Proof(3)

As soon as I came out of the book and realized what I had to do, I immediately started running along the straight path of the library.

“That nasty demonic energy……”

As I started running towards the library doors, the demonic energy and magical power I felt grew stronger and stronger.

Even though the doors were tightly closed, the fact that this much was flowing in showed how intensely the battle outside must have been progressing.

For the demonic energy to feel this thick, they must have been firing off spells enough to change the surrounding terrain.

Anxiety welled up and I frowned at the situation I could imagine, trying to accelerate my speed even more, but I had to stop in my tracks when I saw those gathered in front of the library doors.

“Arin, put more strength into it…!”

“I’m already using all my strength…! But it still won’t open…!”

Those gathered in front of the doors were none other than the students and a blonde woman I hadn’t seen before.

I tilted my head in confusion at the sight of the students who should have left the book before me but were still here, then approached them.

“Why are you all still here?”

“Ah, Professor Aria?”

“You’re already out?!”

“Well, you see…”

Even though I had made noise as I approached, they must have been quite focused on the door as they didn’t notice me until I spoke. The five of them flinched and turned to look at me.

They had an expression like they didn’t expect me to come out so quickly. However, that was only momentary as Arin, who had been firmly grasping the door handle, stood up as if the situation had become uncomfortable now that I was here.

“Well, we tried to leave the library but the door just won’t open no matter what… And we could hear loud noises from outside, so we were trying to open the door to assess the situation…”

“So you’re saying you’ve been stuck here because the library door won’t open.”

I see, that makes sense.

For whatever reason, the library door wouldn’t open no matter what force they used, and because of this, the students who had come out before me were stuck in front of the door.

And at these words from Arin, I was about to put my hand on the door to figure out what the problem was, but before I could touch it, the blonde woman standing at the edge of my vision caught my attention.

She was observing us so intently while holding her breath that I couldn’t help but notice her.

Moreover, since I still didn’t know who she was, I naturally turned my head towards her.

Actually, even though I didn’t know her, given that this was the library and the students were with her without being wary, I could pretty much guess, but rather than being certain, I asked her to confirm if my thoughts were correct.

“I can already guess, but are you the librarian of this library?”

“That is correct. Yes, I am the librarian of this Library of Records. I don’t have a name or anything, so I would appreciate if you simply called me Librarian.”

“I see, so it was as I thought.”

The blonde woman bowed slightly at my question, affirming it.

I nodded as I confirmed my guess was correct when she introduced herself as the nameless librarian.

It was obvious if she was the librarian, but hearing her confirm her identity with her own mouth made me trust her even more.

Of course, I wasn’t too pleased that Iriel had created her, but for now, since this was a place managed by the librarian, I couldn’t help but have faith.

So I turned my gaze away from the librarian and looked at the door which was my original purpose, then turned back to the librarian once more just in case.

“Do you happen to know why the door won’t open?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. It’s probably because the magical power concentration outside is too high compared to inside the library, so it’s pressing down on the door. Unless you open it with a strike stronger than the outside magical power, the door won’t open.”

“What?! Librarian, did you know the reason all along?! Then why didn’t you tell us?!”

“I didn’t say anything because it seemed your magical power would be far from enough anyway.”

It turned out to be as I suspected. The librarian, who already knew the cause, told me the reason why the door wouldn’t open.

Arin, who had been struggling until just now, shouted at the librarian with resentful eyes, but she had to close her mouth at the librarian’s expressionless continued words.

Indeed, even Arin herself seemed to know that compared to the magical power of the fight happening outside, their own magical power was hopelessly insufficient.

And at the librarian’s words just now, I looked at the door for a moment, then slowly stretched my legs and spoke to the students and librarian standing next to me.

“It could be dangerous, so step back behind that pillar over there. I can’t take responsibility if you get hurt needlessly.”

The library’s special barrier blocked my ki sense from expanding, so I couldn’t tell what was happening outside, but I could be certain it wasn’t anything good.

So, thinking of the students’ safety as the top priority, I pointed to a pillar about ten meters behind us and said that, then started concentrating magical power in one leg while supporting my body with the other.

“Qu-Quickly, let’s step back!”

