Chapter 179: Dream and Memory, Voice (2) (1/2)

I sat Epherene in the office chair and looked into her eyes. I shone a light across her pupils.

“…Hic.”

Epherene hiccupped.

“Is there a problem?”

Then she pouted her lips.

“…You are too close.”

“…”

Since the examination was over anyway, I sat back a bit.

“Epherene, I’ve detected dark energy in your pupils.”

“Yes?”

Dark Energy. It was a substance that drove me wild, even with the smallest particles. It was the biggest enemy of the constitution ability I learned before, but I didn’t worry too much about it. Deculein’s wrath – although he spoke a bit harshly, it was his nature to freeze in the end.

“Oh, um…”

Epherene hesitated, avoiding my eyes.

“Tell me.”

“…That is. My father came into my dream.”

I stared at her without a word.

“But… it wasn’t my father. I was deceived.”

I put those words together. Dream. Father. Deceit. Dark Energy.

“Did anything happen in the dream?”

“Yes? Oh, I…”

Epherene opened her eyes wide. Her face was blushing as she wriggled her hands and feet like an octopus. It was strangely disgusting.

“Keep your hands still. Before I cut them off.”

“What?! Cut them?!”

“…”

“…Something happened.”

As I continued to stare, she slowly began to explain, and I listened quietly. She met Kagan Luna in her dream, but it didn’t seem like he was her father. If she had approached him, it would have been a disaster. She lived thanks to the mental power class…

“It must have been a demon.”

“…Demon?”

“Yes. Of the five senses, what do people forget the most?”

“Hearing.”

“Right. It’s easy to deceive because you can’t remember the sounds of a distant past.”

People forgot voices the fastest. Therefore, it was the most deceptive sense.

“Do not be fooled by the voices you hear in your dreams.”

In a world where recording methods weren’t common, the voices of people who had already died were easily forgotten and disappeared. The Voice was the demon that dug into that opening.

“His name is Voice.”

“Huh! I’ve been there too! It was a ruin.”

Epherene shouted. I nodded.

“He’s a concept and a phenomenon that embodies a world. In those ruins, people’s memories, dreams, wishes, and hopes are embodied. They sell strange things there.”

“…Oh, right. They did. I have this too. One day, Roha… um, that old man gave it to me.”

Epherene took out a brass coin from her pocket. It was ten cents.

“But why did I have such a dream?”

“…”

I examined Epherene’s head without responding. The crown, temples, forehead. Suddenly, Epherene narrowed her eyes.

“Why, why are you looking at my lips like that?”

“…Are you crazy?”

“I beg your pardon?”

I leaned back against my chair.

“Anyway, you have been officially invited. Perhaps all the memories of Decalane, Kagan Luna, and others in your head have flowed to him.”

“Then what will happen?”

“In the ruins, the door of your memory will be opened. He’ll give that coin to those who challenge and clear it.”

I pointed to the brass coin.

“Clear… clear? Clear~?”

Epherene’s expression became strange as she thought about it.

“Clear what, my memory?”

“It’s like a dungeon. The villains of your memory will appear, and so on.”

“Aha~, the villains of my memory… Glitheon and Rollu, Lucia and Deculein…”

While mumbling like that, she stiffened.

“…Deculein is now neutral, so he’s out”

“Enough with your silly play. In any case, the difficulty of your memory is probably the highest.”

“Ahem… but why is the demon doing this? For what purpose?”

“Domination of the continent.”

I answered simply. Epherene blinked a few times.

“…Is that possible?”

“There’s no reason for it to be impossible. The more people are passionate about the ruins of the Voice, the stronger his power will be. If he comes to a dream and manipulates your memory, he can control people.”

Its purpose was to control the world through people. However, it wasn’t a complete disaster. Rather, it provided an opportunity to be strong.

“Then… if I was invited, what about you?”

“I have already been invited.”

“…How do you know you’ve been invited?”

“Shoulder.”

“Shoulder?

I lowered the hem of Epherene’s robe with Psychokinesis, exposing her shoulder and collarbone. Of course, Epherene made a fuss.

“Ahh! Why, why! Why are you doing this?”

“There.”

“This professor went crazy—!”

“…”

I clenched my teeth and waited for her to calm herself.

“Look at your shoulders.”

“…I beg your pardon?!”

“There will be a tattoo.”

Epherene made an opaque magic wall before checking.

“What is this?!”

She yelled when she checked her shoulder. The magic wall disappeared again, and Epherene, with a slightly red face, looked at me.

“Why is this…?”

“The tattoo can set the timing of entry. There is still not enough time for the Voice, so the entrance is only once a week. I’ll let you know later, so be on time with me.”

“…”

Epherene scratched the back of her neck and nodded, avoiding my eyes.

“Yes, yes. Yes, professor.”

* * *

Winter at dawn.

“…!”

Julie awoke.

“Pant, pant, pant, pant….”

It was hard to breathe. Her whole body was covered in a cold sweat, and voices still echoed in her ears.

—Captain, please take revenge for me.

—Captain… I…

They were the voices of Rockfell and Veron, respectively. Rockfell asked for revenge, flailing with his missing limbs, and she could see Deculein’s wood steel lodged in Veron’s heart. She had a nightmare.

“…”

She calmed her pounding heart, forcing herself to meditate. But time wasn’t on her side.

-Knight! This is trouble!

Julie immediately stood. She wiped the sweat from her body with a light cleanse, then equipped herself. She tied back her hair and swung open the door. Immediately, Reylie approached.

“This is a disaster!”

“What happened-“

“Hurry! You can see it for yourself!”

Reylie led Julie to the conference room. There were many knights already meeting inside.

“Hey~, you’re here, Julie?”

“Sit down.”

Gwen welcomed her, but the Imperial knights wouldn’t even make eye contact.

“…This is the landscape described by a scout who made it quite far into Annihilation.”

There was a picture on the board in the conference room. As soon as Julie saw it, her eyes widened.

“The demonic beasts are advancing toward Annihilation. Their number is currently unknown. Their goal is, of course, this barrier.”

Julie couldn’t believe it even as she looked at the picture, but there were too many to count. The Imperial Knight Delric spoke.

“Professor Deculein was right.”

Even though they gathered in this place, they remained skeptical of Deculein’s prediction.

“…What will you do? In a week or so, this mad horde will arrive, and by then, they will be even more starved and ferocious.”