I Hold the Power to Build the World
What is wholehearted deception?
It begins with believing your own lies.
What I'm doing right now isn't a lie. It's real.
I convince myself so thoroughly it's almost self-hypnosis.
I am a No-Named.
I am a No-Named.
Right now, I have become a perfect No-Named.
A terrifying ability that would make the body explode the moment it touches anything.
I don't know its name, but something like that exists.
Believing in it, I swung my hand with everything I had—and it worked beautifully.
The flower-headed man who had been trying to finish Aranseol.
The moment I charged, he immediately pulled back.
Sharp instincts.
He realized what would happen if my hand touched him and chose to retreat.
What a shame.
If I'd grazed him even a little, it would've been over.
I casually hid my hand and tried to close the distance.
The flower-headed man also kept his distance, quietly observing the situation.
"Harua!"
At that moment, Aranseol grabbed my shoulder and kicked off the ground.
Her strength was so great that my body was dragged along helplessly.
To break through her defenses with that kind of power…
That man was no ordinary opponent either.
The flower-headed man didn't immediately pursue us.
True to his sharp instincts, he seemed to be watching and waiting for the right moment to chase.
Well, if my hand touched him, it would be the end—so it was the right call.
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Aranseol shouted as she ran.
"Out of my mind?"
"That stunt you just pulled."
"Hah, I almost finished him off. What a waste."
Aranseol stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
Watching her face, something I'd forgotten suddenly came back to me.
Ah, I'm a holy mage.
Right, I got too caught up and forgot.
The ability in my hand vanished.
I could've shaped the world, but what a pity.
"If you hadn't done that, you would've died."
When I answered while clenching and opening my hand, Aranseol bit her lip hard.
She knew that better than anyone.
Her eyes wavered for a moment before she lowered her head.
"……Sorry. I dragged you into this because I'm weak."
"This isn't the time for apologies. We just ran into a lunatic, that's all."
It was just bad luck.
Aranseol wasn't at fault.
Aranseol ran in silence.
She looked like her thoughts were in turmoil.
"Being weak was my own choice……"
She seemed to mutter something to herself, but I couldn't quite catch it.
"More importantly, who the hell was that guy? He didn't seem ordinary."
I've seen plenty of strong people while working as an explorer.
But that guy felt like he was on a completely different level, even among the elites.
He gave off an incredibly dangerous vibe.
"……Cosmic Jack, the Great Sinner of Sloth."
At Aranseol's answer, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Even I'd heard of the Great Sinners—criminals so infamous they'd been branded for reducing entire cities to rubble.
And I'd just charged at one of them bare-handed.
There really was no bigger lunatic than me.
No wonder Aranseol was horrified.
"Now that you know, don't ever do something like that again. There won't be a second chance."
When Aranseol warned me, I nodded in agreement.
Charging at someone like that again would be suicide.
I'd never do it.
"More importantly, Aranseol, I can walk on my own now……"
I was about to tell her to let me down when—
A shadow fell over my face.
Right in front of me, a hand stitched together from scraps of flesh was reaching out.
Just a plain, bare hand.
Yet the moment I saw it, goosebumps erupted across my skin.
My lips went dry.
Time slowed to a crawl.
That strange phenomenon you experience the moment death stares you in the face.
I'd been through it before, so I knew it well.
Between the gaps in his fingers, I could see the flower-headed man—Cosmic Jack.
Cosmic Jack was a cautious man.
That's why he'd hidden his true strength and fought Aranseol at half-measure.
But then an irregularity like me appeared.
So he decided there was no point in holding back anymore.
Right beside me.
Aranseol's face was already touching Cosmic Jack's hand.
Her beautiful face swelled with red welts before exploding without mercy.
Her body, now headless, collapsed to the ground.
The moment I saw that, I understood his ability.
This guy was the real deal—an ability that made anything his hand touched explode.
The gauntlets had only ever been a self-imposed restriction to deceive his opponents.
His true power lay in his bare hands.
And the death Aranseol met was coming for me next.
Thud—
Cosmic Jack's hand touched my face.
I felt like the flower was smiling.
That was the last thing I felt before my face swelled and my vision burst open.
For a single instant, I could see the world in every direction at once.
My eyes had swollen to their absolute limit.
The rest of me was probably the same.
This goddamn otherworld!
Bang!
And that was yet another death I'd experienced.
* * *
There are many ways to die in this world.
For example, having your limbs torn off by a cult.
Or being beaten to death by bandits.
Or having your head crushed by a murderer.
And then there's having your head swell up and explode.
Startled—
I sat up and blinked.
Then I raised a hand and scratched my head.
The head that had exploded was perfectly restored.
Caw, caw—
In the distance, I could hear crows flying across the darkening sky.
My ears felt muffled.
When I took a deep breath and exhaled, my hearing cleared.
"Hoo."
Alive again.
I exhaled lightly and looked around.
Then scratched my head once more.
Maybe it was because endorphins had flooded my brain right before death as it swelled grotesquely.
My head felt strangely itchy.
It was a bizarre sensation, like I wanted to scratch inside my brain.
I lowered the hand that had been scratching my head.
If this became a habit, it'd be a problem, so I should stop.
When I turned my gaze to the side, I saw a corpse already starting to attract insects.
It was Aranseol's body.
She'd died after leaving me one final warning to be careful.
