90 Chapter – Chaos and Hero (8)
“…”
“It’s amazing that you’re still alive in that state, but I suppose I should talk to someone else about the real story.”
Eve took the shining ring from the hand of the defeated general.
At the same time, the burning glare of the skull extinguished. It was indeed special powers acting like magic that allowed it to move in that skull-like state.
There are no more enemies now. As I carefully assessed the situation, I approached Eve, passing by the higher beings surrounding me…
“Hey! Stop running away!”
As I took a step forward, Kang Do-yeon shouted at Eve, who was trying to flee. Eve’s footsteps abruptly halted.
“You know this, but right now Eve is embarrassed.”
“Th-That’s not it!”
Eve, showing only the back of her head, flared up at her younger sibling’s words. At that display, I grabbed Kang Do-yeon’s arm to stop her.
Embarrassed? That seems correct, but I suspected that Eve’s feelings were a bit more complex.
“Rather than being embarrassed, I think she’s just confused. Our relationship, in contrast to other units or players, is special, and you are special too.”
I made my point while looking at the nearby higher being instead of Eve. The long-haired female form before me was merely Eve’s self-created avatar shaped by the Hive Mind; the essence was that all the legionnaires present here were Eve.
“Special.”
“We have shared every moment together. It’s different from suddenly meeting others while living well. And we are inextricably linked as one.”
I know that Eve’s feelings of obsession for me are far from mere affection.
It’s a complex emotion that no one else could ever understand or anticipate, like a devout follower’s faith in their god, a child’s trust and love for their parents, or the affection shared between lovers.
“…That’s right. We are special.”
As if my persuasion worked, Eve, who had been showing only the back of her head, mumbled and slowly turned her body. Even though her face was still covered, it was the first time we made eye contact.
I walked slowly toward her. Eve no longer avoided her own body.
Although her body was based on that of her younger sister, she had apparently continued to improve herself. So now, even the details visible on the surface were surely different.
I reached out slowly. Eve did not shy away from that touch.
With a sudden sound, the mask began to fall away. I flinched slightly but continued to remove the mask.
I had seen various forms secretly, but this was the first time I had seen the face behind the mask.
Her pure white skin was revealed. Her small, red lips and her glowing red eyes.
“…Do you like me?”
Eve placed her hand over her heart and smiled faintly. We share emotions. My feelings that couldn’t be hidden flowed into Eve.
“I’ve watched you since you were in the cell pool of the deepest labyrinth.”
I nodded. The face Eve was showing now was undeniably beautiful.
There was no reason to hide it. I was thoroughly satisfied. It must be how a parent feels when they see their self-made wonderful child.
[Time is almost up.]
However, we could not continue looking at each other. The legionnaires surrounding us began to disappear one by one. The time limit associated with the Unit Summoning Authority had activated.
“…What’s going on?”
Suddenly, Eve’s eyes began to quiver, and she became restless.
In a moment of panic, I grasped both of Eve’s shoulders tightly.
“Damn it! Just hug me! Like you did before! So stop asking; my head feels like it’s going to burst!”
That was when Kang Do-yeon suddenly shouted loudly.
But I couldn’t turn to look at her. Eve jumped into my arms.
The impact knocked me to the ground. Eve, startled and speechless, climbed on top of me, her long hair cascading down as she laughed.
“I’ll be able to meet you again soon. I’ll devour the mages and open the gate.”
“Uh…? Y-Yeah. I suppose that’s right.”
“When that time comes, we’ll become one and be together forever.”
Eve’s eyes sparkled for a moment. A bead of cold sweat trickled down my spine.
In the value system of the legion, it always came to that conclusion. To become one and achieve perfection together.
“When we become one, we’ll be free from the Execution Authority, from death. We will become stronger.”
“I won’t refuse. I want your power too. But I need you to promise me one thing.”
I pressed down my surprise and caressed Eve’s face. I had already anticipated this situation. That Eve would be like this.
“I hope you’ll always remain the good Eve who listens to me forever.”
“That’s not hard. I’ve always done that.”
Eve nodded as if that was no trouble.
But in truth, that was an illusion. Until now, I had never made a request that Eve would refuse.
