Chapter 68

“…Impressive, Christ. I’d expect no less from the person who killed Teida.”

Alti spoke to me with composure, even as a massive amount of blood spilled from her wounds.

“Shut up…! Just hurry up and drop dead already…!!”

I pulled a fresh, damp cloak from my Inventory, draping it over myself as I pressed forward.

My remaining HP was 238.

Looking at the numbers alone, I could still keep going. It was too early to give up. I remolded my mana, determined to save Maria just as I had saved Lastiara.

“It’s not enough… Not nearly enough. Isn’t that right, Maria…?”

“It’s not enough…!”

Maria stood beside Alti, repeating the same words.

Though swaying unsteadily, Alti approached Maria and embraced her from behind. The two of them began a repetitive chant. “Not enough,” “From now on”—layering their voices over and over.

A sense of dread washed over me, and I wrung out my remaining strength to charge.

I had to stop them. My intuition screamed it at me.

With the momentum of my run, I thrust my sword forward, aiming for Alti’s face as she stood behind Maria.

However, there was no resistance. My blade pierced through Alti’s face as if being sucked into a void.

The contours of her face wavered, losing their physical form, and she grinned at me as a flickering flame.

Simultaneously, Maria swung her flame sword, forcing me to leap back.

It was an utterly bizarre sight.

Alti transformed her entire body into fire, which was then swallowed by the flames Maria wore.

Ultimately, she seeped into Maria’s body and vanished.

Then, a portion of Maria’s flames shifted into the shape of a mouth and spoke to me.

“Now, it truly begins, Christ. With this, our assimilation is complete. It’s still just the beginning—”

As I calculated my next move, my body froze.

The opponent I was supposed to cut down had disappeared, and my hands stalled.

I understood that Alti had become fire and merged with Maria’s flames.

Does that mean I have to extinguish every flame in this area? Or has she entered Maria’s body, meaning I have to kill Maria to kill her? Or is it something else entirely? I had no idea.

While I hesitated, Maria leveled her flame sword and ran toward me with a scream.

“Master, please, just fall!! If you fall, we can start over… We can go back to how things were! This time, we don’t need anyone else; let’s start over with just the two of us!!”

I could do nothing but parry the repeatedly lunging flame sword. I simply didn’t know how to attack Alti anymore.

At this rate, I would eventually lose a war of attrition. Yet, the only countermeasure available to me was the persuasion I had already failed at.

“Ma—Maria! Pull yourself together! Everything is going exactly how that monster wants it to, you know!? Fighting me is meaningless! There’s no such thing as a ‘do-over’ in life!!”

“Even so! Alti stayed on my side until the very end! She worked so hard for me when I was all alone! Unlike you, she didn’t exclude me, she didn’t leave me by myself, and she didn’t abandon me!!”

My attempts at persuasion were met with further rebukes.

It felt as though the more we spoke, the stronger her flames grew.

There was undoubtedly a close connection between Maria’s psyche and the heat she produced.

I intensified my spell, Dimension: Winter, as I shouted. I pushed my overheated brain to its limits, choosing my words carefully—

“I’ll never leave you alone again! I won’t abandon you! I promise! So please, put out the fire!!”

“Another lie…! Then why did you go and save Lastiara!? When she’s around, I can’t keep up. I get left behind. I end up all alone. Knowing that, why did you save her!?”

“I’ll make Lastiara understand too. It’ll be okay. We’ll all be together. So—”

“Everything went wrong after she showed up! Lastiara is unfair… Being born as someone so radiant is cheating. Do you have any idea how anxious I was, watching you being pulled toward her light like a moth!? As long as she’s there, I can’t be sure when I’ll be abandoned again, or when you’ll tell another lie! I can’t feel safe!!”

The more we talked, the more Maria’s true feelings were laid bare.

“…!”

At the same time, my own misunderstandings were brought into sharp relief.

I felt like I was starting to see the root of Maria’s feelings.

I had thought it was a case of love and jealousy spiraling out of control, but that wasn’t it.

