prevail over the unknowns…

Humanity will survive. That’s what he greatly believe. After all, Humans have potential and it usually reveals itself during dire straits!

But…

… was that actually just an illusion?

--- ---

The moment seemed to last forever, and Allen was actually completely unaware of how much time had passed.

He never felt any pain. But he knows that he was already dead because he had felt the cold sharp steel pierce through his heart.

And even if he didn’t die from blood loss, he would still end up dead because of the poison spreading through his heart.

Did Lime made it painless… for me?

Eventually, his mind calmed down and gradually became serene.

Did I die?

But why do I still have my consciousness? Could it be… I already arrived in heaven? Or might be in hell…

“… ain…” a voice pierced through the darkness.

“Allen!” someone was calling me.

Calling?

Wait!?

How? I was definitely killed! Besides, I still remembered what happened with Celty!

But this voice… what’s going on?

Confused, Allen tried opening his eyes which he found so heavy as if something was pressing on his eyelids.

“…uh…uuuhh”

“I-I’m…alive?”

And then he saw…

A woman was standing in front of him.

She was silent; however as if displeased with something, she wore a somewhat unhappy look on her face.

Chills…

Anyone would feel like that if you receive that kind of glare but for some reason, instead of fear, an intense shock surge inside of Allen. His eyes wide opened as he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

His mouth trembled but no words were coming out.

“…I see that you’re sleeping again in my class, Mr. Bando.” The woman started.

“…is my class really that boring to you?”

Flushed red with indignation, the woman looked at him and questioned him with creased brows. 

Then whispering voices rang out around him. This caused Allen to finally notice his surroundings.

He was inside a very familiar classroom. He could even see some nostalgic faces of his classmates, looking at him with interested looks as if watching an entertaining show.

Seeing this familiar scene he had missed for who knows how many years, Allen was stunned for a while, then he understood something.

Ah... so that’s it… this was a dream…

He muttered that with a helpless laugh.

It’s a dream that’s cruel yet very happy.

But this was good.

In the end of his life, he was hallucinating about this time. The time he once viewed as an annoying and boring thing, and yet it was also the very definition of an irreplaceable time of peace.

… The days of peace he missed and always dreamed about…

The very important thing he once lost and couldn’t take back.

That is why; it was fine even if it was a dream or an illusion…..

Since I´m able to return like this even if it´s for a small moment, then it’s all the better.

“… M, Ms. Grace…” Allen turned his eyes towards the woman in front of him again.

Although the woman seemed to be on the verge of exploding he ignored it as his vision turned blurred because of tears.

The woman in front of him was his teacher; Ms. Grace Lim.

Before the apocalypse began, Allen had almost no proper conversation with her. Aside from some class related question and answer, there’s basically no interaction between them. However, Allen owes a huge debt of gratitude towards this woman.

When the apocalypse began and monsters suddenly appeared inside the classroom, many students were killed. At that time, Allen could still remember how frightened she was and yet when Allen was almost killed beside her, she still pushes him aside and saved him.

‘Because I was a teacher…’ that was the very last words she spoke before all light disappeared from her eyes.

This act moved him. Still, he wasn’t able to say his thanks or anything in the last moment.

And that was one of his lifelong regrets.

…but now, in this illusion, he could do so… even if it was just nothing but an illusion.

Ms. Grace Lim’s heart shuddered inexplicably as soon as she saw Allen’s moist yet passionate eyes.

He has an unusual atmosphere around him and for some reason; he was looking at her as if she was looking at his long-lost lover…

Just what the heck is wrong with this guy…?

No, that not right.

Ms. Grace first thought he liked her as a girl after seeing his gaze. But after careful thinking, she realized that that wasn’t the case.

There’s basically no interaction between them in the past. And even if there was, it was all teacher-student exchange. Her student, Allen never showed her this kind of appearance before.

So… just what happened to this guy?

“…is there something wrong, Mr. Bando?”

Ms. Grace furrows her brow but suddenly, Allen approached her and suddenly embraced her without saying anything.

“Wha-!? Wa, wa, wa ?!”

“Ms. Grace!! Ms. Grace!!”

Not paying any heed to her intense reaction, Allen continued to strongly embrace her.

He wished that for every time he called her name this time could be lengthened even by one second, thus he strongly embraced her.

“H-hey just what the heck are you doing?!”

Ms. Grace tried to escape from his embrace however she seemed to be weak to do it and so it just looks like she was struggling not because she hated it but because she was embarrassed.

Of course, this wasn’t the case.

Other than being with her dad when she was young, Ms. Grace had never been so intimate with someone of the opposite gender before, thus, when she was embraced by Allen; she froze momentarily, unable to react to the situation.

While smelling the light soap scent from the youth’s body and feeling his strong arm, Ms. Grace fell into a daze and forgot to resist.

Everyone started with widened eyes.

This scene almost dropped the jaws of all the students inside the classroom, causing the whole room to be enveloped in a weird silence. The people who were expecting for some entertainment even almost made them bite off their tongue in shock.

What happened?

Their eyes were wide and their minds reeled as they saw their usually quiet and unmotivated classmate suddenly embracing their teacher.

Time flows seemingly slow as the whole room froze in shock.

However, the two host of this small event seemed to have forgotten their surroundings and was still rooted on their spot. Even the woman who was just desperately struggling just now could only tremble within the boy’s strong; passionate embraced with her two arms clip by the boys'.

At first, she was struggling but after hearing Allen’s muttering of ‘I’m…I’m sorry…’ and ‘Thank…you’ one after another, for some unknown reason, her will to break away gradually disappeared.

But…

Bang!

Together with the sudden opening of the door, two figures appeared. On the back was a tall woman with long black hair wearing a black suit and on her front was a girl in her teens with short blonde hair that reaches on her shoulders.

The girl on the front looked like she was ready to explode as she continued to grind her teeth while looking at the two people hugging each other (?)

“You idiot… HOW LONG DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO CONTINUE FEELING THAT FEMALE FLESH BAG!!??!?!?!”

A girl shouted as something immediately dashed towards Allen, who was gone in a daze after hearing a very familiar voice that shouldn’t be in this place.

--- ---