Chapter 125: Four Idiots (6)

[125] 19. Four Idiots (6)

Life is the most ingenious torturer and the most bizarre healer.

Shafiq recalled the 200 years of loneliness he’d endured underground. He remembered the terror of those hideous holes spreading across his body.

Back then, they had felt like scars that would never fade. He believed it would be a nightmare that would haunt him until his dying breath.

*Fwish-!*

Who would have thought it would become merely a useful tool now.

Shafiq looked at the flame that bloomed from the hole in his forearm. That fist-sized flame fiercely pushed back the darkness of the night.

Of course, that wasn’t its limit.

If he wanted to, he could make it even bigger.

Bigger and bigger, until it covered this entire city…

“Huu…”

But Shafiq forcefully shrunk the flame down to the size of a candle. That much was enough for what he was about to do.

Naturally, that ‘something’ did not include finding his companions.

“What do I care what happens to those who abandoned me.”

Shafiq grumbled as he rummaged through the bundle he was carrying.

Of course, he was just saying that. Everyone in the Rose Rem Mercenary Group knew that if something went wrong, he’d be the first to run out to it.

Anyway, what Shafiq was about to do was much more interesting than that.

Skuld’s diary.

Shafiq pulled out the diary and placed it on his lap. He scanned the book with emerald eyes gleaming in the firelight.

He’d thought something was off about it from the beginning.

Though ordinary humans hadn’t noticed,

The book was too worn compared to when the diary was written.

If the dates in the diary were correct, then it should have been written ten years ago, but the book itself looked like it was at least a hundred years old.

So, what did that imply?

Oh, the wise Shafiq knew the answer very well.

Shafiq opened the diary and felt the pages. He could feel the indentations* left by a pen pressing into the paper.

However, there was no ink on most of those indentations.

Shafiq grinned.

Someone had erased the ink with magic and written new text over it. Due to paper being precious, mages often reused books this way multiple times.

In other words, this wasn’t just the diary of the current ‘Skuld’.

It’s a diary used by at least three generations of ‘Skulds’.

“Kek. Kek. Kek.”

Shafiq laughed wickedly while feeling the book.

The indentations were mostly overlapping, but distinguishing them was child’s play for an elf. Shafiq slowly read the traces of the past with his fingertips.

“Kek, kek, those bastards. Let’s see if they can still call me ‘pointy ears’ after hearing the information I brought… Eh.”

Shafiq froze in surprise and felt the indentations again. But the content remained unchanged.

“A love story between a witch and a priest…?”

Shafiq felt the entire story from beginning to end. Then, unable to contain his anger, he threw the diary.

“This is completely useless!!”

It was a moment when two hours of effort had gone completely to waste.

***

A place where information from all over the continent clings like silkworms.

Where red threads flowing from it weave the future.

The place where Irene probably spent most of her time.

When I arrived here, I thought I had finally caught her tail. It felt like the answer I wanted was in my grasp.

However, that premature certainty only brought disappointment.

Fighting back the drowsiness, I followed the red threads with my eyes.

The thread that began at ‘Western Knights Brigade Supply List’

Connects to ‘Falkrit Residents’ Petition,’

From ‘Top 10 Restaurants in Axolotl,’

Meets threads from ‘How to Live a Rich Life, page 187, line 24,’

and these joined threads,

Split into three at ‘Kangnam’s Collection of Erotic Art Vol. 3, page 52, third image,’

and each of those threads led to ‘Ancient Gazetteer, page 197, line 24, seventh word, Geliorus’, and ‘The ballad composed by the bard Galatia in Louis year 54…’

“Good grief.”

I rubbed my eyes and sighed.

It was like looking at a dictionary full of ciphers.

There must be some kind of pattern to these red threads. And if I could just figure it out, the answer would be mine.

The problem was that the cipher was incredibly massive.

The enigmatic red thread was practically connected to every single piece of information in this room. All these documents together formed one giant cipher.

Moreover, whatever that rule was, it seemed incredibly personal.

Some things appeared somewhat related, while others had no discernible connection whatsoever.

For example, what possible connection could there be between ‘How to Mate with Elves Vol. 3 ~Abandon all hope~’ and ‘Galamatria-style Meat Pie Recipe’ that would make them be connected by a thread?

I was starting to understand why Irene hadn’t burned this place down too.

“Woof! Woof!! Grrrrr! Arf!!”

Suddenly, a large dog darted past me. It looked completely different from normal dogs.

Firstly, its body was completely hairless and smooth (especially its head),

It was wearing clothes, which seemed quite excessive for its status,

Its claws were broad, as were its teeth,

And its front legs were shorter than its hind legs, making its four-legged gait look ridiculously awkward.

“Bark bark! Bark bark bark!! Grrrr…!”

And this dog’s name was Clevens.

I glared at him with contempt as he gnawed at the papers.

“I confiscated all his alcohol, where the hell did he get it from…?”

“Don’t know. He was looking at some papers, then suddenly pulled out a bottle and downed it in one go?”

I looked up at Marianne who crouched down beside me.

“And you just watched him do that?”

“Who am I to stop someone who wants to drink?”

