89
Chapter 89
Alice slowly stepped in front of Alexandra.
Parang wasn't the only one startled by Alice Melville's sudden appearance.
The protagonist of the memory, Alexandra, was just as astonished as Parang.
Given the situation, her reaction was closer to pure terror than mere surprise.
"W-Who are you? A m-Monster?"
Strangely enough, Alexandra had been speaking without opening her mouth since the moment Alice appeared.
Her voice didn't seem to come from her lips, but rather resonated through the space itself.
It was like when a character's inner thoughts are narrated in a Movie or drama.
Alexandra herself seemed quite shocked by this. Even when Parang thought about it, she hadn't possessed any Telepathy abilities in the Original Work.
"W-Wait, what is this... Why does my voice sound like this?!"
Alexandra's eyes trembled rapidly.
Considering her journey from the moment of Ascension to arriving here, along with her current predicament, it was easy to guess the confusion she was experiencing. It was no wonder she was terrified.
Fortunately, Alice didn't seem so heartless as to further frighten someone in such a state.
"Please calm down. I am not a Monster, and I won't hurt you."
At Alice's gentle voice, Alexandra noticeably relaxed. The fear of the unknown naturally diminishes the moment one realizes communication is possible.
Alexandra asked in a trembling voice.
"Who... are you?"
"I am Alice Melville. A member of Oceanus, whom you have been looking for..."
She hesitated briefly at the phrase 'a member of Oceanus'.
"Oceanus...!!"
Alexandra asked back in astonishment.
"W-What exactly is Oceanus?"
"We are a group of Hunters operating on the seabed. Those bizarre fish you were fighting just now are what we typically hunt."
"W-Wait, does that mean you've been watching us?"
In response to that question, Alice silently reached into the darkness, toward the inner part of the Cave, answering by summoning something.
Whir-
What emerged from the darkness was a miniature Capulus, much smaller than the one Parang had seen.
"Th-That is...!!"
"C-Capulus?!"
Alexandra and Parang were startled at the same time.
Parang nearly flipped out.
She hadn't imagined a Capulus would appear here. It was only natural.
"I have been watching you through this. From beginning to end, everything."
"Oh my god..."
Even upon learning that someone had been stalking them in such a situation, Alexandra didn't seem to resent Alice or show any anger toward her.
No, to be precise, it was more like she had decided to focus on something else far more important.
"Th-There's someone you need to meet right now. It's a Hunter named Han Siwoo..."
'So she's talking about the quest.'
Parang had also previously seen Han Siwoo say with his own mouth that he had received a quest to 'Find Oceanus'.
But.......
"Unfortunately, that's impossible."
'It would be impossible.'
Parang thought.
"W-Why?"
'Well, it's obviously a matter of distance.'
Alexandra's current location was the East Sea, and Han Siwoo's location was Hawaii.
Unless Alice had learned the Clone Technique, swimming a distance that took eight hours even by Airplane was out of the question.
Parang thought this, but a completely different story popped out of Alice's mouth.
"It is part of the plan."
"W-What kind of plan......!"
"According to Hunter Han Siwoo's plan, I must not meet with him right now."
"S-Siwoo's plan?"
"Yes. You being teleported here right now is also part of the plan he made."
"W-What do you mean...... How can I believe that?!"
"Here."
Alice approached Alexandra, knelt in front of her as she lay on the Floor, and held out her hand.
The object resting on that hand was something both Alexandra and Parang knew well.
"Th-That Ring......!"
It was the Ring named 'Happy Ending' that Han Siwoo had crafted and distributed to the heroines.
"Will this serve as Evidence?"
"B-But still, you might have taken it by force, or stolen it......!!"
"Do you think it's possible for me to take or steal something from him? I have a body that can't even go out of the water."
At those words, Alexandra's mouth shut.
It was certainly a good method of persuasion. Whatever the truth was, it would sound right from Alexandra's perspective.
In fact, as if persuaded by Alice's logic, she was slowly nodding her head.
'Anyway, Han Siwoo's plan, huh.'
Parang wasn't overly surprised. From his suspicious behavior in the previous memories, to talking as if he knew something, and above all, it was Hunter Han Siwoo who had gifted that Ring to all the heroines.
It was highly likely that he also knew they would end up in the sea after the Ascension.
Strictly speaking about the information, it was like confirming what she already knew through Alice's mouth.
But that didn't mean the questions disappeared.
'How on earth did he figure that out?'
Goodness, the fact that the reward for killing a god was a Scroll for the Ascension Ritual, and following it to ascend would suddenly teleport them to the sea under Hawaii to fight all sorts of battles, and finally meet an eye Monster that even suppressed the Status Window.
How exactly did Hunter Han Siwoo know?
Such a completely reasonable question was the first thing to pop into Parang's mind.
However, to Alexandra, that seemed to not matter at all.
