Chapter 332
Chapter 332
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 332
Chapter Title: S6. The Erased Domain of the Ruins ~■■ Asleep Beneath the Debris~ -1
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Where do the erased go?
Right after the incantation, the sky turned pitch black, leaving only the full moon behind. The light from the heavens didn't reach the ground in the slightest—it felt unnatural. The world was shrouded in darkness.
And only the crimson witch's mana stood out vividly. Scarlet spheres spun in circles. You could feel the immense power contained in each strand of that helix.
She lowered her altitude slightly, floating the crimson sphere above the moon. Preparing a single powerful grand spell while keeping us in check so we couldn't interfere with her magic.
A slender finger pointed our way.
It's coming. The precursor to 『Erase』. The ultimate technique that wipes out all information within its trajectory...
-We need to pool our strength. Don't get swayed by something like the 『Golden Key』.
"...?"
Crack!
"What are you spacing out for?!"
"Kek!"
Aisha's side kick sent my body floating. A red flash, thirty centimeters wide, slammed into the spot where I'd been standing. The information making up the ground was shredded away, leaving only a translucent frame in an instant.
My mind snapped alert.
It looked just like an unloaded part of a game. Slightly different from the external 『Erase』. Maybe because we're inside Yuna's sublimation domain, it's enhanced here.
In the 『Tower of Illusions』, reality and illusion swap places. So an information-erasing 『Erase』 might have the same effect as material annihilation inside the tower.
Taking a direct hit from that would turn me into cube steak too.
Provisional 『Dark Yuna』 was riding her broom high in the sky, bombarding us with 『Erase』. How do we fight back? Time to think. Think...
Think...
"...?"
Crack!
"I said, what are you spacing out for?!"
"Kyaek!"
Once more, Aisha's side kick sent me tumbling across the ground. An 『Erase』 streaked by. If I'd stayed put, it would've sliced off my right arm.
"Are you under illusion magic too?! We're about to die here—what the hell are you daydreaming about, Crazy Mage?!"
"Kuek."
"Answer me properly!"
An unreasonable demand.
I clutched my head with my slimy front paws. Unidentified hazy footage kept replaying in my mind.
-Yuna used up all the keys! Yuna betrayed us!
-N-No...! I would never! Believe me, everyone. I was protecting the Golden Key...
A false accusation and conspiracy in a damp prison. Probably footage from the past—Yuna's memories.
The 『Great Monster』 has the ability to sense human despair, pain, and such. Likely because of that power dwelling within me, I could glimpse Yuna's past lingering in this area.
The world intermittently turned into a jumble of garish colors. Among them, there were particularly black and dark patches. Staring at those sucked me into Yuna's past.
Yuna's suffering made me want to tear up.
Good or bad? Good. Knowing her past could provide solid hints for climbing the tower... and I could think up comforting words in advance.
But this is the worst timing—right in the middle of battle.
It's like being forced to wear a blindfold intermittently. I'm gonna die. If not for Aisha, I'd already be in pieces.
"...Daddy, is it malfunctioning? What's the problem?!"
"Grrr...!!"
I mimed covering my eyes with both front paws. I couldn't see ahead.
"Ah, 『Despair Vision』?"
Aisha seemed to guess what I was dealing with. Right—the original 『Great Monster』 is just 1% extracted from that thing in my head. Our daughter should have the same function.
She explained like she was teaching an old dad fumbling with the latest gadget how to use it.
"That thing... there's a switch in the air about thirty centimeters from the back of your head! You get the feeling, right?"
Got it.
Click.
Flipping the inner switch cleared my vision perfectly. Good, problem solved. Time to act. Pull yourself together, mad wizard. Full power now.
Dark Yuna was prepping her grand spell. Once it's complete, we're toast—and even before that, things are bad. 『Erase』 beams are raining down like a shower.
How do we deal with that Dark Yuna floating way up high?
"Evil Dragon, you can't beat Yuna. Maybe the real body, but not her."
"Don't get cocky. If Crazy Mage was at full condition—shit, 『Dragon Scale Citadel』!"
Boom.
Shraaaazk!
Aisha stomped, and a wall of woven dragon scales rose from the ground. Moments later, it clashed with 『Erase』, the scales immediately creaking.
Crack, grind.
I hastily drew Abraham's pistol from my waist—damn, these slimy paws are a pain. Miss human fingers!
Schlurp!
I extended tentacle-like appendages from my limbs, wrapped the pistol, and aimed. Backlit by the full moon, floating ethereally—Dark Yuna's left eye, locked on precisely.
