Acceleration (3)
“What the hell are you?! Just who are you?! How do you even know how to use commands with my name?! It's unnatural! How could you know things even a dead man from 400 years ago didn't...!”
Dumroad backed away, screaming hysterically as I scratched my cheek.
Yonep Silgrin hadn't known about the existence of Blind Obedience because he was too young.
Handing free rein over a vampire chimera to a mere 12-year-old mage was far too dangerous.
That meant there was no excuse to fall back on.
But since I'd already decided to wield the command authority—
“Shut your mouth. From now on, answer only the questions I ask.”
“Mmph...! Mmmph...!”
“If that's registered, respond. Yes or no.”
“Yes!”
Time to put it to good use.
At least it had quieted down.
But it was hard to be overly ruthless with a familiar face.
He'd faithfully fulfilled his role, after all.
After a moment's thought, I opened my mouth.
“Dumroad, I am Tiberian.”
“Mmph...?”
A tale that might seem long or short, depending on one's view, began.
Memories of my past life.
And the plans for this one.
I laid it all out plainly, without exaggeration or omission.
Dumroad's response upon returning was this:
“L-Liar! You filthy minion of that wicked demon!”
“...”
Hmm, no good.
Should I just force him to believe with a command?
What? Lord Ulfric fell to corruption? Became the Demon King? Where'd you hear that insane bullshit?!
Dumroad was seething.
Whenever he closed his eyes, their faces rose vividly in his mind.
People he always longed for.
And among them, Ulfric held the most special place.
Lord Ulfric is a god! A beacon of light!
The Allmaster of Demon Extermination.
The great Holy Hero who sacrificed himself to save humanity and the world.
It was exactly the end befitting the Ulfric Dumroad knew.
So he couldn't accept it.
No, it was only natural not to.
“Fine. Then do you believe I'm Tiberian, Dumroad?”
“Well...”
After a moment's thought, Dumroad slowly nodded.
A human reincarnated?
He'd never heard of it, but there was no real reason not to believe.
Dumroad himself was an artificially created chimera, so capturing a dead soul and inserting it into a new body wasn't all that strange.
But he didn't accept it at face value.
“If you're really Tiberian, you should be able to answer my question, Kirian.”
“What is it?”
“Hold on a sec.”
Dumroad closed his eyes and rummaged through old memories.
His thought processes and habits differed greatly from a human's.
He could awaken and move when someone entered the underground space, then return to 'rest' after restoring his traces.
In that process, new memories were sorted by importance.
Utterly unnecessary info was erased entirely.
This sorting method had allowed Dumroad to maintain a single coherent personality over 500 long years.
Dumroad pulled out one unrecorded detail from anywhere.
“There was an operation the Allmaster ordered you on that failed. If you're Tiberian, you can explain it, right? Go ahead.”
“...”
The boy's face twisted.
Though controlled by Blind Obedience, Dumroad crossed his arms with a flicker of satisfaction.
But he had to uncross them immediately.
“Fix that arrogant posture. Before I beat you straight like 500 years ago.”
“Kuh... Just explain already!”
“Operation name: 'Claws of Mist.' It was right before the Mebras Highlands battle. The content was purging demonkin hiding in a small village. Since we couldn't distinguish who was demonkin, we chose to slaughter everyone, residents included.”
“...And why did you fail the operation?”
“There was a kid among the residents who looked just like my dead little brother. I hesitated on executing, let the demons escape, and rotted in that prison over there for a month. Satisfied?”
Dumroad had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Not just the fluent explanation, but Kirian's calm expression as he spoke.
“No regrets, huh?”
“Of course not. Then or now, I thought burning down the whole stable for a few fleas was stupid.”
“Not because you could save the kid who resembled your brother?”
“Well, that too.”
It was perfectly identical.
Kirian wore the exact same expression as the Tiberian Dumroad remembered.
A weathered face still harboring embers of rage.
But the rage was directed backward.
Ulfric, hailed as the Holy Hero, was the Demon King?
“Good to see you again, Tiberian. But I still can't believe Lord Ulfric fell. You remember too—he was to me...”
“An inviolable sacred being.”
“Yes.”
“...”
No compromising.
He'd only believe after seeing with his own eyes.
This was a matter of faith no command via Blind Obedience could overturn.
Kirian, well-versed in chimera thought patterns, fell into contemplation.
Since I've revealed myself, it'd be ideal to recruit him fully to my side.
Not necessarily right now.
Suddenly, an idea struck.
This could let him exploit Dumroad and the entire restricted area in a whole new way.
“Dumroad, if I show you proof, will you believe me?”
“What? You're gonna show me proof that Lord Ulfric fell?”
“Yeah.”
“Do what you want... but how?”
Dumroad couldn't leave this place.
It was as ironclad a precept as Blind Obedience itself—a powerful geas.
