Lokralen. (4)

......One hour earlier, in the dark predawn hours.

The conference building was deathly silent, thanks to Rozerio's Silence. Ifrin, who had been with Allen in the second-floor conference room, stealthily glanced around.

"Professor? You asleep?"

Allen was covered in a blanket, snoring softly... a faint, irregular sound.

Fortunately, it wasn't rhythmic. Proof he wasn't petrified.

"......"

Ifrin shouldered her bag and carefully stood. Her thick backpack was stuffed full of food.

Right now, her fear of petrification paled compared to thoughts of her future self.

She's probably starving, just like me.

"Oh, right."

She almost forgot. Ifrin slipped on another piece of gear—her height-increasing shoes—before tiptoeing out. It was to confuse Kaidezite into mistaking her for future Ifrin.

But then.

"!"

In the middle of the hallway, she locked eyes with Professor Relin—who had appointed himself to the vigilante patrol to impress Deculein.

"Th... Th... Th..."

Ifrin startled, but Relin just stood there, his face frozen in shock, repeating the same syllable rhythmically.

He was petrified.

"Th..."

Ifrin placed a hand over her heart as she looked up at him.

"......Professor Relin."

She'd suffered under him plenty and gossiped about him even more, but seeing him like this tugged at her heart.

Ifrin gave a brief nod and headed down the stairs.

"He's sleeping?"

The first-floor info desk staff was nodding off. Ifrin headed straight for the [Underground Archives Storage].

—Ifrin. Ifrin!

The moment she reached the basement, a small whisper called out. It felt a bit silly, calling herself.

—Ifrin! Where are you, Ifrin!

Adult Ifrin didn't appear, so young Ifrin hid behind a bookshelf first.

That's when.

"No way this is happening!"

—!

Ifrin whipped around in surprise.

Thud-thud-thud—

Conference Chairman Lokralen burst out in the most frantic state imaginable.

—What's his deal?

Ifrin pulled out her lunchbox without much thought.

She ate bite by bite, repeating what adult Ifrin had said.

—......She told me not to hate him.

She'd said not to hate Deculein.

What an odd thing.

Longdalp too, and her future self—why on earth......

"Ifrin!"

Suddenly, a voice dropped from above. Ifrin jerked her head up in shock.

Atop the tall bookshelf, adult Ifrin looked down at her.

"Y-You scared me!"

"Hehe. Thanks to you, I wrapped it up nicely."

"Wrapped up what?"

"Caught the host."

"For real?!"

Ifrin's eyes and mouth flew wide open. Adult Ifrin smiled brightly and landed lightly beside her.

"Yup. All thanks to you."

"Me? How?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Your shoes! We're essentially the same person, so with the robe flipped and same height, Kaidezite naturally gets confused. While it focused on you, I slipped out and nabbed the guy."

"Ohhh! Haha, yeah, I was aiming for that too."

Ifrin proudly showed off her feet. Adult Ifrin chuckled too.

"Right? Smart as always. So clever."

Sweet praise. Ifrin puffed up and unzipped her backpack.

"Hold on. I brought something else too."

Zip— She pulled out the lunchbox.

Adult Ifrin's eyes went wide.

"Oho~"

"No Roahawk, sadly."

"Ah, Roahawk...... I just barely forgot about it."

Adult Ifrin smacked her lips too.

Ifrin smirked and asked.

"Roahawk still around in the future?"

"Yup. Gets famous as a delicacy. Personally, the best was when I ate it with the professor."

Ifrin's face hardened at that.

"With Professor Deculein?"

"Yeah. But it'll take forever to share a meal with him. That prof hates unclean food like it's a disease."

"......True."

Imagining Deculein hand-tearing Roahawk...... Impossible.

No, more than that.

"But that prof and you—no, me—no, us, aren't we enemies? Can't you give a hint what happened?"

Ifrin asked cautiously.

Adult Ifrin fell silent for a moment, her face carefully composed and dignified.

Finally, she gave a bitter smile.

"Yeah. You're right. Enemies."

"Exactly."

"But...... in my world, there's no professor. So don't hate him too much. And if possible, make sure he stays in your world for a long, long time."