Body may be monstrous, but the head's still good. Wind okay, direction okay, hit rate 100%. Pull the trigger!
Bang—!
"Ah."
With a sharp grunt, Dark Yuna's head snapped back. Like she'd been flicked on the forehead.
I knew that wouldn't take her down, so I casually shouted.
"Kruek?"
Did I get her?
"—『Erase』."
"Kek!"
No such luck.
I twisted acrobatically to dodge the three incoming 『Erase』 beams. Three and a half spins from a standstill, evading the light rays. Starting to get how to handle this spineless body.
Kept my eyes locked on Dark Yuna even while dodging. That shot was to grab attention and see how she defends.
If it's some fancy technique, there's an opening. Please don't be brute tankiness. Don't just overwhelm with specs.
Plop.
Dark Yuna blinked, and the flattened bullet dropped from her cornea. Superman-style. Fuck, no matter how you slice it, she's just "tough."
Aisha, filling in for my magic-less self, pointed out the details.
"Crazy Mage, she's got a thin repulsive force field over her whole body. To break through physically, you'd need to swing a building at her. Got a way? You do, right?"
I had an ancient ancestor's method, but couldn't use it now.
Weeeen—!!
Ominous noise. I coiled my legs like springs for a running start. Using the coil acceleration, I scooped up Aisha and rolled across the ground.
A red ray that annihilates all grazed my back, shaving off a bit.
Tumbling, I thought: If Dark Yuna had widened the 『Erase』 beam even a little, it'd be over. A fifty-meter-wide ray—what trick could dodge that?
Even with a grand spell prepping...
But instead, she pesters us with small-caliber ones. Psychological reason?
If so, let's poke it.
I'd panicked when Yuna said she hated me. Same for her. Haven't tried, but if I said I really hate Yuna, she'd burst into tears on the spot.
So, close my eyes and hurl insults at Dark Yuna. Not sure what she is exactly, but deeply connected to Yuna.
But I'm in speechless Great Monster form—have to ask Aisha. I pressed a paw to her skin, tapping Morse code to convey my intent.
Relay this to her. Yuna... Yuna is a bit less pretty!
"The Crazy Mage says your ugly mug's been pissing him off since forever! How do you even go out with that face? Ah, is that why you hole up in your tower without stepping out?"
"...?"
Yuna, Yuna is petite!
"What can that flat ironing board even do? Isn't it a stretch to call that feminine charm? Put your hand on your chest and think about it. Not that there's anything to put it on... Ah, Daddy, why attack me?!"
I didn't tell you to go that far!
While our rotten daughter's words tore at my heart, Dark Yuna straightened up, placed a hand on her chest, and spoke.
"First, Yuna is beautiful. Second, Yuna's chest isn't small because she's Yuna—and she can switch between both states. Finally, more chaste and beautiful than a fragment of an Evil Dragon wearing scavenged rags."
"That was forced on him by the Crazy Mage, you bitch!"
"Yuna knows you chose that outfit willingly on this floor. Even hesitated over the garter belt—"
"Crazy Mage! Release the Gingoa restrictions right now—!!"
What if she snaps?
Fine. To counter sublimation, activate our own. Dragon scale scraps and pistol won't win power games, no way to pierce the force field.
That thing sealed in my head is separate from its power lingering externally. Like a cloud backup.
That's why black mages accessed the toolbox via evil god statues, and Aisha's dragon scales were downloaded from the server.
Meaning, with permission, Aisha can use succession sublimation too.
"...?"
Limited release of Gingoa's 『Evil God's Toolbox』 access block. Go wild, Aisha!
Click.
A lock-unlocking sound from the necklace around Aisha's neck, red warning light flashing. She reached toward the sky and shouted.
Crack, shatter!
Part of the 『Tower of Illusions』 cracked, and from the gear-filled sky, a pink pillar of light descended on Aisha. The power to reshape and move the world began to exert influence.
Every motion was delicate and precise. The succubus queen's 『Heroine』 felt like a wildly swung branch by comparison.
"Heroine target: Crazy Mage and Aisha! Primary target, that bitch in front of me. Gears, by my name of deceit and chaos—move the world according to the script!"
Click-clack-click!
Gears meshed furiously, the world transforming.
Weeeen—!!
"Kyaaaaak!"
"Uwaaaak—!"
We tumbled across the ground again. I even lost a slimy leg. Thought it'd add some hesitation to her attacks, but 『Heroine』 did nothing, Aisha!
"It's definitely working! She's in love with us right now!"
Then why blast Erase at the people she loves without a second thought?