I approached her and brushed the insects away, revealing her empty neck.
Cosmic Jack, the Great Sinner of Sloth.
I could see once again just how much he'd been toying with us.
In the final moment, neither Aranseol nor I had been able to react.
He was the real monster among all the ones I'd met.
I couldn't understand why this otherworld had so many monsters.
And why so many of them had to appear right in front of me.
I'd barely survived the airship crash, and the next thing I ran into was a Great Sinner.
My life was exhausting, and my luck was absolute garbage.
I couldn't sense Cosmic Jack's presence anymore.
Since we'd both died with our heads exploded, he probably figured we wouldn't come back to life and just left us behind.
Now I understood why he was called Sloth.
I sat down in front of Aranseol and raised my hand.
Wait, did I really need to save some primitive otherworlder?
I scratched my head once.
The surge of disgust subsided.
Maybe I was just rattled from experiencing the otherworld's bullshit after so long.
Well, I'd been living too comfortably lately anyway.
"Get up."
To clear my head, I muttered some nonsense and activated Resurrection.
A bright light seeped into Aranseol's body, and her head slowly began to regenerate.
A moment later, her pretty face was restored.
Thinking that I'd sculpted it with my own hands made me feel oddly proud.
It seemed like it would take Aranseol some time to wake up, so I leaned against a tree.
Bulldog and the airship crew had mentioned their memories getting fuzzy right before death.
I wondered if Aranseol would be the same.
While I absentmindedly scratched my head, Aranseol's eyes suddenly flew open.
At the same time, she leapt to her feet and swung her sword in a clean arc.
Her movements were so sharp I almost applauded.
Aranseol stood frozen in place, eyes wide.
Then she slowly turned her head and met my gaze.
She wore a dazed expression.
It was the same look everyone had when they came back from the dead.
"……Harua?"
From her expression, it seemed she still couldn't quite grasp what had happened.
"Yeah. Looks like we both survived somehow. Cosmic Jack must've knocked us out and left."
"That can't be……"
Aranseol muttered, her hand gripping the sword trembling.
"I'm sure my head exploded……"
Don't tell me she actually remembered that.
I had no idea what kind of mental fortitude she had.
Thinking that she wasn't normal either, I answered carefully.
"Well, your head wouldn't still be in one piece if that were true."
"……"
Aranseol couldn't argue and just stared blankly.
Then she turned back to me.
"Harua, did you do something?"
Why was she so sharp?
Still, in this world, magic that could bring people back to life wasn't exactly common.
"What could I possibly do?"
A holy mage who hadn't even bloomed his seed yet.
What could someone like that really do?
Aranseol knew that too, so she fell silent and slowly lowered her sword.
"I'm going to rest a bit."
Her mind must've been a mess after dying and coming back. She trudged over to a tree and sat down, leaning against it.
For some reason, she kept fiddling with her left hand.
While Aranseol rested, I rested too.
What should we do now?
We were still some distance from Breathwood.
But wandering around a forest where Cosmic Jack was roaming wasn't exactly appealing either.
We'd survived this time thanks to Resurrection.
But there wouldn't be a next time.
He'd be suspicious when he saw us alive and would definitely try to kill us again.
This time, he might actually bury us in the ground.
While I was lost in thought, Aranseol seemed to have her own concerns and stayed silent.
"Harua."
The forest at night, the sun already set.
Aranseol finally spoke.
"Cosmic Jack is targeting Lady Ririran."
Ririran.
Hearing that name reminded me of Lapiel's request.
Lapiel had asked me to deliver a letter to Ririran.
She was the leader of the fairy race and a master of space magic.
To think Cosmic Jack was after her.
Our goals overlapped in an unexpected way.
"The airship crash was his doing too. He was trying to lure Lady Ririran out of Breathwood by causing chaos.
Lady Ririran wouldn't ignore a crashing airship."
But we'd evacuated the passengers from the airship.
That had thrown a wrench in Cosmic Jack's plans, so instead he'd targeted us.
"And Harua, people will be coming soon to investigate the airship crash."
My body stiffened.
"Then Cosmic Jack, who's still roaming the forest……"
"He'll use them as hostages to draw out Lady Ririran."
It was a vicious cycle of the worst kind.
And it wasn't a problem we could solve.
"Then we need to get out quickly and—"
"Reaching the airfield is impossible. The forest at night is treacherous, so finding the way will be even harder.
More importantly, the fairy forest is vast, so the chances of running into the search party are low."
Aranseol stood up and looked toward Breathwood visible through the leaves.
"On the other hand, if we head for Breathwood, we have a clear destination."
"……Wait, are you seriously suggesting we go to Breathwood right now?"
Was she out of her mind?
Had she forgotten Cosmic Jack was still roaming the forest?
Aranseol slowly turned to look at me.
"If we reach Breathwood and inform Lady Ririran, she can send a letter to the airfield using space magic.
Then instead of a search party, the Orthodox Army will come to capture Cosmic Jack."
So we had to go to Ririran.
That's what Aranseol was saying.
She'd just come back from the dead.
Technically, she'd died once.
And it had been by having her head swell up and explode.
Yet here she was, saying she wanted to head back into the forest again.
It was no different from walking straight into death of her own accord.
Risking her life for someone else.
It was noble, but it was something I couldn't understand.
I stared at her for a moment before opening my mouth.
"I'm not going."
I'm no saint.