Episode 196 – First Encounter (2)

First Encounter (2)

The mana leaked by the Boundary Error was seeping into the castle, causing all sorts of curses to occur.

Pictures in frames were crawling out like humans, candles and knives were flying around attacking, and strange laughter kept echoing – it was like a house of horror.

I was moving through the corridor with Zia in this environment, but the biggest problem was ‘oxygen’.

The barrier completely blocked the inside from the outside.

Therefore, the oxygen supply was limited, but because the interior was infinitely expanding, the available oxygen was decreasing.

“……Huuu.”

Zia couldn’t last long in this environment. I could hear her struggling to breathe from behind me.

The ‘nameless bodyguard’ I saved in Zia’s name, who is now on my shoulder, is in the same situation, but Zia herself is likely much worse.

As far as I know, she has a genetic disease similar to pneumonia.

“Miss.”

I called out to her.

“……”

Zia stopped. But she didn’t say anything. She probably realized the lack of oxygen herself.

“Please wait.”

“……”

Zia looked at me. There was nothing in her gaze. Still, the rabbit mask covered her bare face.

“I will try to sever the space.”

“……The space?”

“Yes.”

I raised my sword.

I feel like I’m using the Severing Sword too much today, but I can’t help it. If I can gain even a little more of Zia’s trust, the side effects are a small price to pay.

“……Haa.”

One deep breath.

Immediately after, I twisted the sword. A dark diagonal line drew across the void.

Wobble──!

The space unnaturally shook. The flow of air awkwardly changed.

The reaction caused pain to surge throughout my body, but anyway, it was successful.

“……Cough.”

At some point, Soliette before the regression showed me a sword that severed space itself.

The principle is simple. It temporarily ‘cuts off the continuity of space’ to shorten the distance. Like a wormhole.

“I will go first. Please follow.”

I hoisted the bodyguard back onto my shoulder. I entered the passage I had cut open.

Step-

One step.

Fortunately, there was no anomaly. It was just walking through the same space.

“……Hua.”

Then Zia crossed over.

“This is the passage.”

I pointed to a corner where Senator Amota’s room used to be. Now it was completely kidnapped and empty, but the Magic Spell of ‘Spatial Transfer’ was still there.

“Two people are enough.”

There was just enough mana left in the magic spell for two people. If the switch is activated, it will activate on its own.

“Together……”

“No. This person needs immediate treatment.”

I pointed to the bodyguard.

Late 30s, or early 40s. This man must have children. A son, or a daughter, or both.

“I can survive on my own.”

“……”

Zia still had no expression.

Suddenly, I was curious.

What was she thinking right now?

She was extremely calculating and seemed devoid of emotion, yet she cared even for the life of a mere bodyguard.

I wondered how she was assessing me.

“……Yes.”

Zia entered the range of the magic spell with the bodyguard.

“I will send you right away.”

I immediately infused mana into the formula.

「Spatial Transfer」.

Then Zia and the bodyguard’s bodies floated up and disappeared somewhere.

It happened in an instant.

“Phew……”

I had completed my mission.

With all this done, Zia should remember me.

─What just happened?!

A voice flowed in.

I turned to look in that direction.

“……Oh?!”

It was Layla, holding a torch. Beside her were Elise and Senator Amota.

“Shion!”

“Why are you here?”

Dudududu- Elise and Layla hurriedly ran over.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m a party bodyguard. An intern. But, don’t you know it’s dangerous to come out in the corridor?”

“We’ve got a device. We’re on an expedition to see what’s happening outside.”

Layla pointed to her waist. There was a thick belt with a button on it.

“If something happens, we can run away with this. I invented it in an hour. Hehe.”

She looked quite proud.

“How does it work?”

“You just have to press this button.”

Click-

I pressed the button. Layla’s eyes widened.

“No!!!!”

Whirrrrrrr───! The line attached to the belt contracted in an instant, and Layla was pulled to the other end of the corridor.

Aaaaaaah……

“Really.”

“Hey. You. Do you know what’s happening right now?”

Elise asked.

“Yeah. It’s a Boundary Error.”

“Have you been outside all this time, Mr. Bodyguard?”

This time it was Senator Amota.

“Yes. I was in the corridor.”

“Have you seen any suspicious people?”

“What would a suspicious person be……”

“……The culprit!!”

Layla flew back in no time. Her hair disheveled, and she glared at me.

“We were searching in case there might be some evidence!”

I pretended to reach for the belt.

“Don’t touch it!!”

Layla quickly lay down like a shrimp. I asked Elise.

“So, did you find any evidence?”

“No. Everyone has someone they suspect. Why, when a crime occurs, isn’t the ex-convict the first suspect?”

“So who is it?”

“Raquel Dra. You know him, right?”

“Huh.”

