Chapter: 176
The wizard and Defense Bureau agents dispatched to the mansion where the Third Prince was confined made a grim discovery: the signs of a fierce battle, but no one remained.
The Succubus who had assisted in the Third Prince’s escape appeared to have been captured by the Black Mage faction, and it was highly likely she had met a tragic fate.
Furious, the Third Prince wholeheartedly agreed to pursue the Succubus Queen. He readily divulged all he knew and consented to a body inspection.
After a thorough examination by the consultant identifying as the “Crazy Wizard,” the Defense Bureau obtained very important information.
“There exists a massive gate connected to the ‘Nest’ in the Elmest Territory of the Empire’s west.”
“Wasn’t the entrance to the ‘Nest’ in the Third Prince’s head?”
“Yes, but the data transmission speed and capacity are limited… I mean, it’s a narrow entrance. It can only accommodate one Succubus to pass through once a week.”
Since there was no need for many Succubi to infiltrate the Academy, just having that narrow entrance open was sufficient. The limited bandwidth meant attacks were slow, but it was also advantageous for defense.
It was a safety measure on the Succubi’s side to minimize loss in case the Third Prince were captured. Normally, this narrow passage alone wouldn’t have been able to yield any information.
However, the Crazy Wizard managed to utilize the information from one Succubus to discern the location of the massive gate—definitely a notch above.
“Why was the massive gate even created? Do you have any idea, senpai?”
“Dream Demons are unique entities that shuffle between reality and information. However, this transformation doesn’t happen with a mere click. For Pinkvalez, it takes quite some time… plus, it’s vulnerable during the transformation.”
“I already asked you about that.”
‘If you abruptly pull out a USB while transferring files, doesn’t it cause an error?’ The Crazy Wizard left behind such an enigmatic and hard-to-understand analogy.
Therefore, for the Succubi living in the information-based world of the ‘Nest’ to safely emerge into reality, a well-constructed pathway is necessary.
And it will likely be needed to transport real-world objects into the ‘Nest’ as well.
“If you want to send a person’s soul through the narrow passage, it would take all day. The Dream Demons would need to disperse and extract essence or whatever to bring it to the ‘Nest,’ meaning an entrance is essential.”
“Either way, it’s a vital facility.”
“Just destroying it would inflict significant damage. Blocking the hive entrance would mean it would take ages to create an exit path from inside.”
Based on such information, the Second Prince Irid decided to dispatch a military force, the ‘Elimination Team,’ from the Defense Bureau to the Elmest Territory. Their objective was to close the massive gate.
Thus, the field agent Yuna Lanster, known for her notable achievements in the grand Succubus war and having high resistance to charms, was reassigned back to the ‘Elimination Team.’
The ‘Operation to Close the Nest Entrance’ commenced.
===============================================================
Yuna and I gathered at the Academy’s southern gate to send off Pinkvalez. Yuna was sucking on a lollipop she bought from a nearby street vendor, her expression gloomy despite the sugar.
My own expression was likely just as woeful as Yuna’s. I probably looked like rain could pour down my face.
The weather was dreary too.
This farewell was different from when we both left to back up Roderus. What worried us now was that Pinkvalez’s departure didn’t have a set return time…
Yuna and I were both heartbroken because Pinkvalez categorically refused our suggestion to go along. How wonderful it would be if we could accompany her!
After all, this was just the ‘Operation to Close the Nest Entrance.’ It’s not like we were planning on facing the Succubus Queen head-on, unless the situation became truly perilous. Right now, asking for help felt a bit inappropriate.
There were many reasons for her refusal, but deep down, that might not be the real reason. I thought it was more about… not wanting to show her emotions.
What could that be?
I couldn’t tell. What kind of relationship are we in? We knew each other’s measurements, we knew each other’s scents, and it felt like we knew more about each other than we didn’t…
Tap, tap.
The sound of heels echoed. I turned my head towards the direction of the sound, ready to toss out a light-hearted quip.
“… … …”
Dressed in solid black attire.
Pinkvalez—no, Yuna Lanster—was wearing an unembellished, purely black uniform. Even her inner dress shirt and gloves were entirely black.
It wasn’t a body-hugging suit that highlighted her figure. The uniform was loose enough not to hinder her movements, coarse rather than luxurious.
Her expression was… different from her usual blankness. The calm yellow eyes of hers bore the same expression as a wolf quietly regarding an injured deer.
My heart skipped a beat.
I never thought that uniform would suit her so well. At that moment, she seemed like she could easily rip the lifeline from someone’s throat without a second thought. The scent of blood lingered.
