Chương 235: Chapter 19: "Yu Delivers Judgment"

"Everyone is gathered here. Clam Selenberg. You saved me the trouble of searching." I had a guess for a long time, but no proof. Being in this place makes it clearer than seeing a fire.

"Yu Hoshimi...!" Clam drew the sword on his back and took a stance. Cold sweat was running down his cheek.

"You... how did you get here!?"

"Where are my subordinates! What happened to my subordinates!? Why was there no report!" The masked woman's voice trembled with fear, and Master Megil was flustered like an idiot.

"It was easy. Getting into such a shoddy place." Security is nothing compared to Earth's.

"Besides. Do you think I'll let the lot here live?" In this world, there are types of humans whom there is no point in keeping alive. Exactly like you lot. If I show mercy, you'll just get carried away. Even though I gave you a chance to live. This is the underground of a magic laboratory built in secret to avoid public eyes. Ironic. No one will know what happened here. Who I kill. Who dies. I can do it without hesitation too.

"You will also die here. Your ambition ends too. Master Megil. No— Tor Guief."

"Why, my name!?" The voice behind the mask was terribly agitated. When I glared with Qi, his mask cracked and peeled off into pieces. What appeared was the true face of the teacher who teaches Magic History. There was no trace of the man reputed to be a gentle gentleman anywhere; he had a fierce face truly befitting a villain. Seeing him flustered by the sudden breaking of his mask, I smirked.

"You were pitch black from the start. You. If you thought you were hiding it with that, you're a complete fool."

"Guu...! Impossible!" From the first meeting, I could see your nauseatingly dark heart. No. Even if I didn't know your heart, I could tell just by that shitty smile pasted on your face. How many such people have I seen? It was easy to imagine you were doing something behind the scenes. Once imagined, confirmation was easy. If you consider the connection with the woman trembling there, even an idiot would understand. Once understood, it's obvious why you guys are good at Lost Magic.

In other words, the authority on Lost Magic research on the surface was the leader of the Masked Group behind the scenes. A simple story like that.

"Why now, us... You said you wouldn't lay a hand on us!" To the masked woman interrogating me with a voice close to tears, forgetting even to act, I told her flatly.

"I said it. I wouldn't lay a hand on you if you didn't get in our way." Recalling Alice's crying face and Milia's broken smile, I clenched my fist tightly.

"But you guys—went too far." I created a Qi Sword in my left hand and pointed it at the three.

"Atone with death." Then, Clam, who had been holding his sword silently until now, made a fearless smile. Although agitation is still visible, there is a slight margin in his expression.

"Heh. You talk big to the three of us. You came here alone, didn't you?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"In other words. If I kill you right here, everything is solved. Am I wrong?"

"Ooh!" Tor chimed in clingingly. This guy's small-fry stench makes me want to vomit. Clam. I know you are the strongest enemy. But even you should know. That you are far inferior to me in ability. What are you hiding? What is the basis of that confidence?

"Try it." Before waiting for Clam's next words, I was moving. Approaching him at a speed invisible to the eye. Without letting my guard down, I intended to take his head in one blow—! —What. My body won't move! As if sewn into place, I became completely unable to move. Not even a blink was allowed. Damn. What is going on! However, I was able to perceive the surrounding situation through my'World of Heart'. Clam readies his sword and thrusts at me, who is full of openings.

The movements of Tor and the masked woman had stopped completely. Not a single movement from them either. Nothing is recognized. Even the movement of their hearts cannot be read. Impossible. As long as the opponent is alive, such a thing is impossible. What. This strange sensation. As if everything in this place has stopped. Could it be. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. There, I realized.

The secret of the ability with which he defeated a Black Dragon despite being human. A cheat-like hidden technique. Don't tell me— Time has stopped!? When my swiftly spinning thoughts finally reached the nature of the technique, the sword was already approaching, aiming at the center of my chest. Anyway, brace yourself. Think only of defending at least. The glittering swift sword pierces my clothes aiming at my heart. For Clam, it must have been a miscalculation. He was violently agitated. Because.

The sword, which should be undefendable and fatal—. Stopped dead at the tip of my skin. Time starts moving. To him opening his mouth with an expression of disbelief, I said.