"......!"

Those words stabbed like an awl to the back of her head. A massive wave of vertigo hit.

Adult Ifrin steadied her.

"You couldn't handle more details anyway...... Dizzy already?"

"Yeah, ugh...... Kinda sleepy."

"Then rest easy. I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enjoy this lunch."

"Ah...... Okay."

Ifrin rubbed her drowsy eyes.

"Sleep well. When you wake, it'll all be over."

"Okay...... But what'll be...... over......?"

Adult Ifrin gave another bitter smile at the question. No answer came, no matter how long she waited.

Ifrin simply drifted into peaceful sleep.

Deculein devoted the entire day to investigation. The other mages, including Rozerio and Kreto who had been with him, had already gone to rest, but he knew no such thing as respite or sleep.

With his Iron Man body tensed and focused, he tore into Lokralen itself with relentless fervor......

Then, suddenly.

"......Hey, you."

He eyed the 'addict' standing silently in the corner of the third-floor debate room. The addict pointed at himself with a finger.

"Me, sir?"

"Indeed. You said there are 500 addicts of Lokralen."

"Yes, correct."

"Where are they all?"

"During conference days, they're all inside here."

"Not a single one missing?"

"Of course. We are the 'addicts of Lokralen'. Even if we're at hotels, shops, or working as staff, when conference day comes, we all come here."

Deculein nodded wordlessly.

"Then, there is no one outside this conference building now."

Except Drent, who passed out in the hotel.

"Yes. That would be the case."

A thought sparked in Deculein's mind at the addict's reply.

A fleeting spark.

Not decisive, but enough to serve as a hint......

"Professor Deculein!"

The door burst open as another addict rushed in.

"The chairman's been hit too!"

A frantic shout. Yet Deculein's composure remained unshaken.

He straightened his collar, cuffs, and tie impeccably before rising.

"Come."

"Y-Yes."

It didn't take long.

Lokralen was petrified right there on the third-floor stairs.

"Huff... Deculein......!"

Deculein regarded Lokralen, who called to him.

"You. How did you know. Huff... Deculein......! You. How did you know. Huff... Deculein......! You. How did you know."

Lokralen's petrification was particularly grotesque.

Deculein asked.

"When did this happen."

"We found him like this this morning."

Then, another shout from behind.

This time, Rozerio.

"Deculein! Big trouble! Kreto, Kreto the Great Army's petrified too!"

"......"

Rozerio came panting up. Deculein glanced at her briefly before refocusing on Lokralen.

"......Peculiar."

He still sensed some incongruity.

This 'petrification' clearly had contagious properties. Yet if it truly spread that way, a [Death Variable] should manifest as normal.

Because this petrification did not signify death?

But if petrification was eternal, how was it different from death?

Deculein scanned Lokralen thoroughly.

"Huff... Deculein......!"

Lokralen lunged at him, shouting that.

A necklace hung at the base of the creature's collarbone.

But only the 'chain'.

The pendant seemed torn off by someone......

Right then.

Something flashed across Deculein's retina.

His eyes widened in surprise, and simultaneously, a sentence he'd read today sparked like static.

[Witnesses who observed the meteor said it blazed like two streaks of light piercing the earth......]

Two streaks of light.

"......Rozerio. Lokralen's meteor was not one. Nor was Kaidezite."

"What? What're you on about?"

"Follow."

Even in that moment of realization, Deculein remained utterly serene, descending to the first floor without another word. Rozerio, true to her high rank as a mage, quickly regained composure and followed.

"We gotta get out! Can't keep relying on Professor Deculein forever! Trust our own intellect—"

"Prepare magic!"

"Starting with destruction magic......"

"We gotta get out! Can't keep relying on Professor Deculein forever! Trust our own intellect—"

"Prepare magic!"

"Starting with destruction magic......"

The first-floor exit had devolved into chaos. Over a dozen mages, petrified in an instant, endlessly repeated their spellcasting.

"We'll end up like that soon enough."

"Profe~ssor!"

Rozerio muttered cynically as Assistant Professor Allen came panting down from the second-floor stairs.

