Anomaly of the Era (2)
Anomaly of the Era (2)
Ancient humanity, with their misguided curiosity, created beings known as Demon Gods, and as a result, they walked the path to ruin.
Among them, there were those who hoped future generations would not repeat the same mistake.
However, in a situation where the entire civilization was collapsing, conveying the will of a few to future generations was an impossible task.
So, they entrusted their will to a single individual.
They used magic to halt the flow of time in the body, allowing it to reach future generations beyond a human lifespan.
So that when Demon Gods attempted to emerge again in another era, this individual could awaken from slumber and stop them.
......However, even during the peak of the most powerful magical civilization, true immortality remained an unreachable domain.
"Cough...!"
Yuri covered her mouth and coughed.
Then, after checking her palm, she hurriedly hid her hand behind her back.
Fortunately, Lili and Pia were too preoccupied with examining all the ancient magical devices inside the Tower of Arrogance to notice.
Hilda was also too worried about these ancient relics being damaged by those brute-force women to pay attention elsewhere.
"Haa... haa..."
Yuri rummaged through her bag, trying to find something.
But her vision kept blurring, making it impossible to grab what she needed.
"Hey guys! I, I'm just going to the restroom!"
"...I shall accompany you."
"Okay!"
Suddenly, Melanie grabbed Yuri and pulled her away somewhere, and Hilda, seeming to have noticed something, followed them.
Lili and Pia understood that Hilda said she was going to the <restroom> with Melanie, interpreting it as going to the <toilet> to <do their business>, so they didn't suspect anything.
Melanie brought Yuri into an empty room and sat her against the wall.
Yuri's condition seemed to be worsening, her breathing becoming ragged.
"Haa... haa..."
"Which one is the medicine bottle?"
"Th-the bottles all contain the same contents. Just grab any one..."
While Melanie searched through Yuri's bag, Hilda placed her hand on Yuri's body.
After checking her condition, Hilda couldn't hide her bewildered expression.
"...Your body is..."
"Haha... Well, cough...!"
"Please don't speak."
"H-here, the medicine first..."
As Melanie handed over an opened medicine bottle, Yuri desperately gulped it down.
"How is this person even alive?"
"Huh?"
"You don't know either?"
"I knew she wasn't well, but specifically how..."
"She's practically no different from a corpse. Her organs have already begun to decay."
"What...?!"
"A side effect of Time Magic, perhaps?"
Yuri, whose complexion had improved slightly, offered a faint smile.
"Time Magic?"
"In ancient times, they could even manipulate time with magic. It was possible to stop an object's time and preserve it forever. But for some reason, it couldn't be properly used on living bodies. Due to unexplained side effects."
"Are you saying your body is suffering from those side effects now?"
"Proportional to the length of time that was halted, aging progresses rapidly. As if all the stopped time flows at once. I was asleep for an immeasurable amount of time."
"...Listening to you talk, it's exactly like..."
"That's right. I am one of the last survivors of the ancient civilization. I halted my body's time and awakened again in this era."
Melanie wasn't too surprised since she already knew the story, but Hilda seemed so shocked she could only open and close her mouth without saying a word.
[That girl was born in the same era as me...?]
Even Luxuria seemed completely taken aback by this unexpected revelation.
"Why are you telling us this?"
What surprised Melanie was that Yuri was confessing this herself.
In Sephemo, Yuri never revealed she was from the ancient civilization until her dying moment.
It was only later that players would piece together the clues from Yuri's traces.
"Because there's no time. But I used too much power during the process of extracting Demon Gula-nim. My already short lifespan became even shorter."
"Th-that can't be...!"
Melanie felt a heart-wrenching sadness.
It was because the story had changed due to her actions that Yuri's lifespan had been shortened.
[Hmph! Whatever. I wonder if the reaction would have been the same if that girl wasn't a girl.]
Luxuria let out a derisive snort loud enough for Melanie to hear clearly.
"With medication, I can hold on for about 20 more years..."
"......Huh?"
"......What?"
Though Yuri confessed with a lonely expression, Melanie and Hilda couldn't help but find it absurd.
Melanie could somewhat understand why.
Humans of the ancient civilization enjoyed lifespans three times longer than those of the current era.
So 20 years would naturally feel like a mere moment to them.
Hilda, unaware of this fact, could only think that while it was sad she only had 20 years left, it wasn't exactly like she was going to die imminently.