Something felt off. Over and over, Maria was angry about “something else.”

Right now, both Maria and I were screaming at each other while shaving away our very lives.

Because of that, we were finally beginning to understand one another.

“…That’s why I’m going to start over. I’ll return to those days when you were kind, weak, and looked as though you were lost. Back then, you clung to me, and it made me feel so secure. I thought that if it was you, you would stay by my side—that I could finally be happy… I believed you would never lie to me. Master! Please, go back to being the Master from before she was around…!”

Maria said she wanted to be with the burned, weakened me.

She said she couldn’t feel safe otherwise.

If I wasn’t the “weakened” version, she was too worried about when and where I might disappear.

That meant—

—Maria was simply terrified.

I hadn’t told Maria anything.

Not my real name, not my origin, not my purpose… I hadn’t told her anything.

Because she knew nothing, she couldn’t help but worry.

No matter how many times I told her it was okay, or how kind I was, or how much I favored her, it meant nothing if I didn’t share a single truth. In fact, it had the opposite effect.

That was the root.

The root of this battle—of the “Tenth Trial.”

Maria wanted a guarantee.

A guarantee that I wouldn’t disappear to “somewhere else”—

“I could do nothing but watch as the person I loved drifted away! No matter how hard I chased, I couldn’t reach you!! Do you have any idea how I felt, having the person I love taken away by Lastiara!?”

Maria loved me.

Literally, she loved me to death…

That was exactly why she couldn’t forgive Lastiara, who had that “guarantee.” She was terrified of Lastiara, who knew my real name, my origin, and my purpose—the one who was always by my side. Maria, lacking that guarantee, was in constant fear of being discarded.

Maria had likely been anxious for a long time.

For a long, long time, she had been anxious enough to go mad.

—I was starting to understand.

No, I was being taught.

By the “Tenth Trial” of Alti, “The One Who Steals the Fire Principle.”

“Master is mine… I found you first. So, you belong only to me…!!”

Maria’s flames roared to unprecedented heights.

Burning through her entire being, their intensity surpassed my cold air.

Eventually, even our exchange of blades tilted in her favor, and she knocked my sword far back. My defenseless torso was shoved away, creating distance—and then, Maria began to chant.

“『Kindle, Sever-Flame』”

It was a poem of resolve, a vow to obtain what she desired at any cost.

For some reason, I understood the meaning of that “Incantation.”

The wish Maria poured into her chant reached me as well.

Simultaneously, I understood exactly what Maria was paying as a “Price” to cast this magic.

“『Convey, Sever-Ice』”

And so, I also began to chant.

The incantation spilled from my lips as if I had conceived it myself.

At the same time, I felt a single precious memory vanish.

I felt my emotions being toyed with.

But it was the same for Maria. I wouldn’t stop.

“『Amidst the Phantom Stagger and the Slender Thread』—”

“『Amidst the Phantom Stagger and the Slender Thread』—”

The magic being constructed was likely the fire serpent spell.

The current me should be able to do it.

Having trained, understood, and strengthened my Freezing Magic; having staked my life, added my chant, and learned the source of Maria’s flames—now, I could do it!

“『Swallow the Stars』, 《Midgardsblaze》!!”

“『Swallow the Stars』, 《Midgardsfreeze》!!”

Two massive serpents were unleashed from Maria’s and my bodies, colliding head-on.```

Both were insubstantial serpents.

Heat and cold.

Grand spells of opposing attributes collided, each trying to devour and nullify the other.

The deadlock lasted only an instant.

The victor was the fire serpent.

There wasn’t a single factor that would have allowed my serpent of frost to win.

However, because they had clashed, the fire serpent’s momentum was largely spent.

At the last possible second, I leaped to the side to dodge the flaming snake.

The fire serpent slammed into the ground and dispersed into mist.

I immediately regained my footing, forcing my screaming body to move as I pressed in on Maria.

Thinking that Maria must be feeling this same agony, I couldn’t allow myself to dwell on the pain.

