Chapter 215: Residents of a Ruined World (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 215: Residents of a Ruined World (11)
Let’s stay calm. Maybe I misheard something, or perhaps there’s just a minor misunderstanding.
If I stay calm and talk it out, wouldn’t things change?
-No, you usually do it just fine, so what’s the problem? You’re acting like wearing a mask is some kind of catastrophe.
But based on the way he’s talking, it doesn’t seem like a misunderstanding.
Is he really broken?
“If my memory serves me right, didn’t you tell me not to deceive others?”
-I said that because you were self-harming without even realizing it was deception, and without caring about how others would feel. I never told you to stop being the Masked Villain entirely. Besides, you can’t even quit now. You have to finish what you started with your own hands.
“…Ah, right. Well, let’s say that’s true. What changes if I act as the Masked Villain now? In the end, won’t it just lead to me overexerting myself and deceiving the kids again?”
-Yes, look at you thinking all that through. It’s admirable how much you’ve grown, but you’re seeing the trees and missing the forest. Who told you to overexert yourself?
“…Then what? Is there another way? Honestly, if I’m going to face him head-on, I can’t even guess how many stacks of reinforcement I’d need.”
-That’s only if you fight with brute force, like an idiot with no technique. You seem to have forgotten, but I am right here with you.
“And?”
-You still don’t get it, even after I’ve spelled it out for you. Synchronization. I’m talking about Synchronization.
Ah, right. There was that. I’d always considered it a last resort and rarely used it, and since regaining my memories, my head has been so cluttered that I’d almost forgotten about it.
-I don’t know how it looks to you, but to me, this guy looks much more manageable than that black lightning from before.
Indeed, I wasn’t in a pathetic state like last time, and now that I’d awakened Multiple Reinforcement, even the same Synchronization would allow me to move far more efficiently than before.
Wait. This actually isn’t bad at all.
“I humbly apologize for my lowly self failing to grasp the profound intentions of the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal and harboring doubt.”
-Your ability to flip your attitude on a dime is as impressive as ever.
He says that, but he sounds like he’s in a good mood for some reason.
I pulled out the mask, its design now familiar. A sinister energy still seemed to emanate from it.
It was as if it were beckoning me, urging me to put it on this instant.
…Honestly, I’m still not sure if I should really do this.
I don’t know what the Chairperson or our Little Witch Professor would think, and I have no idea how Professor Cathy would react if we ran into each other.
Above all, the resistance I feel toward the act of deceiving everyone is no joke.
Isn’t there a better solution…?
-You should have thought about that before putting the mask on.
Huh? What? I already put it on…? It felt so natural I didn’t even realize I’d done it.
Ah, this familiar sensation.
[It is time for judgment. I shall execute evil.]
-Where did the guy who hated this go? Well, fine. If you’re going to do it, you might as well enjoy yourself.
* * *
Kang Na-hyun was continuing her search, leaving her two teammates—who were essentially retired from the fight—at the fortified base.
It wasn’t exactly wise for a B-rank like her to explore such a dangerous dungeon with so few people, but her intuition told her that following him would be safer than staying in the safe zone.
“What do girls your age like? I’m a bit awkward with my daughter, you see.”
He sounded like he was just making casual conversation, but given the current situation, that calm remark was anything but ordinary.
In the middle of combat—and surrounded by a massive swarm of monsters at that—he wasn’t flustered in the slightest as he cut down the enemies one by one.
The monsters, sliced by a blade moving at a speed that defied the eye, fell in two a beat later. It didn’t look like a physical attack at all.
If she hadn’t seen the sword, she would have thought it was some kind of cutting magic or a talent.
No, honestly, even now, she suspected the sword was just a medium and he was using some special type of talent. What more was there to say?
…Why on earth was a man like this running a private swordsmanship dojo?
What a waste of talent.
“Well, that’s roughly finished, so let’s take a short break. At my age, I can’t keep this up for long.”
Honestly, he didn’t look old, but since he mentioned having a daughter around her age, perhaps he was older than he appeared.
However, right after saying he’d finish the battle and relaxing his stance, he immediately reached for his sword again in a defensive posture. In that moment, something dropped from the air.
A woman with white hair and a beautiful face.
“…Chairperson Leilan?”
“Chairperson?”
She wasn’t an enemy, but she was someone who shouldn’t be here.
…Wasn’t she supposed to be moving in the same party as So-hyun?
Where did she leave So-hyun to be here alone? And what about Cathy?
The other side seemed to have noticed them too, especially Na-hyun. Judging by how her expression darkened in an instant, it didn’t seem like she was alone for a positive reason.
* * *
Lately, it didn’t often seem that way because of So-hyun, but Cathy was fundamentally someone who, while kind to everyone, maintained a certain distance.
This was a personal rule she strictly followed when dealing with cadets normally, and even more so during dungeon raids or operations.
However, she was currently wavering, unable to keep her own rule.
And the reason was…
“Mom! Unnie!”
“Yes, were you okay?”
It was because of the girl who had run toward her and Cadet Kang Han-hee after the battle with the monsters ended.
Honestly, she was envious, but she was fine with being called “Unnie” instead of “Mom” now.
…No, honestly, was she really fine with it? She was still incredibly envious and secretly wished the girl would call her that.
But for now, she’d let it slide.
