105. Labyrinth
105. Labyrinth
The plan had been perfect.
First, I was going to half-kill him, then ask what he knew, where he'd learned it, this and that.
Of course, I hadn't expected the bastard to spill everything in detail.
So I'd meant to lay out what I knew one piece at a time and confirm the facts through his reactions.
But then, I couldn't hold back my anger.
"You piece of shit."
I kicked Phaid's headless corpse.
Thwack— I watched the body slam into the wall with a nasty sound, then lowered my gaze.
Wriggle-wriggle— open-close—
The small, soft fingers soaked in blood moved exactly as I wanted.
"Ahh, ahem. Hm."
The sharp voice came out perfectly too. Seeing with my eyes, smelling with my nose, eating with my mouth—no problems there either.
"Right now, Eliarnes Eustetia. Past Life, Ronan... Luzarak."
My thoughts flowed smoothly, and my memory was fine.
The sensation between my legs... well, not much time had passed. I'd just moved violently, so it was a little... overflow. That's all.
"Haa..."
Only then did I relax and sit down for a moment to catch my breath.
The illusion I'd been trapped in... was absolute shit.
Selfless Illusion.
The name was vague, but once I went in and came out, I understood exactly what it meant.
An illusion that erases the existence that is me.
All sorts of phenomena occurred, but the most fucked-up one was.
The disappearance of the ego.
Literally, the thing called "me" vanishes.
And into that empty space, the presence of something else enters. A pebble, a Monster, air, wind, light, the sea, an insect, a sound, a Demon.
All manner of things gnawed at my ego.
Of course, that kind of shit could never dare swallow my ego. My strong ego was something even the World Tree lady had given up on, saying she couldn't do anything about it.
But... it was a little dangerous.
Selfless Illusion. It wasn't an Ideal Manifestation. It was just crude magic, nothing more than a domain the bastard had prepared.
So I hadn't paid it any mind.
I'm not weak enough to worry about garbage magic like that.
Phaid was 7th Circle at best, no matter how generously you rated him.
Of course, that was higher than me, and it was a Realm where one could imbue Mana with Intent, but it wasn't a Realm that made me feel threatened.
That didn't mean I let my guard down, either.
I'd anticipated he might have something hidden and hadn't relaxed my tension.
I definitely had, and yet the process of escaping the illusion wasn't easy.
The reason such crude magic could become this much of a threat was.
Luxrina.
Because the Demonic Energy of Lust had been added to it.
Why, suddenly, had that whore's Demonic Energy been added?
The potion.
Before unleashing the Selfless Illusion, Phaid had drunk an unknown potion.
That potion had been an extremely tiny amount.
At most, a quantity that didn't even seem like ten drops.
The effect was immediate.
His endlessly feeble presence turned overwhelming in an instant, and the quantity and density of Mana and Demonic Energy exploded.
Rather than increasing, it was overlaid.
Over Phaid's own, Luxrina's Demonic Energy.
The Demonic Energy that swallowed Phaid like that writhed as if alive.
Up to that point... yeah.
Even if I conceded a hundred times over, let's say that's possible.
The Legion Commanders were beings who had surpassed even our perception back then.
Whether Demonic Energy shed from them danced with an ego or spoke, I can accept that as possible.
But.
The gaze I felt within that Demonic Energy.
That, I cannot understand.
"Kaloso Verheigen."
That gaze belonged to Kaloso.
That bat bastard, I don't know what trick he pulled, but he saw me through Luxrina's Demonic Energy.
Me, that I... had reincarnated—did he recognize it?
He might have already known.
According to the World Tree lady, Kaloso had also been at the Demon King's sealing site.
But.
Even if he knew about my Reincarnation, recognizing me is impossible.
Before I died, the Kaloso I knew... didn't have eyes that could see souls.
That was the same for all of us.
So there was no way for us to know what each other's souls looked like.
Then... in the illusion.
In the memories of the past that Arisa had left behind, how had that chimpanzee recognized me?
That's not difficult at all.
No, actually... it is difficult. I don't know.
How the hell did she recognize me?
And, Kaloso.
Why did that son of a bitch, worse than a dog, suddenly glare at me?
Did he come to see his descendant, as if he had one?
No. Like the Eustetia line Arisa left behind, the Verheigen line might not have his blood mixed in either.
But I can't rule out the possibility that he came to see Stella.
Stella Verheigen.
Perhaps a being who could surpass Kaloso.
A being who could complete Akasha.
Worth coveting for that dog bastard.
"...Stella, complete Akasha? Heh..."
I dusted off my butt and got up.
Of course, I couldn't picture a future where that airhead completes Akasha at all.
But even if she can't complete Akasha, I have no intention of handing her over.
Stella is mine.
*****
Samaella, looking down at Stella, who had refused her invitation and was still sitting on the floor, chuckled quietly.
"Isn't the floor cold?"