Marianne shrugged her shoulders. Her words were exactly the same as what the guys in our mercenary group would say, so I suddenly felt exhausted.

“Damn it.”

I rub my face, trying hard to fight off drowsiness.

“…Are you really not going to sleep?”

“It’s fine, did you find anything?”

Marianne’s grumpy expression quickly turned to one of exhaustion as she shook her head.

“Nothing at all. I can’t even begin to guess what she was trying to do here. And from what I can tell…”

Marianne looked at the document-covered wall.

“This is just a simple map. You could call it a rough sketch. Irene used this to determine her next steps. This isn’t the path itself.”

“And we don’t know how to read the map.”

“Right.”

We sighed at the same time.

Sure, if we camped out here for a few months, we might be able to figure it out… But time was what we lacked the most right now.

“So in the end, all we can trust is that strange creature.”

I followed Marianne’s gaze. I saw the strange creature she mentioned. That thing that had crawled out of my mouth was busily scurrying across the papers.

Unlike us, it seemed to have not given up on the search.

“By the way, what is that thing really? I’ve never seen a creature like that, not even in biology textbooks.”

“How should I know?”

“It came out of *your* mouth, shouldn’t *you* know?”

Suddenly, Marianne gives me a meaningful look.

“Rem, you didn’t…”

“I know what you’re thinking, but no.”

“But you did put self-operating magic into your prosthetic…”

“Even I wouldn’t go as far as to put a magical creature inside my body, would I?”

“…You’ve done some pretty weird shit, so I can’t be sure.”

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even speak. By the time I finally came up with a retort, the timing had already passed.

“You…”

“I think it found something?”

Marianne jumped up. And sure enough, when I looked, the creature was hopping up and down again. Approaching, we saw a document it was sitting on.

One word written on the document caught my eye.

“…’The price of fate’?”

I carefully took the document from under the creature. And started reading it from the first line.

It read as follows.

[The price of fate. It’s the divine punishment the world inflicts on those who deviate from the fate it has set. It’s the price of arrogance, and the punishment for defying heaven.

That is, the price of fate has always been the nemesis of us ‘Skulds,’ who are burdened with the duty of defying heaven.

You could say it’s why ‘Skulds’ live such short lives.

No matter how cleverly we twist fate,

Fate, like a cruel loan shark, always collects its due.

Due to that price, all ‘Skulds’ ultimately end up dying with rotting bodies at the end.

That is our tragic destiny, and the price we pay for playing with fate.

However, recently, we have discovered a way to escape our tragic fate.

A priest brought that magical stone.

He said that the heroes who fought the Goddess used this stone, and that with this stone, one can avoid the price…]

*Tug, tug.*

I looked down at the sensation of something tugging at my collar. It was the strange creature, looking somewhat urgent.

It shook its body violently, as if angry. The meaning behind those intense gestures was clear.

“You’re saying that’s wrong?”

“…How can you understand that…”

“Marianne, be quiet. What’s wrong about it?”

*Wiggle! Wiggle!*

The creature wriggles impatiently, as if there was something it needed to tell us.

“Rather than keep squirming like that, why don’t you try writing letters with your body…”

That’s when it happened.

*SPLAT-!*

A cold, blue slime splattered on my face. Scattered bits of the creature’s mucus stained the documents.

Where the creature had been just a moment ago,

Now only a squashed and pulped mark remained.

“I had no idea it would survive in such a wretched state, but I’m glad I was able to finally take care of it. Better late than never.”

Slowly, I raised my head.

From between the documents covering the wall, a white hand emerged.

Then, the rest of its body followed, one arm, two legs, a torso, etc. All flowing out from between the documents one by one.

Like a fairy crawling out from between the pages of a book.

The last thing to emerge was a face I could never forget.

Irene smiled sweetly, her blue hair fluttering.

“Oppa, it’s been a while. Your face looks terrible.”

My body moved before I could think.

[tloaf]

Dozens of magic tools I had crafted during sleepless nights flowed out from within my clothes. They all point towards Irene as if harboring hostility.

[ustb]

However, the magic wouldn’t activate.

*BANG-! Fizz-! Crackle-!*

I looked at my malfunctioning magic tools in bewilderment. All of them were convulsing, spitting sparks. Some even exploded or fell to the ground.

“What the…”

“Magic circuit disruptor.”

Irene tossed out a blackened rectangular box from her chest.

“It’s a surprisingly difficult item to acquire. In the original story, you don’t get it until much later…”

[ondb]

*Clank-!*

Glowing chains shoot toward Irene. In an instant, the chains wrapped around Irene like a cocoon.

“You’re quite bold. Showing your face before the third best of Al-Rain Academy so brazenly.”

Marianne, who had shot the chains from her hand, flashed me a grin. Then she glared at Irene with cold eyes and spoke through gritted teeth.

“First, let’s start with a big…”

“I was worried about the characters that weren’t in the original story.”

*SNAP-!*

With a clear sound, a gauntlet breaks through and emerges from the chains. Then before anything could be done, the gauntlet grabbed the chains.

“Wait, Dispel…”

“You’re weaker than I thought.”

