Ch.125Marriage (2)

Adora tilted her head sideways.

“Soul-Binding?”

“Seems like you’re hearing this for the first time.”

“No, I know it. It’s a spell that subjugates souls.”

Literally, it’s magic that binds souls together. While there are various methods, typically the caster scrapes away part of the subject’s soul and then overlays their own soul onto that space.

A horrific act.

This makes the subject unable to live without the caster. The caster can detach the combined consciousness whenever they wish. When that happens, the subject, whose mind is already damaged, becomes completely incapacitated.

“I heard it was commonly used on slaves in the past.”

“So you know the basics.”

“The magic the Chancellor used on me… was something similar. So? What does that have to do with saving the Major?”

“You know the basics but not how to apply them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Since the situation is urgent, I’ll tell you the answer directly.”

Salvira said.

“I plan to cast a mutual Forbidden Spell on all of you.”

“…Ah.”

I understood.

“…The law of equivalent exchange.”

The fundamental principle of Magic Stone Studies.

The reason it’s called a law is because even transcendent beings like goddesses or demons cannot violate it.

“Now your brain is working properly. Yes, whether it’s a demon’s sacrifice or a goddess’s martyrdom, nothing can demand more than what’s in the contract. That’s the fundamental principle that has never been wrong in the history of Magic Stone Studies.”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

Soul-Binding is magic that scrapes away and subjugates souls. The reason it’s called a Forbidden Spell is because it forces one party to live dependent on the other.

But what if those souls were mutually scraped and combined?

They would become beings who couldn’t live without each other.

“If we can combine our souls with the senior’s, and at the same time, offer a price equivalent to the senior’s lifespan…”

It’s possible.

Theoretically, there’s no reason it wouldn’t work.

But questions remain.

Adora raised her head.

“What about the lifespan? Who pays for the senior’s lifespan? Saving three people at once would require a considerable price, wouldn’t it?”

“There are ways to handle that, so don’t worry.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Never mind that. Just relay this to everyone. We don’t have time.”

Adora relayed Salvira’s words to everyone. Miyo received the message and informed Riyo, who then shared it with everyone else.

“I’ll do it.”

“There’s no reason not to, right?”

“If that will save Erich, then…”

No one objected.

“If we’re going to do Soul-Binding, I think it’s better to include Director Giford too. Just binding our souls—those of us who were already sacrificed and barely survived—seems too uncertain.”

“That’s right. What if we just end up dying after doing it among ourselves?”

“Director, I’m asking just to be sure. What’s your opinion?”

Adora had no reason to hesitate. She nodded.

“We’re here!”

“Beep beep!”

Just then, the golems and spiders brought ritual tools from their quarters. Among them were tools for blood transfusion. Salvira, handling the transfusion kit, carefully brought up another point.

“Actually, there’s one more thing we need.”

“What is it?”

“Luck.”

“…Luck?”

“Even with all this, success isn’t guaranteed. There will be severe bleeding when we try to summon my disciple… Erich Lohnstein’s consciousness.”

Adora sighed. She had received blood from the beast people when removing her heart’s solitude due to excessive blood vomiting. This seemed to be a similar situation.

“Some blood types don’t mix well. If we’re not careful, the two blood types could clot together and cause serious problems.”

“Oh, is that all?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t a major issue by modern standards.

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

She relayed this information to the women from the Holy Spirit Kingdom. As expected, someone stepped forward.

The Valkyrie, Rachel Brokenheart.

“Erich and I have the same blood type. Use me. I can give as much as you need.”

“Let’s start quickly. If we delay even a little, it might be irreversible.”

Tiria laid Rachel down and inserted the needle. Rachel turned her head slightly to look at Erich, who had fallen into a deep sleep.

I’ve been indebted to you so many times.

Now it’s time to repay that debt.

And also time to show you.

Just as you’ve done so much for me, I too can give everything for you.

Rachel firmly grasped Erich’s hand. Feeling his faint breath still clinging to life, she embarked on what might be her final journey.

***

I understand. My consciousness is about to embark on a distant journey.

Is this death?

I thought it would hurt, but it’s more comfortable than I expected. It’s as if I’m going to heaven rather than hell. If this is hell, it seems bearable.

“——.”

What?

“———.”

My skull is resonating. A voice is echoing directly in my head.

I can’t understand what’s being said. Yet strangely, the meaning is being conveyed.

So, this place is heaven?

I tried to open my eyes. But I had no sensation of opening them, nor any feeling of seeing my surroundings. Only an inexplicable, mysterious sensation lingered.

It felt like being stranded in a higher dimension.

Giving up on seeing, I focused on the sounds coming to me.

“———.”

The voice itself is feminine.

Could it be the goddess worshipped by the Holy Spirit religion? No, that doesn’t make sense. Setting aside the fact that I’m a Mage, why would a pure goddess speak to someone who committed a sacrificial ritual?

In any case, the other party didn’t seem inclined to tell me their identity.

They only said this:

“—————.”

That I had saved the underworld from a crisis.

And they wanted to reward me.

They promised a more abundant and prosperous eternal life here, suggesting I might consider staying by their side despite any regrets about leaving the world below.

“……”

No words came out.

Ah, could this be a hallucination seen before death?

“——.”

The other denies it, but I’m not convinced.

Whether it’s a hallucination or not, nothing changes. What can I do with a dying body? Though it seems ambiguous to call this heaven. I don’t believe in the Holy Spirit religion anyway.

“——.”

It doesn’t matter what religion I believe in? Because they are that kind of being?

Well, then it must be a hallucination after all.

