Escape
Hiiing... Bianca buried her face in my chest with a sullen expression. She looked quite disappointed, but she showed no sign of wanting to pull away.
She's more nonchalant about it than I expected? I'd been inwardly tense, braced for the moment she saw through my act, but she surprisingly didn't seem to care much about that kind of performance.
...So this much doesn't matter to her?
Given that Bianca had seemed mentally unhinged from the moment we first met, maybe the fact that she'd noticed the 'regression' simply wasn't important to her at all. Or perhaps there was another reason.
Feeling the now-considerably voluminous weight of Bianca's breasts, I sank into thought.
The results I'd gained from refining my swordsmanship were far more impressive than expected.
...But I still don't feel any stronger. Maybe it was because monsters swarmed everywhere around here. No matter how much I improved, the feeling of having grown stronger just wouldn't come.
At the very least, I probably wouldn't die instantly from a single blow anymore.
It's about time to prepare to leave.
With Bianca in this depressed state, if I kicked the door with everything I had, maybe I could actually get out. I had no idea what effect the 'law' would have the moment I stepped outside, but I couldn't stay trapped here forever.
As long as I could just make it out... Wait.
Huh...?
My mind suddenly cleared, and one obvious question flashed through my head. It was so self-evident that it was strange I hadn't noticed it until now.
How did I get inside this cabin in the first place?
A week ago, after I fainted and regained consciousness, I was already inside the cabin. Obviously Bianca must have been the one who brought me, but she definitely hadn't used 'teleport' magic. I'd asked her about it before, so that was certain.
Which meant she had carried me here physically... If I had been affected by the 'law' outside, my body shouldn't have been fine at all.
In other words, from the start.
It meant my body would remain unharmed even if I went outside. That realization gave me confidence.
Let's go right now.
The end of a long seclusion. It was time to step forward toward freedom.
"Bianca."
"Y-yes...?"
I carefully led Bianca into the inner room of the cabin. She didn't resist. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she asked in an expectant voice.
"I-Ian. Have you finally... m-made up your mind?"
Bianca stared at me with a dangerously hungry expression, as if she might devour me at any second. I nodded at her.
"That's right. I'm leaving now!"
I dashed straight to the door and kicked it with all my strength. No matter how jammed the handle was, an impact like that should have shattered the door instantly...
Tick—
"What?"
The wooden door was far sturdier than I'd expected. My foot actually hurt more than the door did.
"Hold."
Before I could even register the pain, Bianca's magic had me restrained. I was caught so easily it felt utterly pathetic.
Fuck.
Kwooooo—!
A colorless, slime-like monster roared from the sky. It carried an overwhelming majesty that would force any living creature to its knees the instant it heard the sound.
An anomaly. The Cacrune possessed only one 'law.'
Those who emit a sound smaller than its own shall die.
Creatures capable of defeating a Cacrune that had formed a massive resonance chamber inside its body were almost nonexistent. Most who encountered one died without ever understanding why they had perished.
Of course, the law was completely useless against the figure standing before it.
Slash—
Before the roar could fully escape, she had already sliced the Cacrune apart. Normally a wound of that degree should have regenerated instantly since it was an anomaly, yet.
Strangely, the Cacrune did not regenerate.
-Kek?
To be precise, it wasn't that its regeneration had stopped. Its flesh was simply being torn apart faster than it could heal.
Slash, slash, slash—!
In the end, the anomaly Cacrune was carved into hundreds of pieces and met its death.
"Where the hell is Ian oppa?"
Serena grumbled as she flicked the transparent blood off her blade. Philia spoke with a somewhat weary expression.
"It's definite that the trail went cold somewhere around here..."
Having already clashed with dozens of anomalies, the pair weren't struggling, but the continuous fighting had left them quite exhausted.
"Sister Philia. Don't forget. We still haven't claimed 'divinity' yet."
The root of all gods and the supreme treasure. With divinity, they could not only increase the 'output' of their attacks but also gain eternal regeneration. It was the fundamental difference that separated gods from humans more than anything else.
Before the regression, all of Ian's comrades had possessed divinity except for him.
"Who would've thought I'd actually miss those shitty days?"