Of course, I decided to take it slow with her training; for now, giving Eve satisfaction would be enough.
“Goodbye. Though I’ll be seeing you again anyway.”
With my final farewell, Eve’s face, enveloped in light, gradually became transparent.
I sat up.
“Eve has been considerate of me.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It was my choice from the beginning until now, and I will continue to choose.”
The last one remaining was Kang Do-yeon. However, even my apologies only elicited a calm response from my sister’s body, which was also becoming transparent.
“I’m going to fight just like you do, so think only of what is to come.”
She forcefully pulled away from the hand I was trying to grasp and turned her back.
I knew my sister’s character. I knew how much she had been tempered to reach that state. So I couldn’t say anything.
If it’s a path she chose herself, there’s no room for my interference.
“I want to say something to Mom, but I have nothing to give right now.”
“There’s no such thing as no path. So be sure to come back.”
I squeezed my eyes shut in response to the voice that was trying hard to suppress something rising from within.
At least it wasn’t entirely hopeless. If Eve figured out the technique to cross the walls of the world, she could come back.
We could meet at that time.
Though both of us had changed in many ways, we all already knew that such things didn’t matter.
“Take care.”
In the end, Kang Do-yeon, unable to hide her sobs, left behind that one phrase and disappeared.
Now, in this wasteland, I was left alone with nothing but tragic remnants. Like I had just had a vivid dream, the legion vanished without leaving a trace.
I turned around in a daze.
“I put out the urgent fire, but, truly, that was just putting it out. What will happen to the allied forces?”
[The movements of the legion matter more to you. Focus on how Eve, who has grown once more through your meeting, will appear. Only then can you adjust whether the Eve who emerges on Earth will be a compliant child, or a cataclysm that will destroy the entire planet, excluding you. That’s why you’re going through this hardship now, aren’t you?]
Words floated up in response to my muttering.
It was all undeniably true. I had believed that a meeting with Eve was a matter of course.
Therefore, I needed to move to prepare for that time.
“…So, when do we go?”
I looked down at the endlessly sprawling wasteland and hung my head. I had to return to the base, but the way forward seemed daunting.
*
“What in the world is happening?”
“…I’m not sure. Those monsters were not beings from the demonic realm. They were something deeper and more horrifying… beings whose souls could not even be properly read.”
At the site of the annihilated main forces of the alliance.
The kobolds and Nol combined forces, which arrived later than the Demon Legion, were flustered by the empty scene with nothing left.
The awakened former Demon King, Calatas, quietly unfolded his hood and touched the dried blood on the ground.
“I sent them back in haste, but nothing remained. Nothing. Only the corpses of our allies. Isn’t this also the power of that ‘game system’?”
The familiar bird that had served as his eyes had long since been killed by a stinger from a flying unit of the legion.
Thanks to that, all he could realize was that the unidentified monsters had slaughtered his forces. And that his loyal servant, Gar, was completely dead.
The image of the human who had blocked the Demon Legion alone in its final moments flashed through his mind.
“That can’t be. The player said that even if those monsters you speak of are units, there’s no way to summon a lot of their own units. Didn’t they say there was no sign of magic like a dimensional gate? And what does it mean that there were no corpses left?”
“That’s right… there were definitely no signs of magic that would require large amounts of mana to be mobilized.”
He nodded slowly.
‘But there are indeed all kinds of bizarre tricks. Who knows?’
However, he did not let his guard down. Having realized how vast the universe is and how many possibilities exist, he strived not to be a frog in a well anymore.
“Well, in any case, since they’ve disappeared, isn’t that what matters? The player is telling us to proceed to the next stage quickly.”
The chief of the kobolds urged him while trying to gauge his reaction.
Because Rose, the kobolds’ player, was preoccupied elsewhere, she did not realize that the legion that Calatas vaguely referred to were the ones who had attacked her.
After all, she hadn’t fought her own units.
“We will reverse attack Earth before they send another army.”
Calatas proceeded with the next plan. He intended to send the kobolds and Nols, along with his forces, to Earth, while also intervening in other locations maintaining the current front lines to disrupt the balance.
