“…Yeah. I know.”
Lia felt the tension smothering them. The intermediate boss at the moment
— Deculein – wasn’t just a professor.
He was a demon hunter handed down from an ancient bloodline, and the clan’s head destroyed demons.
Their best option was to run away.
As long as they were with Carlos, there was no way they could defeat a Yukline.
With a shout, Lia threw a dagger at Deculein, sticking it in his arm. It was the characteristic of Certain Hit.
Deculein moved the metal without moving himself, the dozens of pieces of steel moving in response to his will like a swarm of angered bees.
Lia released her mana and threw them back, but the wooden steel embedded in the ground vibrated with Psychokinesis and turned the floor upside down.She began to fall but was caught mid-air by an invisible force.
Her right arm was hanging in the sky as Deculein wrapped the bracelet artifact around her wrist with Psychokinesis.
“…I did not come to harm you. I have no interest in killing children.”
His cold tone sliced into her flesh. Lia turned to Leo, who was wobbling and waving upside down in the air like a monkey.
“I’ll just take that one.”
Deculein pointed to Carlos, the child caught in the explosion and thrown away.
Half-human, half-demon, suffering a fever caused by his demonic side.Lia and Leo responded immediately, causing a blood vessel to bulge on Deculein’s forehead.
“Do you know who you are protecting?”
“I know. I know better than anyone.”
Lia answered without hesitation. Deculein’s expression calmed down to one of indifference. It was a calm but still murderous aura.
“That is a bigger problem. You who protects the devil are also guilty.”
He spoke as if he were the judge, and he started moving the wood steel again.
Countless fragments of steel rushed at Carlos, grinding the surrounding room to dust.
Lia tossed off the bracelet that was tying her hand. Surrounding herself with protective energy, she ran to Carlos to defend him against the wood steel raining down.
Fortunately, her energy wasn’t destroyed, but she almost died in the first wave. Lia’s robe was torn to shreds, and blood flowed from the wounds now covering her body.
“…This is all useless.”
Deculein looked down at her with a sneer. At this, Lia spun around with venom in her eyes.
“It’s not useless!”
“It’s foolish. The very idea of embracing one with demon’s blood is…”
At that moment, Deculein stopped speaking.
The tension in the area immediately faded, and doubt crept into his eyes.The resonance of the wood steel ceased, and his burning gaze mellowed out.
Like green tea leaves steeping in a pot, a strange feeling spread through his mind with a ripple.…It was a chance that wouldn’t happen twice.
Lia gathered her wits. The bedspread. She lifted the bedspread wide and covered Leo and Carlos; then, she changed the nature of the bedspread to metal.
The inside of the sheets was made into a closed space.Deculein manifested his magic belatedly, but it was already too late.
When Lia lifted the bedspread, they were already in a different space.
“Whew… I barely survived~.”
A wave of dizziness assailed her as she shouted. She staggered and sat down.
“…Wow. Lia! My body was immobile the entire time; what was that?! It’s really strange!”
On the other hand, Leo ran around excitedly. It was probably Deculein’s Psychokinesis… no, it was probably not.
In this world, there was no Psychokinesis capable of such power. Anyway, whatever it was, that magic was very threatening.
“Who was it just now?!”
Lia answered while mending the cuts all over her body.
“Yeah. He’s a mean noble.”
“Wow! But it was strange! There are a lot of real masters in the world~. Besides Ganesha, I mean.”
Leo was chattering with enthusiasm, but Lia couldn’t hear him. She was busy thinking about Deculein.
“Yeah. He was very, very… strangely strong.”
Deculein’s strength was abnormal. The person she just met was different from the original setting. Of course, even after considering that the Yukline family became unusually strong when dealing with demons…
“…Is it the butterfly effect?”
“No. It’s something else.”
Lia recalled the little Easter Egg she added one day. Deculein’s first fiancée, a setting that would not affect the progress of the game.
She instilled in him this feeling of love, and the death of his fiancée made Deculein stronger. It was a probable inference.
This world was not a game any longer, but reality and the characters moved three-dimensionally according to their own emotions and memories.