“We’ll definitely get caught up in it if we stay here.”

“Librarian, hurry up and come too!”

“Huh? No, I won’t die anyway… Wha?!”

At the sight of me starting to concentrate magical power in my leg, the students hurriedly got up and ran to the pillar I had pointed to.

In the meantime, they even dragged along the librarian who had said she would stay here, and only after seeing that did I focus on the foot I had been gathering magical power in.

There’s no need to destroy the entire door anyway, just blowing off the handle will do. So the place I’m aiming for is next to the door handle.

I aim precisely at that spot and swing my foot.

I looked once at my leg where magical power that even I felt had far surpassed the outside magical power concentration had gathered, then raised my head again to firmly fix the target point in my eyes.

……!

“Hup!”

As the moment of silence ended, my foot swung perfectly aimed at the target point.

Kuwoong───!!!

With a heavy sound, rather than being shattered and blown away, the door handle simply crumbled.

I had kicked it so hard that my foot shape was left in the hole in the door, and I reached in through that hole to fling open the tightly closed library door.

Was the door surprised that its handle was destroyed? It opened smoothly without even a sound from the hinges.

And as the door opened, the outside scenery that hadn’t been visible until now came into view.

Shattered ground, boiling lava, lightning striking from the ground, saw blades and thorns piercing through the earth, stuffy dust mixed with the smell of blood filled the air, and the blue sky of the sea formed a contrast with the blood-red stained land.

A horrific scene no different from a depiction of hell.

The scene unfolding before my eyes explained everything about what had happened outside while I was in the book.

Especially Idea glaring this way with a crazed smile, and Mu receiving that gaze while making her heart run wild – all of it was explaining everything.

“……”

The sight of Mu driving her crystal, which controls her power and is as good as her lifeline, to go berserk.

The fact that places where her arms and legs should be were empty one by one tells me how cornered Mu must have been until now.

Mu, who had her mind pushed to the limit to the point of not even realizing I was behind her, had only Idea in her eyes.

“‘Artide…'”

“That’s enough, Mu.”

And I placed my hand on Mu’s head as if putting on a hat, just as she was about to cross the line, and stroked it gently.

Not like the praise from the past that was just to increase work efficiency, but with true affection looking at a child, from somewhere I didn’t know was boiling up, I stroked her head.

Slowly, as if handling a precious jewel.

At this sudden stroking from me, I felt Mu’s body stiffen as if she had forgotten even to breathe, like a stone.

Following that, I could see Mu’s crystal, which had heated up to the brink of explosion just moments ago, cooling down.

As I praised her saying she did well and stroked her head a little more firmly, Mu turned her creaking head to look back at me.

“Ah……”

A dumbfounded expression as if she couldn’t believe the me standing here behind her was real.

Along with that, the reddened swollen tear marks beside her eyes, and her voice as if holding back tears made me inwardly grit my teeth at Idea standing far away as I met Mu’s gaze.

“There’s a lot I want to say in many ways, but I’ll just say one thing first.”

There really were mountains of things I wanted to say, but since there was no time for that now, I only voiced the words that had risen to the top of my throat to Mu who still had a blank expression.

“It’s too late to say this, but I’ll say it clearly here and now. You are never a homunculus that risks its life for me.”

Until now I had half-deceived myself and brainwashed myself that way, but not anymore.

Even if Mu was a homunculus, she was never a tool that would give her life for me.

I looked at Mu’s face that was about to burst into tears, then removed my hand that had been stroking her head and stepped forward to block Idea’s gaze directed at Mu.

And I continued the words I couldn’t fully say before.

“You are not a tool, but my daughter. I acknowledge it. So first, live as a child should.”

Not a tool, but my daughter.

My child that I directly created, like my other children.

Though the method of creation was different, the time I had spent with Mu until now proved that she was my daughter.

Even if I wasn’t a god, I would think of Mu as my daughter.

Because Mu was undoubtedly, without needing any reason, my daughter.

“Rest for a moment, Mu.”

I carefully embraced Mu, whose arms and legs had been blown off one by one, and set her down inside the library, then smiled at Mu who was looking up at me.

“I’ll be back soon after finishing this.”

I’ll bisect Idea along with this vast sea.