I won’t let Maria use fire magic again.

With that vow, I engaged her in close-quarters combat.

“『Shine, Flame Sword』. This is the perfected flame sword. 《Flame Flamberge》!”

To match my approach, the mouth of flames chanted a spell.

It was Alti’s voice.

Simultaneously, the heat of Maria’s flame sword intensified. The blade, visibly denser now, shifted to blue before finally transforming into a dazzling white sword of fire.

My precious sword clashed with Maria’s flame sword.

It was a strange sensation.

To call it a “clash” felt too soft—the feedback was tepid.

The reason was simple: the tip of my blade, which had come into contact with the flame sword, was beginning to melt into a slurry.

“Tch!! —Magic: 《Ice Flamberge》!”

208 and 332 remaining.

I coated my sword in a layer of ice to minimize the damage to the blade.

Using unfamiliar magic caused my life force to whittle away visibly.

The life I had gained from leveling up after overcoming the battle with Teida was being converted into mana like melting ice.

Flame sword and ice sword locked hilt-to-hilt, scattering sparks of mana.

A mist of magic swirled and rose.

I reflexively pulled my sword back and swung again.

However, every strike was parried by Maria’s flame sword.

Her movements were clearly different from how she had fought just moments ago. By assimilating with Alti, all of her abilities had improved. Her strength, speed, technique, and the precision of her Keen Eye were on a completely different level.

No matter how many times I swung my sword, only sparks flew.

In time with her movements, Maria screamed.

“Losing my home, becoming a slave! None of it was as painful as this! If it was going to be this painful, this envious, and this sad, I wish you had just abandoned me from the start!!”

Every time I heard Maria’s inner thoughts, my movements grew sluggish.

I knew.

I didn’t even intend to argue back anymore.

—It’s my fault.

It’s my fault for reaching out with such half-hearted resolve.

It’s my fault for continuing to act so ambiguously afterward.

It’s my fault for deceiving myself and forcing Maria to overextend.

It’s my fault for being overly protective.

“I wish there had never been any hope! Even if I had died as a slave, I don’t think I would feel as much pain as I do now! Wanting to be close but being left behind, wanting to know but having you look away—it’s driving me mad!!”

It’s my fault for putting off explanations.

It’s my fault for continuing to run even after realizing her feelings.

To top it all off, it’s my fault for leaving Maria alone while making excuses.

It’s my fault for being so slow to realize it.

Everything had been causing Maria suffering.

As a result, Maria was being enticed and toyed with by a monster like Alti.

I wanted to punch my past self—the one who, until moments ago, thought everything was going well just because I saved Lastiara without a scratch.

“Everything is going well”?

“I’m so glad”?

As usual, nothing was going right.

If I focused, the skill ‘???’ was crawling right beside me.

Given my current mental state, I was certain that if I reached out, it would activate instantly. It would solve everything by sacrificing everything other than the Labyrinth. It would discard all this chaos without hesitation and provide a simple answer.

It was a sweet temptation.

If it activated, I would surely kill Maria, who was threatening my life.

That would be the end of it.

Regardless of the outcome, it would be easier.

I could erase all the suffering, sadness, anger, and worry.

But no.

An answer derived from something like that couldn’t possibly be right.

That’s why I thought desperately.

With a head that was far from calm, I gathered every piece of information I had and decided on the course of action I had to take.

By my own will.

“There’s… no other way.”

My throat trembled as I spoke my resolve aloud.

Just now, I chose my answer.

Then, without activating ‘???’ and without chanting an incantation, I constructed magic using only the mana within my body.

My goal was to envelop Maria in cold air, just as I had done this morning.

Wringing out every bit of my strength, I broke into a run.

“Magic: 《Di Overwinter》!!”

Desperately clinging to my fading consciousness and shaving away my life force, I constructed my greatest spell.

I expanded the field to envelop Maria, swinging my sword while stripping away her heat.

The magical cold hindered Maria’s movements while cooling her down.

