458 454. Ghost dreams, dream ghosts.txt (1/2)

Kanami waits for my fearful response.

In the corner of the small room, my childhood friend and sister-disciple, the cleaner, watches over me as he once did.

'Neil: ......'

It's a little voice, calling out to me.

The ”past” is watching me.

No, the ”present”.

It's not too late to save her, it's like God is pushing me.

”Oh, I'm .......

The tremor comes when I'm about to reply to the 'contract'.

At this critical moment, suddenly and at the right time (...) -.

----?

Her vision bobbed up and down.

The unusual situation caused Kanami to take her gaze off the book and look up.

The stones on the ceiling were crumbling with a flap - but instead, they were melting and dripping down with sludge.

As if the ice was turning back into water, the stones in the room were trying to turn back into blood.

Not just the ceiling, but the walls and floor as well. The standing cobblestones were losing their hardness and both feet were sinking as if they were stuck in a swamp.

The cleaners can't keep an eye on them and call out.

'Kyoshi, Oyasama?　What kind of ...... is this?

It didn't fit (・・・・・・), it seems: ......

Kanami answered shortly and stepped closer to the cleaner.

Now she's guaranteed to be safe.

I'm the only one who can't afford it.

Right now, my body is on the verge of vanishing, and I can't use magic like Blood to grasp the situation.

I've got a pretty good idea of what's going on.

The room isn't collapsing, it's melting. Furthermore, the fact that the effect has reached the center of the room means that there is a high probability that the entire ”Blood Land” magic has been lifted.

A lot of insurance was put in place so that the 'Blood Land', the lifeline, could not be cancelled.

The power of the 'Blood Stealer' is essential. It also requires a sense of fresh blood magic and a deep understanding of it so that the delicate techniques don't go out of control.

That being the case, was Glenn, who was fighting on the ground, persuaded or succumbed to the threat and cooperated ......?

Or did Seldra have an unexpected talent for blood attributes ......?

It can't be either.

This situation could only happen if it was me or a blood wizard comparable to Helmina-san.

''----!　Then maybe you could go to ......?

When the thought came to that point, the flow of blood that melted and flowed away changed dramatically.

The stone room melted and melted and melted, and all the blood that had collected at my feet was heading for the exit of this room. Just in time, the door to the room was open, so I could see from here that it was passing through a staircase that led to a further level.

--I was being sucked up.

A large amount of blood that I had been holding back all along was going to the ground.

Something beyond my expectations is occurring on the ground now. When I realized this, the 'God's Body Storage Room' could no longer hold a cube.

And the room reached its limit.

First, the entire ceiling turned into blood all at once, falling like a waterfall and attacking. I tried to prevent it with my hands that didn't have the ”Scripture”, but soon the floor under my feet turned to blood all together.

I can't stand.

However, I can't even fall on my butt.

The moment I thought that all sides had turned bright red, I was already floating in the water.

Swallowed by a sea of blood, I couldn't see right or left.

However, that was never a bad situation for me.

It wasn't long before the perception that this was a favorable development for me, who had mastered the ”blood power”, was overturned.

I was being sucked upward and upward with a frightening force, and gradually the surface of the blood was getting closer and closer.

With a sense of buoyancy, my body was lifted up and broke through that surface.

''Haha--!

I escaped from the pool of blood and filled my lungs with air.

Hastily, he wiped the blood from both eyes and looked around.

Then, he peeled his eyes back to the scene.

-- Already, the 'Blood Land' had disappeared stealthily.

The sea of blood had dried up nicely, and the earth that should be there was properly there.

An ordinary, light brown wilderness that could be found anywhere stretched out to the horizon.

Ground.

Ordinary ground.

The madness and horror that should have been there was not there.

What's more, the sea of blood from which I emerged has now turned into a shallow water, and the water level is dropping even lower. I knew that the release of the ”Blood Land” was faintly obvious, but this speed was too unexpected.

The clouds and mists that had blocked the sun's light to recreate a thousand years ago were gone.

Neither the 'Blood Puppet' nor the 'Blood Demon Beast'. There were still a few puddles of blood left, but the demonic land that was touted to plunge them into madness if they stepped into it had completely disappeared.

The wilderness, littered with red dots, had a strange beauty to it.

Because it had been immersed in a sea of blood for so long, most of the grass and leaves had died and only thin dead trees stood in a row. There were few man-made structures such as houses, and one minimal street remained rusty. In the distance, I could see the ”Living Legend” stranded in the middle of the continent.

It's quiet.

The sight of the ”Blood Land” claiming that the battle was over was interspersed with the faces I was looking for.

A wounded dragonborn (Dragon Newt) is poking his knee just a few dozen paces away.

The remnants of ”Blood Land” have turned every part of him red, but there is no mistaking it.