Of course, I'd chewed through the succubus queen's 『Heroine』 and kept attacking. Pulled out a sadist mindset like "killing as an act of love," maintaining offensive direction.
Did Dark Yuna instantly process it the same way?
Flash. Red light flickered again. She murmured quietly.
"Because I love you, I have to erase you. If the number of loved ones grows, Yuna will get hurt someday. That can't happen."
"...What? Like, 'I don't want to lose you, so I won't have you at all'?"
"Yuna doesn't want to attend your funerals. So I'll make it so Yuna never existed from the start. If you don't love, it doesn't hurt."
"...?"
That's why 『Erase』.
To avoid hurt, erase everything?
Aisha ground her teeth.
"Damn, Crazy Mage... Let's punch a hole in the tower wall and bail. 『Heroine』 buys time premised on love—most attacks have long casts. We won't last till completion."
I can't leave. With the 『Great Monster』 skin on, Aisha might escape, but not me.
Aisha, pull another tool?
"Can't use simultaneously. Switching takes time. Forgot? I'm only at 7%! And that side's ultimate is coming!"
Ruuuumble—
Pitch-black darkness spiraled in. Like all creation compressing toward the blood moon.
Dire straits. Yet... thoughts on 『Erase』 wouldn't stop. Half instinct now. Maybe there's a way out here.
"...?"
What happens to things erased by 『Erase』?
I'd thought they vanished. Erased from the world's information forever, as if never existing.
But the discomfort in this fight suggests otherwise. Dark Yuna only using small-caliber 『Erase』.
Why not a big one? Why target limbs, "chipping away" like she's trying to kill piecemeal?
Dark Yuna restricted my abilities, set traps, slapped on the 『Great Monster』 skin—she's wary of me. Assume all actions aim to "safely" eliminate me.
What if—targets hit by 『Erase』 aren't instantly removed. Like a computer, tossed into a recycle bin?
So blasting me whole is "risky"?
"Grrk..."
"Eh, what? Good idea?!"
I sliced off a index tentacle and tossed it to Aisha. She looked flustered but pocketed it, figuring I had a plan.
But Aisha, this is more gamble than plan.
If it works, we win. If not... don't wanna think. If it feels off, escape alone.
"Wait, Crazy Mage! You... Hey, Crazy Mage! Daddy—!!"
Weeeen—!!
I twisted my body long and thin to match the incoming 『Erase』. So the red ray could swallow my entire existence.
Then I hurled myself in.
"...!!"
Dark Yuna's eyes widened. Undeniable shock. In that moment, I knew my gamble succeeded. 『Erase』 swallowed all info comprising me.
Tinnitus ringing in my ears.
Thus, I was erased.
Glimpsing Yuna's past through stirred emotions, she was brave and kind. Always stepping up to lead the children. Shouldering the flag.
The current passive, gloomy Yuna... got caught in mad wizards' biological experiments, wearing down her original shining parts.
I want to believe it's not gone forever. Not irretrievable—just sleeping somewhere.
And one fine day.
May Yuna Yurensuto Violetiris pick up all the good things she wearily set down, and truly smile happily.
Now.
Where do the erased go?
A place where info clumps lazily swirl. Where things swallowed by 『Erase』 drift disorderly. Modern buildings abut wastelands, Great Monster models orbit like satellites around coconuts, roads and streetlamps undulate in the sky like waves.
This place. Let's call it the provisional 『Erased Domain』.
"Kraaaah...!"
Made it. My guess was right. Operation success! I gave myself a standing ovation.
Wondered where unused session parts went. From Ruined Star Stellarria came Woo Chae-rin and Petit Great Monster—but where were the unused bits stored?
Behold that massive, radiant Great Monster in the sky!
Dark Yuna cherry-picked usable parts, erasing the rest with 『Erase』 to prevent my use. That's why... I could face the Great Monster main body like this!
Jackpot. Absorb it to become the complete 『Great Monster』. Then escape via the body part I gave Aisha...
Then, a voice that shouldn't be here spoke.
"...Great Monster? No, too small. It's moving."
"Kek?"
"Are you Crazy Mage?"
Turning, familiar glasses, pink ponytail, familiar—and bursting—suit-clad cool woman.
Yuri Lanster stared blankly at my limb-shredded form.
She pondered briefly, then said.
"Here to rescue me?"
"Kyaaaaak—!!"
Overwhelmed by surging rage, I grabbed Yuri's cheeks and stretched them side to side. She got hit by 『Erase』 and ejected here too. Not "right behind you," not here to be baggage!
"Crazy Mage, it hurts."
"Kieeeek!"
I told you to hold her down and go—!!