Ch.156Too late. (1)

Olivia swallowed her question.

The distant cold magical power engulfing the surroundings. This was clearly her own. The fear, terror, and anxiety etched in the eyes of Rockpa and the Serial Murderer. That too was directed at her.

‘……Me?’

Olivia thought as she withdrew the frigid magical power. No matter how she considered it, her body had never moved on its own while using a clue. Originally, no matter how long she stayed within a clue, only a fleeting moment would pass in reality.

But apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Had the Demon God’s remnants taken hold again? That didn’t seem right. If it were the Demon God, there would be no reason to spare them.

Then either her body moved on its own, or someone else controlled it…

Is there anyone with mental power strong enough to control Olivia?

“As I thought. You don’t remember.”

Rockpa nodded as if he had expected this. No matter how he looked at it, Olivia just now wasn’t normal. The Serial Murderer had made the mistake of tearing the barrier slightly to peek inside, but the usual Olivia would have let it pass without a word.

“You shot magic at him after tearing through the barrier.”

“…I did?”

“Yes.”

“Hahah, I almost died.”

Fortunately, there were no injuries.

“Is the… treatment finished?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to see when she wakes up, but at least she won’t lose her mind like before.”

“Th-thank goodness… really…”

Despite losing one wrist to his master, Rockpa was genuinely happy about his master’s recovery.

“…Ugh.”

A faint groan came from the hut. Rockpa flinched but couldn’t bring himself to enter.

How could he not?

[I don’t even know a fragment of my master.]

Though called a master, Aurelia, who had taught him—an orphan—all this time, was essentially like a parent. Facing such a master would naturally bring more fear than anticipation.

“I’ll… stay here.”

Olivia decided to be considerate. He would need time to prepare himself.

As she climbed the stairs, she thought. No matter how much Aurelia claimed to have no inherited memories, she wouldn’t attack Olivia.

‘Surely she didn’t erase everything?’

She must have selectively sent only a few cycles’ worth of memories. Aurelia wasn’t the type to discard memories of clinking glasses and laughing with a friend, even if her future self had asked.

And that assumption became certainty the moment she met Aurelia’s eyes.

“Stop staring and get me some water.”

Just as Olivia was about to retrieve water from her spatial storage, Aurelia clicked her tongue.

“Clueless woman.”

“I can’t give alcohol to a patient.”

“Alcohol is medicine for me. That’s how shamans are. Still, I’m much better than the others. At least I’m not high on drugs 365 days a year.”

Olivia gave a hollow laugh and picked up the alcohol on the shelf.

‘This is…’

It was the same liquor she had seen in the clue. The toxic drink made from volcanic centipedes.

Olivia subtly let go and handed over the bottle next to it.

“…That’s better. Ah, good. My head is finally quiet after so long.”

Aurelia said, smacking her lips.

“I must not be fully recovered. My memories are patchy. Hmm… I think I’ll be better after one more bottle. Yes, that one.”

A significant portion of her memories must have been carved out. But while Aurelia was aware of these memory gaps, she couldn’t recall what had been in them.

‘She must have erased them well.’

Olivia reached out and helped Aurelia stand.

“By the way, what year is it now? Imperial calendar. I’ve lost track of time drinking in the hut.”

“993.”

“…993? That means more than a year has passed since the five years I mentioned. Are you… okay?”

“Maybe?”

She’s not okay. Just now, her body was taken over by the Demon God’s remnants or whatever it was.

Olivia spoke as if nothing was wrong.

“Anyway, remember your prophecy? ‘If you don’t come to the Moon’s Magical Realm within five years, your curse will become irreversible.’ That one.”

“…Right.”

Aurelia let out a deep sigh. She never dreamed she would wake up to such a bleak situation.

“What is that?”

Instead of answering, Aurelia heaved another deep sigh. Only after a long while did she speak.

“…The Demon God. Not some remnant of the Demon God… the real Demon God.”