Puncture wounds and cuts were carved all over Seldra's body, and the clothes on her upper body did not retain their original form. I can see that he had survived the end of a fierce battle.

And I can also see that my people lost.

Right in front of Seldra-san, a deformed monster was lying on the ground.

He is a mixture of bees, and his left half of his body has a peculiar insect-like appearance, but he is also severely injured.

He is even more wounded than Seldra-san.

On top of that, he has a gaping hole in his chest.

My friend Glenn Walker seems to have been defeated.

The 'Heart of Helmina' that should have been in his chest has been pulled out so neatly. When I guessed that he had either been defeated with quite a bit of extra strength, or suffered a surprise attack that even a seasoned explorer couldn't deal with - when I guessed that he was either defeated with quite a bit of extra strength or suffered a surprise attack that even a seasoned explorer couldn't deal with, a big bubble popped out of one of the nearby blood pools with a blur.

Like me, a girl crawls to the ground.

She brushes her black hair and peers into her red eyes, and also greets me fluently.

'Hah, hah, hah ......!　Hmmm... ......?　Yeah, it's been a while.

The girl who smelled so familiar looked at me, squinted at me very nostalgically, and thanked me lightly.

Surprised, I almost misread her.

'Heh, Helmi--'

She immediately shut her mouth, saying that it wasn't Helmina-san.

After all, the girl had the same smell, but the air she wore was too different.

''Haha. However, this is the end of 'Blood Riku' for sure. Even if there is a gap between the two, everything is still as we planned. Well, I didn't realize how easy it is to have everything set in stone ....... I knew we had a good chemistry, but I was really surprised that Ate and Helmina Neisha's 'affinity' was so perfect!

Laughing with the air as if she was finishing a big job and starting to launch in a tavern was Kounel Chronicle Shulus Regia Ingrid, a long-lived species and high-ranking demon like me.

I could tell by her dancing good mood that she had won a great victory.

Then Seldra-san, who is now holding Glenn's body with both hands and is about to walk away with a frown on her face--?

The true consequences on the ground are faintly visible.

There's no way I could mistake Helmina-san for me because of the similarity in hair color and height.

Without a doubt, I smelled nostalgic due to the presence of 'Helmina's Heart' in Kounel.

And familiar.

It fit better than me, even better than Glenn, who fit even better than me.

Through an affinity that even Glen couldn't achieve, he crossed the characteristics of the blood power and the bloodsucking species and turned this entire ”Blood Land” into a ”safe zone” at an extraordinary speed.

When I finished analyzing that, I would glare at the third generation 'Blood Reason Stealer' agent.

Kounel backed away, puzzled.

''Oh, is that ......?　What, maybe the underground group isn't done with ...... yet?

While speaking, Kounel hid behind Serdra, who was walking towards him, and used him as a shield, as if he was used to it.

It was too cowardly a decision, despite the unprecedented amount of magical power on his body.

But it was also an accurate decision.

''Seldra-san: ......''

Yeah, ......, it's me.

Serdra, the one who steals the reason for nothingness, stands in defense of Kounel, the agent of the one who steals the reason for blood.

In the face of that scene, I felt a mild déjà vu.

-- Once, two heretical 'demons' walked through the wilderness, clad in dirty cloaks.

An adult and a child. A dragon and a spirit. Serdra and Fafner.

The child always walked behind the big backs of his admirers, always following them. Their hair was black together, like brothers or parents and children, a memory of their journey through the vast continent--

After the battle with Kanami, the lid of my memories had been completely opened.

A thousand years ago, Serdra-san, as the senior member of The Demon, gave me a lot of skills to live by.

Not only did he teach me how to handle the power I was born with, but he also taught me knowledge of the history and culture of different places.

For example, the 'Inscription White Sect'.

Clutching that 'Scripture' tightly in one hand, Serdra begins to speak with a wry smile.

'The influence of Kanami's ”Reading Shift” reached up to ....... With that look on your face, it looks like you've learned everything .......

It seems I'm not the only one whose memories are coming back to me.

Seldra-san's face had also been softened by nostalgia after the battle with Kanami.

However, he immediately begins to blame himself.

''That's right ....... It was all my fault. Most of your bad luck was also caused by me, the 'evil dragon' (Fafner) .......

I'm going to confess.

He sounds like he wants me to punish him anyway.

But that's hard to do.

Originally, I was well aware of Mr. Serdra's misdeeds.

What's more, I've even almost forgiven that Romis Neysha.

All of this is now.

''You should also throw away the 'evil dragon (Fafner)' already ....... You can't be that thing, nobody else can. No one needs to become that thing. It's not necessary. I'm sure you're one of those ”demons” who can find happiness in the world. You'll be able to leave all the rest to Kanami, ....... Hey ......?