Marianne, unable to dispel the chain magic, is yanked forward. The next moment, her head was being held tightly in Irene’s hand.

“You bitch…!”

“Your level must be around 50, at best.”

“Let go…!”

*BAM-!*

I didn’t even see her throw Marianne. When I came to my senses, Marianne’s body was already embedded in the wall.

Irene turned her gaze to me after clapping her hands clean.

“Sorry, Oppa, I didn’t mean to hurt your friend. But…”

“O Heavenly God.”

A bright holy light rises from behind her.

Clevens, his entire body enveloped in a bright light.

His glowing hammer swung toward the top of Irene’s head.

“May divine punishment be upon this sinner.”

“You keep interrupting me.”

*WHAM-!*

Irene didn’t even bother to turn around.

A black arm sprouted from the ground and struck Clevens. He was thrown to the floor like a shooting star. The light faded quickly.

“This is a bit disappointing. He was supposed to be a rather infamous boss in the community…”

*WHOOSH-!* *Crack-!*

With a white flash, Irene’s head jerked back. An arrow, having accurately struck her in the eyes, protruded like a pole.

But no blood flowed.

“This is also disappointing.”

Irene calmly pulled out the arrow and tossed it away. As her glowing hand brushed past, the wound vanished without a trace.

“Mother World Tre… Urk…!”

“Well, since they haven’t fallen thanks to Oppa, it’s natural for them to be weak.”

Shafiq, who had been hanging from the ceiling, fell to the ground. His body, frozen stiff, was covered in blue spots.

Exactly one minute.

One minute had passed since my preemptive attack.

And in that one minute, Irene had subdued all of us.

My head, which had been burning with rage, cooled rapidly.

“If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have brought so much equipment. You might not know, Oppa, but most of these are single-use…”

“How.”

Yet my heart burns even hotter.

I glared at Irene through gritted teeth.

“How did you know we were here?”

“…Now you’re giving me that look too, Oppa? I expected it, but it still…”

“Shut up and answer.”

Irene’s sorrowful expression hardened. After stroking her arm, she barely managed to meet my eyes.

“This place was left as a sort of Plan B. When all my plans failed, I was going to come back here and make new plans. That’s why…”

“You set up some basic security measures.”

“I also bribed the residents, well. Something like that.”

I crossed my arms while grinding my teeth. At the same time, I secretly slipped my left hand into my chest to fiddle with my ‘trump card’.

“So what are you going to do now? Throw me back into the illusion?”

“Yes.”

It was an answer that, because of its sorrow, made it all the more repulsive. I unconsciously clenched my molars.

Somehow sensing that, Irene’s expression sinks further. After mumbling a few times, she finally let out a deep sigh.

“But before that, I’d like you to at least understand me. Betty said it would be useless, but…”

Irene looks at me with hardened eyes.

“I still wanted to explain. At least to you, Oppa.

Ask me anything, Oppa. You investigated me because there’s something you want to ask, right?”

Questions I wanted to ask.

The moment she said that, dozens of questions flooded my mind. Sharp ones, steeped in resentment and anger.

But I forcefully suppressed those questions.

And asked the one that needed to be asked first.

“Irene, what the hell do you want?”

“I already told you.”

Irene answered with a faint smile.

“I’m just trying to save this world. It’s just…”

“Stop with the vague bullshit.”

I coldly cut off her words. Pushing down the churning emotions within me, I added.

“Explain properly. If you really want me to understand.”

“…”

A moment of silence.

Then she looked up at the sky.

But all that was stuck to the sky were suffocating numerous scraps of paper.

“Oppa, do you remember me telling you that this is a world inside a game? I told you the title was .”

“…Just get to the point.”

“…Oppa, you really hate me now, don’t you?”

Irene smiled bitterly and looked at me.

“The game was a rather niche game. Of course, the sheer volume of the story and the vast setting were one thing, but its concept was really unique.”

“Just get to the fucking point…!”

“The prologue starts with the hero party failing to defeat the Demon King and everyone except for the porter being killed.”

In that moment, I went mute.

Irene continued with a sweet smile.

“Oppa, the game is about a porter, the main protagonist, wandering through a world being destroyed by the Demon King, trying to bury the dead hero party members in their hometowns. As the porter recalls his memories with the hero party and when all the burials are complete, the game ends with the text, ‘The world has been destroyed.’

I’m not sure when it started, but Irene was crying.

“There’s no multiple endings or anything. Just that one single ending. Just that one. The porter closing their eyes as they watch the world crumbling.”

Tears flow down her smiling face.

“And if things continue like this, we’ll probably meet the same fate three years from now. Because right now, it’s exactly three years before the prologue.”

Irene wiped her tears with her sleeve. After taking a deep breath, she smiled brightly again.

“But don’t worry. I’ll stop it. I’ve lived until now for this very reason. Now, just two more people needed to die.”

She pointed two fingers into the air.

“Me and Amy.”

Beyond those two fingers, Irene wore, what looked to me, her most relieved smile yet.

“The two of us will exit this stage, turning this tragedy into a comedy by becoming sacrifices for the goddess’s descent.”