episode_0144

“Hoo… hoo… hoo….”

“…? Zeke-nim, are you alright?”

“Ah… uh… Hoooo… Continuously using magic takes a toll on my body…”

As I moved forward, continuously exploring the surrounding rooms with tentacle-shaped magic, I ended up using too much magic and collapsed, exhausted, on the spot. Hoooo… Now that I think about it, there were an incredible number of rooms here, weren’t there? Plus, I’d forgotten that I don’t have as much power as Aria… Damn it… I shouldn’t be this exhausted… I need to regain my strength quickly and find that experimental girl and the researcher… My body…

“Zeke-nim… Don’t overdo it… For you, who told me not to overdo it, to be like this…”

“… Hmm… I feel like I’ve been hit squarely in the heart, so I can’t help but laugh… Hahaha…”

It made my previous concern for Aria, when I told her not to overdo it, seem meaningless. When Aria pointed out that *I* was overdoing it this time, I was so flustered that I burst out laughing. Ha… This isn’t a situation to laugh in, yet I’m just laughing… At that moment, I found myself so bewildered by my own laughter, Aria extended her hand to me and spoke.

“Here, Zeke-nim. If you’re tired, let’s go slowly.”

“… Hahaha… Right… Sorry for worrying you…?”

Seeing Aria extend her hand, suggesting we go slowly if I was tired, I chuckled and tried to stand up, taking her hand. But the moment I took Aria’s hand, a strange feeling washed over me, and I stood up, led by her hand, feeling bewildered. When I showed my bewilderment, Aria tilted her head and asked.

“…? Zeke-nim, is something wrong?”

“Ah… No… It must have been my imagination. Don’t worry about it.”

I didn’t mention the strange feeling I’d just experienced to Aria, merely calling it my imagination, and continued forward, holding her hand. When we found a camera, Aria immediately shot a light bullet from her staff, destroying it, and then explored the surrounding rooms. When a kitchen was discovered, I recalled something and asked Aria.

“Come to think of it, you used to secretly put poison in the food you gave Karina… But lately, it seems you haven’t even tried to poison the food other people eat, Aria. You didn’t even put poison in the food you were going to give to another woman… Did something change your mind?”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, I haven’t really cared about other people eating my food lately. Before, it bothered me when anyone other than Zeke-nim ate my food… Perhaps it’s because Zeke-nim cares for me every day?”

Aria smiled, speculating that the reason she hadn’t cared much about others eating her food lately was because I cared for her every day. Seeing her smile, I felt that strange sensation again and flinched. What on earth is this feeling…? It’s a feeling I’ve never experienced before…

“Uh… uh-huh… Well, if that’s the case, that’s good… Anyway, it’s a relief to think that you’re willing to let others eat your food too… Though this isn’t really the time to talk about it. Hahaha…”

“Pfft… Still, seeing Zeke-nim laugh makes me feel even better, so I think it was good to have this conversation… Honestly, seeing the experimental subjects earlier made me feel a kind of kinship, so I was feeling a bit down… A life trapped somewhere…”

“… What did you say…?”

When Aria revealed that she felt a kinship with the experimental subjects, I was greatly shocked. Then, seeing Aria’s bitter smile, I felt that strange sensation once more and instinctively knew what I should do in this atmosphere. I immediately took Aria’s hand and and said with a bright smile.

“When I see you thinking of other living beings like this… how should I put it… I feel better? Hahaha… I don’t know how to explain it… Anyway, thanks to your joke earlier, my anxious feelings have eased a bit.”

“… Hehehe. It’s a relief that Zeke-nim feels better seeing me…?”

“Graaaaaah!”

The moment we felt better seeing each other, experimental subjects appeared in the distance, baring their teeth and rushing towards us. We looked at each other and nodded. Then, with me holding Trahan and Aria holding her staff upright, we focused on the approaching experimental subjects.

“Zeke-nim, will your body be alright?”

“Oh! Perhaps because I was so moved by you thinking of other living beings earlier, strength is surging within me! You’re ready, right, Aria!”

“Yes, Zeke-nim!!”

Even in this urgent situation, we exchanged jokes and remained undaunted, immediately charging at the experimental subjects that rushed us. But even then, I was preoccupied with what that strange feeling I had just experienced was. What on earth was that feeling? It wasn’t a bad feeling… While Aria and I dealt with the charging experimental subjects, Dio V Runner, standing at the entrance to the bio-lab, stretched his hands and looked around, speaking.