"Big trouble! Assistant Ifrin vanished!"

"......What? Deculein. Isn't Ifrin your disciple?"

Rozerio whipped toward Deculein. He showed no interest, merely heading for the [Underground Archives Storage].

"Profe~ssor! Take me tooo, whoa!"

Allen tripped while running. Deculein ignored him, but Rozerio rushed over and grabbed his shoulder late.

"......Deculein! Look behind you!"

Deculein finally glanced back.

"Profe~ssor~! Take me tooo, whoa!"

Allen reached out to him but fell short and tumbled.

Then rewound to the past, reaching for Deculein again.

"Profe~ssor~!"

"Even he ended up like that."

Allen was petrified before they knew it.

"Take me tooo, whoa!"

An eternal loop, never reaching. Pitiful as it was, Deculein remained unmoved.

On the contrary, he muttered as if it were only natural.

"What of it."

"What? You—"

"Follow if you will."

Deculein descended the stairs without hesitation. Even upon reaching the [Underground Archives Storage], he didn't stop, advancing down the center of the corridor.

"Deculein! There, your disciple!"

Rozerio pointed to a corner bookshelf. Ifrin lay petrified, as if asleep.

"So it seems."

"What? What's with that reaction. Cold-blooded bastard."

Rozerio gawked, but Deculein ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just nodded and kept walking. No hesitation or reluctance in his stride.

"......Here."

Thus, they reached stairs leading to an even deeper basement. Deculein turned sharply to Rozerio.

"Rozerio."

"Wow. But from now on, don't call me by name. Put 'Ether' in front. Ether Mage Rozerio. Repeat after me."

Rozerio had fully gauged Deculein's depths today and planned to cut ties. To the extremely curt woman, Deculein said.

"Ether Mage Rozerio."

"Hah. Does what he's told again?"

"Remain there."

Rozerio furrowed her brow and asked.

"Why?"

"Kaidezite is behind you."

"What? Then—"

"Allow yourself to be petrified."

"You mad bastard, don't tell me—"

Rozerio gathered mana in horror, but that was the end.

"You mad bastard, don't tell me— You mad bastard, don't tell me— You mad bastard, don't tell me—"

She was petrified on the spot.

You mad bastard, don't tell me— You mad bastard, don't tell me—

Deculein descended the stairs amid the cursing.

Step—

Step—

Now he could afford a little leisure.

Deculein adjusted his cuff buttons, disheveled collar and tie, dust on his clothes, and so on, as he descended the endless spiral stairs.

At the bottom, that thing was surely waiting.

Clack—

A sound unlike the stairs.

The ground his shoe heel met was stone-hard.

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"......"

Having reached Lokralen's final basement, Deculein looked ahead.

The massive door Ifrin had said was sealed by a 'crack in time'. It stood open.

Deculein walked in with his posture straight as ever.

"......You."

The dank underground air, chilled cavern winds, two meteor fragments embedded in the floor, the time monster lurking beyond......

And.

Standing firm between them: the future archmage.

"So here you were."

'Ifrin Luna' said to him.

"Yes. Nice to see you, Professor."

Lokralen, Kaidezite's host was Lokralen himself. The hint was the name. Named Lokralen, of course the host was Lokralen.

The problem: Kaidezite wasn't just 'one'.

"Kaidezite was two."

I faced Ifrin and said.

"Yes. One went to Lokralen, the other to me. Lokralen was slippery, gave me trouble for a while, but thanks to you, success."

Ifrin smiled brightly and shrugged.

"Back and forth between future and past...... Aimed for the perfect moment."

"......"

Now, I understood.

What 'discard Lokralen' meant.

And what this bold one planned to do.

Step—

I took one step closer. Ifrin, face hardening, shook her head.

"Don't come any closer."

I ignored her and walked. But soon, a transparent barrier blocked entry.

"Carbon shield. You invented it, Professor; I perfected it. No one can pierce it."

Ifrin freely manipulated carbon magic, partitioning the space.

I stopped at the closest point and stared at her.

"Ifrin. What now."