From the moment she accepted that 'Han Siwoo has a plan', she didn't seem to worry about her own fate or Hunter Han Siwoo's safety at all.
"Then, it's a relief. Since it's Siwoo's plan, I can trust it."
Parang, who had been lost in thought for a moment, was startled upon seeing Alexandra's expression.
It was because Alexandra's expression had brightened up so much that one couldn't even think she was a person trembling in fear in an unknown Deep Sea just a moment ago.
'Wait, she trusts him this much?'
Of course, it was true that Slayers trusted Han Siwoo immensely... but she didn't think it was to this blind extent.
'She saw hope in a difficult situation, so I guess it makes sense.'
Even so, that flawlessly bright expression. That appearance that seemed completely devoid of any anxiety or worry.
It was as if she considered Han Siwoo a 'perfect person who succeeds at everything'.
As far as Parang knew, Han Siwoo wasn't that kind of person.
In the Original Work, he sometimes lost, his plans failed, and sometimes he suffered great losses.
He was the type to fight to the bitter end despite all that, ultimately destroying everything and achieving his goal.
'That's why there was so much talk about tag baiting and title baiting.'
Even Parang thought that part deserved to be criticized.
An overpowered protagonist who loses battles; what kind of nonsense was that?
The point was that Hunter Han Siwoo was by no means a 'perfect Human who never fails'.
Considering that, Alexandra's trust in Han Siwoo was strangely high.
But then again, if it was Alexandra, who had followed Han Siwoo exceptionally well, it made some sense.
Wavering between 'it makes sense' and 'something is suspicious', Parang tentatively concluded that 'it makes sense'.
There was simply too much information to process to dig into these details.
Whether Parang's head felt like it was going to explode or not, Alexandra's attitude had done a complete 180.
She acted as if this was just another minor incident that would eventually pass.
It was too detached from her current reality.
Was she forcing it to the back of her mind, or did she genuinely believe that?
With a throbbing head, Parang touched her forehead once again.
"Could you tell me what kind of plan Siwoo is plotting?"
"...No. I can't do that."
"...Why?"
"Because my friend, who is watching this memory right now, shouldn't know about it."
"What? What do you mean... Ah."
Alexandra carefully mulled over the sentence Alice had just uttered, and as if she realized something, she looked at the Necklace she held, the 'Evidence'.
"Is this... why you came looking for me?"
"That's right. According to Han Siwoo's plan, there is someone who absolutely needs to see our conversation right now."
Alice turned her head and looked into the empty air in Parang's direction.
From her perspective, it should have clearly been just an empty space, but strangely, Parang felt as if they had made eye contact.
"As a bonus, not only this conversation but also my memories must be stored there."
"Your memories too... I understand."
"Then, I leave it to you."
"Ah, I have a few last things I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Am I going to die soon?"
Alice fell into Silence for a moment, then answered in a slightly trembling voice.
"...Yes."
"I see. I understand. It's my first time dying, so it feels weird."
"......Is that, all?"
"Huh? About what?"
"Your impressions on death. I mean......."
"Ah."
Alexandra smiled brightly.
"It's fine. It's not like I'm really going to die anyway."
"......Excuse me?"
"You said it was Siwoo's plan. There's no way Siwoo would come up with a plan that sacrifices me or anyone from the Slayers. Even if I die here, I'll probably undergo Resurrection somewhere, or live a happy life with Siwoo even if I have to go to another World."
"......."
Parang was dumbfounded.
'Even so, bringing a dead person back to life is.......'
It doesn't make sense, does it. No matter how much this is a modern 'fantasy' World, how.......
Regardless, Alexandra was still smiling brightly.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Am I wrong?"
"......."
"Even if I'm wrong, just don't say it. If I'm going to die either way, I want to die with hope."
"......I understand."
"Do you have any last words you want to leave behind?"
"Pardon? What do you......."
"To your friend who will be watching this memory. Wouldn't it be good to give them a hint?"
"Ah......."
At those words, Alice fell into Silence for a moment, then let out a single sentence.
"......Ascend. Parang. That's the only way."
"Alright. Now, please put the memories you want to store into this Necklace."
"......Yes."
Thus, Alexandra and Alice took turns storing their memories.
Crack- Crackle.......
"This is......."
Looking at the 'Evidence' that was about to break while causing a Rift, Alexandra seemed quite surprised.
"I temporarily sealed it with my power. My friend shouldn't see this too quickly."
After that, with Alexandra's memories also being stored in the 'Evidence', the scene at the East Sea Hive ended.
And immediately after.
Whoosh-!!
"U-Uhhh?!"
Along with the feeling of being sucked swoosh- downwards, Parang's consciousness began to flow somewhere else.
Given the circumstances, it must be going into Alice's memory.
'Alice.......'
Parang clenched her fists tightly.