"So I think I need to pass on as much as possible to all of you. Melanie-nim. It seems you know much more than I imagined."
"Ah, well, something like that..."
"My original goal was to stop the Demon Gods. But after awakening and assessing the situation, my goal changed to protecting the Demon Gods. Because their deaths would cause something even more dangerous."
"...But that event could also be prevented by simply killing all the Demon Gods."
"That's true. Among those who move with me, there are also those who say we should do that. ...Actually, I also think that would be a more certain method, but I believe it's realistically impossible, so... Huh..."
Yuri, who had been speaking normally until now, suddenly began nodding off as if her eyelids had grown heavy.
As she struggled to stay awake, Hilda gently closed her eyes with her hand.
"This is my first time seeing a patient like this, so I can't say much, but for now, it would be best for you to rest."
"Sorry... about this..."
Finally, Yuri dropped her head and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Melanie and Hilda took out a blanket and laid her down comfortably.
"To care for her, I'll need to study that medication. My healing magic is useless since her body is practically already dead. How she's even alive in that state..."
"Mhm. I'll count on you."
Hilda took the medicine bottles from Yuri's bag and left the room.
Melanie intended to stay by Yuri's side without leaving the room.
Then, someone lightly stepped beside Melanie.
It was the Lust Demon, Luxuria.
"Luxuria?"
"How does this wench die here? Does she die from illness?"
"W-wait. She's right here..."
"What does it matter? She's asleep like this."
Luxuria poked Yuri's cheek with her toe, as if handling something dirty.
Nevertheless, Yuri smiled peacefully as if having a pleasant dream.
"No, as she said herself, it's not time for her to die yet... It's assassination."
"Assassination?"
"The Demon Cult has two factions. One that believes we must prevent the Demon Gods' deaths for now, and one that believes we must kill the Demon Gods immediately. Yuri naturally belongs to the former..."
"And the ones belonging to the latter kill her simply because they disagree? Not over some personal grudge?"
"Uh... They shouldn't have any personal grudge against each other..."
"Then why not just operate separately? Why go through the trouble of killing? That wouldn't make the two factions cooperate, so why bother?"
"Hmm... Why bother... Do you think maybe that situation is related to <Distortion>?"
"Indeed. It feels too forced. Like the death itself is the goal."
Yuri's death was so meaningless that it caused much discussion among players.
Though it was presented as if the protagonist would carry on her will, the protagonist didn't really change much because of her death.
For such an important character - one of the most significant good-aligned figures in the entire lore - to die by assassination without having accomplished anything special.
She wasn't even caught off guard by a surprise attack.
Though it happened while she was alone without intending to have anyone guard her, she was killed head-on during an argument with her opponent.
This part led to speculation about changed settings, or that Yuri might not actually be dead.
Because during data mining, dialogue presumably from Yuri was discovered in later episodes.
"It might be best to let this wench die."
"......Huh?"
Startled by Luxuria's words, Melanie looked up.
"Though she's protecting Demon Gods now to prevent greater danger, ultimately she's our enemy, is she not?"
"W-wait..."
"Of course you'd want to keep her alive. I've been recommending that until now, but this time should be an exception."
Luxuria raised her hand, aiming at Yuri.
Melanie quickly moved to block Luxuria's hand.
"Step aside."
"I-I'll find some way, okay? I've been doing well so far..."
"Unnecessary. This wench's very existence is utterly repulsive. That a human from that era still lives. It's more nauseating than that knight bastard."
"L-let's calm down first and think about this again. Okay?"
"Y-you bitch?!"
Gasping for breath, Melanie dropped to her knees at Luxuria's feet and, like a bitch in heat, lifted the goddess's skirt to awaken the monster sleeping between her legs.
Even in this situation, that thing immediately sprang to attention♥ without any awareness, making Luxuria frown.
"S-step aside! What do you take me for...!"
"Kyaah!"
The goddess barely suppressed the urge to immediately shove it into any hole of this bitch, instead grabbing her by the hair and throwing her into a corner.
Under normal circumstances, Luxuria would have been pleased with such obedient behavior, praising her good training, but now was different.
"N-no! Please! I'm begging you!"
Though Melanie pleaded even with tears streaming down her face, Luxuria didn't even glance her way.
The Red Threads created by the goddess rushed toward Yuri's neck like fierce snakes.