Awakening (2)
It was a familiar space. This was my third visit here. The space of the unconscious. My inner world. It was always a fresh and thrilling place. The first time, there had been a massive sphere of divine power. The second time, there had been another version of me—so unbearably cute that even I felt narcissistic. And now, for the third time… it was pitch black. An all-consuming darkness without a single point of light had swallowed the entire space.
What the hell happened? This place was supposed to be overflowing with divine power. Now it was completely filled with magi. Mamon’s lingering thought about filling an empty vessel with magi flashed through my mind. So was this Mamon’s doing? That seemed like the most plausible explanation. But… for some reason, I felt certain it wasn’t the right answer. Besides, the magi that filled this space… how should I put it? It didn’t feel threatening. It didn’t feel like it wanted to devour me.
While I was puzzling over that strangeness, a hand suddenly shot out from the darkness.
“What the hell is your true identity?! Levia Leviathan!!”
“Shit, you scared me!”
The owner of the hand glared at me with glowing red eyes. It was an old man with extremely pale skin—pale enough to stand out even in the darkness. The only unusual thing about him were the long horns growing from either side of his head.
“M… Mamon?”
I instinctively knew. The horned old man before me was the lingering thought of Mamon, one of the previous Demon Kings. Mamon’s eyes trembled as he gripped my shoulder hard enough to crush it. Fear. His eyes were filled with fear. Why? Wasn’t he supposed to want to devour me?
“Speak…! Why does a wench bearing the name Leviathan possess divine power—!”
Mamon tried to say something deeply meaningful, but he never got to finish.
Shhh.
Mamon’s mouth vanished into the darkness. Or rather, it looked as if the darkness had swallowed it whole.
That’s enough.
“Another… me?”
It was the other me I hadn’t seen in eight years—not since I absorbed that Divine Stone. But her appearance was completely different. Before, she had looked exactly like me, except both eyes had been green. The one standing here now had silver hair, just like when I was disguised, and both eyes were red.
Hoh? So we finally meet, my inner self.
…Even the way she spoke was weird.
To answer your question, the balance has finally collapsed, and I have awakened.
After the golden-haired other me, now a new silver-haired other me had appeared. …Was I actually insane? Was I just a brain in a jar or something? This was starting to feel like multiple personalities.
“Mmph! Mmph!!”
Mamon’s lingering thought tried to attack me.
How noisy. You vulgar creature. To bare your fangs without even recognizing your master… Do not expect mercy.
With a wave of the silver-haired girl’s hand, Mamon was swallowed by the darkness and disappeared without a trace.
I have dealt with the vulgar one, my inner self. Therefore, you must also grant what This One desires.
The silver-haired me looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if waiting to be praised.
“Uh… um… Thanks? If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it.”
It would have been better if you spoke normally, though.
Pet my head.
“…What?”
Just like you did for that golden-haired girl. Pet my head. Longer. More.
Was my mental age actually not that of an adult…? Why did every other self(?) I met turn out like this? Did I secretly want someone to dote on me and take care of me?
Hurry. There is no time.
“Uh, yeah… okay.”
Pat pat.
Hehe.
Did it really feel that good? She was grinning like an idiot, even dropping that ridiculous way of speaking. Did I not know myself? Whoa. So the saying “you can know the depth of water but not the heart of a person” applied even to myself!
“Now explain. Where’s the golden-haired one who looks like me?”
Like you? You are currently silver-haired.
“Huh?”
It was true. Why had I suddenly turned silver-haired…?
“What is this space? Wasn’t it Mamon who took it over…?”
A mere creature like that could never take over this place. My inner self, you are duller than I thought.
“What?”
Everything else was fine, but could she please fix the way she talked?
Why? Does my manner of speech embarrass you? Why? You used to enjoy using it in the past—
“Aaaagh!! Aaaaaagh!! Aaaaaagh!!”
Shut up! That’s exactly why I’m telling you not to say it! Go eat dirt! Mirror therapy! Can’t you just explain things normally?!
…This place is our origin. Yours, mine, and ours.
“Do you not know the meaning of the word ‘normal’…? There’s no way you don’t…”
You know it! Why are you rejecting normal?! You damn chuunibyou!
I merely stated the facts without exaggeration or distortion.
Don’t lie!! Ignoring my protests, the silver-haired me continued.
This place is you. You are this place. I am you. You are me.
The golden-haired girl is also you. And you are also the golden-haired girl.
The divine power in this place is your power. It is not power lent to you by the Goddess of Light.
Therefore—
The magi in this place is also your power. It is not power granted by the God of Darkness.
Wait. What did she just say?
Oh dear… It seems our time is up.
“What do you mean, the magi is my power—?!”
