Ch. 219 God’s Move (1)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 219: God’s Move (1)
“I am Louveci, the loyal apostle of the one who dwells in the shadows. Sugar. I’ve come to guide you.”
“Sugar… Let me say this again—I have no intention of forcing you. I just want to see your face from time to time. Take you out for something delicious, hear how you’ve been. So there’s no need to be afraid of me.”
“…I get it now. That you won’t force me. I’ve heard it enough times.”
“I’m glad it got through to you.”
“But why are you so… excessively kind? It’s not like you’re adopting a child to raise. Listening to you, it’s almost like you’re playing mother.”
“Ah… Well… It’s just…”
“Just… It reminds me of the past.”
“But I saw you. A child with pure magical energy. Limitless potential. I never imagined it would be to this extent. With you, surely… It’s not that I value my life so little. It’s just that I’ve seen it now. That’s all. That’s how it is.”
“…Can’t you pretend you didn’t see me and let me go?”
“…”
“Please. You said you’d send me home.”
“…”
“You said the child’s wishes matter most…”
“Yes, of course they matter most.”
“I can’t understand your intentions at all…”
“That’s just how the world is. Even after living this long, there are far more things I don’t know.”
“Not the world. You, Louveci. What’s inside you.”
“My, my. Are you taking an interest in me?”
“…You’ll really let me go this time?”
“Oh, of course.”
“Then… what will you do now? The cult must’ve branded you a complete traitor.”
“Fufu. A child should act like a child. Just run and play, innocent and carefree.”
“Goodbye, truly. My saintess.”
.
.
.
There is a great door.
A door that anyone would recognize as the exit of this space. It stands imposingly against a faintly glowing white wall, radiating majesty.
There, a woman is entangled. Roots, like those of a plant, bind her body. It’s unclear whether they originate from her or the door—black roots from the former, white roots from the latter, tangled in chaos.
“Louveci… What is this…?”
“Ah, such a lovely voice… Sugar. Would you come closer?”
“…”
Following the request, Sugar slowly approached, and Louveci’s condition became clearer. Pale complexion, tattered clothes, an exhausted and weary appearance—nothing like the immaculate, dignified figure from memories of the past.
“How many years has it been since we last met?”
“About ten…”
“I see… At my age, one’s sense of time becomes rather distorted.”
“Ah, don’t tease me for being old—” She stuck out her tongue and smiled.
Sugar couldn’t smile back.
“Have you been well?”
“Well enough… Thanks to you, I spent my adolescence safely in the Holy City.”
“Ah… adolescence. You’re an adult now, Sugar.”
“Yes.”
“I wonder how you’ve grown… I’m curious, but I can’t see. It’s a little sad.”
Louveci opened one eye slightly. A dull gray iris scanned Sugar.
“At least I can see how you’ve grown in other ways. Sugar. You’ve been through a lot.”
“…Yes.”
Louveci’s lips twitched. Perhaps she had too much to say but couldn’t choose the words.
Instead, with all her heart, she uttered just one phrase:
“You’ve worked hard.”
“…”
A single phrase affirming the life Sugar had lived.
Sugar didn’t respond.
Perhaps couldn’t.
What had brought Louveci to this state? What had happened to her? What had she seen, how had she lived, as a traitor to the cult?
“Louveci… you’ve worked hard too.”
“Me? Hardly.”
“I want to talk about the past for a moment. That day. Ten years ago… Back then, I was uncertain. Why did you, who’d gone as far as kidnapping me, decide to betray them? Was it just a whim?”
“…”
“Looking back, the answer was clear. I probably asked you then, too. If you hadn’t cooperated with the cult, with Claude, you’d have been disposed of immediately. So to extract me smoothly… From the moment you kidnapped me, you’d already betrayed the cult.”
Louveci’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Even after that, I had many questions. Hearing about your recent activities… What exactly are you planning? What’s your scheme? Were you doing something terrible after all?”
“My, my.”
“But seeing you now, I understand everything.”
What do you understand?—
Louveci’s silent question hung in the air, her expression puzzled as she looked at Sugar.
Then Sugar delivered the answer she’d prepared:
“You’ve always been the Louveci from back then.”
“…”
“Thank you. Truly… thank you.”
With all sincerity conveyed, Louveci let out a soft, breathy laugh. The sound of her faint, labored breathing—so weak it could cease at any moment.