"...Stop saying useless things and... talk about my, my mom first."
In truth, Stella didn't want to sit on the floor either.
But she also didn't want to sit next to Samaella.
Stella wanted to get up, run to Pina, and smash that incomprehensible ritual.
Of course, she couldn't.
Her legs wouldn't take any strength.
It was frightening. Terrifying. She couldn't breathe properly.
If she made the slightest mistake, the woman before her seemed likely to kill her. Even now, an inexplicable, unsettling sensation seemed to constrict her entire body.
With such thoughts, Stella couldn't rise from her spot. She loathed herself for collapsing in place over mere fear, but loathing couldn't surpass fear.
At the sight of Stella like that, Samaella swallowed her laughter with difficulty.
In reality, Samaella was binding Stella's body with Mana imbued with her Intent.
Every time she spoke, she tightened and released Stella's throat; every time she directed her gaze, she constricted the girl's body with invisible Intent.
Her legs giving out and collapsing?
It was the same. She had bound her with Intent.
Samaella had whispered for Stella to come to her side, knowing full well the girl couldn't stand.
Part of it was for amusement, but there was also the intent to shake her mind and cloud her judgment.
"Where should I begin?"
That said, she wasn't about to tell lies from here on. She had decided to speak only the truth.
In the current situation.
She thought that an absurd truth would be a more lethal poison than a well-constructed lie.
"Why my niece was born, why she had to be born into this world and become a Verheigen. I should speak about that."
"...What?"
A person cannot be born with a reason.
No human has a reason, a mission, from before birth.
It cannot be decided, nor known in advance.
Because that is the Heavenly Principle.
And yet, Samaella's words were strange.
For what reason she was born.
Why she "had" to become a Verheigen.
Those words sounded exactly... as if she had been born out of necessity.
"Does my niece happen to know the story tied to the name 'Stella'?"
It was the name her mother, Jeniella, had given her.
The day Stella was born was a night when countless stars rose. Like diamonds set in black velvet, stars shining in the quiet darkness had celebrated Stella's birth.
From those stars, Stella's name had been taken.
Star. A child shining like a star. A child blessed by the stars.
She had heard that story.
Stella loved the story of the moment she was born, the one her mother whispered to her every night as she held her before sleep.
"Blessed by the stars, shining like a star... pfft! Ah, ahem. Sorry, sorry. Right. You'd know it with that meaning. My sister would have told you so."
Chuckling— Samaella wore an unpleasant smile and licked her lower lip.
"That's not it."
"...What?"
"Akasha."
Her bewitching voice sank low.
"You are a being born to complete Akasha."
Akasha? She didn't know what that was.
She didn't even have time to wonder what it was.
Samaella's next words stopped Stella's thoughts entirely.
"No. Saying you're a being that was 'made' would be a more fitting expression for you."
Her breath stopped. Her heart pounded as if it would burst, yet her breath stopped. Her vision whitened. Her mind went hazy, and her hands and feet turned cold.
"Wh-what... what... do you, mean?"
"Who made you? Why you, of all people? Before I tell you that—Akasha. Do you know what it is, my niece?"
She didn't know. There was no way she could know.
Akasha was a name that had been lost four hundred years ago.
"The Fifth Element. Aether. The pinnacle of magic. The end of the magical path."
The origin of the universe.
Everything.
"That is what Akasha is. In truth, nothing is precisely known about Akasha. Because even 'that person' couldn't complete it."
"That... thing, I, no... who on earth..."
Stella didn't know what to ask.
The end of the magical path. That person. Akasha. Her own existence meant to complete it. The reason. Stella.
What had been the start of this story?
Why had this story come up?
"My niece. Jeniella's daughter. Stella Verheigen. Where were you made? Who made you? Why did you become a Verheigen?"
Jeniella Verheigen.
Mom.
"Humanity's filthy desires made you."
Samaella's smile deepened.
"Stella. You were not born from Jeniella's womb. You are a being made in a cold... tank, in a culture fluid, against the Heavenly Principle. Then, who committed such an act—"
For a moment, Samaella's words cut off.
Her bewitching smile, her serene face, was overtaken by puzzlement. Then, just as quickly, it twisted.
She clicked her tongue and rose from her seat.
Her jet-black hair scattering, she turned her head.
That moment.
――!
A thunderous roar echoed through the labyrinth as if lightning had struck inside it. Thick dust billowed up. Small chunks of stone sprayed against Stella's thighs.
"What are you?"
"I've been getting the same question a lot today."
A clear, ringing voice was heard.
Stella looked toward the owner of that voice.
"Eliarnes Eustetia."
"How... did you get here?"
Had she come after killing Phaid?
There was no need to think. In her right hand, she held Phaid's head.
Eliarnes tossed it—thunk—to Samaella and giggled—prettily, at that.
"I ran until my feet were sweating. You fucking bitch."