“Hmm… How should I act… Even if I keep preventing the Saints and Priests from entering here, there’s a possibility they might find another passage…”

“Then I’ll take Tiavel and scout the surroundings. If everything ends, will you be able to contact me?”

When Dio V Runner said that the possibility of Saints and Priests finding another entrance couldn’t be ruled out, Yuria replied that she would take Tiavel and search for them. Then Dio V Runner nodded, turned around, and spoke.

“If Zeke and Aria finish everything, I will announce it throughout this entire research facility. Then it would be best to return here and rejoin Zeke and Aria. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like a good idea… but will this research facility have a device that can announce to everyone here?”

“Such a research facility will surely have a central control room. And the researcher here is probably monitoring all of us from there, releasing the experimental subjects. If you’ve decided, go quickly. If I don’t see any Saints or Priests here, I’ll go help Zeke and Aria too.”

“Understood, Dio V Runner! Be careful!!”

When Dio V Runner told her to go quickly if she had decided, Yuria nodded and ran off to another area, holding Tiavel in her arms. Then Dio V Runner let out a deep sigh, pulled something out of his pocket, and sighed again.

“Hoooo… It’s a good thing I have enough Orbs. I made sure to pack plenty of spare Orbs under the assumption that everyone in this dimension could become my enemy… So, what preparations have you made to fight us? You, the Priest wielding the hammer who fought me just now.”

Dio V Runner muttered that he had packed plenty of spare Orbs under the assumption that he might have to fight everyone here, then he fitted a red Orb into his flamethrower and aimed it at the Priest who appeared beside him. The Priest, recalling Yuria, who had just hastily left in the opposite direction, asked Dio V Runner.

“Did you realize I was coming and evacuate that woman?”

“Evacuate? Don’t talk nonsense. That woman is also capable of fighting you. Did you really think your operation would succeed just by being wary of interdimensional beings?”

“No. I merely asked out of curiosity, interdimensional being. Anyway… shall we resume the fight that was suddenly interrupted just now…”

“I was already going to, you utterly cunning Priest. Flame Orb.”

“Oh, Omniscient and Omnipotent One in the heavens!! Bring judgment upon the foolish!!”

As the Priest spun his hammer, suggesting they continue the interrupted fight, Dio V Runner said he was already planning to, and shot powerful flames from his flamethrower at the Priest. The Priest then chanted a prayer, used divine power to enhance his hammer, and swung it directly at Dio V Runner. Meanwhile, in the bio-lab corridor, Aria and I had defeated all the experimental subjects and were regaining our strength to search the surroundings again.

“There’s no one here, Zeke-nim!”

“Here too…! Haaah… Damn it, how vast is this research facility!!!”

No matter how many experimental subjects we defeated and how much we searched, there was no sign of a single person, which greatly frustrated me, and I complained about the Levalud Research Facility. How on earth do the people here remember the structure of this place?! It’s wider than a village at this point!!!

“Aria!! Did you perhaps find out where the researcher is with your detection ability!?”

“No…!! It’s fortunate that I have detection ability, but it’s so vast that I can’t tell, Zeke-nim… I’m sorry… I wanted to be of great help…”

“…!! With that, can you at least search the nearby rooms?”

Just as Aria was about to be disheartened by not being able to be of great help, I realized I could use her inability to detect a wide radius to my advantage and urgently asked her. Aria, surprised, nodded with a bewildered expression and said.

“Huh…? Ah… Yes…!”

“Then let’s switch roles, Aria! I’ll use my magic to detect if there are any cameras nearby! You detect if there are any living beings in the surrounding rooms!! You can do that, right, Aria!”

“Yes…!! Of course!! If any living beings are detected, I will tell Zeke-nim immediately!!”

Judging that it would be more efficient for Aria to use her detection ability to find living beings in the surroundings than for me to open doors and explore with magic tentacles, I switched roles with Aria. I continuously dragged my magic tentacles between the ceiling and walls, smashing any cameras I detected with a tentacle, while Aria explored the surrounding rooms with her detection ability. Good…! I can search much faster than before…! At this speed, I should be able to find the researcher within a day…! I need to hurry before the researcher escapes…

“…!! Z-Zeke-nim!! Wait a moment!! One person is detected ahead!!”

“…?! What did you say?!”

Just as I harbored hope that I could find the researcher quickly, being able to proceed with the search faster, Aria suddenly announced that she detected a person ahead. I, bewildered, held up Trahan and guarded the front. What is it…? Is it the researcher? Or Dio V Runner? Or Yuria…? If not… then surely…

“Oh my? It’s truly been a long time for both of you. Has it been nine months since we last met?”