“Ah… To hear such words from you at the end. This truly feels like a reward.”
“The end?”
“Yes, the end. Didn’t you guess?”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying. First, I have so many questions. How did you end up like this? We—we stumbled into this spatial distortion by accident, met Vivi… no, B-13, then Claude, and eventually deduced you might be hiding here…”
Sugar rambled incoherently for a moment before trailing off, steadied by the woman’s patient silence.
“…Hah. Let me speak clearly. What was your plan? ‘Use familiars to trap B-13 inside this twisted space.’ I figured that much out. But the kid resisted, warping the coordinates, didn’t she? How were you going to fix that?”
“You’re quite sharp, Sugar. ‘Fix’? There’s no need to fix anything.”
“What? What do you mean? If we hadn’t found B-13, it would’ve been a disaster! If she’d wandered alone and been killed by those geometric monsters—!”
Louveci paused, then chuckled. “Ah. Sugar, you’re misunderstanding something. That girl’s death wouldn’t matter. Or rather—she can’t die.”
“What?”
“Her resistance during the transfer wasn’t the issue. I was startled then, yes, but relieved she’d safely entered this dimension.”
“Then…?”
“Did you notice those strange creatures on your way here? The ones made of planes and lines. What do you think they are?”
“Monsters born from the twisted space?”
“A fair guess. But… Sugar, have you seen any traces of people here?”
Sugar searched her memories. Had she seen any human traces during her journey?
“I don’t know how you entered this place. I came through the hollow of that dreadful White Forest… where they pay no mind to those who fall. Over time, countless people have plummeted here.”
“I… know. I’ve heard of it.”
“Then where do you think they all went?”
Sugar’s eyes widened as the realization struck.
“Yes. Those geometric shapes—they’re people.”
“…”
“Even if those things attack you, you won’t die. Your flesh is stripped away, and you become part of this space. They may not look it, but each one is a living soul. Not dead. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Horrifyingly fascinating, isn’t it?”
“This is… beyond horrifying…”
As Sugar struggled to speak, Louveci continued.
“My original plan was to send the girl here and witness her transformation firsthand. But her resistance warped the coordinates. Still, I confirmed she’d arrived in this space—just not where. I considered searching for her, but… I’ve grown too weak to move.”
“Why…?”
“Age, for one. It’s a bit early, but I’d already decided to retire. And working alone… I’ve exhausted myself.”
Exhausted.
Though Louveci looked no older than her twenties, the weight of centuries laced her words. The image of a weary, time-worn elder flickered beneath her youthful guise.
Over a century devoted to the cult, only to betray it. Enduring and enduring until she faced the Descent Plan.
She must’ve thought this was a fitting end to her long life.
“This space is vast. Unfathomably vast. I knew I’d collapse before finding her. Honestly, I’m amazed you reached me so quickly.”
“…”
“If I died first… Well, that girl has a dragon’s power. With her lifespan and abilities, she’d eventually find an exit. So I thought—let me bar the door. Let her wither here.”
Ah, not literally die— she quickly added.
“I wanted to eliminate even the slimmest chance. To ensure the Descent never happens, even if it costs me everything.”
“…”
“That’s why I’m merging with the door. My body, my will—I’ll seal it forever. You barely made it in time. Once it closes, no one enters or leaves.”
“…”
“Now, I’ll open a gap for you. Leave quickly. Once I lose consciousness as the door, this world becomes one-way. Never return.”
“…”
Louveci smiled weakly at Sugar’s silence.
“At the very end… I’m so glad I saw you.”
“…”
“Go. Your precious friend is waiting behind you.”
“…”
“Hurry—”
“No.”
The word tore through the silence like a strike.
“Sugar?”
“No. I won’t leave you. We’re leaving together.”
“My, my.”
Sugar grabbed Louveci’s hand—the one barely mobile, tangled in roots—and tugged insistently.
“Don’t do this, Louveci. I hate sacrifices. I hate ‘necessary’ losses.”
“Sugar… You’re an adult. You know some things must be done.”
“I said no. Not around me. I want… to be happy.”
“That’s wonderful. Then use me as your stepping stone.”
“I’d rather be happy together. With the people on my side, the ones I cherish…! So I’ll handle this! I’ll stop the Descent Plan myself—as the Saintess!”
