Killing My Parallel Self
Let's talk about this. Why on earth would you go to a parallel world just to kill the version of yourself living there?
I briefly wondered if Sibylius had lost her mind. She certainly looked the part—her hair disheveled, everything a mess.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm perfectly sane. I'm exhausted and worked up, sure, but this is a decision I made with a clear head."
Sibylius stared at me with serious eyes.
"That guy deserves to die!"
"…?"
I just gawked at her, dumbfounded. Then, out of nowhere,
"Yeah, he does."
Hames agreed.
"The Sibylius from that world totally deserves to die."
"…If he were in front of me, I'd kill him no matter what it took."
Even Viol, who had stayed silent through all the murder threats earlier, finally spoke up, her killing intent plain as day. And then Ares yelled at Sibylius,
"I was planning to kill you anyway, then take out that bastard too!"
Have these women all gone crazy as a group? Why are they suddenly talking about parallel worlds and burning with murderous rage? Did the parallel-world Sibylius do something wrong? Something so bad that all these people say she has to die…
…Ah, no way.
"Seres, don't try to stop me. This is something I have to do!"
"…It won't change anything."
"No, you don't get it. You have no idea why I'm doing this!"
I already said it won't change anything!
"That jerk's already drowning in guilt, living day by day. And when he finds out late that his Seres is dead, he'll be sobbing his eyes out. Killing him now—what's the point?!"
The moment I pieced it together and shouted, Sibylius gasped, sucking in her breath.
It wasn't just her. The other women reacted too—eyes wide in shock, pupils trembling, all sorts of stunned expressions. Like they never imagined I'd understand the situation.
"S-Seres…."
Sibylius's voice shook. She stared at me with trembling eyes for a long time, as if she was too scared to even ask, before finally continuing.
"Y-You knew? About what happened in that world?"
"Yeah, I know."
"!!"
Sibylius looked horrified, like How do you know?! It was almost laughable. I know the original story better than any of you!
With my knowledge of the original novel, this was nothing new. But they were shocked—terrified, even—that I knew.
I felt Viol's hand trembling in mine. She gripped it tighter without thinking, stared at me, then flinched and looked away when our eyes nearly met.
Hames was the same. I glanced at her since she seemed like the one who could handle a real talk right now, but her face had gone pale—she was either looking at me or into space, I couldn't tell.
The only one who actively spoke to me was Ares.
"Seres, did you see the other world's events that the Heavenly God showed you too?!"
Her shocked question gave me more details. So that's what the Heavenly God did? He said he had a trump card to convince these women, and this was it? Not helpful at all. If anything, it's just made things worse!
"…Yeah, I saw."
Not that the Heavenly God showed me—I read it in the novel. But whatever.
"Seres, then…."
"Ah, hold on."
I cut off Ares as she started to say something with an anxious look.
"We'll talk about that after everything's sorted. We've still got this Sibylius here, and Arios to deal with."
If Ares started now, the others would chime in, and it'd take forever. I wanted to handle the urgent stuff first.
"Looks like you saw everything that male Sibylius did too."
"…Yes."
Sibylius mumbled in a small voice.
"But Seres, I would never do that! I have no intention of tormenting you like that bastard did! I'll kill that disgusting wretch just to prove it!"
She must've thought I was accusing her—she desperately tried to defend herself. But I'd already said it: it wouldn't change anything.
"Can you really kill him?"
"I will. Even if it's my other self. If it's something that harmed you, I'll destroy it, no matter what!"
"No, that's not what I mean by spirit or whatever. You're the same person, just different gender—equal power. Can you actually kill something like that?"
"…That's."
When I hit her with a practical reason, Sibylius couldn't find words. She wanted to say she'd kill him for sure, but as a competent mage, she now realized her odds were at best fifty-fifty.
"And he might be completely unhinged right now, lashing out without thinking. You know that better than anyone—it's you. Imagine yourself going all-out, no holds barred."
"…."
"And if you go and fail to kill him, you'll end up handing over knowledge of parallel worlds and the magic to cross them on a silver platter. What do you think a guy who's lost his Seres and gone mad will do with that?"
"…He'll jump to another parallel world and hunt down another Seres close to his."
"Exactly. So stop. It'll just be a nuisance to every Seres in every parallel world."
Only after I laid out the serious reasons why she couldn't go did Sibylius give up. Her shoulders slumped as she looked up at me pleadingly.
"Th-Then what should I do? How do I deal with this guilt freezing my heart solid?!"
"Beats me, you idiot."
"Huh?"
"I haven't even fully grasped the situation yet. You think I'd have a solution ready? I'll think about it later—just follow me for now."
"…Understood."
Sibylius looked like she had a ton to say, but she swallowed it, eyeing me warily, and followed.
"Niobe, guide us to where the last Arios is."
"My lord, what is all this about?"
"I'll explain later. Just lead the way."
I spoke firmly to Niobe, who looked confused and unable to make sense of our talk. Sorry, but explanations take too long.
"Y-Yes! This way…."
We followed the startled Niobe to where the last Arios was. But it wasn't just Arios there—Red was with her too.
Niobe had said Red was the only one among the women who liked me that didn't seem off, but the atmosphere between them was anything but good.
"Why the hell is this crazy bitch flipping out again?!"
Red snarled at Arios. Because Arios was swinging her aura-wreathed sword at her.
To be fair, that alone was pretty normal for them. But there was a crucial difference in Arios's demeanor as she swung.
"It's your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault!"
She was repeating the same phrase over and over like a maniac. Her empty eyes fixed ahead, muttering "your fault" endlessly as she slashed—that terrifying sight would freeze anyone solid in an instant.
Even Red, who was dodging, looked creeped out and struggling to keep up.
"Are you seriously insane? What the hell's wrong with you all of a sudden? My fault for what?!"
Red yelled in frustration. But Arios's response was unwavering.
"Your fault!"
"My fault for what?!"
More than the attacks, the endless repetition was driving Red nuts—she pounded her chest in exasperation.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The moment I showed up, they both reacted instantly.
"Hey, perfect timing! Do something about this psycho!"
Red called out to me like she was genuinely relieved, but
"S-Seres!"
Arios convulsed like she'd seen the grim reaper.
Red seized the opening to dash behind me, so I stepped forward in her place.
"What exactly is Red's fault?"
"…E-Everything!"
Arios shrieked hysterically when I asked seriously.
"Seres might not get it, but I was the root of all evil! Just like what happened to us, it was because of that that you had to use your power—and that started everything…."
"So I guess Red's the one who crippled my legs so I couldn't move, huh?"
I could roughly guess what nonsense Arios was spouting—dumping all the blame from the original story onto Red. I snarked at her, and she went pale as a ghost.
"H-How do you—?!"
"I know what you saw too. But hey? Let's get our facts straight. In that world, wasn't it Arios tormenting Seres, not Red?"
"That man isn't me!!!"
Arios shouted in fury.
"That man—that male Arios—is a different person from me. If you saw it, Seres, you know! The others were similar in personality, but that guy and I are completely different!"
Yeah. The original Arios and this one had weirdly different personalities. So,
"Right, the male Arios is a different person, and you're innocent. You didn't do anything wrong."
I gave her exactly the answer she wanted, affirming it easily.
"No need to feel guilty since it wasn't you."
"…Stop."
"No reason to throw a fit like this. You're blameless."
"Stop it!"
Even as I told her she was free of guilt, Arios got angry. She bit her lip, her whole body shaking. Seeing her unable to even make excuses anymore, the others chimed in.
"Alright, now that we're all here, let's talk this through in more detail."