The body of someone I admired looked so small.

I had lost more of my supremacy from Mr. Seldra than I had grown. I know the reason for this, as I saw it earlier, but I don't want to be convinced.

'If things go according to Kanami's 'plan', we'll finally be rewarded. No one has to go through another shitty ”ordeal”. All the suffering and sadness is over now. ...... kuhahaha, I've never been so 'happy'. Kuhahahaha!

It was an unusual answer.

It's so unlike Mr. Serdra, who, a thousand years ago, defeated all kinds of difficulties with overwhelming force.

I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what to do with it, so I can't help but roll up my scripture and try to persuade him.

...... That's not the case. I'm sure Mr. Seldora has read it. Chapter 1, verse 7: 'Trials are the result of hope and good fortune. Be sure to give proof that you have advanced to tomorrow--

”Throw away the 'scripture' too. Already.

A third party voice.

A conversation with an old acquaintance was interrupted.

It was from the direction Kanami was from, but the tone of his voice was female, not male.

When I turned around, I saw more familiar faces.

Stiff hair and a Hoozeyer's Knight Commander's uniform.

Before I knew it, the supposedly dead Lord Ragne Kaikwola was propped up on both knees and facing me.

However, he was clearly a year or so older. She has grown taller and hairier, and her body is more feminine than before. Her manner is calm and very ladylike. With the face and voice of a grown-up Lord, it speaks, brushing the sky away with its hands.

The words in the book are just a doodle written by a 'winged race' kid (Boku) a long time ago, just like that: ....... As a brilliant 'theologian,' you should have figured it out by now. That the God of ”Inscription Whiteness” and all that was a lie: ....... Sorry.

I remembered the hand that uprooted all my support.

The pain of the dispossessed hand appeals to me and tells me that she is Noi El Liebert, the god of the ”Inscription White Faith”.

And the goddess, in the form of Ragne, denies her existence first and foremost.

'The world is full of lies ....... You seem to hear the 'voices' of the dead, such as Ragne Kaikwola ......, which, like the Inscription White Church, are illusions. You are just faking it in your own head for a convenient voice. After all, her soul is now in our hands.

It was my denial, too.

Noi painstakingly denied everything and finally congratulated me.

'Therefore, I'm going to let the 'voice' from her soul speak for me. --no one needs to challenge me anymore. Kanami here is the true God you've been looking for. You've reached the top of your life. Congratulations.

Seldra-san nodded at that declaration.

With more fullness, Kanami also joined the conversation.

'Neil Lorelei. ...... I think that's a good name. I want you to 'contract' that real name so that you don't lose it again. Let's build a new future together with me.

After all the admonitions and admonitions and admonitions, a hopeful invitation was waiting for me.

How many times have I been admonished so far?

Helmina and the cleaner. Serdra and Kanami.

Even the god of the Inscription White Church, who had been my emotional support.

They told me to agree with the ”Plan to Make Everyone Happy”.

Even this is not enough, they are blocking the way to escape.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on it.

I feel like I now understand a little bit of how Rustyala Hoozeyers felt when she challenged Yangtaki, the one who stole the logic of water, all alone two months ago.

.............

Oh, that's what it was about: .......

This is how you feel when they do it this way. Maybe that's why: .......

I feel like I can relate to this a little bit.

Being guided by the 'thread' of a higher being makes everything perfect and really easy.

The board and flow of it is truly beautiful. The script written by God dictates everything we all do. It's so ...... that everyone is just manipulated by the 'thread of fate' that hangs over the world stage.

So much for--.

Blood.

I used my fresh blood magic to manipulate the remaining pool of blood on the earth and pump it up.

I focus the blood on my left hand and try to turn it into a sword shape.

But it doesn't work.

With the current me, I couldn't even form a proper blood sword.

Instead of a clean, red, sharp sword, it became a tattered, rusted iron sword.

But enough is enough.

With that sword in my hand, I decided to take the fight to Kanami until I fell forward.

I thought I should defeat him, take the magic stone, and I was the one to go to the 'deepest'.

Because so much--

I had no idea that ”The Plan to Make Everyone Happy” was so stinky.

No matter how you look at it, The Plan is not perfect.

Obviously, there is one person who is less rewarded than anyone else. And yet, all of us acting like it's the perfect plan is stinking to death. It makes me angry. Not just Seldra-san, but Kounel, Noi, and Kanami as well, all of them are so pathetic that I can't agree with them, and I can't help but laugh in a weird way.

Today, I made sure of that.

I confirmed that there are people who are much more 'unhappy' than me.

Apparently, I've been living a happier life than I thought I would, so...

I don't care if I can't fulfill my newly born 'unfulfilled' and disappear unrewarded.