What did she mean there was magi inside me?!
Once you return, destroy the remaining Divine Stones. Balance is important.
“Explain properly!”
This One is already quite satisfied that you have achieved self-awareness.
“Hey!”
Remember. Observe closely. Open your eyes.
“Aaaagh!! Drop that creepy way of talking and just explain!!”
You—we—are not human.
* * *
Blink. My eyes opened.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
Our eyes met. It was Mint. The soft sensation against the back of my head told me I was currently lying with my head on her thighs. Mmm… this was comfortable…!! So I was getting the softness and fluffiness I couldn’t get from my upper body from my lower body instead…!!
“Hey… you’re having a really, really rude imagination right now, aren’t you?”
“N-no, I’m not…?!”
“Liar.”
“Hey, in situations like this, normally there’d be some kind of obstacle blocking your face or something—ugh!”
That hurt! Don’t punch me with mana in your fist, you crazy girl!!
“You’re spouting nonsense, so you must be fine! I was worried for nothing!”
“Hehe~ You were worried~? That’s unexpected—ack!!”
It hurts!! I said don’t put mana in your fist! At least take off the gauntlets on your hands before hitting me!
“Anyway, what happened?”
I looked around. The sunset had deepened, and night seemed to be approaching soon. Not much time had passed, unlike before. The place where the shrine had stood was now so thoroughly destroyed that its original shape was unrecognizable. The Doppelganger, the one called the Trap Master, was writhing as it died. Skadi had laid Eric’s body down gently and was offering a prayer. It seemed Eric had done something to his body before dying so it could be used as the shrine’s core—there wasn’t even a trace of decay on the corpse. Noah was… sniffling.
“Lady Levia…!! You’re alright, aren’t you? You don’t have any mental corruption or destructive impulses, do you?!”
“I’m fine. Completely normal.”
“But…! You absorbed the Demon King’s magi with your entire body!! There’s no way you’re fine!!”
“Nothing… happened..!”
“Levia… that’s the line you use when something did happen…”
Yeah, a lot actually happened. A new other me swallowed Mamon and told me not to worry because she’d handled it! Also, apparently my body contains not only divine power but magi as well. And even though I’d vaguely suspected it before, it turns out I’m not human. …But I couldn’t say any of that to Noah and Mint. I had a faint awareness of it, but I didn’t want to accept it.
“No, I just… kinda nommed and chomped on the magi, purified it, and burped it out. No problem.”
“What does that even mean?! That doesn’t make any sense!!”
“Oh-ho, talking back to your big sis now?”
“I’m older than you, though?”
Smack!
“Ow!”
I meant mental age! I’ve lived thirty more years than you combined between this life and the last! This is why kids these days—! Tch!
“But… Levia…”
“What?”
I had “back in my day” loaded and ready to fire when Mint spoke up, looking uneasy.
“Um… I’m asking because you seem okay, but…”
“What! You don’t believe me?! I said I’m fine!”
“No, I’m asking because I believe you. According to what you and that thieving cat said…”
“Yeah?”
“That shrine thing? Device? Anyway, it was generating and managing the dungeons until now, right?”
“That’s right?”
“So if it’s been completely smashed like that… what happens…?”
“Ah?”
Uh… huh? Huh-huh-huh?
Minoris’s specialty: living off dungeons. The shrine had been the device that generated and managed those dungeons.
Q. Guess who destroyed it. (5 points)
1. The Trap Master
2. Levia Leviathan
Correct answer: The Trap Master only opened the door. The one who smashed it was Levia Leviathan, so the answer is 2.
The answer is 2. I said it twice because it’s important.
This was a seriously big problem. Before long, the people of Minoris would discover the shrine’s existence. The mages, alchemists, and magic engineers of this era weren’t idiots, so even if the shrine was destroyed, they’d figure out what it had been capable of. Since the device had been destroyed, the dungeons would either disappear or cause some kind of anomaly…!
They’d hold me responsible for breaking it. Economically. Diplomatically…! This was pretty dangerous—
Wait…!
Actually, wasn’t this… a good thing?
Think about it. It wasn’t just one person or a village. The entire economy of the Adventurer Alliance’s territory—which was basically a country in all but name—had collapsed. If this fact became known, the Holy Empire of Eliac would have to take responsibility because it was a problem caused by me, a saintess candidate…
They’d strip me of my candidate status as punishment and force me to focus all my efforts on rebuilding Minoris…
That actually didn’t sound bad at all?
I’d take responsibility for something I did (which wasn’t intentional, and I saved a lot of people, so there’d be extenuating circumstances) while the money came from the Pope’s coffers that had been treating the Entat Parish like garbage… and reach the ending I wanted…!
Perfect…!! It was a flawless plan…!