In the future battlefields, divinity had been everywhere, but at this point in time it was impossible to obtain. The existing transcendent factions and fallen demigods had already scoured the continent and stolen every last hidden fragment.
Well, it's not like there are zero ways to get it.
The danger zone was so overwhelmingly powerful that the current them couldn't possibly handle it. A place even more grotesque and horrific than the continent's famous Ten Forbidden Zones—a true hell.
Infinite Ghost Valley.
In this land at the 'end' of the continent, the demon of the Infinite ruled—the very entity that had turned Serena into the Sword Demon.
They could obtain divinity there, but it was still too early for that.
Just as the two were about to move on, a seductive voice echoed from deeper within the forest.
-It's been a while.
Serena reflexively raised her sword at the sudden presence, but the familiar voice made her lift her head.
"You... don't tell me..."
The picky fox who had once been a 'half' comrade. Serena felt even happier to see her than when she'd seen Philia.
"Chun...!"
-Silence! This seat's name is Talian.
"...So you were from here?"
Not even the previous Serena or the other comrades had known Talian's true origin. From the start, her appearance evoked a cute fox rather than an anomaly, so they'd regarded her as a youkai from the Eastern Continent instead.
Of course, Ian's overly casual treatment of her had played a part too.
Talian cleared her throat after her brief outburst and spoke again in a bewitching voice.
-The fact that you two have come here.
Means you are looking for that bastard, correct?
"Do you know Ian's whereabouts?"
Philia pressed her urgently.
-Of course I know. Who do you think this seat is?
"Then right now...!"
-However, there is a condition.
Talian gently swayed her tail and offered the pair a deal they could not refuse.
Bianca stared at Ian—whose mouth was now sealed by magic as well—and spoke while glaring at him for the first time.
"Ian. Why do you keep t-trying to run away?"
It wasn't once or twice. After so many escape attempts, Bianca was genuinely furious. She wasn't a fool; she had no choice but to notice.
I-Ian hates being with me...
It was a heartbreaking truth. But it was also undeniable reality.
I only have I-Ian, so why?
Bianca could not understand him at all. Was living peacefully together with her really that awful?
I thought I had shown him enough respect...
Because of his repeated flights, she concluded she had been too soft on him. She couldn't keep him by force forever, so Bianca had no choice but to make a decision.
I-Ian. You brought this on yourself.
Even she thought the method was a little extreme. Of course, she had no intention of torturing or harming him. She simply wanted to instill a sense of 'responsibility' as his lover.
Bianca slowly moved the bound Ian onto the bed.
"I-it'll feel good. Ian, that's okay, right?"
"Mmph—"
Ian tried to say something, but Bianca's magic held him completely powerless.
"Haa. Then... in this life, I'll be the one taking Ian's first time...?"
Just as an expectant Bianca reached out to undo his clothes—
Boom—!
A tremendous roar shook the air as the entire house collapsed in an instant. From within the cloud of dust, two figures slowly emerged.
The Sword Demon, Serena Richard.
The Blood Flower, Philia von Barhen.
The two former comrades overflowed with murderous intent as they glared at her.
"...Bianca. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"E-eung."
Shiver—
Bianca's body trembled instinctively the moment she saw them. Philia might have been tolerable, but she had far too many terrible memories involving Serena.
When the man had briefly left his seat.
Serena, who had been resting at the base, poked Bianca, who was absorbed in reading a grimoire.
"Bianca."
"Y-yes?"
"Can't you teach me some magic too?"
"T-that's not something you can learn in a single day..."
"Ah, I see."
Serena nodded and casually picked up her scabbard. She looked ready to draw her sword at any moment. Bianca shrieked in terror.
"I-I'll teach you!"
"Huh? What are you talking about...? Weren't you saying it was difficult earlier?"
Serena was still gripping the scabbard. In the end, Bianca closed the book with tears in her eyes.
"Hic... I'll t-teach you..."
"Hey, what are you saying? It was obviously a joke. Just rest comfortably."
"Y-yes..."
When Serena smiled and spoke, Bianca opened the book again.
"You really do rest comfortably when I tell you to rest comfortably, huh?"
"S-sorry..."
The man who had returned at some point was staring at Serena with an indescribable expression on his face.
Why is she like that?