The Fact That You Can Die
The Fact That You Can Die
"......This place is completely impossible to enter, isn't it?"
That was what the sergeant who had surrounded the mansion said.
Because of that, Pelf, the intelligence staff officer who had arrived before Daniel, frowned.
"Impossible to enter? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Some kind of strange membrane is surrounding the mansion, making entry itself impossible. Even bullets get deflected, so I figured conventional methods wouldn't work......."
The sergeant pointed behind him.
A tank parked at a distance had its gun barrel aimed at the mansion.
"We tried attacking with the tank, but it was useless. Even after the tank shell detonated, the membrane enveloping the mansion didn't disappear. This is the first time I've seen a case like this, so I'm quite perplexed."
Pelf was equally perplexed.
'No matter how I look at it, it seems to be some kind of magic.......'
Was it even plausible for magic to block a tank's attack?
In the first place, magic was what had precipitously retreated from the front lines and declined because it couldn't even stop bullets.
Yet according to the sergeant's account, this magic had even blocked a tank shell, so it was simply unbelievable.
That was when it happened.
The sound of an armored vehicle arriving at the mansion and coming to a halt with a dull metallic noise could be heard.
Soon the armored vehicle's door opened, and Daniel, Frien, and Lucy revealed themselves one after another.
As Daniel, who had looked up at the mansion once, approached, Pelf bowed his head.
"Division Commander. You've arrived."
Daniel, who had cast his gaze toward Pelf, opened his mouth.
"Progress status?"
"We attempted entry after surrounding the mansion, but failed. An intangible membrane is enveloping the entire mansion, obstructing entry. According to this sergeant beside me, we conducted artillery fire with a tank, but likewise failed to remove the membrane."
Since it was one of the things he had anticipated, he wasn't surprised.
"The one inside the mansion is a grand archmage named Seraile who operates in the Republic. She would have undoubtedly prepared various devices inside the mansion. She must have combined those devices with her own mana to deploy an enormous defensive barrier. However, its limits are clear. Even just a few more artillery strikes would shatter it like glass."
"......In that case, shall I order an artillery strike?"
Daniel shook his head.
"The moment the barrier breaks, Seraile will flee somewhere. After all, she's someone who calls herself a grand archmage — she would have prepared at least one escape route."
Even if she fled and lost her status and fame, she would at least be able to preserve her life.
'If Seraile survives like that, she will remember this day when she experienced humiliation.'
That could not be allowed to happen.
Daniel, who could not afford to leave behind future troubles, calmly continued speaking.
"I want Seraile's death. Conversely, Seraile will also want my death. So in order to end everything, I'll have to play along with the trap Seraile has prepared."
Daniel, who had walked forward, reached out toward the faintly wavering membrane.
At that, Daniel's hand passed through the membrane and went inside.
'As I thought.......'
Seraile was inviting Daniel as a guest of the mansion.
'She intends to settle this, then.'
As Daniel resolved to accept, Frien and Lucy approached from both his sides.
Frien and Lucy reached out toward the membrane just as Daniel had, and their hands could be seen passing through to the other side.
Macroscopically speaking, Lucy was Seraile's blood relative, so the mansion had accepted her as a guest.
From Seraile's perspective, Frien was practically no different from a 'return button,' so there was no reason not to accept her.
After all, simply killing Frien would erase the current disadvantageous situation and allow her to start over from the beginning.
Daniel, who had been watching Lucy and Frien face the situation with serious expressions, nodded.
"Let's go."
At the same time, the three of them stepped inside the mansion's barrier.
*
After entering the mansion and walking a few steps forward, Frien couldn't help but flinch in surprise.
"......This is a study?"
Having opened the mansion door and come inside, she was greeted not by a hall but by a study, which gave her a sense of dissonance.
No matter how she looked at it, a study lined with rows of bookshelves wasn't a room that should be located right behind the front door.
"That's strange. How could it lead straight to a study......."
Frien stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth.
She couldn't feel anyone's presence.
When she turned around, Daniel and Lucy, who should have entered the mansion with her, were nowhere to be seen.
Frien, who had been blinking vacantly, soon smiled a thin smile as if she understood.
"Aha."
She had fallen for Seraile's trickery.
Since it wasn't particularly surprising, Frien, without panicking, moved her steps through the passageway of the study.
Having reached the opposite side, Frien grabbed the door and opened it.
At that, it connected to a dining room where a sumptuous feast had been laid out on the table.
"Whoa......."
As she walked forward while marveling at all the savory aromas, the dining room's other door swung open.
Beyond the open door was Daniel.
"......Major General Daniel?"
Upon hearing Frien's voice, color returned to Daniel's face.
"Frien! So you were here. You have no idea how worried I was when everyone disappeared the moment we entered the mansion. It's a relief that I found you, even like this."
Frien, who saw Daniel approaching, also smiled.
