“Me?”
“Since you’ve walked this path before, I just want to hear your thoughts, even if it’s not exactly the same.”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
I can tell you the conditions to reach the top-class level anytime.
It’s about imposing your own concepts, definitions, and will onto the world to solidify your position.
It’s quite a tough condition, but not an impossible one.
I know this, and Lasty knows it well, but what she’s asking isn’t that.
“Do I need to know more about my own existence?”
“I know myself.”
“I’m not talking about information.”
Lasty pouted.
For her, who had been kidnapped by a top-class demon and used for experiments for thousands of years, finding ‘self’ is quite a challenge.
Lasty Erbenus has been stripped of her ‘self’ through long experiments, leaving only the progenitor of vampires, Lasty, behind.
Any legacy or kingdom that could help her find herself has been wiped out by her own hands in her psychotic state.
“Anything works. You need to find something to represent yourself—whether it’s your past, something you need to protect, a great cause, an ambitious goal, or a precious memory.”
“What about you?”
“…Revenge.”
Revenge against those who took away my precious thing.
I desperately wished for it once, and it allowed me to grow to a higher level.
“Well, not so much now.”
Revenge used to be my essence.
I was full of the will to fight and burn everything without leaving a trace of my soul.
Back then, I might have looked insane to others, right?
As I pondered this with a frown, Lasty nodded.
“You’ve become completely soft compared to then.”
“Still, I was okay back then.”
“No way. When I first saw you, I thought you were going to disappear that day. You were totally cold.”
“……”
Lasty playfully grabbed her own arms and shivered.
Well, to be fair, Lasty back then was a 99% doomed ancient beast.
No beast had harmed as many lives as she had.
If there hadn’t been any chance of rehabilitation or future salvation for me, she probably would have disappeared right there.
“And.”
“And?”
“…Sometimes, you have to accept what you dislike to see the way forward.”
Both for me and Lasty.
Even if we strive for humanity, we cannot ignore the influence of what constitutes who we are now.
■
Lasty said she would seriously consider it and returned to the Space of Despair within my soul.
It seems she won’t come out until she finds the answer.
It seems like I won’t come out until I find the answer, stuck in the coffin.
She has a lot to do, but since she’s been helping me with various things lately, I can understand this much.
Finding an answer won’t be easy, but if I can, I could be quite a help in the disaster eradication battle.
I looked at the female zombie that Lasty had sealed away.
Originally, I intended to purify her gently after extracting all the information…
“Should I just leave her for now?”
Considering the male zombie who will come next year, it might be better to keep her for now.
If I can focus attention this way, the damage on the other side will significantly decrease.
For now, since she won’t provide any big rewards or additional information, I should leave her as a suitable hostage.
“Hmm…”
Flapping.
I picked up a few sheets of paper that were on the table.
These were the pieces of information Lasty left before going into the coffin.
In there, aside from what I requested, are also bits of information she researched on her own.
As expected from someone familiar with magic, she had a lot of information about Silence…
“But there’s no information about the Celestial Race.”
There’s no information regarding the Celestial Race.
This is the same for both Lasty and the Alliance.
Unlike the Demon Race, which has actively begun to attack as if warning about the disaster, the Celestial Race just set up the ‘White Door’ and did nothing at all.
Since they aren’t showing any movement, it’s only natural to be wary of the Demon Race.
‘It’s so like them… but it feels quite intentional.’
Are they actually telling us to focus only on the Demon Race for now?
In fact, the ratio of users who chose the White Badge has significantly increased compared to the initial numbers.
I suppose they will get what they want.
‘I will be getting involved, though.’
If no one cares about the Celestial Race, then it’s up to me to step in.
Even if someone tries to interfere, it doesn’t matter.
■
“…Stop! Stop!”
Clash!
In a mysterious space where light and darkness descend, the woman fighting countless illusions fell to the ground, throwing away her brightly shining sword.
Her name is Aisha.
The sole owner of a second job and a user with half the ability of an Impossible Being.
In the timeless space where she continued her training, two faint shapes flickered above her.
Among them, the shape with one wing of light seemed to squat and looked at Aisha.
─Are you tired?
