Chapter 125

Chapter 125

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 125: The Last Of Yours (7).

A sense of helplessness enveloped Safaul’s entire being as if he were trapped in an unstoppable chain of events. His world turned pitch black.

The brightness was reminiscent of the imaginary space, yet the atmosphere was entirely different. Wandering through the imaginary space had always brought a sense of comfort; here, there was only discomfort.

What should I say about this place? It is extremely uncomfortable.

All the other Outer Gods who were with me have disappeared. I have no idea where they’ve gone. I tried to move back to the real space that existed just moments ago, but all I found was a repetitive lattice structure.

Mirror. Mirror. Mirror. And, mirror.

“…What is this?”

The prisms surrounding me reflected my true form. I was a wave here, not a solid entity. Along the mirrors with their high reflectivity, my figure wavered back and forth, creating an annoying, endless loop.

“…!”

Yes, continuously. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

“I need to get out of here…”

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

“The exit! Where is the exit?”

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Safaul shouted, desperate to break free.

What you see here is the Free Spectral Range, abbreviated as FSR. The protruding parts indicate the dwelling points of each Outer God. The peaks are proportional to the stature of that Outer God.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

There are nine peaks, meaning there are nine Outer Gods trapped. You can observe this using a classic measuring device like an oscilloscope. By employing equipment that converts gravitational signals into electrical signals, you can view their positions in 4D through tomography.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Safaul is the highest-ranking Outer God here, so it should be at this peak. Can we communicate by sending an electromagnetic pulse here?

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Knock knock, is anyone there?

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Since we are in a low-energy region where gravity and electromagnetism are not unified, we can’t do much. We can receive signals, but two-way communication would be difficult.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Then let’s exclude this from the discussion and write the paper.

Yay! Finally!

“Ugh, ugh, aaaaah———!!”

I’m going crazy. My thoughts are bleached. The space is narrow. It’s dark. This place is completely insane. Repeating the same pattern over and over, it’s boring, suffocating, and infuriating.

I feel so powerless like I’ve become something worse than a bug. Even if I try to count the time, I can’t tell what time it is; even if I try to gauge the space, I don’t know where this is. I can’t receive any information.

That’s why I said we should kill Aidel von Reinhardt first. I insisted that the level of sacrifice was nothing. Back then, at the Holy Spirit Hospital, if just one more had cooperated, it wouldn’t have come to this.

If they hadn’t betrayed us, if just that had been done, we could have killed them. We wouldn’t have been trapped in the resonator. Why did we end up in such an absurd situation?

So, we must follow the law of the jungle. The survival of the fittest is the absolute truth. Therefore, it is only right that you follow the words of the strongest, which is me—

And.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

“……”

I realized it was a meaningless complaint.

I am out of breath. Though I have no lungs, I cannot breathe. My heart is trembling. Though I have no heart, I feel as if I am on the verge of cardiac arrest.

I cannot even hear the voices of the other Outer Gods.

There is no doubt I am trapped in a resonator.

To safeguard against the true destruction that the so-called ‘The End’ would bring, he formed alliances. Banding together was often seen as a trait of the weak, yet among them, Safaul stood as the strongest. He had an unwavering belief in his own strength.

I now realize, profoundly, that I was wrong.

If steel is a weapon, then wisdom is also a weapon.

If Safaul had ten units of steel and one unit of wisdom, Cartesia must have possessed the strength of one and the wisdom of a million.

It was a defeat due to the undisclosed power gap. Safaul remembered the ‘sly smile’ Cartesia had shown just before revealing his presence and shouted fiercely.

“Cartesia! Fine! You won! You made a better bet! I’ll do anything; just get me out of this damn space!”

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

“I’m going insane! How many times has it been? Where is Azrael? Typhus? Kedel, Pacoton, Naiyura! Palkyu! Sikamon! Orelwalt!”

He was slowly collapsing.

Panicked and angry, he shouted into the void, yet no support came. There was no confirmation of space or time.

In this first experience of helplessness, an unfamiliar chill crept up his spine.

It was the eerie emotion that the girl he had tormented, along with countless other inferior creatures he had killed, had harbored until their last moments.

The name of that emotion was fear.

“Aidel von Reinhardt———!!”

The fear was fleeting yet overwhelming.

“Just kill me instead———!!”

It was a fear greater than death itself, a fear that even the end of a black hole’s lifespan could not escape.

My head throbs and the constellation insists it’s fine, yet it never stops crying. Every scream feels like it’s clawing at my skin, but there are countless incidents I need to prevent. Why was I cursed with this constitution?

I’m exhausted. Just end it here. Please, kill me.

From now on, count exactly 600,000 seconds. Once you finish counting, I’ll definitely end it.

One, two, three.

