Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Resentment Pursuit - 2
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There exists a prison built in a circular shape.
It resembles a panopticon in structure, with one key difference: there is no central watchtower. The circular prison was designed so that the victims could gaze upon one another.
Room 1 is a blazing inferno. Both the floor and walls are heated to a degree sufficient to cook proteins. The child trapped in Room 1 boils away moment by moment.
Burns form, blisters rise, burst, and sear back into the skin in an endless cycle. Continuous healing spells activate in Room 1, ensuring the victim never loses their life.
Yet the body, repeatedly scorched and boiled, gradually loses its form after cycles of destruction and repair. Their lower half already resembles slime.
Room 2 is a hell of starvation. Everything is provided in Room 2: entertaining books, a comfortable bed, clean restrooms and bathing facilities. Everything except food.
The hunger persists. However, magical nutrient infusion sustains Room 2's victim, so starvation poses no threat to life.
The human body, evolved to crave sustenance, sends endless signals. The aroma of perfectly roasted meat wafts from the adjacent room. Seeing herself salivating at her friend's cooking scent, she wept in disgust.
Thorns protrude across the entire floor of Room 3. No comfortable position exists, whether lying or sitting. The victim resembles a cactus.
Water drips from the ceiling in Room 4. Just as the victim nears sleep, a single drop falls from above, striking their forehead. The victim has been unable to sleep until now.
Room 5 periodically summons nightmares to startle them. It replays the victim's most horrific memory before vanishing.
Room 6...
Room 12 is the hell of knots. No torture is inflicted upon her directly, but her mind is loosely linked to the children in every room. Fragments of their collective pain and suffering seep into her.
She feels the sensations of boiling, starving, being pierced by thorns, sleeplessness, and more—yet she cannot scream. It was not without torment. She simply pitied her friends.
Right before her eyes, her friends scream. She can clearly see them begging to be killed.
Even the indirect pain is this agonizing.
How much worse must it be for the children enduring it firsthand?
Don't whine. I have no right to cry. My pain is just a fraction. I, who suffer the least—the very least—must endure.
I must tell them we can overcome this. I must be hope for all my other friends.
I can't cry.
...
It was natural to feel downcast seeing someone cry, or sorrowful witnessing another's suffering. Emotions carry a certain contagiousness.
The girl, well aware of this, thought amid the prison filled with pain and screams: if even I can smile, perhaps I can lend strength to my friends' hearts.
She forced a smile.
Her eleven friends saw the smiling girl and thought: she's receiving no torture at all. And so, they resented her. Why can she alone be so comfortable?
At the very least, shouldn't one refrain from smiling while watching others suffer?
It was a small misunderstanding.
...
Quantifying personal pain into numbers is no easy task.
What is trivial to one may scar another deeply. Pain varies by individual thresholds.
Yet the girl's synchronization rate was set at 50%. Feeling half the agony of all eleven victims, her stress level—as arithmetically predicted by the Violet Magic Tower mages—was five times that of any other sacrifice.
That she endured it regardless... was it the superior lineage of House Yurensuto? Or the reward of selecting a future genius to lead the tower as a victim?
The ritual exceeded expectations and proceeded smoothly. And—
"..."
"Were you dozing off?"
"Ah, yeah..."
Violet Magic Tower Master Yuna rubbed her eyes as if sleepy. In truth, she wasn't tired at all. She had simply been entranced by memories creeping up from the depths of her heart.
Some memories are far from forgettable.
Sealed away under a lid, feigning normalcy—yet a mere trigger could unleash their flood. This was such a moment.
"What were we talking about...?"
"We reported to Second Prince Irid. We should check the Redburn Duke's mansion, I said. So..."
Thud. Rrrroll.
"So, we'll lure the Capital Knights away."
Second Prince Irid entered the room, door swinging open. He brought several Imperial Defense Bureau agents. They swiftly assembled a whiteboard, affixing simple maps and documents.
"Near the operation area—Redburn Duke's villa—lies the Capital Knights headquarters. The building where you got captured, you crazy mage."
"Ah, so that bright red mansion a few doors down?"
"Exactly. It's no longer in use, loosely maintained with monthly cleaning crews. That's where the black mages' ritual took place, right?"
"Yes. According to the intel we obtained."
Second Prince Irid jabbed a point on the map with his finger.
"I can't move personally. But I'll create a disturbance to draw off the Capital Knights' manpower. So don't get caught. Or if you do... find solid circumstantial evidence. I can cover for that."
"Got it."
"Otherwise, I'd recommend calling it off. I've contacted His Imperial Majesty. Adding a transcendence-level asset to the black mage faction is an emergency. It'll take time, but the 'Boy Knight' will likely be deployed."
"..."
Will you go anyway? Second Prince Irid asked with his eyes.
Violet Magic Tower Master hesitated briefly, then nodded. The nightmare screamed. Her friends in memory still screamed. Erase it, they begged.
Erase those who tormented us, the torment itself, and the self who felt it—all of it. This was her mission.
As long as she remembered that atrocity, she could never back down. Vengeance by another's hand was no vengeance. So I must...
Yuna clenched her fist until her nails dug into her flesh.
"...The Imperial Guard doesn't venture beyond the Golden Ring. The 'Boy Knight' is away on dispatch. So two risks remain. One: the black mages' forces. The other... the Capital Knights Captain."
"Capital Knights Captain... what kind of person?"
"She's reached transcendence. Few words describe her: 'Budget Destroyer,' 'Walking Earthquake,' 'Ogre,' and above all, 'Battle Maniac.'"
"Battle Maniac... huh."
Second Prince Irid pictured the Capital Knights Captain. She challenged the Boy Knight repeatedly, charging at anyone strong-looking. A battle-crazed outlier amid the justice-driven knights.
If Violet Magic Tower Master caught her eye, a fight was inevitable—almost certainly.
She preferred brawling over killing, so no life-threatening peril... but it would be trouble.
"From reports, the Captain boasts absurd mana reserves. She overwhelms with sheer power."
Second Prince Irid had his agents brief the mansion's layout, safer low-traffic routes, and emergency fallback points.
"Good luck."
His well-wishes for the operation's success.
The plan was set. Now, to act.
In the spot where the "Little Lamb" had departed, Redburn Duke Maximuss played chess alone. The board held only black pieces. The white ones existed solely in his mind.
Tap. The white queen rampages across the field.
"If the sewer outpost is destroyed, they'll target my mansion next. No matter the path chosen, it leads there..."
Tap. He baits, drawing in the white queen.
"The Capital Knights Captain is a raging boar—just a nudge will suffice. Use the pawn I've planted in the knights to leak that Violet Magic Tower Master intruded... and is heading to Redburn Duke's mansion."
Tap. The black queen restricts the white queen's movements.
"Even without the Captain, I need to divert the knights' attention. No interferers when hunting prey."
Tap. Pawns shake the line of sight.
"The Captain recently caused a massive incident. Time her thick skull learned 'avoid property damage.' She'll likely drag Violet Magic Tower Master far away to fight."
Tap. The white queen leaves the white king's side.
No pieces remain to defend the king. Redburn Duke quietly advanced the black knight.
"Once the Captain draws Violet Magic Tower Master far from the target, go kill her. My son."
From the shadows emerged a man with crimson hair slicked back, kneeling on one knee before Redburn Duke.
"Yes, Father. Redburn House second son, 'The Sorcerer's Nightmare' Roderus, receives your command."
He possessed the ability to shatter magic with direct mana strikes—perfectly suited to assassinate a mage target.