“…? You are… certainly the one I met in the Faren Forest…”

I was dumbfounded that the person who appeared before us was the Saint I had met in the Faren Forest, completely unexpected. Yellow long hair, yellow eyes, that’s one thing… but that face is definitely the Saint from Faren Forest… Wait… this feeling… A tremendous and familiar aura came from behind me, and I was greatly flustered. The Saint in front of us chuckled and spoke to me.

“Oh my? You remember me… I’m truly grateful for that. But it seems the Black Saint behind you doesn’t particularly want to remember me~.”

“Zeke-niiiiiiim…? You remember another Saint besides me… Isn’t that too muchhhhhh…??”

“Ah… no… I might remember her…”

“Another Saint besides meeeee…?”

The aura I had just felt was Aria’s jealousy, and when Aria glared at me with dagger eyes, expressing her displeasure about me remembering another Saint, I felt a small fear and was flustered. No, but… well… I can remember her, can’t I? I haven’t seen many Saints until now… But…

“But… but… um… what was your name?”

“…”

“… Pfft…”

The Saint looked at me with a flustered expression that I had forgotten her name from our meeting in the Faren Forest, while Aria, seemingly satisfied that I didn’t know the Saint’s name, pointed at the Saint and scoffed. Are you really satisfied with just this, Aria…?

“Ahem… Well… It has been a long time, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t remember. I am Alde Krischa Truesel…”

“Ah…! I remember now. You were Saint Krischa, weren’t you? Yes… that’s right… I remember. We met at the statue in Faren Forest, didn’t we…? Statue?”

Wait. Something’s strange. Recalling that I had previously met Saint Krischa at a statue in the Faren Forest, I then remembered what Yuria had told me earlier and surmised that something was amiss. Come to think of it, Yuria said the statue found here was a statue of Goddess Camilla, didn’t she? And that statue at the place where I met Saint Krischa… That statue too…!!

“… You’re also with those Saints and Priests.”

“… Oh my? You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you? Chillingly so…”

As expected… When Krischa so boldly revealed that she was allied with the Saints and Priests, I realized what the followers of Goddess Camilla were trying to do… And Saint Krischa, who was in front of us, had also said before that she believed in Goddess Camilla… meaning my hunch was correct!!

“What on earth are you trying to do?”

“Hmm~ I don’t think I can tell you that, it might get complicated~.”

“… Honestly, I’m not interested in what you’re going to do… but I’ll ask because Zeke-nim might be curious. I fought a Saint named Viola in the Last Point Tournament held in a village called Ruam.”

“…!! Viola was a Saint?! That contestant who fought you at the end?!”

Aria had never once told me that Viola was a Saint, so I, completely unaware of this fact, was shocked and turned my head to ask Aria. Wha… What?! Viola was a Saint… That means we were already fighting Saints!!

“Ah~ You mean Saint Viola? She was truly indignant that you betrayed Goddess Camilla. We needed Magno’s Tears for something, so I sent her… but it seems you defeated her.”

“Hmph! Even if such Saints come in droves, they won’t be able to defeat me! That’s because beside me is Zeke-nim, who is stronger than a goddess! Your kind will never be able to defeat me!”

“Hmm? Well then… I’ve just had a good idea…”

As Aria puffed out her chest and declared triumphantly that no matter how many of them attacked, they couldn’t defeat her and me, Krischa chuckled and then suddenly started smiling at me. I began to feel uneasy, and sure enough, when Krischa started to pull a staff similar to Aria’s from her sleeve, I was greatly flustered.

“Th-that staff… surely…”

“Ah~ It seems you’ve already heard everything from the Black Saint? By the way, the Black Saint seems to trust you and be confident… So, if I kill you right before the Black Saint’s eyes… what do you think would happen? Isn’t that an interesting idea?”

“…!!”

“…”

When Krischa posed the chilling question of what would happen if she killed me right before Aria’s eyes, I instinctively realized that Krischa was genuinely trying to kill me and slowly stepped backward. And knowing what those words meant to Aria, I realized that my life could truly be in danger if I stayed here. As I expected, Aria, with a face that had completely soured, slowly stepped forward and spoke to Krischa.

“You. You dare say such a thing in front of me? You must have no lingering attachments to this world anymore, right?”

“Hehehe… We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we? Now… Shall we check the Black Saint’s skill, which even Saint Viola struggled with?”