episode_0134

The miraculous strength sometimes shown by humans in extreme situations.

It’s said this is because the survival instinct triggers, enabling them to exert several times their usual strength.

That’s why veteran adventurers—those who’ve danced with death and weathered countless storms—are so strong.

They’ve repeatedly applied a conditional cheat code, drastically growing stronger each time they’ve faced death’s threshold, so naturally, those who survive become incredibly powerful.

For the same reason, I’ve become stronger twice today.

Because I almost died twice.

Once when Persona slashed my body to ribbons, and again when I used the life-risking healing magic [Sacred Sacrifice] to save Aspi.

I already felt the effects of the first one through [Magic Absorption], but I’m feeling the effects of the second one now.

It feels like my life force was drained to its limit, then completely refilled with fresh ether.

Like draining stagnant water and refilling it with fresh water, an inexplicable refreshment courses through my entire body.

My skin feels smooth, as if years of grime have been washed away, and the joints in my limbs move far more fluidly than before.

I feel as refreshed as if I’d slept a deep, dreamless sleep, my mind sharp enough to enjoy any book I pick up.

Therefore, I’m very alert and sensitive now.

My brain works quickly and meticulously, like a machine, and I feel like I could list out the surrounding scene, what I need to do, and even the order and methods.

Starting with cleaning up the bodies, and tending to the ravaged backyard garden—that kind of thing.

I also need to check on the kids, see if any of them are hurt; only then might my anxieties subside a little.

And I need to show my face to the many people who came to watch the match today, as well as the knights who came to help, and after all of that, ultimately report to Dad…

Aside from that.

Ultimately, there’s only one thing I need to do right now.

Catch the rat that ran away.

. . .

When I crushed Persona’s head, I definitely felt it break.

But separate from that, my heart wasn’t at ease.

I felt like it wasn’t over.

At first, it was just intuition, lacking any basis for acceptance.

But when my dulled senses sharpened again, and I began to smell something fishy,

it became certain.

A thin thread of mana, almost imperceptible to a normal person, stretched from the corpse of the crushed head.

I noticed it because I often used ether in a similar way to communicate with Oracle.

That mana thread, made of shadow, led somewhere; judging by the direction, it was outside the academy.

She must have created an escape route beforehand outside so as not to be caught by the academy guards if she lingered inside.

And that method, as expected, utilized [Shadow Domination] to achieve an effect similar to [Transfer] magic.

She had numerous scars on her face; someone with similar scars would have difficulty distinguishing her, and I suspect she switched places with someone just before I killed her.

I bent down, placed my hand on her corpse, and sent ether flowing along the connected mana thread.

She probably never imagined anyone would use her escape route to chase after her.

Upon reaching the end of the thread, I realized it was at the entrance to the ‘Forest of Misguidance.’

I immediately materialized, following the ethereal path, and instantly caught her.

Whoosh—!

“Ugh— Gyaaack—”

The sun had already begun to set, and darkness was falling over the forest.

The low visibility was the worst possible condition for catching a fugitive, but it wasn’t entirely so.

“Gek— Ghuuuugh— Ag-ut—”

A trail of blood, like that of Hansel and Gretel, marked the escape route through the forest.

The smell of blood and her pained screams pinpointed Persona’s location.

Having had most of her mana, which protected her from strong magic, taken from her and having squeezed out the very last drop, fleeing,

her body had begun to disintegrate.

“Sa- save- me…”

“That…isn’t that something you often said?”

“Save- save me—”

There’d be no repentance, tears shed in the final moment of life…

Just desperate attempts to find a way out.

Because of that, her tear-streaked face looked so pathetic and pitiable.

Why would she go to such lengths?

The answer wouldn’t come, nor was it needed.

Whatever the reason, she committed countless evil acts and lost to me.

And the world will record history this way:

“Moriarty, the shadow of the Ubiet Empire, her executive Persona. You used your ability, familiar with the darkness, to assassinate countless people in Nifrantz, and you even came to the academy, threatening the lives of innocent people.”

“Ag-huut—”

Scraping the dew-covered grass with broken fingernails.

Dragging her broken limbs across the damp earth.