At that, I let out a hollow laugh.

Shaking my head, suddenly.

“……”

I looked at Senator Amota.

There are many upper-class people in this castle now.

“Why the sudden change in expression?”

Moreover, from my position, the more notorious Raquel Dral is, the better. That’s because the underground cartel will slowly form a bond with the monster association.

“Hmm……”

Before the regression, the underground world waged a thorough guerrilla war with Trick City and Edsilla.

It was Libra’s plan.

Libra provoked Trick City, the underworld, and Edsilla to induce a war.

The reason?

The group that benefits the most from the war is Libra.

Libra’s base is not on the ground but in the air, and the family has been militarized since its inception.

It’s no coincidence that Zia invented the human upgrade, ‘Perion’.

Successful in their plans, Trick City was contaminated by the underworld, and due to the exponential chaos on the continent, all the gears of Edsilla were turned solely by Libra.

That’s why I protect Trick City and respect Mila.

“……It’s a coincidence.”

“Huh? What is?”

I smiled slightly.

Fortunately, the instigators of this incident would have been wiped out by Jade.

So, there is no evidence.

“I thought so too.”

Therefore, I just need to create the evidence.

Even a fragmentary evidence that ‘Raquel Dra’ was here would be enough.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zia was gasping for breath in the car.

“Are you okay?”

“……No.”

“We’ll arrive at the hospital soon.”

Even as she pounded her chest as if she were dying, she opened her laptop. She checked the spyware she had planted today.

[ ● ] [ ● ] [ ● ] [ ● ] [ ● ] [ ● ]

All six spywares were working normally. It was twice as many as the original plan of three.

Despite feeling a burning chest pain, she smiled contentedly.

“……Cough.”

Blood flowed from her cough. Wiping the red liquid with her white hand, Zia thought about Shion Ascal.

The ‘Severing Sword’ he showed.

It severed space.

So, she became curious.

Perhaps he could sever her curse as well. Could he save her from this disease that’s eating away at her life……

But it’s still premature.

Her disease would become a weakness once exposed.

“Where is Brother Jade……?”

“He has returned after watching. A mage has been dispatched to the barrier, so there should be no problem. Don’t worry.”

* * *

…36 hours after the incident.

The mages from the Magic Tower slowly arrived. After hours of interpretation, they resolved the Boundary Error, and the rescue team entered the fortress.

─So, the barrier suddenly darkened and this happened.

─…Adjust the schedule. I was trapped.

─We’ll do the interview later.

─The stock fell by 3%? Shouldn’t we sue this charity party?

I escaped the fortress with the rescue team. Outside, there were many people from the Edsilla Police Department and the Trick City Enforcers

They were about to discover the ‘evidence’ I had left inside.

There would be a portion of Raquel Dra’s interest left inside the barrier, and the high-profile Senator Amota from both Edsilla and Trick City would certainly help initiate the ‘Hero Special Law’.

“…Hey.”

Elise tapped my shoulder.

“Huh. What.”

“You don’t seem to be hurt?”

“Well, that’s true.”

By the way, Layla is in the middle of an interview.

─Ah, that, I, I, uh, suddenly, boundary, error, appeared, but, we, um, tried hard, haha, um, built a wall, and so. Actually, when, um, space expands. We need, um, closed, space, and, also, inside, evidence…

I’m not sure if that can be called an interview. But anyway, there are almost hundreds of cameras, so she seems a bit too nervous.

“Are you ready for the entrance ceremony?”

“Somewhat. Course registration is a bit-”

“Let’s talk about it later.”

Elise spun around.

─Ah~ That’s a shame.

At the same time, someone lost their appetite.

It was a reporter.

He smirked while fiddling with his camera.

He must have run away because he didn’t want to be filmed.

I took a step back.

I was about to return alone when suddenly a car stopped in front of me.

Vroom-

The window rolled down. A luxurious scent wafted from beyond.

“…sir Jade?”

It was Jade. He seemed a bit upset. At least it wasn’t a pleasant face.

Well, he’s a noble who hates combat itself, despite his heavenly strength.

“I heard you saved Zia.”

Jade asked in an indifferent tone.

“Ah… It just happened to be that way.”

“….”

He gestured to the seat next to him. It meant to get in.

“Yes.”

I sat in the seat next to him. Jade first took out his checkbook.

Whisk-

He wrote his name and 300,000 Ren in neat handwriting and handed it over.

“Zia is always in need, so it’s hard to expect a reward.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I didn’t do it expecting a-”

“Libra is a heavenly order. It thus rewards for the tasks performed.”

“Thank you.”

And then, Jade was quiet for a moment. There were no words, no actions. Only his wristwatch ticked.

I was inexplicably bothered. I quietly asked.

“What happened?”

