Estimated reading time: ~6 minutes
Chapter 59
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「What is this!?」
Several amorphous white entities appear.
They squirmed as if yearning for the living, as if clinging to them, as if latching onto them, as if trying to devour them.
My instincts kick in.
These are bad news!!
「Ones who have overflowed and fallen from the seal.」
Their presence was so faint that I was late to notice them, but thanks to Sensei, we managed to avoid any serious consequences.
Sensei took care of one entity behind me, but there were still five, no, six entities remaining. They swayed and swayed, crawling towards us.
With enemies looking like that, I wonder if magic would be more effective than physical attacks?
No, since it’s our first encounter, maybe it’s time to use 《Cyalume》, which combines both effects?
Yeah, let’s go with 《Cyalume》 since it hasn’t had much spotlight! As I pondered in my mind, Sensei turned her palm towards the entities and shouted, 「Haaaah!!!」
Some incredible mysterious light shot out from her palm. The entities that were directly hit instantly vanished, emitting smoke with a sizzling sound.
「Ha ha…」
I knelt on the ground and prostrated myself before Sensei.
「What are you doing…?」
Seeing my posture, Sensei let out an exasperated voice.
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「I thought they would appear soon.」
「You mean those things from earlier?」
Sensei nodded and focused her awareness on the surroundings for a while. 「Their presence has disappeared. We can relax for a bit again,」 she informed me.
Sensing my relief, Sensei’s eyes crinkled in a smile.
「It’s still too early for breakfast. Let’s go to your room and get something to tide us over. I’m getting hungry.」
Sensei suggested we talk while eating.
Arriving at my room, Sensei prompted me to sit in a chair while I sat on the bed.
I took out some buns I had bought from a merchant I met before, who for some reason spoke in Kansai dialect, and placed a few on a plate for Sensei. 「Buns, huh… I like buns too, but I haven’t had taiyaki in a long time,」 she muttered wistfully.
Normally, I would rebuff her, saying, 「Stop being picky and make do with those.」 But I sensed a hint of nostalgia in Sensei’s voice.
「I can’t make them in the shape of a sea bream, but I’ll order an iron griddle next time. Please bear with it until then.」
I couldn’t bring myself to be too firm with Sensei.
Seeing Sensei’s smile as she said, 「It’s a promise,」 I felt a warm feeling, thinking this was good in its own way.
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「Let me ask again. What were those things? Please explain while eating, it’s fine.」
Sensei picked up a bun and boldly tossed the whole thing into her mouth at once. She chewed heartily, her mouth full, and after swallowing with a gulp, she finally began to speak.
「What’s sealed here is certainly a dungeon, so some call it a 《Sealed Dungeon》, but back then, it was known as a 《Sealed Domain》.」
「《Sealed Domain》…」
「That’s right. When it comes to 《Sealed Domains》, the dungeon is like the core, located at the center of the domain. Centered around this core dungeon, monsters appear in large numbers within a specific wide-ranging domain. And they do so endlessly.」
「Endlessly–」
「This is no exaggeration, just a simple fact. Initially, everyone thought it would end at some point. So how long would the monsters keep appearing? A week? A month? A year?
They were all wrong. If left alone–if not sealed or annihilated, they would continue emerging forever.」
Imagining the squirming entities overflowing everywhere, I shuddered.
「Yes, son-in-law’s imagination is precisely what would become reality.」
Sensei clicked her tongue. 「No, it would be even worse than that,」 she told me.
「The formless entities would eventually take on clear shapes and prioritize attacking the living. The domain would gradually expand. People would fight back. They would defeat the monsters that appear one after another. But as if mocking the struggling humans, the monsters would be born and materialize endlessly, assaulting the people.」
Sensei told me to imagine it.
「Even if humanity used all its power to defeat the monsters, they would be generated faster than that. Moreover, the speed at which monsters are produced would increase without limit. Eventually, humanity would be wiped out down to the last person, and this world would be filled with monsters.」
It’s a worse situation than a poorly made zombie movie.
The story Sensei told was not only the end of humanity in this world but also the end of all life.
「Then what should we do?」
Sensei bit into her second bun.
She chewed a few times and swallowed with a gulp.
I stood up from the bed, worried she might choke. 「I’ll make some tea.」
「Well, that’s how it is. Two of the three seals are intact. For now, if we can deal with the monsters appearing around here, we can buy some time.」
As I handed her the tea, saying, 「Here you go,」 Sensei accepted it with gratitude.
「The core dungeon will also appear in this area where the seal was broken. What matters is after the dungeon takes shape. Before the domain expands and the damage spreads, we need to reach the depths of the dungeon and sever the root of evil. That will be crucial.」
「Sensei, you experienced this last time, right? Why did you choose to seal it instead of destroying it?」
Sensei took a sip of tea and paused for a breath.
「All humans underestimated the threat of 《Sealed Domains》. Even I thought, ‘It has nothing to do with me, so deal with it yourselves.’
And at that time, this nation was going through some troublesome internal conflicts. It’s ridiculous, but humanity was always one step behind. As a result, we had to use three of the 《Mythical Weapons》, praised as the greatest in human history, to seal it. No, there was no other way.」
She seemed lost in thought, as if reminiscing about something.
I could only imagine the farewells and hardships she had endured, beyond my comprehension.
「You’ve been through a lot.」
「Indeed, I’ve been through a lot.」
Humans never change, Sensei muttered.
「As always, humans remain foolish. Last time was bad enough, but this time, it’s also because some idiots unsealed it.」
Sensei tossed the third bun into her mouth.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
「Ichiro, are you awake?」
It was Anon’s voice.
「Pardon my intrusion, but I’ve come to wake you.」
「Oh, it’s alright. I’m already up!」
As I opened the door, the hooded figure looked up at me.
「What’s up? It’s still early morning.」
When I asked for the reason, Anon replied.
「Ichiro, Ashley has woken up.」
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