“According to the laws of Nifrantz, I sentence you in this place, without a separate trial.”

“Sa-ve me—”

Her bloodshot eyes reflected nothing.

Her sin-stained hands held nothing.

“In the name of Narita Florine Nifrantz, the 5th princess of Nifrantz… I will execute you immediately.”

The ether sword, raised high to the heavens, was stained with the red sunset.

Completely isolating the space with an [Ether Veil], preventing further escape.

Slash—!

I severed her neck with a single blow.

“Kek—”

Thump— Roll—

Persona’s head rolled onto the surprisingly soft grass, out of proportion to her crimes.

Life signs ceased completely, the overflowing magic escaping her body.

Swish—

Gently extending my hand, I absorbed all of that to leave no trace.

I picked up Persona’s head, stained with blood and dirt.

……

Are all souls truly equal?

From the severed neck, pure white ether seeped out.

* * *

A comfortable sensation I’d never experienced in my life.

The ground was so soft, I didn’t want to get up.

But due to the painful memories lingering in my body, Persona shuddered and sprang to her feet.

“This is…”

A pure white world.

If the [Shadow World] was a dark subspace borrowing the back side of the real world,

this place felt like the gap between the front and back.

With my current understanding, I couldn’t sense anything, couldn’t even determine if the concept of ‘distance’ existed before my eyes.

“Rather… unpleasant.”

Her [Shadow World] was a space that could know everything.

But this place knew nothing.

The feeling of this reverse information disparity was utterly disgusting.

And it was simultaneously too comfortable, making it even more repulsive.

I could feel my hands and feet clearly enough, but their boundaries were vague.

“This is… a soul?”

Yes, I met my pathetic end, executed by that damned sow.

“Damn it—!!”

Extreme rage surged over the disgusting sensation. I stomped my foot in anguish, but

it did not land on anything.

Persona could only think of one thing explaining this abnormal world.

The afterlife.

Something she couldn’t believe until she actually perished, but now she had to believe.

An endless space without an end, ambiguous physical sensations.

Her instincts screamed that such a space shouldn’t exist besides the underworld.

But that was preferable.

“Right, it means that even after death, I’m not dead…? Eventually I’ll be reborn, and if I’m given a second chance… I’ll make that bitch—”

Kuk- Kkuk—

Her laughter wouldn’t stop.

“No…!! That woman must suffer far greater pain. Not herself, but those she loves, I’ll make them suffer terribly before dying!! Yes, that’s it—!!”

Extreme rage morphed into anticipation and hope, and she spent time pondering how to inflict the greatest suffering on Nari.

Cut off her limbs and flay her skin? That might kill her too quickly.

First, tie those women up with chains, and bring the Moriarty soldiers tainted with magic to have their way with them.

“Kuk- Kkuk… I really am looking forward to their expressions…”

After spending some time fantasizing,

someone approached in the distance.

God? Death god? It didn’t matter which.

As long as she could be reborn, she would endure any ordeal to gain a second life!

With that attitude, she waited with clenched fists.

But as the figure became clear enough to make out, Persona collapsed.

The being in the pure white afterlife conveyed its intent without moving its lips.

「Did you think you’d have a next life?」

As the being snapped its fingers, Persona lost the ability to speak.

As the being swung its hand, Persona’s limbs were severed, scattering her pure white soul.

As the being extended its hand to absorb the light, Persona lost the ability to think.

As the being seized and tore the remaining husk of the soul…

Persona ceased to exist.

* * *

Swish—

After completely absorbing the pure white soul with my fingertips, I couldn’t help but feel a little nauseous.

The pure white image was so pure and innocent, I couldn’t help but think the soul would be the same.

But it wasn’t.

Persona’s soul was exactly the same as she was in life,

and swallowing such a soul made me want to vomit.

But if I let her be… someday she’d see the light of this world again, in a new form.

Like the Grey Wolves I released from the Artemis ruins; their souls would seep into the world’s cracks,

living a new life.

I wanted to prevent that above all else.

If evil were released into the world, it was better that I absorbed it.

And so, having executed her twice, I carried Persona’s corpse and walked towards the capital.