“Aisha. Get your face out of the way. It’s making me sick!”
─You were the one who asked for help.
“That’s…! Right…”
Aisha groaned as she clung to her dizzying mind.
These were the twin angels and demons known as False Gemelynus, the very beings behind her hidden profession.
Originally, she never intended to meet them.
Suddenly appearing, they spouted incomprehensible nonsense before disappearing like monsters.
She fainted after merely engaging in conversation and ended up unconscious for an astonishing two days.
It felt as if just facing them made her soul shrink in fear.
Aisha cursed them under her breath (just in case, she might have cursed in reality) and vowed never to meet them again, but after some time, she had a change of heart.
‘When that day comes, many people who followed ‘her’ will turn their backs. Of course, she won’t blame them.’
‘…An unwanted situation might arise. Perhaps they might act a bit ‘normally’ than now.’
‘Think of it as a preparedness for that day. You have the privilege to choose both sides.’
The mysterious words they spoke.
She only knew it was related to the World Boss the following year, but it felt a bit unsettling to brush it off as a simple warning.
Above all…
‘Judge wisely.’
This warning wasn’t just for Aisha.
‘She.’
They were emphasizing the danger of the being known as her.
If she misjudged, it was as if something terrible would happen to her.
And it all pointed to Lily.
“…I shouldn’t have called again. I should’ve just swung a sword at the Academy. What’s the point of pursuing wealth and fame…”
─Hey, you wouldn’t have gotten this strong otherwise.
“…Could you please just move your face away? Please.”
─No way.
Aisha just shut her eyes tight.
It wasn’t because her opponent had a weird or hideous face.
It was simply because the gap in their ‘rank’ was too vast for her to accept their existence.
Normally, she would have been protected by the System’s mental safeguards, but in her current state, her soul was deeply intertwined with another soul.
The protective barrier against them had become incredibly thin.
Of course, if Gemelynus posed a threat that could annihilate her soul, the System would take action, but they had no intentions of harming their contractor at all.
On the contrary, they hoped for Aisha to thrive.
“Wake up. Stop being such an idiot. Recognizing ‘rank’ is vital training too.”
“I feel like throwing up. You monsters…”
Aisha shook her head in a stubborn refusal, keeping her eyes tightly closed.
As she squeezed her eyes shut, a figure with one black feathered wing approached and forcefully opened her eyes.
The distorted shape approached and forcibly opened my eyes.
“Ahh! My eyes!”
─…How funny. To live in such a peaceful manner, despite having access to an environment more conducive to training than any race in this world.
─Indeed. We were in a daily routine of suffering from our souls being half-peeled off.
─Those were dreadful days.
─Eww. Just thinking about it is completely unpleasant.
“No, that’s just because you guys are monsters…”
─Didn’t you say you wanted to help her?
Aisha’s eyes widened.
In my field of vision, there was a squat female white Gemelynus looking down at me, and a male black Gemelynus.
The smoky shape was still a bit blurry, but it had become somewhat clearer than before.
─It was you who came to find us, saying you wanted to help her. It was also you who asked for training help. But now, are you looking for an easy way out?
“……”
─Draw your sword and stand up. If you don’t have the strength to get up, at least observe us with your two eyes.
─Are you saying you want to train while lying down? Wow~ that’s comfy, right?
“…Fine.”
Tch.
Aisha raised her body.
The white Gemelynus was right in front of her, making her head spin even more, but it was definitely better than our first meeting.
Back then, I almost fainted just seeing the cloud-like shape.
With her trembling body, Aisha gripped the sword and stood up.
As she did, winged phantoms appeared, as if waiting to help with her training.
Swoosh!
“…And it’s not really helping.”
─Not helping?
“I’m just curious. What exactly does Lily do?”
A person hard to grasp in either reality or Deoen.
Still far from strong, but if she becomes much stronger, perhaps she could uncover Lily’s secrets.
Her identity shrouded in mystery.
“If you look closely, you’ll understand. When in crisis, the hidden parts will also reveal themselves. That’s why we’re doing this. It’s not like I want to particularly help you…”
─Isn’t that helping?
─You’re not even bright enough to understand your own feelings.
“……”
Let’s not talk anymore.
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