Chapter 339: Price (5)
In the past, Libra was rife with abnormal energies. Perhaps they were the result of bizarre experiments conducted by those creatures.
"The Shadow1 was a particularly new phenomenon among them. It coiled itself around a stronghold, trapping any approaching beings in darkness.
In essence, it was a real shadow. A part of the shadow had developed something akin to consciousness, a phenomenon close to nature.
Even Libra couldn't fully control it; they could only manage to utilize it to some extent.
Because it's a phenomenon, it's beyond human control.
“……”
I looked around. The space was already filled with darkness, but there were quite a few things underfoot.
Things swallowed by the shadow.
“Shion. Where are we?”
Suddenly, Soliette's voice flowed from beside me.
“What, you got caught too?”
“Yes. It seems so.”
Soliette blinked and responded.
“……Damn.”
Whether inside or out, there wasn't much difference.
“Shion. Do you know something?”
“I don't know much either. Kve never been inside before.”
Those who have entered have never come out. That's why there's no information available.
“Is there anybody there!”
I shouted Loudly.
Soliette also created a hand-held sound amplifier and followed suit.
“Is anyone there——1”
No response came back to the fading voices.
“……Let's go.”
We moved forward to anywhere.
Every direction looked the same, but the fNotepadJ is a natural navigator. If you draw the path you walked like a map, you won't get lost. The problem is that the path might be meaningless.
For me, it's a race against time.
If I don't show up for work for three days, or rather two, suspicion will inevitably arise.
“Shion. Can't we just cut out? With the Severing Sword.”
“……Would that work?”
I turned to Look at soliette.
“l'll try.”
Soliette drew her sword and swung it.
The magic-infused blade cut through the air, but nothing changed. It was still too weak to split the space itself.
“……Master should try.”
Soliette Looked back at me.
“Alright. The master will give it a shot.”
I drew my sword with a bit of humor.
“Kraaaaaaa!”
“Wha!”
Soliette flinched at the scream I let out.
I swung with all my might, but again, to no effect.
“lt didn't work.”
“……Master, you're really loud.”
Soliette pouted. I coughed awkwardly.
“Uh, Shion. Look there!”
She pointed. There was some form there. I checked first with the SZX-9500.
It looked like a dead person.
“……Looks Like a corpse?”
“Huh?”
“Let's go.”
We approached the spot.
In the darkness, a corpse clad in mercenary attire lay emaciated.
“lt seems he was a mercenary.”
Light leather armor. Pockets aplenty, filled with wires, knives, and much more.
I picked up a notebook protruding from an inner pocket and flipped open the first page.
[Day 3: I've drifted into a strange place. Its nothing but darkness. But I've faced worse than this. If therefs nothing, thafs almost a relief. I plan to keep a diary to maintain my sanity.]
The handwriting exuded confidence despite the sudden phenomenon.
[Day 8: I've decided to keep track of how far I walk. There must be an end somewhere.]
[Day 13: No matter how much I walk, I see no end. There's no answer. I see nothing.]
[Day 18: It seems something has gone wrong.]
[Day 20: I found people! Three others in the same predicament as me.]
Day 20. No pages followed. If there were people, they could talk together. No need to keep a diary just to maintain sanity.
But then…
After flipping through about twenty pages.
[Day 109: I need to start writing in the diary again. Just staring. Its sad. Haha.]
From Day 109, everything began to deteriorate.
[It's day 121. The sky was clear. Today seems like it might bring some good things. Bugs are flying around. Hmm. I think I'm a bit off.]
[Ah, right. I remembered what I need to do today. The person next door keeps bothering me. The noise between floors is too much. I should call the police.]
The writing was hard to decipher. The sentences were disjointed. Pages filled with bloodstains and spit marks continued until Day 209.
[I found food!!!!!!!!!]
“……1”
I quickly drew my sword. At that moment, the eyes of what I thought was a corpse widened. Knives sprayed from its entire body.
Ching, ching, ching, ching——!
I deflected them all, and soliette sliced its throat.
“GurgLe!”
The creature made a beast-like sound as it died.
“……”
“……”
We were momentarily stunned. It looked unmistakably like a corpse. Could a FSpectrumJ even pretend to be dead?
“Huh.”
Thump—!
I closed the notebook with a sigh.
“……This person was trapped here for 210 days.”
“What? 210 days? Is that even possible?”
Soliette tilted her head.
“How could anyone survive 210 days without food?”
“……”
I silently looked at soliette. It was a look that contemplated food.
“……Ah .”
Soon, Soliette seemed to understand and her expression turned solemn.
Food might be replenished. Just like we were caught here.
“Let's not resort to eating each other.”
Outside the abandoned library, Balancers and Chasers began to arrive in droves due to the summoning order issued by Belingham Kantar.
“lt seems we are trapped in shadows. How long should we wait?”
SheLock's Balancer, Garek, asked Belingham. Belingham, gazing distantly at the abandoned library, responded.
“Wait about a week. As I said, kill any stray cats on sight.”
Recently, Belingham had detected a strange phenomenon. Cats were gathering around the abandoned library.
The presence of cats in such a place was 'unusual； and Belingham anticipated that where there was something unusual, something even more unusual might occur.
As a result, he managed to capture a duo Balancer assassins named Jelly and Candy.
“lt must be their Spectrum.”
Though he had never heard of a Spectrum that controlled cats, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Belingham swiftly scanned the surroundings.
“However, I don't see Balancer Ascal?”