“…I guess it’s because of that?”
But, ironically, she lived thanks to that added setting. Lia remembered Deculein’s expression as he looked at her, recalling the moment when that instinct of annihilation engulfing his body was devoured by a certain pure emotion.
It was an impressive scene that would remain in her mind for a long time.
“Because I look like that fiancé….The thing Deculein’s younger sister Yeriel had said.
—The child named Lia resembles his fiancée.─The first… fiancée?─Yes. Julie also has a bit of similarity, but that kid is very similar to her.
Her eye color and hair color are different, but she will probably look more like her as she grows up. I can see people’s faces well.Lia closed her mouth and looked at Carlos.
She placed her hand on his forehead. Fortunately, the fever had subsided somewhat.She forced a bright smile onto her face and clapped.
“Let’s move again! We don’t know if he’ll come again, so we have to keep busy, alright?!”
This time, Lia carried Carlos. They just had to hold on like this until Ganesha came back.
No matter how high Deculein’s specs were amplified, he wouldn’t be able to defeat Ganesha.
* * *
…Somewhere in the Ghost Castle.
Fish was being cooked, but for some reason, the atmosphere felt awkward and precarious.
Waiting for the food, Jackal glanced at Carla.
Carla’s gaze reached Ganesha on the other side. She met Carla’s eyes casually.
“It’s been a long time~, the one who escaped from her ‘hell.'“
At Jackal’s words, Ganesha shrugged.
“Yeah, it was pretty hard. I admit it. Respect.”
Carla’s Authority. Her trait was to confine someone in an image.
Its scenery was equivalent to an infinite hell, and anyone designated by Carla as a prisoner was trapped inside.
The only way out was to break through that hell head-on.
Of course, the ability came with a penalty.Until the person imprisoned in the image died or escaped, Carla’s body couldn’t use mana.
However, that was an almost forgettable weakness as Jackal would protect her in the meantime.
“Then, I’m going~.”
…However, who would think there would ever be another monster that could break through that hell?
“You don’t want to fight anymore, do you? I am willing to accept it, though.”
Ganesha stood up, her hair flapping to either side. Jackal pouted his lips but continued.
“But Ganesha. I saw a strange scene, you know?”
Jackal swung his sword. Then, a scene was projected in the air. It was the last memory of his men who were killed by Deculein.
“I think Deculein has found the child.”
For a moment, Ganesha’s eyes widened, and Carla continued softly.
“Yukline is a blood relative of annihilation. They won’t accept a child born of demonic blood.”
“…Why are you saying that now?”
Ganesha clicked her tongue and began to run. Jackal, watching her leave, laughed.
“Hey. This is amazing, huh? They say that money comes all at once.”
The Altar wanted Carlos. There was no other bloodline that was as rare as a half-human, half-demon, except for perhaps giants. In addition to that, the Altar also wanted Deculein’s brain.
That head full of rune knowledge was nothing less than the world’s most expensive treasure chest. The bounty offered by Altar for the two was almost enough to create a country.
“We have two big bounties…”
Jackal grinned as he polished his sword. His smile reflected off the red sword was icy cold.
* * *
The second floor of Ghost Castle, in the accommodations of Deculein and his group.Epherene woke up staring at the ceiling with wide eyes.
The bed was soft, the blanket was warm, and the pillows were comfortable, but she awoke because of the sound of footsteps.
“Is it another nightmare…?”
Now she was growing sick of it. Epherene slowly got up and walked out. What kind of ghost would it be this time?The footsteps moved toward Deculein’s room.
Epherene glanced at Allen, who was still sleeping soundly. Although she thought about waking him up, if this were actually a nightmare, Allen would only turn into a ghost. Reluctantly, Epherene moved alone.Then, the steps stopped.
Epherene hid behind the wall and glanced around into the corridor.
Deculein was there, not a ghost. In other words, it meant this was reality.But his appearance was strange.
There was a scratch down his arm, and his eyes were quietly immersed in contemplation.