"With Kaidezite and Lokralen caught, I'll release them. They'll spread through all of Lokralen, consuming their life force—their 'time'—to their heart's content. Peaceful resolution."

"......So you petrified everyone."

Ifrin gave a wry smile.

"Yes. Exactly."

The reason no [Villain's Fate] death variable triggered on this petrification.

Because petrification wasn't death—it was salvation.

"Lokralen's disposal is decided thus."

Due to its nature, past and future always coexisted in Lokralen, making it impossible to evacuate everyone inside.

"Handled by me, Archmage Ifrin."

This place was never meant for conferences or human entry.

Literally, a catastrophe born of the magic world's greed and desire.

"But release them, and time will overflow throughout Lokralen?"

Kaidezite was a monster that devoured time.

Free it, and the outcome was predictable.

Untangle a knotted, compressed thread all at once, and it expands everywhere.

Time too.

"Yes. Lokralen inside will fill with time."

"That time could be a century, two, three hundred years."

Ifrin shook her head.

"I calculated 385 years. Inside Lokralen only—385 years pass. Ten seconds outside become 385 years inside."

"You alone bear that time."

"Yes."

Immediate reply.

"No need to worry. Time flows, but no aging. Kaidezite is a monster made purely of 'time'. Even 385 years here is just 10 seconds outside."

If Kaidezite escaped Lokralen, the world ends.

Sacrifices: the entire continent.

Release inside, and the space's time stretches centuries.

Sacrifices: everyone inside Lokralen.

Ifrin, unwilling to sacrifice anyone, had found her own way.

"Only those petrified in the past escape that eternity."

Ifrin nodded sadly.

"Yes. Petrification is a moment. I endure 385 years, everyone else is safe. To them, it's a blink—they won't even realize they were petrified."

—They won't even realize they were petrified.

That was the key.

She chose to petrify everyone in this Lokralen.

Everyone except herself.

During that petrification, they wouldn't perceive the 385 years.

"Everyone had to be inside the conference hall. 'Petrification' takes massive time energy—must be near Kaidezite's meteor. 'Unwittingly'~ used you, Professor Deculein. Knew your personality well~?"

She even winked, uncharacteristically.

I glared, incredulous.

"......Drent."

"Hehe. That senior's handled. His mental fortitude's weak."

I nodded and gathered mana in my fist. Then scraped Ifrin's carbon shield.

Ifrin just smiled.

"Won't work. Told you—you invented, I advanced it—"

Ripple—

The shield shook. Ifrin's eyes widened.

"Insolent. I invented it, so my Understanding is far swifter."

I brimmed with confidence, but the next instant.

Woooong—!

Ifrin poured in mana. The shield hardened tenfold.

"My rank is Eternal, Professor."

"......"

No way through like this.

I said to her.

"Do not take centuries lightly. You alone, in an empty place, far longer than a human life."

Ifrin didn't reply.

"You cannot stave off mental collapse. It will wear you down, sweep you away, grind you to sand and shatter you."

"I know."

Ifrin puffed her cheeks, feigning pout.

"But who could endure centuries easily?"

"Right before your eyes."

I regarded her. Ifrin, who had narrowed her eyes playfully, slowly went blank.

"Huh......"

"I will take your place."

"......"

Ifrin just worked her lips soundlessly.

385 years.

I knew not what would become of me in that span.

But not a speck of fear arose. That immense time could not even scratch my self.

Thus, far more suited to me than her. I would simply refine Telekinesis alone.

"Just in time—I needed time for thought and growth."

"......300 years of thinking?"

I nodded, and a small smile curved her lips.

"Eung...... So this happened to me?"

Tears beaded at her eyes. She sniffled her reddened nose and wiped with her robe sleeve.

I gave a hollow laugh.

"One who cries over this could never endure 385 years."

"......No. Not 'just this' to me."

With that, Ifrin dismantled the shield.

I accepted her intent.

"I relieve you."

"......Yes, Professor."

Ifrin stepped forward into my arms. A sudden embrace, like before.

To her, I meant to say something.

But my mouth wouldn't move.

"Thank you."

......I.

"But it's fine."

I should not have allowed this approach.

"Farewell, my Professor."