"I was so surprised too. Still, it's a relief we could meet so quickly."
"Right. That aside, we need to find Seraile quickly......."
"I agree. How about we first check how the room layout is structured?"
Daniel, who had nodded, took hold of Frien's hand.
"Don't let go of my hand and follow me. In case we end up getting separated again."
Since there was no reason to refuse, Frien did so.
Daniel, taking Frien along with him, continued opening doors that led to other places.
But finding where Seraile was proved elusive.
Every time Daniel opened a door, what appeared was a place that had nothing to do with Seraile.
Only after wandering the mansion several times like that did Daniel and Frien arrive at a strange reception room.
It was a reception room where, as if gravity had been divided, flowers bloomed and trees grew from the ceiling.
Daniel, who thought they had failed again this time, pressed his forehead.
"Damn it......! I can't figure out where Seraile is. We have to find her somehow."
Frien, who had been watching Daniel clench his teeth, shrugged.
"That woman made an outright maze, so there's no way we could find her easily. How about we wet our throats here and move again?"
Daniel, having calmed his anger, let out a low breath.
"Fine. Rushing won't get things done anyway."
Resigned, Daniel approached the table with Frien and took a seat.
On the table, premium pastries and coffee had been prepared.
As Daniel grasped the cup containing coffee, Frien opened her mouth as if she had just remembered something.
"That said, Major General Daniel. May I ask a slightly rude question? I feel like I can't ask this unless we're alone."
"A question, is it. If it's something I can answer, I'll gladly do so."
"Thank you. Then I'll speak without reservation. Major General Daniel......."
Frien, having withdrawn her smile, stared at Daniel.
"When you met your first death, what were you trying to tell me? You were clearly about to say something, but I couldn't hear it."
Daniel's hand, which had been about to drink the coffee, trembled.
"......When I met my first death, you say?"
Frien didn't answer.
Daniel, who had been staring blankly at Frien, took a sip of coffee.
Daniel, who had set down the cup, opened his mouth as if he understood.
"Ah. I think I told you to run away. Since it was a dangerous situation."
"Is that so? That could be."
Frien, who had said that and recovered her smile, rose from her seat.
"We've rested enough, so shall we head to another room now?"
The moment Frien, having turned her body, moved her steps toward another room, Daniel drew a revolver from his bosom.
Daniel, who thought there would be no other opportunity, aimed the muzzle at Frien's head.
He pulled the trigger just like that.
Taang─
However, the bullet failed to penetrate the barrier Frien had formed behind her head and ricocheted to the side.
Naturally, Frien's steps also came to a halt.
"What a shame."
Frien turned her body toward Daniel.
A chill swirled in both her eyes.
"You could have bought a little more time."
Daniel, who had been watching Frien like that, lowered the revolver.
"......Just when did you catch on?"
"You mean the fact that you're Seraile's puppet? I knew from the very beginning."
Frien giggled.
"How long do you think I've been watching Major General Daniel? I've spent an unimaginably long time by his side. Thanks to you, Seraile."
Frien approached toward Seraile.
"So thinking you could mimic Major General Daniel with such pathetic acting is a miscalculation. You might be able to fool others, but it will never work on me."
The closer the distance grew, the more Seraile's face hardened.
"......Then why didn't you attack me from the start? If you knew I was a puppet, you could have just finished me off right away?"
"That's because I promised Major General Daniel before coming here. The General said your top priority target would be me. Since you'd want to turn back time."
Frien stopped at close range from Seraile.
"So he told me that if Seraile approached through a puppet, I should stall for as much time as possible. So that he could enter the place where your real body is without any interference."
The corner of Seraile's mouth rose.
"Ha? He can go to where my real body is? As you must also know, this mansion is like a maze. Unless I permit it, no one can reach where my real body is. What kind of absurd—"
"It seems Major Lucy doesn't think that way?"
Frien, who had cut off Seraile's words, let slip an alluring voice.
"I don't know the details, but Major Lucy seemed to know very well where you're located. So no matter how complicated the maze, it wouldn't matter. Isn't that right?"
At Frien's words, Seraile could no longer refute.
Because Seraile was also well aware of Lucy's existence.
Lucy was a test subject who had received injections of her factor, so she couldn't have been ignorant even if she wanted to be.
However, she had only now just learned that Lucy was capable of pinpointing her location.
"Oh dear."
Frien looked at Seraile with interest as she made a flustered expression for the first time.
"You know. I've spoken with you several times, but this expression is a first. You, who always burst out laughing with such confidence, why are you suddenly stricken with fear?"
Frien extended both hands and grabbed Seraile's cheeks.
"This is fun."
Her sharp, blade-like eyes were holding Seraile captive so she couldn't flee.
"How terrifying death truly is......."
A refined fury bloomed as a smile at the corner of Frien's mouth.
"Are you only realizing it now?"