I Thought It Was a Fairy Tale but the Genre Is Strange

44 – Rapunzel’s Ending

I closed my eyes quietly, watching Rapunzel’s blade come for my neck. So this is how it ends. After all that struggling to survive, I get a death ending. Instead of feeling angry or resentful, I felt bitter and sad. I felt sorry for Alice, who also wanted to go home, and Ariel, who was trying to break her curse by finding her prince.

But I didn’t have any strength left. I’d already poured everything I had into it.

I imagined what it would feel like to have my head separated from my body. Would I feel pain, or would it be so quick I wouldn’t even know it had happened? Would I feel the cold floor as my head rolled?

Well, I’d know soon enough.

*Swoosh!*

Something splashed on my face. A warm liquid flowed down my face. The taste, a metallic tang, touched my lips.

Something was wrong. Why couldn’t I feel anything? Was I already dead? I opened my eyes, hoping that instead of wandering the earth as a ghost, I’d go straight to heaven if possible.

And the scene that unfolded in front of me…

It was all crimson.

The floor was soaked in blood. Rapunzel’s face was contorted in agony. Her golden hair was falling, lifeless. For a moment, I was unable to process the situation, blinking blankly.

My eyes darted around, looking at Rapunzel’s beautiful face before falling to the golden blade embedded in her stomach. The golden sword had pierced clean through Rapunzel’s abdomen and jutted out the other side.

Rapunzel, in obvious pain, shuddered, and with a bloodstained hand, placed it on my shoulder.

“Shiyu…”

“Huh? Uh…? Ra-Rapunzel? What the…?”

I couldn’t understand. Why wasn’t it cutting my neck, but stuck in Rapunzel’s abdomen? Rapunzel’s complexion was turning pale. She stumbled before collapsing forward. I desperately caught her falling body.

“Rapunzel!! W-What is this! Why would you do this!”

“Heh, hehe. You’re such a fool… Shiyu. It’s, it’s because I’m your, girlfriend.”

Rapunzel’s soft hand touched my cheek. Her hand, once so warm, felt icy cold. She was dying. Definitely. And quickly.

The unruly locks of hair that had thrashed around had become limp, the golden glow dimming. I gritted my teeth. I hadn’t wanted her to meet such an end. Even though she was blinded by revenge, I had hoped she’d live an ordinary life later on. But why? Why did she have to end up this way? Why did Rapunzel’s ending have to be suicide?

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel.”

My vision blurs. Tears well up, and a fierce emotion makes my body burn. I clasped the hand that touched my cheek. Rapunzel let out a ragged breath, her voice strained.

“So, sorry. For… showing you this side of me. I truly, couldn’t hold it in. I wanted to go on a date with, with you. Haa, haa. I, I don’t think I can anymore.”

I can feel Rapunzel’s life fading. I didn’t know what to do. I had no ability, no power to heal her grievous wounds. All I could do, as a simple human in this situation, was listen helplessly to Rapunzel’s words.

“You, you were… my only, only one… on my side… and I had to show you this ugg, ugly side. Haa… Are you, are you disappointed in me…?”

I shook my head violently.

“No. Not at all, Rapunzel. I’m not disappointed. In fact, your reaction is natural. How could those feelings just disappear in an instant? I’m not disappointed in you at all. If anything, I’m grateful to have been with you.”

“He, hehe.”

Rapunzel smiled, a smile as warm as the morning sun.

“You, you really are good with words. It makes me, makes me jealous to think… you’d say those things to another woman.”

I forced a smile and caressed her beautiful face.

“What are you talking about. I only whisper sweet nothings for you. Because I’m your boyfriend, after all.”

“Is, is that so? Haa, haa. Th, that makes me happy. Hehe…”

The flame of life in Rapunzel’s eyes was dying. Please. Please, just give her a little more time. Please don’t take her from me. What did this child do wrong? Why does she have to endure such pain? Why, why does it have to end in such a terrible way?

“You, Si-yu. I just wanted to give you good memories… I’m so sorry. But still, I’ll give you one last gift.”

Rapunzel took my wrist with a trembling, lifeless hand. Then, a dazzling golden light burst from her touch, and in an instant, a beautiful, exquisite golden bracelet was formed.

“Haa, haa. Th, that will help you.”

“You idiot, if you had the strength to make this, use it to heal yourself!”