The fundamental reason she was wavering was a bit different. To be honest, Cathy had been quite worried about the girl’s state after their first skirmish.
Thanks to both herself and Cadet Kang Han-hee performing far better than expected, there were no casualties, but a battle in a dungeon was not a sight suitable for a child, to put it mildly.
Yet, the girl showed no signs of trembling in fear.
Rather, she watched the process of the battle with a somewhat interested gaze, occasionally nodding as if learning something.
Well, she already knew this wasn’t an ordinary girl, so she could accept that much.
However, the way the child acted after noticing Cathy’s worry was something she couldn’t just ignore.
With a bright smile that resembled his, the girl said:
“Unnie, I’m fine.”
— I’m fine now.
“I didn’t get hurt because you protected me, and I believed in you.”
— I did it because I could recover with an artifact, and well, I believed you’d eventually come to your senses.
They were similar.
No, it was fair to say they were cut from the same cloth.
This child possessed a deficiency so similar to the boy she had fallen for.
Until now, she had simply been envious of the title “Mom” for no reason, but after seeing that smiling face so like his, she found herself wanting to support this child—not for some childish reason, but for something far more fundamental.
“Let’s go find Dad quickly. I think he’s this way.”
“Right. Shall we…?”
“…Hmm?”
But for some reason, doubt flickered in the girl’s eyes as she looked at Cathy.
“Oh? You were ‘Unnie’ just now.”
“Huh?”
“A little… no. Hmm, I guess you’re still ‘Unnie’ for now?”
…What did that mean?
“I’ll have to watch a bit longer.”
Muttering something incomprehensible, the girl returned to her innocent expression and took their hands.
* * *
The old armor creaked.
It was the signal that the Calamity, who had lived as a Hero and had been lost in his memories with closed eyes, had awakened.
Some say that memories fade and recollections erode, but that didn’t seem to apply to the Hero who lived in frozen time. He could recall the memories of those cherished days all too easily.
For him, who could only find joy and hope within dreams, stopping the dream was a significant event. However, there was no way for others to know this, and he wasn’t the type to explain it in detail to anyone.
He simply stood up, casting a gaze filled with a small hope that this person might show him the end, and the resignation that he would eventually be the one to kill them.
As expected, you arrived first.
“Why didn’t you strike first? You didn’t need to wait.”
[A surprise attack loses its meaning if it isn’t done at a timing the opponent doesn’t expect. What use is a surprise attack when I know the opponent can respond?]
“…Your way of speaking seems to have changed?”
[…Did you recognize who I am? My perception interference should be perfect.]
“Haha, someone at my level has ways of knowing~”
A suit resembling a tuxedo and a mask of a unique design.
Perhaps because of the mask, his aura had changed considerably, but there was no way he wouldn’t recognize who it was.
How could he not know, when those damn flirtatious spirits of death were turning their heads and starting to giggle?
“Hey, more importantly, there’s no one else here but us. Why don’t you answer me now?”
[Answer what?]
“How do you still love humans?”
From this moment on, they would begin a fight to the death.
However, if possible, he wanted to resolve his own doubt, so he finally voiced the question again.
“You’re the same kind as me. You know how many hideous people there are in the world. How hypocritical humans are. How those without value disparage those who have it. You know all of it, don’t you?”
It’s meaningless. It’s worthless. The ideals he once held were fleeting and foolish.
And though he didn’t know for sure, the boy before him must have reached a similar conclusion.
That was why they were residents of a ruined world.
They were those who chose to destroy the world because they loathed its biting coldness.
So how could this person, who was so like him, believe in and love humans again?
[I wondered what you were going to say. It was just nonsense.]
“…Nonsense?”
[Yes, nonsense and delusions. To begin with, you are fundamentally mistaken about something.]
“Really? What is it?”
[To begin with… I do not love humans.]
The man in the ghost mask raised a staff that bore the blunt color of iron.
In response, the Calamity raised his sword, which was shrouded in death.
[I do not seek meaning in others. Nor do I force ideals upon them.]
It was a situation where the thread of tension could snap at any moment, and it wouldn’t be strange for the battle to begin.
[Because there are almost no things in this world that have inherent meaning.]
What? So he did reach the same conclusion after all.
Hadn’t he despaired at a world devoid of meaning?
[That is why.]
“Hmm?”
[Paradoxically, we can grant meaning to anything. Because meaning is something one decides for oneself.]
For a brief moment, he couldn’t understand what he had just heard.
No, most people who heard those same words from him probably failed to grasp their true meaning.
But he, being a kindred spirit, was different. He finally understood what the boy wanted to say.
“Pfft, you crazy bastard. You really are insane. Ah, right. Thanks for reminding me. I only asked just in case. As I thought.”
Death swirled around the sword.
“I’m not the one who’s crazy; it’s you.”
[I won’t deny it.]
The conversation was over. He had received the answer he wanted. All that remained was one thing.
Death was swung, and the moment he lunged to cut down the masked man—
[However.]
The man’s mask glowed red, and a flash of light erupted from his eyes.
[Even a madman has things he must protect in his own way. Calamity.]
Along with the provocation that the Calamity didn’t even have anything left to protect.
The blunt staff he swung pierced through the mist of death and slammed into the Calamity’s armor.
It was a moment when his expectations grew just a little bit larger.