“Sugar!”
“I’ve gotten way stronger now! Even the Evil God listens to me! So I’ll figure something out! I can do this! Let the bad guys be the ones who get hurt and die! You—you just run away to some quiet place and rest!”
Sugar gave up on pulling Louveci’s wrist and started yanking at the roots instead. Gritting her teeth, she channeled magic into her body and strained with all her might.
“I’ll even take Vivi under my wing! I won’t let the cult have her! Once we’re out, I’ll use her power to dismantle the sanctuaries one by one! I’ll absorb and neutralize the energy inside them myself! That’ll make it safe, right?!”
“What?! Do you have any idea how much power is stored in those sanctuaries?! Even for you, Sugar, that’s—”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t know how strong I’ve become!”
Fury and frustration boiled over. Tears streamed down Sugar’s face as she roared, wrenching at the roots with reckless abandon.
“Back then! With Riley, well Tommy, the version you knew! They kept trying to sacrifice themselves one after another! Do you know how empty and painful that felt?!”
“A wish.”
“Leave through the front gate, Sugar. That’s my wish.”
“I NEVER WANT TO FEEL THAT WAY AGAIN!!”
—CRASH!
A deafening noise froze everyone in place.
Turning around, Sugar saw the group that had descended earlier now staring upward.
The ceiling. The pit.
The rift the Evil God had opened—just wide enough for a person—was now expanding violently. A geometric creature poked its head through, the first of many. The noise had been its impact as it landed.
“What the hell?!”
“Lord…?”
“Why is the rift widening?! Those things are getting in! And why are they so eager?!”
“This is the exit. The geometric creatures instinctively swarm here to prevent escape… to claim more victims. The Evil God’s power was suppressing them, keeping us safe—”
“You really thought of everything, Louveci!”
“Yes. Until the fusion was complete, I had to ensure safety.”
But now, the barrier was breaking. The exit, once sealed for protection, was being forced open.
“AAAAH! EVIL GOD!! CLOSE THE PIT!!”
—WHOOSH!
It swung wide open.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Your Saintess begs you—close it! CLOSE IT!!”
This time, the Evil God ignored her. The rift yawned wider, and more creatures poured in. The sheer absurdity of it left Sugar reeling.
She bit back a scream, a gnawing suspicion creeping in.
That question from earlier—
“If anything, it feels like it was hiding her.”
“Hiding her? The Evil God hid Louveci?”
“…What if it’s not a sin?”
“What?”
“Hypothetically. If that woman betrayed the cult to save you, the Evil God punished her. But if stopping the Descent Plan isn’t a sin… then from the god’s perspective, it’s not a crime.”
Louveci had said the Evil God’s power kept them safe. Trace’s theory was right. The Evil God had acted on her will, shielding her.
So did that mean Riley’s guess was correct? That the Evil God didn’t want the Descent? That Louveci’s actions weren’t a sin?
But it couldn’t be that simple.
Why open the rift now? After staying silent all this time, why wait until Sugar entered before unleashing the creatures?
It felt deliberate. Calculated. Not a malfunction—but a willful act.
No… Now’s not the time for this.
Sugar slapped her own cheeks. Move. Keep moving.
“Louveci! Can you undo the fusion yourself?”
“…No.”
“Then someone needs to hold them off while someone else breaks the fusion!”
“Just escape through the rift—”
“I’ll handle the fusion… I’ll undo it.”
Trace, who had been standing back, stepped forward cautiously. No words were needed—they’d all heard.
“…”
“…”
Louveci stared at the old man silently. Three seconds of wordless exchange.
“Please! Don’t undo the fusion just to kill her as ‘revenge’!”
“Don’t worry.”
“Vivi! Block the ceiling entrance for now!”
“…”
“You’ve got the power, right? Please! I know you hate Louveci, but we have to stop those things first!”
“…”
“Hey! Pay me back for all the meals I fed you! I saved your life, you ungrateful brat!”
“Huh?! Wait—!”
Sugar hurled a scowling Vivi into Riley’s arms.
Riley, catching her, braced like a javelin thrower, magic surging through his body. Muscles bulged, the ground cracking under the strain.
“Thanks, Vivi!”
“YOU PSYCHOS!!!”
With a sound like tearing air, Vivi was launched toward the ceiling—far faster than either of them had anticipated.
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