Chapter 26

[What’s going on here?]

[What do you think will happen if she comes out again?]

[Not much.]

[Why? I thought you had a lot to say. Really no feelings at all? Seriously?]

[What exactly do you want to hear?]

[…The seal is going to break. There’s not much time left. I need your help. Let’s seal ■■■ again.]

*

Dealing with the knights, I guess some regrets piled up.

Seeing how soft I’ve become.

So this time, I’ll squeeze every last drop without leaving any behind.

There’s a risk, but it’s better than leaving regrets.

*

First, I put the still struggling girl down on the ground.

Before she could pounce again out of habit, I raised my hand to stop her.

*

Surprisingly, this simple action was effective in handling the girl.

Maybe she’s never experienced such failure before, so she’s inwardly flustered.

Or maybe it’s a signal they used to control her in that organization.

Whatever it is, it’s fine.

What’s important is that she’s calmed down enough to have a conversation.

*

“Belva.”

[It’s covered. You won’t be able to see or hear anything inside the veil.]

*

A transparent, soap-bubble-like veil covered me and the girl.

It’s said to be one of the Watcher’s powers, honestly, I’m envious.

How does it work?

It was fascinating how it changed colors like a rainbow when touched.

*

After tapping the veil a few times, I looked back at the girl.

She was on high alert, looking around nervously.

*

The first defeat she’s ever experienced.

A postponed death.

The target in front of her.

An unfamiliar environment.

*

She’s at a loss, unable to reconcile the situation with her mental perception.

*

“Kid.”

*

As I spoke, the girl flinched and stepped back, heightening her guard.

It feels like watching a wild animal.

I took a step closer, picked up the fallen dagger, and threw it towards her.

Instinctively reaching out, the girl hesitated and stepped back from the dagger. Maybe she thought I threw a bomb or something.

*

If she can’t think for herself and only moves according to orders,

then handling her is actually easier.

Machines tend to malfunction with just a slight twist in their code.

*

“I’ll give you a chance to attack me.”

*

“……?”

*

“In return, if you fail, you answer my questions. How about it?”

*

If the girl were an ordinary human, it would have been much easier to persuade her.

If she were a normal person, afraid of death and weak to pain, I would have used different methods.

But from what I see, for this girl, completing her mission is more important than her own life.

That’s why she can’t refuse my offer.

Even though she knows there’s a trick.

She has no choice but to try.

*

As expected, the girl hesitantly picked up the dagger from the ground.

It was a dangerous moment, but with her injured leg, she probably couldn’t match my speed.

What I needed to confirm was the moment she used her stealth.

I had to grasp the essence of that technique that made her disappear like magic.

*

“Start.”

*

As soon as I finished speaking, the girl lightly crushed the ground with her heel.

*

Whoosh-

*

A strong wind accompanied the girl’s body reaching my side.

I didn’t see it.

It wasn’t just that her speed was too fast to catch, but right before she moved, her body definitely blurred like smoke.

Like ink slowly dissolving in water.

*

But her speed was incomparably slower than before.

I deflected the dagger thrust with my hand and pushed the girl forward.

Her small body rolled helplessly on the ground several times.

I didn’t even push that hard?

It’s bewildering.

*

Seeing the girl clutching her leg and breathing heavily, I finally understood the reason.

She’s truly reached her limit.

In moving her leg.

*

“Drink this.”

*

I bought a potion and handed it to the girl, then sat down facing her.

There was still wariness in her eyes as she looked at me, but perhaps because we had already gone through several verifications, her body took the potion without much hesitation.

The wounds healed and the pain disappeared.

Yet, the girl showed no change in expression, just staring intently at me.

*

“Now you have to keep your promise.”

*

“……”

*

“Either break the promise and die here, or live and look for another chance. The choice is yours. What do you want to do?”

*

“…I want. A chance.”

*

“Alright.”

*

A long smile hung on my lips.

A strange sense of happiness washed over me.