Ten thousand, ten thousand and one, ten thousand and two.

Five hundred ninety-nine thousand and one, five hundred ninety-nine thousand and two, five hundred ninety-nine thousand and three.

Fifty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-one. Fifty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-two, fifty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-three…

Fifty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.

Sixty thousand…

“…….”

I opened my eyes suddenly.

Strangely, my mind was quiet. There was no usual giggling noise nor the sound of something scratching.

It felt as if I had woken up from a terrible nightmare.

“Are you awake?”

I turned my head toward the voice.

A beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes stood there.

She sipped coffee from a mug, her smile fresh-faced. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, but there was a sense of wisdom beyond her years.

“Your name is Ire Hazlen, right? How are you feeling now?”

“You are…”

“Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. Kallis Stranov, an associate professor of physics at Eruyel Academy.”

“With this research, I’m set to receive tenure and soon be promoted to full professor, hehe.” Though she added this with a meaningful undertone, that wasn’t the part Ire was concerned about.

Kallis Stranov. Professor Stranov. A person who was neutral in some cycles caused minor trouble in others and was even a pawn of the Outer Gods in some.

Ire’s body stiffened.

Enemy or ally. She cursed herself for reflexively thinking this way. Ire sighed quietly.

“How is your condition?”

“Well, um. That is…”

“Try moving your body. You know best how you feel.”

Ire nodded. She stood up and walked around, swinging her arms, assuming a position as if holding a gun, and even lifting one leg to test her balance. She was fine.

“I’m alright…”

“The doctor said there’s no problem with your coordination or anything like that. I just asked to be sure.”

Gurgle.

“Are you hungry?”

“…Yes.”

Come to think of it, Ire had rarely eaten satisfactorily. Whenever she managed to get nutritious food, the Darwin Legion’s Outer Gods would take it all away. Her staple food had become calorie bars.

“Let’s see. It’s not dining hours now… Delivery would be good. Is there anything in particular you want to eat?”

“…Then, chicken stew.”

The delivery arrived quickly.

Ire glanced at Stranov, picked up the spoon, scooped up some stew, and blew on it before taking a bite.

“…….”

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?”

“No, it’s not that…”

It didn’t taste like the stew she had at the Northern Holy Spirit Hospital.

“I used to eat something similar before. It was made by diluting rice and boiling it together…”

“Rice stew, right? People from the eastern regions eat that sometimes.”

Ire nodded and continued eating diligently. For now, she just wanted to fill her stomach with whatever she could get.

Suddenly, she glanced at the TV, captivated by the continuous stream of breaking news.

A massive crater with a 2-kilometer radius had formed in the Toba planetary system to the north. The Outer God Life Research Institute, once situated at the site, had completely evaporated. The surrounding forest was reduced to ashes.

Reports flooded in about high-grade monster appearances and sightings of Outer Gods. Meanwhile, a hearing was scheduled to address allegations of human experimentation linked to the research institute.

On a brighter note, there was good news: the limb reattachment surgery for one of the Scorpio of the Zodiac 12 Troops had been successful.

In the financial world, stocks related to the biological research institute were in turmoil, with the circuit breaker tripping twelve times in a single day.

Professor Stranov’s research team has developed the world’s first quantum gravity resonance device capable of confining an Outer God, and they reported positive results from its initial test run.

The God of ‘Patience and Perseverance’ smiles upon you.

You have received 5000 coins in sponsorship.

Coins. They were a representative currency used by the Outer Gods, who would intercept them entirely when sponsored by a Constellation, leaving nothing for Ire.

This time, however, the coins filled Ire’s status window completely. It was something she should have received from the beginning.

“Since the night is deep, let’s rest sufficiently and then move. There are people we need to meet.”

Ire sat on the bed and Stranov handed her a handkerchief.

“Take it. You need it, don’t you?”

“……”

As soon as Professor Stranov left, Ire curled up on the bed like a shrimp.

Ah. The Outer Gods have really disappeared. Now, there won’t be any more repetitions of time. This will truly be my final journey.

Drops of salty tears fell onto the soft pillow. Whether it was for better or worse, the sobbing didn’t stop. Ire’s shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

600,000 seconds. Someone once assured her that if she could endure just that long, everything would be easier.

In her sinking consciousness, she recalled someone who had carried her to the academy’s laboratory just as she was about to be discarded as an intermediate host for an Outer God. Aidel von Reinhardt. No, someone wearing his skin. A savior of her life. And she must repay the favor.

The next day, when Ire arrived at the hospital with Professor Stranov, she was taken aback to see Aidel lying in the bed, connected to a tangle of IV drips.

“Why is he like this?”

“Well…”

Apparently, Aidel had been unable to get out of bed for two days.

“He fainted while writing his thesis.”