Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: The Last Leaf, The First Sapling -2
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It wasn't the first time she'd witnessed death.
She was a knight assigned to the eastern front. This short sentence implied she'd experienced countless deaths. It was the fiercest battlefield in the entire empire.
Soldiers skewered by the tentacles of vicious demons, knights isolated and dying when dimensional gates closed, comrades corrupted and twisted, forced to slit their own throats...
If asked whether all those deaths saddened her, the answer was yes—but if asked whether they shocked her, the answer was no. They felt distant and blurry, like viewing a black-and-white sketch. It was only natural.
How could someone who didn't know the value of life feel any emotion watching its end?
After funerals, she only felt a faint bitterness amid the orderly ranks marred by empty spots. A vague sentiment that someday, she'd end up the same way.
But now...
"Ah..."
Gazing at the red-haired woman sprawled dead on the ground.
Her optic nerves tingled at that vivid crimson. Her hair, soaked and dyed even deeper by the spilled blood, stabbed like a needle to the eye. It had always been such a beautiful color.
Yet it lacked vitality.
The bright energy she always carried was gone. The color gleamed brilliantly, but the atmosphere was eerily still. Not a twitch.
"...Karen?"
No response came to her call.
She knew. She understood. Karen couldn't answer. Her mind tried to deny it, but the evidence her eyes had taken in couldn't be refuted.
No one could survive that much blood loss. It had pooled around her, and her skin was pale without a trace of color.
Fatal wounds pierced vital spots. Multiple ones. Meticulously done to ensure no chance of survival.
Her limbs were twisted in unnatural directions. To prevent escape, perhaps? Or simply to inflict pain?
Imagining the agony that accompanied such treatment—and realizing it had happened to her—made a grinding sound escape her teeth.
Warm liquid trickled from her lips, down her jaw.
Her lips, torn by her own teeth, bled in proportion to the wound, adding a few red drops to the horror before her.
Was she angry?
No, not anger. Cisel was grieving.
Now, Cisel had learned to paint her life in colors. She'd learned from Karen that thinking for herself and walking her own path was a hundred times more fulfilling than drifting aimlessly.
She'd thought she could be happier as a diva in some tavern than as a Yurensuto knight. And that even if Karen wasn't always by her side, she'd drop in now and then.
Once Karen built her grand stage chasing her dreams, Cisel could help with her singing skills, honed through diligent practice.
Not some distant future.
Tomorrow, she planned to invite her to a restaurant with the commemorative currency given to top tournament contenders. To enjoy a delicious meal together...
All those futures had ended here. Mercilessly.
Should she have gone back with her? Or begged her to stay until her own performance ended, acting spoiled to keep her there?
Regret came too late.
Cisel staggered. Her head felt like it might burst. She couldn't grasp what she should do, what emotion to feel, or which way to turn the wheel of fate. She spun in circles.
Then.
If Karen had given her life meaning, shouldn't Cisel give her life for Karen in return? That thought took root.
Grind. A twisting noise echoed from her soul.
Just as she resolved to tear the culprit apart by any means—
"Step aside. The Reformists will handle the scene."
"Come on, make way. Blocking the path isn't helping at all!"
A group appeared, controlling the citizens and starting to clear the crime scene. Cisel watched them work for a long while. A very long while.
Then they communicated via communication orb with someone, lifted Karen's body onto a stretcher, covered it with a white cloth, and prepared to move it.
"Wait...!"
As Cisel reflexively moved to block them.
"Cisel Yurensuto?"
A man with jet-black hair and red eyes, evoking a crow, spoke from behind. His voice had a strange magnetism that drew attention.
His pupils and tongue were blood-red, strikingly vivid. Ominous yet mystical. Like fate.
He resembled the mage she'd seen from the carriage... but different. Cisel sensed he was an entirely different person.
With a faint smile, he spoke calmly.
"I'm a freelance consultant for the Reformists. I'd love to chat with you, given my close ties to your kin, the Violet Magic Tower Master... but you don't seem to have the time."
"......"
"Straight to the point: Karen Yurata might still be alive. How about investing ten minutes of your time in this dreamlike tale?"
A lie.
Cisel had clearly seen her die.
The body matched Karen perfectly. Build, appearance.
But still, she wanted to believe that 'might'. Cisel followed the crow-like mage.
Just now, I'd heard that Karen was socially dead.
In this emergency where the main actress died mid-scenario, I buried my face in the pillow, screamed, and rolled around on the bed. Fuck, seriously.
Pingbalrez patted my back in consolation. The old Pingbalrez would've patted my butt; post-'Queen Subjugation' her would've patted my back too—so this was right in the middle.
"...Mima, didn't Karen store most of herself away? She said dying would be a disaster, so she wouldn't."
"That's the most dangerous part!"
An NPC who shouldn't die, did.
I minimized Karen's outdoor time, even canceling summons the rest, as Pingbalrez said. Other NPCs roamed full-time, but I hid Karen.
When exposing her outside, I always attached Evil God-chan or Pingbalrez.
Since Cisel trusted Karen, some inconsistencies were fine (like what was she doing from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.?—Cisel wouldn't pry).
