Chapter 168
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I should have known – the Sealed Dungeon can read our memories and emotions. It must have some form of consciousness.
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Since Orphe shows no signs of backing down, I reluctantly draw my Gram Copy. The moment I do, she draws her twin swords and lunges at me. Though neither of us is fighting seriously, our brief exchange of blades makes her incredible skill clear to me. Then she suddenly declares:
「Ichiro, from today on, I’m going to live with you.」
What in the world? This makes no sense at all.
While I’m still trying to process this, her excitement continues to build. She presses on without pause:
「I’ve made up my mind! I’m going back to the guild to write my resignation letter.」
「Resignation from what?」
「Isn’t it obvious? I’m leaving the Seventh Blue.」
Yikes! What’s with this sudden development?!
I feel like things are spiraling out of control!
The situation is rapidly moving beyond my grasp!
「Look Orphe, sorry to interrupt your excitement, but I’m completely lost here.」
Orphe blushes, crosses her arms, and gazes up at the sky for a moment.
「Well, you’re Eris Gladius’s master, right? Don’t worry, I understand that much at least.
And that brings me to my main point – since you’re her master, there shouldn’t be any problem with taking me on as a disciple too, right?」
In other words, she wants to become my disciple.
And for that purpose, she’s decided to quit her prestigious clan and move here (to my house).
When I try to refuse, saying living together won’t work, she responds:
「I understand. I won’t live with you then. I’ll just buy a house in Boldaf instead.」
No, no, no, you can’t just suddenly say things like that – and why does this girl keep throwing these impossible curveballs into our conversation?
「So then, should I call you ‘Master’ now?」
「Ah geez, do whatever you want.」
I’m exhausted from everything – we’ve been in constant battles since entering the Sealed Dungeon. I let out a deep sigh as she bounces around excitedly.
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While I casually think to myself that Orphe, though somewhat muscle-headed, has proven to be trustworthy and things are likely to get livelier from here on – I was being far too optimistic.
After all, this wasn’t just any dungeon – it was the Sealed Dungeon that had given even Sensei and Puru such trouble.
If the Sealed Dungeon has consciousness, then its efforts to expand its territory can be seen as a genuine struggle for survival against humans.
Humanity and the Sealed Dungeon are fundamentally incompatible entities.
That’s precisely why I should never have let my guard down until the very end.
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Angelica leaves Ichiro’s group and heads toward Purume, her adoptive parent.
A crowd of people surrounds Purume, raising loud cheers of victory. With her sincere personality, Purume calls out each person by name, acknowledging their efforts and thanking them for their hard work.
Since they’ve achieved their goal of destroying the Sealed Dungeon, there’s no longer any time limit to worry about. It seems it will take quite a while for Purume to finish thanking everyone.
Angelica distances herself slightly from the group to escape the commotion.
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Purume notices her daughter step away from the noisy crowd.
She also notices the redness around her eyes.
I need to talk with Angie.
We are family, after all.
Purume decides to wrap up her thanks at an appropriate point to make time for her daughter – and that’s when it happens.
「Angie-!」
The ground where Angelica stands suddenly becomes wet. The seeping liquid rapidly takes the form of a Dragonaut. The attacker’s scythe appears behind her and rises without mercy.
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I finally realize what’s happening when I hear Puru’s voice.
There’s no longer enough time to activate Autostrada del Sole.
All is lost.
I know I can’t reach the blade in time.
But I can’t help stretching out my hand anyway.
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What moves Purume’s body is undeniably love.
And she is the only one at the scene who can possibly reach Angelica, both emotionally and physically. Forgetting her complete mental and physical exhaustion, she runs. And then───
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Angelica only registers what happens after the deadly blade strikes.
Unable to even cry out, she sees a shadow throw itself between her and the Dragonaut.
And then- the Dragonaut’s scythe slices through the shadow’s neck- its flexible tip slips beneath the armor- and completely destroys the heart.
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「Puru!!」
Orphe swings her twin swords and eliminates the Dragonaut.
I rush to Puru’s limp form and call her name.
But I can no longer sense any mana from her body.
Angie, with trembling hands, desperately pours healing potion on Puru’s wounds. Her face a mess of tears and sweat, she keeps repeating 「Puru」, 「Puru」, 「This can’t be」, 「This isn’t real」. Choking back sobs, she presses cloth against the slashed neck to try to stop the bleeding.
「Ichiro, what should we do? Puru is───」
It’s strange to say, but somehow I had a feeling this might happen.
That’s why, after getting in contact with her the other day, I had given her that charm───with the Resurrection Orb inside it that had one final use left, powerful enough to bring back even the dead.
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An overwhelming light emerges from her – from Purume’s pocket.
It’s the same warm light that once saved me, her back then, and Chloa.
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I feel the gentle, warm light enveloping Puru.
───I be opposed to this.
Someone lets out an amazed 「Whoaaa!!」 at the sight of the almost sacred light.