Olivia was silent for a very brief moment. Then, flustered, she spoke rapidly.

“Then what about the five years you mentioned? Was it because five years was your limit to maintain sanity? Because if you were sane, there would be a way to fix it with shamanism.”

“That’s not wrong. But… it’s too late. Five years ago, I could have fixed it somehow, but not now.”

“Even with just a 1-year difference?”

“…It’s not just a year, it’s as much as a whole year.”

Aurelia rummaged through the shelf and pulled out a large crystal ball, as if to show her directly. Unlike those used by mages, shamans’ crystal balls emitted a somewhat ominous energy.

“See for yourself. How big that one-year difference is.”

“…How?”

“Place your hand on it and infuse it with magical power.”

Olivia did as instructed and infused the crystal ball with magical power.

Whoosh…! A pale moonlight erupted from the crystal ball. The ominous light gradually spread, enveloping Olivia’s consciousness.

Reality wavered, and a vision unfolded.

A scene she had never seen before, yet somehow familiar, formed. A sky devoid of light. Eyes opening in the darkness. An unbearably terrible presence.

The Demon God.

Just meeting its gaze caused priests and holy knights who served the gods to collapse. But some remained standing.

Familiar faces.

‘Glacia! Fly higher!’

Her three disciples, now Grandmasters, deployed holy spells while encouraging the mages who had lost consciousness.

‘Damn it, why are we fighting on dry land! I can barely use my power without waves here!’

‘Huhaha! That’s why you should have trained your body as I instructed.’

Wavemaster of Icail Esthie, King of Martial Arts Ashe Balthar.

‘Almighty Aether. Here now, your faithful servants face a holy war. Please, grant us strength.’

Saintess Livga.

‘…Not being able to fight alongside Livi. This is all your fault, Duke Kiel. If you had been a little stronger, I wouldn’t have needed to help.’

‘Sorry for not being stronger than the Demon Lord. Watch your left. It’s coming.’

Tower Master Melina. Sword Master Kiel.

And.

‘…Can we win against that?’

‘Heh. Never thought I’d see the day this crazy psycho kid gets scared.’

The Serial Murderer, and Grand Shaman Aurelia.

And closest to the Demon God, standing.

‘Let’s go.’

Grandmaster Olivia.

Tssssss…

The vision gradually subsided. When Olivia opened her eyes, she had returned to the hut.

“…What was that?”

“What would have happened if you had come within five years. And this…”

Aurelia sighed deeply and handed over another crystal ball. If the previous crystal ball merely emitted an ominous energy, this one was… doom? No. It couldn’t be captured by such a simple word.

Destruction. Or the final hour.

“…Just look.”

Olivia swallowed hard and infused the crystal ball with magical power.

Whoosh!

A feeling like being sucked in. Startled, Olivia pulled her hand away, but her consciousness had already been drawn in.

From afar.

She saw creatures emanating the light of death writhing. Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands swarmed and tore at flesh.

Even as she shattered and burst their carapaces with magic, far more numbers rushed in.

And facing these monsters was.

Just one person.

‘…Just me alone?’

Her vision-self struggled, pushing back the oncoming madness. When casting spells became difficult, she grabbed the small insects with both hands.

Crack.

She tore and crushed them. Purple fluid splattered, burning her skin wherever it touched.

‘Is this… my future?’

She wielded the Primordial Staff. Pouring out all her magical power, she slaughtered the monsters.

Killing, killed, and killing… until finally.

“…”

The darkness receded.

Olivia raised her head. She had returned to the hut again.

“…Is what I just saw certain?”

“…”

No answer came. But Olivia couldn’t hide her despair. She knew better than anyone that Aurelia’s prophecies had never been wrong.

“I’ll… become like that?”

That can’t be. Even if the Demon God took over her body, she could reclaim it by clearing the quest.

Just like last time…

Olivia bit her lip hard and collapsed into a chair.

She didn’t want to move.