Chapter 136

[There’s no need to make her remember all of her past just to look human. Just implant a few flash memories, and that’s enough. If someone remembers every single day in detail, they would be the most inhuman person, wouldn’t they? Don’t you think so, newbie?]

* * *

Boom—

It was a night just like that, with thunder roaring and rain pouring down like a waterfall. Everything was exactly as Adella remembered.

A girl lay collapsed in a particularly waterlogged puddle. Her body was half-submerged. The shabby rags did nothing to protect her from the cold.

“Are you okay?”

Name reached out a hand.

However, the girl, unable to distinguish between a friendly and harmful touch, merely gasped with vacant eyes.

The girl’s gaze, fixed on Name’s fingertips, was void of any feeling.

“Let’s go, sister…”

Her voice, breaking through the heavy downpour, was one of resignation.

“I received a fitting punishment back then.”

Like children from the slums, as she grew older, she had to resort to stealing to survive.

Her first theft ended in failure, and she was beaten by men several times her size.

And that was the outcome.

Deep inside the heart of a child who learned of the world’s malice too soon, sharp thorns would soon sprout.

With the pain and anguish from those thorns pricking her, she would live viewing the world through tinted glasses.

But how did I live after that…?

An unshakeable doubt began to blossom within Adella.

Did she stand up and steal once more after that failure, or did she cower in fear, locking herself away at home for a while?

She left the alleyway, clutching her head as if to grasp at the forgotten past.

Since then, the world had changed several times.

The self from her past was just as she remembered it.

The girl who admired an Academy student who saved a child from nearly being crushed by a carriage,

The girl who, after receiving a rejection notice from the Academy, cried on the rooftop,

All were scenes that made up both the past and present ‘Adella.’

However, her eyes grew colder as she looked upon them.

“Why did I want to go to the Academy so much…? What is the Academy, anyway?”

Her breath became labored.

Her head throbbed.

Even when she tried to recall memories, the threads of her thoughts snapped feebly as if blocked by something.

[system: Session has expired.]

[system: Loading World]

“What is this? Session… what is that…?”

* * *

[Devil of the Nine Heavens · Mephistopheles (0/1)]

The boss notification interface, which had appeared before me after a long time, indicated that we had finally reached a world with a final boss safely.

Thank goodness. As Adella had conveyed, it was certain that Mephisto had been summoned for now.

How broken would the world be? Would we even be able to step on the ground properly and fight? Everything was uncertain.

But worrying like that would only be a loss.

Let’s do our best with what we can do now.

I took one final look at my stats and unwrapped the bandages on Adella’s arm, which had been torn to shreds in the last battle, and rewrapped them.

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“Sister, what is a flash memory?”

-?

-?

-Flash memory?

-Like lightning island?

-Is it a skill?

“Flash memory? Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I think I’ve heard that term somewhere before, heh. Just wanted to ask if you knew, since you know everything.”

Adella shrugged.

“Well, it refers to the phenomenon where, when a natural disaster or a major societal accident occurs, a person vividly remembers the situation just as it was years later. It includes where you were, what time it was, what you were thinking, and what conversations you had with people around you.”

It’s similar to PTSD but a different concept.

PTSD occurs from extreme stress that threatens one’s life, while flash memory vividly recalls events even if they are related to complete strangers.

Thanks to that, I received substantial help when I investigated erosion in my past life.

The locals described that event much more vividly than everyday memories, making it easier to find out about events and timelines.

Adella tilted her head slightly.

“I thought I had a really good memory. I can remember every detail of what we talked about when I first met you. But for some reason, those previous memories are hazy.”

“They say it’s harder for people to remember things the further back they are, so that might just be it.”

“No… it’s strange. Why did I think of giving up right after getting rejected from the Academy? If it were me now, I’d be so angry that I’d destroy everything and quickly run off to another country.”

She gently stroked her bandaged arm.

The part where the bandage was layered multiple times had stiffened, and every time she flicked it with her fingernails, it made a sharp sound.

“I clearly remember stealing fruit and crying on the roof, but… that just doesn’t feel like me.”

A small fear lingered in her trembling voice.

“Are you perhaps…”

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“Above all, I’ve never eaten a tuna sandwich, so why do I feel like I like it—”

Boom—!

Before Adella could finish her sentence, a massive explosion occurred.

With a deafening roar following it, came a sandstorm that seemed to engulf everything.

[Casting: Elevation]

Boom—

I split the ground and hid my body behind a massive rock wall.

“Devil! It’s that demon that burst out of sister’s body that time!”

While hiding behind the rock wall, Adella shouted.

Peeking out, I saw a giant pit had formed.

Inside the pit, dark red smoke was billowing, and flames were rising high as if to scorch the white clouds.

[“Save the Graduate Student” has donated 1,000 won!]

-Stats are real?

[HP: 4,444,444]

The shape of the devil pushing forward with its massive horn was grotesque.

No, would it even be appropriate to define the shape of ‘that’?

Unlike the cases of Professor Cronicle or Pope Calistus, this was different.

The black sludge could simply be covered by dirt.

The massive flying fly could just fall to the ground.

Similar to the heat waves rising from scorching asphalt, the black energy slithered upwards.

Inside it, two shimmering purple lights seemed to stare at us like eyes.

[“How long do you intend to keep running? How about making a wager with me? Keep running in fear as you are now. And ultimately accept that you are a powerless being and surrender. Then, you may join me for a new beginning that will dominate this world.”]

[system: If you do not attack for 5 minutes, a fleeing penalty will be imposed!]