She casually spoke, but her tone had changed. It was sharpened.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Ah, um… yes! I was waiting! Just trying to find something to say…!”
Yuna flustered and flapped about, hitting my thigh. She also seemed surprised by Yuna Lanster’s unfamiliar appearance.
I tried to crack a clever joke.
“You’re pulling it off well, Pinkvalez. Is this what they call the ‘Lone Wolf’ mode?”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“… … …”
Since I had teased her, I expected her to retaliate or brush it off. Naturally, I thought she might respond with something like, ‘And you? The enchanting woman?’
But Yuna Lanster didn’t indulge the banter.
Hiccup. Yuna started to hiccup, the bizarrely chilly atmosphere having startling effects on her. If I could, I would like to hiccup too.
In that heavy atmosphere, Yuna Lanster punctuated things.
“I must take my leave now.”
“… … Oh, I see.”
That sounded final. In that moment, I dropped the thought of clinging to her. Things like, “Don’t go, Pinkvalez,” or, “At least let’s share one last meal together,” came flooding into my mind.
I had mountains of things to keep her from leaving, but she seemed to realize that. So, she was likely cutting things off on purpose.
Yuna Lanster walked past us. Yuna and I could only watch her retreating figure in a daze.
And then…
V sign.
As she departed, Yuna Lanster turned without looking back, flashing a peace sign and waving. Only then did Yuna and I let out a sigh of relief, losing the tension from our shoulders.
We threw farewell remarks at her mischievous back.
“… … Come back soon, Pinkvalez. I’ll be waiting.”
“Y-yeah! If you don’t come back, I might just come looking for you…!!”
Whish, whish. Pinkvalez’s ponytail swayed as she walked.
The pink hair, that flickered like a candle flame, slowly faded into the distance until it vanished altogether.
I stayed for a long while chasing those traces that had long disappeared from my retina, feeling a hollow sensation, before returning to the lab together with Yuna. I muttered to myself about whether I should have hidden that black uniform.
Thud, splatter.
“Ah, it’s raining.”
“… Darn it. Of all days!”
A raindrop hit my nose. I lifted my head, half-wondering if, by any chance, I had cried, but thankfully it was just the rain. A dark cloud was rolling in from the west.
Heavens, you’re crying for me, now?
If that’s the case, I’d like to tell you it’s unnecessary. This isn’t such a sad event. Anyone would think we’re parting forever. Huh? She’s coming back after all.
Right, let’s think positively. Didn’t the Little Prince say something like that? Waiting fills life with exciting joy. The thrill of reunion would be exponential!
So I decided to think that this loneliness was a cheerful thing.
===============================================================
When facing death, there are generally two scenarios.
Either one carries a duty heavier than death, or life is deemed lighter than death. It’s rare for someone to be courageous enough to gamble their lives, even when they deeply understand the value of life; hence, most cases fall under the latter.
And the ‘Elimination Team’ is a gathering of those who have nothing but their lightened lives.
They lost everything. Even if they were to live on, happiness seemed unattainable. If that’s the case, they would rather want to use this life for revenge. They wish to throw their lives away to crush the neck of those who took their lives from them.
Thus, they can gamble their lives. They can march into danger without hesitation.
Dying today or dying tomorrow—who cares? In this place where only twisted souls gather, there exists a certain bond among them. A sense of belonging.
A bond among those who lead miserable lives.
Because of that… the individual who had just returned after running away from the ‘Elimination Team.’
Having enjoyed life to the fullest, now claiming, ‘I too had wounds,’ and then rejoined the Elimination Team…
That was loathsome. They could not acknowledge that person as a comrade. That boy thought so.
So he raised his voice to vent his discontent to his comrades.
“Leaving the Elimination Team means you’ve also cast away your resolve to die! And now you come back? How does that make any sense?!”
“Hey, brat. Just a bit of advice… Don’t touch the Pink-haired Lanster.”
The one-eyed elder of the Elimination Team mumbled while staring into the campfire. However, the thoughtful advice from the old man who remembered the past did not reach the ears of the enraged boy.
“I recognize that you might have had a rough time in the past. Fine, I get it! You understand you need to participate in this operation! So why can’t you join as a regular agent instead of going back to the Elimination Team? Why take back someone who fled from life…?!”
The boy believed she was tarnishing the name of the Elimination Team.
This was a gathering of individuals who had the resolution to wager their lives. Rumor has it that she roamed as an active Defense Bureau agent while gallivanting after the same woman.
