Chapter 280
Chapter 280
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: Epilogue: End of Autumn
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After rattling off the puppet master's signature abilities and exploits one by one, Roderus recited her codename, as if a suspect had come to mind.
"Designation 'Faceless'. I've tangled with the puppets she controls before. So her true body looks like ... this?"
"So you're saying this is Daesoo's little sister?"
"Though it's doubtful they even share blood."
Roderus furrowed his brow, his face a mask of unease. He seemed utterly confused about how to handle her.
...
It took quite a while, but we finally learned her codename. The way it slipped unfiltered into my ears made it clear it wasn't her real name. It suited her powers perfectly, though—a fitting nickname.
The amnesiac Faceless turned out far more docile and harmless than expected.
I had her sit still while I set up the magic circle first. I planned to run a thorough diagnostic.
Aisha naturally stuck by my side, assisting with the spellwork. Our brains worked at a similar pace, and our mana flows had a lot in common. In moments like this, we just clicked.
What would've taken me fifteen minutes alone or twenty with Yuna got done in five.
I laid Faceless down inside the large temporary magic circle I'd conjured and held her head steady to fix the angle. In simple terms, this circle was like an MRI—different method, but it would let me peer deep inside her in detail.
"Alright, patient. Just lie nice and still right here."
"Got it-mong."
"Succeed in not moving a muscle for ten minutes, and this uncle'll give you a mountain of candy."
"Ooh..."
Faceless's eyes sparkled like a child's. A far cry from the vicious glare she'd fixed on Siselle in that abandoned factory. She seemed like a completely different person.
Aisha snarked from the sidelines.
"So, what? Forgiving an amnesiac villain?"
"Who knows."
I still didn't know. I'd have to wait and see.
As I activated the circle, I took a spare moment to ruffle Aisha's hair. She shook her head like she hated it, but she didn't pull away. Brat.
Did you catch the cheeky undertone in that line?
Aisha was pretending to tease, but really, she seemed worried about her own nature. The way she probed me indirectly like this said it all.
She'd drawn a line between herself and 'that thing', claiming the name Aisha... but could she really shake off her past sins so easily? That was the question burning in her.
Dig too deep, and it got messy and headache-inducing. Was Aisha 'that thing'? Or some offshoot? No lingering guilt? Was there a way to fully atone?
Including all that, it was still 'who knows'. You can't judge a life until the final period's set, right?
Still, I just hoped her journey toward goodness would end in a happy one. And I wanted to help make it so.
Wooong—.
I projected mana to scan Faceless's insides.
First off, her muscle structure was unnaturally patchwork. Old tissue spliced with young in places, like crude grafts. Something catastrophic had gone down inside her.
And... the wound where Bennett had half-bisected her body was mostly healed. My guess: she'd pushed her metamorphosis ability to the limit to patch it up.
Manipulating her bones and flesh to mend the injury.
But with a brain half-fried from the trauma, pulling off that delicate work was too much. She'd scraped together every resource in her body just to stabilize somehow.
The side effect turned her into this little girl.
That much made sense. So was the amnesia from partial brain loss? Had she yanked vital parts into the healing rush by mistake?
The mana-projection scanner, tracing from her toes upward, now reached Faceless's head. Time to uncover the secret.
The true cause of her amnesia...
"Whoa there."
"What? Find something weird?"
... "This kid's got two brains?"
"What?"
There was something tumor-like nestled inside her brain. Suspecting it caused the amnesia, I probed deeper... and it wasn't a tumor. It was a fully independent secondary brain.
Size of a newborn's, shoving against the original and filling the space.
... "Candy?"
"Hold on, guardian. Come here. Her condition right now..."
Little White was a new 'person' born inside Faceless.
Just a hypothesis, but to sum it up:
While using her body-manipulation powers to heal a fatal wound, she lost consciousness midway. Instinct kicked in to keep healing, spawning a new brain and causing a massive screw-up.
Aisha's verdict:
... "That's straight-up horror."
Spot on. Pure horror, especially since fixing it was a nightmare.
Even reaching the truth of the dual brains was a stretch. I diagnosed it because I'm me—other mages couldn't scan and poke around like this.
Surgical removal? Laughable. Even with twenty priests dumping holy power for the op, who'd do the surgery?
One slip, and she'd either cross to the afterlife or end up a vegetable. No easy way out.
If Faceless weren't such a nasty piece of work, this would've been prime ghost-story material, no question.
Simplification master Kim Lulu nailed it in one:
"So Little White's basically a newborn, right?"
"Your sister-in-law's spot on. Not lost memories—just reborn. She seems to glean bits of basic knowledge from the original body... but mostly a blank slate."
... "Any way to keep her alive without killing her?"
"Never planned to kill her, but since you bring it up: you sure you can handle it, Roderus? The original brain's intact, not trashed. Even a minor jolt could wake it."
Roderus, perhaps fond of her after all this time, asked if there was any way to save her.
But the risks were real.
The moment Faceless's personality resurfaced and took control—over some trigger—Roderus's crew would be in peril. And that danger would bridge right to me.