The enemy’s heat sources numbered over a thousand. Trying to understand them all and distribute my mana optimally made my brain’s circuits char. Sensing danger, my brain began secreting massive amounts of narcotics. Pain-suppressing substances flowed through every vessel.

I reached the far side of pain, grasping every heat source with a superhuman processing capacity.

The refinement of this magic was clearly different from the battle against the Celestial Knights. Whether my ability to maintain consciousness was due to my stats or my increased skill level—

I knew instinctively it was the quality of the mana.

The mana born from shaving away my maximum HP was of an entirely different quality.

Using freezing magic, I sealed both Maria’s flames and her movements.

As a result, I suppressed both Maria’s and Alti’s fires, dodged her flame sword by a hair’s breadth, and brought my ice sword to Maria’s throat.

However, that was as far as I could go.

Maria tried to swing her flame sword again, moving as if she didn’t care if her throat was slit. I used my free hand to grab her wrist and stop her. Even as my palm charred, I had no intention of letting go.

In this position, I was face-to-face with Maria, only inches apart.

Locked in that posture, I spoke to her slowly.

From the weight of my repeated failures, I knew this was my last chance.

“Maria, I’m not giving up… I absolutely cannot stop exploring the Labyrinth, or aiming for the ‘Deepest Level’…”

“I don’t want to go… I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go. Because… I hate being alone anymore—”

“I… hate being alone… That’s why I decided to go to the ‘Deepest Level’…”

Putting strength and flames into my grip, I held down Maria as she tried to shake me off, and poured out my true, unvarnished feelings.

At the same time, I released the precious sword at her throat and let it fall to the ground.

“—Eh?”```

Maria loosened her grip just a fraction.

I leaned my weight into her, letting the cold seep through while I summoned the true feelings I had kept hidden for so long.

I knew that if I gave voice to them, I would lose all emotional restraint.

Just thinking about it was enough to drive me mad.

If I allowed myself to be conscious of it, the tears wouldn’t stop.

I would become restless, unable to maintain my composure. I knew that.

But I couldn’t think of any other way to save Maria.

The effort I’d spent suppressing the skill ‘???’ over the past few days had paid off. Now, I could express these emotions without falsehood. My feelings for my “family” were reigniting. The “Price” that ‘???’ had taken the other day was only my feelings for Lastiara.

I remembered my family—I remembered my sister—and my purpose became crystal clear.

In an instant, I felt dizzy.

Just facing it made me feel swallowed by anxiety, and a wave of nausea washed over me.

However, I absolutely would not let ‘???’ activate.

By my own will, I spoke.

“If you’re alone, Maria, then so am I… Because in this world, I am the only one. I am the only foreign being here…”

“W-what are you saying—?”

“I’m not a person of this world. I’m just a student, summoned from a far, far distant world. That’s why I want to go home. I want to go back so badly… I don’t want to die in a place that makes no sense like this… My family isn’t here! I am truly, genuinely alone in this world! I was terrified… I’m so scared of dying alone in a place like this that I can’t help it…!”

“Not a person… of this world…?”

I dug up the feelings I had when I first wandered into this alternate world—the feelings ‘???’ had treated as if they never existed—and conveyed them to Maria without hiding a thing, meeting her eyes.

“I want to go back to my precious family!! I want to see my little sister! Part of it is because I’m lonely, but more than anything, I’m worried sick about her! We were a family of only two…! Without me, she is truly, utterly alone… Even though she can’t survive without me, I’ve been trapped in a world like this for over a week… It’s painful for me to be alone in this world, too. But! I’m sure my sister is back in that world, all by herself, suffering even more!! That’s why I have to go back! To do that, I have no choice but to obtain a miracle! I need the miracle at the end of the Labyrinth!!”

“Master… a sister…?”

“Yeah. She’s a girl who looks just like you, Maria. That’s why I saved you, because you reminded me of her. I favored you to comfort myself… By keeping you in the house as a substitute for my sister, I was able to keep myself together… I only saved you to distract myself from the pain!!”