With that kind of mindset, how could she return to the Elimination Team?
That was intolerable. It shouldn’t be allowed. A person who enjoys the happiness of life, a person who has grasped joy, can’t take the name of the Elimination Team, which was the boy’s only source of pride.
Jealousy boiled within him to the point it could bubble over. And that jealousy, masked as honor, propelled the boy to approach and confront her.
Yuna Lanster was sitting there hunched over on a stump.
Somehow, an odd heaviness floated around her. Without realizing it, goosebumps ran down my arms. The boy’s body detected the threat in advance. Don’t do it. Don’t poke the hive.
However, the curious nature of the young boy superseded his instincts, leading him to stand before her and spew out his pent-up rage.
“… … Get out of the Elimination Team!”
“… … …”
If you ask why, I intended to enumerate her faults. I was planning to scold her for having left like a coward, to rebuke her to stay gone.
But she rose silently, calmly.
“I want out…!! You have no right to judge me! This is not a place where someone like you, who ran away to live happily, can stay…!!”
“Right? Isn’t that true?”
The boy scanned his surroundings, seeking agreement. The newcomers to the Elimination Team nodded, seemingly empathizing with the boy’s anger.
But those with experience, who remembered Yuna Lanster, wore expressions tinged with compassion. They regarded the boy as quite the pitiful wretch.
Why was that?
The reason soon became apparent through his body.
Snap!
“… … What?!”
In an instant, a hand gripped his throat. His body was lifted. The strong grip around his neck tightened further under the pressure of his own weight. His breath became labored, blocked suddenly.
Were they trying to overbear him through strength? I get it. I knew it. I knew you had attained ‘The Legend.’ But it wasn’t just the issue of strength. I won’t yield…!
The boy thought that while glaring at Yuna Lanster with defiant eyes, but that was a miscalculation.
Bam!
It felt as if a flashbang exploded inside his skull. It must’ve been a fist. It felt like a pounding from a siege hammer. An instant later, his cheek ripped open, teeth cascading down like fallen leaves.
He wouldn’t yield to violence.
Bam! Smash!
Another fist connected. He was thrown to the ground. Then came a kick. Blood splattered and bones broke. The boy tried to fight back, to stab her with his dagger and end her life. But it was futile.
Neither skills nor sheer strength could match.
He was being crushed. The boy was literally being reduced to mush. Yet, the fists showed no signs of stopping. Steadily and mechanically, the violence marched on, the rhythm unfaltering.
In the agony, the boy thought: why… won’t it stop? At this rate, I’m going to die. I will die…?
With swollen eyes, the boy looked up at the source of the violence. Through the darkness, yellow eyes glimmered like a flash. Those indifferent eyes, reminiscent of carrion, hung in the air.
Only then did the boy understand.
The ‘Elimination Team’ didn’t prioritize the act of throwing away their lives.
What’s significant is that having cast away one’s life—means they could do anything. That’s what is crucial.
To Yuna Lanster, the boy was an obstacle. His loud protests could shake her standing within the Elimination Team. If that happened, the operation’s success rate would decrease. Thus, she fully excluded him.
She showed no hesitation in deciding to beat the boy to death.
Accusing him of being a Succubus spy, wielding that depraved body that appeared so useless, she inquired what he could do with just martial arts…
All these narratives, Yuna Lanster silenced with her fists. Without a shred of kindness.
Although she had distanced herself from the Elimination Team during that time.
With C’s help, separating herself from the Elimination Team, dealing with various tasks, sharing light banter while mingling with wizards—all those moments accumulated. Yet, the resentment buried deep within had never faded.
Her adaptation had been swift. It was merely a matter of drawing it forth—something simple to achieve.
“P-Please show… mercy…”
Only after such frail pleas did the fists finally stop.
The boy realized the halt wasn’t due to a benevolent intent of sparing his life…but rather a calculation that having even one more meat shield is better.
Wiping the blood from her fists on the boy’s uniform, Yuna Lanster commanded.
“Seris.”
“Yes, senpai!”
“Get rid of him.”
“Yes, understood! I’ll move him to the medical bay and if he appears useless, I’ll just leave him behind!”
Seris wore a smile akin to joy and cleaned up the blood-soaked scene. She had returned. The senior she idolized had finally returned to the Elimination Team.
Amidst the gathered members of the Elimination Team, smiles began to spread. They welcomed back a comrade, abounding with warmth.
Nothing had changed. Nothing had vanished.
The mad dog of the Elimination Team had reemerged.
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