"Indeed, you lived up to your reputation." That was close. If I couldn't perceive the world where time stopped. If I couldn't read that you were aiming for my heart. I couldn't have defended. The one defeated might have been me. But you no longer have a chance of winning. I activate the Space-Time Magic I just learned from this guy right now. This time, it was him who couldn't move.

"How does it feel to have time stopped by someone else? Can you hear me? You must be hearing." The Qi Sword pierces through his heart. Confirming that I inflicted a fatal wound surely, I pulled it out slowly.

"See ya. False hero." The moment time started moving again, a large amount of blood sprouted from Clam's chest. Showing the whites of his eyes, he died without uttering a single word. His corpse rolls at my feet. Tor and the masked woman couldn't understand at all what happened in the offense and defense where time stopped. When they recognized the fact belatedly, the two were just trembling from the bottom of their hearts without understanding anything. Having defeated the only enemy who could threaten me.

With room in my heart, I felt like finishing another business different from the original one.

"With this, the hindrance is gone. Now. Tor."

"H-Hiiiii!" This guy, whose legs gave out, tripped over a nearby chair and fell on his butt. Ridiculous beyond measure.

"Let's have a little talk." Using the Gravity Magic learned from Argus, I float Tor and pin him to the wall.

"Answer honestly to what I ask from now on. If you lie, your body will be crushed." I leave only the freedom above his neck so he can reply. Tor nodded vigorously with a terrified face.

"First. There are guys in the capital aiming for Edel's resurrection or something, do you know anything about them?"

"Th-The capital... Indeed we have been hostile to the capital but... I don't know anything..."

"I see." An honest answer. I thought this guy might know something, but unfortunately, it's a miss.

"Second. What were you trying to do by resurrecting Edel?"

"... World domination."

"What a stupid thing." It seems this was also his true feeling. When he is honest with his desire to this extent, even the feeling of amazement fades away. Enough. This guy is just a small fry with a rotten nature. I understood that well. I glanced at the masked woman who was just trembling her shoulders. A pitiful woman who cannot maintain herself without always hiding her face and heart with a mask. When I glared once, the mask cracked, and a familiar face appeared.

There is not a speck of her usual liveliness on that face. It was colored with weakness that seemed about to break, and terror. And I asked. With a voice cold enough that even I understood clearly.

"Last question. Was it you who killed Karla Ringrad's lover, Eike Narbasta?"

"Eh..." The masked woman, Karla, has a face saying she doesn't know what I'm saying. The shock is too big, and she doesn't want to believe it.

"Th-That is..."

"What's wrong. Can't you answer?" To Tor mumbling, I strengthen the Gravity Magic. His body creaks, and this guy screams like an idiot. Unable to bear it, he finally confessed grandly.

"It was me! I killed himmmmmmm!"

"... That's how it is. Karla." The reason this woman, who always behaved too brightly to the surroundings, held something dark in her heart. That was the death of her beloved him. It was made to look like an accidental death, but investigating it, it could only be considered murder. The one who killed him is this scum in front of me. Despairing, she apparently even attempted suicide for a time. Taking advantage of that weakness. This scum mind-controlled her and made her a pawn. In other words, this woman.

Without knowing it all along, she had been used as a subordinate by her enemy. Light vanished from Karla's eyes. Her focus is not set.

"No way... It's a lie. It's a lie, right..." Tor cannot answer anything. Naturally. Because it's a fact.

"Please say it's a lie! Master!" Calling him that even at this point... He turned his face away bitterly. That was the answer. Karla broke down crying on the spot. I picked up Clam's sword rolling nearby. And I roughly grabbed the arm of Karla, who was sobbing, and made her hold it.

"You deliver the finishing blow. You have the right."

"U, uuu...!" Using the sword as support, she stood up unsteadily. With unsteady steps, she drags the sword step by step toward the immobile Tor. With a hollow expression, having lost her sanity. But intense hatred resided in her eyes, capturing him straight. The pale Tor begged me, who should be his enemy, for help regardless of appearance.

"W-Wait! Yu! I know! That you seem to have a big regret about the past!"

"You researched well, such a thing."

"Guh... L-Listen to me! In Edel, the ultimate Space-Time Magic was being researched! That magic is said to transcend even time!"

