The Forbidden Truth
The two questions before me—why I had come to this world in the body of the character I once played, and the secret surrounding those called the successors who inherited the power of the Heavenly Demon—were both more than enough to ignite my curiosity. Enough that I couldn’t possibly claim ignorance of either choice.
“Hehe. Only ten seconds left, you know?”
I had no idea how she knew the truth, but right now I needed to make my choice quickly. If I failed to give a proper answer within the time limit, I wouldn’t be able to leave this gate. At the same time, I couldn’t just pick randomly. I had to genuinely choose between those two questions.
“Ugh…”
The others were probably in the same situation as me. If even one person made a choice, we would pass this trial. But what if no one managed to decide in time?
I need to stay calm. All I have to do is pick the information I need right now.
The secret of those connected to the Heavenly Demon—something whose influence I couldn’t even begin to guess. Rather than dwelling on the past that had already gone by, it made more sense to focus on the present and the future that lay ahead.
Yes. I had made my decision. All that remained was to speak it aloud.
But I’m so damn curious!
The first option was far too tempting. Just what was the reason I had come to this world?
“Five seconds. Four. Three.”
Time was running out, yet my mouth still refused to open easily. In the end, I gave up. I was Zeon now. This world was reality.
I will listen to information regarding the secret of those connected to the Heavenly Demon.
“Is that your final choice?”
I nodded. It was true that I was curious, but obsessing over the past when the present and future were still so unstable would be foolish.
“…Congratulations. You have become the sole decider.”
Sole. At that single word, a cold sweat broke out down my back. In the end, everyone except me had failed to make a decision in time.
Gulp.
If I hadn’t chosen either… Just imagining it was horrifying.
“Then, to you who possess such swift judgment and decisiveness, I shall grant the information you desire.”
Well, everything had worked out in the end, so I suppose it was fine.
The dark space around us transformed in an instant at the woman’s gesture. It now resembled a pure white laboratory, yet at the same time it felt like the interior of a sacred temple.
“Do you know what lies within the tomb of the one you call the Heavenly Demon—or rather, the Sword God, Cheonhwa Yuseol?”
“Cheonhwa Yuseol?”
“Oh my, you didn’t even know her name? I thought you two were master and disciple, so that’s rather surprising.”
So the Heavenly Demon’s real name was Cheonhwa Yuseol. I nodded at this first piece of new information.
“In any case, her true body lies sleeping within that tomb.”
“…Wait a second.”
“Hehe. Did something just occur to you?”
The thought that flashed through my mind twisted my face involuntarily. No way… It couldn’t be. But… was it really?
“Fuck. Are you telling me some grave-robbing bastards dug up her tomb?”
“No. Her tomb has absorbed the energy you call Cheonma-shingong, making it impossible for anyone to touch it easily.”
“Then…?”
“So they decided to move the entire tomb—along with everything around it—for the sake of their experiments. That is how they began their research into her power.”
I had called her a grave robber earlier, but hearing about actual grave robbers made me furious. If even I, who wasn’t directly involved, felt this angry, how on earth had the Heavenly Demon managed to stay so calm in front of me?
“They continued their research on that power and eventually managed to produce results—though imperfect ones.”
“So those are the people they call successors or descendants.”
“Correct. Those called successors can be seen as test subjects born from their experiments. Descendants are those who have accepted an even stronger portion of her power.”
“Then… are they all working together?”
“Not exactly. Their experiments also included ordinary civilians. They would secretly infiltrate villages, inject the energy, and then flee. Of course, because these experiments were performed without proper preparation, there has only been a single successful case.”
Secretly releasing energy into a village and running away, huh…
“Information about them—”
“They call their organization the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Heavenly Demon Cult
An antagonistic organization researching and replicating Cheonhwa Yuseol's power.
Heavenly Demon Cult.
They deliberately used the term “Heavenly Demon” even though they wielded the power of the Sword God. And they called themselves a cult? There was only one meaning behind that.
So there’s someone else here who came from my world.
I didn’t know what his goal was, but anyone who would secretly experiment on innocent people clearly wasn’t sane.
“You would probably recognize him the moment you meet.”
“Thank you.”