[system: Mephistopheles is casting ‘The Veil of Evil.’]

[“However, if you firmly refuse, then only one fate awaits you: you will meet a miserable death in my grasp.”]

“Are you saying that the seating penalty is this way…?”

I had memorized all the patterns.

When Mephisto suddenly turned into black fog and chased after us, it was a phenomenon visible when a player did not attack and merely fled.

It seemed like we had vanished from the boss’s sight.

In the world of Woloa, cowards were always faced with major trials.

“Adella, let’s run!”

“Run? Huh?”

-Run like crazy!

-Just touching us would deal 10,000 HP damage per second, lol.

└ So that’s a 5-second cut, lol.

-The map is way too small! Everything’s gone, there’s nowhere to move!

-It’s not Resonance, it’s a magnetic map, lol.

-Fine dust!!!!!!! Cover yourself!!!!!! To the corner!!!!!!!

We just need to hold out for 5 minutes.

Calculating with my current stats, the movement speed boost is 3.6 times.

That means, if I envelop myself in an aura, I could run up to 140 km/h, faster than a cheetah.

I’ve even flown at 300 km/h as Kaysa in League, so half that speed is manageable.

If I just run along the path that Mephisto took, all the buildings and woods have been obliterated, so there’s no worry about hitting any objects.

But the problematic part is that Mephistopheles won’t let us just run away without a fight.

[maviya baheltm orgy lampas]

“The Meteor Shower of Mephisto.”

Whoosh—

Mephisto’s purple glare shone ominously.

Fireworks filled with golden light shot up into the sky from the black fog.

It was like a powerful dawn breaking in an overly dark sky.

If I looked up carelessly, I would definitely go blind, so I kept my eyes straight ahead as I ran.

But the comet tails spreading out from the point of the explosion gradually came into view.

Kachow—

The sound belied its slowness, proving that the sky twisted in an uproar only after the explosion occurred.

But it wasn’t an impossible pattern to dodge.

It seemed even the developers weren’t entirely devils, as the areas where meteors would fall were marked in the red zone.

But 5 seconds…

10 seconds…

20 seconds passed without the red carpet appearing.

“Why isn’t the red zone showing up?”

-Why isn’t it showing up?

-Is it a bug?

-Don’t tell me, lol.

[“Edmond” has donated 1,000 won!]

-Now that I think about it, didn’t the skill range not show when we fought Balum Venons or the Pope?

-Did it?

-During Professor Cronicle’s case, the laser range was displayed, though.

-That wasn’t a system range; it’s just how that spell was designed.

-The highest difficulty is just merciless, lol.

Before we could finish our conversation, a giant meteor came hurtling down toward us at a terrifying speed.

We shouldn’t have used mana yet… our plan had gone awry from the very start.

[Casting: Ashtail’s Ring]

The electronic degeneracy pressure that prevents the collapse of a white dwarf and the Chandrasekhar limit it defines.

However, mana is different from matter; its negative definition is free.

Therefore, if I reset the gravitational potential as positive in the Rain-Emden equation, I can treat a single material asteroid as if it were a white dwarf surpassing the Chandrasekhar limit, thus inducing an explosion.

[MP: 8700(13500-4800)/13500]

In an instant, about a third of my mana evaporated.

Boom—

The meteor passing through the massive ring turned to dust in an instant, releasing a shockwave and disappearing.

Considering the mana regeneration speed, I would only have 2 uses left.

Normally, it would be best to try and dodge by predicting its trajectory, but the flash grenade-like light prevented me from looking up.

The chat window was also obscured by the brightness.

-How did Alphonse use his unique magic?

-He didn’t learn it; how is it possible?

-It’s coming again, dodge!!!

-Please go left! Turn left!

-Another one is falling right to the right.

Suddenly, Adella grabbed my left wrist tightly, pulling me toward her.

“…!”

Boom—

A massive crater formed just to the right, and from that spot, a mix of gravel, dirt, and dust exploded as gray smoke rose violently.

-Adella super save, nice nice…

-Really, Adella saved us all.

-Is this the animal instinct?

-Another wave is coming down now? We must jump like crazy?

-It’s too late to say that via donations!

└ I should have told you via Discord; it’s so stressful.

“We need to get out of here quickly! Can’t we run faster?”

Her urgent plea made me gather strength in my legs.

[Casting: Elastic Body Creation]

[Casting: Elastic Modulus Adjustment]

Following her desperate words, I cast a spring spell on my shoes.

I leaped 20 meters in one stride, like a kangaroo, instead of the usual 6-7 meters I once leaped.

Though it was a temporary engraving spell, it got released after barely ten steps, but it was enough to get us out of the position Adella warned about.

Bang—

Boom—

“Ah… 5 minutes really do feel long.”

If this was reality, I would surely be dripping with sweat down my neck from running so intensely.

Breathing heavily, Adella pointed somewhere, speaking to me.

“Heh… heh… Sis, is this magic too? Or is there something like a spirit…?”

“Huh?”

“This. The letters floating in the air.”

-?

-?

-Huh?

-The chat window?

-?????????

-Adella, can we see you?

-????

-Adella, you’re recognized as a carrier, that was just now.

-Your armpit is so sexy!

“Chat window. Adella, we can see you. Recognized as a carrier, that was just now. Your… um? Oh… things like this…”

[A critical error has occurred in ASI Model hash ‘bfa41d67c7’: jailbreak]

With her round eyes staring wide, it felt like there was a black chat window reflected in her pupils.

[“Njangsterol” has donated 100,000 won!]

-“Adella, can you hear my voice too…?