Imprisoned
Bianca was currently on all fours, her face level with mine as she stared at me. It wasn't me lying on her lap—instead, she was the one resting her head on my thighs.
'I never expected to end up as the one providing a lap pillow...'
There were more than a few things I wanted to argue about, especially since Bianca was stubbornly insisting on using my lap. But I held back because there were too many questions I needed to ask. I gently stroked her hair and spoke to her.
"So, this place really is that 'hole' from earlier, right?"
She let out a pleased sound like a cat being petted and answered.
"Hehe... yeah. More precisely, this is the outer wall of the 'gap.'"
The outer wall of the gap... If this was the outer wall, did that mean there was something even deeper inside the inner wall?
Setting that aside for now, the real issue was...
'What the hell was that scene I saw earlier?'
A perfectly normal rabbit had suddenly split into two. There was no way I could just calmly accept something like that. I felt like grabbing Bianca by the shoulders and shaking her until she explained, but...
'She might go berserk again, so I need to hold back.'
I asked her another question, careful not to upset her.
"Bianca. Is there anything I should watch out for in this place? Any dangerous points?"
"U-um... if you pet me a little more... I'll tell you..."
I froze.
"...Alright."
The moment I stopped moving my hand, she lifted her head slightly and buried her face in my stomach like she was acting cute.
'Hmm.'
Caught off guard by her sudden strange behavior, I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"...What are you doing?"
"Mmm...? I-I just... wanted to smell your scent, Ian... Is... is that not okay?"
"Well, I mean, it's not like it's a problem..."
"R-really? Hehe... Then... just let me stay like this a little longer..."
Watching Bianca burrow back into my arms and squirm around, a thousand different thoughts flooded my mind all at once.
'What the hell did the first-round me do to her...?'
This was starting to look less like affection and more like full-blown dependency. It was the kind of obsessive attachment that went beyond simple liking. I had no idea what happened, but it seemed the first-round me had racked up quite a bit of karmic debt.
"Mmm... Ian..."
"...You can lift your head and speak properly."
"O-okay. Th-this gap is filled with remnants of all sorts of bizarre 'laws'... S-so as long as you don't recklessly go outside the house, it should be fine..."
"...What if I don't go outside?"
'Wait a second.'
Something felt off.
"Bianca. Then when exactly can I go 'outside'...?"
"Why... why would you need to go out?"
"......?"
Completely ignoring my bewildered expression, Bianca continued speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Y-you have to live here with me forever, Ian. Everything—food, clothing, shelter—is all provided here... And later when you're bigger, we can do lots of fun things together... Isn't that enough?"
'What the fuck?'
It looked like I had genuinely been taken prisoner.
Iron-Blooded Sword Emperor Richard Aslan couldn't hide his admiration as he looked at his son, who had collapsed on the opposite side of the training ground.
"Your swordsmanship is a bit too brutal, but you've improved beyond comparison from before."
Andrew barely managed to stand up from the floor of the training ground and replied.
"Haa... I'm still far from reaching you, Father."
Andrew had grown so dramatically that he could now spar with Aslan, a fully matured Sword Master.
'He hasn't become a Sword Master yet, but that won't take much longer.'
It was his own bloodline, yet the talent was so otherworldly that it was hard to comprehend. Of course, he had a daughter whose talent was even more shocking than Andrew's, but she had silently disappeared somewhere before he could even pay her much attention.
'I wonder if Serena is doing well.'
Most fathers would worry when their daughter ran away from home, but Aslan didn't feel even the slightest concern.
'I doubt there are any fools in this continent brave enough to lay a hand on my daughter.'
How many people on the continent could even threaten a Sword Master? Aslan hadn't raised Serena to be fragile enough to require overprotection.
"So, have you calmed down?"
He looked at his painfully thin son with worried eyes. Compared to his previous skeletal appearance, Andrew looked somewhat healthier now, but he was still quite gaunt. It was the backlash from his excessive training. Still, the clear light in his eyes suggested that his mind had mostly returned to normal.
"It's... gotten a little better."
In reality, Andrew had calmed down considerably compared to his previous frenzied training sessions. However, apart from Philia's broken engagement, another problem had come to him.
"Father... about that."
"What is it?"
Unlike his usual confident self, Andrew spoke cautiously.
"Do you happen to know much about curses?"