"What?" I reacted unintentionally. Seeing a chance to survive, he rattled on desperately.

"Its name is 《Chroluender》! It is said that it can change everything from the past to the future! So it is told!" It doesn't seem like he is telling a lie out of desperation. If he tells an obvious lie, I know it with my heart.

"Impossible. Such magic exists?"

"It's true! If only you have that magic... literally, you can dominate everything in this world!"

"... I see. That's a fascinating magic." My heart wavered. Time that has passed cannot be helped. That is the logic of this world. But, if—. The fate I couldn't grasp. My parents. Hikari. Mirai. Are you saying I might be able to get them back...? And if they were experimenting with such powerful magic. The reason Edel perished might lie around there.

"How about it. Won't you team up with me!? If it's my knowledge...! Surely we can get that magic in our hands—""But I don't need you." I declare coldly. Did she not even hear the conversation just now? Karla was already right in front of him, keeping a hollow expression.

"S-Stop!" Finally, the sword of revenge was thrust deep into his chest. Raising a horrific cry of agony, Tor Guief died. Leaving me and Karla who had fainted, the underground laboratory with no one left was quiet. The air tastes terribly bad. Sanctions or revenge. Even if I try to act cool with decorated words, it's like this. It doesn't leave a good aftertaste. But someone had to do it. Investigating here and there in the laboratory, it seems they were quite close to Edel's resurrection.

These guys don't choose their methods. If I didn't dispose of them here, unimaginable damage would have occurred. Whatever happens to the world has nothing to do with me, but it was certain that damage would reach the people of Sacris too. After a while, Karla regained her sanity. Since waking up, she has been shedding tears continuously.

"What was I..."

"Using people thoroughly. Killing them. Even if you act like a victim now, you won't be forgiven." Me too. And you too.

"That's right... But. It's fine already. I'm tired..."

"......"

"Hey. Kill me." With sorrowful eyes. With voice. She clings to me.

"Kill me."

'Kill me.' Damn. Don't make me remember unpleasant things. I roughly shook off Karla's clinging hand. She fell on her butt and groaned weakly. I said as if spitting out.

"Don't be spoiled. If you want to die, die on your own." Karla wilted and stopped moving. Pitiful woman. Can't you choose to live or die by your own will? Not even worth killing.

"... Or will you try living for me this time?" What am I saying? I... Karla raised her face. The light of expectation resided in her eyes. This woman...

"I also. Have become a little interested in Edel." Magic that transcends time. If 《Chroluender》 or whatever really exists. I might try dreaming a foolish dream a little.

"If you cooperate with me, I might let you live. Maybe there is a means to revive your dead lover too. What will you do?" The answer was obvious. This woman needs a reason to live anyway. Karla shed tears of joy and kissed the back of my hand repeatedly.

"Yes. To you. I dedicate this body." Good grief. What a twisted relationship. I want to vomit. Guided by Karla, I turned on the switch for the laboratory's self-destruct device. She says it was prepared for intruders and destruction of evidence, but she probably didn't think it would be used to erase her own corpse.

"I'll crush this underground laboratory. Because it makes me sick." Karla, who returned to normal only on the surface, tilted her head.

"But is it okay? Even though various things were gathered. Edel's resurrection will become distant."

"In the first place, I don't like the idea of using human lives. Sacrifices are still needed, right? Then, I'll look for another means slowly." A few days later. I was flipping through newspaper articles. 『Mysterious Explosion Accident at Tor Guief Magic Laboratory』 Early the other day, there was an explosion accident of unknown cause at the Tor Guief Magic Laboratory. Dozens of research staff were involved and are believed to have died. Mr. Tor Guief, famous as a researcher, also died in this accident.

The Sacris Magic Corps is investigating the cause of the incident. 『Hero Clam Selenberg, Missing』 Since the other day, contact with Clam Selenberg has been... Alice peered into the newspaper from the side. I feel lonely that Milia, who should usually be next to her, is not there.

"It's a scary incident. Even though that just happened..." She asks with a worried face.

"Hey, Yu. What did you go to do after that? Because you had a terrible look on your face the whole time..."

"Cleaning up the mess." I threw the rolled-up newspaper into a nearby trash can.