Like in Go or chess, when a trap you’ve meticulously planned after long deliberation succeeds perfectly.

The thrill of watching your opponent walk right into it, step by step.

*

Looking at the girl who, after countless deliberations, made her move.

I opened my mouth.

*

*

*

*

[She’s sleeping well. I’ll tell you when she wakes up.]

*

“Okay. Thanks.”

*

The girl.

Earlier.

According to what I found out, I left a girl named No. 62 in a makeshift tent while I was on my way.

Living together would be too risky anyway.

I could have bought and set it up from the shop window, but I cut the wood and attached the leaves to make the tent with the girl myself.

I wanted her to feel something from it.

New experiences always make you stop in your tracks.

And they make you remember the moment.

It would mean a lot to a girl who had lived her whole life by inertia.

I don’t know what value she’ll assign to the moment she spent with me, but I hope she remembers it fondly.

If I can send the girl I’ve drawn to my side back to that world, it would be my first counterattack.

It won’t be visible.

Which makes it even more dangerous.

I have high expectations.

For something I came up with on the spot, the composition is pretty good.

If there’s a problem, it’s how to definitively draw the girl to my side…

“Don’t you have something like that? A magical tool where if you break a promise, your soul vanishes. Like a blood oath or a mana contract.”

[…I don’t know what that is, but there’s nothing that convenient in the world. The criteria for ‘breaking a promise’ is too vague to work properly anyway.]

I see. That’s a shame.

For now, the only ways to control that girl are Belva’s surveillance and a flimsy verbal promise with me.

It can’t be helped.

Still, the quality of the potion I gave her was so low that her leg probably didn’t heal completely.

If she manages to get near my place despite Belva’s surveillance, I can handle it.

“No. I’m still uneasy.”

Hmm…

I feel like a good idea might come to me.

“How about this? Tie her whole body with rope until I come back.”

[Then she’d have no way to protect herself and would die quickly, right?]

“Maybe I should just drag her around?”

[…The safety measures you’ve already put in place are enough. Please, just live like a normal person.]

Seems like it was a stretch after all.

Listening to Belva’s tired voice, I leisurely made my way to the Academy grounds.

The world had turned to night, and the once bright sunlight had faded.

Colorful petals drooped sadly.

A dense stone path deep in the forest.

Huge tree roots sticking out here and there.

It’s more eerie than picturesque.

It looks like the developers messed up during an experiment.

Surprisingly, the trees in this forest could walk on their own.

There was even a small pink flower blooming where dozens of roots were tangled.

I freaked out and stomped on it several times.

Crazy trees.

They’re sinister beyond measure.

But this forest wasn’t always like this.

If it had been, they wouldn’t have built the Academy nearby.

I suspect the cause of these phenomena… is, funny enough, probably me.

To be precise, it’s because I used Dimension Power here.

Honestly, I’ve had my suspicions for a while, but now I’m sure.

I’m the cause.

The monsters suddenly getting smarter.

The forest changing like this.

The essence of Dimension Power is transmission and resonance.

It can happen even if you don’t intend it.

Especially in my case, where I can’t contain the massive Dimension Power and keep leaking it.

If I can’t perfectly gather the power within myself.

This will keep happening.

The creatures affected by me will evolve, get smarter, and ironically, become a threat to me.

Because I want to survive.

Because I’ll do whatever it takes to kill the opponent and survive.

That desire flows into the Dimension Power.

And they continue to evolve.

The only way to stop this is for me to die or to completely control the Dimension Power.

I think both are impossible.

The former is obviously a no-go.

The latter… unfortunately, the amount of Dimension Power I possess is just too much.

Too much to handle.

And as my level increases, so does the amount of Dimension Power I have to bear.

So there’s only one way.

I just have to keep getting stronger.

Faster than the world changes because of me.

That’s the only way.

And I was confident I could do it.

“I’ll do it.”

Reaffirming my goal, I slowly moved forward.