That attention to detail backfired into a major incident. With the story nearing end, Karen going awry would've turned it tragic!
But socially dead. The killer untouched the original hologram, instead procuring and killing a Karen lookalike—right on Cisel's route home.
'Try pulling out Karen now. Everyone knows she's dead.' That was the message.
This meant the killer was closing in on my goal.
He probably hadn't grasped my full intent: emotionally manipulate Cisel Yurensuto to rewrite her fable, heal her soul as hero candidate, check the cardinals, and get Yuna's grudge info.
But he'd sniffed that I was using Karen to prod Cisel.
I'd heard Cisel sobbing quietly before the (fake) body. Poor thing...
As I grimaced in pity.
Evil God-chan grinned wickedly. Alluring or charismatic evil to some—but pure goldmine to me now.
"You aimed for it, right? Knew the killer would target Karen eventually."
"No...!"
"You plotted to wreck the tender knight's heart. Giving budding flowers a harsh winter is romantic, no?"
"That's... not it, you bastard—fix it!"
I nearly empathized with that romance. Seeing it, Evil God-chan smirked slyly and stabbed another misinterpretation.
"You totally planned it. Gonna leave it be?"
"You never shut up—quiet!"
"Ow!"
I smacked her round head. It bounced satisfyingly.
Rubbing it, Evil God-chan said.
"Contradiction, huh? You told Cisel to chase what she loves—why hide your dark desires now?"
"......"
"Plus—some find life's meaning in pain. Hide the killer's identity, fan hatred, and Cisel won't live boringly anymore. She'll endure long for revenge!"
"...Different, idiot."
I addressed her rambling excitedly. Luckily, her own tale gave me the words.
"Remember the boy you saved?"
"...Why bring that up."
"If he walked that painful path and became an adult fueled solely by black hatred... could you accept that story?"
"......"
Evil God-chan shut up.
Right—mere survival is wasteful.
If born to live, why not a vibrant summer?
I want tragedy's end to be happy.
I must reverse the death. Convince Cisel, who saw the body, that Karen lives.
Think.
How to spin this tale?
There were prior illusion-murders before Karen.
As the killer observed me, I observed him. Failed to catch, but gauged his abilities.
Victim autopsies.
Surface intact, insides wrecked. Muscles twisted into knots, bones shattered and warped. Like forcibly kneaded dough.
Conclusion: Killer's fable (or special power) is body manipulation. Reshaping others like clay dolls.
That's how he faked NPC social deaths.
So...
The mage invited Cisel to the dissection room and declared, with Karen's body before them.
"This is a kidnapping."
"...Don't spout nonsense. If you're toying with me with cheap wordplay—!!"
"No, I understand. Hearing that with a corpse in front... it'd seem bizarre. But really—is this Karen Yurata's body?"
"......"
No, I saw it clearly. Build, hair length—perfect match. But if I was wrong—
Cisel crushed that optimism with effort.
"Impossible. No one looks that identical."
"True. But the serial killer can reshape others' bodies at will. He disguised someone as Karen and killed them."
"...Absurd. Can you prove it?"
"Of course. Might be gruesome, but let me work magic. Revert the body magic."
The mage drew a small, sharp knife. He sliced into Karen's leg on the table. Cisel nearly lunged at the desecration—but endured with desperate patience.
Vowing payback if lies. She glared bloodshot-eyed.
The mage 'disassembled' and 'reassembled' the body.
Restoring compressed, twisted bones and muscles revealed—not Karen's leg, but another's. Muscles, joints, length—all different.
It was true.
Despite the unforgivable act, the mage spoke facts. Not Karen. Cisel slumped in the chair, strength gone.
Hope flickered. Faint hope.
Why, then?
Washing bloody hands, the mage murmured.
"Why bother with such hassle? If he wanted her dead, just kill. Faking the body, vanishing the victim..."
"......"
"Obvious pattern, but black mage work. Targets were tournament entrants. Needed secret, high-quality sacrifices, perhaps."
With a dead body, no one suspects living victims hidden. No human sacrifice suspicions.
"We're tracking the killer and investigating disguised missing persons."
"...Why not announce?"
"They might live. Rituals often batch—unoffered, imprisoned somewhere. Expose the trick, he'll use them up and flee."
"Then why tell me...?"
Indirect aid request. The mage explained.
"Seemed close to victim—hoped for help. Contact if we track him. Go now."
"...Yes. If you learn anything—please, tell me. Please."
Cisel bowed deeply, begged, and staggered out. The mad mage watched, then snapped fingers.
Whoosh.
The body dissolved into particles.
I pondered before Karen.
The illusion magic Karen smiled innocently, legs kicking like nothing happened. Did I program that idle?
Anyway, I'd steered it to hostage drama.
Cisel suppressed her rage temporarily; one 'rescue Karen from culprit' event, and it'd end prettily.
But issues remained. This wasn't omnipotent sim-world—reality.
Can't fake killer myself. Can't fully illusion Cisel, scale massive boss fights, or tank her fable.
She's not actually kidnapped—Karen's fine here. 'Escaped by chance' is easy, but...
Right—I have a better plan.
No hostage plot? Then.
I just get kidnapped by the killer from now on.