“Resembles so much… no matter who you are, I won’t miss a second…”
Suddenly, a muffled voice flowed from his gritted teeth, words that didn’t form a proper sentence and was scattered.
He sighed.…Was that person Deculein?
It was a side of him she had never seen before, so Epherene left there staring blankly.Deculein coughed a bit.
Black blood ran out from between his lips – a clear side effect of excessively mobilizing his mana, but Epherene’s eyes, unaware, opened like a startled rabbit’s.
Blood.
Deculein was bleeding.
That simple yet clear scene replayed in Epherene’s mind along with the words that Louina had once jokingly spoken.
-I wonder if he has a fatal disease… it is said that if a person suddenly changes, they are dying…
She stumbled, her big toe squarely slamming against the door frame.
A truly unbearable pain shot through her.
Deculein looked back toward her as a scream leaked out.They engaged in a silent staring contest while Epherene patted her bruised toes.
“Did you have a dream?”
His blue eyes sank to assume their usual appearance. It was that of the impeccable aristocrat, the impeccable professor.
Epherene scratched her cheek in reply.
Then, she glanced at Deculein. He sat down in his chair, seemingly uninterested, and pulled out a book.
It was titled [The Case File of Goreth Island].
“Professor. But you know…”
Epherene continued, stuttering. Deculein listened as he turned the page of the book.
“…The thing at Locralen. Do you remember?”
The sound of pages turning was peaceful, and the chill of the night filtering in through the open window cooled the room.
“I-I can’t remember a single, really a single thing.”
Finally, Deculein turned to her. Epherene avoided his gaze at an angle, wondering what he might be thinking.
“It’s not a big deal…”
‘Someday, if you die in the not-too-distant future… I don’t know where and how you will die, but it won’t be a peaceful and natural death.’
“…I’m just asking.”
What would the Professor do?
If she announced that death, would he try to change the future?
No, would he even believe?
Or if not… perhaps, was he already aware of his death?
That was his only answer.
The pages of the book turned over and over as time marched on.
Epherene stood in the middle of the night breeze, wiggling her fingers and toes.
A message suddenly came to mind, the sentence that Deculein wrote in his sponsorship.─I’m cheering for you.
Epherene was encouraged by those words to speak again.
“Professor. You know that, right? I eavesdropped back then.”
Then, Deculein’s hand stopped turning the pages.
“You said it was my responsibility to complete the research.”
His indifferent eyes reached her.
“Why… did you say that?”
Epherene met his level gaze. She didn’t like the sound of her shaky, trembling voice.
Deculein didn’t say anything. He just stared at her for a long time as starlight seeped through the cracks in the window. He answered briefly.
“Because I can’t.”
At that moment, Epherene gasped. Her back ached as if she had been cracked with a staff. The meaning of Deculein’s words was complicated, but at the same time, it was clear. It felt like the last piece of the puzzle fit in place.Epherene clenched her fists, biting her lip.
“Then I will do it. Instead of you, instead of my father.”
Her determination and resolution were conveyed despite her shaking voice. She stood strong like a knight. Deculein looked at her with a smirk.
“Yes. By the way.”
Epherene pulled a wad of paper from the pocket of her robe.
It was the thesis that she carried on her body 24 hours a day, alongside a document that summarized the content she had accepted.
“I wrote it myself. May I ask for a score?”
Epherene asked Deculein to help guide her, to see if she was walking in the right direction.
He nodded weakly.
The gesture, much different from usual, bothered her for some reason.
Deculein lifted Epherene’s thesis instead of his book.
As he read line by line, Epherene stared at him.Her father’s foe, the mean professor.
He was a strange wizard who almost lost his position to the Luna family, yet he would accept her as a disciple.
“Today is a full moon. Do you know the legend of the full moon?”
Epherene started chatting for no reason.
The full moon in the sky, the soft moon to illuminate Deculein.
She rested her chin on her hand and watched his arrogant face.
Meanwhile, he closed his eyes.
At first, she thought his condition was suddenly worsening.
Startled, Epherene jumped up but soon lost all the strength in her body and was forced to sit back down.It was the drowsy mist that Hesrock spoke of.