“He, hehe.”

She just laughed. I lowered my head, but forced myself to look at her, not wanting to miss this moment.

“I really, really don’t want to break up with you, Siyoo. I, I wanted to do so much with you.”

“Then let’s do it. Let’s go to the movies, go to cafes, and do all sorts of fun things. Let’s eat at great restaurants and spend some sweet, happy time together. So please, Rapunzel. I’m begging you. Heal your wounds.”

“I, I’m sorry, Siyoo. If I heal… then I’ll just… go on a rampage again. W-we’re breaking up like this, but please, don’t forget me.”

I bit down hard on my lower lip and nodded.

“You idiot, of course I won’t. How could I ever forget you?”

Rapunzel smiled faintly. But it was different than before, so weak she could barely lift the corners of her mouth.

“Thinking about it… it’s really… like a legend, isn’t it? You, the chosen one, are saving me, who is the curse of the world…”

“No-! It didn’t turn out that way because of some myth! You’re not a curse or anything! You’re my precious lover. The person I love. The being I cherish so dearly!”

Rapunzel’s pupils widened. She stared at me intently for a moment, then smiled bashfully.

“Hehe, right? I, you know… at least… in the end… I didn’t become a… a curse, and I’m dying… as a human… by my own choice…”

*Thump.*

Rapunzel’s hand fell limply. Her lifeless pupils were fixed on my face to the very end. Feeling her cold temperature, I finally bowed my head and sobbed. A whirlpool of emotions clawed its way from my lungs and exploded out of my mouth.

Heavy tears streamed down endlessly, my insides felt so hot and suffocating that I pounded on my chest. My helpless hands could only grip Rapunzel’s already frigid hand tightly. It was as if I were willing my own warmth to flow into her, willing her to wake up again.

“Rapunzel, you idiot… how can you go like this? How can you end like this? I…”

Her warmth, which had been so vibrant just moments ago, had vanished. Rapunzel’s voice, which sounded like she was about to whisper intimately to me, could no longer be heard. The jewel-like eyes that had looked at me so lovingly had lost their spark, and the golden strands of her hair had lost their magic, returning to ordinary brown hair.

My tears fall onto her face. I shudder, and with trembling hands, I close her eyes.

Please, I beg you. If there is an afterlife, send her to heaven, and if she is reborn, let her live a shining, beautiful life that everyone loves. I prayed and prayed, wishing that the smile on her face would never end.

“Hehehe, the legend came true, huh?”

As I was mourning her death, a grating child’s voice came from beside me. The moment I turned my head, a violent surge of emotion shook my very being.

A black rabbit.

That damn rabbit was grinning at me, right in front of my face.

“You, you…!”

“Woah, woah. Why the scary face? You should be happy, shouldn’t you? You’re the great hero who defeated the cursed Rapunzel.”

“Shut up! Rapunzel wasn’t cursed! One more word out of you like that and I’ll turn you into rabbit stew.”

The black rabbit chuckled and fiddled with the brim of his black hat.

“Your tone’s going all Alice-like? Well, not bad. Hmm~ Rapunzel’s ending was different than I expected, but I’m still satisfied. I did well to choose you, after all.”

“What the hell are you, and what is this world? Why did you bring me here!”

“I didn’t bring you, more like you followed me. If we have to get technical, you came to me of your own volition, and I chose you.”

He grinned, continuing,

“As you can see, I’m the black rabbit of this world. Just an ordinary rabbit who wants to see how the story ends. Siyu, your role is to bring death to the world I created. You want to go home, right?”

The black rabbit moved his large paw and was now right in front of me.

“Then all you have to do is finish all the stories. Until then, you can’t go home.”

“Don’t give me that crap. I have to go back now. I don’t want to be in this world…”

The hand gripping Rapunzel’s shoulder trembled.

“I don’t want to be in a world that wants such a terrible ending, not for a single second!”

I quickly snatched the scythe from the floor and swung it at the black rabbit. But the rabbit, as if amused, not only dodged the scythe, but sat right on the blade.

“It’s already too late. Remember. If you want to go back, you have to finish all the stories. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

The rabbit pushed off the blade, jumped, and flew out of the window, disappearing from sight. From the tower where Rapunzel was imprisoned, a scream filled with uncontrollable rage and sorrow echoed.