But Kirian flipped the notion.
“Connect the spaces.”
“What...?”
“Make a connection point here in the restricted area linked to me on the surface. Then you can see outside without ever leaving.”
“Wh-What?! You mad bastard!”
“You get to see the outside world Ulfric and we roamed. No reason to refuse, right?”
“...”
It was a tempting offer.
Dumroad let out a hollow laugh as he countered.
“Tiberian, you're trying to claim this space as your own, aren't you? Make a connection so you can waltz in anytime!”
“Yep. Among other things.”
“Ha! Honest, at least...”
Dumroad bit his lip hard.
But it was tough suppressing his pounding heart.
He'd always yearned for the outside world.
Born in a lab, never stepping foot beyond the restricted area—it was only natural to be enticed.
But there was a problem.
“Fine, say I agree! But what about the barrier on this lab? You think I can break it on principle?”
“The barrier...”
“Lord Ulfric set it himself. No connection without piercing it—impossible!”
True enough.
Kirian nodded, scanning the restricted area.
Even through the Transcendental Eye, the barrier was formidable.
But not unbreakable.
A brilliant blue light erupted from the boy's hand.
“...What? That's the Factor of Eternity? Got nothing to do with barrier magic.”
“I'll teach you the Dispel incantation. But it'll take ages to compute. Probably months.”
“Eek!”
Then it was pointless.
As a chimera who only moved for intruders, Dumroad couldn't perform a single formula calculation over months.
But Kirian had a workaround for that too.
Professor Rapens's leftover Time Acceleration incantation.
“Using my unique factor, I can accelerate time in a tiny area. I'll cast it on your head.”
“...!”
In other words, cram time into the brain for physical computation speedup.
The most bizarre way to solve a long-thought problem quickly.
“You're insane...!”
“Then you can break the barrier. No need to dismantle it all—just punch a hole.”
Dumroad sighed softly, but Kirian summoned the Dispel formula.
A custom incantation pieced together on the spot via the Transcendental Eye.
Ulfric's barrier was mighty, but—
Thanks to the Factor of Eternity? The flaws are getting clearer.
[Oh ho, then smashing that bastard will be a breeze too?]
Probably. If he carries flaws from his human days, it'll help big time.
In the end, Dumroad had no choice but to accept Kirian's proposal.
Forming the Dispel formula, he let out a sigh.
“If I were human, it'd be impossible. Trapped in this immobile body, crunching barrier-piercing math? I'd go mad instantly.”
“Quiet. If you were human, you'd have believed Ulfric's fall too.”
“You be quiet! Lord Ulfric... my Lord Ulfric wouldn't...!”
“...Just start the computation. Signal when done.”
Fwaaah!
Light burst from Dumroad as the Dispel incantation activated.
Considering the gap between Ulfric, who imposed the barrier, and Dumroad, it should've taken ages.
But drastic acceleration began at Kirian's fingertips.
Special Incantation 'Time Acceleration' is now in effect.
Can only be used in a very narrow range.
Incantation stacks.
Incantation stacks.
Incantation stacks...
Pour in all the mana.
No other use for it anyway, so Kirian went all out.
As Dumroad said, a human would've gone mad from the mental-physical dissonance.
But chimeras were fundamentally different.
“Bored to death. Third month already. Eh, about halfway?”
“Don't talk. Unless you want me messing up the real-time calc.”
“Got it.”
He endured the time acceleration effortlessly.
Moments later—
“Done! It's over! Stop now, Tiberian!”
“Huuuuh...”
Kirian exhaled deeply, dismissing the incantation.
Glancing over, one lab wall shimmered.
Ulfric's barrier was breached.
Dumroad approached and tapped it.
“Connection point on this side's ready. Just designate yours, and the passage forms. Better on something you always carry. Needs a trickle of mana to maintain...”
“Here.”
Kirian pulled out a ring.
Iphril's ring, once disguised as the Black Tear necklace.
An artifact carved from a magic crystal, chained for constant wear—perfect as a link.
“Good. It'll take time for the path to stabilize. Can't accelerate here, right?”
“Nope.”
“Signal'll come when complete. See you then.”
Kirian nodded at Dumroad's words.
This exceeded goals by leaps.
He'd aimed for Ulfric's journal and the gray cloud iron...
Ended up claiming the whole restricted area.
Of course, showing proof of Ulfric's fall was needed for full exploitation.
But securing the area and link was a massive win already.
Equivalent to gaining a colossal sub-space.
“Grow well, Dumroad.”
“Safe travels, Tiberian.”
Being called by his old name felt odd.
Kirian smirked, turning—then paused.
One more thing to gain.
“Dumroad.”
“Yeah?”
“The Space Reversal on the way out. Can you tweak it a bit?”
“Sure. Easy.”
A simple way to crush the resolute Obri waiting outside.