“You spoke so casually to me earlier. There’s no need to be so polite now.”
“Haha… right.”
The information she had given me brought me significant realizations. First, that there were others besides me who had come to this world. And second, that the people who used the Heavenly Demon’s power—the very reason I had been poring over books all this time—were simply individuals who had taken her power into their bodies.
Heavenly Demon Cult. I’ll have to be careful.
Considering what Libra had said, they might already have some kind of connection to the Imperial Palace. Given the current atmosphere of the palace, they would almost certainly be hostile toward me.
Crack.
“Hm?”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I thought I heard something breaking somewhere.”
Maybe it was just my imagination. No matter how I turned my head and scanned the area, nothing appeared to be broken.
“Hehe. Then it’s about time for you to return. Congratulations on clearing the gate. I will send you back to the academy along with your companions.”
“Ah, thanks. I managed to get some incredibly important information thanks to you.”
“You’re too kind.”
With those words, my vision was flooded with light. When I opened my eyes properly, I saw numerous professors frantically working around the gate.
“Damn it! Hurry up already!”
“I’m trying my best! But this… I can’t interfere with it at all!”
“Move aside. I’ll just rip it open with brute force and go in.”
“Have you lost your mind?! That’s impossible!”
“I’ll help too.”
“Someone stop Professor Libra and Professor Garein! You guys come help too!”
“Y-yes!”
“Professor, please calm down!”
Professors sweating coldly as they worked their hands busily beside the gate, others assisting them. Garein and Libra throwing themselves forward as if ready to charge into the gate at any moment. And the professors and students desperately holding them back with their bodies.
It really was…
—What a complete mess.
—Ugh, so noisy.
It was truly a magnificent disaster with no equal. While we all stood there stunned, watching the professors’ chaos, one of the students trying to hold back Garein and Libra spotted us and shouted.
“P-Professors! Over there! Look over there!!”
“The kids are back! The kids are out!”
Amazingly, every professor froze in place. It was as if time itself had stopped.
Creak.
All at once, the professors’ heads swiveled toward us. One of them, seeing that we had no fatalities—only injuries—and that our faces still had relatively good color, shouted at the top of his lungs.
“T-Treat them immediately!”
Zeon and his companions had successfully escaped the gate.
The woman who had overseen the final trial now sat alone in the empty space, quietly enjoying her tea time.
Crack.
But her time could no longer continue. Her body was slowly disintegrating, starting from her legs.
“So this is the price for learning forbidden knowledge.”
As a resident of this world, she had obtained information she was never meant to know. The cost was none other than the erasure of her very existence.
“Still, I was surprised. To think our world was nothing more than a game in another dimension.”
Crack.
Her feet vanished. Then her calves, followed by her thighs. Even as her body disappeared in real time, there was no trace of regret or fear on the woman’s face.
Sip.
“A world blessed by the Goddess, its chosen protagonist, and two men who were once protagonists themselves—now crossed over from another dimension.”
How amusing it all was. If she felt any lingering attachment, it was only the regret that she would not be able to witness the story they would unfold from now on.
“Cheonhwa Yuseol. You truly have a tragic fate.”
To become entangled with men who had crossed dimensions like this. One of them had even become her disciple.
Crack.
She could no longer feel her legs. They had completely vanished. Now it was the torso’s turn.
“Hmm. It feels strange not being able to feel my legs.”
It was oddly uncomfortable to lose a sense she had always taken for granted. Perhaps to hide that discomfort even a little, the woman—now missing half her body—gently stroked the rim of her now-empty teacup.
“Ah, since I’m disappearing anyway, I should have told him that information too.”
The secret of the body named Zeon, worn by the man from another dimension who had already left.
“Hm. If I had told him, would I have disintegrated on the spot?”
But watching her own body vanish in real time, she shook her head. Even what she had already revealed had been pushing the limits. Revealing one more secret might have caused her to disappear right then and there.
“Still, since it’s the end, I should at least enjoy my tea time before I go.”
Even if death held no fear, surely one last cup of tea was acceptable? Sipping tea that never grew bland and savoring snacks perfectly suited to her taste, she calmly waited for the complete erasure of her existence.