He had called Shion Ascal for this mission. There was no special reason; he simply wanted to work with a senior colleague.
“Yes, it seems he has not responded.”
It's understandable if someone is too busy to come, but Shion hadn't even replied.
Was it already a form of rivalry, or perhaps…
“Should we keep trying to contact him?”
“…NO, it's fine. He probably doesn't want to get close.”
Belingham smiled faintly.
“Report if you detect any significant situations. I'Ll be leaving now.”
Leaving three Balancers and nineteen Chasers behind, a total of twenty-two, Belingham departed from the library.
“Ha!”
Soliette's exclamation echoed. The sound of her sword cleaving the air resounded.
“Ha!”
For hours, Soliette had been diligently practicing her sword swings.
“Ha!”
Knowing her talent, it was hard to deem her efforts meaningless.
“Ha!”
It might be possible in about a month, but by then, all my plans would have ended. My life would be over.
“Ha!”
Zia would recruit Belingham in my stead, Jade would fail to meet Eceline, and Theia Esil would not escape execution.
“Ha!”
“…Soliette.”
I called out to soliette. There was still something left to discuss before everything fell apart.
Soliette turned to look at me.
“Yes.”
“What do you think?”
“Uh… about what exactly?”
“About the mastermind behind Knightmare.”
“……”
Soliette's expression hardened momentarily. After exhaling a faint breath, she came over and flopped down beside me.
“T'd rather ask Shion. Who do you think is behind all this, Shion?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
I stared at the ceiling, which was nothing but darkness, and spoke into the void.
“Arkne is definitely one of the culprits. They must have sought to gain something by using Knightmare.”
It was likely something soliette had anticipated. A bitter smile spread across her lips.
“SO… what exactly did my family want?”
Soliette mused, wiping the sweat from her face.
“What did they want so badly… that they killed my brother and Felix?”
I didn't want to answer. I turned my head, trying to avoid her gaze. However, Soliette grabbed my wrist.
Tightly.
“Please answer me, Shion. You know, don't you?”
“…”
I know.
Actually, I don't know. Its just a guess.
How could this somewhat reasonable guess be of any help to soliette now?
“You.”
I started with a single word, and soliette's eyes trembled.
“You have a talent that will be remembered in your family lineage.”
Arkne's principle is primogeniture. Thats the rule. The family's principles aren't easily compromised. Once a principle solidifies into tradition, it becomes a rule more unbreakable than anything else, a rule that should not be broken.
“No. Not just the family, but a talent that will be remembered in the history of the continent.”
Felix and Jared were obstacles to soliette. One distracted her heart, and the other, simply because he was born first, took the place that should have been hers.
That's probably what the Arkne 'family' thought.
“So, maybe they used the power of Knightmare.”
“…”
Soliette silently lowered her head. After staring at the ground for a long time, she murmured softly.
“lt feels like you've looked into the darkness in my heart.”
There was no sign of surprise. Rather, she accepted it calmly.
After all, she hadn't completely ruled out such suspicions.
“So, I should take revenge on my family.”
“…”
Her self-mocking words pierced my heart. I suddenly felt uneasy.
“lf you must take revenge.”
I quickly placed my hand on her shoulder.
“What will you do?”
I asked her in a bewildered tone, without even realizing it. She faced me. There was no answer. For a long time, there was no answer. Her trembling lips were frustrating.
So, I broke the silence first.
“Suicide?”
“What are you talking about, Shion.”
The atmosphere instantly lightened. Soliette chuckled and lightly hit my shoulder.
“I would never do that, such a thing.”
Her response was as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Was she always like this, or did I change her?
I looked at her and asked again.
“Even five years ago?”
“Yes, of course.”
Her response was immediate, as if the thought of it never existed.
“Why would I commit suicide?”
Her challenging reply was overwhelming for me.
“…”
Because before the regression, you did commit suicide. You left alone after saying it was for my sake.
Such words surged to the tip of my tongue.
I thought I had forgotten, but it seemed I was still not over her suicide.
“Lets think of a way out first, Shion.”
Soliette stood up again, gripping her sword.
“Ah!”
I watched her as she repeated her usual slicing motions. I saw her eyes, nose, mouth, shoulders, hands, arms, legs, and ankles.
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
I turned on the “SZX-9500.” The shadow was thick with magical particles.
They were particles from the 'Magic Space.'
The shadows were also inhabiting the 'Magic Space' that makes up the library.
If that's the case.
“Wait a moment.”
What is the nature of this Magic Space?
I gathered mana particles in my palm. Then, I took out a notebook from a person who had just died. I blew the particles into it.
Ssshhh…
The pages of the notebook began to turn, starting to look new again. All records were erased, returning to their pristine, original state.
Was it rewinding time, or restoring it to its original form?
I wasn't sure which it was.
But, the thought I had while looking at this—
“…”
I looked at soliette.
If my idea works, the current soliette might temporarily die. The 'past' could take her place.
However, this is a Magic Space.
The mana inside the Magic Space loses its effect the moment it flows outside.
Meaning, the restoration is limited only within this Magic Space. Once we escape, she will revert back to the current soliette.
So, it's worth a try.
No, I must succeed for her sake.
Otherwise, we'U die.
“lf cutting is an extreme, then connecting is not much different.”
A phrase the past soliette once told me.
The current soliette looked back at me.
“Huh?”
“Soliette.”
I called her name.
What I am about to do is to bring back her distant past self.
“Can you trust me?”
Before the regression… an act of summoning the First Sword of the Continent, a figure who will be remembered in history.
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