At my question, Jade’s eyebrows twitched.

“I just crushed a few bugs. It’s not pleasant having dirty shoes.”

Jade treated those monsters as mere bugs.

If they could cause an error in the solid barrier and kidnap and kill Senator Amota, they should be at least between A~S rank.

“I’ll step out.”

Suddenly, the driver vacated his seat.

I felt slightly uneasy.

Being alone with Jade in a confined space is bound to be nerve-wracking. Any human, in front of Jade, would become a rabbit before a tiger.

“Shion Ascal.”

“…Yes.”

Moreover, he called my name.

It’s unusual.

No, it’s a crisis.

“You know about me.”

“….”

What does he mean? I quickly racked my brain.

“You cleaned up nicely that time. Thanks to that, I didn’t have to deal with annoying matters.”

Berhalsi.

The lion monster that dared to kidnap Jade and demand money, only to explode with one punch.

“Probably, you’re the only one. The only living creature that knows that side of me.”

Jade looked down at his palm.

If he just flicks his finger, I’m a goner.

I was tense but didn’t show it, and Jade didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking, he just clenched his fist.

“Shion Ascal.”

He called my name again.

“Yes.”

“Have you ever thought about how vast this world is?”

“…Yes.”

The world is vast, and there are many talents.

It’s a thought everyone on the continent has.

There’s always someone better than me, somewhere.

“Not for me.”

Jade leaned back against the seat.

At first glance, it’s an arrogant and haughty statement. But for Jade, it’s an undeniable fact.

Because he stands at the ‘end’.

“Rather, it’s incredibly narrow. This continent, this world… it’s like a mere well.”

His eyes looked out the window. A somewhat sad and lonely fog seemed to envelop him.

Is this the image of an absolute being who unknowingly reached the peak?

“Have you ever heard? The story of how I tore off one arm of a certain painter.”

“….”

I tried to stay as calm as possible, but this was Jade’s atrocity.

“You must have heard. That’s why you were so nervous when you painted my portrait. I tore off her arm because I didn’t like the painting she drew.”

He widened his eyes.

“It’s true, but it’s not.”

He stared at the empty air.

“I didn’t mean to harm her.”

As if trying to grasp the scattered days, nostalgia bloomed in his blue eyes.

“I was just trying to hold on.”

It was such a vivid memory that it felt like I could see his past.

“To her, who was trying to get away from me….”

Jade.

The him of long ago reaches out to someone.

He grabs the hand of a woman trying to escape from him, a painter he once loved, or perhaps still loves.

But……

Crack───!

With a simple squeeze, her arm is torn off.

The shoulder joint is dislocated, and the flesh and bone fall away from the body.

Aaaah───!

The woman screams in pain, bleeding like a fountain, sobbing until she faints.

Jade stares at her hand, dazed.

The only hand she has left.

He still holds her hand, but it’s no longer her hand.

It’s a lifeless arm.

“I… I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

Jade said. His voice was colorless, mixed with regret. I calmed down.

“Hah.”

He chuckled, a self-mocking smile on his face as he lowered his head.

“Shion Ascal. You’re trustworthy. At least to me.”

“….”

He looked at the rearview mirror of the empty driver’s seat. He looked into my eyes in the mirror.

“I want to entrust Zia to you.”

It was a heart-pounding statement, but it was still burdensome.

“Zia has many lieutenants. But none of them are trustworthy in my eyes. They’re all just looking for their own gain.”

There must be subordinates far more competent and excellent than me around Zia now. Jade just doesn’t know about them.

“I… I can’t follow in Jade’s footsteps no matter how hard I try.”

“Shion Ascal. I’ve told you my burden.”

Jade’s eyes sharpened like a wolf’s.

“You should understand what that means.”

He turned his head to look at me. He looked straight into my eyes.

Then, I realized why he had to use the rearview mirror.

It was a consideration.

“The people I care about….”

Jade, who is emotionally unstable now, is unknowingly releasing his mana.

Therefore, just looking directly into his eyes puts a strain on the whole body.

“They can’t even withstand a tiny… tiny part of me.”

“….”

I didn’t avoid his gaze. I looked deeply into his face, a piece of art, yet filled with deep wounds and loneliness.

“Now give me the right answer, Shion Ascal.”

The strongest man in the world.

The strongest man in the world is also the loneliest being.

A man who created an artificial ‘end’ in an endless world, isolated in his helplessness.

“Yes.”

I gave him the right answer.

Because what he wants is the correct answer.

“I will approach Miss Zia. Slowly, but surely.”

“….”

Jade shifted his gaze again. Looking at the rearview mirror, he handed me a small box.

“Open it.”

Thud-

A luxurious box opens.

Inside was a blue necktie.

“From now on, I’ll support your back.”

…It was a very reassuring gift.