The Red Flavor clan was already crippled by coincidence and effort: Roderus crippled, Enbus crippled, infrastructure smashed, and now they'd secured Faceless too.
But if a recovered Faceless ambushed Kim Lulu and Roderus at night, turning them into 'meat puppets'?
Red Flavor's forces would swell overnight. A Faceless puppeteering Sublimation-grade mana tank Kim Lulu? Dizzying to imagine. How'd you even catch that?
If the guardian insisted, I'd try something, but the risks wouldn't vanish.
Roderus pondered with a rigid face, then seemed resolved after seeing Kim Lulu's teary expression. He looked me dead in the eye.
... "I want to shoulder my clan's sins."
"Roger."
For now, physically separating Little White from Faceless was impossible. But there was a way to make it possible.
Species change.
Turn her into an information lifeform, and we could erase the risk of accidental death from mishandling. Then cleanly split them after.
Couldn't do it in a snap like on myself, though. For safety, I'd need time to fully analyze her body.
"Bring Little White regularly. Leisurely half-year should do it."
... "That's it?"
"'It' means you guys suffer. Half a year with a ticking time bomb that could flip any second. Get tired, say the word. Stick her in cryo for the half-year."
"You just make anything happen, huh. Monster."
His eyes swirled with complex emotions. Glad you're a good guy despite the weird personality. Something like that.
After this, it'd truly be up to Daesoo-Lulu.
"I'll rig safeguards to keep Faceless dormant before I go. Just in case, teach her well. Mostly morals. She flips, you're done."
... "Got it."
"Yeah! We'll raise her right!"
Leaving the couple vowing pretty parenting, I implanted spells in Little White's head. Multiple inhibitors to suppress Faceless... and then.
Shhh—.
... "Hey, you...!"
Aisha's stifled shock hit me. Basically high praise, so I tamped down my excitement.
I closed my eyes and focused.
The depths of humanity beyond comprehension. The soul's dwelling, probed gently.
An unknowable sea I couldn't parse or control. But I had a vague 'sense' as compass—left by the fake demon.
Couldn't reach artificial souls or grand creation.
But reinforcing a fledgling soul with a 'shell'... that seemed doable.
Click.
"—Grow kind and happy."
Done.
In other words, 'Soul Reinforcement'.
I did it, but plainly: world-shaking magic. This world runs mostly on soul-driven 'metamorphosis'. Even Aisha couldn't pull this off.
How's that, brat?
"If you could do that, why not buff your heroines first...!"
Obviously, I'd research more and do our girls proper.
The amnesiac Faceless case—and the Crown Hall fiasco—wrapped up like that. Daesoo-Lulu promised regular academy visits, and I fixed the wrecked streets.
As for everyone else.
The incident's scale shook Prince Irid's position a bit. Fortunately, First Princess Elaine absorbed all the fallout, from what I heard.
Power just shifted pockets—minimal damage. Siblings still seemed tight, so silver lining.
I also passed word to the mysterious bard Rabbit Princess, off wandering the continent again. If she swung by the academy later, she might reclaim her original metamorphosis punch.
Soul erosion from overuse? 'Soul Reinforcement' would fix it.
The long ramble ends. Time to head home.
And finally... my family and I returned to the academy.
Time flowed, ushering in full winter.
Sounds like ages passed, but it was barely two months. My continent-spanning scatter was autumn business.
Back at the academy, what'd I do?
Teachin' students, flirting with Yuna-Yuri on off days, dodging Selvia's charges now and then, boozing with profs.
Meanwhile, refined my gains. Like, how to squeeze out more fire magic (Yuna got mad), soul research.
And above all, prepped sessions steadily.
Did a ton, actually. Over a dozen scenarios plotted, maps sprouting like weeds. Doubled the server room for sim-world upkeep.
Why no sessions, just prep? Couldn't find players... or rather, no fateful encounters.
Looking back, players always rolled in naturally. Scatter demon swords, they snatch 'em eagerly; hide pieces, they hunt 'em down.
Now? Students got savvy, lost the romance.
"Hey... ain't that a demon sword stuck in the ground?"
"Mad wizard's trap, probably."
"Yo! That secret manual in the cave?!"
"Mad wizard's trap, probably."
Did I overdo the class variety? Should've skipped the Continent's Magic Trap Collection ~Can't Escape Once Hit~ series.
Yuri set steaming cocoa on my desk and whispered.
"Told you to ease up, didn't I? Mima."
"Didn't expect zero romance at this level. What's up anyway? Weren't you shopping with Yuna?"
"Heard some fun news. Bennett's party's heading back to the academy."
... "Kicked out of the holy city without a bite?"
Nope.
Opposite: locked down the holy city tight, got some breathing room. Niole suggested grabbing memories—and academy diplomas—on the way back.
Great to see friendly faces. Timing perfect too.
More folks to handle the aftermath, the better.
"Aisha, ready?"
"Yup. Mana stones placed, generator humming. The barrier specs from Willowleaf Forge were off a bit, but no biggie."
"No more orders there. Anyway, good. Time for a new challenge. Once Yuna's back, let's get to work."
Prep work for the happy ending.
We'd attempt extracting 'that thing'. Just 1% chance.