"There have been more than a few who tried to take my life with curses, so I know quite a bit. But why bring up curses all of a sudden...? Did something happen?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing."
Andrew waved his hands in a panic. Aslan seemed to notice something odd about his son's reaction and spoke.
"Is this about Philia? Hmm, that broken engagement was rather sudden... If you're that worried, I'll look into it for you."
Even Aslan found this abrupt broken engagement suspicious. The dissolution itself was essentially an insult severe enough to sever ties with the Richard County...
'Did something big enough happen that they were willing to endure that level of humiliation?'
Perhaps there was some unexpected 'secret' hidden behind it all.
"...Understood."
Andrew nodded reluctantly. The reason he had asked about curses wasn't because of Philia at all.
'Just who is that woman?'
Lately, the same woman he had never seen before kept appearing in his dreams. Her face wasn't clear, but he could tell she had blonde hair. In the dream, she glared at him and muttered something every time, but he couldn't make out a single word of it.
It was an unsettling dream in many ways.
'Maybe I've been training too hard. I should take it easy for a while.'
While Ian was struggling desperately inside the 'gap,' the transcendents were each causing incidents across the continent in their own ways as they searched for him.
"Kuhuhu, once I find that bastard, my grand plan will be complete..."
In the Eastern Continent, the woman known as the Heavenly Demon had unified the Demonic Cult with blood-stained hands.
"Ha, Bianca. You've gone quite far, haven't you?"
In the Western Continent, the Sword Ghost Richard Serena and the Blood Flower Philia von Barhen were heading toward the Forest of Nightmares.
"S-save me..."
Crack.
"Cleaning up trash for today is complete! Truly, what a merciful and rewarding task."
Meanwhile, the Depraved Saint Aria wandered the center of the continent, personally tearing apart those who would become 'traitors' in the future.
And finally...
"Boss! S-someone broke into the warehouse!"
"How many?"
"J-just one!"
"What?"
-Meow.
Crunch.
A small 'beast' was filling its belly by raiding every food warehouse in the major cities.
Thanks to these various regressors and more, the continent was gradually falling into chaos. It hadn't reached the stage of destruction yet, but at this rate, it seemed it wouldn't be long.
Naturally, the Empire and various kingdoms were all suffering headaches because of it.
"So many major incidents happening simultaneously... Does this even make sense?"
The ruling class of each nation clutched their heads in worry, but no clear answers emerged.
And it wasn't long before an even greater event occurred—one that would make all these incidents seem trivial by comparison.
The most brilliant and majestic palace in the Empire. In the Imperial Palace, someone was resting their chin on their hand, staring at the throne with a bored expression.
The man who stood above all others. The greatest wise ruler in the Empire's history.
The Emperor.
Caesar von Lebeus.
While he sat there with a bored look, a messenger rushed to him.
"Y-Your Majesty! Urgent news!"
"What is it?"
Completely indifferent to the world itself, he showed little interest even in the messenger's urgent report. But the news that arrived far exceeded his imagination.
"Th-the World Tree is burning!"
"......! What did you say?"
The Emperor rarely showed such shock, his eyes widening in astonishment.
The World Tree. The tree that supported one of the pillars of the continent was on fire?
'The way to confront infinity.'
The man possessed tremendous skill, but he still lacked the power to display strength close to infinity.
'There is nothing I cannot defeat.'
If he used the Mind Sword, he could easily slice through her neck. Having already taken the heads of many who were called gods, there was nothing stopping him from doing so...
But the man's goal wasn't Aela's death. From the beginning, the reason he had sought out this High Elf wasn't to kill her, but to ask for her 'help.'
The reason the man had been sweating coldly until now wasn't because Aela was strong. Rather, he had simply been concentrating on adjusting his strength as much as possible so that she wouldn't die.
"It seems there's a misunderstanding. The reason I came here is..."
Before the man could finish speaking, Aela formed countless arrows in the air.
Bow arts that drew upon the overwhelming mana of the World Tree.
Sagitta Eternum.
"No matter what purpose brought you here, a lowly race daring to set foot upon the Holy Branch is an unforgivable sin. Die where you stand."
Aela looked down arrogantly and lowered her hand. The moment she did, hundreds of thousands of arrows flew toward the man.
The man let out a quiet sigh and raised his sword.