“Ah, ahh… So that’s why…”

It was Maria’s black hair, her appearance, her age, her attitude, her circumstances—they all reminded me of the sister I once had.

I hadn’t wanted to admit it.

I had tried not to think about it.

Just remembering it, just speaking of it, made my heart twist.

My chest ached as if my flesh were being wrenched off with pliers.

The person most important to me was far away, out of reach.

Just that fact was this agonizing.

The anxiety was unbearable.

—But.

Maria had been tasting this exact suffering the entire time.

Unlike me, she had felt it all along.

And the one who had inflicted that suffering was none other than me.

So, even as my hands, feet, neck, and body were being scorched, I apologized to Maria.

She could burn me as much as she wanted.

But in exchange, I would save her. If I didn’t liberate this girl who was suffering because of me from these flames of agony, I couldn’t face going back to my original world.

When I checked my ‘Display’, I could see my life force being whittled away.

My cells were dying one by one, and I could taste death at the back of my tongue.

Even so, I would not stop. In the worst-case scenario, I wouldn’t stop until my HP hit 1.

I intensified the penetration of the cold.

However, Alti, refusing to accept this, tried to interject.

“W-wait, Maria… If that’s true—”

“Alti, please be quiet!!”

Maria silenced her.

She looked as though she wouldn’t permit anything to obstruct the person who had finally begun to speak the truth.

For Maria, this was likely the entrance to the truth she had finally found.

“I’m sorry, Maria… I did something horrible to you. Even though I noticed your feelings for me, I treated you like a sister to the very end. Because that was the easiest path for me, I kept running away into that lie…”

With a solemn expression, Maria listened to my confession.

Grateful for that, I put my resolve into words without any deception.

“That’s why I’ve decided, Maria—”

If I wanted things to go right after they had gone so wrong, a price was required.

And I was the only one who could pay that price now.

“I don’t care if my limbs are burned away here and I become yours. I don’t even care if I die at the end of it. Just one thing… If you’ll accept just one condition, you can tear off my arms and legs right now…”

This was my answer.

I had simply assumed that this answer and my purpose were incompatible.

That wasn’t the case.

“Promise me that you will go to the ‘Deepest Level’ of the Labyrinth. Swear to me that, in my stead, you will absolutely help my sister. With the Maria you are now, you can do it if you cooperate with Lastiara and the others… I’m sure you can…”

There was no need for it to be me.

As long as there was someone to carry on my will, it didn’t matter what happened to me.

Right now, there was Lastiara, who had regained her true self. Her talent was undoubtedly that of a hero. She had the qualities of a leader. I could trust her, and above all, she was an explorer who didn’t crave a miracle for herself.

There was Radiant, Hein, and Dia, too.

If the five of them combined their strength, they would surely reach the ‘Deepest Level’. If Maria and the others would carry on my will, I was fine with that kind of ending.

Even Lastiara’s ‘Contract’ was a condition that Maria could fulfill.

The feelings of the explorer known as Christ Eurasia weren’t that important.

It wasn’t important that I remained whole.

Even my return wasn’t mandatory.

The only thing that mattered was ‘my sister’s happiness’.

Because that was the true wish of ‘Kanami Aikawa’—

“My real name is Kanami Aikawa. And my sister’s name is Hitaki. If you go to my world, please find Hitaki… If you save Hitaki, I don’t need anything else…”

It was surely a foolish thought.

If the skill ‘???’ were active, it would never permit this.

But that’s just how a person driven to the brink is. If, at the moment of death, you still have emotions and can truly feel conflicted, you can make a choice like this.

You can bet on a sliver of hope that isn’t rational.

Hearing that, Maria repeated my name.

“Kanami… Master’s real name is… Kanami Aikawa…”

‘???’ was not there.

The lie of Christ Eurasia was gone.

Hearing the answer given by the plain ‘Kanami Aikawa’, Maria repeated it as if savoring the words.