Thinking this, I heard a brief sigh in my mind. It seemed less like they thought I was pathetic and more like they had given up trying to persuade me.

When they asked again what reward I desired, I replied with detachment.

I don’t particularly want anything.

“——?”

I don’t know how, but I saved three lives with my one life. And beyond that, I seem to be departing to a more comfortable place than expected.

I have no regrets.

I only feel sorry that I couldn’t escape the deserted island with those women.

“——!”

Wouldn’t asking for more violate the law of equivalent exchange?

I already know that excessive greed is poison. That’s how the demons below perished, and how the humans of the Eight Shadows and Admiral Dietz died.

“———.”

Honestly, I think even this is more than I deserve.

If you are truly a just goddess, please just send me where I’m supposed to go.

“—?”

Huh?

What’s suddenly happening? What’s going on?

Then for a while, a crisp laughter echoed in my mind. I could also hear what sounded like children cheering.

“——, —————, —.”

Wait, did I hear wrong?

Save? Who’s saving whom? How?

Does this mean I’m not dead yet?

I threw out many questions, but the other party didn’t answer any of them. There was an urgency in the intermittent voice I heard. It seemed they had some pressing matter.

After what felt like a few minutes…

“———.”

Out of nowhere, they said they would send me back to the world of the living.

What kind of deathbed vision is this?

If I’m dead, I’m dead. How could I return to the original world?

Yes. Perhaps I did have regrets. The regret of wanting to spend just a little more time with those women. That’s why I’m seeing this fantasy before dying.

I heard the other party chuckling. As they dropped my consciousness back down below, they added one last remark.

“——♥”

Have lots of babies when you return.

***

My breath rises.

It hurts like I’m dying.

The fact that it hurts is proof that I’m still alive.

“Huh, huh…!”

I opened my eyes, exhaling dry breaths. My senses returned. Just as I realized I could taste salt in my mouth, several voices pierced my ears as if by magic.

“Honey!”

“Darling!”

“Senior!”

The fox sisters, Tiria, and Adora? I can tell who’s who just by their terms of address, not their tone.

I immediately sat up.

Drip, drip.

Something warm was dripping from my nose and mouth.

The identity of the crimson liquid was undoubtedly blood.

“Are you okay?”

As I sat there dazed, Tiria wiped my face with what seemed like linen cloth. She murmured the same words with a sorrowful expression.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness…”

What is this?

What on earth is this?

Why am I being shown this at the end?

Is this deathbed vision lasting a bit longer?

“…Erich? If you’re awake, please say something.”

“Could it be he can’t speak?”

“We don’t know yet. Senior, can you recognize who I am? If you do, please nod. Okay?”

The three women look at me tearfully. Suddenly the atmosphere has changed again.

Noticing something strange below my shoulder, I turned my head. Rachel was lying beside me. Her forearm and mine were connected by a thin tube.

A blood transfusion?

Why?

“You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”

Rachel gave a strained smile and tickled my palm. Now I noticed that not only were our forearms connected, but we were also holding hands.

What’s the context here?

And why was I vomiting blood?

I didn’t suffer any internal injuries before dying, though I did experience mana depletion.

Ah, I get it.

This is a dream. The final dream my brain is having before death.

Dreams usually lack coherence. I once dreamed I swallowed a stone and suddenly became a golem. Strangely, stones always appeared in my dreams, perhaps because I spent my life looking at them.

So I could usually tell right away. I’d look for any unnatural artificial objects related to magic stones nearby.

Especially if a golem with a design I particularly liked appeared, it was almost certainly just a dream.

See there.

Aren’t those golems coming this way with heavy footsteps? This must be a dream. My final dream because I’m reluctant to part with the female soldiers I was with on the deserted island…

“Oh, oh, ohhhh.”

“Ee, ee, eeeee!”

“My, my, mymymy!”

“What’s going on, what’s going on, what’s going on!”

…Though it’s too noisy for that.

“Oh my god, how can this happen after using a sacrificial ritual?”

“I feel like I’m about to vomit yesterday’s igneous rock.”

“Me too. Bleeeegh.”

“Hey, Olivia! Don’t catch it! Men are the same everywhere—they never read the room!”

David, Johannes Kalon, Olivia, Daisy.

And.

“Beep beep beep!”

Bepisya.

The moment I saw these five, all sense of dissonance vanished.

“This is… not a dream.”

As I managed to utter those first words, the women’s expressions brightened again.

“Erich!”

“What? You’re not mute after all!”

“You scared us…!”

The three of them embraced me simultaneously. From the front, back, and side. All of them burst into tears.

“Waaah, honey, I love you! Now we’ll be together forever! …You know, right? You’re responsible for taming us. You must keep your promise.”

“Urghurghurgh, hukukukuk, brrsmthrrrr…”

“…Once we escape, I’ll definitely invite you to my home. Senior.”

I reassured everyone, telling them I was fine. It was quite difficult to pat three women with one hand.

It was then that Rachel squeezed the hand she was holding. I thought she lacked strength since her eyes were closed, but she’s actually quite strong. That’s a relief. Wait, is she squeezing a bit—no, way too hard? It hurts. I want to scream.

“My disciple, you’re awake.”

“Master?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Salvira appeared, looking exhausted and covered in blood. Before I could ask, she preempted me.

“Don’t worry. This is your blood.”

“What exactly happened?”

“It’s a long story…”

“Please tell me the most important part first.”

I need to know how I survived and what method was used. I decided to listen to just that briefly and then think about what to do next.

“You got Soul-Bound to those four over there.”

My thoughts froze at my master’s words.