───I cannot predict what will happen when you use That to its very last.
For some reason, Sensei’s words from that day come back to me.
───The use of great power comes with great consequences.
That memory leaves an uneasy stain on my heart.
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Gradually, the light fades, and Puru, who had been covered in blood, opens her eyes.
「What… happened to me…?」
Puru pats her body uncertainly. For a moment, Angie doesn’t quite comprehend what’s happening, but then she bursts out with a 「Waaah!」 and, overcome with emotion, throws herself at Puru and breaks into tears.
At first, Puru says things like 「Hey now」 and 「Come on, stop crying」 and 「Everyone’s watching,」 but after letting out a sigh, she seems to give up and says, 「Fine, do as you like until you calm down.」 She embraces her daughter Angie lovingly and gently strokes her head.
It’s truly a beautiful parent-child moment.
However-
───How can I feel at ease when there’s no price to pay?
Sensei’s words were true.
In fact, that’s exactly right.
I’m just using an item of unknown origin without knowing anything about it.
Then I feel something like needles pricking my skin.
Just as I feared, my anxiety proves justified.
And in the worst possible way.
An enormous amount of negative mana suddenly fills the area.
「What’s happening?」
The intense negative mana is being released from the Resurrection Orb – now depleted of its resurrection power – in Puru’s pocket.
It flies out of her pocket, hovering above us, and begins spreading tremendous evil energy along with an unbearable stench of rotting flesh.
「Cover your mouths with cloth!!!」
Orphe, who regains her senses first, shouts this.
But she must have known too.
It’s useless. Everything is useless.
Behind us, warriors with weak magic resistance begin to collapse.
The horrific evil energy isn’t something that can be stopped by a mere piece of cloth. Sensei had warned about this. That’s why I was the only one who could have done something. I should have struck down the floating Resurrection Orb or found some way to destroy it-
「What’s happening now!?」
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☆Dead Release Dead☆
A monster sealed within the Resurrection Orb.
It achieved its manifestation by breaking its seal after consuming four deaths stained with the desperate yearning for life and despair.
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The last remaining Dragonaut, hiding deep underground, leaps up from the ground as a spherical liquid mass, envelops the ominously evil energy-spewing entity – and devours it.
The evil energy emission stops instantly, and our vision fully returns.
「Ah- this is bad.」
I understand at first glance.
What stands there is- the Reverse Dead – the being I once destroyed, which had revived countless times and once drove me to death.
Yet I now understand that this recognition is both correct and incorrect. The Living Dead before us exists on an entirely different level – one or two dimensions beyond the previous Reverse Dead.
It’s literally death incarnate.
Even Orphe is left speechless before this entity.
「What… should I… do?」
From the Reverse Dead, I sense not only overwhelming power but also an absolute evil will seeking to annihilate all life in this world.
「GUOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!」
When the Reverse Dead roars, it releases evil energy of an entirely different magnitude – so intense it becomes visible. Behind us, people begin collapsing one after another, starting with those who have the weakest magic resistance.
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Time is something we think we have plenty of.
So even if there are things we want to say, we think we can always say them later.
I’ve learned all too well what a massive mistake that is.
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The evil energy covering the area gathers back into the Reverse Dead as if time is being rewound.
The gathered energy becomes a mass of pitch-black darkness, like a night that devours everything, and rapidly expands in volume. Eventually, it becomes a giant sphere of darkness that must be well over ten meters in diameter.
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Life is finite, and once something happens, it’s too late.
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「RUN!! Anyone who’s conscious, carry those who’ve collapsed and RUN!!」
I shout with all my might.
Puru, Angie, and Orphe all turn to look at me.
「Sorry, Orphe. We’ll continue training when I get back. I don’t know when that’ll be, but I’ll make it work somehow.」
The black sphere grows even darker.
「Puru, remember our promise. When I return, you’ll take me to the Elven Village, right?」
The embodiment of absolute will to eliminate life – to exterminate humanity – finally releases its mass of darkness.
「Prism Prison」
It’s one of my powerful techniques that sends targets to another dimension.
The light I release collides with the mass of darkness, and they push against each other.
「Angie, I’m taking back what I said earlier, just a little bit. I’m going to accept your apology now. So please, don’t cry too much. If you cry, I might start crying too. So, so when I get back, let’s do magic research together like we used to.」
「Ichiro, what are you…?」
The deadlocked light and darkness refuse to yield to each other, creating crackling sounds.
「Tell Sena and Sensei… ‘I love you.’」
The collision of light and darkness creates a torrent of enormous energy, and-
-CRACK!!
Space itself fractures.
At that moment, black arms extend from the Reverse Dead’s stomach, head, back, and shoulders. There’s no avoiding them. They grab me and leap into the gaping void, completely tearing through the spatial crack.
「No!! ICHIROOOOOO!!」
I hear Angie’s cry.
Then my consciousness fades.
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If we have people who are precious to us, we must tell them how we feel before we disappear someday.
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